Today I travel to Rhode Island!
The smallest state in the country. In honor of the voyage I decided to look up some interesting facts about the beloved Ocean State:
Even though it’s so tiny it still has a larger population than Montana
Founded by Roger Williams
Headquarters for Hasbro toy company located there
Brown University located there
63% of the population is Catholic
They call hot dogs Gaggers
Any flavor of Italian Ice/ Water Ice they call Frozen lemonade
Sweat, hard work, and hope have been very characteristic of the preseason for wrestling. There’s been a lot of sweat and hard work, there always is, but hope is one special thing I can focus on this year in particular. Yea I’ve gone through the exercise torture, waking up at 6:00 am for those nasty morning runs being part of it, but this year is different. This year is a last chance to fight, to redeem, to win; a last chance to leave everything on the mat and know that I held nothing back. This year will be the last chance to wrestle.
This is my senior year at Messiah, my final year to compete, and with that comes a high amount of hope. Hope to succeed being very important but at the center a hope that my wrestling might show all of what I have put into it throughout my life. This will be the eighth year that I’ve competed very competitively and through that time I’ve put a lot of myself into the sport. Giving up weekends and free time, and let’s not forget.. Food, for nearly six months out of the year. If I could add up the poundage lost in mere sweat the number would probably astound you! I’ve also put in the most important part of myself into wrestling, that part being a whole lot of love. Love freely given to the sport that has already taken so much from me. But that’s why I give it. I’ve never felt another passion so strongly as I do towards the sport, passion that drives me to love.
And though wrestling will always hold a secure place in my heart, this is my final year to use this God given talent competitively. The Lord has given us a spirit of hope and that spirit channels directly into my wrestling. All of my love will be seen on the mat this year as I hope for greatness and work to obtain it.
First match: Tomorrow (Saturday 10/7) 9:00am… the first of my last year
So I don’t know if it’s because it’s senior year, because there’s literally nothing left for Profs to teach us, but instead of studying or doing practical work, most of my time is now spent in long monotonous meetings. For each class I have there is a bare minimum of 4 hours a week I spend in these meetings, or as I like to call them “bleedings” because I’d rather bleed than go to them. Maybe I’m being harsh but if you are a senior you probably know exactly what I am talking about. Is this what the real world is like? Maybe this how we’re being prepared for the workforce, that each day we'’ll have to meet with people who we’d really rather just avoid.
There’s nothing worse then having a class, which you may or may not enjoy, who’s prof decides that regular class times are just not enough. That you just need more torture in your life. That instead of the agreed upon 50 minutes or hour you signed up for, that this class needs to extend itself in your life whether you like it or not. And where does this time come from? It certainly doesn’t just materialize from nothing does it? Well remember when you only took four credits this semester so that you’d have some good free time? Oh yea, well that’s gone! Every waking moment you thought you could relax has just been stolen. So when you’ve just got from a rough day of classes and tests, and you sit down on the couch to have a few breaths…you probably shouldn’t be, because right at that moment you’ve probably scheduled a meeting for your computers class or senior campaign project - and if you miss it guess who’s gonna be the one doing all the hard work, right now your catching on - YOU ARE.
It’s a stressful time for us seniors, getting ready to start our vocations (or job lives). Who knows where we’ll end up in just a few months? I hope that whoever is reading this doesn’t think I’m just some punk complainer, I really do love Messiah and a lot of the people here - there are just some things that nag at your inner being and if you don’t express them how will anyone ever know? How will you ever come to some kind of peace with it, if you just bottle it up…you’re more likely to just explode. So here’s my second blog, a second lament I know how unoriginal but it was something on my mind. If you can relate then great, if I just sound wacky well…I’m sorry that’s just me.
A lament,
When running in the morning, beautifully terrible things happen. Contradicting the possible magnificence of the early hours are certain grotesque reminders that things are not always as they seem. The sun slowly creeping up above the trees that overlook the tranquil Messiah track, where 30-something tortured wrestlers will never see it. The hell they endure each morning forces their eyes to focus only on achieving the next step, missing any possible chance at beauty. While the birds awake and sing, the throats of the men burn on fire with the ripping cold. The early hours of fall are colder and create stunning frost formations on windshields and windows, but cause tearing stress on the lungs which suck it in repeatedly. The body aches after each impact of step after dreadful step. The head rings with a pounding high pitch sound of over-exertion, all the while the entire campus is serene and calm…too bad these poor souls will never notice. There are two different thoughts on morning runs, one that focuses on an idea of beauty and one the knows the reality of the soul squeezing torture. So know that if you ever ask a wrestler, “what do you think of running in the morning, isn’t it beautiful?”… you’ve already set yourself up for a terrible response.