https://www.echeat.com/ Growing up, I remember strolling along the blocks of our neighborhood past the house of my aunt, whom I only saw when she was having an extravaganza. Past the old man on the corner who mentions he remembers me in diapers every time I walk by. Most of all, I remember the nerve-racking rattling sound you can hear for miles. The swarm of people running up and down the stairs trying to get to where they need to go, and the iconic “stand clear for the closing doors please”. Taking the train was one of those things where if I could find another way to reach my destination, no matter how much longer it took, I would. But all of that changed once I attended college. I had to realize my biggest fear was now one of my only tickets home. Now and then, you turn on the news and there is a story about a train derailing from the track, getting stuck underground or somebody getting hurt while in transit. Every time I see, hear, or even go near a train track, these things run through my mind, hoping that I won’t be next. Taking the train is a form of transportation chosen by most people trying to get where they need to go in a timely way. My fear had me Google searching all the routes without that option no matter if it took an extra thirty minutes or an extra two hours. Originally, I'm from the Bronx where on every other street corner you see people rushing to that rectangular black sign with the colored shapes with different numbers or letters depending on the area you are in connected to the stairs that either take you up or down to start your journey. I never intended to go from such a fast-paced urban area to a rural neighborhood where most stores are closed by 9 pm and if you wanted to buy a snack, you most likely would have to drive to your local grocery store or gas station. But the snacks were the least of my worries. My biggest concern was how I was going to get back home when needed. My initial thoughts were that I would be stuck living the suburban life until I could get it together. After hours of searching and narrowing down my options, I had 2024-04-10T16:02:16.527-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Get-on-or-Waste-Time-45585.aspx 2019-01-24T12:30:48.12-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Gender-Issue-Essay-45467.aspx Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Title Date Dantes Inferno It was a warm and tensed day. I could not decipher the time of the day, week, month or year since everything in hell appeared unusual. I found myself meandering through the corridors of hell. It was neither morning nor evening since we are talking about a place where light or darkness does not change anything. I do not think that I ever sensed a change in time for the entire period I was in the world of those who are divinely condemned to live in hell. Everything happened so slowly and I sensed that every person who inhabited hell wished that things could move much faster since this would ease the pain they were going through somehow. The place known as hell looked like a massive playfield. There were thousands of circular cubicles and each of them housed people who were condemned for engaging in similar kind of sins. The cubicles were arranged in rows. In between the rows, there were small paths which I believed were reserved for visitors like me. The cubicles had a small door and the sinners had the freedom to move around their rooms. The floor of the massive playfield was glowing. At first, one could think that the glowing was a form of decoration. However, upon a closer look, one could see that the glowing was as a result of a mild yet painful fire that was coming underneath the surface. I toured several cubicles as I sought to familiarize myself with the environment that I found myself in. In my meandering, I encountered many people a few of them looked familiar but the majority were total strangers to me. However, all the persons that inhabited the cubicles of hell wanted to talk to me. One of the people I encountered in the second cubicle was a female prostitute whom I had known very well since she ran her sex work business in the town that I grew up in. Her name was Mercy. When Mercy set her eyes on me, she quickly ran towards me and one of the angels of the devil allowed her to join me in the hallway which was the only part of the large playfield that did not contain the inferno. The following is the conversation that ensued after Mercy joined me in the hallway. Mercy: So, how come you are not joining your 2017-12-15T01:12:03.99-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Dantes-Inferno-45408.aspx Student’s Name Instructor Course Date Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a tale that is set at the time of the industrial revolution in Europe in the 1800’s. From the novel, education came to bear the load of concerns regarding the control of the individuals who had not gone through the tradition of formal education. Such people were susceptible to social instability. Even conservatives such as Hannah More who were antagonists of radical reform acknowledged the influential power of education especially reading as a powerful element of social control. The novel focuses on the human nature as well as the likelihood controlling experience to shape character and cultural values. Additionally, it stresses on the challenging influences from experience on the vulnerable and unstable individuals who face cultural issues concerning reading and education. Mary Shelley describes Caroline as an example of true femininity who was liberated from class degradation. As a result, Caroline searched for other girls who were in the same situation to rescue them from lower class powers. Caroline achieved her objectives through educating the young girls on the qualities of a precisely conventional domesticity. She meet Elizabeth who had an innate and upper-class feminine quality that made her the outstanding one in the family of “dark-eyed, barely little vagabonds.” (Shelley 28). Under the appropriate middle-class influence, Elizabeth proved to be a perfect domestic woman, a sister, a friend, a daughter, and a wife-to-be. Additionally, Justine was rescued and cultured by Victor’s mother. Besides, Justine imitated the “manners and the phraseology” of victors mother (Shelley 69). As a low-class member and a servant, Justine’s social position revealed cultural anxieties regarding the vulnerability of women and the stabilizing duty of middle-class domestic education. Justine is a representation of a female advancement, something that became evident when Elizabeth described Caroline’s approval of Justine by praising the flexible class boundaries in Geneva. As she put it “there is a small difference between the various classes of its dwellers, and the lower class being neither so despised nor so poor, they have more refined manners and morals” (Shelley 69). Such claims concerning flexibility became evident from the fact that Justine who was regarded as a lower class woman and whose learning failed to take, was accused of dying for William’s killer. Therefore, it shows that educated women are fulfilled and fulfill their social duties and thus pose a minimum danger of tampering with culture as well as its values. 2017-07-26T00:21:54.353-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Frankenstein-by-Mary-Shelley-45359.aspx Literary Criticisms Applied to Notes From the Underground “Now, I am living out my life in my corner, taunting myself with the spiteful and useless consolation that an intelligent man cannot become anything seriously, and it is only the fool who becomes anything” (Dostoevsky). These words, spoken by the Underground Man in Notes from the Underground, portray the mindset and conscious of the man, who is not named or given much information about. His mind thinks that men who are intelligent like him, are afraid of completing goals and moving forward, unlike a man who is not intelligent, a fool, who can do as they please because they grow from nothing into something. This shows the way his conscious understands concepts and reacts to things in the world, which is why he isolated from the world in the underground. Because he believes his intelligence is superior, which leads back to his thoughts of intelligent men are not capable of anything. This leads him to believe he is nothing in the world. In this case, by applying the archetypal and psychoanalytical critical theories, one gains a deeper understanding of the theme, paralysis of the conscious man in society , in the novel Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevski. The setting of the novel is during the mid 19th century in St. Petersburg, Russia. Notes from the Underground begins with the Underground Man, who’s name is never given, as the narrator of the whole story explaining himself and his thoughts to the audience. The novel is divided into two parts. The first part consisting of the Underground Man explaining his past that he was a civil worker but inherited money from a family member. Although refrained from telling the reader about his past, the narrator informs the reader about his philosophical theories about people and society and how he is fascinated with romanticism. For example the man says, “Well, even in toothache there is enjoyment, I answer” (Dostoevski). In this part the man elaborates on the idea of how pain can be enjoyable by a person, which allows the person to engulf in the misery they are are going through. Overall, this is the main emphasis on the first part of the novel where the man gives little information on himself but more on his ideas of society itself. In the second part of the novel, the narration consists of past events 2017-02-18T23:25:10.053-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Literary-Criticism-on-Notes-From-the-Underground-45285.aspx Joseph Espinoza Mr. Quintero AP English Lit, Period 5 25 January 2017 Visual Connection 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 2017-02-07T15:12:30.44-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Wise-Blood-Connection-Study-Guide-35278.aspx ‘Cowspiracy’ directed by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn is an american based documentary that shows how and why our planet, people and animals would be better off if humans lived a happy vegan lifestyle. The film shows and depicts many ways of how the Meat, Dairy and Poultry industry have decieted and lied to the public for decades. The film singles out and shows that the mega environmentalist corporations, such as GreenPeace, are not trying to help the planet as much as the public thinks. I believe this film has shown the pure and raw reality that the world we are living in is full of harmful dishonesty and straight lies that are being literally fed to us. ‘Cowspiracy’ explores the theme Ignorance is Bliss, the film has made me question myself and what I value, after watching this movie in late December 2015- I became vegetarian. I like how the film uses cold hearted facts to show the audience that there is no "glitz and glamour" about the Meat, Dairy and Poultry industries and that we are very much so fooling ourselves if we believe the nonsense that those industries, the supposed 'environmentalists' or even Health organisations tell us. This movie has also delved into another theme Power and Corruption, although not in the mainstream sense of Power and Corruption leading to violence or death- this documentary shows that the Power and Corruption has lead to the deceit and lies that feeds the world. I believe the Power from certain health, environmentalist and Meat industries has been exploited and they are now corrupt and are very much so causing the main issues that society is facing today. 'Cowspiracy' directed by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn explores and analyses the theme Ignorance is Bliss throughout the documentary. In the quote "Is this truth even too inconvenient for him (referring to Al Gore)" we are shown that even the man against CO2 and Greenhouse gasses, can not and will not admit to the fact that the main and leading cause of Climate Change is purely animal agriculture based. This is showing how Al Gore is ignorant along with most of the population and he is therefore happy with living his life whilst either not realising or comprehending that though he wants to help 'save the world' and solve climate change, he is ignoring the very source of the problem because 2016-10-26T23:24:59.737-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Personal-Review-Response-to-the-documentary-COWSPIRACY-NCEA-Level-1-Excellence-35238.aspx Arthur was face-to-face with an enormous white snake, whose black eyes were looking at him as its prey. Arthur was so surprised that he couldn't even move, where did he came from, it just appeared out of nowhere in his way just before he would come to...the king! -Behold beast, get out of my way or you'll feel my sword's edge !!! he exclamated while he was unsheating his sword, Light. The snake, as if he wasn't hearing anything, atacked Arthur with his mouth wide opened. Arthur dodged and atacked it's head, but his sword broked at the contact with it's skin, letting Arthur shocked. It wasn't only it's skin, from both of his theeth was pouring venim, which at the contact with the stone and disintegrated it. The snake tried another atack but Arthur dodged in the last moment. -If i can't cut you then I will let you moveless, he said with anger. And so he started to move between pilars, with the snake following him and trying to bite him. After a few minutes of running and dodging Arthur finally stoped, the snake, although it was longer than expected, he managed to imobilise it at least for a few minutes. -I have to go to my king, he must be in danger, ge said while running to the main hall. While he was running he saw that the sentinels were dead, and most of the soldiers were in a struggle against death, and they were losing. He wanted to help them, but there was no time. When he finally arrived at the main hall he saw a nightmare: the king and the queen weren't just dead, they were rottening at such a fast rate that he thought it wasn't true. He approached to them and fell on his knees. Without realising it, he was holding the king's and queen's heads on his arms. -I...failed...to protect you both...I failed... -Indeed you failed, a cold voice heared from the shadows, you are pathetic Arthur, and naive. It was a warrior, just like Arthur, but he has a snake emblem on his black armor and a white snake-like sword. -You...! You killed them !?! -Of course I do! Also I will finish you too. Arthur grabbed the king's sword and atacked him in a flash, but the snake warrior dodged, grabbed Arthur's face then smashed him on the floor, cracking half of the floor. Arthur coughed blood and paralised of fear. The 2016-06-04T06:00:53.363-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Smart-story-35200.aspx Introduction This essay discusses the unforgettable moments of anyone’s life with complete details. There are many moments in our life that that change the complete course of our life. The paper discusses one of such moments in author’s life. An Unforgettable moment Today was among the big days of my life as I had received my promotion in the office. As per some colleagues, I was the youngest person in the organization to be chosen for the vice-president position of the marketing. It was considered as a big honor and deserved promotion for me. I was very happy but I was really, really missing my family that was on the other continent. I had heard from all my friends and acquaintances who were congratulating me about this promotion, I was yet to tell my family about this. Instead of going partying with my friends, I was staying at home waiting for time when I could speak my family due to time difference. So, for passing the time, I searched for family photo album and started leafing through the book. When I saw the smiling and laughing faces of my family, I started becoming homesick. Although, I had stayed out of town since my collage, this homesickness was the worst time of my life. While leafing through the book, I started remembering our close-knit family, where my parents disciplined us firmly but in a loving manner. As I was the youngest of three brothers, I was coddled by everyone in my family. When I was born, the age of my brothers were eight and six respectively. Even at that stage of life, they were very goal oriented and serious in their life. I had a mischievous streak n personality, so in contrast to my brothers I never used to take anything seriously and just zoomed through my life. Don’t get me wrong, as I was never a bad person. I used to play pranks with members of the family as well as friends and the others, but my intentions were completely harmless and I never used to do anything bad. But, I used to spend lot of time in planning jokes and pranks I would like to play rather than studying for the future. I had no goal except how to enjoy another day of the life. I always zoomed through my exams with decent marks but never bothered 2015-06-27T01:35:29.62-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/An-unforgettable-moment-35118.aspx STATEMENT OF PURPOSE I write this with intention of justifying my choice of graduate course at the department of Business Studies, Wellington Institute of Technology. Without resorting to superficial writing and inessential hyperboles, I intend to put forward my intentions in pursuing the graduate program. A fair assessment of my strengths, motives and achievements, here, should provide a concrete justification of my intent. I chose to carry out my Bachelor's and Master's studies in Management with the sole intention of making a career as an entrepreneur. Coming from a family of engineer’s, this was the first of the many decisions that I have made, which underlined my personality and desire to pursue my interests in the face of immense peer pressure. Throughout my academic career I have strived to understand the nuances of my subject and gain in depth understanding of the same. I have never given up on the pursuit of excellence, which I see as the primary objective of my life. I am trained in a classical dance form of Southern India called Bharatanatyam, having practiced it for nearly sixteen years now. This is an abiding passion of mine and it has been my dream to combine this passion with my other great interest, entrepreneurship. While my studies in management has provided me with the required foundations, I intend to further strengthen my understanding of certain specific disciplines, like strategic and project management, before proceeding to integrate my twin passions. I also look at this as an opportunity to give back to an art form that has brought me much joy, while helping to propagate it organically, without sacrificing the financial necessities of my life. As Adam Smith put it rather eloquently, "By pursuing his own interest, he frequently promotes that of the society more effectively than when he really intends to promote it". So do I intend to utilize the knowledge and experiences gained through my Graduate Diploma in achieving personal excellence, which will indubitably culminate in achieving my aim of giving back to both the art form and society at home, which has given me everything that I could ask for,I firmly think that I can make a difference to the society with this. Apart from my pursuit of academics and arts, I have also been very active in sports, having captained the college badminton team. Also an avid traveller, and have made time to visit 2015-03-30T14:04:05.68-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Sample-statement-of-purpose-35097.aspx We often take our lives for granted.We think we're going to live forever.But, from one moment to the next,nobody knows what will happen.A person could be alive and well one moment and dead the next, this shows the value of life and the uncertainties of death. Death is the “great unknown,” and that's why it's so frightening. Also, we perceive the inevitability of death long before it happens, which can be worrying, even tormenting. This fear and suffering keeps us from thinking seriously about death as it interferes in our happiness. We need to know how to do this, how to live in freedom, not being imprisoned by the future and not being carried away by things in the present. When we can live our daily life deeply and genuinely, we begin to feel free and are able to live; we can see the true nature of life, we arrive at a great freedom within, and freedom is the essence of happiness. All of us are equal as far as life and death are concerned; we are all going to die. So it is very equal, death will happen to everybody. Everyone has to die however, before we die, can we live properly? Properly being living life and enjoying life, not being sucked in by your surroundings and thought. I am determined to live happily until I die. If we are going to die, then we have to live the best we can. If we don’t live the best we can why should we live? You are given an extraordinary thing, which is life, you desire, that is how life should be lived. The saying, “To live well is to die well,” takes on great meaning . If our life is filled with being caught in the restraints of pain and suffering, then our life doesn’t have the same kind of meaning as if we live in freedom. Knowing that we have to die, I am determined to live my life properly, deeply. If we aren’t able to live with peace, joy, and freedom before we die, then we live as if we are dead already. Hearing the doctors’ words, “You have cancer, you may live for six months.” This completely overwhelms the listener. The fear, the idea that I’m going to die in six months takes away all peace and joy of living life. Before the doctor tells the person 2015-02-22T20:13:18.21-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/life-and-death-35088.aspx Dear sir/madam, My name is Austin Lan, and I am I am an international student that has just graduated from, ‘London College of Communication, in MA graphic branding and identity’ last December 2014. I am a young professional graphic designer/branding specialist that has been working for both print and digital industries for years plus another year of PR background. I have been working as a freelance designer for nearly five years now and have offered services to different big brands like Longinus, DuPont, Pig Magazine, Elle Magazine, and Vogue Magazine. You may have come across to my popular design website www.designmatter.co.uk which I use as a platform for showing my aesthetic, unique and fashionable designs online. The website is a platform for marketing myself as a brand and my design images to major clients interested in my services. I have been working in the UK for the past couple of months as a freelancer designer, and soon my student visa is going to expire. The company I currently work for declined to sponsor me as a foreign worker two weeks since they are investing in technology department instead of design department. I am kindly requesting you is to offer me a sponsorship opportunity to work as a foreign worker in your company and to show my passion and ability to you as a freelance designer. I wish to work internationally and further develop myself as a functional designer for the company that employs me and for the rest of the world. I am a person with huge dreams, but the UK government has made it so difficult for a non-EU resident to work in UK. Please, give me an equal chance to compete and to stand up and give myself an opportunity to become the best. I can assure you that my attitude to work is 100% positive; a job is not just a job for me. From my past professional experience of working at, ‘Orient Retreat Company’ I helped them to grow from 3 branches to 15 within in one year period not only by design but also branding. I am very proud of my achievements, the dedication and hard work of people who have made me successful. In return for your sponsorship, I will offer the following professional services to your company: graphic design, brochure/booklet design, branding, foreign distribution, customer relations, communication, window display PR background, buying adverts (digital/actual), costumers relation current job, web 2015-01-28T18:55:10.787-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/designer-letter-35079.aspx Why Middle School Homework Is Not a Good Idea Whether or not middle school homework is good to have is debatable. Teachers think it is a necessity to do homework, while students think homework is too much to handle. Either way most professionals agree with the latter. Research shows that too much homework can cause stress and holds students back from leading a normal life. Middle school kids are the most active of all age groups and often have more things to do. Students who want good grades will always do their homework. Eating healthy, exercising, 2014-08-28T13:26:34.097-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Why-Middle-School-Homework-Is-a-Bad-Idea-35048.aspx The Power of Prescription Drug Addiction Monica Chavez COM/172 April 16, 2012 Deidra Powell-Wallace Abstract The Power of Prescription Drug Addiction The Power of Prescription Drug Addiction In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the abuse of and dependency of prescription opioid pain medications (also known as narcotics.) There is a lot of misinformation out there about these medications. The misconception is that because they are prescribed by a doctor, it is completely different from using illicit “street” drugs. Having an addiction to prescription medication can be particularly hard on the user, as well as the effects it has on the lives of the people closest to them. It usually takes hitting rock bottom or having to go through excruciating withdrawals to admit he or she needs help. Denial is the most powerful effect of drug abuse and addiction; most people cannot admit they need help before it is too late. For the majority of addicts, the