Horstman 1
Ryan Horstman
Mr. BG
World Lit 12
27 April 2010
Motivation
Motivation is the key to succes. It is the answer to everything. Motivation is a part of goal setting which is a part of life. If you have no goals to set than you pretty much have no life. There are always goals to set. Once you have a goal set, motivation is needed to make that goal come true. It is the key to life that makes you stride towards your potential. It can help you become a better person and a harder worker, trust me, I know, because it has helped me become a better person and change the way I had acted towards things.
My whole life i've been the kid that everyone looks at and says "Wow is this kid crazy?" This is because I was a slacker, bully, trouble maker etc. I used to get suspended at least once every month. I used to steal things from stores. Most of all, I hads the worst attitude possible. One day during 6th grade lunch, a girl, who was about a year older than me had approached me. She looks at me and says "How can you live like that. I've heard many stories about you and I don't know if they are true, but if they are, how can you live that way?" All i could do was look at her.
After hearing that question being asked, it made me realize a whole lot about the way i acted. I don't think i knew anybody that acted as I did during those years of my life. I began to ask myself "Why do i act like this?" I couldn't come up with an asnwer. I guess i was just trying to be better than everyone else, more tough than anybody else, but acting like that was the total opposite. It made you worse than everyone and worst of all it makes you look like a bad person, which I don't think anybody wants ever. I finally thought I should make a change. The only way I could do so, was playing baseball. Basbeall was the only thing that could help me. When i'm out there playing baseball, i'm in a whole different world. I'm focused, calm, and relaxed. I am never that way in everyday life which didn't make sense to me. So I thought to myself "Why can't I act this way outside of baseball?" Baseball made me the happiest person in the world and I wouldn't want the chance to ever lose the feeling of playing. If the coaches had seen the way i acted outside of baseball, they would most likely kick me off because they waouldn't want to take the chance of me acting that way while playing. I finally took a good look in the mirror and decided to make the change.
I had never realized baseball would be the thing to change my whole personality and the way I looked at things. That being said, I started to take things more seriously, such as baseball and real life. The change motivated me to work harder and harder at baseball because that is the one truly thing in my life that I look up to. I believe that if I tried harder and harder in baseball, it would make up for all the bad things I had done and that everyone would look at me differently. Although it wouldn't make up for all the bad things I had done I would just like to believe it would. Baseball makes me a happier person in life. I set a goal for myself once i realized how much baseball meant to me. That goal would be to make it in baseball. To have a career, to make money in baseball. I made it an all time dream of mine and to let nothing hold me back. The only thing I needed was the motivation to do it. I mean yes, i practice hard and try to get better everyday, but I needed someone or something to look up to, to hlep me out.
It was about two years ago when I found the motivation and the person to look up to. He is a pitching phenom for the San Franciscio Giants. His nick name is "The Freak." He stands in at an astonishing height of five feet eleven inches and weighing one hundred seventy pounds. The reason why this is so astonishing is because the average pitcher in the major leagues is six feet one inch weighing two hundred pounds. He is less than average, but is probably rated the best pitcher as well as one of the hardest hurlers in the game today. His name is Tim Lincecum!
Tim Lincecum was born on June 15th, 1984 in Bellevue Washington. His parents are named Chris and Rebecca Lincecum. He has an older brother Sean. This family took sports very seriously growing up. Tim's father, Chris was a phenominal pitcher who had potential to make it to the big leagues but he indured a serious injury to his back which ended his chances. This led off onto Sean but as well as Tim. Sean became a wonderful pitcher just like his father. Tim always tagged along with his father and Sean to the baseball field only to mimic his older brother. As it turned out, Tim had the perfect body for Seans extraordinary wind up. Sean ended up breaking his arm from an injury in football, so this lead over to Tim to excell on th emound and have a career.
