Graduation Speech: Perseverance and Determination :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

As a hurdler for County High, I stumble upon some pretty tough obstacles each time I race; the same is true in life. Everyone encounters obstacles, but in order to overcome them and succeed, one must never give up. I love to run hurdles, but unfortunately last year, little pulls and strains prevented me from running to my full potential. One Thursday, we had a home track meet against Lake Stevens. For the first time I was in pretty good shape for my race, the 100-meter hurdles. I began jumping up and down partially to stay warm, and partially to let out some of my excitement. By this time, I had butterflies in my stomach and the adrenaline was pumping. The starter asked us to 'Take your sweats off and stand behind your blocks.' 'Runners take your marks.' Hands shaking, I crouched into the starting blocks. The gun was up. 'Set!' 'Bang!' I bolted out of the blocks. I was way ahead of the other girls when suddenly, I realized I didn't have enough speed to carry me over the next hurdle. Gathering all of the strength I could, I grabbed at the air in hopes of guaranteeing clearance. I had just brushed over the wood when my foot hit the ground and my ankle gave out. I fell. I heard a gasp from the cro wd and the other racers' feet pounding past me. I got back up. I had never gone over a hurdle with my right leg first, but I did after that fall. Sprinting as fast as I could in between hurdles, I found myself basically bunny hopping over the rest of them. My goal was to cross that finish line and to be able to say that I did the very best that I could, even if I didn't look very graceful along the way. Although it might have seemed like a bad day, I was proud. It was the first time I had ever fallen in a race, and not only did I get back up and keep running, I managed to place second. Sometimes you encounter hurdles in life - sometimes you have to adapt and alter your normal routine to clear them. Then there are times you fall; the people surrounding you may gasp - they had been rooting for you. But they haven't given up on you-it's now more than ever that they want you to succeed - it's human nature to want the underdog to come from behind.

Wilderness and Adventure Education Essay -- Education

There are two different parts of the Wilderness Sports and Adventure Education model. The Wilderness sports part of it includes the students participating in various activities such as canoeing, rock climbing and hiking. They are not traditional sports because the athletic ability of the student is not as important as it would be in traditional physical education activity. For example, a child may not be able to kick a soccer ball very well or throw a softball accurately but they would be able to hike up a mountain. Not all schools are able to do these activities because they are lacking the recourses or money. However all schools can participate the in the Adventure Education part of the model. The reason being is because they don’t need the equipment to go canoeing or the environment to have the trails to go hiking. All the teacher needs to participate in Adventure education is a few obstacles to help students with different skills and the student’s cooperation. The Wilderness Sports teaching model is unique from other teaching models. Not every school has the resources or the time in the curriculum to provide students with the opportunity to perform the Wilderness Sports such as cycling, hiking or rock climbing. This gives the chance for the school to come up with extra-curricular activities for the students that otherwise wouldn’t be able to do during the school day. A great extra-curricular activity would be mountain biking. Biking is a great way to stay in shape and go for an adventure at the same time. It also provides bonding time with the teacher and the student which is very important. â€Å"We began taking rides together. The students would show me new trails, and I would show them the ones I was familiar with. The bike rid... ...o it is only done by people who want to participate so they already have something in common. In Adventure Education the team has to work together so the students can make friends that way. This is a teaching model that all physical education teachers should try to incorporate into the curriculum. Works Cited Darst, Paul W., and Robert P. Pangrazi. Dynamic Physical Education for Secondary School Students. San Francisco: Pearson Education, 2002 McCracken, Bane. It's Not Just Gym Anymore Teaching Secondary School Students How to Be Active for Life. Champaign: Human Kinetics, 2001 Cummiskey, Matthew. "The New PE Homepage." The New PE Homepage. West Chester University. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. . "Welcome to Project Adventure, Leaders In Adventure and Experience-based Learning." Project Adventure. Web. 03 Apr. 2012. .

