The Unforgiven Essay Example for Free

The Unforgiven Essay For the final essay, the movie I will be writing about is based on the Clint Eastwood’s movie â€Å"Unforgiven.† Clint Eastwood portrays a story of William Munny, a killer and aging outlaw who has taken up one more job after years of external and internal peace. In the movie, the plot begins as to why William does decide to come back for one last rendez-vous with death. Taking place in Big Whiskey, Wyoming, a group of prostitutes, led by Strawberry Alice, offer a $1,000 reward to whoever can kill â€Å"Davey-Boy† Bunting and Quick Mike. The reason that these bounties were places is because these two individuals disfigured Delilah Fitgerald, a prostitute who is one of their own. An important factor to keep in mind in this situation is that the prostitutes greatly exaggerated the factual events that transpired, and the story that was sent out to the public â€Å"bounty hunters† was based on a major over exaggeration and so much to that point that it was not factually based. However, the idea of these bounty that was sent out by the prostitutes upsets Little Bill Daggett, the local sheriff, who himself was a former gunfighter but is not a converted keepers of peace who has taken the law upon himself and has dis-allowed guns and criminals in his town. What Little Bill does in this town is take the law into his own hands. While there is some sort of legal system in place in this town, the prostitutes have no rights under the system and according to Little Bill, it is up to him to decide what should be done in this situation. He is always taking the laws in his own hands. In this specific case, Little Bill gives these two men leniency despite the crime that they have committed. Will, hearing the over exaggerated version of the factual events, decides to come to this town and hunt and kill these two men not only for retribution for the prostitutes but to also collect the reward money. Using the reasoning of Kant, Mill, and Aristotle, I will analyze this entire current situation in the movie and using these different thinkers then compare and contrast who would agree with each other and who would disagree with each other. The first thinker I will bring up is Kant. The first issue that comes up in the state situation is justice which then leads into the rest of the problems presented in the beginning of the story. What the prostitutes did  to Will is actually manipulate him because what the factual events was greatly differed that the story that was presented to him. As a result, Mill was manipulated into making his decision to help solve the prostitute’s problem, and by him being manipulated into making this decision the prostitutes took away his free choice. Immanuel Kant is against taking away people’s free choice. There are three imperatives that are used by Kant to determine if a certain deed should be done. The three imperatives include the universal law based on principle, the means end formula (never treat anyone as a means but always as an end), autonomy formula (act in accordance to the maxim of a member that legislates the law)or the people who make the law are moral and thus the laws must be followed. When taking in consideration the universal law, what Kant is saying is that the acts act according only to maxim and thus must be applied to everybody. In this situation, the following maxim could be read as â€Å"if a prostitute is attacked, then it is ok to pay for someone to come in and seek vengeance.† The maxim for the prostitutes is to pay for justice and if applied to everyone this maxim would definitely not work and the world would become more chaotic and dangerous if this were a true maxim. The second part of the imperative deals with the means end formula. This states that one should never treat anyone as a mean but always as an end. In other words, do not use someone just for your benefit at the expense of another person’s but at the same time the other person should be getting something back in return that they need. All information needs to be presented in a factual way to help the person make a decision that they really want. With this being said, the prostitutes are using Will merely as a mean because what they did was lie to him. By exaggerating the truth, the prostitutes manipulated Will and use him as a mean to get justice among themselves. While there was indeed a reward for him, his decision to do this for the money was based on a wrong assumption because he was told a lie. His free will was taken away to make this decision because he was told the truth about what happened and if he did know the actual true events he may not have made the decision that he made. The last part of Kant’s three imperative is the autonomy formula. The autonomy formula talks about how acts should be followed according to the maxim that regulates law because the people that make the law are moral thus they should be followed because moral acts will help build a moral society.  