A Second Chance Essay Example for Free

A Second Chance Essay It was my chance to prove myself; I was about to go out there and audition for a talent show through singing and playing the piano. I was so sure that I would do it, since I knew the judges personally and they were already aware that I had the talent. I haven’t actually practiced the song as much as I was supposed to, but I was certain that I would know it properly since I have practiced before several times. I was waiting for my turn, and while I was waiting, I was starting to get nervous and tense about the whole thing. When I was up, I took a deep breath and started playing the song. The first thing I did wrong was mix up the notes. The first time was excused as it was thought to be normal and that everyone makes mistakes. The second time was also excused, the third, the fourth.. It was starting to get irritating. Other than the note mix up, when I started to sing, my voice went too high and I started to get out of breath. In addition to this, I forgot and mixed all the lyrics of the song. This made me stop in the middle of the song excusing myself for all the mistakes that I’ve done. Since the judges were my friends, they were totally understandable; they realized that I was nervous and that I am good at this, despite my failed efforts. This made me feel miserable. I have failed to preform something I have known and been playing for almost a year. I couldn’t sing the song without making a word mixup every now and then. I informed the judges the next day that I would like to audition again, and this time I was going to do it right. The minute I told them I was going to audition again, I went home searching for a completely different song to preform, and this time I was going to focus on singing it only. I found the perfect song, and once I did I started practicing on it. I have noticed that the last time I auditioned, I was nervous when my turn was up, so I decided to ask different people I knew to hear me out, and anytime I would get nervous I would randomly start singing, to try and overcome my fear of preforming in front of a crowd. When the day of my second audition finally arrived, I was assured that I would do it this time, given the fact that I have practiced beforehand and tried to overcome my fear. The minute I preformed, I felt a tinge of nervousness, but then It was like I was preforming to myself, not scared at all. I was confident enough and because of this I did a good job and the judges loved it. This made me realize that once you set your mind on something, even if you fail it once, you can always achieve it. If you have the will to do it, you will succeed. The second thing I realized was that you should always, ALWAYS make sure you are prepared for any situation that may arise, even if you think you know how to handle it. After all, practice makes perfect. This has made me believe that I should never give up on where I want to study, and even if I don’t get accepted the first time, I can work harder and apply again, I have nothing to loose. I should believe in myself and prepare myself for what’s ahead and will hopefully succeed.

An Organic Dissection of a Tutoring Session :: Personal Narrative Writing

An Organic Dissection of a Tutoring Session When Delvin (that's what I will call him) walked into the Writing Resource Center I was a little worried because I knew him from another class and a few social events, besides talking with him on occasion around the campus. I had had a bad experience earlier in the year when tutoring a friend of mine who'd asked me to help him with punctuation. I ended up just giving him a punctuation sheet and tried to work on some deeper level problems with word choices and development. He didn't see the problems or seem to want help in those areas, so he was offended at my attitude towards the content of his paper. (He thought that it was a near final draft except for a little editing.) Right away, though, Delvin said that his paper was in an early draft stage and he need some help "making it clear" because he was dealing with a difficult topic for Philosophy 205, Aesthetics. Now, Aesthetics is a complex topic dealing with ideas, objects, feelings, and theories as to what is beautiful and what is ugly. And Philosophy has a mode of thinking that is complex. At the time of my session with Delvin I didn't make the connection between the two, but prior writing to this paper the magnets reached their poles: the connection between philosophical thinking and writing development and also their ability, when done properly, to deal with complex issues. The main connection between the two is their ability to start with a topic and break it down into simple ideas and then reconstruct it into a theory or paper that displays, argues, questions, or proves the topic to a reader or listener. The philosophers main mode of dissecting a topic is by questioning every factor that is relevant (and even some that are irrelevant.) This is basically the same thing a writer should do when he or she begins to organize his or her paper. They need to find out, "who did what, when, where, and why?" Many writers and philosophers can organize these questions and answers in their head so that it makes sense to them, but the problem lies when they have to communicate multitudes of simple ideas to someone other than themselves. The overall idea won't make much sense to a reader if the writer spits it out like a madman babbling about the apocalypse.

Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro

Few novels dare to touch the inner vulnerability of humankind. It is Soseki’s Kokoro that captures the essence of friendship and loneliness, truth and betrayal, and life and death. The novel is, after all, about human nature. Any one reading this powerful work will quickly relate to the characters who go through tremendous strife, personal changes and much reflection. While Kokoro was written in Japan many years ago, it may be valuable to a reader even in contemporary society as its attributes may be embraced today, despite its age and cultural focus. Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro explores a great deal of subject matter. Several themes are woven into the pages of this older novel. It is fair to say, at least based on a personal experience, that one might have a tendency to discount the credibility of the work or deem much of the information irrelevant due to ages age and cultural differentiation. However, it will be shown that Kokoro is a novel that, like so many others, breaks the barriers of time. Soseki successfully creates deep characters that permeate the weak boundaries of the human character. We recognize that this novel shares a sense of timelessness supporting the entire foundation; the themes we see explored here are quite applicable to the lives we live today. Naturally, the Japanese component of the work is what makes the clear distinction between Japanese culture and Western mentality. But all the same, the morals in Kokoro seem to be fundamental enforcing great personal reflection upon the reader. As the reader progresses through the novel, contemplating themes and depicting the characters, specifically the student and Sensei, he begins to develop the notion that indeed the characters possess a sense of timelessness. They could have been born in the twentieth century and experienced the same sort of friendship and turmoil. However, the relationship between the two men is out of the realm of ordinary fiction. It is unique and something that this author explores quite candidly. The fact that the two are in a close friendship and that the young student explores new territory is in some way allowing the older character to live up to his title of â€Å"teacher†, or Sensai. Yet, in exploring the issue of timelessness, and applicability to other situations, the particular point about the friendship between the two is omething that could have taken place anywhere and anytime. While other portions of the work are pertinent to Japanese culture, the exploration of such a friendship is something that is truly universal. The reader might note perhaps the anomaly of their relationship, though, considering the ages of the men. Yet, such friendships do form between old and young; youthful intellectuals mi ght find greater knowledge in those older individuals who experienced history than what is written in a book. Clearly, their relationship differs from that of the bonds between grandparents and grandchildren though. They are peers, respectful and yet colloquial in their manners. In the case of Kokoro, the relationship begins between two strangers but the friendship formed becomes intense very quickly. There are yet more ways to explore relationships between men in the novel. It must be emphasized that these relationships all too often go unnoticed and unexplored by fiction. Soseki looks at not only the student’s relationship with Sensei but also with his dying father. Here we have a young man, his father on his death-bed and his mentor stating to have ended his life. What was the student to do, where was he to go, who would he want to be with during those men’s last minutes of life? Quite a lot of pressure for any individual. He was caught up in the times, the evolution of modernization and the uncertainty as to remain in the traditional realm of Japanese culture and stay by his father’s side or perhaps continue to pursue his education and knowledge, returning to Sensai to demonstrate his gratitude, devotion, and friendship. Ironically, it is Sensei who commits suicide! The emotions that well up in the young man, however, are truly universal. A sense of betrayal and sadness permeate the work and create a void. After all, things were going quite well in the world of friendship and male bonding until the young student’s mentor of sorts would commit this ultimate act. This story is about one man’s journey through self-realization and the revelations he makes after befriending a man. In one way, it is more about a personal journey than about a relationship. What is most troubling, and lends the work a somber tone, is the main character’s loneliness, yet another theme illustrated in this novel. In some way, Sensei helps to break through that barrier. After K’s suicide, he realized the atrocities of his actions and the heinous development of his character from diligent student to human betrayer. After much time of personal torment, K confided in him of his love for Ojasan. Why Sensai seemed surprised as to the context of the confession somewhat confuses the reader as clearly anyone could have seen that K was also in love with her, in fact, surely Sensai knew, but he reclined to a state of denial. He states, â€Å"I felt as if I had been turned into stone by a magician’s wand. I could not even move my lips as K had done† (205). As Sensai came to understand it was he who was responsible for the death of this man, he felt he had no choice but to cease all human actions and remain an outcast in society, secluding