To be remembered…

To be remembered…

Everyone wants to be remembered for something. When someone dies, they usually want to be remembered for being a good person or making their children and loved ones proud. Sometimes people want to be remembered for their jokes, voice, actions, and intelligence while sometimes people want to be remembered for the bad things they have done. Whether it is making a statement and speaking out, or just a way to be thought of when they are no longer living. Of course, I want to be remembered as a good person and make my peers proud, but that is not the only thing I wish to be remembered for.
First of all, I aim for bigger goals because I do not want to grow up to be an “average Joe”. No, I have ambitions and goals that I am willingly working for. I set my standards high and if I meet them, I make them higher. I am not the type of person who would not go “the extra mile”. When I die, I want my children to realize that they should never give up on their dreams, no matter how bad the situation. I want them to grow up and not regret the decisions they have made in the past. I want them to be dedicated in anything they wish to pursue and I want them to be the most successful they can possibly be. When I die, I wish my children are inspired by me and most of all, I wish to be thought as of a role model.
Secondly, I want to be remembered for my personality. I am not the type of person who tries too hard to be liked by everyone. I do not like to act, talk, and behave the same as everyone else. Why live your life being average and fitting in with the crowd? Most people would consider me an optimistic person because I always try to find a way to make things positive. Since I love to make jokes, this helps be connect with other people that are optimistic as well. I like to send a positive vibe around the people I care about. Though it may sound like I love everyone, I certainly do not. I do not like the people who change their personality with groups of people just to “fit-in”. These types of people bother me because they represent the opposite of me. When I die, I want to be remembered as someone who stood their own ground and did not change to “fit-in”.
Third, I love to play tennis. My dream is to be a professional tennis player and I would love to win all the grand slams. If I could not achieve my goals as a professional, I would want to be remembered for the spread of tennis. Today, if you ask an average American how many grand slams there are in tennis, they would probably ask you what a grand slam in tennis is. Here in Brick, we have few courts and the ones that we have are in horrible condition. The nearest lighted courts are located in Toms River. The sport of tennis is such a wonderful sport and yet not many people seem to take interest in it. There are focused on the stereotypical tennis, where only old people in white clothing trot around and never break a sweat. Yet, these people do not understand that tennis is a tremendously difficult sport not only physically, but mentally as well. In tennis, you do not have a coach telling you what play should focus on next or why and how you are losing. On the court, it is just you and your opponent. I want people to realize how wonderful tennis is and for them to realize that it is a lifetime sport that is played everywhere around the world. When I die, I want to be remembered for the spread of my favorite sport, tennis.
To sum it all up, I want to be remembered for more than just being a good person. I want to be considered as a role model for my children. I want them to be inspired by my actions and words. When I die, I want to be remembered as someone would not change their personality just to “fit-in”. I also want to be remembered for spreading the wonders of tennis and inspiring people to take on this tremendously challenging sport. Everyone has to understand that everyone wants to be remembered for something, no matter how large or small the impact.

