I just heard that my old schools football team just one their homecoming game. THATS AMAZING! We havent one a homecoming game since about 2003. The football team is usually awful, there were years when we were 0-10. In fact i even heard that the team is doing good this year and have lost 2 of their games. Last year we got lucky and actually won one. It was a good feeling because we were tired of getting blown out by every team we played, but the team we played wasnt that good. I never did understand why we lost till after the season was over. I truly believe that it was because of the mentality that we had. Everyone of the team thought that they were superstars. We had it all, those who tried to catch every ball with one hand, to those who thought they were so "perfect" and blamed everyone for their screw ups.

It wasnt all bad. I think the best game we had to have played was homecoming last year. We played Rappahanock, which is a school about 15 minutes from ours. Practice that week went like it usually did, the usual laughs, screw ups, big plays, and coaches scrimmiming us, thinking that they can beat us. When it was game time, the atmosphere changed completly. For some reason we where hyped up more than usual. it was kick off and Rappahanock scored on their opening drive. We were like ok, that's nothing, we got something for you guys. The next time that Rappahanock had the ball, my boy Carolmaine intercepted a pass and ran it back for a touchdown. We were tied up for about 3 quarters, which was a first because we were either behind the whole game or came back.

The whole night was brutal. Pads were clashing everywhere, people were getting rocked left and right, and most of this happened in the first half. We went in the locker room at halftime and it was different. The coaches didnt say anything, it wasnt nothing they could say cuz we didnt even give them a chance to say anything.

Second half was different. Maybe it was because of the locker room hype up at halftime, but i felt that we were hitting harder. They scored one more time and got a two-point conversation to make up for the missed field goal earlier. We responded by running a punt return all the way back. In the end we lost by one point which was hard. Suprisingly the coaches were proud of us, and didnt make practice that next mon. manditory like they did when we usually had a day of from school. Also talking with spectators in the stands, they said that we played the best that we had in a long time. I had one woman tell me at work that she was proud to see that we were determined to win, even though we didnt.

Maybe its because they took on that persona that we had during that game, but they are doing well this year, and I hope that they continue to.

One Month

Wow, I cant believe that its been one month since we got here. A whole month in a totally new enviroment. A whole month of meeting new people, trying new things. Its been a wild one compared to what im used to back home. Back home a month would go by so slow and uneventful. This month has gone by quick. Maybe because there is something going on almost everyday.

I cant believe that its been a month since I last saw my little brother and sister. my little brother is probably taller than me now. I know its only been a month and he cant have grown that much over that time period, but he's at the age where he's growing fast. My sister probably hasn't changed much. In fact last time I talked to her, she was doing the same exact thing she did when I left.

This month has been one of the best that I have had for a long time. Im just kinda sad that its over already, but cant wait to see what the next one has in store for us.

Confused

Im super confused. Before I came up here I was really diggin on this girl. I could see myself being with her for a long. Im not talking marriage, but a true relationship, not just phyiscal attraction. Me and her got along so good. Her personality was perfect in my opinion and she wasnt conceited. Everytime I talk about someone saying she was pretty, she would be like she isnt. We were super close in high school, and we still remained close after we gradutated.

The problem is that its a girl up here that's just like her. She has the same type of personality like her and is just as pretty. She's more outgoing than the chick back home and is alot friendlier to people she doesnt kno. And the best part is that she holds the same beliefs as me.

Its strange because I've only known this chick for about a month, and we didnt start holding conversations tell bout 2 weeks ago. Ive known the chick back home for about 3 years. Im just gonna have to play the whole situtation by ear, and play the waiting game.

Top 8

Here is a list of the Top 8 (I thought Id change things up because everyone always expects 10 or 20) things i miss about being a kid. Anyone is welcome to cut an paste and put their own responses.


8. Hide and Go Seek
Not the 3 person "you guys go hide and I'll find you". Im talkin bout the one where the whole neighborhood is involved and it has to be a tag team effort to find everybody. I say that because we would hide in tree's and fields and with about 15 kids playing, that person would be it all day.

