Imagine a ruin so strange it must have never happened. A ruin has many different meanings, such as an old building that has disintegrated or been destroy, a heartbreaking event, or the downfall of one's life. All of the meanings share one thing in common and that is that "ruin" is a sad or terrible event. When I think about a ruin so strange it must have never happened, I think about the death of one of my best friends' fathers.
Uncle Bryan was an incredible man, full of life and with an unbreakable spirit. He was always the life of the parties when I would head over to my best friends' house for one of her famous birthday parties. I have known this girl since Kindergarten, and she has been very close to me since about 5th grade when I had a huge crush on her. Our families met, and my father and her father hit it off one night at her house, and became best friends. They decided to accompany us for a Spring Break Vacation to my dad's resort on the Big Island, and it was a week that I still play over in my head often because it was so much fun. Our families became very close, and Uncle Bryan became somewhat of a role model for me. I loved his postive spirit and happiness that he carried with him everywhere he went. I never once saw him angry. He was always laughing and joking around, and it was obvious he loved his wife and only daughter very much. My dad liked him even more than I did, and they would get drunk together and laugh their butts off!
After that vacation, our families stayed close until I stopped liking her, and we didn't hang out as much anymore. I was still always invited to the parties though, and we always made time to catch up when seeing each other. My dad and her dad stayed best friends all the way until 2006, when a tragic event took place. Uncle Bryan woke up one Spring Break morning of 2006, walked into the kitchen to blend his morning smoothie, and a heart attack struck him. His daughter walked into the kitchen a short while after, and found him lying on the floor. Uncle Bryan died that Spring Break, at 50 years old, and to the suprise and horror of everyone who knew him. One of the happiest and most joyful families I have ever known, was split apart in an instant and he left a daughter and wife heartbroken and confused. She called me the morning it happened, and was crying on the phone. I didn't cry, because I knew I had to stay strong for her, but I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He was so happy. Why did this happen to him? He didn't deserve this. His family didn't deserve this. His friends didn't deserve to lose him. When I told my dad, he was crushed. I had never seen him cry in his entire life up to that point. A few friends and I went to their house to comfort our best friend in her time of sadness. We were all dumbstruck to arrive at their house, and not hearing Uncle Bryan's loud, booming voice cheering up everyone and making everyone feel happy.
Two years have passed, and spring break is coming up again now in 2008. Times have changed so much. Uncle Bryan's death has been so hard for his family, but they have come around and they have past their stage of extreme loneliness by sticking together and staying strong. His funeral was the saddest one I had ever been to, because I knew him so well. I couldn't imagine losing my father, and just the thought alone made me want to break down. Uncle Bryan remains in my memory everyday, and his joyous spirit will never be forgotten. I try my best to stay positive, not to feel sorry for myself, and try to make others feel happier just like Uncle Bryan always taught me. I still honestly can't believe that this tragic event occurred. I feel like it couldn't have really happened, and everytime I head over to my friend's house for a party, I know that Uncle Bryan is going to be there, laughing and spreading his aloha to everyone he spoke to. There wasn't a party there without Uncle Bryan, and there never will be.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
"The Grotto" response
In the wonderful short story, "The Grotto," written by Robert Olen Butler, a forty-five year old single woman, named Clara, takes a vacation to Egypt. Her trip comes four years after her mother's death, and after a very long lonely period at home taking care of her house and her mother's spirit. Her mother was her best friend and basically all she had in life, because she never married. However, she also had her garden and her passion for nature. She goes to Egypt to leave her boring life in Alabama, and try to discover a little more about herself.
In Egypt, walking through the hectic streets with her hotel tour group, she is disturbed by something she sees. She sees a donkey cart with six Muslim women inside, completely wrapped in their burkas. Only the women's eyes can be seen, and their cold, dark stares penetrate Clara and her friend Alice. Clara thinks to herself, "...wondering, I daresay, at the nakedness of our faces. And thinking what of us? That we were brazen? A shame to God? Wicked and worldly? How little they could know of me. Or I of them, for that matter."
That is a great example of the "otherness" or awkwardness she must feel as an American tourist coming to Egypt or even more importantly, as a Christian woman meeting Muslim women. The vast differences between religions and culture are outstanding, especially on the subject of women. The most obvious difference is that American women have all of the same rights as American men. Muslim women do not. They must wear burkas that cover their bodies from head to toe and never show their faces in public or else risk being arrested. They can only dress casual when inside their homes in front of family members. Seeing as how the six women Clara saw were on a donkey cart, they must be slaves or women being sold for sex. That is absolutely illegal in America. When their eyes met Clara's, I wonder if they were jealous of Clara and wishing that they were American, or if they hated Americans and therefore hated Clara for not covering herself up in public also.
