More Parasocial Relationships

I have realized that my friend had a severe parasocial relationship with Edward Cullen. Edward is the main male character on the movie and book series twilight. Katie...my friend...first started reading the books over christmas break. I told her she might like them but i never thought that she would fall in love with a fictional character. Yes i said in love and im not kidding. She has read all of the books and watches the movie weekly. Her ringtone on her phone is a lulaby that Edward wrote to his own love Bella. This ringtone is her alarm clock also so she can wake up to the sound of him playing every morning. Over Christmas her sister bought her the soundtrack to the movie. As if things werent bad enough. We listen to it on car trips, and while running long miles. EEK! Katie has a poster of Edward hanging next to her bed. At one weak moment in her life...she admitted to me that she has kissed it before...I quickly swooped in. My friends and I have decided to limit her Edward intake. She is not allowed to talk about him or the movie for a whole week or she owes us each two dollars. Im sure she is cheaing!!!!! It is funny because although this is unrealistic and she only does things now to make us laugh...i feel as though these relationships are so real. The one sided love affair people have with their tv's and movie's...its completely unhealthy for some and can lead to more deeply rooted problems and obsessions. Luckily for Katie she has good friends to keep her from ever becoming a vampire stalker!

Parasocial Relationships

I definately have a parasocial relationship with Abby Wambach. She is a soccer player that i have been watching since she first made it onto the Women's National Team. When i was in high school, she first started playing in the WUSA a league for women. My soccer number in High school was 23. When i came to Malone there was already another girl on the team with my number so i needed to pick a new one. Ironically i picked 20 which was also Abby Wambach's number. During World Cup season i go online and watch her video blogs. Alot of them are her and her teammates playing pranks on each other, hanging out, playing cards, and practicing. The blogs definately help me feel as though i am a part of her team its very interesting. She also has a group of blogs where she gives advise on how to shoot better, or new tricks she has learned to help you score (finish) and speed up with the ball. Because she is who she is (the greatest soccer player since mia hamm Literally!) I hang on her every word. If it works for her, then i have to try it. Usually it turns out that the skills she suggests or the tricks to use actually do help. This is an upside to following an athlete...she is actually honest about her advice. I like the fact that i can idolize someone in the media that is more like me. Its funny to say that because i do not truely know her. But i am connected to her because we both play soccer. I got to meet her once and as any soccer player knows...its as if every girl in American instantly connects with each other based on their ability to play. I talked to her for probably a minute and it was like we knew each other just based on playing. It was really cool.

Celebrity switch up

I was watching some movies this weekend with my family. There were too many to name but i began to notice that the same actors and actresses where suspiciously popping up in almost every movie that we watched. The funny thing was...it was a completely different role. Its weird how they can put on a mask for one film, be completely hilarious dropping one liners every second, and then the next minute in a different movie be someone totally different. This time maybe dark, sinister, or evil. Why do we accept this?! is it because we love Jennifer Aniston and don't care if she is the querky girl in Marley and Me or the disturbed housewife in The Good Girl. I don't have an answer but it is interesting to me. So many times i have watched certain characters in different movies and accepted their acting as who they really are. But when Angelina Jolie doesn't play in an action film i am slightly thrown off. Or when Will Ferrel isn't making me laugh i feel kind of confused. Its like we learn to love these celebrities based on the characters they play. We think we understand and know them...if we saw them in the streets they would be our best friends! DUH but when they change that in the slightest we or at least i have a hard time accepting it. Maybe the sign of a good actor is when we as the audience can never truely understand who they really are....

YouTube

Last night i stayed up late with my little brother. We talked alot and watched TWO HOURS of youtube videos. It was so much fun. I think it is so interesting how something like youtube can bring people together on a common ground. It was definately a bonding experience. I also got to know my brother through his video choices. The things he and his friends thought were funny where much different than my tastes. Watching his videos were still hilarious though. To see his face light up, and he actually fell off of his chair at one point. My brother is a senior in high school and it was even more facinating to see that his generation, and mine have a different set of popular youtube videos. I think that the videos are spread by these exact means. I showed him the popular videos that my friends and I have recently found humerous and he showed me his. Because of this i have a new set of videos to share and so does he. The trend will continue as groups spread the trends and humerous videos around to their friends. I think it is amazing how something found on youtube can have so much power. We will probably refer to these videos for days secretly quoting them and laughing at them during church (shhh don't tell our mom!)

