To Reach for the Light free essay sample

Last week, I tripped and fell onto the banana tree that grows in the middle of our foyer. I had long before decided that I hated banana trees—we’d actually grown multiple over the years, caring for them as a fond reminder of tropical South India, where my parents had been born and raised. Each year, when autumn arrived with milky skies and chilled weather, the banana plant was hoisted into a hideous, burgundy pot and moved to the foyer, where it had a large window for light and plenty of room to grow. Despite the delectable fruit the tree made so delightfully convenient, as well as the sentimental value it held for my parents, I stubbornly remained critical, eyeing the plant as a waste of time and space. So the stormy morning I first spectacularly fell into that banana tree, comically tumbling over a poorly-tied shoelace and slamming into a giant mass of pale green, I had not expected to look up at its curled stem pointed towards the window and—slowly, wonderfully—realize how much I found myself in it. We will write a custom essay sample on To Reach for the Light or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Reflection is my most cherished pastime; there is nothing I desire more than to go on a summer walk with nothing but the whir of my thoughts in my head, their subject ranging from that morning’s political debate or even a simple AP Biology assignment I am eager to conquer. I enthusiastically participate in discussions at my church over the role of youth and why I am able to make my own decisions as a being of free-will. I tenderly place these thoughts in the journal I keep stuck to me like a second skin, filling it with my plans for my future as a healthcare professional, listing and elaborating on every step I must take to get there. I mull over and dissect the ideas and challenges that lie before me, simply allowing myself to think and attempt finding the answer to the questions buzzing in my mind—until finally, the sigh falling from my lips is one of satisfaction. It is fulfilling for me, an enjoyable challenge, to break apart even the most mundane aspects and study it closely. The banana tree, inching forward to catch any spattering of light spilling through dark clouds and through the window, was one of these topics, and over the week, as the image floated in my mind, teasing me and deepening my thought process, I found the answer in myself. I am full of vibrant, pulsing life. I do not wait for truth to come to me when I can search for it myself, exploring every event and every thought, pressing questions spilling from my lips. I felt this the most vividly during my junior year, during which my classmates and I were tasked with elaborating on an aspect of human character and then presenting on our findings. Naturally, I was thrilled, and after spending three months reading classic literature, studying texts, and analyzing various theories, I presented to the class my conclusion on the destructive power of materialism. I attempted to convince them with genuine and fluid words of why I felt so strongly about this subject—and to my complete delight, they were won over. I was extremely happy, my smile curling at the edges and causing me to realize I had just accomplished something wonderful. I am like this tree—this infuriating, stubborn tree, with its heavy leaves, sticky with viscous sap, that strain and reach in every direction. Like this banana tree, I love the sensation of fighting for what I believe in, searching for light, for truth, and extracting it from wherever I can. I am inexplicably in love with thought and reason, and I refuse to give up finding my answers, even if it causes me a little bit of hard work. Give me a challenge and watch my resilience—watch me reach for the light.

Becket

Becket Becket Essay Have you ever heard the phrase opposites attract? Have you ever experienced it for yourself? In the case of Thomas Becket and King Henry II, this phrase was a very accurate reality. King Henry was very spontaneous and irrational in his decisions for the well being of England. He relied significantly upon Thomas Becket for knowledge and guidance in situations of both importance and irrelevancy for the welfare of his country. Becket, on the other hand, did not give the impression of reliance upon Henry at all. Since their first encounter, Henry had been mystified by Becket's outlook on life and his passiveness and assurance. Although their characters give the impression to be in no way similar, their reliance upon one another is very powerful and yet extremely surprising. Becket becomes resilient to Henry's irrationalities and eccentric attitude in situations and looks past his weaknesses to show him his strengths and possibilities of being useful in life.Altar marking the spot of Thomas Becket's martyrdo...King Henry II is a very influential and imposing man. He has an extremely short temper and has absolutely no patience when it comes to ignorance. He exemplifies this with his actions toward his wife and mother after Becket has left. He becomes irate and will not listen to anyone. From when they first met, Henry was incredibly reliant upon Becket and his knowledgeable solutions to his problems and frustrations. Henry easily becomes bored with life and all the people things around him. He is not emotionally content, and Becket helps him to find satisfaction out of his life and role and duty as King England. Becket gives Henry a sense of worth and confidence, and Henry relishes the feeling. Most of Henry's decisions are to make himself feel better and Becket tries to make him realize that he can...

