Decorpolis Porter

Preparation for a Battle

What's up? I just had this big thing, I have to tell ya'll about. Here at Gallaudet, we have this once a year competition with the other Deaf University from Rochester called " NTID".

]]> Basically what happens is this... its a complete weekend of competition in every sports you can think of and then some. This weekend can only be matched up with Homecoming as one of the busiest weekend here at Gallaudet. To ensure that we have the best of the best representing us Bisons, we are having tryouts for everything, and that includes the small sports as well. It's ton of fun and to give you an idea of some of the sports that we will be competing in, there is basketball, volleyball, wallyball, dodgeball,flag football, and my special event, billards. This is all going down the weekend of April 7th. What makes this so hot is the fact that we can have friendly competition with another deaf university and no trophies are awarded, but bragging rights for the year makes it all worth the fun. Let me go back and say something, yes this is a once a year competition but it's doesn't stay at Gallaudet every year. Next year we will go to NTID in Rochester and we will compete on their homefield. And every year after that, it will alternate, and the name of the competition is called Rockfest when Gallaudet is hosting the event and it's called Brickfest when they are hosting the events. One of the greatest things about this event is the number of people that will be here, alumni come back to watch, the students from that school will come here to compete and along with them they will bring their supporters. This is the weekend to visit Gallaudet and see what deaf culture is all about and believe me, it's so much better than anyone can describe to you. Well, I'm off to go join the ranks of competing Bisons to take down the tigers. Wish us luck... Peace and Love

Back To Work

The time has come to get back to business. It has been a short break even though we have had more than a month to calm our nerves at home. You can never get used to the feeling you get when you come back to Gallaudet after the break. Whether its summer break or winter break, the feeling is indescribable.

]]> It's funny, when I see Gallaudet from the distance whether I am arriving by taxi or by the shuttle bus, it is sort of relieving yet exhilarating due to the fact that I'm back at the place where I have learned so much without having my mom around. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom very much and she has given me so much to take with me in life, but this is that time in life where we have to learn things on my own and Gallaudet is definitely the place where that can happen for anyone. It seems the time I was away from Gallaudet, I continued to learn more and more about myself and this world. For example, I have noticed that I should take my own advice about various things such as finding that focus and motivation to stay in school no matter the cost. Finding that key motivation whether it be a future job you dream of having or having a successful life is a must have to survive in college. As much as I have loved Gallaudet, I didn't have that motivation or the drive to try hard or even fight for my dream because I didn't have any goals set for myself. Now, I have come to realize my dream has always been there and it has been to succeed in life so that one day I will have the means to take care of my mother the way she took care of me. I want to be able to tell my mom one day,"you know what, you can retire and you can follow your dream whatever it is, I'll take care of you." I feel I owe my mom the world for letting me go to Gallaudet even though it was out of state and it was very hard to let go especially when it was just the two of us. With that being said, I have a reason to fight and to strive to succeed. It's hard without a doubt, since some of the friends I made have left Gallaudet for various reasons. Friends have come and gone, friends have kept me up when I was down and I will miss them dearly but they give me all the more reason to continue here at Gallaudet. Now, it's time to get back to work and to continue my journey, I have five classes this semester and I will be working. Wish me luck... I'll be around to keep ya'll in touch with the everyday life of Gallaudet. Peace and Love

Recuperating With Some Fun

Stressed out? For me, it's just a thing of the past. Don't get me wrong, I do have stress in my everyday life, but I try not to let it get to the point where I feel the need to beat myself over the head. There are many times you can simply avoid stress -- for example, don't tell a current girlfriend about past relationships. It only leads to drama (and stress).

]]> Let that be something you have learned from me, don't put yourself in nonsense drama.

Okay, now that I got that off my chest, this past weekend was fun since I finally got the chance to relax. No Intramural flag football games, no huge papers due, no tests to study for, and best of all, no homework. The reason for no homework is due to the fact that I took the time to finish it all during the week to make sure I had this weekend to relax. Ya'll know what I'm talking about, sometimes you just need a break. Just some downtime to relax and be worry-free for the most part.

I did watch the women's volleyball championship match and who did you think would come out on top? If you guessed Gallaudet, then hell yeah we came out on top. The lady bisons fought long and hard to win. In the first game, they started out slow, but as things started getting hotter, the ladies started bringing the "G" game we all came to love to watch. The crowd went wild as the final point was scored and lady bisons brought home the championship. Congratulations to them, we love ya'll. That really was a great match and a lot of fun to watch, so full of emotions.

