Memories From the Past

Memories From the Past Free Online Research Papers Memories of the past come to me frequently when I experience something that reminds me of back home. Memories to me are a frozen piece of time of time that remains with you for the rest of your life. Experiences, objects, people or feelings either good or bad, sometimes we wish we could forget them or never think about them again but in my case most of my fondest memories make me think of a time in which I lived in Venezuela, a much simpler time were as I soon found out life was a more complex mechanism which I did not remotely began to understand. Looking back at my childhood I have noticed that growing up in Venezuela can be tough on any person if that person does not have a family that loves him or her and friends that care, because even the poor with the right state of mind plus family and friends to keep him or her on the right track improving oneself in the social and economical standings is not an impossible thing to do. The biggest example of this is my mom Carmen, raised by my grandfather Pepe who came from Spain after the Spanish Civil War with basically nothing in his pocket. He (my grandfather) worked hard to provide food, a good home and an education for his family, living in â€Å"LaVega† which is a â€Å"Barrio† in Caracas, not the nicest neighborhood to live in. My mom studied hard to better herself and soon graduated from the best university in Caracas, later to move to Maracaibo (the city were I was born and raised) to work for PDVSA, the biggest oil company in Venezuela, she now works for BP as an metallurgical engineer but what I am trying to relate is that when you are a kid, you are not aware of your surroundings and how they might affect you, in the early parts of my childhood we (my parents and I ) lived in an apartment in a not so nice part of the city, I had friends from the building and we used to play soccer all the time sometimes even barefooted, that should tell y ou how the situation was, but back them I did not think of that at all, I did not think about if we were poor, all I cared about was to have fun with my friends, instances like these make me appreciate the things that I have and how lucky I really am. The next important thing that happened in my life was that my parent got divorced, from then on my dad visited me very week. Right after that happened my mom began to move higher up in PDVSA (the oil company) and she began to earn a high wage which enable her to buy a house in the good part of the city, also she enlisted me in â€Å"El Colegio Aleman de Maracaibo† which translated means â€Å"the German school of Maracaibo†, a private school, there my best memories of my childhood would take place and some of the best friends I would have, I would meet them there. If you want to get a good or decent education in Venezuela private schools are the way to go, middle to upper class sent their children to private schools because basically public schools in Venezuela don’t work, the government does not provide adequate instructors, facilities or materials. Going to â€Å"El Colegio Aleman de Maracaibo† was the best thing that could have happened to me. Beginning first with the education, the thing that helped me out the most was that in that school you were required to learn how to speak English and German which as you might see was a huge benefit to my development and to my integration into later parts of life. Second soccer was a big deal with me and my classmates so being and playing for the school soccer team was my favorite thing to do, another bonus that the soccer team had was that there I met my two best friends Servando and Carlos Roberto and together we played against the rivals schools making me very happy, but not only we played but our coaches were top class and they tough us many different techniques and life lessons or values that stayed with me even today. Soccer was our main attention playing it were ever we could and with whatever we could find cans of coke, paper balls etc†¦ but not only we did that we played baseball and swam whenever possible, I can really say that those were the fun nest years of my life. Another aspect of living in Venezuela that I miss was seeing my dad every week, my dad is an art teacher for â€Å"Mater Salvatoris† an Italian private school in the morning and in the afternoon he worked for another school which on Wednesdays he would come pick me up and we would go to the school were he taught at and he would also teach me the fundamentals of art, I would say I got my talents in the art field from him and going to his classes helped me develop artistic skills more advanced than any of my classmates which later led me to win several prices on competitions when I was a kid. Looking back at those times makes me think of my dad and the fun times we used to have together or just quality time was good to me. The of the hardest thing I have had to do, was to in the future leave my dad behind, when later my mom and I would move to Texas. Overall living in Venezuela back then was a paradise to me, I had everything I could ever imagine and want with me, a nice house, a good schools, my parents and all of my family but all of that was about to change. In the year 1998 Hugo Chavez was elected president of Venezuela and from that point on everything took a turn for the worse. Right from the beginning my mom sense that something bad was going to happen, at the time I could have not imagined how the election of one man could cause such pain and suffering in the future. As I said before with the election of Chavez as president my mom decided that it was time to move out of the country because things were going to worsen fast, so in a year she did find a job with BAYER (a German company) and she decided that her and I would start a new life in Katy, Texas. At the time I did not know what to think of moving to another country when everything in Venezuela to me seemed great when the reality was otherwise, my friends told me that the US was â€Å"really cool† and that I would love it, so I made up my mind and left Venezuela and moved to the United States with my mom, leaving all my family behind, my dad and friends. Leaving all those things behind was really tough on me the first few years but their absence made me mature fast, I learned how to speak English fluently, made friends with other Venezuelan kids who went to school with me and began to enjoy living in the US. A few years removed from the time I moved I started to see why my mom wanted to come to the US, Venezuela got worse and worse with each passing year and still is today. Life in Venezuela compared to the US is very different, Venezuela is a third world country, that means that most of the people are lower middle class or just poor but poor in Venezuela means basically living in cardboard boxes, lots of beggars plague the streets and children steal. This situation is due to the corrupt manner of the government which only seems to care about themselves not the people, which makes for limited opportunities in job seeking. In the US everything is basically better, the education systems, the roads, jobs there is really no comparison, it is just sad how an oil country like Venezuela which should have more than enough money to basically turn things around can’t because of the greed of a few â€Å"elite† persons. Living in Venezuela taught me a lot of things but the memories of the people and events that happened there will stay with me forever. 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Communicating total rewards Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communicating total rewards - Essay Example This paper will develop compensation and benefit for a compensation package for production firm. The package to be developed will be for the operations manager’s position. It is necessary note that this is one of the most critical positions in any organization. This is because the office holder is involved in both management and implementation activities of the organization. Operational manager’s position is sensitive position hence the need to give it much consideration. Due to this, the compensation and benefit package for this position must include key elements like allowances to help the office holder manager other social issues. A well developed compensation and benefits package for the position of operational manager in any production firm must take into account the fact that the position is involving. This implies that the office holder will be forced to for go certain social elements such as family time which must well covered by the package (Cotterman, 2010). Although some of the social and personal sacrifices the holder of this position will be making are beyond any monetary tag, a good package should make the office holder feel appreciated to steer real motivation. Every item listed in this package touches on the office holder’s well being or motivation towards accurate delivery. The basic salary in this situation is the starting point of any package. However, it is very important to take note of the fact that basic salary is developed or decided based officer holder’s skills and experience plus the job description. This implies that the basic salary must be reasonable on the basis of job description. Employers or the people concerned with the development of this packages must ensure the officer holder doest receive much and does little according to the job description and vice versa. Basic salary setting or development should always be accurate. This is due

