It's basketball season!

 The basketball season just started up and I’m so excited that I made it on the Varsity team this year! This would be my second year of basketball, seeing how I did it sophomore year. I was so excited to get this season going and of course I have bad luck. Try-outs went from Monday November 7^th to Wednesday November 9^th. Our first practice was November 10^th, Thursday. What are the odds that I get caught up in chit-chatting with the other teammates that I forget to stretch? Towards the end of Thursdays practice I felt a slight pain in my right thigh. I assumed it was just a sore muscle and continued playing basketball on it. Three days go by of practicing on it and I realized that it progressively got worse. The pain went from a little, to a lot! It had a sharp burning pain and as I ran, my muscle would stiffen and hurt even more. I told the coach that I would have to sit out for any running that we did. I also, started icing my leg. Once it didn’t get better, I finally told my parents that it was time for me to go see the doctors. As the doctor stretched my right leg out to find out where the pain was, he told me that I had a thigh muscle sprain. He then took me out of gym and basketball for an entire week. I was very unhappy about this but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. I would have had to just suck it up and deal with it. He told me not to ice it, which I previously was doing which didn’t help it at all. Instead I had to heat it. I was told that practicing on it after Thursday also caused it to get worse. From then on I had to put three different muscle creams on my thigh. I also had to wear an elastic wrap to bed and wear a thigh support for pressure during the day. Sadly, I will have to continuing wearing the thigh support throughout gym and basketball now. The doctor told me that now that this happened, it is likely to reoccur. I hope this doesn’t happen because I have already physically missed so much in basketball. Mentally learning plays and sitting through a two hour daily practice, was extremely boring. It was torture. As this Wednesday appears to be the 23^rd, a week, I will be able to return to basketball on Good Friday. I’ll be returning to gym the week we come back to school. I cannot wait to return to basketball and gym, mostly basketball, because it is my passion. Although I didn’t enjoy sitting out, I had to or else I would have injured myself so bad that I would have been out of basketball for the entire season. Sitting out was boring, but it was good for my injury and myself. Now, I cannot wait to return and get myself back in the game. Hopefully this time, my injury won’t reoccur, but I’m ready to give it a try!

Wishes, wishes, and more wishes.

If I was given the chance to have three wishes, I honestly wouldn’t have a problem with choosing what I’d wish for. The first wish I would make would be to have a lot of money. This wish is quite typical for absolutely anybody. Instantly everybody would more than likely wish for money. I wouldn’t wish for money for selfish, personal reasons though. Yes, it would be nice to have money just for myself; however, I would prefer to use it otherwise. With all the money I would receive in my wish, I would split it up evenly amongst all the different families. I would give money out to every set of aunts and uncles that I have, every set of grandparents, and my two parents. I would do this because it is a way of giving back to them for all that they have done for me. The money would be theirs for anything they needed it for, even personal use if that’s what they chose. I know that giving money back to them as a thank you would be able to help personal health needs, family needs, etc. The second wish would be to go live in Allegany State Park. Although you can’t go live there, they do let you buy your own cabin that you can come camp at. However, that very rarely happens. My wish though, would allow me to live their anyways. I would choose to live there because that is my number one place in this entire world. I have gone there every single summer for a total of almost ten years and I absolutely love it. Many people go camping in Allegany, but to me it’s much more than just camping. Its freedom and it brings out the real me. It’s my escape from the world. It also brings you closer to nature and gives you a different outlook of everything. I know my way around Allegany State Park more than I do Alden, I swear! Allegany is basically my home. I feel as if my actual home is really just my second home. Living there would be the absolute best thing to happen in my life. My third wish would be to go back in time to see all of my loved ones that passed on, including pets. Whether it is for a day or a second, it would mean the absolute world to me. When loved ones pass on, you can still remember their appearance and roughly there sound. However, remembering it can never compare to hearing there voice or seeing their face again. No matter how long ago it was or how recent it was, seeing all of them just once more would be simply breathtaking.

Music is life.

Music plays an important role in this society. Not only is music entertaining but it also helps cope. No matter what, you’re going to experience some hard times in life. Music is seen as an escape for people. Filled with many genres, there are always a few songs that can describe exactly how you feel. Many people have a specific type of music that they listen to. Others listen to everything and anything. I fall in between. I listen to all types of music except screamo. Oldies, rock-n-roll, pop, hip-hop, country, you name it. My personal favorite type of music to listen to would be country. The reason I listen to other genres too is because of family. I have specific family members that listen to other genres and in honesty; I truly don’t mind listening to it with them. Mostly every time you see me listening to music, chances are its country. Country has always been my favorite genre of music. This is because my family listens to it all the time, I grew up listening to it, and also Alden listens to it. Growing up listening to country caused it to instantly grow on me. Also, I have had a small type of farm. Alden is basically considered and known for listening to country. A lot of the boys and the girls in this district listen to country non-stop. Alden has a lot of hunters and farmers in this area. The land size here is decently big. All of this helps the effect of country music to grow onto anybody and everybody here. Alden is known as, "Small Town USA", to many! However, there are some people that don’t like country. The way I see it, everybody has their own taste and is guaranteed to enjoy what they like. Whether or not people like screamo, it doesn’t matter. Music is a way of fun and easement. It helps you in the good times and the bad. Lyrics are always more than just lyrics. They are meanings. Whatever music you listen to, helps make you, you. It helps keep you unique and individual. The saying, “Music is life”, is true. Music forever will be a part of society. It forever will be something everybody enjoys, no matter what mood there in. It keeps pushing them on. For me, country music is what pushes me on. Country music brings everybody together. The vibe and energy you get from it just gives you such a great positive feeling inside. Country always will be an important, big part of me. It's something I could never get sick of and frankly, Alden agrees.

