Hard Work Pays Off

[ti315-blog]

Current Situation

Tiquan Simpkins

            A situation that is still being talked about today that I would like to discuss is the shooting that happened in California. Brief summary; in LA, California a married couple by the name of Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik were apparently upset with their job for whatever reason and they both went and shot up the job and killed 14 people and wounded 21 people. Now, when they went to the job they were armed to the bone with guns and vests. Now Syed was an U.S born citizen and Tashfeen was a Pakistan national. They owned a home out in Redlands where they stayed together. When government officials checked their home, they found an arsenal of ammunition and pipe bombs. Malik was pledged in to a religious Islamic group, and on Facebook he would post messages of extremist. He was also in contact with 2 people oversees who were apart of a terrorists organization. Now, the real question is, was it an act of terrorism? So far the government was not able to fully put it in to understanding that it was a terrorist act and they are still searching for more clues and information. In my opinion, I think it was a part of a terrorist act. Although it may not have been as big as what we are used to seeing I think that it was still a small one. I say this because Malik was obviously an extremist with the things that he was saying on his Facebook, and he stays in contact with people apart of terrorists groups. But the main reason to me is that they were armed like they were ready for war in and outside of the home. Now I know that in today’s world it can be easy for someone to just go out and purchase a gun or make home bombs, but what is there reasoning for having these in their home. They are a married couple and from what I’ve heard its not like they have anyone who is looking to want them dead. I think they just have them for whenever the time was needed, and it just so happens to be for their job. So in my eyes yes it was terrorism, or until more information is giving on the situation and all of the details that were involved. Maybe someone can shed more light on this for me.

[ti315-blog]

Stayin’ in Shape

           The type of shape my body is in, is very important to me. Staying in shape, and improving my physicality in my upper and lower body overall is something that I am trying to increase for multiple reasons. The main reason for me is because of football. Playing football is a very physical sport and requires the body to stay in great shape to endure the type of training, and all of the physicality that is going on. Not running, lifting weights, and staying in good health is going to cause a short career, and lots of punishment that the body isn’t just able to take being out of shape. Plus if you want to be the best, you have to work like the best. There are people out there everywhere training to get better, and I have to keep up with and surpass those people, and staying in shape is a great way to do so. Another reason why I try to stay in shape so much is because of the way I like to feel about myself. I like to know that I can compete with other people in the things I like to do. I like to know when I am improving in things like my strength, speed, or stamina. I never want to feel like someone that is too lazy from sitting around, or not being able to keep up with all of my friends because my body can’t take that type of punishment. It is more of a mental way of thinking just to know that I am always in top shape. Another reason why I like working out so much is because of the way it makes me look. I don’t look real skinny and unbuilt like I never ate any types of meats before. When I see a lot of people like that I don’t think bad about them, but I wouldn’t want to turn out that small. It’ll make me feel like less of a man for some odd reason. Also to add on to the looks, the way my body is turning out to be built attracts some good attention. Like when I go places with my shirt off, or just with a sleeveless shirt, it can send out some good vibes. Sometimes I can be very caught up in myself for some funny reason, and it makes me feel good to know of the progress I have been making since I left high school.

[ti315-blog]

My Future

Something that I think about, and that I know many young people think about every once and awhile is my future. My future is very important to me because I wasn't to do something with my life, and enjoy life to its fullest. I also set goals for myself in life, and achieving these goals are very important to me, and the only way that is going to get done is trough hard work, and dedicating myself to it. In my future 10 years from now, I see myself involved with something in criminal justice. I want to do something like being a state trooper, or along those lines. I cannot see myself just sitting behind a desk all day, or doing something that sees about the same type of stuff day in and day out. I want to do something that involves action, moving around, and keeping my physical ability up. I would like to live somewhere that is hot almost all year round. I really would like to move down to Florida where most of my fanfic are, or just go to a place like California and start a whole new life. Hopefully I can raise a family and make my kids proud of me and vice versa. I do not want to have to struggle day by day off of minimum wage payments or anything close to that. Being successful in life is very important to me and it should be the same for everyone else. I want to be able to get things I want in life and do the thing a that I want, and the only way to get that is to work for it. So far I would say in Doug pretty good for myself considering I made it this far, and not too many of my close friends are in college. All I really want to do is make myself proud, and make my mom proud. We only get one shot in life to do what we want, so I am going to make that shot count. The last thing I see myself doing is traveling to different places of the world when I get my vacation time. I always wanted to travel to different places to see new things and do all types of fun activities there are out there. Many places offer things that others do not offer and I would love to experience these different types of things in life. My success is in my hands and I will do anything to get there.

