October 19

Siblings

In a modern society, it is believed that a newborn brings life and joy to a family and it changes the overall atmosphere of the family and the home. I felt the wind piercing my heart when my sibling entered through the mahogany colored door. I knew that my life had changed forever and nothing would be the same ever again.

It was a cool day on September 16,1998, the temperature had started to slowly trickle down, the wind started to get a little bit cooler, the animals were finding shelter for the winter and the sun was not as sunny. It was time to gradually start putting the summer clothes away and bring out the big bulky heavy winter jackets,scarfs,toques,gloves and the other necessities required to survive in the tundra and be ready for when old man winter strikes but not at my household. Everybody was scurrying around making preparations and making the last minute touches making sure everything was perfect. The banners were put up, there was a welcome sign hanging on top of the door, there was delicious mouth watering food just resting on the table ready to be devoured and everyone was waiting anxiously for the door bell to ring.

Me, I was just sitting in the middle of the living room just enjoying myself playing with my toys and enjoying every bit of the moment before I would have to share them with another human being whom I hated and my mind was racing in anger and I did not want to share my toys or any of my belongings with anyone else. And then suddenly, the door bell rang and I knew it my life was over. Everybody scurried to the door to welcome the new born baby and right when I turned around, this cold air just rushed into the warm house and it hit me and from that moment, I knew it was all over. Everybody watched the fragile glass like newborn sleeping in my mothers arms while she brought him inside  the house caressing his forehead and I had slowly started to drift away from the crowd. I tried to get close to the baby but I was a “safety hazard” for the baby. I started to feel hatred towards me because whatever I did, I was getting everyone mad. I was starting to feel like no one cared about me and everyones love and affection had slowly started to disintegrate and my brother was the new “big thing”. I just felt like walking up to my brother and viciously ripping him out of my mothers arms and I would hop in and just rest in her arms.

Until this day, I still have this moment very fresh in my mind and as me and my brother grew over the years, we got tighter and we have become brother’s keepers to each other and we have each other’s backs no matter what happens. I am glad I have a brother and we share many memories and I am sure we will have many more upcoming memories.

Category: Arsh, Uncategorized | 5 Comments on Siblings
October 19

Heart Filled With Sorrows

As I slowly try to recall the worst moment of my life, I recognize something; this is his story not history. The events that took place in my life all had a domino effect leaving no time to fully react to one event. Unknown at the time we have learned over the years that bad moments do not haunt you and leave; they freeze in time. The time passes by slowly not because of any nuclear reaction, but by our heart beat becoming slower and slower.
The first event took place in 2005; my younger brother’s first trip to India. His first trip to India was not for any vacation but for a funeral; a funeral held for a person who he did not know or had ever seen before, my grandfather. Before my brother had left to India my dad received a phone call from my grandfather talking about bringing my brother. Since he had never seen him before, he would joke around saying “will you bring him after I die!”. After the return flight my father came back looking pale and sick from an air born infection. We found out he picked it up during his time in India along the way (which to this day is still unknown). The disease was nearly eliminated but from nowhere another misfortune struck our family; the death of my great grandmother. We as little children at the time, did not know her very well but my father did. Since he was going through lots of sorrow in the span of a couple of months, the only cure that came to his mind was excessive drinking. Drinking did not release his sorrow but rather suppressed it.
As the years pass by my father’s sickness is becoming more and more visible. I become older and we come to 2011 the start of a new year with a death; my grandmother. Everyone was startled by this death because she was on vacation. By this time alcohol is going down my dad’s throat like a drain and after a month his body had enough of the poison. On a cold may morning I am notified to stay at home and not to go to school. Why? My father has passed away. The same day both of my grandfathers had died also. I and my father did not have a good relationship so I recognized the fact that time didn’t stop like in other moments. My life had kept going and in a couple of months I had completely forgotten and I wonder to myself. Will it be that easy when I die like my father? Will it be like that when I die; everyone forgets my name and my face.
As I recall the worst 8 years of my life I had recognized something. This is not my story, this is history and if I let this story hold me back it will haunt me forever.

