Andrew Bergman Blog Three

Andrew Bergman

29 September, 2013

Identifying Rhetoric

            For myself, this question type of question comes naturally for me because I do actually work for a restaurant business.  However I do not work for a family friend, but rather a large retirement community.  In this example though, the exigence is clear.  We want to make money this summer because we need it and/or want it.  We may need the money for books for the next semester of classes, or so that we can afford a trip of snow skiing in the winter.  Whatever the cause is, the reason we are writing the letter to our family friend is so we can increase our money surplus.  One thing we must also consider is our audience, who is a family friend.  We must realize she is doing everything she can to keep her smaller business afloat in a sea of competition.  She has to make the hard calls of what is good and what is bad for her company, and right now she sees us as a bad investment.  However, we can prove to her that we would be a better investment than she believes.  For one, we have experience.  We know how the restaurant works.  Each kitchen has its own way of doing things, and we are already in that “groove” compared to a newly hired employee.  Therefore, we do not need to be trained how to do our job, which takes time and money.  In fact, we could even help train the new employees she has hired for her company.  The final way we could overcome any constraints our family friend may have for us is by explaining how we know the customers.  We know “the regulars” who come in and what they order, and may even know them personally.  This will help the customers to feel more at home, and therefore want to come back and increase the business.

Michael liu Blog 2

This photo is the day that I went to America. I had got everything ready and the boy beside me was my cousin. My mother took this memorable moment. My bag was on my shoulders. My laptop, passport, I-20 and all other stuff full filled it. I was looking forward to the future and college life in Virginia tech. My cousin, who would see me off, however, seemed a little upset. He is my best brother. He was only ten months elder than me. We grew up together. In the childhood, we shared a bed, sometimes fighted with each other. My parents would buy same t-shirts for both of us, dressed like a real brother. After that, we entered school. Although in different schools, we studied together. Solving math problems, building physical models, sometimes, we would copy each other’s article to handle the assignment. The strong relationship between us made make us cannot bear to be apart with others.

  My flight was four thirty at that day. It was my first trip to America. I was exciting, worried and had an idea about the college life. Besides, I would take a plane by my own. But I could not to show any fear on my face. I didn’t my parents worry about me.

Jiayu Chen blog2

I love variety of foods, especially barbecue. I know all of you have eaten is before, but have you ever grilled food in the countryside for your friends and classmates? Maybe your answer is “no”. This is my experiences being a chief instead of being a customer.

  That was the summer vacation in China, all my classmates and I went hiking in a sunny day. We bright different kinds of raw foods (in China, not only meat but other foods such as steam bun , sea food and tofu can also be grilled) and BBQ tools at the trip, and started BBQ  when we arrived at the destination. Since I like BBQ very much, I became the chief and waiter for my classmates. Though this was the first time to be a chief in the BBQ, I did a good job. The most important thing is I enjoyed the happiness when someone takes your works and praises it. This feeling is even better than enjoying food of my own. After that I realized people should learn how to serve others and share with them so that your happiness would be doubled.

Sean Rodgers Blog 2

Achieving Greatness

Everything erupted.  It all happened so fast.  Everything was blurred at first.  The stands of Randolph High School were erupting.  High school students were running.  Running toward me.  As I was tackled by one, two, then 15 of my teammates all surrounding me, screaming and hugging me as I ran off the mat after the finals of the district championships. 

            This memory was the greatest I have ever experienced.  It brings me back to a journey.  A journey of four long, tough years that I had fought and worked toward one goal.  After my first match as a middle school wrestler, one father in the organization came up to me.  He said that one day I was going to be a district champion, and he was going to be there for it.  After that moment, I had a goal.  I wanted, more than anything, to be a district champion for my high school.

            As my freshman, sophomore, and junior year went by, I was becoming better and better.  After a huge achievement of making the varsity team as a freshman, I was focusing my life on wrestling.  I was becoming faster, more skilled and more passionate.  I attended clubs all year long, and wrestled at colleges during the summers.  Even breaking my thumb junior year did not stop me.  I would continue to wrestle with a cast. 

