High School Schedule Woes

           This year at Manitou Springs High School, District 14 is implementing a dynamic new schedule that is centered on a shorter overall school year and more effective means for student participation and success. This change came about from numerous complaints ranging from the placement of holiday breaks to the very passing period lengths and was designed by the district to combat these unpopular issues. However, almost halfway through the school year, the innovative new look for Manitou is faltering, let alone accomplishing its goals.

            Manitou Springs High School has always operated on a four block system. The blocks lasted one hour and twenty minutes and were divided by lunch and a “free” period called primetime. Primetime split first and second block and lunch began after third. The school day started at seven forty and ended at two forty. The actual day-to-day schedule did not breed many complaints among students and parents, but the calendar year, more specifically the placement of finals and holiday breaks, irked countless students, teachers, and staff. With the old schedule, finals were completed after Christmas breaks, often requiring vacation study time and making finals more difficult to complete. In addition, the break would split the very end of the semester, creating lesson problems for teachers and ensuring confusion amongst students that have to endure an abrupt change in classes.

            In order to address these scheduling dilemmas, District 14 adopted a new schedule and put it into use at the beginning of this school year. School began later, with the first day pushed back to September 1, and the first semester was cut significantly, allowing it to end before Christmas vacation. Plus, the actual Christmas vacation was lengthened by a week, giving students about three weeks off school. The actual school day however, underwent substantial and somewhat unnecessary changes. Primetime was moved to in between second and third block and the passing periods between first and second block were lengthened to ten minutes. These changes also pushed back lunch and the day ended at three fifteen.

            While I somewhat agree with the decision to take finals before the holidays, the changes in the daily schedule have infuriated me and many other students. The longer school day, though criticized for obvious reasons, does not concern me as much as primetime’s new placement, rendering it useless. In past years, primetime served a variety of purposes. Students used it to meet with teachers, complete homework for other classes later in the day, eat breakfast, and socialize. With its new position in the schedule, primetime serves maybe two purposes mentioned above and has grown into an unnecessary school day aspect, offering students the opportunity to socialize and not much else.

            Breakfast is often overlooked in the new schedule. I know quite a few students who either don’t have the time or prefer school breakfasts that have been affected by this change. Who wants to eat breakfast at ten in the morning on a school day after waking up at seven? The new schedule makes breakfast unappealing and does not present students with the opportunity of a morning meal until almost halfway through the school day.

            Also, primetime has now been shortened, resulting in a number of additional problems for students. Even if a student needed to complete an assignment during primetime, its new allotted time slot makes it near impossible to accomplish any work. Thus, the student majority has decided to utilize primetime, a once effective and popular work or break time, as a socializing hour. While some socializing can be effective for students to break up a three-block long education marathon, I see primetime, and its elimination from the schedule, as an opportunity to strengthen other scheduling areas. That free time that came about from primetime’s absence could be added to lunch or even stripped from the schedule altogether, resulting in an even briefer school day.

            As primetime has slipped into disarray and misuse, the district is now implementing ten minute passing periods between first and second block. To me, this five-minute extension to walk from one class to another represents the epitome of time misuse and waste. Five minutes more in the day could be attributed to a variety of other school aspects. It could be added to our already short lunch period or primetime, bolstering its effectiveness and allowing students a bit more freedom to escape from school or meet with friends and teachers or allow them to leave five minutes earlier.

            Our current school schedule is floundering because of these unnecessary and somewhat useless weak points. It is detracting from education and is allowing students to turn to more ineffective and unproductive habits during their short breaks from class and does little to address the past problems, instead creating new and more prevalent ones. 

Fast Food Popularity:Feeding a Quicker Society

           McDonald’s, the world’s most widely recognizable symbol, has grown at a substantial rate since its creation in 1940 and fast food restaurants like it that offer quick, inexpensive, and abundant service are revolutionizing the very way in which society finds sustenance. Today, someone could drive through almost any populated area in the country and they would be greeted with a plethora of fast food establishments, all offering cheaper, tastier food. Although many popular fast food chains have been proven time and time again to contain very little or even no nutritional value, society continues to utilize these locations on a regular basis. According to a study performed in 2006 in the Minnesota – St. Paul area by CBS news, fast food chains have soared in popularity for their availability, low prices, and quick service, allowing them to expand and reach even more customers worldwide.

