Why Am I Here?

Every single person is placed on this Earth for a reason. Everyone has a purpose that, I believe, God put them here for. He gave us the ability to do something great with our lives, and some people find that gift right away, and for others, it takes a few years.  I have thought about why I am here and my purpose in life a great deal for the past few days. I have not come up with a decent answer. Sometimes it even feels like God is not paying attention to me, yet I know he wants me to grow deeper in my faith and guide me in my next step. Learning from my past, I understand that each step is a new journey that I cannot wait to take with God by my side.

                 Every day I try to find the reason why I am who I am. One of my best friends has grown deeply in his faith which has impacted me tremendously. A few months ago, I began to really pay attention to the messages in church, and I found myself praying more and truly putting my life in the hands of God. My faith began to grow more each day.  I felt that God was using my best friend to help me grow in my faith. God began to reveal to me my strengths.  While applying to colleges and stressing about everything, my father told me that God will lead me to where he wants me to be; I just have to have faith and give everything up to him. Psalm 28:7 became the scripture that I carry with me and that spoke to me the loudest, “The Lord is my Strength and my shield, my heart trusts in him.” From carrying around that scripture, I find it easier to live life in the hands of God.

                 College is a chapter of my life that I am so excited to explore.  I am looking forward to all the surprises that God has planned for me with one of those surprises being him leading me to the college that is right for me. However, I am going to struggle with getting into college because of my high school career.  It was not until after my junior year, my parents sat me down and told me that I did not know how to study and I was suffering for it. I changed how I studied.  I now study to “learn” instead of “memorize.” Now, I am looking forward to going to school and seeing what I can do.

                 I wake up every morning motivated to do my best. This motivation comes from my family and closest friends. There have been a few people who have made a huge impact on my life. There is one person who has always been by my side ever since I was born, my brother, Andrew Herron. Andrew and my father, being the two people who motivate me the most, constantly help me be the very best I can be. They have been there for me through the hardest times in my life and without them I wouldn’t be the person I am today.  Another major motivator in my life is my closest friends. Especially one of the closest people ever to me, she knows who she is. They always help me when I am down and are there for me for whatever happens. People who know me know that my family and friends are my number one priority, along with my faith. With basketball as a very close second, but that’s another story. There is no comparison, without my family, faith, or friends; I would not be the person I am today.

                Right now in life, I have no idea where I am going to end up or where I want to be.  My plan is to do my best on every task that is to come my way. I am going to do my best to put my life in God’s hands, and understand that he has a plan for me and he will show me the way. I am here to fulfill God’s plan for me.

               

Vietnam Medics

In the Vietnam War, being a medic was a very dangerous job. They had to risk their lives to save the lives of their fellow soldiers. The medics were extremely important for the whole platoon’s survival. According to Jimmy Johnson, a Dustoff Hall of Famer stated that “They gave us pistols and M-14s, but it was hard to use them because it took both hands to stop someone from bleeding”(Shaminder n.pag). Jimmy Johnson was one of few who risked their life in order to save another’s. He also said that he asked for help to carry a soldier back to the helicopter, but all the soldiers he asked just sat there and stared at him. Johnson had to carry the soldier himself. They refused to move or say a word. How can you blame them? They are getting round after round fired at their heads, and some medic is asking them to risk their lives to save a wounded person. The medics of Vietnam witnessed what most people never even dream of viewing. Doctor Eugene Fishman saw a soldier get his eyes blown out. “The bullet went into his right eye and exited his left. He was lying there vomiting up the rice that he had for lunch through what remained of his eyes sockets” (Unknown n.pag). Vietnam affected every person who served, but the medics of Vietnam had a total different view on things.

NBA vs. NCAA

Basketball is one of the most popular sports to watch. There is a ton of team work, movement, and enthusiasm involved with the game. The two most popular levels to watch basketball are NBA and NCAA. These two divisions are like playing the same game with totally different rules. Players in the NBA comprise a certain swagger, play a different game, and get paid more money to play basketball rather than NCAA players.

Players perform with a different sense of swagger in the NBA. When they play, they play with this sense of no one is their boss and they can do whatever they please to. This leads to incidents such as Ron Artest running into the stands and punching Detroit fans.  On the other hand, NCAA basketball players play together as a team. When watching college basketball, it is easy to tell that these athletes are unified and obedient. They are more fundamentally coached because most of those players are either walk-ons or getting their college career paid for to play basketball at that university. Professional basketball player’s swagger is more of a one person against a whole team rather than in the NCAA which is a team against another team.  NBA and NCAA have a different step in swagger when it comes to basketball.

