Diary Entry Exploring a Girls Struggle with Self-Worth Essay Example for Free

Diary Entry Exploring a Girls Struggle with Self-Worth Essay This morning, just like any other morning, I dreaded waking up again. I had to join reality, but I didn’t feel presentable to the world. I never do. A few months ago, someone told me I was pretty. I asked him to stop flattering me, I didn’t believe him anyway. I wish I could. I wish I could just be myself. I wish I could relax and feel normal. I wish I could just be secure. I wish I could feel good enough. But I don’t. Not by a long shot. I cannot believe I’m pretty. My hair is fluffy, I’ve got spots on my way too big nose, my skin is dry†¦ Those things are not the factors that define someone pretty. Those factors make me ugly. I have always had problems with people. From an early age, I learned that it’s not OK to be myself. My body, my face, my clothes, my words, my movements, nothing was good enough. It started off with my parents, continued with my classmates in primary school and has not stopped until now, high school. I was, am and will always be the ugly one. The stupid one. The wrong one. I am being bullied day and night, online and in person, verbally and mentally. There’s no one on my side, so it’s me against the world. They make up rumors, and I’m the one that’s in tears. They never think of anyone else except themselves. At first, I tried to fight back, but I soon found out that only makes it worse. Any word I say, gives them something new to dupe me. So, I decided to pretend I’m strong. And happy. My grades are at an all time low, but my morals are even lower. The only thing I do, is trying to make it through another day. I remember any insult that came out of their mouths, although I tried to erase them from my brain. Somehow, everyone of their twisted words manages to stay burned into my mind. Every snicker, every dirty look, every nasty word, holds a special place in my mind. But that place is not a happy place. It’s dark in there, unhappy and extremely miserable. It is kept under lock and key. You can never have your guard up all the time. You can never pretend you’re always strong. You can never always pretend your life isnt crumbling around you. You can never fake true happiness. Its like walking on broken glass. By now, I am so broken down, I’m losing it. I just want to disappear. I lost my will to live. To fight another day in that devastating world, is the last thing I want. I hate myself and feel incredibly stupid all the time, a feeling that never leaves me alone. I always wake up in the same miserable life. Then back to school. When I walk down the hallway, it is always a battle with my tormentors. People I once deemed friends and people I barely know yell mean things to me, in a way everyone can hear. Everyone makes up their audience. Perfect for them. Horrible for me. Getting back home isn’t any better. It’s even worse. My parents, my brother, my sisters. They are meant to love me, but all they do is making me feel even more insecure. Whatever I do, it’s never good enough. I try so hard to satisfy them, but I never succeed. It’s wearing me out. No one ever knows how miserably I really feel. I hate looking in the mirror. I hate what I see. I hate the sound of my own voice. I never before experienced a group of people trying so hard, to be so mean. To a girl. A girl like me. A girl like me should be loved. Most girls are. But somehow, that just isn’t for me. I’m not cut out for this thing called life. At first, I deemed it bad luck. Now I know better. It is my own fault, I am the ugly one. The stupid one. The wrong one. So, today, I took a pocket knife and I did it. I deserved it. In a way, it was relieving too. For a little ten seconds, I just stared at the blood running down my arm, on my hand, to my fingers and dripping off their tips. Fascinating. For that little ten seconds, I didn’t feel anything. I just loved to see the blood running down and down, to eventually leave my hand via my finger tips. It was like my misery ran down with the blood. What a disappointment after my ten seconds. I’d have loved to stay like that forever. But I needed to get back to real life, just like waking up every morning. Somehow, there must be a way to be in my own ten seconds forever. They wouldn’t care anyway.

Theodore Kaczynski Essay examples -- essays research papers fc

I. Life Kaczynski was born on May 22, 1942 to Wanda and Theodore Kaczynski of Evergreen Park Ill, a tidy and middle class suburb of Chicago. The second son Ted’s brother, David was born in 1950. As children, both kids were very reclusive, not playing with any neighbor children and rarely seen outside of the house. At a young age Ted started to show signs of being a gifted learner, he skipped a year in elementary school and his junior year in high school. Ted spent most of his early life studying math and science alone instead of being social in any kind of way. Ted had a different side to him though, he had a love of explosives which he homemade with his know how in the fields that he studied. Kaczynski was accepted into Harvard at 16 years old but he was finished before turning 20. Next he became a professor at Berkley university. In 1969 Ted gave up the job to live with his parents. He became fed up with his family and left for Montana in 1971 to live on the 1.4-acre plot of land he and his brother had bought near Lincoln . Once there, Ted built a small one-room shack on this parcel of land surrounded by dense deciduous forest. The shack measured 10 feet by 12 feet and lacked electricity and plumbing. Kaczinski lived by farming a few vegetables in his small garden and venturing into town only when necessary. It is unknown when Kaczynski started to make his bombs for the purpose of killing but his motives, the FBI believe are his beliefs about today’s society being dest...

