Accidentally Becoming a Gold Medalist free essay sample

It was simple. Lift the weight and win. The only thing standing between me and my medal was my competitor and what looked like a hundred pound bar. The bar seemed to daunt me as I tried to figure out how to lift it without making a fool of myself. As I looked to the side, trying to forget about the intimidating bar, I saw a boy, and another one, and another one. As I took a closer look, I began to realize that only boys had entered the weightlifting competition. They glanced at me wondering why a scrawny eight year old girl had entered the competition. I began to doubt myself. I realized then, that I had nothing to lose by trying. I glanced at my family, cheering me on from the sidelines, and I made my decision. As the starting time neared, we positioned ourselves in front of the bars, waiting. We will write a custom essay sample on Accidentally Becoming a Gold Medalist or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As the bell went off, we scrambled to be the first one to lift the bar. Flashes went off as we lifted the bars above our heads. Surprise flashed across our faces as locals attempted to hide their laughter. I put the bar down and looked around confused. I had managed to lift possibly a hundred pounds above my head and couldn’t understand everyones amusement. Shouldn’t they be in a state of complete awe and amazement? After all, a young girl had just won the competition. Little did I know that in a language I didn’t understand was written something along the lines of â€Å"made from foam†. This fact, told to me later on, didn’t matter as I stood proudly waiting for my medal and still doesn’t hold any importance today. That day, I walked with my head held high knowing that there was nothing that would be able to stand in my way. Today, my medal hangs proudly above my bed reminding me of the day I won my first Olympic game in the Changi airport. It reminds me that every challenge can be met with a little effort and no win is insignificant. I live everyday with a positive mentality, attempting to meet every challenge I face. Whether it be a national competition or a contest put on in an airport, every opportunity taken is experience gained. Now I face challenges head on, looking forward to the day I can say I achieved it.

Abolition of the Death Penalty essays

Abolition of the Death Penalty essays Resolved: that the United States Federal Government should ratify or accede to, and implement The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the Abolition of the Death Penalty In order to facilitate clarity and promote clash we exercise the affirmative right to define by offering the following definitions. should: is used to express moral obligation (taken from Websters New International Dictionary, second edition, 1961) Observation 2: Criteria and Resolutional Analysis A. In order for the United States to uphold its democratic ideals to the truest form possible, it must follow the basis of our democracy: the U.S. Constitution. Any law that contradicts what is in the constitution should not be allowed to exist. The death penalty is one of those laws. Rev. Jesse Jackson, Legal Lynching, Racism, Injustice, and the Death Penalty, 1996, pgs. 84 and 85. The U.S. Constitution protects the right of American citizens to their life, liberty, and property. In this, it has become the model for other countries wishing to codify human dignity, due process, and fundamental fairness in their own legal standards. The Eighth Amendment in particular the one prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment has been duplicated by new nations around the world. Germany and South Africa, two nations born from the ashes of brutal and bloody conflicts, have ruled in favor of life by banning the death penalty in their constitutions. The worldwide trend is toward the abolition of capital punishment... We recognize torture as a violation of the Eighth Amendment, but not the ultimate torture the threat of death and actual execution. Is not death by lethal injection, firing squad, or electric chair cruel and unusual punishment? Is not such punishment just as cruel as stoning or other forms of torture we call primitive? Is it not cruel to keep someone on d...

Military intelligence ethicist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Military intelligence ethicist - Essay Example The first solution, of taking no action, will leave tribal warfare unchecked and rampant in the area. Without a reason to stop, the warlords will continue raising armies, hording needed supplies, and violating international law. The second solution, of extensive intervention, leaves open the possibility of all-out warring between Americans and Kapawa fighters, with untold devastation on civilian populations. The third solution, a middle ground, will commit a small contingent of American troops to fighting the violence. However, this third option may do nothing more than put American forces in harm’s way for a mission that may end up being too small to be of great effectiveness. From the consequentialist point of view, the third option of engaging in limited strikes is out of the question, insofar as it does not solve the underlying problem of warlords. The problem in the case of Kapawa is institutional, not merely an armed conflict. There are deep political and ethnographic problems in the state, which cannot be resolved by a minimal engagement on the part of American soldiers. Deciding from there, the consequentialist looks at the first option: to take no action. Although this option saves the lives of American soldiers, the loss of Kapawa life and infrastructure may be far too great of a cost. If the commander leaves the Kapawa people to deal with warlords by themselves, people will continue to die from the fighting and the resulting famine. Although help can be delivered from non-governmental entities, the underlying problem remains Logically, the second option, of full-scale intervention, makes the most sense. It eliminates the institutional and political problems affecting the Kapawa people. It gives American the opportunity to establish a stable and functioning government, and settles disputes between the warring tribes. It reestablishes the opportunity for the fair distribution of resources inside the country and

