Dirtbiking/Motocross

“Come out here Lauren, I have a surprise for you”, my step-dad yelled from the garage. I got up and ran out right away and stopped in awe. I didn’t know what to think. “Is this for me?” I asked. With a quick reply my step-dad answered, “Yes it is for you and your siblings to share.” In front of was a 50cc brand new KTM dirtbike.

Duane, my step-dad, brought into the back yard and kick started it. At first, I was so afraid to get on because it was incredibly loud but then after a little convincing I got on pulled the throttle and off I went. Now remembering that this was my first time on a dirtbike, I made the mistake of pulling the throttle too hard too fast and popped a wheelie ran into a tree, bounced off of that and hit my fence where I eventually fell off. I was in shock meanwhile Duane was on the ground laughing. But eventually I got back on and he started tacking me to different tracks around Ontario for me and my brother to try because Robin was too afraid.

As time went on, I eventually out grew a little 50cc and got a 65sx then I out grew that and now am on an 85sx which am having a blast on. I race almost every weekend in the summer and spring when I don’t have hockey and it has become a family sport. My step-dad has 2 bikes, a 250sx and a 450sx, My mom has a 110 trail bike, my sister has the same bike, Nathan has a little 50 and then I have an 85sx. As a family we travel in the summer to go see the pro’s race like Chad Reed and James Stewart in places like Michigan, Pennsylvania and in Ontario.

I love the rush of going of jumps and going as fast as your bike will let you. Sometimes people ask if I get scared because dirtbike is a bit dangerous and my answer to that is, no because when you’re riding you have nothing on your mind besides wanting to pass the person in front of you and even when you do fall, you have so much adrenaline you don’t feel anything.

“A motocross race isn’t just a race; it’s a life style event.”

-Anonymous

BLOG

The girls name Lauren, is pronounced LAWR-en. It is of Latin origin, and its meaning is "the bay, or laurel plant". Feminine form of Lawrence or variant of Laura. The earliest feminine form of the name was Laurentia, dating from the time of the early Romans. The name was first made popular by Lauren Bacall in the 1940s.

Now, that is what the baby name dictionary states what the name Lauren means but what made my parents pick that name? Unfortunately for me, there wasn’t a very good meaning behind my parents choosing my first name besides the fact that my parents though it was nice, it could be used for male or female so later on people wouldn’t judge me on my career if they knew I was a girl or a boy and that it would be cool to have the initials L.L. Not so creative on their parts. They named me but what is a name except for a title put on a person?

People’s names are very fascinating because every so often there are people just look like Bob’s or Joe’s. I don’t fully understand how a person can look like their name but one reason maybe that they are trying to live up to other people’s perception of that name. For example when you think of the name Brittany what do you think of? Ditz, valley girl type, popular, bubbly? Or nerdy, very academically inclined and boring? I would of thought the first three because of the people like Jessica Simpson and people in TV shows like the ditzy, popular girl Brittany in Glee. Although that is very stereo-typical of that name it is the first thing that would pop into my head because of people and show’s like those examples. All I am doing is relating the person to the very popular shows and celebrity’s with name’s Brittany which isn’t exactly fair to any Brittany because no one knows. They could be the smartest person ever but if you already have personality traits set in mind, good luck trying to change your already mind. Or, imagine you are trying to find someone for a job as your lawyer. The people that apply are named Tyrone, Charles, Bubba and Edwin. The names Tyrone and Bubba you would probably overlook because those names sound like very uneducated, ghetto-ish name and Charles and Edwin seem like more high class educated names so you would assume they would be better canadites. Sadly, this happens every day in the business world and there was a study proven and in the book Blink it talks all about this.

If I had the chance to change my name I don’t think I would because I think that everyone’s decisions and choices are chosen for a reason. My name was in the top 10 for best girls names to have so I think I will stick with it. Names can either mean a lot or nothing at all. It takes sometimes 2 second or 2 months to pick a name for something or someone but that name could make a world of a difference in the future.

Name is a fence, and within it you are nameless - Samuli Paronen

The sandy beaches, the historical sites, the nice warm weather. Greece seems like the most amazing place in the world to me. All of these things would be amazing to do so why would you want to go to any other place?

If I could go to Greece, I’m sure that I would have the time of my life. Going to the beaches and snorkeling, basking in the warm weather and tanning, learning about and experiencing Greek culture. What is not to like? NOTHING! Greece is so perfect in my eyes that I couldn’t help but brag about going there if I ever do. Plus, I really enjoy Greek mythology. It has to be one of my favourite things to learn about so I think I should just go all out and experience it first hand in Greece.