            Not only have fast food chains begun to riddle every major street in the nation, they are even now beginning to occupy historical, tourist, and sacred ground worldwide. Just recently, France has denied the addition of a McDonald’s restaurant to a section of the Louvre Museum and underneath the Eiffel Tower. Other countries have also had to deal with fast food’s ever-expanding presence, including Spain, Britain, and Italy, all of which have denied fast food chain construction at other prominent locations, like the Louvre. This is an example of the tremendous availability that fast food chains offer. Their proximity to populated regions makes them more successful and accessible to families or business men and women that either do not want to cook, don’t have the time to sit down to a meal, or prefer a cheaper and quicker food source. As these restaurants see more and more income in populated areas, they begin expanding their influence to tourist destinations, airports, museums, gas stations, and even stores. Even back in 1999, 700 Wal-Warts nationwide sported a McDonald’s, a number that has no doubt increased. Essentially, fast food chains now occupy almost every life aspect from the drive home from work or a vacation a thousand miles away, ready to serve food at a moment’s notice.

            In addition to their constant availability, fast food chains compete against each other over prices. Let’s say someone wanted a quick cheeseburger for lunch. They have the opportunity to choose at least four or more fast food chains that all offer a cheeseburger. However, when choosing, the restaurant that can boast the lowest price will receive their business. Everyday, society is bombarded with fast food advertisements flaunting their low price value meals and buy one get one free deals all in an effort to attract attention away from the other similar restaurant chains. Due to this constant competition, fast food chains have produced lower and lower prices, once again attracting more attention to their businesses and adding more reasons for families and people to abandon dinner preparation cost and instead substitute it with fast food. At McDonald’s for instance, one could order two double cheeseburgers, a small order of fries, and a small drink for just over four dollars, a meal that would satisfy even hungry teenagers. When compared with a dinner cost, four dollars would almost not cover a dinner’s portion, let alone enough to satisfy a family. This importance on low prices in the fast food industry has even begun to trickle down to sit-in restaurants that fear losing business to a cheaper fast food source, placing even more influence on price in sustenance and drawing innumerable people away from typical, sit at home dinners.

            Finally, a fast food chain’s main attraction occurs in its name. Society has developed to a point where time management and speed allow for success. In many cases, working citizens have very little time to complete work tasks and balance life’s challenges, even without the added inconvenience eating presents. They simply do not possess enough time to juggle work, families, and eating, so, they invest and search for quicker ways to add more time to the day. On average, fast food chains take about five to ten minutes from the order time to serve food to the customer, depending on the order’s size. Plus, most fast food restaurants use a dual operating feature, relying on inside dining and drive through window ordering, essentially providing them with double the income. So, customers could receive a meal and eat it in just about ten minutes, allowing them to return their attention to a different area like work or family.

            Fast food chains have provided society with a quick and accessible option to long meals that can cut into work, family, or personal time. These quick service times, coupled with ever lowering prices and ever increasing availability and proximity have allowed fast food chains to provide customers with a cheap, effective food source that allows for fast food growth and success in a society that requires consistent and quick nourishment.

Works Cited

Brox, By Denene. "Quick Fast Food Service Crucial to Success - QSR Magazine."             Quick-Service and Fast Casual Restaurant News and Information - QSR             Magazine. Web. 08 Nov. 2010

By. "Causes and Consequences of Fast Food Sales Growth - Statistical Data Included |             Food Review | Find Articles at BNET." Find Articles at BNET | News Articles,             Magazine Back Issues & Reference Articles on All Topics. Web. 08 Nov. 2010.

Nuclear Warfare: Stockpiling Destruction

Nuclear Warfare: Stockpiling Destruction

            Ever since their creation in the 1940’s, nuclear weapons have been proven to have the capacity to deliver massive damage and death in seconds. The world can attest to their awful power firsthand through the annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the Second World War. Over the years, nuclear technology in weaponry has evolved as scientists continue to push chaos’s boundaries. Today, nuclear bombs can wreak havoc on entire countries, entire continents, not just cities. The potential for a devastating event the likes the world has never seen could occur with the slightest push. Even then, world leaders like Roosevelt and Churchill were pushing to ensure that the destruction unleashed upon Japan would never again come to fruition at any time in the future and despite close calls, it has not. Nuclear weapons must be exterminated throughout the globe in order to achieve true peace and to ensure that the horror the world experienced in the past is never repeated.