Class Debate & Reading

When we first started discussing having a debate with my group, i was really worried that it was going to be hard to talk about. No one had done the reading except for a view of us, and i was nervous we would not be able to come up with enough points to argue. When we started discussing how conglomerates do more harm than good in the media, i began to realize that even with out the reading we all had good points to make. This is because we are all effected by media everyday. With out even realizing, it seems like common knowledge that disney owns abc, and general electric owns nbc. We are faced with this reality everyday. Conglomerates are sure to make themselves known in our everyday life and we begin to see their advertisements leaking into our shows. Their symbols are everywhere and we know who they are. When discussing whether they do more harm than good, i am still definately on the fence. Although i argued that they are harmful, i am not entirly sure that statement is true. Afterall, they do provide us with television and entertainment, sports and news. I feel like it would be much more difficult to recieve information and be entertained if it wasnt for thsese massive companies. Also, the reason they are so big is because they are so good at what they do. They have worked hard to become one of the big six and there is a reason for that. Althought they often stoop low, lowering their standerds to higher ratings, they do know how to get an audience. I do feel they should take some responsiblity for effecting peoples lives. I mean, violence, sex isn't good to overly consume, but if some people can avoid it, it isn't impossible. I could go on for ever but its a never ending question, and i don't feel like there is one answer.

Twilight

My friends convinced me to read the Twilight series over christmas break. I was hesitant because i am not a huge fan of science fiction. after reading the first book i was completely hooked. It took only 4 days to finish the entire series, and i have seen the movie twice. I am not as obsessed as some fans, but still. I have entered this strange new domain of vampires and darkness that seems to be entrancing everyone in the world. How can an author generate so much enthusiasm for books? I love books because they allow us to use our imagination. Unlike movies we can picture the characters ourselves, and depending how we read the books, we may like or dislike(JACOB!) characters. The characters develop a voice in our minds. It is usually highly dissappointing to see a movie that is an adaptaion of the book we are so in love with. The characters do not look the same as they do in the movie reel in our minds, and their voices are different. Producers and directors can make the characters more lovable or interesting and can twist the story ever so slightly so that the general public, not just book readers, will love the story. I was surprised to see twilight in the theaters and was even more surprised that the story was surprisingly similar to what i had pictured it to be. I was pleased that my imagination was being portrayed on the big screen with only small differences. I can't wait to see the rest of the movies.

"Quiz Show"

This was the first time that I had watched Quiz Show the entire way through. My aunt and I watched it together and it was really interesting to talk to her about it. Because it was a true story, she was able to attest to events that took place after the incident in the movie occurred. She mentioned to me that at that time, broadcasting companies took all of the quiz shows off of the air. There was a stigma around the validity of the shows, and it took a long time for the American public to trust the idea of the show itself. Ironically, as mentioned in the movie the American people did not have a problem trusting the television companies themselves. I guess these people could be considered the conglomerates. NBC controlled everything in this movie, including the pharmaceutical companies and the contestants. As we talked about in class it was evident that the pharmaceutical companies controlled the production of the shows. One call could get a contestant off the air and replaced immediately. Everything was done for money. Van Duran was expected to keep winning because the conglomerates were making tons of money off of him. Their ratings were going up because of the viewers. With more viewers, more money was being put into the drug companies. In the end the contestants were the ones hurt. NBC is still a huge business, but the contestants lives were practically ruined. Everyone covered up the lies for the companies. This was hard to understand. It seemed as though if one person would have just told the truth than the companies would have been hit hard. It makes me wonder how often things like this happen. How often we, as the American audience, are fooled into believing thing that television wants us to believe. Reality television can be twisted into a staged production, where everything turns out the way the production companies want. In this way the viewers are constantly tuning in, and the ratings are constantly going up. I know that my life is not as dramatic or exciting as the lives of those on the bachelor or the real world, therefore I have to believe that these people may be in some way provoked to act the way they do or “fed the answers.” Why do we so willingly trust the people that make television? Television is definitely better now than in the time of the quiz show. Monopolies do not exist as they did but conglomerates are still able to protect themselves or cover up for things like what happened in this movie. Talking about these issues in class, as well as watching the movie gave me a clearer understanding of what happened with television and posed a lot of questions for me as a viewer.

