Post Race Feelings

milesplitma.com

 

     Yesterday my team participated in the Amherst Invitational at Hampshire College. It was a cross country race with over 25 teams from 4 different states. Our team had two teams (13 runners) in the varsity race, and various runners in the JV and Freshman race. Scoring for cross country is similar to golf, the lowest score wins, and your overall place in the race determines the point value. The top five runners for each team are scored and compared with other teams. Unfortunately, our varsity A team and JV team came in second, while the Frosh finished first. After the race was when I had a conflict Kant would categorize into desire and duty.
     I finished about 30th in the race and was the sixth man for the A team. I ran a personal record 5k time of 16:42 which I was glad about, but there was one thing that bothered me. Right in front of me there was two kids from the same that edged me out. Those kids were from Danbury, CT and were favored to win, so I was afraid that those kids in front of me would win their team the race. Two points in cross country could be the difference between a win and a loss.
     Therefore, I was quite upset that I couldn't muster the energy to pass them. So as a result, I walked away pretty upset and didn't talk to anyone from my team. When I got back to my teams spot, I threw a lollipop I was given into the wall and kind of hid myself from the team. I think this would be my desire for the conflict aspect, I was upset and didn't want to talk to anyone. At that moment though, my moral duty took over and I started to calm down. I'm a senior captain and I knew that making a scene and pouting wouldn't be the best example. So after that, I started to relax and talk to my coaches and teammates, and I found out we did lose to Danbury, but I would not have made a difference passing those kids. It still was disappointing but not the end of the world.
     The categorical imperative of that whole situation was being a good leader to my teammates even though I wasn't 100% satisfied. I think Kant would agree because being a baby when your supposed to be looked upon for advice isn't the correct way to act. I know I probably shouldn't have ignored my teammates at first but I still fired up from the race. At least I did change my attitude before It was too late.

Aristotle Character Types

Aristotle Character Types

Virtuous: A person who displays Virtuous character traits in my world is Sue Heck from The Middle. Sue is the middle child out of three and is the only girl. Because of this she is constantly overlooked and ignored by her parents and other siblings. Regardless of that, Sue has an incredible personality and tries her hardest in everything she does. Although her athletic ability is practically nonexistent, she has tried-out for every team at her high school. She even creates her own club called the "Wrestlerettes" which are cheerleaders for the wrestling team. A specific example of her showing Virtuous character is when Sue creates a huge hole in her room wall and tells her parents right away because they just got it fixed. Her siblings were strongly suggesting she hide it but she told the truth.

Continent: A person that displays the Continent character is Phil Dunphy from Modern Family. Phil is a father of three and a real-estate agent that shows his unique personality throughout the show. He is constantly trying to be a fun-loving dad while at the same time the good husband to his wife Claire. Sometimes his outgoing nature blinds him of the facts that are right in front of him. An example of Phil being Continent is when his ex-girlfriend visits the house and starts seducing him. She tries to convince him to meet at a motel but he declines even though it is evident he was thinking of going.

Incontinent: A character that displays Incontinent character is Officer Ramirez from The Dark Knight. Although she was a minor character in the movie she had a major role in the plot. In short, she is bribed by the Joker to get Harvey Dent captured and tied up, which ultimately turns him into Two-Face. Earlier in the movie, the Joker made a threat to blow up a hospital if Batman didn't reveal himself. When he didn't Joker did in fact blow it up however, Ramirez's grandmother was in the hospital and was removed because of the threat. As a result, her bills piled up and she couldn't afford to have her grandmother moved. The Joker knew this and bribed her with money to help with his master plan. We find out this whole plan later on from Ramirez when Two-Face threatens to kill her.

Vicious: A Vicious character I found was Loki from Thor. Loki is Thors half-brother that turns out to be the villian in the movie. At first he was Thor's ally, but once he found out he was born a Frost-Giant (Thor's enemy species) and was turned into a God like Thor he lost it. He was extremely upset at their father King Odin and turned on his family. He shows he is truly vicious when he gives the Frost Giants a way to get into a secret chamber that has the power casket, which gives endless power to whomever has it. The only reason this plan fails is because The Destroyer kills the two thieves before they can get away.

