A Wild Week In Sports

A lot of interesting things occurred in the sports world this past week so I decided to take a look back and give an analysis of everything that happened. While there was a lot of wild stuff coming out in the news this week, I was most shocked by the news on Tiger Woods. But before I get into the whole Tiger Woods ordeal, I'd like to say that I never have been a big fan of the media and how they have absolutely no respect for the personal life of famous people, especially professional athletes. I don't understand why people feel the need to be so nosy of professional athletes and what goes on in their personal lives. I find it pretty amusing that some people are so extremely obsessed with keeping up with all the celebrity gossip. It really annoys me when I hear people freaking out over some new gossip about a famous athlete. It just doesn’t seem logical to me to obsess over all aspects of another person's life, whether it be a new relationship they're in or some kind of trouble they have recently got into. That being said, I couldn't help but notice the story about Tiger Woods that dominated the news for all of last week. For those who don’t already know, Tiger Woods is the #1 golfer in the world. Many consider him the greatest golfer ever. When someone achieves that level of greatness in a sport, it’s obvious they’re going to draw a lot of attention in just about anything they do.

This whole ordeal with Tiger Woods got started when was involved in car accident at 2:30 in the morning one night last week. When the story first hit the news, everyone immediately began talking about what could have caused the crashed. There was lots of speculation about why he was out that late at night and if alcohol was involved. As more information leaked out, it was learned that he had not been drinking before the crash that occurred just down the street from his house. The crash was occurred when Tiger somehow lost control of his car and ran off the road. He proceeded to slam into a fire hydrant and then a tree. A policeman who arrived at the scene described the damage to his Cadillac Escalade as “not too heavy, but not too light”. Tiger was taken to the hospital to be treated for some cuts and bruises that resulted from the crash. He returned home the next day and despite much curiosity about what caused the crash, the event had not turned into that big of a deal. However, after authorities did some more investigating, the news came out that Tiger may have left his house because he and his wife had been involved in a vicious argument. If that wasn’t bad enough, it turned out that this argument had been the result of Tiger’s alleged affair with another woman. I was really skeptical at first. Considering that Tiger had always had an extremely good reputation for having good morals and not being involved in any sort of wrongdoing, I was hard for me to believe that he could have done such a thing. I have always had a lot of respect for Tiger Woods because of his great accomplishments in professional golf. I have also viewed Tiger as a person who possessed great character and morals. After hearing the recent news of his affair, I can’t help but lose some of the respect I once had for him. Committing adultery is a terrible thing and is something that I have no sympathy for. I am shocked that he would do such a horrible thing to his wife and family. It just doesn’t seem like something that Tiger would ever do, but I guess everyone is human.

The next shocking news came from the NBA Basketball player Ron Artest. He is a player that has a history of being a total wild man and he has been in trouble before. He is most famous for starting one of the largest fights in NBA history when he punched one of his opponents in the face. The punch started a huge brawl between both teams and fans became involved as well. The story totally dominated the news for a week. His most recent announcement did not draw near as much attention, but I was still very surprised by it. According to Artest, he used to drink liquor during half-time of basketball games. This just proves that Artest is a total idiot. Even if it were true, why would you ever admit something like that? Some professional athletes amaze me with the ridiculous things they do. And if this was true, I don’t see how it could have possibly helped him to play while he was drunk. Stuff like this just makes absolutely no since to me.

The next event I’d like to comment on occurred just this last weekend. It was a college football game between #3Texas and #22Nebraska. The winner of the game would be name the Big 12 Conference champion. However, for Texas there was much higher stakes than the conference championship. Texas needed to win this game in order to go to the national championship. It was a very exciting game. There were very few points scored, as the defense dominated for both teams. When it came down to the final minute of the game, Nebraska led 12-10. Texas had the ball, but needed do drive down the field and get close enough to kick a field goal. With eight seconds left, Texas quarterback, Colt McCoy, attempted to get a little closer before his team tried to make a winning field goal. To the surprise of many, he waited forever to pass the ball. He finally threw the ball out of bounds at with one second left. But after he threw it, the last second ticked off the clock and it was thought that Nebraska had won the game. Everyone was in awe of the poor judgment made by the quarterback. However, after the referees checked the video replay, they confirmed that one second was still left on the clock. Texas would have its chance to kick the winning field goal. A 46 yard field goal would be no easy task for the kicker. A kick at that distance is certainly makeable, but average college kicker would probably miss from that range about half the time. Despite the intense pressure, the Texas kicker managed to make the winning field and Texas survived the closest call it could have possibly had.

Vince Young Is Back

I thought I’d write about something other than sports this week, but I really just couldn’t resist another great sports story. I’m very passionate about sports and I feel like I can relate to them better than anything else. Having grown up playing many different sports, I have experienced both the glory of success and the misery of failure. I understand how it feels to lose a game. And I understand how bad it feels to let your team down. Nothing is more frustrating than trying as hard as you possibly can to help your team win, but still coming up short. Since I relate to the pain that so many professional athletes go through, I have come to have a great respect for those players who are able to persevere through tough times and become successful once again. Vince Young is an ideal example of a professional athlete who has been able to bounce back from some tough times in his life both on and off the football field.

It would be a huge understatement to say that Vince Young experienced great success in his college football career. He dominated the college football scene. He always received lots of attention in the media and high praise from his fans. He played quarterback for the University of Texas and during his final season, he led his team to the national championship game. On the final play of the game, he scored a touchdown to win the national title for his team. As if that were not impressive enough he finished second overall in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. Considering that the Heisman Trophy is given to the best player in college football, second place was an amazing accomplishment. He also received the Davey O’Brien Award which is given to the best college quarterback each year. In recognition of his great success, ESPN named Young the 10th best college football player of all time.

After his national championship season, Young entered the NFL draft in hopes of achieving more fame at the professional level. He was the 3rd overall pick in the draft. He was picked by the Tennessee Titans. He wasted no time achieving more success. He played very well in his first season as a professional player and was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. This award is given to the best first year player in the NFL. Young also started at quarterback for the Titans the following year and led the team to the playoffs. However, he was injured in the first playoff game and his back-up, Kerry Collins became the starter. After Collins played extremely well in the game and led the Titans to a win, he became the starting quarterback for following season in 2008. Vince Young suffered a knee injury near the beginning of that season which kept him from having a chance to earn the starting job at quarterback.