Pips changing character Essay

Explore how dickens builds atmosphere and reveals aspects of Pips changing character in three scenes of your choice. A Great Expectation is considered by many to be Charles Dickens greatest novel. Dickens wrote the book from the first person perspective so when reading the book Pip is telling the story after it actually happened. The story is about the life of Phillip Pirrip (Pip). We follow the growth of Pip. The story follows Pips formation from childhood to adulthood. The story shows us how events in his life change his attitudes. Unfortunately instead of growing up to be a gentleman he turns out a snob. The story is based on how the older generation uses the younger generation to get back at society. We see this when Miss havisham says to Estella ‘Well, you can break his heart’. She said this when Estella was complaining about having to play cards with Pip. Miss Havisham wants Estella to break Pips heart because once she had her heart broken . Pip was also being used by Magwitch. Magwitch uses Pip by bringing him to London and bringing him up to be a gentleman. This is getting back at society because society looked down at Magwitch. When Pip visits Miss Havisham for the first time Dickens gives us lots of clues to what she will be like before he actually meets her. Firstly her house is called Satis house which Estella says ‘Its other name was Satis which is Greek or Latin or Hebrew or all 3 or one to me – for enough’. This is a warning that Miss Havisham is fed up and had enough of life. Also upon arriving at Miss Havisham’s house Dickens builds up the atmosphere by writing ‘The cold wind seemed to blow colder there than outside the gate and it made a shrill noise in howling in and out at the open sides of the brewery. Like the noise of wind in the rigging of a ship at sea’. This creates a gloomy atmosphere and makes the reader think something bad is inside. Once Pip enters Miss Havisham’s room Dickens writes a paragraph describing Miss Havisham. HE writes about how she is dressed. ‘She was dressed in rich materials – satins and lace and silks all of white. ‘ ‘Some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands†¦. ‘ This gives us a good impression of her but then Dickens writes ‘but I saw that everything within my view which ought to be white had been white long ago and had lost its lustre, and was faded and yellow’. These represents that she was once happy but mow her life has gone sour and she is bitter. The room in which Miss Havisham was had no source of daylight it was lit by the odd candle. This shows us that there is no light left in her life.

Knowledge and bias

Today in history and science there is a lot of different bias that can be seen through everyday life. The question that I am trying to answer is if we can obtain knowledge despite bias and selection in history and science. There are three mall types of bias that we can see In today's world, firstly there Is cultural bias which has to do with blabs relating to culture, religion and personal practices and then there Is confirmation bias which is when someone is trying to prove a point and ignores all evidence which old contradict him.Both these types of bias can be found in history, however also in science there is the second type of bias when a scientist has an hypothesis and does experiments, selecting data which proves his idea. Despite what people say about selection, it is proven that selection helps us cut down all the knowledge that we obtained, otherwise there would be too much to analyze and Interpret at the same time. If all the huge amounts of knowledge were to be used there would be too much and it would defer us from the truth. Body:Both history and science since the beginning of time have contributed to help us a lot to develop both socially, economically and politically. History has taught us about the past and what must not be repeated in the future. Science on the other hand has managed to explain the way the world works and show us new technologies that have helped us for many years. However in both Science and history there will still always be someone that will contradict another person's point of view. It is for these many reasons that bias and selection are constantly present in our world today.In story there Is bias through deferent interpretations of documents and sources and In Science there Is selection when a scientist follows one specific method and doesn't History today, as I said before, is often based on cultural bias which can mostly be seen through political, religious and moral views that may contradict each other. When Historian s write new interpretations on history they do not all have the same cultural background or the same sources, so in general they all have different points of views that will obviously not be agreed on.In science we may question some experiments as we do not know if the scientist used the best possible method nor do we know if he used the best materials and variables to conduct his experiment and find the best possible result in the end. History is the study of evidence we have of the past and it is based on human affairs. However history has always been passed on from generation to generation by documents and recording.But when we think about this idea we may feel that the information that is passed from generation to generation cannot be totally reliable as we do not know for certain if the truth is ally stated in the documents or if the person who wrote the account Just wanted to censor the information to hide personal facts about certain events. History without bias and selection is hard to find as sources are already based on a certain point of view and we can only observe what that particular person believes.It is for this reason that so many books have been written in history as if there was no bias or selection we could Just write one big book with the same point of view. The bias in history can be double because we have the point of view of the witness and then the as of the historian. The worst about this idea is that it can really distort the facts so that we don't know what to believe. When referring to selection in history, it all depends on the historians analyzing different sources, he may have national or cultural bias that influenced his understanding.Some historians might believe one point of view whereas another one may believe the opposite. Selection is history is inevitable and a lot depends on what the historian has learnt in his life before he chooses the best possible sources. As for example if a historian learnt since the ginning of his life that communism was the best economic system, he will base his knowledge on what he has known for his whole life and be very critical of capitalism. How can we trust sources that we are not sure they are giving us real facts?In history there have always been hidden documents and hidden agendas in order to keep a country under control. On the other hand there is an argument that states that knowledge in history can be obtain despite bias and selection because history is about people and so if we know about their point of view, we know more about why wings happened and hoe people felt at that time. This is important but we have to be careful and try our best to find sources that show both sides of the information researched, it also important to know the cultural bias of a historian before we believe totally what he says.If we look at science today it has helped us a lot in the world as it has developed technology which has made our lives a lot easier. When referring to selection in science we notice that each time a new experiment is conducted the results may change a little. It is for that reason that scientist use specific methods, variables and materials in order to get almost the same results each time. It is in this idea that we see selection as scientists are forced to choose specific methods, variables and materials.But how can the scientist know that the methods he is using are the most efficient ones? In science topic bias can be seen as money from research. For example in Science the holes in the ozone layer have been a trend for many years in which scientists have told the people of the world to use more renewable energy. But how can we be sure that using renewable energy will really help us? Science is constantly changing due to new technologies that make experiments less selective and give a less biased point of view.It is in this idea that we can say that technology is the key to developing science and being more sure of the knowledge we get from it. For example a scientist from European background may have different interpretations of results in comparison with the scientist from Saudi Arabia due to their religious beliefs and cultural background. Conclusion: In conclusion I believe that science and history are both very important in human development and I believe that even with bias and selection we are able to attain knowledge..I believe that in history bias and selection cannot be ignored, and that they are a very important part of understanding the human and emotional side of what happened. However in science bias and selection will decrease when more technologies are developed in order to decrease this bias and selection, which will let scientists, conduct their experiments, and repeat them systematically to show they are free of bias.

