Thoughts and Things

Time is conceptual. When talking about the future of journalism, it isn’t about what will happen to it, but rather a question of what is happening. Our choices today are changing our tomorrow and a revelation begins to emerge among us. We often forget the essence of time in our writing.  There is no precise point in time where journalism will change; no ordinary day where people will wake from sleep and be without material media (newspapers, magazines). Through time the mind begins to forget about the past and the beginning of media. Starting from word of mouth, to letters to the first telegraphs we had come a long way, according to TheDrum.com we still have only just begun this possibly never ending journey.

            I believe that journalism will always be around. As of now, video can only do so much to educate people on a certain topic and it doesn’t allow someone to view someone else’s opinion. With writing, one can express feeling and emotions that help the viewer better understand. It will surely be interesting to see where the “smart phone” industry will lead us. Imagine a world where human memories, thoughts, ideas and every other detail are housed in a phone. Like an external hard drive for humans, that enables the user to share its data with other through this device. Media would be transmitted from human to human instantly. We as a society are all involved in this.  Ben Zieff, an editor for Nantucket’s local high school newspaper shares his thoughts on the future of journalism, “Newspapers are probably going to get less popular and everything is going to be electronically broadcasted. There will definitely be change, but who really knows how much”. One things for certain, we wont notice any change until its staring you in the face, and you are trying desperately to understand what your kids are saying when they are explaining to you how to use it. Only then will you realize that the future is only a thought away. 

 Unlike most hockey players I don’t have access to any sort of club team other than my high school team (in which I am the only girl who plays). I played youth hockey on the island starting the year the rink opened and it was only two years ago when I realized I needed to be on a girls team. So I played on a team in Cape Cod and I was the top scorer, and I was on both the power play and penalty kill lines. But taking a boat over and missing school then having to spend the night because I would miss the late boat back (and have to get up at 4:30 am to make it back in time for school) was tiring to say the least, but I did it because I love the game. It wasnt the level I wanted to be at so I started training. I started eating like a true athlete and only the healthiest food, because I knew that this is the only way I am going to succeed. I set this goal, that I would try out for the boys varsity team who didnt like this idea at all, they didnt think girls should be allowed to play but I have 2 brothers who made me tough and I told myself I could do it. I told myself that playing time didnt even matter to me, it was the exposure to the skill that I was hungry for. Practices were at 5:30 am every morning before school because that was the only time we could get ice, but I didnt complain once. Hockey is the only sport where you have to pay to use the ice, because other sports are on grass and courts. But no one would be on the ice in the mornings before us, so I showed up as early as possible to be on the ice, rushing to change. I watched and embraced the other guys’ skills and tricks. I wanted to soak up all I could, pushing myself to be better every moment. My training before helped; although I knew I wasnt the best skill wise, but I was one of the most in shape because I could control that aspect. Although I made the team I never did feel like a member of it. I was treated like I didn’t exist, ignored in the hallways, always the one without a partner on the ice, but I didnt care, that didnt matter to me, I wasnt out there to make friends, I was out there to get better and learn. I did wonder though, I knew it was because I was a girl that was the reason. I kept up with them in the drills and everything else. I still treated them like teammates, I just did my own thing. Between the season and then after playing pick up hockey again I noticed a huge difference. Physically of course, I could skate faster, better and I had a better sense of the game, but emotionally it was like black and white. I felt like alienated, any mistake I made mattered much more than anyone elses and I was always being scrutinized by them. They wernt quiet about it either, some would tell me countless times how much I shouldnt be here or how one mistake I made “cost us the game”. I never forgot that actually, It was one of the last games of the season and we were losing already, and I had taken the puck up the other end, and someone intercepted my pass in their end, and they went back and scored, it was unlucky but it happens to the best. I was over it but every member of the team told me that I “sucked” and “I should get off the ice” and that im “fucking everything up”. I tried to not let it get to me but oh it sure did. I was mad that they didnt like me, even though I never gave them a reason not to. Hockey is the one thing that I can count on and that I feel good at and it was upsetting. So I was always nervous with them, although I wasnt aware. But as soon as I started playing with the mens league, it was like I was a whole new person.  I was scoring and making pays that I didnt even think I could ever make and I had the support of the guys in the league, because they didn’t care that I was a girl. Its not a common dream, but Im not here because someone once told me it was the cool thing to do, Im where I am because I love it, I want to play hockey.   