It was during that 2008 season that Young began to come upon some difficult times. He experienced the misery that comes with failure as an athlete. It is extremely frustrating for athletes when they go through times in which their performance is not as good as it has been in the past. I know from my experience in playing tennis that it can be very frustrating to play extremely well for a few months and then go into “slump”. A slump is a period in an athlete’s career in which he or she performs way below their normal level. It has always been hard for me when I don’t play at a level that I know I am capable of. Therefore I know how Vince felt when his level of play dropped to an all-time low. He had always been used to great success, but after recovering from his injury that year, he was never able to play as well as he had before. Due to the frustration and sadness caused by his poor play, Young went into a state of depression. Although he strongly disagrees, many of his close friends feared that he was going to commit suicide on one particular night. His mother became alarmed at his friends fears and called the police when she was unable to reach her son by phone. The whole story turned into a big ordeal in the media in which it was proposed that Vince Young was suicidal. Young encouraged the public that these accusations were very false, but it is still apparent that he suffered greatly.

In 2009, the Titans coach once again named Collins the starter. He said that if Young wants to be the starter, “he is going to have to earn the job back”. After Collins started the season off by losing the first six games, Vince Young was called upon by his head coach. He started the next game and helped the Titans earn their first win of the season. To many peoples’ surprise, Young continued to have success and went on to four straight wins. It was on November 29, that he would face his biggest test. The opposition was one all too familiar. The quarterback for the opposing Arizona Cardinals was Matt Leinart, the same quarterback that he had competed against in the national championship game. Ironically, Vince was faced with the same situation that he had experienced in the national championship game almost four years before. With two minutes remaining, he would have to lead his team on a drive 99 yards down the field in order to win the game. Young produced one of the most magical drives I have ever seen. He converted on fourth down three different times in order to keep the drive alive. Even more ironically, the game came down to the very last play, just as it had in the national championship game when Young was in college. From ten yards outside the end-zone, he had to find some way for his team to score a touchdown. As the last second ticked off the clock, Young found wide receiver, Kenny Britt, in the back of the end-zone. He launched a pass straight toward him and Kenny caught it for the win. After seeing Vince Young go through a lot of tough times in the last year, I was very happy to see him achieve greatness once again.

Favre Gets Revenge

Just over two years ago, the Green Bay Packers made a shocking decision. They traded away their starting quarterback of 16 years. Brett Favre had guided the Packers to a Super Bowl title in 1995 and had earned 3 NFL Most Valuable Player awards while playing for them. In his 16th season he led the team all the way to the NFC Championship. For those who aren’t familiar with the playoff system, the winner of the NFC advances to the Super Bowl. After his 16th season in Green Bay, Favre considered retirement. At 38 years old, not many people were surprised with this decision. And although the Packer fans knew this day had been coming, they mourned the loss of their longtime hero. Then a few months later, Brett changed his mind. He missed football too much and decided to come out of retirement. Most people would think that Green Bay would be happy to have their hero back on the team. However when Favre announced his return, Green Bay said that they had moved on and that Favre would not be welcomed back as the starter. Green Bay decided to betray its longtime hero and crowd favorite. It was as if they were completely oblivious to the fact that Brett had been the driving force of their offense for 16 years. He was the main reason that they had had so much success. Brett Favre was speechless when his team did not welcome him back. He felt betrayed and who could blame him? The Packers just shipped him off to the New York Jets like it was no big deal.

The way that the Packers handled the whole situation was very unprofessional in my opinion. Favre and the Packers parted in an extremely bitter fashion. Brett kept his head high and headed on to the New York Jets in hopes of proving he was still worthy. He started the season off strong, leading his new team to an 8-3 record in their first 11 games. Meanwhile, the Packers had posted a much worse 5-6 record. Based on the fact that the Packers were a much better team than the Jets in the previous season, it would already be fair to say that they had made a big mistake. Favre injured his right bicep after the eleventh game and it was apparent that he could just not play as well with it hurt. The Jets lost 4 of their last 5 games and barely missed the playoffs. Meanwhile the Packers also lost 4 of their last 5 so it would still be fair to say that Brett Favre would have made them better. After his 2008 season with the Jets, Favre once again announced his retirement. With a badly injured throwing arm, it seemed that Brett would not even attempt another return to the NFL. While many people talked of another return from retirement, it just seemed impossible.

In May of 2009, it was reported that Favre had received arthroscopic surgery to fix a tear in his throwing arm. In mid-July, he announced that he was considering playing football again and that if he decided to do so, it would likely be with the Minnesota Vikings. This statement cranked media coverage of the story into full swing. The biggest part of the story was not that Favre was considering a comeback, but that he intended to play for the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay’s bitter rival. It became apparent to many that Favre was out for revenge on his old team. And while Favre downplayed the hype, he did admit that he was “still a little peeved” in reference to their betrayal. He also had said “There is part of me that just wants to stick it to them”. Since Favre had already been in and out of retirement many times, it was hard to anticipate if he would really come back. He has always been extremely indecisive in making up his mind. He shocked many when he announced that he would remain retired on July 28, 2009. But could we completely rule out on him changing his mind again. Many speculated that there still a chance for a comeback. On August 18, 2009, Favre signed a two year deal with the Vikings, assuring everyone that he had made up his mind for good. The whole deal did not go down as smoothly as one might think. Many criticized Favre for being selfish and coming back just because he couldn’t stand to be out of the spotlight. He was criticized for coming back way too late in the preseason and many of his former Packer fans were disgusted that he had joined their rival team. They had no right to blame him for anything after he had attempted to rejoin the Packers, only to be denied by the management. Favre endured even more criticism when certain players from the Vikings team expressed their resent for the signing of Favre. They felt that he should not be allowed to come on and takeover the starting position this late in the preseason. It was up to Favre to prove himself a worthy starting quarterback of the team.

Favre wasted no time in proving he still had it all. He led the Vikings to a strong start as they posted a 3-0 record in the first three games. While Favre downplayed the hype and the notion that he was “out for revenge”, everyone knew how important the Viking’s fourth game of the season would be. I know that deep down, Brett wanted to do nothing but prove to Packer’s that they had made a horrible mistake in letting him go. He wanted make them suffer for betraying him after all he had done for their team. On October 5, 2009, Brett Favre led the Vikings on all out assault of the Packers. He torched their defense for 271 yards passing. He completed 24 of 31 passes for three touchdowns. The Vikings won the game 30-23. Favre had got some revenge, but he was not done yet. The Vikings still had to play the Packers once again in a few weeks and this time in would be on the Packer’s home turf. The hype leading up to the game was phenomenal. All NFL fans were anticipating his return to his former home field for the first time. On Sunday November 1, Favre stepped onto Lambeau Field and was showered with boos from all the Packer fans. The held up signs that dissed him and that criticized Brett for his “betrayal”. Favre was not the least bit affected by all this, it only added fuel to his fire. Once again, he made a mockery of everyone in the Packers organization who had doubted him. He completed 17 of 28 passes for 241 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Vikings won the game 38-26 and Favre had without a doubt embarrassed the Packers for questioning his value to their team. Favre definitely got the last laugh in this one. And it looks as if there is only more despair to come for the Packers, who already trail the Vikings in division playoff race. The Vikings have only lost one game this season and as they continue their success, the Packers are only left to wonder what could have been if they hadn’t betrayed Favre.