drugs are more powerful than just wanting to get clean. There are many reasons for people to use drugs. Some people will use them just to feel relaxed, cope with stress, forget their problems or just simply because other family members are addicted or using drugs. For teens, their reasons may be different but no less important. They will experiment with their parents or friends prescriptions because of problems at home, problems at school or work, trying to overcome shyness, anger, or to feel adventurous. One of the biggest reasons for younger people to try or become addicted to drugs is over relationships with friends (peer pressure) or romantic relationships. When the people closest to the person who is taking the pills begin to notice changes in his or her loved one, they often will ask what is going on. This is where denial becomes the addict’s best friend. They will tell everyone they are “just fine” and “I don’t know what you are talking about!” They assume that they are the only one that knows their secret, but in truth drug abuse slowly creeps into every aspect of the user. Their looks begin to change rapidly; they lose weight, they begin to look as though they have not slept and sometimes their hair begins to thin or fall out. The most significant change is their personality. In the beginning 2014-07-13T17:52:23.48-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Power-of-Drug-Addiction-35043.aspx L.A.B.U.: Life After Break Up You’ve been dating someone special for several weeks. Or months. Or even years. How long you’ve been together isn’t as important as the fact that you thought you were happy. No wonder this breakup came as a surprise. Were you the one who pushed it too hard? Did he/she find someone new? Did you lose the trust? Fell out of love? Or to make matters worse, their reasons for breaking up just don’t make sense (or so you think). Like out of left field, even. Just when you thought that your partner then will be running after you in case worst comes to worst, that you thought that he/she is madly in love with you and that person is living on a mantra that spells out “I can’t live without you” suddenly called it quits. And you were faced immediately with your own battle of running back for that person, that you were the one who is madly in love and that you are living in your own mantra of “I’ll do anything for you” and yet nothing seems like working. How do you cope when someone you care about ends your relationship? Here are four things you really need to do (plus one thing you’re going to do regardless of what anyone tells you to do): Obsess (within reason). Let’s face it. You’re going to do this no matter what, and that’s okay (to a certain point!). It’s natural to wrestle with events we don’t understand, and if your partner’s reasons for breaking up seem lame to you, you’re undoubtedly struggling to wrap your head around it all. Give yourself permission to run through the history of the relationship, to try and figure out where things went south. Talking with a trusted friend might even help shed some light. Desperately wanting to figure things out is inevitable. It’s also part of grieving, which you’re starting to do. But even though it’s normal to find yourself obsessing over the things that you have done, “changed” and sacrificed, still the whats, hows and whys of it all is there, but this is not a place you want to get stuck. In other words, it may be an important stop on your journey back to joy, but don’t unpack your bags and sign a long-term lease. Connect with someone. This isn’t the time to withdraw from people who love you. You’re going 2014-05-16T02:04:34.553-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/break-up-35034.aspx L.A.B.U.: Life After Break Up You’ve been dating someone special for several weeks. Or months. Or even years. How long you’ve been together isn’t as important as the fact that you thought you were happy. No wonder this breakup came as a surprise. Were you the one who pushed it too hard? Did he/she find someone new? Did you lose the trust? Fell out of love? Or to make matters worse, their reasons for breaking up just don’t make sense (or so you think). Like out of left field, even. Just when you thought that your partner then will be running after you in case worst comes to worst, that you thought that he/she is madly in love with you and that person is living on a mantra that spells out “I can’t live without you” suddenly called it quits. And you were faced immediately with your own battle of running back for that person, that you were the one who is madly in love and that you are living in your own mantra of “I’ll do anything for you” and yet nothing seems like working. How do you cope when someone you care about ends your relationship? Here are four things you really need to do (plus one thing you’re going to do regardless of what anyone tells you to do): Obsess (within reason). Let’s face it. You’re going to do this no matter what, and that’s okay (to a certain point!). It’s natural to wrestle with events we don’t understand, and if your partner’s reasons for breaking up seem lame to you, you’re undoubtedly struggling to wrap your head around it all. Give yourself permission to run through the history of the relationship, to try and figure out where things went south. Talking with a trusted friend might even help shed some light. Desperately wanting to figure things out is inevitable. It’s also part of grieving, which you’re starting to do. But even though it’s normal to find yourself obsessing over the things that you have done, “changed” and sacrificed, still the whats, hows and whys of it all is there, but this is not a place you want to get stuck. In other words, it may be an important stop on your journey back to joy, but don’t unpack your bags and sign a long-term lease. Connect with someone. This isn’t the time to withdraw from people who love you. You’re going 2014-05-14T23:58:27.18-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/L_A_B_U_-Life-After-Break-Up-35033.aspx Love has existed in many forms throughout time. I am writing this because I wrote my Discussion about this also. There is no better example than in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In this story, when love is most apparent, the most crucial events occur to develop this "tragedy." The evident forms of love are love for friends, "love" for enemies, and love between lovers. First, love for friends was, and is, a necessity for the characters. Romeo had been in love with a girl who didn't feel love the same way that he did. Consequently, Romeo was distraught. He thought no woman could be as fare as Rosaline. Romeo's friend, Benvolio, thought differently. Benvolio encouraged Romeo to go to the Capulet's feast and accurately predicted that Romeo would find other girls more attractive than Rosaline. This was highlighted when Benvolio said "Compare her face with one that I show, / And I will make thee think thy swan a crow." ( I. ii. 86-87). Later, when violence was prevalent, Benvolio watched out for his friends and relatives, encouraging peace. He spoke against fighting when he said "I pray thee, good Mercutio, lets retire. / The day is hot, the Capulets abroad, / And, if we meet, we shall not 'scape a brawl,"(III. I. 1-3). The Nurse is Juliet's best friend, but calling her "mom" would be more appropriate. Unlike Lady Capulet, Juliet's mother, the nurse cares for Juliet, knows exactly when she was born, and has fond memories of her childhood. The Nurse acted like a messenger, meeting with Romeo to discuss wedding plans for him and Juliet. The love of friends was necessary for any future love to blossom. The next form of love was for enemies. The hatred between the houses of Capulet and Montague was known throughout the town of Verona. Hatred had reached the lowest servants from each of the families. Due to the hate, the relationship of Romeo and Juliet would never have been public. The feuding families would have condemned the relationship, something the two lovers could not accept. In Act 1, scene 2, the fact that Romeo and his friends were uninvited, but still attended the Capulet's party, added to Tybalt's anger. Tybalt was the personification of hatred between the Capulet and Montague families. Tybalt and Mercutio were always ready for a fight. The prince was sick of the fighting and said death would 2014-04-28T22:02:55.097-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/EssayRJ-35023.aspx Essay on Respect Respect is really about what we admire in the world and in people. People tend to admire things that they want. For example, if you want to be beautiful you will respect beauty. If you respect women, you will treat them with kindness and love. What we want tells a lot about who we are. And, of course, in modern society money is coveted and admired by all. The reason for respect is that you can more likely get things that you respect. If you do not respect money, you will never have it. If you do not respect beauty, you will let yourself go. What we respect is a clue to what we want in life. Many people that are trying to attract good things into their life have one major flaw. They do not respect what the seek. For example, if you do not respect wealthy people, you are not going to ever be a wealthy person. Your own values and brain will sabotage your efforts. You need to show respect for things that you want. Respecting good things will bring more good into your life. Society, through marketing, infuses value systems into the hearts of the masses. Much of what we respect most, is often taught to us through a television. Much of the values people respect do not produce happiness. People strive harder than ever to achieve more and more and yet their lives become more barren as their lives speed up to a frantic pace. The great hold upon people is the desire for respect and admiration by others. Why? People need friends and to feel loved. If you are constantly rejected by people it hurts? So, we get two kinds of people. Those that reject societal values and stand alone and those that buy into the systematic values. Those that reject societal values have a very hard time with people and life. Those that buy into the system are rewarded. In the end, both camps of people are somewhat unhappy because the truest way to happiness would be to have complete solidarity with values that are grounded in love and kindness. When the love of money waxes strong in the hearts of men, you can expect pride to infiltrate society and bring down the humble. In due time, pride destroys men and the cycle continues. For a brief period in history, people have actually lived in complete harmony 2014-04-28T19:35:48.04-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/its-is-an-awesome-short-essay-on-respect-35022.aspx Eric Bishop Mr. Berry 1B Honors English 10 29 Oct 2013 My limbs were shaking uncontrollably; my gait was ever erratic; I stealthily departed from the group of my peers. We had all consumed the newly popular “magic mushrooms” together. My very soul was penetrated with questions of how my friends could still move, converse and interact so unflappably with each other. I had become animalistic as if I had transformed into a lone wolf; I felt a capriciously inexorable urge to howl to the moon. The brown of my eyes had completely vanished, conquered by fully dilated pupils. My brain’s optometric extension had now been replaced by the deepest, darkest holes capable of seeing all of the concealed mysteries withheld in remotest of hiding places in the universe. A note of denial that the mushrooms were functioning properly would be just that, denial. I was in an entirely separate reality; the proverbial trip was underway. Sunlight’s reflection on the scenery shimmered like the restroom in a Mr. Clean advertisement. To quantify it in numerical terms, I would have to say everything looked fifteen to twenty percent deeper and more naturalistically beautiful than it had in the morning. My retina’s scanned the landscape for a spot appropriate for a certain composing of myself and I set off airily towards my new habitat. Grasses, small shrubs and dazzling wild flowers grew in every place where they could find a crack in the stone. The terrain was made up of rocks with, to the naked eye, every shape, size and multi-colored hue. Sedimentary minerals compiled down south of vast glacier deposits of indefatigable freezes persisting for thousands of years. I was intrigued by their restrained, stoic presence. The rocky shore of an unnamed lake stretched approximately three quarters of a mile in until intersecting the tree line. The towering alpine’s stood staunchly like Green Beret daring me to pass them by and enter their heavily protected interior wooded areas. Stumbling inebriated from crag to promontory with all the grace of a newly delivered foal I stopped to crouch lightly, adjacent to a tiny cedar. This modicum of asylum sheltered me from the wind and I was comforted by the tenacity of minuscule creation of God’s green earth. Skeletons of his ancestral consanguine lay sprawled out surrounding us on all sides, but we decided not to discuss his ineluctable fate. This seemed to be a fine spot 2013-11-21T17:11:59.76-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Marvelous-Memoirs-of-My-Magic-Mushroom-Montage-34985.aspx Stress Management According to Richard Lazarus (2002) stress and anxiety mainly occur when we believe we cannot cope with the situation we perceive as stressful. Stress is unavoidable and it is not possible to eliminate it from our lives entirely. Life is full of challenges, and a life without some turmoil is not only impossible but is also undesirable. The hassles, deadlines, frustrations, and demands of modern life have made stress so commonplace that it has become a way of life for many people. In small doses, stress can help us perform under pressure and motivate us to do our best. But it is not desirable to constantly be in an emergency mode as the mind and body would have to ultimately pay the price. Since I have started the University College of the Caribbean initially it was Eustress which is the positive side of stress, excitement, delight, and enthusiasm. I was so elated to finally starting my degree and was reading for the world ahead of me. After the first week of starting, assignments started flowing in from left and right, I tried to maintain on top of them, got close to persons for information, located the library etc. before I knew it was mid-term and so many areas to cover for exams. Another way I tried to be on target was preparing timetable and sticking to it, I must admit this happens only 5 out of ten times. These physical changes I must say increased my strength and stamina, speed my reaction time, and enhance my focus, thus preparing me to either fight or flee from the danger at hand. This reaction to a real or imagined danger is called the stress response. I have however tried a few ways in helping me to deal with the stress I was experiencing. I tried some moderate exercise, running a half mile on the weekends and a little stretching. Change my eating pattern to include more healthy food stress to keep my immune system strong as well as limiting the amount of caffeine that is consumed daily. Caffeine speeds up the heart and metabolic rate which can add stress. Individuals like myself that are under stress should not turn to harmful stress relievers such as smoking, drinking or unhealthy eating. These unhelpful stress management strategies may seem like they are relieving stress, but instead they are hurting the body, which leads to more stress. Problems 2013-10-27T13:01:20.633-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Stress-Management-34979.aspx “Javed”, said I, “please tell Mr. Majeed Sir that I will take Naveed with me.” “OK, I will”, he said . Javed was our C.R at C.E.M School while we were in the 4th standard. He, like me, was careless about his assigned homework. None of us would do our homework especially that of Mathematics because it was too boring to maintain this notebook as one had to write on it everyday and thus was a tiresome job. So naturally its result, as everybody would expect, would have been a sound thrashing from the teacher and obviously it was so and we insanely were ready to bear that insult. Since it was on Saturdays that our Maths notebooks were checked and thus we had every reason to enjoy the rest of the days of the week. But from the Friday evening the thoughts of the following day began haunting me yet somehow I managed to remain optimistic. In the morning, I, as it was natural in those days, tried to pretend illness but I had already overused that trump card and thus on this particular Saturday any more usage could have been of no help. Thus I left for the school and as I was left with no other option than utilizing our last weapon, which was, the 'graveyard soil', yes graveyard soil. We would bring a handful of it and disperse it on the floor of our classroom while making sure some grams remain nonchalantly stable under the teacher's chair. By this, we believed, the teacher would either feel sleepy or forget to check the notebooks or conducting a test or by some other means would postpone the job until next weekend, and believe me it did work most of the times and if by chance it didn't, we would consider that either the teacher moved the chair a bit or the persons in the grave whereby we took the soil were not pious. Bringing the soil was certainly a daring task, not because of the Gothic practice it seems but because if someone saw us taking the soil and God forbid teachers come to know anyhow about that then undoubtedly it would have been our last day at school and for me, of course (family you know), the last day of life. That Saturday morning's captivating cool summer breeze blowing effortlessly, the chripping of the morning birds in those lush 2013-08-20T11:27:09.75-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-Saturday-34947.aspx In the biting wind I shiver against the cold. My thin pajamas blow in the breeze. My intense sobbing had calmed down to occasional cries and sniffles. I wander along the edge of a tall brick wall closing in the current neighborhood I was passing through until I find a slim opening at the bottom. I double check my surroundings then slip through to the other side. The bottom of the wall scratched my chest causing irritation. I hardly noticed since the pain I was in mentally was far greater than any possible agony caused to my physical being. On the other side were train tracks crossing a bridge. As I cross the bridge I began to wonder what if the train comes. I should run across just in case. The wind picks up making it hard to run. At the end of the bridge I tripped and fell onto the rocks surrounding the tracks and roll down as rushing wind screamed in my ear. I make it across but while rolling down the rocky hill I got cut and was now bleeding. At first I didn’t notice but as I continued walking I felt the cool burn of the wind dancing through my wound. Maybe if I just found somewhere to rest, I thought, but no. I can’t risk getting caught, so I kept walking. The bleeding eventually stops and the cold numbs my pain. My tears are frozen to my cheeks. My hands seem useless, even when I feel for something; I cannot tell what it is I have in my hands. The coldness is easier to adjust to, as time goes by the body disregards the temperature and somehow overrides the psyche to believe that it’s comfortable. The darkness has not subsided but the temperature is somewhat tolerable even though it’s below freezing. I glance down at my feet. My shoes are covered in dense mud making every step a burden on my legs. My weight seems to be multiplying by the second but I continue walking anyway. I want to get as far away as possible but don’t recognize where I am. I’ve walked at least nine to ten miles. I start to feel lightheaded and my vision blurs. Memories come rushing through my head. “Don’t you dare!” warned my mother as I held her clothes above the same trashcan she previously threw mine into. 2013-05-02T09:03:37.107-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/an-extended-memior-about-running-away-gone-34876.aspx A letter for him written on April 25, 2013 Sometimes, I feel so alone. Sometimes I wish that someone is there for me so that I cannot be alone. But the moment that I know you, I thought that my life was amazing. At first, i used to like teasing you and even looking forward to argue with you. I wish to be one of your friends and i am such a fool to even think that you are younger than me. But as days by that we have spent together, I learn many things about you. I even observed how the way you treat and talk with our other girls classmates. You talk with them differently. when I asked you, you reply in a very un-interisting tone or just nod at me when you agree or shake your head when you disagree. How I really despise and hate that kind of attitude!You are making me feel that I am not important to you at all. You are making me feel worthless. I have so many questions because of your sudden behavior towards me. I want to asked you but I could not found any strength to ask you. Then, answer hit me like a stone surprisingly! One of my friend that become also one of your friend told me that you confessed to him that you had a crush on me. that time, I feel butterflies on my stomach and my smile reach through heaven. Our classmates started teasing us, and that made me avoided you because I was too shy. I cannot find any more reasons to get close to you. I know I hurted your feelings, I can simply observe it through your emotions. I eventually started hating you. I like as my friend only because you seem so good as a friend. I even become angry to my friend who told me that you like me. I want us to be back the way we are before. I miss the way you are before, the way we treat each other before. I miss the way you tease you and made you angry by my simple pranks. I really, really miss the old you. I wish the small moments we had. I know, I will never had the guts to tell you this, please turn yourself the way we are before. I always caught you staring at me, and 2013-04-30T08:22:27.78-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/a-letter-that-is-impossible-to-be-read-by-him-34875.aspx My name is Courtney Keys, I will be an incoming freshman at Valencia College. Wanting to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. My accomplishments include staying focused on doing my very best to complete my Bachelor Degree while attending Valencia College then Transferring to University of Central Florida. The Regions Ridding Forward Scholarship would have a tremendous impact toward my education and toward my life. The scholarship will allow me to completely stay motivated toward my educational studies without having to worry about financial funding toward my education. My plans for the future after graduating college with Honors with my Bachelor Degree in Elementary Education include Teaching while pursuing my Master’s Degree. I've always wanted to become a Teacher coming from a family of Educators. I've learned the best lifelong essentials from many teachers I've had throughout my educational career. One of the greatest Teacher's I've ever had would be my mother Carole Keys an Educator of Pinellas County Schools of 34 years. I've watched my mother teach others and reach other students that no one else could understand or interpret. I've watched her give so many students the love, affection, and admiration that others could not. The greatest lessons I've learned I have witnessed first-hand has been the reason I've wanted to become a Teacher. She's the reason why I've been shaped into the future Educator I will soon become. Throughout my life I've had many challenges that only caused me to grow stronger and put my Education before any and everything no matter the circumstances. I have been faced with many complications and difficulties when coming to my education and my personal life. I’m 20 years old and graduated from Gibbs Senior High School of St. Petersburg, FL in June of 2010. Once I got to middle school my Father passed away from Heart Failure. The death of my Father caused my motivation for school to change. Because now only I had one parent to push me to do better, this caused the focus to be divided between both my sister and I. The idea of having to move on without my Father was a very hard battle to conquer. I wanted to make both of my parents proud, and make them both realize that they pushed us to go further for a reason. I have been faced with many complications and difficulties when coming 2013-02-21T18:59:17.303-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Scholarship-34806.aspx One day during April holidays a few of my friends and I decided to go on a camp to the forest. We discussed and set a date and one of my friends 2013-02-20T06:46:19.167-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-CAMP-TO-A-FOREST-34804.aspx In the past people used to prepare their food at home with their families. Today however, fast food 2012-10-06T15:36:52.35-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Free-Cause-and-Effects-Essay-on-the-Popularity-of-Fast-Food-Restaurants-34663.aspx Chapter two of Judy Root Aulette text “Changing American families” is about the history of U.S families with the main concentration on the history of the Euro Americans in the United States. In this chapter Aulette give supporting information on why it is necessary to analyze the social history of families as we begin to further understand families on a whole. This chapter “summarizes and reviews the history of families in the United States from the colonial time period up until the mid twentieth century” (Aullette26). The chapter demonstrates the transition of families from one economic system to another during specific time periods and analyzing the historical changes. With the author revealing to the reader how families within the United States have