Starmites

This weekend I went to see my little brother in his high school musical. He is a senior this year and had one of the main roles, the bad guy. This is one of the wierdest plays i have ever seen. The singing was amazing and my brother as well as all of the students in the play did awesome. The story line is hard to understand. Its kind of a major mix of peter pan, the wizard of oz, lord of the rings, the goonies, and jumugi all rolled into one. CRAZY! my brother played a lizard (think gollum in lord of the rings), that actually turns out to be the villian. Despite all the wierdness i decided that plays (musicals and broadway mostly) are one of my most favorite forms of entertainment. Theater has the awesome ability to allow the audience to interact with the characters. the play is 3 demensional. Characters can jump off the stage, run around in the audience and feel much more real than characters on the screen. Errors happen much more often because there is no cutting and editing. The actors in the play have to be incredibly efficiant in their abilities. They have to be able to make corrections on the spot. This requires long hours of practice, and the "takes" are rediculous. Movie making does take alot of skill and effort, but i give mad props to all of those individuals that have ever been in a play or musical, especially high school kids. All in all i love musicals and always will.

here is a video of my brother. Its kinda crooked but pretty cool...he is kinda weird at first but its fun to watch!!!

FRIENDS

Television is a major part of my every day life. It is amazing how many Semiotic domains evolve out of television shows. I have made friends on the basis of liking them the same shows. Two of my friends are guys and i became close with them because of the television show FRIENDS. we are all obsessed with it and quiz each other on FRIENDS trivia. We text each other when our favorite episodes are on. I have every season and every episode in my dorm room and they also have a very extensive collection. It is funny that FRIENDS is such a huge part of our culture. It ran for ten years, and as a result each of the characters have developed a place in our world. I cannot watch a movie with Jennifer Aniston or David Schwimmer and not think of Ross and Rachel. Board games like "Scene it' developed friends versions of the popular show. When the show ended, advertisers payed millions to show their commercial during the last episode, and peices of the set were auctioned off for thousands of dollars. Hows does a show like this impact our society so much? I do not have a complete answer for this. The show was very unrealistic in its portrayal of relationships, sex, and even friendships at some times. I mean nobody in the show was EVER at work...and when they were it wasn't for long. They mostly lounged around and did nothing. Their lifestyle was so entising and every girl wished she had Rachel's hair and best friends like monica and pheobe. The show had a huge impact on everyone that watched it, and it seemed effortless to the viewers, but in reality the producers spent hours developing the show into what it was so that people would enjoy it. Its a crazy process but i totally applaud the work of the producers of the show for writing and creating something that held my attention for 10 years and continues to consume my life.

Print Media

I was raised in a household that put great emphasis on the value of reading books. My aunt is a first grade teacher and taught me to read before i was in kindergarten. Growing up my parents did not allow me to watch much television or movies because they were strict on what they wanted me to view. My main form of entertainment was books. I had a small library in my room. When i asked for toys i was turned down, but any book that i asked for my aunt and mother would definately buy them for me. I grew to adore books and made it a rule to read a book before i saw the movie that it was based off of. On vacation i read a book a day. I love everything from "To Kill a Mockingbird" to "Harry Potter." Because of my ubrining i think i have a high respect for the value of print media. Reading, especially at a young age, helps children develop better writing skills. It expands their vocabulary and helps them be better thinkers, talkers, and readers. Reading gives us the ability to exercise our imagination in ways that movies don't always allow us to do. I feel as though it is true that the process of reading "makes the common person more articulate, contextual, and capable of constructing sophisticated & elaborate arguements."

World of TV Show

We have learned that movies, television, and music or all media sets us up in a way in which the artist wants us to view them. They create a world in which they expect us to see their way, and by doing so help us to view the media in a particular way. If the world was even slightly different than it would change the entire dynamics of the viewing experience. We talked also about how some shows like to blur the lines of their worlds. Spin offs to television shows bring in characters to other shows and that character still represents their original character. I saw this in shows such as friends when Phoebe's identical twin sister shows up on the set as her self. Her twin Ursula was on a tv show called "Mad about you." I remember thinking about it and thinking it was so interesting that one character could share a world with a character from a completely different show. This week, creators of the shows Greys Anatomy Private Practice decided to also blur those lines of the world. Addison, a character that used to be a doctor on Greys Anatomy, now has a spin off. She works in a "private practice" in Los Angeles. When her brother becomes ill she now has to call on her old friends (from her old tv show Greys Anatomy) to help save him. Both shows run for 1 hour time slots on tv. During the whole 2 hours i was completely unsure if i was watching Greys anatomy or Private Practice. All of the characters from both shows knew each other in a past life before both shows. They fit together so seamlessly that it was impossible to know for sure what show I was watching. In two weeks the characters will go back to their original shows but until then, it is amazing to watch how to worlds can collide so effortlessly and we all accept this, only because we have been trained to understand the worlds in which these characters live.

