Boston Continues to Surprise Me!

Wow! It's been a long time since I've wrote a blog post. Let me apologize for the length, but it's been a busy, crazy and fun couple of weeks.

The last time we spoke I was trying to get the chlorine out of my body after a busy day of coverage in the pool. Don't worry I lived to see another day and I found a sport I enjoyed covering. I enjoyed it so much I was able to go back to the pool the following weekend to cover the girls and boys state swimming and diving championships.

What a great atmosphere with high school athletes pushing limits and breaking records in a sport they truly love. It was a privilege to cover those races during the weekend. Since we've last spoke, I've had three great stories come out for Globe South and I've been continuing to get better and better with my writing and my reporting with every story I pursue.

The first story was on a Middleborough High School student named Nick. Before he started high school, he had a horrific accident which involved a BB gun firing a pellet into his left eye. I had the chance to sit down with him for a Friday afternoon to go over his story. It's amazing how much I learn about a person after an hour of interviewing him or her.

His story is something special and I'm happy with how the story came out. Here's a link to read an accident that Nick will never forget, but also never regret.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/south/2017/02/17/four-years-after-shot-nick-sclafani-keeps-fighting-back/MOtnqz6q4i7Lf4lW5WCLjO/story.html

The other story I worked on was more of a preview story on girl's basketball with sectional tournaments happening the next couple weeks. The story was focused on Archbishop Williams and a trio of players that lead the team and are looking to earn another state title that happened in 2013 and 2015.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/south/2017/02/24/archbishop-williams-girls-set-hoop-sights-high/ZD9Q5bpisxVUyMRlM7vWYI/story.html

The final story was just posted online this morning and it previews the upcoming alpine skiing state race next week. This was probably the hardest story to work on because schools had a break last week, which meant students were on vacations. Luckily, I have some great coaches and athletic directors in my region that helped me get to some skiers and coaches to make this story possible.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/south/2017/03/03/xaverian-brothers-duxbury-girls-seeking-strong-alpine-showing/7V9EbvWcpU0BvGIDr5Z6oL/story.html

After a busy weekend with state swimming, the following weekend I was able to relax and enjoy the nice weather in Boston. It was 60s and 70s throughout the weekend and I took advantage of it by going to South Boston. The area is filled with rooftops, sports bars, a few bakeries and a great walkway along the harbor.

I went over there to watch the Iowa State game and enjoy a night by the water. What a great area and I will definitely call this my favorite spot so far in Boston. I'd highly suggest it if you decide to come to Boston.

After a relaxing weekend, my week became busy right away. Monday was deadline and Tuesday was the start of my coverage for girls state gymnastics. The teams met up for a breakfast and I went to go cover the teams and understand some of the athletes that will be competing at the meet on Saturday.

I'm looking forward to covering gymnastics on Saturday because it's a new sport for me to learn. I haven't followed gymnastics that much throughout my life and I think it'll be fun learning more about the sport and how athletic these gymnasts are on beam, floor, bars and vault.

Along with gymnastics coverage, it's the start of sectional tournaments for basketball and hockey, so Wednesday night I went out to Quincy to cover the boys basketball game. It was fun to cover the game because it reminded me about sectional tournaments when I was in high school.

I remember wearing the orange and blue for my Hawk pride and going to the student section at Rogers High School. It was fun to chant back and forth with the opposing student section. Unfortunately, I never was able to participate at state, but sectionals were so much fun. That gym at Quincy was packed with fans from both sides and the environment was similar to a state game. It was incredible and I was happy to be apart of it.

Yesterday was a day to focus on my upcoming feature story on gymnastics. Of course I can't say much but next Friday will be an interesting article looking into the ups and downs of gymnastics. Hopefully you can all look at it on Friday next week.

So far, Boston is continuing to surprise me with different adventures and meeting different people. I can't wait to see what March has in store for me in this city. I can't wait for the next couple of weeks because a couple of my fraternity brothers are coming to see me and then a couple high school friends and their family and coming to visit. It'll be great seeing Nolan and Jonah as well as the Larsen family throughout this month.

Hopefully everyone is having a great Friday! Don't worry, you only have four or five more hours until the weekend! I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming weekend and I challenge you to go on an adventure or try something you've never done before because it'll surprise you with how much you learn about yourself. Plus, it's always fun to try new things!

I will leave you with a quote this week reflecting on a couple of interesting weeks for me. These past couple of weeks I've been able to see myself grow as an individual and it's all because of my perseverance. I hope everyone can take this quote to heart as much as I have the past couple of weeks. Enjoy the weekend and stay safe! Until next time!

"Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance."

- Samuel Johnson