Reflect on If I could be any historical figure within the time period, Research Paper - 1

Reflect on If I could be any historical figure within the time period, who would I be and why - Research Paper Example Whereas many of the founding fathers were ultimately against slavery, there were several that either did not discuss the issue in any level of depth or did not see it as a vital issue to the strength and continued growth/prosperity of the nation. Interestingly, many of the pro-and anti-slavery statements that were made by the founding fathers varied little throughout their lives. What is meant by this is that individuals such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison retained strong proslavery sentiments and wrote prolifically about the benefits that the institution of slavery had to offer. By the same token, individuals such as James Madison held anti-slavery views throughout his entire life. However, a third group necessarily exists within this seemingly obvious dichotomy. Individuals such as Benjamin Franklin and George Washington initially held proslavery views; however, as they began to integrate with the American experience and formulate a more nuanced and philosophical understandi ng of the concepts of democracy, self determinism, and freedom of choice, their views concerning slavery began to shift. Whereas it is impossible to trace all of the founding fathers that had an epiphany with regards to slavery, this particular analysis will focus upon Benjamin Franklin and the way in which his political leanings began to shift later in his life with regards to the issue of slavery. In seeking to promote such an understanding of realization, the following analysis will focus specifically on primary that Benjamin Franklin was himself responsible for writing. Like many of the founding fathers, Franklin himself owned slaves in the earlier part of his life. However, as a result of his metropolitan nature and incessant travels, not to mention his polymath tendencies towards reading and writing on topics as broad and diverse as economics, philosophy, and ethics, Franklin came to understand that the practice of slavery was in and of itself abhorrent. As such, he soon relea sed the few slaves that he did possess. However, merely releasing the slaves that he was responsible for was not enough for Franklin. Rather, due to the fact that he saw slavery as such a morbid and horrific societal ill, he began to advocate abolition at a time when abolitionists were far from being in the vote. One of the most famous means through which Franklin was able to affect this was by signing and sending a petition to the first Congress in February 1790. Among other things, the petition requested time devoted towards â€Å"devising means removing the inconsistency from the character of the American people and promoting mercy and justice towards this distressed race† (Basker 221). However, before the reader begins to assume that Benjamin Franklin was a champion of human rights throughout his entire life, it must be added that beyond merely owning up to seven slaves in the earlier years, Franklin also worked for the Pennsylvania Gazette and was responsible for the pri nting and publication of information concerning wanted ads for the sale of slaves as well as rewards for the capture and return of runaway slaves (Franklin 7). Obviously, this information in and of itself must have touched upon the conscience of Benjamin Franklin as a means of promoting him towards a level of abolitionism later years. However, the fact remains that Benjamin Franklin can convincingly be labeled as both a tacit advocate of slavery as well as an abolitionist

