The Game

There was only five seconds left on the game clock, and so the intensity rose in the building as our basketball team was down by two points. One could feel the shuddering silence set by the audience as they watched our attempt to win. The inbounds play chosen by the coach was a double screen in which number eight would be assured an open shooting spot. As the inbounds passer, I slapped the ball in order to allow a synchronization of movement at the start of the play. It worked marvelously, as number eight was open and without hesitation, I passed it to him. The ball soared across the court and was placed almost perfectly in his hands. Already in his shooting position and wide open beyond the three point arc, he jumped and shot the ball. It seemed as if it traveled through the air in slow motion as all gazed in curiosity. The ball swooshed in the net in a split second, our entire team stormed the court toward number eight. I could not believe it, we had won. We pulled through the moment of uncertainty and anticipated grief. Our bench charged off the sidelines and tacked us in celebration of what they ahd just witnessed.

The Retake

I couldn’t believe it, there was no way I was going to take it again. I thought those days were over…are they seriously making me doing it again? I have to do it then? These were the thoughts spinning through my head continuously when I found out I had to take the SATs again. I had already taken it twice and that doesn’t include the PAST and the PLAN. I despise these kinds of tests because they stress me out insanely and I thought I had been finished with them. I would have to study and properly prepare for it again, then drive to Princeton, New Jersey, arrive by ten o’clock, take the test by myself with just the supervisor, and it had to be exactly on the day after Christmas! I honestly couldn’t even believe what I was hearing as my dad was explained it to me. It seemed like just a waste of my already short Christmas break. But the sad truth was that I had no other option because of the two times I took the test, my scores differed by more than 500, so I automatically had to retake it, or the higher scores would not count. I was literally speechless as I had been nominated a national merit semifinalist. I thought they would have taken that into account but there was no way out, it had to be done.

College Search

One of the dilemmas I encountered during this year was deciding where to apply to college, as I hadn’t given the future part of my life much thought. Sure, most of my family attended the University of Delaware, but that doesn’t enclose or even narrow my decision. But as the deadline for colleges rapidly approached my unprepared state, I realized the urgent need for me to not procrastinate any longer. I figured that taking into account my grades and high phase classes; I should have a widened range of options laid out waiting to be discovered. I knew I wanted a university excelling in chemistry, geometry, and biology, as I also excelled in these in school. I researched online for careers which included these subjects and found that biomedical engineering fit the criteria with fairly high starting salary. I searched for colleges offering this major and was eventually able to narrow the numerous options to the University of Delaware, Arcadia University, and the University of Arizona. These are all great colleges offering the opportunity for me to excel, so I was satisfied in my decision although it would still be necessary to break down the list to just one. This is a task for me later down the road as I await the letters of acceptance. Arcadia is a small university about an hour and a half away, Arizona is incredibly far away and a huge university and Delaware is 20 minutes away and a medium sized campus. I am still not exactly sure about which option would best suit my abilities.

Great Example of an Anti Hero

Tyler Durden is the archetypical male warrior who is strong, self reliant and courageous and is glorified by the “Fight Club” culture because of these virtues. Being strong and courageous are classical hero traits that can be found in the heroes of “Beowulf” and “Sir Gaiwan and the Green Knight”. Tyler Durden’s courage is displayed in all of its glory within a scene in which he is brutally beaten. He does not once raise his hands to defend himself from an assault that is meant to humiliate him. This display of his courage and strength through non-violence invites references to Gandhi and the awe of his spectators. His reward was the right to use the basement of the bar as a meeting place. This scene shows he is capable of acting in both violent and non-violent ways to accomplish his goals. He approaches everything in his life without fear and because of this, people are inspired to follow him and believe he will protect them. A more illuminating example of his courage is at the climax of the novel when he is willing to sacrifice himself as a martyr for his cause. He draws upon his extraordinary male strength during his fights and regardless of how seriously he is injured, he will summon the will to rise each time he is knocked down. These heroic traits were glorified and a cult of personality formed around him. Because he projected these traits, he attracted followers from a culture that lacked and sought strong alpha males. Tyler Durden imposed rules of conduct and a code of honor upon his followers, much like a patriarch imposes rules upon his clan. He searched for disciples among the fighters and selected the ones that proved they were worthy following their mastery of elaborate tests. The culmination of the testing is swearing fealty to Tyler through sacrifice and pain. His followers are selected and then branded with a chemical burn in the shape of his kiss. He says “this will hurt more than anything you have ever felt before” and “this is the greatest moment of your life”. Tyler is not what is traditionally thought of as a hero, nor is he a virtuous character, however his traits symbolized the needs and desires of the culture that created him.