Comparison Essay
I have always loved cats. Growing up, my family always had at least one cat lying around the house. After I moved out and got married, I decided that I needed to have a cat in my new home. My husband told me to pick any kitten I wanted. I found the cutest little tuxedo kitten and brought him home. His name is Jake and he is now about seven years old. Last year I decided to buy another kitten. I went to the pet store and fell instantly in love with my half hemilayen, black fur-ball who I named Hemi. I can’t believe the differences in my two cats. Jake is long and hefty, while Hemi although he is over a year old is short and skinny. Jake cannot stand to be picked up, and Hemi just lays his head on my shoulder and purrs when he is held. The biggest difference in my cats though, is that Hemi is content to just veg. out in a bedroom all day and could care less if someone is looking for him. Jake, on the other hand, follows me everywhere I go and can’t stand to be left alone in a room. While both of my cats differ in personality, I love them both the same.
The size difference in my two cats is amazing. Hemi weighed just four pounds when I got him a year ago, and he now only weighs about six pounds. He has four short little legs and it looks like he is bowl legged when he walks. Jake, on the other hand, weighs in at about 16 pounds and he is long and chubby. When I pick Hemi up it is like picking up a piece of paper compared to when I have to heft Jake up. He feels like a bowling ball.
While both of my cats love attention, they vary in what they like and don’t like affection wise. Jake will sit on my lap for hours if I let him. He just curls up in my lap and sleeps while I pet him. He hates to be picked up though, and will squirm to get down the whole time he is in my arms. Hemi hates to sit on anyone’s lap. He can’t sit still long enough. He loves to be picked up and held though. He will lay his head on my shoulder and purr while I stroke his head. He will even put his head against my chin and clean my face for me.
Even though Jake doesn’t like to be picked up, he can’t stand to be in a room all by himself. He follows me everywhere I go and will lay near to where I am sitting. When I go outside to do something, I can hear him crying in the house because he is lonely. When everyone goes to bed for the night, Jake likes to curl up in bed with my oldest son and he stays there until morning when it’s time to get up. Hemi could care less if anyone is home or not. He likes to lie in my bedroom all day and sleep, and when I call to him, he only comes running if it is time to eat. He doesn’t sleep with anyone at night either. He sleeps curled up in a chair in the living room all by himself.
You would think that being so different, the cats wouldn’t get along but they do. They will lie together in a chair and Hemi will give Jake a wash down. They love to play together and run around the house like their tails are on fire. They never fight, they actually work together to get what they want. Just the other morning I woke up to find a whole bag of cat nip scattered across the living room rug and both cats were just lying in it looking a little bug-eyed and jittery. Their fur was also full of catnip because they were rolling through it on the floor. I just laughed and went to get the vacuum cleaner. That’s when I found one thing they do have in common. They saw the vacuum and took off to hide. They hate it.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Effect Essay
Effect Essay
The alarm is buzzing in my ear again after the nine minutes of peace in between sleep button pushes. Another day is beginning. I drag myself out of bed and I start getting ready for my day at school. I often wonder why I am now bothering with starting a college education at the age of 31. I am quickly reminded why when I see my three kids sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. While going to college now seems like a silly idea to me, getting my degree will have some great effects for me and my family. I will feel better about myself for accomplishing my goal, we will finally be able to afford a home big enough for the five of us, and I will be able to put money away for my children’s education.
I have been a mother and housewife for almost 11 years now. I never had the chance to go to college. I know that I should feel good about staying home with my children and nurturing them through infancy to toddler, but I just feel as though I have been doing nothing to contribute to the home and that my husband is doing everything by working and bringing home the paycheck. Getting my degree will raise my self esteem greatly. I will feel worthy to be the wife and mother that actually accomplished something other than taking care of the kids and cleaning the house.
Right now, my family and I are living in a two-bedroom trailer. It is a nice trailer and we live in a great neighborhood, but it just doesn’t have the room for the five of us. My husband and I want to stay in Bangor, and would like to stay in the same area as the park we are in now so that the kids won’t have to change schools. Living in Bangor is expensive. Taxes are high, and houses are expensive because living in town is desirable. By getting my education and a good paying job, we will be able to afford to get a nice four-bedroom home in Bangor that is in the area we want to be in.
