Daily Archives: January 23, 2020

Lacrosse, Sports

My experience at a D1 recruitment camp

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Image taken from: https://www.facebook.com/hpumenslacrosse/

A big aspect of being a part of competitive sports is hopefully playing at the next level after high school: college.

I am one of the many people that play sports that want to play in college, in particular the sport of lacrosse. I play on a club team whose purpose is to expose us to a higher level of play and to colleges. This summer I played lacrosse with my club team in Utah, Colorado, and Milwaukee. All of these trips were meant to expose us to college recruits. 

After this summer, I began to get many emails from colleges from all over the United States. Most of them are just advertising and nothing personal but I did get a few personal emails directly from coaches. They asked me to come visit their campus and participate in their recruitment camps.

The process of choosing which college to visit involves studying the level of play, coaching, academics, location, and interest. I narrowed down these emails to a college in North Carolina called High Point University. They were holding a recruitment camp at their campus, so my dad and I flew there to see what it was about.

This was my first time ever visiting a college for sports, so I was pretty anxious. When we arrived at the field for the first day out of the 3-day camp, there was upwards of 250 kids there, way way more than I expected. There where kids from all over the country and all levels of play. We all were spoken to by the coaches as a group and they explained their expectations of intensity, effort, and discipline. This is a Division 1 program so it was very serious. 

We got split up into 20 player teams and through the weekend we worked with each other and scrimmaged against other teams. All over the field there were coaches from other colleges watching us play. This can create a lot of pressure. 

After we’d play and practice, they gave us tours of the locker rooms, campus, and dorms. There were also motivational speakers that talked to us about staying healthy and being in good mental and physical shape in order to play at a Division 1 level. 

Overall, this was a very good experience and helped me know and understand what is expected in the next level of play and also exposed me to my competition to get there. I learned a lot about myself and what I need to do to get better and was also a great confidence booster knowing I could compete at the highest level of college sports. I plan on doing a few more of these with different colleges to help myself decide what I want to do and be ready to start my life as an adult. 

Uncategorized

Gap year

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By Charlotte Lane

Image taken from: https://www.fandango.com/movie-news/film-mom-why-monsters-u-makes-going-off-to-college-way-less-scary-738995

When people talk about the benefits of a gap year the obvious pros are mentioned: being able to work and save up money for college expenses, gain experience in the work world, independence, learning how to be self sufficient, determining what you want to pursue and overall mature more. 

There are four types of a gap year 

The first is a personal gap year. This is when individuals focus on hobbies and personal interests, allowing time to do something you have always wanted to do but “never had the time for.” 

The second is an academic gap year. This gap year involves exploring schooling and finding your specific major or school. It allows students to be enrolled in 1-2 college courses in order to determine if this subject is something they would be interested in pursuing. 

Third is an immersion gap year. This is when students can spend time abroad in an unfamiliar culture with an unfamiliar family. This time gives students opportunities to learn a new language, experience a different way of living, and push themselves out of their comfort zone. 

The last opportunity is a volunteer gap year. This is a time where students can focus on leaving a positive impact on people and places. Volunteer work allows students to learn new skills, experience diverse cultures, and create a community of their own. 

 

Image taken from: https://pittnews.com/article/135146/opinions/take-a-gap-year-before-grad-school/

So why should I take a gap year? 

Throughout high school, students spend the majority of time focusing on their education, and it can be extremely tiring. Even though students are burnt out so much pressure has been put on by peers, friends and parents to go to college. This glorified experience has been planted inside student’s brains since the start of middle school. So, students rush into college courses, sometimes not ready to do so, even though it is healthy to take a break from school and reconstruct yourself. 

Here are ten reasons I think gap years are worth it

  1. DISCOVER YOUR INTERESTS
  2. BUILD LIFELONG FRIENDSHIPS
  3. PREPARE FOR WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO 
  4. LEARN A NEW LIFE SKILL 
  5. BECOME A MORE WELL-ROUNDED PERSON 
  6. LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST 
  7. SEE A NEW COUNTRY OR STATE 
  8. SAVE UP MONEY 
  9. BUILD RESUME 
  10. GET TO KNOW YOURSELF 

 

Image taken from: https://www.thestar.com/life/relationships/2019/07/10/young-people-can-learn-about-themselves-during-a-gap-year-before-heading-to-post-secondary-life.html

Stop asking yourself if you should take a gap year, and start asking yourself why not.

Visit this site to explore gap year resources: https://www.globalcitizenyear.org/gap-year-resources

Now go discover what’s right for you!