Can parents who abuse drugs and alcohol be good enough parents Essay

Can parents who abuse drugs and alcohol be good enough parents - Essay Example In 2006, a study revealed that about 5% of all adults in the UK are alcohol-dependent with one out of 24 parents drinking heavily; these figures put about one million children living with alcoholic parents (In the news, 2006). The Institute of Alcohol Studies (2009) also revealed in their latest statistics that 22.1% of children in the UK are living with alcoholic parents; and about 8% of children in the UK are living with parents who are drug abusers. Moreover, 3.6% of children live with parents who are both alcohol and drug abusers (Institute of Alcohol Studies, 2009). In other words, these children are put at risk of being exposed to neglectful and abusive parents. Alcohol abuse and substance abuse potentially affect entire families and these are also habits which, if not stopped, are often passed on from generation to generation (In the News, 2006). With the above considerations, this paper shall now answer the question: can parents who abuse drugs and alcohol be good enough pare nts? This discussion shall use relevant literature, theoretical frameworks and research findings in order to come up with a thorough and critical understanding of the subject matter. Various studies and researches shall be evaluated in relation to this subject matter, analysing them for validity and credibility. Drugs and alcohol have different effects on different people. Shaw points out succinctly that â€Å"the good and bad effects of alcohol lie in complex psychological and sociological continua...Concepts of use and abuse have therefore been open to equally wide interpretations† (Shaw, 1978, p. 41). The effects of drugs and alcohol largely depend on a person’s physiology and sociology. Indeed, the adage, â€Å"being able to handle one’s drink† is appropriate in determining the effect of alcohol on a person. Some people may be able to handle their drink well, and others, not at all. Nevertheless,

