“Blackberries in June” by Ron Rash Essay

â€Å"Blackberries in June† by Ron Rash is a short story about a young couple that takes place in Seneca, South Carolina. Matt and Jamie are a couple who have been together since high school and they live in a house on the lake. Matt and Jamie’s lake house is something that they have worked hard for to get, and bought it all on their own. During the course of their teenage years, they had to make many sacrifices and hard decisions to get to the point they are now. Some issues have been occurring with their family life for the past few years and now more than ever, they have to decide whether to keep pursuing their dreams or help the family out. In the story there are several values brought up and each character presents a new topic. A value Linda thinks is important is not quite important to Matt. Each character thinks something different is of most importance in their lives. Matt and Jamie are the couple in the story who have worked hard to be successful. Their house on the lake was bought a few years ago while they were still young. This house however needed a lot of fixing up. These two characters value their house, money and most importantly each other. Matt and Jamie constantly are working on their lake house; some members of their family are not supportive but some others are. Matt and Jamie have been planning their life together as a couple ever since they were in high school and made goals for themselves to make their dreams happen. Matt reminds Jamie after bad visit to her grandmother’s house that this is what they have always dreamed of.

Narrative Essay — The Birth of my Daugher

It was day like any other day, one that revolved around me and my wants and needs, but all that was about to change. The sun was shining through my bedroom window of the small two bedroom apartment that was shared between me and my roommate. The day was a nice enough day for all to enjoy. With temperatures in the 80's and not a cloud in the beautiful Carolina blue sky, who wouldn't want to enjoy a day like that? Not me. Not when I was nine months pregnant, with only seven days till doom's day and whale (yep, spelled it that way on purpose) past the 25-35 pounds suggest by my doctor that I should gain.I was sick from not being able to stomach even the thought of food, which was unusual for me and was starting to have some pains in my abdomen but had brushed it off, thinking it was due to the nausea. It didn't take long to realize that the baby I was carrying was ready to meet me when the back pains started to become regular and more intense. As I laid on the beautifully crafted gold a nd burgundy comforter that was spread over my bed, I started to fell pressure in my lower back. It was as if someone was taking dull knives and running them deep in to my muscles along the top of my tailbone.There was no doubting the fact that my labor had started when I got up and noticed that same elegant comforter was now forever stained. My water had broke causing the pains to bring me to my knees. With tears in my eyes, I was ready for some relief from the pain and wanted to get to the hospital in order to get an epideral(wonderful things that make you numb from the waist down). It didn't take long to get to the hospital, especially since the ride was in an ambulance. Thanks to my roommate who dialed 911 in a moment of panic; hers' not mine, she deemed it necessary to dail 911 and request assistance.If that is what you would call a request, screaming at the top of your lungs at the 911 dispatcher. The pain had become unbearable and I was forever thankful when I was told by the mid-wife that it was time to start pushing the baby out. Two minutes later at 12:37pm on a bright Tuesday afternoon, my daughter was born. She seemed so small and fragile but the effect was immeasurable. Lynssa Grace Girma Adugna, 6lbs. 5oz. 20 1/5in. Her hair was so shiny that it looked brown with touches of gold thrown in here and there. Her eyes were such a deep, dark blue that they look like the ocean at night.She was breathtaking. When our eyes met for the first time I felt my heart skip a beat. As I held that tiny bundle, that was just as much a part of me as I was a part of her, my mind was in awe of how much I immediately felt such an overwhelming amount of love for her. The kind of love that I felt in that moment was instant and was more intense then any emotion I had every felt. I never knew that this kind of love was possible, to be able to love something or someone the way that I loved her. I knew then that I would go to any lengths to make her happy and to give her ever ything that she every needed.I swore to give her my absolute best and I meant every word. My entire existence had been meaningless up until then, or at least everything I had every accomplished felt like it failed in comparison to her, my daughter. I had never knew that there was an emptiness in my heart until this completeness replaced where there once was a void. When my daughter came home the â€Å"real world† begun. I traded nights with the girls for a night with the most important girl, and nights out with friends, to midnight feedings and diaper changes. These times were stressful without a doubt.Although all I needed to make them worth the work was a glimpse of her smile. Which she would give while she was sleeping. I am told that babies are dreaming about angels when they smile like that. These late nights were hard to handle when they were followed with early morning wake up calls which gave way to a morning full of much needed errands. My life was no longer my own. Life now circled around this tiny little human which I was trusted to take care of . Before Lynssa came along, I was not the one who you could find in a church pew on Sunday. You did good to see me on the holidays such as Christmas and Easter for that matter.Now that I was responsible for someone else's mortal soul, it seemed very important to get back in church and to teach her the same values that were instilled in me. So now you can be sure where to find me on Sunday. I wanted to be sure to incorporate Christian values and beliefs into my child's heart and mind, and the only way to do that was to but them back into mine. Even though my child is very young and not likely to remember these times, somehow I still believe that it is important to behave a certain way. I also changed not only my outlook on life but also my outward appearance as well.I begin thinking in ways that would have never come to mind before had my daughter never been born into this world. There was not only the fact that I was a mother now that changed me but also the fact that I was the mother of an impressionable young girl was what affected me in a way that I never though possible. I wanted her to be everything that was good and right about me and none of what was wrong with me. I decided that the best way to teach her these things was to lead by example, and with a little hope and a lot a prayers she would follow. I needed to be the mother that my child could be proud of.Nobody's perfect and I sure do have a long way to go before I can even be close to being where I want to be in life. I am still learning. Learning new things everyday. Changing for the better a little everyday is my goal. To always be that person, striving to be the best mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend and student that I can possibly be. That's who I am. I would never be the person that I am today if I had not received an award so great as that of motherhood. Word do not express how thankful I am everyday when I s ee my daughter is growing and becoming a little lady.

