...job is multifascited as the exec director, I manage the JMJ centers, 2 centers and mobile centers that go around on an RV. Coordinates everything, helps out in centers, go into the community. What JMJ is, what we do, promote that in the community to help secure volunterrs, fundin,g, promote awareness. Do a lot of strategic planning on how we're gonna grow. Trying to figure out what addicitonal programs we can offer. And then go out and do the speaking and build awareness. Various churches, youth ministries, and drink beer too. Whatever we need to do, oh I'll do it. I'm also an event planner. It's wonderful. Up until july, I was an engineer. Doing it for 11 years. Involved in JMJ, I loved everything about it, I was just busy. I had 3 little kids and work and all kinds of stuff going on. Not as involved as wanted to be. In April, our previous exec director wanted to retire. Looked at husband and said wanted to do this. Very fufilling. Transition into role. Completely new to me. So much fun and so awesome to be able to effect people's lives everyday. See the joy and gratefullness. Beautiful experence. Do you like your job? What do you like about it? I think the biggest thing is to be able to affect people in a positive way. As an enginner, I got to talk to oeopel and develop code, it was kind of boring and wasn't fulfilling. It was comfortable, I appreciated being paid very well. That was the hesitation. Once I made the jump, I realized that to be able to interact with people...
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...been the type to own up to them right off the bat. I find it awkward and sometimes too far off, raising a problem when ignoring it was all you probably needed. The thing is I still think about it. You’re not a idiot; it’s pretty obvious. I think you’re amazing and that won’t change no matter what this manages to morph itself into. And in my opinion, it doesn’t need to. But I think about the song, I think about the poems, I think about the unfinished story rotting because I’ve lost what motivated me to complete it. A story is a what-could-have-been right? When we daydream about our futures, daydream about bravery and acceptance and victory, it’s just a fantasy story of our lives. Sometimes I just have to write it down to make sure I don’t lose it. Don’t forget it. Understand that once upon a time, I was such and such. People say in the future, they’ll look back and laugh. I won’t laugh; I’ll understand. Perhaps not why, why you, why this time, why so silent and why so demanding but I’ll understand the circumstances. I’ll understand what drove me and what tore it apart. My entire life’s story out there for everyone to see. Sometimes I feel so exposed. It’s weaving together assumptions that are sometimes so out there, right in the open. But that’s okay, because even things I write a month ago, I no longer understand. I don’t know whom I was so pissed off at and what made me write a passage on loneliness. I don’t need to. It’s all in the moment. &...
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...I am 47 years old and I live in Texarkana, Texas. I moved to Texarkana about twelve years ago to get away from the craziness in Houston, Texas. So, I decided to move to the country where I now live with my boyfriend, two, toypoodles, a ferret and my boyfriends parents. We all live in the country on 5 ½ acres. Our home is 2 homes in one which are both separated, the parents live on one side and we live on the other. Once you have been use to living the city life and move to the country it can be quite an adjustment because there is not much to do in Texarkana, Tx compared to Houston. For instance, simple things for me like driving to town seem like such a chore. Since moving to the country instead of going shopping for dinner no more then a mile from home I now have to drive over fifteen miles to town. Sometimes i feel like I have wasted my entire day. The up side of living in the country is that it is quite peaceful and you do not have your neighbor in your back yard. I have four children 2 girls and 2 boys. My girls are Diana my oldest 29 who has two children My grandchildren Makelia 7 and Baby Juan 4. My daughter Mary is 28 and she has 3 boys Vince 8, Louie, 3, and Baby Luke who is 1 ½ . Then, my boys are Brigido 26 (he is my trouble child) who gave me my 2 beautiful grandchildren Isaiah 8, and Destiney who is 4. My baby is Cameron he is 22 years old and in college in Austin, Tx. I am not working at this point because I have been working on obtaining custody of my 2...