Media and Language Essay Example for Free

Media and Language Essay The article discusses about how Facebook is really affecting one’s feeling of being lonely. It also states the different sources or causes for a person to be like one. Facebook is said to be an instrument to increase a person’s social life and interaction with others but for most researchers, it is also a source of loneliness. Yvette Vicker’s death was connected to a heart attack which was reportedly caused by loneliness. She called distant fans before her death rather than her family and friends. Loneliness and being alone is not the same thing. Being lonely is a psychological state while being alone is an external condition. Loneliness can be measured through the UCLA Scale. Researchers found out that as time goes by, the number of people who feel lonely increases. Professional carers is widely needed because of the alarming number of lonely beings which are then had become a public health issue. It can lead to certain illness like dementia, insomnia, obesity, hormonal imbalance, etc. Many like to be alone or independent because they get some satisfaction over that kind of system but what they don’t know is that their exposing themselves into a world of pure loneliness. Family traits are changing because of the changing world. Some engage into social networking because of the urge to belong to a social group. This may be because of a poor household interaction between families. Scanning through others posts may lead to loneliness because people would tend to realize why other people have this and that while they do not. Why people experience this and that and they do not. Facebook draws a person into a world of illusion instead of being able to realize reality. It can be helpful if one can use it as a tool to engage social gatherings or interactions and not a substitute to one. Technology may be helpful or not to improving one’s life but it is for the user to limit its usage, maybe for better or for worse. The author concluded that connection is not the same as bond. People let themselves be drawn into a connection which is not forever connected and a form of disintegration from this connection may lead to a worse scenario. So the text talks about the relation of loneliness to Facebook. I am a vivid Facebook user and yes, I felt lonely at some times. When I do not know what else to do, I try to scan through my wall and see some posts there about other people’s lives and how they feel and even what is currently happening to them. Some of those posts appeal to my senses. I feel envy of what other people have, in the material and social aspect. I am not into social interaction with those who I do not really know and from what I have observed, those people who talk to others via social networking sites are one those who are popular in reality and I also think that they are sometimes being plastic to others. Many admire their popularity and because of that, admirers always make a way to interact with them and also, the ones who are being admired are feeling good about it. That is only my opinion but I do not mind them. Also, I do not use social networking just to seek importance from other person like others do. I use it for communication and entertainment purposes only. I just want some communication with my friends and family and that is all I need to live a not so noticeable yet a full life. So I agree at some points of this article. It is the people who should control technology and not the technology who should control the person.

Hegel: Reason in History Essay -- Philosophy History Essays

Hegel: Reason in History The second chapter of the Introduction to the Philosophy of History bears the title "Reason in History"; however, careful study reveals that it could just as aptly been dubbed Reason is History or better, History is Reason. Although Reason exists in a finite form within the human being, the whole—infinite Reason—is necessarily greater than the sum of its parts—the sum of finite Reasons. Hegel's Reason is the infinite material of all reality—the substance, form, and power. History is the increasing self-consciousness of the Spirit i.e. Reason; that is, a progressive increase of Reason within the world. This relationship between history and Reason is expressed by Hegel's agreement with Leibniz that this is the best of all possible worlds. In other words, everything is as it should be. In fact, Hegel makes strong assertions along just these lines, "that [Reason] reveals itself in the world, and that nothing else is revealed in the world but that Idea itself, its glory and majesty (12-13)." It is from this idea that Hegel derives the point that "Re... Hegel: Reason in History Essay -- Philosophy History Essays Hegel: Reason in History The second chapter of the Introduction to the Philosophy of History bears the title "Reason in History"; however, careful study reveals that it could just as aptly been dubbed Reason is History or better, History is Reason. Although Reason exists in a finite form within the human being, the whole—infinite Reason—is necessarily greater than the sum of its parts—the sum of finite Reasons. Hegel's Reason is the infinite material of all reality—the substance, form, and power. History is the increasing self-consciousness of the Spirit i.e. Reason; that is, a progressive increase of Reason within the world. This relationship between history and Reason is expressed by Hegel's agreement with Leibniz that this is the best of all possible worlds. In other words, everything is as it should be. In fact, Hegel makes strong assertions along just these lines, "that [Reason] reveals itself in the world, and that nothing else is revealed in the world but that Idea itself, its glory and majesty (12-13)." It is from this idea that Hegel derives the point that "Re...

