A Shape Can Mean…

What is this shape? Where do we see this shape at? What color is this shape? What does this shape mean? This shape is a heart. We see it just about everywhere we go. The heart can be seen in different colors or sizes. A heart has not only one meaning, but it has a bundle of meanings.

When you see a heart what is does it mean to you? To me, a heart shows love and comfort. Whenever I see a heart shape, I get a smile on my face and think about those that I love and care about. Such as: my family, my friends, teachers or coaches, the sports I play, favorite food or music.

For example, my favorite sports are volleyball and basketball. When I play either of those sports I have to have fun playing it otherwise I would not be playing good. I need to have the love of the game. When I play sports I have teammates that I love to play with, and I know they will have my back on and off the court. I have the love of a sisterhood on my team.

Family and friends are the most important to me. I love them because they are always going to be there for me. They will not judge me for anything I do wrong, but they will give me their honest opinions. I can trust them with secrets, drama, whenever I need a shoulder to cry on, or basically my life. And for that I love them.

I need to have food and music in my life. I know food and music it is not a big topic to compare to “love”, but without Chicken Alferdo I would not go back to the same restaurant and melt in my seat while eating it. I love Olive Garden; their food is to die for especially the salad and bread sticks. Music that I love to listen to is Lady Gaga; gosh she is so incredibly weird and different. She does not care how people talk about her, she dresses the way she wants to, and her eyes are full of dreams. That is what I love about Lady Gaga!

You see, a heart has different meanings to people. Just remind yourself about all the things you love to do or the people you love. That is basically the simplest way to remember a heart. It does not matter if you can see a heart, as long as you know what love means to you. Everyday try your best to spread heart to the world. A simple “Hi” or “Have a good day” will do the trick to spreading hearts.

Young Love :)

Ah! Sitting in class with a boring substitute, Mrs. Caffey had gone to N.A.U. with the college readiness class. I really hated days like that because there were no class discussions, and no help on assignments. So, I am really sorry to say…I had spent most of the class period daydreaming and remembering my first crush!

Melcomh Chee was my very first crush! I met him when I was nine years old at a co-ed ten and under basketball tournament in Sanders, Arizona. I was so shy to even say one word to Melcomh, but his mom had told him to introduce me to the other teammates. So, he grabbed my hand and introduced me to the team. When Melcomh was telling me the player’s names, I was not even paying attention I was more concentrated on him holding my hand.

It was about time to start the game, and I think the team thought I was a “girly girl”. Until, I started shooting threes like a free-throw shot. After we won that game, Melcomh told me I was a really good basketball player! I melted in my shoes when he complemented me. He asked me to ask be his girlfriend because I played basketball really good. I said “Really! ME? Sure I will”.  I was so happy that I was Melcomh girlfriend! He bought me Gatorade and made me sandwiches when we sat in between games. We were very young to be dating, but we did not care.

One game we had played to get to the championship round, no one was not shooting well! We had lost that game, so we had to play for third place. Everyone did not care about third place; we all wanted to win the entire tournament. Melcomh looked so mad at me because I did not shoot my threes well last game. So I played my butt off for third place and we barely won that game by 5 points.

After the game, they announced the All-tourneys from our team. It was Aaren Billie and Frank Martin! Melcomh had gotten so mad at me and dumped me because Frank and I got All-tourney. That was my first crush at nine years old. To this day Melcomh and I are still great friends, and laugh about how we dated at nine years old

Dreams Are Surprises

                Have you ever wondered what people dream of while they are asleep? I ask myself that question every morning when I wake up. I tend to have a multitude of crazy, unreal dreams. A scary dream; once I dreamt that a scary looking clown was chasing after me while I was at a cousin’s birthday party. A sad dream; I made my mother the biggest birthday cake but my brother had taken a bite of it without even asking if he could have a piece. A superhero dream; I was able to fly around the world to help people, and my outfit was my basketball jersey.

                As you can see, you can different sort of dreams. They can be: happy, sad, scary, mysterious dreams or a dream where you feel like you are untouchable.

