Learning to Dance free essay sample

The lights are glowing with a fuzzy haze that makes the audience beyond the curtain impossible to see. They are nothing more than a blurred darkness, yet I know they are there. Will they notice if I fall? Will they think me any less talented if I stumble? What if I mess up that one part? â€Å"No,† I tell myself trying to focus back into my present reality, â€Å"Just get out there and do what you love. Focus on nothing but expressing how much you love this with every move you make. What is your passion? What is it that makes you truly your happiest? Dance,† I answer myself in both my anxious head and in my soul. The lights on stage grow dark as the music fades from the current routine. The audience applauds and suddenly the only noise is that of shuffling feet rushing off stage, frantic whispers, the rustling of a costume, and the panicked undertone of someone searching for a lost feather headpiece. We will write a custom essay sample on Learning to Dance or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Someone whispers good luck and somewhere far off is the faint voice of the commentator announcing our number. I feel an uncontainable smile cross my face and a shoulder squeeze from a team mate as my feet cross the threshold of reality and into my moment. Ever since I can remember I have been competitive and inclined to being a perfectionist, not entirely happy unless I had done everything just right. No matter how much I told myself to suck it up and be content with myself I would always compare myself to others and wallow in my own shortcoming. In retrospect I can see that everything in my life was in a box. Everything in the box had to be perfect and orderly, there was no room for mistakes or error. The things that filled my box, such as dance, school and relationships, were only valuable based on their tangible successes. Then somehow, perhaps it was by a grand jete , dance came outside of the box. It was no longer about how perfect I had to be, or how I compared myself to othe rs, but that I was doing what I loved. It was then that dance truly became my passion. I realized that if I did not want to lose my love for dance I would have to learn to dance for myself, instead of for those around me whom I was aiming to please. I use dance as a means to fill my soul, test my own limitations, and to expand my premises of artistic expression, and in return dance uses me to better myself. I would not have learned of or accepted my many flaws and strengths if it were not for dance. It is not just a means of expression but a mode of growth and progression in my life. Dance has taught me many key things about hard work and determination in which I have learned to apply toward the rest of my life. I am still a work in progress and yes, there are still many things in the box, but dance is constantly teaching me to accept my flaws and still work hard to better myself. My friends always tell me to stop caring about grades and school all the time, but perfectionism and a drive to do my best are constant forces pushing me and testing my limits. School is incredibly important to me as is preparing myself for the future. My experiences in dance have taught me to always set goals for myself in both my dance skills as well as in school. Dance has also given me a great sense of teamwork and unity even in such a solo-centered sport. I have learned that the best routines are the ones in which all of the dancers are like a family and operate as one supportive unit. The best example of this occurred this past summer when my senior competitive team and I traveled to Nationals in Las Vegas. There we performed our best and took home second place nationally because we were able to form such a close bond over the course of the week. Dance has also taught me to invest in other areas of inspiration where I am free to think and be outside the box of perfection. Such as in creative writing where I have more recently been able to challenge myself and submit more and m ore of my work to free-lance magazines, instead of keeping my projects hidden and worrying about what other people thought. I have also developed a passion for traveling where I can experience new challenges and test my own limitations in resourcefulness and exploration. One of my best experiences was during a school trip to Europe on a World War II tour where I got to experience the incredible freedom of getting to discover the world around me in terms of both the past and present. Ultimately my passion for dance has helped me to grow as a person and discover my own strengths as well as find new passions. Someday I want to look back on my life and admire how far I have come and all that I have accomplished, instead of how far I still have to go. I know, that like everyone, I will never completely overcome my flaws. But for now I would like to think that my passions and enthusiasm for life have taken me to new heights and great successes. Dance has helped me to be this better indiv idual and work my hardest and follow what it is that I love to do. I like to think that all of life is a dance, there will be parts that will be difficult and you will fall flat on your face and others where you will be triumphant. There will be parts when you are the magnificent soloist and others where you are only part of the chorus. There will be parts that will take lots of practice, and ones that come naturally. There will be parts where the choreography will seem old-fashioned or misplaced, but you will not understand how it all fits together until the piece is finished. There will be parts where you dance with passion and vigor, and ones where you will just mark the steps. But what I have learned is that when the moment comes learn to dance; because the stage is waiting.