Category: Simran, Uncategorized | 4 Comments on Heart Filled With Sorrows
October 19

Miracle In The Baloch Family

My parents were pretty disappointed and frustrated about my lack of development.     Especially considering that all the kids in my neighborhood were ahead of me in terms      of growth. My parents started to worry if I’m ever going to able to walk ever in my life. Then one day a miracle happen in the Baloch family…

                They say whatever in your childhood stays with u forever. It was evening of a day in June  when we decided that our whole family along with few family friends were going to go to the park like we always do every evening. I was only two years old at the time and didn’t know the point of going to the park every single day, but I got dressed and ready to go anyways because it I had no choice. I remembered our neighbor’s puppy named Cookie, whom I always hated. Now that I think about it, I don’t really know why I hated him so much. I hated Cookie before the incident so I don’t think the incident was the cause for it .

So there I was going to the park with my family pissed off because I was being forced to do so. There was little that I knew of how the world revolve around me, but that is understandable because I was very young at the time. At the time I was kind of excited to go to the park for once because, I knew for a fact that the neighborhood dog “Cookie” the little monster was not going to be there with us. Unfortunately, the little I knew, their he was just chilling with rest of our neighborhood dogs. He was all fluffy and cuddly looking and giving me looks, like he kind of knew that I                was terrified and shocked to see him there. Now that I look back on this event, Cookie was actually a cute little puppy that at that time I was pretty sure that he was a son of a devil. I had nightmares about him until I was 6 years old, That’s when we moved away from the neighborhood.

Now the chase wasn’t your normal cops and robber chase although, I imagine that it was. The only difference was that I hadn’t done anything wrong like a normal robber would have. I would more describe this unfortunate event as a bully picking on a helpless kid, as the dog was a bully and I was more like the helpless kid. So like as bullies do, the dog waited until I was alone and I decided to go on a adventure to explore everything that the park had to offer on my own, which was not a very smart idea since I could barely walk on my own. Now you know that this was going to happen like everyone expected, I got lost on my “little adventure”

So the dog took full advantage of the fact that I was alone and began approaching me. I had absolutely no clue what to do and also did not know why he was coming this way as I did not try to intimidate him or something. After he kept on coming closer and closer to me, I knew that I had to think of something quickly . So my first reaction was to run as fast as I could. obliviously at the time, I did not know that dogs are not really son of devils and that they are not really trying to eat u alive. Dogs are just trying to have fun and play with you that’s all.

The chase itself was not very exciting because eventually  I would have to jump in a pool for life from the vicious beast, but it definitely plays a big role in my life because although I did not realize it back then I was taking my first “official” steps and running for the first time as well. I did not look at my parents faces as I was a little busy, but I’m sure that they almost couldn’t believe what they were witnessing, my family tells me when we are reflecting back on this moment that my mom was crying because all of those prayers had finally been answered. Even to this day, I’m scared of dogs, and I think that the “park incident” is a big reason for it.

Category: Arshad, Uncategorized | 1 Comment on Miracle In The Baloch Family
October 19

Built Ford Tough

All I could see through the shattered windshield was the ditch filled with overgrown grass and dust that occupied not only the cab, but our eyes and mouths too. We were upside down in my little Ford Ranger with but a month on a fresh top-end motor rebuild. I sent one hand to the roof and the other to the seatbelt buckle; I pushed down but did not exert enough force to lift me away from the ground to create some slack in the seatbelt. As I repositioned my hand for more leverage, I heard Adam fall and begin to crawl out while Sam reprimanded him for the accidental kick to the face during his decent, so I gave myself a good push upward and unlatched the buckle only to find my controlled fall was not as graceful as planned. I dropped to the roof and immediately crawled out the side window cavity to stand up. I dropped back to my knees when I remembered the ignition; I reached back inside to see Mickey Mouse still right side up hanging on my key chain with a massive grin on his face and I killed the power to the already stalled motor. As I stood back up, I ran to the other side of the truck to meet Adam to find when I rounded the corner, Sam was crawling out the passenger side window cavity with a typical “Sam” look on his face. Adam and I like typical teenagers, were pumped and yelling and high fiving at the fact that nobody was hurt and after all it was our first rollover. After Sam stood up I don’t think he was amused very much by our excitement.

