https://www.echeat.com/ 2025-12-16T04:32:45.237-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/GOD-HELPS-THOSE-WHO-HELP-THEMSELVES-45602.aspx Terry in the book "?Herland?" held a misogynistic view of women before he went into this newly discovered land, and had a mystery to determine this new way of life. He was so confident in his overpowering nature that he had made several glaring mistakes at the beginning of the novel, such as not bringing any sort of weapon and trying to enchant the girls he first met when he arrived. Terry was defeated by the women of Herland on a number of occasions, yet he was unable to break his negative views of them. Even at the end of the book, Terry and his wife were in a strained relationship when compared to Van's newfound success. Several events through the story like his first interaction with the three girls, his attempted escape from the country, and his wedding with his new wife serve as examples of defeats that Terry suffered, but his refusal to learn highlights how Terry illustrates the failures of many in society to see women as equals. The book overall's purpose is to show that women are able to do things men can never dream of, and Terry stands in stark contrast to that. Terry entered Herland expecting women to be surrounding him, acting in obedience to the first man they'd allegedly seen. The narrator Van made mention of his views about women at home, showing a dislike of his behavior. When Van, Terry, and Jeff found the three girls, it would be Terry who first attempted to make contact with them, believing they would be charmed by his abilities and attitude. When this did not work, Terry became outraged, the first of many signs that Terry would not attempt to learn about their lifestyle. His view of women prevented him from completing the task he set out to do, which was to learn more about this land. While Van would try and be more successful than Terry in communicating, it did not change Terry's views about fixing his character. When the three men were captured and taken into what Terry considered a prison, they had made plans to escape. Their objective was to get out of prison and to go home without any forethought of how they were supposed to go all the way back to the original path of entering Herland. While they did manage to escape and create distance from the prison, they ran into 2023-05-29T14:07:37.463-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Literature-Review-of-the-book-"Herland"-45579.aspx Questions and Answers Name: Institutional Affiliation: Questions and Answers Spending Life What aspects of your life, at this point, are most satisfying? Being able to provide a stable life for my family and see them happy has brought me bountiful satisfaction. I have also struck a good work-life balance which ensures that I spend quality time with my loved ones. In what achievement, or commitments, do you take humble pride? I once worked with a refugee agency where we arranged their settlement in the United States. Seeing many of these people settle in the country, get jobs, and lead good lives has been a great achievement. Securing jobs for these individuals was tough but I am happy to see most of those I worked with settle and become successful. What changes could you make now, to feel better about how you are spending your life three months, three years, or three decades from now? I have witnessed close friends struggling with the problem of prescription pills addiction. I believe that I can step up and help these individuals since some of them have found themselves in contravention with the law. The opioid crisis in our society is alarming and I believe I can partake in its reduction by starting with my friends. Have you ever experienced a Sisyphean crisis, where all of your work felt pointless and endless? What did you do climb out of it? Working with refugees can be tough at times. I remember there are several instances whereby we settled some refugees in jobs that could support their livelihoods before they could learn English and seek better positions. However, I was disappointed to find the rate at which these individuals lost their initial jobs. The main issue presented by the employees was their poor communication. Hence, we had to find other jobs for these individuals which was demoralizing since I felt that the efforts we put in securing these jobs were futile. As such, I had to secure more sustainable means by collaborating with the locals who were ready to help these individuals as much as they could. What can you do to help others who are stuck? I would ask them to reflect on their achievements rather than center on the failures. There are always times when one is bound to feel helpless and efforts seem futile. Hence, the best action to take is to reflect on one’s achievements that will serve as a 2019-01-30T08:40:28.04-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Questions-and-Answers-45469.aspx “Murder is not about lust and it’s not about violence. It’s about possession” - Ted Bundy. Murder is probably the most relevant social issue that has been around forever. Murder shows up in “The Great Gatsby”, murder was also a major issue in the 1920s and it’s still a major problem today. The most common motives for murder in “The Great Gatsby and 2019-01-22T20:45:51.833-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Great-Gatsby-social-class-issues-45466.aspx FirstName LastName Affiliation Course No. Date Death in the Dubliners by James Joyce Death in the Dubliners has a wide representation of various highlights on how death affects people differently. Death can be said to be spiritual or mental, however, in either case, it causes significant realignment on character’s lifestyle. Joyce applies death as a functional theme in the novel (Torchiana). The story’s road concentration on death makes a rather elusive concept which can be subject to critical analysis. This research paper, therefore, tends to explore various instances of how death affects people differently in the Dubliners by James Joyce. Firstly, Dubliners story “The Sisters” recounts the Death of Father Flynn which functions as an access to the story. The advent of death in the church opens up to the life of a boy. It unveils strange relations of the priest and the boy. Contrary to adult’s expectation of the boy’s reaction to the incident, he seemed not distressed but seemed confused about the feeling he should have following the priest death (Yildiz 2). Another notable effect of death can be seen in Dubliners “Eveline” which recounts how a death person haunted the living in Dublin. The story gives a glimpse of a good life of Eveline, a character in the novel who enjoyed a good life while her mother was alive (Kennedy). Her mother’s death came with greater responsibilities of the family. Reminiscences of her dead mother play a critical role in her dilemma of either staying at home or leaving Dublin with her lover (Joyce 28). Further influence of death is seen when she feels guilty of breaking mother’s promise on the dock, which makes her spiritually paralyzed during her departure. Mrs. Sinico’s death also influences James Duffy’s life. The aftershock of her death brings in a rather unusual aspect of life to James. As she envisions her death, a self-realization engulfs his earlier selfish approach (Maher). From this perspective, Duffy is a living dead, while Mrs. Sinico is physically dead (Yildiz 4). Lastly, the concept of death plays a critical role in the story, it has a role in shifting probable individual emotions and energy from oneself to others. From the paper, it can be concluded that death affects people in differing ways. Many of instances of death in Dubliners in cause’s adverse effects to the living, some feeling a sense of relief like the unnamed boy, while others being penitent like 2017-05-29T00:35:30.983-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/ Death-in-the-Dubliners-by-James-Joyce -45335.aspx Joseph Espinoza Mr. Quintero AP English Lit, Period 5 25 January 2017 Visual Connection https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tigran.ch%2Fpaintings%2Fmillenium15-B.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tigran.ch%2Findex.html&docid=15gsEsZYcdVNBM&tbnid=qXYJMN1MWb4ltM%3A&vet=1&w=720&h=1029&bih=918&biw=1280&q=tigran%20mirror&ved=0ahUKEwiw7q2I-P7RAhVD02MKHemSDjcQMwgdKAIwAg&iact=mrc&uact=8 Tsitoghdzyan, Tigran. “Mirror” Visionary Artistry Magazine. Web. Tigran Tsitoghdzyan’s notable “Mirror” collection is famous for its underlying meaning. The above capture is meant to depict that there is no hiding what reflects in the mirror. This idea of portraying inevitably who you really are is able to successfully connect with the novel Wise Blood. It first connects with O'Connor's theme of finding self-intuition within a person and understanding who they really are. This visual simply does this by Tigran wanting to convey the truth to someone’s character deep within them and show a person’s true colors. This picture captures a woman trying to cover her face but her image beneath is still showing. The novel and the visual both prove examples of the monumental surrealistic movement of the 20th century which was defined as removing the preceding boundaries of reality and limitation. Society in the 20th century was beginning to alter from a set single standard place where men and women had vague and general roles in the community to a more modern and individualistic system. Both the picture and novel depict this by expanding these regards and providing creative works toward a person’s self-worth. Furthermore, this picture also correlates to the critical theory of Formalism that the novel can relate to as well. Formalism is the understanding of what a work is trying to teach or provide. In this case the woman in the visual is an example of not being able to suppress who she really is and it serves as a message to modern society to acknowledge that they can’t hide themselves so just show it. Nonfiction Connection JUNE. 22, 2011. My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant Jose Antonio Vargas One August morning nearly two decades ago, my mother woke me and put me in a cab. She handed me a jacket. “Baka malamig doon” were among the few words she said. (“It might be cold there.”) When I arrived at the Philippines’ Ninoy Aquino International Airport with her, my aunt and a family friend, I was introduced to a man I’d never seen. They told me he was my uncle. He held my hand as I boarded an airplane for the first time. It was 1993, and I was 12. My mother wanted to give me a better life, so she sent me thousands of miles away to live with 2017-02-07T15:36:21.41-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Wise-Blood-Reflective-Study-Guide-35279.aspx Outline I. Introduction: A Bright Forever a. Provides an overview of the novel and a brief description of what the story is all about. b. Also gives an overview of the plot and the element of blame game and consciousness that Mackey’s family members have as well as other people attached to folks. c. The main thesis of the paper is to explore the symbolism of the birds in the novel and why the author uses the birds in the storyline. II. Hawks are used in the novel as a symbolism of the human nature. a. Hawks are used by the author in the novel, symbolically represent the human predators. b. Hawks are natural predators, a feature that makes them prey on other smaller creatures for survival. c. Henry Dee is a is presented as a predator by the fact that he falls in love with his student, Katie Mackey in secretly d. Just like an hawk, Henry watches and waits for the right moment to make his move. e. Henry sneaks like a hawk to Katie’s bedroom during the tuition session to get some of her hair. III. Katie represents the purple martins birds which are lovely and colorful. a. Purple martins birds exist in colonies and build their nests high up in the posts. b. Just like the purple martins birds, Katie is from an affluent family, high up in the social ladder. c. Just as the purple martins birds, she is beautiful and innocent. d. Katie’s love for music and life full of joy is likened to Purple martins is fond of making sweet melodies. IV. Clare, Henry Dee’s neighbor is also fond of the birds. a. Clare can be likened with the purple Martins due to her character. b. Just as the purple martins prefer to live in colonies, Clare needs a lonely life after the death of her husband. c. Clare enjoys the company of Raymond and decided to overlook his dark past. V. Raymond is seen as a hawk. a. Raymond is struggling with drug abuse and is a know-it-all kind of a person and is disliked by many people. He is seen as a hawk. b. Just as a hawk preying on the lonely Clare. VI. Conclusion a. Symbolism of birds in the novel brings out the true nature of the characters involved. b. Purple martins and the hawks represent two opposing nature of human beings. Symbolism of Birds in a Bright Forever A Bright Forever is a novel by renowned author, Lee Martin. The novel is based on the settings of Indiana in the 1970s (Martin 7). The novel revolves around the disappearance and death of Katie Mackey, daughter of a 2016-08-09T11:52:12.027-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-Bright-Forever-35210.aspx Most of the best nights of my life were spent with my closest friends, although, not all of the time were we actually together. I got an Xbox 360 around 7th/8th grade for my birthday. With it, I got Modern Warfare 2, and money to buy the new game, MW3 when it came out a week later. The summer after