            Many are still those opposed however, to eliminating such dangerous and harmful weapons. Why would anyone want to see continued nuclear weapon proliferation and creation, knowing the danger they possess? David G. Gompert, vice president of the Rand Foundation in Santa Monica, California and director of the National Security Research Division brings up interesting points surrounding nuclear weaponry and its tremendous influence on the world. Gompert argues that, in the United States security system, the country’s large nuclear stockpile does not pose a threat to national and worldwide security, but in fact deters violence. While he agrees that the US should attempt to diminish the importance and attractiveness in nuclear weaponry, he believes that the weapons must remain for possible retaliation purposes and to elicit fear in other nations that would seek to deploy weapons of mass destruction. He states that the most prevalent threat to any nation that could warrant a retaliatory nuclear strike results from the release of biochemicals, such as anthrax, on a large scale. In addition, Gompert stresses the importance on deterrence for situations regarding chemical warfare and insists that through intimidation, nations could halt chemical warfare in its entirety. Nuclear weapons would serve as the intimidating factor.

            Now while nuclear weapons may serve as a consequence for unleashing weapons of mass destruction in society today, their presence alone is causing an arms race that will cycle onwards, raising tension between nations. Even today, nations like North Korea and Iran, who have ignored the nuclear treaties set forward by the world, have the means, the technology, and the resources to not only construct nuclear weapons, but to use them. By enforcing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and increasing vigilance on stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction and taking an active role in eliminating already created nuclear weapons, dangerous situations, like in Iran and North Korea, would be stopped and inter-country tensions would lessen, bringing about global peace and trust. Throughout history, presidents and world leaders worldwide have opposed nuclear weapon development, dating back to Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” address in 1953. Even military leaders like Eisenhower, crucial in the decision to bomb Japan, recognized and regretted nuclear power and its effect on the war. Both Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev opposed nuclear weapons entirely, citing them as good for nothing weapons that could bring about human extinction.

            Perhaps the single most important contribution to nuclear weapon elimination, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was implemented in 1970 after being proposed by Ireland and Finland, and has stood as the benchmark for nuclear arms control to this day. In its three pillars, the treaty states that the nations practice the non-proliferation and disarmament of nuclear weapons while still possessing the right to research and use nuclear technology regarding other societal aspects. Today, the NPT houses 189 nations worldwide, five of which possess nuclear weaponry, including the United States, France, Russia, China, and the United Kingdom. North Korea, India, Israel, and Pakistan have either withdrawn from the treaty or did not sign, respectively. Just the fact that 189 nations worldwide are committed to nuclear weapon disposal justifies the danger that nuclear weapons emit. By abiding by the treaty, nations are agreeing to stop nuclear weapon construction, not spread or share nuclear weapons with others countries, and destroy dormant weapons created in the past. In addition, uranium and other nuclear energy sources that were used to power once active warheads have, in many cases, been used to instead in nuclear energy research and use. So, through the elimination of warheads, nuclear technology could increase, allowing society to use another energy resource. Overall, nuclear disarmament would reduce the likelihood of nuclear war, whether accidental or intentional and would aim to prevent the possible deaths of thousands or millions that could come about from a nuclear war.

            In popular culture and many other life aspects, a possible nuclear war occurrence frightens most. Nuclear weapons possess the power to destroy countless lives, countries, and even the Earth’s very biosphere and without continued efforts to stem its spread and creation, society will be reminded of the dangers it possesses. By eliminating weapons, society would never have to fear annihilation from nuclear war and would benefit scientifically and technologically from the implementation of nuclear energy to more prudent and necessary fields. Nuclear weapons must be eliminated for the dangers they pose to the society’s safety and the possible ramifications of their use.

Works Cited

"The United States Should Aggressively Promote Nuclear Disarmament." Nuclear             Weapons. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. At Issue. Gale             Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 29 Oct. 2010.