The Battles of the French and Indian War

The Battles of the French and Indian War The battles of the French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years War,  were fought around the globe making the conflict the first truly global war. While fighting began in North America, it soon spread and consumed Europe and colonies as far-flung as India and the Philippines. In the process, names such as Fort Duquesne, Rossbach, Leuthen, Quebec, and Minden joined the annals of military history. While armies sought supremacy on land, the combatants fleets met in notable encounters such as Lagos and Quiberon Bay. By the time the fighting ended, Britain had gained an empire in North America and India, while Prussia, though battered, had established itself as a power in Europe. French Indian/Seven Years War Battles: By Theater Year 1754 Battle of Fort Necessity/Great Meadows - North America 1755 Battle of the Monongahela - North AmericaBattle of Lake George - North America 1757 Battle of Plassey - IndiaSiege of Fort William Henry - North America 1758 Siege of Louisbourg - North AmericaBattle of Carillon - North America 1759 Battle of Fort Niagara - North AmericaBattle of Quebec - North AmericaBattle of Quiberon Bay - Europe 1763 Pontiacs Rebellion - North America

Improving Reading Skills for ESL

Improving Reading Skills for ESL Reading is an important part of learning English, but many students find it difficult. This collection of tips  will help you improve reading by using skills you use in your own language.   Tip 1: Read for Gist Gist the main ideas Read the text a first time. Dont stop. Read to understand the main ideas, and dont look up new words. Youll be surprised that you can usually understand the general idea of the story. Tip 2: Use Context Context refers words and situations that are around a word you dont understand. Look at the example sentence: I went to the shlumping to buy some chitla for dinner.   Whats schlumping? - it must be a store because you bought something there. Whats chitia? - It must be food because you are going to eat it for dinner. Tip 3: Use Your Own Language One of the best tips on improving reading is to think about how you read in your own language. Start by thinking about how you read different documents. How do you read the newspaper? How do you read novels? How do you read train schedules? and so on. Taking time to think about this will help give you clues on how to read in English - even if you dont understand every single word. Ask yourself this question: Do I read every word in your own language when I am reading a schedule, summary, or other outlining document? The answer is most definitely: No! Reading in English is like reading in your native language. This means that it is not always necessary to read and understand each and every word in English. Remember that reading skills in your native language and English are basically the same. Tip 4: Understand Different Reading Skills Here is a quick overview of the four types of reading skills used in every language: Skimming - used to understand the gist or main ideaScanning - used to find a particular piece of informationExtensive reading - used for pleasure and general understandingIntensive reading - accurate reading for detailed understanding Skimming Skimming is used to quickly gather the most important information, or gist. Run your eyes over the text, noting important information. Use skimming to quickly get up to speed on a current business situation. Its not essential to understand each word when skimming. Examples of Skimming: The Newspaper (quickly to get the general news of the day)Magazines (quickly to discover which articles you would like to read in more detail)Business and Travel Brochures (quickly to get informed) Scanning Scanning is used to find a particular piece of information. Run your eyes over the text looking for the specific piece of information you need. Use scanning on schedules, meeting plans, etc. in order to find the specific details you require. If you see words or phrases that you dont understand, dont worry when scanning. Examples of Scanning The Whats on TV section of your newspaper.A train / airplane scheduleA conference guide This lesson plan focusing on scanning reading skills can be of help in practicing these skills on your own or in printed out for in-class use. Extensive reading Extensive reading is used to obtain a general understanding of a subject and includes reading longer texts for pleasure, as well as business books. Use extensive reading skills to improve your general knowledge of business procedures. Do not worry if you understand each word. Examples of Extensive Reading The latest marketing strategy bookA novel you read before going to bedMagazine articles that interest you This lesson focusing on improving vocabulary through extensive reading can be of help putting these skills into practice. Intensive reading Intensive reading is used on shorter texts in order to extract specific information. It includes very close accurate reading for detail. Use intensive reading skills to grasp the details of a specific situation. In this case, it is important that you understand each word, number or fact. Examples of Intensive Reading A bookkeeping reportAn insurance claimA contract Improve Other English Skills You can use these reading skills in a number of ways to improve other areas of English learning such as pronunciation, grammar and  increasing vocabulary. Reading Tips to Improve Your PronunciationReading Tips to Improve Your VocabularyReading Tips to Improve Your Conversational SkillsReading Tips to Improve Your GrammarReading Tips to Improve Your Listening Skills Next, review your understanding of these four basic reading skills. If you teach an  English course, you can use these quick review texts in class, as well as this  lesson plan focusing on identifying reading skills.

