There are many questions in the world that we as the human race have accepted to just have no answer. One of these mind-boggling questions is: "What is the one characteristic that defines a human/ humanity?" Our lust for power and to become the perfect human being? Our need to bond and create a social web with others? Naturally, I was sent on a roller coaster of thoughts and emotion. However, after a long session spent in my room contemplating, I've come to a conclusion. Despite many tendencies in the human race, I believe the one thing that ultimately defines us as the human race is the many forms of diversity that is found in our world. Yes, many people will also be writing about this, but i truly believe that this is the one thing that collectively defines the human race.

There are many forms of diversity in our race. Religions, ethnicity, thought process, eye color,  everything down to the clothes you choose to wear every day, all come together to make you who you are. There's so much diversity in the world. But all of this diversity is good. Especially here in the United States. We have all kinds of ethnic influences and so many different personalities, even walking down the streets of San Francisco is an adventure. You see suits with not a hair play out of place, walking next to a super retro rave girl wearing neon green skinny jeans and rocking a pink Mohawk, and everything between. You may even see an Irishmen walking  down the street, holding hands with a Japanese women.The different variations we have, is endless.

There is also a great deal of diversion in our physical appearances. There's black people, white people, brown people, yellow people, and many different shades of skin tones in between. There old people, young people, and new Born's. There's there people who are 4 foot 11 to the people who are 6 foot 7 , and  the people who are shorter, to the people who are taller. You'd have people with dry skin, soft skin, ashy skin. people with big lips, people with small lips. people with short hair, long hair, curly hair, straight hair, nappy hair. And hundreds of other types of physical features that are on the face alone.

Diversity doesn't just exist in the clothes that we wear or the haircut we have, or even what we look like on the outside. It doesn't even exist completely in the color of our skin or how tall we are. It exists in great portions in our brain and in our individual thought process. It makes people do the things they want to do like jumping off cliffs for a living, or taking care of animals. It gives us a taste of what we think is good music, or what we think is in fashion this season. Its also what makes us choose occupations that we want to be when we grow up. There are so many thought processes from person to person, that we try to lump them and label them, like jocks or hipsters. But the truth of the matter is, no one individual is the same, on the inside as well as the outside, we are all the person we are, whether we choose to show it or not.

And diversity will never die, people of all nationalities will continue to breed with one another (fun fact: humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for fun.) for as long as the world will continue to exist. Think of the Earth like this. Continents and people were each there own species of flower that were grouped into one bush together and isolated from the other the bushes. And all 6 of these bushes (no one lives on Antarctica) were separated from each other but were in the same field or Earth if you will. And none of the bushes knew of the existence of these fellow bushes in this huge field. And along came bees or boats, that kept bringing different species to one another. And most would die in this new enviorment, but some would live to breed, thus, a new species of flower was born. And this process between the new flowers and old flowers continued to happen for thousands of years until now we have a field filled with thousands upon thousands of beautiful new exotic flowers. And as flowers die, there will be more to take there place.

Diversity has been with the human race since the our very first ancestors. Slight differences in things like foot size and thickness of hair meant your survival, and this process along with my flower example, combined together to help make us the complex and diverse creatures we are today. And it will continue to live on in each of us far long after we die. When I get older and have children, they will have half of my genetics and qualities as well as half of there mothers. And as these two genetics mix, along with there own thought process, we will have created something beautiful, and new species of flower. And as my flowers go on and have flowers of there own, and so on. Diversity will continue to live on in our world.

It really is quite an amazing thing when you think about it. How the collective differences from person to person, together serve as the one thing that defines us as the human race. It also amazes me how people continue to say one person is different from them as if its a bad thing and shouldn't be accepted. These slight differences and variations not only in physical appearance as well as personal hobbies and intrests should be celebrated. They should be celebrated and appreciated. I just will never get over the fact out of how different we are as a human race and how far we've come from being isolated bushes in a fast field. So next time you see a person you think is weird looking or does things that is different weird, think twice, because its your differences, their differences, along with all the other beautiful unique flowers in our field, that define our species as a whole.

