Olympics

I love watching the Olympics. I wish they were on more often. Starting from the Opening Ceremony every two years, it seems like the excitement never stops. Personally, I like the Summer Olympics better than the Winter Olympics. My favorite events to watch are the gymnastics, swimming, and especially the track and field. Being a high jumper and runner, I am fascinated by these athletes, and strive to be like them. I had the privilege of watching history be made at the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008. With Michael Phelps winning a record eight gold medals in one year, and both the opening and closing ceremonies being the biggest ever, it was truly a privilege to witness. Beijing was really the first Olympics I actually paid attention to. Before that I may have watched them, but I never really cared or followed the results.

I have been following the Vancouver Olympics even more carefully. There are many really cool websites that keep track of things like the medal count. I really enjoy following that, along with some individual events. My favorite winter sports are pair’s figure skating, snowboard half pipe, and short-track speed skating. I’m not quite sure which one I like the most. I like figure skating because I think I could probably do most of the tricks they do, however I can’t get how they are able to do anything on the ice. I have no skating coordination whatsoever. I like pairs the best because they can do so many more things with two people like throws and lifts. The half pipe is really just amazing to me. I have never tried to snowboard, but I’m pretty sure it would be a disaster. Then they combine that with all the flips, twists, and grabs, I truly find it unfathomable. I really enjoy short track because it is one of the only events in the winter games that isn't against judged or racing the clock. By the final round, all the competitors are racing right next to each other, at the same time.

The excitement always keeps you on the edge of your seat. For example, in the finals of the men’s 1500 meters, it seemed as if the podium was out of reach for the Americans. However, at the last second, the Koreans in the second and third spots collided and fell. Korea took gold, and the U.S. took both silver and bronze. It is the excitement that draws me to watch this sport. Overall, the Olympics are a really great event and I am already looking forward to the 2012 London Summer Games.

Big Fish

“Ouch!” I screamed as I hit the ground. All I could think about was my throbbing ankle. Everyone in the gym came running over to me, they were all laughing, including Mrs. Blackmer. I couldn’t figure out what was so funny. Apparently Natalie couldn’t either. She was standing over me, a shocked look on her tan face. I saw a hand reach out to me, as if to help me up, but there was no way I was going to stand right now.


“What just happened?” Natalie asked.

“I don’t know…my ankle…” I responded.

“Come on, get up,” Mrs. Blackmer said.

“I can’t,” I said still confused and in an extreme amount of pain.

“That was the loudest snap I have ever heard,” Natalie exclaimed. “Did anyone else hear that?”

“That was your ankle?” Mrs. Blackmer said in disbelief. She went running for an ice pack as she told a few other girls to carry me to the bench. She instructed me to take my shoes off. Her background as an athletic trainer allowed my gym teacher to assess my injury. My right ankle was already swollen; it was the size of a baseball. I couldn’t move it at all.

Why did I have to be the one to get hurt? I thought to myself. Especially on the last day on gym class in eighth grade, I can’t think of anything much worse. I should never have gone for that dunk.

See, we had been playing a friendly game of basketball. I got the rebound of a missed shot and raced down the court for the breakaway. This was a fun game, so as I was approaching the basket, I decided to go for a dunk. I had done it plenty of times before, and I knew I could successfully complete it. I jumped up, dunked the ball, and the next thing I know I am on the ground, and all I know is that my ankle hurts. It turns out, as I broke away, everyone on the court came running after me. My teammate, Natalie, was watching the ball as I jumped. She couldn’t stop her momentum and her shoulder hit my left leg. I landed hard on my right leg and my ankle snapped.

As I was sitting on the bench, with ice on my still-throbbing ankle, watching the others play, reality hit me.

I won’t be able to dance! I thought. In a split second, a huge part of my life was eliminated. Nationals were coming up soon, and I could tell I now wouldn’t be able to compete. I felt terrible. Then, the rest of my upcoming end of the year activities came into mind; May Crowning, Confirmation, graduation, our Cedar Point trip, and my dance banquet. I didn’t know how I could participate in any of those things that I had looked forward to for months.

I went to the hospital after school, and found that I had crushed my ankle bone. I left in tears, in a wheel chair with instructions to come back in a week for surgery. I was completely devastated. I was able to attend all my events, just not quite the way I wanted to. I still went to Chicago to watch my studio compete at Nationals. Looking at the bright side of my painful situation, at least my friends and I didn’t have to wait in line for any rides at Cedar Point.

Currency Concerns

China Rejects U.S. Complaints on Its Currency

The United States is right in pressuring China to raise the value of its currency.

If China was to revalue its currency, the United States would see a major increase in domestic consumption, and ultimately jobs. Right now, Americans buy so many Chinese-made products because they are cheap. With a raise in the value of its currency, Chinese products would be more expensive, and much less appealing to American consumers. For example, a toy made in China costs $1 to a U.S. customer, and the same toy made in the U.S. costs $1.03. More American customers would buy the Chinese-made toy, benefiting China’s economy. After the five percent appreciation of the renminbi, the Chinese toy would be $1.05. Americans would now most likely buy the U.S. toy, benefiting our economy. If this happened with all the Chinese products the United States currently imports, we would see a major boost, especially in jobs.

China’s willingness to adjust the value of the renminbi would also probably better the overall relationship between the United States and China. “Internet censorship, hacking attacks directed at American companies, arms sales to Taiwan and the pending visit of the Dalai Lama to Washington have all cropped up in the last month as points of conflict,” Wong and Landler of The New York Times say. For the past few months, the Obama administration has been trying to pressure China to cooperate with the United States and the U.N.’s efforts on many occasions. China just keeps doing things on its own. These decisions by both sides keep increasing tension within the extremely intertwined relationship. If China was to agree to raise the value of the renminbi, it may relieve some of the tension between these two major world powers. The cooperation of China with the U.S. and the U.N. would make world efforts much easier.