Blast From the Past

Volleyball has been a big part of my life and always will be. I started playing volleyball in 7th grade and continued all the way through my senior year of college. During that time, I won many awards and even captured the state championship title my senior year of high school. I remember those days like it was yesterday.

Last night I was invited to the annual Massapequa Girls Volleyball dinner. I still keep in touch with my high school volleyball coach who was nice enough to extend the invite. I helped out with her varsity team this year and aspire to become a coach and follow her legacy one day. Upon arriving at the dinner, I could not help but think about the last volleyball dinner that I had the pleasure of attending my senior year of high school. Since we had won states that season, we had numerous award dinners to attend. But, that night was the last one of my high school volleyball career.

Countless memories flooded my mind with each step that I took towards the school's cafeteria. When I walked in, it was like I was 18 again, experiencing my last and final high school volleyball event. I looked at all of the young girls who were sitting together, laughing, and sharing memories together. I was so jealous of their youth and how easy their lives are. The speeches went on and the players received their rewards and then the night was over. Another season ends as another season begins.

I look back on the times that I was a high school volleyball player and I can't thank my coach enough for teaching me how to be the person I am today. I credit her for my success and achievements because she truly cared about her players and taught each and every one of us how to be a classy and outstanding individual as well as an athlete. I will always keep her advice and encouragement in the back of my mind because, still to this day, I strive to be just as good as a person as she is.

Vocabulary:

capture- acquire/ take

aspire- yearn/strive

legacy- tradition

pleasure- enjoyment

numerous- multiple

countless- infinite

jealous- envious

credit- honor/ acknowledge

Vocabulary Activity: Draw a line from the vocabulary word to its definition.

capture                                                                             infinite

aspire                                                                               enjoyment

legacy                                                                               acknowledge

pleasure                                                                           yearn/strive

numerous                                                                        envious

countless                                                                         multiple

jealous                                                                            take

credit                                                                              tradition

Grammar Point: A noun is a person, place, thing, or process. ex: car, library, swimming(sport), etc.

Grammar Activity: Read the text above and underline all of the nouns that you see.


County Championship game

Grandma Peggy

Tomorrow, I will be traveling to Massachusetts with my Kindle and textbooks in tow to visit my grandma Peggy. Peggy, also known as Gram, is my one and only grandmother. I haven't had the opportunity to see her as often as I would like to because of her move from New York to Massachusetts. My sister and I used to love traveling to "Upstate New York" which was only a short hour away in Westchester. To us, at the mere age of 4 and 6, seemed like a cross-country traveling experience. My family would pack up our big, clunky, red mini van and trek up to Westchester for a short day trip. My sister and I loved going to Gram's house because she always made us fresh peanut butter cookies for us to eat while we watched her collection of Shirley Temple video tapes. She also saved all of the toys that my father and his brother would play with when they were children. The occasional game of "spoons" would ensue and I remember my sister always figuring out a way to cheat and win. But unfortunately, my spoons playing, peanut butter cookie eating, Shirley Temple watching days are over.

Gram moved to Massachusetts because she could no longer take care of herself or her home. Gram refused to move near my family because she hates Long Island. She chose to move to Massachusetts where my uncle lives. She thought it was best because he had two young daughters and she could help with the babysitting. Shortly after her move to Massachusetts, my grandmother started to lose her short term memory. It didn't start getting bad until about two years ago. She continually asks me when I will be graduating from college which was about two years ago. Although her memory isn't what it used to be, she still has a contagious laugh that could brighten up any situation. I can't wait to see her because I haven't seen her in over a year!

Vocabulary:
opportunity: a chance

mere: nothing more than

clunky: bulky; big

occasional: rare; infrequent

continually: repeatedly

contagious: spreading

Vocabulary Practice: Unscramble the vocabulary words. Use the clues to help you.

1. yitnupopor:  a chance                         _______________________

2. reem: nothing more than                    ________________________

3. kynclu: bulky                                     ________________________

4. laoacsnoi: rare                                    _________________________

5. lylocuntina: repeatedly                       _________________________

6. sigctonau: spreading                          _________________________

Grammar Point: Adjectives are words that are used to describe a noun. Ex: the blue car. "Blue" is the word describing the "car" which is the noun.

Grammar Activity: Underline all of the adjectives in the passage. Then, draw an arrow to the noun it's describing.

"The Worst But Best Experience of My Life"

There have been many ups and downs in my life, like I'm sure most people have. Some may be able to pin point one particular moment to deem the best or worst experience of their life. Why can't life, in general, be the best part? I feel that I haven't experienced enough to be able to name any of my experiences the best or the worst, so I'll pick my most recent experience: applying for a teaching job.

Upon my arrival at SUNY Cortland, freshman year of college, I had my eyes wide open, ready to experience all that college had to offer. It wasn't then that I realized that I only had a few short years until I would be forced into what they call the "real world". Sadly, graduation day came sooner rather than later which made me more depressed than happy. I knew the field that I was going into was not as promising as I had been told years prior. Millions of questions flooded my head and clouded my dreams with thoughts of hopelessness. Will I ever find a job? What if I can't handle it? Am I going to live with my parents forever? These were the questions that haunted me day in and day out until, one day, I landed my first interview. Of course, hours upon hours of résumé building and endless applications consumed my life prior to this interview, but I won't bore you with those details. The day of my first interview was one of the worst and best days of my life. I remember my palms being sweaty like my square dancing partner's hands in phys. ed. class. I stuttered like I had never stuttered before, trying to fit in everything I could about how I would be the best candidate for the position. I don't even think I took a breath of fresh air for that grueling hour of torture.  Finally, the interview was over, and I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. But, it wasn't until I heard, "You're highly qualified for this position," did I release the tension from my shoulders and crack a smile out of joy rather than anxiety. I had earned my first "real" job!

To me, there is not one particular moment that can be called the best or worst moment of a lifetime. That is life. We wouldn't be able to compare of there wasn't a best or a worst. Life would be boring if it wasn't filled with its ups and downs. It's about how you take those moments and turn them into a positive learning experience to make your future filled with the best moments of your life. And for that, I am truly looking forward to.

Vocabulary:

experience:  an occurrence 

arrival: when someone has arrived

depressed: very sad

prior: before

hopelessness: no hope; desperate

haunt: to reappear continually; cause anxiety

stutter: interruption of speech

Vocabulary Practice: Complete the following crossword below using the clues from your vocabulary list.

1. occurrence

2. someone arrived

3. sad

4. before

5. no hope

6. reappear

7. speech interruption

Grammar point: In English, we sometimes use the ending -ed to let the reader know that an action occurred in the past.

Grammar activity: Past tense- Write 3 sentences about a happy or sad experience that you had recently. Make sure to use at least two examples of a past tense word with the ending -ed.