My Thoughts on Growing up in Framingham

If you go to a private college and meet somebody from Massachusetts, I'm sure you're used to hearing them say, "I'm from Boston." With rare exceptions (I'm sure this comes as a shock to everybody), they're not actually from Boston. I try to identify myself as a resident of the town I was born and raised in. Most people have probably never heard of Framingham, Massachusetts. However, for me, there was not a place in the world I would've rather spent my youth.

To get an understanding of Framingham, you can't really imagine one subset of people. It was not largely filled with Jewish people, although there were plenty of Bar/Bat Mitzvahs that I attended growing up. There were not a lot of upper class neighborhoods, although some of the houses in some of the areas were tremendous in stature. Ethnic diversity was a common theme. In my homeroom in high school, there were two other white kids and myself, one black kid, two Brazilians, two Puerto Ricans, one Mexican, and one Columbian. To any and all of the people in my homeroom, if I am mistaken about your ethnicity or nationality, I apologize. My point is, I experienced more culture in the first 15 minutes of school every day than some people experience in a lifetime.

The social differences were similar. I mentioned some of the more affluent areas of the town, but there are also plenty of areas that are not the most ideal place to grow up. Poverty is prevalent in Framingham, as in many other parts of the country. The thing that makes Framingham so distinct is that I met people from all sorts of backgrounds. Everybody had a different story to tell, and we all will have different conclusions. I feel like many other towns have "themes" so to speak as to its residents. The one uniting theme from Framingham residents was just that: we are all from Framingham.

It's a really cool thought, and one that I think most people I grew up with take for granted. I grew up in a town with over 70,000 people, from all sorts of walks of life. My four best friends in high school were comprised of a Kenyan, a Haitian, an Irish Catholic, and a red head. Good news for everyone, gingers do have souls. The five of us were a prime example of what Framingham had to offer.

Framingham certainly has its downsides (if anyone has been following the sexual assault cover up by the school administration, you can attest to that). But it certainly provided an average, white middle class, American male with a childhood worth documenting. I'm sure many people I grew up with like to think about how they cannot wait get out of here, I'm trying to enjoy what could potentially be the last three months of me living here.

I don't know where I will be in 2 years, let alone when I decide to settle down and start a family. However, I certainly hope that wherever I end up provides my children with the same learning experiences that I was afforded.

My Thoughts on Finding a Career

One of the scariest facts that I've been coming to terms with lately is the idea that I'm growing up. I feel like two weeks ago I was learning to read and to ride a bike. I swear just last week I was graduating high school. Now I'm preparing to enter my senior year of college and I'm struggling to figure out the age old question: what next?

Nobody ever REALLY knows that they want to be when they grow up until they're already there. Maybe you spent your entire life wanting to be a doctor and then you fail your freshman bio class. Maybe you want to be a competitive bowler and then you figure out that they're not allowed to use bumpers. My point is, it's not an easy thing to assess.

I got my first job when I was 16. Bagging groceries and pushing carts at stop and shop. It's weird to think about where I'm (hopefully) going to be in 10 years and reflect on how I got there. Even weirder is trying to figure out if my job in 10 years is actually my career. Regardless, it's a process I'm anxious for.

I've always been fairly strong in mathematics, and as soon as I tell people that they kind of look at me with an expression that screams: lotta good that'll do ya. Thanks guys, just the encouragement I needed. Truth is, I don't know what to do anymore than they do. What if I go into accounting and discover its too boring for me? What if I pursue investment banking and realize I don't have any time to spend with Emily? What if I don't figure out what I want in time and end up homeless? Obviously this last case is not likely, but who knows?

Every single person, over the course of their lives has struggled with identifying what their future holds. If you haven't, I commend you. I'm truly envious of your drive and confidence.

For me it's not that simple. I don't know what I want, where I want to live or how I'm going to get there. But that's part of the fun. That's the adventure that we call life, and all of us have to embark on that journey at some point following our youth.

So if you're like me and silently freaking out about paying bills and having real responsibilities, then don't worry. You're not alone. But if anyone knows a potential employer who's looking for a math and Econ major, send them my way.