The effect of a college education and good paying job will also be the financial security I crave for my children. One reason I didn’t go to college when I got out of high school was that I couldn’t afford to pay for myself, and my parents couldn’t afford to help me. I don’t want my children to make the mistake I made by not choosing to go to college because of the cost. With my college degree and job, I will be able to save for my kid’s future education.
A few years from now, I’ll be sitting in my office typing up a medical chart for some doctor’s office in my new four-bedroom home and thinking about the time when we lived in the cramped trailer on the edge of town. I’ll be smiling, because I will know that with my accomplishment of graduating college and getting a good job that I helped to make my husband and my own dreams come true. When my kids go to college, I’ll feel good about their futures because I will be able to help them through school, and they won’t be starting their young lives out in debt. That new home looms on the horizon, almost real enough to touch; my children are growing older every day, and as I get closer to completing my education my pride and feeling of self worth is growing. This semester is almost over, only three more to go.
The alarm is buzzing in my ear again after the nine minutes of peace in between sleep button pushes. Another day is beginning. I drag myself out of bed and I start getting ready for my day at school. I often wonder why I am now bothering with starting a college education at the age of 31. I am quickly reminded why when I see my three kids sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. While going to college now seems like a silly idea to me, getting my degree will have some great effects for me and my family. I will feel better about myself for accomplishing my goal, we will finally be able to afford a home big enough for the five of us, and I will be able to put money away for my children’s education.
I have been a mother and housewife for almost 11 years now. I never had the chance to go to college. I know that I should feel good about staying home with my children and nurturing them through infancy to toddler, but I just feel as though I have been doing nothing to contribute to the home and that my husband is doing everything by working and bringing home the paycheck. Getting my degree will raise my self esteem greatly. I will feel worthy to be the wife and mother that actually accomplished something other than taking care of the kids and cleaning the house.
Right now, my family and I are living in a two-bedroom trailer. It is a nice trailer and we live in a great neighborhood, but it just doesn’t have the room for the five of us. My husband and I want to stay in Bangor, and would like to stay in the same area as the park we are in now so that the kids won’t have to change schools. Living in Bangor is expensive. Taxes are high, and houses are expensive because living in town is desirable. By getting my education and a good paying job, we will be able to afford to get a nice four-bedroom home in Bangor that is in the area we want to be in.
The effect of a college education and good paying job will also be the financial security I crave for my children. One reason I didn’t go to college when I got out of high school was that I couldn’t afford to pay for myself, and my parents couldn’t afford to help me. I don’t want my children to make the mistake I made by not choosing to go to college because of the cost. With my college degree and job, I will be able to save for my kid’s future education.
A few years from now, I’ll be sitting in my office typing up a medical chart for some doctor’s office in my new four-bedroom home and thinking about the time when we lived in the cramped trailer on the edge of town. I’ll be smiling, because I will know that with my accomplishment of graduating college and getting a good job that I helped to make my husband and my own dreams come true. When my kids go to college, I’ll feel good about their futures because I will be able to help them through school, and they won’t be starting their young lives out in debt. That new home looms on the horizon, almost real enough to touch; my children are growing older every day, and as I get closer to completing my education my pride and feeling of self worth is growing. This semester is almost over, only three more to go.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Example Essay
Over the years I have noticed that I am taking advantage of my body. I am coming to realize that some of the habits that I have fallen into are starting to take their toll as I get older. I am a smoker. I puff about half a pack of cigarettes a day. I also have a nasty habit of not eating meals, but snacking throughout the day on junk food. Another bad habit I have is drinking way too much soda throughout the day. The effects that these habits are having on my body are becoming more evident as my age keeps increasing.
I love Caffeine-free Diet Pepsi. I drink this day and night. I won’t develop diabetes because of my soda drinking, because there is no sugar, but I have noticed that over the past few years, I have had to have some top fillings on my teeth because the acid in the soda is wearing away at my tooth enamel and my teeth are becoming extremely sensitive. I have tried to find other alternatives to drinking soda, but I can’t seem to find anything that satisfies this need for the soda. I switched to drinking Crystal Light for a few weeks, but soon became bored with the flavors. I tried to drink just water but soon became bored with that also. I don’t know what is in the Caffeine-free Diet Pepsi, but I just can’t get enough of it.