Plants and Life on Earth Essay

Plants are the only organisms that can convert light energy from the sun into food. And plants produce all  of the food that animals, including people, eat. Even meat. The animals that give us meat, such as chickens and cows, eat grass, oats, corn, or some other plants. Plants make oxygen One of the materials that plants produce as they make food is oxygen gas. This oxygen gas, which is an important part of the air, is the gas that plants and animals must have in order to stay alive. When people breathe, it is the oxygen that we take out of the air to keep our cells and bodies alive. All of the oxygen available for living organisms comes from plants. Plants provide habitats for animals Plants are the primary habitat for thousands of other organisms. Animals live in, on, or under plants. Plants provide shelter and safety for animals. Plants also provide a place for animals to find other food. As a habitat, plants alter the climate. On a small scale, plants provide shade, help moderate the temperature, and protect animals from the wind. On a larger scale, such as in tropical rainforests, plants actually change the rainfall patterns over large areas of the earth’s surface. Plants help make and preserve soil In the forest and the prairie, the roots of plants help hold the soil together. This reduces erosion and helps conserve the soil. Plants also help make soil. Soil is made up of lots of particles of rocks which are broken down into very small pieces. When plants die, their decomposed remains are added to the soil. This helps to make the soil rich with nutrients. Plants provide useful products for people Many plants are important sources of products that people use, including food, fibers (for cloth), and medicines. Plants also help provide some of our energy needs. In some parts of the world, wood is the primary fuel used by people to cook their meals and heat their homes. Many of the other types of fuel we use today, such as coal, natural gas, and gasoline, were made from plants that lived millions of years ago. Plants beautify Plants, because of their beauty, are important elements of out human world. When we build houses and other buildings, we never think the job is done until we have planted trees, shrubs, and flowers to make what we have built much nicer.

Homeland security major Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Homeland security major - Essay Example importantly, it anticipates, preempts, detects and deters threats to the homeland and its people from terrorist attacks, natural disasters or any other emergency and helps create linkages in crisis times. The degree equips students with strong ability to think critical and respond efficiently during crisis time. It also equips them with necessary knowledge and skills related to security, intelligence and state of the art technology to safeguard the lives of people and protect our country from terrorist attack. 9/11 has been left an indelible mark that has motivated me to work in this field. I have always wanted to be involved in the rescue missions and have also been a regular volunteer for the Red Cross. I therefore believe that the pursuing degree from ERAU would be the ideal choice that would able me to make solid contribution to make my country safe. The core areas of ERAU HS program comprise of 11 courses: Principles of management; Micro economics; Introduction to GSIS; Introduction to US legal system; studies in global intelligence; History of terrorism; Introduction to geography; Personality and profiling; Government of US; International relations; and US Foreign policy. Twelve credits are required for foreign language for degree. I am already proficient in French and Spanish and love learning new languages so it is yet another way where I would be able to utilize my multi-lingual abilities. The degree would offer plethora of job opportunities, both in the federal government agencies like intelligence, diplomatic, security and law enforcement, department of homeland security, coastal guard, airport security etc. At the same time, jobs in private sector like domestic and international corporations in their security department, risk management agencies, non government organizations like Red Cross, IMF, World Bank etc. The university program in Homeland Security is the right field for me as I have always been interested in the area of intelligence and

