Monologue

Something that happened to me which made me more aware of my surroundings and taught me that I have to act/think fast in certain situations occurred not too long ago. I was a counselor at an afterschool program and I was on a school bus picking up kids from school. When I picked up all of my kids, the other counselor and I got them all back on the bus and we were headed back to our community center. All of a sudden, the bus makes a wide turn and I see an elderly woman standing right in the middle of the street. I scream STOP! just a second before I hear a loud THUMP! and I immediately understood what happened. I screamed and the bus driver realized what had happened. He told me to get all of the kids off the bus and call 911. I tried to get the kids off the bus as quickly as I could without the fear and panic being too visible on my face, but the kids saw right through it. They all started to cry and look frightened as they all curiously surrounded the womans body and the pool of blood around her. This was the first time I had to make a 911 call for anything and in a couple of minutes the fire department, police, and ambulance arrived. The kids were all panicked so they all looked up to me to help calm them down. I realized how can I do that if I myself am a complete wreck. I told myself to keep it together as I successfully got all the kids away from the incident and back inside our community center.

Coming into high school, I had a strong desire to join a sports team. Soccer was my favorite sport. But, having no more of a experience than playing casually with my friends, it was obvious that I could not make the team. I won’t even bother explaining my “excuses” for other sports. So I had no choice but to join the Track team, the “infamous” walk-on sport team of the school. Afterall, you only had to do “one” thing. Run fast. However, I learned, with my body, that running fast wasn’t the easiest thing to do. On the first day of practice, coach made us run a 400M run. He told us to take it “nice and easy”. Back then, I did not know coach meant to pace yourself. So, as soon as coach blew his whistle, I ran as fast as I could, and to my surprise there was no one obstructing my view. Then I thought, “Hey, I am fast!”. How naive I was.  I kept running at full speed and it wasn’t long before I passed the 100M mark. Soon enough, both of my legs pleaded me to stop. I began to feel pain everywhere from the tip of my toe up to my hamstrings. My breathing also started to fail and I began to puff for air. However, I did not stop running. I kept on going even though I thought I would collapse at any moment. At this point, I honestly cant say I was running, I think my speed was similar to that of “crawling”. I struggled and managed to finish the run. As soon as I stopped, everything turned white for about five seconds and I thought I was going to faint. Needless to say, I came in last. To add, I did not know until the next day that walking upstairs from basement of my school to the third floor was such a pain in the @#%.

It all started during my high school years. When I entered Townsend Harris High School I disliked it right away. I wanted to transfer but I never did and after surviving my freshman year I realized that I would regret not experiencing the different things my school actually offered. I wanted to try everything possible to make my high school years memorable and of course to put on my college application.

I remember freshman year how I wanted to join Track but I was always too afraid because I thought I wouldn’t be fast enough. Therefore, I ignored it for another three years until after going to one of the meets to watch my friend. Then and there I knew I had to give it a try. It’s better to try once than to not try at all. It was during my last few months of junior year that I joined. It was the start of outdoor season.

I was never a long distance runner so I was a sprinter. I would go to practices and do tons of drills. Then it finally came time to go to my first meet. It was different and it was new. I couldn’t believe that I was here. I didn’t do too well during my first meet but everything happened at Queens Champs. We were all patiently waiting for our heat to go. When it was my turn I got really nervous. I felt all jumpy and I looked at all the girls on my right and left. They seemed confident, like they’ve been doing this for years, which they probably have.

When the gun fired we all sprinted forward. It was only a 200-meter race but some of these girls can run. I put in all my effort but one by one girls started to pass me right away. I thought to myself ‘I can do this.’ Honestly, I actually didn’t want to be last. I ran as fast as I could and slowly I started to pass the girl in front of me. It was a great feeling and it pumped me up to pass the next girl as well. I was on a roll and I kept passing everyone. I even beat my time from the last race I did. At the end of the day I felt accomplished.

Imagine this: if you lose your footing you are dead.  That is reality on some of the more extreme polish hiking trails.

