Chuckle

So, why did I post a few shapes?  Well, the other day I was looking over my math work, and I got several encouraging stickers that I don't usually get.

• I can write my name
• I was the helper today
• I know my shapes

Just proving that I DO know my shapes... (me guffawing)

Best. Practice. EVER

This week has been nothing but killer sets.  All week.  But that's how we get better; sometimes we have to tough it through hard sets to get better.  But that's how it is and better is what I want, so I am not going to complain.     

I was expecting a hard practice today, but I guess they let us off because we worked so hard this week.  First, we did snakes.  I led the train, starting at one end and doing a lap in each lane, snaking my way across the pool.  After a few snakes, we did the thing I have been begging to do all week.  I have no idea what it's called.

We took the lane lines out and everybody lined up on the wall with our kick boards ready.  At "GO!" we would sprint kick to the other end.  Then we would be arranged, fastest in the middle, slowest on the outsides, like birds.

Random kid 1 "Aww!  I always have to kick on the sides!"
Coach "Don't worry, all parts of the flock are equally important."
Me "Yeah, the ones on the sides are the ones who get shot first."

After a few times, things got messy.  It was hilarious, we were like a pack of vicious OPEN WATER swimmers!

After that, we played sharks and minnows.  Just let me clarify that we never ever ever do sharks and minnows, so this was a treat.  Surprisingly, as I'm not too hot at anything but swimming, even water polo, I was really good at this.  I was last minnow(s) on each one! 

It was a ton more fun too because the evil people who get way to absorbed in the game and shun people like brutes not caring how many injuries they cause to win a game of Sharks and Minnows were not there.  YES!  So almost nobody got a sharp, careless jab to the eye.

So basically most of the people I like were there, we played games and all got along and I didn't get jabbed ruthlessly in the chest; the universe loves me!

Pittsburgh

Last weekend my family took a trip to Pittsburgh.  I had a really pretty nice time.  Firstly we went to the Pittsburgh zoo.  Though it is a nice zoo, it wasn't extraordinary.  They had the basic animals, which are pretty fun to look at.  My favorite part was the baby elephant.  He was so stinking adorable! 

You can't really avoid end of the year school groups, I know.  I just don't like them a lot.  There are so many kids with those stupid paper form things with questions they have to answer.  That limits the fun tremendously I think.  Then they don't get to look at things as much as they would like because they are in a group of what seems to be a hundred. 

Why does everyone have to talk at once?  Because they are talking at once, they have to shout to make sure that their fellows can hear them.  So you have a group of hot and somewhat cranky small people screaming and lugging papers with grumpy chaperones and teachers staring them down with their beady eyes. 

I don't want to sound all bible clutching ankle length jean skirt on you guys here, but I am glad that I was with my family visiting the zoo than with a group of 40 or so slow moving peers in matching T shirts.  Just sayin'.

That night after dumping our belongings in our hotel and waiting for Mom to look up everything she needed to know off of her mini, we set off to do something UNPLANNED.  We went to the Hard Rock cafe!  I know this doesn't go with the overall awe inspiring coolness of the Hard Rock cafe... but this was my first time.  I had a really really really good time!  The walls are covered with things that the beautiful people used, I saw a jacket that Michael Jackson wore, drums from Kiss... and that's about it for the things I knew what they were tell you the truth.  But it was still cool.

After we ate we went outside to watch the water display.  It was "dancing" lines of shooting water, doing the "dancing" part to various music, the one we watched was old show theme songs.  It was boring after about the 3rd song, but it was still pretty to watch. 

After that, we went to this "Historical Monument" trolly box cart thing that goes about 5 miles an hour up a not so steep mountain hill thing to the top where you could get off, do whatever, then get back on and go down.  Living on the edge!!  It was cute.  Once we made it to the top, which I was thankful for because that thing had been there for like a hundred years, we went over to look at Pittsburgh.  We made our way without getting run over to this beautiful view of the city.  It was getting a little dark, but not dark enough to see all of the lights.  Cars looked like beetles and people like ants.  It was very gorgeous.

After we took in the city, we went and got some ice cream at this little store that was to me the food eating version on Sammy's.  Once again though, I thought it was cute.  Then we made it back down the slope in the hundred year old box tram thing, and drove back to our hotel.

