I Will Be a Writer :: Personal Narrative, Autobiographical Essay

I have always seen myself as an inward person who best expressed his thoughts on paper for all to see. That is why I see writing as my natural career choice; not only is it what I do best, but both my parents' first career were journalism. Reading is my first love, and while reading a book I often find myself lost in a totally different world, one that exists only in the imagination of the author and in my own mind. I know I want to be a writer, and my performance in school contests as well as in the National Council of Teachers of English competition has made me believe I have the talent to be successful. I don't think I want to write novels; short stories and journalistic articles are more my forte. My years of writing for the school newspaper have not only strengthened my talent in this field, they have also introduced me to the thrill of seeing my work read and enjoyed by my peers. Â   Although my primary career goal has always been writing, that is by no means my only interest. I work in a baseball card and comic book shop, and have been collecting baseball cards since I was five years old. I think I could perhaps write for one of the major trade magazines, a job that wouldn't reach as large an audience as a newspaper but would allow me to combine two of my loves. I also have considered a career in sports writing, owing mostly to my love of the Chicago Cubs and baseball in general. Â   I fear that writing solely so other people can enjoy reading a work and can share the author's thoughts is a dying art. Nowadays, every book and story has to be turned into a movie, presumably so that the masses do not have to invest any time or intellectual energy in actually reading something enjoyable. While I attribute this partially to a decrease in the attention span of successive generations of Americans, it is also due to an increase in the desire for immediate rewards by writers. It is not enough to write a good book; it must be a bestseller, with a movie deal, an audio book, a book tour, and a round on the talk show circuit. I would be perfectly happy writing what I consider high-quality works without having to make millions to prove to the world that I have talent.

Journey to the West Essay

Growing up, we all had our favorite stories. My personal favorite was the Harry Potter series; I spent hours and hours immersed in those books. For a lot of Chinese children however, the story they grew up with was called Journey to the West, or XiYouJi. This story was written by Wu Cheng’en, an author who lived during the 16th century in the Ming dynasty. A very famous piece of literature, it is considered one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese Literature. The novel starts by telling the story of SunWuKong, who was born from a rock. He went on to learn 72 polymorphic transformations and becomes super powerful, powerful enough to challenge the Taoist Gods. The story goes on to tell about SunWuKong’s great rebellion against heaven, where he basically goes around and beats up everyone in the sky by himself. Eventually however, his arrogance leads to his downfall, and the Buddha manages to trap him under a mountain for five hundred years. The story then jumps to the introduction of Tang XuanZang, who is instructed by the Gods to go east to India on a pilgrimage and retrieve the Buddhist Sutras. After setting out on his journey, Xuan Zang bumps into SunWuKong who is still trapped under a mountain. With the help from the gods, Xuan Zang frees SunWuKong and takes him on as a disciple. He also meets a pig named ZhuBaJie and an ogre named ShaWuJing. Together, the 4 of them walk west towards their eventual goal of LeiYingSi. Along the way, they encounter nine thousand nine hundred eighty one hardships, including crossing treacherous rivers, fighting off monsters who want to eat XuanZang, and battling through a mountain of fire. The majority of the book describes their journey from the Tang Capitol, all the way to LeiYingSi. Once they arrive at their destination, they retrieve the sutras and return to China.