[ti315-blog]

Typical Day

Only a few people know what it is like to go through a full day in my shoes. Those select people happen to be my football team. I am not going to talk completely about football, but it will be mentioned. I feel like not everybody would be able to handle my full workload of a schedule if they had to, and that some may just give up. Every now and then, I will get someone who asks me how do I find time for everything. To be short and sweet about it, I just tell them that I try and prioritize my time. Now, while that may be true, I never really get in to the full story of how a day is like to walk in my shoes.

            I start off my typical days by waking up at about 8:30, to get dressed and ready for my 9 o’clock lift. Since we are in season right now, we only have to lift twice a week, but out of season it is 4 times. So, it takes me at least an hour to do my lifts, from doing what I am supposed to do that required day to doing my extras just to get a little lift on the competition. Then after my lift I go straight to breakfast and try to get some food before my 1st class which is about 40 minutes after. That gives me time to shower and get things ready. Then I head to class, take care of business in there, then go to eat again, and do a little work or take a nap before my football day starts with my meetings at 2 o’clock. Then after my first meeting for about 25 minutes I immediately have another meeting for 30 minutes right after. Then after that meeting I have practice. Practice is usually about 2 ½ hours so we get out about 6. I then shower, then go to eat once again. Once I reach my room, I try to do all of my homework that I have to take care of, then I finally get to relax. My relaxing consists of playing my Xbox One, or just hanging out with my suite mates. After that I go to sleep, wake up, and restart. My days our very time consuming and some people may have a way of getting through it, but me, I just get through it. :)

[ti315-blog]

Football

In life, I feel as if there is something important to everyone. Whether it is something they like to do, someone that is important to them, or even something that is important, I think there is always something. To me, that important thing is football. The first time I ever played football was when I was about 5 years old, and it was because of my mom. I don’t know what really made her want me to get in to the sport, but I did and now I love it. Also, growing up football was just something that all of my friends and family really played. Well that and basketball so I was just destined to play one and football was the one I chose to keep at.

            If I were asked why do I continue to play the sport, my answer would be because my love for the game has just grown to a point where I just feel the need to keep playing. Also the brotherhood that is formed from the sport is something I will always admire. Football is the biggest team sport there is, so there are a lot of people that are relying on me to have their back on and off the field, just like I am relying on them to have mines. The last thing I would say is because no matter what is going on in life, the good and the bad I get to get away from it all. On the field when it’s just me and my boys playing whether we are practicing to get better, or going up against another team to win, it is strictly football. All of the outside problems just cease to exist.

            Throughout my years of football as a child up to now, my positions has changed many times. I used to play on the offensive line, and then I moved to linebacker and running back. Then when I got to high school I played wide receiver and corner back up until I got to varsity where I played wide receiver and safety. Then I came to college playing safety, and then I was moved back to corner back. Hopefully I am able to stay at the corner back position because I really like what I do there. Plus defense to me is the best side of the ball to be on because defense wins games. So, as of right now I am loving where I’m at, and I hope I can help my boys to do big things this year and going on in to the future.

[27stella-blog]

     My life was a little unconventional growing up. Before settling down in Buffalo New York, my parents traveled the world cooking at high-end restaurants and hotels, making various connections as they went. They came home when my grandpa became sick and took over the family restaurant. A couple years later they had three children, my brother, sister, and myself. Even though they had settled down, my parents never lost the urge to travel so my aunt and a nanny watched me a lot of my life. While traveling my parents did things like cooking lessons around the world and cooked at the Grammys. The connections my parents made while traveling and doing these events opened many doors for me that I am extremely grateful for. A couple years ago my entire family went to Spain and stayed with one of their very good friends, making far away trips a more feasible thing with a family of five. Having friends in various countries is a great way to go see the world

    Another thing my Mom enjoys doing are health missions in third world countries; she is a strong believer in giving back. In order to instill this virtue in my brother, sister, and I, she brought each one of us on a health mission when we turned twelve. I went to Dominican Republic with a group of doctors where we traveled to different bateys (small villages). There we provided people with free dental work, common medical work, and veterinary work. On lunch breaks we would walk around the batays. Some people would allow us look in their homes, which were sheds with tin roofing and dirt floors. Despite the lack of running water everyone and everything was very clean. The toys the kids played with included sticks and tires that they would push around, and the occasional ball. This trip really made me appreciate what I had at home and taught me to not take advantage of what I had. It also helped me realize what I wanted to do for my profession. Since my trip in seventh grade I have participated in four more health missions and plan on continuing going when I have more free time. I also try to do local volunteer work in my own community like volunteering at soup kitchens and the Ronald McDonald house.

