choice

For my choice blog, I am writing about my all-time favorite football player, Brian Dawkins. Everything about the 8 time all-pro free safety is unique. First, for his appearance, he wears a dark visor and a green and silver breathe-right strip. Brian Dawkins has two separate identities; the first is an extremely well-mannered Christian man. Off the field, he has been described by Eagles head coach Andy Reid as a “very polite man”.  On the field, Brian Dawkins is one of the most feared free safeties of all time. He is a hard hitter, as well as a ball magnet, who has the ability to impact a game by making crucial plays at crucial moments. As well as having two identities, Dawkins also has 2 lockers in the Eagles locker room. One is for the stellar free safety, and the other is filled with memorabilia of the Marvel superhero the Wolverine. The Wolverine is Brian’s favorite super hero because he is rock solid and never backs down from a fight. This locker is titled with Brian’s nickname “Weapon X”. Perhaps my favorite part of Brian is his pre-game rituals.  Before the game, Dawkins speaks in tongues, the same way that the girl in the movie “The Exorcist” spoke with when she was possessed by the Devil. Brian uses it to bless his team, and keep them safe.  Brian also speaks to the ball before the game starts. He says “Come visit me today please”. Brian says that he has a relationship with the ball. Brian’s entrance onto the field out of the tunnel is very original as well. Brian described it best when he says that he simply “Acts-A-Fool”. Brian is in a category of great safeties of his time with fellow colleagues such as Ed Reed of the Ravens, Troy Polomaleu of the Steelers, Bob Sanders of the Colts, and Rodney Harrison of the Patriots. The only difference between these players, is that Brian Dawkins retired in 2011 without the ultimate goal that these other players accomplished; winning a Super Bowl.

Great Moment In My Life

A great moment in my life came back in my 6^th grade year. In the fall of 2008, I entered into a writing contest for Weekly Reader news, a news magazine that is received by Alden middle school, the intermediate and thousands of other schools nation-wide. There was opening for student reporters for the magazine, and I entered the contest by writing an essay about my life and my goal to be a reporter. After winning the contest, I was given my first assignment which was to go to Buffalo Bills training camp in Rochester. Here, I received an all access pass to go on the sideline and watch the team practice. This was quite the experience, watching these extreme athletes practice right in front of me, and giving them high fives as they came off the field to water up. My personal favorite part of this experience came after the practice, when I was set up for an interview with my two favorite Bills players, Roscoe Parrish and Paul Posluszny. I was so nervous, and so excited that I finally had the ability to talk to my idols, and ask them questions that would then be seen by the nation. I asked them questions such as how they feel about the offense, and the quarterback situation at the time, regarding JP Losman and Trent Edwards. I also asked each of them about the presidential election at the time. Paul told me that he was voting for McCain, and Roscoe said he was voting for Obama. My interview is available if you Google my name. My cousin Brian Zelasko is a chiropractor for the Bills, and he often worked with Paul Posluszny. When my cousin asked Paul, two years after the interview, he said that he remembered me, and still had my interview hanging up in his locker in the locker room. That was a great moment in my life.

Favorite Season- Winter.

The city of Buffalo is known for multiple things. Whether it be the Sabres, Bills, Chicken wings, and my personal favorite, the winter. The winter in Buffalo defiantly makes it unique. Some people live here for it, and some people live down south to avoid it. I personally enjoy the Buffalo winters for multiple reasons. I really enjoy playing pond hockey. When my pond freezes in the winter, we plow it and transform it into a mini ice rink. There have been some pretty memorable plays on that rink, whether it be the speedy skating of Alex Darrow, the goalie heroics of Austin Hopcia, or the underdog fighting matches from Garrett Rutan, there is always guaranteed to be a show.  Although I am not a great skater, or hockey player at all for that matter, I still enjoy the excitement. One of the cool things about pond hockey is that you can’t play it in the south. Another thing that I enjoy about winter is tubing. Now, tubing in the south and tubing up north mean two very different things. Tubing in the south is when you lay in an old tire tube in the middle of the swamp with a glass of sweet tea in one hand and a crispy, deep fried chicken sandwich in the other. Tubing up north, however, is not a walk in the park. Tubing in the north is flying down snow covered hills, which have been specially grooved to maximize speed. The tube rider holds tightly onto the tube handles through the gloves, and races the fellow tubers down the mountain. As you can see, tubing in the north is a bit more exciting than that so called “activity” that the hill bellies do down south. For these reasons, I hands down chose winter as my favorite season.

Face to the Book

Yes, I do use Facebook. My main reason for using face book is to keep in touch with family and friends that I don’t see every day. I also use Facebook to stay up to date on events such as birthdays and parties. When using Facebook, I keep my profile page private, and I only allow certain people to become friends with me. There are obviously many positives and negatives that come with using Facebook. The positives are being able to keep in touch with friends and family, and just being able to see what these people have been up to. Facebook can also be used to play games with friends as well. However, I do not play these games, and I find it rather frustrating when people send me requests for games such as Farmville. I don’t play games. If I did play games, I most definitely would choose a game better than Farmville. I hate Farmville.  Farmville is on a list of many negatives that come with using Facebook. Another major problem is cyber bullying, which takes place quite often on Facebook and other social media sites. Cyber bullying has been getting more popular as of late, as these social media sites become more and more popular. There have been many suicides from teens due to cyber bullying. Teens in this day and age think that they have total power when sitting behind a computer screen.  The problem with this is that these kids are purposely making fun of other kids. Cyber bullying needs to stop, and for this reason, Facebook is unnecessary and may have to face a termination sometime in the future do to these suicides. In the long run, if you can’t be appropriate when using Facebook, and if you can’t accept criticizing, then simply don’t use the site.