                A few days ago, my boyfriend was fast asleep and I was still up doing my homework. I had fallen asleep on my work for about two hours, and I woke up to put all my books away. While I was putting my books away, Scott had turned over and taken over the entire bed!  I was very exhausted, so I tried to tell him to move over a bit but he could not hear one word I had said. So, with the little muscles I had I tried to move him over.

                When Scott moved over, he kind of started to get comfortable on my left arm. I did not mind him sleeping on my arm, but it got my arm all tingly so I had to move it. I moved my arm as slowly as I could so I would not wake him up again. Suddenly, Scott just grabbed my arm like a piece of meat and started biting on it.

                I did not know what to do…I told him to “Stop”, or “Babe wake up!” He did not respond to me.  Finally, about seven seconds later he just stopped and went back to sleep. Gosh, after seeing what my boyfriend did to my arm, I really wanted to know what he was dreaming about.

                I went back to sleep and woke up the next morning, laughing! From all my laughing I woke up my boyfriend.

                 “What are you laughing at? Was I grueling?” He asked.

“No babe, but could I ask you something? I said.

 “Ok babe, what?” He asked.

“What were you dreaming about last night?” I asked.

                He said, “Um…I do not really remember. I was so tired though, why?”

“Well, because you were biting on my arm and I told you to stop or I tired waking you up, but you went back to sleep.” I said.

The look on our faces was like “What the Heck”, we did not know what to say after our conversation. The strangest thing I have ever experienced was getting my arm chewed on just before bed. Dreams can be an amazing adventure, just do not try and scare anyone while you are dreaming.

A Letter to Cherish

This year’s spring break could not come any slower! I am super ecstatic about spring break; I will be traveling to Ellendale, North Dakota. I will be taking a tour of the school and trying out for their girl’s basketball team. Trinity Bible College is the name of the school, it is also the same school my siblings have attended and they told me it was great.

There is only one problem, you see, my boyfriend and I have spent a plethora of time together this year, and have became much closer. We have been through good and bad times in our relationship, but we still learn to communicate and work out our problems together.

But our biggest challenge is near, COLLEGE! Scott knows that I want to continue my education and to be able to play basketball at a higher level. I know it is going to be hard for us not to see each other every day, and I feel miserable for going far away. Whenever I feel terrible about leaving off to college somewhere far, I read this letter:

I received this letter on February 14, 2012, on our very first Valentine’s Day spent together. After reading the letter, I stop feeling miserable about going far away. I know that we will be okay no matter how far I go to school. I know this because, Scott says it in this amazing letter that I will never lose. Or whenever I feel lonely or sad, I just open up this letter and read it to myself, and I know that I have someone out there who loves and cares

I Want, I Need, I Have to Have

A question that never fails to be asked toward me is, “Do you hate having to wear glasses every day?” I can honestly say no! I love my glasses, they are my life! I can see just about anything that is surrounding me where ever I go. I know people notice how thick my lenses are, but of course it is not that hard to notice. Back in my younger days, I had names called at because how thick my lenses were. But let me tell you, I would never change a clear vision for a blind site.

                No one is perfect, but I am happy with who I am. My glasses are something that I must have with me every day. My life would be a catastrophe without my beautiful glasses.

                I would not be able to see notes in class that I have to take down. Read messages when I receive a texts or emails. See pictures as clear as I should or even taking pictures. I would not see my beautiful family’s and boyfriend’s face as clearly as I wish I could. Oh gosh and driving! I would probably cause an accident on the road without my glasses or even get a ticket for reckless driving. Even when I put on my make-up I need m glasses, or when I pluck my eyebrows. Now that is definitely a time when I need my glasses!

                No matter how good I would look without my glasses, or no matter if I get made fun of how thick my lenses; I cannot live without my glasses. I love to be different with them; it makes me feel smart or like a know it all type of person.