Another bad habit that I have, is snacking throughout the day instead of eating meals. My weight is seriously affected by this habit. I did not just develop this habit overnight. I have always eaten sporadically since I was a teenager. I just never developed the good eating habits I should have. Instead of sitting down for a meal, I will just find a quick snack in the cupboard and eat that. I can’t seem to find a solution to this habit either. I’m just too busy in the morning getting the kids to eat and getting them and me ready for school that breakfast is not even on my list of things to do. I often forget to even eat lunch because I am either at school or busy running errands. Supper time I usually cook a nice meal of meat, potatoes, veggies, or pasta for my family but I am so busy getting them what they want that I often just don’t want to sit down to eat. I would rather wait until they go to bed and have something when I can sit down. I am going to see a Nutritionist at the end of the month, so maybe she can give me some suggestions on how to break this habit.
The worst habit I have is smoking. I have been a smoker off and on for the past fifteen years. I quit with each of my three pregnancies only to start up again a few months after each child was born. I have noticed in the mornings that I am getting a “smoker’s cough” and I have also noticed a few new wrinkles on my face that I don’t want there. The problem with quitting is that when I do, I tend to overeat, and become almost impossible to deal with emotion wise. I smoke when I am frustrated, it gives me a five minute break to go outside and calm my nerves. I also smoke when I am bored. This is the habit I hate the most, but it is the hardest one to break. The patches make me shaky, the gum makes me gag, and cold turkey pretty much makes my family want to beat me.
My three bad habits are literally killing me. Soda hardens the arteries, eating unhealthy clogs the arteries, causes my obesity, puts me at risk for high cholesterol and heart disease, and smoking puts me at risk for cancer among other health conditions. I think that I need to take these habits and try to break them one at a time and give myself a few months in between each one so that I don’t send my body into shock. I am going to start with the Nutritionist and see if I can start a healthy way of eating first. Once I have my body feeling good, maybe I can cut out the soda and find a better alternative. I am going to need a lot of support to quit smoking. I know my kids and husband will be supportive, but getting them to deal with my “bitchiness” is going to be a major factor in gaining their support. If I can break these three habits, I know that I will be a much healthier person. I want to be around to enjoy my children and my grandchildren, and I never thought I would hear myself say this but I want to live long enough to be “old”. With my family’s support and my willingness to help myself, I believe that I can beat these habits. You only live once.
I love Caffeine-free Diet Pepsi. I drink this day and night. I won’t develop diabetes because of my soda drinking, because there is no sugar, but I have noticed that over the past few years, I have had to have some top fillings on my teeth because the acid in the soda is wearing away at my tooth enamel and my teeth are becoming extremely sensitive. I have tried to find other alternatives to drinking soda, but I can’t seem to find anything that satisfies this need for the soda. I switched to drinking Crystal Light for a few weeks, but soon became bored with the flavors. I tried to drink just water but soon became bored with that also. I don’t know what is in the Caffeine-free Diet Pepsi, but I just can’t get enough of it.
Another bad habit that I have, is snacking throughout the day instead of eating meals. My weight is seriously affected by this habit. I did not just develop this habit overnight. I have always eaten sporadically since I was a teenager. I just never developed the good eating habits I should have. Instead of sitting down for a meal, I will just find a quick snack in the cupboard and eat that. I can’t seem to find a solution to this habit either. I’m just too busy in the morning getting the kids to eat and getting them and me ready for school that breakfast is not even on my list of things to do. I often forget to even eat lunch because I am either at school or busy running errands. Supper time I usually cook a nice meal of meat, potatoes, veggies, or pasta for my family but I am so busy getting them what they want that I often just don’t want to sit down to eat. I would rather wait until they go to bed and have something when I can sit down. I am going to see a Nutritionist at the end of the month, so maybe she can give me some suggestions on how to break this habit.