My Thoughts on Baseball

Last year my father and I decided to embark on a multi-year excursion: we would like to see a baseball game in all 30 professional ball parks in America. We started this adventure last year, making our way up to the Rogers Centre in Toronto, and we continued it a week ago at our beloved home stadium, Fenway. Later this summer we are going down to Camden in Baltimore and then Citizens Bank park in Philly. I will be blogging about those adventures (sorry for missing the first two trips), but for now, I wanted to start by talking about why I love the sport of baseball so much.

Baseball used to be known as America's past time. Technically, it still is, but not really. It's popularity diminishes annually. It's a slow game with little to no action, so it has trouble retaining the attention of our easily distracted society. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful game. There's something about the sounds and sights of a ballpark, the feel of a spring/summer breeze on a warm evening in June, the smell of hot dogs and stale beer as you walk through the gates. Baseball is comforting. In a society that is constantly moving, baseball provides a pause button. A way to slow your life down, and enjoy a single moment.

The first time I put on spikes and walked onto a diamond, I was 5 years old. I don't remember much from playing at that time, but there a few memories from my playing days: I remember my first (and only) home run when I was 12. I remember making an error in little league that cost us the game and crying as I walked off the field. I remember having two walk off hits when I was 14. Most importantly, I remember making my decision to stop playing baseball so I could focus my attention on wrestling year round. In retrospect, I am certainly glad I made that decision. Wrestling has turned me into the man that I am. I've never regretted a single decision I have made. But the closest thing to a regret that I have, is quitting baseball.

I know many of you readers probably don't enjoy watching the sport. I understand why. It's not as fast as hockey, not as physical as football. The athleticism that baseball requires is not apparent to most people. While I certainly don't think that David Ortiz could run under 10 second in a 40 yard dash, let alone dunk a basketball, do you think that Paul Pierce (We'll miss you #34) or Adrian Peterson could hit a rock that is coming at them over 90 mph with a big stick? I doubt it. It certainly is not your traditional form of athleticism, but baseball players are athletes that can do something other people cannot. They play a sport where the best players accomplish their goal under 40% of the time. If that were NASA, we'd be screwed.

There is so much history to the sport too. Fenway has been around for over 100 years. Very few people in the world have been alive longer than this building. It is a monument, perhaps the greatest in Boston. Not too mention some of the great names that have come and gone. Jackie Robinson paved the way not just for black baseball players, but for black athletes. He is immortalized as a symbol of hope and perseverance. Roberto Clemente died while bringing supplies to earthquake survivors in Nicaragua. A true hero. One day I hope my children think about Pedro Martinez and reflect on how amazing he was, and I will get to say, I watched him play. I once sat 20 feet from where Dustin Pedroia swung a bat. The history is abundant, and ceaseless.

My point for this post is not to convert anyone to baseball fanatics. It is to provide an understanding as to the subtle elegance that comes with baseball. Ken Griffey Jr's swing was one of the most beautiful things I had ever witnessed. I can only imagine what growing up watching some of the greats would have been like. Baseball may not be America's past time anymore. It certainly is not the only sport I love to watch. But baseball is about more than sports. Baseball is a beacon light in a world filled with darkness. It allows us as fans 3 hours of bliss. 3 hours of relaxation, as the rest of the world hastily floats by.

My Thoughts on Gay Marriage

With the supreme court striking down DOMA and allowing gay couples to receive federal benefits, I decided it would be fitting to share my beliefs on gay marriage. I would like remind everyone that I am not here to offend people. I simply like to share my opinion. If something I say truly bothers you, feel free to send me an email.

The first wedding I ever went to was a gay wedding (actually, now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure that's the only wedding I've ever been to). My best friend in elementary school's mothers were getting married after the state of Massachusetts deemed it legal. Now, mind you, I was a young kid. There is not much I remember from that time period in my life. But I remember that wedding. I remember the look on the two women's faces as they kissed, representing the commencement of an eternal bond known as matrimony. They were in love and at that exact moment, to them, nothing else mattered but each other.

