Autobiography Essay

As a child, I suffered hardships in many areas of my life, so much so, that even as a young child, I knew my life was considerably different than other children my age. While most children were carefree and out playing, I was inside cooking for myself, cleaning up the house, or watching after my mother. These were normal duties for me and had been for the past 2 years. My mother was in the prime of her addiction and nothing else in life seemed to matter except her drugs and her next high. I did what I had to do to take care of myself, my home, and my mom. I always believed she would wake up one day and realize what she was doing and make things right, end all the madness that my life had become. Norman Vincent Peale once said, â€Å"In every difficult situation is potential value. Believe this, then begin looking for it. † The potential value, the opportunity came looking for me. The Department of Family and Children Services showed up at my house when I was 9 years old. A new neighbor had called and complained that my mother was not fulfilling her duties as a mother and that they were worried about me. DFCS placed me with the Nelson Family, a grounded, stable, and devoutly religious foster family that promised to give me a better life. They were part of Winshape Homes, an organization of foster homes that was founded and supported by Truett Cathy, the founded of Chick-fil-a. Rosemary and Rob, my foster parents, were licensed to have up to 15 children at a time in the household, so I viewed them as experts at raising kids. They showered me with unconditional love and showed me what a â€Å"real† family was all about. Even with 12 other siblings in the household, they took care of our individual needs, loved us the way we needed to be loved, and taught us everything they could. I spent 9 wonderful years with them before I graduated high school and moved onto college. I was dealt a bad hand, so to say, as a child, but I wouldnt change anything in my past. Everything I went through made me stronger, helped me to appreciate what I have, and has taught me to not take things for granted. My mother was never there for me but I am an awesome mother to my children because of her. I am thankful for the family I have now and I am grateful that I have lessons and wisdom to teach my kids. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, but you have to make it through the tunnel before you see the light.

The History Behind the Ballad of Mary Hamilton

The History Behind the Ballad of Mary Hamilton A folk ballad, possibly no older than the 18th century, tells a story about a servant or lady-in-waiting, Mary Hamilton, at the court of a Queen Mary, who had an affair with the king and was sent to the gallows for drowning her illegitimate child. The song refers to four Maries or four Marys: Mary Seaton, Mary Beaton,  and Mary Carmichael, plus Mary Hamilton. The Usual Interpretation The usual interpretation is that Mary Hamilton was a lady-in-waiting at the Scottish court of Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587) and that the affair was with the Queens second husband, Lord Darnley. Accusations of infidelity are consistent with stories of their troubled marriage. There were four Maries sent to France with the young Mary, Queen of Scots, by her mother, Mary of Guise, when the Scottish queen (whose father died when she was an infant) went to be raised there to marry the French Dauphin. But the names of two in the song are not quite accurate. The four Maries serving Mary, Queen of Scots, were Mary Beaton, Mary Seton, Mary Fleming, and Mary Livingston. And there was no story of an affair, drowning and hanging historically connected with the real four Maries. There was the 18th-century story of a Mary Hamilton, from Scotland, who had an affair with Peter the Great, and who killed her child by Peter and her two other illegitimate children. She was executed by decapitation on March 14, 1719. In a variation of that story, Peters mistress had two abortions before she drowned her third child. It is possible that an older folk song about the Stewart court was conflated with this story. Other Possibilities There are other possibilities that have been offered as roots of the story in the ballad: John Knox, in his History of the Reformation, mentions an incident of infanticide by a lady-in-waiting from France, after an affair with the apothecary of Mary, Queen of Scots. The couple was reported to have been hanged in 1563.Some have speculated that the old Queen referred to in the song was the Queen of Scots Mary of Guelders, who lived from about 1434 to 1463, and who was married to Scotlands King James II. She was regent for her son, James III, from her husbands death when a cannon exploded in 1460 to her own death in 1463. A daughter of James II and Mary of Guelders, Mary Stewart (1453 to 1488), married James Hamilton. Among her descendants was Lord Darnley, husband of Mary, Queen of Scots.More recently, Englands George IV, while still the Prince of Wales, is rumored to have had an affair with a governess of one of his sisters. The governess name? Mary Hamilton. But no story of a child, much less infanticide. Other Connections The story in the song is about unwanted pregnancy; could it be that the British birth control activist, Marie Stopes, took her pseudonym, Marie Carmichael, from this song? In Virginia Woolfs feminist text, A Room of Ones Own, she includes characters named Mary Beton, Mary Seton and Mary Carmichael. The History of the Song The Child Ballads were first published between 1882 and 1898 as The English and Scottish Popular Ballads. Francis James Child collected 28 versions of the song, which he classified as Child Ballad #173. Many refer to a Queen Marie and four other Maries, often with the names Mary Beaton, Mary Seaton, Mary Carmichael (or Michel) and the narrator, Mary Hamilton or Mary Mild, though there are some variations in the names. In various versions, she is the daughter of a knight or of the Duke of York or Argyll, or of a lord in the North or in the South or in the West. In some, only her proud mother is mentioned. Select Stanzas The first five and the last four stanzas from version 1 of Child Ballad #173: 1. Words gane to the kitchen,And words gane to the ha,That Marie Hamilton gangs wi bairnTo the hichest Stewart of a.2. Hes courted her in the kitchen,Hes courted her in the ha,Hes courted her in the laigh cellar,And that was warst of a.3. Shes tyed it in her apronAnd shes thrown it in the sea;Says, Sink ye, swim ye, bonny wee babe!Youl neer get mair o me.4. Down them cam the auld queen,Goud tassels tying her hair:O marie, wheres the bonny wee babeThat I heard greet sae sair? 5. There never was a babe intill my room,As little designs to be;It was but a touch o my sair side,Come oer my fair bodie.15. Oh little did my mother think,The day she cradled me,What lands I was to travel through,What death I was to dee.16. Oh little did my father think,The day he held up me,What lands I was to travel through,What death I was to dee.17. Last night I washd the queens feet,And gently laid her down;And a the thanks Ive gotten the nichtTo be hangd in Edinbro town!18. Last nicht there was four Maries,The nicht therel be but three;There was Marie Seton, and Marie Beton,And Marie Carmichael, and me.

