Three Years on The Path

Back L-R: Robert Duke, me, David Armstrong, Jence Kofoed. Front Andrew Petersen

Disclaimer: This is a more personal/spiritual/reflective post. Also there may be a lot of pics.

I remember vividly waking up on the floor of my friends dorm at BYU, not having slept very well the night before, fully aware that today was the first step of a series of more steps than I would like to know, all of which would have a profound impact on my life. It is the day I entered the Missionary Training Center, the day that I officially started my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A huge discrepancy of emotions welled within me as I showered, shaved, and suited up, knowing this would be my routine every day for the next two years. A dear group of friends met together to drive me, and warm goodbyes were said. Three years later, I'm still waiting to be reunited with a few of them, who have themselves volunteered to serve. Trying in vain to hold back the tears, I turned away from them and walked into the maze of orange buildings that makes of the complex. 

Donetsk, Ukraine

Tears flowed not only because I turned my back on my family, friends, and home for a long while. I was scared because I was turning my back on the path that I was on, and turning onto another whose route I did not know. I was turning my back on the person who I was, and was allowing The Lord to shape me into the person that he wanted me to be. Walking into the unknown that was the MTC was one of the hardest walks of my life, only to be rivaled by the walk onto the airplane to come back home. 

I will not deny that said path has been difficult at times.While I never doubted I was where I was supposed to be and doing what I needed to be doing, the weight of the burden and the tax of the trials wore me down both physically and spiritually. Yet the sorrows that came only enlarged my capacity to experience true eternal joy. God gave me tastes of what that joy would be, whose taste cannot be described, but must be experienced. Those memories inspire me to become a better disciple. 

Getting a drink in Makyevka, Ukraine.

My mission means more to me than I can probably understand at this time. Ukraine was a school, whose education, while expensive in terms of sacrifice, pain, and effort, is without invaluable. The people I met and the lessons I learned will stay with me for the entirety of my life. Gratitude as well as the twinge of guilt dwell in my soul as I realize that my mission may have meant more for me than the people I served. Yet said gratitude can only be expressed by continuing on the path that I set out on three years ago, the path of discipleship. 

The mission has altered my life in so many ways. It has changed the way I view things, and approach different issues and problems. It has altered the course of my study, and very possibly my professional path. Thanks to my mission I met a girl who I love very much. I met people who were complete strangers  and now are dear friends. My cup runneth over. 

Not a day has gone by where I haven't thought of my mission, and am so glad I went, and am grateful to be on the path I am on. I'll end with a scripture that has served as a comfort and guide for many years, and that I think holds true for all of us. 

On the path, with Adam Rallison

1st Nephi 17:13

"And I will also be your alight in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led."    

Well, lets try this again/ From Russia with Love

Hey! Its been awhile...

Seriously. It has been a long time since I have touched this guy. A good amount of life experience has come and gone in between these posts, and I am not even going to attempt to try to consolidate them into a lame, unsatisfactory to read or write piece that would'nt do any of those experiences or lessons justice. So I figure I'll just pick up where I am right now. 

My latest adventure has taken me to the seemingly endless city of Moscow. When I look outside my window, I see twenty-plus story apartment buildings stretch into the distance well past the horizon. There are millions of people hustling and bustling to wherever they have to go, working their way through the web of alleys, streets, and metro tunnels. It is overwhelming to an extent, yet I am excited to embark on this new opportunity. 

On the banks of the Yysk-Koi lake, Kyrgyzstan.

I have been here for a week, and am currently ripping through the red tape that wraps my future employment opportunity. Doing so has given me a lot of time to wander the city, and think about what life is like for a Muscovite.  The city never seems to sleep or calm down. It's pulse continuously, rapidly beats forward without regard to the inhabitants that give it life. The opportunity to change and progress according the worlds standards are everywhere, everything is new and exciting, with an eye focused on the future. While you are surrounded by people, it seems that loneliness is a persons only company. Yet, the fast paced race goes on in this colorful and cultured city. 

Moscow

Right before I came to Moscow, I was in a completely different world in the Tian-Shan mountains which go through China and Kyrgyzstan. There I saw about ten times more sheep than people. Standing on the peaks, looking into the distance, you saw nothing but the weathered summits of mountains seemingly older than time.  I dont think there could be a starker difference between my two circumstances.