receiving my xbox, I began playing like it was my job. Sleepless nights, and restless days, I poured sweat and tears into my most favorite game of all time. The actual gameplay didn’t do it though, it was the company I was with. Somewhere down the road, I met a guy named Rivaldo, a tall black man, and his mexican friends on xbox live. They lived in Florida, and we all became good friends- Xbox friends. Every single night we would spent hours playing the most famed gamemode, Search and Destroy, and challenge kids to private Quickscoping matches, where we prided ourself for being top dogs. Bad talking and roasting(Making fun of one another) ensued, and made each night as laughable and enjoyable as the next. Somewhere down the road(Probably near the beginning) we decided it would be a grand idea to become an actual Clan(Group of players who acted as a team consistently). We changed our gamertags to show our allegiance(Countless times, we never stuck with a clan name), and eventually created a youtube channel(Courtesy of me). Although I spend a good $150 on a “Roxio game capture”, we never really got into posting our SnD gameplay, we more enjoyed the actual playing and such rather than boasting ourselves online. It seems like Rivaldo and I became good friends, as if we knew each other and hung out in real life. The whole clan exchanged numbers, and we even began texting and such, although there usually wasn't much need since we were always talking through the xbox microphones. I truly cannot remember a time when I laughed as hard and enjoyed the night as much as I did when we all were on together from dusk to dawn, roasting dudes and taking names. We emphasized our skills at quickscoping, and became quite skilled at the in-game trait. We had talked so much that I had promised them I would visit them in Florida someday 2016-05-19T13:28:50.763-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Xbox-35192.aspx Most of the best nights of my life were spent with my closest friends, although, not all of the time were we actually together. I got an Xbox 360 around 7th/8th grade for my birthday. With it, I got Modern Warfare 2, and money to buy the new game, MW3 when it came out a week later. The summer after receiving my xbox, I began playing like it was my job. Sleepless nights, and restless days, I poured sweat and tears into my most favorite game of all time. The actual gameplay didn’t do it though, it was the company I was with. Somewhere down the road, I met a guy named Rivaldo, a tall black man, and his mexican friends on xbox live. They lived in Florida, and we all became good friends- Xbox friends. Every single night we would spent hours playing the most famed gamemode, Search and Destroy, and challenge kids to private Quickscoping matches, where we prided ourself for being top dogs. Shit talking and roasting(Making fun of one another) ensued, and made each night as laughable and enjoyable as the next. Somewhere down the road(Probably near the beginning) we decided it would be a grand idea to become an actual Clan(Group of players who acted as a team consistently). We changed our gamertags to show our allegiance(Countless times, we never stuck with a clan name), and eventually created a youtube channel(Courtesy of me). Although I spend a good $150 on a “Roxio game capture”, we never really got into posting our SnD gameplay, we more enjoyed the actual playing and such rather than boasting ourselves online. It seems like Rivaldo and I became good friends, as if we knew each other and hung out in real life. The whole clan exchanged numbers, and we even began texting and such, although there usually wasn't much need since we were always talking through the xbox microphones. I truly cannot remember a time when I laughed as hard and enjoyed the night as much as I did when we all were on together from dusk to dawn, roasting niggas and taking names. We emphasized our skills at quickscoping, and became quite skilled at the in-game trait. We had talked so much that I had promised them I would visit them in Florida someday 2016-05-19T13:21:28.4-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/My-Xbox-Times-35191.aspx Shecarrie Silas Professor Roberts English 1301 27 September 2015 Spanking Children Corporal punishment remains a generally applied control procedure as a part of most American families, yet it has additionally been a subject of debate inside of the youth improvement and mental groups. Parents usually spank children to discipline them, but punishing a child has it effects. The only possible hope for parents in the use of corporal punishment on their children is the due-process argument. When surveyed, 56 percent of teachers agree that corporal punishment should be used on students who do not follow rules. Majority of the teachers that were surveyed stated that they do not plan to spank out of responsibility; they want the right to do so as an extra means of classroom control. People who are against corporal punishment in schools do not mean banning discipline. Banning discipline would cause the schools to become a place where children could not learn valuable education, because without orderliness, learning cannot occur. There have been numerous concerns on spanking children. On one side of the verbal confrontation are those who trust it alright to use corporal punishment on their kids. Other individuals believe that children should never be punished. Some think beating is a type of misuse, while others believe it is a kind of order. Corporal punishment should not be enforced because it teaches children to lie to avoid detection or avoid you, it damages a child’s thoughts, and it causes health problems. Spanking hurts a kid’s relationship and trust with their parents. For example a child may feel that their parent spanks them and doesn’t love them. However, spanking can shake the foundation of trust between a child and their parent. A child imagines that their parent have their best interests in mind. Spanking can significantly cause your child to question this premise. Spanking teaches children to lie to keep from being punished. They may lie to their parent because they know what the consequences are. A child may also become violent. For example a child may feel that they are being spanked because they are doing something wrong, so they may try to hit someone, or use the same method against someone else. Punishment does not discourage behavior unless the retaliator is present. No parent wants their relationship with their child to be destructive. Hitting a child can damage their feelings. When children are spanked by individuals, it causes a kid 2016-03-24T23:12:50.69-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Spanking-Children-35187.aspx Gender roles are learned mainly through social interaction rather than your biological interaction with others. When people are born, you endowed with very little concept of gender and what it actually means. You learn correct behavior through social interactions and through relationships with your families and other peers around you. Gender identity is constructed through the communication experienced through the media, parents, peers at school, at work, and even at home. There is a difference in how children are raised in a society, which ends up reflecting on how they act, as they grow older. Society changes the attitudes and views on life of people, much more than their biological make-up will ever do. At a young age, children are also influenced to act in specific ways by their peers. A child can be made fun of when doing things considered not typical of their gender. For example, peers can tease a boy if he likes to play in the kitchen or play with dolls. Society influences children only to play with certain toys that are meant for their gender. Advertisements on TV show specific toys for each gender and show only girls or boys playing with them. Typically, girls are less athletically inclined than boys, because of their genetic make-up. Because of this, parents often do not treat girls and boys in the same way when it comes to sports. Boys are taught to be more aggressive because it is expected that boys should be more athletic than girls. Girls also are encouraged to express their feelings and to cry openly. Boys are influenced to never cry or complain, but to “tough it out,” or “be a man.” Because of this societal influence, girls and boys act the way they do into adulthood, especially in the work force, where adults are expected to act in prescribed ways. Men are still very dominant in high position jobs, because the social prescription indicates that men can handle tough jobs better than women can. These value differences are reflected in gender roles established by different cultures. When people begin to date, specific behaviors are expected by each gender because of social influence, custom and usage. Men often used to be expected to pay for the date, drive on the date, ask the girl out, and a number of other outdated manners. Women too are 2015-11-17T17:08:22.167-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Preceived-Genders-35151.aspx Gender roles are learned mainly through social interaction rather then that you are related to. When people are born, you have a very little concept of gender and what it actually means. You learn what the proper behavior is through social interactions and through relationships with your families and other peers around you. Gender identity is constructed through the communication experienced through the social media, parents, friends at school, by coworkers, and even at home. There is a difference in how children are raised in a society, which ends up reflecting on how they act as they grow older depending on what their culture might be. Society changes the attitudes and views on life of people, much more than their biological make-up will ever do. At a young age, I was influenced to act in specific way by my peers and the people I was around including family. I learned that a child could be made fun of when doing things considered not typical of their gender. For example, peers can tease a boy if he likes to play in the kitchen or play with dolls. The influence that society has on children makes children only want to play with certain toys that are meant for their gender no matter what they might like. There are advertisements on TV that show specific toys for each gender and show only girls or boys playing with them. An example of this is certain video games are only portrayed for the males to play with, and not girls even though they aren’t just for boys to play with. In our society it is perceived that girls are less athletically inclined than boys, because of their genetic make-up. In early childhood boys are taught to be more aggressive because it is expected that boys should be more athletic than girls because they are what make up most of the athletics broadcasted on TV. Girls also are encouraged to express their feelings and to cry openly because they don’t have to be as strong as men because we can share our emotions. Then there are boys who are influenced to never cry or complain, but to “tough it out,” or “be a man” because in our society they are the stronger ones who everybody leads on when they need help. In our society there is a particular reason why 2015-11-17T16:59:53.72-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Gender-Role-Differences-35150.aspx World’s Realization Living in this harsh world was never an easy thing to do. There’s no space for weak people, only those strong will survive – that’s reality. Most of the time, pain, heartaches, and failure will come your way, but then, you need to keep on going because life is not like loving a person that when you can’t bear the pain anymore, you will let 2014-10-24T02:31:08.313-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/World-s-Realization-35058.aspx The Meaning of Christmas For many, Christmas is a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. This festivity is extended throughout the winter season and immediately following the twenty-fourth day of December. Communities around the world unite with one another to 2013-09-29T23:40:19.327-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Meaning-of-Christmas-34972.aspx Judge Pyncheon Essay In the passage from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of Seven Gables, the great Judge Pyncheon is perceived by his town’s people to be the complete pinnacle of kindness, morality, justice and knowledge. Subsequently, it is revealed to the reader that this persona is a mere “face” to satisfy “public opinion”. Through diction, repetition, understatement and a satirical tone, the narrator exposes the judge to be a phony; the narrator divulges that the Judge has many “dark traits” and “questionable deeds” which he hides behind his costume of good stature in the community. From the very beginning of the passage, the narrator establishes a satirical, and mocking tone when describing Judge Pyncheon in a good light. “There was enough of splendid rubbish in his life to cover up and paralyze a more active and subtle conscience than the judge was ever troubled with”. He then goes on to spew out a meaningless list of deeds, responsibilities and actions, which Judge Pyncheon actively accomplishes while on the bench. This rant, which consumes an entire eighteen lines of the passage, only skims the surface of Judge Pyncheon’s actions and fails to include any of the good deeds he accomplishes without his robe on; his robe is a metaphorical “costume” which triggers the