Study Like a Boss
5:45 a. m. , Wednesday, Boxing Day, 2013. I was sleeping soundly in my bed when the phone rang. I could hear the sound of someone getting up to pick up the phone. Shortly afterwards, I could hear the sound of weeping. I heard my Mom tell my Dad that Oma had passed away. Two … Read more
Fannie Poteet sat cross-legged on her Uncle John’s front porch; her favorite rag doll clutched under one arm. The late afternoon sun shone through the leaves of the giant oak tree, casting its flickering light on the cabin. This golden motion of light entranced the child and she sat with her face turned upward, as … Read more
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape: The Reality of Happiness In 1993 the film “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” was released by Paramount Pictures. The movie was directed by Lasse Hallstrom, and starred actors such as Leonardo Dicaprio, Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, John C. Reilly, and many more. This was an award winning film that showed life from … Read more
Personal Myth Altsoba, was a girl that is about the age of 15. She live in a world where it’s normal for smaller kids or kids like her to be walking around town by themselves, she was one of those kids when she was younger. Her home was in a town called Red Swing, it … Read more
Courage and Discovery: Analysis of A Princess Found “YOU ARE A PRINCESS!! ” screamed her uncle. “You can be a Paramount Chief one day! Your grandfather was one and your uncle is one! “. For a twenty eight year old American biracial woman who just wanted to find her birth father, that is a lot … Read more
In Bich Minh Nguyen’s memoir, “Stealing Buddha’s Dinner,” she narrates her experiences growing up as a Vietnamese refugee in a predominantly white, conservative community of Grand Rapids Michigan, in effort to assimilate to the American culture. Emigrating from Vietnam and experiencing the new American culture, she desires to fit in and be accepted as an … Read more
The Boys and Girls Club of America helps thousands of Americans each year as a daycare, escape from home, way to meet new friends or to eat a sustainable meal that they wouldn’t be able to get at home. Another way that the Boys and Girls Club benefits kids is by having organized sports where … Read more
Poverty is a state of being extremely poor. In the “What is poverty” essay it talks about the struggles of a woman that has three children and is trying to survive with little to no income. Jo Goodwin Parker describes her life living in poverty and her daily struggles to raise a family. In the … Read more
Music has always been a very important part of my life. As a child, I was mesmerized by Disney’s Fantasia 2000 and watched the Disney sing-a-longs over and over. I began playing piano at a young age, and in middle school added more instruments to my list, such as flute, saxophone, and ukulele. I have … Read more
“Persistent vegetative state is a specific clinical diagnosis for a patient who is permanently unconscious. All thought, all memory, all ability to interact with the world around them in any way is gone” (LLP). William H. Colby who argued the case for Nancy and her family stated this in his opening statement during the hearing. … Read more
Fuku? What is this really? Stories passed along in families to scare children? Maybe it is an excuse to have when something horrible happens. Is it possible it really is a curse passed down through generations from caused by the act of an individual? Who is to say? In the book The Brief Wondrous Life … Read more
Chicana/o Narrative: Immigration, Family, Feminism and Transgressions In the late twentieth and twenty first century Chicana/o narrative has become a medium to express the injustices that the community faces along with identity conflicts at the individual level. Chicana/o narrative, fictional or autobiographical work, serves as an act of healing and resistance, in which the themes … Read more
Making the Move Moving to northern Wisconsin as a young girl was a scary and confusing time. Having been born in Chicago, all I knew was a big city, the crowds of people, the nonstop traffic and all the noises. My home, it was the only place I knew. How could my parents make a … Read more
Sonia Nazario is an American journalist, born September 8, 196O in Madison Wisconsin to Argentinian-American parents. Nazario has been one of the youngest writers to have worked for the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal. She primarily writes about social justice issues such as poverty, drugs, immigration, and Latino statistics. She has won … Read more
One must take careful consideration before acting, because the aftermath can lead to a chain of events whose consequences can be disastrous. Nino Ricci’s Lives of the Saints is an excellent example of how the consequences of a person’s actions can affect everyone around them, including themselves. First, Cristina makes several choices throughout the novel … Read more
Wes could feel like he is being rejected by his dad. He never had a male figure to teach him right from wrong besides Tony. Tony never did the right thing himself nor help him self in any situation. He never felt like his father was a man Wes could look up to him a … Read more
