LIVE Futures: the movie

25 March 2009

Cherise reflects on her two weeks @ LIVE!

Where do I start? Well I'll start by saying LIVE was GREAT, FUN and FRIENDLY.
I wasn't really looking forward to work experience because I thought I would have to work and do nothing but work all day , I preferred to be at school in a environment I was known and familiar with. But by the end of my work experience all that changed. Normally at school teachers will be annoying and i might have a got at them, but at LIVE I was sort of free. The first week of work experience went quickly but by the second week I became tired. I started going to bed at around 8:00 and on a normal school day I would go to bed about 11:00.

My journey to Piano house was nerve raking, I had butterflies in my stomach. Every step I took up the stairs, the closer I got to the LIVE office the more I wanted to turn around and go back home. But LIVE where really welcoming and within seconds I stopped worrying. I'm interested in illustrating/design and coming to LIVE gave me a chance to do what I enjoyed. LIVE is a magazine by young people for young people which i think is a great way of getting young people out of trouble..

I really enjoyed writing articles even though i had to do them over like eight times. I realised writing articles is not as easy as it seems. I also enjoyed designing my page and front covers for the LIVE magazine, which also proved to be difficult. I think being at LIVE has shown me I'm a lot smarter than I thought. I have achieved a lot of things such as writing my first article, having the confidence to communicate with people, I've used my english skills to the best of my ability.

At LIVE there was nothing that I really didn't enjoy and wouldn't do in the future. Now I have been at LIVE I would consider being a journalist, designer, illustrator or anything else involved. The people at LIVE where extremely friendly. My new role in LIVE is maybe to do something with sports and maybe do some designing.

17 March 2009

LIVE's Cherise Hewitt on being a young athlete - and Dwain Chambers

Dwain Chambers - Hero?

Dwain Anthony Chambers is a English sprinter of Afro-Caribbean descent. Born in Islington, North London, he grew up in a single parent family. His mum worked long hours and athletics was his way of escaping from family life.
30 year old Chambers was charged in October 2003 for taking illegal performance enhancing substances. Resulting in him having a two year ban and a life-time Olympic ban. Despite that he's back with a win. Chambers recently won gold in the 60 metres European indoor championship which took place in Italy.

As a young athlete, I train four times a week and do additional training at home. Which will hopefully get me to the 2012 Olympics. I run for Blackheath and Bromley Harriers AC and i'm hoping to win my upcoming events. I currently run 100 and 200m. My coach wants me to start running 400m but I don't think that's going to happen any time soon. Its a long distance! I just want my races over and done with. I decided to write about Dwain Chambers because he makes me wonder as a young athlete if every athlete goes through a stage when they want to use drugs. Will it affect me?

Chambers has won a number of medals and events. He won junior world record of 10.06s in 100m, bronze medalist in 1999 world championships and made his first Olympic appearance at Sydney 2000. Chambers claimed there was no scientific evidence to show the drug was related to banned substances so it shouldn't have been a doping offence. He has used a over 300 different types of banned drugs a couple of them being THG (Tetrahydrogestrinone), EPO (Erythropoietin) and HGH (human growth hormone). Confused? So am I! In the future when I'm an Olympic athlete I will have to be very careful with what I take, I wont know what's legal or not.

We need Chambers, head coach of the British team admitted that without him Britain may loose medals. To me a couple years banned is all it took to get through to Chambers and other athletes, a life-time banned was extremely over the top. In Russia seven women where banned for only two years for a doping offence. Despite every thing I still see him as an icon of hope. He recently won gold in the 60 metres European indoor championship. We can all see Chambers hasn't let this drama get the better of him. Chambers is an icon of hope and is what Britain needs to win. Cherise Hewitt
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