himself to his home and his wife. Surely, no one could understand what he had done or what he had been through, not even his wife as he states, â€Å"I was saddened by the thought that she, whom I loved and trusted more than anyone else in this world, could not understand me. And the thought that I had not the courage to explain myself to her mad me sadder still. I was very lonely. Indeed, there were times when I felt that I stood completely alone in this world, cut off from every other living person† (240). He began to realize he was no longer innocent like the student who visited him often, the student he had once been, but he became his betraying uncle who robbed him of the only money his parents left him after they died. And even more than this pitiful character, Sensai then evolved into a character such as K, burying himself in books, avoiding people and friendships, bottling up all of his emotions inside and eventually ending his life as a means of escaping loneliness. Certainly another significant theme explored in this novel is the assumption that by losing one’s identity, one learns to value it. What is meant by identity is that by rejecting ones own particular understanding of themselves, they are likely to find it once again, a theory that that cannot be ignored as the student learned this by befriending the old man. And he did not do this in the easiest way. His challenge was between the two cultures, that of a liberal nature and that of a traditional nature. He imply did not know which one to turn to in times of need and in desperation to seek knowledge. In fact, perhaps what makes the novel so powerful is it’s thought provoking style, allowing the reader to analyze his own life through the main character’s journey. The loss of one’s identity perhaps creates a blank slate to enable one to find it. We see quite a change in the young man as he learns that Sensai will commit suicide. While it is difficult to read abo ut suicide and how it affects others, this is a major theme as the concept of suicide is universal. When it is brought up, the ultimate questions must be asked and answered. Sometimes there are no answers. The young man wrestles with a great deal of conflict throughout the novel but it is the knowledge of the suicide that perhaps becomes the final straw— the young man’s loneliness is accentuated. What does he have left? Many people have experienced such trauma in their lives and may be able to relate to what he felt. There is that sense of betrayal and self-blame, â€Å"what if I had done or said something differently? † Such thoughts are enough to drive any individual to insanity. There are moments when emotions of remorse and guilt are so overwhelming they cloud all better judgment and force the individual into a deep state of depression. The ultimate questions of free will and fate come rushing to consciousness. Sensai even declares that it was his pre-destined fate that his life would conclude this way as he states, â€Å"Her fate had been pre-ordained no less than mine had been† (244). The themes carried through the book are certainly something inherent in more modern fiction, thus proving that the theme has a sense of timelessness. The novel is further a testimony that suicide does indeed affect more than ones self. Of course, even if suicide is not legal or does not conform to a society’s standards, there is nothing one can do to punish the person who commits such an act. Speaking of suicide, Sensai states, â€Å" Some may say that this was a vain sort of thing to do. But who are we to judge the needs of another man’s heart? † (247). He is already dead. It is those who are living who must bear the brunt of the act and that is what, above all, this novel shows. With the use of Sensei, the author is able to tell more about the young student. This technique also creates empathy for the father who additionally served to create conflict within the reader. Loyalty is sometimes split and there is sometimes a sense of tension in the air. The characters reveal something every reader can use, something perhaps the author was conscious of. The author may not have realized that these characters, and their predicaments, would be so moving as to inspire its audience to examine ones own self. Soseki creates a difficult situation and through the main characters, is able to inspire a number of emotions that the reader likely can use and identify with. The reason is because although the author uses a certain predicament, the problem can be easily applied to other situations. Thus, it is quite easy to look at Kokoro and think about ones own personal dilemmas that are somewhat related to the problems that torment these characters. The idea that the book permeates time and is applicable to today’s world, through use of the characters, has been demonstrated. It would be difficult to argue against it as Soseki’s characters certainly live today. Reading Kokoro is like looking in a mirror, sometimes at things no one wants to see. It begs the reader to question his or her own personal relationships and how far they would go for a friend. How far would they go to protect their own honor? What would one do if a friend did kill himself? What would it take for the reader to commit the ultimate act? And yet, time would continue. That it a message that emanates from the pages of this great work and breaks through the boundaries that time tries to inflict. The concepts inherent in the work are certainly applicable in modern society despite the fact that the author lived so long ago in Japan.