The traditional definition of marriage involves the eternal bond of a man and a woman. Many people in this day and age try to take that literally and claim that it should only be between a man and a woman. I have a real problem with that. To me, that signifies that people deem the gender to be the most important part of the definition. I think the most important part of a marriage is that its eternal. I see so many marriages end in divorce and it bothers me. So many people who are opposed to seeing two men get married will gladly watch Kim Kardashion (I probably didn't spell that right, and frankly, it's not worth my time to look it up) get married and divorce within a year. Last I checked, a year is not equivalent to eternity. Marriage is a holy thing. Falling in love is sacred. I believe it is far more important to marry someone you love and make it last forever than to make sure it is of the appropriate gender.

100 years ago, my own parents probably wouldn't have been allowed to get married. An upper class protestant from Rochester and a middle class Jewish woman from NYC. Something as trivial as that would have stopped them. But they are, and they have been incredible parents as a result. Some of the most loving, caring parents I know are gay. I never understand when people argue that they won't make fitting parents. I disagree completely. If a child is being raised in a home where he is cared for, than what's the difference if there are two dicks or four boobs?

Who am I to tell someone who they can and cannot love? Who are you to tell them? Nobody chooses it, it just happens. I did not choose to fall in love with Emily. Do you think an 18 year old kid at his first college party wanted to fall head over heels in love with someone? No. But I did, and there's no sense fighting it. The same is true for all gay couples. So that guy loves another guy. So what? Who cares? Does it affect you in anyway? My guess is no. Why does another person's happiness make so many people uncomfortable?

People feel that it is a violation of the Bible and its teachings. I don't even deem this argument necessary to address. Times change. Move on. In the words of the great Macklemore: "'God loves all his children', is somehow forgotten, while we paraphrase a book written 3,500 years ago..."

While the striking down of DOMA is not sufficient, it is a start. It certainly is nice to know that people are beginning to recognize that it is an issue that deserves addressing.

I want to end with one final remark. There is nothing I hate more than when people slam their beliefs down your throat. I'm as opinionated as anyone, and I certainly love to share my opinions, but there is a clear difference between talking to someone about these issues, or preaching at them in a condescending manor. So like I said, if anyone feels strongly against what I have to say and wants to shoot me an email, feel free, I'd love to chat. But the second you try telling me what is morally wrong and right, and not just what you believe to be wrong or right, the conversation is over. I don't care what anyone has to say, this is one issue that my views will never change on.

My Thoughts on Wrestling

I've mentioned in previous posts that I wrestled in high school and I wrestle in college. Lets be honest, I'm pretty sure most people reading this know me well enough to know that about me. It's kind of crazy to think that I have one more year left in competitive sports. I've been competing my whole life and in about 8 months, that will all be part of my past. I often reflect on the sports I have played: teammates, exciting moments, coaches, etc. I'm sure this comes as a shock to nobody, but none has had a bigger, more profound influence on shaping the man I am, than wrestling.

For those of you who have never wrestled, there is nothing more demanding, or more rewarding, than this brutal sport. I know everyone likes to claim "Our practices are tough, there's so much running" or "Ours are tougher, we have to be so well conditioned". But I can 100% promise you that if there is a tougher sport than wrestling, I have yet to find it. A lot of athletes think they're tough. Watching my beloved Bruins lose in game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals last night was heartbreaking. I don't know if people realize this, but Patty Bergeron was playing with broken ribs. That takes heart, and that takes toughness. But it requires nowhere near the level of mental toughness that wrestlers endure.

Imagine being told, as a 17 year old kid, to roll two dice. Whatever number comes up, that's how many minutes in a row you have to go swinging a 70 pound kettle bell over your head. Now imagine you roll snake eyes. Your coach makes you roll again. And again. And again. Oh what's that? An 11 finally showed up? Okay that'll work. Now imagine your done with that, and your coach tells you do 100 pull ups over the rest of the day. I don't care how you divide them up, just get them done. Now imagine this is a Sunday, your one day off of the week and your missing watching the Patriots games with your friends because all you want to do is win states in 2 months. Now imagine all you've eaten in three days are a few granola bars and some celery, and you can't eat anything until Tuesday night because you are still 7 pounds over weight. Now repeat this process every week for three months. Now repeat THAT process every year for 9 years. That's wrestling.

