College Life Essay Example for Free

College Life Essay Wow! The first week of college was a breeze. All my professors seemed so nice. Class never lasted longer than thirty minutes. I did not have to carry any books to class for that whole week. Finding classes was some what tough, even though my classes are around the same area. I did not have any homework to do. I did not see my friends as much but we hung out as much as we could. I went to a different party each night of the week and still attended all of my classes. I do not need a bed time. I know how to get up, but now things have changed. College life is going to be a difficult transition for me. Having to move away from my family is going to take some time to get used to. Waking myself up everyday will be a chore in itself. Now I will have a roommate to be considerate of. I will decide if I should attend a party or go to a club without someones approval. I can go to the club with out my mom having the final verdict. I will hang out with my friends anytime I want to. I will have to learn how to manage my own money and time. At the end of the day college is all of what I make it. May it be hard for some and easy for others it is up to me to decide how I will adjust to college life; will I go to class; study for my test; waste my money; like my roommate? The distance between Greensboro, North Carolina and Washington, DC is greater than what I thought. I thought the number of miles apart would be a good thing but once again time has proven me wrong. I find myself calling home and cherishing every conversation I have with my family more and more. I send them emails when they do not answer the phone. Sometimes call to check on my younger brothers and sisters which I could not stand when I was at home. I miss my mom the most. She is the person who I thought that I would miss the least. Being home sickness has really set in. Also I miss driving my car anywhere I want to go. I miss just sitting on my front porch talking to my neighbors and their children. I miss going to work and making my own money to spend on whatever I want to. I miss going to the high school football game to see my brother play and my sister cheer. I really miss a home cooked meal and enjoying it with my family on a Sunday night after church. I miss getting my hair done every two to three weeks. It is hard to wake myself up everyday. It is hard to get up everyday to go to class because I go to sleep so late at night from talking to my friends or doing homework. It is also, hard because I do not get enough sleep at night. I have an eight oclock a. m. class that I struggle to get up for almost everyday of the week. Also I struggle to stay up for my six oclock p. m. classes. I knew it was going to get hard but I did not think it would get hard this fast. I have to do my homework in between classes so I will have enough time to go to sleep each night. Getting to know my roommate, Ebony, is the second hardest thing to do. It is hard because she is so different from me. She is from Elizabeth City, North Carolina and I am from Washington, DC. She listens to different music, wears different clothes, and acts different from me because she is from a different geographical region from me. During the first week at school we did not talk much. She does not to appreciate our dorm room because it is smaller than her room at home. She always slept and if she was not sleep then she was hanging out with her friends. She did not talk to anyone from our suites. Now, she is not afraid talk to us. She has friends over now and introduces them to us. She went to a club with us for the first time and that has been the only club that she has been to since she has been here. Before I came to college I thought I would always go to parties or the club. That thought has proven to be just a thought, not reality. I can party all the time if I want to but that would be wasting all of my parents money. I have to think about my classes before I go to a club. I know that the best days for me to go to the club are on Wednesday and Friday nights, because I do not have class on Thursday mornings or on Saturdays. So I just do not go to the clubs with my friends all of the time. I learned quick how to say no to going out. Eventually I will not have any money if I keep going to the clubs or parties. I enjoy hanging out with my friends, but I know that is not always possible. They always try to get me to do things when I need to study. They get upset at me when I tell them no. I guess that is because they have not adjusted to the fact that we will not always be able to hang out. I still try to eat lunch and dinner with them almost everyday. It is not possible to hang out with my friends anymore because of the difference in our class schedules. We also do not hang out anymore because of the activities that we all take part in. Sometimes my friends go home on the weekend so we do not get to hang out on the weekends either. Managing my own money and time is a hard task. Usually my mom tells me what to buy and what not to. Now that she is not here who will help me? It is up to me to make the right choice. Do I buy the Jordan sneakers that come out on the seventeenth or do I save that money for a better investment? Since that choice is up to me I will probably buy the Jordan sneakers. My mom would want me to save the money and spend it on something that I really need; like school books and food. It is not her responsibility to manage my money anymore. Time management is equally important. I will have to know how to spend the appropriate amount of time per day studying for my classes. I must not procrastinate on my assignments. I find it that I am always waiting until the last minute to do the work for my classes, because I work best under pressure. In summary the transition from high school to college has been an interesting one. I will learn more in-depth into all subjects that I learned in high school especially business. Making the decision to buy the Jordans sneakers will always be a decision that I look back on in the future. Going to the club on Thursday and waking up for my eight oclock a. m. class is going to be a big choice to make. It will be hard to know how much time I need to study for test or quizzes in any of my classes. I am still learning how to interact with my roommate. In order to make her fell comfortable around me and my friends. I have managed to wake myself up for class ever since I started to attend North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