What You Need to Know About the Executive Assessment

The Executive Assessment (EA) is a standardized exam developed by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), the organization behind the GMAT. The exam is designed to help business school admissions committees assess the readiness and skills of experienced business professionals who are applying to an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) program. Who Should Take the Executive Assessment? If you are applying to an MBA program of any kind, including an EMBA program, you will almost certainly have to submit standardized test scores as part of the admissions process. Most business school applicants take either the GMAT or GRE to demonstrate their readiness for business school. Not every business school accepts GRE scores, so the GMAT is taken more often. The GMAT and GRE both test your analytical writing, reasoning, and quantitative abilities. The Executive Assessment tests some of those same skills and is meant to replace the GMAT or GRE. In other words, if you are applying to an EMBA program, you can take the Executive Assessment instead of the GMAT or GRE. How Business Schools Use the Executive Assessment Business school admission committees assess your standardized test scores to get a better understanding of your quantitative, reasoning, and communication skills. They want to see if you have the capacity to understand the information being presented to you in a graduate business program. They also want to make sure that you will be able to contribute something to the class discussions and assignments. When they compare your test score to the scores of candidates who are already in the program and scores of other candidates who are applying to the program, they can see where you stand in comparison to your peers. Although test scores arent the only deciding factor in the business school application process, they are important. Getting a test score that is somewhere in the score range for other candidates will only increase your chances of getting accepted to a graduate level business program. The GMAC reports that while most business schools use Executive Assessment scores to assess your readiness for an academic business program, there are some schools that also use your score to help you succeed in the program. For example, a school may determine that you need additional quantitative preparation and recommend a refresher course prior to starting certain courses within the program. Test Structure and Content The Executive Assessment is a 90-minute, computer-adaptive test. There are 40 questions on the test. Questions are split into three sections: integrated reasoning, verbal reasoning, and quantitative reasoning. Youll have 30 minutes to complete each section. There are no breaks. Heres what you should expect on each section of the test: The integrated reasoning section has 12 questions. The question types that youll encounter on this section of the test include multi-source reasoning, graphics interpretation, two-part analysis, and table analysis. To answer the questions, youll have to use your logic and reasoning skills to evaluate information that is presented to you through a graph, table, diagram, chart, or passage of text. The verbal reasoning section consists of 14 questions. Question types include critical reasoning, sentence correction, and reading comprehension. To answer the questions, youll have to read a passage and then answer questions that test your understanding of the text, your ability to evaluate an argument, or your knowledge of grammar in written English. The quantitative reasoning section has 14 questions. Youll encounter just two different types of questions: data sufficiency and problem-solving. Youll need some knowledge of basic arithmetic (fractions, decimals, percents, roots, etc.) and alg ebra (expressions, equations, inequalities, functions, etc.) to answer these questions, but not much more than you would need to know to pass a freshman algebra class in high school. In some cases, youll be asked to solve a math problem; in others, youll be asked to evaluate the information provided in the question to determine if there is enough data to answer the question. Pros and Cons of the Executive Assessment The biggest advantage of the Executive Assessment is that it is specifically designed to test the skills that you have already acquired in your professional career. So unlike the GMAT and GRE, the Executive Assessment does not require you to take a prep course or engage in other forms of expensive, time-consuming preparation. As a mid-career professional, you should already have the knowledge you need to answer the questions on the Executive Assessment. Another plus is that there is no  analytical writing assessment like there is on the GMAT and GRE, so if writing under a tight deadline is difficult for you, youll have one less thing to worry about. There are drawbacks to the Executive Assessment. First off, it costs a little bit more than the GRE and the GMAT. It can also be a challenging test if you don’t have the required knowledge, if you need a math refresher, or if you arent familiar with the test structure. But the biggest drawback is that it is only accepted by a limited number of schools - so taking the Executive Assessment might not fulfill the standardized test score requirements for the school you are applying to. Business Schools That Accept the Executive Assessment The Executive Assessment was first administered in 2016. It is a relatively new exam, so it is not accepted by every business school. Right now, only a handful of  top business schools are using it. However, the GMAC hopes to make the Executive Assessment the norm for EMBA admissions, so it is likely that more and more schools will begin to use the Executive Assessment as time goes by. Before making the decision to take the Executive Assessment instead of the GMAT or GRE, you should check the admissions requirements for your target EMBA program to see what types of test scores are accepted. Some of the  schools that accept Executive Assessment scores from EMBA applicants include: China European International Business School (CEIBS)Columbia Business SchoolDarden School of BusinessIESE Business SchoolINSEADLondon Business SchoolThe University of Chicago Booth School of BusinessThe University of Hong KongUCLA Anderson