JV problems.

      I am on the JV soccer team, and have become really close with all of the girls on the team. We have this thing where we say "JV problems" because we also seem to get into the strangest of situations, and have the strangest of problems. Yesterday, our last game, was no exception to this common occurrence. In fact, since it was our last game, just our luck, our problems were the strangest they have ever been.
      It all started when we arrived in Mandeville (an hour and a half away from home) and the girls restroom was very, very crowded. We all had to use the bathroom badly, so we were forced to go in the men's bathroom. This was our JV problem #1.
      Next, my teammate Julia forgot her fleece on the bus, and she was very cold. So me and 2 of my other friends agreed to go with her to get it. Julia asked our coach for the key to the bus, and she gave her a keychain with about 7 different keys on it. About halfway back to the bus (a long walk), we realized that our coach did not tell Julia which key it was that opened the bus. JV problem #2.
       So we arrive at the bus, already having decided that we were just going to have to try every key until we found one that worked. Little did we know, there were not one but two locks we had to get through. JV problem #3.
       After finding the key for the first lock, we are attempting to open the second one. The bus number was 38D, and we found a key labeled 38D, so naturally we figured that it was the winner. After trying that key every which way, upside down, inside out, for 10 minutes, we decided to try the others. No luck. We try the original key for about 10 more minutes, and finally just gave up. JV problem #4.
       Right when we were about to give up for good, my friend Lauren remembered that she left her window open. So we walk around to the window, and decide to form a cheer-squad type formation and lift Lauren (the smallest) up through the window. After much struggling, we finally get her enough into the window to where we can let go of her feet and she will not fall. Just when we think she is through and all of our problems are solved... her feet get stuck. Yes, she gets stuck in the window. JV problem #5.
      After she gets unstuck, we get the jacket, and we get the bus all locked up again, we return to the field. Everything is good to go now, but since we have to wait until the varsity game is over before we can play, we all start to get a little hungry. The parents had supplied us with snacks-galore, so we ask our coaches where they put all of the snacks. They reply with, "They're on the bus." J.V. PROBLEMS.

Robert Frost essay

Robert Frost, well known American author of several poems, can be seen to write with a recurring theme. His poems can be interpreted in many ways, but when looked at closely one can explore the terrifying side to his works, directly or not obvious at all. Using different techniques, Robert Frost can be proved to be a terrifying poet. 

When one is terrified, he is made uncomfortable in some sort of way. When a situation is vexatious, the obvious and primary emotion is fear. Unfamiliarity with someone or something also instills terror in an individual. “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost depicts several situations in which an individual is made to feel uncomfortable and  not accustomed to a situation. “I see him there, bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top in each hand, like an old stone savaged armed. He moves in darkness as it seems to me,” presents abstruse actions being performed by the “he” in the poem, “moving in darkness” and “armed.” The behavior of the individual makes the reader uncomfortable, therefore terrorizing him in a subtle way. 

Separation from someone or something can also be said to terrorize someone. Solitude or ostracism have ways of frightening those that they affect. “And on a day we meet to walk the line and set the wall between us once again. We keep the wall between us as we go,” depicts the literal and figurative wall that separates and defines the two, making them different and unfamiliar with each other. “Before I built a wall I’d ask to know what I was walling in or walling out, and to whom I was like to give offence. ‘Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, that wants it down,’” illustrates the opposition that the speaker has to a wall, fearing separation. 

Obstacles in any situation inflicts terror on an individual. Whether it be fearing the unknown, being unfamiliar with the problem, or just being unaware on how to proceed, obstacles are terrifying.  “To each the boulders that have fallen to each. And some are loaves and some so nearly balls we have to use a spell to make them balance: ‘Stay where you are until our backs are turned!’ We wear our fingers rough with handling them,” presents boulders as an obvious encumbrance to the speaker, causing uneasiness and adulteration. The boulders are damaging; anything that one knows to cause damage also causes fear along with it, terrorizing those whom it overtakes. 

Robert Frost, a true american terrifying poet, uses discrete ways of presenting his readers with terrifying situations. By using obstacles, unfamiliarity, and separation, he inflicts terror on others. Direct or obvious, if written by Robert Frost, it is a terrifying piece of work.

hashtag.. honeybadger.

      On Sunday night, my friends and I were bored, hungry, and wanted to get together. So we called each other up, and made plans to go to a restaurant. What restaurant? We couldn't choose. We all wanted to go somewhere different. Finally, we decided on WalkOns over by LSU.
      We all meet at the restaurant. We sit down, get our menus. As we're ordering our drinks- we all ordered water, in our attempt to diet, we noticed that the place was pretty crowded for a Sunday night.
       We order appetizers- lots of fattening food- and we are about to order our entree's. Next thing I know my friend Alexandra is tapping me on the shoulder with her mouth hanging open pointing across the restaurant. It was Tyrann Mathieu. The amazing football player for LSU. Also famously known as the honey-badger from the famous youtube video. I could not believe my eyes.
        We were so starstruck. After we all went up and got our pictures with him and told him our names, we walked back to our table quite content and feeling like we were famous ourselves. It was a pretty exciting experience.

Richard Cory Essay

Lisa Burris

McElveen

English II

January 17, 2012       

The Story of Richard Cory

          E.A. Robinson’s poem “Richard Cory” portrays a man who is envied by others in Tilbury Town.  He is looked at with wide eyes; eyes that belonged to those wishing for qualities like his, yearning for a similar lifestyle. However much like in today’s time, along with fame and fortune comes obstacles: solitude, confinement, and ostracism. Factors that can control their victim and steer them towards a certain fate, an unfortunate fate that Richard Cory fell into. Richard Cory’s intimidation toward others and the tendency that people have to fear the unknown is what brought him to his lonely life and sudden death. 