Tim's father helped Tim out in every way. His mother drove Tim to and from practices and games. During the games, Tim's father would videotape him and after they would both watch each outing together. During the games, Chris would come up with many hand signals to let Tim know he was making mistakes in his mechanics. This helped tim out a lot and made him more dominating on the mound.
Tim entered high school at Liberty High School in Renton. He stood in at four feet eleven inches weighing eighty five pounds. Because of his height and weight, Tim never played even though he was very flexible while pitching and had great talent.
Tim finally made the varsity team as a junior and has grown a ton. He grew twelve more inches from freshman year. Tim finally had the chance to show everyone what he had. He had an amazing year with a record of 4-2 with a 0.73 ERA. That year he struck out 89 batters in 49 innings. He finally got some attention from college coaches. The University of Washingtons head coach decided to come down for a visit. At first the coach was upset because he thought it was a joke at first due to Tims height. but as the first pitch was thrown, he knew their was potential in that arm.
Tim came into his senior year better than ever before. He was victorious in all but one game. He finished the season going 12-1 with a .70 ERA. He struck out 183 batters in 91 innings. That is one the most striekouts ever for a high school pitcher in that many innings. He went on to win MVP of the year and earned a scholarship to the University of Washington. Tim was draft by the Chicago Cubs but turned them down. He wanted to go to college first to get better experience instead of jumping right into the professionals.
Tim had easy success in his first two years in college winning many awards. He went on to play in many summer leagues. He played for the Cape cod league for one summer and had professional scouts drooling over him. Many profeesional teams turned him down because they thought he couldn't handle the big leauge, but San Fransisco kept their heads up and chose him for the 10th pick of the 2006 draft. Tim is now pitching in the big leagues and has 3 years under his belt, this being the 4th year of his career. The past 3 seasons he has had a winning record and has had the most strikeouts for 2 of the seasons. Lincecum has won two Cy Young Awards. With his age and how small he is, Tim is by far seen as the best pitcher in the MLB.
I took some time to interview a college baseball coach from St. Johns University. I spoke with him over the phone and asked a series of questions. The most important question i had asked was "What do you think motivated Tim to stride towards his goal, potential?" "Tims motivation was his father by far, and his ability to work harder eveyday." Says (Coach Brown)
It isn't hard to tell what motivated Tim. His father has beenthere everyday for him. He worked with him everyday when Tim was a young kid until he moved on to his college career. Tim's father is still around and will help at any moment f Tim needs it, but most lilkely that will not happen beause Tim has nearly perfected his knowledge on the mound.
As you can see motivation is the key to success. You have to make goals in your life and sride towards making them come true. Of course you need help along the way which is why you need to go out there and acheive it. Don't let things bother you along the way or let you down. "Keep your head high and reach your goal"
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Adventure and Friendship
As a young child, you begin to ask that question to yourself. That question is, “Do you think there is buried treasure out there waiting to be found?” I have asked myself that question many times a young boy. I never found out the answer, but I had belief that there was actually treasure out there waiting to be found. As I began to grow up, I had begun to read many novels that reveal treasure, such as “Treasure Island,” written by Robert Louis Stevenson. There were many adventurous moments throughout the novel as well as the relationship towards every being, such as pirates.
The novel “Treasure Island,” written by Robert Louis Stevenson, explores about a young boy named Jim who sets out to find buried treasure. Jim lives at his parent’s inn, the Admiral Benbow. Jim is a very calm young boy who is very loyal to his parents, causes no harm. Things begin to change when an old sea captain, Billy Bones, stations himself at the Admiral Benbow Inn. At first, Jim and his mother are surprised and a little scared, but then begin to settle down. Billy Bones is accompanied by a blind man in whom he is given a black spot, quoting “You have until 10pm.” This meant, at 10pm, Billy Bones will be killed. After the moment the black spot occurred, Billy Bones stands up and out of nowhere and drops to the ground and dies. Jim is stirred into action by this mysterious black spot. Jim then opens the chest that Billy had brought to the Inn and finds something very valuable that leads him on an adventure.
