Ice

Ice covers the ground and I am stranding inside my house and I have no complaints.I don’t know where my love for the cold comes from but I have had it for a while, always begging for the winter weather to come earlier and earlier. Maybe it’s the memories I have of winter and all of the activities I used to do when I was smaller. When I was little I loved to be outside in the cold. Whether it was helping my parents shovel the drive way or just playing outside building forts and snowmen. Winter also brings Christmas with it, my favorite holiday ever, waking up early to go downstairs and open all of my presents. Looking out the window and seeing nothing but snow just brings a warm feeling to me.

Even though the cold can be a hardship, like Friday night when we had to play a football in the 30’s when it still should be in at least the 50’s. Even though I played enough to maintain my warmness it was still a little too cold for a football game. But on the other hand I much rather be cold at a game than be dying of heat exhaustion and needing a drink every second to replenish all of the sweat you are losing.  But for the rest of the season we will have to deal with these frigid temperatures. Which I don’t mind too much because personally I think I play better in the cold.

No matter what this is still my favorite part of the year and I wish it last longer than it does even though it tends to drag on a little long for most people’s preferences. So I will start cherishing these days as they slowly pass until the last snow melted and the smell of spring is back in the air. But until then I will love every day.

Taper

            Taper, it is finally here. Swimmer’s favorite time of the season, taper is the part of the year where practices get easier to prepare your body for the big meets coming up. The amount of yards drops as the rest in between increases. Also morning practices are over so you can actually sleep like a normal human being for the first time since swimming started.

             I was 6 years old when I joined the local swim team. I was already a good swimmer because I grew up a few blocks away from a pool and me and my mom and sisters would go to the pool every day, rain or shine. This is where I originally learned how to swim, no swimming lessons just messing around at the pool all day. I was very talented at a very young age. I could swim every stroke and do well when I was swimming kids two years older than me because the youngest division was 8 and under. At practice I swam with the older kids because the kids my age weren’t fast enough for me. Plus I liked the older kids a lot more. Swimming with the older kids challenged me and made me push myself which just made me better and by the time I turned 8 I won the 8 and under 25 yard breaststroke city championship.

 The best part of my younger days of swimming was the enjoyment I got. Nowadays every time I wake up early for swim practice I hate it and I don’t want to swim. But back then I woke up early every morning wanting to go to the pool to get better and swim. I don’t absolutely hate swimming anymore because if that was the case I would’ve quit by now. I don’t love it anymore but I enjoy enough to still do it. Even though I don’t enjoy it as much as I used to, I will still miss it and the memories I made

Miss Reprensentation

            In the film Miss Representation it said that only 17% of congress is made up of women. After seeing that, I wanted to investigate that fact. After some searching I found a website with some information.

            I found that 52% of the women that ran for congress won their district. That is more than half so it isn’t like Americans won’t vote for women it is that there isn’t enough women running for office. Women have no one to blame but themselves. If you want more women in congress more women need to run. Even though you may think people vote for people due to their race or gender, which some do, most people vote for the better candidate.

            I don’t think you can blame media for the lack of women in politics. Yes, you can say that media scrutinizes women who are in politics, but then look at the big picture. Men are attacked just as much as women, the only difference is men aren’t attacked for their appearance. I think that is because men simply don’t care about their appearance as much as women. If someone called President Obama too skinny he would probably make a joke out of it, so it wouldn’t bother him as much as it would a woman.

            We are all raised on the saying “You can do whatever you want to as long as you work at it.” So maybe women just don’t want to be congress women or political leaders. I know some do and that’s great run for office but don’t go blaming other people for not having enough women in politics.

Superbowl

                The Superbowl has been set. The Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers will face off, which means the two Harbough brothers will be playing each other on the biggest stage. Even though I really don’t like either team I do think it will be a good game. The Ravens defense against Collin Kaepernick and the speedy offense of the 49ers.