Later in the story, Clara visits a grotto inside of a beautiful garden, and meets a english-speaking Egyptian man named Musad, who invites her to sit in peace and reflect on her thoughts. Clara is very uncomfortable with him there at first, and wants to do everything she can to leave without being disrespectful to the gentleman. After talking a little bit however, and some personal reflecting about her mother and her reasoning for her trip to Egypt, she bursts into tears over her mother's death. Musad shares with her that his mother also past away a year before. They share a few crying moments together, and Musad manages to mumble the words, "I am sorry also."
This second example shows that the difference between the cultures and religions is still huge, but that all humans have similar feelings and experiences. We are all brothers and sisters in this world. We are all part of the human race. Clara feels very awkward at first being in the same place with a giant Muslim man and wants desperately to leave but ends up finding comfort enough to cry with the man and let our the emotions that she might have been hiding and keeping inside since her mother past away. It just goes to show that the culture and race divider can be broken, and humans just need to try a little bit harder and it would make the a much more peaceful and wonderful place to live in. The "otherness" that exists doesn't have to exist if people would just take the time to get to know each other a little bit better before judging them right away. When Clara sees the women on the street, they both make judgements about each other quickly just by seeing each other. That isn't right. Clara made the judgement that Musad was weird and wanted to leave but Musad didn't see anything awkward about the situation, because he was just a kind gentleman trying to help someone out. Clara spent a little more time with him, and was able to let her feelings go. Clara and all of us learned a great lesson from Musad, and that was not to judge a book by its cover, and to take the time to get to know people or things before deciding if we like them or not. If everyone in the world decided to have this attitude, we could have world peace and live much happier, more fulfilling lives where love overrules hate every single day.
In Egypt, walking through the hectic streets with her hotel tour group, she is disturbed by something she sees. She sees a donkey cart with six Muslim women inside, completely wrapped in their burkas. Only the women's eyes can be seen, and their cold, dark stares penetrate Clara and her friend Alice. Clara thinks to herself, "...wondering, I daresay, at the nakedness of our faces. And thinking what of us? That we were brazen? A shame to God? Wicked and worldly? How little they could know of me. Or I of them, for that matter."
That is a great example of the "otherness" or awkwardness she must feel as an American tourist coming to Egypt or even more importantly, as a Christian woman meeting Muslim women. The vast differences between religions and culture are outstanding, especially on the subject of women. The most obvious difference is that American women have all of the same rights as American men. Muslim women do not. They must wear burkas that cover their bodies from head to toe and never show their faces in public or else risk being arrested. They can only dress casual when inside their homes in front of family members. Seeing as how the six women Clara saw were on a donkey cart, they must be slaves or women being sold for sex. That is absolutely illegal in America. When their eyes met Clara's, I wonder if they were jealous of Clara and wishing that they were American, or if they hated Americans and therefore hated Clara for not covering herself up in public also.
Later in the story, Clara visits a grotto inside of a beautiful garden, and meets a english-speaking Egyptian man named Musad, who invites her to sit in peace and reflect on her thoughts. Clara is very uncomfortable with him there at first, and wants to do everything she can to leave without being disrespectful to the gentleman. After talking a little bit however, and some personal reflecting about her mother and her reasoning for her trip to Egypt, she bursts into tears over her mother's death. Musad shares with her that his mother also past away a year before. They share a few crying moments together, and Musad manages to mumble the words, "I am sorry also."