Montana 1948 Practice Essay Essay

Topic: â€Å"At the heart of ‘Montana 1948’ is the conflict between loyalty to the family and duty to the community†. To what extent do you agree? In Larry Watson’s ‘Montana 1948’, there is an overwhelming conflict between loyalty to family and duty to the community. The Hayden family are very loyal to one another but this loyalty goes too far and causes conflict. In the Hayden family, there is a lack of duty to the community and this creates some small-town tension. When people attempt to be loyal to their family, they are unable to be loyal to the community as well, creating inner conflict. In the heart of ‘Montana 1948’ is the conflict between loyalty to family and duty to the community. Loyalty in the Hayden family nurtures the conflicts, as loyal decisions and actions go too far. The Haydens are very loyal to one another and Wesley and Julian (in particular), put their family first. After Frank committed his crimes of rape, David’s father â€Å"knew he was guilty†. Yet Wesley lets Frank get away with it, because they are brothers and in their eyes, family is the first priority. This loyalty creates conflict not just to the wider community, but to their own family as well. The relationship between Julian and Wesley is a frightening one at certain points in the novel. Julian â€Å"wanted, he needed, power†, and he gets this power from the authority he has over his child, Wesley (and the community itself). Julian is dismissive of Frank’s crimes and asserts his dismissive behaviour upon Wesley, influencing the decisions Wesley makes. As a result of Julian’s authority, combined with his intimidating nature and his ‘family first’ views, Wesley fails to make decisions of his own that aren’t affected by the pressures of other people. Wesley informs Gail that Frank will â€Å"have to meet his punishment in the hereafter†, and that he â€Å"won’t do anything to arrange it in this life†. He says these things because he is afraid of Julian. Loyalty in Hayden family creates conflict within the family itself. In the small community of Mercer County, Montana, there is a lack of duty to serve others, and this creates conflict. The lack of duty in the community on Wesley’s behalf is ultimately what kills Marie Little Soldier. (However that’s not to say that Frank’s actions had little to do with her death.) If Wesley’s actions and decisions were different, then Marie’s life could have been saved. Marie’s death creates conflict between the Haydens and the rest of the community, as the lies and deceptions behind her death remain mostly secret. People in power abuse those in the community that have little to none, preventing the less privileged to come forward and this creates tension. Duty to the Mercer County lacks the most in two ways. Firstly, there is prejudice towards the native Indians from a lot of people in town. And  secondly, there is an unjust procedure of law that Wesley carries out when handling his brother, Frank. Wesley is a prime example of a character that does not fulfil his duties to the community. Wesley â€Å"believed Indians, with only a few exceptions, were ignorant, lazy, superstitious, and irresponsible†. Wesley also says that Frank â€Å"didn’t want to be locked up in the jail†, and that he â€Å"would respect that†. The less the community is served by Wesley, the more the conflict builds between them. Duty to the community in Mercer County is lacking, causing tension to build. There is a conflict between the loyalty towards family and the loyalty towards the community, as the loyalty towards both of these groups, struggles to coexist. Wesley is in a tough situation where the choices he makes are vital. But, the decisions are often ones that will affect family in one way, and the community in another. In other words, when his choices make a positive impact on the community, they often have a negative effect on family (and vice versa). Wesley â€Å"believes that in this world people must pay for their crimes†, yet he is torn between justice and family when it comes to forming a resolution. There is conflict within Wesley himself as he battles with the difficult choices between serving the community, and being loyal to his family. If Wesley jails Frank, then he helps the community, but betrays family; and if Wesley lets Frank roam free, he helps his brother, but betrays the community. There is inner conflict residing in Wesley’s thoughts, as loyalty towards family and the loyalty towards the community fail to go hand-in-hand. Larry Watson’s ‘Montana 1948’ is a text that addresses the conflict between loyalty to family and duty to the community. Loyalty in the Hayden family goes further than it should and tension builds among their relationships. The Haydens are inadequate in their obligations to the community, stirring up tension between these two social groups. Loyalty to family can’t coexist with loyalty to the community, fostering the inner conflicts of certain individuals. In Mercer County, family and the community are two separate entities, and the dedications made to either of these groups prove cataclysmic, when loyalty goes too far.

