Teamwork’s
Un-parallel Strength
I could not
believe we lost. The second it happened I was already trying to figure out a
strategy to get it back but the inevitable had arrived. My last time stepping
on the ice had ended in a loss. After sitting in the locker room, everyone
silently stripping off their gear I knew right away I wasn’t going to let it
end like this. After everyone had shuffled out I pulled my coach aside and
asked him if he was looking for an assistant next year. He couldn’t believe I
was talking about next year 30 minutes after the biggest loss of our season but
right away he knew I meant business.
The upcoming
season was going to be the first time not playing hockey in 16 years. I first
started when my mom forged my birthday to get me on the ice early. Growing up
it was always about having fun for me. I loved everything about hockey. Every
drill, every game, every locker boxing championship fight, it was my home. I
was never spectacular at singular aspects of the game but I had dedication and
an understanding for the game that most players do not have. I played for the
town of West Roxbury my entire life but when I turned 15 the next level up was
just a half of a season because so many people played high school hockey.
Usually a hockey season goes from late September to early April but at this age
division they only played until December. This was not nearly enough hockey for
me. A couple years prior my town hockey program joined a league in Quincy
called the Presidents League, that is where I called home for the next 5 years.
When the league first started there were two teams, Quincy and us. This caused
a huge rivalry and even bigger amount angst between the two of us. Everyone had someone on the opposing team
they rivaled against and if wasn’t settled that week than it was settled the
next week. Neither team had a star player that could win them the game so for
us, team was everything. Usually a team has one or two kids that in desperate
situations, they could rely on to win them the game. Our team never had this.
For us, teamwork was the most valuable asset, and that is something that will
stick with me for the rest of my life.
Five years after
my journey in the President’s League had started I was back on the bench except
this time I was wearing a windbreaker and boots instead of a jersey and skates.
I was in charge of all these kids that I had played with for two years and now
I had to tell them what to do. It was strange to say the least. I remember
telling them the first game that this game is going to be the most important
game we play all season. I told them this is where we set the tone and decide whether
we want to leave the championship game silently with our heads down or
screaming our heads off all the way to the parking lot. We won that game 7-2.
Switching from playing the coaching was one of the weirdest feelings. Not being on the ice and not being able to
help the team directly was very foreign to me but that’s what gives you the
respect and admiration for the game that you never take in on the ice. Regardless,
I knew that I was home and that our team was ready to take this league by
dominant fashion.
Three months later
we had hit the halfway mark of our season. We were undefeated. We had dominant
performances and we had nail biters but everybody did their job and was ready
to stand up against anything in our path. We then got an offer to go up to
Montreal for a tournament on Valentines Day weekend. Everybody wanted to go.
All we could think about was party first and hockey second. We were going to
the hockey capitol of the world nobody expected us to score a goal let alone
win a game. Our first game was against a team from Ontario and every single one
of us were wrong about how this weekend in Canada would play out.
These kids were
fast, had amazing stick handling, and could shoot the puck like no one we had
faced state side. The one thing they didn’t realize is that we were a team,
there were no individual talents on our team everyone got their talent from the
guys to their left and their right. After the second period we were winning
5-2. We all looked up at the scoreboard, looked at each other, back up at the
scoreboard, and everyone fell silent. I got in the middle of the circle of
players and told them that the game plan has changed. We were the only
Americans there and we were not supposed to win or even come close. But lets do
it anyway. We ended up winning 6-3. The next game we got beat in every exchange
and ended up loosing 7-3 but the loss of morale was far greater.
After that game
spirits were low so we decided to have a little fun and went to downtown Montreal
for the night. The next day we were rejuvenated and ready to go. Next up we had
a tough opponent and new the odds were against us but that didn’t stop us for
fighting to the end to win 4-3. At the end of the game one of the opposing
players took a huge blind-sided check from behind against one of our smallest
players. During the handshake line their
coach stepped out of line and was the epitome of a sore loser. When I went to
go grab our pucks off the bench, I saw their coach yelling something at our
head coach so I did the calm and rational thing and got in his face and started
yelling back. Before I knew it I was being dragged off the ice by the refs
while still heckling at their coach. After that game we could do nothing but
watch and wait to see if we’d make it into the championship. All we knew that
if we made it to the championship then we were going to win, there was no other
option.
That last game we
came together in no way I had ever seen before. The team that had beaten us 7-3
thought that they had an easy game ahead of them but little did they know they
were facing an entirely different team. We won that tournament with a
dominating performance in that last game winning 4-2. We all entered the country
of Canada prepared to be embarrassed but instead we did a little bit of embarrassing
of our own. As soon as that game ended our focus was back on our season with
the Presidents league and now we were more prepared then ever.
