Something good Essay Example for Free

Something good Essay As I venture into my work, I always presume that something good will happen. I always believe that taking risks will definitely bring me something positive, although difficulties arise at times. In the world of reality, there will always be hindrances that will come my way which may lead me to feel hopeless, useless, worthless. But that should not stop me from believing in my dreams and just give up everything because being a coward will not help me in improving my skills. To gain excellence in my career, I should take into consideration different things that will help me improve my ability as a leader. And that means I should not only take care of the clients I want to handle, but I also have to deal with the clients whom I think I cant even handle. By this, I will be trained by the challenging customers I deal with and will certainly this will be a reason for my maturity as an individual, particularly as a leader. Consequently, my attitude towards my work is a major aspect of my individuality as a leader. â€Å"No one should ask you what you bring to your position. Your work and actions should make this absolutely clear to all those around you. Demonstrate your skills in your conversations, in your work and in your attitude. Communicate your professional goals when appropriate and work all the time you work. Be your own boss. As you take the helm of your career and steer it toward your future, you must realize that no matter what the hierarchical structure is in your profession, you are your own boss, (Kanjungu, 2006) . † I have observed that people develop their leadership skills by taking into the unknown. Taking out of their comfort zones was their main component to be able to enhance their competence particularly when it comes about leadership. It was evident that trying something new, and not sticking to what you always know will lead you to be a better individual that may help you lead other people in the right track. Motivation is one of the key points why people are improving in their skills. Apparently, they become more comfortable in what they do when they have a high motivation that leads them in doing the things they are assigned to do. The strong will to work for their family and other loved ones is the best driving force I have observed they are taking into consideration, and it clearly alleviate the insecurities they have. In improving their focus in their customer, I noticed that they are more tolerant to the people they are dealing with. Being tolerant is considering not only the positive sides of the customer, but the negative sides of them as well. They always make sure to deal properly to the customer and stay their focus on them so as not to divert the customers attention. In improving the customer-focus, one must regard that the customer should always be the one who will be obeyed, and not the other way around. Being approachable is also one factor in catching the interest of a certain customer because they will feel that they are very welcome and well entertained. Personally, I can attest that the things I have observed are quite helpful in developing ones leadership skill and in improving the focus to the customer as well. I myself experienced dealing with people who are inconsiderate, yet managed to make it to the end of the journey. As I asses things, I can say that in developing my leadership skills I have to bear in mind important factors to make it through the day. Being responsible in everything I do is a major factor that I should always keep in mind. Responsibility takes a major part in living a life of being a leader because many followers are watching your every step and one wrong move may mean a downfall for you. So, to be able to survive the journey of life, being accountable for whatever you do is really a must. It is a fact that no one is responsible for whatever you do, but yourself. â€Å"No one can control the events or the people surrounding them. The only thing we can control is ourselves. To succeed in todays workforce or in any professional endeavors, your value must be readily recognizable and memorable, (Kanjungu, 2006) . † Its true that it is necessary to act out what you have learned in the past experiences or lessons is life you acquired. For me, I will use the things I learned by sharing it to other people and teaching them every details of the values I gained. Learning without sharing is such a stingy deed and absolutely not a good idea to be ungenerous to the people around you. In every learning experience, I always want to use those things by imparting the essential things which the experience brought me. Works Cited: Kanjungu, Nuwagaba. â€Å"http://www. monitor. co. ug. † Monitor Online Jobs. 6 Dec. 2006 http://www. monitor. co. ug/job/news. php? news_id=3auth_sess=61d799506760b1633a9d70dbff330f20ref=748962c846b2603077010c84a.