switch from a wrong doer, obsessed with money and materials, into a respectable role model of society. The list itself starts out with deeds that are meaningful and significant but gets more and more frivolous as the list continues; the reader, by this point, is bored and under impressed by the catalog of so called “credentials”, because the empty and joking conclusion to the list undermines any good qualities stated in the beginning. The town’s people fail to see Judge Pyncheon’s personality as a result of his actions, and instead, make their judgments of the man based off of his grinning, amicable face. Mirrors repeatedly evoke a sense of superficiality and feigned character. “What room could possibly be found for darker traits, in a portrait made up of lineaments like these! This proper face was what he beheld in the looking-glass.” The Judge takes advantage of his exterior and only shows the people around him what they wanted to see. Mirrors unravel a main theme of the passage that looks are deceiving. A mirror only reveals the surface of the face looking into it, but fails to pry deeper into 2012-12-09T21:16:01.457-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Free-Analysis-Essay-on-Judge-Pyncheon-34761.aspx Appreciation and reward are the two things which exhilarate just about any individual, no matter what his/her age is. 2012-05-20T10:29:21.797-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Side-lining-of-non-academic-achievements-in-Asian-society-34568.aspx Hasan professed to believe in no religion, he had a hazy idea that being a “good" person was more important than being a good Muslim. Muslim elite and middle class response to freedom, from colonial rule, was initially to equate “liberal” morals as a sign of modernity. Drinking, sex outside marriage, having permissible attitudes towards sex all were used as symbols of modernism. Comics were used as signs of belonging to the progressive modern group. Smoking cigarettes also came under the same iconology. All “in” people were supposed to smoke and drink and have liberal attitudes towards sex and subscribe to Archie’s life style. He did not bother to understand his religion at all. Partition and the creation of a new country brought about the cruelest of materialist societal structure. Corruption was the norm and very soon nothing got done without graft. This seemed to be the fate of most newly independent states. The early days of independence, and for that matter the latter periods, brought about wide corruption on small and large scale, with involvement of the governing elite and the common man. Corruption therefore soon became an accepted and necessary part of the social structure, greasing of palms became essential for any thing to get moving. Hasan and his like abhorred this corrupt state of society, they did believe in ‘fair play’ and progress by hard work, these were idealistic and un pragmatic thoughts of an ineffective and powerless elite. Hasan drifted along in his less than half baked notions, he accepted little responsibility and had little concept of money. His father, a reasonably rich man, provided a comfortable living and Hasan could maintain his detracted superior existence without doing too much. Hasan’s serene trouble free existence underwent a serious somersault. His father fell seriously sick. He was hospitalized and after extensive tests, his ailment was diagnosed as cancer of the lungs. Hasan loved his father and he spent most of his time in the hospital, looking after his father. This required that he spend nights and a large part of the day in the intensive care unit of the hospital. Hasan, in the six months his father lived, witnessed quite a few losing their battle and succumbing to the icy clutches of death. These deaths and the subsequent demise of his father caused a lot a grief but it also seriously disturbed Hasan’s 2012-05-15T04:36:01.323-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Challenge-34564.aspx Persuasion is a powerful and threatening tool against those who are weak. It can sway one’s decisions between good and evil, concealing judgment, and jading the conscience. It plays the critical role of a spectral villain, an invisible danger to the protagonist in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Macbeth is a victim of the persuasion of others, making him ultimately not responsible for his actions. Macbeth’s own partner Lady Macbeth persuades her husband to commit murder and fulfill his ambition. The three witches and their Queen influence Macbeth’s decisions through the use of predictions as well as the supernatural. Lastly, the three apparitions conjured by the witches play a very crucial role in establishing Macbeth’s fate through their deceptively uplifting prophecies. Lady Macbeth, one of the most persuasive characters in the play, is a perfect example of using the tool of manipulation to one’s advantage to achieve personal benefit. Upon opening her husband’s letter explaining his meeting with the witches, Lady Macbeth is struck with malicious thoughts and is immediately determined to seize the throne ,with Macbeth, and become the Queen of Scotland: “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be What thou art promis’d. Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it;” (Shakespeare, I.V.14-19). From this scene, it is right away clear that Lady Macbeth is a dark hearted person with strong determination. She has already concluded that her husband will kill King Duncan and become the ruler of Scotland, though Macbeth is currently a good hearted, loyal human being. Because of these qualities, she fears that Macbeth will not have what it takes to end the life of an innocent and honorable man, though he has great ambition. It is now evident that she is the one who will be responsible for the corruption of Macbeth and the death of the King. “"Affinity," "rapport" and "affection" all describe a feeling of connection between people. But the simple word "liking" most faithfully captures the concept and has become the standard designation in the social science literature. People prefer to say yes to those they like.” (Cialdini par. 18) Lady Macbeth encourages her husband into committing treason and murder by questioning his manhood and challenging his 2012-05-01T19:11:33.017-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Macbeth-Analysis-A-Persuasive-Ending-34554.aspx The PSV class had organized an English Day programme with SK TokJeliin PondokModenJeli which was held on 31st July 2011. We enjoyed tremendous support among the SK TokJeli’s students for this year compared to last year. This is one of the awesome programme which was organized by our class for the year. It has attracted 260 students to this language campprogramme. We were accompanied by 2 lecturers to instruct us. Generally, the purpose of this programme is to improve the language skills among the primary school students. As a first step to move this programme, we kept the important tools for all the activity later for the language camp programme inside the storage of the bus. We were departing from our InstitutPendidikan Guru Kampus Kota Bharuto PondokModenJeli at 5 o’clock morning by our IPGKKB bus. While travelled in bus, we enjoyed ourselves by sang songs, dancing, kidding and other interesting activities to avoid us from slept in the bus. After a long journey, we reach our destination at morning 7 o’clock. Before registration started at 7.30 am, we gave bread and soya drink as morning breakfast to all of the participants. After the participants ate their breakfast and registered themselves, opening ceremony of this language camp was held sharply at 10.30 am by our director of IPGKKB, Mr. Haji Hashim Bin Deraman. He also gave a short and sweet speech as an encouragement to all the participants. He appreciates the participant’s interest in curricula activities who gave full support to the organizer of this program. Furthermore, Ice Breaking was the first part of this programme which was held at 11.00 am. Ice Breaking session was continued by introducing themselves to other participants in the language camp. This session has some surprise elements for the participants because they have to find the details of a participant’sname which was wrote in a given piece of paper. The selected person among the participants has to go in front and talk about the details of the person. In addition, the participants had been divided according to the month of birth. This situation gave a chance to them to know and remember the details of all the group members. Charade was the first activity in this programme. Charade was a team game.Each team member has to express a given word using silent actions to the other members. We prepared a lot of activities for this 2012-03-17T10:51:54.74-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/THE-LANGUAGE-CAMP-PROGRAMME-WITH-SK-TOK-JELI,-KELANTAN-34514.aspx Thanksgiving is also called “Turkey Day.” The First Thanksgiving Was In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. This harvest meal has become a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Native American groups throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Creek and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America. Historians have also recorded other ceremonies of thanks among European settlers in North America, including British colonists in Berkeley Plantation, Virginia. At this site near the Charles River in December of 1619, a group of British settlers led by Captain John Woodlief knelt in prayer and pledged "Thanksgiving" to God for their healthy arrival after a long voyage across the Atlantic. This event has been acknowledged by some scholars and writers as the official first Thanksgiving among European settlers on record. Whether at Plymouth, Berkeley Plantation, or throughout the Americas, celebrations of thanks have held great meaning and importance over time. Thanksgiving Traditions didn’t start out as the feast with turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie that most of us think of today. First, imagine eating your Thanksgiving Day meal without a fork. Forks had not been invented at the time of the first Thanksgiving so I’m guessing they used their hands mostly. There is no hard evidence that they even had turkey as their main course, deer was the meat of choice back in 1621. Turkey didn’t become associated with Thanksgiving until later due to an excess of wild turkey roaming around New England; turkey also fed a lot of people. The other food items that have become an integral part of our holiday meal were not on the table at the first Thanksgiving. There were cranberries and pumpkin pie was made popular at the second celebration of Thanksgiving in 1623. The first feast was not repeated, so the pilgrims did not intend to start a tradition. The original feast was actually 3 days long and was not about family. It was a 2011-11-18T14:06:48.353-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/ThanksGiving_-34350.aspx Both competition and cooperation play a large role in the advancement of society, both in business and non-business areas. Competition forces people to improve their products or services, and hence 2011-10-22T22:34:26.85-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Cooperation-Vs_-Competition-34060.aspx Behaviour talks about our basic conduct ,actions ,manners .In our behaviour we express ourselves in and out .It is something natural and unprocessed. It is the finest art of our freedom.It counts everything our pride,cleanliness,sympathy and all these things together form our personality.It highlights what kind of person we are .The effect of our behaviour is universal in appeal.There is nothing in the universe which can be more effective than a man`s or a woman`s behavior.It can help us overcome many challenges in our life.We can cope up well with bad times ,with a positive behaviour,an optimistic attitude towards the problem.We all our remembered by our attitude , by the way of conduct, 2007-09-30T05:14:26-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Finest-Art-of-Freedom-Behaviour-33339.aspx Bulimia nervosa, more commonly known simply as bulimia or binge and purge disorder, is an eating disorder that affects 1 in 4 college-aged women in America, or 1 in 10,000 Americans. The most common misconception concerning bulimia is that it is simply a physical or mental problem. Many people do not understand that bulimia is a disease that affects both the mind and the body, and in its course can destroy both aspects of the diseased individual. Bulimia affects a variety of different people, but generally the victims will fall tend to fall into certain categories. Those at highest vulnerability to this disease are young adult females, ages 12 to 18. The disease, however, can start as early as elementary school, or much later in life. Others (such as athletes competing in sports such as ballet, gymnastics, ice-skating, diving, etc.) may also be pressured into starting bulimic habits. Males who perform in athletics such as wrestling and dance are at high risk for developing the disease as well. Victims of bulimia can often be linked to being victims of verbal, physical, and/or sexual abuse, though not all are. Bulimia may also contain ties to diseases such as clinical or manic depression. Bulimics often start out with anorexa (starvation and excessive exercising), or may turn to anorexia after being bulimic. Bulimia is marked by significant cycles in eating habits. Bulimics will often starve themselves (calorie/food/fat intake restriction -- sometimes with the help of diet pills or supplements) for extended periods of time prior to a massive binge, during which they consume abnormal amounts of food in a short period of time. These binges are followed by purging, which generally is constituted by self-induced vomiting. Other methods of purging the body include the use of diuretics, laxatives, and excessive exercising. Bulimics are generally within what is considered to be a "normal" weight range, but see themselves as being overly fat, or suffer from an intense fear of gaining weight. They often do realize that they have a problem, but by that point the cycle has become an obsession. Bulimics usually weigh themselves frequently, even several times daily. Bulimics also suffer from an emotional cycle of guilt, paion, depression, and "highs." They feel pride when they succeed in starving themselves; guilt, 2007-02-17T07:25:01-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Bulimia-32636.aspx Description of Easter Jack sat in his cabin staring at the fire for hours..... How would he get home for Easter? He was all the way in Alaska and his family was in Florida. He got up and walked around thinking about what he could do to get home. His sled! He would take his sled into town about 80 miles south and get a ride to the airport. Jack hitched up his sled dogs, packed all his belongings, and headed off towards town. Jack noticed that it was getting dark, he thought he should set up camp before it got dark. The tent went up quickly and the fire started right after. After a good meal Jack was off to bed. The next morning he woke up to find nothing. His sled and dogs had disappeared into the night when he was sleeping, all that was left was a few rations and some odd supplies. Jack figured that there was no reason to sit around feeling sorry for himself so he started walking. Jack walked about 10 miles over the next 4 nights and then he had to stop from exhaustion. He set up what he had for camp and went to sleep. The next morning he awoke to the sound of dogs. What luck, a person in a sled dog race had stumbled upon his shabby camp and stopped to see if he needed any help. Jack quickly told the man about his predicament and the man said he would gladly help being that Jacks destination was on his way. Once Jack go to town he gave the man who helped him out the little money he had in return for the favor. The man gladly accepted it and left. Just then Jack realized that he had no money to buy his plane tickets. He tried flagging down the already half gone samaritan, but it was too late, he was out of sight. Jack spent the next week working in a appliance store in the town for some money. Once he gathered up all his pay he bought the plane ticket. Heading out to the airport Jack thought about how exciting it would be to see his family for the first time in 3 years, the thought of 2007-01-29T05:29:54-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Description-of-Easter-32487.aspx Meaningful Moments in Life Life is a made up of a collection of moments. Some people say that one must learn from obstacles that everyone struggles with. Some people say that every challenge helps to achieve strength of character and self-growth. The most significant change in my life was my elder sister’s battle with cancer. Even though it was a very hurtful experience that has drastically affected both me and my family, it helped me know myself better as a person, realize that I can appreciate God’s gift of life and good health and understand what an inspiration my sister is to me and how much love she has given me over the years. Whenever my sister was home, everything was special and different. Since she was the one who maintained the family’s serenity, there was nothing to argue about when she was present. For instance, when I was a teenager, my dad always pushed me a step harder and tried to create his idea of a social life for me, which was noticeably slowly placing me in depression moods. My sister on the other hand always calmed me down about it, and tried to explain to me the meaning behind fatherhood, and that no matter what he says or does, it’s always for my best and I should cherish him for that. Down through the years and as time evolved, I remembered my sister’s words of wisdom and love as I watched my dad’s heart break every time he saw her in pain. As I watched my sister fight her battle with patience and a big smile, I realized that even in her weakest moments, she was still our source of love and strength. She helped me understand that it’s in life’s toughest times that you are the strongest, and that by little faith, hope and patience, you will overcome it. She made me value family and strong bonds and brought me to appreciate the little moments and believe in miracles. Even though it was difficult at the beginning, I found out that I was capable of doing anything I wanted as long as I persisted in doing it. Ironically, it was my sister’s pain that made me a better person today. Needless to say, she also finally introduced me to my new hero, my father. Now looking back at my childhood, and remembering how I thought my sister and I were different 2007-01-08T20:46:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Meaningful-Moments-in-Life--32278.aspx The Meaning of Christmas For many, Christmas is a holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. This festivity 2006-12-18T20:15:13-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Meaning-of-Christmas-32029.aspx Memories and Influences During your lifetime there are many events that are memorable and influential. There are also those times in your life when you behave in a not so admirable way and even wish you could go back and change some of your actions. These not so admirable times are the ones that should teach you the most about yourself and your reactions to others. As you look back at your life and see these times, they shouldn’t cause regrets but have taught you lessons. One of my not so admirable times that I learned from was when I was hurting two people that I cared about dearly because I was scared to feel what I felt. The event that sticks out in my mind as one of my life teaching lessons was when I caused pain to two men that I loved more than myself. At the time, I was dating a man, named Michael, who was a year younger than I was. Also, at the same time, I was best friends with a man named Jim who was older than I was. Jim and I had been best friends for about a year and during this time my feelings for him grew into more than just friends. As my feelings continued we discussed the possibility of a relationship but decided that it was better for both of us to remain friends. This was agreed upon because neither of us were willing to risk losing our friendship or our current situation. This left me feeling hurt and confused but, also relieved to know that no matter what happened from then on we would make it. We had both agreed that we would put everything we had into this friendship including our whole heart. As time went on, I worried about losing him to someone else that he loved more than a friend, more than me. Yet surprisingly enough, it was not him who found someone else it was I. One of the first things that I was about to realize was when you least expect something to happen that is when it usually does. It was December and it was Christmas time and I thought I couldn’t be happier. I had everything I thought I wanted. My best friend and 2006-11-11T18:39:34-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Memories-and-Influences--31714.aspx Human Joys of Food Worries flutter away as if suddenly released from lifelong captivity. Taste buds scream with bliss and bend down on their knees to beg for just a little more. An involuntary moan of satisfaction seeks its way from the mouth as another flavorful bite gets stuffed in. Nothing seems to calm, ease and please more than food. So I wonder, could it be the cure for the sickness of life? After a long day at school and hours of grueling work have worn your day and your energy has been drained for all its worth, nothing sounds better than a fat-filled, calorie-rich snack to replenish all that has been lost. For that brief period of time you are free from the chains that have held you down since lunch. Your mind focuses on little more than the guiltless satisfaction of the moment. In a way, food is like a drug. It fades reality and hinders daily interaction with others. If you call a friend with a problem (which at the moment, appears as though it can single-handedly cause the destruction of Earth) and they are in the middle of supper, you might as well hang up right then and there. It is inevitable that your friend will either speak very little while finishing up dinner, or they will call you back afterward. Why? Simply because nobody wants to spend this ‘special’ time dealing with other people. Eating is a purely selfish act which should not be wasted on others. It seems strange to me, however, how much we value a good meal since we eat three of them a day. How many other things in life do we do so often yet never get sick of? Companies continue to produce new colors, flavors, sizes and packages for the food we’ve gotten used to in an attempt to add a new spice to it and, generally, it works. New restaurants are constantly being created with distinct atmospheres to help us enjoy our meal. We even use food when trying to find a mate, by going to a restaurant--one of the most successful and popular beginnings to a date. When life seems like its being overrun by problems, the solution could be as simple as turning to a huge piece of chocolate cake. 2006-10-03T20:21:41-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Human-Joys-of-Food--31488.aspx Ordinary People Essay Calvin is a successful lawyer with plenty of money and a beautiful wife to go along with it. He was orphaned as a young boy, and had only one person that was even close to a fatherly figure for him, a man named Arnold Bacon. Bacon was a lawyer and wanted Calvin to become one, too. Calvin had two sons, Buck and Conrad. Buck died in a boating accident when he was a senior in high school. Shortly after, Conrad tried to commit suicide. These tragic events threaten the stronghold of their family, and will test whether or not the love each other or not. In the beginning of the book Calvin thought he was supposed to earn a good living and have all of the material things in place, but he learns communication is essential in a marriage. He marries an attractive woman, named Beth, despite warnings by Bacon, “She’s not a sharer,” he told Calvin. The only thing Calvin expected from Beth as a wife was for her to stand by his side and look pretty. He soon realizes that a wife that’s only beautiful will not cut it, he wants to find out what’s inside of her. Calvin has a nice house in a great part of town, nice cars, and a beautiful wife. From the beginning of the book, Calvin and Beth think that money is life and it solves everything. That it even makes them better than anyone else. Unfortunately for them though, money doesn’t solve everything, and Buck dies. The family was hurt, they didn’t know what to do, and money couldn’t help them here (except for funeral expenses). Time had come for them to finally come to terms with the fact that just because your rich, it doesn’t mean that life is flawless. It was a hard time and the family needed comfort in each other, but none of them gave it to anybody. Conrad was taught that following the rules was the proper thing to do, but later learns that you need to let your feelings surface, and tell people. As a result of Buck’s death Conrad drifts into depression. He bottles up his emotions until he finally can’t take it anymore. He lets go of the bottle by trying 2006-08-27T23:54:14-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Ordinary-People-Essay-31351.aspx Valuable Lessons Learned in Life Looking back on my life I see that I have made many mistakes. All due to my lack of patience and never listening to what my elders told me. If I had only listened to their words of wisdom and took into consideration what was told, I would have saved myself a lot of trouble. However I took my own path and did things my way, not following the guidance of my elders. I still remember what my grandparents told me like it was just yesterday. He told me “Only fools rush in, What goes around comes around, and education is most important.” The first valuable lesson I learned was when cheating on the final test caused me a lot of trouble. It started at ninth grade when high school was a totally new thing. I began to have many new friends and they could drive. Going out was much more fun than staying home and studying. My grandfather warned me to stay more focused in school. I told him not to worry because I could always figure my way out. He also told me to work my way through anything that I wanted and “Only fools rush in”, but whatever he said seemed to go from one ear through the other. I started to come to school late everyday. If I did come on time, I would slept in class. I missed a lot of homework and class activities. So, I was already behind the class before I even knew about it. I did not know what to do when the final was about to come. I was stuck in a bad situation, so I decide to take the short cut and cheat on the exam. Too bad, I got caught and went through a lot of bad experiences with the teachers and school principal. I only get what “Only fools rush in” means as I was sitting in the principal’s office. It was a tough experience. It seemed like the lessons get tougher as I grow older. This is the time when my grandparents talked about “what goes around, comes around”. I started dating a lot around this age According to guys in high school, it is cool to have many girlfriends. 