Friday, October 29, 2010

Nebraska Cornhuskers Football 2010: A Year Worth Remembering, so far

By: Evan Troxel


For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Nebraska Football or for those who are familiar just to recall, Nebraska finished with a 9-4 record in the 2008-2009 season and a 10-4 record in the 2009 season.
So far in the 2010 season the Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Team has a record of 6-1 vs. their opponents. Nebraska is 2-1 vs. Big 12 Conference Opponents. Last season at this point in the year, Nebraska was 4-3 with a 1-2 record in the Conference. In 2010, Nebraska has scored a high of 56 points in a game and a low score of 13 points in a game. The biggest margin of victory for Nebraska is 39 points. The lowest margin of victory for Nebraska is 10 points.
Nebraska is coming off two consecutive improved seasons from the previous year. In 2008-2009 Nebraska made a bowl game and barely won the Gator Bowl. In the 2009 season they won Big 12 North, appeared in the Big 12 Championship Game, and won the Holiday Bowl. In the Holiday Bowl, it was the first time ever Nebraska shut out their opponent in a bowl game—hard to believe. Nebraska can measurably improve their record (from last season) by winning ten games and only losing 3 games (even if they don’t appear in the Big 12 Championship Game).
Nebraska has won national championships in the past in 1970, 1971, 1994, 1995, and 1997. They’ve won them all playing in the Orange Bowl except for winning the Fiesta Bowl in 1995. I’ll be satisfied if Nebraska keeps narrowing their losses each season or doesn’t lose more games than the previous season. If they tie the number of losses from the previous season (like last season) then I hope they would have appeared in the Big 12 Championship Game (win or lose). Regardless, let’s hope all athletes just keep doing their best and are the upmost prepared.
If you want to know my view on the quarterback situation, here it is. I watched Taylor Martinez play when he scored that touchdown to kick off the third quarter against Kansas State this year, 80 Yards! That’s really like the only action I can remember off the top of my head about him. He has quick speed and can maneuver around anybody really well. I think, Taylor Martinez may be playing the wrong sport. He probably could be lettering on the Varsity team for the Huskers running cross country. I think he should be a Heisman Trophy finalist although he’s only a redshirt freshman. Well, maybe I got the wrong impression of him.
Regardless of any of that, I like how head coach Bo Pelini is letting the quarterbacks get some action. Playing 3 quarterbacks though I don’t think is the smartest thing to do. I believe two quarterbacks is better. So if one of them gets hurt, the other one is ready to go and knows what to do. I like Zac Lee so put him in and make Cody Green the backup! Or, make Green the starter and just let Zac Lee get some playing time so he’s ready when Green gets hurt. Regardless, play Lee and let Martinez wait his turn. He’ll get his chance.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers Football Season has gone like this:
49-10 Win vs. Western Kentucky
38-17 Win vs. Idaho
56-21 Win at Washington
17-3 Win vs. South Dakota State
48-13 Win vs. Kansas State
13-20 Loss vs. Texas
51-41 Win at Oklahoma State

The remaining schedule is the following:
*All start times are Central Standard Time
Sat, Oct 30 vs. Missouri (Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE) 2:30 p.m. ABC
Sat, Nov 06 at Iowa State (at Ames, Iowa) 2:30 p.m. ABC
Sat, Nov 13 vs. Kansas (Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE) TBA
Sat, Nov 20 at Texas A&M (at College Station, Texas) TBA
Fri, Nov 26 vs. Colorado (Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE) 2:30 p.m. ABC