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...agree on the suggestions he makes or vice versa. His profession requires a large amount of integrity, nobility and honesty because many local congressmen instead of helping the city they have been caught stealing money from projects for the city. “Sometimes I feel really homesick” (Casal). His job makes him travel a lot to Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora. Hermosillo is 450 kilometers away from Nogales, it’s a 4 hour drive, and he stays in Hermosillo for days or even a whole week. These trips distance Moises from his family. He have miss many important family events like his sons college graduation , wedding anniversaries, and even he has been alone in a hotel room during his birthday, and I know all this because Moises Casal is no stranger to me, he is my uncle. “Helping people has been one of my truth passions” (Casal). Moises always loved helping people since he was a little kid and that love for helping made him wanted to be a doctor. When he was 26 years old he graduated from medical school and became a otorhinolaryngologist and his life got better when he married my aunt Teresita. “The happiest day of my life was when I married my beautiful wife” (Casal). “As a doctor I helped a lot of people, but I felt like could do more for my community” (Casal). Moises worked in the medical field for 20 years, and he noticed...
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...Life of Pi Theme of Religion At times, Life of Pi reads like a defense of religion. Has science proved religion wrong? Here's a protagonist who believes passionately in both zoology and religion. What about the fact of multiple faiths? Don't these faiths contradict each other, cause wars, and other problems? Here's a protagonist who is Muslim, Christian, and Hindu – all at the same time. The book defends not only the common spirit behind these three religions, but the rituals and ceremonies of each. It's as if all three religions find harmonious common ground in this character. Seems unlikely, but then again, the protagonist argues passionately that the miraculous happens in our darkest moments. Quote #1But I don't insist. I don't mean to defend zoos. Close them all down if you want (and let us hope that what wildlife remains can survive in what is left of the natural world). I know zoos are no longer in people's good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both. (1.4.14) | Do zoos incarcerate animals in confined spaces and make them miserable? Pi doesn't think so: "Certain illusions about freedom" tempt us to this conclusion. In actuality, an animal's life in the wild is more circumscribed than "a knight on a chessboard" (1.4.8). Predator-prey relationships restrict the animal's movement. A zoo enclosure is actually more like a hearth for an animal: a place of comfort and rest. Likewise, most people think of religion as a restrictive...
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...Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pi experiences a terrible journey that changes his life forever, consequently, the statement, “This story has a happy ending,” is not a valid conclusion to be made. Pi has a very functional, loving...
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...quote Pi Patel, "I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare", cites that when Pi is on the verge of giving up his inner monologue fuels his determination to live. The general argument made by Mr. Yann Martel in his work "Life of Pi" is that determination keeps you alive. More specifically, Martel argues that determination is significant in everyone's life to overcome challenges and achieve one's goal. Determination helps overcome one’s fear. As for Pi, fear is "life's only true opponent" that shakes your foundation which needs to be faced. Living in a lifeboat for 227 days in the middle of the ocean with a vicious Bengal tiger, one can learn to deal with fear in determination to survive. At the moment when Pi acknowledges his thirst he desperately looked for supplies in Richard Parker's den, "Thirst pushed me". Realizing that in order for him to survive he needs to live with Richard Parker in the boat. Pi took practical steps to deal with Richard Parker, “I had to tame him. It was at that moment that I realized this necessity”. Pi established his dominance to Richard Parker Pi and uses a whistle to serve as his taming device to Richard Parker. Pi doesn't just overcome his fear of Richard Parker but he unexpectedly made Richard Parker his sole companion, he "who brought me peace,purpose, I dare I say even wholeness". Religious faith gives strength to an individual’s determination to live. Pi was a very devout person who just loves God. Pi told his...