The clock strikes 10pm. Jim hurries out of the Inn with his mother before Billy’s pursuers destroy the Inn looking for what Jim had found. As you can realize, Jim had found a logbook containing a map inside which leads to a distant island where treasure is buried. Jim gathers up a bunch of captains and pirates to go and find this treasure. The moment he gathers up captains and pirates to look for the treasure, you begin to think “What if something goes wrong?” “What if everyone doesn’t get along with each other?” That is the risk you have to take when it comes to going on an adventure to look for something very valuable. Most people are in it for themselves, but after a while traveling, Jim begins to gain the trust and friendship of others, such as Long
John Silver. Friendship is where you gain the trust of another human being who is there to hang out with you, help you out at any time and be by your side when something goes wrong. This is the type of friendship Jim and Long John Silver have.
The novel “Treasure Island,” written by Robert Louis Stevenson, explores about a young boy named Jim who sets out to find buried treasure. Jim lives at his parent’s inn, the Admiral Benbow. Jim is a very calm young boy who is very loyal to his parents, causes no harm. Things begin to change when an old sea captain, Billy Bones, stations himself at the Admiral Benbow Inn. At first, Jim and his mother are surprised and a little scared, but then begin to settle down. Billy Bones is accompanied by a blind man in whom he is given a black spot, quoting “You have until 10pm.” This meant, at 10pm, Billy Bones will be killed. After the moment the black spot occurred, Billy Bones stands up and out of nowhere and drops to the ground and dies. Jim is stirred into action by this mysterious black spot. Jim then opens the chest that Billy had brought to the Inn and finds something very valuable that leads him on an adventure.
The clock strikes 10pm. Jim hurries out of the Inn with his mother before Billy’s pursuers destroy the Inn looking for what Jim had found. As you can realize, Jim had found a logbook containing a map inside which leads to a distant island where treasure is buried. Jim gathers up a bunch of captains and pirates to go and find this treasure. The moment he gathers up captains and pirates to look for the treasure, you begin to think “What if something goes wrong?” “What if everyone doesn’t get along with each other?” That is the risk you have to take when it comes to going on an adventure to look for something very valuable. Most people are in it for themselves, but after a while traveling, Jim begins to gain the trust and friendship of others, such as Long
John Silver. Friendship is where you gain the trust of another human being who is there to hang out with you, help you out at any time and be by your side when something goes wrong. This is the type of friendship Jim and Long John Silver have.
Friday, December 18, 2009
2nd quarter reading book review
Ryan Horstman
World Lit 12
12/17/09
A-Block
“2nd Quarter outside Reading Book Review”
“The Natural” by Bernard Malamud. Puffin books, 1952 Genre: Fiction
“The Natural” one of Bernard Malamud's most outstanding novels, displays a young talented star,
Roy Hobbs, 19 years of age, whose dream is to pitch in the major leagues.
Taking place in the Bronx, New York , Roy finds himself in touch with the Chicago Cubs
scout. Roy decides to travel on a train to try out for the Chicago Cubs. Roy finds himself on the
train with the biggest star of the game, Babe Ruth. Babe Ruth is on the train with a sports
journalist, Max Mercy. The train decides to stop off at a carnival where both Roy and Babe
put a show on. Roy and the Babe meet up and introduce. Sam, the cubs scout who wants
Roy to play for the Cubs, bets that Roy can strike out the Babe. The Babe takes the bet. At
this point everyone is watching to see what happens. Surprisingly Roy strikes out the Babe and
the Babe is deeply embarrassed. A woman named Harriet, was so impressed by Roy, that she
invites him to her hotel room. Roy tells her that he is going to be the greatest baseball player
to enter the game. She then shoots him and basically destroys his career. Roy then returns
15 years later to play for a team called the New York Knights. Roy is by far the most outstanding
baseball player anyone has seen and he is 34 years old at the time.