MGMT338 U2 DB Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MGMT338 U2 DB - Assignment Example Police detective and engineering manager are paid on base plus incentive arrangement. Here, they are compensated at 80% of the compensation plus an incentive component which offers them the chance to reward goal oriented performance (Armstrong, 2003). The benchmarking productivity is crucial for maintaining the standards of the group. Registered nurse and landscaper are paid straight salaries. Here, they are paid predetermined amount of cash annually. One of the effects of the compensation is a reduction in utilisation. The nurses and landscapers are no longer compensated for prescribing treatment and offering landscaping services respectively. Conversely, a mechanical engineer is paid on hourly basis. Here, an engineer is paid their time using hourly rates. This computes the compensation by multiplying the number of hours entered on the transaction sheet by the hourly rate. An engineer is paid depending on the number of hours (Khan, & Jain,

Moral Frameworks for Business Ethics Research Paper

Moral Frameworks for Business Ethics - Research Paper Example Organizations undergo in part a morality breadth by which the organizations are ruled. The people who execute are morally responsible to the people they serve. Similarly, they should also be an inspiration by creating trust and leading via common purpose and understanding. The decisions made by corporations cannot be separated from culture, behavior, and structure. A proposal was outlined by some researchers to associate a corporation to its political and social environment in the same way their decisions interfaced with the economic environment and the structure of the industry. This research represented a rigorous understanding call for social and ethical characteristics, which dominated decision making for corporations. In the last ten years, a large amount of journals in ethics has gained development. In the management of corporations, the strategic part of it came into existence recently and currently is used in planning and business. A researcher took a position that was radica l that there is intrinsic worth in stakeholder’s interest irrespective of if its advances to shareholders interest. From this point of view, a corporation’s success is not the last but in another way should be viewed as a vessel to the advancement of stakeholders’ interest. Ethical analysis is the way of arriving at conflicts resolution in goals and morals. It is vital in business. CSR developments have led to the questioning of investments decision’s moral sensitivity. Facts Morality is majorly on the norms, beliefs, and values which are embedded in the process of socialization, which defines the wrong and right of a specific society. All human beings have a morality which is basic in sensing of wrong and right in association with an activity. In a corporation, the management personnel is recognized as moral people. Moral problems majorly concentrate on the harms brought by or caused to people in ways they cannot control. The principle of harm has been d erived from many sources inclusive of utilitarian, contractual, virtue ethics and deontology. According to the utilitarian, the correct actions are the ones which excavate the best from any given situation. Therefore, harming others does not produce anything good, and if harm is prevented there are always good results in most cases. Every manager in any corporation makes decisions based on this case. Moral problems majorly focus on harms caused to specific groups or individuals beyond their control. The moral problems, which are related to working conditions, are complicated as the harm they cause to particular people or group is due to the benefits derived by others. For instance, the employees of a specific company might be working under pathetic conditions as their managers have embezzled some funds that were meant to deal with the situation. In contrary, a company at times has to execute irrespective of the harm that is caused to other people. The secret behind morality is relat ed to the notion that moral issues are not measures which vary with economic and cultural conditions. The application of morality to business has been made more acceptable than before. Morality in business provides an explicit framework of morality within which business can specifically be evaluated activities by corporations.  

Outbreak of the Marburg Virus :: History Journal Medical Essays

Report from Uige Province I have now been working in Angola as a medical relief agent for three months. It is only recently that people have started talking about a possible outbreak of the Marburg virus here in the Uige Province in Northern Angola. We fear the worst as this disease, a deadly but rare hemorrhagic fever related to the Ebola virus, has many similar symptoms to other infectious diseases such as Malaria or typhoid fever making it difficult to diagnose. After incubating for five to twenty-one days, the disease comes on swiftly with symptoms such as fever, chills, muscular tenderness and headache.1 The fifth day of infection is marked by the appearance of discolored spots and raised bumps around the chest, stomach and back area. Other symptoms at this stage include vomiting, chest pains, nausea, and diarrhea.2 These symptoms quickly become more severe resulting in jaundice, severe weight loss, inflammation of the pancreas, shock, liver failure, and multi-organ dysfunction3. Typically lasting 3-9 days, if a person does survive this period, the recovery process is prolonged, oftentimes marked with recurrent hepatitis, inflammation of the spinal cord, eyes, and parotid gland, transverse myelitis, and orchitis.4 This is worrisome, as in the region where I am currently working there is little room in the local hospital and very limited funds. If the outbreak grows it can only cause more fatalities due to our lack of resources. As of now, only sporadic cases have been reported since the last Marburg virus outbreak in Druba, in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 19985. We can only hope for limited spread of infection, as there is no cure or vaccine for this deadly virus. December 17th, 2004 As of now, there have been 34 reported cases of what might be the Marburg virus and 34 deaths thus resulting in a 100% fatality rating. Currently the outbreak here in Angola is the worst epidemic of any kind of hemorrhagic fever and is continuing to infect as the number of cases increases around 3% each day.6 Fortunately WHO, the World Health Organization, has sent operatives to investigate if, in fact, the virus that is spreading is the Marburg virus and not another hemorrhagic virus. The whole staff at the hospital is becoming nervous, as we are particularly vulnerable to infection.

