Google Stock Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Google Stock - Term Paper Example The Google search engine uses PageRank, Algortihms, Link Measurement, and Profiling as part of its objective to deliver the most accurate and most relevant results to the searcher. Google also offers a very successful email product called Gmail. Gmail is unique in that it allows the email account holder much more free space (7GB) than the average free email client. In my experience, Gmail is an exceptional email client as it provides many more services than the standard email. Google Maps is another successful application in that it is not just an average web mapping system. This advanced mapping system offers satellite imagery of most urban cities in the US and around the world. It also can be integrated with many mobile phones, which allows for a GPS mapping system directly on the phone. These features allow its users to find information and easily share it to anyone in the world. With the amount of traffic Google receives on a daily basis, Google has to have some kind of strategy to generate its revenue. One of Google's main sources of revenue is advertising. In 2007, advertising accounted for 99% of Google's revenues. Google implements two main advertising products which are AdSense and AdWords. AdWords is Google's flagship advertising product and main source of revenue ($16.4 billion in 2007). AdWords offers pay-per-click advertising, and site-targeted advertising for both text and banner ads. The AdWords program includes local, national, and international distribution. Section 3: The macroeconomics Google competes to attract and retain relationships with users, advertisers and Google Network members and other content providers in different strategies. Google competes to attract and retain users of its search and communication products and services. Most of the products and services that Google offer to users are free, so they do not compete on price. Instead, they compete in this area on the basis of the relevance and usefulness of their search results and the features, availability and ease of use of their products and services. Google has been an outstanding company in the marketplace ever since its inception and it continues to be and deliver exceptional service to the global market. The move into public ownership brought about more benefits to its employees as well as present and future shareholders. The founders of Google felt that the standard structure of public ownership might jeopardize the independence and focused objectivity that has been apart of Google's past succe ss. Google's leadership team wanted to preserve this aspect of the organization, so they implemented a corporate structure that is designed to protect Google's ability to introduce and retain its most distinctive characteristics. In 2007 and 2008, cash from Google's financing activities totaled $403.1 million and $87.6 million (Google Inc. 2009). Cash from financing activities is cash flow that takes place between organizations and stockholders and includes loans from bondholders and other creditors (Financial Education 2007). According to Google's numbers, the company is under no risk since the company does not rely solely on outside sources to generate its cash flow. Cash flow from Google's investing activities negatively increased in 2008 as it

Chemical Mind Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chemical Mind - Movie Review Example The axon, which is protected by a myelin sheath, transmits electrical impulses from the soma to other neurons, muscles, and glands. The nervous system depends on neurotransmitters that trigger signal transmission that leads to emotions and motions. Notably, endorphins and norepinephrine control emotions and alertness respectively. Gamma-aminobutyric acid such as serotonin regulates moods, hunger, and sleep. Acetylcholine and dopamine have both exciting and inhibitory properties. The former triggers muscle action and memory while the latter is important in learning, movement, and pleasurable emotions. Excess dopamine has a link to addictive and impulsive behavior, as well as, schizophrenia. Hormones are chemical transmitters in the endocrine system, and exert action on the brain, as well as, other organs. Notably, hormones regulate moods, arousal, circadian rhythm, metabolism, growth, immune system, and sexual reproduction. Unlike the neurotransmitter, the transmission of messages thr ough hormones is slower. The transmission involves secretion of hormones by glands that enter the bloodstream and eventually reach the brain. It is noteworthy that the hormonal effect is long lasting. The most important gland in the brain is the pituitary that release growth hormone and oxytocin, which play a role in social bonding. In summary, the communication between the brain and peripheral organs involves nervous and endocrine systems.Franz Joseph Gall, a German physician, perceived that a link existed between personality and skull morphology.

