The Greatest Soccer Player of All Time

        My all time favorite sport is soccer. My personal favorite player in soccer is Lionel Messi. Messi is an incredible player, winning countless awards and breaking bountiful records. A Bal'on Dor is the greatest award you can win in the sport. It is the award for the leading soccer player in the world. Lionel Messi has won five Bal'on Dors, which is a world record. He has won 15 golden boot awards( top scorer award ), 3 best player in Europe awards, 4 champion league titles, 8 Spanish champion awards, 4 Spanish cup titles, 7 Spanish super cup titles, 1 olympic gold medal, 3 FIFA club World Cup titles, 3 UIFA super cup titles, 3 player of the year awards, and innumerable records broken.

          Despite the amazement he portrays on the pitch, he is a good man off it. Unlike many sport super stars, Lionel Messi is a good person. He is very friendly to disabled, poor and is a children's activist. He has a wife Antonella Roccuzzo and two kids Thiago Messi and Mateo Messi. Messi is also a Catholic, making the sign of the cross after he scores.

          Lionel Messi is from Rosario Argentina and grew up in a poor family. He was a spectacular soccer player as a child but was very small for his age. He was later diagnosed with hormone-indeficiency and his family couldn't afford the treatment. If he did not get the treatment he would be unable to play soccer again. Luckily a FC Barcelona agent spotted Messi playing and offered to pay for his treatment if Lionel Messi would come and train in Barcelona. Lionel's family and he agreed and Messi moved to Barcelona at the age of 13. Lionel soon became a tremendous soccer player and started for FC Barcelona at the age of 17 in 2005. He broke his first record for the youngest player to score a goal for the Franchise in May 1, 2005.

         Messi plays for the Argentinean national team and FC Barcelona. For Barcelona, Messi has won multifarious awards, about 80% of the awards he's gained are for the Spanish club. On Argentina
he hasn't won as many trophies and awards as he has for FC Barcelona, but if Argentina didn't have Messi, they would be nowhere. Messi is the captain of the Argentinean national team and has lead them to various tournaments. In 2014, he escorted Argentina to the World Cup final. Yet the finale
had a bitter end, when Argentina was defeated by Germany. Lionel Messi still was granted the player of the tournament, but was torn by the loss. A year later in 2015 Messi conducted the national team to yet another Copa America final. Messi was unbelievable and earned the player of the tournament and racked up the most assists and was the second to the top goal scorer. Unfortunately, once again Argentina lost in the championship game to Chile. It was a frustrating loss, for Argentina was clearly the better side, but lost in a penalty-shoot-out.

        Another loss in a championship game was too much for the star. Shortly after the game Messi
retired from the Argentinean national team. This made Argentina fans really notice how much they
needed Messi. After Messi's departure, Argentina lost frequently and they did not look like the team
they were a month ago. Messi, however returned to his national team and they won seven games.

       Lionel Messi continues to be awesome for Fc Barcelona. He currently has banged in 639 goals
for his club and country and over 200 assists.

       Another reason I look up to Messi is his selflessness. Messi is not just a player who scores goals, he creates and sets up many plays and scoring opportunities for his teammates. His rival at the present is Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo is definitely a show man, and when he sores, he points to the
back of his jersey while Messi holds up his team's logo, and thanks God. As it was said in the Miracle  on Ice ( a hockey movie ), " The name on the front of your shirt is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back. "

       In my point of view, Messi is the best soccer player in all of the sport's history. Many people will
say he's not as great as the legends Diego Maradona and Pele, but I believe Messi is the greater. Lionel Messi has won more personal awards, and has the more important records like the most Bal'On Dors. Pele and Maradona have won World Cups, but winning the World Cup doesn't depend on one individual but a team effort. If you watch videos of Pele vs Messi, the modern defense is much more developed than the defense way back in Pele's time. Adding on to that Messi gets past more players and he is quite a bit better shooter than Pele and Maradona. In conclusion, Lionel
Messi is the superior soccer player to walk this Earth.
Top 10 Messi goals

 

Messi

Sleep Tight

It's Dark
No place to go
No place to hide
No place to run
When it's dark you are scared
You can't move
You can't see
But then you see it,
You see the light
You see a dot at first 
But then it's big
It's humongous
Then it disappears.
Out
Of
Sight
In
The
Darkness
Of
The
Night...

