At the beginning of the year I was assigned to do a blog post every week for my English class. I did not exactly like the idea of that at the time, but knew I had to give it a shot if I wanted to get a good grade in the class. As the first couple blogs went along I still wasn’t loving the whole idea of the assignment. Then It started to grow on me for a few reasons. The main reason was because it cleared my head to sit down and write about something in my life that a small, or possible large amount of people would see. Strangely, I was starting to actually look forward to writing my weekly blogs every Sunday. It was 10 minutes out of my day where I write about something I love, or a great memory in the past, and it was genuinely therapeutic in a way. My viewpoint on the weekly blogs for English class juristically changed from the beginning of the semester to the end. Im not quite sure yet if I will keep my blogs going after this, but i’m sure i’ll get bored enough sometime during this quarantine and randomly decide to do a blog. I will try and show this website to some of my friends to see if they are possibly interested in writing blogs for fun. Overall, I am very happy that the blog assignment was a part of my english class because it really grew on me for the better throughout the semester.
Favorite Trip
My favorite trip has to be when my family went on a cruise through the Royal Caribbean line. This trip was truly eye opening and life changing. The cruise took off out of Fort Lauderdale, and it was the biggest cruise ship in the world a the time, and probably still is. The ship was insane, it had way too many pools to count, a casino, ice rink, putt putt course, so many restaurants with unlimited food, and entertainment shows going all day. It was like living in paradise. Our room looked out to the ocean, which is a sight that i never imagined having out my window. The cruise ship was amazing but the most exciting part about the trip was the destinations. Our first stop was Nassau, Bahamas. This place was absolutely beautiful, the most clear and light blue water I have ever seen in my life. Just the way of life around the area was crazy, something that I’m glad I saw. Then, we got back on the cruise ship which led us to our next destination on the island of Saint Martin. This place was also very beautiful, very similar to the looks in Nassau. Our next stop was St. Thomas island which was my favorite. We went through the town with all the little shops and saw how different the way of life was. It was awesome walking into all of these shops and seeing how much they differ from the ones back home. Life seemed more easy going there, much more simple and not stressful. When I am older this is a place that I will be planning on going back to. This was the first time I have been outside the country besides Canada, so it was a huge change for me. Overall, this was probably my favorite family trip i’ve gone on because of the way it opened my eyes to different lifestyles, and made me appreciate what I had in my life already.
Something I Love
Something that I love in life, that gives me so much joy is hockey. The thrill of playing hockey for me indescribable. There isn’t one thing about the game that I would change. I love playing hockey as well as watching the game on TV. I loved hockey my whole life and i’ve played since I was 7 years old. From the first time i stepped on that ice I knew that I was going to fall in love with the game. High school hockey was such a good experience that I was happy to share with my teammates and family. My parents were my best support team i had though, never missing a single game. When you are out on the ice any stress you may be experiencing goes right out the window. When the cold air is flowing through your helmet, and all of your buddies are out there together, nothing else could possibly matter. It was a way to get a release from the world, and just be free for a little bit. My best moment in high school hockey was when we won the league championship and half the school was there at the game. It was pure excitement and pandemonium in the arena, and it is something that ill never forget. Now, watching NHL hockey is probably the most entertaining thing in the world to me. It is just pure excitement, nonstop action that keeps you one the edge of your seat. That is why I love the game of hockey more than anything in the world, except my family of course.
A Bucket List for Myslef
I’ve never really thought about a bucket list for myself but I have a few things in mind that I have always wanted to do. I am a huge hockey fan and one of the main things that I would like to do in my life is visit all 31 rinks from the teams in the NHL. As of right now I have only been to three of the thirty one rinks. I have been to Little Caesars Arena which is the Detroit Red Wings stadium, Amalie Arena which is the Tampa Bay Lightning’s arena, and Bell MTS Centre which is the Winnipeg Jets Stadium. All three of these rinks were absolutely stunning, and that gave me the idea that I wanted to visit all 31 of the rinks. Every rink you go to gives you a different atmosphere, and different feeling. It doesn’t bother me that my main team the Detroit Redwings probably wont be playing in most of the games I go to because I love hockey so much it doesn’t matter to me who’s playing. Out of the three stadiums i’ve been to I think the one that I enjoyed the most was Little Caesars Arena. It is just a stunning arena with so much stuff to do in the area. Going to all 31 of these arenas doesn’t just mean going to all of the rinks, it means going to 31 different unique cities and experiencing many different cultures on the journey. There are 7 teams in Canada so I will be able to leave the country a few times and experience what it is like there. I know this blog was suppose to be a list, but this event requires 31 different events so it is almost a bucket list within itself. Overall, this is the number one thing on my bucket list due to all the adventures that will come from it.
Favorite Movie
I am a huge movie guy so picking my favorite movie took a good amount time to come up with. In the end I came to the decision of Jumangi. Jumanji is a movie that was very popular for awhile but I surprisingly did not see the movie until this Christmas break. It is based off a game that was played back in the day and these kids in high school find it while they are all in detention. They start the game and the end up inside the game itself. Once they are there they find out they can only leave once they beat the game. Oh, and they are also all in different body’s that look completely different from their original body’s. The skinny un-athletic kid turns into a character played by the Rock, then the football player turns into a skinny guy. The the pretty popular girl turned into a character played by Jack Black, then the girl who was not popular turned into a a popular athletic girl. Throughout the movie all of the characters developed into better people as they were working towards completing the game so they could get home. At the end of the movie when they finally completed the difficult task, the group of 4 were great friends, and it taught them valuable lessons. Throughout the journey they were constantly complaining about their new bodies. It taught them to appreciate the bodies that they were given, because you never know how much you miss it until you have another one. That is why Jumangi is my favorite movie at the moment.
