All Prompts

All Prompts

Prompt #5 (conversation with Andrew D.)

-Why did you initially get involved in the kind of lifting that you do today and where did these goals come from?

-I understand completely what you mean at the end of your last paragraph. Running was always something you went out and did no matter what. You could have had the shittiest day of your life but that will not change the fact that you are going to have a hard ass work out ahead of you. I kind of relate running to life. Shit sucks during the running but when you get to the end you still feel really shitty but you accomplished something. Life will always suck at points and you can just hope that everything will get better at the end. 

I started running when I was in the 6th grade. My dad was always a huge runner. He has probably run about 10ish marathons. I think there was always a drive in me to try and start running following my dad's footsteps. I ran distance events in middle school, specifically the mile. This was because I could run the farthest on the team without getting super tired. By the end of 8th grade, I could run about a 5:40ish mile. No, it was not the best time but I do not know it was still fun. Then the first day of track came in high school, and the head coach split us in half between sprinters and distance runners. Being a scared, intimidated freshman, I went with the sprinters because those were my only friends. The first two years of high school running were a complete joke of a sprinting career.                                                                                                            

Going into junior year, my coach decided it was a good idea to switch me to distance and it was the best decision I have ever made. By the end of my junior year, I had broken 5 minutes in the mile. I was no where near close to being good but I had made leaps and bounds of improvement in a year. My senior was plagued by lack of work, missing meets, and injury. The only improvement I made was a 4:50 mile the last race of the season. I always ran outside of school too. Lots of 5 milers, and 5ks, and half marathons. Running became more than a sport, it became a lifestyle. I made my best friends through running and I have some of my fondest memories with these people. Andrew, my question for you is what is your end goal of weight lifting?

- I am glad you asked about injuries. I have been plagued by injuries throughout my running career. The worst is sprained ankles. They started in 8th grade and I did not think much of it. After about two weeks and one race, I decided to stop mainly because of the fact I could not walk straight. I was ok till about sophomore year of high school. It started with one sprained ankle. Ok not too bad I can probably keep running through this. Wrong, so wrong. By the end of that week, I had two sprained ankles and was on crutches for a month. After this my right ankle was pretty much fucked for life. I had to wear a brace most of the time and could run without it on a really good day. That did not really stop me too much, I would keep spraining it and then get better and the cycle would keep repeating. I would always have to keep running through it because it would be close to big races or the middle of the season so you learn to run through the pain. 

The worst injury I ever sustained was senior year. During my cross-country season, I tweaked my ankle during a 5k and ran an 18 minutes. Which is shit. So I got it checked out and the trainer said it could possibly be a problem with my meniscus. So I decided to keep going with season since I was the 5th person on varsity and we did not have anyone else to run. Cross country season ended without major injury which was really good. Winter track season was when it got bad. The pain in my knee never really left and it hurt when I would bend it or extend it to far. So I was in the middle of a mile race and I got tripped caught my balance and kept going. I finished the race and then noticed the stabbing pain in my knee. I put a little tear in my meniscus. So that ended my season. I came back for spring track and battled a few injuries here and there but nothing too major. 
My question for you is what is some advice you would give someone just getting into any sort of weightlifting?

Prompt #6a                                                                                                                            

“You never have been able to get it through that dense skull of yours, you need me and without me you would not be here, I mean the brain can be the weakest or the strongest muscle in your body and yours is the weakest, all you do is ignore what you are feeling and put a smile on your face but how long can you even keep doing that, it is not going to work forever because you can not make it work forever, you are physically and mentally unable to do so, I know you can not, you are weak and all you can do is sit and feel sorry for yourself and not try and fix anything and it is actually pathetic.”

Prompt #6b

Her eyes showed her true emotion. Those eyes were always everyone’s favorite. Pools of deep blue and gray. Her eyes were like an ocean. The ocean can be calm sometimes. But the ocean can be rough. It is a beautifully, terrifying entity. She could be your best friend. She could also make life hell. It was dependent on the person. The girl showed power and confidence. Her body language was particularly intoxicating. She was every boy’s greatest fantasy. Never was she possessed by anyone. People always thought she was theirs. In hindsight, she never really was.  This did not change her truly. The girl needed to learn more. She would talk to every person. Everyone had something to give her. Not give in the physically sense. She listened to everything they say. It was her goal to learn. Every person gave her new knowledge. Wisdom is what she had gained. At 18, her mind was incredible. There was a beauty she had. The words had meaning to them. Her advice could actually help you. There was something different about her. She was smart in two senses. She had a strong academic knowledge. That cannot always help you though. Smarts will not get you far. Wisdom is what a person needs. And that is what she has. Wisdom greater than many other teens. Many things can attest to this. Life experiences gave her a skill. She understands a problem someone has. And unlike many, she will care. Not often is this gift found. She does not ask for much. You never want her to go. When she does, nothing feels right. She reminds you of the sun.  Her personality shines so incredibly bright.  With her, your soul will warm.  Your world will feel so full. She is my most favorite adventure.

