Abram V’s AP Composition

“Let the tape flow where it wants to go” is the first and most crucial advice Rozlyn Elbert from Ames High athletic training would give someone who has never taped an ankle.  There are many supplies that are required to tape an ankle safely so it is supported.  Those include inch-and-half tape, pre-wrap, heel pads (for preventing blisters), and lase pads.

One has to take specific steps when performing on an ankle.  The first step is to start with pre-wrap on the whole ankle, then make 2-3 anchors with the white tape, two stirrups with the white tape, two horseshoes with the white tape, and then another stirrup and horseshoe with the white tape again, two figure eights, two heel locks, and closing it out with white tape.  The last step is to cover up any open windows you may have missed (open spots).  

Fig. 1. “An athletes ankles and legs are supported by taping” prompt, Canva, Magic Media, 26th Feb 2024

There are a couple of errors that ought to be avoided.  Errors that need to be avoided are leaving any windows open, wrinkles, tension, and not always making sure the athlete’s foot is angled up.  These steps are easily avoidable.  When taping an ankle, make sure the athlete never brings their foot down (or else it won’t be supported as well), constantly ask how the tape feels, and when you’re done taping an ankle, make sure all windows are sealed.

In conclusion, taping an ankle correctly requires specific detail and placement.  And different foot and ankle types were not even mentioned.  Although taping an ankle can take many reps and practices, they are super beneficial for athletes.  They provide support and stability for an athlete with ankle problems, providing them comfort, decreasing pain, and most importantly benefiting the athletes performance in their activity.

Every Sunday afternoon I receive a notification on my phone that tells me what my daily screen time was for the past week.  Some Sundays, I have seen the notification and it has shown 6 hours.  Then I ask myself “what was I doing for all these hours?”  This notification puts things into perspective for me.

Social media has been an enormous, unhealthy distraction to society.  Surveys conclude that 90% of teenagers have social media.  Social media includes facebook, instagram, snapchat, tiktok, and more.  The idea of instant gratification that all these apps provide is an addictive, distracting habit that most teenagers rely on.  This idea overshadows the idea of long term satisfaction.  It creates our minds to only desire instant gratification, which we can easily obtain by just opening up our phone and scrolling through social media.  Social media is designed with bright colors, short videos, music, and a desire to want more.  It is designed to keep us scrolling and keep us controlled. Individuals make a living off of creating algorithms to keep us on our phones, which makes it even harder to break the habit of scrolling. The more we are on our phones, the more they have data of what we like, and the more they put in  front of us.

A Meaningful Personal Experience

Our ability to handle life’s challenges is a measure of our strength and character -Les Brown. In my freshman year of high school, I joined the Hoover basketball team  in Des Moines, Iowa. Hoover is the most diverse public high school in the state and is also the most under-resourced. Before my freshman year, I participated in a homeschool co-op; in that community, all of the families looked like mine. In the Hoover community, on average, the parents are split up or come from a non-traditional household. It gave me a peek into reality and understanding that all of life isn’t just how it was at the homeschool co-op. It showed me that there are different communities and cultures in life. Life is not fair, some have more than others, and we have to make the most of what we have.  

My responsibility as a player on the team was to give rides to players, to and from practice.  If I did not provide rides, the players simply wouldn’t make it to practice.  Rarely did we have a full team at practice, which was the opposite of any other team I had ever been a part of. We started the year with twenty-two players in November, and by February we had 11 players.  Various reasons for the diminishing team included, insufficient grades, some needing to work and didn’t have the time, and lethargic attitudes. Practices were challenging and through them I became a better basketball player, and I believe a wiser individual having seen a broader perspective of different environments.  

Going from a homeschool co-op to being at Hoover was an immense change of culture and lifestyle. I’m thankful that it happened because it showed me two different cultures and gave me the ability to compare and contrast. I felt like I was a part of the Hoover community just as much as I was a part of my homeschool co-op community, it just looked different. We set our goals out for the season and strived for them together, as a team.  I believe that the challenge of going to Hoover as a freshman taught me about community, relationships, and the ability to adapt to new and challenging circumstances.

What High school is like in 2023

School in 2023 is highly individual I believe because people are becoming more distracted. Society as a whole has also become more individual, a lot of that is because of the forwarding level of technology and social media. This creates an environment where people are preoccupied from the present moment and may cause people to become isolated and alone. Some people will disagree and say that they socialize on their phone, but that is not near the same as socializing in person and physically interacting with one another. 

I have a unique perspective on high school, because until fall of 2023 I was homeschooled and did not attend a public school for classes.  I participated in classes with peers, but the environment was quite different. The biggest difference I believe is the use of technology and phone access during class. I used a computer at home, and I have an iphone that I am probably on more than I should, but during my classes my phone was put away. I was surprised my first week that students either solely communicated through their phones over break, or played games, physically conversing was non existent. 

 The school has established rules to limit cell phone use. These rules decrease the amount students are on their phones, but it doesn’t take away the addictive habit we have of constantly picking up our phones when given the opportunity. Once students are given a break, the phone is the first thing they go to and then they are off to their next class. The school does a good job of attempting to create more social interaction and building a community with seminars, extracurricular activities, and events, but I believe cell phones and technology are holding us back from reaching that goal. Cell phones and other technology are not going anywhere, and they are useful tools, but we need to remember they are tools.  Covid taught us that technology cannot replace community and social interaction, thus we need to understand the importance of face-to-face interaction with others. All in all, being a high schooler in 2023 can be difficult in terms of social interaction because the cell phone has become such a distraction to our peers around us. Everyone lives with an attachment to their phone, and this causes a lack of being present in school in 2023.