Engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge Washington A. Roebling

Washington A. Roebling served as the chief engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge during 14 years of construction. During that time he coped with the tragic death of his father, John Roebling, who had designed the bridge and also overcame serious health problems caused by his own work at the construction site. With legendary determination, Roebling, confined to his house in Brooklyn Heights, directed the work on the bridge from  a distance, watching progress through a telescope. He trained his wife, Emily Roebling, in engineering and she would relay his orders when she visited the bridge nearly every morning during its final years of construction. Fast Facts: Washington Roebling Born: May 26, 1837, in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania.Died: July 21, 1926, in Camden, New Jersey.Accomplishments: Trained as an engineer, served as an officer in the Union Army, with his father worked designing and building revolutionary suspension bridges.Best known for: Overcame injuries, and with the help of his wife Emily Roebling, built the Brooklyn Bridge, which had been designed by his father, John A. Roebling. As work on the enormous bridge progressed, rumors swirled about the condition of Colonel Roebling, as he was generally known to the public.  At various times the public believed he was entirely incapacitated or had even gone insane. When the Brooklyn Bridge  finally opened to the public in 1883, suspicions were raised when Roebling did not attend the enormous celebrations. Yet despite the  nearly constant talk about his frail health and rumors of mental incapacity, Roebling lived to the age of 89. When he died in Trenton, New Jersey, in  1926, an obituary published in the New York Times shut down many of the rumors. The article, published on July 22, 1926, said that in his final years Roebling was healthy enough to enjoy riding the streetcar from his mansion to the wire mill his family owned and operated. Roebling's Early Life Washington Augustus Roebling was born May 26, 1837, in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania, a town founded by a group of German immigrants which included his father, John Roebling. The elder Roebling was a brilliant engineer who went into the wire rope business in Trenton, New Jersey. After attending schools in Trenton, Washington Roebling attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and received a degree as a civil engineer. He began working for his fathers business and learned about bridge building, a field in which his father was gaining prominence. Within days of the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861, Roebling enlisted in the Union Army. He served as a military engineer in the Army of the Potomac. At the Battle of Gettysburg Roebling was instrumental in getting artillery pieces to the top of Little Round Top on July 2, 1863. His quick thinking and careful work helped fortify the hill and secure the Union line at a desperate time in the battle. During the war, Roebling designed and built bridges for the Army. At the  wars end, he returned to working with his father. In the late 1860s, he became involved in a grandly ambitious project thought by many to be impossible: building a bridge across the East River, from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Chief Engineer of the Brooklyn Bridge John Roebling, the designer of the Brooklyn Bridge, severely injured his foot in a freak accident while the site of the bridge was being surveyed in 1869. He died of an infection before any major work had started on the bridge. The massive project amounted to a collection of plans and drawings, and it fell to his son to make his vision a reality.   While the elder Roebling was always credited for creating the vision for what was known as The Great Bridge, he had not prepared detailed plans before his death. So his son was responsible for virtually all the details of the bridges construction. And, as the bridge was not like any other construction project ever attempted, Roebling had to find ways to overcome endless obstacles. He obsessed over the work and fixated on every detail of construction. During one of his  visits to the underwater caisson, the chamber in which men dug at the river bottom while breathing compressed air, Roebling was stricken. He ascended to the surface too quickly, and suffered from the bends. By the end of 1872 Roebling was essentially confined to his house. For a decade he oversaw construction, though at least one official investigation sought to determine if he was still competent to direct such a massive project. His wife Emily would visit the work site nearly every day, relaying orders from Roebling. Emily, by working closely with her husband, essentially became an engineer herself.   After the successful opening of the bridge in 1883, Roebling and his wife eventually moved to Trenton, New Jersey. There were still many questions about his health, but he actually outlived his wife by 20 years. When he died on July 21, 1926, at the age of 89, he was remembered for his work making the Brooklyn Bridge a reality.

Grapes of Wrath Summary - 773 Words

The Grapes Of Wrath Gena Rodriguez Student in Crime Films The Grapes Of Wrath The Grapes Of Wrath was a book that followed the Joad family on their journey from their deserted farm in Oklahoma to the riches of California, as their farms were destroyed in Oklahoma. They took few possessions with them on their journey, however they had eachother. They even picked up others along the way, all in hopes of a vision of getting their lives on track in California. Their journey was not easy as they had trouble with their vehicle, they lost family members and friends to death, and even heard several rumors of a depleted job market. The salesmen and pawnbrokers took full advantage of them as they knew that the families were in no position†¦show more content†¦This typed is definitely apparent in the book and the show â€Å"Underbelly†. There are some shows which portray police as masculine, overly intelligent, fit, aggressive, action packed, and always willing to shoot at suspects. The reality is that the public want to see these ki nds of police officers. All of the excitement and glamour of being a police officer is what everyone wants to watch. A show where police are filling out forms and writing up boring reports just won’t cut it. The glamourized types of officers are portrayed in shows like â€Å"Hawaii 5 0† and â€Å"NYPD†, whereas the more realistic approach to policing is portrayed in shows like â€Å"First 48† and â€Å"cops†. References The Grapes of Wrath by JohnShow MoreRelatedSummary Of Characters In The Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck832 Words   |  4 PagesIn â€Å"the Grapes of Wrath,† John Steinbeck not only highlights the many hardships faced by reluctant travelers in the Dust Bowl, but showcases their bravery and determination in their search for better lives. In chapter three of the novel, Steinbeck reveals his belief that all people possess the power to create new lives for themselves through metaphor in a turtle, wild oats, and speeding trucks. In chapter three of his legendary tale, Steinbeck writes about a turtle crossing a highway, which is aRead MoreThe Grapes Of Wrath And Huckleberry Finn Analysis819 Words   |  4 PagesThe American Dream is a dream in which life is fuller, better, happier and free. In the two books Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck,   each book shows the American Dream in a different way. In The Grapes of Wrath, the American Dream is shown as in illusion. That being because America is going through the Great Depression and it’s very difficult to make a living or even have food on a plate. However, in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the AmericanRead MoreJohn Steinbeck Outline824 Words   |  4 Pages John Steinbeck Outline I. John Steinbeck used his personal experiences as a laborer to write many of his novels like Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. II. John Steinbeck’s Life A) Family 1. His dad served as the county treasurer. 2. His mom was a school teacher. 3. He was one four children and was the only boy. B) Childhood and Adolescence 1.Born on February 27, 1902 2.Began telling stories as a child 3. Sent short stories to magazines under a false name 4. He was interested in biologyRead MoreAuthor s Date Of Birth : 19021075 Words   |  5 Pages232-83 4 February 2015 Name of Author: John Steinbeck Author’s Date of Birth: 1902 Authors Date of Death: 1968 What genre of literature did this author typically write: Fiction and non-fiction Noted literary work: The Grapes of Wrath Work published: 1939 The Grapes of Wrath is one of John Steinbeck’s most popular novels; it earned him the Pulitzer Prize in 1940 (Lauter). The book is about an Oklahoma farming family who has to travel to California in search of work, food, and money during theRead MoreThe Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck1190 Words   |  5 PagesThe Grapes of Wrath April 14th, 1939, John Steinbeck published the novel, The Grapes of Wrath. The novel became an immediate best seller, with selling over 428,900 copies. Steinbeck, who lived through both the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, sought to bring attention to how families of Oklahoma outdid these disasters. Steinbeck focuses on families of Oklahoma, including the Joads family, who reside on a farm. The Joad family is tested with hardship when life for them on their farm takesRead More East of Eden Essay: Criticism of East of Eden1228 Words   |  5 Pagesbetween it and The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. Krutch points out that in this novel, Steinbeck has avoided falling into the trap of writing a melodramatic as he has in some other pieces. Krutch says of Steinbeck: Never, I think, not even in The Grapes of Wrath, has he exhibited such a grip upon himself and his material. (Krutch 370) Krutch points out that, especially in the first third of the book, the character parallels to symbolic figures are rather distracting, but become less so as the book progressesRead More Symbols and Symbolism in John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath2004 Words   |  9 PagesSymbols and Symbolism in John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath      Ã‚   Symbolism in The Grapes of Wrath is extremely complex, with many images drawn from the Old and New Testaments.   However, Steinbeck as usual was eclectic in his use of symbols, and a great deal of the novel is given to either pagan and universal archetypes, or to highly original meanings unique to the authors own vision and experience.   While acknowledging the Judeo-Christian content, these other symbols are just as importantRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1551 Words   |  7 Pagesspecific type of people, but a mixture of people from all over the world that live in harmony. That is the reason why Americans are so unique and so hard to be defined. Being developed by great American novels such as the The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, and The Catcher in the Rye, there is now a universal definition for all Americans. An American is someone who persistently seeks completion of an objective. Americans are portrayed as persistent individuals who strive toRead MoreBook Report : The Grapes Of Wrath 1074 Words   |  5 PagesAubrey Hepstall Ms. Franklin English 9 Pre-AP 12 February 2016 Novel Synopsis Assignment Title of Novel: The Grapes of Wrath Author: John Steinbeck Year Written: 1939 Author’s Nationality: Salinas California, United States Type of Novel: Historical Fiction and Realistic Fiction Setting of Novel: The Grapes of Wrath takes place in the 1930s Dust Bowl period. It is set in Sallisaw, Oklahoma, along Route 66, Bakersfield, and Weedpatch migrant camp. Protagonist: Tom Joad Antagonist: The banks areRead MoreBiblical Words Related On Addiction Essay961 Words   |  4 PagesBiblical Words Related to Addiction Wine The LexiConc shows 15 exact matches for the word wine—ten are Hebrew and five are Greek (as cited in the Blue Letter Bible, 2015). The words for wine differ between the juices of the grapes that are crushed and the juices of grapes that are fermented or mixed with other spices (EBD as cited by Blue Letter Bible, 2015). Smith’s Bible Dictionary noted that wine was used in several instances such as: festivities, an act of hospitality, medicinal purposes, and