Prompt #7  

It was a hustling and bustling day in the King of Prussia mall in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. It is a cold, snowy day but thousands of people still braved the frigid temperatures to get in a shopping day at the mall. Our heroes are perusing through the mall going from store to store of whatever peaks their interest. It is a massive mall, like second biggest mall in American. Actually it is the biggest mall if you are only counting retail space but that’s technicality. Department stores, high-end purse stores, a store for Teslas, the long halls of the mall seem to go on forever. The group stops to grab some low fat gluten free smoothies and take a break from the tiring day of shopping.

The talent in the group is overwhelming. Well the first two-thirds have overwhelming talent. Mr. Kurt Vonnegut, decorated writer and lecturer known for famous books like Slaughterhouse 5 and Jailbird. George Orwell, another very famous writer known for books like 1984 and Animal Farm. Andrew Maita, a freshman civil engineering student at Drexel University with a decent amount of writing experience. Altogether it is a well-rounded group of friends with some very impressive achievements.

Andrew: “What kind of smoothies did you two end up getting?”

Kurt: “I mean it is something without gluten and it has copious amounts of fruits and floating lumps of which I don’t want to know.”

George: “Does anyone actually even know what gluten is?”

*group laughs and finds a table to sit down at*

Andrew: “What do you guys think of the mall? Pretty big right?”

George: “I think it is noisy and large from a consumers standpoint. That LEGO store was pretty neat. It really does get your brain turning as a writer, does it not Kurt?”

Kurt: “I was just about to say that!”

Andrew: “Well since I am not an amazing writer here, what do you two mean?”

George: “ There is a ‘perception of beauty in the external world, or, on the other hand, in words and their right arrangement. Pleasure in the impact of one sound on another, in the firmness of good prose or the rhythm of a good story. Desire to share an experience which one feels is valuable and ought not to be missed’.” (Orwell 2)

Kurt: “Exactly! It is also important to sound like yourself when you write about these experiences. You have to write it as if it is a conversation like we are having right now. ‘The writing style which is most natural for you is bound to echo the speech you heard when a child’.” (Vonnegut 1)

Andrew: “So you basically just want to sound like yourself and describe what you are seeing? Does this mean I’m gonna win a Pulitzer now?”

Kurt: *laughs* “I wouldn’t get too far ahead of yourself there, Andrew. Writing is more than sounding nice or writing about something interesting. It is about finding something you care to write about or making sure you are actually saying what you mean to say.”

Orwell: “Kurt is right” *laughs* “ It took me a long time to find something I cared about to write with. First it was poems and then school papers and then journalism and political writing. The list can go on and on. You need to find your niche. But ‘all writers are vain, selfish, and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery’, so it just depends on what you end up writing.” (Orwell 5)

Andrew: “Hey you guys aren’t vain or selfish! I really can’t disagree with the lazy part though.”

*the group laughs and gets up from the table having finished their smoothies*

Andrew: “So where off to next? Comic books? Macys? I know you wanted to go look at the nice sparkly bras in Victoria’s Secret Kurt.”

Kurt: “Haha very funny. But actually lets head over the Tesla store; I want to see how much they are charging for one of their cars.”

George: “You can’t afford it.”

Kurt: “You don’t…”

George: “Can’t. Afford. The. Car.”

*the group laughs as they get on the escalator to continue their day at the mall*

Prompt #9

Andrew Maita, well known civil engineer and author of the New York Times bestseller Rising and Falling but Mostly Falling, was killed in a tragic traffic accident in his hometown in New Jersey yesterday. He was 41.

The accident occurred around 1 pm. Mr. Maita was leaving a small restaurant for lunch and began to cross the street when a local NJ Transit bus lost control and struck him and then proceeded to plow into another two cars. Paramedics arrived and tried to resuscitate Maita before bringing him to Riverview Medical Center. He was pronounced dead on arrival. No one else involved in the accident sustained major injuries.

Andrew’s claim to fame was Rising and Falling but Mostly Falling, a book loosely based on Maita’s life and covers the rise and fall of a boy as he grows up during his high school and college years. The book became an instant success and went on to sell thousands of copies. Maita was also known for his great work in the infrastructure in many major cities across the northeast. Countless buildings, roads, and bridges were made possible with the help of Maita.

Maita was born in Bayonne, New Jersey in 1995 and grew up on the Jersey Shore before leaving to attend school at Drexel University, where he studied civil engineering. Maita was a loving husband, father, brother, son, coworker. He leaves behind his mother and father, younger sister, wife and two kids, not to mention the countless fans of his work. No viewing arrangements or word on the funeral have been released to the public yet.