Yet through all of my travels and experiences one constant remains. The people. All of us, regardless of whether we live in Texas, Moscow, or Naryn are the same. Family is still a priority, nurturing those relationships and providing for them. Kids still think farts are funny, (ok lets be honest, everyone does right?). The loneliness felt by the old babushka sitting on the metro on her way to the grocery store is just as real as the loneliness felt by the lone shepherd guiding his flocks through the rugged landscape. We all have an instinctive, innate desire to love and be loved. 

While the walls that divide culture can be as real and as firm as the walls of the Kremlin, once those walls are penetrated we see we are all alike, with our own fears, hopes, desires, and aspirations. We all have the same limitless potential. The only thing that is limited is our own perspective, which we dam ourselves. So let's open it up a little bit. As we learn more about each other, it is inevitable that we will learn more about ourselves.          

State/Wrestling Ending and Reflection

We'll my wrestling season has come to a close, and I couldn't have asked it to end in any better fashion. I, along with 7 of my team mates qualified for the UIL Texas State Wrestling Tournament. That's the most we've ever sent and more than almost any other team there.

Our qualifiers were, Chase Betzer (130), Me (135), Jim Gianakopolous (140), Sawyer Morris (145), Peyton Burns (152), Alex Hershey (160), Grant Perry (171), and David Durham (215). For you that aren't familiar with the weight classes, that's 7 in a row that were all state qualifiers. We had a murderers row of middle weights.

The team preformed so well. Me, Hershey and Jim were eliminated on the first day, but we were all just happy to be there. David and Sawyer got 6th, (Sawyer was suffering from injuries, he's going to have to have surgery on both shoulders. I am supremely confident if he was healthy he would've been a state champion). Chase Betzer got 3rd, only loosing to the 65-0, 3X state Champ Erik Spjut. GP placed 2nd, an accomplishment all the more impressive given that he was injured with torn ligaments in his knee for over half the season. An excellent year to cap off his senior season. And Peyton Burns in the most exciting finals match of the tournament scored a last second reversal to put him up by one point to beat the heavy favorite for the State Title.

(Also my friend and fellow 135 pounder Bryan Osorio ended his season undefeated and State Champion. Crongrats Bryan!)

As a whole, the team placed third in the tournament, the highest we have ever placed, beating cross town rivals Bowie and Vista Ridge. I am so proud of my team. They are among the best friends I have, and I have grown so much with them over the last four years. I only see great things in their futures. Of those eight state qualifiers, five are coming back. Watch out next year!

But now, as my wrestling career comes to a close, I am filled with mixed emotion. I am glad that I don't have to practice for so long, hurting all the time, watching what I eat, and having more free time.

But I am really going to miss so much of the sport. Its been such a huge part of my life, I've learned to love so much of it. I'm going to miss the taste of blood in my mouth after I just got hit. I'll miss being drenched heat to toe in sweat after busting my butt for the last 2.5 hours, and walking out into the cold December weather. I'll miss coming home from tournaments covered in cuts and bruises, completely exhausted, and knowing that I kicked butt and took names that day.

But most of all I'm going to miss my teammates. Those guys were the best, I loved every minute I spent with them. We worked hard and pushed each other to be the best we could, and that's why we ended the year as one of the best teams in the state, a team of champions. We hurt, we sweat and bleed together. I feel like Shakespeare's King Henry V, in his speech when thinking of my team.

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me,
Shall be my brother"

I'll love those guys. Best of luck to them all.

State Brackets

The brackets for the State Tournament came out the other day. I got a really awesome spot, and hopefully one that will help me place.

Here's a link to the brackets.

Here's a link to the list of state qualifiers.

Also they came out with updated state rankings, with all the guys that have made it to state. I cracked the top 10 and #9! Here's the link.

But man, its so cool to finally be here. To be among the best getting ready. I remember when I was a freshman at tournaments, watching state qualifiers wrestle and just how cool those guys were. I remember talking about those guys, and how they were almost legendary, and now to be a part of that group is really cool. It's neat looking back and realizing how far I have come. I'm really nervous for this weekend, but I am also enjoying the ride, taking in every little bit that I can. Man, I cant wait for this weekend!

Regionals

This weekend I had my regional meet, to decide who from our region would go on to state. To make state you needed to place in the top 4. I was really nervous in the week leading up to it. It was all that I could think about. My whole wrestling career came down to this one tournament. Everything that I had worked for all came down to this one weekend. It was really intense.

I ended up getting seeded 6th. It was actually the first time that I had been seeded in an tournament in Texas believe it or not, so I'll take it.

The first match I had was against a champion out of a district in the valley. I cant remember what school he was from but his record was 20-4. I was pumped and ready to go, and I was up 13-2 when I pinned him in the third period.

