Iron Clads

Ironclads

The Manassas was the very first Ironclad It would tear through ships like they were made out of confetti. The Manassas could ram boats without being hurt and get shot by other boats without getting a dent. The Manassas was a confederate built ship and it was very successful because it did not sink on it’s first voyage as the Monitor did. After the confederates sunk the U.S.S Merrimac they turned it into a second ironclad called the C.S.S Virginia and that is when the Union had to make something big. 

The Union had to hire a Swedish inventor named John Ericsson who produced 3 other Ironclads but the first one was the U.S.S Monitor .The U.S.S Monitor was the third armored boat in the civil war. The Monitor was made by the Union to destroy the blockades that stopped their boats from getting out to give supplies to their people in all the forts. The only thing was that in the middle of the night the Union had a abandon ship order because the ship was to heavy and sunk. Just recently the Monitor was found. It was found in 1973 and it had sunk in 1862. After the Monitor sunk there was another ironclad that sunk but it was a confederate ship again it was to heavy and sunk off the coast of Virginia.

   

Take your mark.......Go!

"Swimmers to the block", said the referee. I made my way onto the starting block with my adrenaline rushing and energy pumping through my body. I bent down in the diving position, awaiting the referee's command. "Take your mark......(and after what seems like eternity)BEEP!

Off The Courts

          Swish, I feel the racquet vibrating against my hand as I make contact with the ball. The adrenaline pumps through my body as I bounce on my feet, ready to move at a moments notice. The tennis court making you feel small and huge at the same time. People keep saying there is no other feeling in the world than this, and let me tell you. I am one of them. All your senses are honed into that tiny, yellow, fuzzy ball flying across the court.

From my Hometown in Italy to the Vast America

To some people’s surprise, I wasn’t born in Portland. To say the truth, I wasn’t born anywhere in America. Both my siblings were, but I wasn’t. I moved here, when I was 40 days old. My hometown is Parma, Italy. None of my family lives there, they all live in other parts of northern Italy, so I rarely visit my true hometown.

Practice, Practice, Practice

I have been playing the violin ever since I was three years old. After playing violin for a long time, it becomes almost a routine. I enjoy performing songs that I have worked very hard on, but there is one thing that I really hate about playing the violin: practicing! Every single day you have to practice, I usually practice my violin in the morning for about 45-60 minutes. Since I have been playing the violin since I was 3, I have practiced for around 2848 hours!

Harder Than It Looks

When you see a drummer playing a drum set, online or live, you may think, because of the relatively simple beat, "I can do that", but in fact, drumming is much harder than it looks.

I started drumming because I wanted to play an instrument,  and because drumming looked easy and very cool. When I had my first drumming lesson, I thought I could be able to play the music given to me the very first day, because it was a simple beat. However, I was mistaken. It took me the whole lesson to begin to grasp the piece, and I was humbled. After getting that first piece, I had moved on to much more complex things, but I will always remember my first drumming lesson, and the knowledge that no instrument is easy to play.  If you decide to play an instrument, be aware of the long road to proficiency that you will walk. That said, as a drummer right now I am having a great time, and doing a good job.

Right now, I am just finishing up a piece of music by Led Zeppelin, called "Good Times Bad Times" I think that the name of the piece is a good metaphor for what the piece has been like for me. There have been good parts, like the first two lines, where I just get the beat immediately, but also very hard parts, mainly the third and fourth lines, where I have to use the bass drum in very quick secession. Just for this piece, I had to do a lot of practice with footwork on this piece. In each piece, there is one  main thing I have to work on to conquer it.

After I became a drummer, about 3 or 3 1/2 years ago, I have discovered a few important things about my self as a learner. I discovered that I learn best when I hear/see someone do something, than try it myself a little bit each day for about a week. I also realized that I can relax by drumming, so I can be in a better mood.

My Goal as a drummer is simple. Keep playing, keep improving, and have fun!


-Focus on what your teacher has showed you: it has helped me a lot to hear and see the piece before I play it.

-If you start to get frustrated, take a break and come back later. I once stopped drumming for a whole summer because I was busy, and when I came back, the piece I had been having trouble with I could play perfectly.

- If a sequence of snare drum hits, try saying something while you play to help yourself concentrait. (3 hits=strawberry, 4 hits=watermelon)

-And, last but not least, have fun!!!

Music

Music is a large part of my life, outside and inside of school. I play drums and piano, and I have been in bands for both. Every week, I have a 30 minute piano lesson on Mondays, a 45 minute drum lesson on Tuesdays, and a three hour band practice on Wednesdays. Playing music takes a lot of dedication if you want to get good at them.