This second example shows that the difference between the cultures and religions is still huge, but that all humans have similar feelings and experiences. We are all brothers and sisters in this world. We are all part of the human race. Clara feels very awkward at first being in the same place with a giant Muslim man and wants desperately to leave but ends up finding comfort enough to cry with the man and let our the emotions that she might have been hiding and keeping inside since her mother past away. It just goes to show that the culture and race divider can be broken, and humans just need to try a little bit harder and it would make the a much more peaceful and wonderful place to live in. The "otherness" that exists doesn't have to exist if people would just take the time to get to know each other a little bit better before judging them right away. When Clara sees the women on the street, they both make judgements about each other quickly just by seeing each other. That isn't right. Clara made the judgement that Musad was weird and wanted to leave but Musad didn't see anything awkward about the situation, because he was just a kind gentleman trying to help someone out. Clara spent a little more time with him, and was able to let her feelings go. Clara and all of us learned a great lesson from Musad, and that was not to judge a book by its cover, and to take the time to get to know people or things before deciding if we like them or not. If everyone in the world decided to have this attitude, we could have world peace and live much happier, more fulfilling lives where love overrules hate every single day.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The Perfect Season
The Perfect Season
We were trailing by one, 53-54. We had the ball. 11 seconds remained. Coach Kekoa called a timeout to calm us down and set up the final play of the game. Our perfect, undefeated season was on the line. Everything we had worked so hard for all season was on the line. We were about to be tested after all of the preparation we put in for this exact moment. Dylan, our player of the game who had 18 points, was sitting on the sidelines after injuring his eye and being physically unable to play any more. He had done more than his part to get us this far, and it was our job to pull this one out for him, our coaches, our parents, our fans, and the rest of our teammates. Noah, Taylor, Kaiwi, Josh, and I stepped on to the floor for the last eleven seconds of our season, and our JV careers, hoping for a miracle. Five best friends, three captains, four shooters, and five teammates chosen to lead the team in this situation. I was honored to be on the court with my four brothers, and wanted to do everything in my power to get the win. For all of the sophomores on the team, we had never had an undefeated season since 7th grade, despite winning two championships in 7th and 8th grade. I wanted the win for my fellow sophomores. I wanted the win for our coach who coached us for three years, and wanted to give him another championship. I wanted the win for my teammates last year, who joined myself and others in our championship loss to Kamehameha a year before. Now, we were in almost an identical situation, playing Kamehameha again, just a different five chosen to carry the team to victory. I wanted the win for my teammates, who I felt that I let down, when turning the ball over with eighteen seconds left and thinking to myself that we had lost for sure and it was all my fault. However, we were still in the game. With new life in my heart and by deleting the turnover from my memory, I was ready if I needed to take the final shot.
The referee handed me the ball and blew his whistle. I checked off my options, and threw the ball into Noah. Our plan was to get the ball into the corner to Taylor, so that he could drive baseline and either score or look to kick the ball out to shooters on the perimeter. Taylor was covered however, so Noah pulled up from long range and fired a three-pointer. The entire Punahou crowd, Kamehameha crowd and marching band, and I held our breaths. The ball bounced off the right side of the rim, into the outstretched arms of 6'5 Josh Taylor on our team. With five seconds remaining on the clock, he seized control of the ball, and put up a mid-range jumper right over a defender. Nothing but net! The crowd went wild! Kamehameha had no timeouts left, so they inbounded the ball, I immediately jumped on the ball-handler, and forced a bad pass downcourt, which was stolen by none other than Josh! Time expired, and our team, fans, cheerleaders, and parents rushed the court in the happiest celebration in my entire life! A 55-54 victory, and a perfect season was ours, after fighting so hard for 32 minutes and an entire season. When the buzzer sounded, we practically had a team dog-pile on the court, and high fives, hugs, and kisses were rapidly traveling through the crowd of Punahou fans. We had done it. Josh was the team hero, but all of us did our parts throughout the year in contributing to our amazing season. That team was the closest and best team I have ever played for, and I am so thankful that I had the chance to play the sport I love with my best friends in the whole world for the best school in the country. Jubiliation filled the air and happiness flowed thru my body. The perfect ending to the perfect team and the perfect season.
We were trailing by one, 53-54. We had the ball. 11 seconds remained. Coach Kekoa called a timeout to calm us down and set up the final play of the game. Our perfect, undefeated season was on the line. Everything we had worked so hard for all season was on the line. We were about to be tested after all of the preparation we put in for this exact moment. Dylan, our player of the game who had 18 points, was sitting on the sidelines after injuring his eye and being physically unable to play any more. He had done more than his part to get us this far, and it was our job to pull this one out for him, our coaches, our parents, our fans, and the rest of our teammates. Noah, Taylor, Kaiwi, Josh, and I stepped on to the floor for the last eleven seconds of our season, and our JV careers, hoping for a miracle. Five best friends, three captains, four shooters, and five teammates chosen to lead the team in this situation. I was honored to be on the court with my four brothers, and wanted to do everything in my power to get the win. For all of the sophomores on the team, we had never had an undefeated season since 7th grade, despite winning two championships in 7th and 8th grade. I wanted the win for my fellow sophomores. I wanted the win for our coach who coached us for three years, and wanted to give him another championship. I wanted the win for my teammates last year, who joined myself and others in our championship loss to Kamehameha a year before. Now, we were in almost an identical situation, playing Kamehameha again, just a different five chosen to carry the team to victory. I wanted the win for my teammates, who I felt that I let down, when turning the ball over with eighteen seconds left and thinking to myself that we had lost for sure and it was all my fault. However, we were still in the game. With new life in my heart and by deleting the turnover from my memory, I was ready if I needed to take the final shot.