2006-08-01T18:41:14-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Valuable-Lessons-Learned-in-Life-30947.aspx Personal Reflection on the Value of Family I sat down on my couch, as I came back from a grueling day of school. Wait, grueling isn’t the word, more like exhausting. I turned on my television, the Raptors were playing against the wizards. Then my sister walked by. She proclaimed that she wanted to watch something else. Like all little brothers, it was my natural instinct to argue with her. After ten minutes of arguing, we decided to end our confrontation in a game of basketball on my PS2. Since I play the game much more than she does, I demolished her. Than she offered to play best 2 of 3. I guess I played for 2 reasons, to humiliate her and it was such a fun game. After beating her about 101 times she finally gave up. I switched it to the game. But to my disappointment the game had ended. One of the biggest games of the year and thanks to my sister, I missed it. One of the biggest games of the year, the first time M.J came to the ACC. I found out later that the Raptors were defeated (as always). Since there was nothing, on my sister got to watch. She grinned with delight, as I gave her an evil smirk. When I thought I had obtained victory, I was handed defeat. She had won this round. Something told me that she had planned this. This isn’t the first time she plotted an evil scheme. I promised myself never to let it happen again. The next day I turned on the T.V and to my surprise the Raptors were playing. A wonderful situation to test my new “will power”. Just then my evil sister walked by, this time with one of her girlfriends. I recognized her, the best female basketball player that played for Jarvis. She was offered to go play down at the states, at those big time colleges like, Harvard, and UCLA. My sister whispered something into her ear. Her friend then challenged 2006-07-25T16:06:31-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Personal-Reflection-on-the-Value-of-Family-30650.aspx Creative Inspiration Yesterday I had a chat with my fiancé and she was concerned because I was lacking spice. What she meant by that is that the sizzle is starting to fizzle out and I didn’t know what to say. So as I was sitting there in 2006-07-23T13:24:42-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Creative-Inspiration--30504.aspx Alone in the Woods Reflection There is a place that is very special to me. A place where life is created and ended as time stands still. This is a place where someone can relax and can also have fun here. One might wonder how such a magical place could exist. This place is not my room, or on some over populated beach, my special place would have to be in the forest. Forests are a great place to ride dirt bikes, they are full of spectacular beauty, and forests are peacefully secluded away from the world. As one can see, forests are my favorite place to be. I have been born and raised in the hills of West Virginia. I grew up on the pegs of either a dirt bike or a 4-wheeler. Living in a state like West Virginia gave me the opportunity to spend many hours in the woods enjoying nature. My friends and I built forts, played manhunt, and rode our bikes in the woods. Many people enjoy hunting, fishing, and camping in the woods of West Virginia. Mountain biking and horseback riding are also popular activities done in the forests where I live. My friends and I also built BMX bicycle jumps in the woods near my house. I would have to say of all the activities one can do in the forest, mine would be dirt bike riding. The forest offers many challenging up and down hills, stream crossings, and technical off cambers to ride on. I have a common group of friends who gather on Sundays to challenge Mother Nature, each other, and ourselves as well. I enjoy spending time with my friends especially when taking in the beauty that the forest has to offer. To me the forest is where life begins. The forest is a place of undisturbed nature. There are several different types of forests and thousands of different types of plants and animals. I grew up in deciduous forests, not having the pleasure to explore the other kinds such as coniferous and rain forests. Deciduous forests have trees such as oaks, maples, and ashes. I never realized the beauty of the changing colors in the fall, until my cousins visited once from Florida. They were amazed at how the 2006-07-16T21:52:46-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Alone-in-the-Woods-Reflection-30264.aspx Personal Reflection on The Diary of Anne Frank Anne Frank was a young girl who had gone through enough grief to crush most spirits, but somehow she refused to let the Nazis win. I think it’s amazing she managed to write so well with all the things going on around her. This article is about my thoughts about her writing style. I really do not know how she learned to write so well, she diffidently had a gift. Her descriptions were so in depth and her way of expressing her self was excellent. For example here is a short passage out of the book. "I will describe the building: there is a large warehouse on the ground floor which is used as a store. The front door to the house is next to the warehouse door, and inside the front door is a second doorway which leads to a staircase. There is another door at the top of the stairs with a frosted glass window in it, which has 'office' written in black across it." This is not the most interesting passage but it’s very descriptive. Sometimes when you are reading the book you forget it’s real, then you realize this actually happened. I do not know if the book is totally transcribed from her diary or if it was rewritten. If this was actually taken word for word from her diary I am sure she had talent. I do not keep a diary but I did not think they were supposed to be good copy. "I asked my self this morning whether you don’t sometimes feel rather like a cow who had to chew over all the old pieces of news again and again, and who finally yawns loudly and silently wishes that Anne would occasionally dig up something new." I thought this metaphorical passage was very advanced for a young teenager. The way she describes her feelings is of an experienced writer. How she reaches inside her self to pulls out thoughts and jots them down on paper. It’s as she is there telling you her thoughts. Some parts of this book were boring but knowing that it happened to someone makes you want to read. This was not my favorite book either but I have to admit she 2006-07-10T16:08:15-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Personal-Reflection-on-The-Diary-of-Anne-Frank-30175.aspx New Beginings Everyday has a new beginning, but often times many of us are too engulfed in dreamland to enjoy it. One morning, I felt a part of something unbelievable, almost unexplainable, a Japanese sunrise. Its’ display was food for the soul: the brilliant colors, acrobatic animals and a feeling of togetherness within the universe consumed me. It had been a long, rough night of boozing. I had just arrived back to Atsugi Naval Air Facility, Japan. I was exhausted, yet I was unable to hit the hay. I figured I’d take a stroll, calm my nerves, and then return for a peaceful slumber. While trudging along, I took a seat on the freshly dewed, brown, hardwood park bench. The sun was just starting to rise. It was a site like no other. I couldn’t quite see it, but there was a color of magenta tone radiating through a river of clouds. It appeared as if they were pulsating with it. I was amazed with its beauty. An upside-down, red, fiery bowl slowly appeared over the horizon. The entire sky had morphed from tranquility into a river of fire. It was so wild. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief, and took another look. The clouds seemed as though they were trying to take shape. They appeared like thousands of trains that had no starting or ending point as vivid shades of red separated each one. I looked closer and began to recognize something else in the sky. At first glance, I thought they were fireflies. However, they were tiny creatures amassed in the sky. As they glided along, in no particular order, I noticed they were bats. Tiny little bats began performing for me. These tiny black creatures put on an acrobatic air ensemble through the pulsating sky. I can only compare it to an air show. For instance, it was as though the blue angels were performing and I could see the smoke they exhaust in order to show their super human maneuvers. With all these things happening at once, I began to have a feeling that I had never experienced before. The sun was completely up; the sky engulfed with flames. Tiny creatures danced through the pulsations and I had a refreshing feeling 2006-06-16T19:00:56-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/New-Beginings-29653.aspx Flowers for Algernon: A Response 2006-06-02T16:23:52-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Flowers-for-Algernon-A-Response-to-Literature-29044.aspx Reflection on the values and importance of mothers From time to time I pause and remember one who some years ago “emptied” my nest as he left home to begin his transition from being my “little boy” to becoming a man. From Oklahoma to Alaska, there is, today, quite a span of geographic distance between us. Although I do miss him, I feel, with his work and family commitments, a respect for him, when he chooses to devote his time to those near and dear to him. I am grateful for the words in Ecclesiastes 3: “To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven….” As I grow older, I find I am ever so thankful for the memories of my son’s growing up I hold in my heart. It wasn’t always easy; but then, life isn’t always easy either. Thus, I invite you to eavesdrop as I again read this letter, imagining my grown son, sitting across from me at my breakfast table. Perhaps it may inspire you someday to pen similar words to your son. My Dear Grown Son: As quickly as time flies by, it will soon be four decades since I first held you as a 6-lb., 13-oz. bundle of joy in my arms. How fast you changed into a toddler, merging even more quickly into a little boy, later escalating into a teenager, and finally fulfilling the goal of becoming a man. In all of those seasons, there were times for planting, harvesting, building, crying, laughing, mourning, dancing, embracing, keeping silent, speaking up, loving, and feeling peace. Further, with each season came the creation of memories and changes for both of us. Pausing for a moment to reflect, I am reminded of one milestone in 1984—our 3,600-mile journey from Arizona to Alaska—a milestone that would impact my outlook for the rest of my life. The items which would not fit into your little black Mazda RX7 and the car top carrier had already been boxed and air-freighted, awaiting our arrival in Fairbanks. Riding with you and serving as your map-reader, I had a number of hours during those 4½ days to think about the past and wonder about the future. We captured the beauty of the present that Mother Nature provided us on that scenic drive through northern Arizona into Utah, on up into Idaho, and over and up across eastern 2006-06-02T16:16:02-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Reflection-on-the-values-and-importance-of-mothers-29040.aspx Like all children, when I was growing up all I ever wanted to do was to be big. I always kept a close eye on my role models (my parents) and always tried to do anything they did. The skills I learnt and the attitude I acquired from a young age would be of immense help to me in my later years. From the age of five, the memories I have are those of following my father around the yard watching wash the car and mow the lawn. My father would sometimes give me a small sponge so that i could help him wash the car and although the job I did was insignificant and most likely not done properly, i always got a sense of pride and satisfaction in my work. The mowing of the lawn wassomething I was not allowed to help or even be near for my own safety. In my teenage years my role around the house had changed. My father was no longer around and my mother had the pressure of providing for my younger sisters and myself. During school holidays I was responsible for looking after my sisters and keeping the amused at the same time, not an east task at all! Gone were the days of the little sponge washing the car. During this time I had also managed to get casual employment. Althoug the money I earnt was not significant but it was enough for me to pay for my hobbies and ease some pressure off my mother. Now asan adult I have a steady job and a tertiary education behind me. I have never seen myself as a victim nor did i accept sympathy from anyone because all the good and bad experiences of my younger years have helped me become a successful and determined person. TRhe support thati received and continue to receive from my family was also a major drive for me to want to succeed as well. I think that everyone's life is always full of good and bad experiences. The key is to appreciate the good and find a way of turning a negative situation into a positive. For example, when my father was no longer around it could have been seen to be a negative situation. However, learning to look after my sisters and