I visit Poland during the summer roughly every year, and this visit usually encompasses trekking on some mountain trails.  My mom and aunt usually take me on some trails which are more or less just a steep path winding around a mountain.  But because of my lack of interest in these non-exciting trails, my cousin (whose name also happens to be Jack) promised to take me on a path that’s more… engaging.

So a month into summer we get up nice and early and drive over to a mountain my cousin promised would not be boring for me.  The approach to the mountain and the beginning of the trail were nothing more than what I was used to, a steep trail in the wilderness.  But as we continued on, I realized that this trail would be exciting.  A lot of narrow ledges and big gaps in the trail started showing up.  Now this excited me.  And as usual I would challenge myself by leaping over the gaps and traversing the ledges unsupported by the chains that are anchored to the mountainside that you are supposed to use.

This was fine until I lost my footing near one of the gaps in the trail.  Now this wasn’t any ordinary three foot hole in the trail or anything.  It was a narrow ledge that literally had a three foot section missing.  If you were to fall in that section there would be nothing that you could grab onto to prevent you from tumbling down the mountainside.  Trees don’t even grow at the altitude we had reached.  And instead of taking it slowly I jumped the gap, but there were loose rocks were I had taken my final step and launched into my jump, so I came up short on the other side.  My first leg slid just short off of the edge of the other side, but thankfully I was able to catch myself in this awkward position where I was half squatting on the edge of the gap with my other leg.  Needless to say I began to make use of the chains provided and generally took dangerous areas slower for the rest of the day.  I don’t know if I would have died if I had fallen, but that drop did not look pleasant at all.  My cousin just looked at me with an “I told you so” look on his face, but it was funny because on our way down from the summit he got himself into a similar situation when descending too fast.

So I honestly I no clue what to talk about because I really am not someone who can come up with anything off the top of the head or random stories. It took me really long to figure this out, which is why I am posting this on the day before the actual reading. So it finally came to mind that I should talk about one of my many embarrassing moments.
So basically throughout my life, I’ve had some pretty embarrassing moments and to say them all would probably take me forever and a day. But one that really sticks out in my memory was something having to do with my pants dropping to the floor. I do not know if any of you guys have ever experienced this, but everyone looking at you in your underwear, yea not a good feeling.
Well the memory that most comes to mind is back in 9th grade during JV basketball. It was a rivalry game at home and the stands were packed, even though my school is really really small. Well it was about to be halftime and we were losing by a basket or two i can’t remember that, but before the game i had a big situation. My shorts strings were stuck in a knot i could not take out. I already had the shorts on in the locker room and i did not have enough time to take it off and ask someone to do it for me. I would have asked while i had them on, but that would look a little suspect. So i figured if i folded them over, it would not be as loose and i would be fine because it was not falling off as i was standing in the locker room. Mind you the shorts were an inch or two above my knees, no bueno.
The whole game i was running up and down the court with my hands holding these shorts up and it came to another situation where i had to choose between scoring this bucket or holding up the shorts. For sure coach would be upset if i didn’t put the rebound back up and score on the layup, so i did what i had to do. Next thing you know, my shorts were on the ground. I could not help but put my head down and run back on defense with shame. The whole crowd had seen my drawers.
To make it worse, at halftime our Athletic Director came in and yelled at the whole team as other players shorts were drooping. But he singled me out saying he had no problem letting my mother know of this “humiliation” we put our School name under. All in all, it had to be one of the most embarrassing moments in my life, something i won’t forget.

I have always viewed myself as just the artsy girl, who sang in chorus, worked in interior design galas, exhibited her art in a MoMA program, and made a bra out of Victoria Secret shopping bags. Strenuous, competitive sports were never my forte. But in the summer of 2009, I found out about dragon boating through my internship. The practices were held at Flushing Meadows Park every weekend and the team had a month to get into shape before the Dragon Boat Festival. I would’ve never caved into joining if it weren’t for peer pressure and the decision to be spontaneous.

