Travis Roy's autobiography, Eleven Seconds, has three parts. In the first part, Travis tells about his childhood and his high school career. He reminisces about the fun he had playing little league hockey and how he would help out at the rinks that his father managed. The next part in the story is the climax. Travis describes his feelings and emotions leading up to game-time of his first college hockey game. He is extremely excited to be playing the sport he loves at such a high level of competition, but within eleven seconds, everything is stripped away from Travis. He tries to check an opponent into the boards, but misses and hits the glass awkwardly. At this point it is all over. Travis Roy is paralyzed from the neck down: a quadriplegic. For the remainder of the story, Travis describes the motionless life that has been forced upon him. He tells about the pain of never being able to play hockey, or even live a normal life again. Travis explains the emotional battle his whole family was forced into and also states his case for stem cell research.…
“People tell me I saved hundreds and hundreds of people. But I have to tell you: it’s not the people you saved that you remember. It’s the ones you couldn’t save. Those are the ones you talk about. Those are the faces and situations that stay with you forever.” This is a quote from famous US Navy Sniper, Chris Kyle(Kyle 285). Chris Kyle is notorious for being a tenacious, heroic, and affectionate man due to the many actions he carried out for the United States of America.…
We learn that while Randy did everything in his power to achieve all of his childhood dreams, not everything was accomplished. We learn the power of failing and how that can also help achieve your dreams. We learn that sometimes your dreams do not come true but may lead you to something you may not have realized you wanted in the first place. The theme of his lecture was about how having childhood dreams and the road to achieve these dreams may be blocked by “brick walls” (cmu.edu) but teaches that “brick walls are there for a reason, they let us prove how badly we want things”. (cmu.edu) That is one of many inspirational quotes given by Randy in his 75 minute lecture.…
Sam’s story shines a light on the reality that life can change in a split-second. While we all suffer hardships in our lives, special people like Sam Alexander are perfect examples of how tenacity and hope can overcome even the most devastating circumstances. After exploring Sam’s life, I now realize that Sam was never an ordinary man, but an extraordinary man who had yet to be…
What qualities make a person a hero? To answer this question, one must take a look at a person who is considered a hero. Rick Hansen is one of many examples of a hero. At the young age of fifteen, Hansen fell off the back of a truck and consequently became paralyzed for life. One would think that such a traumatic experience would make person completely pessimistic about life, but Rick Hansen is different. He became a world class champion wheelchair marathoner and a 1984 Olympic athlete. Today, he continues to inspire the world with his work to find a cure for spinal cord injuries. Rick Hansen is a hero because he is benevolent, dedicated and perseverant.…
It's about twelve o'clock at night and I'm just now getting ready to go to sleep. As I lie down on the bed I feel a sudden urge to grab my phone and watch a couple of videos before I fall asleep. I open up the YouTube app and begin scrolling through numerous videos. Approaching the bottom of my suggested videos, I see a certain video that caught my eye. The video said how a young boy would be able to live out his dream of being a major league baseball player for his favorite team. Intrigued by the caption, I clicked on the video. The story was about a young boy named Kyle who suffered from a illness called SMA (Spinal muscular atrophy). Kyle and his sister were both born with this disease and most children with SMA dont make it past the age of two. The video explained how Kyle was a huge Arizona Diamondbacks fan, and that his one wish was to meet and play for the Diamondbacks. Eventually his wish was granted by an organization by the name of Make-A-Wish foundation. The foundation was able to contact the MLB and arrange the wish with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. Then Kyle finally got to live out his dream and meet his favorite players and eventually sign a contract with the Diamondbacks. As I saw Kyle having the time of his life and living…
A person’s success or failure can be determined by their environment, education, choices; a number of different things. The autobiography The Other Wes Moore takes a look at two boys with the same name and eerily similar circumstances who end up in very different places in life. Wes Moore spoke at convocation about his book and what he hoped that people would get from it. In the book he says “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his.” (Moore xi). These two men didn’t share the same fate because they each made a choice about what they wanted their life to become. The book truly demonstrates how the choices you make, make you. One Wes Moore showed that you can make the decision to not be a product of your environment or any other situation, and go on to be very successful in life. The way a person is shaped and guided in their developmental years does undoubtedly play a huge role in the type of person they will become people. A lot of elements come into play that helps to determine a person’s success or failure but at the end of the day the most important factor is a person’s choices.…