actually changed over time and how the development of each economy affects each family. Based on the information provided in the text on page (26) of “Changing American Families” the whole point of this chapter is to demonstrate how the organization family began to change as the industrial revolution began to formulate. Different sections were incorporated in the chapter to help understand the whole concept of Euro Americans family history in the United States. Within the first section of the chapter the author gave information on U.S history and family throughout different time periods. For example the industrialization, the pioneer era and colonial America was elaborated in brief information. The second section mentioned the ways in which history has been broken down into periods and the way in which these periods affected historical changes. In the last section of the chapter the author described how the women movement has developed as a way of seeking changes in the organization of family in American society. Some important points that were revealed in this chapter were the relationship of two systems, the economical system and family. The information helped to understand the concept that as the economy began to become more industrialized, families also began to change with the economic system. Aullete mentioned that “It is along with the pattern of macro level changes in the economy causes micro level changes in the organization of families” (Aullette 26). I find it quite relevant to study the history of U.S. families with the first focus on the Euro Americans since the text mentioned that they were the first set if immigrants to enter North America. It is very interesting 2012-10-01T17:13:15.517-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Free-essay-on-Changing-American-Families-by-Judy-Root-Aulette-34659.aspx Basic Teachings of Nirmal Babaji (Taken from Nirmal Baba Samagam discourses and his interaction with devotees at samagams) Nirmal Baba is a spiritual guru who is blessed with the Divine Eye. He guides people to righteous ways of living and practicing religion. He has brought about the realization of existence of “All seeing” Divine Eye of GOD in devotees lives and realization that there are Heavenly Supreme Powers watching over us all the time. Although specific advice to each of his devotee might vary, some of the common guidelines to all devotees are; Follow any religion or faith but respect all We must sincerely practice our religion which we have been following from childhood, while showing deep respect for other religions. No disrespect to any religion is acceptable as it deprives you blessings from your own Deities, as all Spiritual Powers are One. Keep away from Black Magic & Tantric practices He strictly prohibits his followers from believing in any low form of practices like Tantric, black magic and vashikaran etc. He assures his devotees of guaranteed protection from such Tantric or black magic attacks. Daily prayers should be simple and sincere One should keep their religious practice simple, to avoid mistakes. Prayer with mantra, if mispronounced brings misfortune. He encourages his devotees to pray sincerely daily even if for two minutes, and visit their respective religious places, to pray on regular basis. Essence of prayer is sincerity and not the length of time. Keep away from Superstition and Blind Faith Strictly prohibits circumambulation of Peepal tree or burning of diya under Peepal tree. Only way to worship Peepal is doing Namaskar by folded hands. Believing in inauspiciousness of days like “shraadh” or not buying iron goods on Saturdays is not approved - for devotees of Nirmal Baba all days are auspicious. No “kaal Sarp dosh” or “Mangleek” issues for devotees. Not going to temple for stipulated period after some death in family is not advised. We should not stop seeking blessings of Spiritual Powers even for a moment for ourselves and our deceased relatives. Keeping any Yantra in home temple amounts to lack of faith in our Deities. He forbids setting up temple by Vastu system. He forbids using lemon/lime for putting under car wheels or hanging at door entrance as upaya. Lemon should be used for consumption and not as upaya. Keep away from Planetary Remedies or Upayas He warns his devotees against doing any upaya or remedy for planetary problems. He 2012-07-26T06:05:18.053-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Teachings-Of-Nirmal-Baba-34609.aspx I’m examining one of the most dangerous and most riskiest jobs that I believe, which is the army in my Opinion. Before a person even joins the army he already knows the risk just by common knowledge of The army. And when they join they are informed even more of the risks I feel as though the risk is Acceptable and reasonable if that’s the choice you want to make because you know what you are getting you into. Regardless of the job an individual have in the U.S. army it can be dangerous being A solider is dangerous. However how dangerous the risks are depends on the environment that the Solider is in while performing the job. In the army they practice safety at all times before a mission a Safety assessment is conducted. I’ve heard that the army has not always practiced safety. For example Whena friend of mines first joins the army smoking was allowed in buildings and then it was banned to No smoking in the buildings. Then next it changed to no smoking within 50FT of an entrance or exit to a Building today they have designated smoking areas and those areas are not enclosed nor are they near Main entrances and exits. I think that the most dangerous job is a driver in operation enduring freedom And operation enduring Iraqi. They have personnel being killed more often than they should it is not Because they lack the driving skills but because of the circumstances in the environment. For a driver it Does not matter whether you are in peace time or war time you take risks that you have to take so that The mission can be accomplished. As drivers drive out the gate of a forward operating base they Understood that there is a possibility somewhere along the way they may hit and improvised explosive Device. Certainly some jobs in the army present greater risk of injury and death than others. No matter What your position, it takes guts to be in the military even if you’re not in the field the daily mental and Physical challenges can be enough to strain even the most solid nerves. Those involved with Transportingweapons,ammunition, fuel and guarding convoys are exposed to multiple dangers. With The motto initial success or total failure those involved in explosive ordnance disposal top the list. For The guy’s being able to disarm explosives 2012-04-20T18:04:11.4-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Most-Dangerous-Job-34545.aspx Till death do us apart… a statement that many people choose to describe their love to the woman they love, but why? A simple question that no one could ever answer… a man could ask his woman and similarly a woman could ask her man this question…why do you love me? And I sadly say that no one could ever know. Love is a huge word with many definitions and meanings that differ from a person to another. Love is sex, safety, comfort, warmth, company, loyalty, respect, and most certainly a dream. In addition to all what we know of love, and all we see and do to make our lovers happy, we always do not know what love is. When you say that you’re in love, a person has this feeling inside his stomach where he has no clue what it is. This feeling just keep increasing as pain inside where you just love to have such pain, you love to feel that this life is not just to roll over and die when you achieve your goals, but about the good things you leave in this world for the ones you love. Human beings express themselves in many ways and many styles… it’s common to write a love quote or note or a love letter to your lover… when you just cannot sleep without wishing her a goodnight sleep… and you have the feeling that you want her to be the only damn thing on your mind when you’re sleeping… for you only know how to express yourself while being held in a dream… saying I love you or I miss you aren’t the most important thing in a relationship, but knowing when to use these kind of words … a very known writer once said: “ I love thee with a love that shall not die, till the sun grow cold and the stars grow old.” This famous, most known, writer in history “William Shakespeare”… love is not a game that anyone could play… it’s the most emotional game that have ever been played… everyone has an experience in love, where the lucky ones won and unfortunately others have lost… Losing love isn’t losing all the love… people may misunderstand quotes like the one said by Richard Dominguez: “you walked out on me, and life as I knew it ended... I will never deny that my love for you still 2012-03-23T14:12:36.477-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/this-may-be-too-easy-to-read,-but-it-is-an-explanation-to-a-very-hard-emotion-called-love-34523.aspx What would you say if I told you that scientists had just developed a new procedure that could not only lead to the cure for cancer but would provide an unlimited source of organ donors which are consistently in short supply. This procedure will be both a contribution to science and a betterment of the human race. Now adding onto this scenario lets just say that the government was trying to ban it and keep it hidden up. This scenario is true and is based on the situation of cloning. Human cloning will provide unlimited benefits and should be made legal. Ah no! “ The cloning of humans could be the greatest achievement of medical science, it could lead the way to solving some of humanity’s greatest problems.” And it could lead to some even greater ones. Movies like “The 6th Day” and “The Island” could actually happen. How could I, or anyone for that matter, let this become legal with such a moral doubt on the subject? This was my first response but after consideration a lot of my reasons against cloning were hardly solid and certainly not reasonable excuses to ban cloning entirely. Scientists are working on ways to perfect the methods of cloning individual organs. This could finally be a permanent solution to the ever-growing demand for organ donors. Cloning could allow genetically inherited diseases such as Haemophilia and Downs Syndrome to be identified and treated while the baby is still in the mother’s womb. Many couples that are infertile, to have a baby they must use the current method in-vitro-fertilization which is often ineffective. Some say cases like these are when we should clone humans but this is not Dolly the Sheep we are talking about. This is going to disastrously affect the world’s genetic diversity. And besides what happens when Michael Jackson decides to clone himself 10 times, then it truly would be a disaster! Two of the most common arguments against cloning are: · Religious beliefs · And that cloning would destroy people’s dignity and individuality. Firstly there are identical twins and they have not lost their dignity and individuality. And honestly could you really blame your parents for giving you the brain of Albert Einstein or your boyfriend’s parents for giving him the body of Chad Michael Murry, Brad Pitt or Dan Carter. However as to the religious beliefs I can understand how they believe 2012-02-21T12:07:00.7-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Speech-on-Making-Human-Cloning-Legal-34487.aspx “Jacobo” ?Despite my lack of personal experience, I am assured that the hardest part of pregnancy is not the physical pains of labor, but rather the mentally demanding process of name selection. Parents must rely on the scant facts available: gender, height, weight, and eye and hair color. As if derived from the Bokanovsky process, the infant is like countless others, without any discernible identity. Yet, my parents, like a myriad of others, adhered to the arbitrary art of baby naming, identifying a connection that did not exist.             Whether by intuition or luck, my mother decided against naming me after the renowned Italian composer, Giacomo Puccini. The sing-song quality of the name suggests some musical virtuosity on the part of its bearer, and while I do appreciate the beauty of music, I would have tarnished the legacy of the name. Besides, what would my nickname have been? “Giac” could be easily confused with its false English cognate (jock), and although I do enjoy winter sports, the connection is unbefitting. “Como,” Spanish for “how,” would be no better, as I would not want to be addressed as an interrogative – a word that represents uncertainty and confusion. Giacomo, quite obviously, would have been a bad fit.             But how did my parents know that? How did they know that the blue-eyed 6-pound 3-ounce noise box was instead a Jacob? They did not. Perhaps by tapping into the era’s zeitgeist (i.e. by reading Newsweek’s top 100 baby names), they were attracted to Jacob’s mass popularity, hoping for a “normal” child (which they indeed did not get). Or perhaps they hoped for a son with a strong connection with his Jewish heritage (yet another unrealized wish). Despite my incomprehensible, infantile cries of protest, it seemed that I had entered a life of nominal misidentification.             Years passed, and the need to discover a more suitable name became the secondary purpose of my adolescent life, right after the removal of my palette expander. With the gift of retrospection, I commenced my searches, gradually finding the most essential pieces of myself. Out of these distinct yet interrelated parts, my true name was born. I became Jacobo: the toddler who watches Mexican soap operas out of aural appreciation of the language; the child who owns no CDs but only salsa mix-tapes; the teenager who capriciously switches to rapid Spanish, even when the intended listener understands nothing beyond the doubly 2011-11-10T16:07:46.893-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Jacobo-34335.aspx This paper discusses several concerns about relocating to Los Angeles. (3.5 pages; 5 sources; MLA citation style) I Introduction Relocation is difficult because most people find change difficult. This paper explores the options open to a young professional relocating to Los Angeles. Using Internet sources only, it deals with three specific areas of research in connection with relocation to L.A. The first section identifies the region’s major employers; the second section identifies the region’s major industries; and the final section discusses salary information. Each section also includes an interpretation of the facts. (I usually use the Google search engine; the parameters I’ll specify are “major employers in Los Angeles”; “major industries in Los Angeles” and “professional salaries in Los Angeles”. I’ll modify the searches as necessary.) II Major Employers in L.A. There were only five returns on this search; the first two both gave lists of the major employers in Los Angeles County. The “Los Angeles County” list is comprised of companies: Boeing Aircraft Co.; Hollywood Park, Inc.; Hughes Aircraft Co.; Litton Systems, Inc.; Mattel, Inc.; Northrop Grumman Corp; On Assignment, Inc.; Ralphs Grocery Co.; Southern California Edison Co.; UCLA; and Walt Disney Co. The “Major Employers in Los Angeles County” list comes from the California Economic Development Department, and lists many of the same companies. They include: Computer Sciences Corp.; Hilton Hotels Corp.; Litton Industries, Inc.; Mattel, Inc.; Nestle USA, Inc.; Northrop Grumman Corp.; Ralphs Grocery Co.; Raytheon Systems Co.; Robinson’s-May; Southern California Edison; Times Mirror Co.; Universal Studios, Inc.; UCLA; USC; and Walt Disney. Note that Litton, Mattel, Northrop Grumman, Ralphs, UCLA and Walt Disney appear on both. A quick interpretation of these lists would indicate that industry, particularly the aircraft industry, higher education and tourism are the largest employers. Although the studios are mentioned on both lists, jobs in the movies are very hard to find, and are usually handed down through families. This applies even to behind-the-scenes work. III Major Industries in L.A. According to the “Los Angeles County” list (the first above) Los Angeles makes most of its money in the areas of industry (Litton and Mattel); airplane manufacturing and parts (Boeing, Hughes, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon), tourism (Hilton Hotels), movie production (Universal, Disney—though these could also be part of the tourism industry) and world trade. A second source says “The principal industries are manufacturing, retail trade, business services, and 2011-10-26T14:04:02.84-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Relocating-to-L_A_-34136.aspx Childhood Ahhh... To be a child. What a wonderful thought. For you, the memory of childhood is probably clouded with the early school years, fights in the sandbox, and the inevitable, mother-distributed apple-juice boxes. If that is the case, I am sorry. Childhood for me, was so far above and beyond all that. What do I mean? Well I will tell you... So if you are comfortable, we shall begin. Until about ten or eleven years ago my family bred in the woods out on Irish road in Dundee. My family, that being the family of the Pope's, was, as you know, home-schooled. But it bears mention, that in the era of which I speak, the term “home-schooled” had an entirely different meaning than the negative connotation it has donned in recent years; during the schooling hours, my mom could be found behind the shed. Always. In her left hand, she held a cup of coffee, from her mouth dangled a cigarette, in her right hand or shoulder she cupped the phone, and her piercing “phone-talk laugh” could be heard shattering the atmosphere without notice or warning. At random intervals of time, probably ranging from about thirty-seven to forty-three minutes, she would yell inside the house “Go measure something!”. And that was it. That was home-schooling. Now take note, that I mentioned this was only the case during schooling hours, those being until noon or noon-thirty on any day that we were still inside that late. On any other day, I, my two older brothers and older sister practiced the basics. Surviving, disappearing, and of course, taking life. We had a perfect system. We each new our part in the scheme of things. Tom, at nine years older than me, was the powerhouse. He was six foot tall at twelve, and weighed one-hundred-eighty pounds without an ounce of fat on him. By the time he hit fourteen he had grown an additional four inches, and put on another forty pounds of choleric, well conditioned muscle. He ran the show so to speak, with his ability to inflict physical pain. He had no qualms about beating anyone to tears, blood and worse, except me. I was exempt from any corporal punishment from him, and anyone caught inflicting it on me 2008-09-02T14:48:49-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Childhood--33675.aspx Is Jale Yilmabasar an artist? An artist is someone who does Art so to tell if someone is an artist we have first to define what Art is. Art is a subjective term and therefore, there is not just one ways to define Art. From my point of view Art can be said, as an expression of someone’s self and the feelings to the world around them. This does not only include the traditional forms of art, painting, music, sculpting, and drama but per example a skater perfecting his or her skills or a business man painting a landscape of a city on his day off from work could be considered Art too. So, according to my definition Jale Yilmabasar would be considered as an artist because she is expressing herself trough painting. But as I said before, there are more ways to define Art. From a more restricted point of 2007-12-02T14:07:35-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/What-is-Art--33448.aspx Is good luck more important than good planning or preparation? One of Rome's leading intellectual figures in the mid-1st century, Lucius Annaeus Seneca, once said, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”. In this quote, Lucius Annaeus Seneca states that luck is just a by-product of good preparation and opportunity. Therefore, good planning and preparation are much more important than just good luck. For example, if a professional sports team arrived at an important match, with no game plan, instead relying solely on good luck, they would surely lose. If a student went into a major exam having done no revision or study, and relied upon good luck to pass, then they would have little chance of ever succeeding. If a cast in a play tried to perform a play without having any rehearsals, and relied upon good luck to remember their lines, then the play would have very little chance of being a hit. This essay will now go on to illustrate how these examples prove that good planning and preparation are much more important than just good luck. If a professional sports team arrived at a key match, with no game plan, instead relying exclusively on good luck, they would certainly be defeated. For example, in a complicated sport like cricket, many different tactics can be used, in both bowling and batting. Bowlers will study batters before the game and decide what there greatest weaknesses are. They would then practice at bowling to exploit this weakness most effectively. Some of the better bowlers would be able to do this for most of the top batters in a side, allowing them to have a major advantage over the opposition. Likewise, batters will also study how different bowlers react to different situations, and then judge how they should try to gain the upper hand over the bowler. For instance, if a certain bowler became unnerved when a batter started to play aggressively, then the batter would use this to his advantage, and try to bat like this during the match. It is also very important that the captain study all of the batters so that they know where they like to score most of their runs. This is so that he can set the most efficient field as possible, to reduce the amount of runs that a batsmen can score. Another sport where planning and preparation are extremely important 2007-11-11T08:34:52-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Good-Luck-Vs-Good-Preparation-Essay-33410.aspx Where Do You Stand In This Society Before even starting this piece of job, for myself I tried realizing as to what is society. For me it’s an ordered community. A community that is three tiered entity consisting; children - the future of the society, the youth – to be the present society and the senior citizens – the builders of the society. Children in the society have to just Study, play and enjoy their childhood because today they learn and tomorrow they serve the society. The senior citizens have already passed their lives serving their families and society as a whole. The Youth of today are the ones who have to come up and shoulder the responsibilities of the nation and the whole society. As the youth of today are the Future Nation Builders. My standing in the society as a youth is very powerful as every individual youth has to shape the nation and the future society. I have to work hard and shoulder the responsibilities to bring my nation at par with other developed countries. Being a citizen of my country I have to help the Government to bring about changes in the evils prevailing in this society. As a citizen of the world I have to work towards non-terrorism, anti-racism etc. I have a dream … a dream which shows me my society blotless, uncorrupted, people employed, literate, successful and rich; I see no discrimination between the people on the basis of caste, colour, religion and creed. But this can only be achieved if we the youth of today that is you and I work to fulfill this dream of a perfect, powerful, blotless, corruption free society. I as a youth have to set up good examples for the next generation to follow as small changes brought about by each individual can change the whole society. As there is a well known saying- [size=18:1d5f9f77eb][color=black:1d5f9f77eb]“Tiny drops of water makes the mighty ocean”[/color:1d5f9f77eb][/size:1d5f9f77eb] This will bring smugness as it will be for our benefits and for the next generation. So it’s unto us whether we snivel and stamp our feet saying that what will be the condition of the world after some years or we take the responsibility to bring the society to its best. Mother Teresa was a fine example. She worked as an individual for the underprivileged. She was followed by thousands of people in this task in helping the 2007-11-10T14:19:10-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Where-Do-You-Stand-In-This-Society-33402.aspx Why me? It seems like the pain grows every time I put more oil on it. Why did that stupid horse have to kick me? Being black on a white mans’ land is bad enough, but try being half crippled. If only all of the other fellas would go into town tonight, then maybe Candy would come in and keep me company. Kinda’ wish that big fella would come back, but Slim told me ‘bout what happened this afternoon. If only that stupid tart had stayed in the boss’s house, that big fella would still be alive and he would be blabbin’ on ‘bout some stupid rabbits of his. He never meant any harm to anyone; he was always pettin’ soft things. He didn’t mean to hurt Curley’s wife, but that’s the way it ended up, that stupid tart had it comin’. Although he was nuts, it was nice to be able to talk to him without being looked down on. Most of the guys in the bunk house reckon I stink, but if I was white I wouldn’t stink one bit and even if I did stink after a hard days work, they wouldn’t say anything because I would be white. I would go into the bunk house and play black jack ‘till the cows came home and I would never look at another book ever again. Maybe I would get a couple of extra bucks and have less chances of getting canned. Thinking about Curley’s wife and how she lived