Finance - BIS Capital Adequacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Finance - BIS Capital Adequacy - Essay Example Among its more important committees is the Basel Committee which is responsible for the promulgation of banking regulation guidelines concerning supervisory issues. In this regard, Basel I (1988 Accord) was a landmark in the banking industry in that banks having an international presence are required to hold as a minimum 8% of their capital equal to the risk weighted assets (there are five risk weightings). Basel II, which came in June 2004, addressed some of the weaknesses from Basel I. Both accords, however, are designed to strengthen the financial banking system by requiring a more rigorous set of capital requirements for banks to meet their credit and capital risks. Furthermore, Basel II is more forward-looking by requiring banks to identify those risks now and in the future especially with the sudden surge in hedge funds and esoteric investment instruments such as credit default swaps and other derivatives. Basel II attempts to avoid systemic risks such as what happened in the U S subprime mortgage crisis which engulfed the entire banking system with spectacular collapses such as AIG. Basel II is also more comprehensive by requiring banks to maintain enough capital to certain risks by quantifying credit and operational risks. A bank that engages in more risky investments is required to maintain a higher capital adequacy ratio to remain solvent in case of a crisis. Other considerations are a banks residual risks and the mandatory disclosures to comply with international accounting rules and standards. This last provision is crucial as it gives counter-parties an idea of the risks they face when dealing with a certain international bank. This way, there are no ticking time bombs like CDS which Mr. Warren Buffett likens to weapons of mass destruction (Graham & Dodd 2008, p. 622) due to unregulated credit default swaps that

Concrete mix design and compression tests Assignment

Concrete mix design and compression tests - Assignment Example The results for the two materials were compared with special attention to the behaviors of each of them during loading. Testing of the two specimen metals preceded until fracture was realized. During the laboratory experimentation of the specimen metals, aluminum and steel were subjected to tensile tests in order to measure the tensile strengths. It was necessary to conduct the tests for Tensile strength for aluminum and steel, taking into consideration the fact that steel and aluminum are the most used materials during constructions and Engineering works. Ductility enables these two metal specimens to give extra tensile strengths. The tensile test helped in the determination of the elastic properties available in the specimen materials. The performances of the materials were measured by the behaviors that were observed on the materials and the conditions that support their performance. During this time, the challenges and failures of the experiment were observed. After the observation, emphasis shifted to the analysis of the information. The tests are expected to provide the framework on which Engineers can draw their conclusion and recommendation for reinforcing the bui lding materials and constructions in progress. The project is involves fundamental elasticity tests such as static tension test whereby the specimens of the two distinct materials are passed prepared and placed under weight which increasing becomes heavy. This is observed until the specimen attains the failure position. The measure of elasticity as one of the physical characteristics of the material determines whether the material will regain its original shape or will experience permanent deformation. The observation is meant to establish the proportional limit. This is the highest limit of stress, which the specimen material can produce and withstand while maintaining its position in the

Week 4 Discussion 2 (Chapter 6) Inventories Assignment

Week 4 Discussion 2 (Chapter 6) Inventories - Assignment Example It can be achieved by using radio frequency, bar coding and electronic product codes on item usually employed in the manufacturing of fast food like breads, meat, cheese, oil etc. All such items may be purchased from good suppliers who offer them in notified quantities with coded information (Warren, Reeve & Duchac, 2011). Being different natured businesses, the vending truck and the physician’s office involve only a few numbers of individuals while a shoe-retailer might involve a great number of workers and as the number of workers increase more control efforts are required to escape the loss of inventory by theft and damage. Hence the guidelines might be strict and comprehensive for the shoe- retailer but they may be less rigid for the physician’s office and the food vending truck. An internal control system is required in all sorts of businesses to ensure appropriate management of inventory can be done (Axsà ¤ter, 2006). In order to implement a proper inventory control mechanism, the following suggestions must be implemented. First of all a written procedure and policy guidelines for inventory management at department level is needed. Then in order to fully implement the framed policy, all the staff should be given proper training. Duties should be separated sufficiently among indivi duals having the responsibility for the physical inventory like placing an order, receiving, selling/ distributing and those having the responsibility for accounting the inventory records like sanctioning payments, appointing departments/customers, preserving the perpetual merchandise inventory balance within the Financial System and then reconciling it. However each can install an inventory system that keeps the record of all sorts of activities related to inventory including acquiring, sales, adjustments and returns and it should be secured in a way that any item of inventory may neither be removed