Color Guard Reflection

Sophomore Iman Hearing swings her flags gracefully over her shoulder and takes her place in line. As one of six, she marches down to the football field in front of the band, chin lifted and smiling big.

Students usually have a hobby or activity that defines them in a certain way. For me, it’s something not so common and you don’t see it everyday. Under the Friday night lights, you will see the colorguard on the green stadium field throwing flags, rifles, and sabres in the air. They dance in a sophisticated way to the beat of the music and catch their equipment with exquisite technique. On that field you will find me, alongside my team members, performing to my maximum and creating alluring art. Although our routines are mesmerizing, being in colorguard also comes with hard work, dedication and difficult tasks to overcome.

Mark henan: We have any military veterans in the audience today? At ease all that “rucus”, what do you think this is? college? Greetings to chairman Davis. President Jackson. Members of the board and trustees. Family ,friends, and my fellow graduates. May I share, may I share, my story in an essay format. After high school I went to college for one term and quit. Joined the army and 20 years later I found myself in the final stages to deploy to Iraq. Unfortunately, I was injured. My team with whom I had a bond forged in steel went to Iraq without me, but not everyone retuned. They sacrificed their dream so that we could dream big. And today I speak for those who no longer have a voice. As the story goes my injuries left me immobile and I couldn’t

Before each and every game, the Virginia Tech basketball coach, Buzz Williams, explained to the team how important the National Anthem was to America, and everyone living in it. He brought in a group of Military Veterans to demonstrate a point towards the basketball team. There were chairs lined up where the Veterans would sit, and while watching the game from the sidelines. The coach brought the team over, and discussed to them that the chairs were not for them, they were for the Veterans. Buzz started explaining to the team just how important, and showing telling them things that they might not have thought about before; about how they gave up their entire life to go fight for our Country. Their education, they completely redirected their

I have shadowed two physicians during my pre-medical years. These experiences have significantly shaped the type of physician I want to be in the future. Not in the sense of a medical specialty, but rather in the sense of demonstrating a clear compassion and understanding for my patients.

Every day veterans are unattended to, or their appointments are rescheduled. So many veterans are homeless because they can’t or won’t be hired, to me this is unfair. I know many veterans that would rather not go to the VA or be cared for at the VA because of their lack of being cared. The way I see it is, if the people/ workers at the VA work there they should know what they’re getting themselves into. yes the VA is insane, and deranged etc., but hey if you work there stay committed to help and take good care of our veterans, to help the people who is or have fought for our country as a favor in return to

While attending The State of the Black Union I saw how the concepts that we learned in class are still prevalent in our daily lives. A comment that was made during the State of the union address at resonated with me was that College bound is a privilege. Living in the inner cities of Richmond I see this lived out on the daily. Virginia Tech’s efforts to try and reach the unreached population has been shy of their goals. Even with programs like Fall Visitation, Yates program, Gateway program, Access, there are still catered to a particular group of people. Virginia Tech looks at African Americans as a universal title instead of an individualize one. The aforementioned organizations attract those African Americans who are more

A few years ago, I was tasked with the opportunity to represent the United States Air Force by becoming a member of the Peterson Air Force Base Honor Guard. To most, this is a very difficult task due to the precision needed to perform during funerals but I was honored. I soon went through one on one training with Airman First Class Aros and he helped me get up to speed within a week. The very next day after my graduation ceremony, I was notified that I would be performing a funeral for a retired Air Force individual. My leadership dismissed me for the rest of the day to prepare my uniform for the performance and told me they will see me in the morning.

Last night, I was sitting cross legged on my bed holding Chinese take out in my hand while watching the new episode of Orange Is The New Black, which premiered on Friday at 12 am, long past my bedtime. I was behind everyone else in the game, only on the second episode on the third day of its release. The second episode dealt with a lot of issues, aside from Piper being convinced she’s Litchfield’s new “gangsta”, that I related to on a personal level. I’ll try not to reveal too much, if you’re like me and still on the second episode, but the audience finally got an inside look on Maria, one of the girls from “Spanish Harlem’s”, back story. The audience learned that she struggled with her identity as the daughter of a Dominican drug dealer. I, for one, am nowhere near

When I am asked to think of a situation that was intellectually challenging, my mind shifts directly to my experience in the color guard activity. While the activity is seen as simply a physical sport, there is a mental aspect that is adamant when performing. As a member of the color guard in a marching band, you are required to learn points on the field in which to stand at exact moments in the music, you have to learn to apply corrections, and you also have to fight through the frustration.

This semester I learned a lot about writing in English 151. It has been a roller coaster ride with these essays for me this semester. I learned step by step how to write a good essay and how to have your readers be engaged in what you’re trying to tell them. Each essay I did has taught me something valuable I can take to the next level of English. I feel as if as the semester went by I did not take my writing that seriously and that reflected in my grades I received in each essay. It made me a better student and writer and it will reflect next semester. In this essay, I will reflect on what I learned throughout this semester that you should apply in your writing when you begin English 151.

Too often in business as well as the military, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” (Powell, C #7). Too often the command as well as enlisted soldiers will use this analogy to continue to do what they have always done and fight change. Also this leads to allowing small details to be overlooked because it’s been allowed before, these small details, such as production schedules become larger details. These small little details will cause larger details to be overlooked in the future. This culture will foster reactivity instead of promoting proactivity (Powell, C #7). This type of culture is a struggle for leaders to change in the National Guard because of the hometown mentality, all though we strive to keep the since of community in our units as leaders we have to be the supporters of change. Be able to answer the “why” when it is necessary to move in a different direction, we have to be able to always look beneath the surface and not take situations at face value. When we have questions or concerns as long as they are morally and

When I read “The Yellow Wallpaper” I didn’t know what to think of it. At first I thought the husband was trying to kill his wife by abandoning her in that big old house, but he was actually trying to help her get better. It appeared that the narrator was suffering from some type of mental disorder and the only way to recover was to let her rest in that old mansion. As I kept reading I was so sure the wife was going to die because she was tired and cried most if the time. Especially when she locked the door and had a rope I thought she was going to hang herself. You could tell she was starting to get a little crazy when she mentions seeing things behind the wall. It does not say what she was ill from, but it sounded like she was mentally ill.

I was a freshman in high school when I began a new step in my life. Walking into the Montgomery County YMCA’s Wilson Aquatics Center, most people see a place to swim with friends, relax and improving wellness. Whereas I see a place full of rowdy kids, responsibility and potential danger. Looking back, the YMCA has taught me more than just important life-saving skills. I’ve learned important skills that I will need for the rest of my life.

What you know and believe in can change at any moment. We see a first hand account of this in the book Night. Everyday we see the jews face the horrors of the Buna work camp, as a result of this we see most people change their ethics. As fight or flight instincts kick in, people abandon their family and friends to survive. Elie fights an internal battle to keep his father alive and strong during these tragedies. As others around him give in to the cruel punishment, Elie himself wants to drift towards the darkness. When people are faced with such cruel punishment everyone changes to some extent. For some the change is instant but for most the process of breaking their will is extensive.