her life, somehow reminded me of mine. Although I ain’t no ‘tart’, neither of us ever had the chance to express ourselves. She was living the dream of being in some stupid pitchers and I had a dream of living a good life without being regarded as a second class citizen. I realize how lonely she must have been, but you don’t see me foolin’ ‘bout. She’s the reason that Lennie ain’t here no more, and I ain’t gonna forgive her, even though she’s now with Lennie. I always knew that she was trouble, with her face all made up and her hair in little sausage like ringlets. She was always trying to ‘look’ for Curley, but if you ask me, she was only trying to get away from him. She reckons that jus’ because her husband is a little tough guy that she can go anywhere on the 2007-08-01T07:46:39-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Of-Mice-and-Men-Crooks-33306.aspx The Earth shattering news I thought I would never hear, “The world is coming to an end in seven days!” river of water ran down my cheeks, my heart galloping in my chest, and my brain throbbing with atrocious thoughts. I couldn’t share my information with people or they would looks like heard of sheep’s’, trying to make their way out of the heard. I feel I should live my life to the most extent and die happy with the people who are in my life. I don’t want to do anything erroneous because that would hurt the people I love, and I can’t hurt them before everyone gets deceased. Before the world comes to an end, I would spend time with my family. They are those people who have always loved me unconditionally and helped me when I couldn’t help myself. I would spend time with my sister and brother-in-law, who I have also always loved unconditionally. On my treat, I would take my family to London to meet our relatives. My relatives always brought happiness and support in our family. I would make sure I let them know that they are immensely loved by my family and I. W would eat out, go travel parts of England that we haven’t explored before, and stay up all night talking with our family. I would do some crazy, but legal activities with my friends. We would arrange to go to all the theme parks and fastest roller coaster in 24 hours. We would also go bungee jumping, and sky diving at Grand Canyon. I might as well face my fears before I die. My food is like breathing to me, because I cannot live without it. I would eat every deliciously craving fatting food that I have ever laid my eyes upon. I would like to pass away young, beautiful and skinny, except I do not mind gaining some weight before I die. I consider, I should die with a sweet taste in my mouth when I expire. Additionally, I will spend time with the man who brought heaven down to earth for me. My life purpose would be complete, knowing, I died in the arms of the man I adore. I would tell him how much I love him. It wouldn’t hurt dying, it would hurt knowing that it’s the last time I will see my soul reflecting in his 2007-05-11T04:59:08-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Seven-Days-before-Armageddon-33198.aspx Pet Peeves I was drifting off to sleep while listening to the summer night’s breeze, rustling the leaves on the oak, outside my window. It was peaceful, dreamy, and most of all, safe. I was almost asleep when a loud buzzing sound filled my ear. A disturbing annoyance cancelled all my thoughts of sleep, and it disturbed all the peace. Buzzzzzzzz... buzzzzzzzz... buzzzzzzz. Only a mosquito can make that sound. “How did it get in here?” I thought. Buzzzzz... buzzzzzzz. I swatted and slapped at that annoying creature. “I’ll get it, I know I will” I thought, “I’ll knock it down in midair and put it out of its misery.” That itsy-bitsy pest couldn’t survive my powerful swipes. Therefore, I swung to the left, to the right, above my head, over my stomach, everywhere. I didn’t miss an inch of the darkness. Nothing could have survived that extreme attack of mine! I probably looked like a crazed lunatic, but it was all for a cause. “There,” I thought, “I’m certain now, it has to be dead. It had to be dead, with my arms flying everywhere swatting and swiping. It was probably knocked dead, somewhere on the floor… “I’ll just clean it up in the morning.” Slowly my panting was returning to normal. Tranquility was returning. Then I realized that my body was tensing. It was become so tense my muscles started to weaken. I was tense because I was listening. Listening so hard that my ears felt like they were twitching. Silence, blessed silence. No nasty creature was there to bother me anymore. The breeze rustled the leaves and I started to dream. I was on some beach, serene waters, and giant white clouds, like full-blooming magnolias, with warm sand. Suddenly, I snapped awake. buzzzzzzz... buzzzzzz... buzzzzzz. “No! No! No!” I sat rite up. “Okay this time I will get it,” I thought. I swung my feet onto the floor, and turned on the light. I picked up a T-shirt, and listened. Nothing. I peered everywhere like an eagle. Eagle Eye they should call me—I don’t miss a thing! But, I looked carefully into the light, and… nothing. “Do lights attract mosquitoes?” I thought with a devilish smile, “Haha! Bait!” I scanned the walls, the ceiling. I gripped my T-shirt, ready for a possible assault. Silence. Nothing. I watched the light, and stood still, listening and ready. 2007-04-19T21:38:15-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Pet-Peeves--33064.aspx Companion animals bring such joy and wonder into our lives. What can be more exciting than sharing your life with a young puppy as it grows; watching it develop its own personality, and experiencing the unconditional love that is given by our furry, four-legged friends? As any devoted pet owner can tell you, proper care and nutrition can help establish a foundation of good health and ensures a long, happy life for your pet. Unfortunately, many consumers are unaware that the sweet little puppy that peered hopefully at them from the pet store window or the enticing advertisement in the newspaper that offered a pure bred puppy for such a bargain often comes with a hidden catch – these puppies, and their myriad of health problems, may be coming from a puppy mill. Though the definition of a puppy mill varies widely depending on who you ask, the basic principle of a puppy mill is a “mass dog-breeding operation [...] which is designed purely for profit, not comfort” (Stop Puppy Mills). The animals which are bred in a puppy mill are kept in deplorable conditions; over-crowding, minimal to no medical treatment, irresponsible breeding practices, and very little socialization with people are just a few of the multitude of inhumane acts which these dogs face in a puppy mill. “Who is in charge of preventing these actions?” you may ask. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for the licensing of kennels and enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) in the United States, but with only 96 USDA agents assigned to monitoring thousands of kennels throughout the US, the majority of the efforts devoted to caring for these animals lies on local shelters and animal rescue groups who act on tips of abuse (Get the Facts on Puppy Mills). Most of the laws dealing with animal welfare are set by each state. Tennessee may not be in one of the key so-called “puppy mill states” - Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania – but its current regulations regarding kennel fees, and the supervision of these kennels are so lax, that running a mass breeding operation can easily be concealed. By paying an amount between five and fifteen dollars, any Joe or Jane Public in Tennessee can open their own breeding practice, knowing that there are no laws in 2007-02-26T02:51:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/What-Should-Be-Done-to-Stop-the-Puppy-Mill-Trade-32695.aspx Grandma Beck was a multi-talented, independent, hard working old lady. Even as an old lady, she was very active and passionate about one thing: working. She was by far the strongest person I had ever met. She had to support herself; she lived alone after my grandfather passed away (Which was ironically on my birthday July 15th, 1978). She slept with a loaded handgun in her bedside table and a police club shoved into the side of her waterbed. I was lucky to spend nine years getting to know her as my grandma. In 1984 we move from Maine into my grandmas house at 319 Filmore Avenue, Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was one block from the Atlantic Ocean; we went to the beach all the time. She let me sleep on her heated waterbed with her; I remember watching “The Golden Girls” late at night with her. I would make waves on the waterbed and she would pretend to be riding them. I loved getting to know her; she was a very special part of my childhood memories and she was nice to let us live with her until we found a place to live. Grandma Beck worked at the NCO (Officers club) at Patrick Air Force Base, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. She was a waitress and she bussed tables to support herself, she worked everyday until she was eighty years old. I can remember her crisp white dress and her big dangly gold hoop earrings that she wore to work, her ruby red lipstick that she always had placed way beyond her lip line. My grandma was very hip; she wore nice clothes, not the polyester garb that my other grandma wears. She would do her roots every week with Clairol jet-black hair dye to cover her gray hair, which is why her hair had a blue tinge to it. She smelled like Foille, a topical cream that she used for her dry arms, it smell just like bag balm. Only weighing about a hundred pounds she reminded me of Olive Oile, Popeye’s wife. And I’m quite positive that she was the oldest lady I had ever seen wearing a two-piece bikini. She drove an old Datsun car; it was the most hideous car I had ever seen. I never understood why she drove that old car; she had money for a better car. I think my grandpa 2007-02-14T15:36:35-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Grandma-s-Old-Datsun--32617.aspx [size=18:8544769d02][color=green:8544769d02]It all started when we had a two-hour drive from Manila where to one of the Philippines most popular get aways, Villa Escudero, a place where Philippine culture and history comes to life. In the entrance, green grassy plantation where many tall coconut trees would be seen and coconut farmers are working. It was really a beautiful rural setting wherein you could feel the essence of nature. The first place we roamed was the museum. At first, it looks like a church on the outside but as we get inside the first-storey of the museum 2007-01-09T12:53:35-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Trip-to-Villa-Escudero-32327.aspx A Valuable Relationship Over the past year or so I have begun to analyze certain things that pertain to my life from a more realistic perspective. One thing in particular has noticeably affected me. My fourteen-year-old cat Alex, about 81 years of age in human terms hasn’t that much time left on this planet. My first real friendship and also the longest friendship I’ve ever had will come to a close eventually. He is my pet, but I cherish him like a brother and even a son. I feel as if I’ve grown up a lot while wrestling with the idea of not having him and how I will remember him farther down the future. I can get very emotional thinking about it, but those emotions are only second to spending time with my trustworthy companion. I received Alex as birthday present on my fourth birthday. My mom obtained Alex through a friend who worked for the SPCA. Before we had Alex my mom had received a female Siamese cat through this friend. Knowing of my mom’s personal affection towards Siamese cats, my mom’s friend quickly offered my mom another Siamese cat, but this one was a male. I fell in love with Alex the moment I saw him. He was only 6 weeks old and still so preciously small and adorable. He was somewhat frightened by the new environment so my mom and I were forced to lock him in the bathroom with us while we tried to soothe his anxiety. The bathroom incident is something I’ll never forget when I think of my pet. While in the bathroom I told my mom and needed to pee (I was only four years old) so I handed over Alex to her. I did my business, flushed the toilet and gestured to take back Alex. I hadn’t closed the toilet seat yet, and Alex being rather frisky slipped out of my grip and into the toilet. He was small enough to be swimming in the toilet and at that moment I gained a rather deep affection for my new wily friend. He was very trustworthy from the start, which was essential for me in order to spend such an abundant amount of time with him. As a young kid I was always around the house if I wasn’t at school and having my brother being born about three years of 2006-12-19T17:01:11-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-Valuable-Relationship--32089.aspx The Loss of a Family Member It was a time for me when life was like one of those T.V. 2006-12-05T15:59:22-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Loss-of-a-Family-Member-31894.aspx Confessions of a Real Life Drug User I am a heavy drug user. The drug I use is PCP (Phencyclidine). The type of drug is a Hallucinogen. I got the drug from Nile a.k.a. Robert Black. Nile is a man who sells drugs to support his family. He is only 23 years of age. I met Nile 4 months ago at the corner liquor store. PCP is a synthetic drug (chemically unrelated to LSD or mescaline); PCP is a white crystalline powder, readily soluble in water or alcohol. On the street PCP is usually called “angel dust” or “angel hair”. Nile sometimes refers to PCP as “mist” or “hog”. I call PCP “flying saucers or maybe “rocket fuel”. “Supergrass” and “killer weed” are two other street names for PCP. First, when I met Nile, prices were pretty high. I usually get 50 tablets, which will last me about a month. That would cost me$100.00. Each tablet is $2.00. Since Nile and I have formed a bond over the last few months for 50 tablets would only cost me $75.00. The prices for a casual user are 25 tablets for $25.00. That’s pretty good. I get the money to pay for the drug from my mom. When she goes to sleep at night, I go into her purse and get whatever she has left in her wallet. When I take PCP I feel relaxed and the world is moving very cool and slow. I also do PCP because my friends do it. Since taking the drug, I have no more time for my family. Especially my little brother. He loves to hang out with me. But sense I started using PCP it seems I have no more time for my little brother. Well late Friday afternoon on January 25,2003 while I was driving home the police stopped me for driving recklessly. They told me to walk the yellow line, but I was unable to do that. While one of the officers was searching my 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee, in the glove department he found a bottle full of pills. They had arrested me for possession of the drug PCP. I was taken to jail. I had one phone call so I called my parents. They told me that I would be in a lot of trouble. Three hours went by, and then my dad walks through the door with sweat coming 2006-11-15T22:51:46-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Confessions-of-a-Real-Life-Drug-User-31755.aspx Biography of an Indian American My name is Amar and my country of origin is India. My parents, my brother and I moved to USA in June of 1998, and have been staying in Fort Worth ever since. My father was a pathologist and his own lab in India but here he works in a lab at Medical Plaza Hospital. My mother works at Braum’s Dairy Shop that is located less than a quarter of a mile from our apartment. I work at the same place. My mother and I work there because one we do not have two cars so we have to work nearby and two so that I can help my parents by taking care of my needs. I also have a brother that is a year younger to me. I have completed two years of volunteer service at Medical Plaza Hospital. The first year, I was assigned to work at the MRI and the storage. In MRI, I used to file all the paper work and prepare applications for the new coming patients. In storage, I was supposed to deliver goods needed by the different departments of the hospital. For the second year, I was given a choice as to where I wanted to work. I chose the Emergency room thinking that I would get to learn something new. My jobs were to stock up and prepare the rooms for incoming patients. Some of my extracurricular activities include playing chess, soccer and cricket. I am the president and the vice-president of the chess club at my school. When I first came from India, my brother and I, had nothing to do during lunch because we did not know anybody. So we started playing chess, and soon some other students started playing with us. Then I was the one who asked my speech teacher to sponsor our chess team and he agreed. Since I was the one who started the chess club and asked teachers for sponsorship, the team members elected me as the president of the chess club. One of my hobby is to shoot photos and films, so when I heard that the football team needed somebody to shoot the football games I went to the football coach and asked if I could do that and the coach agreed. I was the only one in the beginning, but then I asked some other students 2006-11-04T19:10:06-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Biography-of-an-Indian-American-31698.aspx The Importance of Good-Byes “Your father shot himself”; those are the words so engraved in my mind that every time I remember them, I hear my mother’s voice as she said them to me that late night in July. I was 14 years old in the summer of 1989 when my father shot himself in the head. My parents had been divorced for about five years and been separated because of problems they had for much longer than I can recall. My father had remarried a former housekeeper with one child of her own and four of his; this was not a man who believed in the vows of marriage he had once uttered to my very young mother at the age of 15 in front of a judge in a courthouse. My life as a child was one filled with love from my parents, my four older brothers, and older sister. Then along came my younger brother to take away what I felt was my place, being the baby in the family. My father was the traditional Mexican male with a strong belief that women belong in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant; this I know from the simple fact of being one of the seven children he bore with my mother. My father was a very successful landscaper who ran his own business and spoke the minimum English necessary. We were raised in a household in which we were consistently reminded that we were not Americans and we must speak our native language, better said by my father as, “No somos gringos, en mi casa se habla el Espanol.” In the eyes of many people we were from a great family who had it all, but behind closed doors we lived a life in which we were sometimes afraid of the one man we should have felt protection and love from. My father was very strict and set in his ways and no matter how hard you tried he was never pleased. I was fortunate enough to be the apple of his eye and could do no wrong while my mother, brothers, and sister consistently got the bad end of the stick. We lived in Chula Vista, a decent neighborhood on the south side of San Diego on a piece of land that was about an acre 2006-11-02T14:58:50-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Importance-of-Good-Byes-31661.aspx The Value of Good Friendship Encountering a good friend can be quite difficult in the contemporary lives of teenagers. They experience an immense amount of worries and problems throughout the day, that being a good friend is one of their last priorities. I, myself, was once baffled by what the definition of a “good” friend was, until I discovered a single step that if taken would make you the greatest friend there is. Willingness. That is all it takes in order to be considered a good friend. If you lack will, there is a diminutive chance of you being able to be a good friend. Willingness must come from within. Listening is the most essential part of a friendship, you must be willing to stay for long hours listening to what they have to say, even if its not the most exciting thing in the world to hear. Listening to your friend makes them feel important, special, wanted. It also allows them to exhale their problems and worries, and not keep them all bottled up. Although listening makes up most of what a good friend is there are also other things that form a good friend. The will to sacrifice for your friend will also take you a step closer to being a good friend. For instance, you planned your entire night, but as you’re about to leave to enjoy your Saturday night with your boyfriend/girlfriend, your best friend calls you right when you’re stepping out, hysterical because something bad had occurred in their life. You must be willing to sacrifice your Saturday night you had so carefully planned out and go to your friend’s house and converse with them about the situation and try to console them in any way that you can. Doing this demonstrates that you are willing to be there for him/her in their time of need and sacrifice whatever you had planned. You must always be willing to give advice to your friend. For example say your friend is in a situation where they do not know what to do, and so they turn to you for help; you must be willing to think things through with them and try to give them the best advice. I once experienced something similar to this; I had turned to a friend for advice because I 2006-08-29T15:16:26-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Value-of-Good-Friendship-31364.aspx Jumping in to Marriage Too Soon When people are young and in love, I do not think they fully realize the work that must be done to make a marriage last. It is said “a marriage may be ‘made in heaven,’ but the maintenance must be done on earth”. Couples must constantly be thinking about their mate and that what they do always influences the marriage, in one way or another. I for one, did not really understand what it took to keep a marriage going. Marriages must be cultivated and worked at, just like a garden, to keep them fruitful and lasting. When I was nineteen, I got married for the first time. I was, or so I thought, totally in love with my new husband of twenty-one. I moved from San Jose, California to Detroit, Michigan, to be with him as he was from there. I had no experience in cooking or cleaning as my mother took care of those things while I was growing up. When I got married it was such a shock to realize how much work went into those things. It was so bad that I did not even know how to boil water. My poor husband also did not fully realize that I had absolutely no experience in the kitchen or in the house. The first time I tried to cook, it was a disaster. I remember I cooked tacos, rice, and beans. Everything was burnt or under-cooked. I did not even know how to mop a floor or clean a bathroom. Those first few months were such an adjustment for us both. My husband also had some adjustments to deal with. He had been living at home, just as I had, and had been able to spend all of his paycheck on himself. He had no one to answer for but himself. He now had to start paying bills, rent, and car notes. He also had to give me money to buy groceries. The first paycheck he gave me when we were first married was so difficult for him. He now could not buy the types of clothes and shoes that he was used to buying for himself. He had to start thinking of me too. It hurt him so 2006-08-25T17:27:08-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Jumping-in-to-Marriage-Too-Soon-31274.aspx The Influence of Rich Steinmetz Richard Steinmetz has been the most influential person in my life. He is not the type of person you base your entire life on, however, he is the type of person that you listen to and take his advice into account while making a decision. I met Rich when I was eight years old, I went to his house and asked him if he wanted to play a game of football with my friends and me. Since that day we have been inseparable. Rich is basically the reason that I will be able to succeed in obtaining my dream of being a golf professional. He does not play all that well, but he really can teach the game. Rich has become the most influencing figure in my life, because when he wants something he goes out and gets it. Rich also lives his own life and does not let anyone but himself make decisions for him. When I was twelve years old, Rich took me golfing in the middle of December. That was my first golf experience, and from that day on I was addicted to golf. Rich has taken it upon himself to form me into the best possible golfer I could be. I played in the Irish Junior Open last summer in Shannon, Ireland, and the whole week leading to the tournament, Rich was with me pushing my swing into shape. I then went on to win the Irish Open by two strokes. I credit that win to the person behind it all. Rich convinced me that it is impossible to get what is desired without wanting it bad enough. I have always been able to count on Rich to help me through situations, be it good, bad, or anything. He is the brother that I never had, yet always wanted. Rich has gotten me through a lot of relationships. He is always willing to help me out no matter what is going on. He could hate the girl that I was dating yet would just push that aside in order to help me in any way possible. No matter what the situation I got myself into he is always there to get me out of it and make me laugh. Rich is one of 2006-08-06T20:47:56-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Influence-of-Rich-Steinmetz-31077.aspx My Battle with Anorexia We all know that life today is not an easy thing. Action and determination are the keys to success but still so many obstacles will try and knock you down. People might put you down and you