Things I Enjoy Writing About

There are many topics that I enjoy writing about. I honestly just like writing in general. I feel as though I can express myself through my writing, and it gives the reader a chance to learn about me, as well as the subject in which my writing is about. In all seriousness, there are not any topics that I can think of in which I do not feel comfortable writing about. If I had to pick a favorite topic to write about, sports is the first thing to come to mind. I am an absolute sports fanatic, and I am very educated in the sports world, so I feel that writing about sports is where my writing can truly flourish. I really enjoy writing about the varsity football team, mostly because of the process. I start by watching the game from the sidelines because I take the stats. Then the stats are handed in to the coaches after the game. From here, the stats are eventually punched into the computer, and then printed out, and ironically given back to me so that I can then write an article about the team and the stats, and then have the article submitted to the Alden Advertiser by Monday night, since the paper comes out on Thursdays. One of the best feelings in the world for me is hearing from people about how they enjoyed reading my article. I really like how my article goes in to the paper that is recieved my most of the people in Alden. Writing for the paper can be a great start for my writing career, as I hope to continue it throughout the rest of highschool, and hopefully beyond. In conclusion, I would have to say that although I like to write about sports, I must become flexiable to my writing topcis to truly be a great writer.

My Favorite School Year

So far, throughout my 12 years of schooling, I would have to say that my 9th grade year was my favorite. I really enjoyed my 9th grade year for a number of reasons. First off, the start of 9th grade was very eventful. It really is a large step up from modified sports to JV sports. The speed of the game is faster, and the athletes are stronger and now more athletic. Then there’s the whole homecoming experience. The display of school spirit throughout that week is truly extraordinary. The pep rally on the Thursday night before the big game on Friday was very fun, as was the parade. The dance on Saturday after the game was fun as well. Another thing that I liked about 9th grade was for the first time ever, I was in the same school as the class of 2012. I had never been in school with them before, but I was last year now that high school was 4 grades instead of 3. This is a bonus because there were a lot of role models in that class. I can honestly say that I'm going to miss this class, and that they left a good overall example for my grade. I also liked the 9th grade year because of the increase of freedom in the highs cool as compared to the middle school. I also like the ability to adjust our schedules in the high school. It gives the students more options and I like to have that extra freedom. Another thing that I enjoyed about 9th grade was battle of the classes, the quidditch game, and the dodge ball tournament, because we were able to compete against the other classes in the high school. Although we were not very successful last year, I see nothing but room for improvement for my class in the coming years. 9^th grade was my favorite year of school so far, hands down.

What I Hope To Accomplish This School Year

2012-2013 is an important year in my life. My first year of high school is done and out of the way, and my focus must increase throughout these next 3 years. This year, my biggest focus is on academics. Last year, I recorded the lowest average since my 6th grade year. This shows me that high school is legitimately the real deal. I need to start studying more to achieve my goal of making the honor role in every marking period. I especially need to focus on the subjects that I'm not as good at such as Earth Science and Geometry. I also have other goals to accomplish through the sports aspect of the school year. First, I would like to contribute to the JV football team. As captain, I hope to lead the team to a successful season of at least six wins. My next sports goal comes during basketball in the winter season. My first goal is to make the varsity basketball team. I was a starter on the JV team last year and I have been playing a lot basketball in the off season through travel leagues. If I do not make the varsity squad, I will still put forth all my effort towards the season from the JV team. Another important aspect of this school year is to enjoy life. As I get closer and closer to college, my childhood draws to an end as my adulthood begins. This means that I need to have fun without leaving any regrets behind me in Alden when I leave to start college. To accomplish this, I will spend a lot of time with my good friends, while at the same time keeping up with my school work. And finally my last goal is to become a better all-around person this year.

A1 How I spent my summer

This summer will be remembered as one of the hottest, driest summers ever recorded. For me, this summer was a roller coaster ride, because it defiantly had its high points and low points. I ended spring and started summer playing travel basketball for Queen City Hoops. Basketball is one of the best sports around in my opinion, and although I won't be going pro any time soon, I still make sure that I played quite often during the summer. After basketball ended in June, I decided to get a job, so i could spend the summer making money instead of sitting around and playing PlayStation. I decided to get into the food business, and I did so my applying at McDonalds. To be honest, the interview made me extremely nervous, and to my surprise, I actually got the job! From when I got the job in the beginning of summer up until now, I have grossed sixteen hundred dollars. Another large portion of my summer was spent preparing for the upcoming Alden Bulldogs football season. Now that I am a sophomore, a lot more will be expect from me as a member of the JV team. Like always, I spent this with my good friends. I was able to spend some time with my long lost best friend Jimmy Chadwick. Jimmy moved to Amherst last year to play lacrosse. I was Able to spend a few weekends with him this summer, which is always fun. Unlike my usual summers, I did not travel to any foreign places, except once to Toronto, Canada to watch a Blue Jays- Yankees game with my good friend Austin Hopcia. It was upsetting when the Jays were unable to come out on top, but I got over it quickly, since baseball isn't really my favorite sport. In conclusion, I enter the fall season without many regrets of this summer, but with good intentions for the upcoming school year.