However, the prostitutes would not have to follow the law based from Little Billy because this certain law was made from an immoral person and thus since it comes from an immoral person that only means that the law will be immoral. The next thinker that we will use to examine the following situation is the great mind of Mill. Mill says that a right is an expectation that society will help protect other people’s rights. Just can vary from each person and that the difference that does exist in society means that there is a different kind of equality. Utilitarianism is what brings the ideas all together. This states that if the majority of the people are happy then the act or deed should be done. The idea presented my Mill in utilitarianism is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. In the following situation from Clint Eastwood’s movie, Mill would don’t condone what has occurred because it is unjust to deprive anyone of anything that is legally their liberty or property. It is unjust to kill the two cowboys because he was never convicted of the crime that he did commit. The prostitutes should have had rights, and the two cowboys should have their voice heard in a trial. Mill would say that there is a bad law in place towards these prostitutes and the sheriff has rights in this town that he should not have. According to utilitarianism, it is wrong to harm certain individuals in order to make other people happy. In this instance, Will is killing these two individuals because this will make the prostitutes happy. John Stuart mill would be against this and so for Will to go and kill these two men is wrong in the eyes of the great philosopher Mill. The final thinker that will be used to examine the following situation is the great Greek philosopher Aristotle. To Aristotle, the law should be respected and if you do not respect the law then what you are doing is rejecting the government. The sheriff in town has placed un-just laws to the people. However, if these laws are not followed then what the people are doing is doing un-just to the community. To Aristotle, in order to have properly fixed the problem is that there needs to a mediator, one whom is un-biased and will look at each individual case down the middle and determine whether or not a disciplinarian action needs to occur. There needs  to be the right to a trial for a person to be properly convicted. This directly relates to the two cowboys who were punished without the mediator and â€Å"their day in court.† Aristotle would also say that the prostitutes should have right and the males who committed the crime should be trialed by law and a proper punishment, if any, would be warranted by an un-biased mediator of who would not include Little Bill. He is a very biased individual and Aristotle would be very against him and the actions that he is placing on society. To Aristotle, it will be no surprise to have heard that Will would take this job and to go back to killing. To Aristotle, it is very hard to break a habit that one did for so many years. Aristotle would not say that Will does an evil behavior, but instead Will has bad character traits. The habits he grew up with were not very good with the constant killings he did. As he killed more and more he got into the habit of killing, and for him to break this bad habit of killing is only going to get harder and harder as he not only kills but gets older continuing to kill. Deep down he already knew how to kill, and when the situation presented him his old habits came out and decided to go back and kill again. Aristotle would be against Will’s killing because it is not adding to his own happiness . These acts are immoral and his happiness is not reaching his full potential with the action that Will has done to these two other cowboys. After going over what the three great philosophers have said about the same situation, in my opinion Aristotle and Mill agree with each other the most because they both say how you need the community to be happy. They both correlate with each other. Aristotle is about the action itself and this directly disagrees with as to what Kant believes. This is why Aristotle and Kant both disagree with each other the most. As Aristotle is more about the action itself, Kant is all about the intent of the action. Aristotle and Mill would again agree because he says that the prostitutes should have rights and that the males should have been held on a fair trial. This eliminated the sheriffs and what he feels right according to himself and instead there would be a non-biased individual who will not already be prone to one side or the other like Little Billy was evident by his actions in the movie. In conclusion, Mill, Aristotle, and Kant all have some similar but different points about how the same situation should have been handled. Some were similar, and others were very different. It is my opinion that I agree most with Aristotle. He talks about having a non-biased individual (the judge in today’s society) and how everyone deserves rights including the prostitutes who had no rights in the movie. He is against Will going to kill for vengeance and also agrees with how people who have too much power and make immoral laws should lose that power for the benefit of the community. Ultimately, I agree with all of them because they bring up different but valid point. In the end, I agree the most with Aristotle because what he says is very similar in what steps would be taken in modern society today. With this being said, justice is still very unfair in today’s society. There are still these bounty killings and many of them do get away because of a lack of evidence or some other cause that prevents a judge from getting a conviction. Nevertheless, justice is many times unfair in today’s modern world, but improvements are being made and the judicial systems are doing the absolute best job they can do to bring justice to criminals and to get modern bounty hunters off the streets to make society a better and nicer place to live in.