German-American essays

German-American essays Individual Germans had been coming to the United States since the 17th century, and continued into the late 19th century at a rate exceeding that of any other country. The first to arrive as a group were religious dissenters who landed at Philadelphia aboard the Concord in 1683. These settlers from Krefeld, Frankfurt and Palatinate, were led by a young lawyer, Franz Daniel Pastorius. With William Penns help, Pastorius established "Germantown", the settlement near Philadelphia. Lately, Germantown became the distributing center through which the stream of German immigration poured into southeastern Pennsylvania, and finally overflowed down the Valley of Virginia into the back country of the colonies farther south(Bittinger, 10). By 1727 there were about 20,000 Germans in Pennsylvania; by the start of the Revolution in 1776, the number jumped to 110,000 to 125,000. They were mostly farmers, simple rural folk, a few were skilled artisans. They became the forerunners of today's "Pennsylv ania GermanDutch" culture, and had almost no subsequent connection with Germany. In this early period, political, social, and economic collapse, crop failures, famine, religious persecution and tyrannical rulers were the main factors in this first wave of German immigration. After the Revolutionary War, the revival of German immigration in the 1830's was due primarily to the economic opportunities which America had to offer to men and women who were eager to get ahead in the world. Cheap land, encouraging transportation companies and land speculators, and family letters from the New World spurred this tide, which "not only filled in the older eastern communities, but flowed westward along the Erie Canal and the Great Lakes into the Middle West"(Lass, 68). Censorship, espionage, and suppression drove German radical liberals out of their world (the universities and the Turner societies) into the New World. Another factor that led to Germa...

