William Shakespeare Essays (880 words) - Shakespearean Tragedies

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare was a great English playwright, dramatistand poet who lived during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest playwright of all time. No other writer's plays have been produced so many times or read so widely in so many countries as his. Shakespeare was born to middle class parents. His father, John, was a Stratford businessman. He was a glove maker who owned a leather shop. John Shakespeare was a well known and respected man in the town. He held several important local governmental positions. William Shakespeare's mother was Mary Arden. Though she was the daughter of a local farmer, she was related to a family of considerable wealth and social standing. Mary Arden and John Shakespeare were married in 1557. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford in 1564. He was one of eight children. The Shakespeare's were well respected prominent people. When William Shakespeare was about seven years old, he probably began attending the Stratford Grammar School with other boys of his social class. Students went to school year round attending school for nine hours a day. The teachers were strict disciplinarians. Though Shakespeare spent long hours at school, his boyhood was probably fascinating. Stratford was a lively town and during holidays, it was known to put on pageants and many popular shows. It also held several large fairs during the year. Stratford was a exciting place to live. Stratford also had fields and woods surrounding it giving William the opportunity to hunt and trap small game. The River Avon which ran through the town allowed him to fish also. Shakespeare's' poems and plays show his love of nature and rural life which reflects his childhood. On November 28, 1582, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway of the neighboring village of Shottery. She was twenty-six, and he was only eighteen at the time. They had three children. Susana was their first and then they had twins, Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet, Shakespeare's son, died in 1596. In 1607, his daughter Susana got married. Shakespeare's other daughter, Judith, got married in 1616. In London, Shakespeare's career took off. It is believed that he may have become well known in London theatrical life by 1592. By that time, he had joined one of the city's repertory theater companies. These companies were made up of a permanent cast of actors who presented different plays week after week. The companies were commercial organizations that depended on admission from their audience. Scholars know that Shakespeare belonged to one of the most popular acting companies in London called The Lord Chamberlain's Men. Shakespeare was a leading member of the group from 1594 for the rest of his career. By 1594, at least six of Shakespeare's plays had been produced. During Shakespeare's life, there were two monarchs who ruled England. They were Henry the eighth and Elizabeth the first. Both were impressed with Shakespeare which made his name known. There is evidence that he was a member of a traveling theater group, and a schoolmaster. In 1594, he became an actor and playwright for Lord Chamberlain's Men. In 1599, he became a part owner of the prosperous Globe Theater. He also was a part owner of the Blackfriars Theater as of 1609. Shakespeare retired to Stratford in 1613 where he wrote many of his excellent plays. There are many reasons as to why William Shakespeare is so famous. He is generally considered to be both the greatest dramatist the world has ever known as well as the finest poet who has written in the English language. Many reasons can be given for Shakespeare's enormous appeal. His fame basically is from his great understanding of human nature. He was able to find universal human qualities and put them in a dramatic situation creating characters that are timeless. Yet he had the ability to create characters that are highly individual human beings. Their struggles in life are universal. Sometimes they are successful and sometimes their lives are full of pain, suffering, and failure. In addition to his understanding and realistic view of human nature, Shakespeare had a vast knowledge of a variety of subjects. These subjects include music, law, Bible, stage, art, politics, history, hunting, and sports. Shakespeare had a tremendous influence on culture and literature throughout the world. He contributed greatly to the development of the English language. Many words and phrases from Shakespeare's plays and poems have become part of our William Shakespeare Essays (880 words) - Shakespearean Tragedies William Shakespeare William Shakespeare was a great English playwright, dramatistand poet who lived during the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Shakespeare is considered to be the greatest playwright of all time. No other writer's plays have been produced so many times or read so widely in so many countries as his. Shakespeare was born to middle class parents. His father, John, was a Stratford businessman. He was a glove maker who owned a leather shop. John Shakespeare was a well known and respected man in the town. He held several important local governmental positions. William Shakespeare's mother was Mary Arden. Though she was the daughter of a local farmer, she was related to a family of considerable wealth and social standing. Mary Arden and John Shakespeare were married in 1557. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford in 1564. He was one of eight children. The Shakespeare's were well respected prominent people. When William Shakespeare was about seven years old, he probably began attending the Stratford Grammar School with other boys of his social class. Students went to school year round attending school for nine hours a day. The teachers were strict disciplinarians. Though Shakespeare spent long hours at school, his boyhood was probably fascinating. Stratford was a lively town and during holidays, it was known to put on pageants and many popular shows. It also held several large fairs during the year. Stratford was a exciting place to live. Stratford also had fields and woods surrounding it giving William the opportunity to hunt and trap small game. The River Avon which ran through the town allowed him to fish also. Shakespeare's' poems and plays show his love of nature and rural life which reflects his childhood. On November 28, 1582, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway of the neighboring village of Shottery. She was twenty-six, and he was only eighteen at the time. They had three children. Susana was their first and then they had twins, Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet, Shakespeare's son, died in 1596. In 1607, his daughter Susana got married. Shakespeare's other daughter, Judith, got married in 1616. In London, Shakespeare's career took off. It is believed that he may have become well known in London theatrical life by 1592. By that time, he had joined one of the city's repertory theater companies. These companies were made up of a permanent cast of actors who presented different plays week after week. The companies were commercial organizations that depended on admission from their audience. Scholars know that Shakespeare belonged to one of the most popular acting companies in London called The Lord Chamberlain's Men. Shakespeare was a leading member of the group from 1594 for the rest of his career. By 1594, at least six of Shakespeare's plays had been produced. During Shakespeare's life, there were two monarchs who ruled England. They were Henry the eighth and Elizabeth the first. Both were impressed with Shakespeare which made his name known. There is evidence that he was a member of a traveling theater group, and a schoolmaster. In 1594, he became an actor and playwright for Lord Chamberlain's Men. In 1599, he became a part owner of the prosperous Globe Theater. He also was a part owner of the Blackfriars Theater as of 1609. Shakespeare retired to Stratford in 1613 where he wrote many of his excellent plays. There are many reasons as to why William Shakespeare is so famous. He is generally considered to be both the greatest dramatist the world has ever known as well as the finest poet who has written in the English language. Many reasons can be given for Shakespeare's enormous appeal. His fame basically is from his great understanding of human nature. He was able to find universal human qualities and put them in a dramatic situation creating characters that are timeless. Yet he had the ability to create characters that are highly individual human beings. Their struggles in life are universal. Sometimes they are successful and sometimes their lives are full of pain, suffering, and failure. In addition to his understanding and realistic view of human nature, Shakespeare had a vast knowledge of a variety of subjects. These subjects include music, law, Bible, stage, art, politics, history, hunting, and sports. Shakespeare had a tremendous influence on culture and literature throughout the world. He contributed greatly to the development of the English language. Many words and phrases from Shakespeare's plays and poems have become part of our

