Run Towards Victory

Week after week. Day after day. Practice after practice. We trained like Olympians. We ran for a purpose. We had already won counties, leagues and regionals. States was a piece of cake so that left the only thing we had worked for all season. Nationals. In that moment all I could focus on was the wind brushing through my hair. My feet continuously hitting the ground. My arms swinging back and forth, and my shoulders loose and straight. I couldn’t hear anything. It was like I was deaf and hearing nothing but my lungs gasping for air. I had forgotten the one thing to do the one thing all humanity knows how to do. I had forgotten to breath. Finally, she came into view. I hit the mark she had set for me, I demanded for her arm, and I handed her off the baton. As I look back at that moment now, I think of how many times I had thought to give up. The times I went home exhausted ready to sleep after a hard workout but then having to do my homework till three in the morning. I had thought of all the times I was thinking of skipping practice but didn’t. As I reflect on that now I can say I am glad I had stayed up till three studying and didn’t skip practice when I desperately wanted to. Nationals has shaped my character to never give up the fight. As a runner, you must never stop running and you must never quit the race. The race will never end, and you must run your best race till the day you can no longer move your legs, pump your arms, and keep your shoulders loose and straight.

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

Is lying the correct thing to do in the right case scenario? Picture this, your sitting in your classroom. The teacher is standing up in front of you delivering this elaborate speech on The War of Roses. He continues on and on and on and on about how this war took place in a garden. You being the intelligent student believe this stronger figure telling you absolute nonsense. Why? Because someone with a higher position of authority told you so. At the end of the day, it’s you walking out to that playground ready to beat up those kids that do know that the War of the Roses actually took place in England.

We as humans need to educated the youth. Society is not the elusive “flower beds and white picket fences” (Collins). No, no. Society is ruled by how we interact with one another. By educating kids with the facts rather than some sly lie, we can reduce the amount of disasters. Disasters? It’s the simple ones. Waking up in the morning and greeting your friends rather than pushing everyone away. Picking trash off the streets, helping the small ducks cross the road, thanking your waiter for bring your food. Its those random acts of kindness that saves society from turning into a freezer. Cold. Dark.

Lying will never lift you five feet up, it will only drag you 10 feet down.

Hemales and Shemales

 Equality. It’s the one word our founding fathers threw into a document imposing the idea that “all men are created equal”. From 1776 to 2018 the gender roles in our great society has been diminished by social standards that have followed, or never escaped, the character of being female.

Yes, we have the right to vote, the freedom of speech, and the right to be able to thrive on our existence. But, its more than a few basic “privileges”. It’s about having the right to our bodies, mind, and soul. It’s about being loud and being heard. It’s about being able to escape these stereotypes of housewives.

Currently, only 24 percent of women in the United States say that they considered themselves to be feminist. When offered the definition of a feminist- “A feminist is someone who believes in racial, gender, social, and political equality of the sexes” the percentage of women who agree raises to 65 percent.

It’s people like Sarah Vowell who demonstrates being able to convey thoughts and feelings into writing about other social injustices that helps others understand that it’s more than just men versus women. It’s more than just black versus white

democrat versus republican

 religious versus atheist

 you versus me.

We should step aside from the word “equality” as it has been way over used. We should introduce the concept of respect; we should respect one another as who we are, not what we can do.

Respect Reguard of Race

As Americans in the year of 2018, we are given the right of independence as a country. We let freedom ring from coast to coast. We celebrate The Fourth of July by exploding fireworks into the sky while being surrounded by the people we love. But, is everyone truly free? Do some still feel bound to constraints based off the color of their skin? Fredrick Douglas wrote a speech back in 1852 defining what "freedom" meant for men that were "all created equal". He states, "The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me" (Douglas 1). He uses the pronouns "you" and "your" to represent the white Christian audience he is speaking too and "me" in regards to the negro population. Douglas further uses irony and ethos to guilt the audience into a new perspective. It does not matter whether one is black, bisexual, or transgender. There is only the significance in the way we treat others; equally and with respect.  Fredrick Douglas catalogues the similarities men of different color share into one sentence adding more drama and depth into the readers mind. Who we are on the outside does not effect whether one is a doctor, writing a book or feeding sheep. It allows one to think and prosper about ways we can change the world we live in. Instead of spending the fourth with our family, we should invite neighbors and friends of different cultures to share the freedom we carry today.