10 Actinium Facts

10 Actinium Facts Actinium is a radioactive metal that is the first element of the actinide series. Its sometimes considered the third element in Row 7 (last row) of the periodic table or in Group 3 (IIIB), depending on which chemist you ask. Here are 10 interesting facts about actinium. 10 Actinium Facts Actinium has atomic number 89, meaning each atom of the element has 89 protons. Its element symbol is Ac. It is an actinide, which also makes it a member of the rare earth element group, which is itself a subset of the transition metals group.Actinium was discovered in 1899 by French chemist Andre Debierne, who suggested the name for the element. The name comes from the Greek word aktinos or aktis, meaning ray or beam. Debierne was a friend of Marie and Pierre Curie. Some sources suggest he worked with Marie Curie to discover actinium, using a pitchblende sample from which polonium and radium had already been extracted (discovered by the Curies).Actinium was independently discovered again in 1902 by German chemist Friedrich Giesel, who had not heard of Debiernes work. Giesel suggested the name emanium for the element, which comes from the word emanation, meaning to emit rays.All isotopes of actinium are radioactive. It was the first non-primordial radioactive element to be isolated, even though other radioactive elements had been identified. Radium, radon, and polonium were discovered before actinium but werent isolated until 1902. One of the more noteworthy actinium facts is that the element glows blue in the dark. The blue color comes from the ionization of gases in the air by radioactivity.Actinium is a silver-colored metal that has properties similar to those of lanthanum, the element located directly above it on the periodic table. The density of actinium is 10.07 grams per cubic centimeter. Its melting point is 1050.0Â °C and boiling point is 3200.0Â °C. Like other actinides, actinium readily tarnishes in the air (forming a white actinium oxide layer), is extremely dense, is highly electropositive, and likely forms numerous allotropes. The other actinides readily form compounds with nonmetals, although actinium compounds are not well-known.Although it is a rare natural element, actinium does occur in uranium ores, where it forms from the radioactive decay of uranium and other radioisotopes, such as radium. Actinium is present at an abundance of 0.0005 parts per trillion by mass in the Earths crust. Its abundance in the solar system is negligible overall. There is about 0.15 mg of actinium per ton of pitchblende. Although it is found in ores, actinium is not commercially extracted from minerals. High-purity actinium may be made by bombarding radium with neutrons, causing the radium to decay in a predictable fashion into actinium. The primary use of the metal is for research purposes. It is valuable neutron source because of its high activity level. Ac-225 may be used for cancer treatment. Ac-227 may be used for thermoelectric generators, as for spacecraft.36 isotopes of actinium are known- all radioactive. Actinium-227 and actinium-228 are the two that occur naturally. The half-life of Ac-227 is 21.77 years, while the half-life of Ac-228 is 6.13 hours.One interesting factoid is that actinium is about 150 times more radioactive than radium!Actinium presents a health hazard. If ingested, it is deposited into the bones and the liver, where radioactive decay damages cells, potentially leading to bone cancer or other illnesses.

Business Ethics is Not an Option Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Ethics is Not an Option - Essay Example Analysis leads to the conclusion that observance of business ethics is not optional. Every business venture aims at flourishing in the modern marketplace. There are several methods of achieving including the application of marketing strategies for sales increase, manufacturing and production concepts for cost-effectiveness and organizational management for over-all company harmony. However, the concept of an ethically-run business as necessary for the company to succeed is becoming more and more recognized. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a by word for many business professionals. Although it is generally observing ethics and morals in business dealings, CSR is thought to comprise of activities such as supporting charities is CSR, funding anti-crime and poverty programs, exceeding legal or regulatory obligations in areas of business operation such as health and safety and consumer rights, managing the supply chain to ensure that suppliers respect human rights is CSR and taking measures to ensure that products do not harm the environment. (Kotler and Nancy 2004, p. 3) Our concern is not so much in defining CSR but in determining whether the observance of business ethics is optional or not. This paper will argue that business ethics is necessary and beneficial for the business firm. ... Increased Job Performance Quality The reason why a field in business called Human Resources Management (HRM) exists is that it was long recognized that there is a need to ensure that employee issues are properly addressed. One of the secrets of successful business companies is that they were able to derive extra commitment from all employees resulting to unprecedented quality and responsiveness in products and services along with heroic frugality, incredible levels of integration and collaboration within and without the organizations, and especially to pull off continuous, brilliant, and cheap innovation. According to the only way one can "manage" high level human output is to set the conditions for everyone doing their best: including support of the core competencies of people, their ability to self-organize, their ability to change and grow. A company can achieve this if it fosters trust and build organizational cultures in which freedom and personal initiative can cohabit with cooperation, caring and a highly integrated harmony. Only thru a sincere observance of business ethics can the company assure that its employees do not stage rallies, release negative public statements regarding the company, resign and reveal company trade secrets. Being ethical also helps in attracting excellent and skilled professionals to work for the company. The Industrial Society for the UK (in Price 2002) reports that "82% of UK professionals claimed that they would not work for an organisation whose values they did not believe in" and that "among smaller businesses, the survey showed that 62% of owner managers were influenced by their employees to be more socially active." Consumer Preference Observing moral and ethical values in the conduct of business does not