Development of Controlled Drug Delivery for Animals

Development of Controlled Drug Delivery for Animals INDUDTRIAL CHALLENGES : The production of, controlled release drug delivery technologies are same, both in, humans and animals, but, the reasons for developing them are not same. In humans and animals, the controlled drug delivery permits safe, effective and easy handling for the user. In humans, to develop a drug into long acting one, the reasons to be considered are, less dose frequency, more patient compliance and to improve the well being of the patient. However, in animals to develop a drug into long acting one, the reasons to be considered are, minimum animal handling, low cost of treatment and small time for the administration of the drug. In human field, main focus is on the health of the patient, but, in animal arena, main focus is on the low cost of treatment, easy administration by the farmer and minimum animal handling. In veterinary industry, these reasons challenge the production of controlled drug delivery technologies. (1). The challenges in a veterinary drug industry, for the development of controlled drug delivery for animals are small commercial market, low profits and money spent on the research is less. The price of the finished product depends on the selection and price of the excipients, polymers, methods used for manufacturing and marketing team responsibilities (1). The major challenge is cost of the finished product and it depends on the method of design, type of excipient and polymer used and how many excipients used during the formulation (1). Marketing team responsibilities is another challenge. Poor marketing is responsible for decreased efforts to develop a new product (1). Another challenge is farmed animals. There are, large number of physiological differences between the species and within the species. One example for physiological difference is body weights, Beef cattle weighs 266-641kg, dairy cows weighs 600-700 kg and sheep weighs 54-66 kg. Animals, throughout their life cycle shows different weights. Due to these differences, dosage forms should be developed with different strengths and volumes. Due to this challenge scientist faces a problem, whether dosage is to be developed per animal or weight of the animal. If the dosing per animal is considered, the challenges are measures of drug safety. If the dosing is as per the body weight, the challenge is design is design of a flexible delivery technology that covers wide range of animals and the animals that are growing. An example is, CIDRÂ ® intra vaginal inserts for sheep, pigs and cattle. The intra vaginal inserts for sheep and cattle are having same shape, but, different in size. These inserts for pigs are different in shape compared to sheep and cattle. Basically, same technology is used for the preparation of these three inserts. (1). Another challenge is, drug or residues exist in the food. To overcome this challenge wide absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) studies are conducted and also characterization techniques are developed. These studies, depends on the cost of the final product. In veterinary industry, new polymers and excipients for controlled release are rarely used. (1). Another challenge in the veterinary industry, is administration of dose. In animal field, the dose should be administered manually, for this suitable applicators are to be designed. The designed applicators should facilitate easy use by the end user (1). The challenges faced by the veterinary industry are many. The developed products must have safety, stability and efficacy. These profiles are built into each product and additional challenges are also to be addressed i.e. the presence of residual drug at the site of administration. Safety profiles are applicable to both animals and users. For efficacy profiles different breeds, different seasons and different geographical locations are considered. Chemical stability of drugs is major challenge. Farms lack areas for the storage of pharmaceuticals. Physical stability of the drug is another challenge. Farmers show less interest towards efficacy profile, how to use, method of administration, residual drug in the tissue etc. scientists should improve the features like method of administration, acceptable safety and efficacy profiles and during the storage drug should not be altered. (1). Another challenge is influence of delivery technique on the environment. The new delivery technology should not show any impact on the ecosystems. (1). Major challenge in the near future is reduction of carbon compounds for the development of drug delivery technologies, because, carbon dioxide and methane are considered as green house gases. In the future, specialized controlled release dosage forms will be developed (1). Another challenge is market. Identification of need is one and another is identified need that can bring profits that are spent on research. For the well being of animal health, several products are used, they are, feed additives, pharmaceuticals, vaccines and nutraceuticals. The challenges associated with these products are different physicochemical properties and different formulation approaches. In the last decade, less money is spent on the research. In UK, 1986, 70% of veterinary products are introduced into the market for live stock, but, 45% of sales were reported in 2008. However, companion sector had grown to 52% in UK, due to increased use of vaccines and novel medicines. The companion animal industry is employing formulation scientists, those are having experience in human product development rather than formulation scientists, who is a farmed animal specialist (1). Regulatory needs is the future challenge. Manufacturing GMP requirements are same for the final products, both in, animal and human arenas. (1). In recent times, the curious challenge is seen in farms of certain species like swine and chickens. If these farms do not buy the new products developed by the pharmaceutical companies, they are showing less interest for the investment. This type of challenge is seen in USA (1). INDUSTRIAL OPPURTUNITIES :- Now a days, several opportunities are there for veterinary pharmaceutical industry. Compared to market of the human pharmaceuticals, veterinary pharmaceutical products is shorter. By taking this advantage, employing an experience team, quickly complete the development activities. Due to the short time for the market, income comes quicker, more profits can be achieved before patent expires (1). Availability of animals for research, rather than humans is another opportunity. In food producing animals, ADME studies are conducted at early stages, which help in the formulation development. This kind of opportunity favours the experimentation on target species (1). Human drugs are first tested on animals ( dogs ), this creates an opportunity for veterinary industry. Due to this, pharmacological data of a particular drug is available. In companion animal market, this data is useful in reformulation of human serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors and monoamine oxidase-B for anxiety and cognitive disorders for dogs (1). The clinical trials, that are done on animals also provides data of environmental assessment, for the development of formulation. This data helps in understanding of degradation process of the drug due to temperature, pH and light (1). At present, veterinary market lacks new APIs, however, some reports are showing that new compounds are reaching the market. The existing drugs life can be increased by developing controlled release drug delivery technologies (1). Reference (1) Rathbone M, Brayden D. Controlled release drug delivery in farmed animals: commercial challenges and academic opportunities. Current drug delivery 2009;6 (4):383-390.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in Theory and Practice Essay -- Macbeth essay