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...Hui-Fen Hsu The Heroic Pattern in Life of Pi 95 The Heroic Pattern in Life of Pi Hui-Fen Hsu Applied English Department National Taichung University of Science and Technology Lecturer Abstract This paper examines the universal structure of a mythological hero’s adventure in Life of Pi. The theory is based on Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which illustrated and distilled heroic patterns from various cultures. The hero’s journey has three stages: separation, initiation, and return. Answering a call to adventure, the hero departs from his familiar world and ventures into a region of supernatural wonder. Miraculous forces are encountered there and a decisive victory is won. He then returns from this mysterious land, bringing an elixir to bene¿t his fellow men. Through this journey of trials, the hero transforms his former self and achieves spiritual growth. Such heroes range from monster slayers to spiritual leaders such as the Buddha and Christ. Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel about an Indian boy who survives a shipwreck by drifting on a lifeboat with a tiger. His adventure ¿ts Joseph Campbell’s hero archetype. Similar to the mythological hero, Pi departs from his familiar land of India, answering the call for adventure to a new country. Protected by the supernatural powers of Hinduism, Catholicism, and Islam, he penetrates the dangerous and mysterious realm of the Pacific Ocean. After experiencing harsh ordeals, he returns...
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...Reading between the lines The second story Pi was the truth leaving the first story as Pi’s way of coping with the traumatic events that happened in the life boat. Pi’s unique background gives life to all the symbolizing and double meanings, explain why the second story is true. Life of Pi is book with deep detail and description, giving a very full pictures. I think Martel uses this to his own advantage. Giving us such a layered story, makes the ending even more of a crash. With such realistic details, it seems impossible for anything other to be true. Pi also seems like a whole and true character, it makes no sense for him imagine it (Shmoop 1). Not only until I sat back ran through my notes did I realise it was staring me in the face the whole story. Almost the whole first part is about the abstraction of religion. The fact that he believes and worships three religions just screams imagination. Pi’s beliefs run wild throughout the entire book, giving his character flesh and blood. In part one, Pi tells us about his childhood. His father owned and ran a zoo, giving Pi a deep...
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...VISUAL ESSAY: LIFE OF PI To quote Pi Patel, "I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare", cites that when Pi is on the verge of giving up his inner monologue fuels his determination to live. The general argument made by Mr. Yann Martel in his work "Life of Pi" is that determination keeps you alive. More specifically, Martel argues that determination is significant in everyone's life to overcome challenges and achieve one's goal. Determination helps overcome one’s fear. As for Pi, fear is "life's only true opponent" that shakes your foundation which needs to be faced. Living in a lifeboat for 227 days in the middle of the ocean with a vicious Bengal tiger, one can learn to deal with fear in determination to survive. At the moment when Pi acknowledges his thirst he desperately looked for supplies in Richard Parker's den, "Thirst pushed me". Realizing that in order for him to survive he needs to live with Richard Parker in the boat. Pi took practical steps to deal with Richard Parker, “I had to tame him. It was at that moment that I realized this necessity”. Pi established his dominance to Richard Parker Pi and uses a whistle to serve as his taming device to Richard Parker. Pi doesn't just overcome his fear of Richard Parker but he unexpectedly made Richard Parker his sole companion, he "who brought me peace,purpose, I dare I say even wholeness". Religious faith gives strength to an individual’s determination to live. Pi was a very devout person who just...
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...Life of Pi – Inquiry Essay The important thing isn’t that we can live on love alone, but that life isn’t worth living without it. In the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the author shows that Richard Parker is part of Pi, and is necessary for his survival. This is shown at the end of the novel when Pi reaches Mexico with Richard Parker’s help of survival. However, there are two different versions to Pi’s story, and there is no physical proof of Richard’s existence other than his word. Life isn’t worth living without hope, Richard Parker is necessary for Pi’s survival because he gives him a reason to survive, provides companionship, keeps him from feeling hopelessness. Firstly, Richard Parker is essential for Pi’s survival. He is essential for Pi’s survival because Richard Parker has the strength and viciousness necessary to survive. In the end of the book it is revealed that Richard Parker is Pi. Richard Parker is just a figment of Pi’s imagination a creation of Pi’s mind to help him cope with seeing his mother killed and the rest of the bad experiences he had after the ship sunk. Pi created Richard in order to conjure up those traits that he needs in order to survive; Richard is strong, fierce, and terrifying, whereas Pi is complete opposite. He creates a strong fierce animal with a personality that is capable of doing things he can't, but has to in order to survive. Richard Parker is just Pi’s dark side. He keeps Pi sane, despite of his terrible deeds. In other words, he...
