Meaning of Life and Success Essay Example for Free

Meaning of Life and Success Essay Success is a person or thing that desired aims and achieves or attains fame or any form of accomplishment which will always make them proud or happy at the end of either the day, month or year. The word success was originated in the mid-16th century from a Latin word successus and a verb succedere meaning come close after. When I hear of the word success there are two things that come in mind, hard work and determination. Hard work is one of the main and most important building blocks in my success foundation. Working hard is one of the best and most accurate ways to think about being successful. Success cannot be earned unless you strive and work hard for it, because it is a word that comes with work and if work is not done then the meaning of the word can’t be accomplished. Like Einstein said â€Å"If A is a success in life then A equals x plus y plus z. work is x; y is play and z is keeping your mouth shut† for instance to me as an athlete working hard and in playing hard rather than running my mouth are the best way of being successful in game point stands in my career. Determination is a very critical and important aspect when it comes to success. To be determined to achieve any goals or aims is a very important choice of being successful. Bertrand 2 Determination can to be physically, spiritually and emotionally which all combines with hard work and if you combine both hard work and determination together you will always get a good result of success. Being successful in life can be one of the precious and happiest moments in life that can last for a long time if and only if you do what is expected of you to keep the success going on. Success can be advantageous in many ways; Accomplishing a goal, moving on to a new goal, brings happiness and fulfillment, set new and personal records, inspire, motivate and give you strengths to aim high and set bigger goals. But it’s not always everybody that’s successful that is happy or satisfied with their success. The isn’t that much difference being successful than being a failure, like the good old quote that say â€Å"the difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength not a lack of knowledge, but rather the a lack in will† this quote is very simple and well understood and the quote’s point is clearly pointed out, which state the main difference between a successful person and others which is the will to be the successful person that they are. To be successful person there should be some sought of guidelines to help you achieve or attain success. Thinking about success also brings about the thought or idea of failure â€Å"In order to success your desire for success should be greater rather than your fear of failure†. An important and inspiring quote as this from one of the favorite, idol and inspiring actor in the movie industry and in the society should and is been considered by a lot of fans to be very important in achieving success rather than having the fear of failure because his path of success has given or got him to where he is at the moment.

Elementary Education Observation Essay --

As I entered South County Elementary School Theresa Geis, the principal, was waiting for me so that she could introduce me to the first and fifth grade teachers. At first this seemed like a dream due to the fact that I had been to that same school for my early childhood observation. Knowles elementary has about 629 students and a total of 55 teachers (publicschoolreview.com). The students have different ethnic backgrounds that provide a culturally diverse student body. These ethnic groups include: 48% Hispanic, 40% White, % unknown, 5% African American, and 1% Asian (publicschoolreview.com). As I entered the first grade classroom of Mrs. Robinson I knew it was the classroom that I wanted to observe. The classroom had a warm feeling and Mrs. Robinson walked immediately up to me to introduce herself. The classroom was filled with posters, laughter, and little children trying to put away their backpacks and jackets in their lockers. The desks were laid out in groups and it could be seen that each of the students had a partner that they were going to work with throughout that day. As Mrs. Geis left I was able to sit and watch Mrs. Robinson begin to teach her classroom filled with excited first graders. Borich (2011) explains lesson clarity as, â€Å"The teacher’s ability to speak clearly and directly to the class and to organize and structure content at the students’ current level of understanding† (pg. 272). This means that how the teacher speaks and organizes their lesson content needs to be tailored to the students’ ability to retain the information. To be able to obtain lesson clarity there are three different dimensions that must be followed. These dimensions are informing learners of the objective, providing lear... ... statement from the beginning of the semester has not change except one little part. The change would be that I would add every moment, minute, and second in a classroom matters. It is through these observation I have set personal goals that will help me throughout the rest of my life. These goals are: 1. Finish my degree in Elementary Education a. Hopefully received my masters 2. Create a journal or a book about all the experiences I have had through observing and as a future teacher. (To turn back to when I am struggling or am trying to find an answer to a problem I might have) It will take me a few years to accomplish the goals that I have; however, I have now observed many teachers who have completed these goals. These teachers have given me hope and a sense of determination to finish my school so that I can start to make an impact in the world as well.

