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“The Sandlot” is fundamentally a story about friendship, deftly combining the euphoric highs and lows of puberty with the uplifting spirit of baseball. Through the eyes of Scotty Smalls, a shy newcomer to the neighborhood who is having difficulty fitting in with his more seasoned peers, the story is told. Through a pivotal meeting with the renowned baseball prodigy from the sandlot, Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez, Scotty learns about the nuances of the game and forms a lasting friendship that goes beyond the field. The sandlot, portrayed as a safe haven for their carefree antics, represents a metaphorical place where aspirations come true, conflicts are resolved, and enduring memories are created. It transcends from being just dirt and grass to a hallowed place where the boys gain priceless knowledge about bravery, life, and the strength of friendship. The mystery surrounding “The Beast,” a fabled and ostensibly monstrous dog that lives behind the outfield fence of the sandlot, is one of the most recognizable aspects of the movie. The boys’ group adventure is sparked by their quest to recover a priceless baseball that is signed by the great Babe Ruth but has been taken by The Beast. The main plot point of their summer story is this pursuit, which turns their fears into bravery and draws them closer. “The Sandlot” is unique because it presents pure childhood joys and innocence in an authentic manner. The film portrays the essence of growing up—a period when friendships were formed over shared experiences and the most important lessons in life were discovered via trial and error—through a blend of humor, nostalgia, and heartfelt storytelling. The diverse personalities of the ensemble cast, which includes Ham, Squints, Yeah-Yeah, and others, give the story more depth and energy. Viewers of all ages can relate to and feel passionate for them because of their friendship, humor, and unwavering companionship. More than just a sports film, The word Sandlot” is a timeless coming-of-age tale that appeals to viewers of all ages. It makes us all feel like kids again, bringing back fond memories of happy summertime and the excitement of never-ending adventures. This moving and timeless film experience is enhanced by its universal themes of friendship, loyalty, and the strength of the human spirit. In conclusion, “The Sandlot” remains an enduring classic cherished for its ability to transport audiences back to the simplicity and wonder of childhood. Its portrayal of friendship, the appeal of baseball, and the deep significance of shared experiences never fails to enthrall and inspire, leaving a lasting impression on the hearts of those who find solace in its ageless charm. This movie is a monument to the beauty of treasured childhood memories and the enduring force of nostalgia. In conclusion, the movie sandlot brings back a lot of childhood memories for not only kids my age and generation but also older generations as well that grew up watching the movie as a kid as well.

My name is Zach Colangelo, and I am a freshman college baseball player at longwood university. Being a student athlete here is hard which is probably the same for any other division 1 student athlete in the country. Trying to balance out class time with lift, practice, early optional practice, study hall, eating, and ultimately free time for yourself to just unwind at the end of the day. I have been playing baseball ever since i was young, my father and all of his family played baseball and it just got passed down to me and my family as well. This portfolio will show my video resume, a review of a day of traveling to vcu this fall, and a review on the movie sandlot.

Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files. “Aerial View at Nellis Air Force Base.” Picryl, Photograph, 6 July 2002, picryl.com/media/aerial-view-at-nellis-air-force-base-afb-nevada-showing-construction-underway-333c5b.

Del Coro, Tomas. “Crime Scene Investigations 990 / North Las Vegas Police CSI.” Flickr, Photograph, 8 Aug. 2010, www.flickr.com/photos/tomasdelcoro/4873531782.

Gies, Daniel. “Bum with Microwave.” Flickr, Photograph, 28 Nov. 2009, www.flickr.com/photos/daniel_gies/4139626635.

Grazio, Wayne. “Anything Helps.” Flickr, Photograph, 15 July 2016, www.flickr.com/photos/fotograzio/28240091221/in/photostream/.

Gra“Empty Hat.” Flickr, Photograph, 29 May 2016, www.flickr.com/photos/fotograzio/27041685690.

Highsmith, Carol. “Desert Inn, Nevada.” Rawpixel, Photograph, www.rawpixel.com/image/3089121/free-photo-image-america-carol-highsmith-cc0.

Marvin, James. “Las Vegas Boulevard .” Flickr, Photograph, 20 Nov. 2006, www.flickr.com/photos/mandj98/302279753.

Pixabay. “Las Vegas, United States of America, Night Image. Free for Use.” Pixabay, Photograph, pixabay.com/photos/las-vegas-united-states-of-america-1249899/.

Tanaka, B. “Las Vegas Strip.” Getty Images, Photograph, www.usnews.com/topics/locations/las_vegas.

