Misinterpretation of Symbols Essay Example for Free

Misinterpretation of Symbols Essay Now days people tend to have a fashion use for certain symbols such as the heart, cross, peace sign, etc. without taking in consideration that it might offend others. Symbols are used worldwide to represent many things like religion and emotions, but we have to keep in mind that some symbols look or are the same in many cultures but they do not always have the same meaning. Many societies have forgotten the original meaning of a symbol, replacing it with a more modern one, to prove this I decided to quiz four of my friends. I showed them five different symbols and asked them to tell me the first thing that came to their minds. The symbols I used consisted of four that have been around for many years and one relatively new. The pentagram, the inverted cross, the trident, the swastika and the heartogram. I started with the easiest one, the heartogram, which happens to be a logo created by the band HIM, though recently it has taken the meaning of love and hate or live and death. All four recognized this symbol from the band and knew the meanings for it. When I showed them the trident, three responded to represent the Devil, and one said it’s the symbol for Poseidon, the sea God. I was actually surprised that this was his first response, when I asked him why was his this first response he said was,† I remember seeing it in the ‘the Da Vinci code’ movie†. I am glad that he could remember such a tiny detail of that movie. Another famous symbol is the inverted cross, all four responded that it represents evil, the Devil and metal bands. They found it shocking when I informed them that before it had all those meanings, it originally is a trademark of Saint Peter, the first Pope, at first they did not believe me so I showed them what I had found on my research. Before Saint Peter was crucified he requested that he be crucified upside down because he did not feel worth of dying in the same way as Jesus. We all found ironic that those who wear this symbol to show their admiration to the Devil are actually showing humility towards God. The fourth symbol I showed my friends was the pentagram, again another symbol the before the twentieth century did not have any association with evil. All four of my friends said it represents the man, but that is not its only meaning. The first drawings found of the pentagram are of unknown meaning, but as time passed it became the symbol for many things. It has represented from marking the direction in Sumerian texts, represented the five visible planets, symbol to the planet Venus and the goddess, to being the official seal of the city of Jerusalem. It can represent the five elements, air, fire, earth, water and spirit. A more religious association is to the five wounds of Christ. One more thing that I found interesting is the layout of Washington DC, where some streets form the pentagram, with the pentagon being in the middle, the white house at the apex and the other monuments at the other points. Last we have the swastika; we all know it is a symbol that had been used by Hitler to represent racism and the â€Å"white supremacy† of neo-Nazis. Before the use that Hitler gave this symbol, it has also been used in Egypt, China and India. The swastika also represents the sun and the four directions in some cultures. When I was researching the swastika symbol I came across an article about the marines posing in a picture with the U. S. flagged as well as a flag with the notorious Nazi SS symbol. The marines though that the SS represented their own sniper scouts team. I came to the conclusion that not everything is as it appears to be, one must always be sure of the symbols they use in a daily life, we might offend many people without even knowing about it. In most of the cases were we happened to offend someone we can apologized for our ignorance. In the end I think all of us should take some time to learn about other cultures just as we ask those who come from around the world here to learn ours.

College Admissions Essay: Music is Life :: College Admissions Essays

Music is Life    Music has always been an important part of my life. During high school I have developed areas of service and leadership through interests in children and gardening, which will continue to be major parts of my life.    I began taking violin lessons at the age of four and have since shared my music with others in many ways. I have been in the community orchestra at Jacksonville University and am in the first violin section of the University of North Florida's string ensemble. When I performed on violin for 4-H's Share the Fun event, I placed first at the county and district levels and second at the state level, and was later asked to play at the 4-H Foundation Dinner and two Volunteer Recognition Dinners. The most unusual playing job I have had was when I played for a sale at Rhode's Furniture!    I have had several wonderful opportunities to work with children. At my school I enjoyed helping teach a young children's music class by playing songs for them, telling them about the violin, and helping them develop a love of beautiful music. I would enjoy continuing this as an adult. Last year I helped a kindergarten teacher in an underprivileged school, stapling papers and supervising children. I most enjoyed helping small groups learn the alphabet, supervising two children at a time as they tried to match the capital and lowercase letters and identify each letter.    My interest in plants came through watching and helping my grandmother in her gardens. Last summer, Jacksonville's historic Cummer Gardens needed workers, so I began volunteering there for several hours each week, planting new flowers, removing old ones, mulching, and weeding. My work there has inspired me to volunteer in other public gardens, such as those in libraries and nursing homes, in the future.    Several years ago I became involved in 4-H and entered their Horticulture Identification and Judging Competition. This program helped me learn how to identify many plants by their leaves, flowers, and other distinctive parts. I placed high in both county and district events, leading my team to the state level competition two years in succession.    Last year I put my expertise to practical use when I organized a 4-H community service project and volunteered in the Cummer Gardens in Jacksonville. In my community service project I taught two 4-H clubs how to plant and take care of potted pothos vines.

