My Mother - The Greatest Inspiration in My Life :: Personal Narrative

My Mother - The Greatest Inspiration in My Life When asked who their hero is, most people respond with the name of an athlete or an actress/actor. When asked who my hero is I would have to respond with a simple three letter word: mom. My mother has been the greatest inspiration in my life and is the main reason that I am where I am and who I am today. Born and raised in Richmond, Kentucky, I would like to introduce you to my mother, Vicki Grant. Currently the age of 47, Mom is the oldest of three girls. At the age of 36, mom decided to return back to college to obtain her nursing degree. This wasn’t a hard decision for her to make. The April before she enrolled in school my great grandmother passed away. This major dilemma played a major role in mom’s returning back to school. She had taken care of my great grandmother for months before she passed away, and decided that she wanted to make an impact on the lives of geriatrics. While in school, Mom didn’t have it to easy. Not only did she raise a daughter and take care of a husband, she had to deal with numerous setbacks. These included such things as my father suffering a heart attack and going on to have a triple by-pass, she herself went through an emergency surgery, which sat her a semester behind, and her father also suffered a heart attack. Mom not only dealt with these setbacks but she had the everyday task of things like cooking dinner, cleaning the house and raising a family. I don’t know how she managed it all, but somehow she did. In 1996, my mother graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a baccalaureate of Nursing. Although it took her five years, we were still proud of her and all that she had accomplished. Today my mom is still working as a RN. Although she just quit her job at Berea Hospital, where she had been for 4 years, she is beginning a new style of nursing.

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Essay exa

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Introduction Tatum’s book â€Å"Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?† (1997) analyses the development of racial identity and the influence of racism in American’s culture. She emphasizes the Black-White interactions by comparing the terminology in which racism perceived based on David Wellman’s definition of racism. Tatum also believes racism is not one person in particular but is a cultural situation in which ethnicity assigns some groups significantly privileged compared to others. She illustrates how engaging children in terms of interracial understanding will empower them to respond to racial stereotypes and systems of discrimination. Talking about Racism Tatum: The author states racism is all around us and we should talk about racial discrimination. Throughout her book she explains the hesitation people have about talking about racialism. She argues that people are silent out of fear of being impolite, indiscreet and infringing boundaries. Response: I find the statement people are silent out of fear to be true. I try to avoided conversations that could offend someone or could be misinterpret. It reminds of a conversation with a friend one time. We were watching the movie â€Å"Lion King† when he jokingly compared me to the laughing Hyena. I jokingly compared him to voodoo witchdoctor which happens to be a monkey. To my surprise, he asked, â€Å"Did you pick the monkey because I was Black?† I was so embarrassed and ashamed when I hurt his feelings, I never thought of it as a racial comparison. Although we laughed it off, it still bothered me that I hurt his feelings. Just this week I thought I might of offended someone because I was reading Tatum’s... ...at it means to be Black. Does that not still divide the lines of humanity based on the color of a person’s skin? I thank statements like, â€Å"race-conscious† parents teaching their children to be Black is forming prejudice. I teach my children to be kind to others not what means to be White. In interracial relationships if they have a child what should the child be taught? How to be black or white because I thank it is true, children are taught racial differences by their parents and other adults. Personally, I find most mixed racial children are the perfect skin color we all try to achieve. I am not sure I would recommend Tatum’s book to read to discourage racism even though she raises some valid points. Works Cited Tatum, B. D. (1997). Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? And other conversations about race. New York, NY: Basic Books. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Essay exa Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Introduction Tatum’s book â€Å"Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?† (1997) analyses the development of racial identity and the influence of racism in American’s culture. She emphasizes the Black-White interactions by comparing the terminology in which racism perceived based on David Wellman’s definition of racism. Tatum also believes racism is not one person in particular but is a cultural situation in which ethnicity assigns some groups significantly privileged compared to others. She illustrates how engaging children in terms of interracial understanding will empower them to respond to racial stereotypes and systems of discrimination. Talking about Racism Tatum: The author states racism is all around us and we should talk about racial discrimination. Throughout her book she explains the hesitation people have about talking about racialism. She argues that people are silent out of fear of being impolite, indiscreet and infringing boundaries. Response: I find the statement people are silent out of fear to be true. I try to avoided conversations that could offend someone or could be misinterpret. It reminds of a conversation with a friend one time. We were watching the movie â€Å"Lion King† when he jokingly compared me to the laughing Hyena. I jokingly compared him to voodoo witchdoctor which happens to be a monkey. To my surprise, he asked, â€Å"Did you pick the monkey because I was Black?† I was so embarrassed and ashamed when I hurt his feelings, I never thought of it as a racial comparison. Although we laughed it off, it still bothered me that I hurt his feelings. Just this week I thought I might of offended someone because I was reading Tatum’s... ...at it means to be Black. Does that not still divide the lines of humanity based on the color of a person’s skin? I thank statements like, â€Å"race-conscious† parents teaching their children to be Black is forming prejudice. I teach my children to be kind to others not what means to be White. In interracial relationships if they have a child what should the child be taught? How to be black or white because I thank it is true, children are taught racial differences by their parents and other adults. Personally, I find most mixed racial children are the perfect skin color we all try to achieve. I am not sure I would recommend Tatum’s book to read to discourage racism even though she raises some valid points. Works Cited Tatum, B. D. (1997). Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? And other conversations about race. New York, NY: Basic Books.

