A life changing experience

It was a regular day as any other, but it was my first coast club soccer game of the season. I was a freshman in high school, and everything was new to me. It was so hot the sweat on my face became dry and salty in a second. The grass was dead, and weeds that used to be green were dry and brown. It was hard to control the ball because the field had holes; the field was like a battle field. The humid air and wind made it hard to breathe, I felt as if I was in a desert. We were playing at middle school in Valencia, and the time of the year made it worse. a Within twenty-five minutes of the game I was dying of thirst, and I felt if I was going to pass out. The game between our teams was very intense, and at times it got physical. Something in my gut told me if I didn't stop playing aggressive something was going to happen to me. When I would play I was very aggressive, and I did not let anyone push me around. Players on other teams were not very fond of me, and they wanted to compete against me.

Furthermore, I was playing left back and I had not played that position before, and I felt very uncomfortable. Playing a position you do not know can be confusing, and can cost you to lose a game. A girl from the opposing team had attempted to try to score, but she had a horrible shot and it went out. My best friend Ashley was taking the goal kick, and she usually sends it up; but at this time she sent it to me. As the ball came towards me I turned my body 90 degrees so I could receive it, and I could pass it with my right foot. As the ball touched my left cleat, I turned 180 degrees toward the right, and all I heard was a long cracking noise. The noise was pretty loud, and it reminded me of glass being shattered. I was in so much pain, but all that could go through my head was how bad could this be? I was losing my mind, and I was denial. I could not believe something so loud could come from inside my knee.

Immediately after I fell I knew my life would not be the same. All I could remember from the moment was that I heard a crack so loud. .My scream was so loud it had an echo to it , and people thought I was dying.When I heard the noise I got scared, and I yelled in pain. My parents rushed over and asked me what had happened, and all I could say was “my knee”. The tearing of my ligament was so loud it could wake up the living dead.I had other injuries before, but none could compare. Sure, I had bruises, and got kicked but this pain was not normal, and that noise was not good. I was on the floor for a while, and I knew then and there this might be my last time playing soccer for a while. I was crying thinking that I might never touch a soccer ball again. I had grown up player soccer, and it was my life everything revolved around it. It was my passion for life.

A second right after I heard that horrible noise the pain came, and it was the most agonizing feeling ever. The pain was so agonizing, and I felt like someone had run over my leg. Parents from the other team had heard the crack, and were worried. The pain felt as if someone had stuck a thousand needles in one spot in my knee.. The only thing that was running through my mind was how bad my knee hurt. I could not move my right leg just turning a little was hard. My parents would try to move me, and I would not let. I was on the field for about ten minutes until they could pick me up, and when they did I was crying while they were carrying me. Moving my knee just a little bit felt like someone was stabbing with a knife. My friend's father and my father were the ones who picked me and brought me to the car. After I was in the car my mom told me we are going to the emergency room, and that’s when I found out I needed to go to a specialist. And from there we found out that I tore partial of my Acl. Your Acl stands for anterior cruciate ligament, and the function of it is to keep your knee placed all together. This ligament is major part of how a knee is bending, and how you run and do other activities. In soccer many girl my age have Acl injuries, and it is common based on how our body is. Women have curves and hips, which leads to more pressure on their knees. Thus women have more weight to deal with, and it is hard for the knee to stay strong with all the weight.

Eventully I had to have surgery to fix my knee, and with surgery comes the rehab . After my surgery I had to do eight long months of physical therapy, and it was very difficult . I had to learn how to run,walk,and bend my knee all over again. I had good days and bad ,but I never gave up. I kept trying to be my do my best ,so that I could play again. The process was a very overwhelming,and it took a lot of strength out of me. The only reason I was modivated to get better was so, that I could play soccer again. My recovery was a learning experience, and it taught me to be thankful for living.

Lastly, my experience taught me that I should take each game seriously. I do not know when my time could be up, and the doctor tells me that I cannot play soccer anymore. I never thought that I would tear anything in my body because I took care of my body. However, I was wrong. Any moment something unexpected can happen, and for me, one bad turn was it. It was a very dramatic time in my life, and I still have flash blacks from the accident. Although I try to keep my head up, because my injury didn’t stop me, it made me. Many people do not understand the how precious life is, and at any moment something you value can be taken away. After my injury I learned that I should play every game like it is my last, and I have done so. Lesson learned. Never take anything for granted. I am still playing soccer today, and since my injury I have had two surgeries, but I continue to play and fight all my battles that come my way.  

Something New

I had the honor of interviewing one of my classmates by the name of Mindy Sanchez. Mindy has lived her whole life in Oxnard , and she plays softball aswell and is very passionate about it. She attends Oxnard College, and this is her second year here. As I was conversating with her she mention that she wants to become a fire fighter, and I thought that was intresting and cool. Not many women go out there and decicde that they want put their life before others. She has a job, and mostly works everyday, she attends school two days a week, however she does not have a break that much. Mindy does have a brother, and in her free time she likes to be with her family. I asked her to describe herself in three words , and she came up with weird, nice and talkative. I could understand why she was said talkative she was very social when we were doing our interviews. One of her favorite quotes or saying “you can achieve it , if you believe it”. I thought that was a great quotte because in life you have to believe in yourself. Lastly when we started talking about the campus she said she liked the library best, based on how nice it was. If she could change anything she said it would be that old cafeteria building, because it is just sitting there with no purpose. I thought that was funny, but Mindy was a very open and honest person, and interviewing her was a great opportunity.