Although I did not put myself through that same grueling ordeal every single weekend of my wrestling career with no exceptions, there were similar situations that I found myself in. My coach used to make me run sprints after our dual meets, because after wrestling one match for 45 seconds before I pinned someone, I needed more of a workout. He used to conduct full hour and a half practice BEFORE those dual meets. Wrestling is a grind. Even within the practice. I used to get the life beat out of me every day by kids on my team. I was one of the top ranked wrestlers in the state and every day I had to deal with the 140 pound all state champ (Walter, if you're reading this, I can't thank you enough) taking me down at will. I cried more after my senior year ended due to injury than I have ever cried before.

But the negative is what invokes the positive. One of the greatest moments I've experienced in my brief 21 years of life was winning the state title with my team my junior year. We were untouchable. The thrill of getting my arm raised of 6 (well, 7 now) minutes of misery is one of the most satisfying feelings ever. No drug can compete with the high you feel from winning a close match. From escaping with seconds left on the clock. From hitting a take down and hearing the crowd go, "Woah...". From riding someone out to prevent them from tying the match. These are what make wrestlers different. Its something no other athlete will ever understand.

I hope nobody reads this and is offended, or interprets it as me insulting your sport. I don't mean it like that. There's simply no way around it: wrestlers are a rare breed, in a league of their own. Even if you never start on varsity, just being on a team, and being able to say that you cut 10 pounds the day before a match, even though you were on JV. Its a character building experience that few can imagine.

My glory days are long behind me. I'm an average wrestler in college with a career record of 18-18. I didn't even start this year. My girlfriend, who plays Ice Hockey at Trinity, and I often argue about whether our kids will grow up playing hockey or wrestling. What she doesn't realize is that I do not want them to wrestle so that I can live vicariously through them (well, not entirely). I want them to wrestle because I know that wrestlers are special. If you think I'm exaggerating, check it out. Step on the mat for 5 minutes. See if you can last 2 practices without breaking down. Few can, and it's a true testament to the mental and physical strength of the competitor. Do I consider myself an athlete? No. I'm a wrestler.

My thoughts on Edward Snowden and the NSA

One of my favorite genres of novels are the futuristic dystopian ones. Books like The Road, Brave New world, 1984, these are some of my favorites to read. The ideas that they present are not only fascinating, but I personally do not believe that they are an unrealistic prediction of what is to come. In the last two weeks, I believe this country has been introduced to the first steps of this process. The news about how the National Security Agency is spying on US citizens has been a terrifying realization that we (potentially) are being watched.

For arguments sake, I will assume for the rest of this entry that all of the allegations against the NSA are true (it wouldn't make for a very good conversation if I assumed the opposite, now would it?). Obviously the most discussed individual in the last two weeks on the subject has to be Mr. Edward Snowden, the man who leaked the information, in order to open our eyes. In case your head has been buried in a pile of sand or something, an arrest warrant has been issued for Snowden, issued by the great US of A for espionage. I just want everyone to take a few minutes and reflect on how they feel about Snowden and the NSA....

Personally, I can see both sides of the argument. Snowden is a hero. He exposed a government that has betrayed the trust of its citizens. He has brought to light an illegal, immoral act that was being carried out by the people we have trusted to protect and lead us. He will go down in history as a martyr, fighting to preserve the luxury that so many people in this country believe is freedom. Edward Snowden is good.

However, he also violated several US laws. He is now on the run, fleeing from the country like a scared little puppy with his tail between his legs. If he has the balls to commit, essentially, treason, why can he not stay and take the punishment that he deserves? Edward Snowden very clearly does not trust this country. Edward Snowden is bad.

The NSA has turned this country from one living in blissful ignorance, to one living in fearful paranoia. While many people joke around about this subject, it certainly is serious. We no longer have any privacy. Nobody knows the extent to the surveillance, although I'm sure plenty of people think they know all about it. It could be as minor as looking at suspect's phone records. But what if its more. What if they are able to listen in on every phone call? Read my emails. Access my bank accounts? Obviously they would have no interest in spying on me in this manor, but its this paranoia that is detrimental to society. The NSA is bad.

