Looking Back..

Photo Credit of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zennie62/6538843321/sizes/z/

Now for my final post I will be writing a reflection, sharing what I learned about Hope Solo, what was most challenging to me about my topic/person, and what was most rewarding  to me about my topic/person.

What I learned..

First I will share with you two different aspects that I learned that I found most important.  I found the history of soccer to be most important because it describes how it originated and what the sport is. I found it interesting that, in medieval times, young noblemen who played the game of soccer would chop of a prisoners head and use that as their ball. But the fact that in ancient Chinese times soccer was a form of exercise, there is something I did not expect. One thing that really surprised me though was how far back soccer dated.

I also found that exercising is an equal  asset in what I learned because being in shape and exercising is something that everyone should do. I found it surprising that there were so many things that could go wrong if you exercise to much. I found it interesting that if you didn't exercise enough you could be very unhealthy but if you exercised to much you could be very unhealthy as well. One thing was different than what I'd expected was how in the end I believed that the benefits and risks of exercising pretty much evened out.

What I found most difficult/challenging..

One thing I found really challenging was finding what to do for each topic. One thing that surprised me was how challenging this project was as a whole, finding a good topic to do for each post was very hard too.  What was most interesting was how laid t
back the project was and in the beginning it was really hard to get things in on time. Also I really didn't expect the amount of freedom we had to do this project.

Finding credible sources was also a very challenging aspect. What surprised me the most was not being able to find a credible source to do my research on which was very frustrating as well. I expected Hope Solo to be an easily researchable person when in reality it was kind of difficult. It was interesting though that once I found a credible source I could pull a lot of information about Hope out of it.

What I found most rewarding..

The amount of work I put in was very rewarding and it surprised me that, when looking back, I realized how much work I have put into this project and I've done a lot of research. I did not expect to feel like I know Hope as a person which is strange and awesome that I feel that way now. My grades have been showing how much work I have put in, and in the beginning I was dreading having to do this project and now at the end I think I had a lot of fun with it.

I also feel very successful and accomplished now that I'm done which has surprised me.  I really didn't think I'd like the project when we first began but I got the opposite of what I expected. I also found it very interesting that I could actually put so much work into something and still enjoy it.. I really actually like my blog and I might still post on it after we are done using it for school. :)

This was my reflection on all my thoughts of this project.. what I learned, what I found most challenging and what I found most rewarding. I really hope you enjoyed reading my research and always have Hope in Solo :)

Prosperity!

Photo credit of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmrosenfeld/3702497291/sizes/m/

Hope Solo is not just another pretty face, nor is she just another athlete.  Hope Solo is a very important asset to the soccer world which is why I found it necessary to list her five greatest accomplishments. Enjoy!

Accomplishment # 1: Throwback to High School

Solo's childhood may nit have been smiley faces, rainbows and butterflies, especially with daddy never in the picture, but one things for sure.. him introducing young Hope to the game of soccer was probably one of the best things that could have happened to her considering by the time she was in high school, she'd scored 109 goals as a forward. I think this is pretty legendary considering women's soccer wasn't very popular at that time and she was crazy good.

http://www.biography.com/people/hope-solo-20883135

Accomplishment # 2: Did you say All-American?

Yep. That's right folks, Hope Solo got nominated for All-American High School Soccer Player not only once but twice! I think this is pretty cool considering she was only introduced to playing forward, and she got the awards for that position. When today, she is a world renowned goalie that we all know and love!

http://www.biography.com/people/hope-solo-20883135

Accomplishment # 3: College at last!

Hope always wanted to go to the University of Washington but it had seemed like a far off dream. Yet, she managed to get accepted and completed 4 years earning a degree in speech communications, that's kind of cool! I was this university that started Solo's career as a goalie when she was picked 4th overall in WUSA. "..four year letter winner.. finished her career as Washington's all-time leader in shout outs (18), saves (325) and goals against average (1.02.) She owns schools record with 18 career shout outs." This is a major accomplishment of Solo's early career in my opinion.

http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/w-soccer/mtt/solo_hope00.html

Accomplishment # 4: Body Issue, say what?

