Basketball Diaries

The book “Last Shot” shows what a basketball game is really about. It doesn't just show you the game and who wins; It shows you how all the competitors need to prepare immensely to attempt to win. It shows you how the players could throw everything away with their grades or selling team merchandise for a maximum profit. During the read of this book, you are Stevie Thomas, teen writing contest winner. You get to experience the time of your life (at least from his perspective), which is going and reporting at the Men’s Basketball NCAA Tournament Final Four. You discover what the reporters have to go through and maybe what the players are told to do. Basketball is much more than just the game, it’s life.

Sticky’s passion for basketball was the only thing that kept him going. It was the only thing he lived for. He dreamed of joining the NBA and going to the top universities, UCLA in particular. Sticky put in hours and hours at Lincoln Rec of tireless hard work. Even when Sticky had lost a finger, he still didn’t give up, “Sticky thinks maybe all that magic in his right-hand fingertips might be gone” (268). Yet still Sticky dazzles the coaches when he is invited to the training camp. The loss of Baby and the numerous switches of foster parents gave a notion of disappointment in Sticky’s life, but when it came to

Hoop Dreams, directed by Steve James, is an outstanding documentary that gives the viewer a perspective on several different elements on the life of a teen basketball player. The film follows Arthur Agee and William Gates, two basketball stars, who live in the rough Chicago area. The inner-city boys get noticed for their skills, and they are recruited to play for dominant team. The audience follows the boy’s journey with basketball, school, and general life matters. The film dives into the reality of living in the hood and chasing a dream of playing professional basketball. The corruption of the school system and sports are examined throughout the film. The audience follows Agee and Gates through their triumphs and failures in their chase to the top. The director, Steve James, uses the film genre of documentary for the story of Arther Agee and William Gates because it highlights the raw moments of their lives.

In the speech,”Everything you know about addiction is wrong,” spoken by Johann Hari, attempts to inform the audience about how society takes drug addiction the wrong way and is completely normal for a human to use drugs as a last resort in life. The presentation starts off when he explains to the audience the many different drug addicts he has met in his life a few years ago while traveling a long 30,000 mile journey. He then goes onto stating from his research that everything humanity has been taught about drugs is completely backwards. A experiment was done in the 50’s to show the relationship between drugs and social life. The reason people start drugs is not because they want to, but it is caused by not being able to bear a present in your life. Moreover, there is cruel punishments of drug abuse in America and how Portugal has tried to change it in their country. Luckily people can get over any kind of addiction when they have a friend or blood relative that they can call on if they have a crisis. Finally, people should be more supportive and open in their heart when it comes to others that have a addiction. The author uses logos and pathos to emotionally connect and comfort the people that have thought about drugs in their life and people that dislike drugs and addicts, but using ethos he tries to make a change in the natural drug habitat.

Individually, we create a metaphorical puzzle as we reflect on our life. These puzzle pieces represent all of the small-scale decisions we’ve made. Inside of those decisions, also consists of other people and how they influenced our upbringings. When this puzzle is put together, all of these decisions create one large picture. Specifically, Wes Moore’s “puzzle” obtains unfinished than other people, these pieces may not fit particularly well with other pieces, and they may never will. The reader may never perceive why Wes made any of the poor decisions he has made in his lifetime, nevertheless, there’s one large section of the puzzle that holds together–this would be Wes Moore’s influence from drug abuse. The idea of drug abuse continues to be frowned upon by other people. However, what most people may not understand is that there’s an addiction that comes with it, not an addiction to the drugs specifically, though an addiction to the lifestyle that came with it.

All around the world anyone can find people that are addicted to some form of drug. Drug addiction is a huge issue that has been occurring for about thirty years now and is occurring to this day for many reasons. Some of those reasons may be that something is going on back home and they have had enough, or because of stress, peer pressure, biological reasons and the list goes on. However, there has been law enforcement due to drugs since the mid 1980’s. People have many viewpoints to when it comes to drug use and addiction. There are three perspectives people have that view the use of drugs and drug addiction which are structural functionalism, conflict, and symbolic interactionist.

According to the NCAA, only about 0.03% of high school basketball players get drafted out by an NBA team. 0.03% is such a little percentage that it is the same chance of someone getting four of a kind in a first round of poker (www.norwichcsd.org/Downloads/ ProSportsOdds.doc). With this striking percentage it is amazing to think so many young players hope to make it to the pros. In the end, regret and defeat are much too common, a theme that John Updike features in his poem, “Ex Basketball Player”. The poem's persona, Flick Webb, was surely not one of those lucky 0.03%. Flick Webb was the star basketball player at his high school. Now older, he works at a gas station, sometimes reliving his old dream by gloomily bouncing a tire by himself.