International B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International B - Essay Example The specific Forum reflects the trends in globalisation as developed both in the literature and the empirical field – i.e. the daily activities and policies of governmental and non-governmental organizations. The concept of globalisation has been considered to include seven different forces: in this paper, emphasis is given on the globalisation of markets – one of the seven forces mentioned above. The trends on the globalisation of markets – as highlighted in relevant studies – could help to understand the importance of this concept for the increase of the effectiveness of governmental and commercial strategies. The globalisation of markets has affected the strategies and performance of governmental and non-governmental organizations – referring especially to the commercial firms – both positively and negatively. The specific issue is highlighted in the study of Perrone et al. (2010) who focus on the effects of globalisation on small and medium enterprises – a study which can be used also in order to evaluate the effects of globalisation on large and multinational firms. In accordance with Perrone et al. (2010) ‘globalisation represents a threat, since new emerging companies are entering their domestic market, but on the other hand, it represents the opportunity to enter new emerging and growing markets’ (Perrone et al., 2010, p.356). From another point of view, globalisation can highly affect a speficic part of commercial firms: the corporate governance (Berry, 2010, 234); the different principles and cultures of the global market and the national market c ould negatively affect the firms that try to enter the global market. The importance of culture, the social ethics and the political system – actually referring to the traditions, the social principles and the politics of a specific country - on the success of the efforts for entering the global market is also highlighted in the study of Standing et al. (2010, p. 56). The above

