Being the Youngest is not as Easy as People Think

 Most people think that being the youngest child in the family is smooth sailing. They think that they get all the attention, and all the stuff that their older siblings never got to have. Being the youngest child is a lot more difficult than it looks.
     When you're the youngest child in your family, you are always compared to your older siblings. For example, if you did poorly on a math test, your parents may say something like, "Your brother was always good at math." or "Your sister would have studied harder." Your parents aren't the only ones to compare you to your siblings, your teachers do too. If your siblings did well in class, they expect you to do the same. You always get compared to your siblings because they were the first to do things, so they set the standard for how well they do things, and you are expected to do just as well.
     When you are a first child, your parents hire babysitters who are fun and entertain you. But, if you are the youngest child, your parents just have your older siblings babysit you. Older siblings babysitting you are bossy, and they don't do fun things with you. They also can give you punishments or torture you just for the fun of it. They think that because your parents aren't there, they can do whatever they want to make you miserable.
     Overall, being the youngest child has some low points. While there are some struggles, there are the few high points that you get also. Sometimes my siblings can actually be nice to me and we can have a good time together. Being the youngest child can have conflict, but it does have some positive points.


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Knowing Myself As a Learner

As a learner, I work better in groups because for me it is easier to have members of my group to lean on and rely on. For example, I really liked FAME and I think I learned better in FAME because I did not only learn the things I researched but I had a team I could learn from. Since I know myself and how I learn better in groups this unit Revolutions has been harder for me because I had to rely on my own research and planing my schedule of when I was going to complete certain assignments.

With Cultures being a researched-based class, it has been sort of easy because I can find the information I need and record it. It has also been easy being in a research-based class because I can remember information and understand what I research in depth. But it has not been all easy. I also have some struggles in Cultures. Some of my struggles this year are when I take notes. Sometimes I cannot pull out the big picture ideas from the tiny, not as important ideas. Cultures, being a research-based class, for me is a good way to learn because I am good at researching information and remembering it. Some strategies for researching I use are videos because they are easy and explain a lot since I am a visual learner, I also use websites with lot's of information. Finally, having a place to record the information,like an online document or piece of paper, is always helpful. Some ways I think I can improve my learning in this class are by slowing down and capturing all big picture ideas  and important details.












Image source: http://clipart-library.com/clipart/1293096.htm

New Place, New School, and Old Feelings

Let me start off by saying that I love Oregon. Really, I do. The people, the places, and the coast have all been fantastic, and most of all, I love my current school. This post will be talking about my experience here, what I think about it, the people, the community, and a lot more. Again, I love my current school. But, I will have a critical eye through all of this, and I will try not to be as biased as possible.

Okay, first things first, and I mean that quite literally. My first impressions of the school. Probably the most prominent of these were: This place is big. I've never gone to a school that had this large of a campus. And that campus is really beautiful (when it's not raining constantly). My old school was much smaller than my current school. Its total number of students from 6th to 12th grade was about double the size of the 7th grade. This also another reason why I feel the community here isn't as tight-knit as my old school.

I really love my current school and their priority of community. But with a place with so many people, so many grades, and such a large campus, it's really hard to replicate just how community-based my old school was. When you have, basically, a larger campus, nearly 6 times the number of students, and large families connected to those students, there's a limit just how... interconnected everyone and everything is. my current school's community feels a lot more... airy than my old school, but that's not always a bad thing. Another thing is how advisories are treated at my current school and my old school.

My old school tried to have students matched up with teachers of the same grade. Of course, that doesn't always work, they can't have one teacher for every subject for every grade, so there's definitely some overlap going on. But I was lucky, so I got Kris and Jory. Kris taught two classes of mine, Science, and Math, and Jory taught Humanities, our most prominent class. Because of this, I feel I was much more connected to Kris and Jory than Jeff and Katie, my current advisors. This is probably because they don't teach any classes of mine. And I'm not saying Jeff or Katie are bad people at all, in fact, they're amazing! But I just feel like I'm not as connected with them as my past advisors from Commons.