De Havilland Essay

Executive Summary De Havilland is a major player the Canadian aircraft manufacturing industry. Founded in 1928 by a British company, De Havilland has had multiple acquisitions by various organizations including the government. As of 1992, the organization was co-owned by the government of Ontario with 49% shares and Bombardier Inc. with 51%. The company’s strategic goal is to keep their competitive advantage by focusing on cost reduction through negotiating long-term contracts with various vendors to capture economies of scale as well as set a fixed cost to secure price stability. Although de Havilland’s existing flap shroud supplier was unwilling to accept the renegotiated 25% discount to the current price, the company had more than a year’s inventory left with the contract expiring in 1993. De Havilland decided that it would be appropriate to solicit suppliers. Nine submissions were received, with the cost difference between the lowest and highest bid at $2,061,180. Based on the information provided it was evident that Marton Enterprise had the most attractive proposal. Issue Identification Long Term – Strategic * Contract between de Havilland and Dollard Plastics of Montreal, Quebec for flap shrouds for Series 300A airplane will be expiring at the end of 1993. * Dash 8 airplane represented 60-65 per cent of de Havilland’s total manufacturing costs * De Havilland buyer tried to negotiate 25% discount from Dollard, but was rejected * De Havilland’s BSB is trying to implement cost reduction strategy by: * Partnering with smaller base of vendors to capture economies of scale * Commit to long-term contracts for a span of five years with firm, fixed prices Environmental and Root Cause Analysis Founded in 1928 by a British company, De Havilland has become a significant part of the Canadian aircraft manufacturing industry. As of 1992, the organization was co-owned by the government of Ontario that held 49% of the shares and Bombardier Inc. owning the remaining 51%. With multiple acquisitions by various companies and the government over the past half-century, the organization has implemented several activities into their operations. These activities implemented in different stages of the supply chain have successfully provided versatility in satisfying customers’ needs, from procurement to production. During Boeing’s ownership, de Havilland experienced tremendous evolution in their corporate processes. In particular the purchasing cycle is a noteworthy system developed during this time. In Exhibit 1 of the case study the diagram demonstrates the step-by-step procurement process the company goes through when it encounters a design change/new design, requiring sou rcing of a new part that has not been previously purchased before. Parties that are involved are mainly composed of representatives from Finance and Material departments. The level of management involvement depended on the size of the contract. De Havilland’s current issue was selecting a new vendor to source flap shrouds from. Dollard Plastics, a company based in Montreal, Quebec has been supplying flap shrouds for their Series 300A airplane, but their contract was about to expire at the end of 1993. With parts costs of the De Havilland’s Dash 8 accounting for 60-65% of the organization’s total manufacturing costs, the purchasing department attempted to request a 25% discount from Dollard as a strategy for cost reduction. However, their request for a lower price was rejected. With the failed renegotiation, the procurement process had to move back to bidder selection board stage. In addition to the cost reduction strategy mentioned earlier, de Havilland’s objective was to partner with a smaller base of vendors to take advantage of economies of scale. They would like to establish long-term cooperative contracts (i.e. five years) with fixed pricing so frequent negotiations won’t be necessary . Based on the nine RFQ submissions from various vendors, Marton Enterprise Inc. offered the lowest prices. With the comprehensive data and additional information that Kim Tomar obtained, it was evident there was great potential in a long-term business partnership with Marton. The difference between Dollard and Marton’s normalized bids total for the program was a whopping $2,061,180 ($2,810,174- $748,994), which could be a substantial saving amount de Havilland would be making. Marton has stated in their pricing proposal that their bid is a stand-alone pricing. This could mean it would be difficult for de Havilland to discuss a lower price than the proposed. The vendor has also stated from past history material costs typically increased 4% to 6% per year, and with that assumption which they have accounted they are willing to enter into a firm fixed price proposal with de Havilland from August 1992 to July 1997. Although Marton’s initial bid amount is quite attractive, de Havilland will have to take into account the possibility of Marton overstating their position in order to acquire the bid. This may become a strategic barrier that could become costly down the road. Another reason for such a significantly lower price offered by Marton could be the fact they may be compromising the quality of the materials or services. Lastly, it could just plainly be that Marton operates more efficiently than other vendors, thus able to incur higher savings. Whatever