Hypocritical Holden Essay

Hypocrisy is found in all of us. Many of us have things about ourselves that we don’t want to share with others, and try to hide; perhaps we are trying to hide our hypocrisy. In The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger expresses through Holden Caulfield that hypocrisy results from not being able to connect with others. Although Holden accuses others of being phony, in reality, Holden is a phony himself and as a result of his hypocrisy, he is unable to connect with others, suggesting that to connect with others one must be able to accept other people’s flaws. Holden defines others as phonies because he is critical and has a negative utlook on the world and the people in it. When Holden makes observations of other people he often defines them as phony. For example, when Holden goes to the movies he observes a lady sitting next to him who is crying during the movie, â€Å"The part that got me was, there was a lady sitting next to me that cried all through the goddam picture. The phonier it got, the more she cried†¦ she had this little kid with her that was bored as hell and had to go to the bathroom but she wouldn’t take him†¦ You take somebody that cries their goddam eyes out over phony stuff in the movies, and nine times out of ten they’re mean bastards at heart.  I’m not kidding† (181). Holden thinks that the woman crying is a phony because she is emotional about a movie which is fake, yet she does not feel bad for the kid who is sitting next to her in real life, who has to go to the bathroom. A woman crying at a movie is what Holden observes and defines as phony behavior. Holden’s negative outlook on the world and the people in it just pushes Holden farther and farther away from people. He is isolating himself. In addition, Holden thinks some words or phrases are phony. When Holden is talking on the phone with a girl he knows, Sally, who says something that Holden thinks is phony. â€Å"I’d love to. Grand. † Grand. If there’s one word I hate, it’s grand. It’s so phony†(106). Holden thinks that the word grand is phony, which may be true to Holden; although the more energy he spends on pointing out â€Å"phonies† the more isolated and unhappy he becomes. Holden is a hypocrite because he is sometimes aware that he is being a phony himself. Holden thinks that he needs to hide his true self from people in order to â€Å"survive†. When Holden is out at Ernie’s and meets up with a girl he knows, Lillian, Holden says something to the Navy guy who was with Lillian that Holden considers phony. Holden addresses the reader, â€Å"I’m always saying â€Å"Glad to’ve met you† to somebody I’m not at all glad I met. If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though† (87). Holden lies to the navy guy, and also says that he lies to other people when saying this phrase. Although Holden is acting phony, and therefore hypocritical, he is aware of it. He acts phony because he is afraid that sharing his true self with others will interfere with him connecting with others; Holden thinks that he will turn people away because he is different. Holden is different because he is critical, and also eeply caring and emotional. Holden is trying to act like a regular guy so people will like him and be willing to talk with him. Holden is striving to make a connection with someone; anyone. He is just looking for anyone to talk to and make a connection with, but he is afraid to open up to them. Holden tries to fit in with others by being phony when in reality, he hates how most people act. Holden tries not to show his hatred of phonies because then, people would soon realize that Holden is a phony himself. At Ernie’s when Holden meets up with the navy guy, introduced to him by Lillian, Holden hares his true thoughts about the navy guy’s actions with the reader. Holden says, â€Å"He was one of those guys that think they’re being a pansy if they don’t break around forty of your fingers when they shake hands with you. God, I hate that stuff† (86-87). Holden doesn’t like the expectations put on men to act tough; this makes Holden feel insecure. Holden feels that he must hide that he is caring and emotional by being phony. In addition, Holden is sometimes unaware that he is being phony. For example, when he asks his taxi driver Horwitz a question, Holden is unaware that he is being phony. â€Å"Hey, Horwitz,† I said. â€Å"You ever pass by the lagoon in central park? Down by central park south? †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"Well, you know the ducks that swim around in it? In the springtime and all? Do you happen to know where they go in the wintertime, by any chance (81)? †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Holden asks Horwitz where the ducks go in the winter time because he is unknowingly comparing his situation to the ducks in the lagoon; Holden wants to know where he goes now that it is â€Å"winter time† and his lagoon, Pencey prep, has frozen. Throughout the book, Holden struggles to find a place where he belongs. He also strives to connect with people. Holden is reluctant to share his true self with people. Asking Horwitz where the ducks go is one of Holden’s â€Å"phony† attempts at making a connection with someone. When Holden acts phony, he shields his true self from people which keeps him from connecting with others. Holden dislikes phonies, and he often criticizes people for being phony, although Holden acts phony himself because he is insecure about himself, which leads to Holden acting phony. J. D. Salinger expresses through Holden that when trying to connect with others, one must act like themselves. Hypocrisy is often inevitable; all of us exhibit hypocrisy.