7. Freeze Tag
it was cool in my opinion tagging someone and picking with them knowing that they cant move an inch.

6. Saturday morning cartoons
Does anyone else miss the classic looney tunes or superman. Now its stuff like Pokemon, Digimon, and Sonic X. Ok tha last one is cool cuz who doesnt love Sonic the Hedgehog.

5. Power Rangers
WHAT HAPPPENED TO THEM! The last time i watched them with my brother there was only three of them and it was wack as crap. The Power Rangers I watched were far from wack. Me and My cuzo used to watch it all the time. We even had the mophers and we would act out what we had just seen.

4. Birthday Parties with cake.
Maybe cuz i like to eat, but just because we get older doesn't mean that we dont want a party with cake and ice cream.

3. Bubble Baths
Toy boats and rubber duckie's. Enough said

2.Disney Movies
The magic of Peter Pan, The Lion King and other Disney classics. Ok the Lion King isn't really missing in my life cuz everytime my little cousin comes over he's like "Travi I want watch Lion King." Its the point that it those movies were so special and weren't didnt really rely on computer graphics, and relyed on animation.

1. Mom
Am i the only one that misses my mom washing my clothes, cooking my food, and her goodnight kisses.

If anyone does there own top 10 or 8 or whatever, let me kno cuz it will be interesting to read some of the things we miss from when we were younger, and it lets me know that im not alone.

In Class Assignments

My upbringin has always been good. Its really helped shape me into the man that I am today. My grandfather had a really strong hand in that. He practically helped raise me when I was younger. Dont get me wrong my parents were there, but he had a huge hand in how i was raised. Maybe because i spent more time at his house then his, or the fact that I was his first grandson. We would always ride together when i was younger. He would take me to his mom's house or his sister's house all of the time, even though he didnt even have a license. We would walk on his road, where we would just talk and I would ask questions that little kids would ask. I remember one time I saw a wild berry and wanted to know could i eat it, and he told me yea and ate it. He always teased me like that.

My Best Friends

Im kinda missing home, maybe its because almost everyone I know went home this weekend. Mainly i miss my brother and sister, cuz they are my life, and everything Im doing now I do for them. My lil brother is the spittin image of me. The only thing different about us is our attitudes and how we act. He's more the quiet type, while im quiet, but not super quiet like him. I jus miss talking with him in person cuz talkin on the phone isnt the same. Even though we had our differences and we often fought like we were tryin to kill each other after the fact we got even closer. It sucks because we just got super close this year and I jus left him around the time that he needs me the most cuz he's jus becoming a teenager.

My sis on the other hand is completly opposite from him. She's totally loud and we argue every chance we get, even now. Its never actually serious, often its hilarious. It hurt me to my heart when she cried when they dropped me off. She comes to me for anything; boy trouble, homework, anything. We have been close since we were younger, cuz i feel like i owe her for almost droppin her when she wuz 2 days old (not really but i tell her that all the time).

I really cant wait till i get back home so i can see them both.

Jus Chillin in my room

Sitting in my room, with really nothing to do really sucks. Its a weeknight and I got class tomorrow morning at 9, so there goes my plans to either go out or just chill with some friends. Those 9 0'clock classes are really killing me. Its hard as crap to go to bed before 12 any night cuz there is so much to do. So basically when i get up, its late and have to rush my shower and to brush my teeth. On top of that, I basically sprint to my first class.

The 8 o'clock one is just like being murdered, coming back to life, and being murked again. It really sucks cuz i try and get up an hour and a half before i have to be in class, so i gotta get up at 6-6:30. That usually doesnt work and I end up gettin up around 7:15. Because of that im usually late. An it doenst help that its a 2 hour and 45 min class. Hopefully I can get used to this new schedule so i wont fall asleep in class again.