The Experts Scientific Definition of Dinosaurs

The Experts' Scientific Definition of Dinosaurs One of the problems with explaining the scientific definition of the word dinosaur is that biologists and paleontologists tend to use much drier, more precise language than your average dinosaur enthusiast on the street (or in an elementary school). So while most people intuitively describe dinosaurs as big, scaly, dangerous lizards that went extinct millions of years ago, experts take a much narrower view. In evolutionary terms, dinosaurs were the land-dwelling descendants of the archosaurs, egg-laying reptiles that survived the Permian-Triassic extinction event 250 million years ago. Technically, dinosaurs can be distinguished from the other animals descended from archosaurs (pterosaurs and crocodiles) by a handful of anatomical quirks. Chief among these is posture: Dinosaurs had either an upright, bipedal gait (like that of modern birds), or if they were quadrupeds, they had a stiff, straight-legged style of walking on all fours  (unlike modern lizards, turtles, and crocodiles, whose limbs splay beneath them when they walk). Beyond that, the anatomical features that distinguish dinosaurs from other vertebrate animals become rather arcane; try on  an elongate deltopectoral crest on the humerus for size (i.e., a spot where muscles connect into the upper arm bone). In 2011, Sterling Nesbitt of the American Museum of Natural History attempted to tie together all of the subtle anatomical quirks that make dinosaurs dinosaurs. Among these are a radius (lower arm bone) at least 80% smaller than the humerus (upper arm bone); an asymmetrical fourth trochanter on the femur (leg bone); and a large, concave surface separating the proximal articular surfaces of the ischium, aka the pelvis. With terms like these, you can see why the big, scary, and extinct is more appealing to the general public. The First True Dinosaurs Nowhere was the line dividing dinosaurs and non-dinosaurs more tenuous than during the middle to late Triassic period, when various populations of archosaurs had just started to branch off into dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and crocodiles. Imagine an ecosystem filled with slender, two-legged dinosaurs, equally slender, two-legged crocodiles (yes, the first ancestral crocs were bipedal, and often vegetarian), and plain-vanilla archosaurs that looked for all the world like their more-evolved cousins. For this reason, even paleontologists have a hard time definitively classifying Triassic reptiles like Marasuchus and Procompsognathus; at this fine level of evolutionary detail, its virtually impossible to pick out the first true dinosaur (though a good case can be made for the South American Eoraptor). Saurischian and Ornithischian Dinosaurs For the sake of convenience, the dinosaur family is divided into two main groups. To vastly simplify the story, starting about 230 million years ago a subgroup of archosaurs split off into two types of dinosaurs, distinguished by the structure of their hip bones. Saurischian (lizard-hipped) dinosaurs went on to include predators like Tyrannosaurus rex and huge sauropods like Apatosaurus, while ornithischian (bird-hipped) dinosaurs consisted of a diverse assortment of other plant-eaters,  including  hadrosaurs, ornithopods, and stegosaurs. (Confusingly, we now know that birds descended from lizard-hipped, rather than bird-hipped, dinosaurs.) Learn more about  how dinosaurs are classified. You may have noticed that the definition of dinosaurs provided at the start of  this article  refers only to land-dwelling reptiles, which technically excludes marine reptiles like Kronosaurus and flying reptiles like Pterodactylus from the dinosaur umbrella (the first is  technically  a pliosaur, the second a pterosaur). Also occasionally mistaken for true dinosaurs are the large therapsids and pelycosaurs of the Permian period, such as Dimetrodon and Moschops. While some of these ancient reptiles would have given  your average Deinonychus a run for its money, rest assured they werent allowed to wear dinosaur name tags during the school dances of the Jurassic period.

Human motivation essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Human motivation - Essay Example In terms of social status, the person with higher status generally has lesser aggressive behavior than the poor persons. For, the rich have so many choices to choose from. Whereas, the poor are more aggressive for the poor have lesser choices to pick from. Consequently, the poor will try to force the other side to implement their choice. For example, the rich can choose to eat at the exclusive but costly restaurants because they prefer privacy and restaurant ambience is filled with only a few people. Or, the rich can choose to eat a hurried lunch at the fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken. Here, the McDonalds place is bustling tight with people both young and old. Thus, a person who does not have social skills usually ends up behaving aggressively in order to get attention or to get the other person’s forced approval. Furthermore, the person that is lesser in social status will be more aggressive because he or she is not after the social status in life but rather what to ea t now, what to wear now and where. According to the journal Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology (Nanale et al., 2004), Homophily is a natural phenomenon. It is the standard situation where people would rather join a group that have similar likes and dislikes as they have. The popular saying â€Å"birds of the same feather flock together† explains this. This is generally true with human behavior. Thus, friendship are more solid between friends of the same interest ( prefer NBA, Soccer, poker, girls, drinks and even nightspots) as compared to friendships between relatives and people who are not friends. As discussed above, the person that have the ability to make choices will have less aggressive human motivation. In turn, these people are likewise less coercive and angry for they will generally not force their wishes on the other persons. To reiterate, a person who can make choices from many alternative actions is less aggressive than a person who can not make choices due to

