Describe a challenging situation that you have exp Essays - Jos Gmez

Describe a challenging situation that you have experienced and how you responded. The challenging situation I selected for this essay topic is coming to Massanutten Military Academy (MMA). This challenge was more than just coming to a new school, and much bigger than I could have imagined at the time. When I arrived at MMA, on a sunny, but cool January morning, I knew there would be some differences from my life a home. I had visited MMA in the spring a year before and I had viewed the website. I knew I would be wearing a uniform, as well as, other differences, but I did not realize that it would be a total departure from the life I had lead for the previous thirteen years. I have lived in Annapolis, Maryland and the surrounding area for my entire life, with exception of living in Thailand for two years. I had the same general group of school friends, raced sailboats with the same friends, at the local yacht club every summer, for the last eight years (more on that later). I played lacrosse and basketball with the same friends every winter, and spring, ate at the same locale restaurants and shopped at the same places. I guess you could say my life was comfortable and predictable. I was also given a lot of freedom and independence provided I meet expectations placed on me. For example, if I knew I had to be ready to leave the house at 7:45 am for school, I had the freedom to set my alarm for any time as long as I was ready in time. I could visit with friends after school, as long as I finished my homework before dinner. One of the things I loved most about sailing was the independence it gave me, especially when I was younger. When a sailor is on the race course, they alone decide when they should tack, which side of the course to take and how to approach the race, and in the end, they are responsible for those decisions. It is total independence and responsibility. When I arrived at MMA, I was extremely nervous and anxious to start a new school, but also excited to meet new people and make new friends. After registration, my phone, computer and clothes were taken from me. I was issued and dressed in a military uniform called ACUs, and immediately taken to class. I arrived during exams, so I sat quietly reviewing the school handbook, nervously thinking about what would happen next. After classes, I was escorted back to the dorms by my roommate. There I was provided the daily schedule, and given a tour of the barracks. I was now a "new cadet". The first night, all of the girls were punished because two girls were talking during formation, and had "drop (the schools term for pushups) for twenty". I could not understand why I was being punished. It was all overwhelming, but not just because I was unfamiliar with everything, but also because everyone was different from me and the friends I had my whole life. As a new cadet, I have no privileges. I only had access to my phone on Sundays from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. I only received my laptops for school, and evening study period from 8:00 - 9:30 pm, and I was not permitted to leave campus. To receive privileges, like daily access to your phone after school, a new cadet must complete a series of six tests. This was challenge, because I had to find time to study for the tests, and still maintain my grades. All other privileges are awarded on the basis of other accomplishments. The greater the accomplishment, the bigger the privilege. The challenge I faced now, was how I was going to adapt to an environment completely different from the one I had known. My old environment was one of individuality, independence and privilege, while my new one was of rigid structure with no independence or privileges. At first, it was very hard to adjust to my new surroundings. As time passed, I adjusted to the military structures and I have learned to flourish. It was not

White Oleander Essays - White Oleander, Astrid Peth, Claire Bennet

White Oleander Essays - White Oleander, Astrid Peth, Claire Bennet White Oleander White Oleander, a dramatic fiction by Janet Fitch, was published by Little, Brown and Company in Boston. The story is about a mother and daughter, Ingred and Astrid have a very unusual relationship. Ingred loves her daughter but never asks her what she thinks so therefore doesn't know her daughter too well. Such as she does not know of her daughter's yearning for a father. Ingred makes it very clear that she will not allow herself to get close to a man. She is a very brilliant, beautiful poet, who is adored by a man named Barry Kolker. He goes to all of her readings, and asks her out each time. One of the times Barry invites her to go to the Gamelan, an orchestra. Loving the Gamelan, she accepts. Her and Astrid join Barry, and they begin talking more. They start going out more, but each time she makes and stands by regulations, such as he will invite her to eat after an event where they had not planned on eating and she will refuse, because she doesn't like to get attached to men, and doesn't want to spend anymore time than she had already allotted. All of a sudden, her rules start diminishing. One time, there was a knock at her door, and it was Barry. She thought to herself, 'how dare he just come without an invitation?'. When she opened the door (a knife in her hand), he had a bottle of wine, and bag of something that smelled good. To Astrid's surprise she did something least expected. She invited him in. One night Barry said he would be over to her house at 9 and never showed. So the next day, Ingred showed up unannounced at Barry's and she went inside and they made love. Immediately after, he told Ingred she had to leave because he had a date coming. She wanted to seek revenge. She started showing up at every place he was at. She broke into his house. He tried to go to her house and make her stop the nonsense. He tried forcing his way in her house, and she stabbed him in the hand. He left, and the next day she went to his house, where she found he had changed the locks. She broke in and placed white oleanders in his milk, oy ster sauce and cottage cheese, and one in his toothpaste. She made an arrangement of white oleanders on his table, and scattered blooms on his bed. A police officer came to Ingred's house, and told her that Barry is accusing her of breaking and entering, and trying to poison him. She calmly stated that Barry is angry with her. She broke up with him and that he couldn't get over her. Ingred and Astrid took trip to Tijuana and Ingred bought a bottle of medicine called, DMSO, which helps drugs absorb through your skin (DMSO helps nicotine patches work), and uses that to poison him. He dies. Ingred is eventually placed in jail, leaving Astrid to jump from foster home to foster home. Her first foster home is with a mother named Star. Star is a busty, and leggy, ex-coke addict turned Christian. Star has a boyfriend named Ray, and Astrid falls in love with him. Astrid, 13, has an affair with the 40-something Ray. Star gets jealous of their friendship and gets suspicious. One day, Star comes in, in a drunken rage and shoots Astrid. Astrid is immediately removed and placed in a second home, the home of Ed and Marble Turlock. At this home, she was treated like a slave. She was forced to clean and baby-sit, and was never shown any affection, and was never introduced to anyone. Astrid makes friends with a black neighbor, named Olivia Johnston, who the prejudiced Marble condemns a hooker. When Marble finds that Astrid is friends with her, Marble beats her up, and she once again gets moved, which she finds out at school, with her bags already packed for her, and no chance to say good-byes. The third house, was a big, beautiful estate. Amelia, the foster mother took in girls as slaves, and when she would leave, she