Poverty Essay

Introduction Poverty is when someone is not able to afford to buy things most people consider essential or to participate in activities which, similarly are thought to be a minimum requirement of everyday life (Reporting poverty in UK p15). Absolute poverty is a term used in various different ways to denote a poverty level that does not change over time in terms of living standards that it refers to it stays the same even if society is becoming more prosperous. Absolute poverty line and people below this line lack food, shelter, warmth or clothing (Reporting poverty in the UK p73). Most people in the UK live in relevant poverty Peter Townsend a leading authority on UK poverty defines it as when someone’s â€Å"resources are so seriously below those commanded by the average individual or family that they are in effect excluded from ordinary living patterns, customs and activities† (Reporting poverty in the UK p 15). There are two main ways to measure social inequality these are inequality of conditions, and inequality of opportunities. Inequality of conditions refers to the unequal distribution of income, wealth and material goods housing for example is an inequality of conditions with the homeless and those living in housing projects sitting at the bottom of the hierarchy while those living in multimillion dollar mansions sitting at the top. Look more:  problems of homelessness essay They have been a number of studies commissioned by shelters on the relationship between homeless, use of temporary accommodation and poor health the findings include 78%of homeless households living in temporary accommodation interviewed in one studies had at least one specific health problem, 58% of households said their health had been adversely affected by living in temporary accommodation, 50% of children in temporary accommodation reported psychological and mood disturbance, unsettled sleep pattern, bed wetting and mood swings, one year after being rehoused 40% of homeless children surveyed in one study were still suffering mental and development problems (settled housing march 2010), (various studies, referenced in homelessness fact sheet, shelter 2007). Inequality of opportunities  refers to the unequal distribution of life chances across individuals, this is reflected in measures such as levels of education, health status, and the treatment by the criminal justice system for example white upper class males typically have more opportunities for wealth and success compared to lower class black males who have a higher chance of landing in the criminal justice system. Racial inequality since 1973 little has changed particularly in the earning gap between white and black males, the gender gap has declined since 1970 and the racial gap has remained stable and also the pattern of unemployment, black males earn 60% of what white males earn and they suffer unemployment rates of double the white figure (Hogan and Perrucci 2007); (Kerbo 2009,p. 349). Featherman and Hauser (1978) reproduced the racial difference in inheritance of occupation in the original Blau and Duncan (1967) data from 1962 and in their 1973 replication in 1962 only 13.  3% of black sons of upper non-manual fathers achieved upper non-manual status this increased to 43. 9% in 1973. Among white males 57% in 1962 and 59% in 1973 inherited upper non-manual occupational (Kerbo, 2009, p. 391-400). Functionalist theories believe that inequality is inevitable and desirable and plays an important function in society. Important positions in society require more training and should receive more rewards, social inequality and social stratification according to this view leads to a meritocracy based ability, Functionalist approach to poverty maintains that all parts of society even poverty contributes in some way or another to the larger system’s stability (understanding social problems p195). Conflict theories view inequality as resulting from groups, they believe that social inequality prevents and hinders societal progress as those in power repress the powerless people in order to maintain the status quo, positions are important so long as those in power consider them to be significant, conflict theory of poverty argues that stratification is dysfunctional and harmful to society but persists because it benefits the rich and powerful, (Understanding social problems p195). Over the past eleven years 702,000 older people have had to sell their homes or cut into their life savings to pay for the cost of their care, in 2006 people over 65 contributed ? 380m to the support they receive to stay in their own homes, 75,000 pensioners are paying for nursing care which could be provided free under the NHS. Women pensioners are the majority of people depending on home-care. Thousands of pensioners go without food and heating to pay the cost of home care service and thousands give up the care they need because they cannot afford it (fact complied by women in Dialogue, crossroads women’s center 30th may 2009). Many pensioners have low incomes so they become isolated because they cannot afford to do anything and many go without food to pay for heating most of them are lonely and as a result of their situation most die from health problem that is caused by their situation (Bristol. ac. UK 2006).

Essay about Family Today - 881 Words

Family Today What is a family today? What challenges does being a member of a family present while traditional family structures change? Every family has to struggle to balance the demands of work and children. Also the relationship between each spouse can become more delicate and complicated. Besides, the single parent has to face even more challenges than any other. Today, in a vast majority of families, both the wife and husband have a job. Many working parents are under stress as they have to try to balance the demands of their work, children and†¦show more content†¦The traditional family unit changed rapidly during the second half of the 20th century due to the effects of two world wars, rapid industrialization, the development of technology, and the effects of the womens liberation movement. As a result the family became small (less children) and the majority of women now can obtain equal opportunities in both education and work. The role of a family is to struggle to survive, to protect and support children until children become mature and independent adults capable of providing for themselves, and to provide a good standard of living. Moreover, if men and women can not co-operate well to deal withà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’the decision-making is difficult or does not satisfy both, and then wife and husband may easily have arguments and disagreements. For some of them, these may become a serious communication problem. Since both men and women have to look after the family, sometimes they will have to put their personal, emotional and physical needs aside. As already mentioned, when men and women feel stressed, then arguments and complaints may hurt the relationship. As a result, the relationship between wife and husband becomes more delicate and complicated than in the former traditional family where the wife remained at home to undertake all the tasks of raising children, cooking and cleaning. 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Today is the big day†. It wasn’t normal for me as a teenager, to wake up on my own. My mom was my alarm clock and I was used to her coming in and telling me several times â€Å"Teresa, honey, it’s time to wake up†. This was a routine that was repeated every day