the case may be, de Havilland should conduct a thorough quality analysis of vendor production to determine whether Marton’s quality and cost levels are aligned with de Havilland’s expectations. Based on the reviews of past purchasing trends, forecasts conducted by representatives from the Finance and Material department, the Bidder Selection Board should have an idea of how much the parts should cost and if the prices submitted are realistic. De Havilland should also keep the other vendors who offered close bids in consideration (i.e. DAS Composites and Lakesides Industries). These bids would help in the negotiation process in strategically obtaining a potential value. With Kim Tomar’s recommendation to the Source Selection Board, SSB should establish low, target and authority price levels for one or more of the vendors and see which group provides the best offer. In terms of power relationships, it seems like it is a fairly level playing ground for both de Havilland and Marton. Based on the comprehensive data provided by Marton and the side documents obtained by Tomar it seems like Marton’s well-prepared proposal has gained them a high amount of seller power in the negotiation. At the same time, with the favorable bids de Havilland received from other vendors, they would be able to use those bids to help negotiate a good deal. At the bottom line though, it depends on how much power each company has to make decisions or if both would require approval from the parent companies. Alternatives Alternative 1 – Select Marton Enterprise as vendor based on analysis conducted for negotiation Advantages: Â  1. Lowest bid out of all nine bid submissions, providing substantial savings in manufacturing costs, more than the original targeted 25% discount 2. Establish a long-term contract with fixed pricing reducing the need for renegotiations 3. Potential for long-term relationship that would greatly improve operational efficiencies Disadvantages: 1. Quality and service might be compromised to reap savings 2. Puts de Havilland at risk if partnership with Marton is a poor decision (poor quality, service), may cause ripple effect 3. No BATNA in case negotiation does not succeed with Marton Enterprise Alternative 2 – Select Marton Enterprise, DAS Composites, and/or Lakeside Industries as vendors for negotiation . Advantages: 1. Provides a BATNA in case negotiation with Marton Enterprise fails 2. May open up other opportunities with sourcing of other parts 3. Can be used as a good negotiation tool Disadvantages: 1. Time consuming, may require more management involvement in the beginning to make decision Recommendation Based on the comprehensive data provided by Marton and the additional information that supports the credibility of the company, it would be best for De Havilland to select Marton Enterprise as vendor based on analysis conducted for negotiation. Implementation 1. After all the analysis and normalization has been conducted, de Havilland should inform Marton that they have been selected as the potential flap shrouds vendor. 2. As a team from the source selection board that is made up of Finance, Materials, Engineering and higher management personnel, they should meet with representatives from the other party to discuss the finer details of the agreement 3. They should review the proposal once again as a group and make modification of estimates 4. With a lawyer present, write out the outline of the contract 5. Once a draft has been made, each party should review it and schedule a time to meet again to sign the contract 6. Supply of flap shrouds will commence Monitor and Control De Havilland should assign staff from the source selection board that is already familiar with the vendor’s representatives to meet with the other party for periodic meetings. These meetings will allow both groups to review the progress, discuss issues that may have arise, and perform periodic quality assurance checkups/inspections. These periodic performance reviews and audits would confirm vendor compliance based on the agreement. References * Module 2 Procurement_Candidate Manual 2013 1.0.pdf * Module 2 Readings Manual 2013 1.0.pdf

The Popus Murderer Do You Know Who It Is - 1158 Words

At the age of ten I murdered my nanny. To others, I say the incident was an accident. She just happened to slip and fall on the knife in my hand, which killed her instantly. However, I am the only one that knows the truth. After all, how could an awkward ten year old, undeveloped boy obtain the power to murder another being? On my parent’s fifth anniversary, seven years ago, they went out for a romantic night. Rosetta, our nanny, was taking too long to make my dinner. I got impatient. Without her noticing, I walked to the utensil drawer, pulled out a knife, and plunged it into her back. Blood oozed down our bodies like an exploded gyser, but I pushed the knife in farther. Her scream was the last noise she made. Until I turned seventeen, I could control my desires. Instead of hormones, I developed a force only curable with murder. To keep myself sane, I developed a two week ritual; the stability in my life. For a year now, every other Saturday night, I stalk and dispose of my p rey. Blonde hair and blue eyes is all a girl needs to qualify. As a teenager, I already made some risky slaughters. Brutal stabbings, poisoning, and disposing of a victim’s flesh through a meat grinder were my favorite. The island Popus served as the perfect location for my activities. The majority of the year, the sea is reckless, and the police officers were idiots, never willing to take cognizance. These factors made it easy to manipulate the police into thinking the ocean is the culprit behind