Going with the topic of teachers, let's keep with that. The teachers at my current school are, at the same time, very similar and different to the teachers at Vermont Commons. At my current school, the teachers are a lot less lenient than Commons. And this isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes, the students and our teacher would keep talking for longer than 20 minutes. At my current school, the teachers are more to the point, let's get this done. I feel this is especially true for Christa and Paul. Don't misunderstand me, Christa and Paul are absolutely wonderful, they just don't get off track as much, which is not a bad thing. Spencer and Dale are the exceptions, and they are awesome as well.

And another thing with the teachers is their bond with the students. At Commons, the students and teachers were mostly on the same level of connectivity, and positively felt they were as big, if not more, than the students and their families in terms of importance. But at my current school, the bond within the school is more with the students themselves than with the teachers and students together. Again, this is probably because there are so many students, and not as much faculty. Another reason for this might be that we had no breaks and a thirty-minute lunch at Commons, as opposed to my current school, where we have a ten-minute break, and a forty-minute lunch, so the students get to socialize more. I'm not sure which I prefer, but both are wonderful.

The last thing I want to talk about is Oregon and Vermont themselves, and how Oregon reminds me so much of my home state. The woods at my current school remind me so much of the place we used to do PE at Commons, The lake I live next to reminds me a lot of Lake Champlain if Lake Champlain was about a hundred times smaller, and my current school, despite the differences, really feels like Commons, and that's fantastic.

Thanks for reading my ramblings about a young boy and his experience with his new school. I really do appreciate it. Thinking that people outside this school will be reading this is both terrifying and exciting at the same time. If you want to visit Vermont Commons website, click here, and if you want to visit Catlin Gabel's website, click here. Again, thank you, and good day.

Vermont Commons Sign image via https://www.vermontcommons.org/mission-guiding-principles/

Catlin Gabel image via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catlin_Gabel_School

The Wonders and Aggravations of a Full-Time Violist

 In the past 8 years, I have been quite involved in the wonderfully exasperating galaxy of music! First the piano, then the violin, quickly followed by the viola. But, today, the piano is going to have to (or get to) be left out of the hectic world of string instruments. For the past few years, I have played the viola for the Portland Youth Philharmonic. A couple of years before that, I experienced the life of a violinist as well, though I managed to escape that role. In short, I have/had the best, and worst, of both worlds.

     I love it when I play the viola, particularly when I'm in orchestra, though practicing is always a chronic pain. Being in my orchestra means that you can not simple get into it and then start slacking off. Our conductor will often do "stand by stand" practicing where you perform only two at a time, and is mortifying if you mess up,. Also, every year at the end of the season, there is a "re-audition", determining if you: move up an orchestra, stay put, move down, or get kicked out if your age limit expires. Therefore, there are no "half-time" musicians; we are all "full-time" musicians. Anyway, our orchestral schedule goes like this: one hour of theory class, then roughly 2 hours of rehearsal with a succinct break in between if we're lucky; theory class starts at 5:30, and throughout the year we have 10 absences/late excuses for all events including the Christmas concert which is EXACTLY ONE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. That as an exception, orchestra is pretty amazing. After a long day at school (or, more accurately, long half an hour at home), I am able to sink into the couch, and enjoy some quality time with my viola. Some days, this can be sweet, cheerful, and serve as a luxury, involving me being quite content. Other days, my viola serves as a way to release anger. Either way, it serves useful. My viola/violin/string instrument teacher is exceedingly strict, with a loud demeanor, and a thick Asian accent. This proves an obstacle for some of her students to understand what in the world she is talking about, as she will often include bouts of Chinese into her scoldings. The common term, "vibrato", in the world of my teacher, is pronounced: fey-boo-la-toe. Most of her lessons include much shouting, which is a hot topic among us students. Our ideal bragging sessions include something exceptional, such as, "I only got yelled at once on my last lesson!" in which the rest of us will make sound effects of disbelief, and the student who got yelled at only once will proceed to smile proudly, attracting our glares. Nonetheless, this proves an effective way of teaching, and we all love her.
   
