Englis 111

This year I finally decided to retake English since I did not finish it the first time that I attempted to go to school. I struggle with English due to my dyslexia. I have always had a hard time with it, and because of so, have never really liked English. I work in an office where computers and writing are a part of my everyday world and with struggling with this it had made it harder and harder to do even the easiest tasks. So I decided to retake the course and try to better myself. On the very first day I knew that I would like the class since the teacher seemed very unorthodox. I don’t respond to the normality of lectures and tests. I prefer to get involved with the class and actually discuss with what is going on with the world. Just because the classroom door closes, does not mean that the world closes outside. Many teachers want to leave the world at the doors, but for every student there they bring the world with them and don’t know how to live any other way. With it being a night course, every student has just finished there long day of work and now have to sit thought a three hours zone of learning, and everyone is thinking the same thing, “I’d rather be home.” Night classes are for the ones who have the busy lives and want to better themselves for what ever reason. They are there for a purpose and all want to learn. But the problem is getting and holding their attention long enough to instill greater knowledge into their minds. I can firmly say that my teacher got my attention in more ways than one. The methods were unique, which made me think, “Hey, he’s a little bit different.” But different doesn’t always mean better. The material was always good, but the planning was always all over the place. The outline of the class would change every week to the point that no one new what going to happen when we walked in the door. From how I felt in the beginning of the class was no where near how I felt towards the end.

My sister is a teacher in Portsmouth, VA. She spends hours on her lesson plans in trying to make sure that it structured and so it flows from assignment to assignment. When you have a job where you have to teach someone skills you have to do it in some kind of an order. It would be the same equivalent of giving a 10 year old a new game for his birthday and never telling or showing him how to play the game. He may learn how to play it one day, but without someone there to guide him step by step, hey may never learn how to do it properly.

I very much enjoyed my class in spite of how much I despise English, but I do feel that it could have been ran more efficiently.

Diagnostic Essay

Original:

Growing up in a world where life isn’t perfect, people tend to wonder how they could make it just a little bit better. I have often thought what it would be like to posses an ability that would alter my own life, as well as the lives of others. As we take a glimpse at people around us, we notice that health has become a major concern. As hard as scientists are working, trying to come up with cures, there just seems to be a barrier stopping them from reaching some of their goals. This is one of the reasons why I think it would be remarkable to contain a gift that gave me the power to heal.
Within possessing such great power, comes great responsibility. So if I choose to expose my power, there would be a lot of duties to follow. The first thing I would choose to do would be to find a way to use my power to help heal ones with cancer. Cancer has been one of the most difficult illnesses to hit mankind. No matter how hard people attempt to find a cure, one still has yet to be found. It has recently been discovered that certain viruses have caused cancer, but that is only a portion of what is acknowledged. Viruses are not alive, so finding a way to kill something that is not a live is what causes frequent problems in trying to find the cure. Countless numbers of people have suffered and died through endless treatments. This is why I would choose to use my gift to help cure the ones with this terrible disease.
Also I would use my gift to help cure mental disorders, such as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and depression. My mother suffers from ADD and depression and these disorders factor in the way she lives in her life everyday. ADD makes it hard to focus, so processing information is quite difficult. Depression affects the way men and women interact in the everyday world. They over think situations and have a hard time extroverting themselves. Your mind is the most powerful tool you have and with out it, life can seen dreadfully complex. Therefore with eliminating the problem all together, people can process information more elegantly.
By having the power to heal, I will not only be able to heal others, but I can also keep myself healthy. Over the past year I have had surgery due to an infected gland. There is a possibility of having this infection come back, so with having this power, I would no longer be fearful of having this problem repeating. In addition to healing my self of further infections, I would not dread pregnancy. I would like to have children one day, but there is always a chance for complications to occur. So with having this power, no matter what problems arise, I could use my gift to insure my safety and the safety of my child.
Containing an ability that no one else has would be a very difficult thing to deal with. I would be the only one on earth with this power, so no one else would know exactly how it feels but me. That would be the only unsatisfying aspect. I like to share my feelings with other people that understand where I am coming from. It is hard to make a person comprehend something if they haven’t felt it before. So the sense of solitude would probably be overwhelming at times, but knowing that the power I possess was helping mankind would suppress that feeling.
To have the power to heal would not only be a gift but a blessing. True, life isn’t perfect. So why not dream of a way to change it. We can all use an escape from time to time and thinking of having a power to change our lives for the better is always worth while.

