Rising to the Top free essay sample

My heart is beating so fast; I can feel my chest pounding. I can’t even hear myself think with all of the uproar. The enemy is staring me down, waiting for me to make a move. Like me, their faces are filled with intensity. They want victory almost as much as I do, but I can’t let them win. My competitive spirit tells me that defeat is not an option. As I dribble down the court, I find my opening and I don’t have time to hesitate. The ball leaves my hand and lands just where I want it. It dives through the hoop without any contact with the rim and the game is over. We won by a point. I started out my basketball experience by playing recreational basketball, and I didn’t get the ball a lot. I could sense that the better kids on the team believed they were superior to me by the way they looked at me. We will write a custom essay sample on Rising to the Top or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They would have that smug look on their face and I couldn’t stand it. I was Determined over the next summer to do whatever I could to surpass their level. I spent all my time out on the driveway, improving my skills. My dad had assembled a list of drills in order for me to practice more effectively. I had to do hours of lay-ups, jump roping, and the dreaded figure eight dribbling drill every day. They weren’t what I would consider fun, but I did them anyway, knowing that the end result would be well worth it. The next year not only did I play recreational basketball, but I tried out for the travel basketball team, and made the team due to nobody getting cut. Though this was a competitive team, I was once again at the bottom. Most of my time on the team was spent watching from the bench waiting in anxiety for the coach to call out my name to send me in the game. But that year I became the star player on my recreational team. I knew this time that my teammates wanted the ball in my hands and my confidence grew stronger. I had gone through a tremendous change. I was making all the shots, and taking the ball up the court for my team to set up our offense. I led my team to the championship game, beating out my other travel teammates teams. We lost the game by a couple of points, but I couldnt have been happier. It took me a bit longer to move up in ranks on the travel team, but every year it was clear that I was gaining on my teammates. I began to get a decent amount of playing time, and I became a vital role on the team. One time my team was down by four points with only seconds left and we needed a miracle. The coach set up a play ending with me shooting a 3-point shot. I took the shot while an opposing player slapped my arm, and it somehow made its way through the hoop. I was at the foul line and I could have tied the game with this one shot. As the ball left my fingertips, I knew it wasn’t going in so I ran up for a rebound and took a quick shot. I missed again, but my team was not mad. I almost kept the game alive, and that’s when I knew I had established myself as a good travel player. My confidence continued to grow, but my seventh grade year, I was cut from the middle school team and my confidence was shaken. I couldn’t believe some of the kids who made it over me and it hurt for a day or two, but I had to learn to accept it and move on. I wouldn’t let this be the end; in fact, it was a blessing in disguise because it made me work harder than ever before. I made sure that every day they would practice, I too would be working hard on my skills. My eighth grade year I got on the team. Though I was not happy with my role on the team, I accepted it and would do the best I could with the opportunity given to me. I am now finishing up what is left of my competitive basketball experience. I have been playing up yet another level on an AAU team. It involves a lot of traveling and playing the best players out there. I once was forced to guard a 6’8 dunking machine, and it was embarrassing, but I am hoping it will help me improve and get the varsity time I have been working my entire life for. I was on the team my junior year, but I didn’t play as much as I wanted. For my senior year, I hope I can prove that I am worthy of a starting position. No matter what happens though, I will always cherish the memories I have had playing the game. It has taught me life lessons, and has allowed me to grow both physically and mentally. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the game of basketball.