Forget Me Not :: Free Essays Online

Forget Me Not Freedom is not free. These powerful words resound in my mind as I admire the Korean War Memorial at the National Mall. Surrounded by several life size statues of soldiers in action I feel an odd sensation. I am either overwhelmed by emotion or completely drained of it; I cannot tell which. Staring into the smoky colored granite I see one thousand faces glaring back at me. At one instance I see the faces of thousands of soldiers’ faces reflected back to me. Seconds later, I swear I can see the faces of one thousand forgotten children looking deep into my eyes. These â€Å"children of the war† silently scream of one thousand different stories that have been forgotten or brushed aside for decades now. Abruptly, the children vanish and once again I see the soldiers, only now they are indignant. They bark at me with strong voices, â€Å"No, this was our forgotten war. We are the truly forgotten!† However, I disagree. These soldiers, now veterans, have earn ed this monument and have had their voices and stories heard. Yet, these â€Å"children of the war,† both Korean and Ameriasian, who grew up in Korea’s post war era of the 50’s and 60’s are the truly forgotten. They are forgotten because virtually no one realizes what their lives were like growing up; hence, no one recognizes the hardships and battles that many of these children faced. To fully understand these forgotten â€Å"children of the war† one must first listen to their story. The Knife It is late one Sunday afternoon and Mrs. Sook Kyung Song is in the kitchen busily preparing dinner for her family. Mrs. Song scans the counter for her favorite knife and finds it oddly misplaced in a case among several newer ones. Her favorite knife lies dully amidst a gleaming Cutco collection like a fallen star among blazing planets. Mrs. Song rescues her knife from the others and naturally grasps the handle like she has countless times before. The knife naturally molds to her hand, like an extension of her body. Slowly beginning to chop, she finds comfort in the knife, along with a sense of reassurance and humility that she has carried all of her life. Watching my mother’s careful movements, I hesitate for a moment before bombing her with questions.

Commentary on Anthem for Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owens Essay

