My first Summer Games

   So you guys know how I didn't post last  summer , so  I decided to post about  my first Summer Games.  My first games  were back in June.  I have been in Special Olympics for more than ten years and I have not had an opportunity to go to summer games until this year.  I actually got chosen for both swimming and track, but you can not do both so  I participated in my local track  delegation.  The games were held at UC Davis.    On Friday morning we took a bus to  UC Davis.  It left around noon.   There was a lot of traffic so we arrived in Davis around dinner time.  Once  we got off the bus, we were handed name badges and  wristbands. We dropped off our bags and went to dinner. The dining  hall food was amazing. There were so many good choices.  Below is a picture of my dinner  Friday night.

 After dinner, it was time for the Opening Ceremonies.  I got to hold the banner for my county.  Our coaches gave us matching  Blue shirts for the Opening Ceremonies. The opening ceremonies were lots of fun I just wished that they didn't use the word inspiring so much.

  Our dorm room was located on the top floor of the building.  There were two people in a room. My roommate was very clean, me  not so much.   I actually was kinda nervous  about sleeping because  this was the first time that I had slept away from home.   I thought I would melt down.   Turned out I was fine.  I just played iPad games and read the  book the  T and  D  gave me as my college graduation gift. I went to bed around one am which is my usual bedtime.


 My coached woke me up early on Saturday. I was very excited because  I had slept through the night without incident.   After getting ready and having breakfast  it was time to do  what I had come here for. I was going to run track.   My first race was the 100-meter dash. I  got bronze in that.  I did way better  in the shot putt.   I got gold  in that.

 Lunch was a bento box. The food  was really good.

 There was a dance  Saturday night. I  wore a dress and danced the night away.

 On Sunday. I threw  the turbo javelin for first place and had an  IRL  with    Beth, Patrick, and  Rene.  Later we had  the four by hundred relay. Our team got silver.

 Left  to right   Renee of Paraeducate,  Beth of National Catholic Board of Full Inclusion,  Patrick and  AZ 

I also got a temporary  tattoo.

 Me with my temporary Tatto a few days later. 

  I melded in all of my events.  Not bad for  my first Summer Games.

Unified Golf

             

         The  red ball is   part of  a campaign to get more people involved in Unified Sports. I thought I would share my  reflections from my first Unified golf tournament   Its an event to   encourage people to play unified.



 In August I played in my first Unified golf tourment. It had a  fun time.  I  got to know a fellow female golfer I will  call her Kim.  Kim is actually step mom to a guy  I went  to high school with.  We were even  able to meet up and practice on a  friday night. Which got me out of the house.    I  love  golf a lot.  I  played  golf in high school on the  practice team.

The Unified  golf it self is really  cool. It was the first time I played on the course in a tournament so  it  made it really exciting    I played Ok.  I had some bad shots but Kim was able to help me refocus and play.    We got sliver but I would say that  the other two teams were similarly matched.    I  really  wish  the special olympics  season was a little bit longer.    Our season was only eight weeks  long.  My  goal for next season is to play 9 hole individual  round.    Speaking of next year I really hope that I will be able to  make the trip down to  LA  next year  to watch the opening ceremonies next year.

 Here are some more  pictures

 WE both got medals because we both played hard. 

 On the course selfie

Spring Games

  Spring has sprung

 So  Saturday was the spring games. I had  fun. I  participated in track and field.  I ran the 100  and  4 by 100  and    the turbo   jave, a plastic javelin.   I was really nervous about running  my first race(  the 100 meter dash)  because I fell the year before but I did not  fall and got sliver.  In the four by 100   I  was able to pass up another  runner as  anchor for  second place. In  jav,  I got first because no one was in my division. Now  we just have to see if I  get to go to summer games.  It would be  a nice  thing to do in the summer.  If I do not get to go as an athlete this year I might go to watch since   I have never been to summer games.

Soccer

  My  AYSO  picture  from  eighth grade Fall 2005

  Today    had soccer practice and we  did  goal keeping. I  was  pretty  good  on the ground.   Just  call me   steel wall.