McDonalds Video Advertisement Essay

This paper analyzes the rhetorical features of one particular video advertisement (2010 see Reference list for details) that was issued on the internet by the multinational burger company McDonalds. It now circulates on the internet with and without the English subtitles. The subtitled text of the advert is a very brief nine lines long, followed by the single tag line â€Å"Come as You are† and the full text is given below at Appendix 1. Hill and Helmers (2008, pp. 51-53) describe how a video uses a particular type of persuasion called â€Å"visual argument† which is rhetorical rather than logical or dialectical. The medium is very compressed and this does not allow full exposition of claim, argument, rebuttal, etc but on the other hand the visual aspect lends a sense of immediacy which written text does not have. They warn, however, that the apparent advantage of seeing rather than reading is partly illusory, since the images presented are highly structured and filtered so as to present a particular viewpoint. In their terminology the McDonalds advert would fall into the category of â€Å"didactic narrative†. The target market for McDonalds products is generally young families and teenagers. The opening shots set a scene which is familiar to this group: a busy and noisy McDonalds restaurant with many smiling faces. A father waits to be served while a son sits at a formica table and talks on his mobile telephone while looking at a photograph. Across the world, in France as well as in other countries, this is a regular occurrence and will resonate with both older and younger viewers who see themselves in the father or son role. The dresscode in the video is casual and â€Å"cool† as evidenced by the beanie hat worn by a customer, and the hoodie worn by the boy who talks. This is typical of styles popular with young urban males. At first it looks like a mainstream father and son, where the son talks to someone romantically on his cellphone. The person on the other end of the telephone is neither seen nor heard and one just assumes out of habit that this person is female. Lines 1-4 are spoken by the boy. The father arrives and lines 5-9 are spoken by the father. As the father quizzes the boy and makes a comparison with himself, the facial expression of the boy makes it clear that the father is not aware of a crucial difference between them: the boy is gay. The Tag line which is presented on a plain screen at the end just before the McDonalds logo â€Å"Come as you are† tacitly acknowledges that people are different, and extends a welcome to all kinds of people. It does not matter whether they are older or younger, gay or straight, they should still come to McDonalds and eat together. The claim, or main issue which the video presents is that diversity is a good thing, and people should be welcome regardless of their sexual orientation. There is no explicit verbal argument to back this up, but the story presents the gay son in a favourable light. This is done by camera angles that focus on his face, and the choice of an attractive young French male actor dressed in pretty average teenage clothes. This is by no means extreme gay activism with stereotypical gay wardrobe, mannerisms and speaking style but a subtle depiction of a situation that a pretty average young gay man is likely to encounter. It all looks and is intended to look â€Å"normal†. The video is youth-focused, because it lets the audience see things from the boy’s perspective, while making it obvious that the father does not appreciate the insider information which audience and boy share. The father represents the traditional French male role model of an experienced older man who is successful with women. The son represents a more up to date role model of a gay French man. An interesting aspect of the video is that there are a number of appeals going on at the same time in different directions. On the one hand there is a main message conveyed by pathos, which shows the young boy’s romantic feelings towards his boyfriend, and his wry acceptance of his father’s old fashioned and rather macho attitudes. On the other hand there is some authority and believability in the role of the father who pays for the meal and takes