Do you remember?

Do you remember?

I don't.

What was it like?

You and I?

All I could catch was the sand.

Everything is tucked

in the corner of my mind.

The one you can't reach.

I see letters and syllables, 

Faces and places,

But none of them fit together.

I may see a scene,

but not the people.

I match them in,

and see what works.

But none of them fit together.

Voices constantly changing,

I try pitches high and low.

But none of them fit together.

Then you...

You filled in the void,

 I see all faces,

hear all voices,

and know all the words.

And I remember the day,

you and I, 

that we spent on the beach. 

My Personal Mascot

My personal mascot would be a hippo, but not just any hippo. It would have minuscule wings on its back. The hippo portion would be elephantine. The wings would be the size of the pair on a baby robin. It wouldn't have teeth. On the end of its tongue there would be a teensy-weensy frog. To eat, it would stick out its tongue and the frog would nibble the food.

One of its main features would be the warts on its body. Well, I guess they aren't warts, they are more like fish that are stuck to its body. They would flop around and polish the hippo. Its tail would be the same as the one on a ten ton hump back whale. It would be covered in barnicals and would swing up and down thumping people on the head. This is the best part. Its head can turn all the way around like an owl's head. It would live in the desert and could run 60 miles per hour.

It would be called a tonguehippopotamusavesranapiscibuscetusherbadorsumadstrutiones.

Cozzzzzzzzy

I sit before the warm crackling fire. It is only about four-o-clock, but somehow the sun has almost set. December weather brings the temperature to 11° Fahrenheit.

A blanket covers my legs, and my dog curls up in my lap. The rest of my family sits nearby.

Our tall and bushy tree is in the corner of the room. I squint at it, and slowly turn my head to make the lights glimmer. Ornaments cover every branch.

A ceramic cup sits on the table; I think I can smell the sweet chocolate scent it gives. Grabbing it slowly, I bring the cup to my mouth, sucking up all the marshmallows. Mom gives me a weary look, but I don't stop.

As I sit warmth spreads throughout me, like a tree spreading its branches. Then all thoughts slip from me and I am lost. The fire is the last thing I see before my eyes flutter shut.

A Day In November With You

Do you remember? I do

A day in November 

As the frost nipped our faces

Our words were lost in the evening air

And our breath made rippling shadows on the 

ground at our feet

The air around us was cold and harsh

But I felt warm

Our feet crunched on the fresh snow on the ground

But I felt warm

Then the sun went over the mountains

And the light receded from view

We parted ways

And I felt cold

Social constructs

Social constructs are just ideas that have been passed on by generations of people. Sometimes, it is a wrong interpretation of life.

Practicing With Photos

This is a puzzle I've been working on.  Bennett and I finished the earth part this evening.  I now know how to insert a photo of my own into a blog post using the iPad. Trying to figure it out was also a kind of puzzle for me. I had to go and find a video to learn how to do it.  Hooray for the interwebs! Has anyone else figured it out yet?

The Beast

She was running, looking back every now and then, trying to get away. The beast that had taken her father's life was now after her. Trying not to think of that, she turned suddenly and the vile thing crashed against her sword. It sunk onto the warm mud. The feeling of triumph overwhelmed her.

The Haters :(

They look at me strangely
They mimick me at lunch
They hurt my feelings
And they truly show me
How cruel one can be.

But I sit up straight
Put a smile on my face
Ignore the hate
And I show them
That nobody will bring me down.

I am immune
I am fearless
I am strong
I am confident
And I know that the haters want to be
 just like me.

Annador, Chapter two

The guard grasped her arm with an iron grip, which far increased the pain that seared through her body. Down a dimly lit hallway he dragged her, to a staircase. The steps were crafted of the same, rough cement as her cell, and the thought of climbing them made Willow cringe. The guard could not read minds, which came as no surprise, especially after he turned his pale face to Willow and said one word.

