What Family Means To Me

           Family has always been known as the group of people with whom you are related to, “a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children… whether dwelling together or not” (dictionary.com), but family does not have to be restricted to that.  Family can be people who you feel closest to, the people who you can rely on when times get tough, the people you put the most trust in.

            In a New York Times article called “The Changing American Family” written by Natalie Angier, the author focuses on family as in the exact definition. She explains that people are starting to marry those whom they would’ve never married if born in an earlier time.  However, marriage plays a role in how I interpret family, it is an amazing thing.  You find someone whom you connect with on a special level and then invite them to merge their family with yours and begin to create your own family.

            Angier proves that as a family comes together they don’t pay attention to any differences no matter how big or small.  “In increasing numbers, blacks marry whites, atheists marry Baptists, men marry men and women [marry] women, Democrats marry Republicans and start talk shows.” A member of one’s family can come from anywhere so long as the trust is there in the relationship a bond is created that almost cannot be broken.

            My father has been best friends with someone since senior year of high school, they went into the marine core together and haven’t separated since.  From the time I was born I have always known him as my uncle, I never even questioned whether he was my dad’s brother, or if we related at all.  All I knew was that he was family and him and his family would be there for me and my family, he was at our family reunion, and even was at the funeral services when my grandfather past away.

            That was a long time in the making, he has been a part of our lives for almost 25 years, for me becoming family does not have to take that long.  Freshman year of high school I met a friend who within a couple months became a brother to me.  I recruited him to join the wrestling team, only because he could fit in the weight class we were missing.  Over the few months we became friends through wrestling and we found out that we lived near each other.  Ever since our families have become close and they were a second family to me.

            Both my uncle and friend are not blood related to me yet they still are family, there is this sort of mental bond that forms throughout a time of knowing someone.  In a lot of cases blood relation doesn’t mean anything, my mother’s entire family lives in Washington state, she was born and raised there.  Her parents had a bad divorce when she was at an early age and my Papa Tony stepped in to help raise and support my mother’s family.  Ever since “Pa”, as we call him, has been a huge part of my family’s life.  My mother battles with conflicting emotions being all the way on the other side of the country having to hear about all the stuff that is happening.

            All three different scenarios have completely different backgrounds and topics about them, however, in each case I explain another part of my family.  Family as in the people I can count on when times get tough.

Dictionary.com
"The Changing American Family" (Angier, 2003) http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/26/health/families.html?pagewanted=all

Portrait

            Almost a hundred fireworks lay by the side of the house.  I sat swinging by the lake on the 3^rd of July watching my father pace back and forth with anxiousness and excitement.

            The fourth of July was always my father’s favorite holiday, not because it was the day America gained independence from Britain, but because he gets to “blow up the sky” with the insane number of fireworks him and his buddies buy.

            Brandon Winn is a firefighter from Brockton MA, he was always the outgoing type which helped him in many aspects of life however firefighting turned him into a bit of a pyromaniac.  In Massachusetts fireworks are illegal however on the fourth of July the police give some leeway. Allowing the little things like firecrackers and the cool little race cars,

            In Maine however fireworks are completely legal, including the big stuff like roman candles, and mortars, with this type of freedom Brandon was able to go crazy.  The number of fireworks got bigger each year each friend that came around to watch would put in money for more and more pyrotechnics.

            This year was exceptionally exciting for Brandon, one of his friends tagged him in a video on Facebook of a man with two roman candle “hand cannons”.  Brandon being Brandon replied “I can do that shit way better, that all fell apart, we are breaking out the big guns for this one”.  And so, they did, buying almost 50 roman candles to set it all up.

         
            Brandon was never the smartest kid, he fooled around too much in high school and did not go to college he chose the military life joining the marines.   Yet he still is very smart when applying himself, although this may not be one of the smartest decisions he has made it showed how when he applies himself he can make a hand cannon out PVC piping, roman candles, and duct tape.

            As the day went on Brandon was getting more and more anxious by the second, the closer it got to dusk the more he was pacing.  Showing off his creation to everyone that was around.  He never put the thing down, everyone was getting in position for the test of if this thing will actually work.  With a tall can labeled “America” in one hand and the hand cannon in the other he waded into the water with two lighters by his side to help set this thing off.

            There were no injuries and everyone thought it was absolutely awesome, Brandon never fails to give a show and even though the idea wasn’t the smartest it went off without a hitch.  He always knows how to be just crazy enough where people say “wow ok” but don’t get pushed away.