Revised:

In reality life never turns out how it should and people tend to wonder how they could make it better. I too have wanted to change certain aspect of my life for the better. I wonder what it would be like to posses an ability that would alter my own life, as well as the lives of others. As we take a glimpse at the world around us, we notice that health has become a major concern. Scientists are working, trying to come up with cures, there just seems to be too may obstacles in their way. This is one of the reasons why I think it would be remarkable to contain a gift that gave me the power to heal.
Within possessing such great power, comes great responsibility. So by choosing to expose my power, I would have to use it for the greater good. The first thing I would choose to do would be to find a way to use my power to help heal ones with cancer. Cancer has been one of the most difficult illnesses to hit mankind. No matter how tough it is attempting to find a cure, there still has yet to be found. It has recently been discovered that certain viruses can cause cancer, but that is only a portion of what is acknowledged. Viruses are not alive, so finding a way to kill something that is not a live is what causes frequent problems in trying to find the cure. Countless numbers of people have suffered and even died through endless treatments. This is why I would choose to use my gift to help cure the ones with this dreadful disease.
Also I would use my gift to help cure mental disorders, such as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and depression. My mother suffers from both of these disorders which factor in the way she lives in her everyday life. ADD makes it difficult to focus for long periods of time and processing the information is even harder. Depression also affects the way men and women interact in the everyday world. They over analyze situations and have a tricky time extroverting themselves. Your mind is the most powerful tool you have and with out it, life can seem awfully complex. Therefore with eliminating the problem all together, people can process information more elegantly.
By having the power to heal, I will not only be able to heal others, but I can also keep myself healthy. Over the past year I have been sick due to an infected gland. It spread to the point of surgery and since then it scares me of a possibility of having this infection come back. With having this power, my apprehension of having this problem repeating would decrease. In addition to healing myself of further infections, I would also not dread pregnancy. I would like to have children one day, but there is always a chance for complications to occur. My family has a history of birth defects, so with having this power, no matter what problems arise, I could use my gift to insure my safety and the safety of my child. Being a mother is very important to me and the idea of not being able to give birth would simple be unbearable.
Containing an ability that no one else has would be a very difficult thing to deal with. I would be the only one on earth with this power, so no one else would know exactly how it feels but me. That would be the only unsatisfying aspect. I like to share my feelings with other people that understand where I am coming from. It is hard to make a person comprehend something if they haven’t felt it before. So the sense of solitude would probably be overwhelming at times, but knowing that the power I possess was helping mankind would suppress that feeling.
To have the power to heal would not only be a sixth sense but would be a blessing. True, life isn’t perfect so why not dream of a way to change it? We can all use an escape from time to time and thinking of having a power to change our lives for the better is always worth while.

Metamorphosis

The story begins with Gregor waking up in bed and finding out that he’s just turned into a vermin, probably a roach. Despite his state, Gregor feels that he can still go to work. However, he proves unable to do this when he finds he has so much trouble getting out of bed and opening the door. Furthermore, no one can understand him. Gregor’s employer who had come to Gregor’s house to fetch him to work, leaves in a very nervous state and Gregor worries about losing his job. His family, however, cannot believe that the bug is Gregor and shoves him back into his room when Gregor tries to step out badly bruising Gregor. Gregor returns to his room and goes to sleep. The family is now faced with the problem of the lack of money since Gregor was the only member of the family that worked. Luckily, the father had saved some money which the family would be able to live off of for about a year. Also each member of the family got a job. Herr got a job at the bank, Frau got a job knitting lingerie, and Grete got a job as a store clerk. In the meantime, the only person who enters the room is Grete who comes by and feeds Gregor twice a day. After time, the maid was fired and a charwoman was hired to do the cleaning. Also, the Samsa’s took up three lodgers to help pay the rent on the flat. These lodgers, however, did not know about Gregor. One night after dinner, Grete began playing the violin which lured Gregor out into the dining room. The lodgers caught sight of him and Herr pushed them into their room out of sight of Gregor. The lodgers threatened to leave without paying. Gregor was pushed back into his own room. Early next morning, the charwoman came to clean and found Gregor dead in his room. She told the rest of the family. Herr ordered the lodgers out of his house. The entire family then wrote letters to their employers requesting a day off to relax. They then took a train trip where the Samsa’s realized that it was about time that Grete got married.