Language and Literacy Programs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Language and Literacy Programs - Essay Example 113). Skills based instruction then can be viewed as a bottom-up approach to language instructions, whereas whole language operates more from a top-down approach. There is a convergence of these programs in an approach referred to as ‘balanced literacy’. As the name suggests this approach combines word based instruction, with phoneme based skill tasks. 2. Within the context of the debate between whole language and skills-based instruction the term â€Å"principled eclecticism† is a significant concern. In this way principled eclecticism refers to the combination of word based modes of language instruction with skills based modes of language instruction. This approach has also been referred to as balanced literacy. This approach combines the best features of the two models. One considers that word based instruction may more functionally contribute to reader fluency as they allow the reader to engage in full sentence interaction. In this way this approach is impleme nted at end of lessons or for more fluent readers. This is then balanced with skills-based modes of instruction. This approach is effectively implemented for complex word forms, as well as beginning of lesson instruction. 3. There are a number of elements to a balanced literacy program. While there are a multitude of elements, this research considers three prominent approaches. One approach is the implementation of summarizing. Summarizing is firmly rooted in the word based mode of language instruction as it necessitates that students implement a top-down process of reasoning in synthesizing information (McGregor, p. 60). Another prominent approach is teacher-modeling. While this approach can be implemented for whole word formations, it is more prominently implemented in breaking down words phonemes so learners can practice literacy (McGregor, p. 60). A final component of a balanced literacy program is making inferences. Making inferences occurs as students attempt to determine the meaning of a word from its position in the context of a sentence (McGregor, p. 60). This approach is a word based component of a balanced literacy program in that the student is attempting to determine meaning from a complete word, as well as a larger sentence structure. 4. The role of the principal is a crucial feature of an exemplary reading program. The exemplary reading program is structured so that students who achieve a level of competency for their progress are recognized for their achievement. In this way the principal becomes a significant contributing force. Oftentimes exemplary reading programs issue certificates or awards based on the student’s progress. The principal will then sign this certificate as a means of authenticating the process, or call the student up in front of the classroom or school (Miller, p. 10). In this context the principal represents a significant authority figure through which the recognition contributes both to the student’s motivati ng and overriding self-esteem. 5. There are a number of concerns in establishing a reading program. One prominent concern is the nature of the students involved in the instruction. Students come from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds with a variety of skill levels. These factors influence the reading program as it may potentially be necessary to implement differentiated instruction in

Climate Change and Socioeconomic Development Relationship

Climate Change and Socioeconomic Development Relationship Climate change has been discussed since over 200 years ago but has only gained relevance and been taken seriously in the 1950s (Harding, 2007). As states come to realize the possible disastrous consequences of global climate change and attempt to tackle it by implementing certain policies, they are invariably confronted with a dilemma. To prioritise climate change, states would have to reduce their focus on socio-economic development, at least in the short run. Many are hesitant to do so for fear that intra-generational inequalities would be exacerbated (Heil Selden, 2001). However, we believe that climate change should in fact be prioritised over socio-economic development as climate mitigation enables both intra and inter-generational inequalities to be addressed concurrently. Conversely, we might not achieve the same if we were to prioritise socio-economic development over climate change. It has been argued that the only way to reduce income disparity is to promote further economic growth. Unfortunately, this single-minded focus on improving a country’s global economic standing has resulted in large disparities between the rich and poor, be it within or between nations. This is because rich countries can afford to invest in machinery and labour to increase output and seize market shares while poorer countries lose out in such comparative advantage. However by taking charge of climate change, this inequality can be alleviated. To start off, organic agriculture could be adopted as a climate mitigation strategy. The various farming systems used in organic agriculture can diversify income sources and reduce the susceptibilities of agriculture to impacts of diseases and climate change such as higher