The worst habit I have is smoking. I have been a smoker off and on for the past fifteen years. I quit with each of my three pregnancies only to start up again a few months after each child was born. I have noticed in the mornings that I am getting a “smoker’s cough” and I have also noticed a few new wrinkles on my face that I don’t want there. The problem with quitting is that when I do, I tend to overeat, and become almost impossible to deal with emotion wise. I smoke when I am frustrated, it gives me a five minute break to go outside and calm my nerves. I also smoke when I am bored. This is the habit I hate the most, but it is the hardest one to break. The patches make me shaky, the gum makes me gag, and cold turkey pretty much makes my family want to beat me.
My three bad habits are literally killing me. Soda hardens the arteries, eating unhealthy clogs the arteries, causes my obesity, puts me at risk for high cholesterol and heart disease, and smoking puts me at risk for cancer among other health conditions. I think that I need to take these habits and try to break them one at a time and give myself a few months in between each one so that I don’t send my body into shock. I am going to start with the Nutritionist and see if I can start a healthy way of eating first. Once I have my body feeling good, maybe I can cut out the soda and find a better alternative. I am going to need a lot of support to quit smoking. I know my kids and husband will be supportive, but getting them to deal with my “bitchiness” is going to be a major factor in gaining their support. If I can break these three habits, I know that I will be a much healthier person. I want to be around to enjoy my children and my grandchildren, and I never thought I would hear myself say this but I want to live long enough to be “old”. With my family’s support and my willingness to help myself, I believe that I can beat these habits. You only live once.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Division Essay
I recently went through my mini library of books I have been collecting for the past few years. I want a shelving system for my books and I needed to divide them into categories that would make them easier to find. I had decided that the simplest way of dividing my books would be by author. After thinking about my choice of division, I changed my mind and decided to divide the books from my favorites that I read over and over, to the books I kept because I enjoyed reading them once and I might read them again, down to the books I have kept not necessarily because they were good but just because they were written by my favorite author. I have a hard time when it comes to organization, so this was a long process for me.
After sifting through my cardboard boxes full of books, I started dividing the ones that I just want to keep because of author not content. I found myself scanning each book’s description on the back cover and trying to decide which I would read again. I enjoy books so much that just dividing out the books that weren’t my favorites took over two hours. There were my droves of Nora Roberts’ books that didn’t really get my blood pumping when I read them, but because she wrote them I had to buy and keep them. Then there were a few Stephen King books, like Everything Eventual and Dreamcatcher, which I should have just left on the book store shelf, but couldn’t pass by. I found a few Beatrice Small books that sounded so good, but turned out to be really boring. I love Beatrice Small and I can’t pass up anything she writes, even if it is not very good.
I finally got through all of the bland books, only to discover that my day was half over and I still had so many boxes left to go through. I needed to divide what was left of my books into “good but not my favorite”, and my “absolute favorite” books. I had so much fun doing this. I spent hours among my novels. Among some of my “good but not my favorite books” are a lot of Stephen King novels and short stories. Misery, Pet Semetary, Desperation, From a Buick 8, and Lisey’s Story, fell into this group. I really enjoyed these books and I will probably read them again sometime. I also have put a few series of books into this section. My Hannah Howell, Highlander series, my Christine Feehan Dark and Game series, and my Sherilyn Kenyon Dark Hunter series, are here. I love a good dark romance novel. There is nothing better than sitting down with a book and losing myself in the plots that the author twists into being. I love all the characters in all the books I mentioned, even the mean, nasty vamps in Feehan’s Dark series. I can get so carried away in these books that I have to hide them from myself so I don’t spend all my time reading.
After all my sorting was complete, I was left with my absolute favorite, can’t put them down books. These books include Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. Her characters are so real I feel like I know them. I have read this series five times already and now that they have been unearthed from their cardboard box, I am going to start reading them again very soon. I love Diana’s gift of bringing her settings to life in such detail that if I close my eyes, I can see Scotland in the 1700’s, and she does the same with her plot and characters. It’s like I’m a ghost watching the entire story as it unfolds before me, but I am also able to feel what each character is feeling. The Outlander series holds the number one spot in my heart. I also found my Stephen King Gunslinger series. He has the same gifts as Diana Gabaldon when it comes to character and setting descriptions. I love sitting down with these books and getting lost in the depth of the story. Stephen King makes the impossible feel real when I am reading the Gunslinger novels. I have read this series at least three times.