What to Choose

Okay, so I had an amazing weekend in the amazing, beautiful Phoenix, Arizona. The only hard thing about visiting Phoenix was trying to pick out a place to eat. I am not just talking about a dinner meal; I am talking about the whole course meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  My boyfriend and I tend to have a hard time picking a place to eat, so we both ask each other “What do you feel like eating?” or say “This time you pick where we are going to eat”. The funny thing is no matter what we ask each other our answer is always “I don’t care!” Ugh, I really hate when we both give each other that answer.

I do not like picking a place to eat because honestly, there are so many good places to eat at in Phoenix and it is so hard to pick. For example, there is: Buffalo Wild Wings, Chili’s, Red Robin, Ruby Tuesday, Olive Garden (I love this place), Denny’s, IHop, Poncho’s, etc. See, like I said there are so many good choices it is a difficult decision.

                On Friday afternoon, after watching the varsity boy’s baseball team play in a tournament in Fountain Hills we decided to go eat lunch. I have to say one of the best places we ate was our lunch at was Olive Garden. I had lunch with my boyfriend, Scott, his mom, and baby sister, and two of the baseball player’s parents, Levi Reyes and Dylan Barela moms’. We were all so hungry we had a plethora of the salad and breadsticks well we waited for our food to come out. I had ordered the Chicken Alfredo, which is my usual order…I do not like trying new things at a favorite restaurant.

                Okay so like I said “I do not like trying new things” well Scott’s mom had order a soup for her and the baby because they could not have meat due to Lent, a Catholic practice. The soup she ordered was spinach, it had some potatoes chopped up with some vegetables added in it. It did not look so bad, I actually wanted to have a bite but the baby was eating up all of the soup.

                As I was eating my lunch, I was surprised that the baby was still eating the soup. It made me think to myself "Dang that soup must be really good, I have to try it". Once I saw the baby finally done eating, I took a spoon full amount of the spinach soup. First, I took a smell of the soup and looked at it for about a minute and doubted myself. The second time I ate it the soup! It was...was very...good.

                I am not a big fan of eating spinach because back in my younger kid days I choked on it, from then on it scared me. Now I do not judge food by the way it looks, only by its taste! So now I am going to start trying new things at restaurants.

Good-Bye #11 Holbrook Jersey

“This has always been my biggest dream, I just did not think it would come this fast… My senior year, playing for a state championship! I have been dreaming of this day since I was a little kid, now it is time to make it a reality!” That is what I wrote on my Facebook status on February 18, 2012, the day the Holbrook Lady Roadrunners took on the Window Rock Scouts.

The game took place at the N.A.U. Skydome in Flagstaff, Arizona at noon. It has been awhile since high school basketball teams played at N.A.U., way back to the year of 2007.  When my sister, Kristin Ayze, was a senior and it was also the year the boy’s basketball team made it to the Final Four that season. Walking into the dome, waiting anxiously and butterflies running through my stomach was surprisingly an amazing feeling. It was awesome to see teams with their fans there to support them, and it made the crowd have such an amazing atmosphere.

It was halftime of the Winslow and Many Farms girl’s game, and it was our turn to go and get ready for our game. Walking into the locker room I had my earphones in, jamming out to Nicki Minaj trying to calm down my nerves. I was ready to go…my hair tied up, jersey tucked in with my warm-up over it, ankle braces on tight, and my shoelaces triple knotted. I took a deep breath and sat there with my teammates by my side; I looked at each and every one of them and believed they would play amazing no matter what the outcome of the game would be.

Before any game I have I take a second to myself and pray…which usually gets me excited during the warm-ups but I was too nervous. I mean, it is okay to be nervous for something you waited your whole life for. I spotted my family in the crowd there to support me along with my boyfriend’s family too; it was amazing to see people, “family” there for me.

“Introducing the starting line-up for the Holbrook Roadrunners! At guard, a senior, number eleven, Aaren La Rose!” I walked down to shake the other coach’s hand as well as our cheerleaders as they formed a tunnel for us to run through; I could hear the crowd going wild.