Difference Between Samstag, Sonnabend, and Sonntag

Difference Between Samstag, Sonnabend, and Sonntag Samstag and Sonnabend  both mean Saturday and can be used interchangeably. So why does Saturday get two names in German? First of all, which version to use depends on where you live in the German-speaking world. Western and southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland use the older term â€Å"Samstag†, whereas eastern and northern Germany tend to use Sonnabend. The former GDR (in German: DDR) recognized Sonnabend as the official version. Historically the term Sonnabend, which means The evening before Sunday, can be traced back surprisingly to an English missionary! It was none other than St. Bonifatius, who was determined during the 700’s to convert the Germanic tribes in the Frankish empire. One of his items on his to-do list was to replace the word Samstag or Sambaztac as it was known then, which was of Hebraic origin (Shabbat), to the Old English term â€Å"Sunnanaefen.† This term made sense since it signified the evening and later on the day before Sunday and thus was easily integrated into old high German. The term â€Å"Sunnanaefen† evolved into the middle high German â€Å"Sun[nen]abent† and then finally into the version we speak today.As for St. Bonifatius, despite his successful mission among the Germanic people, was killed by a group of inhabitants in Frisia (Friesland), which is known nowadays as the Netherlands (Niederlande) and northwestern Germany today. It is interesting to note that the Dutch kept the original version for Saturday only (zaterdag). The Cultural Meaning of Samstag The Saturday  evening was always the day where they would show the main blockbusters on TV. We remember studying the TV magazine - we admit, we are a bit older- and really feeling the Vorfreude (joy of anticipation) when we saw a Hollywood movie being shown on Saturday. On Saturdays, they would also show the big entertainment shows like Wetten Dass...? which you might have heard of. Its host Thomas Gottschalk (his name literally means: Gods Joker) most likely still lives in the US nowadays. We loved that show when we were younger and less thinking about what was going on there. Later we realized that it was actually pretty horrible. It entertained millions of people and so far everyone following into Gottschalks footsteps has failed to continue his success. It was big news when they finally put that dinosaur to sleep.   Sonnabend versus Sonntag Now that you know that Sonnabend is actually the evening before Sonntag (Sunday) you might be able to easily distinguish these two German weekdays. The Sunday though is a very special day in Germany. In our youth, it was the day that the family would spend together and in case you were religious youd go to church in the morning to start off the day. It was also the day all the stores in the countryside are closed. Which lead to a little culture shock when we came to Poland in 1999 and saw many stores open on Sunday. We had always thought that the Sunday was some kind of Christian holiday but as the Poles were even stricter Christians than the Germans, we couldnt quite grasp this. So dont be surprised when you come to Germany. Even in the bigger cities, the main stores are closed. The only way to get what you urgently desire is to go to a Tankstelle (gas station) or a Spti (late shop). Expect the prices to be up to 100% higher than usual.

Philosophy and Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Philosophy and Media - Essay Example Neo begins to seriously reflect upon the nature of his identity and existence in the middle of the movie as he is already taken to the Nebuchadnezzar. This rather personal and philosophical search begins with Agent Smith saying that Neo is seeking answers to his own questions although Neo himself does not even realize he is doing this. The point is that Neo’s search for himself and questions about his existence begins with a doubt, much like the 17th century philosopher Rene Descartes who wrote, â€Å"†¦it will be sufficient to justify the rejection of the whole if I shall find in each some ground for doubt† for this systematic process of doubting is â€Å"the only way to achieve clear and well-reasoned conclusions† (Author, Year). This means that if Neo had not doubted his existence, he would have simply stayed in the Matrix and, although such ignorance would have felt like bliss, he would forfeit all the possibility of knowing who he really is and what rea lity is actually like. As Morpheus tells Neo what he and reality are really like as well as what the Matrix is, this is the only time that Neo begins to realize his true identity and only then is he able to start being conscious of his own existence. Besides, â€Å"it would be impossible to be self-conscious if we didn’t have a personal identity of which to be conscious† (Author, Year). After Morpheus explains to Neo what he calls â€Å"the desert,† which is a rather simplistic term for what the real environment looks like in contrast with the virtual environment in the Matrix, Neo is shocked but is enlightened at the same time (Berman & Wachowski, 1999). Nevertheless, as he learns the truth that he is a person of and from this â€Å"desert,† it is only then that he comes to develop true self-consciousness. Moreover, Neo bases his own existence on his mind, or, more specifically, on the activities of his mind, or on his mental faculties. He knows that he exists only through his thoughts and his beliefs. The actions of his thoughts are evident in the scenes where he discovers his hidden abilities merely by thinking through his Kung Fu training with Morpheus and the one where he has to jump from one building rooftop to another. Through these scenes, Neo is able to prove once again a rationalistic approach to reflecting on his own identity. According to Descartes, â€Å"†¦it would even happen, if I should wholly cease to think, that I should at the same time altogether cease to be† (Author, Year). Therefore, realizing that he is a thinking being and that it is through this thinking faculty that he defines his own existence, Neo then proceeds from this and develops his self-consciousness and the various aspects of himself – physically, emotionally and intellectually – from his thinking mind. Furthermore, he also chooses the Real World as the place where he develops aspects of himself and not from the Matrix, wh ere such aspects are fake. In short, upon knowing that his true identity is that of the Real World, Neo has now attained a degree of self-consciousness where he would make choices only based on the context of the Real World and not anymore of the Matrix. The Matrix then, which is represented by Agent Smith