Hector Vs Achilles Essay Research Paper Two free essay sample

Hector Vs. Achilles Essay, Research Paper Two of the chief characters in the Iliad are Achilles and Hector. Other than being great warriors, they have small in common. There are cardinal differences in their character. Hector, a great leader and household adult male is a defender of the people. Achilles, on the other manus is egoistic warrior, his motive for combat is for glorification and recollection. One of the glowering differences between the two work forces is their motivation for conflict. Achilles makes a determination to travel to war because the Gods have given him an ultimatum, he can either travel to conflict with Troy and ever be remembered, or non travel to war and decease an old adult male neer to be remembered. Hector on the other manus is non contending for celebrity or glorification, he is contending merely to protect the people he loves. One scene where he is speaking with his married woman reflects this feelings. We will write a custom essay sample on Hector Vs Achilles Essay Research Paper Two or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The undermentioned qoutation allows one to see into the true Character of the adult male. # 8220 ; But may I be dead and piled with Earth conceal me under before I hear you shouting and cognize by this that they drag you captive. # 8221 ; He truly loves his household and does non desire any injury to come to them, this is clearly the drive force behind Hector s fierce contending spirit. ( VI. 445-446 ) Achilles and Hector appear to hold different values when it comes to household. There is no innuendo to Achilles committedness to household. One must presume that they were non his predominate incentives. We know there were work forces he cared for, Protakles, Odyessus and Phoinex for illustration, but there is no reference of his feelings tow ard anyone related to him. As one can state from the treatment between Hector and his household members, he is evidently a devoted household adult male and loved in a heartfelt way by all. One of the things learned from the treatments he had with his brother Paris is that no affair how angry he was about Paris inability to contend, he still loved him. Hector is genuinely devoted to his household. The concluding difference in their personality is Hector # 8217 ; s altruism and Achilles shelfishness. Book I show him Achilles as a selfish individual who does non care about anyone else every bit long as he gets what he wants. Although it is appearant he cares about his countrymen, he puts his ain demands above their lives. He refuses to make conflict on several occasions because he wants to torture Agamemnon. Achilles eventually goes to conflict near the terminal of the Iliad, although it is non because he wants to assist his countrymen, but to revenge the decease of his friend Protakles. When he does non acquire his manner, he acts like a kid and complains. On the other manus, Hector was a really altruistic individual who lived with Iron Age values and invariably thought of others. Showing regard to those who have earned it is likely the most of import lesson that he has learned. As celebrated there are enormous differences between the two indivduals, this ultimately brings the m face to face in conflict. Never the lupus erythematosus, merely one can last the confrontation. Although Hector has all the good features on his side and Achilles was seemingly contending for all the incorrect grounds, the Gods had already sealed their destiny.

Wendys Case Study Essay Example

Wendys Case Study Essay Wendys International operates a chain of fast food restaurants, primarily operating under Wendys Old Fashioned Hamburgers, Tim Hortons and Baja Fresh brands. The company has about 9700 restaurants in 20 countries. Wendys has also been included in Fortune magazines list of top 500 US companies. It is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio and employs about 58,000 people. The company recorded revenues of $3635. 4 million during the fiscal year ended December 2004, an increase of 15. 4% over 2003. This increase is primarily attributable to higher volume sales. The operating profit of the company during fiscal 2004 was $226. million, a decrease of 45. 8% from fiscal 2003. The net profit was $52. 0 million during fiscal year 2004, a decrease of 78. 0% over 2003. Wendys guiding mission is to deliver superior quality products and services for their customers and communities through leadership, innovation and partnerships. Wendys vision is to be the quality leader in everything they do. Wendys did show a lot of new ideas as far as the remote environment was concerned, for instance it established stored abroad, in the national expansion the franchisee agreement was for the area, a region and not for a store. We will write a custom essay sample on Wendys Case Study specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Wendys Case Study specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Wendys Case Study specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Here she made agreements for time, area, technical associations and royalty. There are different problems that she has faced like inflation, energy problems, increasing labor cost and increasing beef price. Even though the sites were remote there were site approval procedures for locations, on-site inspections and evaluation, counseling in buildings, training for franchisees at Wendys headquarters, advice on suppliers, staff representatives to help open each restaurant and ongoing support. Even currently Wendy is expanding into the European and Japanese markets. The US, Wendys largest geographical market, accounted for 68. 1% of the total revenues in the fiscal year 2004. Revenues from the US reached $2,475. 2 million in 2004, an increase of 12. 7% over fiscal 2003. Canada accounted for 31. 3% of the total revenues. Revenues from Canada reached $1138. 6 million in 2004, an increase of 21. 8% over fiscal 2003. Other international operations accounted for 0. 6% of the total revenues. Revenues from other international operations reached $21. 6 million in 2004, an increase of 27. % over fiscal 2003. The issue is that Wendys has reacted to the environment, granted but to what extent has she been successful? Currently exercising greater control over the current franchisees and also exercising greater control over the franchisees and expanding in foreign countries is an example of adapting to remote environment. Within the industry environment, Wendy came up with the idea of having a quarter pound patties, square patties and only burgers so that she could carve a niche for herself. She did not want to go head long into direct competition with McDonalds and Burger Kings. Wendys showed good adaptability by differentiated her menu from that of her competitors. In 1979, Wendy has started the salad bar and breakfast concept which has been accepted well. Then it began to increase the dinner and weekend business and prepared to open another 240 to 300 Wendys restaurants system wide. In short to every challenge and problem she had faced, Wendys has been able to come up with an adaptation. Wendys innovation pipeline produced several new products in 2004, including our Chicken Temptations sandwiches, Spinach Chicken Salad and Home-style Chicken Strips Salad. Wendys also introduced their new Kids Meals, which allow the substitution, at no extra charge, of Mandarin oranges for fries, and milk for a soft drink. Wendys saw many of their product and service innovations such as salads, premium sandwiches, chicken strips, healthy menu options and late-night hours being imitated by their competitors in 2004. Wendy also streamlined her building, pickup window and dioor. This contributed to her delivery system. Wendys turned out to be according to their own reporting, the fastest delivery system in the industry. In the 1980-89 Wendys brought about a change in the management reorganization which was responsible for major restructuring, a move which shows adaptability in the operating environment. Wendys operational focus will continue during 2005 with the rollout of the double-sided grill, which offers competitive advantages in improved product safety, enhanced product quality, faster cooking times and labor savings. Wendys expect the double-sided grill to be implemented system wide by 2007. Along with the double-sided grill rollout, Wendys is moving forward with the implementation of new technology in their Wendys restaurants. Electronic payment, which is now in nearly all of their stores, is a convenience for their customers and results in a higher average check. As part of their store automation program, Wendys have also implemented demand forecasting, labor scheduling and computer based training to improve their store-level efficiencies.

The Mandarin Meaning of Yin Yang Philosophy

The Mandarin Meaning of Yin Yang Philosophy Yin Yang is a philosophical concept of balance. The symbol associated with this concept is described here by Elizabeth Reninger: The image consists of a circle divided into two teardrop-shaped halves - one white and the other black. Within each half is contained a smaller circle of the opposite color. The Chinese Characters for Yin and Yang The Chinese characters for Yin Yang are é™ °Ã©â„¢ ½ / é˜ ´Ã©Ëœ ³ and they are pronounced yÄ «n yng. The first character é™ ° / é˜ ´ (yÄ «n) means: overcast weather; feminine; moon; cloudy; negative electrical charge; shady. The second character é™ ½ / é˜ ³ (yng) means: positive electrical charge; sun. The simplified characters é˜ ´Ã©Ëœ ³ clearly show the moon/sun symbolism since they can be deconstructed to their elements æÅ"ˆ (moon) and æâ€" ¥ (sun). The element é˜  is a variant of the radical é˜Å" which means abundant. So Yin Yang could represent the contrast between the full moon and the full sun. The Meaning and Significance of Yin and Yang It should be noted that these two opposites are viewed as complementary. To a modern observer coming from a Western background, its easy to think that yang sounds better than yin. The sun is obviously more powerful than the moon, light is better than darkness and so on. This misses the point. The idea behind the symbol of yin and yang is that they interact and that both are necessary for a healthy whole. Its also meant to represent the idea that extreme yin and extreme yang are unhealthy and unbalanced. The small black dot in the white shows this, as does the white dot in the black. 100% yang is very dangerous, as is complete yin. This can be seen in taijiquan, which is a martial art partly based on this principle. Here is Elizabeth Reningers further explanation of the meaning of the Yin Yang symbol: The curves and circles of the Yin-Yang symbol imply a kaleidoscope-like movement. This implied movement represents the ways in which Yin and Yang are mutually-arising, interdependent, and continuously transforming, one into the other. One could not exist without the other, for each contains the essence of the other. Night becomes day, and day becomes night. Birth becomes death, and death becomes birth (think: composting). Friends become enemies, and enemies become friends. Such is the nature - Taoism teaches - of everything in the relative world.

