Better Than Everest

Beginning in sixth grade, counselors have periodically paraded intomy classroom urging â€Å"Goal-setting gets you places!† to which I respond, â€Å"Ofcourse! My goal is to cooperate, say no to drugs, and to give everything 110%!† which is likegiving counselors their wings. They love hearing about goals, but at this point, as an overworkedand under-rested student in my final semester of junior year, there is only one goal that we areall nudged toward: college.I feel like everything I’ve ever done has been inpreparation for this next phase of my life. Okay, Mom, I’d think as a kindergartner,I’ll learn the alphabet if you promise I’ll need to know it later. And since thenI’ve learned the alphabet, enrolled in honors classes, stayed awake during biology, and lostmany irreplaceable opportunities in favor of studying for finals: all for the chance to get thebest education. I just want to be in a college that I deserve.The college I deserve dependson what I’m doing right now. If I scribble through my homework and slack off senior year, theexceptional colleges will pass me by. See, I’ve got this feeling that my perfect college isgoing to find me. So I’m going to give a counselor their wings and share mygoals.Phase one is to get good grades, which, I think everyone will agree, is much coolerthan, say, summiting Mount Everest. For one thing, it’s a heck of a lot harder because anyold tourist could just take a helicopter to the top of Mount Everest, and frankly, it’s goingto take more than an airplane ride to impress me. What I have to do is consistent, arduous,time-devouring assignments that are due every day that doesn’t begin with â€Å"S.†They must be done neatly in blue or black ink with my name, date, class, period, assignment,sub-assignment, and mother’s maiden name in a hand-drawn three-dimensional tridecagon on theright-hand corner or five points will be ded ucted. Writing an essay worth 200 points on â€Å"WhoMy Hero Is and Why, and Somehow Tie in Frederick Douglass† will take anyone to the brink ofinsanity. One cannot compare moving up in elevation on a big rock to being a student.Maybeit will clarify things if I said I wanted to deserve good grades. Being deserving is trying to getthe best grades possible, even if I already have an A and, I hate to say it, giving 110% to allaspects of school: homework, attitude and study. Without setting these high standards, how could Iever expect to be a successful college student? I know it’s clichà © to cheerily say mygoal is to get good grades, but I consider it the foundation. Why would anyone go to school withoutthe intention of making the most of it? It’s true, as my teachers will attest, I have gottenthose coveted good grades, but my junior year will not lead to the lazy senior slide. If anything,I am redoubling my efforts senior year and attacking every advanced class to make sure I’mprepared for the next altitude. I plan, as I have practiced this year, to set aside a few minutesevery day to study ahead and I want, more than most skeptical teachers can believe, to keep caring.

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Essay about Capital Punishment Must Be Abolished - 1330 Words