Merchants of Cool

I only got to see half of the video in class because my dumb alarm clock decided not to go off this morning. However, the video was so interesting and so true to life. During the time of Dawson's Creek, 7th Heaven, and all of the other crazy shows, i was a a tween trying to figure out who i was and where i belonged in this world. TV shoes in the 90's had a tremendous impact on my peers and I. Spice girls drove me to wear platformish shoes and crazy scrunchies. Movies like clueless not only entertained my friends and I, but gave us a reason to model our behaviors around the same girls portrayed in these movies and shows. I began talking, walking, and dressing like these characters. Their interests became my interests which may or may not be good. I remember gossiping was the cool thing to do, and anyone with out the latest clothes, shoes, or accessories just wasn't cool. For these reasons my parents decided not to allow me to watch many shows or movies that might influence me in these ways. They did not like the way the characters acted or talked to each other. Many of them were talking about sex, and other things that a young girl should not be worried about yet. My friends made fun of me for not being allowed to watch "cool" media. Even though some may have considered me sheltered, i see now how beneficial my parents' decision was for my life. Young children, especially girls, are incredibly influenced by media. Celebrity females set a standard for how people should look and act. Young girls are so influenced that they will go to extreme lengths to be like these celebrities. The media has such a huge influence. Even though those involved in creating the media may be just trying to mirror their audiences, alot of times their younger audiences mirror the media negetively. I think it is very important for parents to monitor what their children watch in the media.

Diegetics

I recently watched the movie "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" for my world cinema class. The story itself was incredibly interesting, but i understood and loved it more because of the way it was filmed. The story was about a magazine editor that suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed and mute. He communicated using his only working eye and did so by blinking it. Most of the film was filmed through his eyes, literally. The story begins as he is waking up from his coma. His eyes blink slowly open and the vision is blurry. Everyone in his sight are close up, directly in his face. Because he cannot move his head it is imperative that they stay within his line of veiw if they want his attention or wish to talk to him. The way that this is filmed gives you amazing perspective on what the character "Bauby" is going through. You the viewer are limited to what he can see and hear. Bauby's brain is still completely functioning. While the story is being layed out through his eyes, the viewer can also hear what he is thinking. He expresses his frustrations through his thoughts in a way in which he cannot do so to outsiders and those taking care of him. The world of the film is carefully set up so the veiwer becomes emotionally attached to Bauby and what he is going through throughout the film. most of the shots are closed shots, leaving the viewer wanting to know more, but restricted because Bauby is restricted in that way. In some ways the director lets the view in on Bauby's life through memories and his imagination. These shots are open shots and often do not include close ups on any one in Bauby's life. By doing this the viewer understands that this is not reality by a memory. The director truely created Bauby's world in a way that i could make it my own, it was a true work of art.

Active Learning

As a future physical educator, active learning could not be more important to me. I myself am an active learner. When i am physically involved in the learning process i retain the information better. Physical educators strive to find ties with critical thinking and active learning. When the two are mixed students are provided with an amazing learning opportunity. In the same way it is important for us to actively engage ourselves in our world in order to learn more about it. More specifically it is important for us to actively engage ourselves in the media if we ever hope to gain a better understanding of it. Media has so many dimensions. I can not even fathom the amount of information and meaning i am missing when i watch movies. Directors and writers and everyone envolved with the movie making process puts so much into it. They develop signs and codes that an ignorant person would completely miss. I feel as though i have just began to scratch the surface on understanding semiotics and finding things that the movie makers, and others have intwined their work with for us to pick up on. This class has definately helped me to appriciate the media slightly better. I now actively pick up on codes and symbols when i watch commercials, or listen to music. Its becomming an annoying habit to my friends, but it is so facinating to me. I never realized how drenched media is with semiotic domains that i had no idea even existed before a few weeks ago. I love learning about it, and its like putting a huge puzzle together when i pick up on something. Creators of media want their audiences to pick up on this stuff, and as the audience, we have a duty to ourselves and the creators to find it. When we do, we can only appriciate the art more.

