Dear Mom Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

Dear Mom, You're probably thinking, What is this? I've been in college for four years, and I've never written you a letter. I've sent you a couple of emails that you never checked. Mostly I call, say hello, and hang up. That way you have to call me back, and my phone bill stays small. I'm writing because I have something I need to tell you, but I feel silly saying it. Also, I can be more organized this way. You know how we engineers like everything in its place. Anyway, I need to tell you this because of something tacked on my wall. It's something I believe in, but I've never done anything about it. It's a quote. It goes something like this. Don't waste a single moment you may spend with someone you love. Don't neglect to tell them how important they are and how much you need them, want them, love them... Source unknown Blah. Blah. Blah. Now I'll say what I need to say. Here goes nothing. Do you remember when I told you that Elizabeth gave me the biggest compliment of my life? She told her class that I am her role model. Wow. I'm bringing this up because whenever I think about who my role model is, one person always pops into my head: you. Why, you may ask? I never really thought about it, either. Of course, I can think of plenty of reasons you wouldn't be my role model. Sorry, but I don't really want to be exactly like you, and--ignoring the obvious physical similarities--I don't think I am like you. See, a lot of what I've done in life--much as I would like to deny the fact--has been done because of my grades. I don't need to remind you I was the valedictorian. So was Dad. So was his dad. You were not. In fact, I've seen a couple of your report cards. Don't feel bad. Not everybody tests well. Academ... ... tell me they heard I've joined the Navy. You really need to get that bragging thing under control! What I'm trying to say is, I'm grateful I have such a great mom. It's going to be hard to move away, but you don't make me feel guilty. You always let me know you're proud of me. Well, I wouldn't be who I am if it wasn't for you. I admire you, and you're my role model because you are such a good mom. I know it's the hardest thing in the world to be. I also know that sometimes I make it harder than it has to be. (No more tattoos. I promise.) Well, that about covers that bullet list. I can't really think of anything else I need to say. Maybe just that I'm incredibly lucky to have a mother I can describe as beautiful, intelligent, kind, and independent. Love, Your daughter P.S. Now you know what it's like to have someone brag about you. Embarrassing, hey?

More Than Just Race

More Than Just Race: Being Black In The Inner City William Julius Wilson Chapter One Synopsis In this Chapter, the author introduces his backstops and the way people react around him despite the fact that he Is a Harvard professor. Many of the residents in his bullying get nervous because he Is black when he rides the elevator with them. However, despite the fact that he Is discriminated against when he Is out of his suits, he states that he cannot blame them for being nervous around him.Due to the criminal and violent history that African Americans have today, as well as the media arterial of African Americans, many people get a pre conceived racist notion of how all black males are. Wilson thoroughly explains that because of the changing society, racial Inequality has continued. â€Å"In the last several decades, almost all of the Improvements In productivity have been associated with technology and human capital† (Wilson 182). Although the changes in the work force have bee n helpful to higher skilled workers, they have made finding Jobs for lower skilled workers almost impossible.Because of the segregation in housing, schools are also segregated and African Americans do not receive the same education that whites do. The fact that African Americans are restricted to communities that have higher unemployment rates, and lower education opportunities, blacks suffer at a disproportionate rate. The culture already instilled into inner cities, racism continues to prevail. â€Å"Culture is closely intertwined with social relations in the sense of providing tools and creating constraints in patterns of social interaction†. (Wilson 319).Chapter Two Synopsis In this Chapter the author describes â€Å"structural forces† that have made an impact on the black community. He discussed forces that were influenced by race and those that still had an impact on the black community nonetheless. In the late sass's there was very little discussion about the ch allenges inner city blacks faced. The lack of public awareness of the challenges inner city blacks face has contributed dramatically to the declining neighborhoods and the huge gap between race and income between inner city ghettos and urban areas.The Second Migration from the South to the North in 1970 was put to an end because of the decline in employment in the inner city. Because of this migration, areas that were once greatly populated by grants were left almost completely abandoned by the employed middle class. Cultural forces as well as Structural forces play important roles in understanding the effects of living