RP:The Departing of Someone Special

"There's only one word I could think of to describe this situation, bittersweet."

I found this from my good friend Amy's blog. And the post was about her sister leaving to go away to college. And I can completely understand and sympathize with her. The other day I was thinking while laying down on my bed, and i thought to myself, "Wow, this is going to be Bobby's last year of high School." And For those of you who don't know, Bobby is my older brother who I love to death. One of the very view, solid guys that i can depend on to pull through for me when I need him the most. And at the end of that thought, I choked up a bit. You know, he is one of my go to guys when I need some one to talk to and cant go to the other members of the fam bam. And i can always count on him. So I did get a little down at the thought of him leaving.


But then I thought about what was ahead for him in his life. And how hes going to go on and take all of the necessary steps for him to become a firefighter. And as competitive as it is in that field now, I know he will do great. And he will go on to put his life on the line to save others, that to me is the definition of a hero. And he will be going on to something that he loves in the end, so it would be selfish of me to want him to stay. So after a while of thinking about the situation, I came to this conclusion. As much as the situation sucks, I'm OK with it and will be here to return the favor for my brother if he ever needs anything.

Ce: The execution of Troy Davis

http://youtu.be/GFPaPn3uL4A

I wont give you the whole back story on this, watch the video to catch up and then proceed and read the following. In my opinion, the state of Georgia did execute the wrong man. When you have no murder weapon, and members of the jury and original testifiers claiming that they were pressured by the police to lie (SHOCKER) and are now telling that it wasn't him, I'm certain that you have the wrong man. Now I can debate on why we shouldn't or should have the death penalty. But it seriously all depends on  the case at hand. As cruel as the death penalty is, I believe that there are a few individuals that deserve it. But Troy Davis, was not one of them.

When you are considering sentencing an individual to the penalty, you better be damn sure that they are the killer. The state of Georgia let another innocent man rot in jail before they gave him the ultimate sentence. Till the moment he died he pleaded innocent, and no one listened to his cries for justice. Instead the state tuned him out like he was an animal that just needed to be quiet. But he wasn't. he was a fellow human being who was wrong convicted and was killed for it. It makes me sick to think tat this is what goes on in the world. And it makes me strive to want to be a better person, and one day, fix the way we handle cases like this one. that way, another man like Troy Davis, has to sacrifice his life for no reason.

Fe: Fetigue at its finest

Today and yesterday the polo team has had the pleasure of playing back-to-back games. On the varsity side, we won both games. One against American High School, and the other against Piedmont High School which happen to be our first league game. So it was nice and very uplifting to have both wins, especially one being a league game. But the physical toll it takes on your body, is definitely not the business. My legs feel like there about to fall off, and Ive thrown out my shoulder. On top of it, My vision has faded on me and gone blurry. Today and yesterday the polo team has had the pleasure of playing back-to-back games. On the varsity side, we won both games. One against American High School, and the other against Piedmont High School which It is it worth it? Hell yeah it is!!!

Its also very uplifting to have our starters go in and play like a well-oiled machine. Its lets us know that we're on the right track to where we want to be at the end of the season. It doesn't change the fact that shit still needs to get done out of the pool. As many sport players know all to well, it's extremely hard to balance your schoolwork on top of games and practices. But the point I'm really trying drive home is that I love this sport and don't plan on giving it up anytime soon. Even though this sport and school put me on a roller coaster on the daily, its a ride that i will keep hopping back on until i throw up, then ill get back on and go again.

The Foreboding Jungle

Running, sweat dripping, feet blistering and blood leaking it's way through his socks, slowly forming a puddle of warm and squishy liquid in his shoes. He trips and stumbles on every twig and protruding root in his path, and hits his face on each and every branch , each leaving its on cut upon his face. He finally decides to stop and take a breather. As the puddle in his shoes slowly becomes greater and the blood mixes with sweat as runs down his head and past his cheeks. His head pounding with thoughts. Like each thought is its own horse and all he could hear was the hoove noises of a thousand horses. He can see nothing, the darkness of this jungle surrounded him, filling every oraphis on his body, he can feel it sinking into each of his pores and even settling down behind his eyes.

