Amazing and fun past-times

“Football is football and talent is talent. But the mindset of your team makes all the difference.”-Robert Griffin III

          One thing I have loved since I was very young was playing sports. Basketball, Lacrosse, Hockey, Baseball, Football, Soccer, even Volleyball, I’ve tried them all. I have definitely disliked some sports, but can’t stop doing others. Sports are a great way to express yourself, or take out some anger, or even to fix a terrible day you had been having. Sports are a way for you to connect with other people, and to make friends that may very well last a lifetime.

         Football, I couldn’t talk enough about football. I’m always thinking about it, I’m always wanting to play it, and I’m always trying to get better at it. Football is my favorite thing to do on earth and I could never get away from it, even if I went into rehab. The freedom feeling and the adrenaline rush you get from football makes it unlike any other sport I’ve ever tried. I have also always been kind of an aggressive kid and football gives me the opportunity to control that aggression towards winning. Football is also ridiculous exercise but sometimes quite painful. I am also just naturally good at the sport so I really like to play it, being good at something is great when you also love to do it.

       Baseball, baseball is a sport that I also love and enjoy playing. While I have a passion in my life for football unlike any other, I still really like other sports, baseball being one of them. Baseball I have played for much longer than I have football, going all the way back to my early days with tee-ball. Baseball is fun because you can be more relaxed during it. It is sport where you can come to have a lot of fun with your friends if your looking for that instead of high-intesity pressured competition.

       Basketball, basketball is another sport I really love and probably the sport I will play for the longest. You can play basketball almost anywhere, it is so easy to set up and play as long as you have a ball. Basketball can also be played at all ages, hence why I’ll play the longest. You can get a basketball and a hoop and be occupied for hours on end. Just shooting around and having tons of fun. Basketball is especially fun when you have friends to enjoy it with, just being able to start a pick-up game from anywhere is amazing.

       In conclusion, I love to play sports, they are something that take up a huge portion of my day and something I couldn’t do without. I also like how they improve friendships, health, and your overall life.

I am completely loving my book so far. For the most part, reading for homework has been really fun unlike in the past. Getting to the half-hour time commitment has been no problem, I’ve actually been having trouble putting the book down to go and do other homework. I really like how the author makes the book feel like the main character never stops moving and is always jumping from place to place.  In the book, the antagonist keeps failing to arrest the main character because he is a runaway fugitive, but Phileas Fogg’s servant has no idea of the huge crime his master has just committed. I love the book and can’t wait to keep reading it.

Literary Analysis

“Shadows were too black, and when a breeze stirred the trees, the shadows changed in a disquieting way.” ― Stephen King

Arrogance and foolishness will always be outsmarted by Mother Nature. The short story, To Build a Campfire, by Jack London is a classic tale of man versus nature. The protagonist is not the brightest man, and one of much arrogance. The story portrays his slow descent into defeat by the harsh Yukon wilderness. The person in question is a man out looking for firewood. At first, the man is doing just fine and seems to plugging along as if it is a normal day, but then things quickly take a turn for the worse. The man, who neglected another person’s advice to always bring a companion when the temperate was 50 below zero (the temperature was 75 below), falls into water after not being careful enough. The man is able to act fast and tries to build a fire to warm back up his feet. The man fails and continues to try but to no avail. Slowly and painfully, the man begins to die and tries many things as a last effort, but eventually gives up as the dog he was very abusive to trots away back to camp. 

Fun during the holidays

“Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting.” –Thomas S. Monson

A strong family tradition can make a holiday that much better. My family has a great tradition that we participate in every Christmas. Everyone comes together and we’re all having a great time; everybody is in a cheerful and giving mood, and everyone is happy for the holidays. My whole family is there and we all are laughing and enjoying each other and partakes in the Italian tradition of seven fishes. Instead of having a regular Christmas Eve dinner, we eat seven different fish or seafood dishes.  My family has been doing this for as long as I have been alive and I assume before then. This tradition is cool to take part in because it’s unique and fun and we get to do it with my extended family. I love the holiday time because no one is in a bad mood and everyone gets presents (also my mom and grandma make some ridiculous food). Although the weather is often cold and miserable outside, this doesn’t really matter to anyone because it is warm and cozy inside and everyone is cheerful and very generous. The holidays are my favorite time of year for these reasons, as well as for the fact that it’s a time to relax after a tough first half of the school year. For a time when not much is bad or troubling, not much can make it better, except for family and tradition.