High school Essay Example for Free

High school Essay We could say that an educated person is like a piece of artwork, it is open to the interpretation of the viewer. Just like every art work critique has their own opinion about an artwork, everyone has their own different interpretations of what an educated person is. One thing is clear though, in order to be a successful person in life, you do not need money, as well as in order to be an educated person, you do not need a college diploma. What you are willing to give up in order to become your best person depends on how much you truly want to accomplish that goal. Not everyone knows right away what they have a passion for. One has to explore new activities and only then will they be able to decide for themselves. Everyone expresses their opinion, and in my thought an educated person is the willing to put in time like Gladwell explains, claims their learning rights like Rich exercises, applies critical thinking and reasoning to work towards a success like Wagner emphasizes and lastly does not fall victim to adversity like my father focuses attention on. An educated person should always be willing to put in time. This means that they are willing to give up what they want now, for what they want most. For example, in Gladwell, Schoenfeld the math professor experimented with a young girl Renee, which took her approximately twenty-two minutes to figure the slope of a vertical line. â€Å"This is eight-grade mathematics If I put the average eighth grader in the same position as Renee, I’m guessing that after the first few attempts, they would have said, ‘I don’t get it. I need you to explain it. ’ (Gladwell 2008, pp. 245). † What Schoenfeld proved with this experiment was the willingness of Renee to continue the math problem. Of course, compared to the eighth grader, Renee had more self-discipline and wanted to continue on going until she was able to solve it. An educated person should be willing to put in time and work towards their goal. It will not be easy or given to the person, there is a lot of time and energy put to having what one wants. Another idea Gladwell explains is the amount of time one is willing to put in and how that makes one an expert. â€Å"Researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: 10,000 hours† (Gladwell 2008, pp.40). Gladwell’s idea of hard work and dedication to whatever it is that you want to become an expert at takes at least 10,000 hours. I agree with him, but only to a certain point. It is true that in order to become someone well knowledgeable on a certain activity or topic one must practice and put in time. I do not necessarily agree that 10,000 hours should be the exact number for â€Å"true expertise† as Gladwell calls it, but it definitely should not be a few hours. For example, ideally doctors should be one of the most specialized fields. They are ones performing their knowledge on people and I honestly would not want a doctor that has gotten a few hours of practice to do anything to me, because there is more of a chance that they are not as experienced as someone else that has been working for decades as a doctor. An educated person should be willing to put in time to practice which is what makes someone good at their specialization. Rich’s idea of â€Å"claiming an education† also applies within our pursuit to defining an educated person. Rich explains that a student should not think about education as â€Å"receiving it†, but to be thought of as â€Å"claiming it† (Rich 1979 pp.365). Rich explains that claiming an education is taking as if one were the owner. I agree with Rich, students should have the mentality of taking the education being given to them. There is a difference between claiming what is rightfully yours, and taking what if rightfully yours. One difference is that when you claim something, you are putting in effort to learning what is being taught. For example, a student that goes to class and learns whatever the lesson was for that day, would in my terms be called receiving. On the other hand, if that same student were to go to the instructor’s office hours and basically use the resources that there are around campus, that would be claiming. The mere difference of going one step above the other makes the difference between the two. Rich also backs this idea of claiming, with the simple act of participating in class, becoming more engaged in class and the teacher’s professional life. This idea of claiming an education is not limited to those in school, because not every educated person goes to college, or needs a college degree. It is helpful in order to have something to fall back upon. One way we can connect the idea of claiming an education without going to school, could be my father’s story. His decision of dropping out of high school did not stop him from doing what he wanted to do. He claimed his rights to learning about how to create his own company and becoming a successful entrepreneur, without having a business college degree. Claiming your rights as a human being over all is what counts. Anyone should be able to express their passion for something. In my father’s case, he first started by working at a small local shop as a cashier, but he found himself not doing what he loved, â€Å"I loved helping people, make their houses bigger or just fixing their house up for them. † (Gomez 2014). My father eventually stopped receiving, and started claiming. An educated person is one who does not receive, but one that claims and demands their ability to practice their passion. Give a child a list of three words with a definition to each, allow them to memorize it and few minutes later, they can regurgitate it back to you. As an education major, it is easy to go a whole year teaching children a certain vocabulary words, or teaching them how to solve a math problem, but explaining why the answer is the answer, is a lot more difficult. Wagner explains that many students lack â€Å"intellectual challenges† (Wagner 2008, pp. xxv). A class lacking intellectual challenge for students can cause a downfall in the future. Providing students with more rigorous work and questioning their solutions, prevents them from finding lessons uninteresting and eventually leading them to want to drop the course, or worse yet, want to drop out of school. For example in history class, one has to remember specific dates, but also know why several of these specific events happened or what lead to it. I was one of them. Rarely do students remember what lead to wars, or life historically changing events, like the great depression because they are just taught either to memorize the dates or they find it easier to only remember the dates and names of important historical figures. The same concept can be applied to mathematics, where one has to know how to solve the problem, but does not always know why a certain formula was used or why it only works with that certain problem. According to Wagner, knowing the answer is not sufficient, one must know and be able to critically think about the end result. Therefore, an educated person should be willing to not only claim their education, but also be able to apply more critical thinking and reasoning. Which by later exercising that through practicing and preparing, one can accomplish their goals. Lastly, I interviewed my father, because he is the first man I have ever admired. He was able to successfully carry out a career that he did not go to college for. Matter of fact, he never went to college, and only completed a few years of high school. Through my interview with him, he allowed me to truly appreciate and admire him a lot more. One main adversity he got through was coming in to the United States, he believes that without coming to the United States his success would not have been possible. â€Å"Coming from a huge family, having 8 brothers and 7 sisters you did not always get what you wanted† (Gomez 2014). My father further explained that he was always having to share his things and he never had the opportunities that I have today. â€Å"I had to run a whole mile in order to get to class, there were no buses, because we lived in the country, and I had to run to the city every morning to get to school† (Gomez 2014). My father continues with his story, â€Å"every morning we all had to do chores, mine were taking care of the farm animals. I would milk the cows every morning and since I had to do my morning chores before school, sometimes I ran late and I had to go to school smelling like farm animals and sweat† (Gomez 2014). The dedication put into working back then is not the same today. For everything there is always an excuse made up. I myself have made many excuses, but it takes an educated person to not make excuses. He could have easily said I am not walking a mile to go to school, but he was determined. My father did not drop out of school because he was failing his classes. At age 18 he became an innocent victim in a shooting, in which he was shot in the stomach and had missed a big portion of his senior year. He was months away from graduating, but he never was able to complete his missed classes due to the lack of support from his teachers, he explained. He after started his own family and came to the United States when I was born. â€Å"You are the luckiest one of everyone in the family† he told me, â€Å"your sisters do not have the opportunity that you have and an educated person is one who can make the best situation out of a tough one† (Gomez 2014). Without doubt, my father was able to create a self-made company. He was the only one of his 15 siblings to become an entrepreneur, and today in my eyes he is the most successful. An educated person would ideally be my own father, who was willing to put in time to learn about his passion, claim his rights as a United States resident and created his own business, and lastly he did fall victim to adversity. An educated person and a successful person go hand in hand, but the definitions are endless, and open to many interpretations, but what makes either person educated or successful, depends on what they are willing to give up in order to become their best person. An educated person is one who no matter what is willing to put in time in order to be called an expert at his passion. Someone who rightfully claims the ability to carry out their love for their passion and lastly, someone who does not fall victim to adversity. ? Bibliography Gladwell, Malcolm. â€Å"The 10,000-Hour Rule† in Outliers, 34-68. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2008. Gladwell, Malcolm. â€Å"Rice Paddies and Math Tests† in Outliers, 224-249. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2008. Gustavo Gomez, interview by Alondra Gomez, April 28, 2014. Rich, Adrienne. â€Å"Claiming and Education† in On Lies, Secrets and Silence, 365-369. New York: W. W. Norton Company, 1979. Wagner, Tony. The Global Achievement Gap, intro xix-xxviii. New York: Basic Books, 2008.