TEXTING is taking over

I believe that texting is just a way to comminicate, and that it comes in handy for emergencies. I am the kind of person who likes to call rather than text. It is very hard to get a hold of someone by text message I would rather just call and get it over with. Texting has become something that everyone needs to have nowadays. When I first got myphone as a freshman in high school I was excited to text. However, over the years texting got boring, and I started to to talk on the phone more. Kids nowadays are always on their phones, and their whole life revolves around it. I am not going to lie I am attached to my phone, but I could live without it. I remember when phones were just for calling and now they have texting and a bunch of things. Texting is good for certain things, but too many teenagers are so into texting they do not see the bad grammar they use. I fell some people loose their writing skills, and forget how to write. A phone call is better and it makes everything better, and quicker. Althought, texting is quick it is a pain in the butt when you the person you are texting doesn't reply.

Fake television

The media has changed so much over the years, and reality television is one of the reasons why people question if what they are watching is real? I honestly believe that media and reality shows effect our society. Nowadays all you see on t.v is sex, fighting, and drinking and kids are watching that and thinking it is okay. I believe mostly everything that is shown on television is fake, based on what happens behind the scenes. There are some shows that display the American Dream, but I believe there is a twist to them. Everything that is on television is reality shows, and they all betray the same issues, and that is drugs, and fighting . All these show have the same drama with cursing, but at the same time people like to watch it. I admit I like to watch shows with drama, however I like when shows betray love, and family.

Although I do not believe reality shows are real,but they do have some particular issues that are real. One of my favorite reality shows was the “Hills” on MTV, because it displayed a girl's journey to the city and follows her dream. Like any other reality show there was drama, but my favorite character was Lauren Conrad. She was a down to earth girl, and even though some of the issues were fake she remained true to herself. I admire that so much, she did interviews and explain that MTV wanted her to do certain things, and she refused. They got upset. Laruen eventually quit the show and it was not successful, but she stayed true to herself. So many shows today have no learning lesson; for example if something serious happens on a reality show on MTV they all get into it . I believe they should show the true struggle of what it is to be in America, and none of this Real World or Teen Mom. My personal opionion I do not like those shows they are just showing that all America wants to do is party, and young girls getting pregnet. I refused to let my children when I have some be involved with this, because this is not how we should see ourselves as.

On the other hand there are some respectful, and exciting shows that a family can watch. The Voice is a fantastic show to see with your family it shows true life people and what they are going through. Life is all about struggle, and celebrities make it seem easy; but by having shows that display hardwork and heart is the real deal. I know that now more t.v stations are having more traditional shows, and showing moral lessons. I believe we all need to change what is out there for the sake of children in the future. I honeslty miss how the shows used to be when I was a child, because when I was a kid Disney Channel taught so many lessons throughout all their shows. However, it is different now I do not see those actions taking place, and it is a shame.

Fast Food

Fast food has been around for many years, and it had a big influence in my life as a child. xcWhen I was a child my parents would not let us go and eat at Jack in the Box or McDonalds, because they felt the food was not healthy. However, every now and then we would go as a treat, but we were limited to what we would get. Fast food as a child was not as bad as it is now, back then I felt that people only at fast food restaurants when they really needed to. As a child the only reason why I would like to go to McDonalds or Burger King was because they had toys when you bought the food. I did not really pay attention to the food, which meant my main focus was on the toys. I can say myself and all other children that the only reason why we ate at fast food restaurants was based on the toys. I had a routine when I went to McDonalds, I would get the happy meal with fries and chicken nuggets. I always loved the taste of them the soft inside and hard outside, but the BBQ sauce is that put it all together. My parents were really strict about what we ate, because my family has a history of diabetes. No parent wants to have their child go through that. My family was and still is very traditional, which means we like to have home cooked meals and eat together.

My life right now is very busy, and ongoing I have no time to stop and relax so I depend on fast food more than necessary. A life as a college student I tend to get lazy, and not want to make myself food. But, that is where the fast food role comes into play. When I am running late to work or on the way to soccer practice I go to a drive thru, and the food is hard to stay away from. I rely more than I should on fast food. I feel I have gained weight since I got surgery. A big role that may be involved was fast food. With out working out and fast food incorporated all the weight added up. It is very hard not to go, because the food is made already so there is no wait. Almost every where I turn my head, fast food is right there. Fast food can have some advantages they have salads even though they might not me good they have them. When I eat fast food I try to choose the healthier items or anything organic, most of the time I limit myself even thought it is very hard with all the delicious food and to add to that the resisting smell. Everybody has a choice to choose healthy or not. Fast food should be eaten once in a while with moderation instead of temptation.