Gompert, David G. "Nuclear Deterrence Can Prevent Biological Warfare." Biological             Warfare. Ed. William Dudley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Opposing             Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 29 Oct.

"Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) | Arms Control Association." Arms Control             Association | The Authoritative Source on Arms Control since 1971. Web. 30 Oct.             2010. <http://www.armscontrol.org/documents/npt>.

Perfection, Framed

I have never known a place as strikingly beautiful as the A-Frame cabin, just below tree line on Barr Trail. Crystal clear, cool water from Cabin Creek flows directly through the site, splitting it and giving the surrounding area a healthy green vitality. I remember dipping my hands into this ice-cold stream, enjoying the numbing sensation in my cuticles as I lifted the pure refreshment to my lips. It tasted so clean, pure, and even welcoming. Sweet smelling flowers bloom from in between boulder crevices, and tall, itchy grasses line the valley’s sides. The foliage is magnificent, a colorful blend featuring purples, whites, green hues, and fiery reds. Above, massive sharp-edged rocks protrude over the cliff sides, casting menacing shadows onto the cabin’s roof. Far below, two shimmering reservoirs highlight the land’s ever changing characteristics as the sun reflects off their glassy surfaces. I always find it amazing how quickly the dramatic landscape can evolve. Just by turning three hundred sixty degrees, I can see flourishing vegetation, charred forests, breathtaking lakes, tremendous rock formations, and even glossy, snow-covered tundra. This area is so unique that the sheer beauty of it is almost overwhelming and despite the fact I’ve only been there twice, it remains in my mind, attesting to its perfection. Nowhere else can I find such a powerful geographic display, a display showing such a wide variety of distinctive topographic features that will forever embody nature’s true diversity and tranquility.

Language Invasion

Language Invaders

            “A man to be converted has to give up his will, his ways, and his thoughts. You cannot find, I believe, a case in the Bible where a man is converted without God’s calling in some human agency – using some human instrument.” Dwight Lyman Moody’s quotes exemplify the power a stronger culture can have on another culture, often resulting in the weaker culture’s submission to the practices and beliefs used by that stronger group. When a pushier language and culture encounters and dominates a lesser culture, that smaller culture adopts religion, language and other cultural aspects that often create divisions between the groups that could result in violence, death, and differences resulting in the weaker culture’s submission. The opposing cultures can combine through religion, language, and culture and the effects that their introductions bring about.

            When an established, stronger religion reveals itself to a weak culture, a culture that eager to experience others, the already superior religion tends to overshadow the beliefs held by the less superior. In the movie Hawaii, the Reverend Hale introduces the inhabitants on Oahu to Christianity and the idea that one God exists who contains immeasurable power. To the natives, who have practiced their own polytheistic religion for years, the idea sounds important. They see the white people as superior because they possess ships, money, and bring exotic items to the islands, therefore associating their beliefs, religion, and culture with power, power that they also wish to attain. Over time, Hale builds a church on Oahu and teaches its inhabitants about the new God, while ushering out the old traditions with distaste and vengeance. He destroys the idol’s temple and baptizes Oahu’s leaders, resulting in the acceptance of his own religion. Through this mass conversion, the Hawaiian people forget their old ways, losing cultural information to the power that Christianity presents while, at the same time, becoming more and more accustomed to the Christian practices. Soon, the very Hawaiian religion either vanishes altogether or becomes so smothered by Christianity that their remaining value system begins to crumble. The natives submit to a higher and more forceful religious entity.

            Language plays a vital role in a culture’s submission to a more dynamic force. After seeing the success and wealth that Christians and English speakers have, the Hawaiians attribute this to language. As the languages blend from dual usage, both cultures adopt aspects from each other’s languages. For example, English has many new words that are borrowed from other countries through exposure, like pineapple, French words surrounding medicine and warfare, or even Native American words like prairie or raccoon. However, the more dominant language carries more meaning in both cultures. Upon greeting the English missionaries, the leader demanded to be taught how to write and speak English at once. After learning, she then transferred this information to her subjects who in turn adopted it for their own, seeing it as a necessity for life. Eventually, the entire town spoke, wrote, and presented ideas in English, abandoning their first Hawaiian language. Just like their religion, the language fades into non-use and the Hawaiians again submit to a more prevalent means for communication, disregarding their own as unworthy or inferior.

