Jared Gomez

CDA

8-30-15

Many children around the globe come from broken homes. Tons of these children will have emotional and behavioral issues from a lack of discipline and bottled emotions. For these children success comes when they find something that fills the void and supplies the structure and emotional outlet needed. For me, that outlet was my training in MMA. This was a time in my life where I found peace, learned disciplined, while in the best shape of my life. MMA could save many others from the trouble that surrounds them.

I came from a broken home. I bottled up lots of rage and spent a majority of my time wreaking havoc anywhere I could. That’s when I discovered MMA, or Mixed Martial Arts, which can be a combination of kickboxing, boxing, jujitsu, muy thai, karate, and judo. MMA became the place I went to become lost and have amnesia to what was around me. When I was there I was in my own dimension and zoned into mastering all that I could. Every swing I incorporated a piece of the madness that consumed my mind. The trouble that haunted me was gone, I was safe.

The training I did infused itself into my life through my behavior outside the gym.  Prior to the gym, I was a hot-headed boy who had no self-control. I’d explode without warning or reason. While training you learn technique, including one that many use to beat their opponent before the fight even begins, invading their mind. Getting inside someone’s head to make them explode and compete out of swarms of emotion meanwhile abandoning their entire plan. You practice that in the gym, which leads to a better sense of self and of self-control. Outside the gym I learned to put out the flame that sparked inside me when tempers flared. In another way training is grueling it takes a lot out of someone to be pulverized minute after minute day after day and never allowing themselves to taste defeat. If you can do that homework is nothing, and work ethic is formed.

Along with all those brutal hours being battered comes the bonus of a magnificent physique. All day your body endures and enormous amount of torture. An average human body is not a body that can endure that. Every minute you are drowning in sweat, muscles burning, and cardio wasting away, you create a different version of yourself that you never had before. Your muscles grow to endure the punches, your cardio blasts forward to be able to keep giving the punches back, and the fat burns off so you look good doing both.

Training for mixed martial arts can be the safe place for many with trouble in their life. It is a place that allows you to escape the negativity that overwhelms your life. A place to instill the discipline needed to succeed in any area of life, and for your self-esteem get you in the best shape of your life. I reflect everyday on the memories of being in the gym, it was my place to be me, without any negativity.

Everyone has moments in their life that they never forget. For some reason it affects them enough to make it stick in their mind and stand the test of time. For me, one of those memories is my times training in MMA. That was a time in my life where I found peace, learned disciplined, and was in the best shape of my life. It saved me and could save many others from the trouble that surrounds them.

I grew up in what some say are harsh conditions. I bottled up lots of rage and spent a majority of my time wreaking havoc anywhere I could. When I discovered MMA, it became the place I went to become lost and have amnesia to all that was around me. When I was in there I was in my own dimension and zoned into mastering all that I could. With every swing I incorporated a piece of the madness that consumed my mind. The trouble that haunted me was gone, I was safe.

The training I did also infused itself into my life through my behavior outside the gym.  Prior to joining the gym, I was a hot-headed boy who had no self-control. I could explode without warning or reason. While training you learn technique, and one that many use to beat their before the fight even begins is invading their mind. Getting inside someone’s head to make them explode and compete out of a swarm of emotions meanwhile abandoning their entire game plan. You practice that in the gym, which leads to a better sense of self and of self-control. Outside the gym I learned to put out the flame that sparked inside me when something I didn’t like would occur. In another way the training is grueling it takes a lot out of someone to be pulverized minute after minute day after day and never allowing themselves to taste defeat. If you can do that homework is nothing, and work ethic is formed.

Along with all those brutal hours being battered comes the bonus of a magnificent physique. All day your body endures and enormous amount of torture. An average human body is not a body that can endure that. Every minute you are in there drowning in sweat, muscles burning, and cardio wasting away, you are creating a different version of yourself that you never had before. Your muscles grow to endure the punches, your cardio blasts forward to be able to keep giving the punches back, and the fat burns off so you can look good doing both.

Training for mixed martial arts can be the safe place for many with trouble in their life. It is a place that allows you to escape the negativity that has overwhelmed your life. A place to instill the discipline needed to succeed in any area of your life, and for your self-esteem get you in the best shape of your life. I reflect everyday on the memories of being in the gym, it was my place to be me, without any of the negative.

