NASCAR

According To Wikipedia, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of stock cars in the United States. The three largest racing series sanctioned by NASCAR are the Sprint Cup, the Nationwide Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. It also oversees NASCAR local racing, the Whelen Modified Tour, and the Whelen All-American Series. NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 39 states, as well as Canada and Mexico. From 1996 to 1998, NASCAR held exhibition races in Japan and an exhibition race in Australia in 1988.

I, myself, have never been interested in the sport of nascar racing, but there are a lot of people in my family and community that love it. Unfortunately, this sport is about to come to an end for this year, and that is always a depressing time because no one likes when their sport is over. If you enjoy going over 200 miles per hour in a car then I would definitely suggest that you try nascar racing!

Politics and Such

Wikipedia does not offer anything good for politics, so I will just have to wing this one. Some people view politics as a "sport", but I, myself, view it as a nuisance. I am glad that the election is over for a couple of reasons.
1. The only thing that airs in between shows are mean and cruel advertisements about people in the election.
2. Politics becomes many people sole conversation, and politics can be a little overdone at times.

There are, however, a few good things about elections. I am very grateful that we are given the opportunity to give our opinion and vote. Voting is something that different groups of people have had to work for over the past few decades. I will not comment on the outcome of the election because I do not want to step on anyone's toes by giving my opinion. I will, however, say that all of the people running were qualified so whoever won was fine by me.

I am very glad that the election is over, and I believe that everyone who was elected will do their best to better our country. Unfortunately, there are some problems that even Chuck Norris would not be able to fix in our country. Great job to everyone who was able to vote, and seized the opportunity that many people in other countries have to work for.

MACBETH

The Indiana Repertoire Theatre was very exquisite. I am sure that all of the plays that they offer are great, but I am really glad that we chose to see Macbeth. It was a little difficult at first to understand because of the dialect, but after a while it was easy to catch on to what they were saying. It was amazing, how the witches could stay in their character at the beginning when everyone was talking amongst themselves. In my opinion, the actress that did the best, was one that people from our school knew, which was Millicent. Her booming voice made the lines come alive. I would definitely go back and watch another play if I was given the chance.

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a ball through a 10 feet hoop (the goal) under organized rules. Basketball is one of the most popular and widely viewed sports in the world. Points are scored by shooting the ball through the basket above; the team with more points at the end of the game wins. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it dribbling or passing it between teammates. Disruptive physical contact, fouls, are not permitted and there are restrictions on how the ball can be handled. Through time, basketball has developed to involve common techniques of shooting, passing and dribbling, as well as players' positions, and offensive and defensive structures. Typically, the tallest members of a team will play center or one of two forward positions, while shorter players or those who possess the best ball handling skills and speed, play the guard positions. In some countries, basketball is also a popular spectator sport.

The first sport that I ever attempted to play was basketball. I eventually realized that I am horrible at it, so then I started swimming competitively. Basketball is a sport that requires fast reflexes and a lot of stamina. Since elementary schools offer no choices of sports, that is why I got involved in basketball. I played 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. Unfortunately, I was not very good at basketball, so needless to say I sat the bench..a lot. Basketball is one of the most common collegiate sports, it is, however, very difficult to get scholarships to attend big universities. I believe that the best time to watch basketball is March Madness. It is a good time for people to get together, hang out, and watch the games. The exciting part is picking out the brackets, and even if you don't know who to pick it is still a cool thing to do. So, next time you are bored go to the local gym or community center, and pick up a basketball.

This video is about various soccer teams. Many years ago I used to play soccer. It is a very fun sport, but it has a lot of contact and can get violent. I really like this video because it shows how other people play soccer in different countries and even other states. Soccer is the main sport in many foreign countries. Whenever I went on my trip to Jamaica almost every place that I went to people were playing soccer. In some countries, they might not have the resources to play many sports such as volleyball or basketball, and soccer is a great sport to play anywhere because all that it requires is a grassy field and a ball. I hope that you like this video.