Affirmative Action Overview

Affirmative action refers to policies that try to correct past discrimination in hiring, university admissions, and other candidate selection. The necessity of affirmative action is often debated. The concept of affirmative action is that positive steps should be taken to ensure equality, instead of ignoring discrimination or waiting for society to fix itself. Affirmative action becomes controversial when it is perceived as giving preference to minorities or women over other qualified candidates. The Origin of Affirmative Action Programs Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy used the phrase â€Å"affirmative action† in 1961. In an executive order, President Kennedy required federal contractors to â€Å"take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed†¦without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin.† In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson issued an order that used the same language to call for nondiscrimination in government employment.  Ã‚   It was not until 1967 that President Johnson addressed sex discrimination. He issued another executive order on October 13, 1967. It expanded his previous order and required the government’s equal opportunity programs to â€Å"expressly embrace discrimination on account of sex† as they worked toward equality. The Need for Affirmative Action The legislation of the 1960s was part of a larger climate of seeking equality and justice for all members of society. Segregation had been legal for decades after the end of slavery. President Johnson argued for affirmative action: if two men were running a race, he said, but one had his legs bound together in shackles, they could not achieve a fair result by simply removing the shackles. Instead, the man who had been in chains should be allowed to make up the missing yards from the time he was bound. If striking down segregation laws could not instantly solve the problem, then positive steps of affirmative action could be used to achieve what President Johnson called â€Å"equality of result.† Some opponents of affirmative action saw it as a â€Å"quota† system that unfairly demanded a certain number of minority candidates be hired no matter how qualified the competing white male candidate was. Affirmative action brought up different issues concerning women in the workplace.  There was little protest of women in traditional â€Å"women’s jobs†Ã¢â‚¬â€secretaries, nurses, elementary school teachers, etc. As more women began to work in jobs that had not been traditional women’s jobs, there was an outcry that giving a job to a woman over a qualified male candidate would be â€Å"taking† the job from the man. The men needed the job, was the argument, but the women did not need to work. In her 1979 essay â€Å"The Importance of Work,† Gloria Steinem rejected the notion that women should not work if they do not â€Å"have to. She pointed out the double standard that employers never ask men with children at home if they need the job for which they are applying. She also argued that many women do, in fact, â€Å"need† their jobs. Work is a human right, not a male right, she wrote, and she criticized the false argument that independence for women is a luxury. New and Evolving Controversies Has affirmative action corrected past inequality? During the 1970s, the controversy over affirmative action often surfaced around the issues of government hiring and equal employment opportunity. Later, the affirmative action debate shifted away from the workplace and toward college admissions decisions. It has thus shifted away from women and back to a debate over race. There are roughly equal numbers of men and women admitted to higher education programs, and women have not been the focus of university admissions arguments. U.S. Supreme Court decisions have examined the affirmative action policies of competitive state schools such as the University of California and the University of Michigan. Although strict quotas have been struck down, a university admissions committee may consider minority status as one of many factors in admissions decisions as it selects a diverse student body.   Still Necessary? The Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Liberation Movement achieved a radical transformation of what society accepted as normal. It is often difficult for subsequent generations to understand the need for affirmative action. They may have grown up intuitively knowing that â€Å"you can’t discriminate because that’s illegal!†Ã‚   While some opponents say affirmative action is outdated, others find that women still face a â€Å"glass ceiling† that prevents them from advancing past a certain point in the workplace.   Many organizations continue to promote inclusive policies, whether or not they use the term â€Å"affirmative action.† They fight discrimination on the basis of disability, sexual orientation, or family status (mothers or women who may become pregnant). Amid calls for a race-blind, neutral society, the debate over affirmative action continues.