After the match, I headed to the on campus hangout spot called Rathskellar where I spent the better part of my night playing a variety of games such as foosball, billards and ping pong. Finally hitting the sack around three in the morning. What a night, you must be thinking where was I relaxing during all this activity, well I relax better if I am doing something I enjoy doing instead of sitting around watching tv. The tv things works when a good tv show is on or a particular show that you've been following for a season.

As for Sunday, I woke up, and spent the day cleaning my room and getting ready for the week and I happened to watch a scary movie called "House Of Wax" which in my opinion wasn't that scary and the concept of the movie wasn't even worth the time to watch it. If you're an easily scared person, then this is the movie for you. Interesting, but somewhat light for the everyday taste.

Well, you all have a good day and I will be writing ya'll soon. Peace and Love

Exciting Times...

Let me start with this... WOW, what a month! This month has been up, down, in and out. You must be wondering what I talking about, let me give you taste of the exciting life of being here at Gallaudet. Our football team has had an amazing year. Along with that, our girl's volleyball squad has really put ball on the floor with their devastating spikes. Homecoming was a lot of fun even with the rain coming down, you couldn't keep the high spirits of us Gallaudetians inside. The crowd was huge supporting the team in the dirty game of helmets crashing and slippery falls in the mud. What a blast! That's not even all the details of what's been going on. Along with the good stuff, there's the bad. We have two big incidents which really was just shocking since it affected a lot people without the realization of the participating students. All the good and the bad is what makes this month so much fun and yet memorable. Even as the midterms rolled through us, we stood up and took them down only to be bound down by our grades with realization that the semester is coming to an end and we need to bring our grades up. So much to tell you and so little space in my introduction, so if you wanna know more, read the extended version. Ya'll take care and let me know what ya think. Holla

]]> Hmmm... back for the details, let's see, should I tell you or make you wait until the next entry... nah, I'll go ahead and spill the guts of this beast. The football team had an amazing year... remember I said that in the intro, well they had so good of a year, they went undefeated. Yes, I said it "UNDEFEATED", they couldn't be beat and with every win, the students around me became more and more supportive of their football team which really bound many of us together in just another way. The girl's volleyball squad even became a hit around campus as they created craters in the gym floor with their meteor-like spikes. They had an awesome year and currently in the championship match which is to take place this weekend and be ready to the update on that following this weekend. Now, I'm going to get into some of the bad since I like to be honest with all audience. The biggest one was connected to the hype of our football team going undefeated. It is a common tradition that if a football team goes undefeated, the team along with the fans shake down both goalposts. With that being said, you can pretty much guess the rest. It was a wild night and it is one that everyone will remember for a long time. Now you must be wondering why that might be considered bad - since the goalposts are tall and heavy there is a risk of serious injury if a goalpost had fallen on someone. It would have been a terrible thing, but luckily no injuries were sustained throughtout the process of taken down the goalposts. That's has been as best a summary for this past month as I can muster but to really feel and experience it for yourself is a whole nother story on a whole new level. I hope have enjoyed reading my blog, ya'll take care, peace and love.

Deco

Late Night Ballin'

Whats up? Let's cut to the chase and let me tell you about one of the most unpredictable nights ever. Okay, let's get started, starting with the basics. It's about 11:30 pm and several students are sitting around the on campus club called the Rathskellar getting some last minute midnight snacks before time to head back to the dorms to finish up homework or hitting the sack. There I am sitting with my roommate waiting at the counter for our drinks and I am holding my basketball and I feel this unexpecting tap on my shoulder.

As I turned around I saw this guy who stood about 6 foot 2 and he asked me if he could borrow my basketball for a quick moment. Of course, I lent him the ball and another guy walks into the open space right outside Rathskellar and they begin to dribble the ball back and forth in some sort of competition. Wanna see where this leads, to be continued in the extended version.

]]> Ahhh, I guess I have your attention, back to where I was. The two guys are dribbling the basketball and they became frustrated since there was no basketball court available after 10 pm because the Field House was closed. They wanted to challenge each other with a game and their dribbling in the Student Union Building had drawn the attention of several other people in Rathskellar.

Someone mentioned that there was a basketball goal outside beside the football field and the lighting from the football field could work as lights for the basketball court. Immediately, the guys gathered their basketball sneakers and headed outside with my roommmate and I following to watch the one-on-one competition. Both guys were tall and it seemed to be a good match-up for a basketball game. As we approached the court, we noticed that the lights from the football field didn't provide as much light as we thought it would, but the energy was high and we still wanted to see the match between the two basketball players.

They warmed-up and we watched from a distance and as the match got underway. I started to notice the crowd was growing in size. As time went on, more people showed up from the dorms and from the passing cars. Let's not forget that it was now well passed midnight at this point and it is a "school" night. As the one-on-one competition finished up, other would-be players from the crowd started to enter the court and started shooting the ball and dribbling around as if to warm-up for a game.