  Also did u know the us Para Olympics     has a  soccer  team  for males  with Cerebral Palsy 

Softball Sunday

 My  first ever SO event 2005

            Today  was softball for me.  Our  team did well  we got third  place  meaning we  won   one and lost one.

   On the way back to my area  I heard about the violence  at the     49ers  game.  For those outside California     there   had been an  similar attack on the fans at a  Giants   Dodgers  game  earlier this year.      These  two attacks  make  me reflect on something.   The  world should be more like  a special Olympics competition.    take today  for example.   During the  game we are all   want   to win.     Athletes  are   happy  when    their  team  wins and  get sad when their  teams  lose.   The major difference  is  what happened  off the  field.     People  have  friends  on the  opposing  team ( yes  some  of this  results  from  athletes  move  to  cities)  but  this isn't  always  the  case   during  lunch  time   a  athlete    came  around  to  ask  us  if we  wanted lickerish.  This  athlete    was  not  our  team  mate   but it  did not matter    the  person   had lickerish  and  offered  to share it.  Couldn't the  world be  more like  that     Have    a healthy  competition where everyone  tries  his or her  best  but   at  the end of the day  watch out    for each other  because   it is  just a game.   Please  remember this    the  next time you are  watching  professional sports

Summer Recap

Hay guys so just a quick note to tell you that tomarrow i go back to collage. I will be around however I am going to try to concentrate on my studies (you know not leaving homework til midnight) so my blog and FB may be negeted we will just have to see.

The summer camp job did not work out this summer but as you will see below I still had a fantastic summer.



I will try and do my best to post around here and read blogs. If I get comments that will motivate me to post hint hint hint :)

Princess started senior year but I did not get anything out of her as far as teachers go. I am not giving up I hope to document her senior year on this blog as the year goes on

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

My abilities abc style

This post was inspired by this post from   Ellen  who  blogs  at  Love That  Max in the post Ellen ,who was sharing stories about the 2011 special Olympic world summer game said Special Olympic is great because it is about abilities not disabilities I agree so much that I am going to post my abilities abc style

A I can get an  advocate for people with disables

B I can be beautiful

C I can catch a ball

D I can dance

E I can explore

F I can have fun

G I can go golfing

H I can hold a baby

I I can invite people to hang out with me

J I can jump high

K I can  kick  a ball  

L I can get licked by my dog

M I can make a movie

N I can be nice

O I can overcome  obstacles

P I can be proud of my work

Q I can be quick

R I can  raise money for a cause I believe in

S can swim and ski

T I can text people

U  I  can  understand   things 

V I    can    play   video games

W  I  can  run  really fast in the water 

X I  can sign  my name on the  X

Y  I  can   yack  people's heads off 

 Z  I can  takes  some  Z's

  What  can    your child  do ?  how  about  you  leave a comment  and  or  post about it and let me know  if  i  get  enough  pictures      I might make a  short   video  montage  

 Ps in case  you missed  it    a  look at the  2011 world Summer Games

Menlo Games 2011

     please commentt before u leave



 favorite  event  of the year

  I will be  uploading    more  pics soon

Why the R word hurts: a friends perspective

 signing the pledge last year 3-3-2010

     Back in high school I  spear headed   a new  club  called  Dons Disability Awareness  Club. One  of the  events  we did was a  Spread the word to end the word .  It was a great  event and many people signed the  pledge  and  I still have  numerous  wristbands  lying around the house.

   People  might ask  me  why I care so much  about the use of the  the  word   retarded.  I  mean I  do not  have   a intellectual disability.  I have  a physical disability   and a speech  disability but  not a intellectual disability so the  word is  just a word to me  right  wrong

     When I was ten  years  old my parents  signed me up  for judo at the local rec center, The  class  met  Tuesdays and  Thursdays  in the  gym  for an hour.  I  signed  up in February and  before long   my  friend ,she  is no longer my friend,joined shortly after   lets call her  B. She  was deaf and had  NVLD, like me, but she  was  in inclusive education  at the local elementary school which  was connected  to the  rec.  As  faith would have it her  new neighbors  would  move  in and they had  kids around   our age.  A fifth  grader,  a  year ahead of us, a third  grader and  a  four year old who was the only girl in the bunch.  The  third  grader  who we will call LM  happened to have Down Syndrome.   I met them  when  LM came to  join a judo class after  my friends mom  told  her new neighbor about the class  and  shortly there after   LM and I became friends.