Best Rappers Ever

One of the biggest disputes in the rap nation is "who is the best rapper?" I have decided to settle this dispute by giving my own opinion. I realize that my judgment has been long awaited by many rap fans and that it is extremely important to them. Therefore, I have come to my conclusions as quickly as possible, but not without careful examination. In this blog, I will give my opinion of who the best rapper ever is. I will also rank the two next best rappers in order to round off the top three rappers ever. I have based these rankings on a few basic principles. The first being how popular the rapper's music has been. Another important aspect of being a great rapper is having overcome extreme obstacles and achieving greatness afterward. I have also based my choices on simply who I think is the best. Accompanying my ranking of each rapper, I have provided a short story of their lives and careers in my own words.

#1 Lil'Wayne

I chose Lil'Wayne as my #1 because I think he truly is the best rapper ever. Lil Wayne was born on September 27, 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He came from up from nothing to become the greatest. He grew up in a neighborhood called Hollygrove, located in 17th ward. The area was notorious for crime and the young Wayne was constantly surrounded by it. His father abandoned him shortly after he was born and his mother was left to raise him. As Lil Wayne grew up he gained an interest in hip-hop and rap music. He sang his first rap songs when he was just eight years old. As his rapping talents improved, he began rapping at local block parties. By age 12, he had already earned lots of respect for his rapping abilities. He caught the attention of a Cash Money recording artist named Lil Slim and it was through him that he eventually met the CEOs of Cash Money Records. Lil Wayne was determined to become a great rapper. He wanted a chance to leave the poverty stricken streets of Hollygrove and to earn lots of money as a rapper. He even recorded raps on the answering machine of Cash Money Records to show them just how much desire he had. When Lil Wayne was 12 years old, CEOs Ronald “Suga Slim” and Bryan “Baby” Williams signed him to their recording company, Cash Money Records. These two men, especially Williams who is also known as “Birdman”, guided Lil Wayne to prominence as a rapper. Shortly after his signing, Lil Wayne was involved in an incident that almost took his life. While playing with his step father’s handgun, he accidentally shot himself and was on life support for two weeks. He eventually recovered from the incident and took up rapping once again. In 1995, still at age 12, Lil Wayne recorded his first album. He did not gain much fame nationally until came out with his hit single “The Block is Hott” in 1999. In 2004, he dropped his first album in the Carter series which was the beginning of his renounced fame all over America. Since then he has produced 14 songs that have made the Billboard Top 100. His hit “Lollipop” peaked at number one, while two more of his songs made the top ten. However, I think that at least 50 of his songs were worthy of making the top 100. He has had many songs that were much more popular than those that did make the top 100. It was largely due to the content and lyrics of these songs that they were not approved on the top 100 lists. I think that Lil Wayne is the best rapper ever because he overcame many obstacles to reach success and he has produced very popular music with a style like no other. He has learned to change his game and style according to the taste of rap fans at a given time.

#2 50 Cent

50 Cent took the hardest path to success of anyone on this list. He never met his father and his mother was often away at work. She sold drugs on the streets of New York City and was eventually killed as a result of it. 50 Cent was forced to move in with his grandparents in their very crowded home. Many of his older cousins already lived there so the place was always crowded with kids. He got picked on a lot by his older cousins and resented them for it. He resorted to drug dealing about the age of 12 and eventually was arrested and thrown in prison. Before going to prison, 50 cent had already done a lot of rapping with his friends and he had diligently worked to improve. He learned his lesson in prison and decided not to go back to drug dealing. He began rapping and eventually gained some support from a few record companies. Just as he started to get popular with the local rap fans, he was ambushed by one of his jealous rivals. After being shot nine times and barely escaping death, he persevered and made it back on to the stage as a rapper. He went on to gain lots of fame for his best album Get Rich Or Die Tryin’.

#3 Notorious B.I.G.

Notorious was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father left him and his mother when he was only two years old. He lived in a poverty stricken apartment complex and his mother worked two jobs. At the age of 12, he began selling drugs and he dropped out of high school at age 17. He served several short prison terms due to drug charges. He began rapping as a teenager and released his first album in 1994, at the age of 22. He quickly became a famous rapper and became the recognized rapper on the east coast. He was shot and killed in Los Angeles in 1997. Fifteen days after his death, his album Life After Death was released and it eventually rose to #1 on the U.S. album charts.

Virginia Tech Football

The most exciting college football games take place in the mountains of Blacksburg, Va. This is the home of Lane Stadium and Virginia Tech football. One can expect almost every wild Hokie fan from the mountains of southwest Virginia to come storming into Blacksburg and raise bloody hell for their team. Visiting teams fear the wrath of Lane Stadium. Even the slightest mention of the word brings tears to their eyes. Many sports announcers have called Lane Stadium the biggest home field advantage in college football. That place gets loud.

I have been a huge Virginia Tech fan ever since I can remember. My father and grandfather went to school there so my whole family has a lot of pride in the school, but more importantly its football team. I went to my first Virginia Tech football game when I was 8 years old. I was shocked at how huge the stadium was and how loud the crowd roared. Even the old grandpas were screaming and high fiving each other. The whole scene truly amazed me. As I grew older, I continued to make the two hour drive up to Blacksburg to watch the Hokies play. I quickly developed a passion for Virginia Tech football. The atmosphere at Lane Stadium cannot be beat. The tailgates are amazing; there is always plenty of beer and fried chicken to go around. The fans are extremely friendly as well. You can’t walk more than a few feet without someone inviting you to join their tailgate. The whole Virginia Tech football experience is something I always look forward to.

This is how it all began. The Virginia Tech football program officially started in September of 1891. It took a lot of effort to get the program going and the process was very slow. The football program was finally put in place due to hard work of two college professors and two cadets. Professor Anderson, as he was known, played right tackle on the team. The rules for college football were obviously much different at the time because only students are allowed to play in games these days. The other professor, E.A. Smith, served as the team’s coach. The two cadets, H.B. Pratt and J.W. Stull, also served as players on the team. Getting a team together was a struggle for these four entrepreneurs. They had go into the dorms and beg players to come out to the field for practice and games. Those who did not make the starting roster almost always quit the team which made things very difficult. Despite all the troubles the four men experienced in their quest to start a football team, they managed to get a team together and play their first game just a year later. On October 21, 1892, Virginia Tech played its first football game against St. Albans from Radford. The game resulted in 14-10 victory for Virginia Tech. Professor Anderson scored the first ever touchdown for the team. Professor Smyth coached the first game in Tech history and would eventually become known as the father of modern football at Virginia Tech.

