I Am Violently Warring For Peace. I Know This Is A Paradox, And Im Ess

I am violently warring for peace. I know this is a paradox, and I'm rather proud because it is true. Passivity has been a lifelong threat, laziness a constant lure in my search for identity. This world begs me to succumb to existing in the image of someone else, it asks only that I slip silently and blindly into the niche it provides instead of carving my own. I required a long time to work up courage to fight for the serenity I had glimpsed in hot summer woods and in lovingly handled books read late until the early morning. Doubt had established itself in my mind at some early age, when or why I do not know, and I could trust any person or group more than myself. Doubt begat fear, and fear gave birth to obscuring myself from the eyes of the world while I was a child. Now, I am dedicated to the fight, after over five years of fear and immobility. I rejected the easiest way out of life, and demanded truth. I strengthened my body as I strengthened my mind against the attacks I faced. When I was fifteen I started Tae Kwon Do, the martial arts class that was offered through my school. I learned more about blocking, kicking, and punching in the first two weeks of that class than I had known my entire life. My once powerless body, petite and thin, could knock the wind out of someone with a well placed punch, and I could kick people taller than me in the head. So what I could do, I did, and now my friends instinctively block when they see me grin mischievously in their direction. I am content to know I have taught them something useful. Last spring for the third time in a row, I shakily accepted my teacher's hand as he congratulated me on second place in women's division sparring. It was a bittersweet triumph, three times now I have lost to the same girl. She has become an icon for everything I wish to triumph over in this world. She is beautiful, hair like black silk, impeccable taste in clothing,makeup like a Renaissance painting, and average when it comes to everything else. I watch her silently stride into art class on three inch heels, skirt above her knee, no runs in her stockings, and manicured nails smoothing invisible wrinkles from he shirt. I look down at myself, one of my shirt buttons missing, securely replaced with a safety pin, my comfortable green pants provide freedom of movement if little style, and my sturdy black shoes have been with me for three years. I hear my voice laughing almost too loudly, physics notes are sticking out of my sketchbook, and I am well aware of that I am not average. I fight this opponent I have created and what she represents not because she chooses to live her life by the beauty standard, and not because I feel inferior. We are at war because no one outside of Tae Kwon Do class ever sees what she is capable of. They don't know that those perfectly moisturized hands can break through boards or leave your head spinning. No one knows that those feet captured in three inch heeled prisons can leave you hurting for days, bruised where you blocked, bruised and bleeding where you failed to. I fight her because she is a symbol of how I tried to hide myself and my potential. I'm tired of being afraid of how the world will respond to me, and I war against the part of myself that would rather just please fashion magazines and popular concepts. Peace comes from accepting my identity, not from hiding it. I will laugh loudly at outside ideas of who I am supposed to be, kick down the opposition to my goals, and I will continue to fight until I have my peace.

Street Childern essays

Street Childern essays Millions of children all around the world live on the street and in poverty. Most of all these children are deprived of health care and education. Street Children is a term that was used by Henry Mayhew in 1851. Before these children were simply referred to as homeless of abandoned. In this paper the background, opinion and solutions to the problem will be assessed. The effects of several economic, social, and political factors have been known to bring about street children. An important social factor is the breaking down of families. Street children are less likely to come from a home headed by their father and less likely to have access to running water or toilet facilities...(Street Children in Latin America). Their parents are usually unemployed and illiterate. The economic problem stems from the fact that half of the population survives on 14% of the national income. Most street children are considered victims of economic violence. With all these factors working against the children in Latin American countries there is an estimated 30-170 million street children. These children range in ages 8-17 years old. With all these factors and the rising problem of street children is becoming recognized. In fact the major problem concerning street children is their visibility on the streets and the violation of their human rights. The pure fact that the number of these kids is growing its becoming a problem. So many children begging, peddling, stealing, sniffing, and loitering is the problem growing by the second. Not only is the problem growing but also human rights are being violated. Street children throughout the world are subjected to physical abuse by police or have been murdered outright, as governments treat them as a blight to be eradicated-rather than as children to be nurtured and protected. They are frequently detained arbitrarily by police simply because they are homeless, or ...

Your Transformational Story Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Your Transformational Story - Assignment Example This true story of my mentor is inspirational and it has transformed me in various ways. From her traumatic background experience, she became popular with her talk show â€Å"Oprah Winfrey Show† and has since become the darling of not only America but the world at large. I have drawn great inspiration and transformation from her popular statement, â€Å"It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from. The ability to triumph begins with you. Always,† (Academy of Achievement). Before reading the transformational history of Oprah, I was sceptical of doing challenging things and I lacked self confidence in whatever I did. My academic career was characterised by low grades as a result of the fact that I viewed myself as incapable of doing a lot of challenging things. Even in life, I have been scared of performing certain tasks on my own for fear of failure. However, today I can happily say that the true story of Oprah has significantly transformed my life in various ways. I have gained a lot of confidence in myself and I can perform any task on my own. One good lesson I have learned from this leader is that failure is a true source of experience and motivation. Instead of despairing about failing to achieve the desired goals at a particular moment, this failure can be a source of inspiration. I have learnt a lot of things from my mistakes. At school, I often achieve poor grades but I am no longer demotivated since this gives me hope that one day I will achieve good grades. I have also been transformed in such a way that I can share my life experience with others without fear or favour. I am not ashamed of my failures in life and am happy to say that I view the sky as the limit in whatever I do. Leadership is the ability to influence others to behave in a particular way (Robbins, 1993). There are various leadership styles and these have an impact on the leader to influence others. Leadership traits have an impact on other people