frequencies of droughts or flooding. Additionally, it is able to improve soil water absorption and retention capacity which reduces soil erosion. Consequently, less CO2 and N2O would be emitted from less soil erosion and the non-usage of harmful farming system inputs fertilisers and pesticides (Muller, 2009). This effort can be further supported by implementation of free-trade movements (Carter, 2007), which enables consumers to buy products directly from the producers in less developed countries. This eliminates cash flow to middlemen and allows smaller farms from less developed countries to earn higher incomes. Not only are we mitigating climate change by encouraging more environmentally friendly methods of farming, we are actually also allowing producers, who would otherwise be disadvantaged due to their inability to gain comparative advantage, sustain their business. Hence, tackling climate change would allow to address both climate change and socio-economic inequalities concurrently which we would not be able to achieve should we only focus on socio-economic development. Moreover, pursuing socio-economic development would become counterproductive if the consequences of climate change, which will hinder socio-economic development, are disregarded. One increasingly pronounced consequence is ocean acidification the uptake of carbon dioxide in the oceans. This phenomenon reduces shellfishes’ abilities to form their carbonated shells and subsequently lowers their survivability (Fabry et al, 2008; Holman et al, 2004). These adverse effects are subsequently translated to economic losses in our marine fisheries which rely heavily on the harvests of these commercially valuable marine organisms (Gazeau et al, 2007). In addition, these effects combined with global warming are damaging and bleaching the reef-building corals which are homes to remarkable numbers of marine animals (Phinney et al, 2006, Lumsden et al, 2007). With their disappearance, the productivities of fisheries are further reduced. For cities like New Bedford which depends greatly on fisheries revenues, the revenue losses would adversely alter its main economic activities and demographics, and worsen income disparities (Cooley and Doney, 2009) Coral reefs also provide coastal protection (Moberg and Folke, 1999) which buffer some of the highest global population densities and poorer populations located at the coastal regions from becoming environmental refugees of natural calamities (Shi and Singh, 2003). Moreover, severity and frequency of natural disasters such as droughts and floods have increased due to changing weather patterns, leaving Small island Developing states (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs) extremely susceptible to significant economic losses in productivity and expenditures in recovery (Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States, 2009). Furthermore, changes in rainfall patterns and temperature rise may also alter current land use for food crops, resulting in novel plant pathogen or pest problems. This could potentially reduce global food supplies (Cannon, 1998; Coakley et al., 1999; Parker Gilbert, 2004) and worsen famines in developing countries. The temperature rise also encourages the spread of malaria and other diseases resulting in dire health problems. Hence, the consequences of climate change would hinder nations from achieving socio-economic development if one does not approach socio-economic development with climate change in mind. By prioritising socio-economic development in the name of alleviating intra-generational inequalities, we are then ignoring another form of equally important inequality and it is none other than inter-generational inequalities. As moral and rational human beings, we have the capacity to plan ahead and empathise with others. Therefore, since we are able to foresee the possible future of our descendants and empathise with their plight, we should definitely act on climate change rather than simply consider fulfilling our own current wants and depriving them of their future needs. There is sufficient and strong evidence that the globe is facing severe depletion in energy-producing resources (Hartmann, 2004). Furthermore, our indiscriminate use of Earth’s resources is contributing to climate change at an alarming rate (Halsnaes, 1996). Humans residing in Europe and Asia began burning coal for consumption after they unearthed it approximately 900 years ago. This marked the start of humans’ use of ancient sunlight, which is stored energy during ancient times, or around 400 million years ago. Later, humans also unearthed oil and it exponentially increased our ability to sustain life and consume as compared to before, where we could only survive on current sunlight, that is, energy stored in plants (Hartmann, 2004). These discoveries are particularly significant for the human race as it is through the use of ancient sunlight to sustain life that we are able to alter the environment for our other uses. Since then, we have been able to produce more clothes and food. This is because a lot of land that should have been used to trap current sunlight has now been converted for other purposes such as mass growing of cotton and food crops. All of this would not have been possible if humans had not discovered ancient