"Growing up I felt insecure about my build. I didn't feel very feminine. But as time went on, I learned to completely embrace my body" states Solo. Which is why she was on the cover of Body Issue Magazine. Getting on the cover was really when solo started to connect her body to her accomplishments and I find this is what made Solo. And this is what made people Hopeful of Solo.

http://espn.go.com/espnw/body-issue/6974155/hope-solo

Accomplishment # 5: Takin' Home the Gold

The U.S. take home the win and the gold against Japan  in the 2012 summer olympics. Noted.. "U.S. team has won 4 of the 5 olympic titles since women's soccer was first introduced in the 1996 Atlanta games." This marks a huge accomplishment in Hopes career. It is all she has been working for which is a major deal.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-33747_162-57490380/u-s-wins-womens-soccer-gold-medal-avenging-world-cup-defeat-with-victory-over-japan/

Now, this is not all of Hope Solos accomplishments but they are the ones I believed to be most important. Hope you enjoyed. :)

Is exercising what we think it is?

Photo Credit of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/4284212351/sizes/m/

It's no secret, to anyone who knows Hope Solo, how much she works out. Exercise does the body good, right? Maybe some people around the world beg to differ. What I found in the two articles "The Risks of Exercise Training" and "Health Benefits of Exercise" was actually pretty surprising to me.

Many say exercise is beneficial in many ways. in my first article I found that exercising is beneficial because it reduces the risk of dying prematurely and dying prematurely from heart disease. It also helps reduce the risk of obtaining diabetes which is really big, mostly because many people today suffer from diabetes and it is known as one of the biggest killers in the United States alone.  Diabetes can be cause by obesity as well, this is another benefit of exercising.  Exercising can reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure and for those who already have high blood pressure exercise will help reduce it. Other risks of not exercising enough include increasing your risk of getting colon cancer, depression and anxiety. Lastly, exercise increases the likelihood of building and maintaining healthy bones, joints and muscles long with helping middle-aged/older adults become stronger, have a better ability to move without falling and exercise promotes a healthier psychological well-being.

http://www.nutristrategy.com/health.htm

In contrast, many argue that exercising to much can be bad for your body and Professor Carl Foster is one to vogue for this side of the argument in his article "The Risks of Exercise Training." Some of these risks can even be fatal, to the young it is primarily related to the undiagnosed congenital abnormalities, drug use or even trauma.  Also he states that in older adults "a number of individuals either die or or have myocardial infarction [a destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the large muscle] this can occur during exercise."

Risks of exercise training

Now, knowing there are risks and benefits of exercising it stated in both articles that without exercise, obesity could become a major issue which in turn could be a life threatening factor as well as diabetes and high blood pressure.  Both articles also said that being aware of your health is very important especially if your are going to exercise on a daily basis. If you are unaware of your health and unaware of how much exercise your body can handle, death could be a possibility at any time.  Professor Foster stated "understanding the risks of life threatening emergencies during exercise training is complicated by the way in which the risk is computed." The Risks of Exercise Training

Some differences I found in both articles was that of the heart and what it can handle. In the first article it stated "exercise reduces the risk of prematurely dying from heart disease."  But thats all it stated, it never said anything about warning signs or anything of that nature. In the second article I found that exercising to much and not knowing your condition to exercise can lead to far more injuries, problems or even deaths due to the state at which the heart is.  Therefore saying that if your heart is in bad shape or your body is unable to handle what you are trying to do it is a lot more dangerous to exercise in a bad condition than ti not exercise at all.

To conclude, understanding the risks and benefits of exercising has only brought me ti decide that given there are more benefits to exercising than there are risks - you have to take in consideration, there are less risks, but the risks are far more dangerous and life threatening.  Stating that, in my opinion I believe that the benefits and the risks even out. Yet either way there is going to be some kind of danger.  If you like to exercise maybe just take it a little easier on yourself, by exercising some but not to much. This connects back to Hope Solo because she is a hardcore exercising fanatic which is both healthy and unhealthy if not moderated. I chose to do the risks and benefits because I believe it is beneficial for everyone to know.