will either let it go or you’ll be left behind. I, Nethan Hunter was once put down and by being weak and letting it get to me, I now suffer from a very serious disorder known as anorexia. I never had to worry about my weight. I had a fast metabolism and I never seemed to gain weight. Things begun to change once I was in puberty. My body begun to grow and I started to put on weight but this didn’t bother me and why should it have since it was something perfectly normal. It all started when I was fifteen at ‘Paradise Camp’ in the summer of 1992. I didn’t have many friends at the time so I thought that spending my summer in a camp, with many people my age was a great opportunity for making new ones. As soon as I arrived I was given a form and asked to note down three activities I preferred mostly doing during this camp. I really enjoyed swimming and I was also good at it so I wrote it down without any hesitation. My other two choices really didn’t matter, I got to my swim class and listened to the team leader’s instructions. It was taking quite a long time and since it was a really hot day I took off my shirt. That is the biggest regret I ever have. The girls sitting across were staring at me and were whispering to each other, but I had no idea what they were saying. I didn’t pay much attention to it but when I got out of the water I was behind them. They were laughing and one of them said: “Did you see the fat on that guy? He could really use a diet!” I wasn’t sure they were talking about me but I assumed. It was the first time someone called me fat and I intended to make it be the last. I still don’t know why it bothered me so much but I guess being fifteen and hearing two girls talking about you like that isn’t a very nice thing. I hated the 2006-08-05T11:31:07-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/My-Battle-with-Anorexia--31036.aspx Personal Narrative: The Weekend Campout One weekend during the summer a couple years back I had decided to host a campout and have a few people over to stay the night in tents in my woods and my backyard (which consist of a 5 acre open field with a big fire pit for parties). There is also a fire pit down by the tents but we decided to keep it in the field instead. Well Friday night rolls around and I have a few people over, 3 beside myself to be exact. We set up our tents in the field where they were linked together by a tarp draped over a swing set frame. We gathered some firewood that would be enough to last us for the night and we sat around and started to talk. We all were sitting there just puffing away at cigars of every brand and flavor imaginable. My friend named Brian was able to get a garbage bag full of all different kinds of cigars. Some I have seen and others I have no clue what to expect. But anyways back to the story, we were all sitting around the fire and just all of a sudden Brian fell sideways in his chair. Partially because he was leaning and partially because he was on an incline towards the creek. Whatever the cause of the fall it was so hilarious that we just could not sit in our chairs anymore so we decided to go puff on our cigars elsewhere. We took a walk up the road when Joseph suddenly came to a halt and whispered under his breath, “You guys what is that”, as he pointed up the road 50 yards. For all we could see it was a large figure that was really hard to make out because of the light insufficiency. The other three hadn’t decided whether or not to approach the figure and see if it was real or whether to observe it form a distance. Whatever it be I wasn’t going to sit back and wait around for them to decide. I started walking towards it and I heard a clanging together of something that sounded hard and then I heard a big thump. I stopped and gazed forward to where the figure stood 2006-08-01T19:20:07-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Personal-Narrative-The-Weekend-Campout-30971.aspx The Seashell in My Hand Certain events in my 3 decades and a year of living have caused me to look back into the waves of life for subtle reflection…and in looking back, I would tend to agree with the statement that I’ve swam through more than the norm of “storms” in my life. Yes, I’ve seen storms…violent ones at that. I’m talking Mark Walhberg drifting alone in the “Perfect Storm” type of storms. Storms that would rip the psyche out of your mental process and leave you contemplating how “pretty” a 200-foot wave appeared as Neptune’s wrath unleashed itself and crashed onto your insignificant soon to be corpse. I suppose I’m either undrownable or one hell of a good swimmer because for whatever reason, I manage to be pulled down to the dark depths of these turbulent and polluted oceans, touch ground, only to push myself up again, a seashell in hand, waiting silently for the next storm. A seashell in hand you ask? This seashell of salvation as I call it, serves as a reminder of the cladding knowledge I gained in my struggle to survive the battle with Mother Nature’s handy man Neptune. Let me explain…we humans wear our bony skeletons on the inside while showing our vulnerable sides to the outside world. Shells on the other hand are made by mollusks to protect their insides from the harsh elements as well as predatory enemies. The only drawback…a shell while serving as armor, is a permanent structure that mollusks must bear for their remaining lives, it weight slowing it down. Essentially, each titanic battle I live through, I create a new tougher outer shell… Its weight slowing me down considerably but never impeding my progress. Although it feels as if the added weight might not allow for me to swim up for a gasp of enlivening fresh air, I always make it. As I crest, I inhale life and continue on my passage. I’ve been swimming most of my life searching for land, a respite from the constant oceanic storms of like. I admit, I do see the calm before these storms but even during the calm, I swim…hoping for shore break and sand to caress my ankles…but how much safer 2006-08-01T18:45:08-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Seashell-in-My-Hand--30950.aspx The Good With The Bad Amanda is a 31 year old who has lived in Michigan all her life. She had a great childhood, as she seemed it was, with her parents already being together for 21 years. In her mind, “What could go wrong?” At the young age of 11, Amanda’s mother decided to walk out and leave her behind. It took her a year to figure out that her mother wasn’t coming back home, but as for her, she never gave up on her. Her mom was not only her “Mom”, but also her best friend, so she thought. As the days grew longer, Amanda began to act out towards everyone but her father, Bill. She was very fond of her dad. But suddenly Amanda had made a friend and her name was Amy. They were the same age and were inseparable. Amy and Amanda stayed at each other’s houses, took long walks; that took up most there days and nights, and talked with friends. The girls got along great and were never apart, until the sad age of 13. Amanda got raped and found out 3 months later she was pregnant. She was lost and was extremely scared. Not knowing what to do, Amanda started acting out and getting in trouble. She was fighting with others a lot, left home and became homeless; moving from home to home. Amanda was so lost in this big world and deep inside, she felt alone. Amy was in and out of Amanda’s life at this time, only seeing her about once a year when she could, but they were best friends and never forgot about each other. The first time they met up with each other was in their hometown, Albright Shores, and Amanda heard Amy was in town. When they seen each other, feeling like it had been a lifetime, they both went down in tears and were hugging each other saying, “I missed you.” It seemed to them that their young worlds had been complete again. Amy told her she was pregnant and was running from the police and her caseworker. She was just as lost as Amanda was. Within 2 days, Amy 2006-07-31T16:46:57-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Good-With-The-Bad-30895.aspx Personal Gratification of Being a Tutor A little over two years ago I began tutoring high school students in several types of mathematics, including preparation for the S.A.T. Test. While I did this initially to earn money, I have continued to tutor (often pro bono) because I enjoy the material and the contact with the students. I have always enjoyed math tremendously. I can remember riding in a car for long distances as a child and continuously calculating average speeds and percentages of distances covered as we traveled. In college I took upper division math classes such as Real Analysis and Game Theory (and placed near the top of the curve) though they were not required for my major. All this time spent playing with math has left me with a deep understanding of the way numbers work and the many ways in which problems can be solved. When I first began tutoring I was stunned to find that most of the kids I worked with, although very bright, not only lacked the ability to solve complex problems, they were very uncomfortable with some of the basic principles of math. This discomfort led to fear and avoidance, and the avoidance led to more discomfort. A vicious cycle began. Instead of seeing math as a beautiful system in which arithmetic, algebra and geometry all worked together to allow one to solve problems, they saw it as a bunch of jumbled rules which made little sense that they were forced to memorize. As a tutor, I found that it was important when starting with a new student to find out where his/her discomfort with math began. Often, this meant going back several years in their education to explain important basic concepts. For some students, fractions and decimals were the point at which math stopped making sense. For many others, it was the introduction of letters to represent numbers in algebra. Some students found that identifying their weaknesses was an embarrassing process. I explained to them that it was not their fault. Everyone comes to understand new concepts in math in a slightly different way, and the problem was that no teacher had taken the time to explain their "problem area" in a way which would make sense to them. Since math was a system, once they missed out on that one building block, it was not surprising 2006-07-28T18:42:39-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Personal-Gratification-of-Being-a-Tutor-30776.aspx Three Passions in Life Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: a connection with nature, meaningful relationships, and the search for understanding. Three passions, have carved the path I have walked and will continue to guide me on my life’s journey. I have sought a connection with nature, first, because it brings peace – 2006-07-25T20:19:34-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Three-Passions-in-Life-30663.aspx Advice for Personal Encounters with Rude People Through out the course of life we all have encountered different situations concerning rude people. In The Macmillan Reader the authors state, “Many social commentators have observed that discourtesy is on the rise.” Well, these terrorists have been discourteous to the American Nation. Aside from these terrorists, my everyday encounters with the public validate that people as a whole are discourteous to each other. Whether I have ordered food in a restaurant, been shopping in the store, or been driving down the road, someone at any one of these times has done something to upset me. Many people are as polite and courteous as we would expect them to be. They will go out of their way to make an individual or individuals happy. It could be the dissatisfied customer at the cash register, or the person driving beside them on the freeway, or the people they live with. In any case their objective is to avoid confrontation if at all possible. Other times I have come in contact with the rudest people I have ever seen. Most of the time there is nothing that can be done about these situations. Just the other day my girlfriend and I were driving down the Interstate. We were in the passing lane coming upon a car in the right lane following a truck hauling chopped wood. My girlfriend was driving, and we were fairly close the other car. When the driver of the car pulled out in front of us to pass the truck, the car came within inches of hitting the front of our car. Needless to say, my girlfriend was very unhappy about this, considering that was about the fourth time someone had cut in front of her in this manner in the past three weeks. I have found that so many drivers are not as careful as they should be. Many have problems eating or trying to talk on the phone while they are trying to drive. This takes part of their concentration away from driving causing them to swerve, miss turns, or pull out in front of others. Another personal experience I have encountered with discourteous people is in the grocery store. I usually go to the grocery store 2006-07-24T19:42:11-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Advice-for-Personal-Encounters-with-Rude-People-30614.aspx Anonymouos Autobiography of One's Life Talking about my life has always been like stepping on glass, I was afraid if I did it, the glass would break In the early morning hours of August 2nd, 1982, a young infant peacefully joined a new world. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx was born in Pontiac General Hospital, at the mean time he was living in the city of Auburn Hills. I lived a very unusual life unlike most people. I have been through more hard times, then good times. I will tell you about all the good things that has happened and all the bad things that have happened, also what I want to happen in the near future. I lived in Auburn Hills with my mom, dad, brother and sister. Being the youngest you always tend to get picked on but it was always fun just spending time with them all. I lived in Auburn Hills for the first 8 years of my life. I was then told we were moving and still to this day I don’t know why we ever moved. I was sad moving out of the house that I grew up in but I knew I had to deal with it. We packed everything up and headed to a city called Hazel Park. I didn’t think I would like this place, but I started school, met some new friends and even started to play basketball. This house is where all the bad things started to happen. My brother at age Twelve died of a ruptured skull. Being as young as I was I didn’t know how to get through it, but I knew it had to be done. I went on and the summer of 1996 I went out west to the state of Montana, with my uncle and cousin. One night we got a knock on the door in our hotel, and it was a Montana state trooper. He was delivering a message to me that my dad had died. The state police had been tracking us down for 3 days till they found us going to every hotel we went to. Being only fourteen year old I didn’t know what to think. The next day I was on a flight back to Michigan. I knew he had Diabetes but when I left for vacation he was fine. Now two of what would be my biggest role models in my life 2006-07-24T19:32:42-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Anonymouos-Autobiography-of-One-s-Life-30610.aspx Establishing Personal Goals in Life As the most of my peers, I have been asking myself a question, what is it really I want out of my life? This question has not only been bothering me, but also many college students who are trying to figure out the path which will lead them to their comfortable life. One might ask, what is that comfort that we all are striving for? Is it a state of mind or is it some unknown world that we are so eager to enter? Well, it varies from person to person. It depends on the life that the person has left behind when the decision to go to college was made. I for one would like to obtain a higher standard of leaving, greater education, and fulfill a long time goal of being an engineer. So many years has gone by since the first day I was taken to school by my older brother. It was a whole new experience for me. It was as if I have seen a new world made out of so many kids that are dressed alike. Before I knew, I was taken in to a classroom along with many other kids. This was a new era in my life. As I can remember, “ What do you like to be doing with your life? ” was the first question I was asked. “I would like to become an Engineer,” I responded back. Many more years has gone by since the magic question. I have not forgotten my response to what has been bothering me for so many years. There wasn’t a day I tried to make sense out of my own response to the question that I was once asked. At the time, I did the best of my ability to work toward my Personal Goal. Now, almost thirty years later, I am still asking my self the same question. How ever, many different things have shaped my life during the last fifteen years. In the process earning an Engineering Degree, I had completed my High School, and found my way in to one of the best Collages in the Silicon Valley. I got enrolled in De Anza Collage. By this time, I was financially unstable and soon enough, I was not able to continue with my education. 2006-07-23T16:51:20-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Establishing-Personal-Goals-in-Life-30521.aspx “My Secret Sin” Everyone commits a sin every now-and-then. After all, “We are only human.” Despite the degree of the sin, the sinner gains from it in one way or another. I find that the activity of wearing my letter has benefited me in many ways. First, it is not my fault that I have an abnormal, persistent impulse to steal. I am not a thief; theft is related to stealing things of great value or meaning. One might say that it is theft, but I have a sudden impulse to steal things that do not necessarily have much value. Second, just last Friday, when at the mall with my friend Karen, I could not help but grab a small package of tissues and my friend’s scarf that was hanging out of her purse. It was especially convenient having pockets on the inside of my coat, this only made my desire grow stronger. At one point Karen caught me stealing a tube of chapstick. Her shaking her head at me and giving me a quizzical look shortly followed the action. Third, many people are miserable, simply because they are living a false life. When it comes to facing others they might feel the need to impress, they and put on a “mask” and parade as if there is nothing wrong. There might not be anything wrong on the outside; however, I assure you that there is always at least one thing wrong with their heart. They might behave as if there is nothing wrong, but it is only an act. Fourth, When it was time to wear my letter at school, the student body did not react to it. Many students sympathized because they had the assignment in the past. Some just looked at me quizzically and dismissed as quickly as they noticed it. The teachers asked what it stood for, simply to see how creative we were. Outside of school there was not much difference. It seems as though the act of committing a sin is widely accepted. When I wore my letter to work, people did not even respond. They would glance at me, and only me. They never looked at my letter and asked me “ Why are you wearing such a ridiculous thing?” Last, my sin is 2006-07-22T13:01:12-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/My-Secret-Sin-30452.aspx Portraits of a Reason When I was little I lived in a poor neighborhood in the south side of San Antonio. I lived with my mom, my sister, and my grandpa and Grandpa. I really never had I father figure in my life except my four Uncles who had all been prison for a couple of years. My biological father left us when we were small and I haven’t seen him in 1year since last year but before that it was like 14 years of my life that I haven’t seen him. Then I was about six years old when I met my stepfather he was studying to be a doctor and worked at a clinic with my mom. Then the got married when I was just about to turn seven. My new dad Homar J. Bartra But I still lived at my grandma house. He moved us to a subdivision in San Marcus he studied there for about six months then we moved to Chicago, Illinois were we lived there for three years where he did his internship at Michael Reeves Hospital. I remember one time when I was in school and I note came for my sister and I. We went outside and thought something was wrong but nothing was wrong. We arrived at a stadium where about millions of people there but there was actually a couple of thousand. He had got us floor set center court to a NBA final championship game between the bulls and the supersonics. Where the bulls won there 3rd championship in a row. After the game we went to eat and play miniature golf. The next day we went to the parade they had for them. I got all the teams autographs and took a picture with the one and the only Michael Jordan It was one of the best days of my life. Then we moved out of the windy city and moved here to New Braunfels and I have been here 6 years now my dad has been working in his own office in San Marcus. When we moved he told me to look head of this you get to start over again in a new town. He also told me to think positive to the future and what I will become. I have recently got my drivers license and I remember this like it was yesterday. I 2006-07-22T12:19:57-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Portraits-of-a-Reason-30432.aspx My Worst Fear: Jellyfish My worst fear all started with a trip to the beach. A trip to one of the safest beaches on the east coast ended with a little girl scared for life. We dropped my oldest brother off at Virginia Commonwealth University and since Richmond was only an hour away from the beach my Dad decided to extend our trip by a day. We left Richmond and drove to Virginia Beach that afternoon. We stayed in a little hotel right on the beach and being eight I thought it was the greatest thing in the world. We check into the hotel and went to our room. Our room was on the beach level and had French doors that opened right on to the sand. The view was incredible! We had our own shower outside and a little blue and white umbrella to take to the beach. I was so excited, I loved going to the beach and swimming in the ocean. We all changed and ran out the French doors on to the white sand and into the ocean. My sister and I were having so much fun swimming, playing and being thrown by the waves. We were in our own little world. My Mom and Dad were watching us on the shoreline and my Dad had just gotten up to come tell us it was time to go and eat dinner, when it happened. I can remember this like it happened yesterday. I was swimming back to my Dad and felt a dozen ice-cold strings of spaghetti noodles come out of no where and rap around my left leg. I didn’t know what it was. I immediately let out a scream of bloody murder. My Dad came running out into the dark blue murky water to help me, only to find an enormous jellyfish rapped around my leg. He pulled me out of the water and on to the beach dragging my bloody legs in the sand. I lay crying in throbbing pain on the sand as my Dad and a lifeguard tried to pull the jellyfish from around my leg. I remember looking down and seeing the milky white 2006-07-13T13:04:04-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/My-Worst-Fear-Jellyfish-30208.aspx My Best Friend is Blue and Orange He was probably the best friend I ever had. We went through everything together. He was there for me every time I needed him, through my parents divorce, and through almost every difficult time in my life since I was 13 years old. He was known as my Knicks hat. The New York Knick hat I got for Christmas when I was in 7th grade. That was the last Christmas I ever spent with my Dad, the last Christmas we ever spent as a family. For that Christmas break he informed my mom and I he was leaving for good. At the time, it saddened and disappointed me. Now however, almost six years later I am all the stronger. I have a deep appreciation for family and friends perhaps more than other kids that have not been through a divorce. I lost him once. My Mom and I took a ride in her car with the top down. We were cruising down the highway when the joy ride took a turn for the worst. My hat flew off my head and out onto the highway of speeding cars and monstrous trucks. Mom thought it was gone for good, but I would not let that happen. I began my frantic search on the side of the highway and I could not believe my luck. There, safely on the shoulder of the road was my trusty old Knicks hat! We were reunited. My Mom hated that old smelly hat, but she understood its significance, just like she understands me. None of my friends understood its value. Certainly it was not the most beautiful hat, but it meant so much to me. My Mom was the only person who recognized its true meaning. She understood the security I felt with that hat. It was molded so perfectly to my head. How rare it is to get a perfectly fitted hat. The meaning of that bond to keep the past alive and also share the experiences that molded me into who I am today was simply signified in my Knicks hat. Faded and torn, pieces held together with duct tape, and stained from the sweat of my forehead it was the most 2006-07-10T16:20:01-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/My-Best-Friend-is-Blue-and-Orange-30181.aspx The Story of My Bar Mitzvah My story begins in November of the year 2000. I was asking my mom if I was going to have a bar mitzvah. At first she said no, but I told her that every Jewish boy deserves to become a man with a true bar mitzvah. She spoke to me and I explained to her that I would really like to have one because I can only have it once in my life. She agreed and then all the planning began for my Bar Mitzvah. First we had to send out the invitations. It took us like forever to find an invitation that looked nice and had a normal price. After a while we found a good invitation and by January 15 all the invitations were out. Now that the invitations were out and people were sending back their responses we knew who is coming. However, we still had a big part that had to be done, the decorations, the entertainment, and the food. The decorations were very hard. We didn’t know what color would go with this color. Then we didn’t know the theme would be. So we decided to split up the party into two different themes. The kids’ table would have a basketball theme and the adult tables would just be classic and elegant. Then we had to hire the entertainment. I wanted a magician that those tricks with cards, money, and magic tricks in his hands like David Blane. However my mom wanted an artist who makes portraits of you. I didn’t like him from the beginning because he called himself a caricaturist, which is a really big word that could be hard to pronounce. So we had to split up the entertainment. The magician came in the beginning. And the so-called artist, a.k.a. caricaturist, came during the middle and stayed to the end. And of course there was a DJ. The food was the easiest to order. First we went to the caterer and picked what we want from the menu. Then we went to an Italian bakery and ordered pastry there. After that, we went to a French bakery and decided to order pastries there also. And last but not least we finally went to a Russian bakery and agreed to order a cake and other pastries there. Finally came the party. I was a nervous wreck. 