A Day in the Life of A Hockey Goalie (edit 1)

            The day begins at eight o'clock. After a light breakfast with a glass of tea, he heads to the rink for another day on the job. Once he arrives, he heads to the locker room for the 10 am morning skate. After a light skate, he heads home. Once he gets back home, about seven hours before game time, the preparation begins.

            After having a turkey sandwich with a protein shake, he heads back to sleep until 3:04. When he wakes up, he throws on his suit, eats a PB&J and heads back to the office for the game. At the rink, he completes his routine warm-up, stretches, and focuses on the game ahead. Then, he heads back to the locker room and tapes his sticks. Once his equipment is ready, he puts on his hockey equipment, putting each piece on left to right.

            An hour before game time, the boys hit the ice for warm-ups. When there is a minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in warm-ups, the goalie heads off the ice and back to the locker room. Once it’s game time, the goalie leads his team out onto the ice. He has spent almost eleven hours preparing for this, the big game.

            Each play, he can either make a save or give up a goal, win the game, or lose it, be a hero, or be hated. After a save, the crowd goes wild. After a goal, the crowd boos and chants, "sieve" as they mock the humiliated goalie. As the clock ticks down, the opposing team fires shot after shot, but the goalie comes up big. The buzzer sounds. He gets the win. Preparation was vital to his success. He then heads off the ice, ready to do it all again.

Proper preparation is a vital key to success 

Side Effects of Simple Questions

When you must work to earn something you desire, that “something” becomes everything. The value of this reward seems much greater when it must be earned as opposed to given away at no cost. This past summer, while working under Peter, a UMBC graduate student, I experienced the most beneficial moment of my educational career. When I had a question, Peter instructed me to answer it for myself. Peter refused to just “give” me an answer. Instead, he challenged me to “earn my knowledge” and from that point on, I worked to find answers to my questions.

"Can you please explain to me how you determined that number?" Little did I know that this simple question would instigate my worst educational experience ever. The question was answered with "Young lady you are very rude! Go to the office!" To this day, I have never quite understood what exactly I said to instigate this outburst. Regardless of her intentions, I was punished for asking a simple question. My self-esteem was shattered, and I have never quite been able to gain the confidence to ask questions.

Word Count: 184

The Spaces Between the Ticks of the Second Hand

"You never know a good thing until it's gone." We hear this "old saying" rather frequently, but do we truly understand its meaning? We take tangible items, important people, and even life itself for granted and hardly ever do we give a second thought on how great these "gifts" actually are.

You start the morning with this ignorance of life's "gifts," by never going out of your way to give your parents a hug goodbye or saying I love you. You watch the clock tick, waiting for the last bell to ring at the end of the school day. After school, you find dad's car, throw your backpack in, and wait for your siblings to join. You then head home. The ride consists of bickering and pushing your younger brother in the seat next to you, as Daddy tells you stop. Faster than a blink of an eye, horrifying sounds of metal being crushed fill your ears and your body is thrown around like a rag-doll, as you're held down by a seatbelt. As the dust settles, minutes feel like hours and emergency vehicles seem to take forever to respond to the scene. Before you're even aware of the situation, a fireman drapes a yellow sheet over your dad. In shock, you cannot fathom how your life has forever changed.

Life carries on, but the void never fills. It is the choice of the individual on how vast their appreciation for life is and how they choose to spend the limited time they have here. Will you indulge in self-loathing or go out of your way and help another. Will you remain ignorant of these "gifts" or take advantage of the small things in life? Make your decision today, or a tragedy tomorrow may make it for you.


Word Count: 299

Generation Gluttony

The fact that Michelle Obama makes huge efforts to fight childhood obesity can give one a clear generalization about this generation. The word gluttonous perfectly describes this generation, excessively eating and insatiable. Unlike our preceding, we have lost true values which can give thanks to the lack of discipline of parents and having mostly everything given to us without work. Holding the door for someone no longer deserves a "thank you" according to the majority of this generation, which I can prove from experience. Technology gives our generation room and reason to be lazy, unfortunately. 