To me, I believe passion in the utmost form yields ultimate reward. If you are passionate about something, then you will find your way back to it. People often say “Do what you love and love what you do”, but how many people actually follow that ‘rule’? We work at jobs we may hate, to earn more money to buy things that we didn’t know we wanted, just to make our selves seem superior to others. But this is all nonsense because how much of this is making people fulfilled and happy in the long run? Why do we never believe that we have enough? We do these things to impress other people, when we are losing sight of how most importantly we need to impress ourselves. I often wonder why our society teaches us this “normality” in American custom. If we are passionate about something, it is perceived as a negative amongst the majority of the population. I want to know why? Why must we hide behind the prosthetic “face” of society? I think that if someone is passionate about something, they should let the world know and those that don’t like it don’t have to listen. I hope to one day be at a place in my life to truthful say, “all these things I am doing are for me and me only and that I am both happy and proud of the aspects of my life that I have control over”. The things I don’t have control over shouldn’t bring me down. I think of them as reminders, to be wary of them but letting them be. 

The power and ability of the human mind is one of the greatest phenomenon know to date. Throughout my life I have heard the phrase ‘nothing is impossible when you set your mind to it’ and I wholeheartedly believe it. But ever since my science class in 7^th grade watched a short documentary on Nick Vujicic, I finally understood the depth of those words. Nick was born a Tetramelia, which means he does not have limbs. What I admire about Nick is that he never gave up on himself because it would have been easy for him to stop trying. From a young age he had to be inventive and figure out ways to live a normal life. He still can do everything a limbed human can, but only in a different way. He can swim, and he achieves this by using the lower half of his torso as a flipper for propulsion through the water. From a young age, Nick believed he was put on this earth to teach others about the power of the human spirit and to encourage others to believe in themselves, “If I fail, I try again, and again, and again. If YOU fail, are you going to try again? The human spirit can handle much worse than we realize. It matters HOW you are going to FINISH. Are you going to finish strong?” this quote was taken from his book Life Without Limbs. But, living with no limbs wasn’t an easy ride for him. When he was young, he struggled with depression and loneliness. There were no arms he could embrace with, no legs to run or dance, no fingertips to feel, no legs to cross and no freedom of taking a walk. Over coming those obstacles alone was no easy feat, and I could never imagine how challenging it is. There is still a lot to learn from Nick. How he still enjoys life, to the fullest even under his circumstances. He taught me to stand proud and be strong no matter the obstacle I face because there is always a way, with a will of course.