Issues of Our TimesInternational Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Issues of Our TimesInternational - Essay Example Information from the CQ Researcher online database, from Leda Hartman’s article shows that sectarian conflicts between the two groups are almost as old as the religion itself. Centuries ago, in most countries, the two groups co-existed in peace, but this soon changed into a full-scale violence during last year’s democracy movement in the Arab spring and when the U.S invaded Iraq. According to Cornell, there are up to 85-90% of Sunni Muslims in the world and 10-15% of Shiite Muslims.ii Most Shiites live in many parts of the world but majority of them can be found in countries such as Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Iran among others. It is important to note that the Shiite Muslims in these countries are either the majority or a minority group with a lot of influence on powerful political positions, or none at all. The Sunnis, on the other hand are many, with large populations in countries such as India, North African states such as Libya, Egypt and Morocco. The situation between the Sunni and Shiite Muslims is not only about theology and history as previously mentioned in the introduction, but also about competition for power, a lot of privilege in some politicians from either of the group also intensifies the distrust and hostility. In page 114 of Cornell’s book, the sectarian division between the Sunnis and Shiites has taken very many centuries to develop. When Prophet Mohammad died, there was a problem among the young Muslims in regard to the one to succeed the Prophet.iii Disagreements emerged in the community eventually, resulting to these two groups. Additionally, the disagreement between the two groups soon developed into divisions related to politics, the ritual practices and theological doctrines. Hence, the two have always had different views leading to hostility, open conflicts and coexistence in other instances.iv In the

Results chapter (MICROBIOLOGY specialists only) Essay

Results chapter (MICROBIOLOGY specialists only) - Essay Example Each T-cell receptor has a specific unique peptide: Major Histocompatibility Complex with them. The Spleen contains lymphocytes and another type of white blood cells called Macrophages. Thus spleen is also the best source of lymphocytes. The T-cells are usually divided into two major Subsets- T Helper cells and T-Killer cells. The T-helper cells are called as CD4+ cells and T-killer cells are called as CD8+ cells. Early growth response gene – 2, a zinc finger transcription factor is expressed in the CD44 cells. It also controls their activation and proliferation. In the absence of this EGR gene -2 at CD44high + cells, and not CD44low + cells, the T cells were found to be hyper reactive and hyperproliferative in vivo. (Zhu et. al, 2008) In this experiment, two types of cells were used for FACS research, Wild type and EGR-2 Transgenic mice. The cells extracted from the spleen are separated for the lymphocytes and then mixed with 1 ÃŽ ¼l of the antibodies. The antibodies used are CD3 P (Phycoerythrin)+CD4 F(Fluorescein), CD3 P+CD8 F, CD4 F+CD8 P. (labtestsonline.org, 2009). The number of the positive cells were calculated for the two types and compared with each other. The wild type and the EGR-transgenic mice spleenocytes were stained with CD4 (FITC SL) + CD8 (PE SL). The results have shown that the wild type mice has the normal count. The CD4 positive cells are greater than the CD8 cells normally. In transgenic mice, the CD4 and CD8 cells counts are nearly the same. The EGR-Transgenic mice are found to have greater CD8 cells than the wild type. The wild type and the EGR-transgenic mice spleenocytes were stained with CD3 (PE SL) + CD4 (FITC SL). The results indicate that There was no characteristic difference in the CD3 positive cells in both wild type and EGR2. Whereas the CD4 positive cell count was nearly double in the wild type when compared to the EGR2 Tr. The staining of all the three type spleenocytes with CD4 FITC +CD3 PE, has showed that

