Public Embarrassment

I recently became my school’s varsity soccer goalie and was super excited for my first game. 5 minutes in, I got shat on. The other team’s striker shot a huge floater from outside the box. I saw the ball coming and thought I could get to it with ease. As I saw the ball floating in, I sheepishly backed up letting the ball hit the net above my head.

What a bummer.

I needed to have a good performance to guarantee the starting job and that is NOT what that accomplished.

Soccer Goalkeeper Jumps and Saves Stock Footage Video (100% Royalty-free)  34953853 | Shutterstock
PC: Shutterstock

The helpless feeling of the ball floating over my head. The swish sound of the ball hitting the net. The collective sigh of our fans and players. I heard and felt it all. I punted the ball out of the net disgusted with myself. Heading back to the bench I put on a show, slamming my gloves into the ground, taking off my shirt, throwing my shin pads. I could feel the judgment from players who were complacent in the goal and wanted to tell them to chill out, in fact, when one teammate gave me a glare and said something to me I just said “please shut up”.

Anyway, I have a game today and am hoping for better performance.

Philosophy For Children

http://www.peopleinneed.net

Philosophy seems distant from young children, but early exposure to philosophy and philosophical thinking can benefit children’s future development.

A lot of times, kids can come up with questions that are hard to answer, like “What is space?” “What is right and wrong?”.

Obviously, we can’t explain Einstein’s theory of time relativity to them when they ask what is the meaning of time. These questions are mostly either involving too many different concepts, or there is simply no absolutely right answer. This is when philosophical thinking comes into play, children can learn and develop their own answers.

By learning various concepts, children can improve in academic learning and form a more organized understanding of the world.


Some people may argue that it is too early for children to start “thinking about thinking” or it could be overwhelming. And yes, it is a possibility. Philosophy for children doesn’t need to include obscure terminology or deep philosophical history. Basic themes like Logicism and elementary ethics are enough and comprehensible for elementary or middle school students.


French students are required to learn philosophy in the last year of secondary school. Educational systems around the world should consider adding philosophy to the curriculum.

So My car is broke

So ya boi was driving to get lunch during his robotics meet, and basically he slid out and hit a pole. He all good tho so like we chillin but the car is not chillin. There was a lot of oil and transmission fluid leaking and power steering fluid all over the place. But it might not be super bad because the side that hit the pole is the one with all the fluid tanks so I guess we’ll see.

Car Wreck at New Boston and Cornell | Texarkana Today

PC: NPR

I got my braces off

I recently got my braces removed and it’s a very cool feeling.

Having my braces off is awesome! I can eat things I haven’t been able to eat in a very long time; such as caramel corn, chewing bubble gum, and dry scooping my pre-workout without having it get stuck in my braces.

Having my braces does however come at a price. I need to wear a retainer for 24 hours a day for the next week, which suuuuuuucks.

But wearing a retain vs wearing braces; I’d rather wear the retainer.

One thing I am really excited about having no braces is smiling more. For a while, I would be hesitant to smile in photos, school pictures, actually in general. Now that I have my braces off I am pumped for my senior portraits and upcoming photo ops.

Having my braces off is best! Too bad I get classes next week.

Getting Your Braces Off? Here's What to Expect! - College Drive Dental  Associates

Photo from collegedrivedental.com

Goals

I recently joined the soccer team. While at first I was intimidated by both the amount of running and the fact that I haven’t played soccer in 7 years, those nerves are now gone. They have been replaced by a deep sense of regret.

For most of the high school, I didn’t have the chance to play a “real” sport. My first high school didn’t offer league sports, just smaller less official sports teams. Thought I played everything, it wasn’t real. I didn’t feel the camaraderie of a team. Then I switched schools, excited about the possibility of playing sports.

Once the sports seasons started, I picked golf because it was my best sport. I have done golf for the last 3 sports seasons since I began and have enjoyed it. I got food at the golf course, didn’t have to run, and enjoyed playing with my closest friends at my new school. This was awesome, but something I regret.

Just a week into soccer and I am already regretting my decision/inability to not play a real team sport during high school.