But none of that matters now, all he knows is that he has to find a way out of this dark place. So he relaxes his minds and begins to think. The sound of the whistling wind accompanied by the thunderous noise of the animals in the forest, creates the sweet symphony that fills his ears as he collects his thoughts. After A moment of serenity, he clears his mind and decides that its time to go again. He soon realizes that he is in more trouble than he thought. He gets up to realize that he can barley move, his left foot. He quickly tears a sleeve of his shirt to tie around the gruesome cut on his foot as it gushes out warm blood. he knows it wont last long, but it's the best he can do for now. With this, he has caught the second wind in his legs. With a deep breath, letting the sweet tropical air fill his lungs, he sets out for another push to the end of the jungle.

As he slowly but surely makes progress, more aware of branches and roots, the loud squeals and gawks serve as a very intimidating reminder that he is not safe here and most constantly keep his guard up. His heart at this point, could beat a V-8 dual-exhaust engine in a race. His face stings with every slight warm breeze that comes and fills the cuts on his cheeks. The wrap around his foot has stopped the bleeding now, but there's no guarantee on how much longer it will suffice. At this point in time, he has become his own worst enemy. With the little angel on one of the shoulders, the little devil on the other keeps whispering  thoughts of suicide and death into his ear. However, our hero pushes forward, ignoring thee oh so tempting ideas.


As he continues to walk with the sharp pain that fills his all whole body, he is abruptly stopped. But not by a another branch or random root, but by a wall- like thing. Taken back by this massive thing. He decides to give a push against in attempt to try a budge it. He lifts his battle-weary arms, the pain is almost unbearable. In one quick move, he pushes and suddenly has landed face first in the warmest, finest sand that he has ever seen. He has pushed right threw the barrier of heavy forestation and landed right on the beach that surrounds it. As the blinding white light creeps away to fill his teal eyes for the first time, a wave of sweet relief washes over him. As he feels the warm feeling of home and safety around him, it is quickly followed by another feeling. The blood loss from the two giant cuts on his feet, and the combined loss from the gashes on his face, are too much for his body to handle. With the serenity that came with just kneeing on the warm, sandy beach, he collapses near the ocean. Now, the beach and the ocean play a game of tug of war for his body. slowly pulling back, he is the oceans prize to claim. As the water engulfs his body, the young man is swallowed by the ocean. But he died with the warm feeling of relief, a smile on his face, and more important, light in his eyes.

CE: French Enforces street prayer ban

The French Street Prayer Ban was some thing that I find very interesting and almost unconstitutional at the same time. Yes religion is a very sticky subject, but I'm going to go ahead and dive right in. To me, everyone has the right to say what they want to say and do what they want to do, whether its right or wrong, its a different story. This Muslim worshipping community is being driven into an even smaller corner than what they were already in. The Muslim worshipping community is so large in France, and with the lacking of temples established for the sole purpose of worship, this community is forced to pray wherever they can. And the fact that France has told them that not even that is allowed, is basically not only a slap to the face, but also another example that we as humans can not even obey the rules that we put forth towards society as a whole to keep the peace.

Call it ignorance, but I don't see what the problem is with someone going out to a public area like a a park  for instance, a doing some praying and meditating. It may not be for you, but that doesn't give you the right to take it away from some one else who does find it right for them personally. In the end, all France is really doing, is driving a huge part of their population into other parts of the world, where there beliefs and customs are excepted.I guess my problem is not so much one with France, as it is with the fact that we as the human race, continuously strive to take more and more away from the others around us, for no beneficial purpose to ourselves. I could go on for days on this topic, but I'd really like to save it for a bigger post when I'm looking for some inspiration, so stay tuned, the topic will arise sometime in the future, I promise.