Barley production in the United States Essay

Share of US in global barley production is decreasing and about 1% drop can be clearly seen from 2000 to 2005. Currently US produces about 3. 5% of the total global production. European Union, Russia, Canada and Australia lead the pack. In US the barley is produced mainly in North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Minnesota and South Dakota. These six states account for about 80% of the US barley production. The area under barley cultivation in these six states are 1. 05, 0. 80, 0. 56, 0. 21, 0. 12 and 0. 06 million acres for the states North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Minnesota and South Dakota respectively in 2006 (fapri. missouri 2006). In US the area under cultivation of barley and wheat is continuously decreasing while that under corn and soyabean is increasing. Total area under barley cultivation has decreased from 9 million acres in 1991 to about 3. 5 million acres in 2006 and accordingly the total production of barley has also decreased from about 9 million ton in 1991 to just 4. 4 million ton in 2005. US production averages 400 million bushels per year with an annual value of $923 million as a raw commodity (1988 – 1997). In USA production of the malt barley is mainly in the western states. Of the barley consumed domestically, approximately 55% of the barley crop is used for animal feed 39% for malt production 3. 5% as seed 1. 7% in food products Total value of the annual barley crop is $184 million for barley and milled products $48 million for malt and malt extracts $332 million for beer. US production represents 5-10% of the world production. Largest importers of US barley are Japan and Mexico. Malting and Brewing It is imperative to examine the malting, brewing and fermentation process in primarily to understand the quality requirements for the barley to be use for production of beer. Various unit processes in production of beer are – making malt, drying and milling of malt, producing wort, brewing, fermentation, maturation and bottling. We will examine each of the unit processes in somewhat detail. In the malt house, barley grain germination is initiated by the uptake of water in a steeping vessel. The grain imbibes water during controlled cycles of water spraying or water immersion followed by aeration, until the water content of the grain reaches 42 to 48%. Water enters the grain via the embryo, and after approximately 24 hours, the first visible sign of germination is the appearance of the root, as a white ‘chit’. The grains are then transferred to malting beds where germination is allowed to proceed over a period of around 5 days. The speed of germination is controlled by temperature and aeration of the malt bed, while moisture content is maintained by spraying. Further embryo growth, with the appearance of rootlets and acrospires, can lead to root entangling. The grain bed is regularly turned with a rotating screw to prevent grains matting together. Green malt, produced after five days of germination, is kiln dried and partly cooked in a forced flow of hot air. Hydrolases produced during malting are partially inactivated during this process. Malt color, enhanced by kilning at higher temperatures, may be desirable for production of darker beer, but it leads to further heat-inactivation of hydrolases. The brittle malt rootlets are separated from the malt and utilized in animal feeds. The kilned malt is stable for storage and has a friable texture suitable for the milling process which proceeds brewing. The brew house consists of brewery buildings housing machinery and equipment for the production of wort. Processes taking place here include milling of the kiln dried malt, mashing, filtration and wort boiling. The malt is milled into fine grits to ensure good access of water to grain particles in the subsequent phase of beer production. Milling energy is a good indication of malt quality, where homogeneously modified malt has a lower milling energy. Malt may be supplemented with solid adjunct, i. e. a sugar source such as flaked or roasted barley, in order to impart specific flavor or colour characteristics to the finished beer. Milled malt is mixed thoroughly with two to four volumes of water to yield mash, and subjected to a process – denoted mashing – that fundamentally is an extension of malting with the action of various enzymes. Boiled, gelatinized starch from maize or rice grains may be supplemented as adjunct during mashing to achieve a higher content of fermentable sugars. At the end of the mashing operation, soluble substances and residual solid particles are separated by filtration into sweet wort and spent grains, respectively. Factors influencing mash filtration are complex and range from physical effects, such as particle size, to high viscosity caused by gum and protein aggregates. In the next process in the brew house, hops are added to the wort as a source of bitter substances, which are solubilized during wort boiling (> 1 h) and give beer its characteristic taste and aroma. In addition, wort boiling serves to denature enzymes and other proteins, sterilizes the wort, and yields a darker liquid which is an excellent medium for subsequent fermentation with brewers yeast. During the primary fermentation, the fermentable sugars, mainly maltose and glucose are converted to ethanol and carbon dioxide. This action is performed by the brewing yeast, which during the brewing process also produces many of the characteristic aroma compounds found in beer. At the end of the primary fermentation, the yeast cells flocculate and sediment at the bottom of the fermenter and can be cropped and used for a new fermentation. Not all yeast cells sediment; some will remain in suspension, and these cells are responsible for maturation of the beer. During this process the off-flavor, diacetyl is degraded to below the taste threshold. The fermentation characteristics of brewer’s yeast are strain-dependent and are genetically inherited. Much of the genetics of Saccharomyces yeasts has been elucidated, and the knowledge gained, forms the basis for breeding of brewing yeast. Thus, new types of beer with altered aromas can be produced with yeast strains selected through breeding. After fermentation the temperature is lowered and the beer is maturated for a period during which the off-flavor component diacetyl is assimilated by yeast cells. Mature beer is then chilled to a temperature of -2 oC for a couple of days. By doing so the colloidal stability of the beer is greatly improved due to precipitation of protein-tannin complexes, which are only sparingly soluble at low temperature. The beer is now ready for final stabilization, which removes further amounts of proteinaceous matter and/or tannins, and subsequent filtration. The bright beer so obtained, and adjusted to the correct carbon dioxide content, is now ready for bottling. When the residual yeast cells have been removed it is of utmost importance that oxygen uptake is reduced as much as possible, since oxygen will damage the flavor stability of the beer and, despite intensive stabilisation, also impairs its colloidal stability. Finished beer is either bottled or canned or filled into kegs. It may be tunnel pasteurized, flash pasteurized or aseptically bottled. In either case the beer must appear fresh, bright and without faults to the customer and hence the quality is a matter of great concern. The beer must also be free from micro-organisms to ensure wholesomeness and biological stability. The ethanol content must obey fiscal rules but is also of major importance for the flavor of the beer. This is further influenced by a wide range of compounds that may be present in even very small amounts. Visually the finished beer must form nice foam on pouring; it must have an attractive colour. Despite use of the choicest raw materials and careful brewing performance the beer is a fragile liquid, especially when not stored cold. The fine balanced aroma of fresh beer is eventually replaced by a less attractive smell and likewise the taste deteriorates. The basis for this decay is a matter of intense research.

