Journal

Journal #1
====To this point I have been extremely busy! I have gathered over ten sources and annotated eight of them. Annotating isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. Mrs. Ward has a full packet page full of information on how to complete annotations the correct way. I’m not going to lie the packet page was a pain, but in the end it really helped me out. Annotations for this senior sem did more than help me out for this class; it got me ready for college. Other than resource researching I have been to the police academy two times. The police academy was really intimidating! After a 20 min ride to the police academy on October 6th I was so tried! I just got off from school and work. When I got there I was told to fill out and finish a question sheet. In the middle of the question sheet I was told get ready for the physical part of the day. Outside four other guys and I were lined up in a straight line. First we were taught the ready stance and the at ease stance. Both are key in the training part of the program. The ready stance is you stand straight up with your feet together open out wards at a 45% angle. In ready stance your eyes can’t move. You can only look forward. At ease stance is you have your feet spread out. Open to about to your hips, with your hands be hide you’re back just above your butt with your right hand over your left. When your hands are being hide your back hand over hand the left thumb has to be over your right. In at ease stance you are supposed to follow the commanders every move with your eyes or the one who is speaking. After we learned those stances the real workout starts. We ran from the beginning of the police academy to the end. We only had two check points where we could get a hold of our breath. After we got to the end we were broken in three groups. Fast, average, and needs work groups. After we were broken into groups a man about my age and I were in one group. We were the first to start running back. About half way back the kid in front of me started to low down. The commanding officer told me to pass him. About three ways three quarters of the way back I looked back and he was really far back. Than the commanding officer told me to push it. It took everything thing I had to run as fast as I told without slowing down. But I didn’t slow down once the whole run. I had something to prove to myself and the explorers officers I really wanted this! Near the end of the run I caught up to the commanding officer and we finished about the same time. There was about a 10 to 15 min gap between me and the other runners. I was told I was in the fast group for the workout for the day!!! I was really excited, but not for long. Than we got ready for sprints. After finishing three sprints you had to do a minute of push ups. After finishing those you did more laps than moved to sit-ups. Than jumping jacks, and than modified sit-ups. After we finished that we ran a lap into the class room. In the class room we finished our paper work. During finishing paper work they put on a depressing movie. It was a movie on what police officers encounter on a daily basics, what can happen to them. After the movie we were asked if we wanted to continue the program. I told them yes, and was scheduled an interview on October 15th. I told a train down to 30th street station. At 30th street station my dad picked me up after leaving his work to the interview. We were stuck in traffic but lucky I made it in time. The interview was an intimidating to me, but I didn’t lose my cool. But in my head I didn’t think I was going well. At the end of the interview they headed me a paper full things I would need. They asked me if I owned all of them. I told them I didn’t and they said I better get them before the 28th because on the 28th I was an official Philadelphia Police Explorer!! I’m really excited to be involved in the two year Explorer program. This Saturday which was the 23rd I brought my whole uniform. The cost for everything was just over two hundred dollars.====

Journal #2

First day at boot camp was on October 30th. I was SOOOO TRIED that morning!!! I was soo tried because I was out that night pretty late. When I got home I got right into bed. But I didn’t fall asleep until 3am. When I got up that morning I didn’t want to go but at the same time I did. When I first got there we had to line up in straight lines. In the lines we were forced to drop down and go back up over and over again. Than we had to empty our bags and refill. It was a pain in the neck! I didn’t get why the drill SGT. were doing that. Each time we did it was had to perform the task faster. Near the last time I realized that they were teaching us how to work as a team and anything can be done. After that we had to run inside the building and whoever was the last one to get into the building had to do 30 push-ups. In the building we went to the class room. In the class room we were handed a lot of paper work! All the paper work and all the paper work we had to fill took hours! Than we had lunch, we were timed how long we eat. We had 30mins to eat. Than after lunch we were broken down into groups. I’m in the group with 30 kids named the Gladiators. In our groups were thought how to march and a lot of workouts. Us as a team suffered a lot! We suffered because we have a couple of people in our group that doesn’t want to be there and don’t listen, and when they give attitude everyone in the group must do what the drill SGT tells us to do. By the end of the day I really learned a lot. My attitude changed a lot, even that it was the first day.

Journal #3

Second Saturday of boot camp was on Nov. 6th. It was a little more layed back in the beginning. I got up in the morning ready to go kind-of excited! I got a great night of sleep. We left early so I can get a lunch. I got the Explorers program 30mins early. At the place since I was early I told me to go to the classroom. In the classroom when everyone got to the Explores classroom we watched a movie on stress in the work place. It was a long movie!!!. Than we had lunch after the movie. Than we had a brake. After brake we had to get ready for hell!! We worked out for hours, and ran a lot around the course. After we workout we finished the day off with the K9 training area. We were shown how the dogs preform in the line of duty.

Journal #4

Im going on to my third Saturday and im already 17hours in. After this Saturday ill be 24hours into my community service. I arrived at boot camp 30mins early. Once at boot camp we were told we were doing something different. When they said that we went dead quite!!! We were sent to class room B. In class room B we had guest speakers. The guest speakers were old explorers. The old explorers told us their stories. The one ladies story was how Philadelphia Police Explorers saved her life. She was hanging out with the wrong crowd. She had this attitude and resisted leadership. The police explorers program gave her the discipline and the respected she needed for a better life. After we had quest speakers, we had lunch. After lunch we started the fun stuff!! Group races, in the group races whoever won didn't have to clean up the building. The races started in a police car, than you had to run down the track to the push up area. Than the next area a new workout, and so on and so on. Once the whole group was together we had to race to the finish line.

Journal #5

I have wrote on here in awhile. We haven't had boot camp in two weeks. One week because of Christmas, and the other because of New Year. This Saturday was a snowy Saturday. At boot camp we have a movie on edge weapons. After the movie we were taught how to take down a person with one hand. After that State Troopers came. They explained the pay, the benefits, and how to become a State Trooper. If you wanted to become a State Trooper you have to go to their boot camp for 9 months strait.