Mt. Hood Aquatics

When I first joined the North Attleboro Swim Team my freshman year of high school, I did not know what to expect. Prior to joining, I had never swam on a team before so it was a whole new experience to me. As the first week of swim started, I was apprehensive if I wanted to continue since I was not on the same caliber as my other teammates were. The practices were brutal but extremely rewarding, as I strived to prove myself and to my coaches. As my freshman season was under way, a couple of upperclassmen took

My name is Alauna Torres and I am a student in the eleventh grade at Inderkum. I work hard to maintain grades in the IB Diploma program and struggle, just as any other student does. Last year, I joined Inderkum’s first swim team in six years. After practicing everyday for two hours, I made a bond with many people on my team. As a team, we couldn 't wait to get out of school, huddle together in the atrium, share food, stories, jokes, and insecurities. We tried to get everyone involved, hoping they wouldn’t feel alone or unimportant. As peers around, our job can’t always be fulfilled if our teachers, staff, and coaches don’t do the same to their students.

It is important to have deep and wholesome relationships with people in the community, unlike the relationships of Guy Montag in Fahrenheit 451. My swim team, and the people on it have given me a fulfilling,

During this positivity mission, one of the most memorable moments occurred at the Niagara LSC Championships. A few newer faces joined us this year, which was a perfect opportunity to get to know some of the swimmers in other levels. Following one of the new swimmer’s races, I turned to him on the bench and complimented his excellent race. I will never forget the smile looking back at me when he asked in disbelief, “You know my name and you watched me?”. My answer was simple, “Of course, you are my teammate”.

It was a sunny Monday morning before school, except we didn't smell the usual bacon or sausage. So we went down stairs and checked the clock. It was 12:30 P.M. Mom kept us home from school. We asked why, and she said “We are going somewhere that will change your lives.” My brother and I ran upstairs to get our stuff. Most people have suitcases that have their initials,but my brother and I are both A.C., so we have our names. Mine, Atticus Ceallach and his, Albion Ceallach. We both grabbed our suitcases, and packed whatever we could fit (which isn't a lot). As we were packing I saw a picture of me and my friend Brooklyn at summer camp. That was the next summer of my life. I thought about how much I would miss her, and a tear rolled down my cheek. I slipped the small

A community to me is people coming together and becoming united to help better the environment and the geography around them. Interpersonal relationships play an especially important role. This group’s relationship binds people together with the social glue of concord this means that relationships are viewed as real, organic and ends in themselves. People feel connected to others because they feel a unity of spirit and personal connection. Relationships are core

After a very long day of packing and loading things into our trailer, me, my brother, and my parents decided to hit the road and get to our campsite out in the desert. The trip was only about an hour drive and as soon as we arrived, we set up camp immediately. My dad is very dexterous and set up our fancy house tent in no time. The tent was a weird beige and orange color that had fake windows and everything, which means that it was pretty ostentatious because my family didn’t need a tent of that size. By that time it was getting dark so we just all piled our things in the tent and dozed off. In the morning, we all got breakfast and played around until about noon, when we decided to take our two ATV’s for a spin. I put on my little red

As your school’s most visible athletes your primary role is to build a sense of community and school spirit both on and off the playing field. Whether cheering at games, running a pep rally, hosting visitors, or competing at competition, always conduct yourselves in a manner that bring enthusiasm to your school and unity to your community.

As Black-kids society told us that we were not supposed to be competitive swimmer. No we to relegate ourselves to playing court or field based sport. The Black male swimmer role conflict arising out of my never having mastered any other sport involving a ball, court or field did not arise until a few years ago. The fact that I had a great “2 fly” did not give me any “cred” when it came to my lack of a solid jump shot or my inability to catch the ball at the “50.” This fact was undeniable in high school, where the swim team was white. Swimming on my high school team caused experience a lot of internal conflict. On one side, I would have loved to have friends of my own skin color swim with me, but they all went to public school and I went to private school. However, my private school swim team was much better and faster than the public high school teams my friends were on. So in the end, this simply made me live for and cherish the time I spent every day after school, practicing with all my friends on during DCPR

Joining a team with kids ranging from five to eighteen, it can be hard. It seemed as if everyone already knew each other. At first, I felt like an outcast, but not for long, once I proved I could swim fast. It took time learning names and getting used to the practices, but in the end my entrance into this group was easy compared to the practices I had to go through. My exit from DCPR was much harder, the coach’s said a few things about us at the award ceremony and then the team gave us a card and best wish in college and off we go. The coaches, swimmers, and the swimmers’ parents had become my second family. We all believed in hard work, having fun, and racing when the time came. Our norms were putting in the effort when swimming and if you did, it would pay off in the meets. Slacking off was never rewarded and always sanctioned. Either the coach or your parent, or both, would yell at you. At 12 I was given the infamous nickname, Snax. It was not necessarily a bad nickname; it came about because I had a habit of always having snacks. We all got nicknames, they were our folkways. It was just part of the culture of being on the team. Our more was practice; it started at 6 every day and had a set

Throughout my five years continuing on my sixth; I had never became so close to any sport/club offered at my school. Our team is considered a “family.” We stand by eachother through times of doubt and reminisce on our good memories. We enjoy the company of one another. Every Friday night before our Saturday morning races, the team would all sit down together and have a nice meal together. The team is a close knit group even with students joining and graduating from the

I was 14 and my family and I were going to Washington DC for a surprise party for my aunt. She was turning 50. My friend, Chloe, had always wanted to go to DC, it was on the top of her bucket list. When I told my parents that, they laughed and told me I could bring her with us. I was super excited to bring her along with us and I couldn’t wait to tell her. I was very facetious about asking her if she wanted to come with us. I told her that I could bring a friend and that I might bring someone else and just kept messing with her. When I finally asked her if she

The final piece of creating a new definition of community for me was being exposed to the Community dialog participants words. During the question and answering panel, I created a different definition of community by just listening to enriched experiences that the ladies had over the years. One of the presenter said, “ Whatever happens is yesterday.Today, we try. Tomorrow is a new day.” From this quote and the speaking of the relationships that had been created by community partnerships in this area, I felt my definition of community was bringing small part or resource like, Sister Carmen together to provided more for the whole, the children of Boulder County. I enjoyed listening to the stories of never giving up on a child even, if his or

The journey of competitive swimming started at the age of eight for my local `neighborhood team. I exhibited great potential for the future, for I won nearly all my races. This seemed like the sport

Participating in high school sports allows athletes to meet new friends and create numerous meaningful friendships with their teammates. Athletes who play multiple sports together and spent countless hours with each other begin to truly develop a strong relationship with their teammates that extends beyond athletics. Athletes begin to not only consider their teammates as friends but as their family. Playing different teams exposes athletes to building relationships with the opponent. After years of playing against each other, athletes begin to form an acquaintanceship which can develop into a friendship. The community enjoys following and watching high school athletics; therefore, the people form a relationship with the athletes. Some, not knowing the athlete personally, follow their success in the newspaper or on social media