sunlight that they could tap on (Hartmann, 2004). Humans’ ability to sustain life grew dramatically and so did the human population in terms of its sheer number. According to Hartmann, â€Å"In less than a tenth of a percent of the total history of humanity, we have experienced over 90 percent of the total growth of the human population† (2004). However, these finite resources would one day be depleted. Sources unanimously agree that the oil supply is draining at an extreme rate. In 1996, oil industry experts predicted that we have only an â€Å"almost† 45-year-supply of oil left. Other experts in the industry are way less optimistic. Furthermore, due to accelerated population growth in the Asia’s developing countries, global energy demand is expected to double by 2020 (Hartmann, 2004). Should we lose this important source of energy, we risk having seven billion starve in the 2050 (Hartmann, 2004). This highlights how dire the situation is and how imperative it is for us to address the problem. If we were to simply prioritise socio-economic development, there is almost no incentive for us to reduce our use of these resources. On the contrary, we might end up devising methods to better tap on them to increase economic growth. However, should we decide to place climate change at the fore, we would inevitably have to reduce our oil and coal consumption since using them would only contribute to climate change (Le Quà ©rà © et al., 2012). In other words, we would be addressing two problems just by giving one attention. While it is true that intra-generational inequalities are severe at the moment, inter-generational inequalities would be as well if we fail to address the issue of depleting resources and climate change. It definitely would not be fair for us to leave a globe that our future generations would not be able to enjoy living in with all the devastating climatic conditions and lack of resources. Therefore, climate change should be prioritised over socio-economic development before it is too late for us to. Socio-economic development is undeniably an important goal for all nations. However, if we ignore climate change and continue to use our resources in an unsustainable manner, the potential destruction of the environment and depleted resources would prevent us from moving forward in achieving socio-economic development for the present and the future. It is hence essential that nations collaborate and commit themselves in mitigating climate change. As mentioned by Pew Center (2002), â€Å"Climate mitigation is not the goal, but rather an outgrowth of efforts driven by economic, security, or local environmental concerns.†

The Shift in Abortion Policy in the 1800s Essay -- History Abortion Fe

The Shift in Abortion Policy in the 1800s "In 1800 no jurisdiction in the United Sates had enacted any statutes whatsoever on the subject of abortion... Yet by 1900 virtually every jurisdiction in the United States had laws upon its books that proscribed the practice sharply and declared most abortions to be criminal offenses" (Mohr p. VII). Societal Changes from the Early 1800s to the Mid 1800s During the early 1800s, abortion at the beginning of a pregnancy was neither immoral nor criminal. Common law held that before 'quickening,' the first perception of fetal movement by the mother, usually during the second trimester, the fetus was not alive or independent. After quickening abortion was a criminal offense, because the fetus had demonstrated the beginnings of independent life (Mohr p. 1). Since the point of quickening varied from woman to woman and depended upon her word, it was near impossible to prosecute criminal abortions (Mohr p. 2). Most of the laws of the early 1800s were aimed not at prosecuting women for obtaining an abortion, but rather to protect them from medical malpractice such as poisoning, physical harm, and unwanted abortions (Mohr p. 21, 28) (see mollie smith case link). Information on abortion was available to women primarily through home medical manuals and journals. Abortion information was usually available in two sections of home medical books: how to ?release obstructed menses? and ?dangers? to avoid during pregnancy. The latter section was a sort of how-to in reverse that could be effectively put to use by the reader. The most widely consulted work, Buchan's Domestic Medicine, advised emetics and a mixture of prepared steel, powdered myrrh, and aloe to ?restore menstrual flow.? Under caus... ...tives, sixth ed. Worth Publishers. 2001 Mohr, James C. Abortion in America: The Origins and Evolution of National Policy, 1800-1900. Oxford University Press: New York, New York. 1978. New York Times, Aug 23 1871, Aug 27 1871, Aug 30 1871, Aug 31 1871, Oct 29 1871. Shryock, R. H. Medicine and Society in America: 1660-1860. Ithaca, NY: Cornell. 1960 Starr, P. Medicine, "Economy and Society in Nineteenth century America," Journal of Social History. 1977. pp10, 588-607. Taverne, Dick. "The Huge Benefits of GM are being Blocked by Blind Opposition," The Guardian 3 Mar. 2004: 24. Wertz, R., and Wertz D. Lying-In: A History of Childbirth in America. New York: Free Press. 1997 Wilson, Richard K. "DNA: 50 Years Later," St. Louis Post 27 Feb. 2003: B7. Zeitz, Joshua M. "The Big Lie about the Little Pill," NEED NAME OF PAPER OR JOURNAL27 Dec. 2004: A17.