The Road Not Taken By Robert Frost Essay - 1554 Words

Two Roads, Two Choices, One Decision â€Å"The Road Not Taken,† written by Robert Frost, discusses a traveler who has to make a choice between two roads. In the first stanza, the traveler remembers standing at an intersection of two roads. Indecisive about which road to take, he seems to believe that one of the roads would be more beneficial to him (Lee 5). In stanza two, the narrator refers to the traveler’s unexpected decision to take the other road by giving details of it. In addition, the narrator compares the two roads and points out their similarities. In the third stanza, the author highlights again the resemblance of the two roads by saying the traveler wishes to return to the other path the same day. He also recognizes that he would possibly not come back. Similarly, stanza four visualizes the traveler’s future, where he is still questioning the other path because he says that the path he is choosing is less traveled than the one that he is abandoning (Lee 5). The narrator refers to  "individualism† as the major theme of the poem because the traveler is alone and has to make a difficult decision on his own. Frost also said that the tension in the poem is based on the traveler’s interaction with nature. He has a sense of wonder at the beauty of the natural world as he is searching for his own place within nature’s involvement. The title of the poem â€Å"The Road Not Taken,† assures autonomy of choice. Most readers fail to understand this initial expectancy of literallyShow MoreRelatedThe Road Not Taken By Robert Frost983 Words   |  4 PagesThe poem â€Å"The Road Not Taken was written by Robert Frost, a four-time Pulitzer Prize winner in poetry, and also a special guest at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration (Robert Frost Biography). Frost was born on March 26, 1874 in San Francisco, California and he died of complications from prostate surgery on January 29, 1963. Much of Robert’s popularity was gained througho ut Europe (An Analysis of Robert Frost’s Poem: The Road Not Taken). Frost became a poetic force, and the unofficial poetRead MoreThe Road Not Taken by Robert Frost764 Words   |  3 PagesWritten by Robert Frost, â€Å"The Road Not Taken† deals with about making choices in life and how those choices affect your whole life. The meter of this poem is iambic tetrameter, for the most part. In most lines, the meter follows the rule with four iambs, which means that there is one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. But the meter is not normal since, in some lines, an anapest, which means there are two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable, is substituted forRead MoreThe Road Not Taken By Robert Frost1173 Words   |  5 PagesRobert Frost, one of America’s well-known poets is highly regarded for his realistic illustrations of rural life and poetry which is still relevant in today’s society. After being honoured on numerous oc casions, he became one of America’s most popular public figures. Frosts’ poems reflect his greatness and his life in a variety of ways after he was confronted with such despair and grief after the passing of his father due to tuberculosis at just eleven years of age and his mother who passed awayRead MoreThe Road Not Taken By Robert Frost995 Words   |  4 Pagesthey can only move forward hoping for the best. â€Å"The Road Not Taken†, Robert Frost, 1916. In â€Å"The Road Not Taken† a traveler is strolling through the woods and comes across two different roads he could take, and unable to travel both the poet eventually chooses which path to take. The theme conveyed is about making choices. Frost does this through the use of diction, the use of figure of speech, and the use of imagery. To start with, Frost displays the main idea of decision making by the wordsRead MoreThe Road Not Taken By Robert Frost1055 Words   |  5 Pagesago. Either way, if you admit it now or in the wee hours of the night, like most people, you will come across this question at least once in your life. Robert Frost was able to grasp this raw, vulnerable life changing moment in the palm of his hand. Then he beautifully laid it out in the form of words in the narrative poem â€Å"The Road Not Taken†. Frost is able to take you back to a time when you have been faced with a life-changing decision. Then, causing you to ask yourself â€Å"Did I make the right choiceRead MoreThe Road Not Taken By Robert Frost940 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Road Not Taken† was written by Robert Frost in 1916, and it was the first poem in the collection Mountain Interval (Shmoop). Even though it was written many years ago, people of all ages still study this enticing poem. Frost wrote about coming to a fork in the woods and examining which path he should take and whether he might ever come back; the speaker believes each path is fine to take, but he takes the less used path (line 6). He wrote about this decision in clear, standard English. â€Å"TheRead MoreThe Road Not Taken, By Robert Frost968 Words   |  4 PagesPersonal Response 3 Title: The Road Not Taken Text Type: Poem Author: Robert Frost The poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost is about the â€Å"roads† and different paths we take in our lives. Frost wrote about a traveler who had to chose between two roads. He had to decide if he wanted to go down the well used or less used path. In the end, he went down the less used path. The theme of decision making and choices is shown in this poem. I think that this is a way of describing the choices we makeRead MoreThe Road Not Taken By Robert Frost863 Words   |  4 PagesThe Poem, â€Å"The Road Not Taken†, by Robert Frost is a detailed poem about a conflict in a person’s life, dealing with having to take the right path throughout life. The Narrator of this poem is faced with a predicament when he comes across two