     Amidst all of this love and bonding, this impeccable utopia, there is one slight problem about my life as a violist. That little tiny flaw occurs every couple of Wednesdays when some people see me lug around a black, rectangular, instrument case as I wander in and out of school. They will remark something along the lines of, "Oh! I didn't know you played the violin," much to my exasperation. This, is when I jump in and attempt to kindly remark that I actually play the viola, then proceed to go over my weekly ritual of explaining what a viola is, then pointing out the differences from it and the violin. To prevent confusion, the viola section of my orchestra even have a short memorized definition of it for less musically adept citizens. It goes like this: "Yes, a viola is basically a violin, but bigger". An exact accurate comparison is given here: http://consordini.com/5-differences-between-violas-and-violins/  Even on Google, when I search up the word "violist" sometimes it will auto-correct to "violinist".There are many disadvantages on being a violist, and playing a string instrument in general which includes much taunting/jokes (a full list for your pleasure: http://www.mit.edu/~jcb/jokes/viola.htmlhttp://www.mit.edu/~jcb/jokes/viola.html), the absolute worst air travel, cringing at certain actors/actresses when they try and pretend to play a string instrument, and, of course, producing the most music in the entire orchestra with your 7 paged packet of music while the woodwinds section are enjoying their perpetual rest that could potentially be 132 bars long. Those are the pros and cons of being a violist.

     Then, there's the violin. While being a violinist suggests being the majority, having an easy clef to read, and constantly being able to chant viola jokes, it also implies that it is about 1 billion times harder to get into a decent orchestra, as there is a glut of violins. Because of this, many violinists switch to the viola, causing many beliefs that ALL violas are refugees of the violinists. In some orchestras, first violins tend to have snarky and arrogant reputations, which can actually be considered a stereotype for all first violins. And though I am totally biased against violinists, I have to say that this is not true.

     Violinists who make it into a good orchestra and happen to be a first violin are especially lucky, as they will have the melody in every single piece. Every one of them. They also tend to be favored by the conductors, for some reason. That being said, it isn't all that pleasant, either, to be a second violin, because you worked SO hard to get admitted into the orchestra, then you sit and watch the firsts have all the fun, knowing that the melody will never be yours.

     In conclusion, violins are lighter, always have the melody, are never misunderstood for being a viola, and are the favorites of the orchestra. But, I guess, that's all fine, considering that, ultimately, violas have sounded better, still do, and always will!

Dancing at my school

Being a Dancer at My School

I go to a private school in the U.S. and it amazing. At my school, we have a giant campus,
delicious food in the lunchroom, and many, many sports teams. Another thing about my school
is that athletes are often seen as “the best of us” as a student body. This seems great, right?
The only issue is that an athlete is someone who competes in a sport and out of that category,
the sports that are recognized are mostly ball sports. The only non-ball sport acknowledged is
track and field. Do you see the issue? I do. I am a dancer and consider myself an athlete.
As stated in the Merriam Webster Dictionary , an athlete is “a person who is trained or skilled in
exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.” Nowhere in
this definition does it say, “you must play a ball sport or be in a sport played by the school, to be an an athlete.”

Image credit

In physical education, we play ball sports, run, work out, and do one week of salsa
out of the whole year of physical education. The teachers explained that this is
because they needed something to put on the calendar to fill up one week and
one of our teachers can salsa dance. The salsa dance is almost everybody's least
favorite part of PE but its my favorite. This is because it feels like there are
actually skills being taught at or below my skill level.

Trap-Neuter-Return

Trap-Neuter-Return, also known as TNR is a program instituted to try and control feral cat populations. TNR is humanely live trapping cats, taking them to a vet to be spayed or neutered and vaccinated and then returning them to their homes, the colonies they were trapped from. Cats that have undergone TNR posses an ear tip. An ear tip is the removal of the top quarter in of the left ear in a straight line.