Free Essays on STDs

STD’S STD’s are sexually transmitted diseases that are among the leading causes of HIV and other diseases. They are a group of harmful diseases and without special treatment they can result or lead to other major diseases, and even death. STD’s are also the most common infectious diseases in the world today that spread through sexual contact, mother to child during delivery, and through the sharing of needles. Two of the most common curable STD’s are Trichomoniasis and Vaginistis that are also spread through sexual intercourse and bacteria. Trichomoniasis is a type of STD that can affect both women and men. It is caused by single-celled protozoan parasite Trichomoniasis vaginals. Trichomoniasis is usually transmitted through penis-to-vagina intercourse. Symptoms in men irritation in the penis result in a mild discharge, and a slight burning after urination (â€Å"Trichomoniasis†). For women signs or infection may contain a strong odd colored discharge with an odor, irritation or itching in a genital area, and lower abdominal pain. When diagnosing Trichomoniasis a physician must first perform a physical examination and laboratory test. In examination women may reveal red ulcerations on the vagina, or cervix; however the disease is very hard to detect in men (â€Å"Trichomoniasis†). Treatment for Trichomoniasis is usually through prescription drugs. Those who choose to have sex during treatment are more that likely to be infected, or reinfected. For women vaginal creams containing metronidazole may be used for a limited period of time. If one chooses to have sexual intercourse he/she must use a condom during the time of treatment. Trichomoniasis can be prevented by using condoms correctly and carefully during sexual intercourse. It can also be prevented by limiting the number of sex partners. However the number one prevention is to practice sexual abstinence (â€Å"Trichomoniasis). Another common curabl... Free Essays on STD's Free Essays on STD's STD’S STD’s are sexually transmitted diseases that are among the leading causes of HIV and other diseases. They are a group of harmful diseases and without special treatment they can result or lead to other major diseases, and even death. STD’s are also the most common infectious diseases in the world today that spread through sexual contact, mother to child during delivery, and through the sharing of needles. Two of the most common curable STD’s are Trichomoniasis and Vaginistis that are also spread through sexual intercourse and bacteria. Trichomoniasis is a type of STD that can affect both women and men. It is caused by single-celled protozoan parasite Trichomoniasis vaginals. Trichomoniasis is usually transmitted through penis-to-vagina intercourse. Symptoms in men irritation in the penis result in a mild discharge, and a slight burning after urination (â€Å"Trichomoniasis†). For women signs or infection may contain a strong odd colored discharge with an odor, irritation or itching in a genital area, and lower abdominal pain. When diagnosing Trichomoniasis a physician must first perform a physical examination and laboratory test. In examination women may reveal red ulcerations on the vagina, or cervix; however the disease is very hard to detect in men (â€Å"Trichomoniasis†). Treatment for Trichomoniasis is usually through prescription drugs. Those who choose to have sex during treatment are more that likely to be infected, or reinfected. For women vaginal creams containing metronidazole may be used for a limited period of time. If one chooses to have sexual intercourse he/she must use a condom during the time of treatment. Trichomoniasis can be prevented by using condoms correctly and carefully during sexual intercourse. It can also be prevented by limiting the number of sex partners. However the number one prevention is to practice sexual abstinence (â€Å"Trichomoniasis). Another common curabl...

OLPC Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

OLPC - Essay Example The idea of OLPC came to his mind in a deprived village called Reaksmy in Cambodia (MARKOFF, 2005) which needed a 5-hour drive from the nearest city. The people there do not even have electricity, drinking water and the people are mostly very poor. Negroponte established a school there 8 years ago. He also placed a satellite dish to send and receive signals and generators as power supplies. Then they gave a laptop to each child. Immediately, school got a lot more popular and modern as a school in a developed country. Kids who had never had the idea of what a computer looks like before were now a part of the modern world. Nicholas Negroponte was really impressed since the children who did not even have a TV before, had a high speed internet connection now. Negroponte's idea was that children should not have any need for anyone to teach them how to use a computer. He had the idea of designing a laptop computer which they could experiment the way to use it on their own or with a little assistance from a friend. Negroponte says the idea of One Laptop Per-Child is complete... team of engineers and programmers to design and implement a personal computer which could be usable for a child in a Third World conditions, an advanced computer with many innovations. For example, it's the first laptop computer with can be used in open air and in full sunlight. Water may be dropped on the keyboard and it will not be damaged at all. Sand and dust cannot enter the system and this level of protection, keeps it safe for a long time. Recently the OLPC project is facing with a new challenge which is competition and there is a question regarding this goal, If Negroponte's idea is absolutely humanitarian and kids are proposed to be the only persons to benefit from it, why there are companies which want to do the same work Perhaps the large number of needed laptops for children is the reason. With such a big number of cheap laptops going to be distributed around the world, these companies will face with loss of revenue. Intel for example is a company which Negroponte believes is doing an effort to prevent him from achieving his goal for example by giving a laptop to every child in a school in Mexico (IWAP, 2007). But Intel describes this effort as a part of the goal of giving any child a laptop and giving them the access to the most affordable computers. These laptops are now just models and they are not in the process of mass production. It is estimated that at least 3 million laptops is needed to be needed to be produced (OLPC, 2007). Negroponte is sure about getting these orders, even with the increasing amount of competition as other companies are trying to produce cheap laptops. Even considering these competitions, it is believed that the OLPC program will finally result in more kids getting laptops. This is at the end, what Negroponte wanted the