The referee handed me the ball and blew his whistle. I checked off my options, and threw the ball into Noah. Our plan was to get the ball into the corner to Taylor, so that he could drive baseline and either score or look to kick the ball out to shooters on the perimeter. Taylor was covered however, so Noah pulled up from long range and fired a three-pointer. The entire Punahou crowd, Kamehameha crowd and marching band, and I held our breaths. The ball bounced off the right side of the rim, into the outstretched arms of 6'5 Josh Taylor on our team. With five seconds remaining on the clock, he seized control of the ball, and put up a mid-range jumper right over a defender. Nothing but net! The crowd went wild! Kamehameha had no timeouts left, so they inbounded the ball, I immediately jumped on the ball-handler, and forced a bad pass downcourt, which was stolen by none other than Josh! Time expired, and our team, fans, cheerleaders, and parents rushed the court in the happiest celebration in my entire life! A 55-54 victory, and a perfect season was ours, after fighting so hard for 32 minutes and an entire season. When the buzzer sounded, we practically had a team dog-pile on the court, and high fives, hugs, and kisses were rapidly traveling through the crowd of Punahou fans. We had done it. Josh was the team hero, but all of us did our parts throughout the year in contributing to our amazing season. That team was the closest and best team I have ever played for, and I am so thankful that I had the chance to play the sport I love with my best friends in the whole world for the best school in the country. Jubiliation filled the air and happiness flowed thru my body. The perfect ending to the perfect team and the perfect season.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Original Essential Questions
My first 5 Essential Questions and preliminary answers
1. What am I going to do after high school?
2. How do I choose/find the right girl?
3. Who are my real friends?
4. How can I reach my full potential as an athlete, student, and son and should I even try?
5. What do I want to be when I grow up?
1. I have no clue. I want to go to a good college, but I'm also considering deferring for a year, making some money, and traveling for awhile to gain some independent experience.
2. There are plenty of girls in the world. I know the values I'm looking for in a girl but I'm wondering if having a girflriend is good for me or if I can handle the responsibility of having one.
3. I'm trying to figure out who they are. I want to only be friends with people who I know have a positive effect on my life and who will care for me just as much as I care for them. Friends that always have my back, and will never turn abandon me in hard times. Friends that like me for who I am and enjoy my company--not pretenders or people that are only nice to me when they want something I have. I hate fakes.
4. Hard work and repetition but I'm going through some injuries and I'm thinking how hard it is to play college basketball anyway. However, I think I want to try to reach my full potential in all of those areas because I think it will make me an extremely happy and successful person.
5. So many choices. I want to be a good father that can coach my son's little league basketball team. Maybe I want to teach at Punahou. Maybe I want to be a sports doctor. I'm not really sure right now but I do know that I am only going to choose a profession that I love doing.
1. What am I going to do after high school?
2. How do I choose/find the right girl?
3. Who are my real friends?
4. How can I reach my full potential as an athlete, student, and son and should I even try?
5. What do I want to be when I grow up?
1. I have no clue. I want to go to a good college, but I'm also considering deferring for a year, making some money, and traveling for awhile to gain some independent experience.
2. There are plenty of girls in the world. I know the values I'm looking for in a girl but I'm wondering if having a girflriend is good for me or if I can handle the responsibility of having one.
3. I'm trying to figure out who they are. I want to only be friends with people who I know have a positive effect on my life and who will care for me just as much as I care for them. Friends that always have my back, and will never turn abandon me in hard times. Friends that like me for who I am and enjoy my company--not pretenders or people that are only nice to me when they want something I have. I hate fakes.
4. Hard work and repetition but I'm going through some injuries and I'm thinking how hard it is to play college basketball anyway. However, I think I want to try to reach my full potential in all of those areas because I think it will make me an extremely happy and successful person.
5. So many choices. I want to be a good father that can coach my son's little league basketball team. Maybe I want to teach at Punahou. Maybe I want to be a sports doctor. I'm not really sure right now but I do know that I am only going to choose a profession that I love doing.
