Rocket Scientist Visit

Today, a rocket scientist visited my school. Like an actual rocket scientist, who builds rockets and tests them and studies light and all kinds of cool astronomy. It was bad ass. Being someone who has no idea what they want to do with their life, it was awesome to see someone talk about their job. I also absolutely love physics and I love astronomy and the vastness of the universe, so all of this was really interesting to me. Watching the video of the actual space launch was awesome too, because I could apply what I’ve learned in physics this year to the things happening in the video. I saw a rocket change gravitational fields, which was awesome. It was a full projectile with an acceleration change in the middle, and I knew how to understand that because of my physics class. Seeing physics applied like that was super awesome. Math was applied too, when he was talking about the focus of mirrors and the 2-degree x-ray fields. I finally felt like I found somewhere to apply my math class!

It also made me interested in his career path. I don’t know if I’m smart enough to be a rocket scientist, but I’d love to go into some type of engineering someday. (I love science and math is growing on me, so I think it’d be awesome.) Also, I’d love to be a percentage of the small group of women in engineering! This talk really interested me and encouraged me to think harder about pursuing that dream.

Based on stereotypes, you’d assume a rocket scientist is unpersonable and pretentious. However, the man who spoke with us was neither. He was obviously smart, but he dummed everything down so we could grasp it. He explained things in terms that we knew, and related things to our science classes so we could recall each concept. He showed us actual rockets and the system they’re built from, and explained NASA and federal funding and the expense of shooting a rocket into the atmosphere. He was very good at explaining things, and was motivational. He seemed very excited about his field and encouraging people to think about it for their future. I really enjoyed his talk and I’m glad I went because it opened my mind even more about considering engineering, and showed me some of the cool things that I could someday have the chance to be a part of.

“Damn Baby You Look Nice”

Every single day I walk down the hallway to my fifth hour, surrounded by peers but not conversing with anyone, when I almost always get cat called and harassed by the same damn kid. I don’t respond, I walk with my head high and try to take a different route to avoid confrontation just like every “advice list” for girls says to. I follow every instruction on how to handle being verbally sexually harassed. However, it still happens almost every day.

You know those commercials selling the band aids with the healing ointment on them? And they all say, “This band-aid really cleans and heals! Other bandages just cover up the issue for a while.” Advice for girls on how to handle sexual harassment is just one of those “other bandages.” Yes, ignoring it and walking faster will temporarily fix things. However, none of those “strategies” really solve the problem.

I know lots of girls who are touched, yelled at, and harassed in the hallways, but never talk to anyone about it. Our all-male administration doesn’t really make girls feel comfortable discussing these problems, because there’s a high chance that none of them have ever actually experienced these things. I, personally, do not feel comfortable walking into one of these men’s offices and relaying the words, “Hey, Katie, wanna fuck on Friday?”

Nobody has ever stepped in when these things are yelled at me. I am not exaggerating when I say yell, either. I am usually 15 to 30 feet away from this kid when he barks his nasty comments at me. 50% of the time, there is an adult in earshot. 100% of the time, there are at least 10 of my peers in earshot. Never has one of these people stepped in and said something to him, despite the fact that I am visibly uncomfortable and state multiple times that he should stop.

Filing a sexual harassment report at school requires proof, and a substantial amount of it. If I were to walk in and tell an administrator that I’d like to file a sexual harassment report, they would most likely ask me where my proof is. And that’s an awesome question. I’m sure there’s some sort of secondary proof in the texts between me and my favorite (anonymous) teacher, who I’ve been telling about the situation for a month, but there probably isn’t any proof that can legally get him in trouble. I don’t have a video, or a witness, because if I were recording or walking with a friend, he would choose not to yell at me. This creates a roadblock for girls, because there is no way for us to prove that anything is happening. We feel stupid reporting these issues no matter how much they bother us, because without proof, we will be seen as “liars” and “dramatic”.

I’m not saying this is anybody’s fault, besides the people sexually harassing their peers. It’s a glitch in the system, in place to avoid punishing innocent people, and to try and punish those who are truly causing problems. However, I think it might accidentally be on the perpetrator’s side rather than the victim’s. I don’t know the solution but I know we should figure it out, so someday high school girls can feel safe roaming their school hallways.

Last One

Look at this picture dude!!!!!!!!!!

 SO CUTE

Drake and State

Since I’m on a roll with the track posts I’ve got another. I want to clarify the difference between Drake and state. Many people mix this up and it’s not too hard to figure out once you get the two straight.

So basically if you follow athletics or honestly just don’t live under a rock you know that there are four or five classes of high school athletics. 1A, 2A…..5A. 1A contains all small schools in Iowa, and 5A are the biggest schools in Iowa, numbering to over 1,000 kids. In track, the spectrum only goes to 4A, making that the biggest division. Kennedy is a 4A school.