Forensics Based On Evidence Gathered With Peep Attacks Essay

Forensics Based On Evidence Gathered With Peep Attacks - Essay Example Cybercrime has been cited as one of the most prevalent problems in society. The vast majority of investigators perceive this crime to be on the rise and of becoming an ever increasingly complex and multi-faceted problem. This paper attempts to clarify the complex investigation effort following a Peep attack. We describe evidence collection and problem-solving techniques in the application of computer forensic analyses. A Peep attack is one of the most notorious hacking tools, based on the Robot Network (Botnet) Structure. A Botnet is a term for a collection of zombie systems and autonomous software robots. The threat from Botnets is growing at an alarming rate and the attack techniques are becoming increasingly sophisticated. The majority of the literature describing Botnet attacks is focused on a varied level of IRC-based malware, the activity of Spam mail and the structure of Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS). However, some Botnets are used primarily for data collection, remote control or various other purposes (Microsoft Corporation, 2005). Botnets have gained a significant presence on the Internet as a remote control means for malicious purposes. A Botnet can run programs under the control of a managed network infrastructure. In practice, Botnet communities usually have one or several owners and rely on individual friend-to-friend relationships for their operation (Desmond, 2005). Because new attacks originating from a Botnet are difficult to identify by default fingerprinting., there is rarely a geographically identifiable pattern to the distribution of the infected computers. Firewalls cannot readily be configured to react to a Botnet attack by using information obtained from previous attacks. The Peep attack is still a developing technique. In this paper we introduce a digital forensic analysis applied to the investigation of a Peep attack, and discuss some of the resulting problems and concerns. Although differing somewhat from the original definition of IRC Botnets, a huge network of zombie computers is

Becoming A Woman And Accepting It Essay Example for Free

Becoming A Woman And Accepting It Essay Becoming A Woman 1 At first reading, Elizabeth Bishop’s â€Å"In The Waiting Room† is a world full of wonderful imagery. I did not care what it meant, I just enjoyed the way she described what she saw in the National Geographic while waiting in a dentist’s room. I can perfectly see in my mind when she wrote about â€Å"the inside of a volcano, black, and full of ashes; then it was spilling over in rivulets of fire †¦ Babies with pointed heads wound round and round with string† (Bishop, 1977). The second reading, I began to wonder what she meant with â€Å"But I felt: you are an I, you are an Elizabeth, you are one of them †¦ Why should I be my aunt, or me, or anyone? † I thought maybe she has an identity crisis or something like that so I reread it again. This time, the phrase â€Å"I said to myself: three days and youll be seven years old† stuck on my mind. And that’s when everything clicked. I felt that with her seventh birthday coming on (for me, this is an idiom for a woman’s rite of passage like her eighteenth birthday or another significant event), Elizabeth feels she’s finally becoming a woman. When I say becoming a woman, it’s the transition from being a carefree girl to an adult female with responsibilities. She’s quite agitated by it, not quite sure if she could be like her aunt and the rest of the adults. Elizabeth is anxious and is not ready to become a woman, but whether she likes it or not, she’s a woman already. Thus, she said, â€Å"I knew that nothing stranger had ever happened, that nothing stranger could ever happen. † After questioning how she became a woman, Elizabeth finally accepted that she is one. In the end of the poem she said, â€Å"The War was on. † If you were a kid, a teenager, or someone who doesn’t care for responsibilities, a war is not something you’d think about. But Elizabeth now does think about it. She has finally accepted she is a woman with responsibilities, still scared about it but willing to face whatever that might come her way. Well, at least, that’s how I see it ? Becoming A Woman 3 Reference Bishop, Elizabeth. (1977). Geography III. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux.