Two Doors Past Serenity

By: Shawn Strasburg

             There has never been a soul liberated from the isolation that binds me. The overbearing seclusion suffocates every thought trapped within these walls. Every effort to cope within these harsh confines returns null and void. Even though I know it to be a lost cause, I need to find freedom from this psychological oppression. I want to lose myself and fade into the oblivion of my mind. Unfortunately, that in itself is a formidable quest. Over time, my thoughts and dreams were lived out and mentally digested. These dreams were disassembled, resurrected and relived in desperation, yet they quickly lost all flavor. So much so, that before long in their stale redundancy, even the faintest spark of their magical ability to enthrall my mind was vanquished. This bland illness spread rapidly, threatening to crush even my will to live. Such impotent thoughts, once utterly exhausted, failed to bring even the slightest morsel of despair with their demise. They in themselves become nothing.
                But nothing to live for is not the end, nor is it even the beginning of the end; It is just that, nothing, a void. I fear that my union to this vacuity is sealed with eternity. Death has long since failed me; it can bring no reprieve, for there is no death. In my bondage, they suffer me no object in which to hasten deaths
slow hand. I am naked in this cell of padded walls. The floor and bed are formed from a singular piece
of indestructible foam. I have plunged from my two-foot high bed, to no avail, and even landing headfirst only produced headaches and defeat as injuries. I thoroughly invested myself in the fine art of strangulation. Yet my futile attempts soon revealed themselves to be a waste. Too often, I awoke with hands draped helplessly around my neck, no longer engaged in the fierce crushing battle they had once fought. Although that brought much frustration, in time, even that feeling was lost and inevitably became nothing.
                Thoughts are such frail beings and with their expiration, I grasped desperately for the smallest thread. With no new stimulus or situations, my mind turned moldy, fetid. The stagnate pool of my brain began to register days as weeks, then months, and even centuries. In a minutes glance, years were lost, never to be acknowledged. I found myself unbearably sane; wishing for insanity, even knowing it might lead to a more ghastly prison. There seemed such little chance that I could ever get lost in the intangible waves of it’s instability. No such thing could be. Insanity has never been wished into being, and is seldom, if ever denied. It is certainly not a creature of command. Yet, that thought gave me a small hope; a spark smoldering in the rotten leaves of my mind. That was something, before it too faded.
                The light in my cell died and with it my eyes, I only realized my loss long after it’s demise.
Like a comatose patient with black distant vision, I was astoundingly aware of my body, but unable to facilitate its function. The lost light had mercilessly burned my eyes and though I tried to accept this reprieve like a gift, or a reunion to a long lost friend, the darkness soon overstayed its welcome.
                I was afflicted by this new companion and distressed by the shadowed noises that tormenting my mind. I knew fear and it roughly held me. As time has no meaning in total darkness, I thought I had fallen into a perpetual well of agony. Gradually fear’s cruel grip lessened and I realized that these black noises were given birth by my lost body. I longed for the light and begged for a scrap of hope, dreaming that somehow the light would return. Yet I was shunned as I waited on the edge of my bed for decades waiting for it to come again. It seems as though I have lost so much…
                I was struck by the resounding dismay of my vanity, I lay resigned, motionless, staring at an
imagined ceiling. The thought of light was dancing just beyond reach. A century had gone by without a
shimmer of luminescence. A dungeon of nothingness now replaced the stark white cell I had been imprisoned to. I had never been able to grasp the dimensions of my chamber through the blizzard of light
that reflected again and again to an infinity absent of color or contrast. Gradually the thick strangling blanket of night became a comfort after the oblivion of light.           
                Still, I often felt abandoned and I was slowly immersed into the fullness of despair. I had been severed from all human contact and in that lack of being I felt as though I had disincorperated. I am but a wraith, a mind floating in a cell of minute yet infinite structure. In the light I had been afraid of being washed into the white flood; I feared I would never return to my bed, the only anchor of my existence. Now in this dark realm my wraith wanders, ever exploring. I found that in total darkness, nothing exists until you will in into being. In these wanderings, I discovered boundaries, either empowered by my subconscious or imported by some being greater than I. Perhaps if my mind were not so thoroughly petrified, I could reason a way beyond my vague borders. Yet in the end, all that I am able to conjure is my bed, so I return to its comfort when my curiosity is sated.
                I no longer desire the things of the body and perhaps that will lead to the conclusion of my
disenchantment. I am not even certain that I still lay resting. My awareness seems to fragment more and more. Much passes by me with no recollection and I have no knowledge of this lost time, I either am or I am not. As time never seems to shift or perhaps flees at a ridiculous rate, I linger. Perhaps my cell will open or stay forever sealed. When forever is never and death is not; everything has become nothing….yet am I?