"This book was not only an inspiring book but also was a great sports
Novel that could be read over and over again." ("Alex Fowl)"
“The Natural,” is one of Bernard Malamud's best sports novels. Bernard Malamud
loves to write fabulous sports-related fiction novels. The Natural shows
a young Adult who is fighting for his dream, to pitch in the major leagues
, one of the biggest dreams anyone has growing up. This is one of the
only novels where he talks about personal experiences. Bernard
was a little boy whose dream was to also play sports. He like to write
sports novels for young adults and most of them are young adult characters throughout
each novel. This novel familiarizes me with the novel The Big Field written by
Mike Lupica. Both novels display baseball, very similar, but The Natural
is a novel that talks about having dreams, fighting for what you want and
facing real life conflict.
1.) Wonderboy flashed in the sun. It caught the sphere it was biggest. A noise like a twenty-one
gun salute cracked the sky. There was a straining, ripping sound and a few drops of rain spattered
to the ground somebody then shouted it was raining cats and dogs. By the time of Roy got in from
second he was wading in water ankle deep.
2.) "Experience makes good people better." She was staring at the lake. "How does it do that?" "Through
their suffering." "I had enough of that," he said in disgust. "We have two lives, Roy, the life we learn with
and the life we live with after that. Suffering is what brings us toward happiness All it taught me was to
stay aware from it. I am sick of all I have suffered." She shrank away a little.
This quote, the second quote, from "Batter Up!" part VI, reveals just how little Roy has learned from his life, and what
it will mean if he does not choose to be with Iris. Iris has a wisdom that Memo does not even come close to having.
Iris's statements about the necessity of suffering as a way of truly appreciating happiness recall a constant theme
in Malamud's novels. Roy will not come to understand these words until the very last pages of the novel, when he
thinks, "I never did learn anything out of my past life, now I have to suffer again." The essential point is easy to grasp
: only through suffering can one recognize happiness for what it is. Roy dreams of wealth and fame, of breaking
records and getting what life "owes" him, are only a mere childish fantasy of what happiness is supposed to be.
This quote, the first quote, is from Chapter II of "Batter Up!" It represents Roy's first hit, and again, there are several
levels of symbolism and metaphor packed into a few sentences
I am a true fan of Bernard Malamud. He is a fantastic sports novelist. I face many conflicts
that are in my way, but I fight and stay strong so I can fight for my dream. This book has
made me feel great about my dream. This book is helping me do my part in life, so my dream
can come true. Sports are the most fantastic thing in the world to me and Bernard Malamud writes
novels about them which I love. He is a Great Writer!
World Lit 12
12/17/09
A-Block
“2nd Quarter outside Reading Book Review”
“The Natural” by Bernard Malamud. Puffin books, 1952 Genre: Fiction
“The Natural” one of Bernard Malamud's most outstanding novels, displays a young talented star,
Roy Hobbs, 19 years of age, whose dream is to pitch in the major leagues.
Taking place in the Bronx, New York , Roy finds himself in touch with the Chicago Cubs
scout. Roy decides to travel on a train to try out for the Chicago Cubs. Roy finds himself on the
train with the biggest star of the game, Babe Ruth. Babe Ruth is on the train with a sports
journalist, Max Mercy. The train decides to stop off at a carnival where both Roy and Babe
put a show on. Roy and the Babe meet up and introduce. Sam, the cubs scout who wants
Roy to play for the Cubs, bets that Roy can strike out the Babe. The Babe takes the bet. At
this point everyone is watching to see what happens. Surprisingly Roy strikes out the Babe and
the Babe is deeply embarrassed. A woman named Harriet, was so impressed by Roy, that she
invites him to her hotel room. Roy tells her that he is going to be the greatest baseball player
to enter the game. She then shoots him and basically destroys his career. Roy then returns
15 years later to play for a team called the New York Knights. Roy is by far the most outstanding
baseball player anyone has seen and he is 34 years old at the time.