The MHS wrestling team competed at Freedom high school on Saturday placing 10 out 13 wrestlers in the top 6 of their weight class. Braxton Thomas and Trevor Hampton were named the wrestlers of day for their strong 3rd place finishes along with Kyle Long who also took home a third place medal. On Wednesday the Panther wrestlers will take on Spotsy at 6:00 PM for their Senior Night. Please come to support your wrestlers.…
Music is a powerful tool of expression. Whether produced or listened to, it can reveal deep aspects of ones personality. Song’s can hold unique personal meanings through memory or message. During time’s of desperation, music’s constant rhythm can provide a fortress of comfort and steadiness. Music is depended upon for security, care, inspiration, and as a safe haven to be able to express freely. The Highlander Folk School is depended upon for the same reasons. These two schools of thought not only share similar relationship’s with people, but they are practiced together frequently. “Song, music and food are integral parts of education at Highlander. Music is one way for people to express their traditions, longings, and determination” (158). Myles Horton seemed certainly aware of the importance music had at Highlander, but never expressed it further than this quote from near the end of his autobiography, The Long Haul. How big of a role did music play in the Highlander education? Producing a safer environment, a more enriched education, and the ability to unleash potential, music was essential in the Highlander education.…
Brandon works hard and tries to do everything anyone says he can't, since the age of four, brandon has done anything he can to make it as a professional baseball player. That's enough talking about myself in the third person, as long as i can remember, i've always dreamed about playing baseball day-in and day- out as what most would call a “job”. I learned along the way that this game is a lot like life, it can pick you up and knock you down just as quick, in the words of Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard “Baseball has a way of ripping your heart out, stabbing it, putting it back in your chest, then healing itself just in time for Spring Training”.…
There are many situations in life where we have to learn from mistakes. Sometimes we make the mistakes, but also sometimes other people make the mistakes. My friend Willy, makes many mistakes that we can learn from. He does not listen well, he compares his life to others, and he is not realistic with his goals. Willy’s biggest mistake is that he is too prideful and it prevents him from taking a job which would help him support his family. All of Willy’s mistakes stem from his distorted idea that we have to be well-known in order to be successful. It is important that we come up with a realistic idea of success and do not fall prey to ideas such as Willy’s.…
Popular American educator and Civil Rights Movement activist, Myles Horton, was born at the turn of the 20th century on July 5, 1905 in Savannah, Tennessee. At the age of 19, he enrolled in Cumberland College where he served as a major catalyst for social change leading a rebellion against the hazing of freshman by fraternal organizations. In 1927, Horton began teaching Bible classes to poor community members who lived in the mountains. It was his love for mankind and determination to manifest social change that compelled him to build a school which helped these people transform their deprived and impoverished lives. With the help of Don West, a fellow believer in Horton's ideals, he founded the Highlander Folk School in 1932 in Monteagle, Grundy County, Tennessee. The school's mission was to provide an educational center for the south which allowed poorer residents to be trained for the enrichment of the native cultural morals and ethics of the mountain people.…
First, not only is Dan Gable an olympic gold medalist, but he is also a very hardworking man. Dan Gable had a high school wrestling record of 64-0 winning four state championships. Dan Gable wanted to be known as the hardest working man in the universe. He would do whatever it took to know he…
My career in wrestling all started in eighth grade, after months of wrestling parents and wrestlers urging me and pushing me to join I gave in and went out for the junior high wrestling team. So, when wrestling season rolled around I signed up and showed up for practice ready to go. The season was great; I was with my friends doing as we pleased during practice…
Just like Grant, I, too, have learned the greatest lesson in Ernest J Gaines’s “A Lesson before Dying.” I have learned that it isn’t impossible to make a change or impact someone’s life and Grant made that…