   A  few years later LM was  at our same school  in middle school and the three of us always hung out together,. At the  time LM was  into  basketball so every lunch hour   LM and I would gobble down our lunches and  race to  the blacktop to play  in pickup games on one such  occasion we were  playing  with  a  other kids  in my grade, so  older then LM ,  and  LM was doing the best he could.  He  did not have  dribbling down,  needed  reminders of what basket to shoot  at, and  got too close  to the defender.   Most of the  other kids were vary nice to him and  gave him  the ball and  not block him and let him shoot but  on one  occasion a kid  who was  dribbling the ball  and  LM was  trying to steal it from  her she  said.

"GET AWAY YOU RETARD ."

LM  sat down  on the side of the  court  and  I fallowed  him.  I was  stunned.  B's mom had told me not to say that word to  LM and  now i knew  why. LM    was a charming fellow. He loved basketball and Disney movies and did  judo.  He was  full of life   but   the person who called him the R word had  taken all that away from him as if  she  had  popped a balloon that was LM's spirit.    

.

To this day the memory of that  day  is  vivid and  runs deep.  He  is the  reason why  I  started   Spread the word to end the word  at my high school last year. He is the reason why  Spread the word to end the word   will be there  this year  even though I  no longer   attend.   LM  was the first person I  really got to know   with a intellectual disability but he was not the last. B encourage  me  to become a special Olympics  athlete and  I now  know many people  in my area wit intellectual disabilities. People with  Intellectual disabilities are  people   who have  different personalities.    These people can be cliquish while others can be vary sweet and accept everyone.   But when   people  use the R word  they lump them all  together  in to a group that is beneath  the speak.  

 Having CP  which results in unclear s speech I  sometimes  get  treated as  though I have  a intellectual disability  due to my speech.  I know  the feeling  and it is not a good one. i  see  the  mindset  of thinking that  they are above me  and it does not feel right. I am  intelligent  but  even if i wasn't  I still would want to be treated with respect:Learning is  not everything   everyone needs to  realize  that a person is a person   who has  feelings  we  all   cry the  same tears. We all  feel sadness.  It is  what makes  us  human  so  think about that the  next time  before  use the  R word,

  Words DO Hurt

 Spread the word to end the word

 please comment before u leave




 got images  from

 judo- http://www2.nijmegen.nl/mmbase/images/964763/judo.jpg
 basketball-http://web.ocknights.org/images/basketball_cartoon.jpg
 spread the word  date for 2011-http://media.specialolympics.org/soi/files/spread-the-word/STW-Dated-Dark.jpg
 tear drop-http://wwwcdn.net/ev/assets/images/vectors/afbig/water-drop-clip-art.jpg
 Be a fan -http://nyso.org/STW2010.jpg

Sunday Grains of Gratiude

   please  comment  before u leave

  anyway grains of  graditude 

1.  My flim class is going  well and so is english  and history of my country
2.    My basketball game went  well yesterday I got a buzzer shot  and another shot. I am not sure if the videos will get up here anytime soon   If any one is friends  with me on fb  the  link is up on my wall.
3.    The wheather  has been nice  this week  it makes  walking to school   much easier  and   although it is  winter  ( no snow ever falls here  much to my dismay.
4.    For  plants vs  zommbies
5.   My sisters  did well in volleyball
6.   that the   packers won the Superbowl.  I actually watched  more of the game then usal  and was glad that the packers won because my brother is a huge packers fan

The Return of Sunday Grains of Gradtitude

   So Sunday  grains of  Gratitude  is  back.  I have not done this for  a while,but I  read them   recently  and I  really liked  reading about the little things that happened   week to week  I  like   re reading them.