“What the Hell are you guys doing? Why are you celebrating?” And so we filled him and he too ‘halfassly’ joined which was no surprise to us.

Shortly after our relief, panic struck as we realized we had to flip it back over; we were in the middle of nowhere and had no way of getting home not to mention the lack of cell service. All of a sudden my second worry hit, how was I getting to work the next day, and although it was not my main priority, it stressed me beyond belief. But back to the fact that our only choice was to flip the truck back wheels down, thank evolution for adrenalin.

Sam, Adam, and I spread out along the truck and to our surprise with a little persuasion and force, it wasn’t very hard rocking it from its roof onto the driver’s side. After we got it onto its side, a car approached and it was occupied by a lady with a small child in the back offering to get us some help by phoning for a tow truck or somebody of assistance . We politely declined the offer and thanked her for her generosity. Shortly following this, we had a few more vehicles fly past us spitting rocks and raising dust not caring to stop and check if anybody was injured or needed a hand. This gave me a disgusted feeling for what if they were passing somebody that were in dire need of help?

But then of course we were still tasked with flipping the truck from the driver’s side back upright and this turned out to be a big pain in the ass. We were in the middle of the ditch with a steep incline towards the road and another hill upward on the other side, “God damn ,” we had to push this truck not only up and over the wheels, but we had to push it up against a god damn hill to do so. So once again we spread out and we rocked the shit out of this thing and this went on for several minutes while we took breaks in between our efforts when all of a sudden out of the corner of my eye is saw the back end of the truck slip a smidge towards the road making it easier to push. After a brief mention, all three of us started reefing on the back end pulling it as close as we could to road and we moved it probably about a foot and half; and that was all we needed. The three of us rocked, pushed, and strained twice as hard than before and we dropped her back on her wheels and erupted with satisfaction.

I opened the door,  popped the hood latch and propped the hood open; the only thing visibly wrong was power steering fluid everywhere, but the main concern was whether or not oil had leaked into the cylinders which would result in bending connecting rods when I turned the motor over. We collected everything that had fallen out the truck and tossed it back in while we let it sit for couple minutes. In the mean time, I admired the 18 degree weather and the country around us, we were surrounded by heavily treed hills with the last hour of sun poking over the top of the hill to the west. I checked the oil, and it read the same as I remembered it before and that’s when I got nervous. Although the oil looked the same, who knows if there was a cylinder with just enough oil in it to bend a rod and leave us stranded. I had Adam and Sam steer clear of the truck in case it did actually start in which I could grab a gear and pin her out of the ditch. I hopped in and closed the door that no longer closed, everybody was silent in anticipation and I was almost praying the she would start. I turned the key and what do you know, that stubborn bitch fired right up.

Quickly I threw her into first and dumped the clutch with some rpm and we climbed out of the ditch digging ruts in the dirt on our way out. We got out and she turned herself sideways blocking the road thankfully with no traffic so none of us really gave a damn. Almost instantly, Adam and Sam booked it over and threw themselves and belongings back in the cab. I found my sister’s sunglasses to throw on to keep the sun out of my eyes along with the wind as my head hung out the window to see. We were still spitting dust but I threw my baby back in gear and drove her home with a big grin on Mickey’s face and I could still not believe I rolled my little Ford Ranger.

 

Category: Stephen, Uncategorized | 2 Comments on Built Ford Tough
October 19

Narrative

One strange Graduation

On the day of the grade 8 graduation it was a very beautiful day. The grad ceremony had just ended and everyone was starting to help clean up the aftermath of the graduation party. After that mess was done and chairs pack up I was in the hallway when the intercom turns on and a lady announces that she received a bomb threat. At first I thought it was very odd and unfortunate that it interrupted the graduation. Immediately after hearing this news I rushed to the nearest classroom which out of all possibilities was a grade 6 room. I could still hear the footsteps of other students run by but couldn’t get in for our teacher locked the door once she thought she had the max capacity of students. At first everyone was very loud but the teacher told us that it’s rare for something dangerous to happen.