How to Write a Perfect UC Essay for Every Prompt

How to Write a Perfect UC Essay for Every Prompt SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you're applying to any University of California campus as an incoming freshman, then you have a special challenge ahead of you. Applicants need to answer four UC personal insight questions, chosen from a pool of eight unique prompts different from those on the Common App. But not to worry! This article is here to help. In this article, I'll dissectthe eight UC essay promptsin detail. What are they asking you for? What do they want to know about you? What do UC admissions officers really care about? How do you avoid boring or repulsing them with your essay? I'll breakdownall of these important questions for each prompt and discuss how to pick the four prompts that are perfect for you. I'll also give you examples of how to make sure your essay fully answers the question. Finally, I'll offer step-by-step instructions on how to come up with the best ideas for your UC personal statements. What Are the UC Personal Insight Questions? If you think about it, your college application is mostly made up of numbers: your GPA, your SAT scores, the number of AP classes you took, how many years you spent playing volleyball. These numbers only reveal so much. The job of admissions officers is to put together a class of interesting, compelling individuals- but a cut and dried achievement list makes it very hard to assess whether someone is interesting or compelling. This is where the personal insight questions come in. The UC application essays are your way to give colleges a sense of your personality, your perspective on the world, and some of the experiences that have made you into who you are. The idea is to share the kinds of things that don’t end up on your transcript. It's helpful to remember that you are not writing this for you. You're writing for an audience of people who do not know you, but are interested to learn about you. The essay is meant to be a revealing look inside your thoughts and feelings. These short essays- with a 350 word limit- are different from the essays you write in school, which tend to focus on analyzing someone else’s work. Really, the application essays are much closer to a short story. They rely heavily on narratives of events from your life, and on your descriptions of people, places, and feelings. If you’d like more background on college essays, check out our explainer for a very detailed breakdown of exactly how personal statements work in an application. Now, let’s dive into the eight University of California essay questions. First I’ll compare and contrast these prompts. Then I’ll dig deep into each UC personal statement question individually, exploring what it’s really trying to find out and how you can give the admissions officers what they’re looking for. Once upon a time, there was a mouse who really, really wanted to get into your college. Comparing the UC Essay Prompts Before we can pull these prompts apart, let's first compare and contrast them with each other. Clearly, UC wants you to write four different essays, and they're asking you eight different questions. But what are the differences? And are there any similarities? The Actual UC Essay Prompts #1: Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time. #2: Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side. #3: What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? #4: Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced. #5: Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? #6: Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom. #7: What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? #8: Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California? How to Tell the UC Essay Prompts Apart To help tell the UC personal statement prompts apart, sort them into big-picture categories, so when you’re brainstorming ideas you can see where your event or life experience would fit: Topics 1 and 7 are about your engagement with the people, things, and ideas around you. Consider the impact of the outside world on you and how you handled that impact. Topics 2 and 6 are about your inner self, what defines you, and what makes you the person that you are. Consider your interior makeup, the characteristics of the inner you Topics 3, 4, 5, and 8 are about your achievements. Consider what you’ve accomplished in life and what you are proud of doing These very broad categories will help when you’re brainstorming ideas and life experiences to write about for your essay. Of course, it's true that many of the stories you think of can be shaped to fit each of these prompts. Still, think about what the experience most reveals about you. If it’s an experience that shows how you have handled the people and places around you, it’ll work better for questions in the first group. If it’s a description of how you express yourself, it’s a good match for questions in group two. If it’s an experience that tells how you acted or what you did, it’s probably a better fit for questions in group three. For more help, check out our article on coming up with great ideas for your essay topic. "And that's the last time I went to a psychic." Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now: How Is This Guide Organized? We analyze all eight UC prompts in this guide, and for each one we give the following information: The prompt itself and any accompanying instructions What each part of the prompt is asking for Why UC is using this prompt and what they hope to learn from you All the key points you should cover in your response so you answer the complete prompt and give UC insight into who you are Dissecting Personal Insight Question 1 The Prompt and Its Instructions Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time. Things to consider: A leadership role can mean more than just a title. It can mean being a mentor to others, acting as the person in charge of a specific task, or taking a lead role in organizing an event or project. Think about your accomplishments and what you learned from the experience. What were your responsibilities? Did you lead a team? How did your experience change your perspective on leading others? Did you help to resolve an important dispute at your school, church in your community or an organization? And your leadership role doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to school activities. For example, do you help out or take care of your family? What’s the Question Asking? The prompt wants you to describe how you handled a specific kind of relationship with a group of people- a time when you took the reigns and the initiative. Your answer to this prompt will consist of two parts: Part 1: Explain the Dilemma Before you can tell your story of leading, brokering peace, or having a lasting impact on other people, you have to give your reader a frame of reference and a context for your actions. First, describe the group of people you interacted with. Who were and what was their relationship to you? How long were you in each others’ lives? Second, explain the issue you eventually solved. What was going on before you stepped in? What was the immediate problem? Were there potential long-term repercussions? "We couldn't decide between butter and cream cheese frosting in the final round of the baking competition!" Part 2: Describe Your Solution This is where your essay will have to explicitly talk about your own actions. Discuss what thought process led you to your course of action. Was it a last-ditch effort or a long-planned strategy? Did you think about what might happen if you didn’t step in? Did you have to choose between several courses of action? Explain how you took the bull by the horns. Did you step into the lead role willingly or were you pushed despite some doubts? Did you replace or supercede a more obvious leader? Describe your solution to the problem, or your contribution to resolving the ongoing issue. What did you do? How did you do it? Did your plan succeed immediately or did it take some time? Consider how this experience has shaped the person you have now become. Do you think back on this time fondly as being the origin of some personal quality or skill? Did it make you more likely to lead in other situations? What’s UC Hoping to Learn about You? College will be an environment unlike any of the ones you’ve found yourself in up to now. Sure, you will have a framework for your curriculum, and you will have advisers available to help- but for the most part, you will be on your own to deal with the situations that will inevitably arise when you mix with your diverse peers. UC wants to make sure: That you have the maturity to deal with groups of people That you can solve problems with your own ingenuity and resourcefulness That you don’t lose your head and panic at problems "And that's how I saved Christmas with a single crushed can!" How Can You Give Them What They Want? So how can you make sure those qualities come through in your essay? Pick Your Group The prompt very specifically wants you to talk about an interaction with a group of people. Let’s say a group has to be at least three people. Raise the Stakes Think of the way movies ratchet up the tension of the impending catastrophe before the hero swoops in and saves the day. Keeping an audience on tenterhooks is important- and makes the hero look awesome for the inevitable job well done. Similarly, in your essay the reader has to fundamentally understand exactly what you and the group you ended up leading were facing. Why was this an important problem to solve? Balance You vs. Them Personal statements need to showcase you above all things. Because this essay will necessarily have to spend some time on other people, you need to find a good proportion of them-time and me-time. In general, the first, setup, section of the essay should be shorter, since it will not be focused on what you were doing. The second section should take the rest of the space. So, in a 350 word essay, maybe 100-125 words go to setup, while 225-250 words to your leadership and solution. Find Your Arc Not only do you need to show how your leadership met the challenge you faced, but you also have to show how the experience changed you. In other words, the outcome was double-sided: you affected the world, and the world affected you right back. Make your arc as lovely and compelling as a rainbow. Dissecting Personal Insight Question 2 The Prompt and Its Instructions Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side. Things to consider: What does creativity mean to you? Do you have a creative skill that is important to you? What have you been able to do with that skill? If you used creativity to solve a problem, what was your solution? What are the steps you took to solve the problem? How does your creativity influence your decisions inside or outside the classroom? Does your creativity relate to your major or a future career? What’s the Question Asking? This question is trying to probe the way you express yourself. Its broad description of â€Å"creativity† gives you the opportunity to make almost anything you make that didn’t exist before fit the topic. What this essay question is really asking you to do is to examine the role your brand of creativity plays in your sense of yourself. The essay will have three parts. Part 1: Define Your Creativity What exactly do you produce, make, craft, create, or generate? Of course, the most obvious answer would be a visual art, a performance art, or music. But in reality, there is creativity in all fields. Any time you come up with an idea, thought, concept, or theory that didn’t exist before, you are being creative. So, your job is to explain what you spend time creating. Part 2: Connect Your Creative Drive to Your Overall Self Why do you do what you do? Are you doing it for external reasons- to perform for others, to demonstrate your skill, to fulfill some need in the world? Or is your creativity private and for your own use- to unwind, to distract yourself from other parts of your life, to have personal satisfaction in learning a skill? Are you good at your creative thing or do you struggle with it? If you struggle with it, why is it important to you to keep doing it? Part 3: Connect Your Creative Drive With Your Future The most basic way to do this is if you envision yourself actually doing your creative pursuit professionally. But this doesn’t have to be the only way you draw this link. What have you learned from what you’ve made? How has it changed how you interact with other objects or with people? Does it change your appreciation for the work of others or motivate you to improve upon it? "As the sole living practitioner of the ancient art of rock bodybuilding..." What’s UC Hoping to Learn about You? Nothing characterizes higher education like the need for creative thinking, unorthodox ideas to old topics, and the ability to synthesize something new. That is what you are going to college to learn how to do better. This essay wants to know whether this mindset of out-of-the-box-ness is something you are already comfortable with. They want to see: That you have actually created something in your life or academic career That you consider this an important quality within yourself, and that you have cultivated your skills That you can see and have considered the impact of what you’ve done on yourself or on the world around you Think outside the box- unless there are donuts in the box. How Can You Give Them What They Want? How can you really show that you are committed to being a creative person? Be Specific and Descriptive It’s not enough to vaguely gesture at your creative field. Instead, give a detailed and lively description of a specific thing or idea that you have created. For example, I could describe a Turner painting as â€Å"a seascape† or I could call it â€Å"an attempt to capture the breathtaking power and violence of an ocean storm as it overwhelms a ship.† Which painting would you rather look at? Give a Sense of History The question wants a little narrative of your relationship to your creative outlet. How long have you been doing it? Did someone teach you or mentor you? Have you taught it to others? Where and when do you create? Hit a Snag and Find the Success Anything worth doing is worth doing despite setbacks, this question argues- and it wants you to narrate one such setback. So first, figure out something that interfered with your creative expression. A lack of skill, time, or resources? Too much or not enough ambition in a project? Then, make sure this story has a happy ending that shows you off as the solver of your own problems. What did you do to fix the situation? How did you do it? Show Insight Your essay should include some thoughtful consideration of how this creative pursuit has shaped you, your thoughts, your opinions, your relationships with others, your understanding of creativity in general, or your dreams about your future. (Notice I said â€Å"or† not â€Å"and†- 350 words is not enough to cover all of those things!) "And that's when I knew I was destined to become a master confectioner!" Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Dissecting Personal Insight Question 3 The Prompt and Its Instructions What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? Things to consider: If there’s a talent or skill that you’re proud of, this is the time to share it. You don’t necessarily have to be recognized or have received awards for your talent (although if you did and you want to talk about, feel free to do so). Why is this talent or skill meaningful to you? Does the talent come naturally or have you worked hard to develop this skill or talent? Does your talent or skill allow you opportunities in or outside the classroom? If so, what are they and how do they fit into your schedule? What's the Question Asking? Basically, what’s being asked for here is a beaming rave. Whatever you write about, picture yourself talking about it with a glowing smile on your face. Part 1: Narrative The first part of the question really comes down to this: tell us a story about what's amazing about you. Have you done an outstanding thing? Do you have a mindblowing ability? Describe a place, a time, or a situation in which you were a star. A close reading of this first case of the prompt reveals that you don’t need to stress if you don’t have an obvious answer. Sure, if you’re playing first chair violin in the Symphony Orchestra, that qualifies as both a â€Å"talent† and an â€Å"accomplishment.† But the word "quality" really gives you the option of writing about any one of your most meaningful traits. And then, the words â€Å"contribution† and â€Å"experience† open up the range of possibilities that you could write about even further. A contribution could be anything from physically helping put something together, to providing moral or emotional support at a critical moment. But the key to the first part is the phrase â€Å"important to you.† Once again, what you write about is not as important as how you write about it. Being able to demonstrate the importance of the event that you’re describing reveals much more about you than the specific talent or characteristic ever could. Part 2: Insight and Personal Development The second part of the last essay asked you to look to the future. The second part of this essay wants you to look at the present instead. The general task is similar, however. Once again you're being asked to make connections- how do you fit this quality you have or this achievement you accomplished into the story of who you are? A close reading of the second part of this prompt lands on the word â€Å"proud.