My Idea of a Perfect Day
A perfect day consist of a full day where everything went right and there was no flaws. I am not sure I have had a perfect day in my lifetime. I’m not even too sure that I believe a perfect day is possible. There is always going to be something, even if it is in the slightest that goes wrong. Picturing the perfect day is quite difficult. If i had to give an overview of what a perfect day would be like for me it would have to take place at the beach. The beach is such a beautiful and magical place where all of the stresses in your life just go away. I live in Michigan and lake Michigan for me is a frequent stop in the summer. The perfect day would most likely consist of a huge group of my friends going to lake Michigan early and spending the whole day there hanging out. It would have to be a beautiful day where the sun is out and it is warm out. Nothing in my mind sounds better than that. One thing we enjoy is to play a lot of spike ball. It keeps you active and encourages teamwork. We would also have footballs and frisbees for the beach. Then after we spend the whole day at the beach burning up we would go the the pizza shop that is right off the sand. That is what a perfect day would be like for me, and i’m hoping I have a few days like this in the upcoming summer.
Words That I Live By
Finding a specific set of words to live by is not very easy to think about. A quote that I always heard in my life because I grew up playing hockey was a quote from Wayne Gretzky. He said “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. This quote instantly spoke to me from a hockey perspective because you can’t score goals if you aren’t firing pucks at the net. It was something that I always kept in the back of my head because the ultimate goal of the game is to score goals. Whether or not you are the one making the shot or not did not matter. Making plays to set up shots are just as important. But this quote also speaks to me on many different levels outside of hockey. It is basically just saying that if you don’t put yourself out there and put towards an effort you will not make it very far. If there is something you want, it not just going to be handed to you. You have to put forth an effort and make it happen. Nothing in this world is just handed to people anymore. For example I wanted to go to the University of Dayton for years and I had to make sure I kept my grades up and got good test scores. If I wouldn’t have put forth the effort I would not be where I am today. This quote is so simple, yet so inspiration because it reminds you that the little things you are doing each day are going to pay off in the end.
Favorite Book
Reading for many people is dry and boring but I am the type of person who enjoys casual reading. Most of the books I read I have also seen the movie for. But I enjoy reading the book first because you get to picture all of the character in your own head before you see how they are really portrayed. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy movies just as much as everyone, but reading the book first is just way more satisfying and exciting. The all time favorite book I have ever read has to be The Outsiders. The Outsiders is one of the most famous books in the world due to how many lessons it teaches, and due to its ability to captivate the reader. The book took place in a time where there were two rival gangs, the socs, and the greasers. The socs were constantly bullying and taking advantage of the greasers because their social standing was higher. They thought that because they were born into a richer family and neighborhood, they were better than everyone else. The greasers defended themselves but they were constantly caught off guard by the socs. At the end of the book one of the fan favorite greasers Johnny died in a fire. This was devastating for the greasers and it taught them that all of the running around with the gang activity was not worth it. I read the book in 8th grade, and the lessons it taught me still stick with me today. The lesson about social standing, and how you having a higher social standing than someone does not give you any superiority over them. That is why The Outsiders is my favorite book of all time.
Advice to My 10 Year Old Self
Imagine having a conversation with your 10 year old self. Think about what you would say to yourself, would it be awkward, beneficial, or harmful? These are all things to consider when thinking about what it would be like talking to yourself from 10 years ago. There are so many things I would love to say to myself as a 10 year old. The first thing I would say to myself is to stay true to myself no matter what happens. Something we may not realize when we are young is that staying true to yourself is the key to living a happy life. You don’t want to get caught up in the wrong crowd because that will only lead to unhappy, and harmful situations. I would also tell myself to work hard in my academics as hard as i possibly can because it pays off in the end. I slacked off a little more than I should’ve in high school and I regret that. You can always do more in every aspect of your life. Academics in high school may not always seem that important, but in the end you are always learning and it teaches discipline. Then, in athletics I would tell myself to never give up because something is too hard. Going into hockey my freshman year I was a below average skater and it was something I knew I needed to get better at. I worked so hard at my skating and by time senior year came around I was one of the better skaters on the team. In the end, I would tell myself to always stay true to myself, and never to give up in my academics and athletics.
Favorite Springtime Activities
Spring is one of my favorite seasons because it is finally that time of the year when it stops being so cold and dark. Whenever springtime hits it feels like everyones mood and energy level get a huge boost. It’s the time of the year when everyone just wants to go outside and be active, no matter how old you may be. One of my favorite spring activities is just going outside with my friends and playing spike-ball. Spike-ball is a game that has gained a huge following for its ability to have 4 people playing at a time, and the overall excitement of the game. The game is played in teams of two and you just hit a ball on the net provided and you are trying to get to 21 points. Points are rewarded when the other team fails to spike the ball against the net after your hit. Overall, it is one of my favorite games to play with my friends due to the competitive nature of it. Another activity I love to play in the spring is floor hockey. I played hockey my whole life and I really miss the game, and everything around the game as a whole. After our high-school season would end me and my teammates would always play outside and it would always be a blast. Another activity I love in the spring is just being able to go to the track and run without the weather being so cold. Running is one of my favorite activities because It takes away any stressors in your life, and overall just improves your attitude and mindset. So overall, playing spike-ball, floor hockey, and running are my favorite activities once springtime comes along.
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