            Culture, a people’s sole representation, also fails through constant conflicts between the two groups and belief adoption. When Reverend Hale first learned that the Hawaiians had sex with their own siblings or others without marriage, killed impure or deformed babies, committed adultery, and worshiped multiple Gods representing different natural aspects, he condemned the “violent savages” to Hell because he could not understand their opposing beliefs. Over time, his own beliefs, originating from a supposed higher and more powerful source, overturned the beliefs the Hawaiians held. Laws were created banning these abnormal actions and presented in English first to the people. Hale interrupted Hawaiian ceremonies and rejected teaching Hawaiian history that did not correspond with the English culture. Due to English’s increased presence on the island and the continued emphasis on Christianity, the English language, and the Hawaiian culture’s banishment, the natives had no choice but to embrace English customs as their own. The people recognized the prosperity that the white people honed and attributed it to the English customs. La Haina, over a few years, changed from an ocean side village to a bustling port. Everything from the Hawaiian’s language to their dress had changed to meet the English customs. Previously naked girls now wore dresses and men donned suits. The town boasted an infirmary, town store, sugar cane plantations, merchant shops, and even a hotel, buildings identical to an American town. However, as the English presence on the island grew, the Hawaiian presence petered out. A measles outbreak, brought to the island by travelers and merchants, devastated the Hawaiian people who had never encountered such a disease. They died in large numbers while the English stayed healthy. English businessmen bought Hawaiian land and built plantations to harvest sugar cane, often using Hawaiian labor. Rather than embracing the converted, they stole their land and used them to succeed, disregarding the native’s needs.

            As the weaker culture submits to the language, practices, and religion indicative to a pushier culture, divisions arise that result in disruption, death, and differences. The more established religion overpowers the weaker religion, resulting in acceptance to different beliefs not consistent with the previous ones. Languages change and are often replaced with a more recognized language belonging to a more powerful cultural group. Entire cultures and beliefs convert, resulting in massive and far-reaching changes that affect an entire community, exposing them to a foreign and unfamiliar value set. In closing, Dwight Lyman Moody’s words stand true. For with help from others, voluntary or not, a man or a culture has to give up his will to remain true to his history, his ways, and his very thoughts to accept another culture. In history, these cultures tend to submit to stronger wills and language groups.

Works Cited

 Hawaii. Dir. George Roy Hill. Perf. Julie Andrews and Max Von Sydow. Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1966. DVD.

 Moody, Dwight L. "Famous Quotes about Conversion." Book of Famous Quotes - The One Stop for Quotations Lovers. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. 

A Frame of Mind

A Frame of Mind

September 19, 2010

            I have visited my favorite place just twice throughout my life, although I intend to frequent it much more often in the future. It exists on the mountainside, an eerie oasis nestled between lightning charred timber and inhospitable tundra. Like a deserted island amid endless sea waves, this green meadow, teeming with life and beauty, contrasts against the stark, red landscape around it. My favorite place is A-Frame, a timberline shelter about 11,500 feet up Barr Trail on Pikes Peak.

            This triangle shaped cabin was first constructed as a shelter for trail workers during the Barr Trail’s installment, later becoming a haven for hikers dodging storms or resting. The cabin, which can sleep about five, also holds valuable survival materials, including water, assorted foods, matches, batteries, a radio, and other items for those who may be stranded in bad conditions. The cabin itself, a rare sign of civilization on the famous mountain, serves as a primary stopping point for tourists and Pikes Peak marathoners alike. From here, it is only five hundred feet up to timberline, the elevation where the land becomes too barren to support large plant growth and where hiking becomes more treacherous. The small clearing, boasting luscious grasses, stunning boulders, and towering pines, provides the mind with a final look at nature before the unfamiliarity and steep incline of the rocks above.

