Well here it is. The end has come for the Baleb Blog. Sorry to all my fans out there. I wish I had the commitment to keep this blog going but the truth is that I don't. This adventure has been fun and I am glad you were able to travel with me through all the highs and lows. I would like to leave you with a couple of thoughts
A big thing that i have learned in life that I would like to leave to my readers is the phrase, "FIO." this means figure it out. This phrase is one that an old coach of mine always used and it has stuck with me today. Sometimes you need a blunt kick in the butt in order to get things done and this motivates me to do so. Life is in not easy. You will get put in uncomfortable and sticky situations. You can take a number of approaches to these situations. One is to whine and complain and get someone to do the work for you. The other is to get down to business and to figure it out. The second way of figuring it out forces you to learn from your mistakes and come through the challenge with more knowledge than what you went in with. My second piece of advice is to be true to yourself and your friends. I am near the end of my junior year and have realized that the older i get the closer i get with a small group of people. This is 100% ok. Freshman year people are very open and it feels like you need to be friends with everyone. Personally i wanted to be liked by everyone. I soon learned however that you can't make everyone happy and you need to be honest with yourself. For me that meant accepting my nerdy self that also does theatre and plays varsity baseball. I needed to be true to myself and trust that God was to take care of the rest and of course he did. He led me to some very close and real friendships that are meaningful. I can say whatever I feel to this group of people and I know that they will listen and give valuable input. So to my younger readers, invest in your friendships at an early age! It will be very important when you have to deal with the crap that goes on in high school. So thats pretty much it. Trust God, make close relationships, love your family, FIO, and always remember to hate the Yankees. Baleb out.
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I don't really explore much in youtube or blogs. I mainly stick to my twitter, instagram, and snapchat feed for entertainment and mindless searching. However I have came across some favorites such as Barstool Sports, Ninja, and the Pregame Podcast. I love Barstool Sports. They create amazing content tailored for college students and other millennials. They have created an incredible company that covers everything that a person could possibly want. Barstool Sports originally started as a sports blog by Dave Portnoy and a couple others in New York. Their goal has always been to create the things people want and to break the mold in every accepted area. They simply don't care what other major companies might think of them. This has drawn a hardcore fanbase and helped them to grow into areas such as podcasting, fighting, video games, and college life. I highly recommend this company, especially there affiliate Barstool Heartland in Indianapolis that is ran by Pat Mcafee. (However the are vulgar in their language and talk about things that may not always be the most appropriate) Ninja is a guy that livestreams videos of himself playing Fortnite. Although this probably is not the most interesting subject to people Fortnite is a very popular video game and he is benefiting from it. Ninja is estimated to be making about $500,000 a month. He is incredibly good at the game and for some reason he is mesmerizing to watch. He has good commentary as he plays as well that provides for entertainment. Lastly is a new podcast i have been listening to called the Pregame Podcast. The reason I started to listen to it in the first place was Pat Mcafee mentioned it in his own podcast. I decided to give it a try and I couldn't stop laughing. The podcast it a group of guys taking on current events, sports, and music. The format of their podcast moves fast and they never spend too much time on on specific topic. This keeps every episode fresh and the listener laughing the entire time. Hopefully you too can find the same enjoyment I get from watching and listening to these sources. I am not taking AP English next year. I took a good hard look at my schedule and what I wanted to do in college and decided to take the regular English 12 class. I talked about it with my parents, guidance counselor, and seniors currently taking the class and came to the informed decision. However this did not go over to well with my english teacher. So here is my chance to explain myself without being interrupted by my peers.
My course load for next year is not easy. I did not take the gym classes and other electives that I wish I could have because i wanted to cover a couple of key areas before going to college. I am taking two science classes next year. I will take both Physics and AP Biology. Why? Because i want to pursue a career in education with my focus on either math or science. So it would be a good idea to cover the main areas of sciences before I make the investment of college and what I might want to teach. I also am taking Spanish 4. Technically all that is needed is 3 years of a foreign language to graduate but I wanted to continue to learn Spanish in college so taking that extra year should help me. Lastly I am taking AP statistics and AP economics and AP Biology for a total of 2 AP classes spring semester and 3 the fall semester. Senior year is an important year for students. Big decisions lie around every corner. Along with these demands I still want to do my extracurriculars like drama and baseball. I already am going through one of the hardest years with 3 AP classes and 1 dual credit. Why would I want to push myself to that limit again when I will have more things to do. I need to apply for schools and will be working my tail off for scholarships almost every night. I don't need to deal with college level papers and readings along with that to stress me out even more. This leads me to my last point of my personal interests. It is no secret that I am not a big fan or english. I enjoy reading books. However i loathe writing. Blogging is different because it just is writing casually. I don't have a passion about writing rhetorical analysis's on Plato's allegories. However am a decent writer and have the work ethic to get good grades in English classes. I have the mindset and work ethic to be able to do things at a high capacity when it comes to academics. I don't say this to brag and in no way am I saying i am a perfect english student. But the question needs to be about what I am truly passionate about or else I am going to be losing sleep and spending long nights for no reason. The refutation to this will be that the skills in english are valuable for every career. This is true. However the in depth nature of AP English for a high school student interested in math and science is not needed for every career. Don't get me wrong though, I fully intend to get the most out of my english 12 class and learn to write and read at a higher level than what I am. lastly, if you really are worried about what I will miss than maybe regular english 12 needs to be revamped. Tommy John Surgery sucks. It is an incredibly common surgery in baseball and it can take players out for an entire season. The news that your top pitcher needs the surgery can feel like a sucker punch in the face for die hard fans. So what exactly is Tommy John Surgery and how do baseball players stop it?