1.   I survived  Winter break .  It was  two weeks between  my sister return to mine . These  two weeks  have  been  home alone  for most of the day  without a routine  so  it  gets  boring. I   did well but  am looking  forward to going back to school  on Tuesday.
2.   I helped take  down the Christmas   stuff and did a great  job  by myself now all the boxes  are down.
3.  I went  to a soccer game at my high school.  The team tied  when they should have  won  and  thus  Mr C  did not want  to  talk to me that much. That was discouraging but then  I am disabled   teen and  he had  a  newborn baby  and  his wife   but    at least I talked to Mr,MCG ( AP us history teacher)   Mr C wanted to  talk to one of  the older soccer player which  made   me feel invisible  but    i am disabled so it is ok.
4.  I  got to see LM.  I went to his house  after the soccer game ( much too my dad not so best wishes) and on  Sat  I  got a ride  with him and his friend who also has DS.  We had a fun time even though they were messing  with me   (  our high schools are ,or in my case former high schools,) rivals.
5.  I went to 2 basketball practice. On sat it  was rrc special Olympics and  today was the hmb  pre practice. I  think we will have a great season  .  At today's  pre practice I helped  one  a kid who is  my age with CP  sooo cool. This Saturday is  the first practice so  I will  take pics then. If anyone  who is reading this  and  lives in the area   hmb  is far but it is worth it.    
6. I am doing  grains of Gratitude again
7.  I went out to lunch with my mom Saturday afternoon.
8.  For MLK  he  made  my life so much better .  As an American American  disabled  female  his work  impacts me soo much,  I watch  the Imitation of life  and it was  interesting  to  see  the hate between a child  and her mother due  to  skin tone.  I hated the girl by the  way   I was   that into the movie

 Happy Sunday

Sad soccer story

  As  some of u know this year I  am playing soccer  for the local special olympics. it has not been working out so great. 

See there are two teams  on the pratice site  the  A team and the b team. I have been playing ayso for  a long time on the regular leagues(U6 -u14) I also watch my high school  soccer games and I know a thing or too about  soccer. I would classify my slef as intermedite to  pre advance  in terms of soccer skills. The coach does not so she put on the  lower team  the first pratice   with the hope that  if I coraporated I would be on the A team.   

Well yesterday  the head coach was'nt at pratice  so two nice men filled in. I did my drills and stuff and come scrimidge  I  tried to seneak over to play. The others got soo mad  telling  me i was not on the  team.  Most of them are friends with DD and it did not help that two weeks eariler  at bowlingI  got mad with DD and put  mutiplea ball in the guter  and  yesterday's pratice was the first  time  I had  seen everyone and  some new people got  anoyed with me.   Let me tell you right now  people with intelicual disablities can remerber bad things.  


 I ended up scrimigeing on the lower  team yesterday and did great got some goals saved some goals  on defesne too. When the coachs called  quits  I headed over to get some soda and some guy told me " Hay,ifyou play on the A team everyone will quit. "


 I got mad  partly cause I was caught off guard .  I had played on the b team  I was playing good. I started yelling i do not understand. Me and the guy have gotten along well up until this point. 

A award

 So  yesterday at Special Olympics Soccer practice    I  got a award for sportsmanship. I  was one of the first  three to  get the award for the 2010  season. I  had a great time   getting that award  it  feels good to   get  recognition for something positive

I  got the   pic from   http://photos-images.active.com/file/1/3001854/optimized/e3e10b17-52fb-4c1a-96e4-1033d47e9ba7.jpg

Joe Jonas fun run

In a week I will be running with Joe Jonas to benefit Special Olympics Northern California. Our region desperately needs the funds so we can have better uniforms , more sports, and expand our Unified sports. I need some help. My goal is to raise 1000 dollars and right now I have 170. Donate and with my permission blog about it on your blog thanks


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