Trey Hall New Look
What up Basketball World?
My apologies for not getting an entry in last week, but I needed the time to study for all of my finals. Without further delay, I'm signing back in for this week's Basketball Diary entry.
Monday started off a bittersweet week for me. With it being my final week as a middle school student, I took a lot of time to think about the transition to high school and getting adjusted to new environments and people. I always figured I'd be nothing but excited to leave middle school, but preparing to leave it made me appreciate it much more. Monday was also the start of finals, so I took my first one that afternoon. Time before the final was spent studying, signing yearbooks, and taking pictures with classmates. There was early dismissal all week, so once my final was finished I headed home to start studying for Tuesday's exam. After a few hours of that, I got a chance to go to choir rehearsal. I hadn't been in a few weeks, so it felt good to catch up with church members and go over some of our songs. We weren't there late, so I was home in enough time to study more and get to bed at a decent hour.
Tuesday was another day of finals and hanging out with classmates before the last day of school. I went home and started studying for Wednesday's exam, which took up the entire afternoon and evening. I was supposed to go to a workout that night but the amount of studying I had to do was more important at that time. After feeling like I was prepared for my final, I wound down for the night and went to sleep.
After all of Tuesday's studying, I was really confident taking my Wednesday exam. With it being a day before the end of 8th grade, many of my classmates also spoke about adjusting to high school and being thankful for our middle school experience. It was good to know other people were feeling the same way. When school ended, it was back home to study for the rest of the afternoon. I took a break in the early evening to go to orientation for my summer job as a Lifeguard, which I'm really excited about. We reviewed safety procedures, pool rules, and ways to handle certain situations we might experience. Our supervisor told us stories of things that past Lifeguards have had to deal with; the conversation reminded me just how important our jobs really are. Once orientation was over it was right back home to finish studying, eat dinner, and watch that night's NBA Finals game.
You all know what Thursday was.....my last day of 8th grade! There was obviously an exam to take, but once that was done all the 8th graders met in the school courtyard before heading home. We took pictures, laughed, and told stories and jokes about the school year. There was more yearbook signing and a chance to thank our teachers for their hardwork before finally saying "goodbye". I got home and sat for a second realizing I'm now considered a high school student. Middle school was alot of fun and through the demanding times where I almost wanted to give up, I can look back and see how much I've grown as a young man. Although it's sad to say "it's all over", I'm excited for what lies ahead. I had a haircut scheduled for that afternoon and since I'm technically a Freshman, I cut my hair off for a new, more mature look. From the barbershop I went to my workout, where I got about 800-1000 shots up from all 3 levels. After ball handling and 1 on 1 drills with some older guys, we left the gym to head home. Since I didn't have school the next day, I was able to relax and stay up later than usual.
I went to my church Friday morning to take a class that would make me an official member. It lasted a few hours and when I was done, I went right home to pack for the Rumble In the Bronx tournament that evening. A few friends from my hometown wanted to come support us, so we picked them up and headed to New York City. We won Friday night's game by a lot but the opposing team played hard. After our game the team went back to our hotel and spent the rest of the night hanging out before bed. Saturday was about winning our pool to advance to bracket play, so everyone wanted to be rested.
After waking up and eating breakfast Saturday morning, we headed to our first game of the day. It was another pool play game so we needed to win and stay in first place. Once again it was a competitive game, but we played well enough to win large. Our next and final pool play game was in another part of the city, so we drove straight there to get through the New York City traffic. The final pool play game was a match up of 2-0 teams, so the winner would advance to bracket play. The game was physical, intense, and close throughout with a lot of lead changes. In the end, we made a few costly mistakes that resulted in us losing by 6; the tournament was over for us and it was time to head home. Even in the loss, there were many positives to take from the way we played. With no more games to play, my friends and I had a chance to swim in the hotel pool before heading back home for the evening.
I was up early the next morning for church which is always a good way to start my Sunday. I had chores to do after church but once I was done I had time to hang out with a few of my friends for the day. We went to the movies to see The Conjuring 2 which was good with a few moments that made everyone jump out their seat. After the movie finished we went back to my friend's house to watch TV, laugh, and joke around for the evening. It was the end to a long week, but I'm looking forward to everything the summer will bring. Stay tuned for next week's diary as I start a new summer conditioning and basketball workout routine tomorrow morning. As always stay blessed!
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