Ranking is divided up into these groups, and there is also a master list of overall rankings that include all four lists combined.

State- State is held in May, and takes the top of EACH DIVISION. This means the best 24 4A, best 24 3A, down to 1A. That makes a total of 96 qualifiers per event. It’s huge and lasts 3 days. It is just a high school event.

Drake- The Drake Relays are in April and takes the top OF THE STATE OVERALL. This means the top overall 24 people per event, or 24 per event total. This is also a college event and national event and is also huge. It lasts 3 days and is broadcast on a national scale.

Most events take 24 individual qualifiers or the top 24 relays. The shuttle hurdle only takes 12 because each race takes two lanes and they only want three heats. The 400 hurdles only takes 8, I have no explanation on that one. There’s also no distance medley at Drake for some reason. Weird.

Drake and state are difficult to qualify for and a great time for athletes, and now you know the difference!!! You’re a pro.

 

Track

I’ve participated in track and field ever since I was old enough to play organized sports (so like 8 years old) and it has become something that means a lot to me. I think being a runner and an athlete is a big part of my identity. When I was really young, I’d run on these little kid track teams of around 15 people, girls and boys. I remember wearing our matching blue t-shirts to practice and being so excited because I got to pick the color and they looked awesome…. Perks of being the coach’s daughter I guess. We’d all sit in a circle and stretch out and then we’d run a bunch of “sprints”. The running was fun and I was really fast as a youngin so I liked it a lot. I could beat a lot of the boys on my team and that always made me very happy.

Even though I was fast and all, running wasn’t really what compelled me to continue track and field through my childhood. I could race a million times and I was a little bullet but what I really loved was long jump.

Long jumping was a really fun thing for me because my dad was my own little coach. He was a long jumper in college and he taught me the basics and I was a little beast. I’m pretty sure I jumped like 11 feet but that’s pretty raw for being nine years old. He always made it fun and I could out-jump all of the little cocky brats on my team and I was just a little stud.

Anyway so growing up I basically did track so I could be a long jumper. In elementary school it was pretty much all recreational and there were very few chances to compete but my dad and I always made an effort to go out and work on stuff. By the time I was in seventh grade and finally allowed to be in school sports I was so psyched to finally be on the track team. It was scary but I was ready.

I went to Franklin middle school so it was generally pretty small and bad at sports and whatever but that’s the beauty of track and field. You can go to a crap school and still be the fastest runner there is. You can be the only person on your entire team and still set the state record. Track isn’t and has never been political nor has it been discriminatory. The fastest time or the longest jump will win.

I started track nervous, as if I was gonna be bad compared to all of those other big seventh graders and eighth graders. We competed against only people in our grade so it was fine. My coach didn’t pay much attention to me at first because we had some very fast eighth grade girls on our team. However, when she let me jump in the first meet, she was really impressed. She let me jump every meet the rest of the season, and I won all of my meets except two that year.

My coach was great, and we bonded a lot. Eighth grade year I was still on a roll (not nearly as good as my seventh grade year but hey now what can ya do.) I set the school record and my name is on the wall. Anyway, my coach and I became really close and I became great friends with a SUPER fast girl named Mariah. God damn she was a bullet. You could bank on her to win every single 100. She won the city meet and beat all of the Harding girls. They were very surprised. I was very proud.

I finished my eighth grade year the same month I finished my eighth grade track season, and my coach cried when I took my last walk out of the Franklin doors as a student. I was off to high school.

My freshman year was very scary coming into it because I was a baby competing against girls of every grade. I set the freshman long jump record that year and met lots of awesome people and went to state to place 19th. Not too bad for being a baby.

My sophomore year I began high jump because my dad pestered me until I felt like I had no choice. I have never made a better choice. It’s been so much fun and I was kind of naturally good at it so it’s just been great. I jumped at Drake, state, and met so many more athletes.

Now, nothing excites me quite like being a week away from my third track season. I can smell it in the air I swear. Track season smells like melting snow and wet grass. Through the season it gets sunny and it’s pleasant for about a week and then it pours at every meet for about three weeks and then it gets sweltering hot and you’re at state wearing a tank top and shorts and still dying. I spend the first month of it practicing until 5:30 and then going inside to change, eat a sandwich and go to show choir rehearsal. I never get home until like 9, I can barely do my homework, my quads ache every morning and I can’t ever climb stairs. I have thigh sunburn lines, I spend 3 pm to 9 pm at a meet, and I go through like 6 deodorant tubes. But hey dude it’s what I love!

To most people nothing sounds worse than running, conditioning, freezing to death, sweating to death, and getting ugly sunburn lines. To me, it’s the season I look forward to every year. I can’t wait to see what this year brings around.