The Virginia Tech football program went on to be a great success, but it never could establish itself as a top program in the country. In fact, for most of the twentieth century the team was not very well respected at all. From the emergence of Virginia Tech football in 1892 to the 1987 football season, the team only managed to reach six bowl games. That is an extremely low number considering that the first bowl game was played in 1902 and they were played continuously from 1916. The success of the Virginia Tech football team was very low in all those years. The fans for Virginia Tech had long awaited a hero to emerge and lead their team to victory. Their hero finally came in 1987, when Frank Beamer signed on as the head coach for the team. None of them imagined that he would lead them to become a dominant college football program. Beamer was a former player at Virginia Tech and was thrilled to become the coach of his former team. Beamer played cornerback for Virginia Tech from 1966 to 1968. He played during probably the most successful years of Virginia Tech football. Over a span of 95 years, Virginia Tech only earned only six bids to bowl games. Beamer played in two of these games during only a three year period. He wanted to reestablish the respect for Virginia Tech football in which he had experienced as a player on the team.

Turning around the program was no easy task for Coach Beamer. He endured some long seasons of failure and defeat on his way to the top. In 1992, his team only won two games. The years after that season seemed to be a different story. In 1993, after five years of hard work, Beamer had finally put together a team that consisted of only players in which he had recruited. Working with some talented personnel is an important key to the success of a football coach. By the 1993 season, beamer no longer had to use the player recruited by previous coaches. He could now call the program entirely his own work.

The 1993 season was Coach Beamer’s break out year. Rising from out of the ashes of the 1992 season, the 1993 team was a different story. The Hokies posted an 8-3 record and went on to defeat Indiana in the Liberty Bowl. It was this season that marked the emergence of greatness for the Virginia Tech football program. From this season on Virginia Tech would attend a bowl game every year. From the 1993 season until present, the Hokies have amassed a record of 17 straight bowl game appearances. Their record of 17 straight appearances ranks third among all college teams. Virginia Tech earned its most prestigious honor when it earned a spot in the 1999 national championship game. The Hokies went on to lose to Florida State, in that game. Despite the loss, the reaching of a national title game was a huge boost to the program and it has only led more success in the years after.

Rhetorical Analysis of "Animal Cruelty and Free Speech"

Freedom of speech has become a highly debated topic in the United States. The 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects freedom of speech. The amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”. The 1st Amendment, particularly its protection of freedom of speech, is high valued by Americans. Freedom of Speech protects the rights of Americans to publicize their anything in which they want to make known to the public.

Freedom of Speech has been has been an important part of American Society and has been positive for the most part. However, there are times when it has had a very negative effect, allowing publications of very offensive material. One of these situations is discussed in an editorial called Animal Cruelty and Free Speech. This editorial was published in the New York Times. It focuses on a Supreme Court case involving dog fighting videos. According to the author, who is unnamed, a man named Robert Stevens ran a business called “Dogs of Velvet and Steel” which sold videos of pit bulls engaging in dogfights and attacking other animals. He did not take part in the attacks personally, but was charged under a federal law that makes it illegal to sell depictions of acts of animal cruelty that are illegal in the state where the depiction is sold. Stevenson appealed his conviction. After reviewing his case, The United States Court of Appeals reversed his conviction. The court declared that the federal law in which Mr. Stevenson was charged under was unconstitutional. The law violated his freedom of speech rights outlined in the First Amendment. The author explains that this is not the only deeply offensive speech that is protected by the First Amendment. The author says “Nazis are allowed to march and racists are allowed to spew racism. I imagine that people from the Nazi party are allowed to march, but I know for a fact that federal laws prevent racial discrimination. Of course law does not prevent people say racists things, but there are many cases in which the law does not allow for racial discrimination. People who hire employees certainly are not permitted to “spew racism” at them. Federal law does not allow employer to choose an employee based on their race. Therefore, it would not be legal for a interviewer to say “I am not going to hire you because of I do not like people of your race”. I made this point in order to prove that the author had made an incorrect statement. The author’s choice of words has damaged their credibility with the reader. Since the author’s name is not given in the editorial, I can see why he or she was lax about making sure his or her statements were credible. Since the reader does not know the author’s name, the author does not lose any respect from those who might know him.

In my opinion, anyone who is sick enough to sell or purchase these videos should be punished. The author shares my negative opinion in saying “some of this material is truly stomach-churning.” While I can imagine that dog-fighting might be a little gory, I still wonder how the author can know for sure that the material is “stomach-churning”. The author expresses no account of actually watching the videos. This leads me to question his or her authority to discuss dog-fighting. The author goes on to say “There are people who enjoy watching animals be tortured or killed”. While this statement may be true, the author gives no explanation of it which makes her statement less convincing and meaningful. The author should add a specific example of people that enjoy dog-fighting.

The editorial explains that there is also a market for “crush videos”. These videos feature women trampling small animals with their bare feet or in high heels. Supposedly, some viewers find these types of videos sexually arousing. I’m not sure how a video like this could be sexually arousing, but I guess there are some people with some really messed up thought. I’m not sure what provoked the author to add this statement to the editorial, but he or she claims that it was part of a federal government brief. While this may be a legit fact, the statement draws the reader’s away from the argument at hand and puts a completely different thought into their head. The author should have refrained from including this because it lowered the quality of his or her work. The author then provides the reader with another somewhat random statement, saying that “videos are also sold showing hog-dogfights in which dogs attack and sometimes kill pigs”. While this is highly interesting and informative, it is also a distraction from what the editorial is focused on. The author says that if legislatures were allowed to disapprove certain parts of unpopular speech, a lot of expression could become illegal. This is a very good point and gives the reader a clear image of why the author feels like freedom of speech should be protected. I have come to the same conclusion; freedom of speech is too complicated for the government to outlaw certain forms of it.

The lack of information the author provides about him or herself prevents the reader from gaining critical knowledge that would help them to trust certain statements in the editorial. The author also refers to very few sources. The only ones that the author credits his or her information to are the federal government and of course, the Constitution. These are generally reliable sources, but much of the information has come from other places, more than likely the author’s own thoughts. While the author does not provide good credibility for his or her editorial, a good point is made about how wide-ranging freedom of speech can be. I believe that freedom of speech is very important and that is a good thing for the most part.

My Hometown

It seems hard to get very excited over just one day off from school. It would be nice to get another day or two, but I’m still looking forward to it. I’ll be going home this weekend for basically the first time. I stopped in my home town for a few hours on my way to the Virginia Tech – Alabama game, but I haven’t got a chance to actually go back and visit everyone yet. A lot of my friends have the same Fall Break as I do so I’m pretty pumped about seeing all of them. They all get two days off for their breaks which is somewhat unfair, but I’m trying not to cry over it.