The next morning we went to the science center.  They just added a sports center, and it was great!  They had a rock wall, a human yo yo, 2 motion simulators, and a bungee thing above a trampoline for maximum jumping satisfaction.  I had such a good time in there, two hours passed without seeming like 20 minutes.

After getting our fill of that, we had lunch and wandered around until our movie.  It was about Shackleton and how he kept all of his men alive even under the worst possible circumstances.  They all made it.  That really gives hope, I think, to hear a story like that.  Right now I'm reading Lord of the Flies, and it is easy to think that people would revert back to the animal inside of them when they were removed from the outside world.  But things like that give hope that, no, we can be good inside too.

Don't Murder Time!

Sometimes I disagree with my coaches.  For example, they have a strong belief that your mind is EVERYTHING.  Like the other day, my coach was saying how if you say you can't do something, you can't.  But if you don't do that, you are giving yourself a chance.

I don't think that's true.  For one, I don't like it.  But my reasoning is that I have said I wouldn't be able to do things at practice countless times before.  But, I did it!  Not all of the time, sure, that's granted.  But there were some times where I thought I wouldn't be able to do it, but I did.  But there's a catch.

Not a small loop-hole catch people couldn't think of, no.  Here is what I did- I tried.  I tried.  I tried my hardest even though I didn't think I would be able to do it.  And by trying, I succeeded.  Even if I hadn't made the interval or beat my best time, I still succeeded in that by breaking myself down and just working my butt off, I'm getting faster.

But I see where the coaches are coming from.  I don't think it's saying you can't do something.  In my opinion, it's deciding that you aren't going to try that keeps you from doing something.  Plain and simple. 

Keeping an open and happy mind is really good for swimming.  It's hard to, but I try.  I try to go into races with the "I'm going to let happen what's going to happen, try my hardest and be okay with it.  Anything is possible and I know my goals, and I'll be there someday; today or tomorrow" attitude.  Freaking out isn't good for you, but I don't think it's what's keeping you from doing your best.  If you decide you are not going to TRY, then you are doomed. 

Anyways those who are reading this  now know my view on this topic now.  So let's move on to part 2 of this blog post.

Meets are supposed to be places were you race.  Get up and go.  I don't care if you feel like a titan, feel like crap, feel week, feel strong, are tired or well rested, hungry or stuffed.  You get up and you go, 'cause it's a race. 

Telling yourself you are not going to do good before a race is not good prep talk.  But that is much much much much different than telling yourself

"I'm not even going to try that hard."  (Real quote from the last meet.  Really.)

Come on girlie!!  Not only does this hurt your performance, it hurts other peoples' vibe if it's on a relay.  Relays should be happy and have the "go for it" mood, even if it's clear we are doomed to last place.  Who cares?  All that matters is time.  Our times in the relays, our splits and such, and the time that we spend as a team, racing and having fun.  Team spirit and bonding is achieved with jokes, laughs, and a get up and go attitude.  Not with a

"We are going to suck."  attitude.  Chica, don't murder time!!

Plus, what if it's not on a relay, and it's an individual?  How would you feel if somebody was saying that next to you?  You would feel happy, even though it's mean, you would feel happy and more confident that you are going to beat them.

No no no no NO!  We are the dragon slayers!  We strike fear into the hearts of the ones around us!! Grrrr!

In conclusion; don't give up before the race has started.  You and your times are the only thing that matters, not some nameless faceless swimmer in lane 4.  You are going to be fine!  You practice hard, you are ready.  Even if you don't feel good, still try.  Because in the end that's all we can do - in swimming and in life 

So get out there and kick some butt!

Nature Walk

The other day before school we went to a small trail and took a nature walk.  It was nice.  Durring it I tried to take really pretty pictures, with some interesting perspective.  Here they are!-

LE Awards Banquet

Today was the LE Awards Banquet.  This gives out tinkers awards to swimmers for all kinds of amazing feats they have accomplished over the past year of LE swimming.  I was up on stage a lot more than I thought I would be.  I had a lot of fun, and I didn't trip and fall!!  Here is what I went up for.