            Apart from the cabin itself and its uses, A-Frame is located off the trail in a perfect location. Crystal clear, cool water from Cabin Creek flows directly through the site, splitting it and giving the surrounding area a healthy green vitality. I remember dipping my hands into this ice-cold stream, enjoying the numbing sensation in my cuticles as I lifted the pure refreshment to my lips. It tasted so clean and even welcoming. Even more amazing, the creek’s origin begins a mere five hundred feet or so above the clearing, making the water pure, fresh, and natural, so different from the chemical drenched substitute in the city beneath me. Sweet smelling flowers bloom from in between boulder crevices, and tall, itchy grasses line the valley’s sides. The foliage is magnificent, a colorful blend featuring purples, whites, different green shades, and fiery reds. Above, massive sharp-edged rocks protrude over the cliff sides, casting menacing shadows onto the cabin’s roof. Far below, two shimmering reservoirs highlight the land’s ever changing characteristics as the sun reflects off their glassy surfaces. I always find it amazing how dynamic the landscape is here as well. Just by turning three hundred sixty degrees, I can see flourishing vegetation, charred forests, breathtaking lakes, tremendous rock formations, and even snow-covered tundra. This area is so unique that the sheer beauty of it is almost overwhelming and despite the fact I’ve only been there twice, it remains in my mind, attesting to its perfection. Nowhere else can I find such a powerful geographic display, a display showing such a wide variety of distinctive topographic features.

            When I’m at A-Frame, my only desire is to sit and observe. I smell the crisp mountain air and the flower’s fragrances. I hear the wind blowing through the pines, water running over smoothed and weathered pebbles, and the silence that true awareness brings. I watch the grass bend in unison to the wind’s will, the creek’s water carry away dirt, grass, and rocks to less striking destinations. It’s the place I travel to in my mind during stressful times, when I think of beauty, and when I need to visualize a spectacular location. Gazing out across the Rockies from so far above my home is invigorating. I concentrate on those powerful pointed peaks, gazing awestruck at their might, amazed that something so massive could rise from the flat earth. Life’s stresses, problems, and worries flow away with the cool water, and the land’s contrasts keep my thinking sharp and open to change. I feel in touch with the environment, a welcome change from the bustling, congested city life just down the mountain. My favorite place is somewhere I can escape, yet still be conscious to life’s occurrences. I’m able to accept and evaluate my thoughts in a very fluid manner, as if I’m meditating on my problems, successes, and tasks. On the cabin’s deck, I can think clearly, taking in the surrounding landscape and understanding that the very land, the very wood I’m sitting on exists to comfort my mind.

            To me, the comfort I feel at A-Frame originates from the contrast in the land. Different aspects keep my mind alert and adaptable, allowing me to take care in my thinking. The charred trees circling the sight bring more morbid thoughts, while the light green grass around the creek emphasizes peace, harmony, and self-awareness. The rocks and tundra above represent the difficulties ahead in life and the lakes further back on the trail could signify achievements, happy moments in my life that shine no matter where I am. Standing in the intersection between these landscapes allows me to stand at an intersection in my life. The past, present, and future then collide in a glorious moment. A-Frame, when I’m there, represents all my life’s aspects. It’s easy to take in the beauty and think back to memories or ahead to the future. I enjoy living in the moment and recognizing the details around me. So, in a way, the trail and A-Frame symbolize my life. As I see the land, I see my actions and myself in it. My frame of mind is peaceful and I’m able to take life as it comes. By hiking for a mere four hours, I’m able to journey to a life changing location that will forever reside in my thoughts. I’m thankful that I live so close to such a thought and emotion provoking place and while others may travel across the globe to reach their favorite place, mine remains accessible and close. It’s a very comforting thought. My favorite place is A-Frame because it creates an intersection in my mind, brought about by nostalgic scenery. 

Diving Into the Deep End

Diving Into the Deep End

9/10/10

            Almost every day of the summer when I lived in Sunset Hills, Missouri, just west of St. Louis, my family and I would travel the two minutes across Lindbergh Avenue and park at the Sunset Hills Pool for a day of relaxation and sun. Since my mom was a teacher, she received a free summer pass that allowed us the freedoms of the water whenever we desired. Being only about seven years old, I enjoyed the luxuries of the “toddler end”, a small, gated enclosure that boasted a very shallow pool near the entrance of the complex. Looking back, the water couldn’t have been more than two feet high at its deepest point but to a young tyke such as myself, I swore I was neck deep in the deepest water imaginable. I remember bringing my bag of pool toys, stuffed with miniature plastic boats, squishy pool balls, rainbow striped torpedoes, Styrofoam noodles, tiny colorful rings, and my assorted action figures that probably shouldn’t have been anywhere near the water. Spiderman’s paint eventually disappeared after the first couple of trips, leaving him very shiny and gray.