     Currently I am a sophomore hoping to go to medical school. I put a lot of my time into school and hope that one day it will pay off. I believe that everything in life happens for a reason, even the bad things like my parents divorce or the death of a family member. All of the things I have encountered in life have helped me to grow and see things differently then I once did. I look forward to the future.

[ti315-blog]

i think that it is nice that your mother does that, and also that she had you guys do that. It to me shows that your mom is caring and wants to see her children do something to better our world. i think that the medical field would work out great for you and good luck going on in the future.

[-jvst]

High School V.S. College

[ti315-blog]

The transition from high school to college is different. I feel exactly how you feel when looking at it, and the little things like the cell phone use or even coming in to class a couple of minutes late. I do like college more than high school though, i think that i can be more free to do what i want.

[zekeatteck1232-blog]

About me

My name is Zach. I am nineteen years old and I have just started my sophomore year of college. I graduated from Lake Shore High School. I was not one to participate much in school. I played lacrosse for a season but that was my only involvement other than going to class.

I am a biotechnology major, hoping to work in a lab as a researcher for a drug company, or something of that nature. Ever since I was a kid I have always found science interesting, and when I entered high school I gravitated towards the study of life (biology), rather than chemistry or physics.

I like all kinds of music. Depending on what type of mood I am in, I’ll usually listen to rap, hip-hop, alternative, rock or classic rock. As a kid my parents were always listening to music and I believe they have instilled that quality on me as well. Some of my favorite artists/ bands are: A$AP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar, The Black Keys, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd.

I also like sci-fi stuff like Star Wars and In the spirit of the new Hobbit Trilogy that has come out in the past few years, I decided to read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I really liked both movie trilogies, but when I read the books, it was like a whole new adventure. I would absolutely say that J.R.R. Tolkien is my favorite author.

I am definitely a dog person. My dog, Nikki, is half-American Eskimo and half-Chihuahua. She is 4 years old, roughly 20 lbs and is pretty much a ball of energy. She isn’t the fetch kind of dog, but she loves to play with anyone willing to give her some attention.

I recently read that Buffalo is ranked 3rd for the city with best food across America, and I just couldn’t help but to think how awesome that is and how much I take it for granted. I primarily eat pizza, wings, and subs. But after considering how many great options Buffalo has, I want to open my horizons when it comes to food.

 During my freshman year of high school, I met my girlfriend of six years. We want to move in together we just don’t have the money. So for now we live with our parents and save money while we can. We want to get an apartment in the Hamburg or Blasdell area, but unfortunately, we haven’t been able to find anything reasonable. 

[ti315-blog]

My name is Tiquan, and i think that its cool that we both listen to the same type of music. All i really listen to is rap, i don't really have any other favorites. I also think that it’s nice that you found yourself a girl and that you guys have ben going strong for 6 years. Congrats

[ti315-blog]

Who Am I?

My life, in my eyes, is something i like to look at as accomplishments and happiness. I try to get the most that i want out of life as i can, while enjoying myself and working hard. Some people to me, just take life to seriously most of the time. I try not to look at it that way. I feel as if since we really only get one chance at this life stuff, we should just live it to the fullest the best way we can. Things about me outside of all of the classes, and things that i feel are required for me to do throughout life to be successful, is i just like to chill out. That may seem like something so simple, but for me, that feels like everything. I feel as if i am always on the go, and that i don’t have time for a lot of the things that i want to do. So when i do finally get free time to myself, i just hangout with the bros. Another thing about me is that i don’t tell people much about me. i rather just wait for them to get to know me through just finding out things on their own. If people really cared enough about me, they would pay attention to the things i do and how i act. I also like learning something new everyday, so that is another reason as to why I keep things hiding. My life is always on the move, and it is also very exciting. I love my life, and if i had to add one thing about myself, it would be to be even more ambitious.