paths. The choices that he makes in his life, can alter the future for better or worse. This poem describes his attitude and emotion towards his choices as well as, shows examples of themes, mood, and different literary devi ces. The title of this poem canRead MoreRoad Not Taken, Robert Frost942 Words   |  4 PagesEnglish 101 Burstrem October 7, 2009 The Road Not Taken Life is full of choices and decisions that could ultimately change the outcome of our lives. In the poem, â€Å"The Road Not Taken† by Robert Frost, a traveler is destined to make that decision. This traveler man has to decide which road to take, one that is frequently traveled, and the one that is not. After contemplating which road to follow, he comes to the decision to take the road less traveled because he doesn’t want to follow inRead MoreThe Road Not Taken By Robert Frost1100 Words   |  5 PagesRobert Frost reflects that poetry â€Å"begins in delight and ends in wisdom†¦.It runs a course of lucky events , and ends in a clarification of life—not necessarily a great clarification, such as sects and cults are found on, but in a momentary stay against confusion† (931). His poem â€Å"The Road Not Taken† is a clarification of life. This paper will analyze and evaluate the formal elements of â€Å"The Road Not Taken† and consid er how these elements work together to fit the author’s purpose and clarification

Jessica Yassen’s Philosophy of Meaning and Value Plan Free Essays

string(31) " processes and system impacts\." Abstract As a leader in today’s society individuals need to have an understanding and an approach outlined to describe their meanings and values in life. An application plan describes personal experiences and outlooks, philosophies on life, ethical standards, values, along with personal career plans and growth. This paper demonstrates the author Jessica Yassen’s approach to meaning and value along with her application plan. We will write a custom essay sample on Jessica Yassen’s Philosophy of Meaning and Value Plan or any similar topic only for you Order Now This plan will describe how Jessica Yassen will apply her philosophies guided by theories from philosophers in the traditional era such as Aristotle, modern era such as Descartes to Wittgenstein, and postmodern era such as Derrida, Foucault, and Rorty. This plan will be revised as postmodernism continues to be redefined through the creation of new paradigms in society. Jessica Yassen’s Philosophy of Meaning and Value Plan Meaning, significance, importance, value, worth is a debatable issue. Meaning is a quality inherent in something independent of an individual who considers something meaningful. The sections that follow are from the author’s own set of values and meanings. While she attempts to argue her case convincingly she knows that this is all just one point of view and can be discounted as such. Approach to Meaning and Value The author’s perspective and value system believes that there is no meaning in unity that has any relevance to the personality. The personality cannot know unity and therefore cannot know the meaning of unity. There is no fixed, inherent meaning in our lives, in creation, in duality. Everything is subject to change, so all meanings will change. The meanings given to things are a complex product of culture, beliefs, personal values, philosophy, realizations, life experiences, habits, and more. Society often uses meaning to construct a coherent narrative of our lives and uses this narrative to give a context for the decisions made according to the values held. The narrative changes as society changes. When more people seem to share the same narrative or meanings there is a less threat to that narrative or those meanings. In the extreme this can lead to non-engagement with those that do not share the same narrative and exclusion of people who did share the same view but now do not. This develops the accepted shared reality of societies. That concept of meaning and purpose occupy the mind and drive many of our emotional responses such as euphoria to the other extreme of depression. The more negative the emotion, such as anxiety, one tends to originate from a perceived threat to or conflict in what society considers meaningful or purposeful. Moore and Bunder (2002) stated that Aristotle valued the power of human reason, with the influence of culture, to envision and classify nature and human understanding and to make ethical judgments concerning the good man. The author agrees with Aristotle in the fact that humans are naturally emotional and have an understanding of what is good and what is not. Even if someone does not act ethically, he or she has the ability to listen to reason of what he or she did wrong and why the action is perceived wrong in society. Leary (1980) described Rene Descartes as having an understanding that philosophy is the study of wisdom where wisdom governs everything in life. Another view from the modern era was that of Ludwig Wittgenstein. Moore and Bruder (2002) stated that Ludwig used analysis philosophy to derive value. The author leans towards Ludwig’s views in the fact that she analyzes everything and believes there is a reason in seeing the true reality. In the post-modern era, views from Jacque Derrida, Michael Foucault, and Richard Rorty were formed. These postmodernist believe that reason is subjective and that truth is non-existent. They tend to believe what they are told in their social group and are always looking to answer the reason; however, when the answer is found, they challenge the answer. The author believes that those that embrace the postmodern paradigm will be effective based on the fact that they will always be trying to improve themselves, those around them, and the systems they work with always believing that there will be always be room for growth because perfection can not be obtained. They will challenge those that work for