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...“I know zoos are no longer in people's good graces. Religion faces the same problem. certain illusions about freedom plague them both.(24)” This is when Pi speaks to Yann Martel about religion. From this quote, we can tell that Pi is a very religious person, but as we read through the novel, we would wonder how could Pi practises three religions at the same time? Pi's experience makes him to believe and love God, and in order to understand him more, he choose to participate in three different religions,Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. The first time that Pi ever got to know God was an older sister of his mother brought him to a temple, he became a Hindu since then. In the novel, Pi described the reason why he became a Hindu: “I am a Hindu...
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...where it seems every time you turn around someone wants to, or is, writing a book. In fact, even in this day and age of the internet, and multimedia, more and more people are making it a trend to write books. It is on countless bucket lists, and almost everyone knows an author. There is however, a very large difference between a writer, a true author of a literary work, and someone who ‘wrote a book.’ Anyone can write a book. A writer is a person who creates an interwoven web of imagination, creativity and skill with language. They create a work that flows together and paints a picture in your head. These days, so people writing books, true writers are hard to find, and subsequently, excellent literary works, are even harder to find. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel is an excellent literary work, written by an excellent writer. It is one of the most original works you are likely to find, with a storyline that keeps you guessing. It has many subthemes and addresses many topics in an academic and moral way that is unexpected, refreshing, and insightful. Martel uses setting, character development, and narrative point of view to lead his readers across the pacific in a compelling and attention-catching way which makes his novel a true masterpiece. When looking at Martel’s genius in terms of setting, it is important to look at it throughout the whole book, not just certain parts. The story starts in India, Pondicherry to be exact. Martel uses excellent descriptive language to describe...
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...and impressive. On our last day in Pondicherry I said goodbye to Mamaji, to Mr. and Mr. Kumar, to all my friends and even to many strangers. Mother was apparelled in her finest sari. Her long tress, artfully folded back and attached to the back of her head, was adorned with a garland of fresh jasmine flowers. She looked beautiful. And sad. For she was leaving India, India of the heat and monsoons, of rice fields and the Cauvery River, of coastlines and stone temples, of bullock carts and colourful trucks, of friends and known shopkeepers, of Nehru Street and Goubert Salai, of this and that, India so familiar to her and loved by her. While her men-I fancied myself one already, though I was only sixteen-were in a hurry to get going, were Winnipeggers at heart already, she lingered. The day before our departure she pointed at a cigarette wallah and earnestly asked, "Should we get a pack or two?" Father replied, "They have tobacco in Canada. And why do...
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...bought: the gift of life. Though it is not a gift that has been particularly requested, it is one that requires fight and determination to keep. In the book Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pi does not fully treasure this gift until he almost loses it. He realizes its value and for this reason wills himself physically, morally, and spiritually to stay alive and ultimately preserves the gift of life. Pi’s devotion and faith in God is an important theme in the book. Toiling in devotion, Pi is able to overcome many hardships, which, in turn, help him gain the will to live. “Faith in God is an opening up, a letting go, a deep trust, a free act of love — but sometimes it was so hard to love. Sometimes my heart was sinking so fast with anger, desolation, and weariness, I was afraid it would sink to the very bottom of the Pacific and I would not be able to lift it back up. At such moments I tried to elevate myself” (Martel 231). In these trial-some times, Pi expresses his strife and inner struggle; however, he is determined not to lose faith in God. Pi attempts to control his negative feelings to avoid a lack of morale, which would decrease his odds of surviving. Pi is a clear example of the fact that regardless of the circumstances or surroundings, human beings have an instinctual desire to live. It is not debatable to say that Pi has every reason to want to end his life after having lost everything he owns and knows. To make matters worse, he is confined to a small raft in the Pacific Ocean...
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