I check the connection from the regulator to the tank. I twist the yolk valve, and hear the air fill my life-line. i press the button and hear the hiss of the air leaving the regulator. I put on my flippers, and then mask and I walk to the edge of the boat. I steady myself and put one hand over my regulator and mask and the other rose over my head with the button for the BCD in hand.  I jump in and inflate my jacket so my eyes are level with the water; I find the anchor line and deflate my BCD, when I’m given the all-clear. I start slowly swimming down, keeping my breathing regular and making sure I am not holding my breath for any amount of time. I hear the water splashing against the hull of the boat and the sound of breathing followed by the reassuring noise of bubbles bound for the surface. The ocean has its own kind of weather. Near the surface the water is warm and bright from the sun shining through it, but the deeper you go, the darker and colder it gets. Everything becomes eerily quiet when I reach the bottom, but I can hear everything. I briefly press BCD so I become neutrally buoyant. I can’t describe it, but you can almost hear the depth, in your ears, everything is weighted. I can hear every breath someone takes, it makes a soft hissing noise, even more defined than it was at the surface, and your senses become enhanced at this depth. The feeling is strange, I flip over and look up into blue, I can’t see the surface, I take a deep breath and remove my regulator. Then I exhale and watch as the bubbles form large rings and rise above me. I put the regulator back in my mouth and purge it so I can breathe again. The ocean is alive. I swim over to an individual reef hill and turn upside down to look in a hole, I see an octopus. Its tentacles uncurl from under it and it leaves in the opposite direction. I swim to the edge of the wall, and look down into 6,000 feet of water. I see the darkest blue you could ever imagine. I will never forget the feeling of that. I look back and see that I am sinking down, so I inflate my BCD and become neutral again. The wall is teeming with life, the scene is like a skyscraper cut in half, the coral forms different levels. I see a lion fish swim up and across a large piece of coral and an eel come out of it, hunting it out. I let out a “whoa”, because I was so close to it, but my words came out as “hggggoo”. Since you can’t talk underwater, there is a whole other language for divers. The dive master signals me ‘okay?’ by putting his thumb and pointer finger together and the rest of his finger straight up. I signal him back ‘okay’. I swim up and over the wall and my dad taps my arm, I look over and he signals me ‘look there’ by his middle and index finger towards his eyes then points to something to the right of us. Then I see a sea turtle gliding through the water, it is amazing seeing them in their own surroundings. I see everyone standing on a sandy part of the bottom so I swim over and deflate my BCD completely. We have a dance off right there, on the bottom, 132 feet below the surface. You wouldn’t believe the things you can do underwater. One time we watched a video of the dive group doing the Super Bowl underwater, it was so cool, everything was slower but the quarter back jumped over the tackler, did a front flip and landed in the end zone. The dive master got our attention and put his thumb up, meaning that we have to ascent to the surface. I find the anchor line and start heading up at a rate of 30ft per minute; I use my bubbles as my guide, never passing them. We do a safety stop 20 feet below the surface for five minutes to eliminate getting the nitrogen getting stuck in our blood, and getting Decompression Sickness. I look up and see the sun reflecting of the water looking like glass, and then I break the surface.

We fly into Nassau and are immediately greeted by a welcoming atmosphere and a live band playing some form of reggae. Its amazing feeling the warmth and humidity even inside the airport, old fans are scattered around trying with little success to cool the many people flocking in and out. Its an environment and location for someone looking to get away from the city life, or just for a change. We take the only commercial plane over to Andros Island, Le Air. They run twice a day so planning out flights is a good Idea. We land on Andros Island after a short plane ride. The airport reminds me of a remodeled home, with a yellow exterior. Its a cute little place thats for sure. Andros is the least populated island in the island chain, but also the biggest. The island is full of marshes and streams, not making it a good location for building. The place we stay is named Small Hope Bay Lodge. It is about a 20 minute cab ride through many roads, over a solid white bridge and finally winding along to our destination. The thing about Small Hope is that they don’t say much, other than what time meals are (always bahamian time) and that the sign up sheet for activities the next day will go around at dinner. But they leave the rest for you to discover. My first visit there, on the third day I decided to take a walk down the beach, the light, soft sand and serenity, with just nature surrounding me. It was only on my way back that I looked into the bay of palm trees just up from the beach and to my greatest surprise I found a hammock with a really old fashioned hot tub. I noticed a sign to adjust the temperature, if it was too hot and laughed when I realized that it just pointed to a regular fresh water hose. When 5pm rolls around, (their famous cocktail hour) all the guests and staff come out to enjoy an open bar with conch fritters and other appetizers. The food is prepared typically from the “daily catch”, whatever fish or crabs people caught that day. The food is spectacular and the chefs really know how to make a feast. I tried so many new foods (including zucchini ice-cream, its really good!). The dining area and bar is molded from the dead coral and rocks along the shore, it makes its own peninsula with tiki lights and music. The scuba diving is unbelievable, with dives ranging in depth for all types of divers. My personal favorites were the cave dive, night dive, wall dive and the shark dive! These dives went up to 190 feet at the most! They truly believe in discovery at your disposal, bikes can be rented, vans, binoculars, and the people you meet are from all over. The staff are also apart of the “family” that is made during your stay. They eat at every meal with the guests and love to chat at anytime. This place is truly a getaway home and anyone would be lucky to share the same experience. 