2006-07-09T14:40:03-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Story-of-My-Bar-Mitzvah-30133.aspx A Person Who has had Influence on my Life There’s always a time in one’s life, when a hero comes along. Somebody who has inspired you, and helped you learn what life is about. I remember it as if it was yesterday, surprisingly, as my state of mind on that cold December night can be described only of numbness and confusion. It was around eight o’clock p.m. when my mother received a phone call from her brother-in-law, who told her that her sister had just recently been admitted into the hospital after experiencing difficulty breathing and chest pain. When my aunt was diagnosed with coronary artery disease, my family became worried. A physician had informed us that my aunt would need a Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting and she needed surgery immediately. While my aunt spent her time in the hospital with special care, my cousin Mark, who is mentally disabled, spent time with our family. Mark was seventeen at the time, two years older than I was, and had been born with severe mental disorders, which created a wide range of social and physical obstacles for him throughout every day life. He never had any true friends because no one could relate to him, and because he was so different from everyone else. I must admit that first I was filled with a great deal of uncertainty as to how much of a burden my cousin would bring on my family, and looking back it saddens me to see the ignorance I once displayed. I had passed judgement on him, and proceeded to assume that the time I was about to be forced to spend with him was bound to seem like an eternity. Over the two weeks that Mark lived with my family, I probably learned more about life and its meanings than I ever did before. Thinking back, I took everything in daily life for granted. I never even thought about being able to do things like walk, brush my teeth, or go to the bathroom on my own. Now I see how lucky I am to be able to do these things independently. Mark was seventeen, and learning on a nine-year-old level. Although his learning ability was exceptionally slower than most, he could still, like the rest of his classmates, learn. He showed an ambition to love life and now I have 2006-07-07T13:17:41-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/A-Person-Who-has-had-Influence-on-my-Life-30087.aspx Real Heroes in Contemporary Times What is a hero? There are many definitions of a hero. Since this is my essay, I bet you want to know what my definition is. Well my definition of hero is someone who cares and loves someone so much that they will go out of 2006-07-06T00:04:33-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Real-Heroes-in-Contemporary-Times-30064.aspx “How The Military Influenced My Life” To really understand the significance of how the military shaped me into the person I am today, I must first reveal some insight into the person I was before I left for basic training. When I graduated high school in 1985 I was indestructible ready to take on anything that came my way. I had led a somewhat sheltered life in that my parents provided a warm loving environment for my siblings and myself. Yes we experienced the normal trials and tribulations as any other kid, but we really had no negative or significant emotional events growing up that directly effected our development. Rather it was the lack of these incidents that gave us a naive outlook on life and all the responsibilities it entails. This Cognitive development prior to my experiences in the military left me with a positive outlook on life and its possibilities yet, wholly unprepared for life in its reality. As I stated earlier, when I graduated from High school, I didn’t have a care in the world. My biggest worry was where I wanted to play baseball, and where I was going out that weekend. I was given a car for graduation as well as a credit card for gas. After graduation I received a baseball scholarship and didn’t have to worry about how to pay for school. This along with other things that I had taken for granted led me to believe that the whole world was peachy with nothing negative that would affect me. The only trauma in my life was if a certain girl didn’t want to go out with me. This to me was a significant emotional event. Not only was I naive, I was somewhat jaded as well. I believe this was a result of the environment that I grew up in as a child. I moved to a different part of the country every two years from the time I started first grade until I started high school. I was exposed to a large variety of people and regional cultures in the country, but I was still ignorant of the harsh reality of life as though I walked through life with blinders on. After the first two years of college, I would receive a rude awakening in what life was all about. If a person was to have 2006-07-06T00:02:54-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/How-The-Military-Influenced-My-Life-30063.aspx Journies of a Lifetime Abroad Prior to moving to Arizona from Switzerland two years ago, I have spent almost all of my vacation time from 1987-1992 (thanks to 6 weeks vacation time per year and airline benefits) visiting the U.S.A. and taking extensive road trips across the country. I followed the same pattern each time, choosing a bunch of cities from a Rand McNally atlas that are less than a day's drive apart, arranging for a rental car and finding the motels and attractions as I went along. Many great memories, impressions, experiences and photos remain from those days. Though traveling off the tourist path I often stayed on the interstates between medium-sized cities. I have been on I-40 between Oklahoma and California several times and I have seen the occasional "Historic Route 66" sign along the way when stopping for the night or at a gas station. I had heard of Route 66 before, but at the time just did not know exactly what it was. The signs were there but where was the road? I never quite figured that out at the time and the exact meaning of "Get your kicks on Route 66" eluded me too. I remember browsing through a book in a bookstore, Route 66 - The Mother Road by Michael Wallis, and being fascinated by the pictures, the small towns, the old gas stations, the hamburger joints and the old signs. This was what had always fascinated me on the road too, more than the National Parks, Disneyland and the skyscrapers together! I finally bought the book last year and the Route 66 mystery started to unfold. My wife and I took a road trip from Phoenix to Detroit last June but due to time concerns had to pass up on most of the "kicks". Now I really wanted to do a Route 66 trip! We set aside the time to make up for it last November and decided to go West on 66 from Flagstaff. We labeled I-40 "the evil road" and corporate fast food and motel chains would be off limits. Regardless of schedule, we would also take the time to stop wherever there was something Route 66 related to see. After all, I had bought my first SLR camera a few months prior and was ready to try it on the road. So off we went 2006-07-04T16:32:33-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Journies-of-a-Lifetime-Abroad-30003.aspx Witness of a Falling Star A brilliant flash of light streaked across the starlit summer sky. It lit up the whole sky for a couple of seconds and then returned it back to the darkness. I wondered what it was. Sitting on the sand near rocks made me feel cold, but the flash of light brought warmth. It was not late, although the sky was already dark blue, almost black. The moon and stars were looking down in the ocean as in a mirror. The wind was slightly blowing the water, making waves. They gently pushed the rocks, disappearing in the white foam. I liked being near the sea, looking at the endless horizon and listening to the rusting music of waves. Sometimes I 2006-06-21T15:37:47-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Witness-of-a-Falling-Star-29769.aspx Thankful on Thanksgiving This thanksgiving day I’ve realized that I have a lot to be thankful for. Like perhaps being alive. I don’t know about you, but I’m very thankful for this. I know these aren’t your normal things to be thankful for, but I have really been thinking. Maybe I am thankful for the bad day I had, because that means I’ve had better days, and this is only one day of my life and it always gets better. I might be thankful for the pop I spilled and the glass I broke, because that means I am human and make mistakes. For the arguments I get into with my parents, because clearly if they didn’t love me they wouldn’t worry about things I do. For all of the clustered keys on my key ring, because that means I have places to go and friends to see. For the phone constantly ringing, because that means that there are people who feel the need to talk to me. Even for my annoying nephews who never stop bugging me, then I realize its only because they need my guidance and help to proceed in life. Unusually I could be thankful for all the tests and quiz’s I have to take, because that means that teachers know I am capable of passing them and doing well. I’m thankful for all of the friends I’ve lost touch with throughout the years, because I’ve learned at least one helpful thing from each one of them. I’m thankful for common sense, that tells me not to touch a burner when hot. That tells me when its lightning don’t use an umbrella. That lets me know I shouldn’t blow dry my hair while I’m in the shower... Last but not least, I am thankful for you always being here to watch over me. Watching me go through good times and bad. Not because you want to see me suffer through bad, but because you have faith in me and know I will make it through. These are all things that I am very thankful for. I wouldn’t normally think of some of these things, but I’m happy I did. Because now I realize just how thankful I really am. Somebody once said, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”. Even when your day seems to be nothing but bad, you can always pull through and 2006-06-15T22:45:17-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Thankful-on-Thanksgiving-29575.aspx Journal Entries of a Deaf Child Dear Journal: The reason for this entry is because my psychologist Dr. Martin told me it was a good and healthy way to express my feelings and emotions. I am currently under psychological and psychiatric treatment. I feel really depressed, anxious and a general sense of loss. My psychiatrist Dr. Gonzalez prescribed these medicines called Paxil and Xanax to help me with these feelings. I was never like this before. We had rough times but things always seem to work out fine, until that horrible day. Now all I can think of is Why Me?? Why my innocent child? It all began on a Wednesday morning at my son’s school. Jerry, my son, is a very smart boy presently in the first grade. He was just perfect, until that day. Jerry had been complaining the day before of a headache and neck pains. I thought he had probably slept in a wrong position or that I needed to get his eyes checked. I gave him Children’s Tylenol and he seemed to feel better. The next morning it all changed. According to the teacher, Mr. Rodriguez just before lunch about four children started to feel sick. The kids seemed to have a fever and were complaining of nausea and headaches. The teacher sent all the kids to the office to contact their parents. As each parent picked up his or her child everyone assumed it was just a virus. When I picked up Jerry I noticed he was really warm. He was also complaining of pains in his head and neck. I immediately took him home and gave him Children’s Tylenol and had him lie down and rest. Half an hour later I checked Jerry’s temperature. It was higher than before, 103.6. He was lethargic and wanted only to sleep. I panicked. I did not know what to do. This did not look like a regular virus or cold. It was around 12:00 noon when I called the pediatrician. Unfortunately they were out to lunch until 2:00 p.m. I had to leave my telephone number with the answering service. I remember seeing Jerry so helpless and immobile. I decided to put him in the bathtub and give him a cold bath to help lower the fever. I was so afraid he would have a seizure due to his high fever. I decided to give him more Tylenol because he 2006-06-01T18:51:08-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Journal-Entries-of-a-Deaf-Child-28980.aspx I literally eat, sleep, watch abit of telly, go on the net and study. I sometimes try to fit in abit of exercise once in a while but i'm terribly unfit most of the time. I get moody sometimes, especially when my little sisters annoy me. its very irritating. I enjoy going on the internet but sometimes i get so addicted i find myself on for hours and hours. i believe that i have an anger problem, inherited from my dad, but the good thing is that i can control it at times. I enjoy being at home with my family but soemtimes i prefer to be outside and away for a while. My room is ofen quite messy because i tend to immediately throw things on my bed or floor when i arrive home from work, school or a day out with friends. I rarely hang up my clothes when i take them off and you will find socks and other stuff lying around the floor. My bedroom wall has photographs of my sister thuy and jenny when they are young and a school photo of angela when she was in year 12. I have a small uni calendar that i rarely use and a large simpsons poster above all of this. One lonely and messy study table is situated near the window. Under my study table, there are wires everywhere which causes injuries sometimes. I have one mirror table and two small mirrors on one of my three clothes cupboard doors. At the present time, a packet of cispy M&Ms and an apple core on my study table. A pile of books stacked on the bed is going to fall any minute. I have some coloured paper cranes hanging from the ceiling in the four corners of my room. The television doesn't have a remote control and needs an antenna for it to work. my curtains are currently tied up so i can get some air into the room. Having the laptop on for a few hours can generate alot of heat in the room. right now i can see an iron lying on the table, a blue piggy bank with no money in it, a dusty printer that probably doesnt work anymore, three pens on the floor and my little sister sleeping on the bed. my love life is quite borng at the moment because there isnt 2006-04-12T13:12:32-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Who-am-I--28687.aspx I am probably the only person on this planet that can't figure out the significance of Love and the forever lasting happiness that it brings along with the exclusive pain that secretly trumatizes us to the brink of suicide. I try my best to avoid such a complicating topic but love in itself is something no one can ever get a clear understanding off without stress or frustration. There is a very good possibility that i've been completely brainwashed as a result of watching numerous romantic films and consistantly reading novels that are totally Love related. Meg Ryan and Tom Hank films are classic examples of the 'romance' that is persistently reinforcing the romantic fantasy to suggest that imperative power of Love which is totally buried in our forever boring life without the underlying emotion attachment that keeps us alive. But is this a resemblence of our reality? Does love really conquer all? The answers to these questions are sickening invisible and as human beings, we are forever oblivious to this dominant aspect that may or may not title us as the weakest link. Like you and me, every human strives for happiness, the most valuable element of human nature. From my personal observations of people and their romantic encounters, i am more than confident to draw your attention on the very interesting and painful love cycle. Have you ever experienced childhood crushes? There may have been a sweet little girl or boy who caught your attention. As you grow, you realise that that childhood romance wasn't at all a romance story. When you finally reach an age when you think you know everything about love either because you've experienced it in high school or you've witnessed your friend's experiences, you feel more in control of your love life. But for many, love can be a nasty game that acts as an entertainment source or just purely a powerful evil disease that produces contagious anxiety and emotional distress to their lives. These people are usually bias when they speak thoughtfully in regards to love but what they are unaware off is the idea that the reality of love is not a heavenly product that brings forever lasting happiness to our lives. In order to define the true identity of love and defeat it's powerful impact on us, human beings are encouraged to fall in love as many times as 2006-04-12T11:07:10-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Confusion--28685.aspx Online Dating – Safety Tips Tip #1: Keep Your Personal Information Private Unless you know who you're dealing with, do not provide your personal information such as full name, address and phone number. This will ensure your physical safety. Most people are harmless and genuine about seeking a partner in love, but the Web is full of individuals with ill intentions. This is not to say that these individuals migrate to our site, but common sense in any arrangement must be applied. This same advice would hold true for meeting someone through the newspaper personals and other options. Tip #2: Carefully Choose Your Online Name If you are female and you intend to spend your time online in various chat rooms or signing up for various free e-mail accounts and you don't want to invite sexual innuendo or the virtual equivalent of a whistle and an uninvited sexual reference, then choose a gender neutral name. Of course, if your intention is to invite advances from men, then choose a feminine name, but be prepared for an onslaught of advances. This tip doesn't apply to women only, though, as the Web is full of very assertive women who will target nicks of the male variety. By choosing a gender-neutral identity online, you afford yourself the option of revealing your gender identity (or more) when you're comfortable in doing so. Tip #3: Have Your Wits About You When Meeting in Real Life If and when you decide to meet your online friend, don't go alone. Bring a group of friends along with you and schedule your meeting during the day and in a public place. The person you are meeting, if they are worthwhile, will agree to your request to meet in the safest possible surroundings. Tip #4: Trust Your Instincts Too many of us don't trust our instincts and betray them, often to our own detriment. Our instincts are always trying to tell us something. Learn to trust your instincts. If something about your online encounters feels uncomfortable, you can almost bet that an in-person encounter will feel the same. With this in mind, don't lead someone on in e-mail. If you get an immediate sense that they are not your type, let them know politely by giving them the digital equivalent of "let's just be friends." If you lead someone on and their emotions get the best of them, there 2006-03-30T04:53:44-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Online-Dating-Safety-Tips-28643.aspx There aren’t many events in my life which has changed me and made me who I am. But at the back of my head somewhere in my busy memory have I managed to collect some events that possibly made me whom I am, This is me…… I would firstly like to talk about my holiday in Australia a few years ago. I believe that this specific holiday has changed my views and opinions about all different people and the way that I deal with the South African way of doing things. In the year 1998 my parents and I went on holiday to Melbourne, Australia. That was in the months of December and January. During our holiday in Australia we did a lot of fun things and interacted with many “English” Australians and the Indigenous Australians. I learnt lots about the other people, their cultures, customs, and traditions. When I arrived back in South Africa at almost the end of January I had gained new insights and new other cultures and this changed me, because then I truly knew what being a South African really was. Then there was my grade seven camp. Although I have an unclear recollection of the camp I still remember the important bits. One thing which I know for sure is that I never really wanted to go on the camp, the school teachers and my parents had to force me to go. Two days before the camp hesitant I decided to go. The big reason why I didn’t want to go was because I was very shy and didn’t like making friends and I thought that maybe I’ll be the only one in the group exercises. When we arrived at the camp most other pupils were very friendly and it wasn’t till long that I found out that everybody wanted to be friends with me. I was overjoyed and lead all the group activities with the other four/five members in my group. The grade 7 camp has changed me because I went a shy and insecure boy and when I came back I was confident and was a friends friend. There have also been religious influences in my life, which possibly have made me a better person. I grew up in a strong Christian family and a lot of beliefs and thoughts have been instilled in me. A specific change came two years ago when I was invited by 2006-02-16T19:47:40-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Five-Events-that-have-Most-Influenced-me-made-who-I-am-28505.aspx The childhood I remember centers around Forest Hill. I like this area because I never had to go very far to feel I was in the countryside. Forest Hill is right in the center of the city of Toronto and yet it is surrounded by two major ravines, one to the west of the neighborhood and one to the east flanking Chaplin Crescent and Avenue Road. There are many walking nature trails in these urban forests and many shortcuts that I've come to know. I grew up in a house just one block away from the junior and senior school I attended which has the same name as my neighborhood “Forest Hill Public School” also known as South Prep. This school is also surrounded by a large green space and a wonderful track for running and cycling. I loved being able to go home for lunch everyday, especially in the winter when I would have a nice warm bowl of chicken broth or lentil soup, and a hearty beef stew with mashed potatoes, which are my favorite. I would try to guess what was for lunch from the aroma that surrounded my house since, at that time, my mother would have the kitchen exhaust on at full speed and perhaps a window open so as not to have cooking odors lingering. Most of the time I could guess at least one item correctly. Especially the fusilli, with the Bolognese meat sauce that my mother makes so well. The proximity to the school made it easy to bring things back and forth from school as well. This was especially true in Grade five when I would be allowed to bring home for the weekend our class mascot; a little golden brown hamster we named JP. I knew it was a great responsibility, but nonetheless, I brought him home as often as I could. He is what really sparked my interest in animals and has led me to come to appreciate their habits, and respect their habitat. He was soft and meek, and I would stroke him very gently with one finger because he looked so fragile. It was like stroking a warm fur ball. Occasionally I would let him out of his cage so that he could experience a larger environment. I enjoyed making his world as comfortable as possible by scrubbing down his cage and putting fresh wood chips. JP 2006-02-12T22:39:51-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Where-my-world-began-a-memoir-on-my-childhood-28484.aspx Vietnam and Enlisting in the Army Introduction My name is Jack Andrews and I still live with my parents, Robert and Marie Andrews, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I have one brother named John Andrews, and he is married and is living in California. These past few months my dad has been trying to persuade me to join the Army, like John did. I have given it some serious thought, and I am really thinking about joining. After all, I will get in better shape and it will be fun shooting fully automatic weapons. There is only one problem, I don’t know if my dad can run the farm by himself, but he says he can do it. He said he is sure he can so, I think I will join the Army. Chapter 1 Getting In It has been three weeks since I sent my letter in and I finally got one back. In the letter it said I can go to one of three bases, Colorado, Texas, or California. I have about two weeks to decide, but I think I will go to California to be with John. I have talked it over with dad and mom, and they said it is okay to go to the one in California. Now, all I have to do is send my letter back saying where I want to go and, after they send something back, I can go. Until I get something back from the Army, I guess I will be helping dad around the farm. I wrote John a letter telling him the news and he wrote back saying whenever I am on leave I can stay with him. The Army wrote back and said they accepted my choice to go to California. It also said to report as soon as you can. Chapter 2 Leaving for Base I went to the airport today and got a ticket to California. My plane is leaving in two days, and I have a lot of things to do. Tomorrow I leave and all I have to do today is pack the things I want to take. I can’t believe I am actually doing this, but I am, and dad and mom are very proud of me. Right before I got on my plane, I gave dad and mom a hug and told them I loved them. I am very nervous about flying. 