The US National Archives. “City of Las Vegas.” Picryl, Photograph, 1979, picryl.com/media/city-of-las-vegas-las-vegas-boulevard-state-scenic-byway-fremont-street-experience-c7e9e2.

TheSimsWiki. “The Sims Wiki.” Sims.fandom.com, sims.fandom.com/wiki/The_Sims_Wiki.

Us. Directed by Jordan Peele, Film, Universal Pictures, 2019.

Ypsilon. “Las Vegas District Map.” Wikimedia Commons, Photograph, 11 Aug. 2018, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wikivoyage_Las_Vegas_district_map.png.

I am Amory Wheeler and I’m a sophomore at Longwood University. I am a communication major with a focus in public relations, for this reason, I decided to mainly direct my Eportfolio toward major social media influencers. Mainly focusing on the D’amilios and Kardashians.

Las Vegas, Nevada was a strange place to live in as a child. Its reputation as an adult playground fraught with gambling and nightlife makes it a place that is the opposite of what one thinks of when it comes to raising a family. And yet, my family and I found ourselves living in this incredibly off-kilter city for two years. Although Las Vegas was and still is a melting pot with many different people and lifestyles, I was still incredibly sheltered. Back then, my father was on active duty in the army, meaning that Las Vegas was just another location where our family was stationed. As such, we lived on a military base just on the outskirts of the famed “strip”. My exposure to the Las Vegas that is its casinos, bars, clubs, and lavish hotels was therefore limited and monitored. There were still hints of it, yes, like how my favorite indoor amusement park was inside a massive casino that allowed smoking indoors, or like how the buffet my family enjoyed going to was in the same building complex as an endless sea of poker tables and an excess of spirits. Through both my childhood naivety and my parent’s careful censorship, I developed tunnel vision. The Vegas that I knew when I was six and seven years old was bright, colorful, whimsical, and at times magical. I knew nothing of the other, less kid-friendly side of the city because I did not have to. I only knew what I was allowed to be exposed to. You can see, then, how returning to Las Vegas at roughly 15 years old was like returning to someplace familiar now turned strange. Yes, the nostalgic undertones were still there, and at times the wonder, but the difficult part about growing up is that I no longer had tunnel vision.

We visited the “safe” areas first. The military base that I had such fond and detailed memories of was finally beneath my feet again. When you live on a military base as a child, it becomes less of a base and more of its own hidden town, with schools, stores, movie theaters, parks, and neighborhoods. When I was not being given micro-doses of the strip, the base was my entire world. We tried in earnest to find the old house that we used to live in, although, in the end, we could not recall exactly which of the nearly identical homes was ours. We stopped by the elementary school that my brother and I had once attended, and it did not look like any time had passed since we left. This trip was as much a vacation as it was a pursuit of what had once been, and it was filled with enthusiastic retellings of childhood memories. Each location inevitably leads to reminiscence. It was not until we reached the “city” part of Vegas that our recollections were abruptly challenged.

Initially, we marveled at all the sights that we were able to see once again, such as the pyramidal Luxor Hotel and the roller coasters that snaked their way in and out of the New York New York casino. I grew excited being close to all of the familiar landmarks once again, and walking down the streets again after nearly a decade was surreal. However, I began to notice what my child self had not. The strip was lustrous and extravagant and everything that it had always been, but the strip was only so long. Past the bustling tourists and flashy attractions was abject poverty in a way that to this day I have seldom seen. Crossing from the strip into the rest of Las Vegas was akin to crossing an invisible boundary. Houses were tiny and crowded together and in varying states of deterioration. The unhoused living in both above-ground encampments and tunnels beneath the city was far from uncommon. This part, the forgotten part, of Las Vegas was inundated with shades of brown and the downtrodden. I began to realize that the illustrious, skyscraper-laden Vegas was not Vegas, regardless of what I had seen as a child. This was Las Vegas, Nevada. Extreme wealth disparity was shrouded in smoke, mirrors, and showgirls. Travelers were more than welcome to the city, but the city had failed those who had spent their entire lives there. This reality was, of course, not beautiful. What was once a vacation powered by nostalgia became a very sobering experience, one that I will not allow myself to forget. Vegas is a city with riches built upon the backs of people that it no longer takes care of. 

Biferno, Anya, et al. “Climate Change Evidence: How Do We Know?” NASA, NASA, 27 Sept. 2023, climate.nasa.gov/evidence/.

Stabile, Angelica. “Physicist to Tucker Carlson: Climate Change Is ‘Fiction of the Media.’” Fox News, FOX News Network, 21 June 2021, www.foxnews.com/media/physicist-tells-tucker-carlson-climate-change-is-fiction-of-the-media.