Musical Analysis on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest was directed by Gore Verbinski and the music was composed by Hans Zimmer. Hans Zimmer is one of the most sought after film composers. He does an amazing job creating the score for this swashbuckling adventure. The movie begins with the interrupted marriage of William Turner and Elizabeth Swann. The music’s first role in this movie is to reflect emotion. In the opening scene, Elizabeth is kneeling at the altar where her wedding should have taken place. Rain is falling all around her and she is alone. Violins are playing a sad, slow melody. The viewer realizes that something awful has happened. Deeper strings start to play a fast marching beat and a male choir begins to sing. This signifies that the Royal Navy is approaching to arrest Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann. Lord Cutler Beckett had ordered the couple to be arrested and sentenced to death for aiding in Captain Jack Sparrow’s escape in the previous movie. Lord Cutler Beckett will only lift the charges in exchange for Jack Sparrow’s compass. William Turner is sent off to find Jack Sparrow. He is reluctant to leave his future bride behind in prison, but it is his only chance to free her. Jack Sparrow is a cursed pirate. He has made a deal with Davy Jones, the captain of the Flying Dutchmen. If Davy Jones would raise the Black Pearl from the bottom of the ocean, Jack Sparrow had thirteen years to captain it. After thirteen years, Jack Sparrow must give Davy Jones his soul. It has been thirteen years, and Davy Jones wants to collect. Davy Jones can only go on land once every ten years, so Jack Sparrow knows that land is the place where he will be safest. He sails his ship to the nearest island. Jack Sparrow has a very comedic leitmotif. He is constantly drunk and his theme is a drunken theme. The music sways and staggers like someone who is intoxicated, and the music has a count of three. The music really adds to the comedy that Jack Sparrow brings to the movie. Strings and a cello are used for this score, and they mimic his actions. This is also referred to as mickey-mousing. A perfect example of mickey-mousing is when Jack Sparrow walks down a flight of stairs and the music goes down the musical scale as he descends. Will needs to find Jack so that he can save Elizabeth and himself from the death sentence. He investigates and follows clues to Jack’s whereabouts until he finally finds Jack Sparrow’s ship uninhabited on an island. Further investigation into the island leads to William being captured by a tribe of cannibals. The good news is that he has found Jack Sparrow. Jack Sparrow is serving as the leader of the cannibals. The bad news is that the cannibals are going to eventually sacrifice Jack Sparrow. After a few escape scenes involving a lot of running, William and Jack Sparrow manage to return to the Black Pearl. The scenes involving the cannibals has music that creates the atmosphere of a cannibal island. Drums are very prominent throughout these scenes, along with humans yelling tribal chants. One scene that does not fit into this trend is a scene where William and the other crew members are trying to escape from a cage that is suspended in the air. The music plays against the action by playing a song one would expect to hear at a carnival during the escape. The music plays against the action, creating comedy for a normally unpleasant situation. After escaping from the cannibals, Jack Sparrow convinces Will Turner to climb aboard the Flying Dutchmen to try and receive the key that he has been searching for. If Will can find the key, Jack will give him the compass. William does not know about the deal that Jack has with Davy, and he does not know what he is getting himself into by boarding the ship. Davy Jones has a crew filled with undead crewmen, and Will is captured. The good thing about Will Turner being captured is the fact that he meets his long lost father, Bill Turner. Bill just happens to be a member of the crew. The music on the Flying Dutchmen is very sinister. The pipe organ is prominent throughout the scenes that involve the ship. A male choir also sings frequently. The beat gives three counts, and it gives the viewer a very uneasy feeling. Random sustained notes are also played with the cello to create a sense of suspense and nervousness. The pipe organ is also sometimes source music while on the ship. Davy Jones frequently plays a menacing looking pipe organ while his crew is slaving on deck. Elizabeth is not the type of girl that will sit around and wait for William to come and save her. Her father breaks her out of prison, and Elizabeth begins searching for Jack Sparrow and his compass. Elizabeth Swann finds her way to a bar in Tortuga, where she meets up with Jack Sparrow. This scene involves implied source music. Although the source of the music being heard on the screen is not seen, the viewer realizes that the music is being played in the bar. The tune is a fast, crazy tune that is played with an accordion and a fiddle. Accordions and fiddles are typical instruments that one would see in this type of saloon. Elizabeth