I was a boy when I went too junior high. My family moved around a lot while I was growing up about five times. Now it never really bothered me much because I never felt as though I did not fit in anywhere. so when we moved to Boise, Idaho I thought it was the same. We moved to Boise at the end of my sixth grade year. My older sister with her 5 kids lived in Boise and we were going to stay with them. Now I haven’t seen my sister since I was a seven. When we arrived at the airport she was crying, tears flowed like water falls as she embraced my mom and my brother. The first things she said when she looks at me was “Oh”. I was quite confused, because obviously I wasn’t seven anymore. At age thirteen I was a late bloomer. Although I had gain …show more content…
I was the 8th person out of probably 20. The benefits of being the recluse I was that I knew everyone but they did not know me. Right next to me was John Grady. Now he was the buff-ist kid in Junior High school, built like a linebacker, all pure muscles. among kids that looked like Steve Urkle. That had not hit puberty yet. He weighed about 50 more than I did and I was dead petrified to get in that ring with him. But I knew at that moment that it was no or never and I wasn’t going to let my anxiety get the best of me. I had to believe in myself. When John stepped in the ring he was confident he was going to win, I was confident he wasn’t. As soon as Enrico blew that whistle. my arms wrapped his neck, slanting my hips I flipped him over. I don’t know how I did it but in seconds John was on his back and legs out of the circle. There was dead silent in the room, for a minute then the guys started Whispering , some of them yelling “did you guys see that”, “Does this kids even go to out school”, “Who is that, I haven’t seen him before” one kid way in the back hollered “we might win state this year”. I was just excited I was able to beat someone. I lasted 5 people before Ian Culley bounced me out the circle; he’d been one of those people who’d been wrestling his whole life so I really didn’t care. At the end of practice Enrico sat us all down “This team is your family for the next 3 months. You have to help each other out in order for everyone to compete. Not we were going to do this at the beginning but I forgot. I want you all you introduce you’re self to your team”. One by one they took their head-gear and stated their names, “I’m Ian Culley, no introduction needed” he said arrogantly. “I’m Mack”, I’m Sunga and this is my brother Muganza“. ”I’m Tyler Peter“. this went on until me, I slowly peeled back my confidence along with my head-gear, ”I’m Patience“. for the
When the dorm step show came homecoming week I was so nervous you would have thought I was about to be interrogated. The female’s dorm Kleist had just begun finishing up and they came back and said, “High Rise you’re up.” From that moment on, my nerves began to take over. My heart felt like it was beating out of my chest. The crowd started screaming as soon as they saw us coming out onto the stage. Once I heard people yelling out, “yessss go Tre!, go High Rise!” those butterflies flew away and I instantly grew confidence. It was like I had a flashback of myself being in another cookout or party when I was a kid and I let it out. Before we could even finish our first step, the crowd nearly blew the roof off of the gym. Once I heard the crowd’s reaction that allowed me to get comfortable and start really having fun. After our performance, I knew we had a good chance to win but I wanted to stay humble because the other teams worked hard. After the last performance, they said that they were going to announce the winning team. I shook hands and hugged all of my teammates and closed my eyes tight like I was making a wish. The announcer said, “Drumroll please….and your winner is……. High Riseeee!.” The entire team ran out on the floor full of energy and joy; it was like we won the Super
When we first arrived I’d thought we’d taken a wrong turn and went to a traveling gypsy convention by mistake. The whole field outside the school was filled with tents of various sizes and colors. 200 wrestlers, about thirty of which were girls, filtered about the area. As my soon-to-be teammates and I headed to the first practice, anxiety gnawed at my stomach like a dog with a bone (FL). I wanted to impress everybody, and prove that I could make it in this sport. Before we started, the coach patted me on the shoulder. “I’ve got your back all right.” he told me. I smiled and nodded. At least one person was looking out for me.
All of my life I have been a city girl, but I moved to Santa Rosa when I was about 13. Up until I was about 16, I lived there permanently. I used to switch back and forth from parent to parent all of the time. When I first started high school, I went to Piner High and, in my junior year, I went to Montgomery and, from there, to a continuation school. I am currently now back at Piner. I had to basically kick and scream to get back into my regular high school--as you can see there is some drama behind the scene.
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, CLAP, echoes through my head as I walk to the middle of the mat. "At 160lbs Aidan Conner of La Junta vs. Rodney Jones of Hotchkiss." All I can think of is every bead of sweat, every drip of blood, every mile, every push up, every tear. Why? All of this: just to be victorious. All in preparation for one match, six minutes. For some these six minutes may only be a glimpse, and then again for some it may be the biggest six minutes of their life. Many get the chance to experience it more than once. Some may work harder and want it more than others, but they may never get the chance. All they get is a moral victory. Every kid, every man comes into the tournament with a goal. For some is to win, for some is to place, others are just happy to qualify. These six minutes come on a cold frigid night in February at a place called the Pepsi Center. Once a year this gathering takes place when the small and the large, the best of the best, come to compete in front thousands of people. I am at the Colorado State Wrestling Championships.
As I sit here with my eyes closed, I imagine a tropical breeze. The warm wet air slides over my face. The humidity seems almost heavy enough to crush me. As I take a deep breath, the realization that this is no tropical air comes crashing in. Instead of the refreshing scent of the ocean, or tropical plants, the taste of salt from sweat and a smell of the human body fill my lungs. The daydream is over. A shrill whistle sounds and the voice of coach Chuck booms through out the room, breaking the peace that was comforting the pain in my shoulder and bringing me back to reality. I was not on some humid island paradise, but rather in the explosive atmosphere of the Hotchkiss High School wrestling room.