Blog 2

Against all odds

            Silence, the only sounds you could hear were the metal spikes clacking against the tile floors of the men’s locker room. The team sat down on the benches and looked at the door waiting for our coach to walk in. All of a sudden, the door slammed against the wall and our coach storms inside with an expression of rage across his face. He had a reason to be mad. A four game losing streak was nothing to be happy about. We were six games under .500 and slowing becoming a non-factor in the division. We had a very tough road schedule coming up, playing the top 3 teams in the division.          

Welcome to Central Dauphin High School, home of the Rams. Would everyone please stand and remove their caps for the playing of our National Anthem. That is how every home baseball game started at my high school. This game didn’t feel like any ordinary home game, it felt different, and it was. This game was the first playoff baseball game in 5 years at Central Dauphin. Twenty teams made district playoffs, we were the 14^th seed.

Vickie York Blog 2

            

           My heart was racing. I was trying to wipe the sweat from the palms of my hands. I raised my arms to salute the judges. As I stepped onto the runway, I took a deep breath. I kept reminding myself of the corrections that Coach Daniel told me repeatedly during practice. I took that first step and I was off. I ran faster and faster down the vault runway. I flipped and twisted in the air as I blocked off the vault table. I knew it was a good vault until I heard a loud snap! In that instant, I knew it was broken.

            I bit my tongue trying to fight back the tears but my coach could see the pain in my eyes. My initial thought was that I needed to finish this meet. It was the last state championships of my high school gymnastics career. My teammates rushed to my side as Coach Daniel carried me off the mat. He told me that I couldn't finish the meet but I told him that was absolutely not an option. As he taped my ankle up, many thoughts flooded my mind. How on in the world am I really going to finish this meet?

Blog 2 with picture

    To be frankly, till now, after I had already finished my trip to Kilimanjaro for half an year, I still do not understand what gave the strength at that time to sign up for such an adventure. Actually, just right before our group leader had confirmed to each of us about our payment and plane tickets, I still hold the idea of giving up the trip. It was not the same as I would arrive and now has arrived United States for my University life, it was to go to a place where for most of us it's just a mysterious area that maybe just appear in media, not in front of us. But different from what I thought from the beginning, I will not regret that I have been to there now.
         After the trip, I come back from the Mountain, just looked like a monkey that fell into mire, tired, did not have shower for six days, I even found more than five blisters on my feet. However, in the meantime, I, as well as my colleagues, all felt very exciting, as we have completed a special challenge at least for ourselves.

picture blog

I choose this picture because it best describes the happiest moment of my high school career.  Leading up to it was some of the hardest moments of my life, however I realize now because of those things that I have become an even stronger person because of it.  While most of my wrestling matches I cannot remember due to my brain being so preoccupied with winning, I do remember this one completely because it was one of my most important ones and one of my last ones. I also know that it will stay with me for the rest of my life.

            The night before my match we had to stay up until around three in the morning to set up the gym. Wrestling is not a very hard sport to set up for, however we had to wait until the basketball game was done for the night. On top of that I had to cut around three pounds that night, which was normal but still very painful. If you have ever tried to loose weight rapidly you will understand what I am talking about. The five hundred calorie diets or about an apple a day, the constant stepping on a scale to see if you have lost another tenth of a pound. With all my sweatshirts on I started running that while the basketball game was going on. Three pounds, I new I should not have had that extra sip of water at lunch.  

Emily Niehoff - Blog 2

               I remember complaining to my mother. I did not want to go to some foreign place with a group of people that I barely knew. I said that I felt sick, that I would be isolated if I went, and if she did make me go I would have a miserable time and come back unfulfilled and upset. I was totally and completely wrong.

              The summer before my freshman year was one of the best times of my life and not because I went to some far away country and lounged in a beach side chair or because I went to an amusement park and enjoyed the playful atmosphere. No, instead, I went to the small area of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. It was a desolate and impoverished town known for its crime and drug scene, and yet that town taught me more than any pink sand beach ever could. 

              The church that my family and I have attended since I was born is forty-five minutes away from my house. So, for obvious reasons, I did not know many people in the youth ministries because I was only there once a week and most of the kids, who lived close to the church, went to the same school had already formed their tight impenetrable clusters of giggling girls.