earning a little pocket money was perhaps the best and most useful experiences I had whilst 2006-02-13T10:38:01-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Growing-Up--28486.aspx Journey with me for a moment into the next century and meet two children --- Clara and Peter. Clara has never seen the sun due to the atmosphere, which is permanently shrouded by a dark grayish brown blanket of poisonous gases like hydrocarbons, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. Peter on the other hand is not allowed to play in the open due to the hole in the ozone layer through which unfiltered ultra-violet radiation of the sun beams down to the earth and causes deadly diseases like skin cancer. These two children have never experienced the thrill of playing outdoor games. “But this is the 22nd century and that’s the way the world is.” This future world is not an Orwellian fantasy nor is it the world depicted in movies like Terminator; it is a world already in the making. Planet earth is sending distress signals, which carry ominous messages. They tell us about huge holes being ripped in our ozone layer, the vast tropical rain forests being ripped away at breakneck pace and the silent stalker, the acid rain, which is killing plants and fish and threatening human life. These four phenomenon – all of them the creation of mankind – are a figurative “Four horsemen of Apocalypse” the greenhouse effect created by burning of fossil fuels, acid rain, rifts in the ozone layer and wholesale destruction of rain forests. In view of the above the environmentalists are trying to do their best in stopping the advance of this dreaded future. The environmental conditions due to the above factors could be as follows in the next century: - Beneath the veneer of business-as-usual in the world’s greatest sinks (oceans and seas) a time bomb is ticking. The vast waters lap up carbon dioxide as sand soaks up water and thus delays the much feared global warming. Even the seemingly limitless sea has a saturating point for absorption of carbon dioxide and after that the gradual global warming will commence. The temperatures are believed to rise 6 degrees to 9 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the greenhouse gases get into the atmosphere, they are like ‘the man who came to dinner’ they stay. The global warming is irreversible. Due to the rise in temperature the earth’s present climatic zones and storm tracks would shift northward driving the entire living habitat with them. Thermal swelling within the seas and water from melting land borne glaciers could raise 2005-09-20T06:11:59-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Environmental-Conditions-Likely-to-Prevail-in-the-Future-28008.aspx Aberration I was 10 when it first started. At the beginning, it was just little things. The odd argument now and then, Over trivial things such as the newspapers and holidays. Soon it started to develop into an everyday thing. Eventually they became part of everyday life. It was June when I realised they became normality. He went away for a few weeks and suddenly the house became silent. Dinner no longer became a chore and I no longer sat and dreamed that everything was ‘fine’ and what was happening before me was happening to someone else. A girl far away from that dinner table, Somebody else’s life not mine. Everybody thought I had a perfect family life, Nobody imagined my aberration. I kept it stored away, A guilty secret that I tried not to think about. The weeks passed in a blur and eventually he returned and once again it was the same as usual. The same argument three times in an evening but each time seemed to get that little bit worse. I was still delusional and never told anyone about my secret even when the letter came. It was September, four years after it started when it arrived on the doorstep. She’d gone away leaving us to deal with the remains. He didn’t argue, He realised there was an end in the horizon, everyone did. Everyone except me. Even when we walked around the new house that very afternoon, saw our furniture and our old suitcases in the hall it was still a figment of my imagination, something I envisaged one day but not today. It was never going to happen just I wished it would. She returned and tried to did the best she could to get it back to normality but it was never going to be the same. I became the dreaded latchkey kid I never wanted to be. The day that became reality was the day I told someone about my secret. I was still ashamed, ashamed that my family didn’t love each other anymore. I still blamed myself for not trying to intervene regardless of what anybody else said. Every time I walked around the house it was still the same although, there was a ghostly silence. Dinnertime was like someone had pressed the mute button on a remote control and stopped the arguments but this time I wasn’t blocking out the 2005-09-06T11:42:44-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Divorce--27930.aspx A Little Faith Stressed out from the New York life style, Peter, a young adult who worked as a salesman, decided to give up everything he had to start a new life, Peter sold all his valuable possessions such as house, car, television, and clothes. The rest of his possessions that he couldn’t be sold or better that nobody would buy, he gave away to goodwill, a non-profit company whose good deeds live up to their name. All the money that Peter raised was used to buy a boat, which he thought was like a ticket for the paradise. Days before the final day to leave he said his good byes for all his friends and family; however, he didn’t mention to them that he was not planning on coming back. It was a beautiful day when he got in the boat and cut the cord, which was the only thing that was holding him away from his dream. While Peter was alone in the boat many thought came into his mind, but most of them were not just thoughts but questions about why was he “running” away from his life and what was he really looking for. The answers came sooner than what he was actually expecting. About two weeks later, Peter looked up to the sky that was once blue and beautiful and the only thing that he saw was dark clouds coming towards him. Scared, he got down on his knees and prayed for God to help him to survive. It seemed like God didn’t even hear his players because while he was still on his knees when a thunder stroke right in his boat. When Peter woke up, he was on the top of a little piece of wood in the middle of the ocean with only water surround him; even though it wasn’t good scenery he was thanking God for saving his life. Peter was almost giving up when he looked ahead and saw a little island. He couldn’t even believe in his eyes. The first thing that he saw in the island was a little house with food on the table, but nobody was there. Peter once more thanked God for surviving the storm and for the little house. Months passed by and since no one came to claim the house, Peter made the house 2005-07-27T04:52:07-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-Little-Faith--27403.aspx “..., is it true that all Chinese people are, like, Kung-Fu masters?” Asks one boy. Before he can even appreciate the full effects of my glare, another one chimes in with, “Yeah, ..., can you do one of those back flips?” As I open my mouth to protest, yet another asks, “Hey, ..., what would you do if I threw a punch at you?” A fourth guy answers for me, chortling, “What do you think? She’d jump up, flip through the air and do that pressure point touch of death business and you’d be screwed, man. She’d beat the crap out of you. She would probably be able to kick the butt of any guy in this school. Wouldn’t you, ...?” Ugh! Is it just me or is there something seriously wrong with how people perceive me and other Chinese people? As a Chinese girl, I am inevitably caught by one of the three evil stereotypes. I am either pictured as the academic brainiac, the modest artist, or the infamous “martial arts girl”. Meaning that, according to the majority of the population, I am one of three things: either a hardworking, somewhat nerdy, polite but introverted genius who does math extrapolations for kicks and reads encyclopedias in her spare time, an obliging, sweet little thing who produces exquisite artwork and makes soulful music, with a delicate and sensitive temperament to match, or, a steely, edgy, don’t-you-dare-mess-with-me-if-you-know-what’s-good-for-you tough girl who can defy any and all of Newton’s laws in a frightening but spectacular fit of anger, able to kill or paralyze obnoxious guys and other uncivil animals three times her size 27 different ways while blindfolded and only using her pinky. As ridiculous as these images may seem, the truly frightening thing is that way too many people actually believe them, people supposedly sensible and open-minded, who sincerely think that these generalizations and exaggerations are accurate, who really think that I am Bruce Lee’s protégé, Einstein’s student and Mozart’s apprentice! Okay, okay, I admit that I am in a karate class, take my share of AP’s and play the piano. So there might be a tiny grain of truth in those stereotypes. But contrary to popular belief, I do NOT bash wooden boards into pieces with any part of my body. Nor do I leap in joy and anticipation for finals and AP exams in May. Nor do I compose symphonies, 2005-07-24T02:42:53-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Chinese-means-Brains-All-Stereotypes-aren-t-True-27349.aspx I often wonder who the girl is whose face I examine every morning in the large mirror hanging above my desk. In some ways I do feel as if I know her, but only on a superficial level: the same way we think we know the actors in our favourite soap operas. We may know every explicit detail of the lives of the characters, but the true personality of the actor themselves is a huge mystery which we have little or no hope of ever solving. A mirror's sole purpose is to reflect. In my case, though, mirrors seem to reflect my persona rather than my personality. This, thankfully, indicates that the mirror sees only what the rest of the world does; exactly what I want to be seen. The mirror in question in large, clear, and attractively decorated, signifying its importance in my life. This is not to say that most of my spare time is spent gazing lovingly into it, rather that it is with the help of my mirror that I adopt my outward persona every morning. While standing in front of it I transform myself from the plain, boring nobody who I fear more than anyone else in the world to the outgoing, bubbly, mature creature I wish I really was. For me, putting on my make-up is not the simple task my friends seem to regard it as; it is the carefully perfected art or creating my disguise. It is only when I am wearing this disguise that I feel I am a 'normal' person, that I fit in with the rest of our critical society. On the rare occasions when I have not adopted my disguise (only when I am in no danger of meeting any acquaintances) I become like a 'Magic Eye' picture; you have to look really hard in order to see the complete image. The reason I am so unwilling to remove my mask in public is that, to be quite honest, I am terrified of what is underneath. As a result of my creating this mask, I have never acquainted myself with my thoughtful, emotional, sensitive character traits which I try so desperately to conceal. I am not sure whether I like that girl very much, and I am too busy trying to hide her to have the time to find out. I have not always been divided like this. When I was younger I 2005-06-20T00:36:22-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Mirror--27017.aspx Less than 10 percent of the U.S.