Analysis of Theme for English Essay

The premise behind this poem is that the speaker is a black college student whose instructor has given his students an assignment to write a paper about themselves. While the poem takes the reader through his walk home from class and his thought process about â€Å"who he is†, the final line of the poem, â€Å"This is my page for English B† (ll. 41) suggests that this poem is the paper he has written for class. Langston Hughes wrote this poem during the Harlem Renaissance of the late 1910s, so a reader might immediately assume that the main topic involves race or racial prejudice. The second stanza almost takes this direction when the speaker mentions that he is â€Å"the only colored student in [his] class† (ll. 10). The third stanza changes directions, though, when the speaker, addressing his white instructor, says, â€Å"I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like / the same things other folks like who are other races† (ll. 25-26). This suggests that he is not, because he is black, different than others, but rather, the same. White people might think that his preferences are different, but they are actually similar. Asking â€Å"So will my page be colored that I write† (ll. 27) is a creative play on his identity that will come across in the paper he will write for class; will it reflect his â€Å"blackness†?, he wonders. It â€Å"will not be white† (ll. 28) he knows, since he is not, but it will partially reflect his instructor, the one who gave the assignment. After all, both he and his instructor are human (â€Å"yet a part of me, as I am a part of you† (ll. 32)). As the poem closes, the speaker draws his conclusions about his own racial identity: he no more wants to be white than his white instructor wants to be black, but there is no denying the similarity between them. He’ll learn from the instructor (â€Å"As I learn from you†(ll. 37)) but the instructor will also learn from him (â€Å"I guess you learn from me† (ll. 38)). Perhaps he thinks the instructor does not understand what it’s like to be black. A quick scan through the lines of this poem reveals the frequent use of the words â€Å"I†, â€Å"me†, and â€Å"you†, which are a clue for the poem’s overall theme:  should one find his identity through his race, or through ordinary, everyday elements, likes and dislikes, enjoyable pastimes and perceptions of life? In lines 6-15 alone, the word â€Å"I† is used to ask questions, tell his age, race, and birthplace, his college, and route home to the Harlem Branch YMCA. This is how he identifies himself outwardly to others. The third stanza uses â€Å"I† and â€Å"me† to compare himself to â€Å"you†, the instructor. The speaker identifies himself with Harlem in the lines which read â€Å"But I guess I’m what / I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you: / hear you, hear me – we two – you, me, talk on this page† (ll.17-19). Many black people during this time were inspired by Harlem’s empowerment of their community. Having a black heritage was seen as positive and black poets, musicians and authors thrived in Harlem. The speaker has likely been encouraged by living in Harlem, and therefore sees his black identity in direct contrast to â€Å"you†, the white identity of his instructor. He’s not entirely sure, though, because the short line â€Å"Me – who?† (ll. 20) indicates that his identity isn’t clear to him, or maybe to whites. The fourth stanza’s conclusion about this issue recognizes that to allow blacks to be proud of their heritage is â€Å"American† (ll. 33). While this poem doesn’t seem to make use of specific figurative language, there is one instance of alliteration which makes a neat point. In the third stanza, the speaker points out the things he enjoys that help to identify him, including â€Å"records – Bessie, bop, or Bach† (ll. 24). This intentional alliteration identifies three different types of music: a jazz vocalist (Bessie Smith), the bop genre, and Bach (classical), to point out that even a black man whose culture strongly identifies with jazz and bop music, can like classical music which is often associated with white culture. The alliteration serves to highlight the â€Å"sameness† of these three, all of which he likes, but their difference lies in their cultural associations. Although there is no specific rhyme scheme, internal rhyme throughout and the rhyme at the end seem intentional. The internal rhyme has an almost sing-song sound to it, and provides a beautiful flow from line to line. In lines 16-17, the rhyme of â€Å"true†, â€Å"you† and â€Å"two† and the enjambment of the lines seems to ask the question â€Å"what is true of ‘you’ and me†? This same  rhyme patter is repeated in the fourth stanza in lines 35-36, â€Å"Nor do I often want to be a part of you. / But we are, that’s true!†. This seems to answer the question: the common factor between â€Å"you† and â€Å"me† is that we are part of each other, â€Å"that’s true!†. As the speaker comes to this decision in the end, the tone is final and the end rhyme becomes even, as though his decision is final and right. He says â€Å"I guess you learn from me – / although you’re older – and white – / and somewhat more free. / This is my page for English B†. The rhyme of â€Å"me†, â€Å"free† and â€Å"B† suggest an answer to his question: the instructor will learn from him, although it will not immediately change the identity of any person, white or black. This is one of my favorite poems because of its rhythm and rhyme. Lines like â€Å"Harlem, I hear you: / hear you, hear me – we two – you, me† (ll. 18-19) and the last four have a rhythm like music and the words just flow from my mouth as I read them. They’re short and simple, but pack such a powerful punch. And while I cannot identify with the racial divide so present in this poem, I like to think about how being white is assumed, and being black is not. It was probably such a simple assignment for the professor to give, yet how many of the white students would have written about being â€Å"white†? And does the speaker think that the instructor will expect him to write about being black? And will his paper reflect being black or will it be just as â€Å"white† as the others? Hughes makes a play on this concept with the line â€Å"So will my page be colored that I write?† (ll. 27). For me, this poem is easy to understand but not overl y simplified. The concept is a complex one, but is presented in a way that makes it seem like a neat little package.

