Joining English 111 I did not know what to expect. I did not know anyone that would be in this class. The first day I walked in and I saw two kids who I knew but never really talked too. Matt Opolka and Joey Berglund aka “Ferg” would go on to be two of the closest kids I met this first year of college. We sat by each other everyday in class, sharing jokes and making memories that I will never forget. This past weekend we spent three night together in my dorm with the boys and we had a good time. Hanging out before everyone goes back home for the summer one last time to finish the year off strong. The three of us decided to do a project together on Yooper Joe and the legendary Bigfoot. This consisted of us going to Presque Isle and capturing the legendary Lake Superior and the Edmund Fitzgerald with the ghost shape in the background. The three consecutive legendary nights that occurred in room 162 will be remembered forever. The night usually started off with a couple of sodas and watching Lil Dickey music videos ranging from the greatest video all time, “pillow talking” to “ex boyfriend” and Matt’s favorite “90’s”. The line of those nights were “brain gotta poop” from pillpow talking. From Thursday night and just chilling in the dorms, from Friday going to Logan’s apartment and never losing in pong and Lizzi coming in at 2 am, and Saturday to me standing on the wall for most of the night. The nights of college will never be forgotten as long as you take pictures or have a very impressive memory. The boys will never be forgotten, can’t wait for the next years of my life to be with these guys.

#162

If I could have any job in the world I would work at Wayne enterprises and become the new batman. I would destroy the old batman and make million taking over his business and bruce wayne could do nothing about it. The new company of our course would be, Ferg’s enterprises because ferg would be my sidekick, similar to robin but not really because robin is a bitch. Ferg would be genetically engineered to be a badass and fight bad guys and date babes. Together we would dominate the world, ruling from the streets of Marquette to the sports illustrated swimsuit models, I call dibs on kate upton. Our enemy would be matt aka the riddler, his jokes would fool us but we would still beat the crap out of him because ferg and I are much bigger than he is. During the day we would only work for about 3 hours, grab food, and sleep the rest of the day because we need our energy for the crime we fight at night. Can never fight on an empty stomach so our pregame meal will be a quick trip to mcdonalds in the batmobile, mcdonalds is a great source of carbohydrates and excellent source of protein with those delicious beef patties. We would probably also make a quick trip back around in the morning before we went to work because they have amazing breakfasts there, we all know that. The one problem about my job is that I would have to much money and have no idea what to spend it on. So I would probably spend it on all the beautiful Kate Upton because she is the love of my life and she deserves to have whatever her heart desires. I would also donate money to the orphanage because Bruce Wayne did it and I cannot let him be better than me.

Dear Americans,

               I would like to thank you all who voted for me during this year’s election, and for those of you who did not, you lost and that sucks for you. We together as a nation will turn our country around and get back on top. We will succeed this task by winning wars, giving individual’s jobs, and by finding out who killed Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. As President of the United States Of America I will make sure that our NCAA athletes are paid for their vigorous work days and amazing effort in the classroom. I would change our nation’s capital to Escanaba, Michigan, due to the fact that I enjoy deer hunting, not because that is where I was born and raised. I would like to thank my mother Janice, who also happens to be my vice president. Janice has been extremely dedicated to making sure I was a successful individual and the first president from the Upper Peninsula. Together her and I, and along with your help, will make sure that we never have to deal with a full Monday again. We will have half days of work and school, just to help everyone recover from the weekend and get back into the swing of things. I would also make sure that someone would invite a teleporting machine. Time is money and therefore we cannot waist anymore time just by traveling, we waist countless hours doing nothing while we can be doing something useful. I would also create a space mission that allows us to travel beyond the sun and search for other life forms within our galaxy. I would also make sure that our troops will have nothing to worry about once they are out of the service due to the risks that they have taken for us.