Response: To my boy Rowland

"Gaming is a part of life."-Rowland Markheims Blog

This was an idea that I kind of had a different point of view on. When you think about it, isn't life itself, set up to be like a video game? Most of us, the noobs, start out with nothing, and work to get everything that we have. Like most games, we choose an occupation of some kind and make some kind of profit doing that. And as we work longer and that profession, we gain more insight and skills in that job.And the overall point of the game is to become the best character you can become and to gain as much money or tender as you can. But on the other hand, there is also the people who play just for fun, and to experience everything that the game has to offer. Just like there people who go through life to enjoy its experiences and to indulge in everything this world has to offer to us as players.

And unfortunately, we all will come to end in the game and be deleted, just like we all must die. And when we get bored with this game and are deleted, we will move on and find a new game to play and enjoy and follow whatever path we choose. Just like in life when we die, we move on into another life to start again in whatever way we choose. The overall idea is still the same. We, as a majority, are born with nothing, we work for everything and choose a path of some kind. And as we follow that path in life, we live and learn and gain experience. And as we go on, we will eventually come to an end move on to the next life. Maybe its just me, but these are the kind of things I see and have opinions on.

FREE: Polo this Saturday

As the week is slowly ticking by, the thought of polo are slowly creeping back up on me. This weekend we are participating in a polo tournament out in Novato. Both the junior varsity and varsity will be participating in the tournament. Varsity Will have 2 games and junior varsity will have one. I'd be lying if I told you that it was going to be an easy weekend, and I'd be lying if i told you that it was going to be a difficult weekend. Truth is, I don't know exactly what to expect from each team. Frankly it doesn't matter. No matter who you play against, you play until you either hear a whistle, or the buzzer that marks the sound of the end of the fourth quarter. And its good to see the team coming back to where we were at last year.

Were slowly becoming more aware of the pool and everyone one around us, and using that information leads to smarter passes, and ultimately, better and stronger shots at the cage. As always, I have nothing but the highest standards for us as a team. We're not a couple guys playing together. We are six teamates who must learn to work in complete unison in order to complete or ultimate goal of winning the A.C.C.A.L Championship. In the great words of Marshall Dortch, "You can get to high on the wins, and you cant get to low on the losses. Just take what you know now, and use it to make yourself better."

RESPONSE: My response

This is something that I totally agree with my boy Cody on. Its very simple, so be aware.

I think the classics are the best.

I could totally not agree with Cody more on this subject. As great as technology and all the advances we've made today in the modern world, there is just nothing that can quite compare to the classics. Theres nothing like sitting down to watch an old American war story, or the timeless beauty of Broadway. These are all such a small, yet beautiful piece of American history. When people think of America, I don't want them to think of us as a lazy, inpatient, country with grease pouring out of its pores, I want them to think of us as the land of opportunity and a place where even the soil is enriched with culture, history, and art. I personally love to sit down, and watch the classic cartoons, like X-men, loony toons, and the original batman series.

Now and days we have all of these cartoons that are built on nine year olds farting. And its no wonder why people think were an ignorant country. But that's a debate for another time. Point being, there is simply nothing better to me then waking up at 9 on a Saturday morning to see my favorite Batman and Robin go out and kick some bad guy ass. It is a part of my childhood, as well as the childhood of America that i hope continues to stay with us for many generations to come. I guess, to really sum it up, there really is nothing that can even compare to the classics.

CE: 9-11

Now I'm sure as most of you know, The very tragic anniversary of the horrific day of 9-11 is coming around on Sunday, and everyone is posting about it and there feeling and thoughts on the subject, and i would love to give you guys mine. First off, every time i think about what happened and how the simple actions of one man, and the reaction of another have had such a negative effect on this country, its truly amazing if you ask me. Osama had sent a letter telling what was going to happen exactly one month from the day, and the cheer ignorance of the ex-president just let it go. And where has that gotten us? So far down the toilet, its going to take us awhile to get everything unplugged and make it all right. And its also sacrificed the lives of innocent people for no reason. Now theres SO much the be said about this, and most you can find other blogs, but i would like to talk a little more about a point that i don't believe is always properly addressed that is kind of significant.