Twist and Shout

The way companies are now packaging their products, makes me think, their ideas must have come straight from the mind of a second grade twelve year old. A senior with arthritis; the person for whom the drug was bottled, needs to have a pair of pliers, a flat head screwdriver, and plenty of muscle to open a bottle of pain medication. By the way, shouldn’t that be anti-pain medicine? But then why do we call the little candies that relief our cough, cough drops and not, anti-cough drops? Getting back to safety caps on medicine bottles, It is next to impossible to open one of those lids. One medicine bottle says, follow the arrows to open, press down and turn. This sounds easy enough if you are built like Arnold Schwarzenegger. The problem with easy open bottles is the person in need of the medication is probably built more like Kermit the frog with Typhoid Fever. It’s ridiculous when you need to purchase TNT to blow off the cap of the pain medication container. The â€Å"safety† cap is designed to keep kids from opening the bottle and swallowing the meds. The problem is a child can open them much easier than a senior citizen under the best of conditions. I can see it now. â€Å"Grampa, give me the bottle, I’ll open it for you. † â€Å"But, you are only five†¦ and this cap is attached to the bottle with super glue. † I guarantee you; the five year old will have that top off before you can pronounce the name of the medication. The list of side effects on some of these meds is multitudinous. These bottles site every contraindication known to man, including, the inability to move, or think clearly, which may provoke, one to think; maybe it would be better if I laid down and died. This medication, the label states, may cause dizziness, light headedness, Vertigo, cramps, diarrhea, constipation, headaches, ear aches, Gingivitis, Gout, fainting spells, stomach pains, thoughts of suicide, and even death. For goodness sake, I’m only taking it for a headache, not preparing for cremation. I guess we can’t blame the drug companies for listing everything that can happen to a person if they take their medicine. People today, through all media, are urged to sue for everything. The advent of television advertising has branched out in these last few years allowing lawyers to advertise their services. Television advertising has become a haven for ambulance chasers and their ilk. I heard the story of a man who sued a motor coach company for damages caused when his vehicle crashed. He claimed he was driving down a stretch of road, in his new motor coach, when he decided he’d go back to the kitchen area and brew a pot of coffee. He put the vehicle on cruise control. The coach crashed, and he was injured, the vehicle demolished. He sued the company for not writing in their brochures that you couldn’t leave the driver’s seat while the vehicle was in motion. He won the case and was awarded a sum of money and a new coach. You are advised to think before you buy any product, read the label; However, the print is so small, you need a magnifying glass the size of a manhole cover to read the instructions on the bottle. Some meds have the side effects written on four sheets of paper inside the box in which the medicine came. All of this inane nonsense is due to sue happy people looking to make a quick buck. Some people play the lottery while others sue companies; the odds in winning are about the same. If you do win in court, the attorney takes his share off the top, probably around sixty percent, and you get the rest after court costs and taxes. Don’t give up your day job. Oh, not you, I’m talking to you, the plaintiff, not your lawyer. Mr Attorney, you are doing just fine in the finance department. That ad on TV has really paid off, hasn’t it? Here’s my idea for packaging medicine. Put a paper seal on the medicine bottle with a written three number code (not in succession). Break the seal, dial the number and open the bottle. As for side effects simply write: Take at your own risk, may cause a myriad of diseases and possibly death. Talk to your physician. Don’t sue us, we told you what could happen. As for manufacturers of motor coaches, all they need to write is; â€Å"Hey stupid if you want a cup of coffee stop at a roadside diner. † This is one I love as I recall going to the drug store for my mother. She had, over the years, adopted a poor sleeping habit, and needed a medication to help her sleep. As the pharmacist passed me the bottle of sleeping medication, I read the label that had been attached to the little brown bottle. It read; ‘may cause dizziness, restlessness, insomnia and drowsiness. If it causes insomnia, why would anyone want to use the drug in the first place? And one can only hope it does cause drowsiness, after all, that’s why you bought it in the first place, isn’t it? There are other stumbling blocks to the senior population; with a skull and crossbones emblem emblazoned on the label; a universal sign denoting it is a dangerous material. We should look und er the emblem, there we will find, in small print, ‘for external use only. ’ What makes the manufacturer of a product with enough chemicals to start World War III write ‘for external use only’ on their bottle. Are they afraid someone is going to use it as a mixer at their cocktail party? If it’s ammonia, you won’t be able to get it past your nose in the first place. Speaking of dangerous things. How many of you have swallowed a capful of mouthwash? Did you know it is unhealthy? The label says do not swallow. Why on earth are you gargling with a product, that if you swallow it by mistake it could kill you, or at the very least make you sick? That’s like putting dynamite, on which is written, beware dangerous material, in your back pocket and then backing up to a campfire to warm your backsides. It’s the same thing you know†¦ too close for comfort either way. What makes a citizen a senior? Answer: age. Though some of us don’t want people to know we are getting along in years, the wrinkles belie our vanity. Face lifts make the recipient look like a monster out of a 1950’s horror movie. I am not ashamed I have made it to three quarters of a century. I thank God my eyes are still the same color as they were when I was twenty, only slightly dimmer. The hair on my head is moving south at a quickening pace, but it has only transferred from the top of my head to my ears and nose. I can’t run any more; my walking pace has slowed almost to a crawl, but inside I am still twenty years old. Until I was forty I didn’t know what a doctor was, or what they did for work. After I had reached fifty, I was asked to become an associate member of the American Medical Association’s Who’s Who of most frequent doctor’s visits list. My mind hasn’t grasped the fact my body has aged. It says to me at times; ‘get up†¦ go for a four mile run, come home take a shower, ride a bike for sixty minutes, eat lunch, skip rope and climb a small mountain. My body answers for me; ‘you have got to be kidding me. ’ There are two fellows whose job it is to see that I remain idle; The Ritis Brothers, of which Artha is the outspoken one, and then there is always Mr Meniere. Mr Meniere’s contribution affects my inner ear; my balance. I reel like a drunken pirate with a pine log peg leg†¦ teetering back and forth with a dizzying gait; But I guess old age is the better of the two alternatives; I always say. As long as you are able to get up in the morning and get out of bed; you are still this side of the dirt. I have God to thank for my being able to get up in the morning, for it is by His grace that I live and move, and have my being. Without His help, I would be nothing but dust and dirt, present, but useless to anyone or anything. These are the golden years, and gold does not tarnish; it is always bright and shiny. Our smiles should be the reflection of our souls. As the little girl said to the grumpy old church deacon. â€Å"Are you happy to be a Christian? † He replied, â€Å"yes I am. † â€Å"Then tell your face. †