The Challenges Of Learning A New Language English Language Essay

The Challenges Of Learning A New Language English Language Essay During my time in Voc. Ed., I developed further into a mediocore student and a somnambulant problem solver, and that affected the subjects I did have the wherewithal to handle: I detested Shakespeare; I got bored with history. My attention flitted here and there. I fooled around in class and read my books indifferently the intellectual equivalent of playing with your food. I did what I had to to get by, and I did with a half a mind. Mike Rose, I Just Wanna Be Average I can recall a certain part of my life when I had to learn English as my second language. It was the year 1998 when I first moved from the Philippines. During that period, I was living in San Pablo with my parents, who were illiterate at the time. Technically speaking, I did learn some English in the Philippines but not the kind of English one would expect from America. What was on my mind when I stepped in a room full of kids in a 2nd grade environment? One word, nervousness. Based on my memories, I remember being the quiet/shy kid who didnt make many friends because I The Challenges of Learning A New Language 2 couldnt speak the language. It wasnt until later on that I gained some confidence in speaking the language, and also being able to write in a basic manner. Its self-evident that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to English (or any other subject for that matter), but I will tell my story of the struggles I had to face learning a new language (and for that matter something I still need to work on today). In some ways, my parents illiteracy transformed my life. It wasnt until my middle school years that I realize that Im fortunate learning English as a second language and performing decently well in school unlike my parents, who were struggling to write and speak English. In the beginning, however, I struggled to speak even the most basic words in English. I did okay in all other subjects except English, which I received a below average. My memory cant recall most of my Elementary years but from what my parents tell me is that I was basically a struggling student trying to make ends meet when it came to grades. Fortunately I do remember my 5th grade teacher Ms. Pamela telling me that I was doing extremely well in all of my subjects. I also recall the time she nominated me as the best-improved student in the class and that made me feel good about myself. This was also the year where I made a good amount of friend and interacted more towards my peers. The kinds of friends I had were rel iable and trustworthy, and for the most part, were one of my main sources of help besides the teacher. For the most part I was a reserved student so being able to interact and communicate with my peers The Challenges of Learning A New Language 3 improved my overall well-being. It was that moment of time that I gained the confidence I needed to try harder and succeed. But that confidence suddenly disappeared at the start of 6th grade. At that time, there was an English placement test to check for proficiency in English. My score was ELD 4 (English Language Development; Level 1, 2, 3, 4) so I was one level away from moving up to regular English. Even though my parents both went to college in the Philippines, they couldnt use what they learned and ended up in mediocre jobs. I was struggling, for the most part, in middle school and had that feeling of self-doubt. For a short period of time (8th grade in particular) I felt liberated in the sense of finding a new positive direction in terms of my self-doubts. It was during 8th grade that I was able to move up from a remedial class to an advanced English class. I was surprised when I found out that I was going to take an advanced class rather than a normal English class, and at that time counselors werent widely available so I just let it be. At first I was indifferent until I met Ms. Floe, who was in wheelchair, with one disabled arm. Her way of teaching was difficult at first, however, throughout the course, she taught with an open-mind and inspired her students. Even though I never got an A or B in the class, I learned a lot even though the level of difficulty was beyond me. It was from this moment on that I knew that advanced English classes werent for me but at least I never gave up. At least in the end I got a C. The Challenges of Learning A New Language 4 High school was the start of a new era in terms of reading and writing. For the most parts I had astounding English teachers starting my freshman year. Mrs. Monroe was my one of the few English teachers that thoroughly checked for every single mistake in terms of grammar, clarity, focus, and etc. Since her grading scale was more extraneous, I never got a high grade on my essays; however, there were a lot of comments and improvements she wrote making it easy to know what needs to be refined. Sophomore, junior, and senior years were the same teacher and her teaching style was something I wasnt fond of. Somehow I was able to survive and do well in her class even when she never graded our essays thoroughly and gave explanations of what need to be fixed. In my opinion, I never learned as much as I should even though I got mostly As and Bs in my high school career. My definition of a teacher is someone you can look up to and or someone who inspires you to learn. One of the professors that inspired me to learn and to learn about life in a whole different manner is Professor Begonia. He taught Psyche and Behavior of Pilipinos and we didnt just read a book and write about something, but we got into groups and had our teammates with our own group name and group motto. And this quote he said during one of his lectures was quite inspiring to say the least and defines what a teacher really is. The poor teacher tells. The mediocre teacher tells. The superior teacher demonstrates. But the truly outstanding teacher inspires. I never pushed my limits to try harder because something was preventing me The Challenges of Learning A New Language 5 from doing so. That reason is that I was diagnosed with bi-polar mania or manic depression in the summer of 2010. The doctor explained to me the possible causes and the one that caught my attention was that this disorder can make it hard to concentrate; i.e. reading, writing, being worried all the time, etc. It explains a lot of how and why I had such a hard time concentrating in school. I look back and I see the how this experience shaped my attitude, choices, and overall experience in my academic life. Today, more than a decade later, I still struggle with reading (not so much) and writing. Yet I am optimistic that everything will be okay and I can move on from my past. Sometimes I still have doubt that I wont do well in English but I just have to focus and try harder no matter what. To me, were like a firework waiting to ignite and it just takes time to realize our true potential and sometimes that takes time.

Prejudice in Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan :: essays research papers

Esperanza Rising Esperanza Rising, by Pam Munoz Ryan is a novel about prejudice. Prejudice is when a superior being looks down on colored, sex, lower classes or different races of people. There were many obstacles in this novel that dealt with racism and mistreatment with Mexicans. Mexican immigrants in the 1930's suffered greatly because of the prejudice in the hearts and minds of the farm owners, lawmakers, and the American people. Business owners were prejudice against Mexican migrant workers. Miguel was very capable of working as a mechanic at the train stations, but ?they will only hire Mexicans to lay tracks and dig ditches, not as mechanics.?(120) Prejudice was also shown when the farm owners said, ?The Mexicans can only swim on Friday afternoons, before they clean the pool on Saturday mornings.?(218) Business owners were very unfair and prejudice to the Mexicans, they treated them like lower class citizens. The laws and government didn?t treat the Mexicans as Americans. Some of the Mexicans that were citizens were protesting for better pay, but immigration officials came to the fields to send them back to Mexico. ?! Americana! ! Americana!? ?yelled one woman and she began to unfold some papers.?(206) The guard ripped the papers up, he didn?t even give her a chance because she was causing problems for the government. Prejudice was shown in the laws in Mexico against women. ?As you know, it is not customary to leave land to women and since Luis was the banker on the loan, Sixto left the land to him.?(30) It was very prejudice that women couldn?t own land and it was sexist. Americans were not their cover page, free and equal, they treated Mexicans as dirty lower class citizens. Isabel?s teacher didn?t choose Queen of the May by the best grades, she chose a pretty blonde American with blue eyes. ?I did not win Queen of May!?(226) Isabel had the best grades, but her teacher was prejudice against Mexicans. Mexicans went out of their way to go to Mr. Yakota?s store because, ?At this market, no one stares at us or treats us like outsiders or calls us ?dirty greasers?.?(187-188) Americans didn?t treat Mexicans like people, they were unfair. I believe prejudice is still going on today in America and all over the world. Some women are owned by men and have to cover all over their skin completely.