or with them to think critically and creatively to do their best. As a leader, the author realizes that the world is constantly changing and before she can challenge my team to think critically and creatively, they must have an up-to-date knowledge of the business area and world improvements. She would need to assess and address learning needs and evaluate the impact on the team and the company. Learning would need to be work-based such as mentoring, shadowing, and training where appropriate. After the learning opportunities have been addressed, then as a leader, round table discussions with the team will help spark the creative and critical thinking. Personal Experiences The author has experience on how to spark creativity and helping others think critically. Her last manager had team meetings where everyone participated in fun exercises such as using craft items such as buttons, balloons, aluminum foil, ties, marbles, and markers to build the perfect team member. The designs were very creative. Using this type of creative thinking with round table, the author can see system designs taking place through creative interactive thoughts. Challenging users by offering incentives is also a win-win. An example is where the author’s company implemented a new program where an incentive was to be given for figuring out the best way to implement a new feature needed. A user came up with the best way to effectively program the feature and design to implement. This saved the company about $25,000. The reward was a week of paid time off. Now everyone thinks and knows that there are incentives to do better through creative process such as designing a system to thinking critically such as processes and system impacts. You read "Jessica Yassen’s Philosophy of Meaning and Value Plan" in category "Papers" Personal Philosophy on Life The author’s personal philosophy on life is to be kind, honest, helpful, truthful, and generous. Her personality is best suited for a profession in information systems. She loves to work with computers and the technologies surrounding computers. Fear, anxiety, and uncertainty are influences that affect new computer users in today’s society. Ethical Standards and Values If someone’s personality is able to function in society and permits him or her to reasonably efficiently live and prosper according to his or her own value system then he or she is doing well. When individuals become aware of aspects of the personality that interfere with their ability to realize what they value then they should use personality tools as part of the approach to doing something. If someone operates from a value system that seeks no fixed meanings or purpose he or she will often find such personality tools to be highly effective as there is a greater facility for letting go of the attitudes and habits that are the source of most personality conflicts. The belief system of the mediator is crucial in their ability to meditate. Some belief systems are not useful and too much identification with self-analysis unconsciously creates its own problems as demonstrated by those who struggle in meditation. Surrender, acceptance, self-love are the context in which the application of personality tools and a moderate amount of self-analysis can facilitate more effective meditation. Meditation can be used to avoid facing the issues that interfere with melting and can help society notice, accept, and work through the same issues. If someone is content and relaxed in life then he or she is probably melting in life and so will melt more completely in meditation. Future Plans and Ambitions The author’s career plans and ambitions are determined by several factors. These factors are based on her family, education, resources, and potential growth opportunities in her career path. Her first step is to familiarize herself with various options available. Once she has determined which career option entices her the most, she will find a course to help take her to her goal and determine preparations needed to achieve her goal. To be effective in her career plan, the author must lay out both long-term and short-term goals. The short-term goals are building blocks towards the larger long-term goal. Some of the short-term goals will include course work, training, and preparation required to achieve the ultimate goal. As the author grows, she realizes that her goals may change. This will be factored in her decision-making process. Every decision is limited only by what she is capable of now or in the future and her ability to identify alternatives. She will explore alternatives available keeping in mind her core values, commitments, resources, and constraints. Working hard and never underestimating what can be achieved is the author’s motto. Evolution Growth and Changes There is no evolution towards some future perfection if there is no universal sole purpose for life. In fact biological evolution, when understood in the way biologists intend, offers a good analogy for the many ways humans can develop and unfold. Biological evolution is not striving to produce the perfect organism. The process of evolution favors the reproduction of organism that is well suited to a particular environment. As the environment changes so will the form best suited to that environment. There is no grand purpose to the changes in the environment and so there are no purposive changes in the organisms induced by that environmental change. The tendency to find meanings in the phenomena that manifest around us can be seen as a product of evolution. There is a biological advantage in responding to an observed pattern that results in more food, less danger, or other factors. Responding to apparently random or coincidental events as if they were connected is advantageous. Enlightenment in Life While there may be no ultimate meaning, purpose, or truth in life, life comes with the wonderful