Two months had
passed since we won the gold in Montreal and we were still undefeated and now
back in the finals facing the same team we had lost to. We were no longer a
team we were a family. Before I even entered the rink I knew that we were going
to win. Not because of our skill set or our dedication, but because this family
shared the same goal and same mentality. It was a hard fought game we were in a
war. I had been so focused and determined that by the time I finally looked up
at the scoreboard we had 2 minutes left and we were in the lead by 2 goals. The
other team called a timeout and I was prepared to give a speech that would be
envied by Braveheart. I reminded each and every player of our accomplishments
and our battles and when the whistle blew everybody had the same exact look in
their eye, resistance. Although those two minutes were the slowest two minutes
of my life I will never forget them. I counted down every second in my head
while my eyes focused on the action. Before I knew it the buzzer sounded and
there was a quick pause of silence, and then, chaos. I charged my coach with
open arms and almost tackled him to the ground. Everybody jumped over the bench
and created a pile of bodies on top of our goalie. That moment will always be
engraved into my memory. The amount of accomplishment and pride I felt for our
team is un parallel. I will always remember that when you have a bond with
others and become family over a common goal you can accomplish anything. This
is something that I will carry forever and always hold close to my heart.
Teamwork is one thing, but team accomplishment is where the greatest bonds are
formed.
Why
Must I Be Surrounded By Idiots?
This election
season has not only made a mockery of the election process but of the
presidential seat itself. This year we have had candidates that have stirred the
pot of the campaigning process. Up until now it was always been about whose
ideas were the most practical and achievable for us as a society to comprehend.
Now, campaigning is based off of being different and having some solid sound
bites. I will chose to talk about three candidates, Bernie Sanders, Hillary
Clinton, and Donald Trump. From what I’ve seen from the very beginning these
three candidates are the only recognizable names to the common man. Why is
this? Because for the first time we are getting an entirely different view of
what politics entails and to see society’s reaction to this in all honesty
scares me. My problem is not with the candidates themselves, rather how we as a
society have reacted to this election season.
We
live in the most powerful and influential country in the entire world. As a
nation we are not the most economically strong but we make up for this with the
greatest military this world has ever seen, an ever growing and diverse
population, and now we are beginning to make a huge change in the way politics
work. Running this country is probably the most important job in the whole
world. Because we as a nation are so powerful, whoever holds the keys to the
castle has keys to the rest of the world’s castles. The candidates for this
election season range from the corrupt, to the socialist, and even the showman
and in this essay I will attempt to break down their different stances to their
core beliefs and show why this is the worst batch of presidential candidates
that we have had in a long time.
First we have
Bernie Sanders. I greatly respect Bernie for being the first presidential candidate
in a long time to not accept donations from big corporations. He is a man for
the middle class, and wants to give everybody in America equal opportunities
simply because they are American. The biggest problem with Bernie Sanders is
that his views do not match with the capitalist theme that is “The American
Dream”.
One example I will use is his stance on
education. If you look at his website (feelthebern.org) you can get
descriptions of his political stances straight from the source. In his
political stance on education, Bernie states that all public colleges and
universities should be tuition free, colleges should be hiring more faculty and
more experienced professors, student loan interest rates should be heavily
reduced, and undocumented children brought to America should be given the
opportunity to receive education. (feelthebern.org) So what exactly is wrong
with these policies? From the outside looking in it sounds perfect. What most
people do not think about is the millions of people who have dedicated their
entire lives saving up money so themselves or their children could go to
college. Also, by offering free education as well as hiring more professors
contradicts itself completely. How are these university’s expected to go from
gaining 15-25 thousand dollars a year from each individual student to gaining
nothing from them and then at the same time be hiring tenured professors? In a
perfect world Bernie Sander’s stance is the most ideal but the least practical.
It’s my opinion that this is why we see such a large amount of support for Bernie
Sanders coming from young adults primarily in liberal arts universities such as
the lovely Stonehill College. Even worse than the support is the negativity
that gets thrown towards Bernie Sanders.
Time and time again I’ve heard the word
communist come out when talking about Bernie Sanders. The problem with
communism is that we have this stigma towards it that communism is some evil
government practice due to the “Red Scare”. The red scare was the mass fear of
communism in the United States that came about during the Cold War primarily
supported by the propaganda constantly pedaled out regarding communism. My
father is the perfect example for an anti Bernie person. Both my parents came
from nothing worked non stop for 40 years saving up money to put me through
college, finally paying off the mortgage on the house, and right now they’re
relaxing in Amsterdam and Belgium up to all sorts of mischief. My dad constantly
refers to Bernie as a communist and somebody who’s going to take his hard
earned money and tax it so that the lower class can have more opportunities.
With people like my dad (who makes an ox look compliant) it is impossible for
them to get behind Bernie because Sanders does not take into consideration
those whom are right on the cusp of wealthy and middle class as well as those
who spent decades building their wealth with nothing but willpower and hunger. The
only thing I can say to those people is that if you think Congress is ever
going to let Bernie pass a bill that takes money from the rich and give it to
the poor you are dead wrong. This is America and capitalism sadly will never
cease to be the American way. The problem is when you get a candidate like
Donald Trump who is the Poster Boy for capitalism it makes you lose hope for a
changed America.