Hidden by a Mask (Art piece by Jessi Johnson)

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

What He Sees (a poem by Jessi Johnson)

He walks down the sidewalk,
With his white cane in hand.
Hearing the people laugh and snicker,
He thinks, “They laugh not knowing,
They laugh without understanding.
They laugh thinking I do not hear.”
He turns the corner, heads toward home.
As he walks up the driveway,
his tears begin to fall.
The love of his life stands there, waiting.
They walk inside and sit on the couch.
He reaches up and places his hand on her face,
Then softly says,
“Since the day I was born,
Morning and night, I've seen nothing.
Yet, I see things that no one else can.
I know looks don't matter,
Yet I long to see your face.
I know when you're smiling
And I can tell when you cry,
But, I hate that I can't say you look beautiful.”
Then he moved her hand to his heart and
 To hers, he moved his own.
“There are things I wish I could see,
But if I had to give this up,
I would rather stay blind.
In my blindness I can see most.
For, I can see what truly matters.
I can see your heart.
The day I met you, I saw more than I had ever seen.
I saw kindness and truth,
But most of all, I saw love.”

Tick-Tock (a poem by Jessi Johnson)

Tick-Tock
I am from a moment in time.
Pause, fast forward, but can never rewind.
I am from the second hand, spinning around,
Like a windmill on a windy day.
Time is fast, then time is slow.
I am from my mistakes in the past,
the ones which I can never take back.
An I am from live and learn,
Cherish every breath.

Tick-Tock
I am from the hour hand,
From time that seems so long ago.
I am from the memories made,
From crystal tears and pure joy,
From true love and real pain.
I am from friends and family,
That are always by my side.
From the ones I love
And the ones that love me.

Tick-Tock
I am from the minute hand,
Where every tick-tock matters.
I am from the coveted life,
One I don't quite yet deserve.
A life full of choices,
Some made wrong,
But always forgiven.
Some made right,
But not all accepted.
I am from the choices I have to make,
Ones that tear at my soul
And cause my heart to ache.
I am from what life has given,
And what life has taken away.
I am from a little piece of everything,
That has briefly touched my life.

Monday, October 25, 2010

My Silent Tears Now Whisper Thank-you


"Don't laugh at me.  Don't call me names.  Don't get your pleasure from my pain..."  During my adolescent years I always found comfort in the perfectly chosen words and beautifully played melody of this song.  "Don't Laugh at me," by mark Wills is a song some may be saddened by, but it is one I will always smile at.
As a child, my family and I moved around a lot.  I attended a grand total of seven schools.  Each and every time I ended up being a nobody.  I was someone at which they could point their fingers and laugh. 
Life for me, was full of daily torture.  More times than not I was alone at recess.  If I wasn't talking to the teacher on duty, I was the girl who sat alone on the swing.  As I kicked the pebbles under my feet, I watched the other children.  They were laughing and smiling with their friends.  Alone, I sat, until another kid told me, 'Get off and go away.  I want to swing."
Even though I spend most nights crying myself to sleep, my experiences with moving have made me who I am today.  They have taught me things I would have never learned otherwise.
No one is the same.  Instead we are all unique.  Even though it seems that everyone accepts that we are all different, they still don't accept the differences in everyone.  Most people remain unaccepted simply as a result of their differences.  How many times have you thought, "I can do better than he/she?"  I am sure you have numerous times, for we all have even if we didn't mean to.  maybe in some areas of life you could do better, but their individual experiences have taught them things that you will never know.
I have learned forgiveness.  If they called me names to make themselves feel better, they must not have the perfect life either.  I should not be one to hold anger against them because no one aught them how to handle their insecurities.
I also, learned patience, compassion, and understanding.  these are qualities that i possess because of the other children.
I am neither angry nor upset with the children who made fun of me as a child.  Instead, if i was given the chance to tell them one thing, it would simply be thank-you.  Thank-you for making me understand differences.  Thank-you for making me take the time to get to know someone before I make my judgments about them.  Thank-you for you make me who I am and gave me the qualities for which I am known.

For the WebZine I am Associate Editor of Creative Content and Graphic Content and webmaster, Jessi Johnson.