                With NCAA basketball being more of a team sport, when watching you can see the ball being passed to the open man. It’s exciting to watch college basketball because there is so much movement going on to the point where if you do not pay attention you will miss an important play. On the other hand, the NBA is more of a “Let’s see if I can score against the five defenders while my teammates stand around the perimeter,” based attitude. The NBA is more about who will be on Sports Center next, and who will have the most points in the game. Unless you are watching a dominant player such as Lebron James or Kobe Bryant, professional basketball can get enormously tiresome.  When you have the ball in college it is all about finding the open guy, getting your teammate a good pass so he can shoot, or drive it down the lane so I can kick it out to my teammate for a wide open shot. More fans get into college games because they never know what is going to happen next or which team will come up with the big play to win the game.  It is a lot more fun to watch college basketball because they play as a unity which is a total different ball game than what the professionals are used to.

                NBA is, for the most part, about how much money an athlete makes. The more of an impact player you are, the more money you are worth. This is one of the main reasons why NBA games are so much different than college games because the NBA players already made it to the top and are thinking about salary while the college players are close but are thinking about winning with their team. NBA players want two things; a championship ring and an exceedingly high salary. College players can only get scholarships to play at a certain university, but it is as easy to give a scholarship as it is to take it away.  College players are playing for the love of the game not so much money while the NBA players love playing the game, and love the money benefits that come along with it.

                Although NCAA and NBA play the same game, their swagger, game strategies, and pay are in a completely different category. Both leagues contain some amazing basketball players, but these basketball players do not perform the same in either of the leagues. It is two different styles of basketball, one is filled with money and single swagger while the other filled with team swagger and the urge to never lose.

Is Government Necessary

Government is needed in every society; a country cannot operate without it.  The government keeps order in the country and is suppose to choose what is right for the citizens that live in it.  There are some forms of government that I disagree with, but those forms are still a whole lot better than not having one at all. Government is indispensable to any country who wants to be a country. It does not matter what form of government a country has, as long as it works that country will do fine.

                Without a government, people would be out of control. The government enforces the laws and makes the laws so every country is a safe country to live in. With a country having no laws to be followed, or no people to enforce these laws, the country would turn into mass chaos.  If the United States did not have a government, we would still be in a civil war. We would more than likely not be the United States of America; instead we would be a number of smaller countries on one continent. All in all I believe that our government, even though it has some faults, is in fact a very high-quality government. However, what works with us might not have the same impact on another country. “No two governments are, or even have been, exactly alike, for governments are the products of human needs and experiences.”  Every countries government is different, whether it is a form of democracy or a dictatorship. Every government differs in its own way. They all have one thing in common, they all have laws. Every government known has laws that the people are enforced to follow.

                A government provides the country with protection and public services. For example, the United States has one of the most powerful militaries in the world. If we did not have that important aspect we would be attacked and most likely taken over by other countries.  That would probably lead to the end of mankind because there would be no order or no rules to fall by and no one enforcing the rules. If it wasn’t for the government, we wouldn’t be here because of the cold war. The president along with important people in his office had to make very very critical decisions for the United States.  Not only did the United States have to make these decisions but so did the Soviet Union.  If it wasn’t for those two governments choosing what is right for their countries and the world, we would not be here.   Our government does its best to keep the United States as safe as possible.  Not having a government would cause a bundle of crimes that would happen around the world and no one would get punished for them. We need a government to provide protection and help us feel safer in this dangerous world.

                All in all, every country who wants to be a country needs some form of government to keep it going.  The government was initially created to help the citizens of that state to live a better life.  Government provides protection and security.  In the words of Abe Lincoln, “The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but cannot do. At all, or cannot, so well do, for themselves-in their separate, and individual capacities.” A country needs to have a government in order to operate and survive in today’s world.

My Old Car

My car needs to be traded out for a newer car. Every morning, it takes about ten minutes to start it. Once started, the car makes noise like it is droning and belligerent about being on.  Not only does my car make noises when it’s on and shakes when it goes over 40 miles per hour, but it is as old as Joseph who is twelve.  With my car being old, when Grace turned sixteen, she got a 2007 Ford Fusion.   This is part of the rationale why I should get a new car. I accomplish all of my many chores that neither of you inquire me to do. Also, I take the little siblings and little cousins to their sporting events, and have supported them every step of the way.  I take them anywhere they want to go, and if either of you ever need someone to go pick them up; I am the guy to do it. You two always say how you want me to be a safe driver and I have shown that to you so far. In driving to all of those places, I have not yet been in any accident or gotten any ticket for speeding. Plus, since my car is breaking down and not functioning correctly, it is not the safest vehicle to drive. In order to be safer, I need a better car.  I am in dying need of a new car; my car now is running its last course.