I Wuz Bored, So I Jus Posted Sumthing About Nuthin

Is anyone else feeling the effects of college life? I have never had this much fun in my life, its great here. Its always someone around you can talk to, so its never a feeling of being lonley. Its people your age around, which means no fighting with your baby sister over something really dumb, like dropping a cellie. Its just so much to do here that it truly feels overwhelming sometimes. Even the staff is friendly, my RA's are cool, just do like you supposed to an they'll even join in and joke around. The only problem that I really have is the work load, Im not used to doing all of this reading and writing. Thats cool though, you kinda get used to it, no matter how much you dont want to admit it.

I just dont understand how people pass up the opportunity like this. I know people who have graduated long before me, and are still doing the same thing like always. At first I was punking out, I was like " do i really want to go away to a different state and leave my friends and family behind. Now Im glad I made the choice to continue my education. The people up here are great, and even though it doesnt sound like it, i enjoy stayin up late and basically sprinting to class the next morning cuz I overslept.

Music

Music is a major part of my life. Coming from the country where the nearest Food Lion is about 20 min away, activities are pretty limited. Especially when you dont have a car to get around. Its because of me getting tired of sittin at home, looking dumb in the face, that I picked up a pair of headphones. I used to spend about 20 dollars every month for batteries, cuz I would always be listening. Ive been through about 2 MP3 players (im currently without one, so if you wanna hook me up wit one, thats whats up), so i could listen to music wherever I go.

I try to listen to all types of music, except for country. I cant stand country. Im really feeling R&B right now. Not really the sex themes that some artist try and put out there, but the smoothness of the beat and of the singers voice. Ne-Yo, J. Holiday, Trey Songz, and Jazmine Sullivan really, in my opinion make the genre good. Other artist like Urban Mystic and Noel Gourdin bring that old school feel to it. Rap is a good genre too. Of course Lil Wayne is doin big things right now, but im mostly feeling Plies. Latin music isnt that bad either. Reggeton, Bachete (did I spell that right), Merengue, and others have a really nice beat and make you wanna move.

Being from the country, where some people cow tip for fun, anyone can see why music is a major part of my life.

Dear Grandpa

Dear Grandpa,

I finally made it. Right now im at the University of Maryland, trying to make something of myself. Its been a long time getting to this point, but I thank God for the time and bumps he through my way because it has truly made me a man. I still have child ways, cause lets face it, I took after you a little. I have this bad habit of teasing people, just like you used to. I took your place by picking with your latest great grandchild. You would love Butta, and would probably spoil him just as much as you spoiled me. He looks just like me except that he's Ashley's baby and not mine. Also Ashley finally settled down and got married to Anthony, and they just recently got a house. So far, they are so happy and that makes me feel good inside to know that atleast one of their plans and dreams is comng true.

I graduated top ten of my class, and like I said earlier it was a struggle. You always said B and G doesnt mix, and you were right. Spending more time looking at girls instead of studying almost made me miss the top ten spot. But you know how it is, you were young at one point. The family is doin fine, I just talked to them last night. Grandma is doing alright, she still misses you even though she doesnt say it, you can tell by the look in her eyes and sometimes she will just get so sad and look like she will cry. Mari and Rj have grown so much and we have grown so close, especially me and Rj. Daddy is not doing as well as he puts out. He has so much pressure on him right now, that it makes me push harder so that he wont have to worry about anything after im done with school, cause ima take care of everything. Mama is still the same, except that she is getting more and more like your side of the family. I gotta go now, but I just want you to know that we havent forgot about you, and its not a single day that I dont think about you.

Love Always,
Travis

First Blog Assignment

INSTRUCTIONS: Please share a little about yourself as a writer. Use the questions below as “invention” questions to stimulate your thinking, and post the answers to your blog. Write in complete sentences, using as many specific details as you can recall. At the same time, write quickly, without interrupting yourself to revise. This assignment calls for an informal, personal response, so it will not be graded for grammatical correctness. However, note that you may be sharing this information with the public through your blog, so it does need to be readable and not overly personal.





1. Introduce yourself briefly. Where are you from? Where have you gone to school? What educational plans brought you to the University of Maryland, and what fields of learning or potential majors interest you at this stage in your academic career?



