Influential People Essay Example for Free

Influential People Essay In my life, I have had many various influential people, but I would have to say that my Mother has made the biggest impact of all. Most everything that I am today is a outcome of inspirations and instances I have established from my Mother. She has made so many different opportunities presented to me, without which I do not know where I would be. I find my Mother to be a very inspiring person; the reasons for this are infinite. My Mom has been through multiple hardships over the course of her life and throughout it all she has become an exceptionally strong, loving, and wise person. This fact alone amazes me and when compounded with the fact that my Mother, among it all, still manages to have a quick, clever, and upbeat sense of humor I am left fascinated. The things I have learned and continue to learn from my Mother are endless; she has taught me all of the founding principles of my life and for that I am eternally thankful. Though my Mother and I have many discussions on various subjects, within whom I learn many different things, I believe that many of the things I learn from her are discovered and observed from example. This summer would be an instance. Together, we faced many hardships that really pulled and tugged on our relationship. We worked through possibly one of the hardest things a mother could ever go through. It not only brought us closer together, but it made me realize how much she loves me, and how she is always going to be there for me. It is common knowledge that not everyone is perfect, even heroes, and in realizing this I know that I although I wish to be like my Mother in most ways I do not in all. This realization may be one of the most important things I have learned, my Mother has taught me to base my decisions in life not solely on the examples and actions of others but simply on what I gather and learn from the examples and actions of others. In other words, she has taught me not to follow blindly but to make my own decisions based on what I think is important. My relationship with my Mother is something that I treasure above everything else in my life. We are able to play and joke like young children and have serious in depth conversations on some of life hardest subject like mature adults. The various levels that my Mother can reach me on astound me and I think that it is what makes our relationship truly special and what makes her such a wonderful influence.

Facebook vs Twitter Essay Example for Free

Facebook vs Twitter Essay But one question is who will be on top? Synopsis of the Situation Who is better than who? Or one could say who is going to be the king of the hill? Facebook has tried to purchase Twitter with no success. It is hard to say who will come out on top or who will be the ultimate winner of the social war. Until on or the other purchases their competitor or they just decide to merge and rule the social network, we will have to wait and see who will win. Key Issues Facebook and Twitter are both free sites and are both popular. Facebook and Twitter are both time conversations, but Twitter is a little faster. They both seem to have their good and bad qualities. Twitter has a character restriction and has no popups. Twitter users can also post to their Facebook page. Facebook does not have a character limit. They both can post pictures and videos. Facebook has a better privacy blocking system (if you can find it and get them set right). A lot of users (me included) are not aware of this option. Facebook allows businesses to advertise and reach more people faster. Facebook makes there revenue off the ads on their site, witch keeps it free for their users. Facebook has games for their user to play also. These games also generate some of their revenue. Twitter has no games and the only source of revenue is its investors. Define the Problem The main problem for Facebook and Twitter at time is each other. The other thing is that there are other social sites that are starting to catch on. They are both trying so hard to out due each other they may just get stepped on by someone else. They both need to set some goals and do what will help them in the long run. Alternative Solutions Alternative 1- There is room for both of them on the World Wide Web. Competition is good. They need to keep going like they are; yes sooner or later one will be better than the other. It is like the burger wars (McDonalds and Burger King) one might be on top but the other is right behind. Alternative 2 They could always merge and rule the social networking site as one. Alternative 3 They could merge and Facebook can be the everyday personal social network site and Twitter can be more of the business network site. Selected Solution to the Problem Alternative 1 Let the users decide which site works best for them. Compatiotion is good for both of them and the users. It makes them improve their products and in turn this makes a better product for the consumers/users. Despite the politically right way, there is going to be a winner and a loser. Implementation The best way to implement the solution is to advertise and to start improving their sites right away. The faster they improve them, the faster they get ahead. Recommendations Twitter should find a way to make revenue. They might need to start selling advertising space or charging a nominal fee for users. Facebook needs to become more users friendly and maybe make it easier to use.