Last summer was definitely the most fun I’ve ever had. Since I had graduated from high school, my parents were a lot more flexible about letting be me do certain things. I went out and chilled with my friends at least every other day. All my best friends live back home so it’s always a good time when I’m there.

My hometown is Bristol, VA and I take a lot of pride in it. The motto of the city is “A Great Place To Live” and I really feel like that’s true. There is a certain feeling around there that you just don’t get anywhere else. It’s the kind of place that you feel like you know everyone even though you actually don’t. Everyone is always willing to lend a helping hand. One unique thing about Bristol is that it’s in two states. One side is in Virginia and the other is in Tennessee. There is a road called State Street which divides the Bristol and Tennessee sides of town. The road goes right through middle of downtown so I am always walking back and forth between Virginia and Tennessee.

Since the city is located in two states, there are two separate high schools. One is called Virginia High and the other Tennessee High. There is a huge rival between these two schools. Anytime they play each other in sports it is a major event. Our newspaper, The Bristol Herald Courier, is always full of hype about the upcoming football game. Football is the focus of the rivalry, but it is by no means the only part. The rivalry was a very interesting experience for me because although I lived in Bristol, Virginia, I attended and played for Tennessee High. I lived about a block away from Virginia High, but I chose to attend Tennessee High because my uncle was the football coach there. When I chose to go to Tennessee high, all my friends and family from Virginia gave me a hard time, but they eventually came to accept it.

Another unique thing about Bristol is that it is “The Birthplace of Country Music”. The US Congress gave Bristol this title due to its contributions to early country music recordings and influence. In 1927 Ralph Peer of Victor Records began recording local musicians in Bristol to attempt to capture the local sound of traditional 'folk' music of the region. One of these local sounds was created by the Carter family. The Carter Family got their start on July 31, 1927, when A.P. Carter and his family journeyed from Maces Spring, Virginia, to Bristol, Tennessee, to audition for record producer Ralph Peer who was seeking new talent for the recording industry. They received fifty dollars for each song they recorded. I’m not a big fan of country music, but I still think it’s pretty cool that it started in my hometown.

Bristol is also home to a half-mile NASCAR track called Bristol Motor Speedway. NASCAR holds a stock car race twice each year. It’s always fun to go to the track on race weekend and check out all of the festivities. You can meet a drunk person on every corner. If you don’t see one a corner then you will probably see one riding their cooler down a hill. There is a whole lot more to the festivities than drunk people. There are all kinds of trailers that are set up with stores inside of them. Some of these are owned by big companies and others by local businesses. There is always a huge line of people in front of the Skoal trailer because they give out free tobacco products. Outside of the festivities, the race is a real pain. The traffic in Bristol is terrible and it’s almost impossible get out and go somewhere. Imagine a town that normally has 41,000 people and then add to that 200,000 more race fans. It gets really crowded.

My favorite place to hang out around Bristol is South Holston Lake. It is one of the largest man-made lakes in Tennessee, 16 miles in length. There are all kinds of fun stuff to do out there. Fishing is among my favorite thing to do there. The lake has been famed for its trout fishing and has been a location to many professional fishing tournaments. It’s always fun to go out there on a summer night and fish off the dock with some friends and listen to the banjo players. I have caught as many as five trout in one night which is a lot, no matter where you are fishing. Another one of my favorite activities out there is wakeboarding. A few of my friends have some really nice wakeboarding boats we spend a lot of time doing that. I also enjoy going camping out there. My friends and I would plan big trips out there where we had up to one hundred people at times. Camping with that many people gets pretty wild and there is a good story to tell afterward.

I have had a great time here in Blacksburg so far, but I’m still pumped for fall break and the chance to hang out with all my long time friends. I enjoy Bristol a lot, but I’m sure I’ll be eager to get back here when Sunday comes around.

Tennis

The Best Player... Ever

Fans of professional tennis have witnessed many exciting events this summer. The greatest of all was when Roger Federer broke the record for Grand Slam wins in July. After defeating Andy Roddick in the finals of Wimbledon, Federer earned his 15th Grand Slam title. The previous record was set by Pete Sampras in 2002.

Federer has dominated the professional tour over the past few years, but earning his 15th title was no easy chore. It was a dramatic match, the longest and arguably the greatest in Wimbledon history. Federer came into the match as a heavy favorite, but Roddick shocked the crowd by winning the first set 7-5. Federer barely won the next two sets, both in tiebreaks. When it looked as if Federer had control of the match, Roddick came out strong in the fourth set and posted a 6-3 win. Since the the format for the the tournament was the best three out of five sets, they would have to play out a fifth set to decide the winner. The unique thing about a fifth set at Wimbledon is that there are no tiebreakers in the fifth set. Someone must win the set by two. This rule would play a huge factor in the fifth set, as it lasted a long time, longer than in any other match in Wimbledon history. The fifth set was a battle, testing each man both physically and mentally. Anytime a fifth set comes into play, both competitors are usually very tired. Therefore, physical fitness plays a big role in who wins the match. Since Federer and Roddick are both in great shape, the fifth set went on forever. The fifth set lasted 95 minutes, the longest of any set ever played. At the end of the set, Federer was the champion, finally winning at a score of 16-14.

With the win at Wimbledon, Federer moved into first place for all time Grand Slam wins. A record like this gives him a strong argument to claim himself as the best player ever. And while Federer would never acknowledge this, many other players and fans would. Some of the greatest players in the history of the game were in the crowd at the finals of Wimbledon and watched Federer establish himself as the best player ever. Among these great players were Pete Sampras, the previous grand slam record holder. He sat in the Royal Box along with Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg to witness this great event. Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg are considered among best players in the history of professional tennis. After the match, Federer and the three other former champions got together for a picture and talked for a while. It was a great moment for tennis.

Tennis in America

While this was an amazing moment in professional tennis, it was also great for American tennis. The popularity of tennis in the United States has dropped a great deal in recent years. This is largely due to the lack of a great American player in the pros. Professional players play an important role in the success of a sport. They are in the spotlight and when they accomplish great things, it inspires young athletes to be like them. The sport of tennis was at its peak in the 1970’s. Back then, everyone was playing. People waited for hours just to get on a court and play. The extreme popularity of the sport in those days was largely due to the success of many American professional players. While the popularity of tennis declined slightly as the years passed, it still remained a very popular sport on through the 1990’s. As the turn of the century came around, the great champions from the U.S. began to retire and no one seemed to take their place. Pete Sampras retired in 2002 and he was the last great champion that the Americans have seen. The last American to win a major championship was Andy Roddick in 2003. While Roddick showed great promise with his first major title, he never managed to win another. Now Roddick has brought pride back to American tennis by taking the greatest player in history to 16-14 in the fifth set. Even though he lost, he gave Americans something to cheer for again. That is why this was such a great moment for American tennis.