Media Diet

After three days of "watching my diet" of media, i am wondering seriously if i actually should be calling it a diet. In the past three days i have gorged myself on media. Without including text books and class homework, i might consider my media consumption morbid obesity. I am constantly on facebook around 3 hours total for this three day period. Because of the snow day i had a ton of extra procrastination time. Instead of being productive i of course watched 2 movies in one day, and 2 other movies on the other two days i was counting. 4 movies total in a 3 day period. YIKES! My roomate and i watch about an hour of TV before we go to bed. During TV watching time, both of us are one our computers surfing the internet and watching youtube ( im an excellent multitasker). All of this consumption does not even include the 7 journal articles i read and the two other movies i watching in that time period. I think that my media diet might be slightly different than most college students. I make time for media sometimes over school work. School work is incredibly important to me, but i can not step away from my passion for movies and television. I love movies probably the most out of any other form of media. I watch them as a way to relax. In a weird way they actually motivate me to do homework. I know i can lay on my bed with one of my favorite movies in and do my homework at the same time. Probably not the best idea, but it gives me the feeling like homework isn't a punishment. I can have both my passions and obligations satisfied. I do think i could cut back on all of my media consumption. If im not watching a movie or television music is definately my next option. I actually tried for one whole day to avoid media all together. It scared me how consumed i was in media. Its like a drug and if i don't have it i panick. It was even harder to avoid it for one day. I CANNOT run without music, i cannot sit in my room with out the tv on, and i can not even look at a computer with out the urge to check my email or facebook. And everyone around me is consumed in it too. The TVs in the wellness center are always on, and in order to write papers and "make the grades" in class i HAVE to read journal articles. I think the important thing i learned from this media log, was that having media in my life is in no way bad or detrimental. It can be if i am not careful and do not budget my time and sort out my prioreties. I can not dhowever ignore the impact that media has on my life, and how it has shaped me and taken its place as a passion that i cannot live with out.

How are our myths Un/ true?

I think that there are ways in which myths shape our lives for the better. Knowing that any of them could possibly come true keep us on our toes. As humans i think we have to believe in the "coming of the messiah." Especially as a Christian, i know my life would be completely screwed up if i didn't have hope for Jesus' return. In the same way we are all faced with challenges and valuing them is important. It won't always be like movies where in one scene we fight off some evil doer, and in the next realize that because we destroyed him we can now face the ultimate bad guy. But challenges do shape us for the future even if we are uncertain how or when they will. All of the myths can be present in real life situations, and some of us might be living them right now. They can shape and mold us, and help us develop our character for the better. However there are some instances where i do believe myths can be untrue for us.
"Presence of a Conspiracy" is one of those "go both ways" myths. There our conspiracies in our lives and country. We always assume we can trust everyone, but we don't know everything. This can be seen on a large scale (the government "Watergate") or on a small scale (friends that aren't so nice). Discovering them might be beneficial if we can figure them out and find a way to expose the "bad guy" in order to reestablish order. It would be extremely detrimental to chase these myths. To constantly think that someone is out to get us or there is a conspiracy threatening to take down life as we know it is not healthy. In fact, some might argue that a person that chases myths might be mentally unwell. It is important not to submerse ourselves so deeply in these myths that we become dependent on them. That we expect them to occur and wait for it or try to find it ourselves.

Myths in Mass Media

Randomly last night my friend and I decided to watch a movie. We have a lot of favorites so we picked one we had not watched in a long time. The movie we watched was "The Legend of Bagger Vance" staring Will Smith, Matt Daemon, and Charlize Theron. It was a little weird the next day (this morning) in class when we started talking about myths. Ok, so here is a summary of "The Legend of Bagger Vance" So Junah and Adele are in love. Junah is an amazing golfer in georgia. Everyone expects him to go the distance considering at 16 his is breaking records and blowing everyone away with his skill. Then the war comes and Junah goes off to war leaving Adele and the entire town behind. The war is hard on Junah and he doesn't return for 10 years. When he does return, his small town is being destroy by the depression. To help the town and give it hope Adele decides to hold a golf tournament. This tournament will bring money to the town because she plans on hosting 2 of the greatest golfers. The town wants one of their own to compete to keep the prize money within the town. They call on Junah. He is hesitant at first but decides to help. the problem is, he has lost his "touch". Junah basically sucks at golf. In comes Bagger Vance (Will Smith). Bagger is a run down, probably homelesss wanderer. Nobody even knows where he came from. He helps Junah realize his potential and turn his golf game around. Suprise surprise Junah manages to win the tournament and save his town.
There are soo many myths running in this movie...probably most if not all of them. But the one that is most obvious is the "Wisdom of the Rustic" Bagger is clearly the "rustic" a random guy that is a completely unlikely source of wisdom that influences Junah, a guy that had everything going for him and threw it away. With out Bagger's influence Junah would have never competed let alone succeeded in the Golf tourny. Not only did Bagger fix Junah golf problems, but he gave him the tools he needed to fix his life, help his town, and discover himself. This movie is awesome and i encourage anyone to see it if they haven't. It also provides a great example of myths present in movies.