Nottingham Contemporary Gallery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nottingham Contemporary Gallery - Essay Example This makes the area, overall, a better place to live for everybody, while increasing property values. This project examines whether this was the case with Nottingham after the Nottingham Contemporary Gallery came into the area, which had the aim of transitioning the neighborhood from the industry of lace to an area that is more based upon innovation. The results of this project, along with a literature review and conclusion, is the focus of this paper. Literature Review Lace Quarter and Nottingham Contemporary Gallery Then and Now The Nottingham Contemporary Gallery is part of a unique landscape, in that it sits in an area where the alluvial Trent Valley meets a sandstone bluff. Nottingham itself became a part of the industrial revolution in the nineteenth century, its primary product being lace. According to Matthews (2008), Nottingham became during this period of time the world centre for the lace trade, because skilled engineers were able to make lace machines, and the buildings w hich surrounded the Town Hall became the lace market. This was the area where the merchants could congregate, because it was close to warehouses and sales offices. Mason (2004) writes that during the peak of the lace production, which was around 1810, that there were up to 1,800 frames which were knitting the net that would become known as â€Å"Nottingham Lace.† The major groups of warehouses that created this lace was at Hounds Gate and Castle Gate, and around St. Mary’s Gate (The lace industry waxed and waned during the early part of the 20th Century, and entered a decline in the 1930s (Matthews, 2008). With the decline of the lace industry came an overall decline of the area surrounding the site of the Nottingham Contemporary Gallery. Therefore, there became a need to re-use this site, and the arts centre, and the city living apartments planned around it, was the idea for this new use (Matthews, 2008). Meanwhile, the old buildings which served as lace warehouses du ring the height of the lace era have been re-used as flats, bars, offices and colleges. These are the buildings which remain in the physical core of the Lace Market, and the buildings that remain are large and distinctive, marked by Victorian architecture, an architectural type that came to be valued in the late 1960s, therefore the buildings came to have historical significance (Ferris, Long (2009) states that the Nottingham Contemporary Gallery, which is at the heart of the urban renewal for the area, is a gateway for the city. The NCG â€Å"draws an extraordinarily large swathe of the city into visual dialogue† (Woodman, 2009, p. 12). The Lace Quarter is still visible to tourists and residents alike, and the gallery borders this quarter. The building itself was built in response to another type of legacy, that of contemporary art, which is appropriate, considering that Nottingham has a vibrant art school and a history of performance art. The building itself was designed to reflect the physical character of the site, which means that it would reflect the sandstone bluff and valley upon which it sits, as well as reflect the architecture of the grand buildings that served as the lace warehouses (Administrator, 2009). Moreover, the gallery is not just a gallery – rather, it is an arts centre, with a connection to the local arts community. The curator of public programmes, Rob Blackson, ensures the gallery’

The Politics of a New Industrial Order Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Politics of a New Industrial Order - Essay Example elieved that every individual is equal and no one should be treated unequally in the society so they struggled to remove corruption and influence of rich people on the society. They also aimed to increase the government-public relationship so that there will be no communication gaps between and the problems of people could be solved. (Ideas and movements, 19th Century) To carry on with their motives and beliefs the progressives used different tactics. Many intellectuals wrote about the horrors of poverty, urban slums, dangerous factory conditions, and child labor to inform the people and get their support which was needed for the movement to succeed. The next major thing in the early reform period was abolitionism that is the force to remove slavery from the society. It also prohibited the intake of intoxicants as it pollutes the mind. After that was the struggle for the rights of women and the decreasing value of rural areas. After that it was the turn of social Darwinism to be removed from the society. This step was taken to loosen the grip of wealthy people on the society. The movement benefitted the people by loosening the power of their bosses on them. It helped them in getting rid of the gentry. The steps to stop labor exploitation gave safer work environment to the workers and this dropped the death rate. Different acts that were passed helped the investors (Sherman Antitrust Act 1890). Apart from benefits, the movement had some drawbacks. It triggered long work hours as the economy was expanding and the labor worked for very long hours. The next flaw was that by increasing the public-government relationship, the movement increased the chances of corruption and bribery. The movement encouraged schooling but at that time the industry had a great influence due to which the intellectual became reluctant to teach and thus the students became reluctant to study.