Word Count: 95

DON'T TREAD ON ME

Try on the shoes of a tradesman in the pre-prohibition days of the eighteenth and nineteenth century on one of the oldest streets in Federal Hill. You open the door, the sound of chitter chatter and the clanging of roping tools emanate the air surrounding you. You work for Navy ships in the Baltimore Harbor, building what will be the most powerful vessels in the world. Fast-forward to the same place, present time to the Ropewalk Tavern. Sounds of laughter and talking, along with the scratching of dinnerware replace the noises that once inhabited. To your left you see men in their 20's playing pool and to the right ladies smiling with margaritas. All of this stimulation replacing where men once worked making ropes through the heat of the summer and frost of winter some 200 years ago. 

 As you glance around you notice that the history of this place is very much alive, reading above the bar, "DON'T TREAD ON ME". "Excuse me," a voice says behind you, "only one today?" She escorts you to a table with tall chairs and while climbing up you see an old pulley through a hole in the ceiling. The menu has a page with the history, now you start to understand what these walls have seen. It's just a Tuesday and yet this place doesn't have a seat to be found. You realize that this is not only a bar and restaurant, but also a place that holds a brilliant history and hopefully a bright future for generations to come.

 

Word Count: 249

DON'T TREAD ON ME

Try on the shoes of a tradesman in the pre-prohibition days of the eighteenth and nineteenth century on one of the oldest streets in Federal Hill. You open the door, the sound of chitter chatter and the clanging of roping tools emanate the air surrounding you. You work for Navy ships in the Baltimore Harbor, building what will be the most powerful vessels in the world. Fast-forward to the same place, present time to the Ropewalk Tavern. Sounds of laughter and talking, along with the scratching of dinnerware replace the noises that once inhabited. To your left you see men in their 20's playing pool and to the right ladies smiling with margaritas. All of this stimulation replacing where men once worked making ropes through the heat of the summer and frost of winter some 200 years ago. 

 As you glance around you notice that the history of this place is very much alive, reading above the bar, "DON'T TREAD ON ME". "Excuse me," a voice says behind you, "only one today?" She escorts you to a table with tall chairs and while climbing up you see an old pulley through a hole in the ceiling. The menu has a page with the history, now you start to understand what these walls have seen. It's just a Tuesday and yet this place doesn't have a seat to be found. You realize that this is not only a bar and restaurant, but a place where young adults gather to socialize and mingle. 

Word Count: 250

Hiphuggers and V-necks

Fashion trends have changed drastically over the years, along with the way people judge the wearer. A specific clique of people that wear a distinct style of clothing are the Metrosexuals. Urban dictionary defines Metrosexual as, "straight guys who are mistaken for being gay because of their fashion sense and hygiene habits."  Men who fall under the Metrosexual category often wear tight fit clothing and are very conscious about high fashion. The main objective of wearing this clothing is to exploit a slender body type and a feminine look. In Europe, the fashion for men is almost identical to the Metrosexual style seen in America with more fitted clothing.  The style does not transfer over, however. A friend from Russia was deemed "gay" by girls he met here for wearing these clothes that are considered high fashion in Russia. What could this say about America's youth? That they judge by looks alone or that style says a great deal about someone through the judger’s eyes. 

In Andy Warhol's factory, the style seems to be high fashion of the time. Even seen here, that high fashion includes tight pants in the wardrobe. Flipping through the pages of an InStyle magazine; the European companies such as Moschino Boutique or Valentino Vienna show off their perfectly sculpted male models bodies in form fitting clothes. Although one might argue that other styles such as the skater or the emo scene both also wear skinny pants, but it is not equivalent. These styles also include the tousled hair and a look that may seem as one just rolled out of bed. The Metrosexual style involves a male to spend time in the bathroom to be sure his hair is just perfect. A male who is not Metrosexual would find it outrageous that a man would go to a spa for manicures, pedicures, and to be waxed. As for the Metrosexual, this is not only a style but a complete lifestyle that they will tend to.

Word Count: 331