In her youth, Jeannette struggled with denial to understand the reality of her family life. When she was a young girl and her family didn’t have a roof over their heads she only saw the good in the situation. In one instant Jeannette describes a discussion between herself and her sister Lori “I told Lori … Read more
April Raintree was born daughter to Metis parents in Winnipeg in 1955. We are first introduced to April’s life when she is six years old. April Raintree describes her father, Henry as being” a little of this, a little of that and a whole lot of Indian” and describes her mom, Alice as “part Irish … Read more
DeNiro’s Game is a novel based around war and the effects it has both mentally and physically. The novel is set in the war torn country of Lebanon. The main characters, Bassam and George, are greatly affected by the war. Families are destroyed, there is major corruption, and they are forced to make the choice … Read more
7. El Barrio and the Upper East Side: It had been a crazy morning as I ran all over my house trying to find my jacket and boots. My mom had been admitted into the hospital that morning for a massive headache and all I could think about was whether or not she would be … Read more
Throughout The House on Mango Street, particularly in “No Speak English,” those who are not able to communicate effectively (or at all) are relegated to the bottom levels of society. Mamacita moves to the country to be with her husband, and she becomes a prisoner of her apartment because she does not speak English. She … Read more
Tam taking the life story of my mother Tammy Lynn Gallant to analyze in a sociological perspective. Tammy was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada. She was born at the Grace Maternity Hospital, known today as the IWK Children’s Hospital, on November 13th 1978. Born to parents also known as my grandparents Kathleen Kharma, and … Read more
The play “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry depicts an African American family with many struggles, and by analyzing their struggles, certain lessons and the theme of this drama can be identified. While the family does seem to hold together, there are many problems that arise, such as having family issues, trying to … Read more
Before 7th grade, I never actually believed in bad things. I just didn’t think of them as things that actually happened to people. I don’t even know why I thought that, I was actually a pretty nice person. Thad a somewhat unremarkable life, except for my mom being gone. I lived with my dad and … Read more
Chapter 1 Awaken My name’s Michael and this is my story. This all started when I went to sleep in my home in New York. I had a dad, my mom had disappeared when I was five. Life was great until I turned 15. This is the year when my worst nightmare began. I was … Read more
Being left to fight alone is devastating for anyone suffering from any form of mental illness. If a person you know seems to be struggling then reach out and connect with them. I can guarantee that showing that you care will make a huge difference and possibly save that person’s life. When you find yourself … Read more
Sitting beneath a tree, eating toast with strawberries and drinking rose petal tea, a sweet girl takes a quiet moment to revel in the small wonders of the world before they pass her by. ~Welcome to the world of the Mori girls~ A community devoted to Mori-kei was founded in August 2006 on Mixi, a … Read more
On this topic of gay marriage l’ve chosen the two ethical theories of utilitarianism and the Kantian ethics theory. On the pro side the utilitarianism theory plays a huge role when referring to this topic. Some may argue that it is constitutional and some may say that it just isn’t the right thing to do … Read more
Most people have moved before sometime in their life. For me, it was only two times. The first move was an international move from Vietnam to the United States of America, when I was barely 8 months old. At the time, it was just my mom, dad, and me, moving across the world to start … Read more
Courage by definition is “the attitude of facing and dealing with anything recognized as dangerous, difficult, or painful, instead of withdrawing from it; quality of being fearless or brave” (Webster 325). Whether it is fighting for our country, risking your life to protect that of others, or simply being able to stand up for what … Read more
In August of 2014 I traveled to Alajuela, Costa Rica, with a missions team from my church. Our team’s purpose was to aid the Rice and Beans Ministry. The director of RABMin, Fred Curry, warned us that not everyone that we would encounter would accept us with open arms. Fred knew that some locals would … Read more
My Aunt Dori has always been different; however, I never truly realized how different until a few years ago. She has severe cerebral palsy. I have always known, nonetheless it did not fully sink-in until August 3, 2003. This particular day I had witnessed her having a grand-mal seizure. I remember being terribly afraid and … Read more
Similarly to Bread Givers’ Sara Smolinsky, Maya Lin is the daughter of immigrants who fled to the United States in 1948 before the 1949 Communist takeover of China. On the date of October 5, 1959, she was born in Athens, Ohio (Biography. com Editors). Lin’s parents were intellectuals who eventually became professors at Ohio University; … Read more