            Upon arriving, my dad would attempt to protect the car from the sweltering heat with a windshield cover, to little effect, as the rest of us, lathered with sunscreen and sporting cheap sunglasses and flip-flops, would check in and change in the locker rooms. From there, I would skip across the sizzling pavement to the little gate that served as the entrance to my temporary sanctuary. My feet sighed with relief as the cold water of the pool finally engulfed my steaming toes. Gradually adjusting to the temperature change, I would venture deeper and deeper into the blue water until I was about stomach high. My mom would bring the bag to me and I would enter an imaginary world where those pool toys came alive. The squishy ball repeatedly skipped across the gleaning surface of the water as my brother and I struggled to best each other. Plastic boats would catastrophically explode, careening into the water and sinking to the abyss. Superheroes would suddenly fall and splash, echoing sharply on the pool floor. Also, I’m positive the entire pool could here the slaps of the noodles on the surface of the water and occasionally on the bare skin of my brother’s back. I was content and dreaded leaving that wonderful place, that escape from home, school, sports, and all things stressful.

            One eventful day, as I skipped across the pavement to my hallowed ground, my dad called out to me. I turned and stared, confused as to why he was taking the bag and our towels to the opposite end of the pool, into adult territory under a large canopy. I followed, hesitant to the change. After we set up on a trio of pool chairs, my dad asked me if I would want to try and swim in the deep end. I had been expecting this day for a while, yet I didn’t want to abandon my sacred pool. I had come to love the familiar water, the gradual sloping ground, and the comforts of guaranteed safety. I didn’t want to abandon my toys for the inhospitable waters in the deep end. I couldn’t even see the bottom, let alone touch it. Like all children in situations demanding maturity, I responded with the opposite, a crying tantrum lasting ten minutes at least. Finally, I reluctantly agreed and followed my dad’s wet footsteps across the pavement, leaping to match his strides.

            As I gazed at the scared little boy in the reflection of the deep blue chasm before me, a battle was raging in the depths of my mind. I knew that many of my friends already frequented the deep end and I aspired to be like them, yet I was so fond of my little pool near the entrance that I had no desire to take that plunge. I yearned for the familiarity of those waters, waters that seemed now so far away from the lonesome blue beneath my soles. Frying under the hot sun, my tear-strewn eyes found my dad, floating about five feet away, arms outstretched, welcoming me to him. He didn’t understand how I was feeling. This wasn’t just a jump into deeper water; it was a deliberate step away from my previous comforts. I was straying outside of myself, speeding uncontrollably towards maturity. I didn’t want to embrace getting older just yet. I wanted to remain blissful and ignorant. I made my decision and bent my knees low, tensing my muscles for the leap into that cold blue. I pushed and felt my toenails scrape the concrete as I launched upwards. My arms flailed as I dove for my dad’s arms, as I dove for safety. My body collided with the chilling water and I submerged completely for the first time in my life. I closed my eyes and held my breath, waiting for death or some other pain. Instead, I felt only the steady hands of my father lifting me to light. The sunlight blinded me as I gasped from below. Clutching hard to my dad’s back, I struggled to regain my balance as I panted with fear. I could smell the strong sunscreen on his head that brought me comfort. I had survived the deep end.

            That leap into the unknown held much more importance to me than any other action I could recall from my younger years. It symbolized the development of self-discipline, courage, and responsibility within me. From then on, I only occasionally found solace in toys and the patterns of my youth. I found my mind being drawn more to helping others. Horseplay with my brother lessened, and I began to recognize the importance of maturity. The cold water in that lonely pool so far from my previous sanctuary had shocked me into a sense of being. It had revealed my weaknesses, allowing me to substitute them for life’s ever occurring realities.