Swimming

According to Wikipedia, Swimming is the movement by humans or animals through water, usually without artificial assistance. Swimming is an activity that can be both useful and recreational. The goal of competitive swimming is to be the fastest over a given distance. Competitive swimming became popular in the nineteenth century, and comprises 36 individual events - 18 male events and 18 female events, however the IOC only recognizes 34 events - 17 male and 17 female events. Swimming is an event at the Summer Olympic Games, where male and female athletes compete in 13 of the recognized events each. Olympic events are held in a 50 meter pool. The four competitive strokes are the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle. "Freestyle" and "front crawl" are often used interchangeably, but "front crawl" properly refers to an unregulated competitive event rather than to any particular stroke. Swimmers generally choose to swim front crawl in a freestyle event since it is the fastest stroke. In events that require specific strokes, disqualification will occur if the stroke is not swum correctly, for example if the swimmer does not touch the wall with two hands during breaststroke or butterfly they will be disqualified.

I have been a competitive swimmer now for seven years. I love the sport and I am very glad that I got involved in it from the beginning. In my middle school years I mainly swam breaststroke, and honestly I wasn't that good. Once I got to high school I grew about two feet and started getting a lot better. In the past two years, I started doing distance swimming. I also swim some of the relays. Since you are only allowed to swim four events I could not do all of the relays. The possible relays are the 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay, and the 400 freestyle relay. Last year, I made it to the sectional finals in the 500 freestyle. I also swim the 200 freestyle. Surprisingly, it is harder than the 500, in my opinion, due to the fact that you have to swim harder even though it is a long distance. Another important part about swimming would be goggles. Without my goggles I doubt I would like swimming as much. A terrible feeling is when the goggles come off, because then you can't see. Swimming takes a lot of endurance, and uses almost every muscle in your body. I would recommend this sport to anyone who is willing to get a great workout.

According to Wikipedia, Volleyball is an olympic team sport in which two teams of six active players (five normal players and one 'libero'), are separated by a high net. Each team tries to score points against one another by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. The complete rules of volleyball are extensive, and points are awarded as follows: If the ball touches the ground outside the court area, the team which made contact with it last loses the point. If the ball touches the ground on team A's side of the net, team B is awarded a point, and vice-versa. The ball must be hit over the net to get a point.The team who wins the point then serves. The first team to reach 25 points wins the set and the first team to win three sets wins the match. Teams can contact the ball only three times before the ball crosses the net, and consecutive contacts must be made by different players. The ball is usually played with the hands or arms, but players can legally strike or push the ball with any part of the body.

Volleyball is a very exhilarating sport, and I always enjoy playing it. It is a fun sport to either play as a high school team, intramural, or even just for fun with a bunch of friends. Before practice somedays our cross country team will go in the gym and play. It is a very easy sport to learn how to play, and I would advise that everyone try it.

According to Wikipedia, Cross Country running is a sport in which teams of runners compete to complete a course over open or rough terrain faster than other teams, but to me it seems like more that that. I have been running cross country now for seven years. People always ask me if we are insane because they don't see the point in running. Sure running for a sport does seem a little weird, but whenever I am stressed out I usually either eat milk duds, or I go for a long run. The pains caused by running seems more important than that of my stress pains.

How Cross Country works: The scoring is really simple. The first five finishers for your team count for points then you add all of the places together. So if your team gets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 then your score would be 15. The team with the lowest score wins. If there is a tie in points then it goes to the sixth runner of both teams, and whichever one finished better wins it for their team. Cross Country is an excellent sport that takes a lot of endurance and stamina, and I would recommend it to anyone who has basically lost their mind.

About My Life

Hello my name is Taylor. I am a senior in high school, where I run cross country, swim, and run track. I enjoy school a lot actually, because I get to see all of my friends, and this year most of my classes are good. I have an after school job at a supermarket. My life is usually pretty hectic and stressful because I have to balance all of these things, but things eventually have a way of working out for the best.