However, the NSA did not do this to spy on petty drug dealers or middle aged men calling up prostitutes. They did this to catch real bad guys. This is clearly an effort to thwart terrorism. I would be willing to bet money that everyone in this country that was so willing to invade another country to fight the bad guys are equally as opposed to finding the bad guys here. Maybe people are in denial about terrorists living here, but they're wrong. Look at the Tsarnaev brothers who bombed the Boston Marathon. The younger one wrestled at a tournament at my high school. Is someone going to try and argue that he was not a terrorist living in our country? I can understand why the NSA is spying. They are not doing it to check that I just googled, "how to change my car oil". They are doing it to keep this country safe. The NSA is good.

The argument can go either way, and I just want to make sure everyone thinks about that before they decide how they feel about it.

The thing that scares me the most? It's a slippery slope. While I believe the NSA has good intentions, who's to say that in 15 years we will not be living under the watchful eye of Big Brother, guaranteeing safety, while promising imprisonment.

My Thoughts on LeBron

Alright, so obviously everyone knows by now that the Heat won the 2013 NBA Finals (spoiler alert for all you Amish people). Congratulations to them, people can hate all they want, but it does not take the title out of their hands. Now, I am not a huge basketball fan. I'm relatively big sports fan, so I build up my opinions on topics like this. Whether they're right or wrong is up to you to agree with.

First off, let me preface this by saying that I hate LeBron James. This 28 year old is probably the most hated figure in the United States since Hitler. What he did to the city of Cleveland 4 (right? 4 years?) years ago is despicable. His hometown, he just completely abandoned for greener pastures. He realized he was not going to win a championship with them so he peaced. Class act. However, his arrogance is only comparable to his dominance. Regardless of what you think of his character, King James has to be considered one of the best, if not the absolute greatest of all time.

My high school wrestling coach always used to say, "What makes someone good? Results". That statement has never rung truer than with James. He has, at the ripe age of 28, won 4 MVP awards, 2 Finals MVPs and 2 rings. He is a 9x all star and has made the all defense team 5 times as well. He does anything and everything he can to win, and that's what he does. But does that mean we should like him?

One thing I think professional athletes always forget is that they are in the entertainment industry. I understand they want to be immortalized through excellence in their sport, they want to win championships, they want awards, they want all the fame, glory, and money that accompany playing professional sports. Hell, I'm 21 years old, working in an office for the summer and would sell my soul to have the ability to play a game every day for the rest of my life and make millions of dollars. However, it does not change the fact that professional athletes are paid that kind of money because their job is to entertain us. We live in a society that is so engrossed in how other people carry themselves that athletes and actors, musicians and models are all heavily scrutinized for how they behave. This is the area that LeBron clearly does not comprehend.

We get it, you are the (potentially) the greatest player to every lace up your basketball shoes. When all is said and done, I think you will be the single greatest. You are 28 years old and have accomplished more than maybe any others. The only thing standing in the way of the discussion is another 3 or 4 rings...

However that does not excuse they way you carry yourself. My parents always said its better to use your powers for good, never for evil. You sir, are pure evil. You destroyed the faith of not just the state of Ohio, but the entire country (with the exception of the slimeballs who live in south Florida). You have tainted a legacy that was pure, and likeable. Coming out of high school, you were a God. I used to love watching the magic shows that you put on on the court. Simply majestic. Now, not only do I not care about basketball, but I find myself rooting against you in every aspect of life. I'm a passionate Red Sox fan and I have never hated anyone on the Yankees as much as I hate you. A Bruins fan who has never hated anyone on the Habs as much as I hate you.

So is LeBron James the greatest basketball player of all time? Quite possibly. I would extend that and say that in this day and age, where we have seen many of G.O.A.T discussions of various players for various sports (Crosby, Tiger, Federer, Phelps, Usain Bolt, Kyle Dake, Abby Wambach, etc.), James may be the best of them all. But does that mean we should like him? That's up to you. Everybody is different. All I know is I could never respect someone with as little integrity as the so called "King".