Marriage and Family Therapy Essay

Marriage and Family Therapy Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine the field of marriage and family counseling beginning with the history and development of the profession and its importance in the field of counseling. This paper will also evaluate five major themes relevant to Marriage and Family Therapy which include: roles of Marriage and Family Therapists; licensure requirements and examinations; methods of supervision; client advocacy; multiculturalism and diversity. The author will discuss significant aspects to the field of Marriage and Family Therapy such as MFT identity, function, and ethics of the profession. This paper will assess biblical values in relation to Marriage and Family Therapists and to the field itself. In conclusion, the author will provide reflections on Marriage and Family Therapy and the personal commitment to provide counseling that is ethical, biblically grounded, and empirically based. Marriage and Family Therapy This paper is an examination of the history and development of the field of Marriage and Family Therapy. Education, licensure requirements, methods of supervision, client advocacy, and cultural sensitivity are the focus of the evaluation with specific attention given to counselor identity, function, and ethics. History and Development The field of Marriage and Family Therapy is an emerging profession with roots dating back to the late 1940’s. In 2009 licensure for Marriage and Family Therapists was attained for all 50 states and the District of Columbia but this dream began in 1949 when the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (originally called the American Association of Marriage Counselors) joined forces with the National Council on Family Relations to form a committee to create the standards that would one day regulate the practice of marriage and family counseling (Northey, 2009). Marriage and family counseling was once thought of as a subset of other helping professions but now Marriage and Family Therapy is one of the major mental health professions in the United States with over 50,000 licensed therapists (Northey, 2009). The profession has its own accrediting body, COAMFTE, for accrediting graduate and doctorate programs in Marriage and Family Therapy. To further strengthen the profession, 128 core competencies have been identified with six primary domains and five subdomains (Miller, 2010). The six domains include: admission to treatment; clinical assessment and diagnosis; treatment planning and case management; therapeutic intervention; legal issues, ethics, and standards; and research and program evaluation. The subdomains relate to types of skills and are comprised of: conceptual, perceptual, executive, evaluative, and professional (Miller, 2010). According to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy website, a marriage and family therapist is a highly trained professional working in the mental health field that brings a family-oriented perspective to health care (http://www. aamft. org). In order to help families and married partners accomplish this, marriage and family therapists assess what kinds of emotional and mental disorders, behavioral and health problems, and relationship issues are encountered and then a treatment plan is devised. Treatment of the problems that families and couples face often results in greater understanding as well as more effective communication between members and couples which can ultimately aid in the prevention of crises for the individual and family. A main aspect of marriage and family therapy is the focus on the here and now and what can be done to remedy these current situations.