The sonnet â€Å"Anthem for Doomed Youth† by Wilfred Owen explores the horrific and tragic conditions of the deaths of World War I soldiers on the Western front. By contrasting the soldiers’ deaths with the customary Christian funeral ceremonies, Owen comments on the dark irony that the young men who gave their lives to serve â€Å"God and their country† were denied the respectful yet superficial rituals that the religious society value so much. The title of the poem well expresses the sentiments Owen conveys throughout the sonnet. The use of the term â€Å"anthem†, which is usually refers to a joyous and often religious song of praise, is in this case referring to the widely held view that fighting for one’s country is joyous and honorable. This anthem, however, is for â€Å"Doomed Youth†, and there is a dark irony that this widely held sense of pride and nationalism about war actually results in futility and death. Owen chooses to describe the young soldiers as â€Å"doomed† because they are destined for death as soon as they enter the army, because of the futility of the strategies used in this war. The soldiers are also referred to as â€Å"youth† to emphasize their innocence and create the image of healthy, fit young men dying for nothing, which arouses pity in the reader. The first stanza is an octave that describes the horrifically violent conditions of these young soldiers’ deaths by contrasting and juxtaposing auditory imagery of the battlefield as the soldiers die with descriptions of customary funeral ceremonies. The first line is a rhetorical question, which forces the reader to truly ponder all that the soldiers lack in terms of acknowledgment and ceremonies of death, and this encouragement to think is further enhanced by the hyphen in the beginning of the second line, which forces the reader to pause. Owen emphasizes the shocking nature of the soldiers’ world, the war, by saying that the soldiers â€Å"die as cattle†, which conveys the manner in which these young men are slaughtered inhumanely as if they are worthless and are treated as if they have no identity. Instead of â€Å"passing-bells†, which is society’s way of acknowledging a death, these soldiers receive the â€Å"only the monstrous anger of the guns†, which indicates that their death goes unnoticed as if they were just cattle. Furthermore, Owen comments on all the rituals and customs that the soldiers fail to receive. The personification of the guns as being â€Å"angry† contrasts to the solemn sorrow the soldiers should have received upon their death. The repetition of â€Å"only† in lines 2 and 3 emphasizes all that the soldiers lack, as we are then told that instead of funeral prayers, the soldiers instead hear the â€Å"stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle†; the alliteration echoes the gunfire and the onomatopoeia allows the reader to hear the harshness and irregular but constant sounds of the guns. By implying that these guns â€Å"patter out their hasty orisons†, Owen points out the irony that these men who have gone to war for God are being killed and must have â€Å"orisons† muttered for them by the deadly machines that are responsible for their death. The â€Å"orisons† are described as â€Å"hasty†, which indicates the rapid pace of the war and the fact that these soldiers have little time to live. Furthermore, instead of church choirs, the soldiers hear the â€Å"shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells†, which seems to suggest a demonic sound, perhaps implying that the soldiers receive no peace even after death. The personification of the shells as â€Å"wailing† is ironic because the weapons that killed the soldiers sound as if they are mourning for them. Further down the stanza, Owen subtly criticizes the Christian religion and its ceremonies as he describes the funeral customs as â€Å"mockeries†. This term suggests the irony in the fact that these soldiers, who have given their lives for God and their country, are not able to enjoy these ceremonies that acknowledge their death, even though they may be the ones that most deserve them. The last line of the first stanza foreshadows the coming volta as it shifts the focus from the conditions of death in war to the sadness that the deaths in the war brings to those who knew the soldiers. The sound of the gentle and beautiful â€Å"bugles calling† is a sharp contrast from the violent noises of the war but the mention of the â€Å"sad shires† seems to imply that this sad calling is coming from anonymous â€Å"shires† far away. The sad, and less violent tone of the last line of the octave is carried onto the second paragraph, in which the tone becomes contemplative and sorrowful. There is a volta as the focus shifts from the violence of the war to the sober yet sincere way in which these young men die at war, with no elaborate customs but with pure, untainted emotion. Owen begins this stanza with another rhetorical question: â€Å"What candles may be held to speed them all?† The term â€Å"speed them all† seems to refer to the passage to heaven, and thus we are made to wonder: without candles or ceremony, will the soldiers be able to find their way to heaven, or will they haunt the battle grounds forever? In the following lines Owen gives us the heartrending but optimistic answer that indicates that although the soldiers are neglected of the traditional funeral ceremonies, nature itself and those who love them give them a metaphorical ceremony that is much more sincere and pure. Therefore, although the candles are not in their hands, they are in â€Å"their eyes†. This metaphor gives the image of sparkling, glittering eyes, as if the soldier’s eyes were brimmed with tears as he died. This pure emotion of sorrow of â€Å"goodbyes† is suggested to be purer and more sincere than artificial and elaborate ceremonies through the use of positive words such as â€Å"shine†, â€Å"glimmer† and â€Å"holy†. Owen suggests that through pure emotions, the soldiers have their own special kind of funeral as the â€Å"pallor of girls brows shall be their pall†, which conveys how the sadness of their loved ones acts as their funeral covering. This substitution of emotions for the ceremonial objects continues in line 13, when the â€Å"tenderness of patient minds† metaphorically become these soldiers’ flowers. The last line of the poem is very powerful as it concludes the poem by showing how the deaths of the soldiers are being acknowledged in a way far superior to the religious ceremonies. Owen depicts the way in which instead of having the â€Å"drawing-down of blinds†, that is a traditional act of acknowledging their death, all of nature is metaphorically drawing the blinds by slowly becoming dark in a â€Å"slow dusk†. The adjective â€Å"slow† conveys the respect that all of nature is paying to these brave men, even as society forgets about them. Ultimately, Owen takes the reader through an incredible journey in this short but deep sonnet. He conveys the the horrors of war and depicts all the religious ceremony that these soldiers are ironically denied off. However, towards the end of the poem, Owen brings us to realize the strength of the emotions and sorrow of those who loved these youth as their raw feelings became the soldiers’ funeral. Although the poem is bleak and dark throughout, the last stanza is poignant and heartrending as we realize that emotions and love are stronger and more important than any customs or traditions.

