I was 

Today I played 6 hours of soccer in the cold and part of it in the rain and all of that was great, I love soccer, but the best part of the day was listening to Coach that I will play for for the next four years. He shared 2 quotes that really stood out to me and made me think about my life and how I got to the point I'm at. The first quote was

“Life is like a game of soccer. You need goals. If there are no goals in your life then you can’t win.”– Unknown Author

When I stepped foot in Millbrook High School I was ready for what was to come, I set goals, get on the honor roll, make the soccer team, meet new people, join clubs, etc. After achieving those goals Freshman and Sophomore year and gaining more freedom from everyone I set loftier goals that I could achieve myself. Some were academic but most were not for me. I wanted to take on more responsibility on my club team, I wanted to win a soccer state championship, I wanted to get closer to my family before I went to college, find ways to give back to my community, find out who my true friends were, have jobs, make a college team, and just be a better person in general. Those are goals that I've achieved but can still grow on going forward. For me celebrating the achievement of the goals is just as important as setting them and succeeding at them because in the beginning I wasn't what I was in the end. Achieving goals is a feeling that never gets old. Whether it was being captain, committing to Lynchburg, or winning state cup those moments were just as important to me as seeing my parents be able to relax, being able to run again after 2 surgeries, getting my dog to be well trained and listen, or seeing the kids I coached win their first game.  

As we achieve goals everyday we check them off and move on to the next, but looking back I think it's important to reflect on how much of an impact each one of the small goals has on who we are and what we stand for. For me, the small goals I set for myself academically and put me in a position to get merit aid and be as prepared as I can for college. Athletically the little goals I set after surgery to get back to playing got me to the six hours of soccer I played today. the little goals I set for the team I coached led to them winning their first game. 

The second quote he mentioned was 

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” 

― Mahatma Gandhi

This quote made me think about what community service has done for me over the last three almost four years years. Over the last 3-4 years I have volunteered with several organizations in Raleigh and had the opportunity to do a service trip in Peru Sophomore year. When I was younger and participated in a lot of youth sports, I traveled a lot, was fortunate to have what I had growing up, and was definitely fortunate to have parents who insisted on being down to earth and giving to those who aren't as fortunate as we were growing up. Starting freshman year and ever since then I have been looking for ways to get involved in the community around me. The biggest thing that community service has taught me is that I can learn from everyone and everyone has the ability to have impact on someone or something. The community service I was able to participate in over my time in high school is something that I will never forget and will definitely being taking with me as I join a team that is founded on the 3 Ss. Scholarship, Soccer, and Service. 

Walt Whitman

Basic Observations:

903: It's mainly just addresses. there is a seal looking thing on the page.
925: It talks about a brochure that has a dialogue between 2 people. He's jotted down different ideas about formats for lessons for a Presidential elect. The seal says the Library of congress... finally was able to read it.
Next page: talks about 2 platforms on one it talks about virtue, religion, philosophy, christ. on the other love, christ, and other unlegible things.
Page After that one: Talks about what he should know now and what should happen, something about a crash.
929: He seems to be having a conversation with someone in his journal, something about the Queen of England doing something for a thousand years.
Next page: talks about a trial, weather, waves, wants to sea what the ship is made of, anyone can sail in a fair sea.
Next page: He's asking for bad weather, wind, clouds
930: Wants to see what the ship of libertad is made of,he welcomes something with joy, bad weather or trouble?
931: Calls it the ship of the world, humanity, of all ages, of promise.
Then there is a lot of pictures of a man, with a hat and without one,
Then some writing.

What might be significant? What is revealed about Whitman through his inner thoughts?
       Based on my observations from all the pages individually and whats in the introduction paragraphs for this blog it's significant that he talked about having the presidential elect conversation or dream. I think it's significant that he often uses weather to suggest hard times and talks about the ship holding up when the weather gets bad. That could symbolize the president doing well when times are hard or just anyone in general. Also the ship stands for freedom (libertad), promise, the world, and all ages. So it stands for a wide variety of people and events and he wants to test them with something that is timeless such as the weather. I think that whats he written says his inner thoughts are about challenging people, the president elect, and people in power. I guess i'll find out how much of what I wrote is right when I read what he actually wrote.


After reading all the yellow tags I underestimated who much religion, philosophy, and Lincoln played a role in his thoughts. It makes sense sine it was around the civil war and he would have watched people everywhere decide which side to be on, Which religion they want to follow and the implications each religion had on how they lived and acted politically and morally. In one of the yellow boxes it talks about his use of the word liberated instead of liberty and it doesn't know why. An idea that I have based on his thoughts about the war, the two sides, and the separation in the country is that he didn't feel like the US had figured out freedom enough to use the english word liberty, instead he used liberated because its close enough for people to understand but has a different connotation when used instead of liberty. He really doesn't like the idea of the Union losing,  He adds perhaps to having to watch the crash which allows him to think about the positives or just not all the negative potential for the Union to lose the civil war. I think it's significant that he talked about allying lost and this talks about his intention being that it would mean something historically if the union lost. I think that shows that he thought a lot about the implications of the Civil War and how it would affect everyone. When he was talking about the Queen of England I think he was comparing the situation with the civil war and how the other countries are able to maintain control. I was right about the ship and the weather standing for something else such as Lincoln's presidency. It talks about his life going out of control which shows up in his thoughts about the nation going out of control. Lastly all the drawings in the back could be of him, and I think it's interesting that he would've passed  around his notebook to people he was with.

After reading all of his journal and what it was supposed to say I think Whitman would be an interesting person to talk to. He's intelligent, questioning, philosophical, and interesting.