Short-Short Story

Eighty years old, my grandfather still has a very young heart and spirit. My grandfather at his age, cannot stand sitting around and not doing anything, so he helps around the house with what he can. He even does yard work, becuase he doesn't like the house looking messy. He doesn't seem to have eighty years at all! He works all day, carries heavy things, and is very happy all of the time, when he is working. Did I mention that he is very light on his feet as well? He doesn't walk with a limp nor a slow pace and is very healthy. My grandfather is the kind of person that cannot stand working without any music and of course he would always sing along as well. He might look old from the outside, but from the inside he is still a young man that is happy to have his health and his family. At this point in my grandfather's life, he is proud to be eighty years old. To me at times he seems like a young spirit and rebel simply trying to find his  way. I say this merely because he always does what he wants and not what others tell him to do, unless it's to his convenience. He always likes to try new things, becuase he says that is the only way you can proceed and do better in life. I know that my grandfather will continue to have his young heart, spirit, and health for a very long time.

Is Junior High and High Schools Volunteer Work Volunteerism At All?

9. Many junior high schools around the country now require students to spend a certain number of hours each term doing volunteer work or community service. Some people believe this is an excellent idea that promotes good citizenship and cultivates compassion. Others feel that forced volunteerism is not volunteerism at all. How do you feel about this issue? Use specific reasons and examples to support your position.

What do you think good volunteerism is? Many people believe that the required hours of volunteer work and community service hours from junior high and high schools is not volunteerism at all, but I say otherwise. Some people say that since the students are required to complete the volunteer work they believe that the students are being forced to do the volunteer work only in order to graduate and that that it is not volunteerism at all. Others speculate that by completing the required volunteer hours it will promote good citizenship and cultivate compassion.

            To me school required volunteer work is volunteerism and the dictionary definition of volunteerism after all does say that it is the “principle of donating time and energy for the benefit of other people in the community as a social responsibility rather than for any financial reward”. If the students finish the volunteer work that is required of them then that to me alone means that it is volunteerism. Also, since the definition does state that it is the mere act of donating time and energy for the benefit of other people, then whether the student is forced or not to complete the volunteer work they are donating their time and energy, so that is volunteerism.

            Many students at first do start volunteer work only for the fact that it is required, but later on, as they continue with the volunteer work they might come to enjoy spending their free time in order to help others and do well. Those students that started by hating the volunteer work might actually end up enjoying it and transcending in it as well. That is why many junior high and high schools now require volunteer work and community service so that they can come to enjoy it and experience what volunteer work and community service is. By requiring the volunteer hours and community service it does promote good citizenship and it does cultivate compassion. Since many students were not aware of volunteer work they are being introduced to it, therefore promoting good citizenship and later on, they will cultivate compassion towards what they are doing.

            According to the dictionary definition of volunteerism, the required volunteer hours and community service is considered volunteerism. I do believe that the idea of schools nationwide requiring volunteer hours and community service is a marvelous idea that leads the students to a bright future of well doing. With the students being taken upon the right path during school, later when they are adults they shall continue on towards that path and maybe transcend it someday.

                                                                                           

Purposes of the Internet

The internet has been the most innovative idea that has come to men and women by far. The internet serves as a beacon of truth and valuable information to everyone. With the internet you can find out important facts and information that you may require instantly and may not be able to obtain anywhere else. Also, the internet serves as a communication device in order to stay in contact with people who may have moved to a farther place in the world from which it is highly impossible to reach for you. Many people have come to think of the internet as a marvelous idea and something that has set everyone to strive for greatness. Those who provide information on the internet love it because with doing it this way they put themselves out there and it is available for the whole world to see and may have better chances of succeeding in selling products. For those who are users of the internet love it simply because they have the opportunity to shop in the commodity of their homes and are able to do practically everything by utilizing the internet.

Change of Plans

I was accustomed to the fast life of America and  my coffee, without an exception. I had to change those plans once I traveled to Mexico during the summer. Before I got in the plane I drank about three cups of Starbucks coffee, because there was one more thing, it had to be Starbucks coffee and no other. When I arrived to the airport in Guadalajara, Jalisco and saw a Starbucks I was so happy and relieved. My parents wanted to leave immediately to our little town in Zacatecas, but I insisted otherwise and told them to let me get my coffee first and then that we can travel. I had to adjust in Zacatecas because their was no Starbucks near to where I was headed and had to conform to pot coffee that my grandmother made. I must admit that it was very difficult for me at first to adjust because I was highly addicted to Starbucks coffee, but later on I adjusted. I learned to drink regular coffee and not spend my money on Starbucks as much. I also learned to control how much I yearn for Starbucks coffee and control my addiction to it as well. This was by far the greatest summer because I didn't need Starbucks in order to have a good day everyday.