 Amazing President,

 Danny Van Effen

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Best Superhero

 The best superhero without a question, Deadpool. Deadpool automatically wins it with his charming looks and personality, any person that can make me laugh has my heart. No matter how bad of a mood I am in, I can just think of Deadpool and my day will turn right around. Not only does he capture your heart with his personality and charming looks, he also has some cool super powers. If he were to get shot, he is able to regrow his tissue and bone structure and he would never have the fear of getting injured. The amazing skillset that he has with weapons such as swords, knives, and guns makes him a threat wherever he is, in the kitchen, at the gun range, hunting a deer, you wouldn’t want to mess with him. I also love Ryan Reynolds, he is one of my favorite actors and I love how sarcastic he is with everything. Deadpool was created by a chemical experiment due to a man trying to save his life from cancer and the only way was to try a secret experiment. This experiment caused his skin to become permanently burned all over his body and he was also given the ability to regrow vital organs and any wound. Deadpool tried this experiment so that he could be with the love of his life, Vanessa. At the end of the film Deadpool tells Colossus that if he helps him fight Francis and save Vanessa that he would think about joining of X-men. Deadpool can turn any bad situation into a funny one. His sarcastic comments gives the readers enjoyment and something to look forward too. Deadpool can also make his enemies laugh and also impress them at the same time. Deadpool sticks next to his beliefs no matter what and if someone disagrees he handles it very well.

If I had one million dollars and I had to spend it all In one day, that would be such an easy accomplishment. I would first start off by buying a Lamborghini, they cost around $250,000 , there goes a quarter of my days spending in a matter of ten minutes. I would then take my Lamborghini and drive it to Canada where my father and I would go on a hunting and fishing trip. I would try and go to a north Carolina vs duke basketball game, the tickets are extremely expensive and this would be my only chance. I would buy myself a small home on the west coast in California along with a winter get away in Alaska. I would then buy myself a boat, and three or four jet skiis. To be honest I don’t even know if I could spend one million dollars in a single day. I would just end up buying a whole bunch of plane tickets for vacation trips and ordering things online so that I would be able to enjoy them in the future. I would also buy my mother and father brand new vehicles, they deserve it after having to deal with me for eighteen years in the house. I would also buy a baby tiger, cause whenever people asked you, “Do you have any pets?” Then I would reply, “yeah I own a tiger.” There reply would then be, “Holy crap that’s awesome!” Whatever money I had left over with about thirty minutes left I would donate to charity and public schools. I would also buy multiple homes in warm weather areas such as Florida, California, and even Hawaii. I would love to live in a warm climate weather and this would be my best chance at doing so.

Jamaica

                    The vacation was hot, sunny, and on the ocean which is everything that you could ask for in a dream vacation. When I was in twelfth grade my best friend Nick took me on a cruise with his family to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. 

     Our ship left from the city of Miami, Florida. I was in love with Miami because it was the warmest place that I have ever been to in my life and that was just the beginning of the trip though; it would become so much better. Nick and I had our own room, which was nice; the maids would leave our towels wrapped up in the shape of a turtle, rabbit, a dog, basically any animal that you could imagine. On our ship, we had a mini putt-putt golf course, basketball court, Movie Theater, and an all you can eat buffet.

             Our first stop was the Cayman Islands, we went to a river and climbed it all the way to the top where there was a diving hole that we jumped into, it was scary though because all around the hole it was very shallow, the hole was about fifteen feet deep. The second day we arrived at Jamaica, this day consisted of roller coasters, water slides, trampolines in the ocean, and some interesting people walking on their hands and feet with their hands and torso under their legs if you can imagine that. The roller coaster was a unique experience, a ride through the jungle with the fresh air, animal noises, and knowing that you are living life to the fullest. The water slide was one of the best memories of the trip. There was an older woman who went down the slide in front of us, the slide was not that long at all, and we waited at least a good twenty seconds before Nick and I went down. We arrived about half way down the slide and we hit this woman, no idea who she is or what she is doing and we hit her pretty hard on the slide, Nick and I are just dying of laughter cause we said, “what the heck was she doing on the slide for so long?”