THE TIME OF YEAR FOR THOSE FOUR LETTER WORDS

By Shawn Strasburg

"S#@*! C$&%! F#@&*!" OK, so the last one was five letters. What I said was, "SNOW! COLD! FROST!"
              Yes, it is almost that time of year again and for those of you who grumbled, “You didn’t have to remind me." Well Ha! Seriously though, it is getting late in the year.
            I remember an October twelve years ago when I was playing miniature golf in Dallas, Texas. I was decked out in my plaid cabby hat, concentrating on a long drive. FORE! And yes, you can tee off in putt-putt golf. I was sweating and wondering what had become of fall on that sweltering day. Much too soon it was time to go home, and by evening when we reached I-70 the Interstate was closed. I spent the night at the Golden Roses motel and for some reason nothing was golden or even came close to smelling like roses. Honestly it was great, I had the privilege of spending some of that money you don’t have called "plastic” and my friend somehow got the only bed.
When I finally arrived at my house I found that I no longer lived in a house, but in a towering snow drift.  Most of the house was engulfed in snow, leaving only the front side peeking out like an Eskimo under her hood. Three feet of snow had fallen, true blizzard style, in early October. This was two and a half hours south of North Platte, and honestly, I always thought it was warmer when you lived closer to the equator. What I am trying to say, is that weather differs greatly from region to region and can change in an hour. Soon we will be traveling for holidays or just for fun and I want you to be prepared.
            First off you should know the condition of your vehicle. Antifreeze should be tested for proper freeze protection. Those racing slicks are no longer the tire of choice. If you don't know the reliability of your battery, then it can be tested at Advance Auto for free. Fuel filters, fuel, wiper blades, washer fluid, exhaust, engine, and drive train could all be in question on your vehicle. If checking these items sounds like work and you have the money, then many repair shops will do a winterization check less than $100 (repairs are generally extra).
To drive or not to drive, that is the question, or at least the next question. The phone number for road conditions is 511 or 1-800-906-9069. If you have traveled much you may remember a time when you spent most of your money and needing to hurry on the return trip. If you decide not to heed road conditions because of time or money, then you may find yourself in the ditch.
Last winter after visiting my brother, south of Lincoln Nebraska, I chose to get a motel because blowing snow had greatly reduced visibility and was drifting across the road in areas. I was in a good four-wheel drive SUV, but I chose to stay two days and left in the evening when the wind calmed down. In 30 miles of Interstate by York, Nebraska there were still around thirty vehicles in the ditch that had not been towed yet. I didn’t count the spots where you could see cars had been towed from, and it was dark so I could only count cars on the westbound side of the Interstate. This shows that even though I paid for a motel and waited two days, I was back on the road while many drivers were not. Danger aside, the owners of the stuck vehicles had incurred more cost and time loss by trying to press through.
            The final aspect of winter traveling is what to bring on a trip. Now I am sure most of you have a few things in the car for those long road trips. CDs, an IPod, trash, unopened text books, perhaps even a friend that lives your way, or if you’re lucky a special someone to introduce to the parents. Before you leave, you might make a quick trip to the gas station and emerge with a Red Bull, Doritos, Mountain Dew, beef jerky, a Snickers bar, three scratch tickets and an empty wallet. So you’re all ready for the trip!
By the time you pass Sutherland the chips and drinks are gone along with the Snickers that you only got one bite of. The beef jerky that tasted like moldy gym shorts gets thrown out the window a mile later.
By Paxton your passenger’s strong urge to pee becomes irrefutable and you stop for a quick break. Then it’s back on the road and you cruise along at 80. Because it is I-80, isn’t it? A little snow starts to fall but you ignore it and decide to take the shortcut from Roscoe to Keystone because it is more scenic. I’ve never “seen” a cop on that road either.
About halfway to Keystone your tire goes flat and you pull to the edge of the road and turn on your hazard lights. Unfortunately there is so little shoulder on the road and so much snow on the ground that you can’t get your jack to hold the car up without slipping. So you grab your cell phone and call for help. What, it isn’t working? Well, on your scenic trip through God’s country you forgot that God doesn’t need a cell phone so no one has bothered to put up a tower there yet. It gets dark awfully early when there are no street lights, and you climb back in the car after a few choice four letter words. After all this you find out that the three scratch tickets are not winners.
I am not going to bore you with the whole story of everything that could go wrong in that scenario. I will tell you one vital thing you did do right, and that was to stay with the car, it is often times the best bet. A vehicle is better than a tent as it is insulated and blocks the wind. Also when a search party starts looking for a stranded motorist they usually start at the car. However, just imagine that you had a can of Fix-a-Flat, you more than likely could have filled up the tire and driven to a nearby tire repair shop and the ordeal would have been over. Knowing that, here are a few items you should throw in the car for the next SNAFU.