Entertainment

In class this week we talked about how there are two ways to define entertainment. One is that entertainment is a form of distraction, to take us away from our everyday actions and hold our attention. This can be good or bad. Also, the act of entertaining means to hold or care for something (entertaining guests). Some might see the distracting aspect of entertaining to be bad. We all become victims of the lure of the glowing TV screen taking us away from our paper that is due tomorrow. Quite often i find myself fighting with my urges to watch movies and lay in bed all day or go to class. Last weekend my roomate and i stayed up till 2 a.m. watching music videos of our favorite songs and researching music and upcomming movies. Entertainment gives me a reason to procrastinate and I ALWAYS dread it the next day if i fall into its trap. For me though, entertainment is not alwyas a distraction. In the same way that it distracts me, in some ways it holds and cares for me. Movie watching is my stress reliever. When i have free time i usually am watching movies. They hold my attention and wrap my in a blanket of comfort with their stories. In this time i don't have to worry about what problems or stresses i have in my life. I can relax knowing that whatever movie i am watching will have a happy ending. It is distracting me yes, but also satisfying my need to escape. Many times i watch movies with friends (entertaining guests). We make an event out of it and it is an opportunity to spend time together. Entertainment is a very crucial part of my life, whether it is distracting me, or taking care of my need for something different from my own life, it is very important and beneficial.

Problems and Possibilities

Mass Media can be both positive and negative. I think that it is awesome that mass media can connect such a wide range and variety of people. Because of it, when can know what is going on in the world around us, not just in our own little world. News provides us with tons of information about the world we live in and the people we share it with. Movies and books give us entertainment and a chance to escape our everyday lives, and use our imaginations. New avenues of mass media, like facebook and myspace can also be great. Without facebook it would be a lot harder for me to stay in touch with friends that i grew up with, and family that i do not see very often. However, mass media can be a double edged sword.
The individuals and company controlling the media also have somewhat of a control on our lives. We saturate our lives with so much media, that it in turn can effect our way of thinking and living. The news controls what stories we hear. They determine how important an event is and what version of a story is told. I believe that in some cases they totally stretch the truth to make it more interesting. Reality TV also does this in a way. They may twist the truth or control what portions of a conversation are heard, and watch body language the cast gives off in order to make the veiwer feel as though two individuals are having an arguement. Facebook is another outlet that i feel can really be detrimental in some ways. It takes away from physical interaction with individuals. My generation, myself included, seem to struggle with converstions when we are face to face. We seem detached and no longer make eye contact or strike up random converstations with strangers. Its just too awkward. We are so used to being hidden behind our screennames and facebook personalities to make any kind of effort in the real world. I believe that mass media's possibilities outway it's problems, but individuals need to be careful not to be so consumed in media that they forget to think for themselves.

Pre-Game Movie

Movies always greatly influence my perspective on things. Whether they really have an impact on my life and change my way of thinking or they are purely for entertainment. Sports movies are especially a huge part of my life. I play soccer for Malone and i consider myself to be quite obsessive with my sport. Before a game superstitions rule my life. I put my socks on left to right, followed by shin guards left to right, and then finally shoes and tape. Oddly enough my game would be absolutely RUINED if the night before i wasn't pumped up by watching the movie 300. The movie portrays a small army fighting for their freedom. they are in top physical condition and have worked incredibly hard so that when the time comes to battle they will be ready. Despite their small numbers and the looming probability that they will be defeated, they press on toward their goal. Because of their determination, heart, and faithfulness to each other, they get farther then would be expected. This movie is seriously awesome, especially when i am preparing to play. I can see relationships between the small underdog army and my team. This year we were low on numbers and expected to loose every game. The odds were even more against us when 5 months before the season started we were left without a coach and only 8 players returning. Our team had to fight every step of the way and work harder than any other team that we would be facing. When game time came, most of the teams were enormous with 25 + players marching onto the field thinking their battle would be short and painless. Who wouldn't envision an easy victory when only 17 girls walked onto the field, half of them broken from injury. My team however was not that easily defeated. Like in the movie our hard work, determination, and faithfulness to each other took us to great heights. We were victorious even when we didn't necessarily win. Watching the movie 300 before a game reminded me that underdogs shouldn't be taken lightly. Sometimes the smallest teams or armies put up the greatest fights in battles. This movie really pumps me up for a game. I could not have played this season with out it.

Test Post

Test Post

Test Post