The Gravedigger's Daughter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Gravedigger's Daughter - Essay Example That was a grim challenge to the former high school teacher, to assist the coffins to take a restful sleep. But for the daring daughter Rebecca, it was not the end of the road, but the beginning of the efforts to scale new heights in life, under the most trying circumstances the girl of her age could think of. Even while dealing the mounds of earth, her father had not lost the intellectual fire of the teaching fraternity. But by nature he was cruel, finding it extremely difficult to cope up with the destined circumstances. He cautioned his daughter about which Joyce Carol Oates writes, (2007, p.186)"You-you are born here. They will not hurt you." She was the only member of the family born in America and therefore, the lawful citizen of the country. She proved worthy of her heartfelt desire to be part of the American triumph. Leaving behind the grim situation of the family, she lived life in its trials, tribulations, duty and beauty to come to terms with her life. In every stage of li fe, at every time, she faced difficulties/tragedies that would shatter any individual. The path she chose to tread was not the rosy one; it was emotionally engaging and intellectually provocative. It was a fascinating mirror of humanity, and an individual, who was orphaned as a teenager, challenging to cross the ocean through a rudderless boat! Her past was her greatest liability to meet the challenges of the future. But she had no powers to undo it, but she was certainly not inclined to carry the ghosts, neither wanted societal pity nor the condemnation! Her past haunted her like the dark ghost. As she attained the status of a married woman and motherhood, recollection of her father’s prophetic words continued to knock at the portals of her mind. â€Å"In animal life the weak are quickly disposed of. So you must hide your weakness, Rebecca."(p.113) Childhood abuses on development of woman’s identity are intense, and that wound may be possible to hide, but it will nev er heal. The shadows of the past will follow such an individual and part of one’s memory zone will retain them permanently. A series of challenges had engulfed her life—the youngest child of an impoverished German Jewish immigrant family, --ill-tempered, imbalanced, violent father, mother suffering from mental disorders, two insensitive older brothers who showed callous disregard for her well-being and finally witness the murder of her mother and suicide of her father. Violence and alcoholism were the other negative traits of the family that Rebecca had to put up with. --with the cumulative effect of all these ‘calamities’ any one would turn cynical and think that the whole world is ignoble!—but not Rebecca! She tries to find her elusive peace, and reinvent her identity with her total commitment to her child’s wellbeing. She wants to keep the dark memories of her past a well-guarded secret. The end of one misery leads to another calamity and she literally jumps from the frying pan to the fire itself. Nature releases her sufferings in installments and her cup of sorrow is ever brimming without any letup. After escaping almost being killed by her father, she marries a beer salesman, Niles Tignor, who also turns out to be physically abusive. He nearly beats her to death; she escapes with her son Zacharias. She finds support with an old man Chet Gallagher, who recognizes her son’s latent musical genius. But the original question of her life, remains the original question—how to reconcile with the past, and whether reconciliation