Death of a Salesman Structure Metaphoric Language and Theme Essays

Death of a Salesman Structure Metaphoric Language and Theme In looking at the characteristics of the tragic hero, it can be see that Willy Loman is not a tragic hero but a victim of a false idealistic pursuit of the â€Å"American Dream†. Willy strives to become and instill in his sons the success of the self made man that American society often advertises but ultimately falls short, and instead, escapes accepting his failure through lies and death. What many flaws Willy possesses, most do not correlate with the classic tragic hero. Willy Loman, was never really of noble stature, as was summed up by Linda, the person who knew him best. â€Å" Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that ever lived.† Willy’s harmartia was his obsession with the false American Dream that caused him to become delusional and totally blind of his actual situation. If this is so, then he cannot he commit a true and calculated error of judgment and then his downfall is due to an overriding irrepressible mental condition which cancels his own fault in his downfall. His delusional state of mind blurs reality and causes him to never accept or understand who he is or his downfall erasing any notion that he experienced an epiphany of any sort. In fact, it can be said that he dragged one of his sons with him. In front of Willy’s grave Happy vows to continue Willy’s dream. â€Å" He had a good dream. It’s the only dream you can have- to come out the number-one man. He fought it out here, and this is where I’m gonna win it for him.† Willy Loman is an example of the middle class man caught as a victim of society where the odds are against him, a â€Å"has-been†. As a victim he unwillingly suppressed hi... ...t, but Ben is also dead. Willy’s father went off to Alaska to find wealth but also ended up dead. In the â€Å"Requiem†, Happy vows to finish what his father started and therefore following in his footsteps, â€Å"I’m gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain.† He ends the proclamation with, â€Å"I’m gonna win it for him.† Three people with the same goal, economic success and freedom, with what can be assumed the same outcome, death. Alternatively, the story of David Singleman acts as an oracle in the way that it foreshadows Willy’s death, â€Å"- and by the way he died the death of a salesman.† Within the past, present and future actions of characters the effects of a preordained outcome are clearly visible. By looking at character relations and incorporating old techniques with more modern ones a dark pattern of design looms over the Loman family.