World War Ii In Southeast Asia History Essay

World War Ii In Southeast Asia History Essay Japanese occupation in Indochina. The Japanese Invasion of French Indochina, also known as the Vietnam Expedition, was a move of Japanese Empire in September 1940, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, to prevent China from importing arms and fuel through French Indochina, especially through Sino-Vietnam border. With the outbreak of World War II, France was force to withdraw its best troops from Indochina in order to help their force in the war in Europe. Thus, it was a wide open opportunity to the Japanese. Japan saw that French Indochina would need to be protected so that other foreign powers couldnt seek to take advantage of Frances plight. Earlier, Japan demanded the French colonial to close the Hanoi-Kunming railway in order to abandon the shipments of war-related goods from Vietnam to China. Later, the Japanese sought to gain control over the Haiphong-Yunnan railroad so that it could attack the main supply based of Chiang Kai-shek. After the fall of France during World War II, t hat the Japanese seized power from French and occupied the entire Indochina. However, the colony was still administered by Vichy France, but was under the Japanese supervision until a brief period of complete Japanese control between March and August 1945. In Cambodia and Laos, in the short term at least, despite the fact that the French continued to administer these states and to support the traditional rulers, so that there was a limited growth of nationalist feeling compared to other states in the region. In Cambodia, politicization just began during World War II. By the 1940s, Khmer intellectuals had begun to form three institutions including the scholar Buddhist Institute, Cambodias sole French-language high school, and Khmer newspaper Nagara Varta (Angkor Wat). Cambodian feelings were outraged in 1940 after getting back some territories of the north-western provinces from Thailand under the Japanese support. However, the nationalistic movements in Cambodia were slickly under French control. The French and Japanese agreed to let French continued to occupy the Indochina, but Japanese forces could move freely in Indochina. French role was variegated in the growth of Cambodian nationalism. In order to reduce Japanese popular fascination in the country, French began to provide a quasi-nationalist movement to young Cambodians. Simultaneously, French glorified Khmers past and its future in partnership with France. Moreover, French also promoted the status and salary of Cambodians in the g overnment service. Unconsciously, in 1943 they pushed the strong nationalism feelings further by launching a program to replace Khmer traditional writing with a roman alphabet. The Buddhist sangha and intellectuals protested against this program because they considered that this was an attack on Khmer traditional learning and cultural heritage. The feeling of anti-French continued until the Japanese seized control of government in March 1945, and the Romanization was cancelled. In April 1945, the Japanese provide independent to Cambodia, but after the surrender of Japan in August 1945, there was no next step for Cambodia independent. Furthermore, there was still no anti-colonial movement in Cambodia such as national movements emerged in Vietnam and Indonesia in 1945. In June 1940, after the Fall of France, Laos was controlled by the Axis-puppet Vichy France government which was under the supervision of the Japanese. Most of Laos stayed under the control of French supervision until March 1945. Before March 1945, French had brought significant changes to Laos. A National renovation movement was assembled; schools and other amenities were built; Lao music, dance and literature were promoted. Moreover, First Lao newspaper was also emerged at that time. The nationalistic movement arose as well, especially in the Lao lowlanders. On 9 March, 1945, Japanese occupied Laos, so Laos stayed under the administration of French along with Japanese supervision. During the Japanese occupation of Laos, enormous amount of French officials were imprisoned. At the same time, King Sisavang Vong, who tried to declare independence of Laos and accepted Laos under the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity sphere, were put into the prison as well. Japan continued to rule Laos de spite constant civil unrest against it until it was force to withdraw from Indochina after the Japanese surrender in August 1945. The Japanese occupied Vietnam from September 1940 until the end of World War II. Japan came to Vietnam with the policy Asia for Asians and Japanese forces took only a week to control Vietnam. However, Japan still left the French colonial government there, because Japan could not provide enough men to occupy the entire of Vietnam. Japan left the French in charge and developed Vietnam as its client state. The French continued to colonize Indochina, but ultimate political and military power was not in their hands. Japanese demanded for resources and had priority over French policies. Thus, Japanese troops could freely access to Vietnams roads, rail network and ports, so that the Japanese could conquer Thailand and Burma easily. During the Japanese occupation, the Vietnamese were told that the Japanese were not conquerors, but liberators Japan would drive away the white imperialists out of Asia. Simultaneously, Japanese language course were introduced; Japanese films, literature and poe try were translate into local language as well. However, Vietminh considered Japanese as number one enemy. It was notable that the Vietnamese Communists rose up in the 1930s, before the arrival of Japanese. However, the arrival of Japan made Vietnamese Communists felt that there was no hope for them to demand for getting any power. Their numbers remained small and the French was trying to eliminate the political force that was considered as a threat to their role in Vietnam as well. As the war advanced and the altered of the political environment, it was an opportunity for the Vietnamese Communist-Nationalists. The Vietnamese was trying to develop its force in order to seize the power at the end of the war. By June 1945, Ho Chi Minh felt strong enough to create a Viet Minh-controlled area in north-western Vietnam. By August, Viet Minh forces seized the control of Japanese-held villages and towns. In early August, the Japanese forces prepared to leave after the Japanese surrender in World War II. Within days, Vietminh forces took control of most of northern and central Vietnam and declared Vietnams independence On 2 September 1945 in Hanoi. Exceptional case: Thailand Thailand was the most interesting country among Southeast Asian nations during the colonial period as well as the period of World War II because it was the only state in the region that was not under the foreign colonization. At the beginning of World War II, Thailand was under the control of an authoritarian government which was led by Prime Minister Phibun. In that regime, the government supported the restoration of the territories in Cambodia and Laos, and they rose up anti-French sentiment in the country as well. Phibun was trying to keep closer relations with Japan in order to seek support against France. In October 1940, a conflict between Thai and French forces broke out along Thailands eastern border. Then, it was a good opportunity for Japan to intervene to mediate the conflict. Japan used its influence with the Vichy regime in France to gain concessions for Thailand. As a result, France agreed to give away western part of Laos and most of Cambodian Battambang province to Th ailand. The restoration of Thai lost territory increased Phibuns reputation in Thailand. However, Japan wanted to maintain the relationship with Vichy, so that Thailand was forced to get only a quarter of its demanded land. In addition, they had to pay six millions piasters as a concession to the French. Relations between Japan and Thailand became tense; then Phibun turned to courting the British and Americans instead. In December 1941, Japan moved its troops into Thailand and demanded the rights to access through Thailand to invade British Burma and Malaya. Thai troops resisted but later the Phibuns government called for ceasefire. After that, a mutual offensive-defensive alliance pact between Thailand and Japan was signed and Thai entered a military alliance with Japan. Japanese troops were allowed to move freely in Thailand; however, Thailand still controlled its own armed forces as well as internal affairs. In January 1942, Thais declared war on Britain and the United States bec ause of the Japan pressure. Meanwhile, Japan had put its troops in Thailand and built the infamous Death Railway by using many Asian labour forces as well as allied prisoners of war. According to M. Walsh (2005), the Japanese engineers predicted that Death Railway would be completed in five years. However, the Japanese army forced the prisoners to finish this railway in only sixteen months. The causalities in the construction were very high there were about 12,400 deaths among the total 61, 700 labour forces. In 1943, there was tense situation between Japan and Thailand, and many Thai people began to against Japan. Because of the war, Thailand had experienced the economic disruption as well. In July 1944, Phibun resigned from office and left Thailand with the problem of preparing Thailand for an Allied victory. Thai politicians were under the controlled of Japanese until August 1945 Japanese surrender in World War II.