Practicing with friends, running, making saves. I remember all of these things from youth sports and middle school, and I miss the feelings associated with them. I miss being part of a team and more than anything, I am scared that this is my last chance to be part of a team.

I am going to make the best of this opportunity and I’m gonna push to get the starting goalie position. I want this experience to be memorable, maybe there will be an in conclusion blog in a few months.

PC: Sports Illustrated

Application Deadline Is Closer Than It Appears

This month is the season for seniors to apply to college if they want to apply for Early Action (EA) or Early Decision (ED). In fact, I was planning to apply to Early action, but everything wasn’t going the way I want to be. My plan was to finish all the essays for every college one day before the deadline. The deadline is closer than it appears. I always thought I have time, so I do a little every day and sometimes I don’t even do it. Without a doubt, I couldn’t finish it and doesn’t have enough time to send it to my counselor and correct it. Two days left before the EA deadline! I just can’t believe how fast the deadline has shown up. I spent two nights burning the midnight oil, trying to finish it all. Of course, I still can’t finish the application, and I have to give up on EA for this time.

Yes, I took my lesson, I should be taking this seriously. Once it passes the deadline, there is no way back to regret it. I started to feel the “Real” stress from college applications. “College deadlines are no joke.” My college counselor always tells me that, and now I understand that it’s really not a joke.

Photo Credit: College Application Deadline

The Lion

How is the lion the king of the jungle?

He his vicious and feared

He’s a killer and a king,

But how?

A lion sleeps for 20 hours day,

Meaning he rules the jungle for only 4 hours a day,

His mentality is different.

He instills fear in others

He kills in his sleep

A lion’s presence alone changes a whole community in the jungle,

Elephants, gazelles, and cheetahs all know who the ruler is

Even humans understand how merciless a lion’s mentality is

In four hours a day the lion is physically running a jungle 

But for 24 hours a day the lion is psychologically ruling a jungle.

Virginia Zoo mourns death of African lion Emery after decline in health |  WAVY.com

Photo from wavy.com

Improvement is Intoxicating

“Practice makes perfect” but nobody cares about practice, they care about applying said practice. When I go up and down a basketball court practicing my jump shot, I don’t like tirelessly throwing the ball straight up and down, I like watching my jump shot clearly improve when I start shooting. My jump shot in the past struggled, it struggled to even hit the backboard. My jump shot would consistently sky the backboard by a cool 6 inches, I sucked. Perfect. The worse I am at something, the more I can improve. The worse I am, the faster I can get better. Liking something to improve is not the best quality however, because when I attain a goal I had been striving for, I become intoxicated by my achievement, but I feel nothing for the sport. I find joy in reaching a goal that once felt unreachable. This has lead me to succeed at many thing and then quickly quit, wether it be certain video games, skateboarding, lacrosse, or basketball. I don’t count this as quitting, I just count it as losing interest.

PC: Sports Illustrated

Origin of the basketball term 'swish' | RSN

Chaos Agent

There is one consistent detail that stands out to me about adults and that is their firm beliefs in themselves, their ambitions, and their character. I simply couldn’t look back at my memories and say something that I’ve been passionate about my whole life, or even my favorite food, I lack defining moments in my life that give me secure knowledge of what matters to me. I used to wonder why I didn’t feel I had these meaningful moments in life until I realized I was a bitch. I didn’t have any important moments in my life because I didn’t make any. I was too scared of being reprimanded by authority, or just having people misunderstand or be disappointed in me. I’ve realized that in the soup of life, sometimes you need to stir the pot to mix in the seasoning. I am ready to be mischievous, devious, or even dubious, anything to stir this pot. I’m still a child aren’t I, I feel it is my human right to cause a little havoc. I deserve to be asked “Do you know Tyler Durden?”

Leadership Tip of the Week: Managing Chaos | Lead Read Today | Lead Read  Today

Why Opossums Are Awesome

I really, really love opossums. They’re smart, unique, friendly, and adorable. Here’s some cool facts about them.

They are the only marsupial that isn’t native to Australia.

Opossums are marsupials, which means they’re a subspecies of mammal that carry their embryo out to term in a pouch on their belly. The most commonly known marsupial is probably the kangaroo. Opossums aren’t much like kangaroos, but they also carry their joeys – a litter of which can contain up to 20 babies – in a pouch and then on their back until the joeys are ready to live by themselves.