It is a battle of whats right and what the fans want. I have been in love with the sport of hockey for what seems to be my entire life. Learning to skate around the same time I was learning to walk was my way of life. Naturally, being a resident of Massachusetts, the Boston Bruins have my heart. Through the rein of Joe Thornton and PJ Axelsson, to the 3-0 lead with Philly in the playoffs, and ending up losing 4 straight. Then eventually the glory which was the 2011 playoffs, watching them hoist the Stanley Cup, and most recently the mess that was the series between the Bruins and Capitals. Its a heart-wrenching, edge of your seat, and nail-biting job being a sports fan, as many of us know. Working schedules around the games so a television or radio is always accessible. From buying your first jersey to becoming almost bankrupt on the ridiculously expensive prices to see the game. Although we don’t agree with spending 8 dollars on a pizza in the arena, we do it all anyway. Sports fans are one of the most devoted people out there. Without them, there would be no money to fight over within the league.

            Although, many others and I don’t agree with this lockout, one has to look at this from a political standpoint. Everyone can agree that they want hockey back, but at what cost. The NHL proposed a new deal on October 17th, 2012 in which the office offered for a 50/50 split offer , a half way point to what the NHLPA and what the NHL want.  Some fans were ecstatic, and immediately assumed the NHL would soon return. But, when the NHLPA turned down the proposal, it took some time to realize just why. Through the impatient desire for hockey, we tend to forgot why the lockout happened in the first place: the NHL feels that they are paying the players too much. So if the NHLPA gives in, for the sole purpose of having hockey back, they lose their battle. Unless you are a top-scorer or wear names like Crosby or Ovechkin on the back of your jersey, NHL players are among the smallest paid players in sports. So to accept the NHL’s new offer would be extremely detrimental to players. The players have been keeping very quiet on the subject, at least to reporters, but overseas in Russia, Alexander Ovechkin playing for Dynamo Moscow in the KHL was quoted to saying “If they need us, how I say, if they going to cut a percentage of the contract and years I don’t think lots of guys who signed American deals are going to come back and play here. It’s not reasonable to be here. You have to think of the future, you have to think of your family.” according to the Washington Post. As of right now, both sides are holding strong and this is good. Bettman and the NHL office can’t win this one, they shouldn’t win this. In the 50/50 proposal, although it is the fairest seeing both sides, will still make the players lose a large sum of money. This proposal also had ended the NFL and NBA lockouts. The sad fact of the matter is that there won’t be an agreement reached any time in the near future, both sides are holding firm. So the question then becomes what will happen to the NHL? The answer to this will eventually be found, but there will be a cost. By the time a decision is reached, the NHL could lose many players, and fans. But, one thing we do know is that the fans deserve better. The players deserve better. 

 I had my first real experience away from home in 2006. I was seven years old and scared of being without my parents. I decided to go to a camp for the entire summer, the same one that my mom went to when she was my age. Completely submerged in a foreign world, I was nervous and worried how I would fit in. I soon discovered it was never about fitting in, but what I took out. 

 The first thing I learned at camp was the responsibility and maturity it takes to live with people apart from my family. I learned this through sleeping in a small area with seven other girls for an entire summer. With no privacy, I have learned how to communicate and respect people and their belongings, as well as understand what my bunkmates liked or disliked. Shortly after I arrived at camp, I learned that I have to work as a team to live with other people. During bunk chores each morning, each person was assigned a different task , such as hanging up the wet towels to dry, sweeping the floor, or cleaning one of the two bathrooms in the bunk. At the end of the week, the bunk that was the cleanest wins a small prize. I understand that to reach this goal, every member has to put equal effort into it. 