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in Theory and Practice    Shakespeare's Macbeth has been the subject of scholarly research in terms of ambition, politics, and sexuality. The most predominant analysis is that of the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. This relationship in theory is full of sexual innuendo, maternal power, gender transgression, and violence. In reading multiple essays on the psychological nature of the relationship one question came to mind: to what extent are the characters aware of the psychological effect they have on each other in performance? In contrast to the various essays by literary scholars, Sinead Cusack wrote with Carol Rutter in Shakespeare's Late Tragedies about her process in preparing for the role of Lady Macbeth for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Although her choices are not the only choices that can be made by an actor in that role, her experience contrasted the theoretical models written by so many scholars. Her relationship with Macbeth was real, not a theoretical analysis of the psychological effect the characters have on one another. Through her written process and the analysis of the scholars mentioned above I will outline the dichotomy between theory and performance and the relationship between Macbeth and his Lady.    Lady Macbeth and the Witches Jane Adelman summarizes the psychoanalytic interpretation of the relationship between Lady Macbeth and the Witches (ibid 140). Lady Macbeth and the Witches signify for Macbeth the role of both temptress and mother, an issue that will be explored more fully below. Adelman claims that the Witches tempt Macbeth on the cosmic plain, whereas Lady Macbeth tempts him on the psychological plain (ibid 139). All of the female figures r... ...ber, Marjorie. "Macbeth: The Male Medusa." Shakespeare's Late Tragedies, ed. Susan L. Wofford. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1996, 74-103. Keirnan, Victor. Eight Tragedies of Shakespeare: A Marxist Study. London, NY: Verso, 1996. Nelson, T.A. ENGL 533 lecture February 18, 1999. Rutter, Carol and Sinead Cusack. "Lady Macbeth's Barren Sceptre." Shakespeare's Late Tragedies, ed. Susan L. Wofford. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pretnice-Hall, Inc. 1996, 119-133. Stallybrass, Peter. "Macbeth and Witchcraft." Shakespeare's Late Tragedies, ed. Susan L. Wofford. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall Inc. 1996, 104-118. Staunton, Howard, ed. The Globe Illustrated Shakespeare. New York:   Gramercy Books, 1979. Watson, Robert N. Shakespeare and the Hazards of Ambition. Cambidge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984

Visions of America Essay example -- Landscaping Painting Art Papers

Visions of America The importance of American landscape painting in the nineteenth century extended far beyond the borders of the art world. The nineteenth century in America was a paradoxical time in which great nationalism and â€Å"enormous self-confidence and optimism† merged with growing disunity (Wilmerding 54), and the glow of â€Å"progress† was inextricably tied to the destruction of the majestic landscape that was a source of American identity and pride. Landscape painters at this time were faced with the difficult task of reconciling these conflicting aspects of American culture and identity. Their paintings blend physical descriptions of the American land with cultural descriptions of the American national identity. American landscape painting was founded primarily by European artists like Thomas Birch, Francis Guy, William Groombridge and Joshua Shaw, who came to America to escape the â€Å"background of political turbulence† in Europe that was the result of the Napoleonic Wars (Wilmerding 40). The most famous and influential of this first group of painters was Thomas Cole. Although Cole’s influences included European artists like Turner, Poussin, Claude, and Salvator Rosa, he came to create a style of landscape painting that, despite its indebtedness to artists like these, was distinctly America in flavor. It was he who â€Å"particularly came to articulate a national consciousness through his paintings, which we now recognize as the beginning of America’s first major landscape style† (Wilmerding 40). With Cole, landscape painting took on a stature in America like that which history painting traditionally possessed in Europe. He was able to â€Å"transfer the heroic aims of history painters to the landscape category, where at ... ...g of the Nineteenth Century: Realism, Idealism and the American Experience. New York: Praeger Press, 1969. Novak, Barbara. Nature and Culture: American Landscape and Painting 1825-1875. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980. Novak, Barbara, ed. â€Å"On Divers Themes from Nature: A Selection of Texts.† The Natural Paradise: Painting in America 1800-1959. Ed. Kynaston McShine. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1976. 59-105. Rosenblum, Robert. â€Å"The Primal American Scene.† The Natural Paradise: Painting in America 1800-1959. Ed. Kynaston McShine. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1976. 13-37. Wilmerding, John. â€Å"Fire and Ice in American Art: Polarities from Luminism to Abstract Expressionism.† The Natural Paradise: Painting in America 1800-1959. Ed. Kynaston McShine. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1976. 38-56.