Movie Review: Gomorrah Essay

The film features five people whose lives are influenced by organized crime. Don Ciro is a fearful middleman who dispenses money to imprisoned gangsters. In a delivery, Ciro is attacked by two gangsters who seek revenge from their traditional affiliate clan. To save his own life, Ciro offers his services to the two gangsters. Ciro explains that he can lure the clan to a trap where they can kill them. The two gangsters attacked the clan headquarters and killed everyone. Ciro is spared. Totois a delivery boy who witnesses drug dealers dump a bag of drugs and guns during a police raid. He takes the bag and returns it to the gang. The gang convinces him to join them. Toto agrees. Toto attends the initiation rites. After which, he is accepted as a member of the gang. At a particular instance, he witnesses one of his gang killed by a drive-by. The gang decides to exact revenge by choosing a particular victim. Maria Nazionale is chosen as the victim because her son joined a rival gang. Salvatore lures Maria to a particular place where she is killed. Roberto is a skilled worker working in a waste management firm. Franco, his immediate boss, illegally dumps toxic wastes in abandoned quarries. In a particular operation, toxic waste is accidentally dispersed on a driver. Instead of saving the driver, his boss hires a group of children to drive the trucks. Roberto resigns from his position in disgust. Pasquale is a skilled tailor who works for a garment factory proprietor (who is associated with the Camorra gang). He accepts a night job at the garment factory. Because the factory is a rival of the Camorra factory, hired gunmen open fire on his car. He escapes the gunning and leaves town for good. Marco and Ciro are teenagers aspiring to be top gangsters. They profit from buy and sell of drugs from African clients. The two infuriates the top bosses who conspire to kill them. Finally, the two are killed in a supposedly disguised operation. Success and Arrogance. Marco and Ciro’s success has infuriated the top mafia bosses in town. Their immediate boss warned them not to engage in rouse behavior in the street. Ignoring the warning, the two steal a set of weapons owned by the Camorra gang. To celebrate their success, the two fire off rounds in the banks of a canal. At a club, the Camorra gang warns them to return the stolen weapons. The two remain arrogant. The bosses try a different strategy. One of the bosses offers them to work for the mob. The boss offers them 10 000 Euros in exchange for the stolen weapons and a murder request. The two immediately accept the offer, not knowing that this is a pre-conceived trap. At the supposed target, the two are gunned down. Success, in this case, is manifested by the following behavior: 1) cheating the Africans of the volume and price of drugs, 2) firing off rounds in the banks of a canal, and 3) accepting the offer of the local boss. ‘Basking in immediate successes,’ the two are confident that they could outwit the local bosses. Indeed, their rouse behavior has infuriated every gangster in town including their immediate boss. Their successes are not sustained by rational speculation. Indeed, the two perceive the offer as an additive to their success, failing to realize that it was a pre-conceived trap. In any case, their successes have left a powerful impression on their egos. Both are confident that success is part of their self-consortium – that failure does not exist within their self-imposed bounds. In reality, this is a prelude to a tragedy. Arrogance is the mirror image of self-reinforced success. Arrogance is manifested by the following behavior: 1) ignoring the warning of their immediate boss, 2) refusing to return the stolen weapons to the Camorra gang, 3) ignoring the threat of the gang, 4) refusing to negotiate with the local bosses, and 5) failing to realize the existence of a trap. The environment of the scene can be described as serene, non-violent, beautiful, and economically prosperous. Yet, behind this aura of calmness lies a great evil. The town is a bastion of organized crime. From a macro perspective, crime organizations have persistent influence on the police, the local government, and the neighborhood. At night, drug dealers roam on the street looking for potential clients. At day, the local bosses engage in illegal transactions. The neighborhood is subservient to these bosses because they offer protection. The police is reluctant to arrest the bosses because of fear. Synchronous Sound. Sound is matched temporarily with the movements occurring in the image, as when dialogue corresponds to lip movements. A case example: when Ciro and Marco are gunned down, the credits rolls down to the song ‘Herculaneum’ (by Massive Attack). The thematic content of the song corresponds to the scene itself. Backlighting. Backlighting is deemphasized because the environment is serene and condescending. Backlighting is essential in scenes where hasty drug transactions are depicted.