Susceptible Lovers: Juliet and Beatrice

Susceptible Lovers: Juliet and Beatrice
The great English poet, Shakespeare, wrote over thirty –six plays, including comedies, tragedies, and histories. Though it may seem strange, it is easy to show the similarities in one of his comedies and tragedies. Romeo and Juliet was a tragedy because it involves suspense and many deaths, including ones of the main characters. Much Ado About Nothing was a comedy because it involves many pun-filled lines and supplied much comic relief to the audience. Juliet from Romeo and Juliet and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing are equivalent characters though they are from different styles of Shakespeare.
First of all, both Juliet and Beatrice are very prominent characters in their stories. Juliet is a young princess from the Capulet family and Beatrice is the niece of a wealthy governor of Messina, Italy. In their roles they both possess power and are considered to be very noble. They both change dramatically throughout the play as they both mature. Juliet is a young thirteen year old girl who is not interested in the thought of marriage while Beatrice is young adult who is mortified of the thought of marriage and believes that there is no man perfect enough for her to marry.
In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet meets a young man whom which she falls in love with only to realize that he heirs from the enemy family of the Montagues. She is certain that she loves Romeo and will do anything to be with him. Their true love is tested when Romeo is banished from the city of Verona because he had killed her cousin, Tybalt. Juliet fakes her death and when Romeo comes to visit her “corpse” he kills himself. Juliet wakes up from her death only to see her true love dead and so she stabs herself with his dagger. Though they both died, they will be with each other forever.
In Much Ado About Nothing, Beatrice accidentally falls in love with a noblemen, Benedick, that she once hated. In the beginning of the play, Beatrice and Benedick constantly exchange witty remarks towards one another. The friends of Beatrice and Benedick create a plan for them to think that they are madly in love with each other but are afraid to say their true feelings. There plan succeeds when Benedick and Beatrice meet and exchange vows of love. The truth is revealed when the princess, Hero, dies and all the secrets are told. Though it was never true love, Benedick and Beatrice fall in love and happily marry.
In their own stories, both Juliet and Beatrice mature. Juliet acts older than her age and becomes a very strong independent woman who does anything to be with her one true love. Beatrice realizes her foolish thoughts and dramatically changes her personality when she discovers that Benedick loves her. In both of these plays it is revealed that the women of Shakespeare are a very dominant sex and they seem to turn out the most mature. Beatrice and Juliet show similarities because of the outcome of their story.
Next, it is considered that Juliet has more morals than Beatrice. Though Beatrice may have been younger than Juliet, she was most definitely more immature. She constantly relayed witty remarks and believed that no man could meet her standards. Juliet may have disobeyed her parents but she did this for her strong love for Romeo. Juliet also questioned the thought of it being true love while Beatrice gullibly fell in love with Benedick through lies. Though Juliet was more mature, she deserved what she got in the end. She made poor decisions and tested the respect of her father. She blindly fell in love and believed that she was destined to be with Romeo. Because of her questionable motives, Juliet killed herself because she could not love without Romeo. Though Beatrice was not as mature, she would not have taken her own life for any man.
Also, Juliet is a more relatable character than Beatrice. Juliet is a young teenager who believes in true love. She falls for a young boy and believes that she was born to be with him. She devotes her entire life to him, which in the end, is responsible for her death. In modern day, Juliet is like many young teenagers that believe in love. She does not think straight, sometimes losing her common sense, and blindly devotes herself to a young boy. Because of this, Juliet is the more relatable character of the two plays.
To sum it all up, Juliet from Romeo and Juliet and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing are equivalent characters though they are from different styles of Shakespeare. Juliet is the younger of the two and commits suicide for her true love. Beatrice gullibly falls for a man whom she thought she would never marry. They both mature greatly throughout their story and their personality changes dramatically as well. In these plays, it is easy to see what love can do to a person. Whether in a tragedy or a comedy, anyone can become a susceptible lover.

My Autobiography

My Autobiography

 

    It was a stormy blizzard-like night on the twenty-seventh of January in the year 1994.  While in the terrible weather, a man and his wife drove through the hazardous roads, rushing to the nearest hospital.  They were expecting their fourth baby, presumably a girl.  After a long strenuous night in the hospital room, a woman gave birth to a beautiful baby girl at three in the morning.  She decided to name her Marie Antoinette Stewart, after her mother-in-law.  But, her real name is Marie Antionette Stewart because of the fathers misspelling of Antoinette.  Fortunately, that was the only problem with her, she was as healthy as any other baby.  The mother brought her newborn home just a few hours later.  She came home to her two daughters and son, along with her husband.  She presented to them the latest member of the family, she presented to them their new baby sister.  That baby is me now, 15 years later.

    Within months, I was beginning to crawl, and within a few more, I slowly began to walk.  I was a healthy young toddler within years and my parents said I began to develop my own personality that was different from my siblings.  My mom said that she was amazed of how well I kept myself busy.  Normally with older siblings, the younger one always wants to do whatever the siblings are doing, but with me, that was not the case.  While they would play on the swing set and play hide-and-go seek, I would quietly be playing in the sand, occupying myself.  The thing that may have made a difference is the fact that they are all one year apart and I have a nine year difference with my oldest sister.  Though, at that age, it did not matter to me.  I grew up to be a healthy, normal child, until the devastating news my family and I had received at the age of eight.