The Process

The steps to TNR are:

1. Get training
2. Work with the neighborhood
3. Establish a feeding pattern, count the cats and set out shelters and feeding stations.
4. Find a holding space
5. Arrange for spay and/or neuter, traps and transportation
6. Actual Trapping
7. Care taking

Many people ask why you should put feral cats back into the outdoors when they could be adopted. The answer is that they can’t. While most kittens and some cats are social enough to live with humans. In the past other less humane methods have been used to try and control feral cat populations. Some include trap and euthanize, adoption, relocation and cat sanctuaries These just do not work. Almost all, if not all lead to the vacuum effect. The vacuum effect is when cats that are removed from colonies are simply replaced by other cats. This means that any efforts made were in vain because while you have removed some cats they are just being replaced by other cats, which are most likely not spayed or neutered. With TNR you know cats are spayed or neutered and there will be less or no new cats in the area because the current cats will defend their territory. TNR also significantly reduces or eliminates unwanted behavior such as yowling, spraying, loud mating, and wandering. All in all TNR is a better and more humane way to eventually eliminate feral colonies

Grievances of a Part-Time Cellist

1. 
   The weight of the cello. It’s not that bad if you have a soft case (in which case it’s the unwieldiness that gets you), but if you have a hard (read: bulletproof) case, it’s serious weightlifting.
2. Stairs (or any type of obstruction). Read above.
3. Having to play the accompaniment all the time in orchestra
4. Music in orchestra. For example, the violins get all the fast fun stuff while we get to do the boring drones, or god forbid, 35 measure rests. I guess it's just in the fine print.
5. Forgetting your bow
6. Having your endpin slip
7. Having your endpin loosen. It happened to me in 2nd grade, in the middle of a school performance. I’m playing, and my cello starts to sink… Let’s not relive that.
8. Cold weather. It screws up the tuning and the strings lose their tension and the tuning pegs slip a ton. It sucks.
9. Most people think it is a guitar (hint: it isn’t!)

Well, I guess it could be worse. Case in point:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plpqb4jqHkU

There’s one thing that a cello has above a violin (which would do away with 7 of the above annoyances):

It sounds better!

Team Sports VS Individual Sports Benefits

Benefits:Team VS Individual Sports

In the sports world, there are mainly two different styles of sport: team sports and individual sports. Each offer their own benefits.

Team Sports

Playing team sports has many benefits. From social, physical, to even mental benefits. Take soccer for example. People on the soccer team practice together a lot, and as a result probably get to know each other. Those on a soccer team can develop close friendships and connections. Leading to an understanding of each others ideals and respecting them. Learning how to understand other people's opinions is an important life skill, opinions are everywhere and understanding them and respecting them can help grow relationships. Relationships can also help mentally, having extra friends from your team can be a good support system alongside other friends. If you feel down, friends can cheer you up and provide advice if there's a problem. Playing a team sport gives you the opportunity to make new friends who can support you. Physically, a team sport is great. It provides practically the same amount of exercise. While you can take a rest if you need to so there isn't a big problem of over exerting yourself. I know I have friends outside of school that I've played sports with. It's always great to talk to them and had I not played a little bit of team sports, probably wouldn't have as close friendships,

Individual Sports

Individual sports have very similar benefits as team sports. An example of an individual sport is tennis. While it can be a team sport, it is primarily an individual sport. While doubles is technically a team sport, singles is an important part of the game. Singles is played by yourself against one other player. So I will talk(or type) mainly about the singles aspect. Socially, singles can be different. While in tournaments you get opportunities to talk to opponents and possibly make friends with people in the tournaments. Mentally, making friends with opponents eases any tension between players because they know each other so it can be a little more friendly with opponents. Physically, individual sports can be difficult. There isn't anyone there to replace you if you need to take a break. Which means you can over exert much easier. However, you may get more exercise in because you don't have someone to replace you. Very similar to team sports, individual sports have many benefits. I have made lots of friends in individual sports, such as tennis singles.                 


Images:
Tennis: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oyxhHkOel2I/maxresdefault.jpg
Soccer: https://nevadapreps.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/9599078_web1_thinkstockphotos-soccer-517891314.jpg
                       

Endless Space

Outer space a huge and amazing place. Even though every individual feels that they are very important and our community seems large, the size of our Earth is miniscule compared to our entire universe. It is amazing that during one point in time, people believed that the Earth was the center of the universe and that everything revolved around us. The technology used for the exploration of space has evolved greatly over time. The first telescope, invented by Isaac Newton, consisted of a mirror and and eyepiece. He discovered that lenses could form images, and designed a that gathered light using mirrors. This telescope was a reflector. There are 2 different kinds of telescopes, a reflector and a refractor. Reflecting telescopes collect light with a large curved mirror and reflect the image to any part of the telescope using other mirrors. Refractors collect light using a lens that makes the image appear upside down on a photographic plate. Telescopes have allowed us to make amazing discoveries about the universe.