Bank Of America s Financial Crisis - 1744 Words

Bank of America in the 2008 Financial Crisis – An Even Bigger Financial Giant Suffered Losses and Lawsuits from Risky Behavior Summary of Bank of America in the Financial Crisis As one of the largest banking holding companies, Bank of America has taken a significant role during the whole process of the financial crisis. Compared with financial institutions whose business focused on specific fields, like investment banks or mortgage companies, Bank of Along got involved in activities in various fields that directly related with crisis – deregulation from big banks lobbying, mortgage originating, mortgage securitizing, and CDS dealing. Besides, as a systematically important financial institution, Bank of America was highly†¦show more content†¦Compared with its investment bank and hedge fund counterparties, Bank of America seemed stood away from the mortgage-CDO-CDS crisis pipeline. In the contrary, not only had it worked on deregulation for decades; it was also an active player in the financial system, which contributed to the burst of crisis. The largest banks, including Bank of America, removed most barriers limiting their high-speed expansion, and the loose regulation and supervision had exposed the whole financial system to higher risks. The largest banks became more powerful in a booming parallel banking system, and the fast growing banks stressed the regulators to remove barriers against their growth and competition. (P52) As a result, Bank of America along with other four largest banks owned 55%, jumping from 25%, assets of the industry, and the combined assets became more than tripled. (2) Additionally, the bank added more leverage, which rose form 18:1 in 2000 to 27:1 in 2007 (60). With the barriers removed and less capital to absorb losses, Bank of America was obviously vulnerable to huge and continual losses, which is a hint foreshadowing future struggle in the crisis. In the financial crisis, Bank of America not only acted as a mortgage originator, a mortgage securitizer, but also interconnected with other major important financial institutions to promote trading activities. Nevertheless, as the bank was too eager and greedy to make more profits,Show MoreRelatedThe Financial Crisis Of 2007-20081389 Words   |  6 PagesOne of the most devastating aspects of the financial crisis of 2007-2008 to middle-class America was the crash of the housing market. Millions of Americans were affected and faced foreclosures on homes that were purchased with subprime mortgages. The impact of these mortgages varied state to state. Nevada, one of the countries leading tourist destinations, led the market in foreclosure rates and housing appraisal drops. 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