Murph opines:

Fall

    As the leaves change into their magnificent shades our world changes in many different ways. Not only can we notice that nature transform into a magnificent wonderland, we also see that this phenomenon apparently doesn’t happen anywhere out of New hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. Although this is hard to imagine, you can see the evidence all around you. People flock to this region from New York and Massachusetts like money is falling off the trees, clogging the arteries of our serine country roads. In no way is this nature change not a magnificent spectacle, yet these people shouldn’t be rushing up here just to look at a few leaves. Grant it one may say that my mindset is absurd, and that this amazing natural occurrence should be seen by all. So in that case I will pose a question; Don’t you have leaves in New York? So, in saying that, I encourage you to all go out this fall and see how many people there are, from other states, driving around looking at trees.
Joe Murphy
    

Things on the team that just chap the hide, Vol I

I'll start with the warm up, because this is where each practice or game begins. The usual talk during dynamic stretching consists of 100% fantasy football smack talk. I used to be vehemently opposed the topic during soccer practice, as I believed it could detract from our team's focus on the tasks at hand. Now however, after taking the West Division by storm behind the strong performances of Tom Brady and Steven Ridley, I gotta be honest: fantasy football gets me pumped. After my shocking victory over the powerful Liam Gantrish, my timidness went into the phonebooth and my super confidence burst out with a red cape on. Anyway, I love fantasy football nowadays, and my 3-2 record after a magical autodraft is icing on the cake.

The Failures are Among the Most Successful

            I felt proud of myself at the end of the first round of writing circles, because I had already completed my free reading book (not to rub it in anybody’s face).  The book I read was a biography of Abraham Lincoln, which I thought was moderately entertaining.  What particularly caught my attention was that while I never would have expected it in a biography, I believe that the biography had a strong moral at the center of it, which was that people who fail can often go on to be successful.

            You don’t have to be very observant to realize that Abraham Lincoln had an aptitude for failing.  In a small war known as the Blackhawk War, Lincoln entered the war as a captain, and returned a private- not particularly impressive for someone who would one day lead the Union in the Civil War as president of the United States.  During the Civil War, Lincoln was almost responsible for turning the Union against itself on multiple occasions.  But Lincoln didn’t stop failing there.  Lincoln failed twice in business, and as a result, he was left in a large debt.  And just when you thought Lincoln had run out of ways to fail, Lincoln managed to loose a total of eight political elections throughout his political career.  And yet, this man successfully maintained our country and is remembered as a great American hero.

            I was eager to see if Lincoln was alone, so I preformed some follow up research on other people who failed but were then successful.  I found myself faced with an overwhelming list of successful failures, but here are a few of my favorites.

There was a young man who tried out for basketball as a freshmen as Emsley A. Laney high school.  His coach was unimpressed with his talent, so as a freshman and sophomore, he played for junior varsity.  That man, Michael Jordan, went on to become one of the best (or the best) basketball player ever.

A young student was told by his teacher that he was too stupid to learn anything, but this student was not so easily to be swayed.  Today, Thomas Edison is well known for his inventions.

There was a man who very badly wanted to be an actor.  Unfortunately, he received insignificant roles in movies, which is why he became a self-taught carpenter.  But his life changed when he went to build cabinets for George Lucas.  Lucas eventually realized that his carpenter was born for the television screen, which is why we have the pleasure of seeing Harrison Ford in so many great movies.

            I believe that these failures are successful for two reasons.  First of all, people aren’t very good at analyzing who is talented; People get overlooked for various reasons.  Second, these failures only motivate these people to prove expose their critics for their ignorance.