My Personal Philosophy of Education Essay -- Teaching Progressivism Ca

My Personal Philosophy of Education "Some people make things happen, some watch while things happen, and some wonder ‘what happened?’ Which type of person are you?" author unknown. There have been times in my life in which I have sat back and watched things happen. I often wondered why they happened. I now realize that it is important to be a leader. Effective teachers need to take charge and make things happen. I am becoming a teacher to make things happen and not sit back and let them happen as I used to do. This is very important for a teacher to realize. I will take charge and make wonderful things happen in my classroom. Teachers immensely influence children’s lives. In my entire school experience I have found that teachers can make a difference in the lives of every child. I admire all teachers for their hard work and determination. I have seen students who, without the teacher’s love and guidance, would have missed out on so many opportunities. I chose to become a teacher to help those children less fortunate than others to look at themselves as worthy individuals. My father has been a constant source of encouragement in my life. He is a teacher at my local high school. He cares about his students, giving extra help to those who need it, and recognition to all students, not just over achievers. I have seen the hard work, long hours, and emotional stress that he goes through every day. Despite all of the difficult aspects, he enjoys his job. At the end of the school year as he sees his students achieve beyond the goals he has set, he is proud of each student and all of the pri or frustration was well worth it. He is the reason I chose to become a teacher. His teaching strategies are ones that I hope t... ... is the responsibility of the teacher to instill in these children the knowledge they need to be productive in the world. In today’s society it is important for children to have good role models. I believe teachers should be proper role models for everyone in the community. Teaching is one of the toughest jobs in the working world. It takes hard work, determination, much effort, and time to be an effective teacher. I believe I have these qualities and am prepared to keep practicing them in my classroom. The great Mortimer Adler, a father of perennialism, said "In the case of good books, the point is not how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." I believe the same principle exists in regards to teaching. It doesn’t matter how many teachers a student has, what is important is how that teacher gets through to each student.

