Hi, my name is Matthew Manzella and I am majoring in applied math and computer science at North Central. My main interests include going hiking with my family, running, going to the gym, and watching sports on TV.
I have always been very physically active throughout my life and did soccer, track, and cross country in high school. My passion for these three sports is big because of the way you are able to both physically and mentally challenge yourself in every step of preparation. I started playing soccer when I was 9 and my passion took off from every angle, leading me to play travel ball and then eventually in high school. When COVID shut everything down my sophomore/junior year and the soccer season was shifted, I decided to go out for cross country. I ended up doing extremely well and was voted MVP that season, so I went out for track too and my interest in running grew more and more. Through track I was introduced to lifting as well and this became an outlet for me to keep my body in shape while I was injured during multiple points in my career. Even though I decided not to play any sports beyond high school because of academics, being active remains an important part of my life and every day I go on a run/lift to challenge myself.
Outside of athletics, I work, study, and spend time with my family. I chose my majors because they have a lot of career opportunities when combined and I find solving problems by creating things/analyzing numbers really interesting. I have a lot of coursework and spend lots of time studying, but am able to find a nice outlet through my current job. I work part time at an elementary school near my house through the YMCA and my job pretty much consists of helping little kids with homework and playing sports like dodgeball with them. I also coach youth soccer on the side. Working with kids has always been fun for me because I like being able to teach them things and just have fun like I did when I was a kid.
My first week in CARD 101 went well. I enjoyed the activities and was able to get everything in place with my blog setup. I like the format of freewriting at the beginning of class and having class discussion based off of the topics because they help everyone get exposed to different viewpoints and areas of thought that benefit understanding. Understanding and interpretation are both really important and we covered those concepts a lot through looking at the Portrait de Famille painting.
Aside from that, I am excited for CARD 101. I don't write often, but when I get the chance to form my own opinion and explain things I tend to work really hard at it and I think that this class will give me plenty of opportunities to do this. Being able to write effectively is important in every profession as well as in everyday life and I look forward to the chance to improve these skills as a result of my work in CARD 101.
Hi Matthew,
ReplyDeleteI also missed out on a year of spring sports because covid threw the scheduling off for everything. I agree with always trying to test yourself physically and mentally to try and stay as sharp as possible. I never really got into soccer but I know a lot of people who did cross country and track. Personally I don't enjoy running, so I don't know how you guys do it. Along with that I am enjoying the free writes as well, it really gets my mind thinking.
I also played soccer since childhood. I had played soccer for 14 years and my last year playing was sr year of high school. I completely understand the passion behind that sport. It takes alot to become great. Its great that you continue to enjoy soccer. it means that even when the game may have been unfair you stuck it out.
ReplyDeleteI played soccer all of my childhood as well. I began when I was six and played travel on Chicago Inter. I now play for the school, but I think that running is the hardest part of it so making that switch is impressive.
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