Advertising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Advertising - Essay Example The second way, misleadingness, centers only on buyer convictions. A show of misleadingness requires the perception of false purchaser convictions in con$ intersection with introduction to commercial (Hartley 23). Though deception alludes to a case certainty inconsistency, misleadingness alludes to a belief and truth error. Keeping in mind the end goal to show misrepresentation in publicizing, one must confirm the presence of an error. At costs, this is a straightforward assignment, achieved with numerical sureness. For accessibility, be that as it may, it gets to be more convoluted (Hartley 62). What is the base number of promoted things a seller must have accessible for procurement. The America’s day of independence or Fourth of July is here. It is your turn to change the Fourth of July into Christmas with right marketing campaign and print designs. Nike is here to offer you a chance to attend the public ceremony and win a trip to one of the cities of your choice in the U.S. Around and on July the Fourth, most people participate in the noble and proud national culture and tradition of spending money. Therefore, Nike is here to plan BBQs, post games tailgates, parties, fireworks and expanded weekends just to make sure as an American citizen, you are not left behind in this celebration. The advert convinced to frequently use Hotcard.com products even after the fourth of July. In addition, a good and economical manner to start a fourth of July or day of independence marketing promotion is by operating a direct or straight mail crusade or campaign. Advertising your sales for the day of independence is easy for you. For businesses such as restaurants and clubs, it is time to call for any printing your business might require to advertise or promote your events. For instance, flyer, posters, and club cards are wonderful ways for advertising party, BBQ, or show. During Fourth of July, service and retail firms may need to stage up

Restraints and seclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Restraints and seclusion - Essay Example aises the concern if restrained re-traumatizes the sick at their most vulnerable, if seclusion damages the alliance of therapeutic and if that is the case if it can undergo justification. Studies from Massachusetts consider the vulnerable to be mostly affected by seclusion. The vulnerable consist of those with past sexual abuse, physical abuse, physical trail, developmentally disabled, physically trail, and sensory impaired patients. Therefore, seclusion can easily lead to re-traumatization to the above named group of individual. LaFond, R. (2007, September). Reducing Seclusion and Restraint for Improved Patient and Staff Safety. In a https://www.crisisprevention.com., 2 (4), 12 Retrieved July 9, 2013, from https://www.crisi prevention .com/CPI/media /Media/Resources/research/Lafond-from-07-JSM-JOU-002. Pdf This article â€Å"Reducing seclusion and restraint for improved patient and staff safety† by Randall Lafond talks about the benefits of avoiding seclusion and restraints for patients. The author states that there should be legal law which reduces seclusion and restraint among patients. The article explains the way in which health care services disregard the importance of the reduction of seclusion and restraints. He states that staff must be trained to encourage the practice of reducing seclusion and restraint among patients. As per LaFond, â€Å"In the baseline year of 2002, 83 episodes of seclusion and restraint were documented. The total documented time was 220:03 minutes against 1606 admissions and a total of 16,054 patient days†. He asserts that for the safety of psychiatric patients the reduction of seclusion and restraints is important. Master, K. (2004). Can narrative therapy decrease the use of seclusion and restraint, 2 (4), 34. Retrieved July 8, 2013, from http://www.aacap.org/AACAP/M ember Resources/Practice_Information/SR_Articles/Can_Narrative_Therapy_Decrease_th e_Use_of_Seclusion_and_Restraint.aspx This article by Kim Masters states whether