    One rainy and cold January day, I approached my father because my knee was aching.  I told him it has been aching for a few weeks but that day was the most it has ever been.  He sat me up on the table and examined my knees.  He noticed that my left knee was warm to the touch and it was puffy and swollen, so like any other concerned parent, he and my mother took me to my pediatrician.  When the doctor examined my knee, he told us he was not sure what it may be and that he does not specialize in particular diseases, so he sent us to the nearest suitable doctor in northern New Jersey.  After the long travel, we arrived at the doctor's office and a nurse took me in to perform a regular check-up.  She was testing the flexibility of my joints and then got to my left knee.  When she bent it, it hurt so bad, it felt as if something in my knee was preventing it from bending.  As she slowly bent it, she saw the tears in my eyes and then straightened out.  After the nurses visit, we were then told to see the specialist.

    As I was getting a check-up from the specialist, she told us that I needed to get a blood test to see if we can find out what was wrong with me, until the results she told me to hang-in there.  A few days later, we were told to travel back up to the office to see her again.  That was when we heard the news, she told me that I had Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) in my left knee.  She told us that is was a mild form of arthritis that some children get at a young age.  She informed us all about JRA, that it is a treatable disease that could be healed but it is non curable.  Luckily, they caught it early enough for any serious damage to be done.  She told us about other cases of JRA that was much more serious and said that if I were not to be careful, it could become worse.  My parents were scared and I was terrified, I was only eight.

    Along with JRA, I had to take four pills a day.  Also, the specialist sent us to an eye doctor that specialized in patients with diseases that could relate to eye problems.  When we went there, the eye doctor informed us that with JRA, another disease in the eye may develop, it was called iritis.  As she examined my eyes, she told us that I had iritis in my right eye.  She then gave me drops in that eye.  Since I was only eight, my eyes were very sensitive.  I was crying when she put in the drops and she said that if I kept crying she would have to keep putting in the drops.  So I finally stopped crying and she put in the drops.  When it was over, I was so happy and I said to my dad, "Finally, I hope I never have to do that again!!"  He looked at me sadly and told me that I were to put drops in my eyes four times a day.  Again, I began to cry.

    After much discussion on the ride home, my parents and I worked out a medicine schedule and then took me to the nearest toy store.  They knew that I loved stuffed animals so they told me that I can pick out any stuffed animal that I wanted to.  I was so sad, but a little stuffed animal was able to cheer me up.  After the trip to the store, they took me to a diner to keep my mind off it.  There I ordered my favorite meal, spaghetti and meatballs.  I fell asleep on the car ride home and I woke up when we got home.  My parents told my siblings what had happened and they felt bad for me.  Especially since I would have to go to regular check-ups ever month for my eye and knee.  My relatives also found out and they all tried to comfort me.  It was great to know that i was supported by my family.  Around the time I found out about my arthritis, that is when I found my best friend, Sapna.

    During the summer, a new family had moved into the neighborhood, one house away from me.  When I was walking around the neighborhood with my sister, I saw a girl standing on the driveway, she looked around the same age as me.  My sister introduced herself to the girl.  The girl said that her name was Sapna and that she was starting second grade.  I introduced myself to her and told her that I too was starting second grade.  During the summer, she introduced me to her family, she had a sister and a brother that were younger than her.  She also told me that her parents were born in India and moved here.  She told me that she was Hindi.  Sapna and her siblings were outside everday with me, playing tag, hide-and-go seek, or basketball.  At the end of the summer, when school began, we hoped that we would be in the same class, but we were not.  Though, we were in the same class in third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and eight grade. 