Tennis is a very popular sport in most countries, but in America it has shown a steep decline in recent years. Since tennis isn’t getting as much attention in the U.S., few people know much about it. Most Americans know the rules and how to keep score in popular sports such as football, basketball, baseball, and golf. Very few of them seem to know much at all about tennis. Being a tennis player myself, I can relate very well to this. I talk about sports a lot with my friends, but anytime I bring up tennis, they don’t seem to understand. I played tennis in high school and my friends would come to watch a lot of my matches. Most of them didn’t even know how to keep score so they would have to have someone explain to them if I was winning or not. Since the sport tends to be confusing for many people to follow, we rarely had a lot of fans at our matches. Football and Basketball games were much more exciting because people knew what was going on.

How to Keep Score

Tennis has a lot of rules, which makes it harder to understand than most sports. The most important thing in tennis is to know how to keep score. The three main terms used in scoring are point, game, and set. A game is made up of points. To keep it simple, a game is won by the player that gets four points first, but they must win by 2. For example, a player cannot win a game if the score is 4-3. They must win another point to make the score 5-3. That way they have won four points, but they have also won by 2. Each point in a game has a unique number or term. One point = 15, Two points = 30, and 3 points = 40. If a player wins four points then the game is over and so there is not a term for four points. However when both players are tied at 4, it is called deuce. In order to win the game a player must win two points in a row after the deuce point, making the score six to four. A set is the made up of games. The first player to win six games by two wins the set. A match is usually the best two out of three sets. Hopefully that cleared things up for you if you were unsure in how to keep score before, if not then you can at least understand why scoring in tennis is so complicated and hard to understand.

Division 1 College Football

The Playoff System

One of the most debated topics in college football is whether or not it should switch to a playoff system. As of right now only two college teams have the opportunity to play for the national championship. These two teams are chosen by a ranking system approved by the NCAA. The ranking system is called the Bowl Championship Series, more commonly referred to as the BCS. The system has been in place since 1998. The BCS rankings are determined by a combination of polls and computerized selection methods. There are factors that decide the ranking of each team: The Harris Interactive Poll, The Coaches Poll, and computer rankings. The The Harris Interactive Poll is made up of former players, coaches, administrators, and current and former media who submit votes for the top 25 teams each week. The Coaches Poll is voted on by The USA Today Board of Coaches which is made up of 61 head coaches at Division I FBS colleges. The Computerized rankings are based on a number of factors.

The current BCS system is sufficient for crowning a national champion. A playoff system needs to be put in place. Every year, at the end of the season, there are more than two teams that deserve a shot at the national title. An eight game playoff system would definitely allow for all the legitimate title contenders to get their chance at the national title. There have never been more than eight teams that deserved to be crowned champion so this system would put an end all of the controversy. At the end of the year, everyone would be sure of who the best team was. The fans of college football would never be left guessing anymore.

A playoff system is the only fair way to decide a champion. It is a disrespect to the players, the coaches, and the fans when their teams are good enough to be national champions, but don’t get the chance to be one. There are many examples of situations in which great teams have been excluded from the national championship game. In 2004, The Auburn Tigers went undefeated and did not get a berth in the national championship game. Considering that Auburn plays in the South Eastern Conference, which is considered the toughest in the nation, it is extremely unfair that they did not get to play for the title. How can a team go undefeated in the toughest conference in the national and not get a chance? It just doesn’t seem right, and that’s because it isn’t. Another fine example of extreme controversy over the national championship was in 2007. Prior to the last game of the season, LSU was ranked #7, but then they jumped all the way to the #2 spot when the final rankings came out. Two of the teams ahead of them lost, so a jump to the #5 spot would have been justified. A jump to the #2 spot just didn’t seem fair. Teams like #6 Virginia Tech, #5 Kansas, and #4 Georgia won their games in the final week also, but were passed up by LSU, who was favored by the media. Situations like this are why college football needs a playoff system. The current system is just not fair.

Another positive impact of a playoff system would be giving smaller schools a chance. Teams that are part of "BCS Conferences" are more highly respected by voters and the computer system because they must play harder schedules. There are a few teams that dominate their own, smaller conferences, but they don't get the respect they deserve because they don't play as tough competition as the BCS schools do. Teams like Boise State and Utah have gone undefeated multiple times in the past decade, but never have been considered for a national championship. When they have been accepted into highly respected bowl games, they have beaten some really good BCS opponents. In 2006, Boise State defeated a highly favored Oklahoma team that was ranked #10 in the nation. In 2008, Utah defeated #4 Alabama who was a ten point favorite. Both Utah and Boise State finished their seasons without losing a game and were left to only wonder if they could have won the national title. These are just a few examples of how small schools get left out and do not get a chance.

I believe that the main reason why BCS officials refuse to switch to a playoff system is that they don’t want to lose money. It receives tons of money through sponsorship from various companies. The BCS currently hosts five “BCS Bowl Games”, which includes the national championship game. These five bowls are by far the best ones with the best teams. By playing five separate games at different locations, the BCS makes a lot more money. It has long standing contracts with different television providers that hold the rights to broadcast particular games. These bowl games have been established for a very long time and have become a huge tradition in college football. Bringing these games to an end would cause a lot of controversy and would cause drastic changes in many peoples’ live who are involved with them. The BCS committee also claims that a playoff system would add too many games to the season. They claim that college football players must play too many games in a season already and that adding a playoff would just be too much. In addition to that argument, they claim that playoff games would come at a time when they would interfere with the players’ college exams.

While the BCS committee poses a valid argument for not issuing a playoff system, I can issue a much better solution to their problems. They should have each of the four original BCS Bowl Games sponsor one of the final four bowl games in the playoffs. The BCS Bowls could rotate each year to prevent controversy on which gets to host the better games. They should also shorten the regular season from twelve games to ten in order to allow time for playoff games. The first two weeks of playoff games could be held during the original final two weeks of the regular season. The National Title Game could be held in January as usual.