Aquatic Biomes and Tropical Rainforest Essay Example for Free

Aquatic Biomes and Tropical Rainforest Essay An aquatic biome is an ecological community dominated by water. This biome can be broken down into two categories: oFreshwater, which includes rivers, streams, ponds, lakes and freshwater wetland. oMarine or saltwater, which includes oceans, seas, estuaries, coral reefs and saltwater wetland. Each of these aquatic ecosystems can be defined by variables such as temperature, the presence or absence of light, and the availability of nutrients. Aquatic biomes cover almost all the world (around 75% of the surface) and only 3% of them are freshwaters. Freshwater ecosystems This ecosystem is defined as having a low salt concentration of less than 1%. It helps to make up all the different animals’ life in this planet. Ponds and lakes range in size from few yards to thousands miles across, and they are divided into the littoral zone, limnetic zone and the profundal zone. The littoral zone is the part of the lake or pond which is shallow and located near the shoreline. In this zone there is abundant light, nutrients and plants. Those plants provide protection and food for animals, insects and crustaceans. The limnetic zone is offshore, where the water is deep and it receives enough sunlight to support life. There are tiny forms of life called as phytoplankton, which are tiny plant forms, and zooplankton, which are tiny animal forms. Those tiny forms of life lead to bigger animals’ life such as fish, which feed from those planktons. The profundal zone is beneath the limnetic zone, where it doesn’t receive light to sustain plants’ life. The organisms that die from above this zone settle down and are being eaten by decomposers. Because ponds and lakes are isolated from other bodies of water, they don’t have new species of animals or plant, or it is limited. Streams and rivers are defined by the flow of water in one direction. The source of these regions can be the snowmelt from the mountains, runoff of rains, or the outflows of a lake. They flow until they empty into another body of water and they usually lead ultimately to oceans. The flow of water of streams and rivers changes as it moves. At high elevations (mountains), the water’s flow moves swiftly and makes them clear and oxygenated. As it moves slower, it allows a more diversity of plants and animals. Because the water’s flow moves slowly, it carries more sediment and there is less oxygen in the water. Wetlands are standing water’s regions that support aquatic life. Wetlands can receive many names such as swamps, marshes and bogs. Marine or saltwater This ecosystem is defined by its high salt concentration. Oceans are the large aquatic ecosystem that dominates the Earth’s surface. It is divided into four zones: the intertidal zone, the pelagic zone, the benthic zone and the abyssal zone. The intertidal zone is the area that is covered and uncovered with the rising and falling of tides. Because of this, the communities are constantly changing and most of the living organisms live only where the high tides reach. The pelagic zone is the area away from the lands, which is the open ocean. This zone receives little sunlight and it has abundant plankton, which feed animals such as whales. In this zone, there are still some plants anchored to the bottom of the shore. The benthic zone is beneath the pelagic zone and it doesn’t receive sunlight, which makes it darker and colder. The abyssal zone is the deepest area beneath the benthic zone. This area is very cold, it has a great pressure, but it has a low nutrient level. Coral reefs are abundant in tropical water and it consists of a barrier of corals, anemones, and algae. The sunlight penetrates this area, which makes the water clearer and allows a diversity of living organisms. Estuaries are those areas in which freshwater merge with the ocean. This supports animals such as oysters, worms, and crabs; and supports plants such as algae and seaweeds. Tropical Rainforest Biome This is the most diverse terrestrial biome on Earth. It has a warm and moist environment and is dominated by broadleaf evergreen trees. The combination of constant warmth and moisture makes the tropical rainforest a great environment for many plants and animals, which made this biome as the only one that contains the greatest biodiversity in the world. Because of the great quantity of trees in this biome, the soil is infertile and acidic. This is because when an organism decomposes in the soil, the plants absorb it quickly for their quick grow and survival. This biome has several layers of vegetation. The tallest trees reach approximately 50 meters; below them there is a continuous canopy of treetop of approximately 40 meters. And the lower level is composed by small plants, mosses, and fungi. Most of the fauna in this biome is arboreal because the food near the ground is scarce.