Camp has impacted my character tremendously, and I now see people differently because of this. Everyday in our society we are unavoidably and subconsciously judged by physical attributes such as our wealth and clothes. Growing up on an  isolated island, with a small community, everyone already knew all of these things about me and it took away my opportunity to be my own person. Going to camp changed all of that, everyday we wore the same thing. Blue shorts and a white shirt. I was not given the chance to be judged because of that. This gave me the courage to open up to people because I knew that they would like me for my personality first. When I was younger, I never understood why we had to wear the same outfit and have no individuality with personal style, but I do now. I realized that before, I was one of those people who judged others on first appearance. Through camp, I learned that there are many different kinds of people and backgrounds, and there is no list of characteristics someone needs to have to be a friend.

My camp likes to expose the campers to the great outdoors, to completely remove ourselves from the outside world. We take numerous trips throughout the years that start off small, such as day hikes and on-camp overnights down the lake in a tent. But, as we get older, the trips get longer and more strenuous.Last year, I took a trip that changed my view on life. It was the hardest thing I have accomplished both physically and even emotionally. I spent an entire week canoeing the Allagash River in Maine, with just eight other girls in my group. I learned so much more about who they are as a person because of how they act when it is just them and the elements. There were no electronics, no showers, no mirrors. In retrospect, I learned more about myself too. I learned that I am better at steering the canoe, than being in the front because I see myself as more of a leader. I also learned that sometimes you have to set your own desires aside to help someone else. Nearing the end of the trip, our emotions got the better of us, and we got into arguments over little things, I had to learn to problem solve and be mature about it. This summer, our final, most challenging trip was hiking Mt. Washington. I remember my first year of camp and hearing about this trip for the first time. I was scared and nervous, and it was still six years away. My feelings never changed until after the Allagash trip. A nine hour car ride, seven days, and fifty-six miles of river can really change a person. I have a whole new appreciation for the environment, my surroundings, and a new understanding of myself and my peers. 

I sit here, winding through the seven years I have had of hardships, challenges, accomplishments, teamwork, friendship and laughter. Camp has shown me that I should see a challenge I may face in life as another trip, another time to experience something new and come out learning a trait about myself that I never knew before.  Above that, camp has shown me what it means to be a friend, and what the term “teamwork” is about. I look back on all the things I have done and accomplished through camp and I realize that I never would have had the courage to do these things had I been on my own. Camp has made me into the outgoing, independent, and adventurous woman that I am today. Camp has given me knowledge, allowed me to grow as a person, and in my character. I will carry what camp has given me for the rest of my life and hopefully one day be able to pass what I have learned on to others. 

If you’re someone like me, then you’re fascinated with the future of technology and what it might mean to our vastly expanding society. Technology is ever changing and ever evolving into marvels that people could only once imagine. But for a moment, lets take a look back to the not-so modern marvels. The everyday electronic block that lets people communicate with each other from across the world: the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in the 1870’s, and since then it has morphed into one of the greatest centerpieces of social interaction in our day to day life. From horse-drawn carriages to electrically powered eco machines, cars have been built to their most advanced form to date.The rate at which technology is advancing is hard to wrap your head around. Presently, the “future of technology” is not so far as we may think. Teleportation and space travel to other galaxies are just dreams currently, but it will be no surprise to see them appear in the life of human-beings. But in retrospect what is the greatest point that we can push technology and an easy-living lifestyle? Although new technology is inevitable through the aging of our existence and understanding of the universe, there will be a limit at some point. We could end up in a situation much like in the Pixar movie WALL-E. In the animated movie, the people have abused their Earth and all living organisms to the point where living conditions become unsuitable and an evacuation is necessary. With technology allowing the people to relax in chairs, and robots attending to their needs, walking and exercise became a thing of the past. The population of the people who are all obese, live off of chemically treated food and water, eyes glued to a television. Currently, we are facing the same problem of technology and obesity consuming much of the population. With technology though, can also come a solution.