The audacity of love Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The audacity of love - Essay Example ise and Jerome Robbins is an exquisite blend of entertainment and education that opens a new vista pertaining to the class difference and class consciousness. â€Å"West Side Story† is an American film based on the eternal romantic play by Shakespeare, â€Å"Romeo and Juliet† and adapted from the Broadway Musical bearing the same title. But these facts do not make this film powerful. The combination and the balanced blend of countless elements generate a powerful impact on my mind. The urban retelling of â€Å"Romeo and Juliet† set against the background of the streets of Manhattan during the late summer of 1957 revolves round the story of love between two youngsters from opponent camps related to NYC gang and their consequence. The death of Tony in the arms of Maria which reaffirms their love â€Å"Somewhere† indicates that the film shows that despite of having every scope and possibility for the lovers to be one, they fail to achieve that state due to class differences and social rivalries. The beginning of the film shows the passionate love of Tony and Maria and their slow paced development of passion and desire for one another helps to make me feel their passion and overflowing emotions equally. In other words, the film makes me fall in love with the love story of Maria and Tony, woven within the plot of the film. Naturally at the end of the film the tragic consequences of the lovers give out a strong emotional impact and a long-lasting impre ssion on my mind and anyone watching the film would also come to the same point that social rivalry leads the generations and the world nowhere. Also the urban setting and re-telling of the film enables the contemporary mind to relate with it strongly. â€Å"The Graduate† directed by Mike Nichols is an American comedy-drama that was released in the year 1967. The plot of the film â€Å"The Graduate â€Å" combines an extra-ordinary and enchanting love story between its main characters, Benjamin Braddock played by the Academy Award