A Comparison of The Grapes of Wrath and Anthem Essay -- comparison com

Comparing The Grapes of Wrath and Anthem      Ã‚  Ã‚   Two great intellectuals of the early twentieth century wrote works of fiction that have become classics; they espoused polar-opposite views, however, of how society best functions. Their battle between communalism, as pictured in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, and individualism, as portrayed in Ayn Rand's Anthem, was played out in their novels, and still continues to this day. Based on Ayn Rand's book Anthem, Rand would definitely believe that there is a greater danger involved in communalism than in individualism. The book offers a vision of a distant retrograde future in which the candle is the newest invention; individualism has been completely suppressed; and one of the most commonly used words today, "I," is completely unheard of. The book celebrates the heroism of an individual - the main character, Equality 7-2521 - in his fight to promote individual achievement. Once banished for his individualistic beliefs, he and his girl, Liberty 5-3000, discover the wonders of human freedom and the word "I." With his newfound gift, Equality 7-2521 pledges to return to the civilization and destroy the oppression of the collective spirit, and liberate humanity into "a world in which each man will be free to exist for his own sake." It was mainly written as a response to the widening acceptance of philosophies of totalitarian governments, but also to the belief of sacrificing individual liberties for the public good, ever-present during the "Red Scare." In place of these ideas, Rand developed her theory of "Objectivism," which celebrates reason, capitalism, and individuality. Rand expresses these beliefs throughout the entirety of the book by showi... ... has to be both. Also, it is good to sacrifice a little bit for the greater good, but you can't sacrifice as much as you would in communalism or as little as in individualism. For example, the sacrificing of civil liberties during the now-present "War on Terrorism" is becoming too great of a sacrifice; also, in the case of Enron, they didn't sacrifice enough, and the result was devastating to many people. Ayn Rand and John Steinbeck, from the perspective of the very early twentieth century, have set forth in their novels opposing views that continue to be debated in the twenty-first century. Based on current events, it seems highly unlikely that the argument over Individualism and Collectivism will be resolved soon, if ever. Sources Rand, Ayn   Anthem New York: Signet 1961. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin Books, 1978.