Greek to me would be the ideal place to go for sure because it is a mixture of the two best things in a vacation.

Lauren's Blog

A Little Life.

There it was; the circle of life right in front of me. My dog Jaxon had pinned a baby bunny, smaller than my hand up to a tree in the middle of the forest behind my house. Me, not wanting the bunny to be hurt, was scared about what I knew, would be a dog’s natural instinct. Inside, I felt that I had to stop my dog from having a little snack.

The frightened baby rabbit was so terrified you could see its little heart beating at the speed of lightning out of its fragile body. My heart sank at the thought of how it must have felt. I knew that I would have to calm the poor little thing down before it had a heart attack or something so I went to my patio and placed the rabbit in my sweater and it cautiously crept up until it was on top of my heart. I saw the little animal slowly close its eyes. This scared me a bit because I could feel the bunny’s heartbeat slow down so, initially I thought that the rabbit was dying but no-I shifted the bunny just in case and surely enough the bunny was alive and well because after I moved her, she placed herself right back to the same spot as before. This made me realize that the logical reason why she was doing this was because the sound of my heartbeat. It was comforting to the little bunny and it amazed me at how relaxed she had become.

This little life that was so helpless without its mother made me realize that life can end in an instant but there are always people and ways that can help, and almost no one would pass up an offer such as life.

In North America today many people are fighting obesity and many are dying from this horrible disease. So why is Donna Simpson bringing this upon herself? This is wrong on many levels.

One reason is that she is only 40. Half her life has gone by and she shouldn’t end her life because of something she did to herself! She is potentially ruining her body system for life and killing herself. Obesity is a disease so that would be like saying you are trying to get cancer which is not right. Along with trying to become the fattest woman in the world by eating, she is putting her body at risk of diabetes, heart stroke, organ failure and many more things. WRONG!

Donna Simpson has a little daughter. Does she think it is fair for her daughter to see her die because of a choice she made? Plus, she is not being a very good example to her daughter who she is teaching that it is okay to eat unhealthily and not have control over your body. WRONG AGAIN!

Saying that it ‘feels natural to be fat’ is not the way it’s supposed to be. It is incredibly wrong and selfish. I say that it is selfish because so many people are in need, wanting and even praying for good health so to purposely try and ruin that is disrespectful to your body. Just another reason why this is WRONG!

The fact that Donna is being supported by people paying to see her eat online is immature and disgusting for the people that want to see such a repulsive thing. This may be harming her physically but probably harming her child mentally. In my opinion you should take care of yourself and your body and work hard on being a role model for the people around you. This is irresponsible and revolting that this is something Donna Simpson wishes to be.

Lauren

Spread the Net

ONE NET. 10 BUCKS. SAVES LIVES.

Imagine that you get bitten by a mosquito in your backyard and you think; great, this is going to be itchy tomorrow. Meanwhile someone in Africa gets bitten and they think it’s pretty harmless until a few days later when they start to experiencing signs of malaria.

People that live in Sub-Saharan Africa are surrounded by Malaria every day. So much so that 1 in 5 children will die of malaria by the time they turn 5 and every 30 seconds a child will die of malaria.

To stop this deadly parasite from spreading there is nets that you can purchase for only $10.00 and they cut the chance of the people getting malaria by 50%! These nets can cover a whole family for when they sleep which makes a huge difference for just $10.00. So why not instead of buying that shirt you really wanted, you save a life?

Every net saves lives but unfortunately while you were reading this blog a little daughter, son, brother, sister, mother or father just died of malaria.

Lauren

Everything Left on the Ice

Everything left on the Ice

Hockey players have fire in their hearts and ice in their veins. ~Author Unknown

Stepping on to the ice, the feeling of excitement, eagerness and nervousness. All you want to do is see the puck drop and go but there’s much more than that. First you must go through intense hard practices where you legs feel like nothing besides jello. Next comes the games where if your not playing smart or with passion for the game it’s all over.

Hockey, the game I love to play. At age 4, I could barely skate. My stick handling was a mess, being sloppy choppy and slow. But, with practice came improvement.

I enjoy playing hockey so much, being with the other 15 girls on the team and making friends, feeling the joy in achieving goals and eventually winning games. Listening and learning to what the coaches have to say becomes the only thing you can think about when you are under the pressure in the middle of a game, practice drill or tournament. Hockey has become pretty much become my life lately and I feel privileged to get to play this amazing sport and be a player for the Woolwich Wild Bantam B team.