Playground Nightmare

I do not have a good memory of my childhood and elementary school years. Those memories that I do have seem to be scattered and fragmented. Though I have many memories from my childhood, there are a few that I will never seem to forget.

When I was in kindergarten, my older brothers were sixth graders, the oldest kids in school. There was a short period of time after our classes were over until the rest of the school was dismissed. During this time I would typically stay out on the playground with my best friend and burn some time during the wait. The kindergartners had their own private playground, one secluded from the rest of the school, and off limits to the old kids. On this day, I had played with every part of the playground, from the tattered mini basketball hoops to the plastic slide that shocked you after every use. By now I had reached boredom, and like all small children, wondered and made strange decisions.

I was standing on top of the catwalk betwwen two parts of the playground, with my fruend directly below me. I thought it would be funny if I reached my leg between th railway on the side and kicked him in the head, leaving him dazed and confused on what just happened. I squeezed my leg through the tight vertical bars and got my leg as low as I could before I began to swing for his head.  Unfortunately, I was much too high, and the plan was a bust. I pulled my leg backand stood up, and then it happened. My knee got stuck between two bars and I was unable to move. First came panic. I began to furiously try to yank my knee from the bars. I tried different angles but nothing worked, I was stuck. Soon I began to think of situations of the fire department coming and freeing me with iron jaws. This would make local news and I would be the laughing stock of the school. Next, I yelled for my friend to get the teacher. After a few minutes of waiting my teacher arrived to save me. Five minutes later, I was freed by the teacher and the feeling of relief spread through my body.

I walked away that day with only a few bruises and a fear of metal bars for the rest of my life. I never told anybody what happened that day.

Introduction

My name is Domenic Ruffino, and the purpose of my first post is to let you know a little bit more about me. Yes I am Italian and yes, my dad is a great cook, he used to be a chef and own multiple restaurants.  I am 17 years old, and am a senior at Napa High School. I will turn 18 in November, and start my career as an adult. I have 3 brothers, 2 of whom are twins in college, and a younger brother who is a sophomore. I have 2 pugs who always seem to be on the brink of life. My mother works in the offices at the County of Napa.

During the day I have to go to school. I take hard classes, but I am usually able to get good grades in them. I in no way attribute this to a hard work ethic or great study techniques, I'm actually pretty lazy. My goal for this year is to put more effort and time into school, to avoid the stresses and time crunches I am typically forced under. I know that if i dont end up picking it up, i will be in a bad position for college and future education. My favorite subjects are history and math, and I have never really been able to enjoy a whole year of English. I prefer to write informally rather than informally, and i feel as if i can better express myself this way. As of right now, I would like to major in electrical engineering, and would like to go to college either back east or in southern California.

After school, I am playing sports year round. Football in the summer and fall, basketball in the winter, and track in the spring. I have played sports all of my life, and they are a huge part of my life. The friends I have made, and the times i have had playing sports will always make up for the time, effort, and commitment put into them. In addition to playing sports, i enjoy watching them. The Golden State Warriors, Oakland Athletics, and San Francisco 49ers are my favorite teams.

In my free time I enjoy relaxing as much as i possibly can. I watch alot of TV and movies on the weekend. I enjoy watching comedy shows and movies, and also documentaries. I eat alot and sometimes pretty unhealthy, but i can get away with it as a teenager who does a lot of physical activity. In the past few years, i have started another hobby of hunting. Right now, I typically hunt birds. A lot of my friends hunt, and i recently got a boat, so I am hoping i can go more often and have more fun while doing it.