in poor segregated areas. Although culture is a major part of the outcomes inner city blacks face, they are nothing near the impact political forces in combination with economic forces produce in the inner city areas.Structural forces on poverty stricken areas have a much greater significance than cultural forces. Chapter Three Synopsis In this Chapter, the author ex plained that even though both structural and cultural explanations restrict African American male progress, structural explanations of the economic downfalls of low skilled African Americans play a much larger role than cultural explanations. The computer revelation in today's Job market has decreased the demand for low skilled employees and has restricted African Americans males from finding employment in Jobs that in the past would offer them positions.The growth of service industries has also put a holt in the availability of employment to black males because of the demand for workers with education and at least a small amount of skill. Service industries only offer Jobs that require workers to serve and relate to customers. Black males have a difficult time getting into this type of industry because often times, employers believe that women and â€Å"recent immigrants of both genders are better suited than black males†. The employers beliefs that women are better suited t han back males comes from the high violence rates in the inner city ghettos.Because of these violence rates, employers view blacks negatively. This violence also played a major role in the legal system and resulted in the higher incarceration rates of black males. Because of these forces, both cultural and structural, the demand for employment of low skilled black males has become increasingly lower, especially for the ones who have prison records. Chapter 4 Synopsis In this Chapter, Wilson discussed the downfalls of poor black families. In a study collected about poor families, it was found that in the U.S. Poor families tended to be ran by black woman and 31% of all poor households were ran by young black women. Account for only 12% of the United States population. Willow's study of family life in Chicago revealed that marriage has declined at a much faster rate among young, unemployed black fathers than it has for young employed black fathers. However, findings from research did not find a string correlation between employment and rates of marriage. In the case of marriages among black cultural influences trump structural ones.Studies also revealed that responses between employment and marriage among poor women, despite race remain similar. Just like in all previous chapters, the segregation of inner city blacks, as well as the issues of Joblessness and lack of opportunity, continue to play a great role in all aspects of African Americans lives. Chapter 5 Synopsis In this Chapter, Wilson sums up all his findings to create a conclusion on how to unite both structure and culture in order to create a more equal society.Cultural patterns in the inner city ghetto relate to informal rules that shape how people act with one another and make decisions. The decisions made in the inner city ghettos often correlates with the way inner city residents view the way the world works. Residents of the ghettos find ways to adjust and respond to such negative racial economic segregation. These ways develop into the regular behavior that many urban students view as repulsive, influencing their racism even further. Structural patterns play a greater role in the suppression of African Americans as well as other people of color.Political powers also play a role in the segregation of minorities, and even though there are some policy makers who are dedicated to ending the problems of race and poverty, they still face many challenges. It has become extremely important to discuss how the issues of race and poverty are viewed in public policy discussions because these reveal so much about our commitment, as a society to change. 20 Most Important Points 1 . The portrayal of black men in the media as well as their rates of incarceration is problematic when employers evaluate the credibility of black males form employment. . As long as the high rates of incarceration and violence persist, people of all races will react to black males in public and private places ne gatively. 3. Structural forces contribute directly to racial group outcomes such as employment rate and differences in poverty. 4. The growth of new technologies in the workplace has changed the demand for different types of workers. 5. The development in use of genealogy in the work place is especially problematic for African Americans because they have a higher average of low skilled workers. . Even before the restructuring of the economy, low skilled African Americans were the last to be hired and the first to be let go. 7. The future of families, especially poor working families, depends on how the government decides to react to changes in the economy. 8. Employers in the service industry feel that consumers perceived inner city black males to be dangerous or threatening. 9. In the past, black males only had to demonstrate strong useless because of the Jobs they were performing (assembly lines, construction, etc).