and mysterious gift that enlightenment can be realized. And while realization of this serves no ultimate, the knowledge has profound consequences for the way someone can live in his or her life and how to encounter the process of his or her death. And so there is value and meaning and purpose and truth to be found in helping others realize enlightenment. As someone who has realized enlightenment, the author choose to spend time helping others to realize the same state in their way because her value system considered this to be profoundly liberating and, within this narrative, gave her pleasure to see others finding that liberation too. This offers a radical and empowering insight and the possibility of resolution of personal and social conflict enabled by the shift of perspective inherent in the state. Challenging situations or concepts in order to question habitual value systems, let alone engage in the process of changing the situation takes conscious determination and interaction. Indeed, their value system may be very hostile to any process that involves questioning one’s value system. The concept of a hostile enlightened person does not rest easily with value systems that equate enlightenment with perfection of the personality but makes perfect sense if remembered that the personality does not realize the state of enlightenment. Perfection of the personality is not necessary to realizing enlightenment. Society can still be reasonable at letting go even with value systems that are judgmental or have a personality that struggles to cope with people or life. Enlightenment essentially involves letting go of absolutely everything just for an instant, and does not require that everything is sorted out before let go. If there is nothing that is more important than anything else, no way of living more meaningful than any other way, then society cannot hide from acting to help our fellow human beings behind statements such as ‘life is meaningless, only transcendence from this world of pain is meaningful’. The notion that this imperfect world is something to escape from may result in toleration of human suffering and dismissal of people who have given their lives to help others as being misguided. This has been used with effect by oppressive religious or political regimes. Applicable Aspects of Philosophy Care has to be taken in the expression of values not based on ultimate meanings to individuals who value the concept of there being ultimate meaning. Unless someone has had a strong experience of being in stillness and has had the opportunity to develop a sense of individuality there can be a devastating effect to have his or her sense of personal meaning and purpose deeply questioned. Values of kindness and compassion would restrain the philosophical aggression that would attack another’s beliefs. If society considers that values are personal and not universal then there is no imperative to inflict someone’s own value system on others. From this perspective there is a balance to be found between meeting someone’s own needs and the needs of those around. At times society must also decide that, according to their values, to tolerate or not the behavior of someone’s acts of violence, abuse, and intolerance for others. Traditional notions of morality and spirituality are also challenged by value systems. Concepts such as sin and karma have no place if there is nothing inherently wrong or right in any action. This does not mean that the abuse humans inflict on each other should be tolerated or condoned. Society finds that human values consider an action or attitude as being unacceptable and the social consensus of a group of a community that institutes laws to control behaviors that that community decides to not tolerate. Many societies are currently in turmoil because the traditional socially controlling religious values are breaking down with the rise of individualism and liberal tolerance. The author believes that no action is inherently bad or good. Every action has consequences across the whole of our lives to one extent or another. To act from self-interest and hatred will polarize interactions with life and cause those interactions to be based on self-interest and hatred and a life led in this context is less likely to find contentment. In order to respond positively to difficult events in life many people use the concept that such difficulties are meant to be and that they offer learning opportunities. There is a sense that their life is heading in a particular direction or to a particular goal and challenging situations are stepping-stones on the way perhaps guided by some universal intelligence. These attitudes help integrate survivable challenges but struggle to withstand lethal situations and seem trite in the face of the worst of human tragedy or abuse. Conclusion Many discussions of enlightenment will give the impression that through its realization the truth is known and that there is no mystery left. While the realization of the eternal state of unity that is enlightenment means that in that state there is no mystery, the truth of that state is known absolutely; the utter simplicity of this state can only answer questions that pertain to duality and life with a deep contented wisdom that things are as they are. Society can not reach closure in life nor finish the narrative of everyone’s lives because there is and always will be another perspective, always something unconsidered, or unknown. Only in unity is there such closure since unity has the simplest of narratives that never changes. The joy of enlightenment for the author is to be utterly content that all the meanings she finds in life and the purposes she gives are like ripples in the sand that will be reformed with every wave, allowing a new creative and refreshing response to life. How to cite Jessica Yassen’s Philosophy of Meaning and Value Plan, Papers