The Magellanic Clouds can be seen from the southern hemisphere of the Earth. I would love to go and see them one day. Even though their name states that they are clouds, they are not. The are actually galaxies. The Tarantula Nebula is in the Magellanic Clouds and cositis of 100 stars! When I am and adult, I would love to be an astronaut and explore the universe. I hope that I will get to land on the the Moon, or Mars! It is amazing how much we still have to learn about our world and I hope to be a part of the discoveries.

Sources/More Information:

Couper, Heather; Henbest, Nigel. Encyclopedia of Space. Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2009. 

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/story/index.html  

IMAGE FROM: http://www.seasky.org/solar-system/solar-system.html

Skiing

One thing I have been looking forward to since last year is skiing. Skiing is my favorite sport and this is my third year doing ski bus. I am someone likes to get straight to the actual doing of whatever I am doing instead of planning and talking and all that boring stuff. I normally rush through things like homework or art just to get to the end. Everything is kind of a race. That's why skiing appealed to me, it's fast and there is not a lot of talking involved. I started skiing when I was 4 and have been doing it ever since. When someone first starts skiing, it's one of those things that terrible and hard until you get the hang of it.

When I was a lot younger, I thought I was the best skier in the world. Than one day, I met someone who was not only better than me at skiing, but younger than me too. For some reason, this really upset me because then I came to the conclusion that there were people out there better than me. From then on I discovered that I was not the best at everything even if I thought I was. That was a valuable life lesson.

Something new for me was teaching others to ski. Last winter, I taught my neighbor how to ski. He learned really fast and it was nice to ski with him. Watching him

In the future, I hope to slow down a bit as my teachers have been telling me in every single report ever. On the rare occasions I have followed up on this resolution, it's really been nice to be confident about my work and my effort.

Diaries of a Ginger

Ginger, Matchstick, Carrot-top. Nicknames for Red hair. I’ve been called all three of those. I’m a redhead. It’s as simple as that. Pale skin, freckles, blueish green eyes and the famous fiery carrot top.

There are some pros and cons to being a redhead, and that is what I’m gonna be talking about today. I’ll start off with the pros because I want to sound positive today.

Some of my personal favorite pros are; Being able to generate more vitamin D. Studies have shown that Redheads generate more vitamin D than other hair colors. This to me means that I can basically lie in my dark bedroom my whole life while watching Netflix and never have to go outside or take vitamin D supplements. That sounds like a perfect plan to me. That is until I run out of Netflix shows… Anyways, another pro of being a matchstick is as I age and get old, us gingas won’t go grey. Red hair tends to go blonde or a creme blonde as it ages, meaning there is a very low rate of greying. And here is my favorite one, Freckles! I love freckles. They are probably one of my favorite qualities. The thing is, redheads either want to totally get rid of their freckles or they want more! I want more freckles. I recently found out about the new “freckle tattoos” Where tattoo artists are now giving tiny freckle looking tattoos to people who want them. I think when I’m 18, or when my parents let me, I’d go get these. My freckles, really only “pop” Or come out when I’m exposed to more sunlight. Every year, my family goes to Hawaii for winter break. If I compare a picture of me there, vs a picture of me here in Portland, you’d see a difference for sure.

I’m sorry everyone, but it’s time for the cons. Here we go. One of my least favorite ones is the sun. To most redheads, the sun is your enemy. Though yes, I did say I love when my freckles come out in Hawaii, but the stupid sun also gives us gingers a really nice, so elegant and beautiful, bright. red. sunburn. Okay listen, I know what you’re going to say, “Oh, stop complaining, it's’ just a little sunburn. Slap some aloe vera on it and you’ll be fine by tomorrow.” No. Just no. I’ve tried that, trust me. Thanks a lot, fair skin.