Translations Essay -- Literary Analysis, Brian Friel

Shakespeare once wrote, â€Å"What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet.† I would have to disagree with Juliet’s assertion that a name is a meaningless convention, and I think Brian Friel would as well. It is a concept addressed in his play Translations, set at a time of change for his native Ireland, when the country itself is on the cusp of submission to the imperialism of England. Two significant colonial events are taking place: the implementation of the National School System which replaced locally-run hedge schools like the one in which the play is set, as well as the remapping of Ireland and anglicising of place names by the British. To translate something means to change it from one condition to another, or adapt it from one system or language into another; indeed this metaphor can be applied to this play but also to Irish history. In this paper I will discuss this play as an examination of language as a defining characteristic of a particular culture and its consequent power as a colonizing tool, the way language and communication can manifest themselves as positive or negative influences and how Friel exposes the violence, figurative and literal, suffered by the Irish people as a result of these translations. The English colonizers are using language in a negative capacity, as a vehicle to exert their power over Ireland. They claim that the renaming of places is being done â€Å"to advance the interests of Ireland,† (31), when in fact it is a step to eradicating the Gaelic language. While the English may not be enslaving the Irish or moving them all to reservations, as in the case of Canadian and American First Nations peoples, this is an example of a more subtle, but equally as damagin... ...slating a story (and struggling with the translation of it) that celebrates the triumphs of the Roman Empire, and written in Latin, the language of the conquering Romans. The irony of this final scene is that Translations is a play written by an Irish playwright, but written and performed in English, the language of Ireland’s conquerors. The message of Translations is simple: language is something much bigger than a way to communicate. Language is at the cornerstone of identity, whether it personal identity or that of an entire nation. To attempt to eradicate the language of a particular place is a crime against its character and legacy. Given Ireland’s unique colonial history and the challenges it still faces today in regards to the preservation of its culture and language, it is easy to see why this play has become such an important piece of Irish culture.

An Analysis of Birches Essay examples -- Robert Frost Birches Essays

"Birches" is a memorable poem that is rich and interesting enough to repay more than one reading. Robert Frost provides vivid images of birches in order to oppose life's harsh realities with the human actions of the imagination. "Birches" has a profound theme and its sounds, rhythm, form, tone, and figures of speech emphasize this meaning. Theme "Birches" provides an interesting aspect of imagination to oppose reality. Initially, reality is pictured as birches bending and cracking from the load of ice after a freezing rain.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   So low for long, they never right themselves: Reality has its ups and downs. This passage suggests that people never fully recover from being dragged down by life even if they don't seem broken. Imagination is portrayed as "a swinger of birches." The portrayal of the boy refines this image:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One by one he subdued his father's trees   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By riding them down over and over again. The boy seems to take in lessons about life from these encounters with the trees on his father's land:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   He learned all there was   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To learn about not launching out too soon. This boy lives away from town and must play by himself. He has learned his father's lessons. Imagination is the gift for escaping reality that each one of us possesses. We do not have to depend on anyone to take a mental vacation. Mastering your art of imagination will increase your ability to handle the bad things life dishes out. That's why the narrator advocates using imagination. On Earth we can become weary from life's everyday occurrences--that "pathless wood." However, Earth's the place for lo... ...ture poetry. I could picture a winter scene: "As the breeze rises" and the effect of "the sun's warmth" on the sheaths of ice covering the tree branches. But this is where I ended the scene. I did not picture the shattering of ice "on the snow crust" like "heaps of broken glass to sweep away." Initially, I did not get the shattered feeling; I felt the scene was peaceful. Conclusion I enjoyed reading "Birches," and I believe my reaction is both personal and aesthetic. This poem was lengthy and complex enough to contain many of the aesthetics of an excellent poem. I will always remember the vivid images provided by Frost's use of figures of speech and sound.   This poem also stirred my feelings. Frost, Robert. Frost: Collected Poems, Prose, & Plays â€Å"Introduction to Threescore: The Autobiography of Sarah N. Cleghorn,† New York, The Library of America, 1995.