"This book was not only an inspiring book but also was a great sports
Novel that could be read over and over again." ("Alex Fowl)"
“The Natural,” is one of Bernard Malamud's best sports novels. Bernard Malamud
loves to write fabulous sports-related fiction novels. The Natural shows
a young Adult who is fighting for his dream, to pitch in the major leagues
, one of the biggest dreams anyone has growing up. This is one of the
only novels where he talks about personal experiences. Bernard
was a little boy whose dream was to also play sports. He like to write
sports novels for young adults and most of them are young adult characters throughout
each novel. This novel familiarizes me with the novel The Big Field written by
Mike Lupica. Both novels display baseball, very similar, but The Natural
is a novel that talks about having dreams, fighting for what you want and
facing real life conflict.
1.) Wonderboy flashed in the sun. It caught the sphere it was biggest. A noise like a twenty-one
gun salute cracked the sky. There was a straining, ripping sound and a few drops of rain spattered
to the ground somebody then shouted it was raining cats and dogs. By the time of Roy got in from
second he was wading in water ankle deep.
2.) "Experience makes good people better." She was staring at the lake. "How does it do that?" "Through
their suffering." "I had enough of that," he said in disgust. "We have two lives, Roy, the life we learn with
and the life we live with after that. Suffering is what brings us toward happiness All it taught me was to
stay aware from it. I am sick of all I have suffered." She shrank away a little.
This quote, the second quote, from "Batter Up!" part VI, reveals just how little Roy has learned from his life, and what
it will mean if he does not choose to be with Iris. Iris has a wisdom that Memo does not even come close to having.
Iris's statements about the necessity of suffering as a way of truly appreciating happiness recall a constant theme
in Malamud's novels. Roy will not come to understand these words until the very last pages of the novel, when he
thinks, "I never did learn anything out of my past life, now I have to suffer again." The essential point is easy to grasp
: only through suffering can one recognize happiness for what it is. Roy dreams of wealth and fame, of breaking
records and getting what life "owes" him, are only a mere childish fantasy of what happiness is supposed to be.
This quote, the first quote, is from Chapter II of "Batter Up!" It represents Roy's first hit, and again, there are several
levels of symbolism and metaphor packed into a few sentences
I am a true fan of Bernard Malamud. He is a fantastic sports novelist. I face many conflicts
that are in my way, but I fight and stay strong so I can fight for my dream. This book has
made me feel great about my dream. This book is helping me do my part in life, so my dream
can come true. Sports are the most fantastic thing in the world to me and Bernard Malamud writes
novels about them which I love. He is a Great Writer!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
New Experiences
It was one afternoon when I realized a taxi pulled into my driveway. I totally forgot that today was the day that Siddhartha would be coming to visit me. From the looks of Siddhartha, I believe that he wouldn’t really like any of the places around South Hadley, but I had some ideas in mind. The reason why I believe that Siddhartha wouldn’t like any of the places around South Hadley are because he is dressed like no one I’d seen before, although this is just me judging a man that I’ve never seen in my life.
I decided to bring Siddhartha to the Mall in Holyoke so I could buy him some clothes that suited a regular person of the area Siddhartha is being exposed of. I bought him a pair of shorts, a hat, a t-shirt, socks, boxers and a pair of Nike Air Force ones. The trip to the mall was pretty exciting although everyone I walked by was staring because of what Siddhartha was wearing. Other than that it went pretty well I’d say. The next trip is off to the Summit House about a mile outside of South Hadley.
The Summit House is a beautiful place wear you can enjoy the weather, hang out with your friends, and feel the breeze blowing by as well as the sight. You can even exercise. This is a place where I have been going since I was about 8 years old. This place hasn’t changed since the last time I have been there. From the looks of it I think Siddhartha already likes this place as well as the environment around it. You can enjoy the natural beauty and wilderness as you reach the top of the Summit House. As we approached the top, Siddhartha and I decided sit down on a rock. As I looked over to my side, I saw Siddhartha sitting their, meditating like nothing I’d seen before. It was as if nothing was living around him. He was so calm and relaxed. I imagined he was connecting with Atman. I tried speaking to him, but no response of course.