Tommy John Surgery got its name from the Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tommy John who first got the surgery in 1979. The surgery repairs a torn elbow ligament called the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). "The UCL is located on the inside of the elbow. It connects the bone of the upper arm (humerus) to a bone in the forearm." (WebMD) This ligament often gets torn in baseball but also can occur in tennis, gymnastics, softball, javelin throw, football, and others. During the surgery the surgeon removes a tendon from another part of the body and replaces it with the torn one in the elbow. Due to the throwing motion baseball players are at a high risk of developing the injury. The twisting and forward motion of throwing puts stress on the ligament and "Over time, the UCL can develop tiny or large tears. The ligament stretches and lengthens to the point where it can't hold the bones tightly enough during throwing activities." Eventually the ligament can tear completely or just be at the point where it needs replaced. Symptoms of this injury are pain on the inside part of the elbow, instability of the elbow, and irritation of the funny bone. So what can players do to prevent this injury? The answer is as obvious as it sounds but much more difficult to implement. The creation of year round baseball has simply put too much stress on young arms without proper conditioning, recovery, and proper motion. There are incorrect ways to throw a baseball that can cause extra stress on the elbow but as Dr. Glenn Fleisig explains, "those who pitched more than 100 innings in one year were more than three times as likely to end up needing surgery by their 20th birthday"(Sport Analytical). The big takeaway from all this research is the value of arm strength conditioning and rest during the offseason. There are other ways of improving how hard you throw a ball than just throwing a bullpen everyday. A big part of making this possible is coaches taking responsibility of their pitching staff and sticking true to pitch counts and not forcing pitchers to head out to the mound. Players need to listen to their arm or else they will soon experience the world of pain that comes with recovery from Tommy John Surgery. Sources: https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/tommy-john-surgery-ucl-reconstruction#1 http://www.sloansportsconference.com/mit_news/qa-dr-glenn-fleisig-on-tommy-john-surgery-prevention-and-myths/ I am a big movie fan. I love sitting down and watching a movie that sucks me in and makes me never want to leave. This love of movies comes from my parents. As a family we are always quoting movies and referencing obscure scenes. This growing list of movies I quote from is all because of friday at the Martin house nights.
A common thought and opinion heard throughout the world is how people just don’t like going to church and they say they get nothing out of it. Especially at Concordia there has been some opposition to a new religion requirement of Growth In Worship because it requires students to go to church. They groan and complain because we already have chapel during school so why do we need to go to church twice?