The Outdoors

    I have always loved challenging myself.  The struggles I go through make the feeling so much better when I reach my goal.  Hiking stands out as one of my favorite activities because of its challenge.  There are some hikes I like more than others, but there is one that is truly my favorite.  There was nothing like climbing part of Mont Blanc, one of Europe's tallest peaks.  The trail was extremely steep almost the whole way and my legs started to burn after about 15 minutes in.  I loved when my ears started to pop because I knew that I had made a lot of progress at this point.  When I made it to the point where my hike ended, there was a large flat area with a restaurant and an amazing view of the Alps.  I was above the tree line and the wind was howling.  It was the middle of the summer but there were still a few patches of snow.  I looked up to the top of the mountain that towered above me and it was fully coated in tons of snow.  I was right on plane with a massive glacier which was breathtaking. I luckily got to enjoy this view while I ate my lunch out on the porch of the restaurant.  I couldn't get over how cool the Alps looked and how dramatic they were.  These made the white mountains of New Hampshire look like minuscule rolling hills.
    I guess its more than just hiking.  I just love the outdoors and the feeling of freedom it gives me.  I was surrounded by such a vast and dramatic landscape which what I really loved.  These things are what relaxes me and there is nothing better than having nothing to worry about.

Assigned reading

When I was younger, I loved to read. I would read almost any book put in front of me no matter what. I  read the entire Hardy Boys series, all the Harry Potter books, the Percy Jackson series, I would read all the time. However, when I hit ninth grade and learned of a little site known to many as Sparknotes, my reading career basically came to screeching halt. I now won't read a book that is assigned by a teacher. At this exact moment, I am actually putting off reading both my independent book and the Telling Writing book to write this blog. It isn't that I don't like reading anymore or that I find the reading challenging, I just don't like being told to read something. If I see a book that looks interesting, I will pick it up and read, I enjoy doing that. But if you give me any school related book there is less than a ten percent chance I read that book. A lot of the time I can look it up on Sparknotes and I will be fine, sometimes that isn't the case, unfortunately both my independent book and Telling Writing aren't on Sparknotes so I will read them. Will I enjoy it, most likely not, but it has to be done so I will power through.

Tommy & Cas's Fashion Commentary

Philosophy

Mr. Hackman liked to talk about oak trees almost every time he tried to explain a new philosopher to the five or so of us that were actually listening. His desk in the front of the room (cluttered with a stack of neat manila folders, a candle, his extra large Dunkin Donuts cup, and a light-up children’s toy) faced the window at the other end of the room, which he would look out while explaining oak trees. He told us that the branches on oak trees grow staggered rather than in a symmetrical patter, a fact I have since not been able to stop thinking about. He used oak trees as an example in the Allegory of the Cave, and he drew them on the board and gazed across the room and out the window behind our heads as he sat in his chair, teaching. To have someone spend fifty minutes for four days a week solely talking to you about various philosophers doesn’t sound appealing to most people, but Mr. Hackman made it appealing. The class laughed with him when he drew faces on the board that resembled Easter Island statues, and we all listened eagerly when he told us about his morning routine and his early life as a lover of math.

The textbook was rarely used in or outside of class, and even so, from what we did read I could gather that it was not an ordinary textbook. Its cartoons and a playful font reflected Mr. Hackman’s cheery attitude – but it wasn’t so much that he was cheery and happy to teach philosophy as it was his general attitude towards life. He found himself humorous and at the same time was one of the most selfless people I’ve met. He handed out tests with a “bon chance” and said goodbye at the end of the period with an "hasta la vista". The décor in his room changed by the day, but his jalapeño lights that surrounded the white board never moved. On one occasion, he asked a student to hang his disco ball from the ceiling and turned off the lights to make sure it worked.

Most of the students surrounding me were seniors, and it was spring and the sun was finally out after four months, so they had little to no motivation to do anything but sit and listen. I did the same, lost in the crowd, but I left Mr. Hackman’s room for the last time after turning in my final essay on Walden with a newfound respect for the teacher and the class. I had spent six months learning the names and identities of Plato, Socrates, Thales, and more. I had taken tests and written essays, and out of the unique experience grew my appreciation for Mr. Hackman and all that he has taught me.