Rotation 4

 
1. Some of my life goals include: getting better at basketball, becoming more fit, keeping up my grades and pretty much try to survive through the next years of school. To fulfill these life goals I have to manage my time wisely and believe in myself. Just because I am moving into HS, doesn't mean I have to change my life style, sure I am going to have to find more time for homework, however no drastic changes will be made. I think the way my life is now is awesome, I spend a lot of time with my first love, basketball, eat healthy thanks to my mum who is trying to cook good food and even thought my learning technique may not be the best (leaving everything for the last moment when it comes to projects), it works out for me. However I will try to work harder to achieve my goals just like my person, Oscar Pistorius did and make the best out of everything.

2. There are many things I discovered about Oscar Pistorius, one of them being that on August 2006 he ended behind bars, however there is a story behind it. When Oscar first went to the airport to leave Johannesburg he had to change his ticket flight, so he went to the counter to have a new ticket issued but as the information systems were down the people issued the ticket manually promising to update his new journey details as soon as possible. So far so good, he headed off to Assen and triumphed winning the gold medal, then from the journey between Reykjavik and Amsterdam he somehow managed to loose his ticket, so he went directly to get a new one but the people at the airport wouldn't believe him because no information was ever put into the system that he had gotten a ticket, they didn't believe him and so he had to return to the counter with a claim in his hands. When he returned the staff was different and the new staff didn't believe Oscar, withing 5 minutes he was accused of making a false declaration(Page 132). After 3 hours he was released in happiness because he had 50 minutes until his original flight would depart, he rushed to the security check, went through, "my prostheses often cause problems since they are metal and this time it was no different", the officer took a test for explosive metals and the result was positive. In a matter of 5 minutes he was taken back to the station except now he was not only being accused of falsifying a ticket, but far more serious: of terrorism. A few days earlier he went to a shooting range with a friend, where some powder must have gotten on his prostheses, however after many hours he was finally released because the powder as it was tested was not harmful nor explosive-134

2 of Oscars quotes I like are: "I always make fun of my legs," " it is not our disabilities that make us disabled but our abilities that make us able,"- 120. The first quote makes me think that he is a fun person to be around and doesn't really take things too personally which is great, he also reminds me of us nowadays, when something is bad or ugly we make fun of our selves. The second quote I think is very smart, because even though a person may be disabled, it is his ability to prove people wrong that will make him able to fulfilling his/her gream.

3. Oscar Pistorius has always had a close relationship with his family, him and his brother where inseparable, he adored his mother and still looks up to her even thought she is gone, he respects his sisters and always protects her, and he and his father have a bond from since he was a small child that is unbreakable. When Oscars mother passed away a teacher, Mrs.Millers took somewhat over the motherly role, she counseled him  about love things, singed him in school competition and helped him when  needed. Except for taking him in life a son, she was his number 1 fan, she would go to all of his races she could attend, and even get in touch with organizers so she could register him in the races (all on page 91).
Gerry Versveld-  except for being a family friend, he is the doctor that operated Oscar at only 11 months, he then watched him grow up and even healed him when he was tackled at a rugby game -where he nearly lost his ability to walk- but aside from being great help in Oscars life, he also introduced him to the next very important person in Oscars life, Ampie.
Ampie Louw(Page 89)- was a coach of athletics at university level when Oscar first met him. After Oscars accident Ampie became his rehabilitating coach, his goal was to get Oscar in shape and make him thought once again, this would be done by track practice. At first Oscar didn't like this because he hated running and he was only doing this for his love towards rugby, however that quickly changed and Ampie went on to coach him during every one of his victories.
Peet van Zyl(Page 130)- Oscar had his father as a manager for many years, but it didn't work out, so in 2007 after have 3 managers, Oscar signed up with Peet. A manager for an athlete that competes and trains a lot is essential, one spends a lot of professional and personal time together. As Pistorius writes, Peet is a marvelous manager, he is calm, level-headed and positive presence in my life and always seems to manage to sort out fixes I get myself into-131. For example when Oscar was about to leave for a competition he couldn't find his Cheetahs (the legs), so he immediately called Peet who of course had an extra pair and saved him. Also, he is the one to get him out of trouble such as being behind bars.
And lastly, during his whole schooling time Oscar would train with his rugby team everyday, however after his accident he was trained by Ampie having 1 on 1 sessions where he would practice his speed etc. Except for changing his daily routine, he also had to change his vegetation, instead of eating a lot of calories he now had to eat foods that would give him energy just enough for training, this also left him more tired, but it paid off.



Book: Blade Runner
Author: Oscar Pistorius
Pages:122
Genre: Autobiography

The pages I have read since the last rotation basically gave me more information about his sporting career, new manager (Peet), but what I found the most important I think was the fact that some sporting directors tried to make Oscar not be able to participate in able body competition because apparently his limbs were giving him an unfair advantage. As is says on page 136, "the iaaf met in march 2007 in Mombasa, Kenya and ruled to modify what is known as Rule 144-2. It prohibits the use during a race of any technical devices designed to improve performance and extensively prohibits any technical device that guarantees to the athlete make use of his technology and advantage over those athletes not beneficiaries of his technology".  The same year on June it was released by the press that the rule was invalid unless there was enough evidence, however the start of this problem did cause some organization to quit on Oscar. Also, July 13th 2007 Oscar set of to Rome for a race organized by Gigi D'Onofrio, it was different from the ones in South Africa, he didn't know what to expect since he didn't know any of the athletes, he came second with the time 49.60, but the most important thing about that race was: "it was the first time ever that a differently able athlete had competed alongside able-bodied athletes at international level 

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(Pistorius in Rome, he won 2nd place)