Memoir

In the beginning of my freshman year, in an assembly in the MP room, to decide who the class president will be, I couldn’t help but judge a girl named Fehbe by the way she portrayed herself. I know that it is simply wrong to judge a book by its cover but in this case, it was completely impossible not to do so. Being that it was my freshman year I didn’t quite know a lot of people rather than the ones that went to my former middle school and those who had a class with me. When I saw her in that assembly running for class president I couldn’t help but laugh because she seemed very confident, quite cocky about herself and very spoiled. She especially seemed very bubbly and a total ditz. When later on I had a class with her and started to talk with her, I came to think otherwise. I learned that she was not a ditz and that in her words she was not cocky, simply self-confident. I also found out that she was smart and funny out of all the things that I thought about her, she was funny! To me that was simply amazing that she proved me wrong because she seemed to be the exact person who she portrayed. One thing that I did not get wrong though, was that she was spoiled but once again, she had an explanation for that as well. She told me that she was not spoiled because she deserved everything that she got and that she was an only child. 

Personal Essay

                 It does not matter who you may be, where you come from or your ethnic background; there will be various moments in your life from which you will be disappointed. Although, you have to learn that out of those disappointments a valuable lesson will be instilled upon you. The one thing you should most definitely learn is to look at the positive outcome of each disappointment you may have, just as I have come to do. One specific disappointment that I remember and treasure the most occurred to me a couple of years ago. From that one experience I have learned to use the lesson, I gained from it throughout my short seventeen years of existence in this world. 

     A couple of years ago the lesson that I obtained from a disappointment was that patience is a virtue.  I learned this valuable lesson when I was at a shopping center in the store Macys. As I was in this store, I came across the most gorgeous pair of sandals that I must simply have! My mom told me to wait at least a week in order to buy them because most likely they will be on sale, but with my obsession with shoes, I could not wait. Therefore, I insisted and begged my mom to buy me the shoes in that moment and of course, it worked. I thought that shoes that gorgeous and captivating could not last another week, but I was completely wrong and naïve. When my mom and I went to the mall the next week, the shoes were still there and they were on sale! My mom told me “I told you so, but you never listen.” I felt so bad for making my mom spend all of that money on a pair of shoes. In that moment when I saw that the shoes were still there and on sale I learned that patience is a virtue.

Is the American Society Too Competitive?

40. Many people feel that American society is too competitive. Do you agree? If so, is this a good thing or a bad thing? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.

            Do you believe that a competitive society such as the one from the U.S. is a good thing? Many people believe that with a competitive society it would make some things easier such as pushing yourself in order to succeed. Although, many other people have a different opinion as those who believe that an American society being too competitive is a good thing.  I believe that the American society being too competitive is both a good thing and a bad thing as well. It simply depends on how you decide to look at it.

            The American society being very competitive can be a good thing when the only way you can make a good living is by pushing yourself to be more successful. For example, someone may push himself or herself to get a higher education or even obtain a higher degree than the one that they may already have. With trying to stay in the game you will most definitely try to reach for the stars even when you can’t, but when you can’t reach them you will still land in a better place than you were before.

            I must say that even though trying to keep up with the competitive American society there are various downsides to it as well. Many Americans have unfortunately taken their lives due to the pressure of the competitive society. In addition, many have deprived themselves from a social life and completely focused on trying to keep up or try to pay their bills. With so many bills piling up and the society being too competitive, you simply will not be able to become competitive enough in order to make a decent living. Some other negative things that come with a competitive society is that you will not be stable in your job because you will always be scared of getting fired if someone more competitive comes along.  I mean let us face it of course the better person will be hired and with the society being very competitive and aggressive you are most likely to lose your job to someone who may do it better.

            As you may see, you can either decide to stay fixed upon the mere negative aspects of the American society being too competitive rather than the positive aspects. By looking at the negative aspects, you will struggle more into having a stable social life and simply being happy with yourself and where you might be in life. On the contraire if you decide to look at the positive side you can come to gain inner peace with yourself and pursue positive things in life such as a higher education.

            In my opinion, people should decide to view the American society being too competitive as both a good thing and a bad thing. By viewing it in this manner, you will be happy of where you are in life and where your life is heading. You will not be too stressed or preoccupied, with doing too much that it may lead to you committing suicide and you will be in a better place in your mind and within yourself. Therefore, how will you decide to look upon the American competitive society?