Critical Issues In Policing Essay Example for Free

Critical Issues In Policing Essay Abstract There is an abundance of issues when concerning policing. In this paper the following things will be discussed: the dangers of policing, less-than-lethal-weapons, technology used in policing, and police corruption and how it relates to this paper. Critical Issues in Policing Policing has grown in possibly the most positive and beneficial direction since the beginning of time. It is a constant grueling and agonizing pace at some times but in all reality that is what makes it even more beneficial because the officers, supervisors and the community are taking their time in making sure they are establishing a proper balance of needs. In all of this time they have continually figured out ways to reduce crime, protect citizens and the community while putting themselves at the risk of danger and death. As the technology continues to rises as time goes on and the changes in society the law enforcement will become an unpredictable turn of events. The realistic view is that there has been a lot of things to change and keep up with but some of the biggest changes in the policing area have been changes in how they deal with recruitment, gender and racial equality, better education, dangers, technology, less than lethal weapons, and Dangers of Policing While working in or at a job or in a position where you have to protect people or even the whole community, your job will be filled with a huge number of risks and dangers. Policing involves a number of dangers, and the officers that are there to serve and protect face different dangers every  day. Some of the dangers that are an issue in policing are the risk of physical injury and or death of an officer, automobile crashes, the mental and emotional stress not only of the job but of the balance between the job and personal lives. They have to deal with the elements of Mother Nature, with extreme temperature changes which involve heat stroke and or hypothermia. They also have to worry about the lack of proper nutrition, and also the exposure to contagious diseases, such as AIDS or Hepatitis. The final and most severe aspect of most of the dangers in policing is the threats of violence to themselves and their families. I can’t imagine that these thoughts don’t play a r ole in the thoughts of a police officer’s mind every time they get ready to do their job every day, it would also have an effect on how they do their jobs. There really is only one positive that someone can see out of the dangers that these officers expose themselves to on a daily basis. It is with hope and faith that having so many dangers keeps these officers prepared, attentive, and conscious of everything around them and how cautiously and carefully they do their jobs. Looking into the issues of policing we need to help improve officer safety with more effective and possibly even more equipped cars, more effective firearms, and the better invention of less lethal weapons for our officers to use when they are in the streets battling and fighting with criminals. There is no doubt that we also need to have better communication with the entire police force and other agencies, but that will come in time as everything else evolves. I think that another good way to combat the dangers in policing is that our government heads mandate it that no officer is allowed to work the beat alone. Although it is an understanding that extra patrol costs money, there is no single person that can put a price on another person’s safety or life. Driving is a huge concern for officers because not only are they having to concentrate on how they operate a car they are also having to be aware and almost have to predict in some instances what the person next to them is going to do. Now getting to the health aspects of dangers in policing, the reality of this is that the equipment that they wear can sometimes weigh more than most two month old babies and it puts quite a lot of stress on their lower extremities such as hips, knees, and feet. They also get in and out of vehicles up to hundreds of times in one day and so they risk the wear and tear on their joints and tissue. They also have to  deal with people who have various communicable diseases such as AIDS, HIV or hepatitis. They are constantly dealing with people spitting or urinating on them or by them. Part of that health is the mental and physical aspects of it, the job alone can be a hard, tiring and exhausting day to day job, then a lot of these officers go home to another life, a wife, kids, pets all of which demand even more from these people that have just spent hours out there protecting citizens and a community from criminals and terrorists. Less-than-lethal weapons These are weapons that officers use to protect themselves from a distance, they usually use them as a distraction, to disorient or incapacitate a suspect or known