X-Men

They are the children of the atom, homo superior, the next link in the chain of evolution. Each was born with a unique genetic mutation, which at puberty manifested itself in extraordinary powers: Cyclops' eyes release an energy beam that can rip holes through mountains; Jean Grey's strength is both telekinetic and telepathic; and Storm can manipulate all forms of weather.
In a world increasingly filled with hatred and prejudice, they are scientific oddities ... freaks of nature ... outcasts who are feared and loathed by those who cannot accept their differences. Their detractors include U.S. Senator Robert Kelly, a McCarthyesque politico whose legislation is designed to "expose the dangers" of mutants. Yet despite society's pervasive ignorance, Cyclops, Jean, Storm and thousands like them survive.
Under the tutelage of Professor Charles Xavier, the world's most powerful telepath, these "gifted" students have learned to control and direct their respective powers for the greater good of mankind. They fight to protect a world that fears them.
Xavier welcomes two newcomers: Logan/Wolverine, a solitary fighting machine who possesses amazing healing powers, retractable adamantium claws and an animal-like fury; and Rogue, an alienated teenage girl who can absorb the powers and memories of anyone she touches.
As Wolverine and Rogue adjust to life among their "kind," the X-Men find themselves locked in a physical and philosophical battle with the Professor's former colleague and friend, Erik Lehnsherr a.k.a. Magneto. One of the world's most powerful mutants, Magneto has turned his back on society, believing that humans and mutants can never coexist, and that mutants are the rightful heirs to the future. He and his evil Brotherhood - the mammoth Sabretooth, the metamorph Mystique and the near-sighted, far-jumping Toad - will stop at nothing to ensure that future, even if it threatens the very existence of mankind ... or mutantkind.

Super Size Me

Super Size Me is a 2004 documentary film, directed by and starring Morgan Sprulock, independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day time period (February 2003) during which he subsists exclusively on food and items only purchased from McDonald’s. The film documents this lifestyle's drastic effects on Spurlock's physical and psychological well-being, and explores the fast food industry's corporate influence, including how it encourages poor nutrition for its own profit. During the filming, Spurlock dined at McDonald's restaurants three times per day, sampling every item on the chain's menu at least once. He also super sized his meal every time he was asked. As a result, the then-32-year-old Spurlock gained 24½ lbs., a 13% body mass increase, and experienced mood swings, sexual dysfunction, and liver damage. It took Spurlock fourteen months to lose the weight he gained.
The stated driving factor for Spurlock's investigation was the increasing spread of obesity throughout U.S. society, which the Surgeon General has declared "epidemic," and the corresponding lawsuit brought against McDonald's on behalf of two overweight girls, who, it was alleged, became obese as a result of eating McDonald's food. Spurlock points out that although the lawsuit against McDonald's failed (and subsequently many state legislatures have legislated against product liability actions against producers and distributors of "fast food"), much of the same criticism leveled against the tobacco companies applies to fast food franchises (except that these companies never lied about their product), although it could be argued that fast food, though physiologically addictive, is not as addictive as nicotine.
The documentary was nominated for an Academy Award for Documentary Feature.
On February 2005, Super Size Me Educationally Enhanced DVD edition was released. It is an edited version of the film designed to be integrated into a high school health curriculum.