Memoir

           

 The clock struck three o’clock in the afternoon in early February of 2017, the air was cold but not completely freezing. The type of cold that pants and a long sleeve shirt could keep you warm in.  However, I wore shorts that day, my pants could not fit around the large mechanical brace that was stabilizing my knee.  At about this time I was laying down on a hospital bed in the surgical unit of the orthopedic care center in Easton MA, my mind is running faster than a cheetah with nervous thoughts about what was about to happen. With my mother sitting in the chair next to me, we waited in an uncomfortable silence for the nurse to walk in.  

            The curtain pulls back, “how are you feeling today?” asks the nurse.  “Hungry, very hungry” I reply, “good I take it you followed orders and haven’t eaten since 10 last night?” the nurse asks again.  “yeah it was very hard to do I hope you know” I reply again with a nervous tone.  But it wasn’t the fact that I didn’t eat that made me nervous.  I was about to go through my first surgery ever in my life on what my orthopedic surgeon told me was one of the largest bucket handle tears he has seen.

            My right medial meniscus was torn almost halfway across and most likely couldn’t be repaired.  So, I had a right to be a little nervous.  I remove the large brace from my leg with help from the nurse, my knee was stuck in a slightly bent position, the torn piece was lodged in between my femur and knee cap, making laying down in that bed even more uncomfortable.  The pain I was in was almost unbearable, and I have spiral fractured my fibula, and hairline fractured the same one right after I recovered.  I have felt pain before, but none like this.

            The nurse had my mother fill out questionnaire and sign off on the surgery, meanwhile three more nurses entered the room.  The original nurse stood on the left side of the bed while the other three stood on my right.  They tried to distract me by talking about football and I was slightly thrown off guard when out of the corner of my eye I saw the other nurse preparing something.  I looked sharply to the left and saw a bright blue plastic package with a small needle in it. Immediately I knew what was happening, “my mom told you I didn’t like needles, didn’t she?” I asked.  Everyone laughed.  “Yes” the nurse said, “don’t worry it won’t be that bad”.

             I was not worried about getting the IV, the problem was that in my mind the needle would stay in my body and I would move my arm and cut the vein on the inside.  When I expressed my concerns about the needle she gave a demonstration.  The needle was practically a vessel used to insert a flexible plastic tube that stayed in place no matter where I moved my arm.  Feeling more comfortable I decided to take up the conversation about football while I was administered the IV, I felt a slight pinch but it was nothing worse than a normal flu shot I would get during my physical each year. 

             The IV was in and I was feeling good, the worst part was done all that was left was the surgery. Then a male nurse came in, he had a shaven head with a scruffy beard and carried a red bag.  “He is the one who is going to put you to sleep” said the nurse.  “With what? One of the tools he’s got in that bag?” I joked. “Actually, yes.” said the male nurse.  At that point he pulled out a needle that had to be 2 inches long and a half inch thick.  My eyes got wide with fear, everything about needles that I was scared about came back to me.  I started to move like I was going to get up off the bed, then I remembered that I couldn’t walk so it turned out to be a nervous shift.

            The nurse laughed “don’t worry” she said, “that is not going anywhere near you, that’s how he puts the anesthesia into the IV”.  The sweat that had been running down my face quickly dissipated an I felt better once again.  The anesthesia felt cold when it got to my veins, it was almost soothing like taking a cold shower after a long workout on a muggy day.  I said, “see you in a bit” to my mom and then the bed was moving.

            The sleep drug had already hit my system and I started to feel tired, “where are we going” I asked.  “To Disney World buddy, to Disney World” said the nurse.  I laughed and kind of shook it off, but part of me also believed him.  It had to be the drugs in my system, I was already feeling loopy.  The doors opened and for some reason I exclaimed “YOOOO WHAT IS UP GUYS!” to the doctors.  They all laughed and asked how I was feeling, “tired” I replied. “good you’ll be going to sleep soon just close your eyes and the surgery will fly by” said Dr. Palvovich, my surgeon.  As soon as I was in place for the surgery to begin I was asleep and on my own way to Disney World.