What does wrestling and wrestling in Section V mean to me? Well, wrestling has become my life these past few years, ever since I began wrestling in seventh grade. I was in sixth grade when my gym teacher and future coach (Scott Freischlag) told me I should wrestle. From that very moment on, my life changed forever. Sure, being a wrestler has had its ups and downs, but there's no greater sport than wrestling. A sport that really shows the hardwork and dedication that you put in. I have been fortunate enough to be a wrestler in Section V, one of the toughest sections in New York. This section has given me the resources to become the best wrestler I can become. Section V is one of the only sections in New York that has strong D1 and D2 wrestling,
While we headed down to the mat, I could see all the other cheerleaders nervous as can be. Because all the teams in the arena had to go down on the mat, it was very crowded and hot. When my team found a spot on the mat, we danced like animals along with the music that was playing. After all the teams got on the floor, we all sat down and listened quietly while we heard the announcer announce the awards. Because of all the teams in each division, the announcer only announced the top three so it will go faster. After a while, it finally got to the division that my team was in. As we bow our heads and hold each other's hand tightly, we listen carefully. As each name was called, I got more and more nervous. After the last team name was called we let go of each other’s hand and looked around and cheered for everyone who did make it in the top three. Even though we didn’t make the top three, we were still excited for the other
As the season progressed, competition started getting fiercer. I was up against girls running at a 5A level, yet, I was able to hold my own. Finally there came a tiny light at the end of the tunnel; it seemed as though I was getting closer and closer to accomplishing my goal. Along with my undefeated title came a huge target painted on my back. I religiously checked "Rocky Preps" every day to see if the competition was gaining on me. It seemed that every time I had improved, there was someone right behind me, running their personal best too. I trained during the weeks before regionals like I had never trained before. Each day my stomach became more twisted with knots that looped around every part of my stomach. I don't think I had ever been that nervous in my whole life.
“Today can be the day of my first wrestling match, I absolutely hope I win , what if I don't and It's embarrassing? I’m overthinking it, I’ll be fine, I just need to use the knowledge and skills I’ve learned from the past couple months.” I thought to myself as I walked to my sixth period class which was wrestling. It was the third week into the wrestling season and the first two league duels I defaulted because there was no one in my weight class.
Looking back now, I can specifically remember when this so-called reality I had as a young child, changed drastically. It all happened when I was six years old; my little brother was born. I didn’t realize the difference until he was almost a year old, but his birth, my mom having a boy instead of a girl, definitely helped form who I am today. His birth was ultimately the alter of my whole reality as I had previously known it. There are plenty moments that I can look back on during this time, and realize how each aided in forcing my gender upon me. My parent’s followed many of the social norms when it comes to boys and girls. Even at age six I noticed that they dressed my brother differently than they did when my younger sister and I were his age. I even noticed that they had a different tone of voice when they spoke to him; it was nothing at all like the little baby voice that I remembered them using when my little sister was a few months old. You know, the voice that we as toddlers would normally get in trouble for using because we weren’t babies anymore. While I could pick out all of these little differences, I wasn’t exactly sure why they were the way they were until a few months later. One evening, around the time in my brothers life when he had finally learned to walk, a few relatives were over visiting and just having a good time. My parents and relatives were talking and admiring my baby brother Mike, and my sister and I played with dolls in the corner. As they were talking, I remember my Uncle saying something like, “He’s getting big, you think he will grow up and be a football player like we use to be?” I ...
Growing up, I always felt out of place. When everyone else was running around in the hot, sun, thinking of nothing, but the logistics of the game they were playing. I would be sat on the curb, wondering what it was that made them so much different from me. To me, it was if they all knew something that I didn’t know, like they were all apart of some inside joke that I just didn’t get. I would sit, each day when my mind wasn’t being filled with the incessant chatter of my teachers mindlessly sharing what they were told to, in the hot, humid air of the late spring and wonder what I was doing wrong. See, my discontent
It was new years day, and the sun had just arisen when I felt this feeling inside me saying, what am I doing here, but even more importantly, how would I get out. The realization was scary, but I know that without it, my life would not have been at where it is now. I feel that with this experience, my mentality grew and now I see the world in a different way. It all started in high school, where I felt that all the attention I got during that time was for the façade that was reverted to the people, and not the real me because no one knew the real me. I had to lie about everything I had done and who I am just because one lie lead to another. The area I grew up in has really impacted my life in both positive and negative ways. For one, it helped
Before I even entered the double doors, I could hear the power saw inside. My warm breath turned to fog in the cold, January night, and I took the step that would change my life. Entering into a large room, the smell of sawdust almost made me sneeze, and I saw the wrestling ring in the far right corner. I passed the men cutting the 2 x 4s, and making my way towards the ring, was greeted by a stranger.
Everybody saw me as a loser and when my parents would ask me how things were going I would say that things were going fine. I was gaining more and more weight and was getting depressed but I tried my best not to show it. After a long while I made friends with a classmate in my science class. He helped me out and we started to hangout. As I started hanging out with him his friends became my friends and was getting noticed. I didn 't know it at the time but the group of friends I had were very well liked by everyone and they treated each othe like brothers. They let me join their "crew" & I became a brother. I had finally made some friends and was getting used to my new life and my parents decide we should move back to Dodge City, Kansas. This news sounded great to me. My family would be together again and home and our lives would go back to normal. At least that 's what I thought would happen. When I got back my closest friends I had known since second grade had moved on and made other friends. I got back and had to start all over again. Moving to California and then moving back thought me that something only change temporarily but the move also made me different. I now didn 't trust anyone. I almost never show how I am really feeling. Now I always think of every possible senario with everything. I had to become as much of a "man" as I possibly could meaning I had to mature and act like an adult from