#SB2K16

December 31st, the big night has finally arrived. The evening began slow, like a turtle crossing a road, except, even slower. My friends and I all met at a local church to park our cars overnight, individually everyone showed. Punk arrived first, followed by Beemer, K.P., Jake, Skuf, and finally Kip. Kip offered to drive out in his silver 2015 Jeep, considering his car was the only one big enough to fit all of us in without having to take two vehicles. After we were all together we went to a family friend’s house for a meal, I was told it was going to be a meal but instead it was only snacks such as shrimp, bagels and bagel dip, and taco dip. The snacks were still good but we were planning on being filled up for the night, which did not happen. We then left for the camp which was supposed to take us nearly thirty minutes to get there, and no longer. Before we left Kip had a quarter tank of gas and he asked me if we should get more, I replied, “Nah, we’ll be fine, just don’t get lost”.  We had three directions to follow, turn left at a sign that looked like an apple, turn right when you saw the first light, and follow that road all the way and you’ll end up at the camp. We follow the directions and we are lost, in the middle of nowhere and we are getting very low on gas. We turn around and get back onto the main road, everyone is wanting to turn left and see where the road takes us, I want to go straight because I had a hunch feeling. The hunch feeling was that I read the text message wrong and we were supposed to go right instead of left at the apple sign, I told the guys this and they all freaked out on me. Let’s just say the rest of the trip I was very quiet, and the rest of the guys were not. We are finally on the right road, going smoothly for the first time in the night and BAM… Kip hit a small branch in the road and we had a flat tire. The night just kept getting worse and worse.

Friendship is the emotion or conduct of friends; the state of being friends. The true definition of friends is beyond greater than the electronic definition you see on a screen. I have many friends, some I am close with, others I am not. With a close friend you share the memories, laughs, and the countless hours you have spent with each other. Playing sports with a friend will only make you closer, you will share the dedication, time, effort, defeats, and the victories. We will learn the competitiveness of each other, which has gotten the better of us at some points, but we always come back to each other and that’s what matters.

The amount of horrible bets we have made with each other for the years is ridiculous. This picture represents our latest bet, who can grow their hair out the longest. We each started off extremely strong, I however, caved in over Christmas break the second week in. I lost the bet clearly, however, he is still growing his hair out and is going to try and make it all the way through college, as he has made another bet with my roommate, another close friend. This photo was taken over Thanksgiving break during the week. It was the first time I had seen him since August and the connection was never lost over the time period that we were separated As soon as we saw each other we just started laughing because I am the friend in the group who everyone makes fun, but they still love.  

“Wow, you really have not slimmed down”, I said to him, quoting one of our favorite movies, The Benchwarmers. We both laughed for a moment and hugged it out. Bryant, goes to Michigan State which is very far from Marquette. We both know that whenever we are with each other we will make a new memory of some sort, good or bad.

The agony of defeat pushes you to become the best that you can be. Never wanting to experience that feeling again causes you to push your body through mental and physical pain in more ways than you can ever imagine. Being a leader means more to me than anyone I know, pushing your teammates to become as strong as possible. As everyone says, “You are only as strong as your weakest link”. Senior year, rival game, this is what I have been dreaming about since I was ten years old. I grew up watching my older brothers play and watch them be successful, now it is my turn.

High School basketball on a Friday night is a stunning feeling to be a part of, especially when it is a playoff game against your rivals. Earlier in the year, we had lost to Gladstone High School twice, each deficit coming by over more than twelve points. Being a senior I knew that this would potentially be my last game ever playing basketball but I told my teammates we would not lose to them a third time, I promise. The game was about to begin and you could feel the intensity as soon as we stepped on the court. We scored the first basket and I knew right away by the way we executed our first possession we had this game. I started the game by scoring ten of our first fifteen points; I was feeling it and my teammates knew it. With nearly five minutes left in the second quarter, we came out of a timeout and took the ball out of bounds. In the timeout our coach had called, “Oklahoma”, this is an alley-oop play designed for me and we had not succeeded at it once yet this year, and I thought to myself, “I got this, Ryan will throw a perfect pass and Gav will hook me up with a good screen”. Ryan dribbled down the court, called, “Oklahoma”, faked left, I came and set the screen for him, Gav set the back screen for me and I went up off one foot caught the ball, eyes parallel to the rim for the first time in my life, and I thought to myself, “This place is about to explode”! Sure enough, I slammed it down hard, backboard still shaking as I ran down the court, crowd standing on their feet celebrating, the game was over right there, and we had all the momentum in the world. Start of the third quarter I hit a three that sent the gym into a frenzy, and we never looked back. We won by seventeen points, and it was the best day of my life.