While inside the room I decided to chose a nice perfect spot in the corner where I could somewhat hide how scared and in shock I felt. The worst part is that  I was in fear of getting killed by an intruder or the bomb even though the teacher assured us that we will be safe. After I felt a little bit safe I calmed down and just waited for it all to be over. In that moment of waiting, anything could happen within a single second. I created a solution in which  my idea was to block out everything and just wait it out this really horrifying time frame. Eventually two whole long boring hours of  creepy silence has passed. I hear the intercom lady tell everyone that it is safe to get out of lock down and that an email will be sent to all our parents of what has happened. Hearing this made me feel strong and powerful for if I could withstand being in a very serious threat and that I could be strong enough to overcome anything. Although I wasn’t held hostage in like a bank or mall, I believe I have learned a valuable lesson in which it won’t be forgotten.

I slowly got up and stretched for it was very uncomfortable sitting on the cold hard ground, left the grade 6 classroom while others ran out like they were released from captive. I walked peacefully down the hallway, with the feeling of freedom, to my real classroom in which we were all told to pack up and go home for the grad is over. I then proceeded to my locker to get all my belongings and headed out the door. Immediately as I stepped out of the school I saw my parent’s car and they picked me up then proceeded to ask me a ton of questions in which I was too tired to comprehend and reply. Finally got home and just as I walked into the door I went directly to my room and fell asleep just as my head touched the pillow for it was a really scary and tiring day.

Category: Josh H, Uncategorized | 3 Comments on Narrative
October 19

Traveling issues

            It was around February 2006 when the rumors in my house began about going to Kenya. I was in the fifth grade back then, going to school, playing with friends and exploring new places in the neighborhood. I had no issues with leaving Calgary and go to a new and hostile area to me . Then came April, the month we were supposed to leave, and just when we were leaving my mom decided to tell me that we were going to move but first we would go to London. The news about moving definitely shocked me because I thought of Africa as what they showed on television. Huts in the middle of the savanna and never ending water hikes. The stereotypes shown on television scared the life out of me but I was assured  that we would live a normal life there. Going to London really got me excited for this trip and it at least soothed my fear of moving, but the flight was my biggest concern. I’m usually scared of  flying, short distances, long distances and so on. The trip would take first take us to London England, and we would stay there for a week. What happened there, at the airport specifically, was something to remember.

The flight was long for sure, it was about twelve hours and it wasn’t eventful at all, minus the motion sickness I experienced during takeoff and lift off. When we arrived at London Heathrow international airport, the airport was as busy as a beehive. People with different destinations they need to be at, going left and right, hauling luggage, making phone calls and overall chaos. When we came out of the airport the cars shocked me, I have never seen a car being driven from the right hand side. As my family pulled each of our luggage, we were greeted by my dad’s cousin and there was a large van and a small two door car. For some reason it was decided that half the luggage would go into the coupe and 3 people would go into the back seat.   Half of the luggage was crammed into the coupe. In the car was me, my older sister and some other random guys that was taking us to the house we were going to stay at. The car ride was appalling. The heaviest of the luggage was pushing down on me and ant the same time I was crammed between my sister and some random guy I’ve never seen. The heat of the car and the smell was horrible. Everyone next to me were sweating making it even worse. I thought my fragile framed body was going to be crushed by the pressure being excreted on me. What made it even worse was the fact that the driver didn’t even know where he was going and he even got lost once. Lost in a huge city and crammed into a coupe angered me and this was what this trip was becoming so far and after about an hour we came to the house. That ordeal was over and the next ‘big’ thing that happened there would be most memorable thing that happened to me was just before we left.

