FIVE THINGS I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT LIFE!

            A) I have learned that life can really stink sometimes, and we have to turn to our friends beside us to help us through it.

B) I have learned that God is going to be there throughout your entire life, and no matter how hard you try he will not leave your side.

C) I have learned that being a role model for others is just as important as having a role model to look up too.

D) I have learned that the moment you feel comfortable with your life, God will remind you that you are not in control.

E) I have learned that decisions you make really can affect the outcome of your future, whether they be in your education or social life.

Physical Therapy!

TODAY IS A VERY IMPORTANT DAY. A MILE STONE IF YOU WILL!

TODAY is the day that I begin my PHYSICAL THERAPY! and the road to getting better, and being about to do gymnastics again! Only 162 more days til 6 Months will be up! :) Now I know thats a long time and I seem happy about it, but believe me that is just the face that I am putting on most of the time. Now at nights, and times when I have a long time to sit there and think.... well lets just say it's not to pretty! Today is a lot of things really: February 18th, 2011, a Pep Rally, Flex Friday, another day with my BEST FRIEND BREANNA! The beginning of the Quote Project, and a new vocabulary chapter, Chapter three in the spanish novel, and studying for a Biology Test. Rather actually to much homework!! :/ But none the less this is a day that I will never EVER forget!

Xray's and MRI's

Soooo............

Monday, I went to the ortho doctor to look at my knee, I had Xrays taken and they revealed good knews, NO BONE INJURIES! but then again, that also partly confirmed what we had already thought, it is a ligament injury which can be just as painful and time taking as the other, they believe my ACL has been ripped or torn all the way. Now it is Wednesday and I am going to the doctor at 4pm. I think I am having a MRI done today! :) The sooner this all is figured out, the surgery done, the rehab begun, then the sooner I will be better, and back to the gym.

Another thing that was very interesting about the trip to the orthopedic center, was how much I knew about the Xrays, the bones, and medicines. The nurse practioner Lori, told me that she thought that she should be the student me dressed in scrubs with the clipboard because I knew everything about injuries and how to take care of them, with the RICE strategy (restriction, ice, comfort, and elevation), and with how much medicines to take, and in how many hours, and so on. She told me that if I hadn't considered it maybe the sports medicine field would be a good one for me. I thought about it and I think maybe that might be an interesting idea because of the fact that I am an athlete and I know how it feels to get injured and want to get safely back into the sport as quickly as possible, maybe if I did that then I would be able to help teens, and college players like me.

When the World Seems to End

 You know those days where it seems as if the world is ending, as if there is no hope in the world? Well Saturday, February 12th, 2011 is definitly one of those days! I was set to my compete my third event at the biggest competition of my entire year. I thought up pull twist, only for my thoughts to get interrupted by a split second of excruciating pain, and screams coming out of my mouth before I could think. After I realized what had happened I was holding my knee in my hand. and the orthopedic doctor, and athletic trainer beside me trying to calm me down enough to get the basic information down. The only thing I could think about was please don't let this be to major, I want to do gymnastics! The doctor proceeds to say three small letters. A.C.L. Those three letters seemed like a death sentence for me. For those of you that don't know I have been a hard working gymnast for the last 11 years of my life, with the dream of college gymnastics always in my mind. This ACL injury may be the end of this dream. Now i Know i am getting ahead of myself here. I haven't seen my doctor, but I mean what else could it be when I heard the snap, and it didn't feel like my leg was attached at all. I just praying for it to be the better case scenario, not the worst case, surgery and 6 months of rehab before even thinking of going back to the gym. I was so mad, well to be honest I still am, I don't know what I did to deserve this, and frankly I am a little mad that this happened when it seems like it always happens to the ones that want it the worst. If I didnt want anything, or try hard at anything maybe I wouldnt get hurt, but when you love something like I love gymnastics, it seems worth just about anything. I am just praying that I won't have to give it up!

Stupidly Bad.

It would be a very bad idea to...

1) jump off of a bunk bed when the ceiling fan is running.
2) not study for a quiz because you think you will have a snow day.
3) touch a plate of a hair straightener when it is on.
4) attempt to sled down a hill in a trash bag.
5) ride a bike off of your roof.
6) jump from one moving boat to another.
7) ski using bare feet and no skis.
8) tie yourself to the train tracks.
9) drink rubbing alcohol.
10) wear bows and funky clothes to a serious event.

Gymnastics Competitions

We are in gymnastics season now, I got gymnastics fever. Always in the gym, and last weekend I did the best floor routine of my life, I had good tumbling passes and dances. Here is a video about it, the first tumbling pass is the two front pikes, This is the first time I have ever landed this pass in competition, and the second time I have EVER landed it period. Haha, and the full (back flip in a laid out position with a twist 360 degrees) I had a mental block on since my surgery, for some reason after all the medicine when I went back to practice I could not remember for the life of me how to twist my tumbling. Finally one day last week my coach found a way to make me more confident in myself with this pass, resulting in competing it this weekend. It was awesome! Other then the fall on my head during warm ups for bars, yes I did say on my head. This meet was a success. I had a pretty bad headache and was extremely dizzy after my fall on bars, I finished the routine by pure memory of where the bars were with doing the routine so many times. Afterwards I laid there on the mat for about 30 minutes making the crowd, namely my mother and friends panicky. In the end, Josh said I didn't have a concussion that he could tell of, but he was worried about me, at the end of the meet (bars was my last event) he carried me to my mom to make sure that I did not get hurt walking off the floor, since we didn't want any injuries for the next weeks meet. Gymnastics can be dangerous, and yes you can get hurt, but I have decided that it is worth it for that one second you feel like you are flying when you successfully complete and  skill at a competition.

Gymnastics. Again. :D

So the year is continueing and I am getting into what I guess would be called the "meat" of my gymnastics season, the one where every day is practice and every weekend has something to do with gymnastics. For example scedule for the next two weeks: Monday coach gymnastics/workout, Tuesday: do gymnastics for 4 hours, Wednesday: two hours practice, dinner with coach and visualizing training, Thursday: 4 hours, Friday: 3 hours, Saturday: competition...! crazy stuff really, I mean that is almost 20 hours of gymnastics a week. I love it thought I mean I guess its worth it, but it certainly takes dedication and passion to succeed in gymnastics. I have started getting new skills which is very exciting news! In the past month, I have been much improved on the events. Beam: I am solid on every skill with every routine being pretty successfully, give or take those terrible days. Bars: I am getting more stamina and I suppose that even though they still aren't great the skills are getting better. Floor: I have gotten three or four news tumbling pass I am extremely excited for the next meet because I have three new tumbling passes in my floor routine :) Vault: My vault is getting much closer, yesterday I actually over rotated rather then landing on the butt. I mean that is always a plus! So I will let you know how the next two weekends go shortly!

Paff Day :)

So yes today is the well known world wide event known as PAFF DAY! Okay well maybe that was a little exaggerated but seriously PAFF DAY is the newest thing. It is where all the yearbook and US History classes dress like the teacher with the most style, who of course is Mr. Paff. Today I am wearing a black button up collared shirt, and a tie with khakis and sperrys. Pretty classy right? Haha. But also people will be wearing sweaters, sweater vests, mismatched ties, bowties, khakis what ever else they can think of. It is one of the most fun days of the month, and it is always on the 1st and 2nd of every month depending if you are on white day or blue day!