National

Women in the U.S. military

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Image taken from: https://www.crfashionbook.com/culture/g27468757/history-of-women-in-united-states-armed-forces-military/

When it comes to serving one’s country, it took a lot to get women to where they are today. Throughout the years, women have been fighting to move up the ranks in the military. It took a long time, but finally, women can now enroll and serve their country in any rank or position. 

Women have always held a role in the United States military, however for the majority of the time, the roles never involved combat. These women who wanted to serve were confined to jobs as washwoman, cooks, medical caregivers/nurses, seamstresses, and laudresses in the 18th and 19th century. These military roles were mainly taken part during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War.

Once World War l came around, women still were mainly just nurses. However, the women not already working medical positions were to enlist in the armed forces. During this time, most still served in a voluntary area. A select few ended up being hired by different branches of the military for work and aide in clerical positions. 35,000 women and counting served in the army during WW I. 

During WW ll, women were once again recruited for the army. This time not only to be a nurse, or work in a clerical position, but to be hired as a weather forecaster, telephone operator, or linguists.

As time went went on, some faced a lot of hardships while being a part of the army. Congress decided to allow women to legitimately enlist in the Army of the United States. Because of the Women’s Army Corps, in 1943, women could attain a military rank and serve overseas. 

Women served valiantly in WW ll. They were mocked, sexually harassed, and stigmatized. Through all that, they served bravely and some received medals and citations of their contributions. However, every woman who served was not considered a veteran or given benefits.

A few years later because of sexism in the military, in 1948, President Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act into law. This meant letting women serve as full and permanent members in all branches of the U.S. military. However, women were still restricted. This act limited the number of women who could serve. This left only 2% to be women in the military. At this point, it would take years to get women to where they needed to be equally. 

Slowly but surely, Women’s roles did expand from where they were. By the time it was 1970, women in the military could rise to command roles in non-combat units. Along with this, women and men began to train together.

In the year of 2013, women finally achieved full status in the U.S. military. They could now serve in combat roles. However, this did raise a new global question; should women be required to register for the draft? 

Movies/TV/Theaters, Tech/Games

Which streaming service is best for you?

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As we progress into a more tech-filled world, the way we consume our media is changing as well. More and more entertainment companies are moving their movies and TV shows onto streaming services, rather than keeping them on cable TV.

However, with monthly fees for each service, it can stack up to be an expensive bill, leaving many to decide between services. It can  be difficult to decide which one to choose and which is best for you, so today we will take a look at 5 very popular streaming services to see which one suits you best. These 5 streaming services are: Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV, and Disney+.

Image taken from: https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/netflix-app-icon-ios.jpg?w=730&crop=1

Starting off with the service that popularized the streaming service craze, Netflix. Netflix offers a wider variety of content than competitors, making it an easy choice for those seeking an all-around great subscription service. While it may be more expensive than other services, they also offer a lot of original series’ that can’t be found anywhere else, such as Stranger Things.

The service that is seen as Netflix’s main competition is Hulu. Hulu is a streaming service that also has a variety of movies and TV shows, plus it also has Live TV options (note, Hulu is now owned by Disney). The primary issue is that, unless you are willing to pay extra for a premium account, the service won’t provide Live TV, and it runs ads. Hulu also has fewer original series’ than Netflix.

Similar to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video also has many high quality original movies and TV shows, as well as a lot of other content. One major benefit to using Amazon Prime Video is that you are able to rent or buy movies and TV shows that you otherwise would have to buy as a DVD (or use RedBox or a service similar to it).

YouTube TV is a great replacement to classic cable. While it is much more expensive than other streaming services, it is doing something different. It is replicating cable more than the others, and is mostly made up of live content. YouTube TV offers an excellent lineup of sports, news, and entertainment channels, and is a top choice for people who still want the cable TV experience but want to cut the cord and don’t want to spend as much money as cable.

Finally, the most recent addition to the lineup is Disney+. Disney+ is a service similar to Netflix and Hulu, but offers tons of Disney owned content all in one place. We all know how much of a juggernaut Disney is to the entertainment industry, so having a service of most of what Disney owns is a lot of content. However, many people are complaining that there isn’t a wide enough variety of content. Most of what is on Disney+ is movies, and there is barely anything new to watch on the service.

Overall, you can’t go wrong with any of these services. Whether you’re looking for a replacement to cable, a service that you can watch with your family, or just something to watch your favorite TV shows on, all of these have something for you.