Reading Reflection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Reading Reflection - Assignment Example Cultivating integrative thinking is possible when one views their problems as processes other than events, and problems as products. As a process, a situation makes it the responsibility of the learner to search for the problem without direct or indirect reference to the problem. Conversely, the product arising from the process of identifying the problem is also a problem because besides the presentation of the problem, raising crucial questions and identifying what is expected leads to a further problem to solve. Although dealing with life problems maybe outlined in simple and motivating steps, I understand that the intensity of one problem differs from that of another. Consequently, I would be wrong to say that I have an ideal way of dealing with all my problems. However, with the right questions for each problem, identifying the right approach is easier, even though it is labor intensive. I have come to understand that despite my student life being a high pressure and high stake situation, I have never had the right approach nor known the ultimate expectations of my academic writing. Actually, I have simplified by academic writing to fulfilling one of the instructor’s expectations. In some way, this approach has presented some pressure but, I have always performed just above average, and this is an indication that I missed some crucial steps. Average academic performance also implies that, my approach to the problem did not involve the hard work required to develop the complex idea in the problem. Consequently, I have failed to meet high achiever’s grades. In life situations, this would present me as a lesser competent person and could probably translate to less employability due to evident limitations in handling pressure. Regardless of the inappropriateness of the question, I have learnt that the beginning of any academic

Comparison with Genesis 2-3; distinctive elements in Islam Essay

Comparison with Genesis 2-3; distinctive elements in Islam - Essay Example The Quran talks about how evil Satan’s intention was as the verses are explicit, â€Å"But Satan whispered evil to him. He said: â€Å"0 Adam! Shall I lead thee to the Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that never decays?† It is clear to understand that Satan was always deceitful in his practices straying humanity from the good. As soon as Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, they were expelled from the heavens. This in fact was how humanity was initiated as Adam and Eve were naked. The Genesis again discusses this as it states, â€Å"Now the serpent  was more crafty than any of the wild animals the  Lord  God had made. He said to the woman, â€Å"Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?† Whoever falls into the trap of Satan will always regret it because Satan is always keen in his motives to trick humanity into bad deeds. The Genesis just like the Quran foreshadows this as Genesis 2 states, the woman said, â₠¬Å"The serpent deceived me,  and I ate.† Notice how the Genesis refers to Eve as the woman, whereas the Quran refers to her as the Eve. Both the Genesis and the Quran draw similar parallel to what happened to Adam and

Artices summary Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Artices summary - Article Example The chosen article consists of a study conducted on women in order to identify their underlying causes for major depression. The personalities of over 2000 women were studied by doctors at the Medical College of Virginia where they tried to unearth the kind of feelings women were going through. The main aim for the purpose of this test was to figure out the levels of depression as well as neuroticism that most women felt. According to the background of the study conducted, it was stated that these two factors are the most common aspects of a person’s inner thinking and mind which helps to depict whether or not a person is going through feelings of depression or is facing a period of depression. After a proper analysis of the results, it was noted that neuroticism coupled with depression were mostly caused due to genetic factors first. It was comprehended from the test results that in order to find out a woman’s level of depression, it is easier to understand the same by doing a search of the feelings of anxiety and stress levels in a woman rather than looking at her self esteem. (Seth B. Roberts and Kenneth S. Kendler, 1999) The article chosen for the purpose of explanation of substance dependency is based on young boys in their early-late teenage years. A number of noted psychologists have stated that this age has been witnessing an increase in terms of substance users and abusers around the world. Dependence on alcohol or drugs takes place in the subconscious of an individual at first and therefore, it is a very psychological reaction faced by the person as he continues or increases his usage of substances to carry on with his lifestyle. The article notes that there are a number of offspring of substance users that fall into the trap as well, and due to such usage of drugs, narcotics and alcohol to lead a wayward life, they lose their ability to control emotions and fair very poorly thus, in ECF tests conducted. Such users have been said