Choosing a Major

When I was a kid, I always wanted to be a professional athlete. When someone would ask me what I wanted to be when I "grew up", I would say that I was going to be a professional tennis player. I played a bunch of different sports as a kid, tennis was my favorite, but i never took it seriously enough to make a career out of it. About the time I started my freshman year of high school, I came to the realization that I would not be going pro in sports. Even with that in mind I still played a bunch of sports in high school and I never really gave much thought to what kind career I wanted to pursue in college. Before I knew it, I was a senior in high school. Time had flown by. It was time to make some important college decisions. I had a lot of offers to play tennis for some good smaller schools, but I had always wanted to go to Virginia Tech. I was getting pretty burnt out on tennis by my senior year so I decided i didn't want to play in college. I decided to apply to Virginia Tech. While I was filling out my application, I came to a question in which I did not know the answer. The question was "what do you want to major in?" I could not decide on which one to pick. I had thought about lots of different jobs in high school, but I could never make up my mind on what I wanted to do.

Since I couldn't decide on a specific major, I chose University Studies. University Studies is the major people choose when they haven't decided what kind of career they want to pursue. It is also what some students are placed in if they are not accepted for a more competitive major. Virginia Tech allows students to stay in University Studies for about 2 years or until they have earned 60 credit hours. Students must apply for another major before they have reached the 60 credit hours limit. Students can apply as early as their second semester.

After I had finished my application, I realized that I needed to start thinking more about what I wanted to do for a career and more importantly, what I wanted to major in. I started looking up websites that helped you decide on what kind of job was best for you. I took a bunch of tests and most of them recommended that I should pursue a career in art or construction. I really like art so that sounded really good to me. I took all of the art classes that my high school offered. I intended on taking Art 4 and AP Art during my senior year, but my school got rid of those classes when we got new art teachers. On the other hand, I hadn't had much exposure to construction, but I do like to build things. So that sounded like a good idea too. I decided that I would focus on finding out more about careers that fell into these two categories.

I wanted to find out more about careers in art and construction so I started out by researching them on the internet. I started out by looking up careers in art. There were many different possibilities. The careers that interested me were illustration, animation, fine art, graphic design, art education, industrial design, and architecture. After I had made a list of possible careers, I started to research them individually. All of them seemed really interesting, but I was able to rule a lot of them out when I saw how much money they made. I decided that only architecture, industrial design, and graphic design would make good careers. I looked up a bunch of careers in construction as well, but none of those seemed very interesting. I decided that I would focus on the three careers that I had founds in the arts category.

Now that I had found three good possible jobs, I decided to try and find out more about them in hopes of deciding on one of them. I found out quickly that doing research on the internet would only get me so far. I realized that the best way to find out more was to actually go and experience the job first hand. I needed to meet with people who already had these jobs and let them show me what their job is like.

It’s not always easy to find someone who is willing to take a lot of time away from their job just to show you what they do. Many people are glad to help out students who are interested in their careers, but they only have so much time they can spend away from their work. I wasn’t sure how to go about finding the right people in these careers to help me out. I had a talk with my uncle one day and he asked me if I had decided on what I wanted to major in yet. I told him that I hadn’t made up my mind, but I was interested in architecture, industrial design, and graphic design. He doesn’t have any kids so he is always more than willing to help me out. When I told him that I was interested in these careers, he immediately offered to take me to visit some friends of his that had worked in these jobs for a long time. I readily accepted this great opportunity.

My uncle first took me down to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to meet on of his friends that was an architect. It was a great experience. It turned out that he had also gone to Virginia Tech which was an even bigger help for me. After this visit, I felt like becoming an architect was a good possibility.

Even though I felt good about my visit with the architect, I accepted another offer from my uncle to visit a graphic designer in Charlottesville, Virginia. The graphic designer owned his own company and I was very impressed with everything they did there. While I was very impressed with graphic design, I was still more intrigued by architecture. As of right now, I plan on applying for the architecture major this spring with hopes of becoming an architect in the future.

The Michael Vick Story

Michael Vick is arguably the most exciting player in the history of football. He played college ball at Virginia Tech. He was the starting quarterback his freshman year and he led his team to the national title game in 1999. He entered the NFL draft in 2001 and went on to play for the Atlanta Falcons. He became a star in Atlanta and took the team to the NFC title game in 2004. Two years later, in 2006, he had his best season ever. He used his electrifying speed and athleticism to accomplish something that no other NFL quarter back has. He became the first quarterback ever to record over 1,000 yards in both passing and rushing. Michael Vick was living a dream and everything seemed to be going great for him. Soon things would change. Not long after the 2006 season ended, his life was turned totally upside down. He was faced with allegations of funding a dog fighting operation and eventually he found himself in prison, where he would stay for the next two years.

Michael Vick grew up in Newports News, Virginia. The coastal city was going through tough times and was well known for its high crime rate. At the time Michael entered the world, it was notorious for producing drug dealers and gang members. Michael's mother was just 16 years old when he was born. His father was just one year older. This is not exactly an ideal situation to be born into, actually its a terrible one. His parents went on to have two more daughters and a son named Marcus, who followed in his brother's footsteps and also played for Virginia Tech. Michael's parents did not marry until five years after his birth. His father was hardly ever at home. He spent three years in the army and then went through many jobs there after until he finally found steady work at a shipyard in Newport News. He worked from early in the morning until late at night so he got to spend little time with Michael and the rest of his family. With his father hard at work, Michael's mother was left with the responsibility of raising him and his three siblings. She worked at K-mart, and spent all the money she could on her children. The family lived in the Ridley Circle housing project and Michael's mother did her best to keep their crowded three-bedroom apartment in order.

While he was at home, Michael's father spent a lot of time teaching him the game of football. When he was just three years old, his father began teaching him how to throw a football. His father was amazed when Michael first tried to throw left-hand handed because he did everything else with his right hand. His father had been given the nickname "Bullet" because of the blinding speed that he displayed back in his high school football days. Michael took after his father in his passion for the game and in his extreme talent that he showed on the field.

Another very influential person in Michael's life was his cousin, Aaron Brooks. Aaron played for the University of Virginia and then went on be a starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. Aaron was four years older and Michael really looked up to him. He followed him just about everywhere he went, including the Boys and Girls Club. Michael played on a football team there. In his middle school years, he often called his coach, James Johnson, asking him if he would work out with him one on one to help him improve his fundamentals. Johnson knew Michael had lots of potential. He helped Michael get into a weight lifting program before he went into highschool. Michael was fairly small and he knew that he needed to add some muscle to his frame. He credits his intense leg workouts for turning him into such an amazing runner.

Despite growing up in the ghetto, Michael was a very upbeat, polite, and focused child. He was really passionate about football and he was always looking for ways to become a better player. He was extemely competitive as a kid and he still is today. He had that burning desire inside of him to be the best.

In elementary school, Michael also showed great promise in basketball and baseball. His future was looking bright and his focus seemed to be unwavering. When he reached his middle school years, however, he became a problem with his teachers and he found himself in trouble quite often. His mother encouraged him to become involved in some after-school activities to keep him out of trouble and off the streets. He gave up baseball and basketball after middle school and chose to focus on football.