    As we both grew up,  we helped each other through rough times.  We were both relatively smart and we continually challenged each other.  Sapna and I were always together, especially since she lived only a house away.  We always worked on projects together, or whenever one of us needed help with homework, we would help each other.  Over the past seven years that we met, we developed a great friendship and declared each other as best friends.  To this day, we are still the best of friends.

    Around three years ago, my father had to go to the hospital for his leg.  Since my dad was not very healthy, the doctor told him that he needed to get back in to shape so that he would not have to go to the hospital again.  My oldest sister was talking to him about what activites that he should take up in.  He told her that he used to play tennis when he was younger and that he would consider playing that to get back in shape again.  A week later, we hit the tennis court.  That very first day, I wanted to keep playing.  Something about tennis just clicked in my head.  I began to not only play it more often, but I began to watch it.  I developed a crush on a player, Andy Roddick.  I loved to watch tennis but when he was playing, I would stop everything just to watch him.  I joined his fan club and began to talk to people all over the world about tennis.  That is when I realized my dream.

    After watching Andy loose in the US OPEN finals to the great Roger Federer, I told my dad that I really love tennis and that I want to become a professional tennis player.  At first, he told me that it would be very difficult but if I really wanted to, he would support me.  I searched online and found the nearest tennis league and called them right away.  I played on a tennis league for the fall season and later the spring season.  Over the summer I joined the Atlanic Club for lessons.  I started improving, enough to start full match play.  After another spring season with the tennis league, I began to enter into tournaments during the summer.  After a few tough tournaments, I had finally won my first match.  I even remember the date, September 29, 2008.  Tennis started to become a serious part in my life.

    During eighth grade, all I would talk about to my friends was tennis.  I would watch every tournament I possibly could, and would even write the scores on the chalkboard.  That same year, I began to appreciate a certain tennis player.  His name is Roger Federer.  Then, he was the number one player in the world, and was a dominant force on the tour.  I admired him so much because of the way he handled himself on and off the court.  On the court, he was so elegant in his movement, his smooth footwork and his fluid swings.  Not only does he play so well, but he always has the right mindset.  Whenever he misses a tough shot, he rarely shows his anger.  Even when he hits unbelievable shots, he does not show his emotions.  He always leaves his opponents guessing or wondering what he will do next.  Roger's one-handed backhand was so fluid that it inspired me to change my game.  As of now I play with a one-handed backhand.  Not only does Roger play so well, he handles himself with great dignity and honor.  He treats every opponent with the utmost respect, as well as his fans.  Even though he lost in one of the most major tournaments in tennis to Rafael Nadal, he was still able to congratulate him and show him that he respects him.  Roger is someone who I admire, respect, and who inspires me to play my best.  Said my me, and most tennis greats, Roger is the greatest person to ever pick up a tennis racquet.

    My father knew how much I appreciated Roger, and the game of tennis.  So, on my fourteenth birthday, he surprised me with tickets to see him play against another tennis great, Pete Sampras, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.  The match date was March 10th and I eagerly kept waiting.  On the 10th, my father picked me up from school so we could take a train to New York City, instead of driving.  My oldest sister came with us and she was eager to see him as well.  When we arrived there, we found our seats and I was as hyper as anything.  I was so excited just to be in the same arena as him.  Finally the moment came when he walked out of the locker room onto the court.  I stood up for him and was shouting his name, i was thrilled!  It was the first time I have ever seen him, not in a picture or in TV.  When the match began I was quiet during every point until the point ended.  I was so loud my dad swore that Roger could hear me.  After the match was over we left the stadium and got back onto the train.  I declared it the best day of my life, and it still is to this day.

    Today I am still very passionate about tennis and Roger.  This year, I made the varsity team for tennis.  Though, incase an injury happens that could ruin my career, I make sure I get good grades and take challenging classes so I will have a back-up plan in my future.  I am hoping to get a tennis scholarship at a four-year college.  If I did, I not only would focus on tennis, but science as well.  Biology is my favorite class of the day, besides gym and lunch.  If I do not make it as a professional tennis player, I want to teach tennis or become a physical trainer because I love being active.  I am only fifteen and there are still many oppurtunites in my life.