Carbohydrates :: essays research papers

There are three principal kinds of carbohydrates and each are classified according to the number of sugar molecules they contain. Monosaccharides, such as ribose, glucose, and fructose, contain only one sugar molecule. Disaccharides consist of two sugar molecules linked covalently. Familiar examples are sucrose (table sugar), maltose (malt sugar), and lactose (milk sugar). Polysaccharides, such as cellulose and starch, contain many sugar molecules linked together. Monosaccharides are organic compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They can be described by the chemical formula (CH2O)n, where n may be as small as 3 or as large as 8. They are characterized by hydroxyl groups and an aldehyde or ketone group. These functional groups make sugars highly soluble in aqueous solution. In solution the aldehyde or ketone group has a tendency to react with one of the hydroxyl groups, producing a ring structure. The alpha glucose, which is the base of many polymers, is an energy source in organisms. Although glucose is the common transport sugar for vertebrates, sugars are often transported in other organisms as disaccharides. Sucrose, commonly called cane sugar, is the form in which sugar is transported in plants from the photosynthetic cells to other parts of the plant body. Sucrose is composed of the monosaccharides glucose and fructose. In the synthesis of a disaccharide molecule from two monosaccharides, a molecule of water is removed in the process of forming the new bond between the two monosaccharides. This type of chemical reaction, which occurs in the synthesis of most organic polymers from their subunits, is known as condensation. When a disaccharide is split into its monosaccharide units, which happens when it is used as an energy source, the molecule of water is added again. This process is called hydrolysis. Polysaccharides are made up of monosaccharides linked together in long chains. Some of them are storage forms of sugar.

Legalization of Marijuana Paper

|ETHICAL ISSUE MAP |[pic] | ———————– 7. Do any PEDs or pseudoethics enter into my thinking about this issue? Some of the psuedoethics that enter into thinking about this issue I would have to say would be religious beliefs. It came up it the discussion that the Native Americans smoke marijuana at their spiritual and religious ceremony’s. 9. Implications/Consequences of my conclusion.I truly believe that there wouldn’t be any consequences it the government legalized marijuana. 8. Thought Out Conclusion I personally feel that the America would very much so benefit from the legalization of marijuana. 3. Important Information I need to know to answer these ethical questions. What research needs to be done? Some research that may need to be done before making a decision would probably be research. I think that they should research how marijuana affects the brain and if this is a positive or negative thing.I also believ e that they should do tests to see how people operate while under the influence of marijuana. 4. What ethical theories & concepts can I use to guide my thinking? Which theory is most important one to apply here? In regard to the use of legalization of marijuana I believe that the ethical relativism theory is the most important concept to apply to this matter. These issues are based on what is normal in ones culture and many societies have different beliefs.This is especially true in regard to the usage of marijuana, for example the American Indian culture was well known for smoking â€Å" peace pipes† and in todays society in Holland they actually have cafe style places that people can meet specifically to smoke marijuana, similar to a coffee bar, Many years ago marijuana was actually legal in the United States however as noted in the Ethical Relativism Theory minority beliefs can become the code for society and its institutionalized ethical practices. 2. Who are the Stakehol ders? DoctorsCancer victims Anyone with Pain The government 5. How can I re-frame this issue? I can re-frame this issue by looking at this topic at different viewpoints and seeing other options to this. One may think that if marijuana is legalized that it will only be used primarily for recreational use but if they look further into what it can to benefit people that may help change their mind. 6. Main assumptions & can I support these assumptions? I assume that if marijuana is legalized it will only benefit the U. S government and human health.The way that it will help the government is that we could tax it like we tax food and other goods and this would help out our economy. Also it would help our human health by benefiting those that have sever pain who don’t want to take medication that they could possibly become addicted to. It will also help cancer victims, people with sever migraines and a lot of other different diseases. 1. Define the issue. What are the specific ethi cal questions that arise from this issue? The ethical question being asked here is should marijuana be legalized?