Copper: The True Companion - PB

I have had my dog, Copper, for as long as I can remember. I was there when my mom and I picked him up and he is laying next to me right now. 12 long years of friendship and love. If you have met Copper, you know he's not the most exciting dog in the world. Copper isn't the one to play with toys or other dogs. Frankly, he doesn't like other dogs at all, with the exception of Fergie, my other dog. Now that I think about it, he doesn't really like a lot of people... sounds friendly right? Before you jump to conclusions about Copper, I want to talk about how much he has affected me and my life as a whole.
Firstly, Copper will be hands down my favorite dog as long as my life continues. Copper has always been there for me when no one else was. Even physically when I was home alone he would come find me and lay next to me, to protect me. Copper knows how to make you feel better, know how to cheer you up. He used to sleep next to me on my bed, making me feel invincible. In my youth, I was usually afraid of my dark and scary room which is connected to the attic, so i thought Copper knew this, and wanted to protect me from my fears. Whenever I received a new injury, whether it be from football or even a paintball match with my friends, Copper would find them on my body to start licking them. Yes it may sound gross, but to me, it was thoughtful and showed that he cared about me and my state of health. For as long as I live, I will always love my dog. He has been my best friend for as long as I lived, and will always be the best companion I will ever have.
12 years living for a dog, is a long time, and I'm afraid to realize that Copper's time is coming to an end. I wish I don't see the day where he leaves me and my family, but I know he will leave a happy dog. As most of us know, all dogs go to heaven. Coming from me, realizing that my best friend can't make it up the stairs anymore to sleep on my bed and protect me, spend more time with your companions. Pets are the best companions and friends anyone can have. Yes you can go out and party, have a good time, spend time with friends, but who is there for you when you come home? Your pets are always there for you, to love you unconditionally. They will never turn their back on you, they will never look at you differently. Even if you go away for a vacation, your loving pets will always be there for you when you come back, to love you like they always have. Copper has always been there for me, and I know he always look over me throughout my life when he passes. It may sound corny because he's only a dog, but that's your opinion. He was there for me when nobody was and I am grateful for that. Many of my so called "friends" have turned around a stabbed me in the back, but Copper was and always will be my best friend. If you have a pet, understand this; there is no better companion than the one within your house at all times, waiting to love you. No matter what happens pets will always be there for you, will always love you unconditionally, making them the true companions. That is why Copper, my beloved 12 year old dog, is my true companion and best friend. 

Football: An Everyday Life Lesson - PB

My football coach once told me and my teammates after a long, hot practice that football was the best tool to everyday life. We were all taking a knee, sweat dripping down our faces and wondered why we were still there. Then that was when he told us how football benefited us in more ways than we thought. Toughness, mentality, teamwork, friendship, discipline, quick thinking, and problem solving skills are all abridged from participating in this sport. The more you play the more you learn, and the more you adapt these concepts to help you in everyday life. Hardships come with playing football like the long summer and fall practice days, the constant beatings you receive, the being away from home all the time, and the constant pressure that is forced upon you to represent your school, community, family, coaches, teammates, and yourself. However, these hardships separate the strong willed from the weak and afraid. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. There are only a select few that do come and try out and stick with the team through all the pain. Granted, football is not the hardest training in the world, for example, the training the SEAL teams and the Delta Team have to undergo are far beyond any training I have ever experienced. However, for a teenager like us all on the field, we get our butts kicked but we face the problems and solve them with determination and discipline. Football is by far the best sport I have ever played and it will stay that way forever because of the life lessons I have learned from being apart of Lakeview's football program.
Everyday at practice, or even during a game, I would face hardship and pain, learning new ways to achieve victory from this pain, to force myself to keep going. Football taught me to never give up, that my pain isn't as important as the man next to me. Many life lessons are taught all throughout the season and are quickly adapted. The brotherhood that is created is one of the strongest bonds I have ever encountered. The friendships that come with this bond are extraordinary and I trust my teammates very much and treat them like family. Teamwork is possibly the most important aspect of football because there are always 11 guys on the field at once for your team. Without your teammates, nothing would be accomplished. You wouldn't be able to run or pass the ball without the lineman blocking for the skill players and you wouldn't be able to score without the skill players running the players. Even the kickers add points to the scoreboard, benefiting your team and helping everyone achieve the ultimate goal: to win. Nonetheless, winning isn't everything because it's about the man next to you, but it sure is nice to achieve that W, especially over your rivals. Quick thinking and problem solving go hand in hand during a football season. After one year at the quarterback position, I know from experience that quick thinking is a huge factor during the four quarters of play, which can lead to helping you in the future. You need to decide whether or not to pass the ball and where, to hand it off to the running back, or to keep it yourself, in a matter of seconds, while humongous sweaty dudes are trying to kill you. Finding solutions to your problems while on the field is a huge factor because these problems can determine whether or not you win or lose. Decisions like who to play and where to play them are made very quickly and can determine the outcome of the game. Toughness, mentality, and discipline are all principles of football that I learned from day one. You can't go to practice thinking it will be easy and that you won't shed one drop of blood, sweat, or tears. I will admit that I have cried numerous times from football, and I bled every single game this season. I think it's fairly obvious that I sweated every game and practice. You become disciplined and adapt an improved mentality when you keep going when your body is telling you to stop. I have seen many kids on the team wanting to quit everyday, but never have because of the mentality and discipline that they have adopted from playing the sport.
All these factors and principles that you learn from football can absolutely help you in everyday life. I have practiced the problem solving, quick thinking, discipline, toughness, mentality, teamwork, and friendship in school and at work. I constantly tell myself to keep trying, to keep fighting the sleep to finish the schoolwork due the next day. I constantly find myself helping others and establishing more friendships everyday because of the special bonds I have experienced with my teammates. I find myself brushing off all the pain my body endures just so I can keep going to reach whatever goal I am striving for because of the toughness I adapted from playing football. So many obstacles of my everyday life have been defeated because of the skills I have adopted from playing football. I consider football to be the greatest sport today because of all the skills and principles you adapt and practice in everyday life. Life is noticeably easier because of the toughness, mentality, teamwork, friendship, discipline, quick thinking, and problem solving skills that I use everyday, from which I learned though playing football.