• Zones
• Quads
• Sectionals
• LE 50 fly record
• Top 10 in the US
• "All Star" team

This year was a lot better than last year.  I had a really good time!  I knew everybody there it seemed like, and I got to go up on stage a lot this year.  I got to see people I haven't seen in a while, so it was nice.  Taylor, Scottie and Michael were all there, so were coaches Matt, Charlie and Pete.  I can't even list everybody else.  It seemed to go quicker than last year... maybe because I had to get up more. 

I got a photo frame, 2 key chains, a necklace thing, certificates, a t-shirt and a draw string bag.  I just have to find a photo and I'm all set!

First meet, well, second meet really, of LC season is next week... let the new year begin!

Trying Something New

Trying something new is a hard thing to do.  It really is.  Whether it is something easy or something hard, it is challenging to do so.  Most people are creatures of habit.  We like doing things in a routine that we are comfortable in.  It is understandable that we don't really want to do new things sometimes. 

But setting yourself up so that your mindset is that you are not going to like whatever you might start to try isn't good.  Don't follow?  Here's what this sounds like-

• I don't want to, I hate it!
• That sucks.
• That wouldn't be fun at all.

All without being in it or giving it at least one try.  How do you know you are going to hate something if you haven't tried it? 

My low key example is this; I wasn't really into art about a year ago.  I wasn't really looking forward to the art lessons that we had to do each week.  But after one lesson, I found out that I might actually like painting.  So on my own time one day I went down to the art room, locked the doors, and painted a picture.  Painting  pictures is now something that I love doing.

My very big example is swim team.  My friend was on the Twinsburg Tiger Sharks, and wanted me to start too.  She said it was really fun and told me a lot about it.  I have been swimming all my life.  I mean really, starting with the "Mommy and Me" classes when I was wee little.  But only lessons.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to commit to something big like swim team.  Acctually thinking back on it, I think I had the mindset that I was talking about before.

• I don't want to do it, I hate it!
• That sucks.
• That wouldn't be fun at all.

But thankfully I tried something new.  Turns out I love it.  Swimming is one of the biggest joys and passions of my life so far.  If I hadn't tried something new, I don't know if I would have found that out yet.

So try something new sometime.  It might turn out to be a really, really good thing.

Book Burning

I just finished reading Fahrenheit 451.  It is set in the future in a society that is, in a very extreme way, like ours.  Guy Montag is a fireman.  Instead of helping stop fires though, he starts them.  He is a book burner.  But he doesn't realize really what he is doing in the beginning.

I feel very strongly about book burning and the book burning mentality.  I think it is one of the worst things ever.  I can't even describe completely how horrible, ugly, and wrong I think it is.  Now you might be thinking, nobody burns books!  In this country maybe, but in others and in history it pops up. 

Here is the thing- people might believe that ideas come from books.  That was what people thought in Fahrenheit 451, that's what Ancient Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang and others might have thought.  I think that books might help plant ideas, but I don't believe that is where they are from!  The emperor thought that by burning books he would unite people more.  I believe that by doing such a horrible thing, aside from killing scholars and building the Great Wall, that he was setting up even more that it was before a him vs. everybody else mentality. 

What was upsetting about Fahrenheit 451 was that so many things were the more extreme version of what is already happening!  They said that people didn't really miss books.  Really, I think that's pretty true!  Many people like watching TV or playing video games or the like, over reading.

The other thing that was very upsetting for me was just thinking about burning books.  Can you imagine how horrible it would be to lose them?  Classics hundreds of years old, history that will never again be taught, because nobody knows!  Ideas and religions!  Ash.  Blowing away.  Lost.  Forever.

And now, even though people don't literally burn books, they have the book burning mentality.  You shouldn't read this book becasue it has this in it, you shouldn't read this book becuase it says this, they are bad books, dirty books, you shouldn't read this book because, because, because.... why?  Do you really think that people learn all about sex, drugs, suicide, homosexuality, violence and the like by reading a book?  Really?  If the reason you don't want to read a book is because you don't want to taint your soul, then you should never venture out into the world.  TV should be banned.  So should computers.  Songs should be banned too. 

The reason I did this post is because I read this article about Twilight being on the top list of books that parents disapprove of.  But that's not all.  It was talking about all of these books that have been on the list for some time now.  "To Kill a Mockingbird" was on the list.  It made me sick.