I remember waking up to the same blaring alarm I had far overused every day for school for far too long. Drowsy and annoyed I slammed the snooze. 

“Why does this have to be on a Saturday?” 

I went downstairs and prepared for my first triathlon. At 12 years old, I naturally wouldn’t be able to keep up with seasoned athletes double to triple my age, so I joined a kids triathlon: shorter distances, easier competition, essentially more conducive to a first experience in the sport. I hadn’t excessively trained, nor was I overly anxious to begin the race; I was simply participating because, why not? 

Upon arriving, I felt out of place. All these other kids had all the gear, fancy sports drinks, and parents coaching them as if it were the Olympics. Nonetheless, I was determined to try my best in this new experience. 

Start times were staggered for each of the kids, so while I generally could guess how well I was doing, there was no clear scale on how I actually stood among the rest of my competition. By the end of the running segment, the final portion, I was tired, wet, and ready to go home, but all the kids were required to stay for the awards ceremony after. This meant waiting for every single participant to finish, clean up their things, and make their way to the main pool for announcements.

They had various prizes they were giving out from water bottles to granola bars to the grand prize at the event: a brand new bike. As prizes came and went, I became exceedingly bored and honestly probably fell asleep once or twice by the time they got to the bike. 

In a blur, I hear a faded “And the winner is, Matthew Caissie!” I don’t remember walking up to the announcer, I just remember all of the sudden being there in total shock and disbelief as they handed me the papers to this brand new $600 bike.

Okay so, I may have misled all of you. The bike was not the prize for finishing the race the fastest. In fact, it had nothing to do with my performance that day in the least bit. It was part of a raffle all of the contestants were entered into upon signing up for the triathlon. I essentially could have come in last place and I still would have won that bike, which by the way is still the bike I use to this day. 

What I find important from this event is that I tried something new. I went on to compete in five more triathlons, which led to me putting myself into several 5ks. These eventually fizzled out as I moved on to other activities, but from then on I always enjoyed trying new things any chance I could get. 

Going out of my comfort zone won me a new bike, and in the future would help me to find jobs, make new friends, start hobbies, and most importantly enjoy myself.

Sure, it may have been lucky that I won the bike, but I like to think of the saying, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” I made a habit of putting myself in situations when new, exciting opportunities would become available to me, and it hasn’t failed me since. 

Even though it isn’t the easiest thing to do, I always try to push myself to try new things, because when you push yourself, that’s when good things happen.

For my passion blog, I am going to be writing about a specific Penn State sporting event from that week. I will try to vary between the more popular sports to maybe some that not many people know about or watch often. Hopefully, this could lead people to try watching new things that they’re not familiar with.

For my civic issues blog, I am going to write about the methods by which the earth acquires its usable energy, and how this can be maintained for the future. This could touch on fossil fuels and nonrenewable methods of energy, and then compare that to renewable sources like wind, solar, and tidal power.

This I Believe:

My first belief is that trust must always be earned. To discuss this, I could talk about when I was 12, I got bitten by my year old puppy Maya for trying to take my sock back from her mouth. This happened before I had been able to develop a relationship and trust with  her, which I believe is the cause of the event in the first place. Following that event, I began doing the little things more and more to make a deeper relationship with Maya, so that we had mutual respect. Even though she’s only a dog, a relationship with her took just as much work as one with any person.

My second belief is that  you should try everything. To explain this, I would talk about my various activities, and how I became involved in them. This would include sports, school clubs, and even just activities with friends. I would talk about how beneficial I believe it is to get out there and try new things, because you never know what you might like. I have made many new friends and enjoyed countless hours that I might never have had the opportunity for had I not stepped out of my comfort zone.

Passion:

For my passion blog, I would like to continue my blog from last semester, but with a minor change. Last semester I discussed a specific sporting event from the week that I deemed most interesting or important. This often led to me writing about Philadelphia teams because I am a fan. This semester I would like to continue this idea, but strictly with Penn State activities and sporting events. This way, everyone can relate to it and could possibly go to watch in person if they enjoy my blog.

Civic Issues:

I could write about the methods by which the earth acquires its usable energy, and how this can be maintained for the future. This could touch on fossil fuels and nonrenewable methods of energy, and then compare that to renewable sources like wind, solar, and tidal power.

My second idea is to write about the issue of overpopulation. I would discuss the history of the topic, while also explaining the negative effects that it may have. I would write about other problems within this issue, and how these issues could possibly be resolved.