$73 billion spent globally every year on health research is allocated to study 90 percent of the world's health problems," claimed a report from the Global Forum for Health Research (GFHR) in 2002. The GFHR is an independent foundation under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO) that aims to redirect global research priorities toward the needs of the world's poorest people. Its report added, "For example, of 1,233 drugs that reached the global market between 1975 and 1997, 13 were for tropical infectious diseases that disproportionately affect the poor. The international medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) similarly issued a report in 2001 condemning eight of the world's largest 11 pharmaceutical companies, representing combined sales of nearly $117 billion, for reporting "no research activities in the last year for fatal diseases that almost exclusively affect the poor: sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis." "Drugs are not developed according to public health need, but according to profitability," bemoaned Dr. Bernard Pécoul, director of MSF's Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines. "A new paradigm is urgently needed to address this fatal imbalance." Among other things MSF is calling for a potential "essential research obligation" mandate that would require companies to reinvest a percentage of pharmaceutical sales into R&D for neglected diseases, either directly or through public R&D programs. MSF also favors a global treaty on R&D for neglected diseases that could provide a framework for such mandates and help make drugs for neglected diseases global public goods. So, distinguished international medical experts accuse companies in the developed world of putting profits over people. Millions of the world's poorest people are dying each year, they maintain, because of this alleged "10/90 Gap" in global health research priorities. But there is less to these charges than meets the eye. Rates of sickness and death are tragically higher in poor countries than they are in the rich countries. But can these higher rates of morbidity and mortality be chiefly blamed on the selfishness of rich pharmaceutical companies? An interesting new report, Diseases of Poverty and the 10/90 Gap, by the London-based International Policy Network (IPN) sheds considerable light on this question. (Full disclosure: I have reported on international trade issues with support from IPN in the past. First, are 90 percent of the diseases that afflict poor people in the developing world really being ignored by pharmaceutical company researchers? IPN points 2005-06-18T20:26:21-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Do-Drug-Companies-Kill-Poor-People-26903.aspx I am a hardcore Battlefield 1942 junkie. I spend long nights sniping infantry in the ruins of Stalingrad and trekking across the mountains of Gazala in my ceaseless struggle against the Third Reich. So it is with a sense of slight awe that I waded into the first official follow-up to EA's Best Game of 2002. Though Battlefield Vietnam will certainly draw comparisons to its predecessor and to community modifications, it isn’t set up as a sequel to BF 1942. Instead, it’s an extremely fine-tuned update to the Battlefield franchise that brings all the features we love about the original to a completely new setting. And the bottom line is, it’s just frickin’ fun. The “battlefield” of Vietnam is fundamentally different from that of the shores of Normandy and the deserts of North Africa. Instead of large-scale assaults spread across kilometers of virtual terrain, BF Vietnam emphasizes more intense confrontations at key choke-points — and guerrilla warfare, complete with sabotage and booby-trapping. While playing, I was always focused on my immediate surroundings, engaging in close-quarters firefights and constantly paranoid about imminent danger. Developer DICE has done a great job breathing life (and death) into this dense, foliage-filled world. Great historical details give each map a unique personality. Ho Chi Minh Trail pits infantry against each other amid a jungle of trees, bushes, and vines dimly lit by moonlight. I would often crawl my way through tall blades of grass to capture an enemy control point, only to realize that enemy soldiers were laying prone just a few feet away, watching for attackers! There are still urban environments, which become havens for snipers picking off gunners atop tanks and jeeps, while powerful anti-tank troopers launch rocket-propelled grenades at Sheridan and T-54 tanks. But the best maps are the ones built around airpower. New Cobra and Huey helicopters dominate the battlespace, both as transport platforms and as gunships, and you’ll be awestruck at the damage that can be dished out by napalm strikes from F-4 Phantoms. In Operation Flaming Dart, you’ll see a battle involving gunships, helicopter transports, MiG fighters, and Phantoms, all dancing a fiery ballet of death in the sky. It almost brought tears to my eyes. This spectacle — mixed with the ambiance of “Ride of the Valkyries” (which can be blasted from your helicopter’s speakers, along with several other licensed Sixties-era songs) — put me in pure gaming nirvana. The only aspect 2005-06-17T15:45:53-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Review-Battlefield-Vietnam-26900.aspx Let The Good Times Go Bad In 1969 the first Woodstock took place. Those were the good old days when the music festival was full of good music, love, and sharing. Wake up call.... In 1999 another Woodstock was held; this time it was not full of love and sharing at all. All it has been shown to be is a party full of rape, drugs, and a bad recreation of a good thing. Looking at the numerous differences there are very few similarities one being the name of the event. Through this small happening in our history, Woodstock shows how much our society has changed in just 30 mind-boggling years. The people of Woodstock 69 are remembered to be dirty, smelly, and just straightforward, up front hippy. When town’s people heard about the event about to reach the town there was many mixed feelings about the people on their way, but the people were coming anyway. “ The sticky sweet smell of burning marijuana wafted in to the open window of a house in Bethel late one Thursday night. The chirp and buzz of the insects suddenly gave way to the shuffle of Sandaled feet (Woodstock69.com, 1).” “It sounded like a parade said a resident (Woodstock6.com, 1).” An observer quoted “I thought they were hippy scum- but you couldn’t help but feel sorry for the kids” (Woodstock69.com, 2). The owner of a store nearby feared robbers would take all the money the store was raking in from the sale of beer, soda, and peanut butter and jelly. But his worries were groundless. “ They were dirty, but they were nice. A few wee on happy drugs, but that was nothing,” said the store owner, who even cashed a couple dozen checks for some kids who ran out of money. Not one bounced. (Woodstock69.com, 4). The towns people were making unfair judgments of the people and were vastly proved wrong. All age groups attended Woodstock babies, young children, teenagers, parents, and yes-even grandparents attended this music event. The event of Woodstock attracted one mainstream of people. Yes you guessed it, Hippies. Although many people feared this “sub culture”, they were in the end found to be harmless. The people of Woodstock 99 were much different than those of the 69 celebration. A columnist of a local newspaper quotes “ You don't have a rock festival based on peace and love 2005-06-16T08:09:43-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Reflection-of-Woodstock-as-a-Cultural-Event-26878.aspx Heroes (my Parents) "When one thinks of heroes, names such as Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and Mother Theresa often come to mind. These people had done a lot of favors, courage, helps, and more of things for the people who needed them. They have change the world. But, heroes can be in anyway, even in each of individuals in the world. I have the persons who I think is the best hero in my mind. They are my parents. My parents are brave; they will do anything for my happiness. Not only mine, but also their friends, and families. My father has many friends, and he always helps them whenever they need them most. Without my parents, I probably will not survive. Heroes usually best described as selfless, brave, and often inspiring. A friend of my mother just heard a bad news from her family back in Indonesia, telling that her father has a cancer that already spread in his body. She has to go back and visit her father, but can't afford the plane ticket. My mom not hesitantly let her borrow her money for the ticket. During The May riot in Indonesia, everybody in my complex tried to run away since the natives were going to kill the Chinese. But, My father and couple of his friends ordered them to stay and fight back, and it worked. The natives ran when they saw a crowd of Chinese trying to kill them back. My parents are the most inspiring people for me. They taught me things that I need to know like drugs, and other important things. My father always inspired me to do the right things, to be strong, and be independent. I am sure that all parents that did a lot of things for their children are heroes. Heroes always change in our mind as we grow. As a child, we think Hercules, Xena, superheroes, imaginary friends, comics', and cartoons' heroes as the real heroes. As we grow older, our opinions keep changing from time to time. We begin to think about the real things, about what heroes really are. How they really help society. Even the imaginary heroes have some morals stories in it. Hero really affects my life and other people's 2005-05-19T02:57:58-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Heroes-my-Parents--26660.aspx Reflection on Professional Developer Survey Results I came to college not having a clear view of what I wanted to do as a career. I took classes based on my interests, but one class that I was required to take, and had doubts about, was Gateway. This class however, turned out to be very interesting, and helped me identify many aspects of what I would like to do with my life. I was placed in a group that was supposed to design a piece of playground equipment for disabled children. As one of the assignments we had to complete, we were to take a survey entitled “Professional Developer Survey.” The purpose of this assignment was to identify strengths and weaknesses that we may posses, and what we could contribute to the groups we were required to be working in. The Professional Developer was a very integral part in my contribution to my team. While taking the survey, we were required to answer questions regarding our strengths and weaknesses regarding group work. The survey was very helpful in identifying key aspects in my ability to work with others, and gave me a chance to work on my strengths and weaknesses. After taking the survey I found that I was strong in decision making and communication, but was generally weaker and self-management. While decision making, I am very attentive and cooperative with others. I listen to what they have to say while naming comments myself when I see necessary. During the decision making process, I am able to sift out unnecessary data and make clear decisions. Although most decisions made within a group are never unanimous, I can get groups to take the best aspects of all the different arguments and make the best decision. I also am good at directing conversation, and helping the group come to a unanimous decision. In this respect I am also good at communication. I can get my ideas across well, and often persuade others of the best aspects of my ideas. When working in groups, I often take control of the group and am able to manage them well. People tend to work well together under my guidance and I fell that I am an effective leader when my group reaches goals together. My weaknesses fall mostly in area of self-management area. I feel that I need to set better goals for myself, and draw up long term plans 2005-04-24T08:39:29-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Reflection-on-Professional-Developer-Survey-Results-26570.aspx The American Identity Since the time of the American Revolution, a frequently asked question is "What is this man, this American?" One can compare an American of the 21st century to a strong river formed by the two streams: the original colonials who settled the new continent and the immigrants who came in trickles and torrents, bringing their culture with them. Religious freedom was the reason for becoming American for early settlers. Puritans settled New England to establish God's 'city on a hill' and had faith in the idea that God rewards hard work and piety. The Quakers, who settled Pennsylvania, believed that the revelation of God comes through personal experience. Both Quakers and Puritans were instrumental in the anti-slavery movement that helped to fuel the fire for abolition. Maryland granted freedom for Christians of all denominations and became a haven for Catholics. This idea foreshadowed later laws granted by America that stated everyone should be able to follow their own religious practices without persecution, and the idea of separation of church and state. . Although during colonial America, one religious group did not combine with another, time proved to thoroughly combine them. Religious diversity has increased throughout America's history, as has the tolerance of other's religion. To be tolerant of their beliefs does not require accepting them as being the truth, for there is no possible way that every religion could be precisely right. Instead Americans in general have learned to accept others differences of faith. America's economic system is free market where all men are given equal opportunity for success. This is proven by the fact that today in the United States hard work can result in reaching your dreams. Any person can become successful if they only make them selves worthy of the position. Also the United States strives to be a classless society. There is no royalty, no aristocracy, and any person can grow up to lead our country as president. The first woman president may come in this new century. Income tax in America spreads the economic wealth, for as you make more money you are required to give a larger percentage to the government. Prejudice is found most anywhere, not excluding America and its people. In fact only through gradual moral awakening was equality under the law given to all with out regard for race or sex. Our 2005-02-23T08:41:25-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-American-Identity-26321.aspx Moral Courage In our society, we face situation, that are determined by moral courage. Two works of literature that support moral courage are "Truth and Falsehodd" from The Book of Virtues and "Our Heroes" by Phoebe Cary. Both these passages indicate that one must be honest to oneself. In the end, the truth defeats all lies. In "Truth and Falsehood," temptation is led by Falsehood. "So Truth promised and agreed to go along with Falsehood..." The waiter helps truth back to the side of honesty. Truth decides to go back to his honest ways. He said, "I'd rather starve than live as you do." It is ironic that you can never find 2005-02-23T08:40:10-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Moral-Courage-26320.aspx