Graduation Speech: The Importance of Loving God :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

I've had a great time these past four years of high school. I've had a lot of fun with my class. We have many memories together. The basketball games, the parties, and all the fund-raisers for worthy causes. And, we've all been really busy with our own individual lives, and I know that will never change. But, on top of my busy schedule, I've learned something. And right now I want to tell you the most important I've learned. I've learned it doesn't matter what our day to day lives entail. Whether it's doing homework or studying, working or singing, being the Strawberry Queen, playing tennis or playing piano, or even doing karate. What's most important is loving God! Because, you see, the memories fade away and the friends move away, we all know that, but God is always constant. Psalm 90 verse 2 says, "Even from everlasting to everlasting, He is God." I know I haven't experienced as much as many of you have and I know I have a lot to learn. But, nothing I learn matters as much as my relationship with God. And a lot of you might say, "Michelle, you do a lot for God. You've been on mission trips and you're on the leadership team at your church." You could even say that the Senior Class has done a lot for God. Some teach Sunday school at their church, a few help lead worship with music, and some run sound. These are all wonderful. But that doesn't matter. What matters is what's in here. What's in your heart. All the other things are additions. I once read a quote that says, "The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life." You know that may be true. But let me give you an even greater truth. The man who lives his live without Christ has wasted eternity. And that is a deadly and dangerous game to play. But you know what? Those who live for God have the hope of eternity to look forward to. Because God has given us a free gift. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Class of 2006, I want to challenge you. The ultimate truth is that our focus should be on God and not on this world. And always make sure that people can see God through you.

Is utilitarianism a useful method of making decisions about abortion Essay

To what extent is utilitarianism a useful method of making decisions about abortion? Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory that, as suggested, looks at the consequences of the satiation and what the outcome is most likely to be. Therefore, this theory does not uphold the idea that no matter what the situation all life is sacred; it focuses on maximizing happiness for the individual. Some may argue that utilitarianism is useful because the woman is given the choice. This promotes women’s rights as, ultimately, the woman is who will carry the child and primarily care for the child, if not fully care for the child, in the first years of its life. After childbirth, which for some women is an incredibly daunting prospect, many omen suffer from depression and bodily complications. Therefore, some would argue that utilitarianism is a good approach because the woman can make the conscious and rational decisions to either undergo pregnancy or not. Some women may also feel that they are not prepared to be a mother and that it is not fair for them to bring a child into an unhealthy environment where she is struggling. This then means that the theory can be used to prevent an unprepared mother form being forced to have a child, therefore, creating happiness. However, some would disagree with utilitarianism because it allows for a quick fix solution to short term happiness. Christians believe that every child is a gift from the Lord and the bible states that â€Å"man was made in God’s image† – Genesis. Furthermore, every child is a potential life that is there to be cared for a cherished which, if aborted, will never have the opportunity to flourish in society. Some may argue that if the woman is given all the rights over whether the child is aborted or not, the father and the families of the parents may also be heavily affected by the loss of a potential family member, which can lead to depression. In addition, some may agree that utilitarianism is a useful method because it looks at the circumstances of the abortion. Traumatic experiences, including rape or molestation, can all lead to an unwanted and unplanned pregnancy. Utilitarianism allows the situation of the individual to be taken into account and so abortion would be seen as acceptable if the woman has had her rights abused and is, in turn, pregnant. This is because, those that follow the theory can foresee that due to the child being unwanted, the mother may feel hatred towards the child because of the circumstances that she was placed in, also leading to resentment. The mother may also be in an unfit emotional state to properly take care of a child, which is unfair as every child has the right to be loved and looked after by its parents. Furthermore, the greatest happiness is achieved because the woman can then reevaluate her situation and overcome the pain she has been forced to experience, before having a child. Lastly, some would argue against this point because it cannot predict the long-term consequences of abortion. There is no guarantee that if a woman has been raped she will resent and hate her child, and there is no saying that the child may in fact aid her emotional recovery and will be very much loved. There are also physical problems. If a woman has an abortion when she is young, she may try to conceive years later only to find that she is infertile from the abortion that she previously had. An abortion can also be a very traumatic experience than can lead to potential emotional damage and regret. To conclude, these points show both sides of the argument that utilitarianism is a useful approach to abortion, showing that in some cases looking at the situation allows for a slippery slope of acceptability when considering abortion.

