"Phases"
Many people go through many different phases throughout their lives. I see this all the time with the kiddos that surround me when working in schools. This makes me reminisce back on all of the different phases that I went through in my schooling days whether it be Pokemon, Harry Potter, Halo, Sports, or school related books. This is the tale of the phases that I went through during my schooling days...Goosebumps, Coin Collecting, Crazy Bones, Mr. Popper's Penguins
During School back in the 90's, there were many crazes that kids went through (including me). The 1st and possibly one of the biggest phases of reading that I went through was the Pokemon craze. Everyone in my school was OBSESSED with Pokemon (whether it be the Gameboy video games, books and magazines, the playing cards, or the movies). It was crazy how much of my elementary school time was spent (or wasted) on this subject. In the risk of sounding like a complete Pokemon nerd, this phase of my life taught me a lot of different lessons along the way whether it be storytelling or interpersonal skills (I definitely didn't see it this way back then). I read every book, magazine, or news article there was to learn different ways that I could either better my collection of cards, hone my Gameboy skills, or beat my friends in battles. These books and magazines gave me tricks to use especially against my friends who were not reading the articles that I was reading. I loved watching the movies and cartoons as well. I think that the Pokemon phase led me into the next phase/craze of my schooling years: HARRY POTTER!
I absolutely loved (still love) Harry Potter. I remember the first time that I was introduced to the first book, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." It was the winter of 2000, 3 years after the book came out. In 2000, I was 9 years old in the 3rd grade. Every year at my grade school we had a book fair in the main hallway and each grade had a separate day to go to the fair. The 3rd graders went on Wednesday. I remember walking down the small hallway that runs into the main hallway. I turned the corner and saw the huge book shelves filled with all sorts of new, different books. There were life sized cut outs of different famous athletes next to the book that told the story of their lives. As I walked past the life sized Derek Jeter, astounded, I ran directly into another cut out knocking it right on the ground. I turned to see which athlete I just knocked over but was shocked when I saw a kid, my size, with glasses, a broomstick, and a scar on his head. I was a little embarrased as I picked him back up and put him in his place. I read the name of this mysterious character: "Harry Potter." I was intrigued that was for sure. I went to the shelf with all of the new Harry Potter books on it and picked up the 1st one I saw. There was this so called "Harry Potter" character on the cover riding a broomstick trying to catch some flying ball. As I looked at the book, I remembered my sister talking about a new set of books that was out about a wizard that is around my age and goes to school to learn all different kinds of spells. The wide eyed kid that knocked over the life size Harry Potter brought that new book to the cashier and bought it. And from then on...
I had no idea what I was getting myself in to. I found myself diving into the mystical world of Hogwarts and the lives of Harry and his friends. I couldn't put "The Sorcerer's Stone" down. Harry lived with his Muggle family (a family that does not do magic) with his Aunt, Uncle, and cousin. His parents were killed by the villian in the series of books, Lord Voldemort, when he was a baby and was left and the footstep of his Aunt and Uncle. As he grows up and turns 11 years old, he begins to get letters saying that he has been accepted to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. This is just the begining of the jorney that I, along with millions and millions of other toos with Harry and his friends. This is by far one of my favorite series of books and films. To this day, I still have all of the books and films from the Harry Potter series.
Although my Harry Potter phase never really faded out, I saw myself getting interested in another series of books: Halo. Halo was a military game and book series that was centered in an interstellar galaxy where war was going on between humanity and alliances of different aliens. Even though the video games came first, I liked them so much that when the books came out, I bought those and read every single book in the series. Halo became so big that the books were made into short-story adaptations, audiobooks, and finally comics. Just this year in 2015, a new Halo game came out, "Halo 5: Guardians." Although I haven't gotten the new game, my infatuation with the series is still alive today and when I eventually get the funds, I can see myself purchasing and enjoying the game.
I would say that the most important phase that I went and am currently still going through is Sports. All of my life, I have participated in sports. Even since I can remember, I had a ball in my hand. I was 3 years old when organized sports started. A story that my dad loves telling all that will listen happened in my first teeball game. Like I said, I was three years old and never played a baseball game in my life. I was on the White YMCA team which was made up of 3 and four year old boys and girls. I remeber practicing hitting the ball off of a tee in the backyard with my dad. I got pretty good at it but there was only one problem; I didn't run after I hit the ball. So, as I stepped up to the plate for my first career at-bat, I dug in with my tiny little Nike cleats and put my bat over my right shoulder. I swung and crushed the ball into the outfield! I started running and as I get halfway down the baseline, I recognize my Dad's voice. I hear him yelling, "WRONG WAY, WRONG WAY!!!" I stop dead in my track and turn to look at my coach. He is telling me to run the other way. When I finally realized what base I was running to, I was standing on 3rd. I hit the ball and ran to 3rd instead of 1st. That was the first but definitely not the last time that I was embarrassed while playing sports.
As I got older, I got involved in the three major sports, Football, Basketball, and Baseball. I remember in the 4th Grade, our class had to do a research project on any person on our teacher's list. I went up to her desk and asked, "Mrs. Jablonski, is there anyone that played sports on this list?" She replied, "Absolutely!! Take a look at the 2nd to last name on the list, Jim Thorpe. He was one of the greatest athletes of his generation." So, I took her advice and chose to do my research project on Jim Thorpe. This is the first time that I actually had to go find a book about a sports star and find the important things that happened to him during his life. I loved finding some fun facts about Jim Thorpe such as he played football, baseball and ran track. He also participated in the Olympics. This was one of my favorite projects that I ever had in school to this day!
I started playing travel baseball at the age of 10. I played for the same coach for 7 years after that and am still in contact with him today! My coach, Coach Ken, introduced me to my first psychological book that I ever read. In baseball, players are surrounded by failure. As a hitter, to master the game of baseball means to have success just thirty percent of the time (That puts you in the hall of fame). Immediately, there is an unavoidable battle with success and failure built right into the foundation of the game. I was struggling one season, and instead of yelling at me, he gave me a book. The book was entitled, "Mind Gym." This book is full of stories from professional athletes across all sports along with stories from the psychologists that work with them. It talked about faliure and how to deal with it. It gave examples that directly correlated with the struggles that I was having. I have read this book multiple times over the years and every time that I read it, I learn something new. This is the sign of a great book and I cannot wait to pass it down to the kids that I coach and eventually my own children.
To wrap up my phases blog post, I want to talk about my current craze, "The Hunger Games." As with Harry Potter, I love books that go along with films. Last summer in one of my English courses, Adolescent Literature, I was introduced to "The Hunger Game" series. We had to read the 2nd book of the series, "Hunger Games, Catching Fire." I fell in love with the characters and the stories that were told with them. I went on summer vacation up north with my family to beautiful Harbor Springs, MI. The weather was perfect and I couldnt have asked for a better spot to just relax. The only thing was, I couldn't put my tablet down! I bought the series on my tablet and read all three books the week that my family was up north. I found out a new craze and I was all in! After reading the books, I watched the films that went along with them. I finally had pictures to go along with the words that I read in the books. This is my new craze and I look forward to when the final movie comes out!!
