The Euros

            This summer The Euros will be played in France. It’s a soccer tournament that is very similar to The World Cup, but instead of every country in the world having the chance to qualify, only European countries can. The tournament is played every four years, and is a great way to watch some of the best players in the world go head to head. National team games have a different vibe than the club team games that are on the rest of the year. You are born to a nation and, as an extension, its team. Each nation has to do the best they can with the players they are given, whereas club teams can buy and sell players as they deem necessary (assuming they can afford it).

             While many people believe Germany will take home the gold, as they did two years ago at the 2014 World Cup, I don’t think that they will. There are many teams that will be able to put together very strong teams that are certain to give Germany a tough time. England looks to be very strong, with several young players coming off of breakout seasons. France looks to be fielding a moderately older, yet very similar, team of recent breakout stars. Belgium has a few solid older players who can, hopefully, lead a squad of young talent to victory (they may be a little too young to do well at this tournament, but they will undeniably be a force at the 2018 World Cup and 2020 Euros). Regardless of who wins, the tournament promises to be as thrilling as ever, and I’m very excited for it to begin.

La Musique

         When I was younger I would listen to whatever my music my parents would play. This consisted of a lot of oldies and one gypsy kings album that my dad had an inexplicable love for. As I got older I wanted to listen to the songs my friends listened too, mainly those which were commonly played on the radio. I’ve used the same iTunes account since the fifth grade, slowly adding songs with iTunes gift cards I’ve received as gifts for birthdays and holidays. I bought songs that I liked that I’d heard on the radio, tv shows or YouTube videos, my library slowly growing each year. The discovery of Pandora was a revolution that showed me many terrific songs and artists.

            The past year or so, I’ve kept an eye out for new music coming from artists whose past music I’ve liked. When one of them is releasing a new album, I’ll listen to it as soon as I can, hoping to expand the list of music I like. What I’ve noticed is that I often won’t like an album the first one or two times that I listen to it; it takes a few run-throughs to start to realize which songs stand out. Coloring Book, an album Chance the Rapper released late last week, was just like this. The first time I listened through the album I didn’t really like it at all, but the more I listened to it the more it’s grown on me. As is expected, there are a few songs on the album that I really don’t like much, but a majority of the songs are very catchy and all-around awesome, so I’m glad I gave the album a chance to show me it’s true beauty.

Assassin/Stalking/Paranoia

            This week a majority of the Senior Class has partaken in a game of Assassin. We have a website that everyone who wants to play signs up on, and the website tells each player who their target is. I was worried that I would get someone who would be nearly impossible to kill, but luckily I got a girl who lives a few streets away from me. She also plays softball, so it was easy for me to know when she would be coming home. I hid in her bushes a few minutes before practice ended, and was able to “kill” her as she walked from her car to her house.

            If there’s one thing I learned from the game, it is scary how easy it is to acquire information about someone. Within minutes I, and many of my friends, were able to find out where our target lived and when they would be coming and going from their house.

I also totally underestimated how paranoid I would get while waiting for the person who had me to strike. It could have been anyone, and they could have struck anytime when I was not in school or at my house. Every flickering light or animal in a bush made me jump, and towards the end I was pretty ready to get killed so I could calm down. I even went to the YMCA in Woburn to work out because I was afraid I would get killed while working out.

It was definitely a fun game, but I’m not sure I would be quick to play again.

Playoffs??

           It’s NBA and NHL playoff time, and that means the bandwagon fans are coming out of the woodwork to support teams that “they’ve liked for years!” who are pushing for a championship/Stanley Cup after an impressive regular season. Unfortunately, the Bruins didn’t make it into the playoffs this year, which means I will not be watching much (if any) playoff hockey this year because I really only like the Bruins. Playoff hockey is one of the more enjoyable sporting events to watch, but I have a hard time staying interested in a sports game if I have no personal attachment to either of the teams playing.

            Luckily, the Celtics did manage to make it into the playoffs this year, despite not having a very impressive lineup. They’re seeded at 5 of 8 in the East, which means they’re matching up first round with the Atlanta Hawks (the 4 seed in the East). Since their seeds are so close, this series was destined to be close but difficult. It’s been back and forth, with the Hawks up 3-2 in the best-of-7 series. The Celtics have had some trouble and have been rather frustrating to watch at times- mostly because of poor shooting- but they have a lot of fight in them and every game (with the exception of game 5) has been exciting to watch through the end. Unfortunately, if the Celtics do manage to rally and beat the Hawks tonight (and take them down in game 7 when they don’t have home court advantage), I think they will have immense difficulty against Lebron and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Regardless, playoffs are always a joy to watch and they make the last month or so of school much more enjoyable.

The Big One Eight

         Well, it’s official. I’m an adult. Yesterday was my 18^th birthday, but in all honesty I don’t really feel much different. I still live with my parents, I still go to school every day, and I still enjoy hanging out with my friends doing nothing productive on the weekends. This is the case with every birthday I’ve had so far, though; it feels as though not much has changed. This birthday was kind of a bummer, officially graduating from being a child. The realization that I will be leaving the town I have known for the past decade and a half for college in a few months has really started to sink in, and it’s kind of bumming me out.

            I’m definitely ready for a change of scenery, but that doesn’t make it any less difficult to leave behind my old stomping grounds. I am so comfortable in Reading- the people, the restaurants, the traditions- I know them like the back of my hand. Because of this going off to college will definitely be bittersweet, but I’ll be back for Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations, so it’s not a farewell as much as a see you soon. Regardless, I know I am ready to move onto the next stage in life. School has grown kind of stale with its lack of independence in some regards (seven hours of mandatory class every day). Also, at this point my grades really don’t count for much so there’s minimal motivation to keep me going. My friends and I have also really burned through everything and anything fun to do on the weekends, so we’re all ready to go live it up at college instead of driving around the town aimlessly with nothing to do. My eighteenth birthday itself was nothing special, but it definitely made me think a little more of the impending change my life is about to embark on.

Easter Ramblings

            Easter is a weird holiday. It’s kind of like a half-assed Christmas/Thanksgiving combination. I grew up Jewish, so I never really experienced the religious aspect of Easter. My mom’s side of the family usually comes over to my house and we all sit down and have a tasty dinner together. It always gives us a good opportunity to catch up and share stories of funny and interesting stuff that has happened to us since Christmas- the most recent time (usually) that we had all been together to eat and have a conversation.

            Another great part of Easter is definitely the food. My mom always makes a big honey-glazed ham, which is dope because we usually don’t have ham at all, never mind honey-glazed. This year we had a small crowd for Eater, and my family didn’t eat much of the leftovers, so I can proudly say I ate well over half of a full ham during the past several days. On second thought, I am really not proud that I ate so much ham, and I don’t think I will ever be able to be kosher again, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

            I don’t think colleges give students Easter off as a holiday (obviously you get the day off because it’s a Sunday, but I don’t think they give you any days on either end of the weekend for travelling. It will definitely be weird to not be home to celebrate, but my family will make up for it with Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Misster RMHS- A Ballad

As I sit in the PAC,

I prepare for my act.

The first of April looms ahead.

How will the crowd react?

Last year my dance went off quite well,

The audience enjoyed,

When we all took our costumes off,

Our bodies filled the void.

This year I plan to do it all;

I’ll sing, I’ll act, I’ll dance.

The whole show will be fabulous-

Go if you have the chance!