Now it always amazes me how the single actions of one man has done this to one country. He has literally put us in a sink whole. But if the actions of one man has done this to us. Why cant the same thing happen again? Who is to say that the single actions of one man cant bring us out of this whole. Or better yet, why cant the actions of this country, united under the sole purpose to better the world that we all or born into and will die in, bring us out of this mess? I just find it absolutely mind numbing how this country has so much to say about this topic, and has so much built of anger, emotion, and so much to converse about, yet we are not willing to work together to get us out of this mess in order to reverse the effects of this tragic day. Who knows? maybe one day we will all drop our selfish wants and desires, in order to come together, and better this place we call, "home."

FREE My freedom post

Hey, guys. Seeing how this will be my freedom post for this week, and we had a water polo game today, i figured it would be a semi-good idea to tell you guys how we did, and how I'm feeling about it. So today we went out to Union City to play James Logan High School. Usually I'm super hyped on game day, but for what ever reason, i wasn't feeling it today for whatever reason. So anyway, we started out in the first half and it was 2 to 2. However, fatigue slowly sets in after two kick outs in the first half, and eventually getting rolled out of the game by the start of the fourth. So Logan slowly ended up pulling ahead to whoop our asses, ending with a score of 8-3. This was a very, very minor cap of the game.

Now, no one loves to have there asses kicked, especially when there going for there third A.C.C.A.L Championship, however, it is very humbling and lets us know where we stand as of now, and what we have to do in order to be back on top by the end of the season. Basically we need to get sharper on Offense and execute as one cohesive unit. Otherwise, it wont be us bringing that banner back to Ahs, it will be someone else.  I do look forward to next weeks practice to work on my Whole set skills and shots. As the smallest guy in the water I'm going to have to learn how to put some more dirty tricks up my sleeve to get to where i want to be as a player. Comments? Questions? regarding polo, leave for me and ill try to get back to you on them, the best way i know how to. Thanks guys.

My First Blog

Hi there, my name is Benjamin Ingram. I'm a student at Alameda High School. And one of my class assignments was to create a blog for the entire year, and post on it frequently on virtually whatever we'd like. So this being my first blog, I'm going to just go ahead, dive right in, and wing it by telling you about some of my hobbies. I'm a varsity water polo player and swimmer for the high school. We are currently in the middle of trying to get our third straight A.C.C.A.L championship, which has never been done in AHS history, which is pretty exciting stuff if you ask me. I fell in love with the sport two years ago when I first started playing for the Alameda Water Polo Club, and have been hooked ever since. As much as i love playing sports for the high school, the classes itself are a different story. School has never exactly been my favorite. Its not that i do poorly in school, its just that I haven't found the passion for it, yet. I'm sure once I do, there will be no stopping me. Now many people that no me, no that i can be very sarcastic and cynical. however, I can also be very active, and full of life. But the one thing that never changes about me, is that I'm motivated. I'm very motivated in everything I do, and I have a huge work ethic. I Believe that if you want things to happen for you, or if you want to better yourself, you have to be the one to do it. Being only five foot eight and 145 pounds, I'm not exactly the most ideal polo player. So i make myself work harder to be as good as the guys who are 6'4 and have a huge wingspan.


 Another thing that people should know is that my brother and I are very close. I believe family is one of the very few things that you have in this world, and you should keep it close. As a result, my brother and jokingly created what we like to call "The Wolf Pack". Basically, its just a reminder to my brother and I that we will always be there for one another, and nobody should come between that. Now that i have given you some of my background, I want to tell you about some of my future goals, in and out of the classroom. As far as in this English class, all I'd really like to do is polish my writing and make it look much nicer. As far as outside is concern, I'd really like to carry out my remaining years here at AHS and go on to play polo at u.c Berkley, Davis, or Santa Barbara. I know it is a bit of a long shot, but I have never been the type of person known to give myself easy goals. I'm still debating on what I'd like to major in, but I know its going to be something in the biology field. I'm looking forward to blogging more on all of these topics. So there will be more to come. Hope you all have a good day, take it easy.