It was when we were to leave London and go to Kenya. My dad suggested that we go to the airport at least 5 hours before the flight and it was in the morning around 10 am. We came into the airport around 5 am, everyone in my family was very tired. I thought the airport was closed because I saw no one there. It was empty and the silence was deafening . My older brother decided to stray of in the terminal and he found the first class waiting area. Everyone else found empty seats and they all passed out but me on the other hand I couldn’t. I wanted to explore the airport and see what I could do there but there was really nothing to do there so I would just loop around the whole terminal bored out of my mind. During one of my loops around the terminal I saw two heavily armed London police officers with guns pointed at my brother and telling him to walk then they came up to me and asked if I was his brother. I was really short then and these men were just towers compared to me and that made me feel even smaller. Their guns were probably the size of me and that just contributed to my fear of these men that approached me. I was blank and my muscles tensed up and for the first time in my life I was sweating and I had no idea what to do. I squeaked out a yes and they took me along with my brother to my mom and dad. When we came to my family, I thought my mom fainted, her face was dead and in pure shock. My dad just put on his disappointed face on. The officers then just told that my brother sleeping in the exclusive first class section. The whole misunderstanding was pretty funny and crazy in the fact I thought my brother did some crazy thing that would alarm the police and spark some airport lockdown and all the flights would be grounded but he was just sleeping in the wrong place. Everything after that everything went smooth then we went to Kenya where my life would change and get interesting.

Category: Uncategorized, Yonis | LEAVE A COMMENT
October 19

Fairy tales exposed

Rumpelstilskin, a tale as old as time, has taught generations typical messages we all receive at a young age as this fairy tale strives to insure that our morals are noble. Each character within this tale has a lesson to be learned. The first character introduced is the miller, a father whom lies in order to appear important in front of the, thus putting his daughter in jeopardy for his personal gain. Engrossed by the miller’s lie and future wealth the king insists that the miller’s daughter spin straw into gold in a matter of one night or be killed. In order to achieve safety she promises a manikin her necklace if he spins the straw into gold, in which he does. The greed of the king increases and the manikin is offered more materialistic items until she has nothing else to offer but her unborn child.

Once the child is born the manikin returns to claim it, the miller’s daughter becomes distort and bags for her child. He then offers her the chance to remain the guardian of her child if she can guess his name. This creates the idea that in life we all obtain second chances when in reality this is false, second chances are not easily obtained nor always obtainable. The choices made are the choices lived with. Although the manikin seems like a trustworthy person as the tale tells on, it is discovered that he takes advantage of the daughter’s desperation, playing it to his benefit. This indirectly shapes the idea that the female population is easily manipulated in society as well as dependent on the male population. That being female means that challenges and struggles must be settled by a male. This is proven when the daughter becomes dependent on the manikin and then dependent on the messenger of the kingdom in order to determine the manikin’s name. Yet again a male becomes heroic saving the girl in her time of need.

The hierarchy within this tale clearly states the differences between the upper and lower class as well as the contrast of the male and female power. Due to the era it was written in, this rang true but in modern times this no longer deemed as true. Woman has excelled with modern society becoming independent citizens. Although there still remains class structures the separation between has significantly decreased. In stead of King rulers we now have governments, in which the people of any class can express themselves, even women.

Category: April, Uncategorized | LEAVE A COMMENT
October 19

Gluten free lifestyle

I have always been fit and healthy, it just runs in my blood because my dad before me was also very fit. The day came though where my whole diet and life would change drastically. Celiac disease is when your body is allergic to gluten, meaning you can’t eat it. Gluten is in all sorts of wheat’s, oat’s, barley’s, and rye. It all began with a simple stomach ache, so my mom decided that it would be best to get a check-up. As time progressed the stomach pains were getting worse that was when I knew something was wrong.

Celiac disease affects millions of people, but it was hard to swallow that I was one of those millions. I just did not understand why me of all people, it really me frustrated me. Shortly after I got the results from the blood test the doctor insisted I get a biopsy done because there was a slight chance I may not have the disease. This news enlightened me because it gave me a glimmer of hope, maybe I wouldn’t have to stick to the gluten free diet. Afterwards the results came back positive on the biopsy, I knew I could no longer eat gluten I had to change. The shift from eating pizzas, burgers, even traditional Indian foods, was a challenge, but if I wanted to stay fit and healthy I had to stop. I stuck to the gluten free diet for about 2-3 months. After that period of time my doctor called me in saying my gluten had went down, so I made the unwise decision to start eating gluten again. By definition, celiac disease does not seem that bad, but I could not cope with the fact that I couldn’t have a simple slice of cheese pizza. It just did not sit right with me, but as I said before I want to live a healthy life.