Diamonds Are Forever (from Sierra Leone), Kanye West

Diamonds are Forever (from Sierra Leone), Kanye West The famous song â€Å"Diamonds are Forever (from Sierra Leone)† is not only a good song that is sung by a legendary music artist, Kanye West, but it is a hidden message political song that is directly talking about the precious blood diamonds from the southern countries of the continent Africa. When someone hears the two words â€Å"blood diamond,† most would probably assume that the diamonds are from Africa and that there are many people who die trying to mine for them.In reality, a blood diamond, also known by the names of conflict diamonds, converted diamonds, hot diamonds, or war diamonds, is a diamond that is mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, invading army's war efforts or a particular warlord's activity. These terms are particularly used in the context of diamond trading to indicate the negative effects for the sales of these said diamonds. Most of the blood diamonds are mined particularly i n Africa, where around two-thirds of the entire world's diamonds are extracted from.Overall, the main political issue that this song is referring to is the cold fought war for the control over Africa’s’ blood diamonds. The reason the country Sierra Leone is mentioned in the song is because of the huge war situations that the blood diamonds have caused. A little knowledge about this particular conflict; from the years of 1989 to 2003, the country of Liberia was engaged in a civil war. In the year of 2000, the United Nations accused Liberian president Charles G.Taylor of supporting the Revolutionary United Front insurgency in neighboring the country of Sierra Leone with weapons and proficient military training in exchange for blood diamonds. In the year of 2001, the United Nations applied sanctions on the Liberian diamond trade. In August of 2003, Taylor stepped down as the president, and after being exiled from Liberia to Nigeria, faced trial in The Hague. On July 21st of 2006, Taylor pleaded not guilty to the charged crimes against humanity and war crimes of which he was found guilty in April of 2012.It’s not too easy to tell if the diamond in the middle of a gold ring is a true blood diamond or not. In reality, there is no way to tell by looking with the naked eyes or even under a jeweler’s gem magnifying glass. Many influences about blood diamonds have been made famous. Some examples include the song â€Å"Diamonds from Sierra Leone† and the famous movie â€Å"Blood Diamond. † After listening to the song by rapper Kanye West, it sends out a deep message about what is going on in Africa on the war of diamonds. The music video that goes along with the song is also very powerful.A lot of the lyrics in the song include hidden descriptive messages about what happens because of these blood diamonds. Not nessacerily about blood diamonds, but what is happening to the southern African countries and what is happening to the pe ople who are forced to mine diamonds. In many cases, children are kidnapped and forced into slavery and forced to mine for diamonds. In other cases it is adults who are kidnapped from their families and forced to mine. After performing some brief research about the forced slavery for mining the diamonds, rebellion is typically not an answer.In simple prospective, people who are forced into the mining slavery are given simple choices; mine for diamonds or be killed, or mine for diamonds or you will be forced to kill your family and then you will be killed. This is just a sickening way of realizing that the diamonds on any wealthy persons’ fingers could not have only cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars, but also cost hundreds and hundreds of innocent lives that will never be remembered. In connection with the message to what the song â€Å"Diamonds are Forever† is trying to tell the whole world is that hundreds of thousands of people have died in Africa’s ongoin g diamond wars.One of the challenges now that we come face to face with is to prevent warlord empires from kidnapping and recurring, and to get diamonds to a safe place where they can be an engine of growth in the 15 African countries where they are mined, instead of a scourge. One of the verses from the song that really stands out to me is: â€Å"†What's up with you and Jay, man, are y'all ok man? † They pray for the death of our dynasty like Amen. Right here stands a man, with the power to make a diamond with his bare hands†¦ † This verse really stands out because of what it means to me.I believe it means that we are asking if people who are mining for diamonds are okay. In response, all we hear are the prayers that ask for the fall of their country, because people are being forced to exchange their enslaved lives for blood diamonds. But in reality, nobody knows who the â€Å"we† are and nobody knows who the people mining are because their lives have already been traded for diamonds. In simple words spoken by Kanye West himself, â€Å"Little is known of Sierra Leone, and how it connects to the diamonds we own. †