a positive and fatherly interest in his son. The son is inward looking and reflective, using the personal pronoun â€Å"I† to reveal his feelings, while the father uses the pronoun â€Å"you† more often and directs his feelings outwards. The father cites the evidence of his own experience to offer an example for the boy to follow in his footsteps. McDonalds will be well aware that parents and teenage children, and the sometimes complex and difficult relationship between them is absolutely the territory in which they operate their business. They provide a framework, something like a neutral territory, in which this generational conflict can be worked through, via the activity of buying and eating fast food. In making the gay-friendly message implicit, rather than explicit, McDonalds avoids the possible outcome of presenting a crass or sensationalist message. The way gaps in the narrative are left for the viewer to supply is also very clever, because it flatters the audience and forces them to get involved in constructing the meaning of the advertisement. Ambiguity used in this way is a very powerful rhetorical technique. There is still, of course, the possibility that some viewers will react negatively to the overturning of the traditionally dominant heterosexual point of view. Some viewers will resist the gay-friendly message that is being constructed but this, too, is part of the writer’s intention. Advertisers often court controversy as a means to extend the impact of their message and this is a prime example of that. If some viewers react with an indignant and anti-gay blog post or a you tube video or text response then this in turn provokes pro-gay and pro-McDonald posts from the viewers. The message is then guaranteed durability and a wider circulation. In purely technical production terms this video is a model of economy and precision. There are only two speakers, and each takes only one conversation turn. The product is never mentioned, and the instant recognizability factor with this brand makes this irrelevant in any case. Just in case there is any doubt in the viewer’s mind, however, the logo is added at the end. The colors are muted, and the mood is a gentle family intimacy with some tension caused by the unspoken facts which change the surface meaning of the discourse. Deep meaning is conveyed in shots of the changing expressions on the son’s face, and these meanings are obliquely referred to in the tag line â€Å"Come as you are†. This phrase is used in standard English to mean something like â€Å"don’t dress up specially – there is no need to be formal† and the McDonalds ad suggests an extension of this to mean something like â€Å"you don’t need to pretend you are straight, just be yourself† for a young and gay friendly audience, or â€Å"you don’t need to worry if your son is gay, just come and eat with him as normal† for an older audience who may be less open towards a gay message. The advert makes a plea for tolerance, not for any particular orientation. All of the components of the advert, even including the brief snippet of song saying â€Å"I’m going on my way† at the end, support these same messages and the images work, because they rest on a long McDonalds formula of adverts showing intimate conversations in busy restaurant scenes, but incorporate this new â€Å"diversity† based angle in a positive, friendly and contemporary way. Appendix 1. 1. Boy: Hello? 2. Boy: I was thinking about you too. 3. Boy: I miss you too. 4. Boy: My dad’s coming, I have to hang up. 5. Father: Is this your class picture? 6. Father: You look just like me at your age/ 7. Father: Let me tell you I was quite the ladies’ man! 8. Father: Too bad your class is all boys†¦ 9. Father: You could get all the girls. (Song in the background) 10. Tag line replaces the pictures : Come as you are. Hill, Charles A. and Helmers, Marguerite (2008) Defining Visual Rhetorics. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Lunsford, Andrea A. , Ruskiewicz, John J. , Walters, Keith. (2009) Everything’s an Argument. Boston: Bedford books. McDonald’s video advert â€Å"Come as You Are†, (2010) in French with English subtitles. Available online at: http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=xk8xyONKK_4&feature=related

