Certified to Live :: Graduate Admissions Essays

Certified to Live    The day had finally come, and now it was over. I had worked diligently for four years, and what did I have to show for it? One measly little degree. All that work just for a piece of paper.    That night, after the graduation ceremony, I tossed and turned thinking about the past four years and what this degree meant. According to the University of Southern Mississippi Honors College, I was now certified to be a filmmaker. But what did that mean? Sure, I knew how to work a camera, edit film; I even knew the format for writing a script. I could classify movies into genres, and decipher the most complicated plots. However, these things did not ensure me a career in film. I needed talent, creativity, and drive to really be successful. I was suddenly very nervous about what I was going to do if I failed, and even got out my old college bulletin to look at other possible majors. A few more years of school did not sound so bad.    Then, I started recalling the past few years of my life. I had had so much fun in college. Staying up all night and talking with my friends, people-watching on the campus lawn, all those midnight McDonald's runs. College had been my first time to really be away from my family and friends. It had given me a chance to really come into my own, to realize the kind of person I really wanted to be. I had been able to make mistakes freely, and learn from them.    Throughout the four years, some of my professors had been wonderful. There had been my Freshman Comp. Professor who had pushed me until I finally became a good writer. My film editing instructor had always liked my work, and said she would help me to get started in the business.    The more I thought about it, the more I realized I knew.

Death Penalty Essay

The death penalty is the most inhuman and crucial punishment. Even though it is not applied in every state, the death penalty is a very strong debate and argument within our own government. There are people who support it and those who are against it. The death penalty is a punishment to those who due to their actions and circumstances commit crimes. All people are all equal under the eyes of the law and those people in the end are still humans no matter the crimes they have committed. The death penalty is looked as a violation to the eighth amendment. It is an invalid form of punishment. The risks of inaccurate judgment can change the live of a human within just a few seconds. Taking away another person’s life for committing a crime is like taken an easy way out. The U.S. government should stop using immediately death penalty as a way of punishment because it is unfair, unethical and crucial. Our founding fathers wanted a government that would show the tyrants or absolute monarchs of Europe that it was possible to coexist and live free within fair justice. Even though they excluded any religion to be part of the government regulations, they used Christianity to influence them and built a strong foundation for the new type of government. In a webpage of the history of death penalty they stated that they used the bible and popular teachings to create basic laws and form basic human rights that many religions would forbid death penalty such as; Catholics, Presbyterians, Quakers, Amish’s, and Mennonites. One can easily find a statement teaching that one should not kill, which was used to make a law against murder. No matter what circumstance killing is wrong. So, why are we killing criminals? Aren’t we basically acting against the laws within our own constitution? We are not only killing, but also the government contradicts itself because people have rights in which they are protected. The lives of every individual living on American land should be safe, and if something were to happen to one of us, the government would act with all its power to find justice. But a person’s right to this is denied when they are put to be executed. No one should have the right to determine when a person’s last day in this world should be. Only god can decide when that time should be. But, that does not mean a criminal should not be punished for their action of crimes. By using the death penalty against an individual we are basically using an easy way out to the problem; an escape. If an individual is found guilty