Jake Apostoles Blog 2

Flight

     The stutter from the seven cylinder radial engine is heard in the air. The engine spits out some smoke and begins to put in the way that all radials do. The Boeing Stearman begins to come to life with that great sound and strong smell. The sun glistens on the blue and yellow paint that covers the wings, fuselage, and empennage. It is a beautiful day to go flying. As we prepare for the flight, the instructor and I put on our parachutes and headsets. We then climb into the open cabin biplane that has trained an entire generation of military pilots, renowned for its handling and stability. The thought flashes through my mind that this same model of plane is what my grandfather learned to fly in. Once I have walked up the lower wing and climbed into my seat, I realize how spartan the cockpit is, with six instruments and what seems like a baseball bat as the stick. This is flying at its simplest and best form. We then taxi to the end of the runway on the grass, and get set for takeoff. We begin to roll, going down the runway gaining speed as the tail wheel comes up on the taildragger and we turn slightly for the dogleg in the runway. We have come completely taken off and now gain airspeed and altitude. The instructor turns the plane around quickly we approach back to the runway and he yanks the stick back as we break the runway threshold and the plane noses hard up and then levels off. I had begun acrobatics and the feeling was incredible.

Andrew Bergman Blog Two

Andrew Bergman

08 September, 2013

Reflection Paper

Dreams

Dreams.  Ideas and thoughts that are given to us by God so that we may strive to become the best versions of ourselves in this life.  That is my definition of the word dreams.  Unfortunately, dreams are complicated things.  They challenge us in more ways than we could think, and often change throughout our lives.  For some people, dreams do not come to them until late in their life.  I was fortunate enough to be blessed with my dreams early on in life.  One of those dreams, was being admitted to the United States Naval Academy. 

Throughout my childhood, my father always taught me the importance God has in our life.  Growing up in a Catholic family, I went to church every Sunday with them, and grew in my faith.  My father is the first to admit that he is not the best Catholic, but he never once failed to remind me that keeping God in our life, and his teachings is the most important thing above all.  One of these teachings he taught me and my siblings, was that God gave us our dreams.  Our dreams are our gifts from God to do the things he wants us to do on earth.  I have followed this teaching ever since I was a child because I know that the dreams I have is what God wants me to do.  

Renae Slough Blog 2

I came around the last turn and saw the clock 200 meters in front of me. I had been in this place before, but this moment was different. This time, as I was running towards the finish line of my final cross country race, there was no one in front of me. The time on the clock was the shortest I had ever seen it. Even though I could barely breathe, had sweat dripping down my face, and my legs felt like noodles, I was not going to give up because I wanted to win the race. At that moment, it was no longer the responsibility of my coach to train me, nor the job of my teammates and family to encourage me to do better. I was the only one who could make my dream become a reality. The dream that one day I would beat my three mile time of twenty-one minutes and win a race.
My running career started when I was a freshmen in high school. Indoor track was definitely not on my list of things to do, however hanging out with my friends was. Being new to the school, I did not have many friends yet, but I did have a few close ones. Two of them, Sarah and Wren, thought it would be a great idea for us to all do track together. I decided to do it, not wanting to miss out on any social time.

Madi McClure Blog 2

Have you ever heard of the iconic movie Grease, and wondered if that movie was based of an actual school?  The truth is that movie is based off of my alma mater  Radnor High School.  The director Randall Kleiser, a Radnor alumni,  included a lot of elements about our famous Lower Merion (LM) pep rally.  This pep rally is met to get the football team amped up for our game against our rival school Lower Merion. This rivalry between Radnor and Lower Merion happens to be the oldest rivalry in the country for high school football. The pep rally is almost if not more important to the students of Radnor. Each year the senior organize dances and acts that go on during the pep rally. As underclassmen you are envious of the seniors and the performances they put on. 

As I  arrive at my first day of high school I hear from all my peers about how excited they all are for our first experience at the  LM pep rally.  This gigantic celebration only happens once each fall at our school. All the students eagerly await for that one week in october to come around. when that one week comes around you see the halls decorated completely in posters with funny raunchy slogans having to do with the theme of that week. You also see people dressed to the nines in outfits that match each day of the weeks dress up themes. Of course the last day is the pep rally, everyone wears a theme matching t-shirt with either your last name or funny nickname on the back, also peoples faces and bodies are completely designed in black light paint.  the whole week truly is magical!