I love to read. I tend to get so caught up in a book that I forget the time. I also love collecting books that my favorite authors write. Even if the books are boring and bland, I still stick through until the end at least one time through. I have to keep all my series books as reference for when I purchase a new book by the author. My favorite books of all time are the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. I have ordered a new book from her just recently that stems off from Outlander. I am hoping that she can cast some light on the main character for me because he is somewhat of an enigma in her previous books. When I graduate from EMCC and we finally get a bigger house, I am praying that we have extra room for a mini-library. I’m sure that the way that I have divided my books now will be totally different in the future as I purchase and read more books. I’ll never get rid of any of the books I have, and I am always buying new ones. Maybe I should just move into Borders, they already have all their books divided by category, and I would never get bored.
After sifting through my cardboard boxes full of books, I started dividing the ones that I just want to keep because of author not content. I found myself scanning each book’s description on the back cover and trying to decide which I would read again. I enjoy books so much that just dividing out the books that weren’t my favorites took over two hours. There were my droves of Nora Roberts’ books that didn’t really get my blood pumping when I read them, but because she wrote them I had to buy and keep them. Then there were a few Stephen King books, like Everything Eventual and Dreamcatcher, which I should have just left on the book store shelf, but couldn’t pass by. I found a few Beatrice Small books that sounded so good, but turned out to be really boring. I love Beatrice Small and I can’t pass up anything she writes, even if it is not very good.
I finally got through all of the bland books, only to discover that my day was half over and I still had so many boxes left to go through. I needed to divide what was left of my books into “good but not my favorite”, and my “absolute favorite” books. I had so much fun doing this. I spent hours among my novels. Among some of my “good but not my favorite books” are a lot of Stephen King novels and short stories. Misery, Pet Semetary, Desperation, From a Buick 8, and Lisey’s Story, fell into this group. I really enjoyed these books and I will probably read them again sometime. I also have put a few series of books into this section. My Hannah Howell, Highlander series, my Christine Feehan Dark and Game series, and my Sherilyn Kenyon Dark Hunter series, are here. I love a good dark romance novel. There is nothing better than sitting down with a book and losing myself in the plots that the author twists into being. I love all the characters in all the books I mentioned, even the mean, nasty vamps in Feehan’s Dark series. I can get so carried away in these books that I have to hide them from myself so I don’t spend all my time reading.
After all my sorting was complete, I was left with my absolute favorite, can’t put them down books. These books include Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. Her characters are so real I feel like I know them. I have read this series five times already and now that they have been unearthed from their cardboard box, I am going to start reading them again very soon. I love Diana’s gift of bringing her settings to life in such detail that if I close my eyes, I can see Scotland in the 1700’s, and she does the same with her plot and characters. It’s like I’m a ghost watching the entire story as it unfolds before me, but I am also able to feel what each character is feeling. The Outlander series holds the number one spot in my heart. I also found my Stephen King Gunslinger series. He has the same gifts as Diana Gabaldon when it comes to character and setting descriptions. I love sitting down with these books and getting lost in the depth of the story. Stephen King makes the impossible feel real when I am reading the Gunslinger novels. I have read this series at least three times.
I love to read. I tend to get so caught up in a book that I forget the time. I also love collecting books that my favorite authors write. Even if the books are boring and bland, I still stick through until the end at least one time through. I have to keep all my series books as reference for when I purchase a new book by the author. My favorite books of all time are the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. I have ordered a new book from her just recently that stems off from Outlander. I am hoping that she can cast some light on the main character for me because he is somewhat of an enigma in her previous books. When I graduate from EMCC and we finally get a bigger house, I am praying that we have extra room for a mini-library. I’m sure that the way that I have divided my books now will be totally different in the future as I purchase and read more books. I’ll never get rid of any of the books I have, and I am always buying new ones. Maybe I should just move into Borders, they already have all their books divided by category, and I would never get bored.
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