Pepsi Challenge

In the short story, Story by Lydia Davis there are many conflicts, complications, crisis, falling action and resolution of the plot. The conflict the woman in the story faces the most is that she is trying to get a hold of a man. He seems to be not truthful with her and does not use proper communication. This bothers her and she visits his apartment on two occasions. He seems to be with his ex girlfriend and she becomes skeptical of the two. She wants to know why he is not calling her back. So she finds herself in a crisis. She finally goes to his apartment again to find another car there. It is probably his ex girlfriend. When he comes outside, he confirms that it is his ex-girlfriend's car. In the falling action he gives her a replay of his nightly events. In the resolution, she loves him and ignores the possibility of him deceiving her (Burroway, 2007). She gets home from work. She checks her machine to find a message from him. She goes to his apartment. He is not home so she goes back to her home. She plays the piano to occupy her time. She calls him and he tells her that he will call her later. She decides to write in her notebook on what she'd say to him. He finally calls her and they argue. After they hang up, she calls him twice, but he does not answer his phone. She decides to go to his apartment and there is another car there. She looks through the windows, but doesn’t see anything. She knocks on the door and there is no answer. As she walks away, he walks through door. He puts his arms around her and they talk. She contemplates on whether he is being truthful or not (Burroway, 2007). The woman in the story sets a scene at both her home and a man's home. The summary behind the story is a series of events. The woman is trying to reach him, she visits his apartment, she finally speaks to him on the phone, they argue, she visits his apartment to finally speak to him face to face, there is an ex-girlfriend inside his apartment and he may be deceiving (Burroway, 2007). On several occasions the woman uses flashback to describe her past. She tends to go back in time to talk about her husband and the way he acted towards her. She also describes the man in her story as not being truthful in the past (Burroway, 2007). References Burroway, J. (2007). Imaginative writing: elements of craft. New York: Pearson Longman.

Free Essays on How To Talk To A Hunter

Gender Diversity In her short story â€Å"How to Talk to a Hunter† Pam Houston puts an unconventional touch to the way she explains gender differences in a relationship. Her story is told in a consistent but unusual method with nameless characters and diversified insight on the narrator’s thoughts. Houston’s story relates to a vast majority of her readers. Her statements are unspecified, almost as if she is speaking about both genders as a whole. She expresses different thoughts about the attitudes of both men and women in relationships and gives a dose of the female thought process. The narrator in this story seems to be particularly paranoid and insecure. For example, when the hunter is talking about vacationing to Hawaii and Alaska she realizes it is â€Å"†¦impossible to tell if she was included in his plans.† She can’t figure out whether the hunter is talking about herself or another woman. I detected another hint of insecurity when the narrator notices the hunter talks about his friend and â€Å"..Manages to say eight things without a gender determining pronoun.† The narrator mentions things like this not only to show the hunter’s infidelity but also to show tension in the relationship. I read this short story as an allegorical thought, the entire piece of literature came from a random assortment of thoughts that the author eventually modified into a story. What makes this story unique is not just the manner in which the literature is presented, but also the gaps left for the reader to formulate an explanation. Some people might read this story as simply a relationship between two lovers; however, I see it as a stereotypical assessment of men and women in relationships. Houston does not specify names except for Janie Coyote, nor does she notify the readers when and where the story takes place. She gives no background on any of the characters, which makes it hard to follow on the first read through. I think ... Free Essays on How To Talk To A Hunter Free Essays on How To Talk To A Hunter Gender Diversity In her short story â€Å"How to Talk to a Hunter† Pam Houston puts an unconventional touch to the way she explains gender differences in a relationship. Her story is told in a consistent but unusual method with nameless characters and diversified insight on the narrator’s thoughts. Houston’s story relates to a vast majority of her readers. Her statements are unspecified, almost as if she is speaking about both genders as a whole. She expresses different thoughts about the attitudes of both men and women in relationships and gives a dose of the female thought process. The narrator in this story seems to be particularly paranoid and insecure. For example, when the hunter is talking about vacationing to Hawaii and Alaska she realizes it is â€Å"†¦impossible to tell if she was included in his plans.† She can’t figure out whether the hunter is talking about herself or another woman. I detected another hint of insecurity when the narrator notices the hunter talks about his friend and â€Å"..Manages to say eight things without a gender determining pronoun.† The narrator mentions things like this not only to show the hunter’s infidelity but also to show tension in the relationship. I read this short story as an allegorical thought, the entire piece of literature came from a random assortment of thoughts that the author eventually modified into a story. What makes this story unique is not just the manner in which the literature is presented, but also the gaps left for the reader to formulate an explanation. Some people might read this story as simply a relationship between two lovers; however, I see it as a stereotypical assessment of men and women in relationships. Houston does not specify names except for Janie Coyote, nor does she notify the readers when and where the story takes place. She gives no background on any of the characters, which makes it hard to follow on the first read through. I think ...