criminal. It is not considered to be a deadly weapon although if used in the wrong manner could cause death. There are a variety of options in relation to less than lethal weapons such as chemical agents, electrical weapons, projectile weapons, and pepper spray. It would seem that out of these options a taser is something that is more common among officers and agencies, although this is not a lethal weapon used with force it could cause death or serious injury. Less than lethal weapons are a positive thing for officers to be able to use. If an officer is alone and cannot get control of a person and they are being resistant or violent then they have another option than to just use their lethal weapon. It is a great alternative to a deadly weapon choice and usually helps the officer protect himself just as good in most cases. Without the assistance that officers have with less than lethal weapons most officers wouldn’t feel as secure in certain situations and they can also avoid someone being seriously injured or even shot to death. Technology used in policing When it comes to technology, it is and will continue to be one of the most growing and evolving parts of policing. There are what seem to be millions of types of technology that police officers use are, crime lights, lasers, crime mapping, global positioning systems. (The Future Is Here: Technology in Police Departments, 2003-2014). One example that the officers use is dashboard cameras. These cameras are mounted inside police cars and they videotape images that happen in front of the police car and outside of the  police car, they are not a new form of technology but they are as usual coming out with newer and better imaging and sound recordings and the angles at which they can be set can now be changed to view different angles. The cameras are beneficial to not only help catch criminals but they also have been used to catch police officers that are using criminal behavior. Another example is RADAR/LIDAR-Radar is a system in which they use for detecting the direction or distance, even the speed of objects by sending out pulses or waves that reflect off the article and back to the starting place. LIDAR is the light detection and ranging that is yet another acronym to describe the technology used in LTI’s family of Lasers. This technology allows for more information and communication to be more accurate and instant among police organizations and their police officers, command centers and citizens even. They are benefiting from technology because they have better chances to identify perpetrators through a higher technology base such as AFIS, they also can collect data through the DNA analysis. Police Corruption I think that there is one critical issue in policing that needs more attention and it is about police corruption. Police corruptions are abuses of police authority. (Police Corruption and Misconduct, 2014. There are multiple example of police corruption but one example would be an officer allowing someone to keep trafficking drugs as long as they receive something in return for letting them traffic them across state lines. It has been a part of society since the beginning of time and it will probably find a way and spot into the future of policing. The thing that drives police officers to commit such corruption is usually greed or personal gain. The prevention of corruption is a hard one to deal with, there is always going to be one officer somewhere out there that is going to want more than they have. They are not blamed for doing anything but action on those decisions that they have made when they are tempted by such corruptive things. It is a critical issue because citizens are suppose to put their life and trust in these officers hands and if they can’t make good decisions for themselves then how can one trust they will make good decisions when it comes to the community. Conclusion The best way to improve the concerns we have about safety is to have constant and reoccurring training that way we are keeping our officers up to date about any and all dangers that they may have to deal with in their fields that they go out and work in everyday. I also believe that we have to try and stay ahead of the criminals when it comes to technology; they have the ability to use this as something to better the amount of violence and crime. Without police forces being able to use the same technology we will fall behind on crime prevention and the reality of the situation is that policing will not ever be effective in catching these criminals is we are continually a step behind them. References Police Corruption and Misconduct. (2014). Retrieved from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Police+Corruption+and+Misconduct The Future Is Here: Technology in Police Departments. (2003-2014). Retrieved from http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?article_id=1527fuseaction=displayissue_id=62008