Capital punishment is used to bring justice to the crimes of murderers in our society, but is it really just? Studies show that the death penalty is cruel, morally wrong, and sometimes painful. It robs the criminal and the public of their humanity and undermines the value of life. The public should come to realize the cruelty of this law, and this form of punishment should be abolished from the governments criminal justice system. Philosophers first began to question the justice of capital punishment in the eighteenth century. Italian criminologist Cesare Beccaria condemned capital punishment as a grossly inhumane deterrent to crime, and modern critics argue that all killing is wrong and can never be justified, whether it is†¦show more content†¦(Johnson, 42). Most executions appear to be painless, but appearances can be misleading. People assume that there is no pain because the victims do not move or speak, but they do not move or speak because they are paralyzed (43). It is obvious that victims of public hangings and firing squads did suffer a great deal of pain. In botched executions, a hanging victims neck may not break immediately, and he would be left hanging in the air for several minutes while being strangled by the rope around his neck. If a firing squad did not aim correctly, the victim would be left bleeding to death from his wounds (44). On March 25, 1996, Pedro Medina was strapped to the electric chair. The first surge of two thousand volts of electricity coursed through his body and caused flames to leap through his mask and burned for about ten seconds. He was literally burned alive. Because of his lack of reaction, some speculated that he was instantly killed (Bidinotto, 18). Harold Hillman, a neurobiologist, stated: It is usually thought that the failure of the convict to move is a sign that he cannot feel pain. He cannot move because all of his muscles are contracted maximally. A physiological effect that in itself is enormously painful and further prevents the prisoner from crying out or providing other outward signs of other massively painful effects of electrocution [...] While the subject remains conscious, strapped to the chair, paralyzed yet aware of the gruesomeShow MoreRelatedEssay on Capital Punishment Must Be Abolished4200 Words   |  17 Pagesdeath penalty is not the most effective form of punishment for criminals. The death penalty is hypocritical; it condemns killing by killing people. Many supporters of capital punishment cite retribution as being a justification for the death penalty; however, no matter what the circumstance, murder is never justified. Ghandi once said â€Å"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.† Two wrongs can never make a right. Capital punis hment should be abolished because while even though many supporters ofRead More Capital Punishment Must be Abolished Essay1948 Words   |  8 PagesCapital Punishment Must be Abolished Is capital punishment just? The death penalty is a controversial issue for most people. Supporter’s claim that it eliminates repeat offenders, deters potential murderers and is the ultimate retribution. Opponents denounce it as murder, say that it does not cause deterrence but rather promotes violence and claim that it introduces the chance of an innocent person being executed. Due to the arguments presented by both sides and because of my own personalRead MoreAbolishing the Death Penality743 Words   |  3 PagesMurder is wrong. In modern times, execution of criminals is being used by every country in the world. Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is the execution of a person by a government for serious crimes committed. Capital punishment has been used by almost all societies. Currently 58 nations support the death penalty, and 140 countries have abolished it. Abolish the death penalty because, first, it costs more for a death penalty than keeping a criminal alive. Second, the death penalty, or killingRead MoreEssay on Capital Punishment in America1180 Words   |  5 PagesCapital Punishment in America Capital punishment is the execution of a perpetrator for committing a heinous crime (homicide), and it is a hotly debated topic in our society. The basic issue is whether capital punishment should be allowed as it is today, or abolished in part or in whole. My argument is that: 1) Capital punishment is not an effective deterrent for heinous crimes. 2) Life imprisonment can be worse of a punishment than death, not as costly as execution, and better forRead MoreCapital Punishment And The Death Penalty946 Words   |  4 Pages Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is a legal sentence for the convicted to be put to death for their criminal behavior. How the convicted criminal is executed varies from state to state. I do not believe that the death penalty is justifiable in almost any instance, if any. Throughout this class, I have read and experienced confusion on my opinion of whether capital punishment can be justifiable. If there was an absolute 100% belief and proof of guilt for the most serious of crimes (murderRead More Capital Punishment Essay1685 Words   |  7 PagesCapital Punishment Works Cited Not Included Capital Punishment was basically thought of for the good of society. The objective of Capital Punishment is to stop people from committing violent and offensive acts. Capital Punishment or the death penalty has failed however, to prevent or discourage crime. Moreover, it is cruel and gruesome. At present there are five methods of execution. The most commonly used form of execution is by lethal injection. In this method the convict is first injectedRead MoreCapital Punishment1186 Words   |  5 PagesCapital punishment is the execution of a perpetrator for committing a heinous crime (homicide), and it is a hotly debated topic in our society. The basic issue is whether capital punishment should be allowed as it is today, or abolished in part or in whole. My argument is that: 1) Capital punishment is not an effective deterrent for heinous crimes. 2) Life imprisonment can be worse of a punishment than death, not as costly as execution, and better for rehabilitation. 3) The innocent canRead MoreCapital Punishment And The Death Penalty1017 Words   |  5 PagesSaudi Arabia Name: Lucas Falley Topic: Capital Punishment Background: Capital punishment, or the death penalty, has existed for thousands of years. For as long as there has been organized society, the death penalty has existed in numerous cultures and civilizations. Throughout the years the methods have changed, but the use of capital punishment is becoming a pressing matter. Amnesty International reports that there are 140 countries worldwide that have abolished the death penalty, while over 50 countriesRead MoreEssay about Capital Punishment and The Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon1003 Words   |  5 PagesCapital punishment dates back to 18th century B.C. in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon. Under this code twenty five crimes, excluding murder, were punishable by death. In historical data, the first death penalty was imposed to offender who was blamed for magic in 16th century BC Egypt (Regio, 1997). Unfortunately, death penalty is still practiced in some countries. For example, in Egypt recently on 24 March 2014, Minya Criminal Court impose d death penalty to 529 followers of Egyptian ex-presidentRead MoreToughts on the Capital Punishment1646 Words   |  7 PagesCapital Punishment On June 1, 1985 Kathy Wilhoit was murdered. Greg Wilhot was left a single father to care for his four months old and fourteen months old. Nearly a year after Kathy was murdered Greg was accused, arrested and charged with the murder. The evidence to convict Greg of murder was a bite mark on Kathy’s body, that two dental â€Å"experts† matched with Gregs bite. This man was behind bars with two young daughters at home, so his parents decided to hire one of Oklahoma’s â€Å"best† defense

Great Expectations free essay sample

Dont know that the police came to ask e own b acksm n to tix their only pair ot handcuffs, and start to ask questions such as how did they know it was Pip that helped the convict? ) 2. Pips convict shows his appreciation for Pips loyalty by claiming to have stolen the food and file himself, protecting Pip. 3. The hostility between the two convicts is apparently caused by the first convict trying to get the second convict to the guards, showing he was willing to return to Jail and give up his short lived freedom to do so. The second convict pleaded that he was minding his own business when the first convict attacked, and would have been murdered if the guards had not shown up. Chapter 6- He Climbed Down the Chimney. (Mr. Pumblechook claims that the only way that the convict could get inside was through the chimney. We will write a custom essay sample on Great Expectations or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Pip is the only one who knows this is false, because it was Pip who stole the food and file to give to the criminal. ) 1 . Mr. Pumblechook is Joes uncle and, therefore, Pips brother-in-law. He gets Pip into Satis House by