Later that day I wrestled another champion from the valley. This guy was the third seed, and was undefeated this year. He was really tall and lanky, so he was a good prep for the kid from Madison, who I would have to wrestle if we both won our matches. I handed this kid his first loss, a 6-1 decision.

That ended the first day of the tournament, and I was in the semi-finals. If I won my next match I was in the finals, and had my spot to state guaranteed. My next match was against my biggest rival of my career, the kid from Madison who had beaten me 4 times earlier this season. He was the second seed and had only lost twice all year. I was nervous, but I was ready. I knew that I was going to have to go through him to make it, so I had been training all month getting ready to wrestle him. I had gone over film, drilled specific moves, and did all that I could to prepare myself for that match.

The second day came, and in line for weighing in, all the Madison guy could talk about was how pumped he was to wrestle Osorio (the number one kid in the state, also the guy who beat me in my district final, who is undefeated). Our match was one of the first of the morning. Everything went flawlessly. My game plan went exactly as planned. I knew what he was going to do and wresetled accordingly. I finally beat him 11-4 when it mattered the most, got that monkey off my back, and punched my ticket to state!

In the finals I got to wrestle Osorio from Vista Ridge, a rematch from our district finals. Osorio is a really nice kid, and one of the best wrestlers I have ever seen. I wrestled my best against him, but he still beat me 14-6. Osorio is a really nice guy and one of the best wrestlers that I have ever seen. There isnt anyone in the state that can compete with him, and I hope that the finishes undefeated and finally earns that state title that he deserves.

I am so happy to have finally made it to state, after being sick my sophmore year, and injured my junior year. It's been my goal for as long as I can remember, and the feeling of accomplishing it is undescribable. I worked so hard to get here, and am so greatful for my fellow teammates, and coaches who pushed me to do so. And I am so thankful to God, who put me in a position, and blessed me with the ability to accomplish my dream. It has been one heck of a senior season.

But it aint over yet. STATE!

(a note about the record, apparently I screwed up in the way I figured my record, so my actual UIL record, and my own personal record have been different. So I'll go ahead and post my UIL record, since thats what they use for seeding and such)

RECORD: 32-12; 18 pins

Ohio and Districts

I havent had a whole lot of time to blog, but I'll go ahead and give a quick update, and write more when I get a chance.

I wrestled at a tournament in Ohio which was a great experience. I did really well, pinning my first two opponents. I then beat the next kid 7-6. In the finals I had a nail bitter that ended in regulation 6-6, but he scored first in OT to win. But I will take second at an Ohio tournament.

Now I wrestled in districts. This is where it gets real. I have to place in the top 2 to move on to region. I wrestled pretty well, but my stomach was turned in knots knowing that I couldnt loose if I wanted to obtain my goal of making state. I pinned my first two kids, then wrestled the number one kid again from vista ridge. I wrestled well, but of course he still beat me. I hadnt wrestled the kid who got 3rd so he got to wrestle me for the spot to go to region. Man did that make me nervous! But I pinned him too, so now I placed 2nd and have punched my card to region! Now I have to place in the top 4 in region to make state. It will be a tough road, but I'll do my best.

RECORD: 25-12; 17 pins. NEXT: Region Tournament, SA Texas Blossom Center

Senior Night

Well tonight was my last duel that I would ever wrestle, and last match I would ever wrestle at Westlake. We wrestled Cedar Park, who is in our district and I was excited to get some more district experience. It was also our senior night, and we got to recognize all of our seniors. We really were an excellent class. Our class and the year right under us are the ones that put Westlake wrestling on the map and set the standard higher. I'm really grateful for the opprotunity I've had to compete and train with such fine individuals.

The duel was pretty much a blow out for us, we won 60-12. I wrestled up at 140 because they didnt have a 135, and I pinned the guy in the first period. A fitting way to end my career at Westlake wouldn't you say?

It is wierd that my wrestling career is coming to an end. It has been such a huge part of my life, and its almost over. I wont wrestle competitively in college, however I do plan on sticking with the sport in whatever way I can. But it is still an odd feeling. I'm really gonna miss it.

But I cant focus on that right now, the season isn't over and I still have my goal of making state to accomplish. Tomorrow we are traveling up to Ohio to wrestle a tournament in Marion. It will be intense going up against Ohio wrestlers, but I'll do my best to represent my state proudly. Remember, dont mess with Texas!

Record: 19-10; 12 pins Next: MARION OHIO TOURNAMENT!