A Breathtaking Moment

Think of the greatest week of your life. That represents my past week. I'm starting to become familiar with the cities in Massachusetts and it's definitely paying off.

It all started last Monday when I turned in my story that came out this past weekend on a couple gymnasts from Scituate High School. I was really excited to turn the stories in because they were intriguing stories that my community would be interested in.

After turning my story in, I received not one, not two, but ten emails and phone calls from various athletic directors and coaches sending me story ideas for upcoming weeks. It was a great feeling because it meant that not only they knew who I was, but they trusted me as the Globe South writer. It's only January and I'm looking forward to continuing my relationships with these individuals for the next few months.

Tuesday was relaxing because I was filing through the story ideas I received to come out with one I wanted to work on during the week. I chose two story ideas and emailed both Tuesday afternoon to see who would respond first. I had to wait until Wednesday afternoon until I heard back from one of the stories.

During that time of waiting, I was actually scared because I only had a couple more days to speak with people and get pictures before I had to start writing my story. I hate Tuesday and Wednesday because it's the days you wait for coaches and athletic directors to set up interviews. It's always worked out perfectly, but it's still nerve racking in week four.

I'm glad I was able to do this particular story this week because it meant a lot for the family and friends, but also it made me reflect on my personal life. You have no idea how much I want to talk about it, but unfortunately I can't until Friday afternoon when it comes out on the website. I'll just say this was one of the hardest pieces I've written, but in the end I truly believe I did my best.

Thursday was a day of waiting for people to call me back and in that day I interviewed three people and each of them took an hour long. It was a journalist's dream. The amount of content I received from all three of those people, I could've written a 1500 word piece.

Friday, I traveled to the beautiful town of Pembroke for a couple of interviews. It was a cute little town and the people I spoke with had great hospitality. We had a two hour interview that helped me fill in the empty spaces of my story. Then, I came back to the Boston Globe for my night desk shift. Talk about a long day. I was working from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Friday, but my motivation came from the fact that I knew my Saturday and Sunday were free.

Saturday was an open day. I had nothing planned for work and I could do whatever I wanted all day long. I decided to take a trip to Copley Square and experience another part of the Boston area. It was a nice place, but focused its' attention on shopping. There were about 100-115 shopping areas around the square and I'm not a big shopper.

Is it a place I would go back to? Probably not. Was it a good experience to go once? I would say so. The most popular thing over by the Copley Square is the finish line to the Boston Marathon. Unfortunately, it's also the place where the bombings took place back in 2013.

When I came up from the train station, the first thing I saw was the construction happening to the area where the bomb went off. It literally took my breath away for a minute because I saw the horrible attacks on television, but seeing the after effects in person was something I never expected. It makes me proud to know that I'll be one of the thousands of people that will be here this upcoming April to watch the Boston Marathon and cheer on co-workers and friends at the finish line.

The saying "Boston Strong" didn't really mean much to me when I was back in the Midwest, but no being apart of this city, I've realized the true meaning. Each person in this city has each others back and it shows when you walk around the city and people are greeting you or turning the corner and seeing another person wearing a Boston Strong shirt. This city is unified and I look forward to seeing that bond at this year's Boston Marathon.

That Saturday evening was so much fun! After dinner, I decided to see what night life had in store for the city of Boston. I just have to say that this city is great! My friends and I went to a few bars, sing some karaoke and danced until closing time. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to doing it again sometime next month.

Saturday was my brother's birthday, so shout out to him and I hope he had a great time celebrating it!

Sunday was the opposite of Saturday. Instead of going out and exploring, I decided to stay in and work on my story and get things ready this upcoming week. I'm glad I made that decision because I had a lot of interviews to transcribe and it was good to take a day off.

Yesterday was the first night of my dance class. For those of you who may not know, I used to be in dance during my childhood, but after a couple injuries and a busy life, I never had a chance to go back to regular classes. I was determined to find activities to get my mind off work and home, so I decided to enroll in a weekly hip hop class on Sundays.

I didn't know what to expect on difficulty and the amount of people being there, but I was surprised by both. I thought it was going to be more workout hip hop where choreography was going to be easy, but I was wrong. The class is a workout, but also incorporates some difficult choreography, giving me a challenge which I enjoy.

I came into class thinking it was going to be a small amount of people and I was going to be the only man, but I was wrong again. There were close to 20 people and probably close to half were male. I'm starting to enjoy this class and I can't wait to learn more next weekend.

The reason why it's been a perfect week is because I'm starting to feel like I know my way in this city. I know how it operates and it's great to know that I'm comfortable in this city since I still have five more months to go.

I'm looking forward to this upcoming week because I can't wait for everyone to read my story this Friday. If you haven't had a chance to see my two stories from last weekend, the links are below.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/south/2017/01/27/overcoming-obstacles/gDRZoiBhw0U13w8zxb5mEM/story.html

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/south/2017/01/27/gymnast-sustained-her-love-sport/SeAUwZPONQSTEKvkgGhEiI/story.html

I hope everyone had a great weekend and was able to relax after a busy week of work or school. I everyone is ready for another week ahead, but the good part is that you're already one day down. Only four more days to go until the weekend. The glass is half full my friends.

As for the quote I will leave you with this time, it's one of my all time favorites. I try to live out this quote everyday of my life. I encourage each and every one of you to try and live it out everyday because it'll make you feel better and encourage you to always do your best. Enjoy the week and I look forward to talking sometime next weekend. Take care!

"Live life to the fullest, and focus on the positive."

- Matt Cameron