First there is a big difference between Concordia’s chapel and a church service. The main difference is the distribution of sacraments in church. In chapel they don’t offer communion or baptize. At church we are given the Means of Grace of Christ’s body and blood. Through this sacrament we physically receive his forgiveness and mercy in an intimate way. Secondly the experience of a church service and chapel are incredibly different. In chapel you are surrounded by your peers and teachers. In church you are surrounded by your family and fellow members who have chosen to be there. There isn’t a large amount of people in church that will judge how well you sing like at chapel. Peer pressure is eliminated and you can fully immerse yourself in the word of God. Also, you are less likely to be on your phone in a church service than in chapel. For people that say going to church in the first place is too boring and that they don’t get much out of it they should consider Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." In a world where there is a constant cry for God to be in our lives people choose to cast him away by not going to church and not studying his Word. A church service is a place where we can know without a doubt God is coming to us and directly speaking to us. We can strengthen our faith and renew ourselves in Christ’s love for us. However just like any other event, people are going to get out as much as they put in when it comes to church. If a person goes into a service close minded and cynical very little will get through to that person. Someone who just goes to the service and tries to talk to others as little as possible will I get the same experience as someone who opens up to others while they are there. Going to church will not always be easy. Often times rolling over in bed and enjoying a lazy Sunday morning sounds more pleasant then having to wake up in the morning and socialize with others. However very few people have ever regretted making the choice to go to church. It is something that will need continued effort to do week after week but it is something everyone should do and produces nothing but benefits for individuals I have been playing baseball ever since I was little. I played other sports as a little kid as well like football, basketball, and wrestling but baseball has stuck the most. It just makes sense to me. No other sport feels as calculated and skillful as baseball. Every player on the field is like a special piece on a chess board that you have to set up perfectly for the current situation. After every pitch the variables of the game have changed and the players on the field have to adjust accordingly. It is a game where everything happens in action packed spurts that forces players to play off instincts. I love it. My position is catcher. Back in my little league days I played middle infield but a little incident happened that forced me to put a mask on. I am most comfortable on the field when I am behind the plate. I am the leader of the defense and forced to be aware of everything. It is my responsibility to know where the defense needs to be on every pitch and control the action. Being the catcher also means knowing the pitcher and batter. For example one pitcher might need to get fired up when they are struggling on the mound. So when I call a timeout for a mound visit I call them out and tell them to get there head in the game. However a different pitcher might need to just relax little on the mound so I will go up and maybe tell a little joke. This sounds silly but one time I called a quick time out and went up to the pitcher and we checked out the girls in the stands. Sounds like a waste of time but the next pitch he adjusted and we got out of the inning. You also need to be aware of the batter and call the right pitch based on their position in the lineup, their warmup swing, or previous at bat. These little things catchers need to know and can only learn with experience. It is a very demanding position physically as well. When a pitcher throws the ball into the dirt the catcher's job is to block it by any means necessary. It isn't unusual for catchers to have bruises on their forearms after games and be covered in dirt and sweat. It is by no means an attractive position on the baseball diamond yet the most important. Another reason I love baseball is the mind games. This is especially true when hitting. Baseball is all about failure and when you are hitting you are expected to fall short than succeed. It takes mental toughness to strikeout, reevaluate yourself, go back up to the plate with confidence and composure. The best part of hitting however is the ecstatic feeling of hitting a baseball. The power and jubilation you feel when hitting a linedrive into the outfield is unlike anything in the world. However it doesn’t feel good to get hit with an 85 mph fastball in the square of the back. That stings. Most of what I have just written might sound stereotypical and cliche. However it has all been true to me. Baseball has created strong friendships with all different types of people and given me sense of belonging. My dad and I always have something to talk about because of baseball and it has help create a close relationship with him. The sport is one that has given me countless life lessons and I am forever grateful for America's Favorite Pastime. The reason people call me Baleb goes back to my summer baseball team about two years ago. We were at a tournament in Indianapolis and in-between games we had that day, I made the mistake of wearing red athletic shorts, red baseball socks, and a red undershirt. As usual we started to joking around with each other and soon our shortstop Evan said, "Caleb you are wearing so much red people are gonna think you are a Blood." The team all got a good laugh out of that and he added, "Bro I think I am going to start calling you Baleb the Blood." The nickname soon caught on and for the rest of the season they called me Baleb. The nickname lasted more than just that season. I told a couple of my friends at school about it and they started calling me Baleb. The name was not as popular at school though as it was on my summer baseball team. When the summer baseball season started again, the nickname was not left behind. Not only were my old teammates calling me Baleb, but the newer ones started doing it as well. When I would walk into a practice they would holler, "Baleb is here!" The more people called be Baleb, the more I became to like it, and the more fun I had with my new identity. Slowly during that second season, I started to use Baleb as my alternate identity. It became a way for me to break out of my normal self and try new things. For example, one day at our last tournament in Georgia my friend Cole told me how this girl kept checking me out. Normally I wouldn't even think of doing anything but I thought to myself, what would Baleb do? So I went for it. We talked for a little bit and that was it. Nothing happened but I went out of my normal self and embraced the Baleb side. I still do this today. Sometimes if I want to act on impulse (in a good way) I think to myself, It's time for Baleb. I sound a little insane for admitting I talk to myself and have an alter ego, but it is my way of fully enjoying life. I never do anything insane and illegal with my Baleb side. It simply allows me to make sure I don't have regrets. I want to enjoy high school and this incredible time in my life. Baleb allows me to do things like blog, get the courage to talk to girls, and be myself. This other side of me is something I want to keep in my life. I know that as long as I have my Baleb side, my life will ever be boring. My name is Caleb Martin, but to some I am Baleb. The origin of the nickname is interesting and will be discussed in a future post. The whole reason this blog started was for an AP english project. In future blogs I will just talk about myself, baseball, and other odds and ends. I am looking forward to writing about my own personal thoughts and ideas in a creative and free way.
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