Habits of the Heart Essay

most is Brian Palmer. He is a successful businessman and is a top level manager in a large company. He got divorced from his first wife because of wrong priorities. When they were still married, he dedicated his time in working for his family. He was under the misconception that the role of a father and husband is to provide his family all the things that they need and for him to be a better father, he should also provide their wants. He thought that if he will earn money, which is more than enough for them, his family will live happily. However, he realized that money and work is not everything. He did not realize the toll that his being a hard working father is affecting his children and his relationship with his wife. After his divorce with his wife, their children chose to live with him. This made him realize that he is not as bad a father that he thinks he is. He might have done something to deserve this love from his children. The divorce gave him time and space to think and reflect on the things that had happened in the past and what he had done wrong for this to happen. It was not easy for him or his kids but as soon as Brian Palmer had decided to be happy with his children, that was turning point of their lives. He had changed his priorities and he had also changed his goals. Now that he is married to his second wife, who also had children with her first husband, he has devoted his life to his marriage and to all his children. He also had reestablished his priorities and he had learned that family comes first. He also learned that love is not buying his wife and children things; it is sharing. Love is sharing in terms of his time, efforts, and even thoughts. This shift of priorities had made him happy and his family happy. Although Brian Palmer’s situation and my situation are not exactly the same, I could say that I can relate with him since we now value the same thing – our family. It is a common mistake for people to dedicate their lives in their work to the point that they sacrifice their time which is supposed to be spent for their family. They often defend themselves that they are doing this for the benefit of their family. They think that by providing everything for their loved ones, they are showing their love for them. This is the common misconception of people. I can relate more to the children of Brian Palmer because I came from a broken family. When I was still young, things were going smoothly. My father had a high position in their company and my mom was starting her own business. They were busy but they still found time to spend with me and my brother. Until, things gradually changed between my parents and us, their children. It started when my parents started to miss special occasions, like my birthday or my brother’s graduation in elementary. It also pained us to see them fight at times. At first, I did not understand why they were fighting over money or why I feel awkward when I they kiss me on the cheeks. I soon realized that I now seldom see them together, except when they’re fighting. It was hard for me and my brother to grow up without our parents when we need them. It came to the point where I hated special occasions because it was just a reminder that I was alone and that I don’t have my parents to celebrate with me or to just be with me. It came to a point where my parents have considered getting divorced. My brother got very depressed that he was needed to be brought to the hospital. It was an eye opener for my parents. They got the chance to see each other and stop and talk a while. They got the chance to reflect and ask themselves, â€Å"how did we get here? † After that incident, my parents decided that family should always come first. This brought a new light to our family. With our parents’ support, my brother slowly recovered from his depression. From that time on, our parent’s lives became happier and they now got the time to be with us. I also became happy and now I could say with pride that my parents love me and I have a happy family. The character that I can relate the least is the character of Margaret Oldham. She is a psychiatrist and is trained to listen to people’s drama in life. This in turn made her flexible to the personalities of people around her. This in turn gave her the tolerance that she needs to fit in the world where diverse personalities exist. She was raised in the stable and has a strong sense of discipline. A strong sense of discipline is something that I am not very accustomed with. During the time when I felt alone and that my parents were not in good terms, there was nobody to discipline me. I was under the impression that I could do anything and everything that I wanted as long as I am not doing anything which is against the law. Margaret was an achiever in school and in her profession. I was not very good in academics since my parents did not set any standards for me. Unlike other parents, they tell their children to achieve the best in school for them to get better jobs and that education is something that they can give their children, which cannot be taken away from them. I, on the other hand, was not very aware of this. Education was something I thought was just a stage in life that I have to go through and that it is something that I should also experience for me to be â€Å"normal† among my peers. I disagree to her belief that people should not expect that a person could make them â€Å"magically happy† because when my parents finally realized their mistake on us and decided to reconcile and have a better family life, I was â€Å"magically happy†. I was blissfully happy to see that my parents were now willing to try their best to catch up on us and know us better. However, I could say that she is right in saying that people should communicate more on what they need and feel to be able to be happy. I think, it is through communication that people can understand one another and be aware of the feelings of other people. She also stated that as an adult, one should accept his/her personal responsibility; that everybody is responsible for themselves. I agree to her in a way because we are responsible of our acts and it is up to us to make decisions for ourselves. However, we should also acknowledge the impact that we have on other people’s lives. Our actions and decisions could affect the people who care for us and are dear to us. In making decisions, we should also consider the effect that the decision could give to others. She believes that a person’s fulfillment involves deep self-knowledge, a wide tolerance of the differences among people, and the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life. I must admit that I am not well aware of these responsibilities as a person before, but after I read Margaret Oldham’s character, I must say that it had opened a whole different perspective in my life. It made me realize that there are more things to learn in life so why spend it in self pity.