Kyle Reymann Blog 2

When my parents asked me if i wanted to go on an Outward Bound vacation this past summer I saw an opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and try something new.  Little did I know that the experience would change my life.

Outward Bound is an outdoor program that teaches the values of leadership, service, character, and integrity. Kids from all over the world can sign up for backpacking, snowboarding, rock climbing, kayaking, and a multitude of trips that provide "education for life".  I know.. sounds a bit cliche, but OB is far from it.

During high school, even though I got good grades, I didn't try much at all.  My senior year, suffering from a severe case of senioritis, I probably did an estimated less than 10 hours of homework at home getting most of what I needed done from copying someone else's or doing it the class before.  I became very lazy doing barely what I needed to get by focusing more on having fun with my friends than the sticky habits I was getting myself into.  

Brian Doyle Blog 2

My days as a competitive swimmer began several hours after I lost the information sheet about the wrestling team in my messy, freshman locker. I had just finished my fall season of cross country and I knew I wanted to do a sport in the winter but I had no idea what. Throughout middle school I never stuck with a winter sport so I was open to all possibilities. I was pretty sure I was going to wrestle but when I came home that day I couldn’t find the paperwork and the tryouts began the following day. I decided to talk to the swim coach because it was a non-cut sport, and I always enjoyed swimming over the summer. When I first stepped into Mr. King’s room I was a little nervous and still unsure whether or not I wanted to swim, but after talking with him I figured I would try it out. What I thought was going to be just a sport to keep me in shape, became a way of life and a highlight of all four of my years in high school. There are a few things I will look back to later in life that will remind me of my career as a high school swimmer, and throwing my coach in the pool at my final meet will always be at the top of the list.

Caitlin Rudy Blog Two

I’ve always been of the mindset that when you are at a really dark or low place in your life, you have to know that God has something great waiting for you around the corner. The event taking place in my picture, proves this point to be true.

My sophomore year in high school, I went through one of the most embarrassing moments in my life. We were in the middle of the Regional tournament, and doing really well. We were in the game right before the Regional Championship. If we won, we moved on, if not, we were out. Tensions were high among both teams, coaches and fans. I was up to bat and coach asked me to put down a squeeze bunt. If you’re not a softball fan, that is when you put down a bunt with a runner on third base. The runner on third starts sprinting for home, like they are stealing a base, right when the ball leaves the pitchers hand. My job as the batter is to put down a bunt, no matter where the pitch is, far enough from home plate so that the runner going home can score and not get out. This is a ton of pressure, especially since we were down by one run.

You probably think this is my embarrassing moment, but I actually came through on this. I put down an amazing bunt, the runner on third scored, and I even made it safe to first. The other team was so flabbergasted that I put down a bunt in this situation being a slow runner and typically a power hitter. The crowd went wild and my first base coach gave me the biggest high five. I was on cloud nine now, but following immediately in the next play was one of the worst moments of my life that I will never forget.  

Carol Royston Blog 2

My whole life I have always been playing sports. Starting in kindergarten, my mom signed me up for mini munchkins soccer. Later, in the second grade I joined my town’s travel soccer team, The Warriors. About the sixth grade, I hung up my soccer cleats and picked up a lacrosse stick. Since then I haven’t put it down. Being on numerous sports team I have seen tons of injuries, but fortunately never experience anything serious myself. That is, until my senior year lacrosse season.

            In the beginning of May, my high school lacrosse team, the Seneca Eagles were scheduled to take on our rivals, the Shawnee Renegades. I had been excited for this game even prior to the season started. Our game was under the lights and as my team warmed up, we focused every thought on the game.

            At the start of the first half, our team looked tired and the Renegades easily took the lead. Being a defensive player and team caption, I felt it was my job to some spark life into my team. I tired to motivate my teammates, but the Renegades continued to dominate the first half.

            When the horn sounded the conclusion of the first half, the Eagles congregated with defeated face for our half time talk. Our coach was just as upset as we were, but she tired to trigger some excitement into us for the second half.