Sleeping bag,
Blankets
Coveralls,
Warm coat
Snow boots
Gloves 1 pair thin, 1 pair thick
Stocking cap, face mask
4 pairs of thick socks, at least one wool
The equivalent of at least one Gallon Water and a few empty bottles
Food:  pop tarts, beef jerky, canned fruit, canned beef stew, spam (yea, kind of gross but your roommate won’t eat it) eating utensils, ECT.
LED flashlight, extra batteries
Signal flares
Fix-a-Flat
A shovel
Books/magazines
Cell phone charger

            I know that’s a lot of stuff, and yes you may not be able to fit it all in. Remember to add items in direct proportion to the number of your party. You can reduce the list by some because you may have duplicate items, although I do know a guy that refuses to wear a jacket or coat in the winter.
 In a “Stranded” situation you are suppose to run your car for short intervals (enough to stay warm) and always make sure that the tail pipe is not blocked by snow. When you check the exhaust pipe it is a good time to brush the snow away from your hazard lights. It is also recommended to leave a window cracked to allow for ventilation. Well, the heat from running a car for 15 minutes will probably be gone around minute 17, when it all escapes through the open window. The heater more than likely will not blow warm air until around minute 11, so that leaves you with 54 minutes of freezing every hour. If you hate to be cold, then don’t skimp on warm clothing. You will want plenty of socks as wet feet get frostbite fast. Remember movement aids circulations so try to stretch and flex fingers and toes often if you want to keep them around awhile.
One key to staying warm is to never get too warm; sweat or moisture of any kind is your enemy in cold weather. In contrast water is very important to have as dehydration occurs in cold weather a lot quicker than many people think. The best way to get water after you have used your supplies is to melt snow in bottles under your coat. Eating snow cools your core temperature and that would be dangerous when stranded.
Food is good for energy to keep warm and this is the time for high fat and high calorie foods. Get some sugary foods, but stock up on plenty of substantial items also. Canned goods should be the pop top kind that doesn’t require a can opener for. If you’re really feeling into it, make some pemmican and hard tack.
Next I will group the flashlight, books, and magazines together. You are going to be bored and unless you are careful you may discharge your car battery by running the radio and dome light, which would make things even worse. So read away, you could even read that textbook that has been on the floor board all semester.
Signal flares are good for signaling. Duh! But honestly, Wal-Mart sells a flare gun and how much cooler is that. Heck, you might even be able to bring down a deer and signal for help all at the same time. The biggest sand shovel that will fit in your trunk can be used to dig your vehicle out of a snow drift (snow shovels and corn shovels often will not fit beneath a car).
And last but not least a cell phone charger….wait, the cell phone isn’t getting a signal anyway, or the tow truck would have shown up. In this case I would also recommend a CB radio, it has so many more uses: Karaoke mike for those really long trips, yelling at truckers when they cut you off (and then hoping you can out run them), or calling for help on channel 9.
I intentionally left a few things out. Every Boy Scout or Girl Scout should have a knife and a lighter and so should you; however, they may not be as handy as you think in this situation. For example, you can’t make a fire in your car and you cannot eat your car. So if you bring the items on the list, you will have food, and unless you drove to the top of Mount Everest, the clothing and sleeping bag will keep you sufficiently warm.
So today, not tomorrow, stock your car while you still can. Who wants to be the next person remembered for centuries in place of the Donner party? A few items in an old suitcase in the trunk could come in handy in a worst case scenario. It is better to be prepared and never need the supplies, than in a situation where you can only wish you had them. And remember, you can always donate the canned spam to the local food bank, someone, somewhere is bound to eat that stuff.


MLB Postseason 2010: 2009 World Series Teams on Verge of Elimination; Rangers seeking First Pennant