Holding our positions, the ball goes up…and the game began. All the thoughts that ran through my head was “hard work, defense, come on A.B. you got to be stronger, no stupid or lazy passes, and have fun!” I came out of the game with under two minutes left in the 4^th quarter, I had left the court giving everything I had in the game, and sat down with tears rolling down my cheeks.

Sadly, my dream did not become a reality…we lost by fourteen, the final score: 64-50.  Even though my teammates and I did not win the game, we also did not give up on playing. We kept pushing to play stronger defense until the time went out. We went to go shake our opponent’s hands and most of our opponents were my friends. They all gave me hugs and told me I did great, good game! Of course it made me cry more, I ran straight to the locker room so no one else would see me.

It is hard to lose a game like that, knowing it was your last year to play high school basketball, or even for me…knowing that was my last time wearing that jersey since I was a freshman. I cried my eyes out coming out of the locker room to see my families their waiting for me. The best thing they said was “There is only one winner at the end of this tournament but YOU are the winner in our hearts!” No matter if I win or lose, I am so thankful to have family that will always be there for me.

Guardian Angel

 It was an amazing day in Holbrook, Arizona. Shortly after watching the Moving Choir kids perform their dance performance in the auditorium. One of my teammates (Jessica) and I decided to go watch them for the first time this year and go up to Circle K to get a fountain drink. We did not think it was going to cost too much money to get two drinks, besides they were only 79 cents each plus taxes.

I told Jessica I think that I have a dollar in my bag and that we would not be short on money. We walked in with a dollar twenty-five out of coins! I know sounds funny that we did not just take in the dollar but Jessica said that we would be okay without it; she knows her math pretty well.  After trying to purchase our drinks we came out thirty-three cents short. I was so embarrassed it looked like I was broke and did not have money. We asked the cashier lady if we could run out to the car and come back in with the change; once we turned around our “guardian money angel” ask us how much money we were short.

The strangest thing was that he came out of nowhere. You know how the Circle K door has a bell sound when you enter the store? We did not even hear the bell sound go off, so it was weird because Jessica and I thought we were the only ones that were in the store. The guy was carrying a huge bag that had clothes hanging out of it, he had glasses like Mrs. Caffey but more dirty and had scratches on them, and his pants were dark skinny jeans with bleach stains on it. He also carried an empty gallon jug. He helped us with our change but Jessica felt so bad because usually she is the one that helps people out with extra money when they are short. We told the guy thank you and we really appreciated what he did.

                Jessica and I sat in the car for about a good five minutes trying to figure out where the guy came from. I mean, there was no Greyhound buses that stopped while we were in there just freaked us out. It was so strange to us because it was like it was meant for us to be there without the exact amount of change. Every time I go to Circle K I look for that guy but he is never there. He was one of those once and a life time things, he I called my guardian money angel.

NEW EXPERIENCES

Most people that know me know that I am a very athletic type of person. I love sports, it brings out a side of a person that I love to see…and that is competitiveness! But I have to be honest; I did not know anything about football. My first football game was back in my sophomore year during homecoming week. I felt so weird; I did not know what first, second, third, nor fourth down meant, or how many players were able to be on the field. I was a football rookie learner.
Over the years I have learned somewhat more about football, thanks to my boyfriend. His family loves to watch the N.F.L. games; they all have their own teams to cheer on. This year I was rooting for the San Francisco 49ers. I do not have a favorite football team but the 49ers caught my eye by how they played defense. The San Francisco did not make it to the Super Bowl this year but they sure surprised a plethora of people.
Ok, remember how I said I am not a huge football fan? This year’s Super Bowl was actually my first time watching and celebrating the Super Bowl. Crazy I know! You would think families get together only on birthday parties or huge holidays; but my boyfriends’ family gets together to throw a party for the Super Bowl. It was a new experience for me, it was amazing to see family spend time together and to have all that food to eat. They also put together a football pool game to see who wins money at the end of the 1st and 2nd half. I thought I would have the beginner’s luck of winning the pool game but I did not.
Not only was it my first time watching the Super Bowl but it was also my first time learning to make wings and taste some of some different types of chip salsa. There was so much food to choose from, they had everything from and that was: chips and dip, desserts, hamburgers and hot dogs, crackers with cheese or ham, vegetables, and drinks. I think today was the most I have ever eaten because with my boyfriends family there is absolutely no not eating around them. They will make you eat food, it is kind of intimidating.
The best thing about this party was even though none of their favorite teams made it to the Super Bowl, it was amazing how they all came together to watch the game. It is their tradition to do that, they all bring food, help clean up, sit and joke around; now that is when you know you have a great family.