then they should do time for their action of crime, but they do not have to relay it on punishing them by killing them. They should be punished by sentencing them to a whole life time of prison. In prison they are guaranteed of no future crimes and at the same time they are being punished for a life time. In an article in antideathpenaly.com they stated that executions cost more than life in prison. It costs $2 million per person. In an article by Dudley Sharp, a death penalty resource director discusses the costs of death penalty and the cost of life without parole. Performing eye for eye; simply get to even in a better or more efficient way is never the solution. Criminals should be isolated from society, making them work and pay for what they did. What is unfair regarding the death penalty is how there can be many innocent people declared as guilty. In situations like these, innocent people should be giving time to prove their innocence instead of preventing them from being killed due to a mistake. Sentencing a criminal to prison for a life time gives time for further investigation to prove a person’s innocence which was researched and said in an article of death penalty in deathpenalty.procon.org. Putting a person to death penalty the government could be killing someone innocent and only because they believe that person is guilty. The law states that every individual is incconent until proven guilty. However, the court does not always follow this law. In some cases people are not given time to prove his/her innocence. Many countries have abolished the death penalty and since the United States has a strong stand for fairness in criminal justice we should join those nations. In our home state, Virginia, it is one of the many states that still believe that killing is the best solution when it comes to solving these kinds of problems. Virginia has executed a total of 94 people since 1976. The most common methods used to perform justice are using gas chambers, lethal injection, and electric chairs. This is how they find their way of solution to get a person’s life over with. In 2000 Earl Washington was on death row in Virginia and was innocent but was not released after serving 16 years of prison. Death penalty is one form of punishment that can never be reversed which makes this unjust. Even though we like to believe that racism does not exist, it still does. History records seem to show that usually African Americans and other minority groups have higher rates when it comes to sentenced people. Death sentencing is not given in a fair manner. It is a very crucial system used against thousands of people. Homicide is illegal; however, what is it when it is performed by the government? If punishing a murder by murdering him/her; are we going to be punished as well? The U.S. government seems to have few flaws; flaws that can be easily fixed. But what happens when it is too late? Innocent until proven guilty is a common thing within our laws and regulations. Death penalty has claimed the lives of many innocent fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, and so on. Many people in situations like these have been sentenced to death because everything seemed would accuse them. In an article by Adam Bedau, the author states that technology and science proofed usage of people’s innocence. In most cases, people are not giving time to prove their innocence. When a person is killed there is no way back. When you realize the mistake, it is too and nothing can be done to reverse it. Therefore, people should realize that dealing with a human’s life; something so precious and valuable, no technology or currency can replace it or manipulate. When violence is committed the judge has the order to either punish a person with a lifetime of prison or sentence them to death penalty. Homicide is a power that no one should have on their hands. If someone acts against another person, there should be another way of solution discarding the act of death penalty. The death penalty is a huge argument in which many people will always have different opinions towards it. People should realize and acknowledge the fact that we are are equal under the eyes of the law and mistakes are always done. The unfairness, cruelty, and unethical behaviors of the death penalty should be taken under major consideration.