Megon Ganzeveld

English 111 CEA

September 1, 2015

A Proud Granddaughter

Every child has a pair of grandparents, and every grandparent can make an impact in a child’s life. Grandpa, I thank you for always supporting me and being my role model growing up. You have filled my heart with pride, love, and gratefulness. I would like to share a memory that demonstrates how proud and thankful I am to have you as my Grandpa.

It was our first softball practice and Ashley and I were quite nervous. You had offered to take us to the fields after school to meet the team. All day we felt the butterflies in our stomachs as we were not quite sure what to expect at practice. As we got off the bus that day from school we seen you were sitting at our house with a bag full of stuff. “What’s in the bag Papa?” my sister asked, as you began to pull out cleats, socks, and two softball mitts. You had went out and purchased everything we would need. Our faces lit up with smiles and we couldn’t wait to try out the new items. After we had gotten dressed and tried on the cleats and socks we loaded into the car and off we went.

As we pulled up at the softball fields we see many other young girls with the same nervous facial expression as we had. Headed to the fields, we walked on the pavement in our cleats, you could hear the pitter patter of our brisk walk. You gave us a gentle smile and grabbed our hands. We walked up to our team and wondered where the coach was? After hanging around for 20 minutes it was apparent our coach had forgotten about us. As some of the other parents started to gather their children and leave you stood up and said “Hold on these girls came to learn softball and I would love to teach them!” You had decided in that instant to dedicate your time and coach our softball team. You, knowing exactly what to do, huddled the team together and got us excited about the season ahead. Instantly my butterflies seemed to fade and excitement replaced it.

The way you just stepped up and took control eased my anxiousness and made me so proud to be your granddaughter. The unsettling feeling of not knowing what to expect turned into a rush of excitement every time practice came around. You were not only my role model, but the entire team looked up to you as well. Your thoughtfulness in preparing us, and your support in taking us to practice that evening will forever remain close to my heart. The ongoing support that I have received has left me filled with love and feeling proud and forever grateful for being blessed with you as my grandpa.

William Robinson

English Composition

Descriptive Essay

1 SEPT 2015

Feelings of the First Combat Convoy

Have you ever been so scared and nervous because your life was in danger? You will when you go through your deployment. Hot heat, combative enemies trying to get you with small arms fire, and roadside bombs are just a few things you might have to go through in a deployment. In August of 2008, I was on my first deployment in the Army, in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq. I was preparing for my first “mission” or military convoy. I was scared and nervous because my life was in danger. Concerns included the possibility of enemy force interference during the mission, or my own mishap that could cause problems in the logistics and the safety of my fellow soldiers.

My Army unit deployed July 2008 to Iraq, and by August we were ready for our first mission inside a hostile country during a direct conflict. We had been trained proper combat techniques, combat convoy etiquette, and safety tips, but this was still a first deployment for many of us. When in a combat zone, on a convoy, you must scan your whole surroundings looking for bombs or combative enemies, secure your loads, watch your fellow soldier’s backs, and be safe, to make sure everything goes as planned and for the whole safety of every individual involved. My first mission was a round trip, from Al-Taqaddum to Fallujah, and was a refueling mission of military grade petroleum. Remarkably the mission was a success, with minor mishaps of no significance to the overall mission.

Also since it was a conflict, there were combative enemies who would want to disrupt us with road side bombs or small arms fire. Many things could go wrong, either from an individual in our unit not doing his assigned tasks or from direct conflict of a combative enemy. So tensions were high and many people nervous during the initial part of the mission. Feelings that you may go through are adrenaline high, high stress, and lots weight on your shoulders. Things I did to deal with my feelings were meditate about good things, and goof around with battle buddies. The overall deployment was a success for our unit with minor hostile conflict to the unit in whole, and no major injuries to our soldiers.

August of 2008 was my first successful mission while deployed in the conflict zone of Iraq. My deployment ran from July 2008 to October of 2009. There was a lot of tension and nervousness with my unit, and myself during that first mission, but it was a success and helped with the rest of our deployment. My unit successfully completed their mission with no major setbacks throughout the unit, during our deployment. Our first mission helped paved the rest of our deployment success. Always find something that makes you happy and focus on that during the difficult times in your deployment, also always stay Army strong.