† This is a big clue that the revelation this essay is looking for should be a very positive one. In other words, this is probably not the time to write about getting arrested for vandalism, unless you can spin that experience into a story about how you been on the straight and narrow path ever since. Even if your vandalism was really, really, cool, don't write about it. What's UC Hoping to Learn About You? Admissions officers have a very straightforward interest in learning about your accomplishments. By the end of high school, many of the experiences that you are most proud of don’t tend to be the kind of things that end up on your resume. They want to know what makes you proud of yourself. It is something that relates to performance, to overcoming a difficult obstacle, to keeping a cool head in a crisis, to your ability to help others in need? At the same time, they are looking for a sense of maturity. In order to be proud of an accomplishment, it’s important to be able to understand your own values and ideals. This is your chance to show that you truly get the qualities and experiences that make you into a responsible and grown-up person, someone who will thrive in the independence of college life. In other words, while you might really be proud that you managed to tag 50 highway overpasses with graffiti, that’s probably not the achievement to brag about here. Unless you were hired to paint the overpasses. Then definitely brag about it. How Can You Give Them What They Want? The trick with this prompt is how to show a lot about yourself without listing accomplishments or devolving into cliche platitudes. Let's take it step by step. Step #1: Explain Your Field Make sure that somewhere in your narrative (preferably closer to the beginning) you let the reader know what makes your achievement an achievement. Not all interests are mainstream, so it helps your reader to understand what you’re facing if you give a quick sketch of, for example, why it’s challenging to build a battle bot that can defeat another fighting robot, or how the difficulties of extemporaneous debate compare with debating about a prepared topic. Keep in mind that for some things the explanation might be obvious. For example, do you really need to explain why finishing a marathon is a hard task? Step #2: Zoom in on a Specific Experience Think about your talent/quality/accomplishment in terms of experiences that showcase it. Conversely, think about your experiences in terms of the talent/quality/accomplishment they demonstrate. Since you're once again going to be limited to 350 words, you won’t be able to fit all the ways in which you exhibit your specific piece of awesomeness into this essay. This means that you’ll need to figure out how your ability can best be shown through one event when you displayed it. Or if you’re writing about an experience you had or a contribution you made, you’ll need to also point out what personality trait or characteristic it reveals. Step #3: Find a Conflict or a Transition The first question asked for a description, but this one wants a story- a narrative of how you do your special talent, or how you accomplished the thing you were so great at. The main thing about stories is that they have to have: A beginning: This is the setup, when you weren’t yet the star you are now. An obstacle or a transition: Sometimes a story has a conflict that needs to be resolved: something that stood in your way, a challenge that you had to figure out a way around, a block that you powered through. Other times, a story is about a change or a transformation: you used to believe/think/be one thing and now you are different/better. A resolution: When your full power/self-knowledge/ability/future goal is revealed. "And that's how I negotiated peace with the aliens of Tarkon V." Dissecting Personal Insight Question 4 The Prompt and Its Instructions Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced. Things to consider: An educational opportunity can be anything that has added value to your educational experience and better prepared you for college. For example, participation in an honors or academic enrichment program, or enrollment in an academy that’s geared toward an occupation or a major, or taking advanced courses that interest you - just to name a few. If you choose to write about educational barriers you’ve faced, how did you overcome or strive to overcome them? What personal characteristics or skills did you call on to overcome this challenge? How did overcoming this barrier help shape who are you today? What's the Question Asking? Cue the swelling music, because this essay is going to be all about your inspirational journey. You will either tell your story of overcoming adversity against all (or some) odds, or of pursuing the chance of a lifetime. If you write about triumphing over adversity, your essay will include: A description of the setback that befell you: The prompt wants to know what you consider a challenge in your school life- and definitely note that this challenge should have in some significant way impacted your academics rather than your life overall. The challenge can be a wide-reaching problem in your educational environment or something that happened specifically to you. The word â€Å"barrier† also shows that the challenge should be something that stood in your way: if only that thing weren’t there, then you’d be sure to succeed. An explanation of your success: Here, you’ll talk about what you did when faced with this challenge. Notice that the prompt asks you to describe the â€Å"work† you put in to overcome the problem- so this piece of the essay should focus on your actions, thoughts, ideas, and strategies. Although the essay doesn’t specify it, this section should also at some point turn reflexive. How are you defined by this thing that happened? You could discuss the emotional fallout of having dramatically succeeded, or how your maturity level, concrete skills, or understanding of the situation has increased, now that you have dealt with it personally. Or, you could talk about any beliefs or personal philosophy that you have had to reevaluate as a result of either the challenge itself, or of the way that you had to go about solving it. If you write about an educational opportunity, your essay will include: A short, clear description of exactly what you got the chance to do: In your own words, explain what the opportunity was, and why it’s special. Also explain why you specifically got the chance to do it. Was it the culmination of years of study? An academic contest prize? An unexpected encounter that led to you seizing an unlooked-for opportunity? How you made the best of it: It’s one thing to get the opportunity to do something amazing, but it’s another to really maximize what you get out of this chance for greatness. This is where you show just how much you understand the value of what you did, and how you’ve changed and grown as a result of it. Were you very challenged by this opportunity? Did your skills develop? Did you unearth talents you didn’t know you had? How does this impact your future academic ambitions or interests? Will you study this area further? Does this help you find your academic focus? "When I had a chance to go to Wizarding School..." What's UC Hoping to Learn About You? Of course, whatever you write about in this essay is probably already reflected on your resume or in your transcript in some small way. But UC wants to go deeper, to find out how seriously you take your academic career, and how thoughtfully you’ve approached either its ups or its downs. In college, there will be many amazing opportunities, but they aren’t necessarily simply there for the taking. Instead, you will be responsible for seizing whatever chances will further your studies, interests, or skills. Conversely, college will necessarily be more challenging, harder, and potentially much more full of academic obstacles than your academic experiences so far. UC wants to see that you are up to handling whatever setbacks may come your way with aplomb rather than panic. How Can You Give Them What They Want? Define the Problem/Opportunity Not every challenge is automatically obvious. Sure, everyone can understand the drawbacks of having to miss a significant amount of school due to illness, but what if the obstacle you tackled is something a little more obscure? Likewise, winning the chance travel to Italy to paint landscapes with a master is clearly rare and amazing, but some opportunities are more specialized and less obviously impressive. Make sure your essay explains everything the reader will need to know to understand what you were facing. Watch Your Tone An essay describing problems can easily slip into finger-pointing and self-pity. Make sure to avoid this by speaking positively or at least neutrally about what was wrong and what you faced. This goes double if you decide to explain who or what was at fault for creating this problem. Likewise, an essay describing amazing opportunities can quickly become an exercise in unpleasant bragging and self-centeredness. Make sure you stay grounded- rather than dwelling at length on your accomplishments, describe the specifics of what you learned and how. "But learning to be a wizard wasn't easy..." Dissecting Personal Insight Question 5 The Prompt and Its Instructions Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? Things to consider: A challenge could be personal, or something you have faced in your community or school. Why was the challenge significant to you? This is a good opportunity to talk about any obstacles you’ve faced and what you’ve learned from the experience. Did you have support from someone else or did you handle it alone? If you’re currently working your way through a challenge, what are you doing now, and does that affect different aspects of your life? For example, ask yourself, â€Å"How has my life changed at home, at my school, with my friends, or with my family?† What's the Question Asking? It’s time to draw back the curtains and expand our field of vision, because this is going to be a two-part story of overcoming adversity against all (or some) odds. Part 1: Facing a Challenge The first part of this essay is about problem-solving. The prompt asks you to point at something that could have derailed you, if not for your strength and skill. Not only will you describe the challenge itself, but you’ll talk about what you did when faced with it. Part 2: Looking in the Mirror The second part of Topic B asks you to consider how this challenge has echoed through your life- and more specifically, how your education has been affected by what happened to you. What's UC Hoping to Learn About You? In life, dealing with setbacks, defeats, barriers, and conflicts is not a bug- it’s a feature. And colleges want to make sure that you can handle these upsetting events without losing your overall sense of self, without being totally demoralized, and without getting completely overwhelmed. In other words, they are looking for someone who is mature enough to do well on a college campus, where disappointing results and hard challenges will be par for the course. They are also looking for your creativity and problem-solving skills. Are you good at tackling something that needs to be fixed? Can you keep a cool head in a crisis? Do you look for solutions outside the box? These are all markers of a successful student, so it’s not surprising that admissions people want you to demonstrate these qualities. "I realized that if I wanted to become the Junior Champion Snake Shifter, I would have to do something drastic." How Can You Give Them What They Want? Let's explore the best ways to show off your problem-solving side. Show Your Work It’s one thing to be able to say what's wrong, but it’s another thing entirely to demonstrate how you figured out how to fix it. Even more than knowing that you were able to fix the problem, colleges want to see how you approached the situation. This is why your essay needs to explain your problem-solving methodology. Basically, we need to see you in action. What did you think would work? What did you think would not work? Did you compare this to other problems you have faced and pass? Did you do research? Describe your process. Make Sure That You Are the Hero This essay is supposed to demonstrate your resourcefulness and creativity. The last thing you want is for you to not actually be the person responsible for overcoming the obstacle. Make sure that your story is clear that without you and your special brand of XYZ, people would still be lamenting the issue today. Don't worry if the resource you used to affect a good fix was the knowledge and know-how that somebody else brought to the table. Just focus on explaining what made you think of this person as the one to go to, how you convinced them to participate, and how you explained to them how they would be helpful. This will shift the attention of the story back to you and your doings. Find the Suspenseful Moment The most exciting part of this essay should be watching you struggle to find a solution just in the nick of time. Think every movie clichà © ever about someone defusing a bomb - even if you know 100% that the guy is going to do it, the movie still ratchets up the tension to make it seem like, well, maybe... You want to do the same thing here. Bring excitement and a feeling of uncertainty to your description of your process to really pull the reader in and make them root for you to succeed. You're the superhero! Dissecting Personal Insight Question 6 The Prompt and Its Instructions Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom. Things to consider: Many students have a passion for one specific academic subject area, something that they just can’t get enough of. If that applies to you, what have you done to further that interest? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had inside and outside the classroom - such as volunteer work, internships, employment, summer programs, participation in student organizations and/or clubs - and what you have gained from your involvement. Has your interest in the subject influenced you in choosing a major and/or career? Have you been able to pursue coursework at a higher level in this subject (honors, AP, IB, college or university work)? Are you inspired to pursue this subject further at UC, and how might you do that? What's the Question Asking? This question is really asking for a glimpse of your imagined possibilities. For some students, this will be an extremely straightforward question. For example, say you’ve always loved science to the point that you’ve spent every summer taking biology and chemistry classes. You can just pick a few of the most gripping moments from these experiences and discuss the overall trajectory of your interests, and your essay will be a winner. But what if you have many academic interests? Or what if you only discovered your academic passion at the very end of high school? Let’s break down what the question is really asking into two parts. Part 1: Picking a Favorite At first glance, it sounds as if what you should write about is the class where you have gotten the best grades, or the class that easily fits into what you see as your future college major or maybe even your eventual career goal. There is nothing wrong with this kind of pick- especially if you really are someone who tends to excel in those classes that are right up your interest alley. But if we look closer, we see that there is nothing in the prompt that specifically demands that you write either about a particular class or an area of study where you perform well. Instead, you could take the phrase â€Å"academic subject† to mean a wide field of study and explore your fascination with the different types of learning to be found there. For example, if your chosen topic is the field of literature, you could discuss your experiences with different genres or with foreign writers. You could also write about a course or area of study that has significantly challenged you, and where you have not been as stellar a student as you want. This could be a way to focus on your personal growth as a result of struggling through a difficult class, or the way you’ve learned to handle or overcome your limitations. Part 2: Relevance The second part of this prompt, like the first, can also be taken in a literal and direct way. There is absolutely nothing wrong with explaining that because you love engineering and want to be an engineer you have pursued all your school’s STEM courses, are also involved in a robotics club, and have taught yourself to code in order to develop apps. On the other hand, you could focus on the more abstract, values-driven goals we just talked about. Then, the way you explain how your academics will help you can be rooted not in the content of what you studied, but in the life lessons you drew from it. In other words, for example, your theater class may not have created a desire to be an actor, but working on plays with your peers may have shown you how highly you value collaboration. And the experience of designing sets was an exercise in problem-solving and ingenuity. These lessons would be useful in any field you pursue and could easily be said to help you achieve your lifetime goals. My favorite subject is underwater basketweaving. What's UC Hoping to Learn About You? If you are on a direct path to a specific field of study or career pursuit, admissions officers definitely want to know that. Having driven, goal oriented, and passionate students is a huge plus for a university. So if this is you, be sure that your essay conveys not just your interest but also your deep and abiding love of the subject, and maybe even includes any related clubs, activities, and hobbies that you’ve done during high school. But of course, more traditionally, college is the place to find yourself and the things that you become passionate about. So if you’re not already committed to a specific course of study, don’t worry. Instead, you have to realize that in this essay, like in all the other essays, the how matters much more than the what. No matter where your eventual academic, career, or other pursuits may lie, every class that you have taken up to now has taught you something. You learned about things like work ethic, mastering a skill, practice, learning from a teacher, interacting with peers, dealing with setbacks, understanding your own learning style, and perseverance. In other words, the admissions office wants to make sure that no matter what you study you will draw meaningful conclusions from your experiences, whether those conclusions are about the content of what you learn or about a deeper understanding of yourself and others. They want to see that you’re not simply floating through life on the surface, but that you are absorbing the qualities, skills, and know-how you will need to succeed in the world- no matter what that success looks like. How Can You Give Them What They Want? Focus on a telling detail. Because personal statements are short, you simply won't have time to explain everything you have loved about a particular subject in enough detail to make it count. Instead, pick one event that crystallized your passion for a subject, or one telling moment that revealed what your working style will be, and go deep into a discussion of what it meant to you in the past and how it will affect your future. Don’t overreach. It’s fine to say that you have loved your German classes so much that you have begun exploring both modern and classic German-language writers, for example, but it’s a little too self-aggrandizing to claim that your 4 years of German have made you basically bilingual and ready to teach the language to others. Make sure that whatever class achievements you describe don’t come off as unnecessary bragging rather than simple pride. Don’t underreach. At the same time, make sure that you have actual accomplishments to describe in whatever subject you pick to write about. If your favorite class turned out to be the one you mostly skipped to hang out in the gym instead, this may not be the place to share that lifetime goal. After all, you always have to remember your audience. In this case, it's college admissions officers who want to find students who are eager to learn and be exposed to new thoughts and ideas. "This is how I realized my passion for horticulture." Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now: Dissecting Personal Insight Question 7 The Prompt and Its Instructions What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? Things to consider: Think of community as a term that can encompass a group, team or a place - like your high school, hometown or home. You can define community as you see fit, just make sure you talk about your role in that community. Was there a problem that you wanted to fix in your community? Why were you inspired to act? What did you learn from your effort? How did your actions benefit others, the wider community or both? Did you work alone or with others to initiate change in your community? What's the Question Asking? This topic is trying to get at how you engage with your environment. It’s looking for several things: #1: Your Sense of Place and Connection Because the term â€Å"community† is so broad and ambiguous, this is a good essay for explaining where you feel a sense of belonging and rootedness. What or who constitutes your community? Is your connection to a place, to a group of people, or to an organization? What makes you identify as part of this community- cultural background, a sense of shared purpose, or some other quality? #2: Your Empathy and Ability to Look at the Big Picture Before you can solve a problem, you have to realize that the problem exists. Before you can make your community a better place, you have to find the things that can be ameliorated. No matter what your contribution ended up being, you first have to show how you saw where your skills, talent, intelligence, or hard work could do the most good. Did you put yourself in the shoes of the other people in your community? Understand some fundamental inner working of a system you could fix? Knowingly put yourself in the right place at the right time? #3: Your Problem Solving Skills How did you make the difference in your community? If you resolved a tangible issue, how did you come up with your solution? Did you examine several options or act from the gut? If you made your community better in a less direct way, how did you know where to apply yourself and how to have the most impact possible? "And that's how I saved the children of MiceTown." What's UC Hoping to Learn About You? Community is a very important thing to colleges. You'll be involved with and encounter lots of different communities in college, from the broader student body, to your extracurriculars and classes, to the community outside the University around you. UC wants to make sure that you can engage with the communities around you in a positive and meaningful way. How Can You Give Them What They Want? Make it personal. Before you can explain what you did in your community, you have to define and describe this community itself- and you can necessarily only do that by focusing on what it means to you. Don’t speak in generalities, but instead show the bonds between you and the group you are a part of through colorful, idiosyncratic language. Sure, they might be â€Å"my water polo team,† but maybe they are more specifically â€Å"the twelve people who have seen me at my most exhausted and my most exhilarated.† Feel all the feelings. This is a chance to move your readers. As you delve deep into what makes your community one of your emotional centers, and then as you describe how you were able to improve it in a meaningful and lasting way, you should keep the roller coaster of feelings front and center. Own how you felt at each step of the process: when you found your community, when you saw that you could make a difference, when you realized that your actions have resulted in a change for the better. Did you feel unprepared for the task you undertook? Nervous to potentially let down those around? Thrilled to get a chance to display a hidden or underused talent? "After brokering peace between the two rival cat clans of my neighborhood, I feel like I can do anything!" Dissecting Personal Insight Question 8 The Prompt and Its Instructions Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California? Things to consider: If there’s anything you want us to know about you, but didn’t find a question or place in the application to tell us, now’s your chance. What have you not shared with us that will highlight a skill, talent, challenge or opportunity that you think will help us know you better? From your point of view, what do you feel makes you an excellent choice for UC? Don’t be afraid to brag a little. What's the Question Asking? If your particular experience doesn’t quite fit under the rubrics of the other essay topics, or if there is something the admissions officers need to understand about your background in order to consider your application in the right context, then this is the essay for you. Now, I’m going to say something a little counterintuitive here. The prompt for this essay clarifies that even if you don’t have a â€Å"unique† story to tell, you should still feel free to pick this topic. But, honestly, I think you should only choose this topic if you have an exceptional experience to share, and that any everyday challenges or successes of regular life could easily fit one of the other insight questions instead. What this means is that evaluating whether your experiences qualify for this essay is a matter of degrees. For example, did you manage to thrive academically despite being raised by a hard-working single parent? That’s a hardship that could easily be written about for Questions 1 or 5, depending on how you choose to frame what happened. Did you manage to earn a 3.7 GPA despite living in a succession of foster families only to age out of the system in the middle of your senior year of high school? That’s a narrative of overcoming hardship that easily belongs to Question 8. On the flip side, did you win a state-wide robotics competition? Well done, and feel free to tell your story under Question 4. Were you the youngest person to single-handedly win a season of BattleBots? Then feel free to write about it for Question 8. What's UC Hoping to Learn About You? This is pretty straightforward. They are trying to identify students that have unique and amazing stories to tell about who they are and where they come from. If you’re a student like this, then the admissions people want to know: What happened to you When and where it happened How you participated or were involved in the situation How it affected you as a person How it affected your schoolwork How the experience will be reflected in the point of view you bring to campus The reasons that the university wants this information are: It gives context to applications that otherwise might seem mediocre or even subpar It can help explain times in a transcript where grades significantly drop It creates them the opportunity to build a lot of diversity into the incoming class It’s a way of finding unique talents and abilities that otherwise wouldn’t show up on other application materials How Can You Give Them What They Want? Let's run through a few tricks for making sure your essay makes the most of your particular exceptionalism. Double-Check Your Uniqueness There are many experiences in all of our lives that make us feel elated, accomplished, and extremely competent, that are also near-universal. This essay isn’t trying to take the validity of your strong feelings away from you, but I think it would be best served by for stories that are on a different scale. Wondering whether what you went through counts? This might be a good time to run your idea by a parent, school counselor, or trusted teacher. Do they think your experience is widespread? Or do they agree that you truly lived a life less ordinary? Connect Outward The vast majority of your answer to the prompt should be telling your story and its impact on you and your life. But the essay should also point toward how your particular experiences set you apart from your peers. One of the reasons that the admissions office wants to find out which of the applicants has been through something unlike most other people is that they are hoping to increase the number of points of view in the student body. Think about, and include in your essay, how you will impact campus life. This can be very literal- if you are a jazz singer who has released several acclaimed albums, then maybe you will perform on campus. Or it can be much more oblique- if you are disabled, then you will be able to offer a perspective that differs from the able-bodied majority. Be Direct, Specific, and Honest Nothing will make your voice sound more appealing than writing without embellishment or verbal flourishes. This is the one case where what you’re telling is just as- if not more- important than how you’re telling it. So the best strategy is to be as straightforward in your writing as possible. This means using description to situate your reader in a place/time/experience that they would never get to see firsthand. You can do this by picking a specific moment during your accomplishment to narrate as a small short story, and not shying away from explaining your emotions throughout the experience. Your goal is to make the extraordinary into something at least somewhat relatable- and the way you do that is by making your writing down to earth. "Is it accurate to say that I saved the entire world?" "No." Writing Advice for Making Your UC Personal Statements Shine No matter what personal insight questions you end up choosing to write about, here are two tips for making your writing sparkle: #1: Be Detailed and Descriptive Have you ever heard the expression â€Å"show, don’t tell†? It’s usually given as creative writing advice, and it will be your best friend when you're writing college essays. It means that any time you want to describe a person or thing as having a particular quality, it’s better to illustrate with an example than to just use vague adjectives. If you stick to giving examples that paint a picture, your focus will also become narrower and more specific. You’ll end up focusing on details and concrete events, rather than not particularly telling generalizations. Let’s say, for instance, Adnan is writing about the house that he’s been helping his dad fix up. Which of these do you think gives the reader a better sense of place? Version 1 My family bought an old house that was kind of rundown. My dad likes fixing it up on the weekends and I like helping him. Now the house is much nicer than when we bought it and I can see all our hard work when I look at it. Version 2 My dad grinned when he saw my shocked face. Our â€Å"new† house looked like a completely rundown shed: peeling paint, rust-covered railings, shutters that looked like the crooked teeth of a jack-o-lantern. I was still staring at the spider web crack in one broken window when my dad handed me a pair of brand new work gloves and a paint scraper. â€Å"Today, let’s just do what we can with the front wall,† he said, and then I smiled too, knowing that many of my weekends would be spent here with him, working side by side. Both versions of this story focus on the fact that the house was dilapidated and that Adnan enjoyed helping his dad do repairs. But the second does this by: Painting a picture of what the house actually looked like by adding visual details ("peeling paint," "rust-covered railings," "broken window"), and through comparisons ("shutters like a jack-o-lantern," "spider web window crack") Showing emotions by describing facial expressions ("my dad grinned," "my shocked face," "I smiled") Using specific and descriptive action verbs ("grinned," "shocked," "staring," "handed") The essay would probably go on to describe one day of working with his dad, or a time when a repair went horribly awry. Adnan would make sure to keep adding sensory details (what things looked, sounded, smelled, tasted like), using active verbs, and illustrating feelings with spoken speech and facial expressions. If you're having trouble checking whether your description is detailed enough, read your work to someone else. Then, ask that person to describe the scene back to you. Are they able to conjure up a picture from your words? If not, you need to beef up your details. It's a bit of a fixer-upper, but it'll make a great college essay! #2: Show Your Feelings All good personal essays deal with emotions. And what marks great personal essays is the author’s willingness to really dig into negative feelings as well as positive ones. As you write your UC application essays, keep asking yourself questions and probing your memory. How did you feel before it happened? How did you expect to feel after, and then how did you actually feel after? How did the world that you are describing feel about what happened? How do you know how your world felt? Then write about your feelings using mostly emotion words ("I was thrilled/disappointed/proud/scared"), some comparisons ("I felt like I'd never run again/like I'd just bitten into a sour apple/like the world's greatest explorer"), and a few bits of direct speech ("'How are we going to get away with this?' my brother asked.") Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. There's "it was exciting." And then there's "I felt at once exhilarated and terrified, as if I had just jumped out of an airplane for the first time." What’s Next? This should give you a great starting point to attack the UC essay prompts and consider how you'll write your own effective UC personal statements. The hard part starts here- work hard, brainstorm broadly, and use all my suggestions above to craft a great UC application essay. Making your way through college applications? We have advice on how to find the right college for you, how to write about your extracurricular activities, and how to ask teachers for recommendations. Interested in taking the SAT one more time? Check out our highly detailed explainer on studying for the SAT to learn how to prepare best. Worried about how to pay for college after you get in? Read our description of how much college really costs, our comparison of subsidized and unsubsidized loans, and our lists of the top scholarships for high school seniors and juniors. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Mothers in Federal Prison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mothers in Federal Prison - Essay Example This information also supports the premise that when women are in federal prison it has severe repercussions on the entire family. Historically women who were mothers and sentenced to federal prisons were given lighter sentences. However, the literature indicates that tougher prison sentences, especially federal, are being handed down. As a result, more children are being affected by a parent's incarceration, (The Center for Youth and Families) The repercussions to the entire families of the incarnated women, not just the children are serious. There are emotional, political and economical effects that the entire family must endure. In the "Long Goodbye" by Amanda Coyne, all of these factors are addressed. The major factor that Coyne's work is concerned with is the emotional impact both on the mother and the rest of the family, especially the children. There is an emotional toll that affects the entire family f the imprisoned mothers. The literature suggest that the large numbers of women in federal prisons has a social impact and supports the premise that many women are in federal prisons due to the unsuccessful war on drugs. ... This causes great angst for the mothers in federal prison and it raises concerns as to what and how they will explain their incarceration to young children. The current literature also reveals that mothers in federal prisons have difficulties with adolescents and the adolescents of incarcerated mothers are problematic. (Coyne, p 73) Current literature is concerned with the unintended consequences of the incarceration of parents on children. (Coyne, p 72) These consequences may include problems with separation, caretaking, schooling, and antisocial behavior during childhood, educational failure, precocious sexuality, premature departures from home, early childbearing and marriage, and idleness and joblessness during adolescence and early adulthood. (Bloom, p 21) There is current literature that examines the dimensions and causes of these problems among children of mothers that have been sentenced in the federal district courts system. (Coyne, 74) The literature also suggests that the withdrawal or loss of a parent can result in the loss not only of economic capital, but also of social capital involving relationships among family members and the organization of family life toward the maintenance and improvement of life chances of children. (Bloom, p 22) The presence of mothers in United States prison populations is growing with the increasing reliance on incarceration as a criminal sanction, for women as well as men. (Bloom, p 22) The literature presents the results of a recent survey by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (1991) that revealed that about two-thirds of incarcerated women and more than one-half of incarcerated men are mothers of children under 18 years of age. (The Center for Youth