 

OCD – Slam Poetry

This is another slam poetry video that I really love. I’ve watched it tons and tons of times because he has such an amazing voice in his writing. Every time I come across it I watch it because it’s one of those videos that just gives you chills. He has passion that really proves that this is HIS story, and something that really matters to him. He tells it like a story book. It flows out of his mouth like he’s reading a book to little kids, his mood changing as the story progresses. It takes a really rare kind of person to write and speak the way good poets do. He speaks with a passion that many cannot.

Somewhere In America

So I was scrolling down my Facebook feed and I saw this video. I watched it a few times and I think it’s really beautiful and relevant. The things we learn in school are not so much the standards we reach academically, but the environment surrounding our education. I absolutely loved this and I think it makes many good points about prioritizing what kids learn in school. If you really listen and think about what these girls are saying, it will open your eyes a little.

Also, slam poetry is always really beautiful. I love watching these and just clicking the links for recommended videos. The power of spoken word poetry is great and I encourage you to look some up and just watch!

An Open Letter to my Dad

Dad-

I know I’ve spent a huge portion of my life forgetting to thank you for everything you do. Truly, it’s a blessing to be someone who gets to see my dad every day. I know several girls who have grown up with a dad who moved out, or a dad who travels all the time for his job, or a dad who just isn’t a good person. I’m lucky enough to be in the percentage of girls who not only have a dad present in their life, but a dad who goes above and beyond to make his daughter happy.

I’ve never gone a day feeling hated by you. I’ve had the worst days where the whole family seems to be on the opposing team, and you’re always there to offer words of advice. I’ve had horrible, day long dance recitals where you sat the entire time to see me do a three minute ballet dance at the age of 4. When you coached me in years of elementary school track and one year my club was too difficult and I didn’t want to run anymore, you let me quit. You told me you didn’t want me to hate track before I really experienced it. I joined again the next year.

I’ve made it into tons of academic assemblies that really don’t mean much, and you take work off every time to come watch me cross the stage (despite the fact that most of my class earned the award.) I can count on seeing you taking my picture in the audience even if it’s the easiest award to win.

You buy every fan t-shirt and wear them to my events, and you get to know all of my coaches and teachers. You volunteer for everything and learn my friends’ names (to the best of your ability, which isn’t very good.) You always represent me well. You were my first track coach and the guy who spotted my backhandspring. You were my basketball coach too, and my volleyball one… but those ships have sailed. You weren’t mad when I gave them up, either.

You send me my grade report every day which is beyond annoying because I know I have a B- but it shows that you care about my education. You make sure I challenge myself in my classes and encourage me to take hard ones (especially if it’s a class you loved!)

The year I made the Drake Relays and you had to have surgery the week before, you drove all the way to Des Moines and stood the entire time to watch me compete. My freshman year, when I was ranked 25th and the top 24 made it to Drake, and I did my final long jump before the list came out and it wasn’t good enough to move my rank, you comforted me while I cried and cried. The time you drove 45 minutes to the conference meet in Dubuque to watch me and I scratched out of every event I was competing in? You were proud of me anyway. It’s a little joke to this day though and you’ll never let me live it down. Simultaneously, you’re my biggest fan and the best coach there is. Having someone nagging and nagging on things I need to fix might drive me insane, but it’s made me the athlete I am today. The reason I even became an athlete was you, and the first person who fist bumps me (with an explosion) after I perform well is still you.. even ten years later. The person who records all of my jumps to show me and I can hear cheering in the back when I clear it is also you. And the one who funds how hungry I am after all of that? You.

The time I crashed my car into the garage, the car parked behind me, and the car in front of me… I called you and you weren’t even THAT mad. I got a little lecture, but you stopped mom from screaming at me because I was “just learning.” You fixed all the stuff wrong with my car, too. 

At least once a month I call saying I’m hungry and want you to pick up food on the way home, and you barely ever argue. And when I ask for some money to go out with friends, you’ll eventually give it to me, after pretending you’re only going to give me two dollars. You call me out of school when I’m sick or need to go home to get something, especially when mom won’t answer the phone. 

You’re the guy who’s overly talkative with the grocery store cashier, and the guy who knows every janitor at your workplace by name. You remind me when I’m being mean to be a little nicer, too.

You’ve taught me what to expect out of people and to always be kind, even if someone sucks. You’ve let me develop as a person and form my own opinions, but you’re always up to get in a good debate with me. You’ve taught me that a man should respect me, but that a relationship relies on teamwork and respecting my partner as well. You’ve given me confidence in myself, and have never made me feel like a disappointment when I don’t perform to my own standards. I can always count on you to compliment me when I walk down the stairs in the morning. I can’t thank you enough for the life lessons you’ve taught me and I wouldn’t trade you for the world. I love you!

Your thankful but always-stubborn daughter,

Katie