Process of Photosynthesis Essay -- essays research papers

Photosynthesis is the process by which organisms that contain the pigment chlorophyll convert light energy into chemical energy which can be stored in the molecular bonds of organic molecules. Photosynthesis powers almost all trophic chains and food webs on the Earth. The net process of photosynthesis is described by the following equation: 6CO2 + 6H2O + Light Energy = C6H12O6 + 6O2 This equation simply means that carbon dioxide from the air and water combine in the presence of sunlight to form sugars, oxygen is released as a by-product of this reaction. Photosynthesis begins when light strikes Photosystem I pigments and excites their electrons. The energy passes rapidly from molecule to molecule until it reaches a special chlorophyll molecule called P700, so named because it absorbs light in the red region of the spectrum at wavelengths of 700 nanometers. Until this point, only energy has moved from molecule to molecule, now electrons themselves transfer between molecules. P700 uses the energy of the excited electrons to boost its own electrons to an energy level that enables an adjoining electron acceptor molecule to capture them. The electrons are then passed down a chain of carrier molecules, called an electron transport chain. The electrons are passed from one carrier molecule to another in a downhill direction, like individuals in a bucket brigade passing water from the top of a hill to the bottom. Each electron carrier is at a lower energy level than the one before it, and the result is that electrons release energy as they move down the chain. At the end of the electron transport chain lies the molecule nicotine adenine dinucleotide (NADP+). Using the energy released by the flow of electrons, two electr... ...he molecular bonds that are broken. Glucose: C6H12O6 Respiration is the opposite of photosynthesis, and is described by the equation: C6H12O6+6O2 ----------> 6CO2+6H2O+36ATP Simply stated, this equation means that oxygen combines with sugars to break molecular bonds, releasing the energy (in the form of ATP) contained in those bonds. In addition to the energy released, the products of the reaction are carbon dioxide and water. In eukaryotic cells, cellular respiration begins with the products of glycolysis being transported into the mitochondria. A series of metabolic pathways (the Krebs cycle and others) in the mitochondria result in the further breaking of chemical bonds and the liberation of ATP. CO2 and H2O are end products of these reactions. The theoretical maximum yield of cellular respiration is 36 ATP per molecule of glucose metabolized.

Relativism in ethics poses serious problems for Christians Essay

With reference to other aspects of human experience, comment on the claim that relativism in ethics poses serious problems for Christians. Justify your answer. [15] Ethical relativism is the theory that states morality is relative to culture and circumstance, meaning the same action may be morally right in one society but be morally wrong in another. For example, most societies believe the act of sacrificing either people or animals is wrong, but there are tribal cultures that perceive it as part of normal life. If one takes this approach there are no such things as moral absolutes, and this can pose problems for Christians. For most Christians ethics are dependent on rules recorded in the Bible. Paul instructs, â€Å"Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.† In the Old Testament especially there are many empathic statements such as, â€Å"Do not kill,† which do not leave much room for ethical relativism. They reject the idea that the ends could justify the means, because sin is sin no matter what the intentions behind it were. Slick wrote on this topic, â€Å"I consider moral absolutes to be real because they come from God and not because they are determined by the whims of mankind.† One of the main criticisms of ethical relativism from within Christian circles is how it leads to a subjective view on morality. If there are no fixed moral truths then that leaves the individual as the supreme moral agent. Under this theory it could be argued the Holocaust was moral – after all, it was the view of that culture that Jews should be exterminated. Anti-Semitism was a societal norm. Groothuis put forward this view: â€Å"Surely any morally sane person must ethically condemn Nazi atrocities as evil †¦ but relativism cannot permit such judgments. The morality of everything is relative — even genocide.† Humans are tainted by sin and therefore are predisposed to make poor choices. On the other hand, relativism does not necessarily mean that anything is acceptable. This is too simplistic a way of looking at it. For example, Peter Singer would describe himself as a believer in ethical relativity, but he wrote, â€Å"what has to be shown to put practical ethics on a sound basis is that ethical reasoning is possible.† He rejected the idea of moral absolutes but also rejected the idea that you could not criticise the choices of others. He stated that human reason is a major factor when it comes to decision making, and that it is not simply a case of choosing what pleases you most. Many Christians have no problem reconciling the Bible with a relativistic approach to ethics. After all, even the Bible contains things that modern day believers do not adhere to such as slavery. When the Bible addresses a topic it should not be compared against the sensibilities of the modern world, but rather against the culture of the ones to whom the Bible was addressed. The Bible was written a long time ago by fallible humans and Christian denominations such as the United Methodist Church in the USA hold a position of ethical relativism. This has led them to performing same-sex weddings and other things that set them apart from their conservative counterparts. They see relativism not as a problem for Christians, but something that can free them from legalism and allow them to be more loving. Strict adherence to Sola Scriptura when it comes to ethics can reject the believer’s own conscience and work of the Holy Spirit, which are also a necessary part of moral decisions. This is similar to those that espouse Christian utilitarianism and believe that God wants them to be happy, even if it requires breaking Biblical law. In the words of Zack Hunt, â€Å"Don’t let dogma and doctrine get in the way of practicing Love, who is God.†