also runs into an old friend at the bar, Commodore Norrington. Norrington wants to kill Jack Sparrow for making him lose his job. This leads to a bar fight. The source music gets louder and crazier during the fight. The fight is very wild and a lot of things are going on at one time. The music helps to add to the outrageous chaos. The special thing about Jack Sparrow’s compass is that it points to the thing that the person holding it wants the most. Jack Sparrow uses it to find the chest that he needs the key to open, even though he does not have the key yet. He arrives on the island where the chest is located and digs it up. Most of the music in this scene involves a fast paced melody played with strings and then short bursts of music from the cello and drums. It is an exciting time in the movie because Jack Sparrow has found the chest, and the music plays off of the excitement. Will Turner shows up at the island with the key that he has stolen from Davy Jones. Inside the chest is Davy Jones’s heart. The pirate legend is that Davy Jones was once in love with a woman. She betrayed him, and he could not tolerate the pain. He cut out his heart and put it in a chest. The only way to kill Davy Jones is to find his heart and stab it. Davy Jones has his own leitmotif. The theme is first introduced when it is being played on a music box that Davy Jones is holding. It continues to play in other scenes where Davy Jones is present. The melody is wishful and sad. A pipe organ is used for the melody. There are three people standing around the chest with three different motives. Jack Sparrow wants to use the chest to bargain with Davy Jones. He will return the chest to Davy, if Davy will release Jack from his debt. William Turner wants the chest so that he can kill Davy Jones, thereby freeing his father from serving on the Flying Dutchmen. Norrington wants to steal the chest and take it back to Lord Cutler Beckett. Lord Cutler Beckett would then grant Norrington full clemency. The three begin sword fighting over the chest, and Davy Jones’s crew arrives to steal the chest for Davy Jones. Elizabeth, Jack Sparrow, and Commodore Norrington are forced to work together to fight off Davy Jones’s men. Elizabeth joins in the fight as well. There is a lot of mickey-mousing in these scenes. The music starts when Jack pulls out his sword and points it at Will. It then quiets down and plays faintly in the background. When Will pulls out Elizabeth’s sword on Jack, the music suddenly gets louder. A note is then held out as it fades. When Norrington pulls his sword out, the music suddenly gets louder again. Then all three of the guys have their swords pointed at each other. The music flows underneath the dialogue and adds to the suspense. When the pirates start their sword fight, the music picks up and gets louder. It has a very adventurous feel to it. There is a continuous melody with short bursts of music also playing. The instruments used are a full orchestra and drums. Elizabeth is angry that the three men are acting so childish and fighting each other. There is a short pause in the music when Will tells Elizabeth to guard the chest. This creates an unspoken thought for Elizabeth. She pauses because she is shocked and angry that the guys are acting so juvenile. The music quickly starts up again as Elizabeth starts her rant. The music plays off of her angry outburst. As she yells at the guys there are short bursts of music that go up the scale as she gets more and more frustrated. There is also a continuous melody playing with strings. Elizabeth is not getting the men’s attention by yelling at them. She decides to try a different approach by pretending to faint. When Elizabeth fakes passing out from the heat, the music mickey-mouses her falling. A note is held out and then runs down the musical scale as she falls, completely stopping when she hits the ground. After falling, she notices two other pirates running off with the chest. There is sudden note played with strings that helps convey what she is feeling. It is a sudden burst of realization that they are stealing the chest. She gets up off of the sand and runs after the two thieves. Commodore Norrington has stolen the chest, and everyone else is back on the Black Pearl. Davy Jones has just sent a giant octopus, known as the Kraken, after Jack Sparrow. The Kraken is going to take down the whole ship, and everyone in it, until he gets Jack Sparrow. While everyone is abandoning ship, Elizabeth Swann tricks Jack Sparrow into staying on the ship by kissing him and then handcuffing him to the ship. As he is being handcuffed, a cello plays a deep melody. The melody gives off the feeling of betrayal. A full orchestra then joins the cello and continues the melody as Elizabeth abandons Jack Sparrow. As Jack Sparrow wiggles out of the handcuffs, the Kraken appears behind him. The Kraken has his own leitmotif. Hans Zimmer uses pipe organs and heavy bass lines to give a shadowy, underwater feel. Jack Sparrow turns around and the two are now face to face. Jack Sparrow bravely faces the Kraken with his sword ready, but he is no match for the beast. Jack Sparrow is swallowed up into the mouth of the terrible monster. As Jack Sparrow is swallowed up, an orchestra plays and a male choir sings solemnly. The movie ends with Commodore Norrington making his deal with Lord Beckett. Elizabeth is filled with guilt for sending Jack Sparrow to his death. Elizabeth, Will, and the rest of the crew are ready to sail to the end of the world to find Jack Sparrow. This may be how the movie ends, but not the story. The story continues on in the third movie, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