2006-01-15T20:08:51-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Vietnam-and-Enlisting-in-the-Army-28437.aspx Josh Green, 5L A Country of Green, Gold and a Forgotten Black. “Dreaming place ... you can’t change it, no matter who you are. No matter you rich man, no matter you king. You can’t change it.” It struck me the other day, as I was walking into the dark abyss of yet another school lesson, that I was missing something. And it was, with a certain degree of sentimentality, that I thought of my childhood in, and my subsequent yearly visits to, Australia; the ‘New World’, a progeny of Captain Cook’s passion of exploration, a ‘world’ steeped in bloody, juvenile, discomposing, (yet oh so rich) history. A ‘world’ colonised by the rejects of society; those tending more towards criminal than scholarly aptitudes. A ‘world’ known for its dry, flat, hot, inhospitable climate, yet comparatively also its gargantuan variation and number of unusual animals, deadly plants, and inspiring marine life. Indeed, it is a nation labelled as ‘the most deadly in the world’, where after escaping spiders in your shoes, snakes in your garage, scorpions on your doorstep, you can still, whilst having a swim on one of Australia’s world-renowned beaches, be attacked by poisonous seashells which, believe me, actually go for you. If you escape those nasties, there is still always the chance of being chomped by a croc, swallowed by a shark, or indeed being drawn out to sea by a deadly ocean current, known as a ‘rip’. Despite Australia’s inhospitable climate, geography and local inhabitants, I shall never forget the land of my birth. Everyone who goes to Australia comes back a new person, having scrambled out of their self-centred world of naivety and self-consciousness. There is something about the country, the people, the immensity of the place, that gives a distinct sense of individuality, a sense of loneliness, a sense of being just a small part of something unimaginably large, and a desire to irrevocably force one’s way into that world, that dangerous world, that inhospitable world, yet that world of seeming inexhaustible wonders. The Australian people are something of a reflection of this. Just as Australian geography is something unmatched anywhere in the world, so are its inhabitants something unique. It is widely known that Australians are laid-back, good-humoured, affable peoples. However, despite their poise and good nature, all Australians attempt to conceal a discomposing history, full of malignance and brutality. As the first Europeans came over to Australia, they found just one obstacle 2006-01-07T12:36:45-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Aborigines-In-Australia,-past-and-present-Travel-Creative-28416.aspx It was a cold day in November of 1999. The wind was strong and there was a lot of snow on the ground. Well, it was a typical day for my family. My mother Marisa, my younger sister Jessica and I went to go visit my grandmother in the Bronx. We arrived there about 9:30am in the morning give or take a minute or too. We were initially planning to visit my grandfather in the hospital but beforehand, we decided to take up some time and help clean the house a little bit. For the past couple of weeks, My grandfather really hasn’t been doing well at all concerning his health. We would usually go visit him early at the hospital around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. However, on this day, we lost track of time and we ended up going later at 4:30 to the Westchester Square hospital. On the way to the hospital, I felt very weird feelings inside but I really thought nothing of it. Therefore, when we arrived at the hospital, me and my mother & sister went to room 316, the room he was staying in. As I walked into the room, I saw my grandfather’s face and it was not the same. He had his head tilted to the side with the saddest look on his face. I could see it in his eyes that things were not looking good for him. As we walked in the room he did not say a word to us, All he did was look around with this stare that is indescribable. He stared at me as if everything was over for him. I immediately went up to him and gave him a kiss and asked him how we was doing and if he was okay. When he tried to answer me, all he was doing was stuttering and when I saw that he couldn’t talk right I busted into tears because I never heard my grandfather stuttered in such a horrible manner. I also saw the reaction on my mother’s face. My mother went to go talk to the doctors to see what was the condition on him while me and my sister were holding my grandfather’s hand. As I was looking at him, tears were running down my cheek faster than I could explain to you. 2005-12-30T04:40:48-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Love--28303.aspx Cry Of A People: The Jewish Soul, Journey Of The American Jew I attended a concert at the El Camino College Marsee Auditorium on Saturday, November 3, 2001, by Daniel Heifetz. A yellow shell cover surrounded the stage, which had five music stands 3(three) on the left and 2(two) on the right and piano on center stage. Daniel Heifetz, violin front center stage and the Classical Band: with special guest Carmen Balthrop, soprano. The Classical Band consisted of 2(two) violinist, Janice Martin and Tao-Chang Yu, and one viola player Myron Makris on the left, one pianist Micah Yui center, one bass; Christopher Chlumsky, and one cello, Lukasz Szyrner on the right. The program’s title was Cry of a People: The Jewish Soul, Journey of the American Jew; it consisted of 11(eleven) compositions. All of the compositions were about Jews and their struggle to overcome the Hitler Era. First, was Brocca (Blessing) Daniel Heifetz got solo; accompanied by the Classical Band. It was written during the 20th century. The piece reminded me of Egyptian music. Their was imitation and a homophonic texture. It sounded wonderful. In the second half of the program and my most favorite was “Songs from the Holocaust, arranged by Meria 2005-12-28T05:13:09-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Cry-Of-A-People-The-Jewish-Soul-Journey-Of-The-American-Jew-28288.aspx The Younger Avengers, The Beginning Adventure Once upon a time in a decade of destruction and chaos there was a young child who is in a world of uncertainty and confussion. This young boy is not like any other child, this boy has powers and the capability to destroy the evil doers who so thought took over the earth. His name is Turko, and he has a friend who is with him on this mission by the name of Mozza. They travel by foot to find and destroy those evil-doers who think they are in control. "Hey Turko, when we get to this place where our enemies lay unaware of our approach I am going to show them that all they are are bullies." "Yes Mozza, we will avenge our fathers who parished in the attack of our town and villages. "Right, we will avenge our fathers and take back what is rightfully ours." "Yes Mozza we will, but we can not under estimate our enemies who are strong, but not strong enough for us." "Our enemies are from a different planet and are not like humans and have capabilities and powers like us." "Good thing we are more powerful than our enemies, huh Turko?" "Yes, but still keep in mind that we have to be aware at all times." As the two young warriors continue their journey for the battle that awaits them they find a place to camp at for the night. In the morning they eat and wash up and begin their journey once more. However, they are almost there and a scout from the opposing force notices them from a high look out in a tree and warns the two invaders of the young warriors approaching their territory. "Sir, there seems to be two young kids approaching us coming from the south and they seem as if they are looking for a fight." "Well, if it's a fight they want it's a fight they will get." "Yes, we will wait for them and see what kind of buisness they want with us." "Troops, go set up a ambush just incase they are looking for a fight." "Right boss, right away." "Now all we do is wait, ha ha ha..." "Turko, we should be approaching the invaders very shortly." "Yes, I know Mozza, I feel their pressence, they could be aware that we are headed for them so be on alert." "Right, 2005-12-04T01:33:42-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Younger-Avengers,-The-Beginning-Adventure-28152.aspx Quoteable Quotes Title of Story: Swallowing Stones Author: Joyce McDonald Quotation: “We have got to act like nothing’s happened. We have got to turn this car around, and you got to take your driver’s test like everyone expects. Come on man, I’ve done things I ain’t proud of. You just live with them, that’s 2005-11-23T21:06:02-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Swallowing-Stones-by-Joyce-McDonald-28121.aspx Through my eyes, a ferris wheel use to be just another ride. Now it's a death machine that suspends you in mid air as you hang on for dear life. Whenever I get on a ferris wheel, I'm terrified. My breathing slows down and my heart starts beating fast. I find it hard to focus. Everytime I look down I can't see the bottom. Once I'm on it, there is no way to stop and ask for anyone's aid. I've had a few bad experiences with ferris wheels. It all started when I was 6 years old. My family took us to an amusement park called the Magic Forest. It was a rainy day, but we still went on the rides and had a lot of fun. My little brother and I begged my mom if we could go on the ferris wheel. She said no and when my dad asked why, she said that cart number 118 would start swinging back and forth. At first we were disappointed that we couldn't go on the ride. Instead we sat back and watched as the wheel circuited around. As I looked up, I could see the rain dripping off from the top of the tree pines. I looked past the ferris wheel into the parking lot and saw a gigantic Uncle Sam statue standing tall and proud. As we watched the wheel descend from the top, to our disbelief cart number 118 start swinging out of control. I could see the rain droplets dashing off the the bottom of the cart. Everyone was in shock. Thankfully, the workers got everyone off and nobody was hurt. On my 7th grade class trip, my friends and I decided to go on the ferris wheel. As we waited in line, we started joking around saying that we would get stuck at the top. We got into the cart and stopped near the top like it usually does, but with a screeching halt. Hanging in suspense, I looked down to see that 5 people are surrounded at the controls and shout up at us "You'll be down in a few minutes". After 20 minutes went by, we started panicing. One of my friends start screaming at the top of her lungs, "We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're gonna starve to death!" At that moment, my friend Kelsey revealed some Nutrigrain Bars out of her 2005-11-17T01:47:18-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Through-a-Child-s-Eyes-Kait-s-Ferris-Wheel-Stories-28110.aspx The Strange Deer It was the middle of summer in a small town called Harvey, near the city of Marquette, Michigan. The road (driveway) to my family?s cabin was lengthy; it took a half-hour to get to the cabin from the road. Our camp was a small, one bedroom cabin in the middle of the woods. A creek flowed around our eight acres. A half mile away was a rundown cabin that we called "Jack's house." My dad always said that an old man named Jack lived there. He told us that Jack watched us at night while we were asleep. There was a rumor that he ate humans and animals for survival. Dad told us that bears surrounded the cabin, but I never saw one. We went there on weekends during the summer to vacation away from the city, but sometimes we stayed longer. There wasn?t much to do there, so if we didn?t go to town, we went to Presque Isle Island near our camp. Presque Isle Island was located in Marquette, Michigan, on Lake Superior, one of the coldest and biggest of the five Great Lakes. We climbed large rocks called Black Rocks and went to parks with swings and slides, and a nature paths with site lookouts. It was so that all one could hear were the sounds of nature. I pulled up in my car, and went for a walk on the nature trail; I looked up, I saw the deer. There was something about the way his eyes gazed at me. I approached it. It looked helpless. His hair was thin, rough around his neck and legs. There was dried up blood above his left eye. It seemed as though he had been in a fight with another deer. I slowly and calmly continued to walk towards him, trying not to frighten him in any way. " It's OK. I won't hurt you. I want to try to help you," I said. Kalyan 2 Eng. 101 I got closer to him and saw felt covering two bumps on the top of his head -- his antlers. They were beginning to grow for his own protection and survival during the bitter cold winter that lay ahead. His body was thin and fragile. I could not distinguish if he was old, young or just sick. I gradually placed my hand out in front of his nose so he 2005-10-16T00:18:14-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Strange-Deer-28057.aspx I chose this instrument panel because I think it would be cool to demonstrate how Charles Lindbergh had to navigate and fly. This instrument panel is similar to the one Charles used in his flights. The top instrument was used to find his way. On the left is the air speed this was very critical when Charles had to take off, land, and cruising. The instrument located the lowest is bank this was very important when he was given coordinates. On the right is his clock. This was Charles only way of knowing time and knowing how long to turn. In the center is his altitude instrument this told him how many he feet above see level he was in thousands. To use this an example in some situations Charles would fly at 10,000 feet (using his altitude instrument), then had 240 degrees (using compass), with a 20 degrees bank (using his bank instrument), going 90 nautical miles, and do this for 10 seconds. Now flight navigation is much easier. Using one GPS (global positioning system) can almost help you navigate across the whole world. This is very important for the future to further advance flying navigation and making it much easier. I chose the ST. Louis plane to show how planes were back then. A small company, the Ryan Aeronautical Company of San Diego, arranged to build a plane for Charles Lindbergh for $6,000 in addition to the cost of the engine. He went to their small plant in San Diego and observed the design modifications and the construction his plane. Basically, the Spirit of St. Louis was a custom-built airplane, designed specifically to fly Lindbergh across the Atlantic. There was no parachute and no radio .The plane was 27 feet long, the wings were forty-five feet to help lift the 2700 pounds (400+ gallons) of gas. The rest of the airplane, the engine, and its pilot only weighed about 2500 pounds. Powered by a 223hp(which is very low) engine. The plane could cruise for about 4,200 miles. RAC employees worked day and night to finish the aircraft in just two months which was pretty good considering the fact that airplanes weren’t that advance back then. This plane helped Charles to become one of the most famous pilots in the world by achieving the transatlantic flight and wining the Raymond Orteig $25,000 prize. Charles is a pioneer in the 2005-09-25T19:32:23-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Charles-the-Pilot--28033.aspx Materialistic America In today's society, there are many people who take 2005-08-15T01:02:29-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Materialistic-America-27650.aspx After the Valley experienced a long drawn out period of devastating drought, the breeding of fowl decreased, but after a very wet and dreary winter, spring and the new birth was beautiful. It continued to get better as each afternoon I watched my sister walk home from school and day after day be swooped at by the dominant, polygamous male for the area (namely the magpie). When the school holidays came, my afternoon entertainment came to a pause. I knew the boredom would soon lift because a friend Lucy was coming to stay. It was a perfect spring day when she came over. The sky was baby blue with the features of creamy white fluffy soft clouds. With the warm breeze blowing easily, the day was innocently inviting, so we went out to play. First we played with my yo-yo, this lasted for half an hour, and soon we found ourselves out of ideas of things to do. Then I suggested we play on the scooters. The two scooters would not have been used for easily three years, so this left them coated in silver threads. The threads made them appear to shine and shimmer in the golden light that had made its way through the many metres of foliage above them. I pulled them down from their hooks and cautiously brush of the webs. My driveway is fairly flat but some parts have been pushed up from the extension of plant roots, so to scoot on that would definitely be out of the question. This resulted in Lucy and I taking the scooters out on the road. We were not in danger of the local traffic on the road because it is a no through road and I live about half way down. I had forgotten how much fun it was to be on my scooter; the steering continuously going off centre, the vibration as the solid wheels spin on the bumpy surface of the road and the noisy clacking as the wheels went on each new uneven surface. Behaving in a child like manner had its positives but also the negatives. Laughing as we tried to beat each other in a race did not cancel out the fact we were 100 metres within the nest of an extremely aggressive magpie, whose 3 eggs were still being incubated, by one of his female partners. Lucy and I went on our way not considering 2005-08-12T10:07:52-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Most-Horrifying-Moment-of-My-Life-27599.aspx Russian Talk Show Two days ago I watched a talk show called “Vzgliad” (a look at something) on a Russian satellite program. This talk show is usually about political issues. The invited expert was Aung San Suu Ki, the Nobel Prize winner of the world for 1991 and the leader of democratic movement of Burma (Myanma), a country between Thailand and India. The topic of the show was “Forms and methods of educating to basic principles of democracy.” The show started with the following word of the invited expert: " We, in Burma, have tendency at education of children to use threats. I very much have asked you to not do it. In our country we threaten children, teaching them to do or to not do something instead of explaining to them so that they have understood it. Such approach to training by intimidation now has got so a wide circulation, that the heads who govern us, do not try to explain any things to simple people, and instead of it for the control above them use threats. It is a part of our culture, and that part which we should change. Let's teach our children, explaining them. It is our duty; our duty consists in teaching our children to feeling of validity and compassion ". Her words testify to that big value which active workers of democratic movement give to use of formation in business of construction and strengthening of a democratic society. In this short fragment Aung San Suu Ki states a number of simple, but deep ideas. A position concerning politics and the governments grow out training, instead of congenital. Education of children in authoritative style frequently promotes occurrence of the governments, which operate the state from a position of force and are not accountable to the citizens. Non-democratic values can have deep roots in culture of a society. Racism, extreme nationalism, xenophobia and other forms of intolerance in an equal measure threaten stability to the new as well as to the stabilized democratic countries. And, at last, Aung San Suu Ki states an optimistic idea that if the present way of life causes damage to a society, it can be changed. Education has key value for realization of these changes. However, 2005-08-12T03:57:17-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Russian-Talk-Show--27593.aspx Define: "Necessity is the Mother of Invention" The quote, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” is a pretty well known saying. Like most quotes, they can have different meanings for different people. To me, this quote means that without ever having to need anything, nothing would have been invented. Without necessity, the need for new inventions, such as the fire or even the television, may have never been found or even thought of. Also, with the need of certain things, you can help improve your life and the lives of others. New inventions and ideas happen all the time. Some are planned and others aren’t. Necessity plays a key role in the beginnings of new inventions. A few months ago, hurricanes came ripping through Florida and many of my family members and friends didn’t have power for several weeks. We met at someone’s house and tried to make the best out of a very difficult situation. While the adults sat inside and chatted, all the kids gathered on the porch to make up a game that would consume time and amuse us all on the same token. With only a few scraps from Twister, Monopoly, and Checkers, we made a game more comical than any other game I have ever heard of. As our parents beckoned us inside, we begged our parents to stay. Knowing we couldn’t win them over, we gathered all the pieces, so we could play again. Improving yours and others lives can bring about many necessities that must be dealt with. Not only can it help someone become a little less stressed, but you can also have a little fun. When my family and I would arrive home after a long day, we decided to invent a “Family Game Night.” I remember one week, when you could feel the tension in the room. Dad had just come through the door and mom was busy cleaning the kitchen as I prepared the game room for our family night. Everyone, including me must have had a very trying day. When everything was set, we sat down and gingerly started to play. Soon, everyone was so hysterical that tears were coming from their eyes. Clearly, since our invention of our “Family Game Night” the need for everyone to have some fun and relax was finally solved. The need for some things can bring about new inventions, which can be fun and very rewarding. 