It was so dark on the court that no one could sign or communicate with each other unless they were right up in each other's faces. Someone started going around and organizing teams. And before long two teams (including me) were organized and captains were choosen. It was so dark that none of the players could see their teammates clearly.

Talk about a love for the game -- that any basketball game is better than none at all. Taking advantage of this opportunity to take a break from academics and from the stresses of working, a group of us played basketball after midnight in the dark with a crowd of students cheering us on. Never in my life would I have imagined that I would be involved in a "random act of basketball" like this.

The game was played and fortunately my team won! We continued to play another game before calling it quits well after 2 am. The games were brutal, yet a lot of fun. I'm talking about endless collisions in the dark with other players and the ball being passed around with barely any visibility. Fortunately, no one was hurt. This shows that you never know what to expect. Yes, we all need to study and we all have other priorities, but it is nice to take a break and hang out with fellow students and have no worries -- even if for only a few hours.

Well, that concludes my unforgettable night. Let me know what you think. Ya'll have a day and thanks for reading my blog.

Busy At Gallaudet

Hello again, this is Deco. It has been a while since I have received a chance to write due to my busy schedule here at Gallaudet. Don't get me wrong, I love writing and now that I'm settled in and getting into a groove with my classes and my new jobs, I have time to write.

]]> I'm working on campus this semester and so far it has been a real learning experience. Also, I am taking seven classes which can be considered a heavy load for some students. I consider taking a heavy load an opportunity to really keep myself motivated, organized, and efficient with my time. Keeping my priorities straight plays a huge factor in handling my busy schedule.

You know it's funny, even while I am telling you all these things, I admit I tend to slip up every now and then. But who's perfect? Slipping up is all connected to learning and developing as an adult. My mom often tells me, "mistakes are there for you to learn from, even though there are some mistakes you can't make."

I can look back and remember the mistakes I made during my first year at Gallaudet, but now I use what I learned from my mistakes and apply that to making myself a better student this semester.

Now what are the "mistakes you can't make?" Maybe something like becoming a parent at a young age - anything that is completely life changing. That kind of mistake can be prevented by being strong and staying motivated to your own life goals.

Right now, my life goals are still a little vague, but I know that I want to eventually pursue a Ph.D. And with that being said, I have finally decided that I want to announce my major. I decided that I want to look into the field of Psychology.

Well, that will be all with this entry. Remember this, always wear a smile because you never know who might put on a smile after seeing yours.

Peace and Love,

Decorpolis Porter

All about Decorpolis Porter

Dear Blog Readers,

Hello, my name is Decorpolis Porter, but you can call me Deco, and thats pronounced (Dee-Co) just so you know. I'm a new sophomore, finally after finishing my second semester at Gallaudet University. It's been a wild summer for me. I have spent the majority of my summer at Gallaudet attending summer school and working on a movie with some friends. It has been a blast hanging out and really soaking in the environment around Gallaudet. I know this is the first time you have read from my blog and maybe you would want to know more about me... if that's the case, keep reading and I'll tell you all about me and why I love Gallaudet so much.

]]> Hello again, Deco is giving out all the dirt on Deco. Sounded a bit corny, forgive me. I have a very weird personality, as if you haven't noticed, but I am me. Now that the silliness is out of the way, let's get down to business. I am 19 years old and I am a guy with my head on straight and I love Gallaudet. To think of all the reasons why I love Gallaudet would take me years to write and years for you to read. Gallaudet University is the place to be if you are deaf or hard of hearing. All the teachers use ASL to communicate with the students. Also, for those of yourselves who aren't fluent with ASL, no worries. I, myself grew up in a mainstream school system with little influences of the deaf culture. I did not start learning to use sign language until I started high school and I started to pick it up from my deaf friends. As the years went by, I learned more and more until today in which I am still learning. They had a program at Gallaudet called NSP which is abbrievated for New Signers Program which takes incoming freshmen to teach them the basics of ASL to get them better prepared for the upcoming semester. Unfortunately, I didn't know too much about the program until it was too late, but no worries, the friends I made at Gallaudet became my biggest influence in learning to improves my skills at signing. Moving on, in case some of those who were wondering, my major is still undecided. I haven't decided on what I wanted to do with my life when I graduate from Gallaudet. Hopefully, I will decide this year as I start to get a taste of some of the different majors. Wow, now that I have read what I have written so far, it feels as if I have written too much for one sitting. Okay, here what I can do, if any of you readers have any questions, then I can answer those that respond, that way I can write about what you want to know beside the everyday material I will bring to you as much as I can. Well, thanks for the time, Peace and Love

Sincerely,
Decorpolis
"Deco"
Porter