Commodore Matthew Perry: American Black Ships in the Land of the Samur

Commodore Matthew Perry: American Black Ships in the Land of the Samurai One hundred and fifty years ago, an American commodore was assigned by the American President to go to â€Å"the barbarian land.† The commodore’s name was Matthew Perry and the land was Japan (Walworth 18). He was curious enough to become interested in the mission, even though it was said that â€Å"the Japanese were the least interesting people in the world† at that time (Graff 63). Japan had been closed to the outside world for 250 years. When foreign people entered Japanese waters, even if they were shipwrecked by accident, they were interned in jails and some of them were killed (Lubor 33). The reasons for the Japanese isolationistic policies were the military threats of Western countries and the invasive influence of Western people who brought Christianity and cultures different from the Japanese. Also the Japanese knew how Western military had dominated many countries, including the gigantic China so easily (Duus 56-57). At that time, the United States saw that Japan might be ideally situated to serve as a coaling station for the new steam-powered ships of the U.S. Navy as well as a new opportunity for trading. Actually, during the Japanese isolation, many American ships hunting whales off the coast of Japan needed a port for supplies; however, Japan was cruel to sailors shipwrecked on its shores and not interested in any trade with foreigners (Lubor 33). That is why, Perry prepared for this expedition for a long time by gathering information and collecting the gifts for the Japanese to impress them (Walworth 23). When Perry arrived at Uraga in Japan with five black ships in 1853, the Japanese did not welcome him and tried to force him to re... ...tute of Navy and studied military technology. In 1868, a new government was established and made the first constitution refereed by Germany. Unfortunately, after this era, the Japanese started dominating other Asian countries just as the West did before. It was an ironical aspect of Perry’s opening pu of Japan to the world. Works Cited Duus, Peter. {The Rise of Modern Japan}. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1976. Fallows, James. "After Centuries of Japanese Isoation, a Fateful Meeting of East and West." {Smithsonian} July 1994: 20-33. Friedrich, Otto. "How Japan Turned West." {Time} Aug. 1983: 37. Graff, Henry F. {Bluejackets with Perry in Japan}. New York: New York Public Library, 1952. Lubor, Steven. "Smithsonian Goes to Japan." {The Public Historian}. 1995. 33-45. Walworth Arthur. {Black Ships Off Japan}. Hamden: Archon Books,1966.

Personal Health Assessment Essay

Overall, there are six dimensions of health that can be examined to determine if a person is healthy and fit or to see what area in his or her life needs improvement. This includes physical, psychological, spiritual, social, intellectual, and environmental dimensions. â€Å"When all of the six dimensions are at high levels and in balance, we have optimal health and well-being† (Blonna & Watter, 2005, p. 5). The three dimensions of health that I feel I am strongest at are the physical, sscial, and intellectual dimensions. Physically, I am contented with how I look and feel. I believe that I am healthy and that I take the proper precautions to take care of my body. Being free from any illnesses does not mean that a person fulfils the physical dimension of health. I think that one has to be satisfied about his or her overall health and body in order for him or her to say that he or she is physically healthy. In addition, being positive about how a person sees his or her body contributes to a better physical health. I would also like to indicate that I fulfil the social dimension of health since I do not have a problem reaching out to people. I have excellent relationships with my friends and family and this helps me grow as a person. I believe that keeping this dimension healthy is important because having people that would support you greatly contributes to a person’s well-being and improvement of the other five dimensions. The third dimension of health that I think I am strongest at is the intellectual dimension. I believe that I think clearly and that I can understand things the way they should be understood. I am very open-minded when it comes to arguing and accepting things that are not in line with my beliefs. I can argue with other people rationally and with the right common sense. On the other hand, I feel that my spiritual dimension needs improvement. â€Å"Spiritual wellness is the state of harmony with yourself and others. It is the ability to balance inner needs with the demands of the rest of the world† (Edlin, Golanty, & Brown, 1999, p. ). With our fast paced world, it is very hard for one to sit down and think about these kinds of things. There are so many distractions around us that we forget to think about our spirituality. I think that it is important for me to address this issue at this time because it would help me improve my overall well-being. I understand the importance of spiritual life and I would like to engage myself better with this area. For a person to impro ve, he or she needs determination and commitment. Improvement, especially in the area of spirituality, would not mean anything if there is no purpose behind it and if the person is doing it just for the sake of saying he or she has improved. I would like to start off by trying to learn more about what I want in terms of spiritual fulfilment. I would then gradually engage myself in my religion and take small steps to improve my inner self. I think that I would have to get to know myself better in order for me to realize what I want and need. Personally, I expect to learn from this course ways on how to know myself better, how to improve myself completely, and how to determine which areas in my life need improvements the most. Although determining is easy, it is better to learn through a knowledgeable instructor and through related materials and activities. Taking this course would also make it easier because I will be able to learn with a group of other people and not just by myself.