Looking back, I remember reading the Spring English 112 syllabus: I noticed an unusual assignment, which involved creating a blog: an assignment that would last the entire semester. My first reaction—what the hell is a blog? I knew my professor had a unique and modern way of instructing because she was also my professor for Eng111; I am living proof of her successful instruction methods. But this was new and different assignment. I put my game face on and said, “Time to get your feet wet! “
I chose a topic of controversy that was connected to something I really enjoyed. The topic I chose: “Performance enhancing drugs in sports”. After creating a blog design through a provided link, I was ready to blog. My first post had to be my sales pitch that would sell my blog to the public. I decided to use a celebrity—the poster guy for steroids, Barry Bonds to sell my blog. Even if people are not sports fans, chances are they’ve heard of Bonds. To the non sports fan, he’s recognized as a famous baseball player who got caught using performance enhancing drugs, making his great baseball achievements irrelevant. To the average fan, he was the great baseball player who broke records and broke the rules by cheating. If you recall, steroids are growth hormones making an athlete stronger and faster, having an edge and not playing on an equal playing field.
I began to write with ease as the words flew on to the paper. I submitted my draft to the honorable Professor
Bev for approval. The draft also included a humorous cartoon of Bonds pumped up, as a visual---I was ready to publish! To my surprise, the introduction blog looked amazing, with the appearance of a professional magazine article. I became an official blogger. To me, creating a blog was like writing an essay with no major structural restrictions, where you can still present arguments and opinions. Putting your thoughts on paper is not always an easy task, so writing a blog is an ideal way to develop writing skills.My blog title, “Performance Enhancing Drugs”, was the primary issue, but each posting was a different story that connected to the main issue. Some of the connected stories discussed performance enhancing drugs, famous sports figures using steroids, side effects of steroids, testing for steroids, and finally supplements. I enjoyed researching information about this issue, while learning more with every blog posting. Learning about the dangerous side effects from using steroids and young athletes endangering their health to get the competitive edge is what impressed and disturbed me the most.
We live in a world where the benefits from technology and science are not always shared by the good guys. In fact, as tests are developed to detect steroids, new drugs and methods are developed to beat drug testing. I read an article where scientists are making paper anabolic steroids. The steroids are made in liquid form then melted into rice paper, making it easy to conceal. No injections are needed, just cut off a piece of paper and swallow (Steroiddoneright.com. 2008).
http://steroidsdoneright.com/steroid-blog/the-future-of-anabolic-steroids
As long as there’s big money to be made, continuous use of performance enhancing drugs in sports is inevitable.
I hope you enjoyed my blog as much as I enjoyed writing it. It has been a rewarding and enjoyable experience. So stay clean and lay off the juice because “Cheaters never win”.
Cartoon of Barry Bonds: Baseball's "Homerun Champion" and "Steroid Poster Child", all pumped up exposing the secrets to his success sticking out of his arm.
Cartoon retrieved January 10, 2010 http://forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=11&threadid=589851