Ben Lisa

Essay Writing

Mr. Fitz’s Class

6/12/18

Short Story Reflection

“Despite my ghoulish reputation, I really have the heart of a small boy. I keep it in a jar on my desk.”~Robert Bloch

An eerie, mysterious yet quick read. I read, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce. This short story made me feel a little creeped out and astonished at the same time. Due to the happy nature of describing something so terrible, I somewhat knew something was wrong from the beginning. I think the author was trying to combine a little creepiness with false hope. He made you think the soldier was going to survive and live out his punishment but it turns out he was dead on the spot.

And my experience with them

The darkest hour has only sixty minutes- Morris Mandel

          The shortest way out is the longest through. My life has been pretty cushy up to this point. I have had, however, my fair share of a few hard times. When I was six years of age, my grandfather, who was only in his mid-sixties, passed away from pancreatic cancer. In 2011, after a year-long battle, and to everyone’s great surprise, my grandfather lost a battle with cancer.  I remember my dad telling me and my siblings the news and us all just sitting there dumbstruck. None of us knew what to do. At first I had no idea what to say. My siblings and I were all very young and up to that point I had thought my grandpa was on his way to recover. My mom was in Maryland to visit him in the hospital but I hadn’t thought anything of it. When I heard the news it took me by surprise so much I couldn’t speak for at least ten minutes. When I finally could speak again I was feeling so many things at one, sad, angry, anxious and even a little happy that he went so peacefully. When my whole family all went to his funeral, I remember being extremely sad and overwhelmed at all the people there. I would get lost and cry and not know what to do but I would go find one of my cousins and try and take my mind of it. My grandfather was such an important person in my life and one I had a great relationship with at the time. To lose a loved one that you are close to at that age was awful. Looking back on it now, it still hurts today but just a little less. I can’t really say my life is horrible but that’s not to say I haven’t went through hard times.

A reflection on what I am thankful for in my family

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” —Jane Howard

Dear Family,

I would like to thank you. I would like to thank you for being there for me when I need it most. I would like to thank you for putting up with all my shenanigans and dealing with me when nobody else would want to. I would like to thank you for driving me all over creation to different sporting events or fun places. I would like to thank you you for all the fun vacations and exotic places we go. I would like to thank you for all the fun holidays, when we all come together and everyone is loud and happy and it’s super fun. I would like to thank you for the endless amounts of unconditional love. I would like to thank you for every time you’ve picked me up, dusted me off and set me back on my way. I would like to thank you for watching the Patriots with me every Sunday and arguing about sports in general. I would like to thank you for all the guidance and support you have shown throughout school and many of my extracurriculars. I would like to thank you for being the best family any kid could ask for. I would like to thank you for always pushing me to do my best and to succeed in everything I do. I would like to thank you for always arguing and bickering with me about the stupidest things. I would like to thank you for always being extremely understanding and knowing when I need some time alone or when I need someone to help comfort me. Last but not least, I would like to thank you for being my family.

Thanks, Ben

A look back at my 8th grade year

“Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”
― Lou Holtz

I have been playing football for 4 years and this is my last year at the youth level. Next year, I will move on to high school football and play faster, stronger and more skilled opponents. I made a blog post at the beginning of the year about football and I would like to do a recap on my 8th grade season.

Ben Lisa

Fitz English

Literary Analysis

11/17/18

A mischievous yet kind boy

“I won’t! You can all go, if you want to. I mean to stay.”

Tom, Huck and Joe had really tired themselves out pirating and exploring the island. Joe And Huck longed to return home and see there families and friends but Tom wanted to stay. At first, Tom tried to coax his two friends into staying with him but the wouldn’t budge, and Tom couldn’t stand being alone on that island without his friends so he left. In the book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain, you will often find Tom with friends and adventuring with them. If Tom has a fight with one of these friends or companions, he will act like he doesn’t want to be with them, realize he actually does, and then seek them out and be with them again.

Ben Lisa

Essay Writing

Mr. Fitz’s Class

10/29/18

An old classic, a great read

Just play, have fun, enjoy the game- Michael Jordan

         An old classic can often be a fun read. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, while quite old was, for me, a completely pleasurable read. In this book, Mark Twain uses many different personalities and the aspects of boyhood to create a novel that really entices the reader and helps them enjoy it more by describing a group of boys led by Tom Sawyer and their experience in a somewhat poor town in 1820s Missouri and how the boys make their lives more enjoyable and exciting. I thought the reading experience was really entertaining and action-packed.