Gender and psychology in Carol Ann Duffy's poems Thesis Proposal

Gender and psychology in Carol Ann Duffy's poems - Thesis Proposal Example Issues of gender, society, psychology, surrealism, sexuality, history, and fantasy have all found a place on the pages of her books. In my thesis, I intend to explore her poetic device of the dramatic monologue and its relation to the multiplicity of voices her poetry embodies. To better understand the societal and literary importance that set her body of work apart from others, it is necessary to indicate how this type of monologue gives a sense of freedom and authority to the misunderstood and neglected. Furthermore, I plan to shed light on the mental processing of the marginalized through the speakers reflections; in addition, I will focus on how her characters create their own identity by transforming the narrative language. The objectives of my research are firstly, to explore the various topics Carol Ann Duffy addressed in her writing, such as gender roles, female sexuality, suicide, and childhood, and to discuss what she had to say about each of them; secondly, to explore Carol Ann Duffy’s use of the narrative monologue as a vehicle of expression for her characters; and thirdly, to reveal the importance of Carol Ann Duffy’s body of work in the world of literature. It is my supposition that an analytical exploration of Carol Ann Duffy’s poetry will reveal a female writer who has found her voice in controversial topics by allowing her characters to develop their voice through her writing. The question I want to address is how successful is Carol Ann Duffy at broadening the reader’s perception of women, by shedding light on women’s issues through the unique usage of narrative monologues? In several of her books, such as The World’s Wife, Feminine Gospels, and Selling Manhattan, Duffy uses her writing to bring the female characters from the background to the forefront to emphasize the importance of the female

A critical study of credit risk management in the First Bank of Dissertation

A critical study of credit risk management in the First Bank of Nigeria PLC - Dissertation Example First one is reaction against bank losses from the Newton, it is realized that losses are unbearable after the losses have occurred. The second aspect is that that bank has been pushed by the recent progress in the area of financing securitization, commercial paper and competition with other non-banks to find possible loan borrowers. Big and stable companies have been seen to shift in the open market sources like those in bond markets of finance.The degree of risk of assumed losses can be minimized by organizing and managing the lending criteria with professionalism and also with active approach. Credit risk management issues can be measured if bank could tap progressively refined measuring technique.The adoption of more rigorous credit risk has been facilitated by the technological developments, predominantly the growing availability of low cost computing power and communication. A lot of banks still have a long way to go in the implementation of such new approaches.Competition in t he provision of financial services is increasing probable due to the acceleration of change in credit risk management in the banks which is viewed as an unavoidable response to an environment and, thus need to classify new and gainful business prospects and appropriately measure the related risk is mounting for the banks and other financial institutions. ... When banks extend their credit considering that borrowers will pay back their loan amounts then the extended credit to the borrowers may be at the risk of default, banks income decreases due to the necessity for the provision for the loans as some borrowers usually default. Commercial banks are exposed to an additional risk of variability as they do not have a clue of what proportion of loan borrowers will default. As a matter of fact almost all the financial institutions bear a certain degree of risk when these institutions lend to consumers and to the businesses, hence when certain borrowers fail to repay the loan amount, they experience some loan losses. Credit risk face by a bank has a possibility of loss arising in case of non-repayment of interest or principal or both. Payment delays and the credit risk among procedures can be transferred by the banks and other financial intermediaries (Demirguc-kunt and Huzinga, 2000). Certain techniques are developed for the measurement of th e credit risk which can be linked with pace of evolution (Laker, 2007; McDonough, 1998; Couhy, 2005; Brown, 2004). Different banks are differentiated with their adoption of different credit risk management policies. A bank having assets that constitutes of loans in their portfolio are relatively illiquid and exhibits the highest credit risk (Koch and MacDonald, 2000). According to the asymmetric information, good borrowers and bad borrowers are might be impossible to distinguish, which can result into an adverse selection and moral hazards problems (Auronen, 2003). Due to the adverse selection and moral hazards banks are led to substantial accumulation of non-performing accounts.