Personal statement for college admission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal statement for college admission - Essay Example A few years since that pivotal day, I can now proudly confess that I am part of the strongest naval force in the world. I have come to the realization that I have matured more than I could ever imagine, and that my journey has just begun. Before I decided to join the military, I was neither ready for college nor the discipline it would take to reach my professional goal of becoming a doctor. I was naive and overconfident. My lack of responsibility proved to me that in life, nothing comes easy, and I blew my chance of having an education. After four years of attending college, I was dismissed and had no one to blame other than myself. However, something in me kept telling me that I was not destined for failure. I embarked on a new road in search of whatever I was missing. I soon realized that once I set my mind to it, I would be able to find my true capabilities and myself. As I now come to the end of my military career, I am ready for a new challenge. As I considered what my next achievement would be, I realized that a long time ago when I was a young boy in high school, I had made up my mind. I knew that in order to succeed, I had to take on the toughest challenge – to succeed in the best educational environment.There was only one place I could see myself pursuing that challenge: the University of Miami. Once again, I have decided to ride on a bus towards a brighter future, but this time, I am the only passenger. I now understand that the responsibility and discipline required to be successful in anything lies in my hands. I am confident that I will always rise up to face even the toughest challenge. I proved this when I was in the Navy where I was attending college, going on deployments, which had separated me from my children. I succeeded against all odds. There are many paths to our dreams, but I failed once before. I have learned the hard way that we fall so that we may rise

Toys Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Toys - Essay Example Industrialization grew exponentially after WWII. Immediate gratification took away the pain many suffered as a result. Our future offspring and what tasks were needed to survive in the 1950's as a functional model of society became a main focus. The start of this revolution wasn't intended to create failures in society; it was to teach our young the importance of the societal rules and what is expected of them as adults. The first 'mini mom' model of a kitchen and the vacuum cleaner came to the market. The idea was new to most households and families wanting to beat the Jones' at being the first to have the finest toys possible. Society says it is acceptable and expected to mimic our parents and their roles they play. This is good training, Right Barthes says, "French toys are based on imitation, they were meant to produce children who are users, not creators" (Barthes, pg. 55). Social acceptance in gender based toys was positive and this increase in popularity enticed engineers to create even more plastic, gender based toys forgetting the roots of what society was made from. Girls cooking on plastic miniature stoves, setting the table for the family, or ironing her husband's clothes before he heads off to work - these roles they play are socially obligated and expected in the future. This tells the girls of our future - it's not our place to engineer or design the tallest building in the world. We must leave it up to the men in our society to construct and design. When I was in high school, I was told not to apply to college. I was to be a housewife and mother; there was no need for me to waste my parent's money by attending college. We are to accept our 'place' in society as shown to us by our parents. These "French Toys" (Barthes, pg. 53) restrict children and condition them for failure. Children look up to their parents for guidance. If they say we should play with these toys they are bringing home, why are we to question their motives Barthes implies the use of simple wooden blocks as a "demiurge" (Barthes, p. 54) rather than just a user of the objects. The Builder creates the foundation of all buildings, bridges, homes, school, and more. Creating the largest building of the physical universe with only the limitations of his/her imagination is a great accomplishment as a child. A little girl smiles wildly, "Mom, look what I built!" just as her brother plows through them. "Mom, Now I have to start all over!" The success of a master piece or the destruction from your brother as he swooshes his arms through your newly constructed bridge builds your knowledge base and your foundation in understanding what it takes to make things stand on their own. Barthes refers to the Vosges Mount ain range (Barthes, pg 55) to bring a personal relationship to the wooden blocks. It's harder to dismiss an object if it has a name. These skills and knowledge are needed for future development to start and complete tasks. The value in learning how to manage a project from start to finish is imperative whether it is building a house out of blankets throughout the living room or building a