Around 2 a.m. I layed in bed, sound asleep in a silent hotel room. The only sound in the room was the dull humming noise coming from the air conditioner. I was suddenly woken up by my mother. The room was still nearly pitch black and there was a cool breeze coming in from under my blankets. Her voice was shaky and she shook me frantically. I woke up startled and confused with a pounding heart. I recognized immediately that something was terribly wrong. My mother told us in a fearful, demanding voice to gather all of our clothes quickly because we needed to leave as soon as possible. A thousand thoughts rushed through my head thinking of what could possibly be wrong. I rushed around the room anxiously with an overwhelming feeling of worry in my stomach. I grabbed everything as fast as I could and threw it into my large, black duffle bag that was never packed neatly to begin with. When we got into the car, I buckled and sat nervously in the cold leather seats waiting to find out what was going on.

The year was 2013. My family and I were staying at Foxwoods Casino for a long weekend where my father plays poker regularly. We had all went to sleep with no worries, enjoying our weekend away. Around 2 a.m. I was suddenly woken up by my mother. I recognized immediately that something was wrong by the look of fear in her eyes and the shakiness of her voice. She told my brother and I to gather all of our clothes quickly because we had to leave as soon as possible. Being only 15 years old, I was extremely confused and worried about what was going on. I grabbed everything I brought and threw it into my bag in a panic. When we got into the car my mother explained to us as calmly as she could that our house was just broken into.

The ride home was over an hour long and was filled with silence. I remember being confused about why someone would try to break into our home. I looked outside the window searching for an answer. After what seemed like years, we arrived at my house where I saw multiple police cars and bright flashing lights. The police officers escorted us into our house. Once I walked through the door with caution I felt a cool breeze. I walked up my stairs and went into my living room to see something that I found very alarming. The glass door was shattered into a million pieces all over the floor and the blinds were violently torn down. The officers explained to us that the intruders had fled as soon as they heard the alarm go off. My mother and father were furious that this had happened. The fact that we did not know who it was that did this made the situation even worse.

My mother feared that they would come back. None of us could get any sleep because the house was so cold. I vividly remember laying in bed shivering and wearing a sweatsuit to keep myself warm. We spent the morning searching for companies to come repair the door. Most of the places were closed for a couple of days because it was a holiday. Luckily there was a company that had 24 hour service. They were able to repair our door and we got the house back to normal as best would could.

Although we were lucky that the intruders were scared off by the alarm and that none of our personal belongings were taken, my family and I were drastically affected emotionally by this experience. For the next couple of weeks there was an extremely uneasy feeling at my house. It was a terrible feeling to feel uncomfortable and unsafe within my own home. A couple weeks later we received a call from the police department. They informed us that the criminals had been caught. They broke into three other houses in my town before breaking into a police officer’s home where they were caught. The criminals were three teens that were on drugs looking for money or valuable items to sell.

The individuals who commit these crimes do not take into consideration the negative impacts that they have on the families that live behind the doors of these homes. My mother and father both felt that they had to be highly cautious and protective of my brother and I even while we were safe at home. These experiences take a toll on the people who have to come home to these disturbing scenes.

Equal Opportunity in baseball

Kate Fort Collins

 

This memoir is about the challenges Kate faced her whole career. She started playing baseball at 7 years old and would not tolerate discrimination. She knew she was just as good as the boys.

“It’s the same mechanics for both genders, so I believe it should be seen as just another player when a girl shows up to play”

“No, he made a deal based off my looks instead of giving me the equal opportunity that all of the other boys get.”

“Now we find ourselves with almost no opportunity for girls in the sport.”

 

I think everyone can relate because she talks about how she faced discrimination.  A lot of people have this issue whether it’s their age, race, or religion.

For my theme I will write about crime. I chose this theme because it’s something that I find interesting.  I’d like to learn more about crime and justice. For my memoir I plan on writing about a family member that got in trouble and how it impacted my family. I am visiting a prison in my sociology class so I plan on using my observations for a ethnography. For my research paper I am thinking about doing it on the war on drugs but I am not sure.