The Key To Ending World Hunger - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1105 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/06/14 Category Science Essay Level High school Tags: World Hunger Essay Did you like this example? The world population is growing at a rate that could inevitably surpass our capacity to feed it. Some argue that we have more than double the acreage to feed every human being in the world, yet every day millions starve from lack of nutrients or calories to survive. Even in the U.S, child hunger is a national campaign and there are 815 million hungry people worldwide- one in every 91. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Key To Ending World Hunger" essay for you Create order Genetic engineering has the power to increase product yield and improve nutritional content, proving to be a large contender in the battle against global hunger. Studies show that despite critics claims that genetically modified crops are too dangerous to use, the risks are virtually nonexistent and the benefits are too much to ignore. Anti-GMO critics are trying to scare consumers based on field research that is either partially or completely untrue. But GMO-fans are confident that we can do a lot of good with this technology. We need genetically modified foods to keep up with our growing population, tackle nutritional deficiency, and end global hunger. With growing concerns of the effects of climate change, scientists are looking to our food supplies. As the environments change, so does our ability to grow crops for both human and animal consumption. Global temperatures are rising and soon only the hardiest natural crops will survive the elements without genetic engineering. In 1995 geneticist Pamela Ronald identified the Xa21 gene in rice and implemented it to other breeds of the crop to withstand blight and bacteria. In 2014, she localized a called Sub1 and used it to develop a kind of rice that could withstand flooding for up to 2 weeks. One study showed that people in developing countries faced with famine and malnutrition are likely to benefit from attempts to improve the protein content of food crops, as well as the amount of vitamins and minerals they provide3.By 2014, the rice was thriving on more than four million flood-prone acres, increasing farmers yield threefold when their fields are inundated.3. Without the use of genetically modified crops, over time climate change and changing environments will diminish our food production to the point where we will no longer be able to prevent the oncoming famine and resulting panic. Regardless of the earthrs maximum potential to grow caloric and nutritional food, we have to think about what we can realistically produce. Nutritional deficiency is a serious issue, affecting around 90% of Americans, one study shows4. Even the healthiest among us humans are routinely lacking in at least one mineral or vitamin, routinely Vitamin E, A, or D. And still we actually encourage these nutritional lackings through the widespread usage of fad dieting. Those in some Asian and African nations especially face famine and ultimately starvation due to these risks. In 1999, the ?Yellow Rice Project was introduced to solve a simple problem; millions of people in Asia were dying due to nutritional deficiency and starvation. One of their most readily-available and cheapest staples was white rice, but it was severely lacking in nutrients. Scientists set out to genetically engineer a rice, later termed Yellow Rice5, that had a surplus of Vitamin A. Over the course of its developm ent, it was later improved to have 10-20 times the amount of Vitamin A found in the original rice. Millions of lives were saved due to this breakthrough. It wasnt a perfect cure for world hunger, but it was certainly a gateway to what we could accomplish with genetic engineering. Even today, scientists are trying to breed tomatoes with the vitamins of pineapples, and vice versa. We will not and should not stop trying to improve the nutritional values of our food intake. Anti-GMO enthusiasts will throw every argument under the sun at consumers to convince them that genetically modified crops arent safe to eat, with routinely misguided or simply untrue information. There are routinely gaps in research knowledge and findings are often presented in biased manners. That being said, research studies have been conducted to test the safety and risks of GMOs, with few findings of inherent risk. They want more studies. Theyll always want more studies., one scientist grumbled5. In the early 1900s, local farmers in Hawaii were losing crops due to a bacteria that infected a local papaya. Local scientists took action. They isolated a protein in the bacteria that made the papaya resistant to disease. Thousands of crops and the livelihoods of those farmers were saved. And despite the fact that in the decades since, millions of people are those papayas without any negative side effects, and thousands of research studies have been conducted to test and verify its safety, anti-GMO critics still insist that genetically modified foods arent safe. Ironically, its argued that virtually all the food we eat has been genetically improved in some manner5 with no adverse side effects or recorded illnesses. Every food you can find at the produce section today has already been enhanced somehow to be bigger, tastier, or more appealing visually. Have you ever seen a commercial strawberry next to an organic strawberry, or compared the taste of a store-bought apple to that of one fresh picked from an organic orchard? GMOs are not to be feared and theyre nothing new. Neither side of the GMO issue is completely right or wrong, and both sides do have valid concerns. We do need to pay attention to underdeveloped countries and continue to battle global hunger. While we see no risks or dangers whatsoever for using genetically modified foods, naysayers are right that we should continue research to ensure public safety. Geneticist Pamela Ronald developed the ?flood-proof rice alongside her organic farmer of a husband, Raoul Adamchak. Despite her husbandrs stance on organic farming, the two agree that each side has its part to play. Ronald believes that we should use both techniques of feeding the planet versus one or the other, arguing that only by combining forces will we be able to feed the expanding population in a sustainable and efficient way. Genetic engineering is not an idea or a thing, itrs a process that we use in many other ways unrelated to food production without blinking an eye. We need genetic engineering to improve our current methods of food production. Without help from both sides of this issue, ultimately we wont be able to keep up with the global population, which will decrease one way or another. GMO foods have never harmed us any more than organic foods and frankly offer more potential to battle global issues in food production. We must encourage the use of genetic engineering to battle world hunger and vitamin deficiency against the rapidly growing population.