Pets=Family

           Back in my young days, when I was about 8 years old, e had gotten our first family house pets. Two dogs named Max (boy) and CJ (girl). We had bought them from some strangers in Flagstaff at the park. They were originally getting pre-sold for $150 each but luckily they were the last two left in the box. The lady that was selling them cut us a huge deal; she sold both of them for $75. Where we live on the reservation is out in the middle of nowhere, so my family and I travel to a plethora of places. We still travel for my baby sister appointments, our sporting events (mainly mine), and we travel far to pay for bills, and to get food and house supplies.

My mom decided to buy the dogs, so they can protect our house while we travel. As the years passed by, Max and CJ had gotten bigger and older. We had always kept them locked inside their fence; well other dogs in our housing area would run around into people’s yards. The one time our dogs jump the fence and run around for 15 minutes, we get a notice from the NHA housing basically telling us, “you need to get rid of your dogs, their dangerous and are running in the neighbors yards…if you do not get rid of them you have to move out!” Of course we were mad at the fact they told us to get rid of our dogs; when it was the first time they had gotten out!

We tried to ask our family members if they could take them in and we will still buy their food and take care of them; but they could not. We did not want to take them to the pound and have them get put down, that was just too horrible to do. One of my step father’s co-workers told us they owned a Hogan near by where the dogs could stay at. We took the offer, and took the dogs to their new home. We gave them food, took them on walks, and played with them for about two weeks on their own. The next week they had passed away. It has been about seven years since my family had owned a pet.

From the movie: Marley and Me, a quote: “a person can learn a lot from a dog…” it is very true. My family and I built up a friendship and trust bond with our two dogs. We knew they would always protect us from any harm, and be there for us whenever we need to smile when we were down. We have some fish in our house but the problem is we can not play with them or we will basically kill them. My family and I missed that type of bonding with your animals, so now we are thinking about a dog from a friend of the family!

Accidents Happen

   

            How do these “skid markets” appear on the roads? Are the marks caused from a car accident? When you get a call about one of your family members getting in a car accident, so many thoughts run through your head and you try not to think the worse. This is not any old mark; this is an unforgettable memory to my sister, Sheria. She woke up like it was going to be another ordinary day, not even thinking once about getting hit by a car. The vehicle had been hit on the left rear end side of the truck, completely damaging the axis and making the vehicle non drivable.                                                                                                                                                 It had been the worse time for us to know that my sister got into a car accident; the same day she got hit our cell phones had gotten shut off. Thankfully, my mom got the call from the house landline. My mom checked me out from school and we went straight to see if Sheria was doing ok. Sheria was torn from the accident. She could not stop crying or tell my family what happen without breaking down. I know how it feels to damage a car but, my accident was tiny, I made a scratch on my boyfriend truck…trust me, I felt completely terrible all I did was cry. So I wanted to be the one to help my sister through it. The best thing I could do was make jokes about her beating me into riding in a police vehicle...that made the tears go away and the smiles appear.             My mom had told Sheria, “Accidents happen every day okay? There is nothing you can do about it now, what’s done is done babe.” Those words made Sheria stop and think about what my mom had said. Sheria told me that she’s scared to get behind the wheel again; I do not blame her on bit. Who would not be scared to drive again? Most people become cautious about their driving skills, I surely was…I became more careful wherever I go, even if it was just down the street.