Music Recording Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Music Recording Industry - Essay Example Music file sharing on the Internet via websites and networks such as the notorious Napster has become an extremely controversial topic in recent years. Since May 1999, when Napster began introducing millions of Internet users to the pleasures of trading music via a peer-to-peer network, music file-sharing has become ubiquitous online. 42% of the respondents in a June 2001 study of online behavior among American Internet users conducted by Jupiter Media Metrix indicated that they had downloaded music from the Internet. Jupiter Media Metrix is a company that helps other companies develop, extend and integrate business strategies across online and emerging channels. Backed by proprietary data, Jupiter Research's industry-specific analysis, competitive insight and strategic advice give businesses the tools they need to exploit new technologies and business processes. With the rise of Internet use amongst the growing population around the world it has been easier then ever for individuals of all ages to download their favorite songs from the Internet. ... The recording industry views Napster-style file-sharing unambiguously as stealing and have tried to enforce its view by filing lawsuits against Napster and other similar online services. Napster itself has been effectively put out of business by legal action since July 2001, and a number of other lawsuits against most of the other major file-sharing services are currently pending. Among listeners, however, there is little agreement on whether or not file-sharing is the equivalent of theft, with many contending that they are actually led to purchase more music in physical form such as CDs because of their music downloading. Although the research taken in part by the record industry is very appealing, there are others who believe that the era of music file swapping across the Internet did not cause the acclaimed 5% drop in sales in recorded music. According to a research done in part by a company called Ipsos-Reid concluded that there exist a direct relation between downloading music from the Internet and the purchasing of recoding music. Those who download more music from the Internet are more likely to go out and buy recorded music from the stores. Another study conducted by Jupiter Media Metrix concluded similar results, as did the research done by Ipsos-Reid. The report which was released in May of 2002 surveyed 3,319 people contradicts the claims make by the record industry that file sharing and CD burning have been key contributors to the drop in record sales for the fiscal year of 2001. The report concluded that a considerable amount of people who download music frequently over the Internet are actually spending more on music than they did before they started downloading files. Only about 14% of heavy file traders have reported that they now spend less