Hobbes’ Political Philosophy Essay

Hobbes argues that the state of nature is a state of perpetual war of all against all and consequently, the life of man in the state of nature â€Å"solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short† (xiii, 9). In this paper I will explain Hobbes’ arguments that support his claim to the state of nature. I will also assess these arguments and state that they are not valid and, therefore, not sound. I will then talk about the most controversial premise, relative scarcity of goods, and how Hobbes would respond to the objections of this premise. I will then talk about his response to this objection being unsuccessful. Finally, I will assess whether it will be possible to leave the state of nature given the factors Hobbes describes that create the state of nature. I will show that Hobbes’ argument on how men will leave the state of nature is a valid and sound argument. According to Hobbes this war of â€Å"all against all† comes from three key points. First, Hobbes states that there is a rough equality among men. Hobbes means by equality of men, that one man is not strong or intelligent enough that he can overpower two men. Secondly, because of this equality between men, if there is competition for the same goods, men will begin to distrust each other. Lastly, Hobbes states that because of this mistrust there is a cascade effect. The anticipation of one man being attacked causes them to attack the other because they consider it a better option to attack, rather than wait and be attacked. According to Hobbes this leads to a war of all against all. This is an invalid argument and therefore unsound. I will show that this argument is invalid by showing that because of the equality of men there is a fear among men. The premise dealing with the equality of men makes this argument invalid because if all men were considered equal, then men would be in constant fear of one another. This is due to the lack of ability to overpower each other. They would be unwilling to attack each other because there is no assurance that they would win because of this. The most controversial premise is the one dealing with the competition between goods. The scarcity of goods does not necessarily have to lead to a competition amongst the goods. An example of this is the Native Americans. They could be considered to have lived in the state of nature, but they did not live in a state of a war of all against all as described by Hobbes. Some tribes had goods that other tribes did not have and vice versa. The tribes realized this and traded their own goods with each other. Hobbes might respond to this objection by saying that this is an invalid argument because it is relying on the premise that everyone is going to keep to their covenants in the state of nature. If people behave rationally and act on their own self-interest it would make sense that people would break their covenants after the other party has completed their side. They would break them because they would have more to gain This response would not be adequate because Hobbes also states in Leviathan, that if one side completes their part of the covenant then the other side should keep their part, even in the state of nature. If one were to not keep their covenant, then they may not be trusted to keep covenants by another group because of their previous breaking of covenants. Hobbes’ description of the state of nature as a state of a constant war of all against all is that it is not a literal state of every man against every man but more like a war of several small groups of family and friends against other groups of the same. The key factors that generate the state of war are equality of men, scarcity of goods, competition for goods, mistrust because of competition, mistrust generates anticipation of an attack, and therefore they arm and attack. Hobbes’ argument assumes that people behave rationally and act on their best self interest. If they act in their best self-interest in the state of nature it will cause them both to arm and attack each other rather than to disarm and have peace. They will do this because it is in their best self-interest. If one of them were to disarm and the other were to arm then the one who arms would have victory over the other who disarmed, who will have defeat. Rationally they would both arm and attack each other causing a war of all against all. In order to escape the state of nature men must first realized that it would be better if they compact together under a sovereign. They must then decided on a common sovereign and allow that sovereign to rule over all, despite whom each individual chose. I will show that Hobbes’ argument that gets men out of the state of nature is valid and sound. I will show this by taking the premise that men act on their own self-interest, and explain how it will lead to an escape of the state of nature. If men have the option, either to remain independent or compact together with someone else under a sovereign, and if men think rationally, then it would be in their best self-interest to live under the common interest and the protection of the sovereign. It is in their best self-interest because if they remained independent then they would be at a disadvantage because the others would have the backing of everyone who has compacted with the sovereign. Additionally, if there is a dispute between who is to be sovereign, even if it is not the one that they would prefer, if they behave rationally, they would decide to compact under the rule of that sovereign. It is in their self-interest to live under a sovereign even if they did not want them as sovereign, instead of reverting back to the state of nature. Assuming Hobbes is correct in stating that the state of nature is a war of all against all, it is shown that even with the mistrust between people, it will still be rational to compact under a sovereign to escape the state of nature.

Gardner Distibutinc Company Swot Analysis - 977 Words

Gardner Distributing Company SWOT Analysis Gardner Distributing Company purchases, sells, and distributes Iams premium pet food products (68 percent of sales), pet supplies (14 percent of sales), and lawn and garden supplies (18 percent of sales). The management team has developed a purpose, mission, and objectives; but the strategies of the firm are not clear. Defining the firm s strategies will require an understanding of the business and the two industries in which the firm operates. It will also require a synthesis of the manager s dialogue on the strategic options of the business. To find out how a strong strategic plan for this company will look like let’s do the SWOT analysis and illustrate all the sides of the business.†¦show more content†¦It looks like saving money for the customers, but it brings great profit for the company. Instead of supplying only large retail stores like PETsMART and PETCO, they now allowed its distributors to sell Iams’s products to small rural and upscale grocery store s. This allows Gardner to operate in the areas where Iams’s product was not available before. According to some estimation, Gardner can now open up to 60 grocery stores in 6 months. Another possible opportunity for Gardner is acquiring more territory and acquisition of its competitors. Gardner’s managers feel that the location of Gardner allows it to easily come to other markets like Seattle, Salt-lake City, Portland and others. Acquisitions will allow rapid growth in a short time period. However, there may also be synergies in distribution, information systems, and management. Threats The major threat for Gardner is coming from large retailer like PETsMART and PETCO. These companies are aggressively acquiring competitors and open new stores. Iams sells its products directly to these companies, which can reduce Gardner’s gross profit percentage. Another potential threat is in the company’s financials. According to financial data, Gardner has a lot of receivables because of rather long age. This brings up a possible problem of low liquidity. Apparently, Gardner has very small cash flow compared to total income. As one of the mangers pointed out, cash flow is more important than net