Okay, maybe I over exaggerated a little bit but still, it sucks to get sunburnt every summer. Oh and by summer, I mean in the middle of April. Yes, you heard me. I get sunburns in April. Alright, let’s move on before I continue ranting about this. Next, my “Fiery Temper”. Okay yes, I do kind of like having a temper, but still, that temper just lights the carrot-topped flame on my head like a bomb’s fuse. Alright, I’m moving on. Are you still with me? Good. next, going extinct. Redheads are like the dinosaurs of the humans. Sometime, redheads will go extinct and there will be no more left on the planet. And here is the final con. Yes, I’m finally done. Drumroll, please! Are you doing it? No? Fair enough. Redheads have a higher pain tolerance. It takes more general anesthesia to put a redhead under during surgery than others. I don’t exactly know why, but I’m sure Google does.

Thank you so much for reading this post! I hope you enjoyed it. Though it may sound like I don’t like my hair, I really do and I think I am so lucky to be able to have my rare color!

Basketball

This year, I played basketball for the  Middle School blue team. I have played basketball a lot, and I really like it. But this year was definitely something new. This year, I made the A team. Last year, the games were not very competitive, just some 5th and 6th grade boys playing basketball. This year was different. I am definitely not the most skilled ball player out there. I am probably one of the worst on the team. But what sets me apart from the rest, in my eyes at least, is my willingness to always have a good work ethic. In tryouts, sometimes I realized that I was the only one hustling back on a fast break, or trying to get up to the play if I was behind it. I don't have the best handles, or the prettiest shot. But I always work hard.


Another thing that was new for me this year was plays. My main sport is soccer. In soccer, there is some loose tactics, but no real plays. This was my first year where I had to know where I had to be in relation to the ballcarrier. A lot of the team's plays revolve around screens, And if you don't set up the screen, the whole
play could be ruined. I sometimes had to have my friends remind me of where I had to be and when.
I think the quote on the right really sums up this essay. I think this because when I went into the season, I did not have much skill or knowledge of the sport, but, I put in hard work, and I am making a lot of progress. Here is a link to another great article that talks about something similar: Here


Photo credits: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/511017888945926902/

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/05/lebron-james-chase-down-block-avery-bradley-cavaliers-celtics-nba-playoffs-eastern-conference-finals

Revolutions - The 6 Year Difference

Soccer isn't an easy sport. The hardest thing abut it is the amount of practice that it takes. And that takes years. For example, I practice 5 times a week, each week. That adds up to 31,200 minutes I spend with my yeam. That doesn't count the time away from my team I spend playing.  Yes, it is a lot to do, but the reward is a lot greater than the amount of stress put into it. Soccer is the definition of a team sport. If you are on a team with only one special player, you will not be sucessful. That player is probably not good enough to beat an entire offesnsive line, then a whole, strong midfield, and then shut down a huge defense, then get past the goalie. He or She will need help. They will need support. Someone always covering them, always having their back, always alert and aware of where they are.

I played on one soccer team ever since I was 7 years old. That team is called North East United, NEU Website or "NEU." I started when I was very young, and I played all the way until early 6th grade. Let me take you on that journey.

I started out in rec soccer when I was 7. I was playing on a very loose soccer team, one that did not care about how many practices you make, or how many games you play, or even how good you are, because the whole purpouse of it was simply to have fun. Fun was the goal. Fun was the prize. If we lost, we had fun doing it. At this time, I was playing forward/center mid. Every time before a game, I wouldn't care how bad or good I played, because I was 7. I wasn't thinking about the quality of the game, or my pass completion rate, because, like I said, I was 7. That only lasted for about 2 years.

When I was 9, in 3rd grade, the objective was to get at least a little bit better, not just have fun, although fun was still 80% of the goal. Durring this time, instead of learning how to kick the ball with our laces instead of out toes, we learned how to do give-and-goes, how to chip the ball, and how to hit hard, straight balls on the ground. Our team back then was called "Sisu", which means "go" in finnish. To this day, I don't know why my coach, Shawn, decided to name us that, but I couldn't change that. At this time, our competition was very similar to us. They were local teams looking to kickstart their players' soccer skills and passtion, pushing them to get better, while still keeping in mind their age and skillset. Before each game, I thought about how I wanted to encorperate what we practiced in training. Maybe throw in a couple maradonnas, and try to nutmeg someone. This stage of my soccer journey only lasted one year.