         Richard Cory’s intimidation toward others is illustrated in many ways. “Whenever Richard Cory went downtown we people looked at him,” plays a key role in making Mr. Cory feel like an outsider. He was never spoken to; just watched. He had no communication with the outside world. The townspeople could never have expected that he desired their company; royalty should not desire the company of ordinary people, it was not normal. Despite Mr. Cory’s attempts at conversation, he remained unanswered: “And he was always human when he talked; but still he fluttered pulses when he said, ‘Good morning,’ and he glittered when he walked.” He was the nicest man that could not get anyone to speak to him; not one person that he could share things with. His intimidation is what caused him to be utterly alone.

         Mr.Cory’s intimidation brings fear to the town; fear of the unknown. “Whenever Richard Cory went down town, we people on the pavement looked at him,” explains the distance that the town keeps from Richard Cory. Though not always a literal distance, they are never there with him in spirit, always watching him from a ways away. This is caused by their fear of the unknown; the fear of the superior, royalty; in this case, Richard Cory. 

          In the town of Tilbury, when everyone only lives to pass the time until death, the people have limits. Everyone in the town is missing something, which is a key factor in their misery. When everyone wants to die, it is only a matter of time before one reaches his breaking point. The criticality of whatever they are lacking determines the time left before one parishes. One can physically yearn for food and riches and be stable, but when he lacks something as important as a companion, it becomes unbearable to the point that death is the only resort. “So on we worked and waited for the light, and went without the meat and cursed the bread, and Richard Cory, one calm summer night, went home and put a bullet in his head.” Being poor, one physically has something to work towards; being royalty, one already has everything he could ever possibly need. 

         The story of Richard Cory goes to show that royalty and money does not lead to happiness. Richard Cory’s life was ended due to his intimidation toward others; not purposeful, but caused by his royalty and riches. If not so intimidating and mysterious, Richard Cory would not have gone home to put a bullet in his head on that warm summer night. 

The sport of soccer

        The sport of soccer has been known to cause hundreds of thousands of injuries- broken ankles, torn ACL's, concussions, hurt knees- the list goes on. However for me it has caused something more internal.
        It was just a normal Wednesday- I had study-hall first, ending the day with Math. Wasn't too terribly boring, but it certainly wasn't an eventful day. That is, until I got to soccer practice.
         My friend Alexandra had called me to ask if I could bring her home, and I replied with, "well aren't you going to practice?" She says, "no, I forgot my stuff at home." I tell her that I cannot bring her home because I, on the other hand, am going to practice. So I arrive at the field, and soon find out that my coach, who is normally a pretty cheery person, is not in one of the best of moods. Word gets around and soon we all find out that he has a tough day of fitness in store for us- that is, a lot of sprinting. Moans and groans spread throughout the cluster of girls, and soon some ideas are getting voiced about what we should do instead of sprinting- sometimes our players think that they are the coaches. My coach likes one of the ideas and decides that we will do that instead- a game in which you sprint around a cone at the each of each round and then continue to partake in a mini scrimmage. Better than sprinting, yes, but not much better. He separates the team in half, each on one side of the field. We play this game for a majority of our practice time, all the while he is keeping score of how many times defense wins the ball over how many times offense scores. He announces that whoever is losing by the end of practice will have to do fitness at the end- more sprinting. I hear this and just about die on the inside- I was already breathing and panting so hard that I thought that I might legitimately pass out if I had to do any more sprints. When it comes down to the last round, my coach announces that we are tied, and that whoever wins this last round is the winner for the day. I am on offense, so I pushed myself the hardest that I ever could to score a goal. My attempted shot misses- so we must redo the round because nobody gets the point. My shot misses again- another redo. I decide to give it one more big push before my body could physically not take anymore. Another redo. He tells us to line up again. I start out to do just that when I realize that I cannot breathe. I stop right where I am. I try to catch my breath, failing. I start to freak out a little. Everyone else is in position, except for me. My coach sees me then- "Lisa, are you alright?" I can't speak, trying to concentrate on getting air out- which I still cannot do. I shake my head no. He says, "do you need a sub?" I nod my head yes. He runs over to me and asks, worriedly,  "what's the matter?" By this time I haven't been breathing for quite some time, so I start to cry, saying hysterically, "I can't breathe." In my head I'm thinking that I'm about to die. For months, ever since soccer started, I've been noticing that I've had trouble breathing. I had been meaning to tell my parents about it so we could get checked out by a doctor, because I figured I might have some form of athletic asthma.  However it had never been this severe before. My coach tries to help me through it, telling me, "Don't cry. You have to calm down. Crying will only make things worse. You have to be calm in order for you to get any air out." So I try to stop crying, and after about a minute I am able to calm down. Another 15 seconds, and I can finally get some air out. I am thanking the Gods that I am breathing. I had never been so scared in my life. Immediately after practice I tell my parents about the ordeal, and they call my doctor. I have an appointment to go see her next week, but in the meantime, she called me in an inhaler, and I am currently using that. The sport of soccer is a very dangerous sport.

The Clerks

        This picture exemplifies the theme of the poem because it shows how fast time goes by; it shows how meaningless it really is. "The Clerks" illustrates a group of elderly men that are "just as human as they ever were." Time does not change anything about who a person is, despite the many fears of the younger generations. "What comes of all your visions and your fears?" is saying that there is not point in fearing growing old, for it is going to happen no matter what,  and we should not waste away our years worrying and fearing our aging. Growing old is not something to fear.

Richard Cory 4th Stanza

And he was lonely, yes- lonely, for he was far too sacred,
being so wise and fine that others, others could not understand.
For along with the admiration, comes the hatred
But what's that to him- for Richard Cory was an admired man.