You would think that people would stop using when they hear the statistics, or when they see their friend die because of it, but the truth is they can’t stop because they are already addicted. Alison, a young girl using states, “From the day I started using, I never stopped. “Within one week I had gone from snorting heroin to shooting it. Within one month I was addicted and going through all my money.” (International) The expanding epidemic of unawareness is taking its toll on the adolescents of St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and the rest of the world. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs makes it somewhat easier to understand why people use heroin. The top three levels of the pyramid, 1.social 2.esteem 3.self-actualization, show what people are trying to get out of using. Most people will begin using due to peer pressure and trying to fit in. What kids do not realize is that the first time using could lead to addiction. So they will continue using because it makes them feel better about themselves, it becomes a part of who they are. Pretty soon they look around and realize heroin is the only thing they have left, because everyone else has left. These problems teens are facing here in Missouri are the same ones they are facing all over the world. A recent statistic from the International Statistics of Heroin Addiction & Abuse reports that over 9 million people in the world are using heroin. (International) You read stories every day of

He assumes that drug addiction originated by younger years adversity in major cases; like many women who are addicted are victims of sexual assault in childhood years. Similar, he tells that males suffered “series of abandonment or severe physical and psychological abuse” (Maté 274) in childhood memory would easily be involved in addiction. According to Mate, drug addicts are usually in a state of unawareness; they can self-harm without feeling pain (274). Maté’s patient, Carl, thirty-six year-old native, angrily hurt himself with a knife as punishment for using cocaine (274). However, people misunderstand that addiction will not happen in families that raise children with a “secure nurturing home” (Maté 275). He argues that it still exists in those secure homes, even though they do not recognize it. In brief, Maté describes the mental factors such as stress, anxiety, and depression which are saddled “from family problem, or from outside circumstance” (274); this pressures can emotionally affect to the process of “endorphin-liberating interaction with their children” (Maté 275). He thinks children would rely on opiates to comfort their deepest emotions; it would be a best solution to escape their lonely world. For that reason, Maté confirms addicts usually blame themselves for “stupid decision” (Maté 275) after being suffered of drug starvation. In the last paragraph, Maté concludes his essay by stating “that is the great wound of all” (275),

Remember that boy in high school that was the star of the basketball team? He still holds most of the records for the team. He scored more points than anyone else in the school’s history. He never studied much because he was an athlete. His basketball skills were going to take him places. But high school ended and there are no more games to be played. Where is that former all-star now? In his poem “Ex-Basketball Player,” John Updike examines the life of a former high school basketball star. Flick Webb was a local hero, and he loved basketball. He never studied much in school or learned a trade because he was a talented athlete. Now years later, the only job Flick can find is working at the local gas station. He used to be a star, but now

Addiction is a disease that I will battle for the rest of my life. After being sexually assaulted at the age of twelve, I started to self-destruct. Lack of parental support, less than pristine living conditions, and an addictive personality paved an expressway to a life of addiction. I chose to hang with undesirable people, and was introduced to Marijuana, LSD, Ecstasy, PCP, Cocaine, Heroin and eventually what became the love of my life, the prescription painkiller Morphine. Never did I think that trying pot would have a domino effect. It led me to try harder and more addictive substances ultimately turning my life upside down. Often publicly

Although, there are many efforts to reduce the stigma of addiction, false concepts among individuals still persist. Many individuals may describe drug addicts as “people who are morally weak and cannot control their impulses”, or simply just “people who cannot get their life together”. Such misconceptions suggesting that

In the chapter "Rat Park," it is said that addicts are swarming everywhere in the nation today. The reason why there are numerous of people that are addicts are because the substances are easily obtained or available, and also because the substances are the only way people can cope with things.

Addicts can still pursue normal lives. They can clean their apartment and even have a job. For example, some of the psychiatrist’s patients actually worked jobs while addicted to heroin. Sally states that addicts have time to make other choices and do other things. These addicts could seek out treatment or even quit cold turkey. She has evidence of some of her patients quitting completely. So it is possible for addicts to make other valuable decisions and choices to benefit them and lead them to quitting. However, relapse can occur but during the time they are not using the drug they have a choice to do it or to not do it. Internal and external cues also play a role in use of the desired drug. For example, in the external cues if a person sees something or even hears something it could trigger them into reuse of the drug. Another example, in the internal cues if a person feels stressed or bored that can trigger their reuse as well. There are also factor that can cause the patient to not reuse the drug such as going to jail, disappointing their family, or losing a job. Some of her patients came to a point of self examination and that led them to want to fix their current addiction. The small choices like who to spend time with is crucial during the recovery phase because they could cause relapse. The

Although some people argue for the legalization of drugs, addiction to these substances has caused a huge increase in violent crimes in the home, at school, and on the street. Many people do not understand why individuals become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to create compulsive drug abuse. They mistakenly view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem and may characterize those who take drugs as morally weak. One very common belief is that drug abusers should be able to just stop taking drugs if they are only willing to change their behavior. This is a false and uneducated belief. Drug abuse may start as a social problem or social escape but one the addiction has taken ahold of a person