2005-08-02T13:12:56-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Define-quot-Necessity-is-the-Mother-of-Invention-quot-27532.aspx What is prejudice and how does it affects us? Prejudice. What 2005-08-02T13:09:51-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/What-is-prejudice-and-how-does-it-affects-us-27531.aspx An Inspirational Personality It has been four years now that I've been working at Captain Coney's restaurant. A manager here by the name of Linda Wood has been an inspiration in my life. She has this work ethic, personality, and outlook on life that I highly respect and admire. In the time I have known her, she has displayed the kind of character that I would want to incorporate into my life. She is a splendid worker who is dependable and reliable. She is a hard-worker, helps everyone, and never complains. She does her job very well, mostly exceeding others' expectations. Linda loves working with people, especially children. Currently, she holds a bachelor's in teaching. She taught for ten years but gave it up to follow her dream in the medical field. She 2005-07-11T06:06:30-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/An-Inspirational-Personality-27290.aspx I was only ten years old when I played on my first organized basketball team. I do not know whether it was my amazing coach or just the new experience of playing, but I fell in love with the game. Ever since the first day of practice, playing has been natural for me. I have also each year been one of the best players in the league and state. Everyone that I knew, especially teachers and administrators at my school, treated me with respect and would have done anything for me. I always thought it was because they truly cared about me. I later found out that many people have more selfish reasons for treating me the way they did. The summer before my junior year I had a horse riding accident. My family and I thought I would get well quick enough for a fall sport, but I was unable to even jog until two weeks before basketball started. I attempted to play, but about five games into the season my parents and coach made me go back to the doctor. I found out I would not be able to play the rest of the season. When people found out I was hurt, they acted truly concerned. Then when they knew I would not be playing the rest of the season, I was nothing anymore. It seemed as if my life made a complete turn around. Before I could walk down the halls and be late to class because a teacher would strike up a conversation with me. After I could not play anymore, teachers would just walk on by without saying a word to me. Not even my coach would give me the time of day. Some of my friends always told me that I got away with some things just because I was an athlete. That was all just a joke until I was not the big athlete anymore. I guess you do not notice what you had until you lose it. After I realized the treatment I received, I started to notice it with other basketball players. I have a friend who plays college basketball. He has told me of numerous occasions when he and other members of the basketball team have received special privileges just because they played basketball. If he would not have an assignment done on time, the teachers would let it slide and pass 2005-07-11T05:11:30-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Because-I-m-a-Basketball-Player-I-get-Special-Treatment-27281.aspx “You have just won a million dollars!” shouted Regis on the most popular show that has ever hit television. A fifty-one year old retired, high school teacher sat on the hot seat in absolute amazement. In seconds his life changed from being an ordinary, retired father of two, and living with his wife in a small Manhattan home to becoming a millionaire. I sat in my living room wishing that it was me who had answered that last question correctly in that seat, instead of sitting in my favorite black leather chair that faces the television at a perfect angle. I would have done anything to be that man at that moment. I couldn’t imagine what was going through his mind. There I was, sitting at home, watching all the excitement on television, dreaming for my life to be different. How easily I had forgotten all of the good things in my life. Indeed there was a million things for me to be happy about. I had a wonderful handsome husband, a bright young nine-year-old daughter, a son in his pre-teenage years and so much more. My life wasn’t bad at all, “money isn’t everything,” I thought to myself. “Knock…. Knock…knock.” sounded the door to wake me out of my short daydream. Remembering that I had lent our bag of sugar to a friendly neighbor, I walked towards the door, unlatched the top latch and then the bottom. I was shocked to see two men standing at the door. They stood in full uniform, with stern faces, both tall and well built. I didn’t know what to think, my eyes began to sting and I could feel them fill with tears. Something within me said that bad news was upon me. “Ma’am, we are very sorry to inform you that…” “NO, STOP RIGHT THERE” I screeched. The taller of the two stepped forth and drew me towards him as the other man continued. “We are very sorry ma’am, but there has been a terrible accident, your children and your husband were killed this evening… there was nothing anybody could do.” I could not believe it; all three of them were perfect. My husband worked with the church, he was always faithful to our religion and, both of the kids were following his footsteps. It was as if someone had taken a million knives and pierced them into my heart. Slowly 2005-06-26T22:05:39-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Being-A-Millionare-Isn-t-For-Me-27178.aspx They're getting a divorce... What do you think of when you hear about a single mother raising her three kids? Usually, people think of a deadbeat mom, and low life, rebellious kids. However, in my mother's case, you see an independent woman, who is confident in her kids and in her job. My mother isn't the kind of parent that you would see in the newspaper for killing she was desperate for money or love, or too depressed from a divorce to care for us. Living in my house as a youngster was rough. The holidays were the worst. My parent fought about everything, from the Christmas tree, to the turkey on Thanksgiving. Nothing was ever "normal" in my home. The day my parents got divorced was probably the best day in my mother's life. It was most likely because she wanted to make my brother's life and mine easier. Because we would no longer have to hear the screaming and yelling at three AM about the house not being clean. My mother was a happier person when she wasn't fighting with my father. And the house was a lot quieter. I'm sure my mother had been thinking about divorcing my father for sometime. But, why hadn't she done it when all hell broke loose? Or when all the fighting had started? That question still burns in my brain. I know things would have been worse if they had stayed together. My mother and my father were completely wrong for each other. My mother was all about organization and my father was just a big mess. As for us kids, we turned out pretty well. Even though some of my childhood years were hard, the rest of those times were golden. My brothers and I got along with each other very well. When my mother was at work, my older brother (who is about four years older than me) took care of my younger brother and I until she got home around five. My older brother is now at the University of Santa Barbara, studying to be a screenplay writer. My younger brother attends College Park, and is focusing on school, football and wrestling. I would not call what happened between my parents a failure. I would call it THE INEVITABLE. Once upon a time, we all dreamed of the perfect family that had a big house surrounded by a white picket fence 2005-05-19T03:32:56-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Divorce-Affect-on-Myself-as-a-Child-26682.aspx Can you imagine what it will be like when the vast majority of the taxes we pay, will be spent on one, and only one sector of our community? The elderly. It is estimated that by the year 2010, nearly one third of all Australian’s will be unable to contribute to our economy due to old age. This means, that in order to cope with this growing burden on our society, mass changes need to occur to the countries infrastructure. These changes need to be made not only socially, but economically and politically as well, so the growing trend in our demography does not hamper the growth and development of our nation. In this oral I will be outlining some of the key concerns of the issue, such as, what are the rights of the elderly? and what can we do to stem this ageing trend in our community? This will be done in an attempt to answer, how do we look after Australia’s ageing population? Firstly, what rights do the elderly members of our community have? After years of contributing to the countries tax system, the aged are surely entitled to something. Currently this in the form of a pension. The elderly receive a small sum of money, which is granted by the government on a fortnightly basis. However, in the near future, with the sheer volume of people that will eligible for this service, the government will no longer have the funding to continue these handouts. Therefore social security may well become a thing of the past, and then the need for a new system will be paramount. Government initiatives such as the superannuation scheme, a program in which people are required to save a certain percentage of money of every dollar they make, may replace the current system and be the sole safety net for those in their old age. Thus there is a greater need for more of these initiatives, to ensure the future of not only the aged, but the economy as a whole. Secondly, what can we do to counter the ageing trend in Australian society? A solution that has been in the news of late, is a plan to increase immigration. Australia is one of the largest countries in the world, yet we have one of the smallest populations. 2005-05-10T04:21:41-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Australia’s-Aging-Population-How-should-we-look-after-it-26587.aspx Jane Tompkins Essay A personal experience seems like such a simple concept to many. In actuality, it is complex, compound, and can be described as development through life. A personal experience is only a first hand account through the eyes, and emotions of only one person and their journey. I have a story to tell that has taken a colossal role in developing the person that I have become in my social life, family life, and also my academic ventures. Through reading the essay “Indians” : Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History which was written by Jane Tompkins I was able to relate much of her views and ideals to my own particular life. In Tompkins essay she tells her readers the story of a research project. Through the research that was conducted by Tompkins she shares with her readers how personal experience is not only action in the world, but it also has the ability to act as an intellectual experience that is undertaken by individuals. Each experience whether it is through a book that was read, a story that was told, a person that you met, or even new concepts or ideas that one has learned can all have a small piece in developing how somebody is to think or act towards their view in the world in which they live in. I completely agree with the ideas behind the essay written by Tompkins. In my own life I can see how my family life, the people that I have encountered, and experiences I have undertaken have shaped the person that I have become today. I grew up in a family that was extremely religious in the Catholic faith and have very conservative view points when it comes to how people should live their lives. The view points are so strong that they can often be misconstrued as judgmental in many aspects. I was raised in Huntington Beach, California with both parents under the same roof, two brothers, one that is two years older and the other that is five years younger. Therefore, I am the only girl in the middle. The area we lived in is very affluent and prosperous. All three of us went to a private Christian school our whole lives where we were taught Bible Verses ever week and made to go 2005-04-24T08:23:46-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Jane-Tompkins-Essay-a-Personal-Story-26563.aspx “If You Could Transform Yourself To Any Age, What Age Would You Be And Why? If You Would Not, Why Not?” I think the perfect age is twenty-five. At twenty-five you have earned the right to drive with less car insurance. You are considered a safe driver. You have the freedom to do as you please without your parent's consent. You have earned respect on the job and are more responsible. You have your whole future ahead of you. I believe at twenty-five you are more mature and stable. You have completed your mandatory education for a regular job and you can pursue more education for a better paying job if it suits your interests to do so. You have your own home and you decorated it to your own tastes. 2004-12-22T22:49:14-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Perfect-Age-26000.aspx The Dad I Always Wanted Someone once said, "Anyone can be a father, but it takes a real man to be a dad." The definition of a father is "A man who has begotten a child or children" (Webster's 493). The father I have known for the past 29 years meets this definition, but falls extremely short of my definition of a dad. Kenneth David was born to a working class single mom in the run down crime infested neighborhood of Hamden in Baltimore City. Growing up, my father never had the luxuries that kids have today. From a very early age, he worked a full time job rather then attend school, to help support his six younger siblings. As a result my father wasn't a scholar, but what he lacked in formal education he made up for with his knowledge of the streets. The money he earned working full time as a fourteen-year-old boy wasn't enough to support his entire family, so he turned to alternative methods of making money. This resulted in many run-in's with the law ending in a two year sentence in a forestry camp for boys. During this time, my father turned to homemade alcohol as his only means of pleasure. My father's passive non-defensive attitude at work lead to many stressful drunken altercations at home. He has always been a hard worker. Married at age seventeen, he had two children before he was twenty, so there was little time for anything else. Father worked ten to twelve hour days' six or seven days a week. As a result of his dedication to work, his family suffered. It's almost as if he lead two lives: his work life and his family life and in this order. At work my father is a very passive, patient non-confrontational man, but at home he is an aggressive, abusive, impatient, alcoholic. Coming home one day fueled by alcohol and anger from a mistake he made at work, he searched for someone to vent, I was always his vent. I sat on the floor watching TV; I accidentally spilled the glass of Kool-Aid I was drinking on the carpet. Seeing this, my father became enraged he began tearing doors off their hinges, and punching holes in walls all the time getting closer to me. I was crying and trembling in fear. Then when he was about 2004-12-22T22:27:45-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/My-Relationship-with-My-Dad-Personal-25995.aspx The World's A Lousy Place I used to have this friend, about hundred years ago, when I was in high school. His name was Stanford. He was a lovely guy and all, but no one really liked him. I guess that no one really understood him or something, but I tell you what, he was a really nice guy, he really was and I mean it. Everyone in the school used to think that he was psycho or something. It was just that he had a few problems and all. I mean that his parents were really crazy people and they'd have above two hemorrhages a piece if they knew that he had failed. Actually, what happened was that he had failed that year in Latin. His parents were so fussy about his studies that even if he got a bad grade and all they would start beating him up or something. Also, he had like ten fathers. I mean that his parents were divorced and all and he really went through a bad phase and all when his parents were getting divorced. Actually he was an unlucky kid, Stanford, he really was. I mean that he has all these family problems and that really affected his studies that year. The main reason that everyone hated him and all was that he is very lazy and unsporty type of a guy. No one liked to hang around with him and all. I liked him. I really did. Only I understood his problems and all. I always helped him out of tough situations. Well, there were people like Charles who really liked to hoarse around with Stanford and make fun of him about him being womanish and all. I swear that made me puke. Charles was really a lousy person, he really was. He would say anything to anyone not even considering that it might be inappropriate. I mean once Charles said things like "You lousy woman" and "Ya fat fool", by the way I forgot to tell you that Stanford was really fat and that is what made him so unsporty. That goddam nearly made me puke. I mean it is so disgusting to do such a thing to someone, it really is. There 2004-12-22T21:46:10-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-World-s-A-Lousy-Place-25976.aspx They say that chess is the game of gentlemen. For me—and for most other 12-year-olds—it was a game of nerds. My father, however, loved the game and he wanted me to love it, too. After retiring from the Navy, he moved our family to my mom’s hometown of Athens, Greece. There, in the downtown area, almost literally under the shadow of the Acropolis, a public square was the meeting place for amateur chess players on Friday nights. It didn’t take long before my father discovered this and dragged me along to this affair every week. Only one chessboard was used for the tournament, but this wasn’t your usual chessboard. The squares of the board were large enough for two people to stand in comfortably. The pawns were about four feet tall, and the king was approximately five-seven. The pieces were made of wood, light enough to move but not without some effort. Spectators could sit on four rows of seats, surrounding the board on its three sides, like an amphitheater. The open fourth side faced the plaza, where curious evening strollers would stop by to catch the action. The board was open to the public, but on Fridays it was almost strictly a father-son affair. At around six o’clock, the first regulars would show up. The fathers would sit, chatting away the time, while the children played each other. Summer days can get very hot in Athens, and it usually doesn’t cool off until 9 o’clock. At that time, the strong amateurs and even some professionals showed up and the games went on well past midnight. From six to nine, though, the board belonged to the sons. My father made sure we got there in time for me to squeeze in a game or two. Kids were always there, fooling around on the chessboard. Even if they didn’t know how to play, just moving those enormous pieces of wood around was fun enough. My father, however, taught me to take chess seriously and accept only serious challenges. I always got stuck playing against an archetypal nerd with taped glasses, pocket-protector and everything, when I really wanted to use the pieces in sword-fights, like the other kids were doing. Still, my interest in chess intensified since the first day I played on the board. Pretty soon I was able to compete with Athens’ finest young chess players. We all felt a sense of pride and 2004-07-04T08:29:38-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Chess-The-Game-of-War-25235.aspx I’ve watched them from the shadows, and even followed them. I’ve even seen them at their most private, but they still have no clue, that I exist. But I do. I work right next to them and still don’t they don’t recognize me. We’re neighbors living on the same street, but they just pass me by witout saying a word. They go on about their meaningless life, as if nothing could harm them. They laugh at others to make their hollow existence a little easy to accept. They huddle together in their local bars and clubs, drinking until they fall down just trying to buy a little time from reality. They mean nothing to me, they are cattle to be slaughter. Little do they realize, that the fire of rage dwells within and the hate, which I have for them eats at me, but still they take no notice of me. When challenged, I show them only my weak side to bait them, but some of them have this erroneous idea that they mean something to me, well they don’t. One day, I will take matters into my own hands and I will show them just how much I feel about them. Nothing, that’s what they mean to me, absolute nothing. I feel more for animals then I do for them. I have gone my entire life in fear, fear that one day my nightmares would spill over into my waking hours. I fear, that my sanity is starting to slip, little by little until one day, I’ll be nothing more than a wild animal, who needs to be put down. So, I fight everyday to retain control of myself, because if not, I would pick up something and kill the closeness thing to me. Everyday, the rage in me boils until my face turns red and a single tear runs down my face. At that moment, I have to leave or I will rip someone’s throat out. I was not born this way, but just like a animal, if you’re kicked and beaten enough, you’ll will turn on them. Then the idiots say, “ he can’t be control, so we will have to put him to sleep.” In their stupid minds, the animal is at fault and not them. They’re the ones, who needs to be put down, they’re the ones, who needs a bullet in the head and 2004-07-04T04:57:37-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Guy-Next-Door--25223.aspx THE ONLY TIME WE WERE ROBBED In my last story, I mentioned that my dad always kept a loaded gun in the store because there were occasional armed robberies in our neighborhood. We were only robbed the one time; but before I tell you about that, I need to tell you about some other stuff, or else you won't know what I'm talking about. Our side of 51st Street was all small stores and taverns, while the other side was all factories and railroad tracks. The factory that was right across the street from us was called "INTAG", where they did something with steel 55 gallon drums. For some reason, INTAG employed a lot of colored people, even though none of them lived in our neighborhood. Now this was the early 1950's, so civil rights hadn't been invented yet. The colored people in Chicago had a better deal than the colored people in the Deep South, but they weren't nearly as equal as they are today. Many of the businesses in Chicago had a sign on the wall that said; "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone", which was a polite way of saying; "No colored people allowed". One day, a delegation of colored people came over from INTAG and asked my dad if he would allow them to shop in his store. My father said that, as long as their money was the same color as everybody else's, he didn't have a problem with it. They were real pleased about this because there weren't a lot of places in the neighborhood where they could go for lunch and they were getting tired of baloney sandwiches, which tended to get kind of limp in their lunch boxes since it was very hot in INTAG. They wanted to call my dad "Mr." followed by his last name, but my dad said; "Hell; I ain't no 'Mr.', I'm just Charley the Butcher". As a compromise, they decided to call him "Mr. Charles", which is what they always called him after that. At first, they just bought lunch meat and bread and took it back to INTAG to make their own sandwiches. After awhile, my mom got the idea that they might want some variety in their diet, so she started cooking up a big roast or ham every day and making up hot sandwiches to go. This was a big hit, and not 2004-07-04T04:51:20-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Only-Time-We-Were-Robbed-25222.aspx The Ultimate “Sugar” Daddy Johnny “Sugar” Dilla was the most organized candy dealer at Challenger Middle School. He could persuade anyone into buying candy. “The first one’s on me,” he’ll say, “and the seconds half off.” How could anyone refuse? This was an unbeatable offer, or so it seemed. After having a taste of his sweet candy, you’ll be hooked for life. Each day he came to school wearing a large trench coat (Matrix style). On the inside, it was filled with every candy imaginable, ranging from small pouches of gummy bears to twenty pound mouth watering chocolate bars. If teachers tried to stop him, he would just offer them a bonbon. Dean, also known as Super Dean, awoke at 7:28 in the morning, following his usual routine. He would brush his teeth, take a quick shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and be at school at around 7:29. They don’t call him Super Dean for nothing, he had powers like Superman only he was 10 times stronger and he didn’t have a weakness. He had just flown into school that morning when he noticed Johnny “Sugar” Dilla on the street corner selling his products. Johnny extended his trench coat, allowing his buyers to examine the goods strapped to his body. You could tell who the old candy users were from the new by just taking a glance at them. They usually had chocolate smudge marks around their mouths, rotten yellow teeth, and always acted extremely hyper. Somebody had to get rid of Johnny Dilla and that somebody was Super Dean. Later that day Super Dean and Johnny “Sugar” Dilla met face to face in the hall. “I’m calling you out Sugar,” Dean said, “Let me ask you one question bub, do you feel lucky?” It was exactly like a western flick; their hands were wiggling and they were circling each other. A snickers wrapper rolled by in the gust of wind provided by the air conditioner. “I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse,” Johnny said while talking as though he were the God Father. “I’m listening.” “Get off my back and twenty jolly rangers are yours for the taking,” Johnny grinned. “Make it twenty pieces of your stickiest gum and I’m gone for good,” Super Dean declared. How could this be? Super Dean was a sell out just for some gum. They made the exchange and Johnny walked away with a smile. “Not so 2004-06-19T23:10:11-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Ultimate-Sugar-Daddy-Part-2-25184.aspx Way back, way way back, during once upon a time time their lived a boy who 2004-06-19T02:07:25-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Ultimate-Sugar-Daddy-Part-1-25180.aspx My dad has never been the easiest man to impress but my brother Nick could always do it. When Nick would play the drums, my father’s eyes would sparkle and light up like fireworks on the fourth of July. I always wished my father would look at me like that but it was only my brother who could generate that look of pride. My father is an amazing drummer, so watching his only son take after him must have been great. My brother and my dad are the two people I adore and respect the most in this world and all I wanted to do was be like then and make them proud. After my brother died, I never saw that look of pure joy in my father’s eyes. I would try so hard to impress him. I played the violin, cello, piano, and even the flute hoping to please him but it was all in vain. I never saw even a glimmer of pride in his eyes. I would often ask. ”Daddy are you proud of me?” and he would sigh and say of course he was, but his tone sounded like that of a tired old man whose daughter was exhausting him. I just wished my brother were there to teach me how to play as he did. My freshman year in high school I joined marching band. Since I didn’t play an instrument, I joined the color guard. My parents would come to games to watch me but my father would never glance at me once. He would always be completely focused on the drumline with this look in his eyes. This look like he had been cheated; he should have a son out there. A son who would stand out there in line with his head held high, looking like some god as he played, stick moving in perfect unison with the rest of the line. But all he had was a little girl tossing a flag. 2004-06-10T02:49:39-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Personal-Narrative-Nick-s-Death-and-My-Dad-25082.aspx