Dragon boating, despite the peculiar name, is a very demanding sport. I woke up at 6 in the morning and traveled 2 hours to practice. Our team consisted of a drummer to keep us in sync, a sweeper to steer, and 12 paddlers, 6 on each side. I was a left side paddler. When you first get on the boat, it was wobbly and unstable and there was green gunk everywhere. water was murky and smelled putrid. Despite the Youtube videos I watched beforehand, paddling was not as easy as it looked. Your arms had to be raised to a certain height above you head, your elbow had to be at a certain angle, your paddle had to be parallel to the boat, and it can’t be too deep or too shallow into the water. The hardest part of all was pacing with your teammates because if you fall out of sync, you will hit the paddler either in front of back of you, which will drag down the whole boat. My arms and back were sore beyond relief and there were blisters all over my hand. I decided to quit. On the verge of giving up, my mom told me that, not only will I let the team down, but I’m proving to others and myself that I am weak and a failure. I had too much pride for that. So the next morning, despite the pain and exhaustion, I hauled myself out and gave it a second chance. So for a whole month, I rowed as well as I could. I began to realize that my body was adapting and that this sport was exhilarating. When you put your mind into rowing, your stress disappears and everything is a happy blur. It’s the adrenaline rush when your whole team is rowing together and every single one of your teammates is sweating the same amount of effort as you. It’s the bond you share on and off the boat. It’s the knowledge of knowing you’re doing something good for your mind and body. In the festival, we placed third in a friendly competition. Winning would’ve been nice but I was proud for doing something I never thought I was capable of and having such a fun and insightful experience.

Afterwards, the team disbanded but I decided to try for a more competitive team. The first day of practice for this new team was pure agony because they were professionals. We rowed through dead fish and geese for 3 hours STRAIGHT. As soon as we docked, we had to do pull ups, sit ups, and push ups. My whole body was numb. But unlike my first experience with dragon boating practice, I embraced this pain because I know I’m could get through it. Even though I’ve stopped dragon boating for a year now, I never forgot the emotional and physical experiences I had and how it changed me. I’m actually thinking about rejoining this summer.

Around two summers ago, my friend James and I had been ceaselessly excited–the reason?  In about a week from then, we would be heading upstate to one of his relative’s summer homes.  The area was enveloped in a thick wood, with a rather large lake a few miles north.  While we initially couldn’t wait to leave, with time, we would realize that the experience would be more excitement than we could handle.

When we arrived to the house, we were informed that there was a wonderful picnic spot by the lake–and his uncle insisted we head up there with family and friends.  Without hesitation, James and I agreed and packed our bags meticulously.  We were escorted to the lake on foot, walking through the thick, trailless woods.  The picnic itself was a wonderful experience–as I was immersed in the dissonant songs of nature and the gentle touch of the cool breeze.  After eating, both James and I explored the nearby woods until twilight approached.  On our walk back to the picnic site, we realized we could no longer hear the chatter and laughter as we did before. To our disbelief, when we finally returned, everyone was gone.  It had been as if they all forgot about us, and as we had no service on our phones, there was no way of contacting anyone.

I immediately noticed the panic treading through James, as sweat began dripping from his head and his hands began to shake.  I remained calm and thought logically about the predicament at hand, as panic would not achieve anything.  With no other option, we went back into the woods and walked slowly in the general direction we came from.  James’ fear eventually led to anger and resent–he was clearly too emotionally involved to help at all.  Through basic navigational techniques, I realized the sun was setting, ergo wherever the sun was, that was west.  I was able to verify the direction, and reinforce my position when I noticed that moss was growing thicker on one side of the trees–which indicates we were heading north.  Knowing that the way back was northeast, I was able to gain a step forward;  I simply thought about the situation rationally, and hoped for the best.

With both these navigational concepts in mind, I successfully got back to the house safely, with a calm and collected attitude.  James began to calm down when he noticed we were there, and his relatives apologized, as they assumed we followed them.  Although the experience may have initially been a traumatic one, in retrospect, the both of us simply laugh it off and treat it as another addition to our vast collection of life experiences.

jolly & carefree, love for friends & always encouraging (:

I used to be on a crew team, and it was a co-ed youth team. It was my first summer on the youth team, with zero experience. The seating arrangement depended on one’s skill level. So if I were experienced, I would sit towards the front of the boat, but since I was new, I sat at the end of the boat. The people in the front were called Pacers, people in the middle were called the Engine, and people at the end were called the Rocket.