Competition Schools vary greatly in their competitive natures. Sixty-three percent of the students from John Hopkins University School of Medicine, for example, feel their classmates are extremely competitive, and most say they study very hard. On the opposite end, Yale University School of Medicine has a unique evaluation system in which there are no grades. This system produces an extremely non-competitive atmosphere. It is up to us to decide whether competition is healthy or unhealthy. However, there is a difference between trying to do our best and trying to do better than everyone else. There’s nothing wrong with setting high goals and working to achieve them, but strong competitive feelings often produce unnecessary stress and anxiety which can get in the way of success. Even worse, competition can also cause death or even create serious problems in our society. Competitive games are detrimental to children’s learning. A warm, friendly, relaxed, and safe environment is the best environment to encourage children to acquire language. Yes, competitive games can motivate able children, but they also discourage those with less ability. In the classrooms, children are eager to play games, but once a child feels there is no chance of winning, he or she “switches off”. If the child begins to mess around with the game equipment (card, dice, etc) or use it in a laborious or exaggerated fashion, then that is indication that the child is not focused on the activity. And if the child is not focused, then the value of the activity is nil. However, the desire to win games can also make children much more interested in learning. In the worst cases, victory in games can become a horrible one-upmanship. English is not enjoyed for its own sake but becomes a means to put down others. In his essay, “Stop Trying to Beat Your Competitors”, Oren Harari says: “Attitude implies that the competition is leading the market, and that the only possible solution is to eliminate that competitor” (1). By definition, competition is working for a goal in such a way as to prevent others from reaching their goals; however, in our society, we simply put it this way: I win by making sure that you lose. At a Cyber Internet Café (CIC) place last year, death actually occurred because of competition. Counter-Strike is a very popular game for teens; since most of them don’t 2005-02-02T08:25:35-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Competition-in-School-26228.aspx Boys Will Be Boys A magnet elementary school has its advantages and its disadvantages. In my case, my family saw that it had more advantages than disadvantages, very diverse in ethnicity, cheaper than private schooling, no dress codes, and so forth. With all this in mind, I ended up in a magnet school, not to mention I went to the same grammar school from kindergarten to 8th grade. All together I see my time spent there as me being a good kid, but like most kids I had my good times and my bad times. My first few years were pretty much up to par with the status quo of behavioral and educational standards. I would do all my homework and be a good little boy in class. It wasn’t till I reached junior high that I started rebelling a little. In my seventh grade class I felt as if I were ready to be treated as an equal adult. What I mean by this is, I didn’t want to be told what to do. With this attitude in my head I only ran into trouble left and right. In my class if you were not being good, there would be different consequences. For example, if you were caught cheating on a test you would receive a zero and write a paper; but if you would miss behave in class, you would have to sit right next to the teachers desk. Sitting next to the teachers desk was the ultimate bad in seventh grade, and the funny thing in my class was that there was a group of four that achieved this ultimate badness, which I was part of. When any person would receive this “honor” the facial expression was total devastation, but deep down inside we felt a kind of coolness about it. It was like having the ultimate popularity in class. All the students would have respect for the kids who were brave enough to rebel in front of a teacher. I being the last person to join the group for listening to my Walkman in class was very honored to join. I remember it clearly, when I began to move my desk towards the teacher’s, I noticed the other members of the group would give some kind of sign of “welcome”, like a smirk or a nod of the head. This sign gave me a 2005-02-02T08:24:41-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Boys-will-Be-Boys-Reflection-26227.aspx Perceptions About Life What is life? Life, as defined by the American Heritage Dictionary is the property that distinguishes living from the dead; the physical, mental and spiritual experiences that constitute to one's living; or the happiness and sadness that a person feels for the good and bad situations he faces. However my perceptions about life go beyond these issues. During my childhood, I had many naïve perceptions about life. I thought that a person is never born and never dies. Thus I believed that an infant is hidden somewhere in this world before entering his family. Similarly, when he grows old he again goes somewhere far from his loved ones, hides, and never comes back. Another perception I had was that there were two spirits in a person: One compels the person to do well, and the other compels the person to do badly. When a person is doing a good deed, his bad spirit is dead; and, conversely, when he is doing a bad deed, his good spirit is dead. But gradually my perceptions about life changed, they modified as I grew up. As time passed by and I matured, I realized that reality was much deeper than my earlier perceptions. I came to know that life was a true friend of mine. Even when circumstances around me were not so favorable, it prepared me for the bigger challenges that were ahead of me. When it made me happy, it was giving me relief. Life has taught me some of the most astounding lessons for example it enlightened me with happiness, made me courageous, helped build my confidence, and above all love for all the creations. As I was passing through my boyhood, I learnt about other religions, their norms, customs and standards. I learnt about the values of life they had according to their faith. I gathered knowledge about the ethical and moral standards described in their belief and compared those with what I had seen in my motherland. All these values of life were quite different from what I saw in my own country. The values of life in my homeland were quite different from those described in any faith. In my country I saw people running after and climbing on buses and risking their lives 2005-01-08T07:40:01-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Perceptions-About-Life-26145.aspx Love Love is the best feeling in the world, and it can also be something that scars you for life. Love is not often used in the right way. It's not a word that you can just play around with. People often get sexual passion and romantic love mixed up with one another. What do you think the difference is between sexual passion and romantic love is? In the story of "Love as an Experience of Transcendence" by Charles Lindholm was different philosophers pint of view of the difference between sexual passion and romantic love. "Passion," Simenon said, "is a malady, it's possession, something dark. You are jealous of everything. There is no lightness, no harmony" (172). Passion is something of darkness and jealousy. Many people get passion and romantic love mixed together. In a passion relationship, all it is about is sex, sex, and more sex. When someone in the relationship is tired, not even tired of having sex; when one of them has a lower sex drive than the other then you really start to see how different you are. Every little thing about that person bothers you. You try to find reasons not to talk to them abut then that word LOVE gets intertwined into all of this passion. You think that to yourself, "do I love him/her?" Even though you don not, you try to force yourself to believe that you do because that is all that you have known. In my opinion, that is how young marriages get ruined. Sexual passion cannot compare to the wonderful feeling in which love brings. "Love, that is completely different. It is beautiful. Love is being two in one. It is being so close when one opens his mouth to speak, the other says exactly what you meant to say. Love is a quiet understanding and a fusion" (173). I totally agree with that quote. The meaning of love is far much more complex and wonderful that the meaning of sexual passion. When you are in love you feel as if you are on top of the world. Nothing brings you down because you know that your lover is there to pick you up. Love feels extremely unreal. When you're in love you 2004-12-22T20:50:29-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/What-is-love-A-Reflection--25967.aspx Keep on climbin’ is another way of saying never give up. That is what the poem “ Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes is all about. In this poem a mother is giving advice to her son on how to go about life. This woman has had a tough life. She describes her life a torn up broken down stair case with many twists and turns. She tells her son I’m still climbing and so should you, even when times get hard. Langston Hughes describes the mother’s view of life hard and grueling. Her life isn’t rich and luxurious and it has many obstacles and tribulations waiting to be overcome. My reasoning’s for my inference are based on how the mother describes her life as not being a crystal staircase. “It’s had tacks in it,” she says, “ And boards torn up. And places with no carpets on the floor.” Her life is full of hardships yet; she never stopped climbing and reaching for the top. There have been times when the mother felt as if there was nothing to look forward to. Sometimes she stumbled into the darkness, were there wasn’t any light at all; but, did she give up? Did she quit going? No sir, she kept on-you guessed it, climbing. Somehow she managed to free herself from the hard parts in life and went on reaching landings and discovering new turning points by making better decisions. “ So, boy,” is what the mother said to her son, “ don’t turn back. Don’t set down on the steps ‘cause you find it kinder hard. Don’t you fall now- for I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin.” Primarily throughout this poem what the mother said to her son was keep on going, never give up and lose hope, and don’t stop now, especially when you’re ahead. The boy’s mother tells him that she has gone through times were she felt as if she wanted to lay down on the steps of the stair case and give up; yet, one way or another in the end she never quit going. The mother in this poem never strolled down easy street. She tells her son that she has had a very rigorous life growing up. The metaphor she uses to describe her life is a run down staircase. Throughout the poem she tells her son over and over again that she kept on climbing the 2004-06-19T02:16:38-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Keep-On-Climbin-Langston-Hughes-25182.aspx The challenging family situation I would like to share with you is our move from Korea to the United States. In 1989, my life was changed when my family immigrated to a new country, hoping for a better future. My life in Korea was hopeless, because I was a failing student with not much interest in school. I spent the majority of my time in Arcades, wasting my coins on video games. Rather than studying with my friends, as I had told my parents I would, I obsessed over the games. The only positive aspect to my life was my private computer programming lessons. Programming in Apple BASIC presented me with an opportunity to create my own world. One day, my parents told me that we were going to move to the United States of America, and I developed a strong feeling that my life soon would change forever. After spending eleven years in Korea, our family moved a totally different environment. This I knew would be my toughest challenge to date. As a fifth grader attending a new elementary school in a new country, I felt left out because of my inability to communicate. Some kids assumed that I did not understand them at all, so they made rude remarks about me. I understood them, maybe not completely, but I knew the intent of their messages. All that I had was my Apple II computer at which I just sat and programmed when I came home from school. At home, my parents pressured me to study all of the time, but I was frustrated and wanted to return to Korea. I wanted to go back and talk freely with my friends and play games with them. My parents often told me that they decided to move here because of the educational opportunities, yet I continued to rebel and refused to listen to what they said. Over time, my English improved. I moved on to regular sixth grade classes; some of which were challenging, but tolerable because of my teachers whom were willing to help. I always enjoyed class trips to the computer lab, where I would start programming on the computer. Other kids would start to gather around and treat me like a genius. Before long, I made more friends and found that I was enjoying school. Thoughts of going back to Korea faded, and my grades rose to a 2004-06-10T02:51:26-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Moving-to-the-United-States-from-Korea-25083.aspx