Who doesn't love a good movie?!

Everybody loves movies! One thing my family loves to do is watch movies together. Whether it’s an old movie or a new one, I surely love a good laugh, scream, and sigh. My range of movies goes from romantic, comedy, and horror. I don’t have a specific favorite genre. I love all genres equally. It’s very difficult for me to be able to pick my top three favorite movies. However, if I must I would have to say, A Walk to Remember, Insidious, and Elf.

I would have to say that A Walk to Remember is one of my favorite movies because it is actually also, one of my favorite books. To me, it’s easy to relate to that movie because I have also had loved ones such as family and friends that have been diagnosed with Leukemia. I also love this movie because it shows a lot to viewers. It shows different school cliques, issues at home and in school, etc. It shows how cruel some people can be to others and how wrong it is. When they show the boy from the “cool bad” clique fall for the girl in the “quiet school smart” clique, it shows that anything is possible. It also shows that you don’t have to be tied down and set to that particular clique. Friends can be in a different type of clique. Being different is normal. It’s life. I feel like this movie really opens up to people to make them realize those little important things that people easily look past.

Insidious would have to be another favorite because it definitely was quite intense. Its genre, horror, definitely showed throughout the entire movie. It consisted of many parts that made you want to scream and jump. Action instantly starts throughout this movie and continues right through to the end. Although the action is twenty four – seven in this movie, it still doesn’t get old. I have watched this movie a total of two times, once with friends and another with family. Each time, it gets me and others I’m watching it with. I like horror because of the fact that it gets your adrenaline going. It keeps you on the edge of your seating wondering but not knowing whether or not you truly want to know more. Everybody loves a good horror once in a while, no matter what!

Last but not least, Elf. This movie is categorized as a comedy. I think everybody definitely loves comedy. Laughing is something everybody loves to do and they enjoy it! I could always go for a good comedy and Elf is definitely my favorite in that genre. This movie is a cute little movie that gets you laughing but also keeps up your spirit. It sends you back into the days when you were little and believed in Santa. It’s a cute little adventure of an Elf finding its real parents who aren’t elves. This movie keeps me laughing non-stop throughout the entire movie.

As you can see, everybody has their favorite genres and movies. Movies play a huge role in society and have a major impact as well. No matter what, movies will always be my favorite way to end any night!

Who reads?

I’m just like everybody else who doesn’t like to read. However, back in middle school a friend of mine read a book called Double Identity by Margaret Peterson. When my friend described the book to me, it instantly struck my interest. I immediately asked my mom to buy the book for me and gratefully she did. Double Identity is about a young girl by the name of Bethany who has to deal with her parents acting strange towards the approach of her thirteenth birthday. Her parents act extremely odd compared to how they usually act and Bethany doesn’t know what to think. She begins to realize that her dad doesn’t let her out of his sight and her mother cries consistently now. It all begins one morning when her dad rushes the entire family in the car and drives across state after state. Her father then leaves Bethany at her aunt’s house. However, this isn’t just some normal aunt; this is an aunt she never knew existed. The only thing for Bethany to think is going on is that her parents are in some type of trouble. Being at her aunt’s house Bethany begins to pick up some clues. She overheard her aunt Myrlie on the phone saying, “She doesn’t know anything about Elizabeth.” When Bethany asks her aunt Myrlie about whom this Elizabeth girl is, her aunt won’t tell her. On top of that, everybody in her aunt’s town reacts to Bethany as if they are seeing a ghost. This books mystery becomes even more hyped as soon as Bethany gets a random package from her dad that consists of four different birth certificates from four different states with four different last names. Also in the package is thousands of dollars, in cash. Bethany soon begins to realize she isn’t the only one desperate to know these secrets when a strange man shows up at her aunt’s door asking questions. This is the type of story that I could read over and over again. The mystery in this book takes many twists and turns that you don’t even expect. Double Identity is one book that will keep you on the edge of your seat wanting to know more. For those who want to read a good mystery book that will easily hold your attention, I would say to read this one, no doubt!