Rhetorical Analysis Pt. 2

           

             Kyle Koster author of Is Cam Newton Just Not Going to Apologize, an article written after Cam Newton gave a sexist comment in a press conference after the game this past Sunday.  One of the main reporters for the Carolina Panthers, Jourdan Rodrigue, asked Cam a question about the routes during the football game.  Newton responded with, “I think it’s funny when girls talk about routes like… it’s just funny” causing huge backlash nationwide.  Koster was very opinionated on the situation and expressed it greatly throughout the article, he used his opinion in the perfect way to persuade the audience.

            In the first parts of the article the author already began to express his opinion on how he believes Newtons remark was extremely sexists and was angry with the fact that he did not apologize.  It was as if newton made the comment to Koster himself instead of the actual reporter.  He states “Let's look at this situation through the eyes of a bottom-line obsessed cynic. Through that lens, it's even more astounding that Newton hasn't yet apologized.”  He uses the phrase “bottom-line obsessed cynic” not everyone knows what that means, however it sounds like he wants people to look at it through the eyes of even the lowest of people and assess the situation from there.

            The affect that line had on the audience had to be huge, by saying that even a person whom has the lowest standards would still believe that it is absurd that Newton hasn’t apologized.  With this beginning to the article his stance is already made clear, he believes that it is crazy how someone in that position could state something that far out and still think he could avoid apologizing.  Especially to a woman whom has worked for the Panthers for a year and a half. 

            “Given the opportunity to clear the air with [Jourdan Rodrigue] … Newton repeatedly declined to apologize or successfully de-escalate the tension.”  Koster then goes on to ask several open-ended questions regarding the Panthers and Cam Newton himself.  Using open-ended questions in the article cause readers to think and it can be a very effective persuasion method to get readers to agree with him.  For example, Koster asks “What is the end game? How can Newton and the Panthers be so oblivious to the fact that there's a cleanup here?” these questions get the mind going and asking oneself “wow he is right how can Cam come back from this?” 

            The audience at this point has to be at least somewhat persuaded into the direction the author wants, he sounds so attached to the subject that his opinions are starting to seem like facts thrown at you during a heated professional debate.  Koster doesn’t stop his opinions there, in the end he goes into how someone of that stature could attempt to fix what has happened. Yet, he states it is too late, he started to give some sympathy and it seemed as if he would help Cam in a way. Instead he says, “it's tough to fathom how Newton believes he can outrun this or wait it out … Don't hold your breath waiting for him to apologize”.

            Koster throughout the entire article continued to express his strong opinion towards Newton. It is very clear how he felt towards the situation, and he had a very good style of writing to express it, that got the audience on his side.

Link to article:

https://a.msn.com/r/2/AAsWTAn?m=en-u

Professional Biography

                     Devin J Winn, born in Fallbrook, California, lived many years of his life wanting to help those that suffer sports related injuries.  Throughout his high school life and undergraduate experience, he was a top wrestler at both schools, however he suffered a whirlwind of injuries. In high school, he broke his ankle twice and tore his right medial meniscus, and has suffered through knee pain and five bulging discs all through college. To this day he still struggles with the pain.

            Having gone through so many injuries, Devin has been to physical therapy plenty of times and pretty much already had the job experience needed before he even started working on a degree for it.  The one thing that really drew him to the field is how his physical therapist made him feel. Devin wanted to come back each day and get better. The therapist was able to connect with Devin by understanding his sport and not making the whole experience about the injury and instead talking about life in general.

            Devin didn’t get to wrestle the whole season through for three out of the four years in high school, the injuries either delayed his season or ended it.  This took a toll mentally. He almost didn’t want to wrestle in college, however going through physical therapy helped strengthen his back and neck and give him a better chance to not get hurt again.  Devin then wrestled through college and was successful, and got his doctorate degree from the Massachusetts College for Pharmaceutical and Health Services (MCPHS) for physical therapy.

            Having a sports related injury is not fun. Sometimes it causes the athlete to not want to continue the sport.  Going to physical therapy with someone like Devin will help you get better both physically and mentally. It’ll help you want to get back on the mat, field, or court with no fear.  Finding the right person to nurse you back to health makes all the difference and Devin can be that person.  No matter the injury he can find a way to relate to his patients and make going to physical therapy fun. You know what they say, “time flies when you’re having fun.”

            Getting injured doesn’t have to mean you’re athletic life as you know it is over. The world doesn’t have to end.  You can almost always recover from a broken bone or torn ligament. The process isn’t fun, but physical therapy with Devin will make the time easier.