Joan Benoit Marathon Runner

Known for: winning Boston Marathon (twice), womens marathon at 1984 OlympicsDates: May 16, 1957 -Sport: track and field, marathonCountry Represented: USAAlso known as: Joan Benoit Samuelson Olympic Gold Medal: 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, womens marathon. Notable especially because: it was the first time the modern Olympics games included a marathon for womenBenoit had knee surgery 17 days before the eventshe beat the reigning womens world champion, Grete Waitzher time was the third-best ever for a woman Boston Marathon Wins First place 1979: time 2:35:15Won 1983 Boston Marathon: time 2:22:42 Joan Benoit Biography Joan Benoit started running when, at fifteen, she broke a leg skiing, and used running as her rehabilitation. In high school, she was a successful competitive runner. She continued with track and field in college, Title IX giving her more opportunities for college sports than she might otherwise have had. Boston Marathons Still in college, Joan Benoit entered the Boston Marathon in 1979. She got caught in traffic on the way to the race and ran two miles to get to the starting point before the race began. Despite that extra running, and starting at the back of the pack, she pulled ahead and won the marathon, with a time of 2:35:15. She returned to Maine to finish her last year of college and attempted to avoid the publicity and interviews that she disliked so much. Beginning in 1981, she coached at Boston University. In December of 1981, Benoit had surgery on both Achilles tendons, to try to cure recurring heel pain. The following September, she won a New England marathon with a time of 2:26:11, a record for women, beating a previous record by 2 minutes. In April of 1983, she entered the Boston Marathon again. Grete Waitz had set a new world record for women the day before at 2:25:29. Allison Roe of New Zealand was expected to win; she had come in first among the women in the 1981 Boston Marathon. The day provided excellent weather for running. Roe dropped out because of leg cramps, and Joan Benoit beat Waitzs record by more than 2 minutes, at 2:22:42. This was good enough to qualify her for the Olympics. Still shy, she was gradually getting used to the inevitability of publicity. A challenge was raised to Benoits marathon record: it was claimed that she had an unfair advantage from pacing, because mens marathon runner Kevin Ryan ran with her for 20 miles. The records committee decided to let her record stand. Olympic Marathon Benoit began training for the Olympics trials, which would be held on May 12, 1984. But in March, her knee gave her problems which an attempt at rest did not solve. She tried an anti-inflammation drug, but that also did not resolve the knee problems. Finally, on April 25, she had arthroscopic surgery on her right knee. Four days after surgery, she began running, and on May 3, ran for 17 miles. She had more problems with her right knee and, from compensating for that knee, her left hamstring, but she ran in the Olympic trials anyway. By mile 17, Benoit was in the lead, and though her legs continued to be tight and painful for the last miles, she came in first at 2:31:04, and so qualified for the Olympics. She trained over the summer, usually in the heat of the day anticipating a hot run in Los Angeles. Grete Waitz was the expected winner, and Benoit aimed to beat her. The first womens marathon at a modern Olympics was held on August 5, 1984. Benoit sped up early, and no one else could overtake her. She finished at 2:24:52, the third-best time for a womens marathon and the best in any all-women marathon. Waitz won the silver medal, and Rosa Mota of Portugal won the bronze. After the Olympics In September she married Scott Samuelson, her college sweetheart. She continued to try to avoid publicity. She ran Americas Marathon in Chicago in 1985, with a time of 2:21:21. In 1987, she ran the Boston Marathon again -- this time she was three months pregnant with her first child. Mota took first. Benoit didnt participate in the 1988 Olympics, focusing instead on parenting her new infant. She did run the 1989 Boston Marathon, coming in 9th among the women. In 1991, she again ran the Boston Marathon, coming in 4th among the women. In 1991, Benoit was diagnosed with asthma, and back problems kept her from the 1992 Olympics. She was by then the mother of a second child In 1994, Benoit won the Chicago Marathon in 2:37:09, qualifying for the Olympic trials. She placed 13th in the trials for the 1996 Olympics, with a time of 2:36:54. In the trials for the 2000 Olympics, Benoit placed ninth, at 2:39:59. Joan Benoit has raised money for the Special Olympics, Bostons Big Sisters program and multiple sclerosis. She has also been one of the runners voices on the Nike running system. More Awards Ms. Magazine Woman of the Year 1984Amateur Sportswoman of the Year 1984 (shared award), from the Womens Sports FederationSullivan Award, 1986, from the Amateur Athletic Union, for the best amateur athlete Education Public high school, MaineBowdoin College, Maine: graduated 1979graduate school: North Carolina State University Background, Family Mother: Nancy BenoitFather: Andre Benoit Marriage, Children husband: Scott Samuelson (married September 29, 1984)children: Abigail and Anders