The next year, In U10, (under 10 years old), things stepped up a couple levels. Having fun was only 75% percent of the game, and getting better and pushing yourself was 25% the goal. I clearly remember my new coach, James, saying "It's not U9 anymore". By this, I think he meant that instead of bringing our happy spirit and joyful presence, we needed to bring a little bit more to each training session. We needed to bring our focus, awareness, and need to get better. Trainings looked more like a set warm up, including lots of stretching, and then running lots of the same drills over and over agian, to try and get them printed into our minds. Before a game, I would think about the things I didn't want to happen. The things I wanted to prevent, such as letting my man get passed me, and making bad passes. Ultimatley, I wanted to make my coach proud. This only lasted a year.

In U11-U13, I really noticed a change in the atmosphere. We started running and doing a lot more conditioning, a sign that other teams would become faster and stronger and ready to compete, not just have fun. We also got a new coach, Andy, the father of 2 twins, Liv and Elle. Andy was a big guy, short but large, full of muscle as mass. He looked like he just walked out of a barbeque commercial. He always wore a big, blue, puffy coat, and a back nike golf hat. He was a tough coach. At around this time, I switched to playign goalkeeper. Our team didn't have a goalie, so I decided to give it a try, and I fell in love with it. But it still wasn't at the level that I wanted it to be at.Before games, I would think to myself, Don't let in any easy goals. Remember to look as big as possible. Just play the game to the best of your abilites. 

After that, I decied to switch teams. I made a huge change. ECNL Website) team, and I made the team as a goalkeeper. The whole thing was so different. If felt like I was playing a whole new game. A whole new sport. My clubs motto is, "You earn the right to play" That was a big step up from "You have the right to play". Every player has to fight for their spot. Fight for their minutes on the pitch. And by no means will each player get equal playing time. This is a whole new experience. The competition is the best in the game. I'm talking some teams that could beat club teams 3 years older than them, male or female, without a struggle. Teams that can connect 30 concecutive passes up the field, then hammer a shot from the 18 that drives right past the keeper, and buries right in the back of the net like a fist to the gut. These teams are the definition of elite. We also started to travel. Our first trip with the team was in January, where we went to compete in the ECNL Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona.

I decided to try out for the FC Portland ECNL (Elite Clubs National League)

I was chosen out of the 26 players on my team into 16 player squad to compete. We will also be traveling to Idaho, Colorado, Texas and California in the future to compete against the some of the best teams in the world. Specifically the best team in the world. 7 time world champions, South California. Each of the players on that team have been hand picked from the best section of the best team in the best league from the best parts of the state, and then narrowed down to the strongest, fastest, most skilled, best 16 players in the world. Before a game at that level, you cannot over think. In fact, you dont want to think at all, because if you do, you will start to think about the fact that you have never beaten this team, the changes of you beating this team are 1 in a billion, and these girls are twice the size of most of the players on your team, and all 3 of their forwards were selected to play for the U15 US national team, and you have almost no chance of saving any of their shots. So instead, you keep your mind totally blank until the ref blows the starting whistle. They you turn on that switch. The switch that makes you have machine like acuracy with every kick, the agressivness of a grissly bear, and the soccer brain of Lionel Messi.

After I joined that team, I noticed a lot. I noticed a lot. I noticed that the goal pretty much the same the whole time, from NEU to ECNL. The goal was to have fun. The only difference was during early NEU, all you had to do was play to have fun. But in ECNL, having fun means that you have to be playing your best. Doing everything you can to stop them from getting the ball in your net. Thinking before you make every pass. That was how you had fun. Becuase if you didn't do that, the worst that could happen was you would have the best team in the world coming down your throats, putting all of your hard work at risk, while in NEU, the worst that could happen is you getting the ball kicked away from you for a second.

Having fun is the game goal for both of the teams, but the difference is what you need to do to have fun.