Seeds of Trees Essay - 1172 Words

According to the encyclopedia Encarta, a civilization is an advanced state of a society possessing historical and cultural unity. There are four early river valley societies that had successfully met the requirements to be called civilizations: Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and India. These four civilizations encompass several similarities as to how they developed, including location, spirituality, governmental structure and forms of written communication. Location played a fundamental role in the development of these four civilizations. They grew next to rivers, which was source of food and water. Thanks to the river, civilizations were able to develop agriculture. Agriculture is the first step towards cultural development since it allows†¦show more content†¦Their take on religion was rather pessimistic given that the rivers would rise unpredictably and therefore it was interpreted as manifestation of angry gods. Mesopotamians were not concerned with the afterlife since they believed that only Gods could reach immortality. In the other hand, Egyptians devoted a lot of time to the idea of an afterlife, because of this, they built temples, mummified their kings and wrote books such as The Book of the Dead. Spirituality was of main concern to the Egyptians, who were polytheistic with supernatural beings such as the creator god Ptah and the life-death-rebirth god Osiris. Their take on religion was much more optimistic than the M esopotamians since the rise of the Nile was predictable and therefore interpreted as kinder manifestations of the gods. For a small period of time Egypt became monotheistic under the rule of Akhenaton, worshipping the sun-god Amon. China developed a philosophical spiritualism with Confucianism and Taoism. Both were concerned with morals and the search of happiness. The mandate of heaven is also a Chinese manifestation of spiritual belief where the king receives a blessing and authority from heaven to govern. India was a polytheistic civilization, where Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism were the predominant religions. Life after death was a constant concern among Indians; rebirth of the soul or re-incarnation is a result of this. All four civilizations had some kind of governmental structure, and a leaderShow MoreRelatedTaking a Look at Squirrels1746 Words   |  7 Pageseverywhere, see figure 1 for an example of the grey squirrels in our area. They skitter through trees above heads, forage in trashcans, and chew through wires. Squirrels are so common the average person could easily overlook their importance. Squirrels have played a significant role in the evolution of seed defenses in pine trees. The evolution of these seed defenses is frequently attributed to birds and other seed predators (Benkman 1994). The ever-present unnoticed squirrel is actually uniquely designedRead MoreLiabilities of Owning a Farm837 Words   |  3 Pagesfinances. One of the assets of owning a farm is seeing the plants grow and making a profit off of those plants. The liabilities of a farm are the purchase of seed, cost of employees, and the cost incurred for plant care. A farm can be very expensive but it can also be very p rofitable. A liability of owning a crop farm is the expense of corn seed. Seed prices can vary depending on the crop that meets the farmer’s needs. Corn has many different types of plant species, from comestible corn to the non-comestibleRead MoreInsecticidal Property of Acacia (Samanea Saman Merill) Seeds and Bark Against Termites1580 Words   |  7 PagesACACIA (Samanea Saman Merill) SEEDS AND BARK AGAINST TERMITES Submitted by: MELVIN P. VILLACOTE FRITZ DEXTER T. DORON JON VINCENT ISIDOR C. SIQUIJOR Grade 7-BEVZ A research proposal Presented to the Faculty of Regional Science High School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Research I Submitted to: MR. ADAM RAY MANLUNAS Adviser March 2013 ABSTRACT The researchers would like to find out if the Acacia seeds and bark decoction is an effectiveRead MoreThe Guam Rail Should Be Saved from Possible Extinction Essay745 Words   |  3 PagesGuam Rail and other native birds of Guam eat the seeds from that fall from some native trees. The birds then leave droppings, which disperse some of these seeds. Without birds, these seeds that come from these trees would fall near the original tree, where the seeds would either die from fungal infection, or overcrowd the trees, stunting the growth of other trees. Both of these options would have a disastrous effect on the environment of Guam. 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In fact many farmers have completely removed all buckeye trees from their farms to avoid livestock poisoning. Some Native American tribes were able to figure out a way to boil out the toxins and consume the seeds as a mash. It is very high in protein. Some other uses for the buckeye seeds here locally are as ornamental necklaces to showRead MoreThe Novel The Lorax By Theodor Seuss Geisel933 Words   |  4 Pagesdo wn, the tree crashes and all that is left is you and the dark black hills that used to be full of color. The sky is no longer blue and the rivers are no longer clean. This is the denouement of â€Å"The Lorax.† the Once-ler cuts down all the Truffula trees for their leaves. . .fluff. . . tufts or whatever they are called. He used them to make â€Å"thneeds† a ‘Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need’ The Lorax warns him but the Once-ler’s greed got to him. This is the same story that goes throughout the bookRead MoreThe Antagonist Made Good : Dr. Seuss1403 Words   |  6 Pagesglass, or it may be necessary to investigate deep down to find the true identity of a hero. In Dr. Seuss s famous story The Lorax, The old, mysterious Once-ler is the hero because of his evolution past keeping the treasured land with the Truffula Trees undisclosed, consequently establishing a realization of the inadequate oversight of the actions presented in the story, formulat es an effective solution to a problem that he created as an act of redemption. The Once-ler displays deep acts of heroismRead MoreAnalysis Of The Lorax By Dr. Seuss1322 Words   |  6 Pageswho just cuts down trees. It has a secret message that goes right over the readers’ heads - concern about the environment through consumerism. The Lorax is about a preteen, Ted, who lives in an urbanized neighborhood where there is no vegetation except for inflatable bushes. The girl he likes wants a tree for her birthday, and he searches for a seed. Ted ends up leaving the town limits of Thneedville to find a man, the Once-ler, who has all of the answers as to why the trees are gone. The movieRead MoreThe Story Of The Koa Tree792 Words   |  4 Pagesmost definitely was, however, as they reach maturity they take on a different form. We were there in search for the great elders, towering in stature with leaves resembling a crescent. After my explanation he quickly responded, â€Å"Can we climb these trees?!† He sounded so excited so I couldn’t tell him most of the Koas there grew upward rather than outward. Instead of breaking his spirit I was optimistic and told him we actually might find one that’s climbable. After we caught our breath we began our