Well I was right about Siddhartha enjoying the Summit trip. Now is the time for the exciting and stimulating part of our adventure. Our next trip is off to high rock. High rock is a place where you can hang with your friends, go swimming and cliff jump. The stimulating part is standing on top of High rock, looking down into the water. It is a high jump. Siddhartha had that look in his eye, feared by the height. Although I imagined Siddhartha not enjoying this place, I decided to take him anyway, to show the experiences that this town achieves. I jumped off into the cold water. I looked up to see Siddhartha running away from the cliff. I hurried back up to the cliff to catch him, but there was no Siddhartha in sight. There was a piece of paper that blew by my face. I grabbed it quickly. It read, “Ryan, my dear friend, I had the wonderful experience of visiting you, to see the differences this area was to the area of India. It was inspirational visiting the Summit House, but the downside was visiting High Rock. I had never experienced someone risk their lives like that before. It was upsetting in my eyes. At least I know that there are beautiful places to visit in this country.” – Siddhartha
It was fun spending time with Siddhartha. I never thought it would have gone as well as it did. I thought he wouldn’t stick around to face the adventure I had planned out for him. I now understand that there are many differences in people, such as from other countries. The good thing was that Siddhartha had some fun, well at least I had thought. It was an amazing time. I wonder how Siddhartha made it back home though.
I decided to bring Siddhartha to the Mall in Holyoke so I could buy him some clothes that suited a regular person of the area Siddhartha is being exposed of. I bought him a pair of shorts, a hat, a t-shirt, socks, boxers and a pair of Nike Air Force ones. The trip to the mall was pretty exciting although everyone I walked by was staring because of what Siddhartha was wearing. Other than that it went pretty well I’d say. The next trip is off to the Summit House about a mile outside of South Hadley.
The Summit House is a beautiful place wear you can enjoy the weather, hang out with your friends, and feel the breeze blowing by as well as the sight. You can even exercise. This is a place where I have been going since I was about 8 years old. This place hasn’t changed since the last time I have been there. From the looks of it I think Siddhartha already likes this place as well as the environment around it. You can enjoy the natural beauty and wilderness as you reach the top of the Summit House. As we approached the top, Siddhartha and I decided sit down on a rock. As I looked over to my side, I saw Siddhartha sitting their, meditating like nothing I’d seen before. It was as if nothing was living around him. He was so calm and relaxed. I imagined he was connecting with Atman. I tried speaking to him, but no response of course.
Well I was right about Siddhartha enjoying the Summit trip. Now is the time for the exciting and stimulating part of our adventure. Our next trip is off to high rock. High rock is a place where you can hang with your friends, go swimming and cliff jump. The stimulating part is standing on top of High rock, looking down into the water. It is a high jump. Siddhartha had that look in his eye, feared by the height. Although I imagined Siddhartha not enjoying this place, I decided to take him anyway, to show the experiences that this town achieves. I jumped off into the cold water. I looked up to see Siddhartha running away from the cliff. I hurried back up to the cliff to catch him, but there was no Siddhartha in sight. There was a piece of paper that blew by my face. I grabbed it quickly. It read, “Ryan, my dear friend, I had the wonderful experience of visiting you, to see the differences this area was to the area of India. It was inspirational visiting the Summit House, but the downside was visiting High Rock. I had never experienced someone risk their lives like that before. It was upsetting in my eyes. At least I know that there are beautiful places to visit in this country.” – Siddhartha
It was fun spending time with Siddhartha. I never thought it would have gone as well as it did. I thought he wouldn’t stick around to face the adventure I had planned out for him. I now understand that there are many differences in people, such as from other countries. The good thing was that Siddhartha had some fun, well at least I had thought. It was an amazing time. I wonder how Siddhartha made it back home though.
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