The Four Porqués of Spanish

The Four 'Porquà ©s' of Spanish Although porque, por quà ©, por que, and porquà © have related meanings, they are not interchangeable. If you find them confusing as a Spanish student, youre in good company: Native speakers often write them incorrectly as well. Por Quà © Por quà © typically is used in questions, meaning why:  ¿Por quà © celebramos el 16 de septiembre? (Why do we celebrate September 16?) ¿Por quà © estamos aquà ­? (Why are we here?) ¿Por quà © no citas tus fuentes? (Why dont you cite your sources?) Por quà © is also sometimes used in statements that form an indirect question. In such cases, it usually is still translated as why. Dime por quà © las noches son tan largas. (Tell me why the nights are so long.)Quiero saber por quà © se usa el prefijo www en las pginas Web. (I want to know why the prefix www is used for Web pages.) Porque Porque typically means because: Es simple porque se basa en el concepto de igualdad. (It is simple because it is based on the concept of equality.)Perdà ³nalos, porque no saben lo que hacen. (Forgive them, because they dont know what theyre doing.)Voy al restaurante porque tengo hambre. (Im going to the restaurant because Im hungry.)-  ¿Por quà © sales? - Porque estoy aburrida. (Why are you leaving? Because Im bored.) Por quà © and porque are far more common than the following two usages. If youre a beginner at Spanish you can probably safely stop here. Por Que Por que occurs when que as a relative pronoun follows the preposition por. If that sounds confusing, think of por que as meaning for which, although it is often translated as that or why. Esa es la razà ³n por que he querido salir. (That is why I wanted to leave. Literally, that is the reason for which I wanted to leave.)El motivo por que llegà ³ tarde fue el paro de buses. (He arrived late because of the bus stoppage. Literally, the reason for which he arrived late was the bus stoppage.) Por que also occurs when que follows a verb phrase using por. For example, the phrase for to worry about is preocuparse por. Here is an example where the phrase is followed by que: Se preocupa por que las soluciones sean incompatibles. (She is worried that the solutions will be incompatible.) Porquà © Finally, porquà © is a masculine noun, meaning reason, much like using why as a noun in English: No comprendo el porquà © de la violencia domà ©stica. (I dont understand the reason for domestic violence.)Estn acostumbrados a tomar decisiones, no a explicar los porquà ©s. (They are used to making decisions, not at explaining the reasons.)

Bend it like a Man of Chosun Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bend it like a Man of Chosun - Essay Example The main perspective on which the author argued that the racial and ethnic inferiority complexes of the Korean people from the western world can be overcome or healed with their participation in in sports like football in which they feel at the top of the world which came with the victory of Korea in Berlin Olympics, 1936. In support of his statement he stated that in the year 2002 World Cup, when Korea reached the Semifinals, their victory in the game again brought to unify the nation again and provided a great opportunity to cure the ethnic inferiority of its people. The author provided the evidence of the newspaper Dong-A Ilbo, which published the photograph of Sohn with Japanese Flag and removed his Uniform of the Korean country. He proved the strength of the mass media that is newspaper in Korea in developing the sense of Nationalism. Although the victory of Sohn ended the very first stage of sport nation in Korea, its people very clearly understood the importance of sports competition in international level which brought them pride for their country. The author has a strong positive viewpoint about how a sport can initiate nationalistic behavior in a country and it is very true till now a days. During the time of sport activities the people try to view the country as one and try to figure the all the positive aspects about the country while almost forgot the other factors. Author mentioned different evidence to prove his point in the document which makes it very rich in establishing the facts. The main problem we can notice in the document that the author only emphasized on only a single factor that is sport. Sport can only initiate the nationalism in its people but it is up to the people who will continue to it or not. As in the document we can find that after 1936 there is no mention of any other incidence till 2002. A single thing can never eradicate the inferiority sense from the minds of the people and it can it will be temporary. Yes I am

CMC Midterm Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CMC Midterm - Article Example The benefit of having an online outlet is that one can vent one’s frustrations with certain social issues and so forth. The online factor is helpful because it shields one from the verbal barbs that might come with face-to-face parlance. †¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¨ No, I don’t think this has anything to do with gender. Just the format of these various sites did not appeal to me at all, and I don’t necessarily think it had anything to do with the gendering of the sites or not. SecondLife is very colorful and filled with a lot of images (especially of women) that use a lot of bright colors, while Twitter seems more geared towards men. Twitter’s homepage is blue, which many people typically associate with the male gender. Visuals include colors. For example, brighter colors are gendered towards women, since, in olden times women had to have better color vision than men in order to complete the task of food-gathering. Women are also appealed to by text-based cues like pretty or girly fonts, whilst men are appealed to by the usage of simple fonts and basic colors. I would say that the color blue most closely resonates with everyone, not just men. Blue is most peoples’ favorite color, and so it would make sense, for example, that Twitter’s homepage would use blue as its primary