Hi Im Travis Mitchell, and Im from Reedville, VA. I went to school at Northumberland High in Heathsville, VA. The reason I came to the University of Maryland Is because I was going to major in Engineering, but I didnt score high enough on the math placement test. Now I plan on majoring in Communications, while taking some Media classes, so I can combine the two.





2. What kinds of writing have you done in high school? At UMD? At another college? Outside of a school setting?



In school I would always write for stuff like projects and essays, up until my senior year. My AP teacher told us that one of our assignments for the first semester was to do free writings. Free writings were the easiest thing to do because you would write about what you would want. I haven't really done anyother writing at any other schools, or outside of a school setting.




3. What steps do you usually follow when you write a paper? Do you outline? Revise? Compose on a word processor? What part of the writing process do you find easiest? What part do you find hardest?



When I first start writing, I brainstorm so I can come up with a good idea. Then after I come up with a solid idea, I gather some info about it, either personal experience or actual facts. Next comes the outline, and then either the final or rough draft, depending on if i type or write. The easiest part would have to be writing because everything is set up, you just gotta put it in sentances. The hardest is coming up with the ideas.





4. What kind of writing has given you the most satisfaction?



Free writing because I can write about what I want, and it helps me clear my mind


5. What is the longest or most challenging paper you have ever had to write? How did you go about preparing and writing it? What did you learn about writing from that experience?

The longest paper that I had to do was the research paper that I had to do my junior and senior years in English. It took about a month and a half to get things straight and start writing. We went to the library and made note cards, and our thesis. I learned how to right a research paper and how to gather research from writing these two papers.



6. What do you remember learning about writing from other courses or other writing experiences that you found useful?

I learned from a Creative Writing class that in order for you to write a good paper, you have to keep the reader interested.


7. Assess your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. What are you good at? What aspects of your writing are you dissatisfied with?

When I write, i feel that im pretty good at keeping the reader interested. I can usually come up with ideas of the top of my head. My weakness would have to be my laziness to actually write. Sometimes I have to force myself to write.


8. What part of the writing process do you think you will need the most support with?

The Pre-Writing because like I said earlier I have to make myself write because this part to me is the most boring.


9. If you had your choice of subjects for a research project, what issues or topics would you like to write about?

If I had my choice of what to do research on, I would do it on a person. Nat Turner to me is an interesting person, in my opinion, even though what he did was flat out murder. I think he's interesting because he had a dream and hope, and he fought his hardest to get it.


10. What do you associate with the term argument? How do you feel about taking a course that focuses on argumentation?

When I hear arguement, I think of people who really dont get along with each other. Its gonna be very interesting to take a course that focuses on arguments because its not just one monotonous point of view.

High School

Does anyone out there miss high school besides me. Its not that i miss the building, cuz i wuz happy as hell when i walked and got my diploma. Maybe its the people and the memories that I have. My friends in high school were a random group of people, but we fit together good, like pieces of a puzzle. There wuz my boy James, who everyone picked with. He didn't care cuz he talked smack no matter what, from football to females. My boy Joe wuz the mouth of the group, and the loudest one. He could be heard from a mile away. My cuzo Pj wuz the crazy one, u never knew if he wuz serious or playin. Pj wuz also the biggest clown, meaning class with him meant never gettin anything done. Me and Terrell were the quiet ones, the only difference is that everyone wuz waiting for Terrell to snap. Yoli wuz the only girl i really chilled and cut up with with. I guess she wuz like one of my best friends, even though she wuz a girl. Her cousin Yazmin wuz something like a little sister to me.

The best memories that I have of high school happened my senoir year. There wuz that time that me and Pj put a pad in the boys bathroom. He had gotten it from one of his friends and we had strawberrys for lunch that day. This fool comes up with the idea to put the left over juice on the pad and drop it in the bathroom to make it look like, you know. The other memory that really stands out is when our government class took a trip to DC. On the way back, me an Yoli sat beside each other and really bonded. Thats when I realized that I had more feelings for here besides as a friend.

Like I said I think the only thing i miss about high school is the people and the memories. Good thing they will stay with me forvever