Chapter 3 Conventional Wisdom - 1091 Words

Chapter 3: Conventional Wisdom Freakonomics was one of the best novels that I have ever read! I am truly amazed at how Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner compared their study and research to the economy that we live in today. Out of all of the chapters in Freakonomics, Chapter 3: Conventional Wisdom, is the one that stood out the most. This particular topic relates to the world in many different ways. Conventional wisdom is often wrong. Conventional wisdom can be described as the ideas or beliefs that are accepted by most people that go unquestioned. A prime example of conventional wisdom is the belief that the earth is flat. In chapter three of Freakonomics, Steven Levitt discusses many ways that conventional wisdom is wrong. He asks the question, Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? He explains the conventional wisdom that most drug dealers are wealthy. People believe that one of the most profitable jobs in America is drug dealing, particularly crack dealing. Levitt examines this conventional wisdom and throughout chapter three explains why this isn’t true. The authors explored the research of Sudhir Venkatesh, a scholar who once lived amongst a gang of drug dealers while researching the crack culture in Chicago. Based off of Levitt’s analysis of the financial records of a Chicago gang, the Black Gangster Disciple Nation, he proved that most drug dealers were not wealthy at all. In fact, the majority of the dealers earned an average of three dollars an hour,Show MoreRelatedThesis Of Freakonomics1352 Words   |  6 Pages the main focus of the book is a new way of interpreting the world using economic tools. He explores incentives, information asymmetry, conventional wisdom, crime and abortion, and parenting throughout the six chapters of the book. There are five important principles in this book which are â€Å"Incentives are the cornerstone of modern life†, â€Å"The conventional wisdom is often wrong†, â€Å"Dramatic effects often have distant, even subtle, causes†, â€Å"Experts—from criminologists to real-estate agents—use theirRead MoreFreakonomics Essay811 Words   |  4 PagesFreakonomics Book Report In chapter 1, Levitt and Dubner describe how many people in different cultures and walks of life, which are otherwise inclined to be honest, find subtle ways of cheating to advance their position or increase monetary awards when incentives are strong enough. The authors define an incentive as â€Å"a means of urging people to do more of a good thing or less of a bad thing,† and identify three varieties of incentives. Economic incentives are those, which a person responds toRead MoreEssay on Review of Freakonomics1663 Words   |  7 Pagesincentives. 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Another example of this so called conventional wisdom, is listerineRead MoreFreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt Stephen J. Dubner  Is Based  on These Fundamental Ideas: Incentives, Conventional Wisdom, â€Å"Experts†-Use Their Informational Advantage897 Words   |  4 PagesFreakonomics By Steven D. Levitt Stephen J. Dubner  is based  on these fundamental ideas: Incentives, conv entional wisdom, â€Å"Experts†-use their informational advantage Incentives are the cornerstone of modern life. And understanding them or, often, ferreting them out—is the key to solving just about any riddle, from violent crime to sports cheating to online dating.There are three basic incentives economic, moral and social. How do we profit and what incentives drive us to act unethical? TheRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Freakonomics By Steven D. Levitt895 Words   |  4 Pagesway as well as the way specific outcomes occur. They look into different aspects of society and view them with different perspectives. 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One of the main fundamentalsRead MoreArgument Analysis : Freakonomics 1467 Words   |  6 PagesFreakonomics Argument Analysis: Chapter Three 1. Chapter three, Why Do Drug Dealers Still Live With Their Moms?, expresses an intriguing thought by authors, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. The Freakonomics authors follow a courageous man, Sudhir Venkatesh, a student at the University of Chicago, in his effort to understand and research the mysterious drug dealing business. Venkatesh first approached dangerous gangs and dealers in Chicago with a simple survey to learn more aboutRead MoreThe Book Freakonomics By Steven D. Levitt2418 Words   |  10 Pagesis cheating, even though the entire chapter is not about cheating. He begins talking about the human needs for economic incentives. In which he brings up this example of a daycare in Israel, which he shows that it is a fine to grab the attention of parents to use this service and pick up their children on time, which at the end of the day is an incentive we don’t pay attention to in our everyday lives. Although this book does not go over the names of it s chapter, it is about â€Å"stripping a layer orRead MoreThe Book That Caught My Eye Was Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist1967 Words   |  8 PagesI read the back of the book and was intrigued by Steven Lewitt and how he studies riddles of everyday life. I am going to assess the 6 chapters and give an overall summary and my evaluations of the novel. Freakonomics has three main concepts relating to economics: winner takes all labor market, supply demand and equilibrium price and incentives matter. Chapter 1 starts out with a study on ten day-care centers in Haifa, Isreal. This study lasted twenty weeks. The first four weeks of the study economists