Top Reasons Why Students Fail Chemistry Essay Example for Free

Top Reasons Why Students Fail Chemistry Essay See More About: * chemistry top picks * chemistry homework help * study tips Are you taking a chemistry class? Are you worried you might not pass? Chemistry is a subject many students prefer to avoid, even if they have an interest in science, because of its reputation for lowering grade point averages. However, it isnt as bad as it seems, especially if you avoid these common mistakes. 1. Procrastinating Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow, right? Wrong! The first few days in a chemistry class may be very easy and could lull you into a false sense of security. Dont put off doing homework or studying until halfway through the class. Mastering chemistry requires you to build concept upon concept. If you miss the basics, youll get yourself into trouble. Pace yourself. Set aside a small segment of time each day for chemistry. It will help you to gain long-term mastery. 2. Dont cram. Dont go into chemistry until you understand the basics of algebra. Geometry helps, too. You will need to be able to perform unit conversions. Expect to work chemistry problems on a daily basis. Dont rely too much on a calculator. Chemistry and physics use math as an essential tool. 3. Not Getting or Reading the Text Yes, there are classes in which the text is optional or completely useless. This isnt one of those classes. Get the text. Read it! Ditto for any required lab manuals. Even if the lectures are fantastic, youll need the book for the homework assignments. A study guide may be of limited use, but the basic text is a must-have. 4. Psyching Yourself Out I think I can, I think I can you have to have a positive attitude toward chemistry. If you truly believe you will fail you may be setting yourself up for a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you have prepared yourself for the class, you have to believe that you can be successful. Also, its easier to study a topic you like than one you hate. Dont hate chemistry. Make your peace with it and master it. 5. Not Doing Your Own Work Study guides and books with worked answers in the back are great, right? Yes, but only if you use them for help and not as an easy way to get your homework done. Dont let a book or classmates do your work for you. They wont be available during the tests, which will count for a big portion of your grade.

Causes of the American Revolution Essay -- Essays on American Revoluti

On July 2, 1776, the second continental congress voted that the American Colonies were free from British influence. (Danzer,102) On July 4, two days later, they adopted the Declaration of Independence. These two events would begin what would become one of, if not the most important events in American History. It began the war of Independence, when America won its right to be free. There were many causes for the American Revolution. However most of them stemmed from paying for the French-Indian War. After the war, in 1763, the British began to feel the strain that often follows the war.(Langley, 14) To raise money Parliament passed the stamp act in 1965, which required the colonists to use special stamped paper for all legal documents, mortgages, deeds, newspapers, almanacs and pamphlets. (Gottschalk, 24) This caused an uproar from the colonists, who didn't feel that Britain had a right to tax them. In October of 1765, Merchants Boycotted British goods until parliament repealed the Stamp Act in 1766. The following year the Townshend acts were passed. (Danzer, 95) To enforce them P...

Bp’s Ethical Culture Essay

We will go through the BP business context and culture, safety aspect, organization capability, responsiveness and risk assessment aspects of their ethical culture, result from the management and caused the disaster. BP Business Context and ethical culture: From the BP management employer aspects, they are not follow some mechanical level, safety procedure over and ignored which required by Act (e.g. Clean Air Act) over 8 year for their production. At the end the huge explosion occurred in March 2005. Because of the hydrocarbon liquid leakage and vapor, the ignition explosion result of the accident. They failed to give the safeguards protection tools to protect employees, this accident killing employees and injured people in Texas oil refinery. And the other issue of the Alaskan oil pipelines leaked; their culture also reflect the safety negligence in their operation and management. Not check the pipelines by routine maintenance. BP management did not doing any corrective action on the contract worker discovered the first pipeline leak in March of 2006, (e.g. whole stop the pipelines operation for checking details), still waiting the leakage happen on August 2006. And in October 2007 another spill in Prudhoe Bay, once again showing that BP was ignored the maintenance equipment and the safety level of the production. In 2010, violations again at BP facilities (at Ohio factory), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found that workers might be exposed to injury or death should explosive or flammable chemicals be released at an Ohio factory. The BP working environment have the characteristic that is resistance to change, lack of trust and motivation; unclear expectations about supervisory and management behaviors, led to rules not being followed consistently and no initiating improvements. Management did not set or consistently reinforce process safety, operations performance and systematic to reduce the risk. e.g. neglected the safety protection tools. (Reference 01) Organizational Capability: poor management and communication in the complex organization, high turnover of refinery plant managers which will affect their consistency of responsibilities. Inability to see the risk, poor level of hazard awareness and process safety knowledge, e.g. the temporary worker doing wrong on the hydrocarbons to atmosphere with unclear control in the high risk and safety industry practice. Lack of early warning system in the refinery plant; e.g. poor communication, poor performance-management process and deteriorating the work standards. Means that BP allows the defective process in their production refinery and pipelines channel. Even though the project was carried out before the extensive research to identify any potential environment risks of the pipelines stretched to their network From the BP investor aspects, even a huge amount of fines, criminal penalties were paid again. They just only concern the profit rather then the employees, environment, base on their short term focus with high level oversight on prevention or improvement and safety management. Even the production was shut down a month for repairing; they just focus on resume the production which means profit as a priority. From the interest group, e.g. National Fish and Wildlife, the state law and act. BP was neglected their monitoring role, just paid the fund or fines to be a remedy, but still running at their loosen management culture. From the BP employees aspects, insider trading and fraud document (mail fraud and wire fraud), and reward from the manipulate the propane market at a high prices Integrity of the BP management, also lack of monitor and alert of the internal control. As the National oil company, the management let company making loss on violate Act, not setting a well control system for employees for prevention. These parts clearly showing the history of disregarding the well-being of stakeholders not follow the law and high level operation and maintenance level of BP. Different refinery plane have their own safety management system, and they did not share their best practice with others. So doing the same work but running at different safety system level. And as the employees of BP, from the result of the explosion, oil leakage and fraud issue all of them are affecting their society and economic damage. They know and maintain these BP culture but they do not concern until the accident or issue occurred. From these aspects of the BP ethical culture, and still no solid continues improvement, then it was caused the Gulf Coast oil spill disaster. At the beginning, BP tried to shift their responsiveness to the contractor Transocean, Ltd., loosen and negligence management style (know but not concern style), lying on the accident real situation to public. And delay the recovery work which subject to their management decision and style.