The Summer of 2014

The past summer was quite memorable. It certainly wasn't how I thought it would go, but it still ended up being pretty fun. I wanted this summer to be a good one seeing it would be my last public school summer vacation. Just typing that makes me feel old. Anyway, the two most memorable things I did this summer was play in the Bay State Games for hockey, and go to a friends lake house in Lake George, New York. I'll get into the major news stories after my stories.

The Bay State Games is a huge organization that basically holds their own version of the Olympic Games in Massachusetts. There are many different sports that are available to play ranging from basketball, to archery. I participated in the ice hockey games for team Northeast. There were five different regions: Northeast, Central, Metro, West, and Coastal. Anyone from these regions could try-out to be on these teams, the only rule was you couldn't be a senior the past school year. The year before I made the team so I didn't have to try-out again. Once the team was picked we had a few practices at the Burlington Ice Palace, the home rink to the coach, and then it was off to the Foxboro Sports Center. This tournament went from Thursday to Sunday and consisted of at least 5 games, so there was a lot of hockey to be played. The top team got a bye into the Gold Medal game and everyone else fought to either play in that game or the Bronze Medal game. After a 2-2 preliminary round record my team was the 3rd seed and had to play Metro to see what medal we were playing for. It ended with us losing and playing for Bronze which actually wasn't bad because the 1 seed, Central beat us 10-1 earlier in the tournament so that definietly would have been a loss. The Bronze Medal game was Northeast v. Coastal, a team we beat before. After a tight game in regulation, and a late goal to tie up the score, it required over-time. Again, over-time was back and forth with many chances on both ends. However, two penalties against Coastal proved to be deadly. With a 5 on 3 power-play, I was sent on to complete a special play off the face-off. Then just as planned, my center-man won the draw and I came in dragged it around him, and closed my eyes and shot. It went in! I scored the winning goal to clinch the Bronze Medal game for my team. I was so excited that we won it after a long and exhausting weekend of hockey. I certainly will remember that moment for as long I live.

My other exciting thing I did this summer was stay at a friends lake house in Lake George, New York. Lake George is a major attraction center in New york state, and it's only 25 minutes from Saratoga. For 4 days and nights my entire family stayed at a quiet lake house and bonded, if you want to call it that. After the whole experience, I would say the worst part was probably the car ride. Everything else was fun and relaxing, so I would go back again. To summarize the trip, the first day we climbed Prospect Mtn, the second day we played mini-golf, the next day we walked around town and played mini-golf, and the last day we packed up and left. It was a nice trip to get away from the confines of Lowell and experience other parts of the country. I have to say though that it was weird seeing all the Yankee and Mets apparell in the stores. We didn't do everything we wanted due to time and money, but it was still better than staying home. My favorite part was climbing the mountain. I've always liked hiking, and that was the first time with the whole family. In fact, that was my first hike in three years so I was glad to get back out there. Overall, it was a fun trip that was a memorable experience for the whole family.

This summer was filled with interesting local, and national news stories that won't soon be forgotten. The first and probably most publicized story was the Market Basket saga. Longtime CEO Arthur T. Demoulas was voted off the Board of Directors in late June, and that lead to some nastyness. About a month later, customers and employees started a boycott that ranged throughout most if not all stores. This boycott left stores empty for about 6 weeks, and forced people to find new stores to shop at. All the while, the Board still wouldn't reinstate "Artie T" as he was called, and the company was losing millions everyday the boycott continued. However, just 2 weeks ago, the Board decided to sell the majority of the company back to Artie T and end the boycott. The rallying support of the customers and employees ulimately saved the company from being bought out.                     

CNN.com

 

 

 Another national news story that effected millions of people was the death of beloved actor, Robin Williams. On August 11, Williams took his own life and died of asphyxiation in his home in California. Williams was a versatile actor that appeared in many famous films including, Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting, Jumanji, and Mrs. Doubtfire. Williams was loved for his energetic and boisterous personality and his uncanny ability to make people laugh. After his death it was revealed that he was experiencing the early symptoms of Parkinson's Disease, but wasn't ready to share publicly. To conclude, Robin Williams death not only effected those close to him, but also the numerous fans that loved his work.

Time.com