My training and travel to the state of Washington | Teen Ink

My training and travel to the state of Washington

April 22, 2014
By Deion Singleton BRONZE, Pasco, Washington
Deion Singleton BRONZE, Pasco, Washington
3 articles 0 photos 0 comments

My training and travel to the state of Washington

This two week adventure was the most exciting experience of my life; we flew all the way from Florida to Washington State. Even though not knowing anything about flying and traveling, it was a successful first time experience. Landing in the unfamiliar state of Washington felt spectacular and amazing, but I knew I wasn’t there for fun. The training began real soon and I was ready for action. I knew after all the training was done later on I would have free time. My training and travel to Washington has inspired me to do great things.
My first time experience flying went very smooth without any problems. I thought to myself I would be very nervous and awake the whole flight, but turned out to be a steady flight. On the other hand my dad was also flying with me at the time and was also his first time flying too. My dad’s experience was very different from mine. He was very nervous on the flight and was not able to sleep the whole flight. The flight attendants was very nice to him and offered a sleeping pill, but the man that he is he said no thank you and finally got used to it towards the end of the flight. It was a hilarious moment for me seeing that my dad could not take the flight. I told him later on in life we will laugh at it together.
After landing in Pasco, Washington my older brother Lionel was right there waiting for us. His first words to me were “get ready training starts now.” Lionel is a professional athlete that plays football for the Tri City Fevers and runs an after school program. He is the hardest working person I know so far in life, besides my parents.
When we got settled in, Lionel and I went straight to training. His goal was to get me better, stronger and smarter. Our first goal was to meet the players and the staff. Everyone was very welcoming and nice, I could see myself here for the next three years if I decided to stay. Later that day it was finally time to start practicing with him and a few of his teammates. Lionel started me out with a few speed drills that I barely could handle. At that time I knew I was going to get better. After a few more times finally completing the drills that took me two hours to complete, my brother and his teammates were very proud that I was tired and working hard. The same routine getting up in the morning, training and eating lasted about a week. I knew it was all worth it and couldn’t wait for what was coming up next.
During all the training and eating every day, it was now time for some free time. One day after church Lionel surprised my dad and I by taking us water skiing. At first when he told us we said no, but somehow he convinced us to try it out. We all went to this beautiful place called the Columbia River. I had never seen anything like it. After setting everything up it was now time to learn how to ski. The goal was to stay up longer than everyone else and try not to fall. Of course my dad and I didn’t win but we were very close. After falling a couple times I finally got the hang of it and came in second place. Lionel was first and my dad was last. Skiing was so fun it became my favorite thing to do. I enjoyed it so much, Lionel told us he would take us every day until the last day of our visit. We went so many times our visit felt so short.
The days were passing by real quick. It was only one day left on our visit. Lionel had one final thing to do. He took us to his afterschool program, the place where he learned to be successful. Lionel wanted me to learn teaching and showing other people that my gift can take me a long way in life. So I volunteered to not only teach the kids but to have fun and learn new things. I was introduced by my brother to the kids when we first got there. Everyone who met me thought I was a superstar because I was with Lionel. It was a wonderful feeling. After I met everyone we started out helping all the kids with their homework. I never knew helping kids could be so much fun. As the day was going by we took the kids outside for a while until their parents showed up. I then knew our trip was coming to an end.
Finally, after all the hard work, training, skiing, and volunteering our stay in Washington was up. My training and travel to Washington inspired me to do great things. Not only am I going to be the best at football I am also going to be the best mentor there is. My travel will be memorable and never forgotten. The things I learned I will carry on in life and teach others. Lionel has taught me well and I cannot wait for another visit.



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