General relativity Essay

For many years time travel was the stuff of science fiction. This was all just part of the world’s imagination until recently. Scientists now believe that the current laws of physics allow us to travel though time. They believe that we can now travel back to see our founding fathers sign the declaration of independence. We could travel to 2999 to witness the birth of the next new millennium. Such travel would require a machine capable of withstanding great pressures and incredible amounts of speed. The act of actually traveling though time is for the most part, agreed upon, but the implications of such travel is not so decided upon. Many different theorists have different views of what could happen and some go, as far as to say that if we did travel to the past, we would end up in a different universe that is a replica of this one. One of the most basic concepts is that of Dilation, a stretching of something. Some scientists believe that the main gateway to the past or future is a wormhole. Einstein’s general relativity theory explains about universal constants, this is important to understand the concepts of travel at light speed. Traveling to the past could create problems if someone tried to change something. This is a paradox. A few of these paradoxes are explained through the use of quantum mechanics. Sailing though the cosmos at the speed of light with no time passing us by, moving throughout time to witness the ancient Egyptians create their masterpieces. This is an exciting concept that we could actually formulate and make happen. Before the time of Einstein, Newton and other great investigators thought of space as an infinite expanse in which all things exist (Hewitt 213). We are in space and we live in it along with all of the planets and stars. It was never clear if the universe exists in space or space exists in the universe. Dose space exists outside the universe or only within the bounds of it. The similar question, does the universe exist only in time or does time only exist in the universe? Was there time before the universe, and will there be time after it ceases to exist? â€Å"Einstein’s answer to this is that time and space only exist within the universe. There is no time or space ? outside. ‘(Hewitt 213)† Einstein said that space and time are two separate parts of a whole called space-time (Hewitt 213). To understand this, consider our present knowledge. We move though time at the rate of 24 hours per day. This is only half the story though. To get the other half we have to convert our thinking from moving though time to moving though space-time (Hewitt 213). When we move, we not only move through space, we move though time. This is the idea of space-time. If a person were to stand still, they would be moving only though time. If they moved a little bit, they would be moving though space a little bit, but still mostly though time. If one were to travel at the speed of light, what changes would they experience in time? The answer is simple; they would be traveling through space, with no travel though time (Hewitt 214). They would be as ageless as light, for light travels though space only (not time) and is timeless. > The frame of reference of a photon, a particle of light, a trip across the universe would take no time at all (Hewitt 214). To understand how traveling though time would work, we must first understand how time and space can be stretched. Motion in space affects motion in time. Whenever we move through space, we to some degree alter our rate of motion in time. This is known as time dilation, a stretching of time that occurs ever so slightly for everyday speeds, but significantly for speeds approaching the speed of light. If we were to attempt to travel to the nearest star, Alpha Centauri, which is 4 light years away, even traveling at the speed of light would take 8 years round trip (Hewitt 228). The center of our galaxies is something like 30000 light years away and at the speed of light would take 30000 years to get there. We could not possibly survive that long. These arguments fail to take in to account of time dilation though. Time for a stationary observer on earth and for an astronaut on a spaceship of high velocity is different. A person’s heart beats to the rhythm of the realm it is in. One realm of time seems the same as any other to the person in the realms, but not to an observer outside that realm that can see the difference. As an example, astronauts traveling at 99% the speed of light could make a trip to the star Procyon that is 11. 4 light-years away in 23 earth years round trip (Hewitt 229). Because of time dilation, it would seem that only 3 years passed for the astronauts, there clocks would be 3 years older; they would be biologically only 3 years older (Hewitt 229). It would be the mission control people that would appear to be 23 years older. The question is why dose this happen. Let’s say that we are in our hometown, looking at the grandfather clock that is in the center of town. The clock reads 12:00 noon. Light from the sun bounces off the face of the clock and hits our eyes. We then turn our head and the light misses us and travels off into space. In space, there is a space ship that is traveling at the speed of light. An astronaut looks out his passenger-side window and sees the reflection of the clock. It reads 12:00 noon. As he continues to move at the speed of light, he keeps up with the reflected face of the clock. In the space ship time would pass as normal, but time in the universe would have seemed to stop. This might sound like cosmic bologna but the idea has been proven. In 1975 Professor Carl Tllie of the University of Maryland tested this theory using two synchronized atomic clocks (Brian par2). One clock was placed on a plain and flown for several hours while he other clock stayed on the ground. Upon landing, the clock on the plain was a little slower than the one on the ground. This was not due to experimental error, for the same test was done several times and each time yielded the same results. Because of time dilation travel in to the distance future is a definite possibility. The only problem lies in propelling a craft to such speed at which light travels. Carl Sagan wrote a science fiction novel about a fictional device that allowed his character to travel great distances across the universe. â€Å"Those faster than light speeds are not achievable; he also knew there was a common convention in science fiction that would allow a gimmick of a shortcut through ? Hyper space’ as a means around this problem( par2 ) . † Sagen turned to Kip Thorne for help for hyperspace connections through space-time( par2). A black hole always has two â€Å"ends†, a property ignored by everyone except a few mathematicians until the mid-1980s. Thorne was sufficiently intrigued to set two of his Ph. D. students, Michael Morris and Ulvi Yurtsever, the task of working out some of the details of the physical behavior of what the relativists know as†wormholes. † By starting out from the mathematical end of the problem, they constructed a space-time geometry that matched Sagans requirement of a wormhole that could be physical traversed by human beings. Sagan was right; hyperspace connections do at least in theory provide a means to travel to far distant regions of the universe without spending thousands of years putting around in an ordinary spacecraft. Since the 30’s scientists have speculated that wormholes exist. Einstein’s theory combines 3 dimensional space with time to create a 4 dimensional space (Brian par3). Wormholes are gateways between two different parts of the universe made by linking two black holes. Wormholes are in the fabric of 4 dimensional space that are connected, but which originate at different points in space and different times. By connecting the two holes they provide a quick path between two different locations in space and time. Distortions in space cause the point separated by the gap to bulge out and connect. This forms a wormhole through, which something could instantaneously travel to a far away place and time. This is basically the 4dinensial equivalent of a folded sheet of paper, to make contact from one edge of the paper to the other. One could build a craft strong enough to withstand the intense force of the gravity towards the center, and pass right through like opening a door of a house and stepping outside, except the space travelers outside could be light-years away and centuries before the current time. If the traveler enters one side he would exit in the opposite side in a different place and time. The difficulty of doing this is in keeping the hole open till the travel gets through otherwise it would collapse and the traveler would not be seen again. The trip is not impossible just extremely difficult. It is believed to be possible to create our own wormhole. To actually make one, two identical machines consisting of 2 parallel metal plates charged with unbelievable amounts of energy would need to be constructed. When the machines are placed in close proximity of each other the enormous amounts of energy, about that of an exploding star, would rip a hole in the space-time continuum and connect the two machines via a wormhole. This is possible and the beginnings of it have been illustrated in the lab by what is known as the Casimir effect. The next step would be to put one of these machines on a space ship and send it off at near light speed. The ship would take the machine on a journey while being connected to the other on earth via the wormhole. A step in the hole would take us to where the other machine is, but that would be in a different time. Its use would be somewhat limited because we could not travel to a time before the machine was created. However if we were to utilize wormhole technologic we would have to be so advanced that we could master the energy within blockhouse. Space-time consists of portraits or events that represent a particular place at a particular time. Your life forms sort of a worm in space-time. The tip of the tail is your birth and the head is your death. And everything that is the body is your life, otherwise called your world line. In three-dimensional space, a rocket that is not accelerating is stationary, but in four-dimensional space the ship is moving along is world line. Einstein’s law states simply that the world line of every object is a geodesic in the continuum. A geodesic is the shortest distance between two points but in curved space is not generally a straight line. If an object’s world line were to be distorted, so much of form a loop connected with a part on itself that represented an earlier place in time it would create a corridor to the past. Picture a loop to loop that runs into it as it comes around. This closed loop is called a closed time like curve. These curves could be used to travel into our own history. All the clams made about time travel are consequences of the basic scientific laws and standard Quantum Mechanics. Wormholes and closed time like curves appear to be the main way to travel to the past. The aforementioned theories do fine in expelling how to we would go about traveling through time, but they do little to explain what it would be like traveling through them. Quantum mechanics can be used to model possible scenarios and yields the probability of each possible output. In the context of time travel, it has a so-called â€Å"many universe interpretation. † First pursed by Huge Evertt III in 1957. This means that if something can physically happen it does in some universe. Everett says that our reality is only one of the many equally valid universes. There is a collection of these universes called a multiverse. Every multiverse has copies of every person, structure and atom. For every possible event every possible outcome is said to be played out in a different universe. This interpretation of Quantum Mechanics is quite controversial, but it does suggest that it may be impossible to travel backward in it to our own dimension, but quite possible to travel back in time to an alternate dimension. Such an idea of linking parallel universes has been suggested in science fiction novels and in some television shoes such as â€Å"Sliders. † In the television series â€Å"Sliders,† a â€Å"sliding machine† creates a wormhole that links 2 parallel dimensions. Each week a group of these sliders jump into the wormhole and emerge in the same place and time, but in a different dimension. They can run into there own selves and experience a society vastily different than their own. The stuff of science fiction stems from existing Physical theories. So now that we know travel through time is theoretically possible, what would it be like? What would traveling at light speed be like? It would be similar to driving our car at 60 mph. You could not really tell the difference, Einstein says that you can not tell the difference in uniformly moving vessels. According to Einstein’s laws of special relativity sight speed travel is not achievable. For any object to attain light speed, an object must be massless, such as a photon. Any object with mass would require an infinite amount of energy to accelerate to light speed. As we know, everything has mass so it would be impossible for any human to achieve these speeds. Another barrier on our traveling the speed of light, is the fact that light is pure energy, if we were to travel at that speed, we would turn into energy blobs. What happens when we actually travel back in to time? What happens if we change something, or try to commit suicide or to invent something from the future that we take for granted? The future from that point could be drastically changed. This argument is commonly called the Chronology principal. This principal states that the time travel could bring information to the past that could be used to create new ideas or products. If Pablo Picaso, the most influential and successful painter of the 20th century were to travel back in time to meet his younger self, assuming he stayed in his correct universe, he could then give himself a portfolio of all his work. His younger self could reproduce the paintings and profoundly and irrevocably affecting the future of art. This would involve no creative energy by the â€Å"inventor. † The reproductions would exist because they are copies from the original and the originals exist because they are copies of the reproductions. No creative energy would ever have to be put forth to create these masterpieces. Because of the chronology principal time travel, by some, has been ruled out. The cosmos await us, and the history of our world is at our fingertips. Would we use this great power for good, bad, and wealth? All we have to do is get in our spaceship, set sail for the nearest wormhole, and hope for a little luck, and we can witness things only told in stories. Only the traveler can decided what he or she wishes to go back for. The theories today state that traveling through time is possible, however they do not say what could be the repercussions of our actions. This great frontier awaits us; we have the knowledge, and are slowly but surly developing the technology. Only time will tell when time itself no longer rules our lives as one of the chief amendments of the universal constitution.