Ethical Norms of Medical Research Essay -- Pharmaceutical Industry, Br

Branding, according to Parry, is to create a new thinking of the product to customers in the unique way so that the product can compete to others. And, in the pharmaceutical industry, branding is not only creating the new thinking of product, but also defining the best treatment for particular condition. If done so, the condition branding has numerous benefits because it creates consensus internally and externally. Internal consensus which is the activities focus on the problem and solution between brand managers and clinic so that the product can be maximized investment. Beside that, external consensus creates the better relationship between the owner and the clinical community to approach therapeutics (1). However, Fishman argued that branding leads to good sales and profits because the clinical trial researchers are position themselves as mediator between producers, pharmaceutical companies, and consumer, that are clinicians and patients, and they act like experts in that field. Therefore, the researchers create faithfulness to consumer, and in turn branding increase sales (12). As a mediator, researchers involve in the benefit of branding. Somehow, there is a conflict in their role between their benefit and the ethical norm of medical research. Fishman may be right when she implied that the ethical norm of medical research is driven by marketable drugs and marketable diagnoses. Let take a look in the process of how the drugs develop and bring to the market. First of all, the drug which is developed should meet the condition that can treat for disease with certain amount of patients, and then academic medical researchers are person who collect the clinical data, will mediate with FDA to get approval guideline for new drugs; ... ...cluded that With the increasing public†private arrangements being brokered between industry and academia, these ethical issues only become more entangled. Conventional medical ethics is unequipped to deal with these questions. Business ethics is likewise unable to accommodate the particular responsibilities of the biomedical project. The chasm left in between is where the academic researcher now treads, guided only by professional conventions and a growing entrepreneurialism and commercialism in medicine.(24). It may be strict if we say that the drugs market now needs to be control seriously and let the scientist be independent with their research because when drugs consider as other commodity, then patient become as customer not a patient. The patients need to be treated with medical ethical norm so that they can feel they are in treatment with good condition.