At the age of 39, Beethoven’s hearing condition worsened. He lead a series of disastrous recitals. People weren’t pleased wight he different type of music he was playing and his “family” of noblemen advised him to go back to the traditional way of playing music. 1814 came, Beethoven was 44, and he created a masterpiece … Read more
Death is an inevitable process of life, when a significant other is lost it can cause a traumatic disruption in the way someone continues living their life. When someone neglects change the feelings of being isolated, may be resulted by self-imposed thoughts of not belonging with society or by being rejected by others leading to … Read more
My first trip the rocky mountains in colorado was amazing. I had so much fun! It all started when a few days before summer break began last year when I overheard my step-dad and uncle talking about a hiking trip in Colorado that we were going to take sometime in the month of early July. … Read more
As a senior, I am likely to be vulnerable to senior abuse. Senior abuse is a term given to the act of committing harm or distress towards seniors. An abuser can be a spouse, partner, relative, friend, neighbor, or any other individual. Investigations have shown that preying on seniors has doubled in the past five … Read more
Throughout the course of the novel, In Dubious Battle By John Steinbeck, we see the progression of the character Jim Nolan. Nolan undergoes a significant change from what we learn about him and his previous life, to whom we get to know him as at the end of the novel. A man first viewed in … Read more
Mastering Baguette Food provokes lively, warm, jovial feelings for me; this is especially true during the holidays. Baked goods still sparks my olfactory sense and makes me reminisce of Christmas. When | recall these memories I am at my grandmother’s house as a young child. It starts when the oven door opens, vapors of brown … Read more
“Social isolation is one of the most devastating things you can do to a human being; I don’t care how old you are. ”-Rosalind Wiseman. The role of isolation in society is quite similar to its purpose in literature, it creates an internal struggle. Isolation is often used in literature to portray a feeling of … Read more
In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, we are introduced to Christopher Boone, a 15 year old boy who has a disability comparatively to Asperger’s Syndrome. Christopher only lives with his dad, Ed Boone, because he is told that his mother died a couple of year ago from a … Read more
Sometimes you only have to visit a place once, to know whether or not, you will ever revisit that location. As for me that would be Mammoth Cave National Park in south central Kentucky when was thirteen. That park remain to be one of the best places I have ever visited, the trip to it … Read more
The Bonesetter’s Daughter is a novel about three generations of Chinese women. The novel starts off with a short prologue told in the perspective of LuLing Liu Young. LuLing is the daughter of “Precious Auntie”, a horribly disfigured nursemaid who is later revealed to be her mother, and the mother of Ruth, a “ghost-writer” who … Read more
The Last Guy Who Did That… He Died! As my younger cousin, Travis, walked into the living room of my house, he looked for interesting things he could look at and touch. He started to slowly walk toward the broken, bottom half of our entertainment center. My siblings and I, enjoying our Thanksgiving dinner, watched … Read more
When adapting a well-known and loved play into a movie, the adaptor must keep in mind how the audience will react to a new version of a beloved story. An example of this is A Raisin in the Sun, which was adapted into a movie in 2008. Lorraine Hansberry wrote the original play and Paris … Read more
The Iron (Fist) of the Circumstance “I Stand Here Ironing”, by Tillie Olsen, is a story told by an unnamed mother who struggles to balance family and financial stability. The mother retells her experience raising Emily, the oldest daughter of the family, who faces both emotional and physical hardships such as depression, separation from her … Read more
My person is Elijah. Elijah was a prophet during the reign of Ahab around 9th century BC. He was also a wonder-worker in the northern kingdom of Israel. First Adversity There was a Tishbite named Elijah, the Lord told him that to go hide by a stream and he did so. Everyday morning ravens will … Read more
Every building has their ghosts, the Overlook Hotel just happens to have more than you would expect. Jack just lost his job thanks to his temper and drinking problem. In an attempt to keep his family together, he finds a job as a caretaker for the Overlook Hotel. At first, everything seems fine. Though as … Read more
On May 1, 2014, my grandmother, Phuong Tran, passed away because of a stroke. We were so close and I usually stayed in her house while my parents were in their business trip. The days before her death, there were no signs of sickness. She did her daily jobs as usual. We also made some … Read more
According to Frus and Williams, Mulan was Disney’s first animated film with a Chinese lead character with its first film produced in 1998 (156). Mulan was produced by Pam Coats and directed by Barry Cook and Tony Brancroft . According to Frus and Williams, Mulan tells a tale of a strong and smart young Chinese … Read more