My team had a tradition of team bonding after every practice. We did things like going to eat brunch, singing at karaoke places, shooting pool, or going to the manager’s house to play games. Everyone seemed really nice and easy to get along with at first. Then as I got to know the people on the team more, I realized that people on this team were extremely arrogant and competitive. I specifically remember this one guy that I met: he would always put down the new youth, saying how we are really bad at this sport. He would belittle us and act a if he was the coach. I disliked this guy so much.

I started to get competitive myself, and I was determined to prove to that guy that the newbies got skills too. I went out to every practice – four times a week, twice in the evening and twice in the early morning. By early I do not mean 10a.m. I meant practice was at 7a.m., and I had to leave my house 5p.m., so that meant I had to wake up at 4 in the morning! I always went to practice early too, so that I can get extra advice on rowing techniques from my coach.

Week by week, I was moved up row by row: from Rocket to Engine to third row Pacer. By the end of the summer, which was two months from when I first started, I was placed as row one Pacer. I felt so empowered at that moment when my coach read off the roaster for the New York race that was scheduled in a week. I was finally able to prove to the guy that I disliked that he was wrong about the new youths.

A dilemma we often face in this day and age is choosing what to watch among the thousands of channels on TV. I personally, have over 9,000 channels to choose from and that can lead to some serious headaches. so what do i do? i stop watching tv all together. i almost never turn on my tv, yet i still watch dozens of shows. that’s right. dozens. how you may ask? a glorious thing we have called the internet.

The internet has allowed to me stay current with many tv shows. for example, my second most visited website, after facebook of course, is a little wonder called hulu. most tv stations have websites and whenever one of their shows airs, it is usually up on the internet the next day for unlimited viewing. hulu allows you to view all of these shows on one site so that you don’t have to navigate from nbc’s website to abc’s. it’s a time saver and the commercial ads are generally about 30 seconds.

during the spring semester of my senior year in high school i had a lot of free time and that’s when i watched the most tv. i was following (the list gets kinda long) lost, the office, it’s always sunny in Philadelphia, breaking bad, dexter, mad men, the community, psych, the Simpsons, Mythbusters, house, the big bang theory, how i met your mother, glee, lie to me, chuck, 24, modern family, sons of anarchy, sparatus: blood and sand, scrubs, cougar town, white collar, and probably more that i have failed to remember.

it’s a frickin miracle that i didn’t fall behind in my school work. that’s partly because i set time aside for watching my shows. and i encourage all of you to go find an awesome show and stick with it. i just happened to find 20+

Obesity is a problem I had to fight for many years. These problems date back to my second and third years of school, when my friend Daniela gave me loads of free candy and chocolate bars. Because of eating these sweets, I quickly gained weight during that time and I went from being “normal” to being extremely overweight. This transition changed my life for the worse.  The social dogma associated with obesity is terrifying.For many years, my confidence was low and I could have been considered a loner. I didn’t have many friends in elementary school or junior high school. Despite my struggle with my weight and confidence, I still had a wonderful childhood. My parents and grandparents cared for me every step of the way and were always there through my struggle. During junior high school, school started to become a chore.

Obesity soon led to another problem of mine, World Of Warcraft. Being fat is one thing, being addicted to World of Warcraft is another. When I had cut class, I would either be at home or hiding behind a handball court on McDonald Park. The times I was at home, I would be playing the infamous game, World of Warcraft. This game is literally crack on a CD. During weekends I would play up to 13 hours everyday and during weekdays perhaps 5-6. My obsession with WoW led to my decrease in performance in school. I would get low grades from then on until I was able to quit World of Warcraft.

Neither of these problems would be solved until the end of my sophmore year in high school. I don’t know what happened to me during that time, but I didn’t want to stay that way any longer. I started playing basketball and I lost about 30-40 pounds over one summer. World of Warcraft soon became a chore like school and I somehow ended up quitting. I would have moments where i would play for about 1 month, but there is no addiction. I’m glad I don’t have these problems anymore. Hopefully I can keep the weight off and focus more on my schoolwork and my girlfriend.