                I think that the 49ers will win just because of their offense. The Ravens are not going to be able to stay with the 49ers offense and the Ravens offense isn’t good enough to outscore the 49ers. I am still surprised at how bad the Patriots played against the Ravens in the AFC Championship game. I am a hug Tom Brady fan and to see him play poorly and lose was not fun. But after watching the game I realized how good Tom Brady really is. He got to the AFC Championship game with potentially the worst offensive line I have seen. He also has a very little run attack which is needed by any quarterback led alone a quarterback trying to win a Superbowl.

                My team’s season (the Chiefs) has been over for a while and finishing dead last in the league comes with one good thing, the first pick. But with the Chief’s luck there are no outstanding players that would usually be a number one pick. Unlike last year when there were two number one picks between RG3 and Andrew Luck. I still think the Chiefs are in desperate need of a quarterback but with the new addition of Andy Reid I don’t have a clue who the Chiefs will pick.

Future Dreams

                        Most high school kids don’t think too much about their futures, other than “I’m gonna be so rich”. But whenever I am bored I begin to think of my life after college. Dreaming about the life I dream about and what I can do to reach my dreams.

                      Once I graduate high school I plan on going to Iowa State University and major in architecture. Ever since I can remember I always wanted to be an architect and I really don’t know why but it is something that I think would be really cool. I want to graduate with my degree and move either to the mountains in Colorado or Oregon. I love the mountains and the weather, no 100 degree 100% humidity days like we have in Iowa. I want to start my own architecture firm and build and design house up in the mountains. I hope to make a lot of money and eventually design my own house in the mountains. I know that this might be farfetched but it is something I really want to do. Along with all of that, ever since I saw one for the first time I have dreamed of owning my own Lamborghini. I can picture myself cruising through the mountains in my new half a million dollar car.

              So for now I’m going to just enjoy my life as a kid and keep pursuing this dream until it comes true.

Lance Armstrong

                Professional athletes keep get better and better, but not every athlete was born to be a professional athlete. This people had to make many sacrifices to make it to the pros or you could take the easy way, steroids.

                This is making another run of headlines since the Goddess of middle age women, Oprah, is getting Lance Armstrong to admit to doping during his reign as the best cyclist in the sport. I personally think this is getting blown way out of proportion, with all the problems in the United States we are mesmerized by the fact that one of the most inspiring athletes to ever compete was taking steroids. Who cares? The man has been through so much in his life but he took steroids so he should be humiliated in front of everyone. I personally do not care one little bit that he doped, if you think he is the only cyclist to ever dope your wrong. It would be easier to name cyclers that dope rather than the ones who don’t. The only thing that bothers me a little bit is that he denied for so long. He should have just come out and admitted it.

                What I don’t understand is that Lance Armstrong is interviewed by Oprah and almost forced to confess to something that didn’t harm anyone but himself. Then there is the infamous Ray Lewis, the 13 times pro bowler and possibly the greatest linebacker to play the game. Oh and the murderer of two innocent men. Wait, you’ve never heard of that? That’s what money and power can get you. If you have no clue what I am talking about read this. It seems to be pretty obvious he was at least involved in the brutal stabbing outside the club, but yet nothing happened. Another example of this is Kobe Bryant’s rape scandal. He was accused of rape by a girl and after a few months and millions of dollars from Bryant’s wallet the charges disappear.

                So we shun those who cheat to help them win but we glorify those who rape and kill. Just doesn’t make sense to me but that’s  life.

Snow

I don’t know where my love for the cold comes from but I have had it for a while, always begging for the winter weather to come earlier and earlier. Maybe it’s the memories I have of winter and all of the activities I used to do when I was smaller. When I was little I loved to be outside in the cold. Whether it was helping my parents shovel the drive way or just playing outside building forts and snowmen. Winter also brings Christmas with it, my favorite holiday ever, waking up early to go downstairs and open all of my presents. Looking out the window and seeing nothing but snow just brings a warm feeling to me.