Present day I try not to consume gluten, but it’s a struggle considering it’s in a vast amount of different foods. It’s been a little over a year since I’ve been gluten free, but it feels like it’s been so much longer. I still remember  the first day I felt sick. It was just a regular day smooth sailing through classes, but after school I felt really sick, and I was expierencing some really bad stomach pains. I thought it was just a regular stomach ache, but it turned out to be so much more than that. Fast forward to the doctors, as I am awaiting for the results I had no clue I was about to be hit with such shocking news.

The doctor comes in and shuts the door then he says “Gurvir, we have your results from the blood test”. I sat there awaiting nothing special from the test results. “Gurvir, you have been diagnosed with celiac disease”. I sat there staring at him expecting him to say more, but the words never came. I finally asked “What is that?”. After the doctor gave a quick explanation what it is I remained seated wondering how this could have happen. It may seem as though I’m explaining this disease as a world ending disease, but at the time to me it was. I was really upset about it, now that I reflect upon the situation it got me thinking that compared to other people I got lucky. There’s people out there with cancer, diabetes, there’s so many diseases out there, but I was upset because I couldn’t eat a pizza? It really made me appreciate how lucky I am that I don’t have one of those diseases. Although celiac disease has affected me and my parents greatly I still appreciate the fact that I’m healthy, and that I don’t have any other mortal diseases.

Category: Garry, Uncategorized | 3 Comments on Gluten free lifestyle
October 19

Keys to success

As I reminisce about the various times that I have been in need of help, but have not taken it one particular story comes to mind for me. It was the beginning of grade 11 that I faced one of the biggest academic challenges of my life to date. I began Math 20-1, class not expecting too much from the class, as I sat there waiting for class to begin. It hit me like a ton of bricks. From the first day in that class I was lost, later that day at home I sat there questioning myself. Am I ready for this year? Will I be able to succeed with my work ethic? Turns out this would be one of the many times where I needed help, but decided not to take it.

Although I did not ask for help in math, a lot of circumstances came into effect that ultimately led to not passing math 20-1. Unlike some people in my class I chose to take notes during class, and pay attention because I knew it would help better my learning. There would be classes though where my eyes would just be hooked on the clock, as it went tick-tock. I would dread the thought of doing math at home; I just could not convince myself to do it. In time I would see how much of a regret it would turn out to be.

On the other hand, to some degree I got myself together and pushed for a passing grade. Near the end of the semester I managed to get my mark to a 48, 2 percent off from passing. The final exam was looming over my head the thought of studying for such a class made me despondent to the goal of passing the class. Again I never asked for help when I really needed it. I got my report card; I had failed the class, now I knew the task was to be completed in summer school.

By the nearing of summer I knew I had to take math 20-1 again in order to gain the 5 credits needed, and to go on in math 30. Although my hate for the class had never been greater, I had a new focused attitude towards it. I knew I had to pass, so in class I paid a great amount of attention as usual taking notes. The real change came outside of the class, as I began being more proactive towards the class. I had now hired a tutor for the class, so I could get the help I needed when I was not in class. As the final exam was approaching in summer I felt more confident. My work ethic had changed, I was asking more questions. The final exam day came, I finished very quick and was eager to hand in my exam. I got my results back, and I had pulled off a 77% and passed math 20-1 quite easily. This example just shows how asking for a bit of help can benefit you greatly in the long run.

Category: Garry, Uncategorized | 1 Comment on Keys to success
October 15

Hockey

Hockey is a game of pure skill, so complicated in its nature, with hundreds of plays and despite this, there is only two outcomes; win or lose. It’s an all or nothing sport, your reputation doesn’t win games, the ability to prove yourself every game to your team, is what makes a great hockey player. Individuals don’t win games, as soon as a team realizes that, their chemistry becomes unbreakable, and we understood that from day one. We have grown as a team, for the past couple of years we have played together. This was our last game, the most important, that the outcome would lead us our separate ways, inevitably. Knowing that this was my last chance to perform for and with my team, I put it all on the line, I was willing to do anything to get this win.