Jordanians Attack Isis and Vow to Destroy Them - SSR

            I still remember to this day, hearing the name “Isis” and the acts they were doing at that time. I was at a friend’s bonfire just after winning a high school football game on a humid, exhilarating night. We as a team had just beaten the same team that knocked us out of the playoffs last year, so it was a glorious night to hang out with my closest friends. As I sat there, very tired from the game and the humidity, I watched the crackling fire as my friends all conversed around the fire. Suddenly the insidious name was brought up in the discussion and I snapped back to reality. I pulled out my phone and searched “Isis” and saw an unforgettable video of an Isis member beheading an American reporter. The reporter was causing no harm and no threat to the terrorist group, but Isis just doesn't like Americans. As I watched the rest of the video I watched in awe and was extremely bewildered at what my eyes have just saw. I sat there and started trembling with fear at the thought of another attack just like the ones on 9/11, but possibly much worse. I weakened at the thought of losing loved ones and possibly my own life. Then I thought that I shouldn't feel scared, or even worried for that matter. But, why isn’t anyone taking action against these senseless terrorists?

            After about 6 months of wondering what would happen next with these terrorists, the Jordanians finally decide to take action. After multiple beheadings and acts of terrorism including the raid on a newspaper company in France, and the beheading of a Japan pilot as well as the burning of Moath al-Kasasbeh, who was alive, a Jordan pilot, the Jordanians decide to take action against the organization. The Jordanians decided that they had enough with this wild and out of control organization and decided to attack certain ammo caches and training centers all throughout Syria. The attacks were performed by their fighter jets in honor of the fallen pilot who was recently burned alive by the Isis organization. The raid was called "Moath the Martyr", however the positions they attacked were unspecified. The Jordanians are trying to prove that they don’t want the Isis group around for much longer. The armed forces of Jordan claimed that “this is just the beginning and you shall know who the Jordanians are," trying to prose fear into the Isis organization.

            So what’s next? Today, I don’t feel as worried as I did back in September but the terrorist group is still rising today. Many more nations like Jordan need to open their eyes, to start taking action against Isis. Many negative outcomes are evident and inescapable if we don’t take action today. Like Al Qaeda, Isis is capable of turning against nations like our own, and will start planning a detrimental attack like the ones on 9/11. Now I don’t know about you but I would love to prevent this from happening in the near future, or forever for that matter. I know, as an unimportant little teenager from the city of Cortland, Ohio, that I, myself, will not be able to stand up against this group. I am putting my trust, my life, and my promising future into the hands of my governing officials, to make a decision to take the action to stand against Isis. Our nation has more firepower, military experience, intellect, skills, intelligence, maturity, self-being and so on, than the little organization that was probably formed in someone’s basement, just because they don’t like America. As we watch and read these news stories on this striving organization, we just watch in fear without action following our feelings. I feel as if this group needs to be brought to justice, thus bringing forth peace within our homes once again. However, we will never feel 100 percent, completely safe because I think that it’s safe to say that this world is crowded with lunatics. So as a part of America, I feel as if we have a large target on our backs, so feeling “safe” seems to be a mystical, forgotten word. However, eliminating and destroying this vicious organization will relieve a great amount of that fear from us all. So we need to join forces with nations like Jordan, to take a stand against Isis, to eradicate them forever.