Even though the cold can be a hardship, like Friday night when we had to play a football in the 30’s when it still should be in at least the 50’s. Even though I played enough to maintain my warmness it was still a little too cold for a football game. But on the other hand I much rather be cold at a game than be dying of heat exhaustion and needing a drink every second to replenish all of the sweat you are losing.  But for the rest of the season we will have to deal with these frigid temperatures. Which I don’t mind too much because personally I think I play better in the cold.

No matter what this is still my favorite part of the year and I wish it last longer than it does even though it tends to drag on a little long for most people’s preferences. So I will start cherishing these days as they slowly pass until the last snow melted and the smell of spring is back in the air. But until then I will love every day. Sadly the snow is all melting and its starting to warm up. I am just hoping for another snow storm soon.

NFL Playoffs

            It’s finally here, the NFL Playoffs. Nothing else in sports compares to them. Whether your team is still in the Superbowl hunt or not you have to watch. Yesterday I watched the Broncos play the Ravens. Even though the Broncos are the Chiefs divisional rival I was still cheering for them, mostly because I am a huge Manning fan and I really hate the Ravens. Even though I am not a true fan of either team I felt the stress like they were my two favorite teams. Sadly I had to witness Manning lose the game due to his mistake.
            Today the Patriots play the Texans, and as much as I like J.J. Watt, the defensive end for the Texans, I don’t think the Texans have a chance against Tom Brady. Brady and the Patriots are just a very good football team under Bill Belichick. The Texans won’t be able to score enough points to beat the Patriots. Also the Falcons play the Seahawks. I really don’t care about this game because whatever team wins won’t stand a chance against the 49ers, who surprised me with their dominated win over the Packers. Also I think that the Patriots will win out and make another Superbowl appearance.
            I think it will be the 49ers and the Patriots in the Superbowl and if you asked me who would win this game before I saw the 49er game I would have said the Patriots have the game in the bag but now seeing who potent the 49er offense is I think it could go either way. I hope the Patriots win simply due to the fact they belong to the AFC and I think that the AFC has dominance over the NFC. No matter how it goes I will be enjoying the last few weeks of good football before its baseball season.

Roll Tide

                Last Monday was the BCS Championship game, or what was supposed to be a game. Between the powerhouse Alabama and the surprise of the season, Notre Dame. I do not really care for either team but I respect Alabama and Coach Saban, so I much cheering for the Tide. That isn’t the only reason, I absolutely hate Notre Dame, and they are overrated and only went undefeated because they don’t play competition like Alabama.

                You either love them or hate them, I chose to hate them. I never even had to care about the Golden Domers, since they have been terrible in my generation, but it started before the season started hearing about how good Notre Dame will be with their new freshman quarterback and their defense. Then Manti started to get publicized for his on and off the field performances. I admit he was a good player but to even mention him in the Heisman race is ridiculous. He is a linebacker who set a new record in interceptions for linebackers simply by being in the right place and right time. Then there is the Tide, who I will not say I am a fan off but you have to respect a team that can dominate a sport for such a long time. The have always been good and will continue to be good as long as Saban stays there.

                I see Notre Dame like Xavier. They simply think they are better than everyone and deserve things just because they are who they are. They are a bunch of smart, rich boys who have been handed everything to them. Then their fans, who are worse than the team. They expect everything to go their way and they are so arrogant. So while watching the so called game, more of a beating, I couldn’t help but have a huge grin on my face. The game showed just the talent difference. Alabama was faster, stronger and faster than all of Notre Dame. Then Manti, who missed two tackles all season, simply couldn’t handle the athleticism of Alabama. The Tide drove 80 yards in two minutes to score the first points of the beat down. Which was the longest drive Notre Dame gave up in the season and Alabama did it with ease.

                Just think Alabama absolutely destroyed Notre Dame, but yet Alabama wasn’t even the best team because they were beaten by Heisman winner, Johnny Manziel and the Texas A&M Aggies. So what I am saying is its stupid people were questioning if Alabama should have been there when the loose to an amazing team because Notre Dame goes in unquestioned because they simply don’t play the talent.

                ROLL TIDE