He went to on to highschool in 1994. He tried out for the football team and though his coach was very impressed with his talent, his coach decided to place him on the junior varsity as a freshman. In Michael's first six games he threw 20 touchdown passes. In the mean time, the varsity squad was really struggling and its coach felt it needed a change. Coach Reamon decided to move their current quarterback to wide receiver and move Michael up to the varsity. In just his second game, Michael shocked everyone. He threw for an amazing 433 yards on just 13 completions. Vick's reputation continued to grow and improve over the next 3 years. Coach Reamon sent him to football camps every summer and worked with him privately. The offensive line was not very strong, so Coach Reamon encouraged him to improvise with his running ability. That is how Michael developed his unique style of running the ball almost as much as he passed it.

After high school, Michael Vick went on to play two years at Virginia Tech. He led his team all the way to the national title game when he was only a freshman. Virginia Tech lost that game and they finished 2nd in the nation that year. After stepping into the national spotlight, Vick became highly respected quarterback. He was forced to deal with the media on a regular basis. Different broadcasting companies were always calling because they wanted to do another interview. It was not an easy thing for Michael to handle.

He went on to have another impressive season his sophomore year until he got hurt right before the Pittsburgh game. Without Michael Vick in the game, the Virginia Tech team was not the same and they lost the game and their hopes of a national title. After his sophopmore year, Michael chose to enter the NFL draft where he was selected by the Atlanta Falcons. He became a huge star in Atlanta and also became the highest paid player in the NFL. He amazed fans with his extreme speed and his mind boggling ability to elude tacklers. He led Atlanta to the NFC championship in 2004 and set a great record in 2006, becoming the first quarterback ever to record over 1,000 yards in both passing and rushing.

After the 2006 season, Michael was charged for his involvment in a professional dogfighting operation. He was senteced to two years in prison. He had everything going for him and he threw it all away with some really bad decisions. As soon as he was thrown in prison, he came to the realize just how bad the things were that he had done. He was filled with disgust. Michael cried many nights as he layed in his prison bunk. He cried because of the regret for the terrible things he did, for all the people he let down, for all the dogs that he let suffer, and because he did nothing to stop any of it.

Now he is finally out of prison. He has been signed by a new team and is looking to bounce back. He wants to make up for what he's done by working to end dogfighting. He wants to help more dogs than he has hurt. He has been very humbled by his experiences of late and is now looking to make a positive impact on society. He has already given many speeches to high school kids in which he encouraged then to respect there animals. He also advised them about making other good decisions thta he failed to make when he was their age.

Michael Vick is back in the National Football League. He is now a changed man. He is on his way achieving greatness both on and off the field in the future.

Jennifer Balatinos

Jennifer Balatinos, a freshman at Virginia Tech, always sets her goals high and works hard to achieve great things. She comes form a good family and is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a very sociable and friendly person. Her teachers describe her as the happy, bubbly one in class. She always walks around with a smile.

Jennifer was a very bright student and earned honor roll in elementary and middle school. As she entered her high school years, her focus and determination never wavered, but she faced some very difficult times. When she was a freshman, one of her good friends committed suicide. This was not an easy thing for her to take. She could not help, but think about all the good times that she and her friend had shared. It was hard for her to believe that their friendship had come to such a tragic ending. She turned to God for help and used her strong Christian faith to get through such a tough time. She could not help, but get behind in school while dealing with all her emotions from what had happened. Being the strong, determined person she is, Jennifer got herself back on track and she regained her honor roll status.

Jennifer enjoys being active and getting plenty of exercise. She said "I believe that staying healthy and fit is good for your mind. I always feel better and more relaxed after working out". She played lacrosse and soccer in high school. She really enjoyed playing sports, but there would come a time when she would have to give that up. Just one year after she had dealt with the tragic loss of her friend, Jennifer was faced with the horrible news that her father had been diagnosed with cancer. She was shocked and very afraid. She said "I really didn't know how to handle it, but my family is always there for each other and we are very strong". She kept her head high and from that time on, she spent all her time after school at the hospital with her father. She did her best to get her homework done while she was there, but with everything she was dealing with her grades tended to slip. She didn't tell her teachers because she didn't want to make any excuses. Some of them found out was she was going through and were shocked that she was holding up as well as she was. With all that was going on, Jennifer made the difficult decision to give up sports so that she could focus on things that were more important at the time. She knew that she needed to be their for her dad while he was going through a very tough battle with cancer. And while giving her father her utmost support, Jennifer continued to work hard in school. She knew that if she wanted to get into a good college and meet all her high ambitions, then she would need to make good grades.

Her father kept fighting hard to overcome his illness. He was willing to try any treatment that gave him a chance to survive. It was not easy for Jennifer to watch him suffer from the painful disease. Her father had two children at home and he wanted to be there for them. He could not imagine them having to grow up with out him and Jennifer could not imagine losing her father, who she dearly loved. As her sophomore year passed by, her father's condition continued to improve and eventually he was back home again. He had won his battle with cancer and the whole family was much more at ease.

With her father's disease behind them, Jennifer's family could get back into their normal, daily routines. Her mom went back to work with her advertising company. Her dad slowly got back into his business of selling restaurant equipment. Her brother was a student at the University of Richmond at the time, so he was now able to study with his mind at ease. Jennifer was now able to relax and get her assignments done without all the stress of her father's illness.

After getting through such tough times, Jennifer could finally get back to doing all the things she enjoyed. She now had much more time to get things done and more time to have fun and hang out with her friends. She loves to run so she was very happy to get back to doing that on a regular basis. After a long run, Jennifer likes to take a good nap or watch a movie.

While Jennifer enjoyed some time for fun, she wasted no time putting most of her spare time to good use. She began work as a babysitter her junior year. She enjoys spending time with children anyway, so it was it good way for her to start earning some money. Jennifer also has been very involved in her community. She has served as a camp counselor numerous times during the summer. She has also done lots of community service. Her most recent project was helping serve food to the homeless.

Jennifer's family owned a house in Greece for most of her childhood, and she always enjoyed making trips there every year to visit the country where her father grew up. She was happy to get return there one last time after her father's illness before her family decided to sell the home. She also took a trip to the Bahamas recently. While she is not away on trips, Jennifer likes to support her hometown teams: The Phillies, The Sixers, The Eagles, and The Flyers. The atmosphere at professional sporting events is really fun and exciting for her.

Jennifer graduated with honors from her high school in Philadelphia. She gladly accepted an offer of admission from Virginia Tech and is now a student there. She continues to work hard in school and to always strive for success. Her great determination and will to always do her best are the reasons why she will accomplish great things in college and in life. Jennifer wants to become a reporter some day and she continues to work hard towards that goal.