Pain
Free write
Directions: 7 minutes in class. Write about Pain.
"Pain"
"Ouch!" A physical suffering.
"Crap!" A mental collapse.
Pain is the feeling that makes us feel sorry for ourselves. Pain is an obstacle we let get in our way. Everybody experiences it; nobody's life is perfect and painless. Whether it is a death of a friend, a tackle in football, an F on a test, or charleyhorse to the knee, everyone suffers sometimes. But, why should we feel sorry for ourselves?
Pain can be overcome with a strong state of mind and a positive attitude. Sulking around because a girlfiend dumped you does no good. Take a risk and a chance on a new girl. Find a new opportunity. When one door closes, another one opens. If you don't make a change, it's only going to cause longer-lasting pain in your mind and heart.
Directions: 7 minutes in class. Write about Pain.
"Pain"
"Ouch!" A physical suffering.
"Crap!" A mental collapse.
Pain is the feeling that makes us feel sorry for ourselves. Pain is an obstacle we let get in our way. Everybody experiences it; nobody's life is perfect and painless. Whether it is a death of a friend, a tackle in football, an F on a test, or charleyhorse to the knee, everyone suffers sometimes. But, why should we feel sorry for ourselves?
Pain can be overcome with a strong state of mind and a positive attitude. Sulking around because a girlfiend dumped you does no good. Take a risk and a chance on a new girl. Find a new opportunity. When one door closes, another one opens. If you don't make a change, it's only going to cause longer-lasting pain in your mind and heart.
Bittersweet
Getting cut
Bittersweet.
Mixed feelings.
JV vs. Varsity.
Playing time vs. best friends.
Cruise vs. Hardcore.
School vs. San Diego trip.
Be the best or get better.
ILH championship or a state championship.
Knew it was going to happen.
Gave it my best shot.
JV is better for me.
Sweet.
Have a good feeling about this one.
Should be a great season.
These were my first thoughts after being cut from the Varsity volleyball team. I wanted to write them down to remember how I felt about being cut because it is normally such an awful feeling. After getting cut, I think it is best to take a step back, examine your situation, and look at the benefits and advantages. Now that the teams have been finalized, I am happy with my teammates and coaches, and I am truly looking forward to starting playing games this season.
Bittersweet.
Mixed feelings.
JV vs. Varsity.
Playing time vs. best friends.
Cruise vs. Hardcore.
School vs. San Diego trip.
Be the best or get better.
ILH championship or a state championship.
Knew it was going to happen.
Gave it my best shot.
JV is better for me.
Sweet.
Have a good feeling about this one.
Should be a great season.
These were my first thoughts after being cut from the Varsity volleyball team. I wanted to write them down to remember how I felt about being cut because it is normally such an awful feeling. After getting cut, I think it is best to take a step back, examine your situation, and look at the benefits and advantages. Now that the teams have been finalized, I am happy with my teammates and coaches, and I am truly looking forward to starting playing games this season.
Attached by the laces
Directions: 7 minutes, include something about a shoe. Use an alliteration and a gerund.
"Attached by the laces"
My left shoe, Jordan, has a twin right shoe, named Kobe. They are always together, if not side by side, then always at a close distance. You see, at birth they were siamese twins, attached by the laces. At three months old, I wanted a better life for each and I knew they would have much more success in life if I got them the separation surgery. I went into Foot Locker because of their highly trained professional surgeons and cheap deals. Plus, I had a 30% off coupon. Both shoes squeaked through the operation, but it was a safe, super success when it was over and they were separated. The surgeon gave them a nice polish, and they looked good as new. Ever since, my left shoe and his twin have played large roles in my life and always help me perform my best running, jumping, and dunking on the basketball court!
"Attached by the laces"
My left shoe, Jordan, has a twin right shoe, named Kobe. They are always together, if not side by side, then always at a close distance. You see, at birth they were siamese twins, attached by the laces. At three months old, I wanted a better life for each and I knew they would have much more success in life if I got them the separation surgery. I went into Foot Locker because of their highly trained professional surgeons and cheap deals. Plus, I had a 30% off coupon. Both shoes squeaked through the operation, but it was a safe, super success when it was over and they were separated. The surgeon gave them a nice polish, and they looked good as new. Ever since, my left shoe and his twin have played large roles in my life and always help me perform my best running, jumping, and dunking on the basketball court!
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