By Evan Troxel
Well, it’s that time of year again.  The Major League Baseball (MLB) Postseason is here in 2010.  In 2009, the New York Yankees won the American League Pennant and the MLB World Series.  The Philadelphia Phillies won the National League Pennant and lost to the Yankees in the MLB World Series.
The 2010 Postseason has gone like this: In the American League Division Series the New York Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins three games to zero. The Texas Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays three games to two.  In the National League Division Series the Cincinnati Reds were upset by the Philadelphia Phillies three games to zero and the Atlanta Braves were upset by the San Francisco Giants three games to one.
In the American League Championship Series (ALCS) the Texas Rangers lead the New York Yankees three games to two in a best of seven game series.  In the National League Championship Series (NLCS) the San Francisco Giants lead the Philadelphia Phillies three games to two also in a best of seven game series.  In 2010, the Rangers, Phillies, and Giants all improved their regular season records from the previous year.
The 2009 Texas Rangers of the American League West Division finished with a record of 87-75.  The Rangers had the fourth best record in the American League last year through 162 regular season games (excluding play-in games to get into the playoffs) and didn’t make the postseason.  If each League (American and National League) of MLB went by the four best teams (by record) the Rangers would have made the playoffs in 2009.  In 2010, they finished the regular season with a record of 90-72, won the Western Division title, and are in the playoffs.  They were unlucky last year, but this year they’ve learned a lot and now have a chance to clinch their first American League Pennant and perhaps, a first World Series title.
The most interesting play, I think, of the 2010 MLB Postseason was in NLCS Game 5 in the bottom of the fourth inning with one out when Pablo Sandoval of the Giants hit a fly ball to Phillies right fielder Jayson Werth.  Meanwhile, Cody Ross of the Giants was on second base and tagged up (after Werth caught the ball) and tried to get to third base before he could be tagged out.  Werth made a perfect line drive like throw to his teammate third basemen Placido Polanco who tagged Ross out just in time.  Double play!
Game six of the ALCS will be 7:00 p.m. CDT on Friday (the 22nd) and Game seven if necessary, will be 7:00 p.m. on Saturday (the 23rd).  Game 6 of the NLCS will be at 2:30 p.m. CDT Saturday (23rd) and Game 7 6:30 p.m. CDT on Sunday (24rd).  Game 1 of the World Series will be at 6:30 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, October 27, 2010.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Shawn Strasburg Bio

            
            My name is Shawn Strasburg. I am associate editor of news and opinion for the college webzine. I am a college freshman here at Mid Plains, and at 31 they have classified me as "a non-traditional student". I really don’t feel very non-traditional though. I would much rather be sleeping in at eight a.m. than at a class I signed up for when I was still in summer hibernation. I am not sure that my 13 years in the job market were beneficial because I still haven’t found the genie that guaranties a rewarding, stable career much less a measly job after college. I would like to say that I am a more mature student, but even I have wandered into class only to find out that it was test day, that very day, not the next week as my mental calendar so erroneously swore. I freaked out for few minutes staring blankly at the page of hieroglyphs. My heart raced as I struggled to recall the magical algebraic formulas needed to answer the first problem. Never fear, I dove in with ink scrawling all over the page, and somehow I managed to ace it. I honestly haven’t had to study or take a test for so long that I found myself studying almost ten hours a day those first few weeks. Perhaps this is where the “non-traditional" comes in because I just wasn't sure if any of the information would actually stick to the inside of my skull.
            I am excited about the Webzine this year I think we will have interesting articles, and I look forward to student submissions. We have a diverse team, and with student interest and input I believe we can post enlightening articles that will entertain and inform.

Evan Troxel Bio


 
Hi everyone!  My name is Evan Troxel.  I am going to tell you all a little about myself.  I graduated from Ogallala Senior High School with the Class of 2010.
Currently, I want to be a baseball play-by-play radio announcer for a career (but things could change).  The major for a baseball announcer is broadcast journalism.  So, since I've declared that I want to be a baseball play-by-play radio announcer to get me there I public addressed announced American Legion baseball games in Ogallala this summer.  Throughout this semester, I'm going to find out how I like being part of The Yard Rake and college.
For four years in high school, I did long distance running in cross country and track.  Cross Country is running 5,000 Meters which is equivalent to 3.1 Miles.  I also played basketball as a freshman.  My academic success led me to be in National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, and Modern Music Masters (Tri-M). 
Another activity I had been a part of from first grade until I turned 18 is Boy Scouting.  In Boy Scouting you can give service back to your community and take on many leadership roles. Scouting is fun too.  I got to go skiing, climb a mountain, bike 50 miles, go to a couple hockey games, and ride in an airplane.  I still (to this day) wouldn't have done any of these things if it weren't for Boy Scouting. 
I am most proud of attaining the Eagle Rank this year in Boy Scouting, an award that only 1-4% of all boys attain.  My Eagle Scout leadership service project was that I set up a prescription/over-the-counter drugs collection site.  At the end of the collection, the Nebraska State Patrol took the drugs and incinerated them.  The point of my project was to ultimately keep people from abusing drugs.  Don’t dispose your drugs in the sink or flush them down the toilet!  I hope all of you will help start a drug collection or drug collection box (where people can properly drop of their drugs safely for destruction) in your hometown.