Donald Trump is
making America stupid again. Words cannot begin to describe how much disgust and
disappointment that Trump has caused me. Not because of his views, not because
of what he says, but what he has done to this and future presidential
campaigns. First off, his manipulation of the media and usage of boisterousness
is the only reason he is still in this race. He spews out the extremist point
of view on all issues and regrettably I am doing right now exactly what he
wants. I'm talking about him. That is what his campaign is built on. He has
made it so that somebody like himself with absolutely no political practice can
be the front-runner for the entire election! Why is this? Because of us.
If you turn on any
news media you will only see the ridiculous things Donald Trump is saying. Look
at his website, he doesn’t have any positions regarding his stance on
education, civil rights, or environmental issues. The first thing you see is
“pay for the wall”(donaldjtrump.com/positions). This man is talking constantly
about building a wall, bombing the Middle East, or just talking poorly about
his fellow running mates. Sadly, he wants people like myself to get up in arms
about all of this because it continues the conversation about what if Donald
Trump is our president.
The one thing I can get behind is his stance
on healthcare. Trump wishes to not only recall Obamacare but also make massive
changes in the healthcare system that is currently in place. I could not agree
more but as Donald trump so often does he is fuzzy on the details. He throws
around the word reform twenty times in his position and says he’ll repeal Obamacare
but that’s just about it. (donaldjtrump.com/positions/healthcare-reform) In no
way does he give solid remarks regarding what will come after that. This is a
theme of his campaign, he gets boisterous when it comes to changing the system
and denouncing his competition but when it comes to what he himself will do he
is silent.
This is the biggest problem we face when
looking at Donald Trump’s campaign. I believe he is all bark no bite. Now if I
said that publically he’d probably come back with a “yo momma” joke or start
yelling nonsense and move his hands around a lot. That is just who he is. He
has been in a position of power his entire life and has never had to face the
struggle and adversity that nine out of ten Americans face on a daily basis. He
is used to being able to give vague descriptions that sound good but when you
truly analyze his positions you realize he has no idea what he’s going to do.
Clinton is a name
that’s been in politics for a very long time. Her husband, in my opinion, was
the last truly great president that we had. His only downfall was in his
scandal. The effect of the media is so huge that if you ask any teenager or
young adult today what they know about Bill Clinton they will talk about his
scandal. What puzzles me is why the exact opposite effect has happened with
Hillary. Quite recently Hillary Clinton was discovered copying classified
documents onto personal emails and accounts, had a full server room set up in
one of her bathrooms, and aside from that constantly is caught contradicting
herself. It is my opinion that Hillary is more deserving of a federal trial
than a presidential election. In comparison, she did exactly what Edward
Snowden did except he made the documents public. Edward Snowden is currently
charged with theft of government property as well as violating the espionage
act; Hillary is leading the democratic race for president.
Hillary is the
most qualified, has been around the longest, and has the most to say regarding
the current issues our nation is facing. So what is different? She is a woman;
a very powerful role model to all empowered women out there. That is the only
change she brings to this election. I believe that she is such a good
politician that she knows exactly what the people want to hear and how they
want to hear it because she’s been playing this game for a long time. The
problem is what she is like off camera. When you analyze Hillary you will see
that she’s very good at telling the people what they want but not giving it to
them. This has been a trend in our presidency for a little over a decade.
Barrack Obama’s campaign was run on change. “Change we believe in” but did we
see any change? We saw him minimalize boots on the ground and create Obamacare
but other than that he was turned down by congress. I believe Hillary will be
able to get the job done because she is the most qualified and has the most
experience but it’s my opinion that she believes that our governmental system
does not need the change that Trump and Sanders both preach.
I do not believe Hillary can be trusted
either. Politicians are masterminds when it comes to deception and none better
than Hillary. Hillary has experience but we need change more than anything. For
as long as I can remember every time a new bill comes to congress that can make
a change it is shut down. I believe Hillary is another cog in the broken
machine of government and for us as a society change is crucial.
For me, this
election season is a “pick your poison” election. All three leading candidates
have their serious flaws and I cannot stand behind any of them. I have decided
that I’m not going to vote this year. Besides the fact that the Electoral
College determines our vote I truly believe that the vote will not matter
primarily because of the crop of candidates we are forced to choose from. On
one hand you have Hillary who wants to make minor reforms in government and
major reforms from a societal standpoint that simply put, will not work. Then
you have Bernie Sanders who wants to socialize our nation and make it a place
where everyone has equal opportunity and advantages. This just goes against the
American way. In America you have to earn your stripes and if you’re given
everything your whole life, then how will we ever make forward progress as a
society. Lastly we have Trump who is no politician he is just a showman. This
election season has not only ruined the presidency for the next four years but
all presidential elections to come. We are in an ever changing society and only
time will tell what will happen in the future but I do know that right now the
sacredness of a presidential election is being made a mockery of and I just can’t
wait for it to all be over.
Works cited
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