There are several species of opossums, all of which are native to the Americas. They range all the way from South America to Canada.

The Opossum: Our Marvelous Marsupial, The Social Loner - Wildlife Rescue  League
https://www.wildliferescueleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/possum-1802326_1280.jpg

They have opposable thumbs.

Much like apes, humans, raccoons, and some other species of animals, opossums have opposable thumbs. This means they have a fifth finger on the side of their paw that allows them to grasp objects and handle them in a way most that other animals can’t. Opossums usually don’t use this advantage for evil, though. Raccoons, on the other hand (pun not intended), will use their opposable thumbs to get into storage bins, to open trash cans, to unscrew lids of containers, to open doors, and other nefarious things. Opossums are much kinder than raccoons. Plus, it’s unbelievable cute when they hold things in their tiny hands.

Opossum holding bag of Marshmallows: aww
https://i.redd.it/upmnxw8jgz131.jpg

They have prehensile tails.

Prehensile tails are a trademark feature of monkeys, but opossums have them too. They use their tails to hold onto thin surfaces better, to climb, to hang from branches, and to balance them as they walk. Their tails look a lot like the tails of rats, but there are muscles in their tails that allow them to use them much better than rats can. I, personally, think that their crusty, scaly tails are super cute.

15 Things You Didn't Know About Opossums - WorldAtlas
https://www.worldatlas.com/r/w1200-q80/upload/04/e6/cc/shutterstock-442647025-1.jpg

They are omnivores, but don’t hunt mammals (except for mice).

Opossums are omnivores, which means they eat meat and plants. However, unlike most meat-eating animals, they don’t hunt almost any live mammals as their prey. Opossums usually scavenge food from unlocked dumpsters, left out pet food, or road kill. The only live prey that they consume are worms, bugs, mice, and sometimes smaller birds or snakes. If they are really starving, they might go after a larger target like a chicken, but this is very uncommon.

Opossum Eating Photos - Free & Royalty-Free Stock Photos from Dreamstime
https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/north-american-opossum-also-called-virginia-opossum-didelphis-virginiana-marsupial-native-to-north-america-north-115393762.jpg
How To Co-Exist With Opossums - Forest Preserve District of Will County
https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/getmedia/de29a896-714d-4b67-bfe2-c360b56368d1/CoExistingWithWildlife-Opossum3-Shutterstock.jpg.aspx?width=3216&height=1984&ext=.jpg

They “play dead.”

“Playing possum” is a popular expression for pretending to be dead or asleep. Opossums have an flight instinct that causes them to fall to the ground, loll their tongue, un-focus their eyes, and pretend to have died when confronted by predators that they can’t easily escape. They won’t get up even if they’re jostled around. It’s pretty cute. To humans, it just looks like the opossum is having the best nap of its life.

They like to play dress-up.

This fact isn’t scientifically verified, but look at these guys! They sure do look like they’re having fun. They look adorable, too. So stylish.

(Photo credit to @seymourtheopossum on Instagram)
(Photo credit to @thepossumgal on TikTok)
(Photo credit to @itsmesesame on Instagram)
18 Cute Possums Who Nailed The Art of Adorable (Photos)
https://imgix.ranker.com/user_node_img/50070/1001387716/original/1001387716-photo-u2?auto=format&q=60&fit=crop&fm=pjpg&dpr=2&w=375

They make funny faces.

Sometimes opossums look like they just tripped and fell in front of the popular kids and the popular kids all saw their Paw Patrol lunchbox fall out of their backpack. It’s like my favorite thing. Look at this little guy.

(Photo credit to @gladysopossum on Instagram)

All in all, opossums are pretty cool little animals. If you see one near your house, don’t bother it or hurt it. They’re non-threatening creatures and it’s just living its life. If you can legally rehabilitate opossums or care for disabled ones as pets, definitely do. They’re sweet little guys. I love them so much.

Starry Surprise! Pouched Opossum Plush with Babies & Limited Edition Sweater
https://www.itsmesesame.com/uploads/1/6/5/0/1650787/s323078058933578006_p138_i8_w2560.jpeg