Reflective Essay- First day of school Essay

Approaching the intimidating building that holds the future of not only the rest of my high school career, but my entire life, I continue to feel a longing for my old school. I wish for my old friends who I know will recognize me and jump to greet me; my old routine that I grew so accustomed to. But none of that matters now. All that matters is that I currently feel like a â€Å"nobody† and I’m certain that is all that I’ll feel for the next two agonizing years of my life. see more:write about your first day at school Is it just my imagination, my insecurities flooding my brain, or is everyone staring at me as I walk down this hallway? I can feel eyes piercing me as â€Å"the new girl† nervously walks down the hall. I don’t know where to go, and even worse, I don’t know who to ask for help. I’ve always had tons of friends; I’ve always felt like I’ve had a place at school, but now everything has done a complete 180. My mom’s piece of advice was to â€Å"just think positive†, but I don’t find that possible while I’m roaming around in an unflattering, frumpy uniform feeling like a clueless fool. I don’t know if I want to cry to my parents and have them make it â€Å"all better†, or if I just have burning resentment toward them from yanking me from the school I really belong at. I never knew how much a simple smile from a stranger would mean to me until I felt completely lost. I began to wake up a little bit from my little pity party and actually notice that there are quite a few friendly faces around this place. I even made a few friends, I guess you could say. My mind continues to bring me back to thoughts of how much I miss my old friends and public school, but my mindset starts to shift a tiny bit once I get more familiar with the place and the people around me. The time of the day finally comes that I’ve been dreading the most†¦ lunch. I pictured myself as one of those loners who sits in the corner by themselves. What I really want right now is my old lunch table crammed with eight or so friends to be waiting to greet me, but instead I’ll have no one. â€Å"Hey, Grace! It’s Waffle Wednesday; remember? Let’s go get some waffles with extra whipped cream before it’s all gone!!† My old buddies and I never missed Waffle Wednesday at my old school. Well guess what? There are no more Waffle Wednesdays. There are no more old friends. There’s no more old school. I snap out of my daydream, grab my brown paper lunch bag, and shuffle toward the new cafeteria†¦ really slowly, hoping to procrastinate and waste a couple minutes. My stomach hurts after lunch, and you would never guess why. A couple of the friendliest and brightest faces came right up to me and welcomed to sit with them at lunch. They seemed so genuine, as if they actually wanted to get know me. That is the last thing I expected all day. I mean, I did come across a few nice people, but I never thought anyone would actually want to sit with the anonymous, shy, timid girl during lunch. As I was saying, my stomach hurt from laughing so much during lunch. A stomachache induced by a laughing fit is undeniably the best kind of stomachache. Not only was I invited to sit with some people, but they were extremely kind, and on top of that, they were hilarious. I can actually say that I made friends today who I plan to sit with at lunch every day from now on. I walked in with no friends today, and I can say that I ended the day with two. It may not seem like a lot, but it’s only day one and there are so many more days to get to know new people. My mom’s advice to â€Å"just think positive† didn’t seem too promising when there seemed to be a giant raincloud over my head. I was so self-absorbed in my own dread that I was much too consumed to look up and gain a new perspective of everything around me. When I was closed-off and had a pessimistic attitude, I cheated myself of so many good opportunities. I noticed that once I began to lighten up and exude a sense of optimism, I started to attract positive energy. I see this new school as more of an opportunity instead of a torture chamber. I can do anything with this opportunity that I want; I can make it an unpleasant and dreadful experience, or I can make it something fun and exciting, all depending on my attitude. I know what it feels like to feel lonely; so now I’m going to be that stranger who offers a kind smile and potentially brightens that person’s day. It’s only day one of my journey, so I have quite a while to make my impact. I still may have a tad bit of distaste for the frumpy uniforms, but at least I can say that I’m able to make the best of my days here.