Starting lineup

Stepping off of the yellow bus into the November air was like getting slapped in the face. I carried my sports bag in one hand and my water bottle in the other. We followed our cross-country coach over to what is called the staging area. Basically you have to hold at least one of your bibs in order to get into the MSHSAA Cross-Country State Championships. My coach handed me a sheet of plastic like paper with the number 998 printed across it. I walked through the gate and waited for my teammates…

I was supposed to leave during 5th period to go on the bus for Track and Field prelims, but instead went straight home after school ended. The race was at a late time towards the evening. I thought that I didn't need to go on the bus, because there was so much time I had before my race even started. Plus anyways, my 5th period was a computer class which I was behind on a few of the assignments, so I certainly didn't want to leave that class early. When I got home, I told my dad to drive me…

“HUMMM,” I could hear the sound of the bus as it tore down the road.I sat on the bus cramped in-between my friend, Christian, and one of his friend’s, Ayan. They were talking about something, but I was too nervous to talk (or pay attention at all for that matter). We were on our way to our third cross country meet of the season. The reason I was so nervous was because last meet I had finished 18th overall, or second place sixth grader, and now I felt an overwhelming needed to finish at least…

The day had arrived. Mixed emotions had suddenly started to kick in with a dose of reality, November 12th was the day to make history. From being nervous, to filled with pride, to a sense of fearfulness, to sudden jumps of extreme happiness because all you had worked for would finally pay off. We started to warm up, yet we still remained quiet as we tried to maintain concentration. Someone breaks the inevitable tension with a classic joke, but it all slowly fades away with the occasional gusty…

some trees, and watching the race that was being held. We were all nervous. It was about time for Vanessa and I to start warming up. We went for a five minute jog to warm our legs up a bit. Then we heard the announcement to start heading towards the starting line. The nerves in me grew bigger and bigger. Usually in a regular cross country meet you are put in the same box to start with your team. Vanessa and I were in two different boxes. Which kind of had me worried. Then I remembered that we…

Not all Medals are made of Metal An icy and bitter mist surrounded me. The sun had secreted behind piles of looming clouds, while droplets of water dispensed from the sky. The track bore a vast expanse of puddles, and runners plunged their way through them. I was sitting in the dewy grass underneath the canopy of our tent. Rain trickled down the stadium steps as I heard the booming announcer eagerly bellow, “Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the 2016 State Track and Field Meet.” My heart began to…

It All Started Here The subtle sweaty feeling on my back invades my uniform and sends a haunting chill down my spine as the wind picks up and I am overwhelmed with a combination of pure fear and adrenalin. The starting line coordinators instruct us to take our marks. I quickly shed my sweats off before jumping into my blocks in my lane. My numb fingers tremble from the chill of late March and nerves that never seem to calm. I lick my salty lips in preparation of taking my set position on the…

Methodology IRB Approval The Advance Directives (AD) education program methodology was a culmination of logical and organized sequential events that commenced upon Prairie View A&M University Institutional Review Board (IRB) formal approval to conduct the project. Adhering to protocol, with respect to the education program participants and safety, the IRB approval process began with the formal review of minimal risks. It also entailed equitable subject selection, and measures of privacy…

Any online communication is facilitated by multiple layers of intermediaries. Search engines, internet providers, hosting companies and social media platforms keep the machinery running for people to be able to tweet, e-mail or share photos with their friends. These companies are crucial fort the whole internet ecosystem. They are also a “weak link” through which governments can exert control over the supposedly unruly digital world. It’s easier to pressure digital companies then to go after…

In 2015 over 2,800 children in Scotland were found to be needing protection from some form of abuse. The named person scheme aims to prevent this. The Scottish government says that a named person will be someone who will be there for parents and their children when they need help and do not know where to go. A named person will usually be a health visitor for a pre-school child and a head teacher or guidance teacher for a child of school age. The scheme was created with the aim of overseeing…