Paula Scher Research Paper Essay

Paula Scher, also known as America’s first design lady, is a graphic designer, illustrator and art educator. The Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia is where Paula Scher majored in illustration and finished her BFA in nineteen seventy. As a student Scher abstained from graphic design as she was short of the required tidiness artistry, and she did not like aligning Helvetica on a framework. â€Å"The act of organizing the Helvetica type-face on a grid reminded me of cleaning up my room,† she admitted. Drawing was her tender spot, so she adopted an approach which was to illustrate using type Stanislaw Zagorski who was her teacher. He was the one to give her that advice which was profoundly substantial for her career. Shcer describes in her book â€Å"MAKE IT BIGGER† that the Zigzag rolling paper and album covers, especially the Beetles’ covers where her major inspiration during the sixties. This influence can be noted in some of the work she did at CBS, like the cover for Ralph MacDonald, fig:1, the way feet are place bears resemblance to the Beetles cover, fig:2. During the nineteen seventies, there was an increase in political awareness, which initially stared in 1960, along with the economic liberty of women and the dimming of the hipster movement. Nineteen seventy was also the year Paula Scher graduated, it has been called the â€Å"golden days of illustration†. There were well established arts at that time, like Miltion Glaser, Seymour Chwast, James McMullen, Pual Davis whom Paula perceived as inspiration. Paula’s work doesn’t have many distinct features that display the influence of the artist above on her work, since she has a style of her own, but there are some corresponding color pallets. STYLE Common components of her work * Use of bright colors * Use of hand written text Use of bold strokes * Domination of type Paula Scher’s designs are intended to captivate the interest of modern public, it does so by the use of the components above along with pop icons, music, films and many others. Conceiving images that communicates with the public’s feelings, the designs she made become observably equivalent to the New York retro movement. Retro art is a genre of pop art, is amplified during the nineteen forties and nineteen fifties, it was a reaction to the demand for courageous, attractive graphics. Scher had an eye for bringing together different typing, leading, churning and coloring blended together in a bold and very astonishing way. The â€Å"BAM!!! † effect to some extent has a flashing impact to the design which is her way of visualizing, expressing and exemplifying the retro by means of conventional methods. Fig:3 shows a poster done by Scher for the public theater, â€Å"A Retro Style†. Scher’s justification for her style and approach is plainly a counter for dissatisfaction with the type-face Helvetica along with her rebellious mind set, that differentiated her among other artist by breaking the so called â€Å"rules†. Influence of the Dada movement Dada movement started in nineteen sixteen, by a poet and artist named Tristan Tzara and Hans Arp. As a response to the killing, propaganda and firstly the first world war. Individualist groups joint together by means of similar concepts, even though these groups did not share a universal style, but since they all rejected the idealism, stale artistic and intellectual conventions and modern society’s unchecked embrace of ‘rationalism’ and ‘progress’. Dada was anti-aesthetic, anti-rational and anti-idealistic. Fig: 4 shows a poster that was done during the Dada movement, it is a blended combination between a collage and typography, these similar elements are found in the poster designed by Paula Shcer designed for the public theater fig: 5 which also has a very similar feel. This is not the only poster that shows the influence of the Dada movement on Scher’s work, most of the designs made portray a certain ideology and there is a concept that supports why certain elements are added, positioned and combined together to form the design. The design feel of the art done in during the Dada movement and Scher both have the messy effect of being cluttered, yet the design is harmonious in a baldy manner. Both are known for their utilization of geometric elements. Even though they share enough similar features, Shcer brings out the pop art feel into the Dada inspired work, which is what identifies her designs from those done in the nineteen sixty. Conclusion Researching and viewing Paula Scher’s work and designs show me how two or more very different styles, can collide together to form a single artistic entity. The relation to other artists and art movements like futurism and constructivism with resemblance to the Dadaism all reflect Scher’s point of view towards the art she constructed. It’s quite inspiring to blend and merge two or three of the styles together emerging with a beautiful piece of work, but scher’s work was based on taking completely unrelated topics such as collage and typography. This work is a true divine and virtuoso of art as we know it.

The Most Influence Person In My Life

It is believed that in our own life destiny brings us opportunites to meet different kinds of people. Each person gives us a distant. Some may even play a role to help us change ourselves. without a doubt my mother is the most powerful person in my life. My mother is a strong hard working women that never gives up on her dream. Her life inspire me with confidence and great motivition to succed in life. Most of my mother life is hardships and dedication the way she faces with them resilenty and strongly makes a role model.Unfortunately, she continues to suffer from working long hours. there were days she worked up from 10 am and worked continuosly until 9 pm. the thing that i admire about my mother she always keep in mind the postive thoughts. in spite of the hard work that se does day by day. My mother's enthusiasm for learning is most apparent in travel. I was nine years old when my family visited Greece. Every night for three weeks before the trip, my older brother Peter and I sat with my mother on her bed reading Greek myths and taking notes on the Greek Gods.Despite the fact that we were traveling with fourteen-month-old twins, we managed to be at each ruin when the site opened at sunrise. I vividly remember standing in an empty ampitheatre pretending to be an ancient tragedian, picking out my favorite sculpture in the Acropolis museum, and inserting our family into modified tales of the battle at Troy. Eight years and half a dozen passport stamps later I have come to value what I have learned on these journeys about global history, politics and culture, as well as my family and myself.While I treasure the various worlds my mother has opened to me abroad, my life has been equally transformed by what she has shown me just two miles from my house. As a ten year old, I often accompanied my mother to (name deleted), a local soup kitchen and children's center. While she attended meetings, I helped with the Summer Program by chasing children around the building a nd performing magic tricks. Having finally perfected the â€Å"floating paintbrush† trick, I began work as a full time volunteer with the five and six year old children last June.It is here that I met Jane Doe, an exceptionally strong girl with a vigor that is contagious. At the end of the summer, I decided to continue my work at (name deleted) as Jane's tutor. Although the position is often difficult, the personal rewards are beyond articulation. In the seven years since I first walked through the doors of (name deleted), I have learned not only the idea of giving to others, but also of deriving from them a sense of spirit.