6:30 PM, the sound of my alarm awakens me from a light sleep. Power naps are essential to my performance on ice, it allows me to clear my head and focus on what is important, while maintaining a well rested mind, mentally preparing, before stepping out on that sheet of ice. Upon arriving at the arena, I was greeted by my d-partner. For the first 15 minutes, we all sit on the benches in the dressing room, with a puck placed in the middle. Silence envelopes over us all, everyone focusing on the puck, no movement. A general thought comes to our minds; what is it going to take to win this game. These thought evoke concentration in us all, we fill the room with our thoughts, completely shutting out the world, and this is the only thing that matters. Then, we hear an all too familiar sound; the heavy feet of our coach. He enters in the same fashion every time, head tilted up, back straight, he stands there and says “this is preparation”, as if the atmosphere we created swallows him up, enlightening his very own thoughts. After his pregame speech, we are ready to go to war, keeping our composure, we stand and file out.

The arena opens in front of us, revealing screaming friends and family, the lights blind us momentarily and we hit the ice hard for warm-up. In an attempt to intimidate my team, the opposing team lines up on the centre line and start to stretch. Leading my team, I stop right in front of their captain, one of the only players in the league who can out skate me. We stare each other in the eye, my emotions start revealing themselves; nervousness, sweeps over my body, knowing this game is a do or die. With my teammate’s right by my side, they give me power, a synergy of strength, to stare down one of the best players in the league. Billy, our starting leftwing, snows some of the team, which results in a line brawl, nothing to serious. In conclusion, Billy gets kicked out, now down a player, plus Newbs, our starting centre men, who got kicked out the game previous, for socking their goalie in the face. This is when a good team is separated from the rest, and becomes great. A team who can face adversity, and perform above expectations will win any game, and that was our challenge.

Every time I was on the ice, and the opposing team had a rush, it usually left me with a slash or cross check. Getting under my skin, trying to get a reaction out of me, it was the guy that was staring at me when we were lined up stretching. Knowing that he had skill and lot of it, I had to perform that much more. Conflict started unraveling, built up from the previous games with a hint of tension. Emotions get the better of me, I start pacing on the bench, telling my whole team I am going to crush that kid, while cussing. The next shift I spot my target, and he has the puck, he starts to skate up the ice. My teammate provides some pressure, causing my opponent to carry the puck along the boards. I get in position, lining myself up with him, and skate toward him as fast as I can. My legs burning from the pressure I exert on them, adrenaline kicks in and everything goes numb. Closer now, I can just imagine myself towering over him after throwing him to the ground. At this point he is sandwiched between my teammate and the boards. We come into contact. An unmovable wall against an unstoppable force. The collision occurs right in front of my bench, in front of my whole team. The hit changes the motion of the opposing player in an instant, from forwards motion to none at all. Our helmets mesh together, denting both of our masks. He is thrown to the ground, smashing his head on the ice, sure to have a concussion and one from our helmets consuming each other. After the snow clears, I stand above him, as if finally grown and proving to my team that there all that matters, sacrificing my body. On my way to the bench, I stumble and fall, unable to see properly. Our trainer comes over and helps me, unable to speak; he tries to get a word out of me.

Throwing up in the dressing room, everything is a blurb. Our trainer tells me that I have a concussion, a serious one. Not able to comprehend anything he is saying, I just nod my head, trying to get him to stop talking to ease the pain. My team rushes in, celebrating because we got the win. Giving me high fives, because they were saying I won the game for them, telling me that there captain had to be carried out on a stretcher, I knocked him out. So excited I stand up, cheering with my team, hugging the coaches, tears start to build up, and for a second, I feel great. Then, I throw up again, my whole team laughs and they hand me a medal. I did it; I put it all on the line, sacrificing my body for the greater good of the team. Hockey is more than just a sport; it provides you with a sense of belonging, a sense of hard work paying off. I proved to my team and everyone out there watching, that were a family, unbreakable in will. One of the best days of my life, was sharing that moment with each and every one of them, knowing it was my last time I would ever see most of my family again.

Category: Connor, Uncategorized | 7 Comments on Hockey