"Up."

His pink lips parted, revealing slightly yellowed teeth, some of which were crooked or chipped. With his hand still gripping her forearm, Willow had no choice but to oblige. With a hesitant step, she lifted her bare foot and placed it on the first step. The cement was cold and hard, the rough texture made her wince. The guard also began to ascend, and pulled his young companion behind him on a leash fashioned from his arm, firmly attached to hers.

Up they went, Willow pausing to push her long, coppery hair out of her green eyes. They were round, and her emotions rippled across them like water. Blinking, she followed the guard. The staircase was not long. They walked only for a small time, until the guard stopped at a huge, metal door. Willow did not see hinges, so she guessed it would slide into the wall. The man reached his free hand to a silver keypad which featured both numbers and letters. With a thick, fleshy finger, he quickly typed something in, and, as Willow had predicted, the door slid into the wall.

The first thing Willow noticed was the smell. It was not a bad smell, just the incredibly strong scent of burning wood. She was in a tiny brick room, but the cement floor was covered in black soot, ash, and sand. Even the walls were streaked with soot.  There was an opening in the wall in front of her, big enough for even her guard to fit through, if he bent over. In fact, that is exactly what he did. He bent, and shuffled through the opening, pulling Willow so quickly, she almost smacked her face on the brick before ducking into the opening.

Now the two people were in a significantly larger room,  with stainless steel countertops, huge, rectangular sinks, ovens, and cooktops. Looking back, Willow saw that the small gap which she had come through was actually a fireplace. The design was actually brilliant, she realized. If a prisoner were to escape their cell, the fire could be lit, and there was an iron grate which could be locked onto the opening of the wall. A rough shove from the guard jerked her back to reality, though, and she realized that if she ever tried to escape, those treatments would be used for her. 

With a frown, she followed the guard out of the kitchen, and down another hallway, to a vast room, with marble floors. Huge windows allowed light to pour in, soaking everything with light. Beautiful paintings adorned the walls, and on the far side of the room sat three thrones.

The middle throne was obviously for the king. It was taller than the rest, and lush red cushions padded the seat and back rest, while the other two were significantly smaller, and wore blue silk, not red. Perhaps before her wedding had been interrupted, the sight would have amazed her, but now, she simply scowled. This was the throne room of her worst enemy, the king of Ondalasia, and all the gold in the world couldn't make her forgive this man.

Suddenly, the pressure on her arm ceased, and she looked to her guard. He stood stiff, with his arms at his sides. The man's small, round eyes were fixed on the other side of the room, and Willow followed his gaze. A tall man with a proud posture strutted into the room. He wore a fine suit, and a golden crown rested on his graying hair. The man looked to be in his latter forties, still healthy, but beginning the descent of old age.  He scowled up at the windows, and reached for a bell on a small table near the thrones. He picked it up, and rang it.

A crisp echo flowed into the room, and a few seconds later, so did a maid. She burst through the doors which he had come, and curtsied in front of the king.
     "You rang, sir?" Her voice was clear and sweet, and Willow thought it matched her golden hair and blue eyes well.
     "These curtains were to be closed, I told you! The sun will ruin the furniture! Why are they open now, girl?" The king roared, his brown eyes glaring down at the maid. She nodded, and scuttled to the windows like a frightened animal. Reaching up to a golden rope, she tugged it, and red curtains slid over the light, adopting a warm glow. Then, she turned, and looked at me. Her eyes widened, and then her surprised expression turned to one of sadness and pity.
     “Laura! Have I asked you to stay?” The king bellowed, and she winced.
      “Um, it's Laurel, sir, and I was just leaving.” She walked briskly towards the door, but cast a final glance in my direction. After she left, and the door clicked shut behind her, the king, too turned his gaze to me.

Self-conscious, I pulled my tattered dress a little, trying to cover myself more, and as he spoke, his voice was smooth, and cold, like a snake sliding through the brush, ready to strike at any moment.

“Well, hello, Willow.”