...Matt Sullivan The Night My Life Changed Forever My life changed forever in the late evening hours of February 20th, 2011. It was Presidents’ Day weekend and my mother and I had traveled down to Washington, D.C. to do some college visits. It was a perfect opportunity to get away from the city of Philadelphia and get a little vacation, while still being rather productive. At this time, I was still of the mindset that I wanted nothing to do with Philadelphia after I graduated high school; all I really wanted to do was get away so I wouldn’t have to deal with my family and be too close to home. I was still rather naïve and really lacked true perspective about things such as tuition costs and the logistics of traveling to and from college. I was very raw when it came to college decision making. The weekend had been pretty normal, with most of the time spent walking around college campuses and hearing various admissions officers and professors pitch their programs to us as if each school were the number one school in the nation. Colleges have the ability to make prospective students think they could spend the rest of their lives on their campuses and never feel any desire to leave. (Now, as a college student myself, there are few things I appreciate more than being able to leave campus every so often and soak in the comfortable, welcoming feeling that comes with being in my own bed. I quickly came to realize that there are certain things about home that a college campus...
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...Drug Addict Changed My Life How a Drug Addict Changed My Life Elizabeth Miller ENC 1101-1002 Professor Bahle November 10, 2012 How a Drug Addict Changed My Life Growing up, we always had people living with us that were in different stages of recovery. Some were drug users, some were drinkers and some were both. My step-dad had about 6 years of sobriety under his belt when the first person stayed with us. His name was Jerome, and he had stumbled into the street in down town Seattle and had been hit by a metro bus years before. He had problems from that and also epilepsy. He was with us until he could get into a full time care center. We moved shortly after that, into a home that had 2 spare bedrooms. We would have people stay with us for a few days off and on, until Greg and Stephanie showed up. They were the first two in the new house to move in. Stephanie was almost killed in a car accident she got into driving drunk, so she was recovering from that and drying out from alcohol. Greg was a different than anyone else I had ever met and I’d like to share his story. This is how he changed my life. Driving down our street, I noticed extra cars parked around our house. This wasn’t unusual; my parents hosted a recovering addict’s Bible study at our home every Thursday night. The members of our group became family, and we almost always had someone over for dinner. This Friday evening seemed to be no exception. I parked and gathered my things and...
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...cellphones. These days, people and their mobile phones seem to be inseparable. Texting or calling someone when we wake up has become a usual habit just like brushing our teeth in the morning. For many of us, it's hard to imagine a time before cellphones. Having a cellphone has changed our manners, the way we communicate, and our safety. Before cellphones there seemed to be more peace and quite. People seemed to have manners. Today people don't always remember their manners when using their cellphones. People constantly carrying on personal conversations in a public place can be very annoying. Some people talk really loud and don't care that everyone around them can hear every word they are saying. It can be extremely disturbing to someone when they are walking in a mall or down a street and someone starts speaking right beside or behind them. They turn to respond, only to find out he or she beside them has an earbud active. Before we had cellphones people would actually write letters. During my elementary school days it was “cool” to pass notes. We actually used complete sentences and words that were in the dictionary. Also before cellphones if someone was to leave the house, they didn’t make a phone call unless they popped 10 cents into a pay phone. People never received any calls away from home. People actually had to be out of touch with friends and family when they weren’t at home. Now that we have cell phones letters are rarely sent. Today note passing is rare. If...
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...Conflicting Viewpoints Stuart M. Liron Strayer University PHI 210 9 June 2015 In 1971 voting age was changed from twenty-one to eighteen. Many states rationalized that “If young Americans could be entrusted to vote, serve on a jury, and fight in Vietnam, why couldn't they order a beer? “ For this reason during the late 1970s, the majority of the states in the United States (U.S.) also changed legal drinking age to eighteen. Subsequently, an increase in traffic fatalities in the states with the lowered drinking age forced state legislatures to reevaluate the drinking age. With a few exceptions on a state-by-state basis the minimum drinking age is now set to twenty-one in the U.S. In the U.S. at the point when an individual turns eighteen they are perceived as lawful adults with the rights to vote, serve on juries, get married, sign contracts, be indicted as adults, and join the military which incorporates taking a chance with one's life. There are less intoxicated driving car crashes and fatalities in numerous nations with the base legitimate drinking age of eighteen. In spite of the fact that the U.S. expanded the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) to twenty-one in 1984, its rate of auto accidents and fatalities in the 1980s diminished not as much as that of European nations whose MLDA are lower than twenty-one. The diminishing in inebriated driving fatalities as a rate of aggregate activity fatalities in the U.S. does not relate to the MLDA. Since 1982, two...
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...I know that the topic of texting and driving is a very controversial issue, but there are many questions that I am interested in finding out this semester through my research. I want to find out why people are so prone to look at their phones while they are driving. Everyone knows texting while driving can result in bad things, but they ignore the fact that serious consequences can arise in a single moment with a quick glance at their device while operating a vehicle. I have questions about the human brain and I want to know how texting and driving can affect the brain’s state at that specific moment when a person is looking down at their phone. I already know that texting and driving have resulted in deadly crashes in the United States. Texting...
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...In today’s society, texting is an incredibly significant part of life. People crave rapid responses and are eager to see messages immediately. It is rather difficult to imagine life without instant messaging. Texting is so prominent that individuals are risking lives by reading messages while driving. It is absolutely ridiculous and must be stopped. The time taken to write a simple message such as “OK” or “LOL” can cause severe injuries and death. A multitude of individuals believe that nothing will happen to them and that they are immune. Despite so, that is most definitely not the case. Life is precious and can be taken away in an instant. I urge everyone, especially my friends and family, to not text and drive . I beg everyone to listen carefully to my statements. Do not disregard this plead; it may save your life and others’ lives . I know that you may be rolling your eyes. However, even YOU can be a victim of an accident that resulted from texting and driving. When individuals text and drive, they are have greater chances of crashing. By texting and driving, people are tremendously impaired. To be a safe driver, people must pay attention to the road and be aware of upcoming dangers. Drivers are not conscious of traffic, pedestrians, signs, or changes when they are texting. When eyes are taken off the road, the driver has no control over the direction they are going in and are at risk. In the blink of an eye, an accident may suddenly occur. This may have happened because...
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...have felt panic driving ever since the first time I drove in my life. One time, when I was driving, I arrived at the traffic signal and it changed to red, as a consequence, I ran into the intersection. I panicked and hit the gas instead of the brakes. When I was young, I had no experience driving. I have found that the way a person drives changes with age. Therefore, I believe there are three types of drivers: young adults age 16 to 20 years old, middle-aged adults age 20 to 65 years old, and elderly adults age 65 and older. First, between the ages of 16-20 years old, teenage drivers lack driving experience. They like speed because they believe they are very good drivers, but they do not think that in case of an accident they would have no time to react or make the right decision. In addition, they are distracted when using electronics. They like to be seen driving while they are using their cell phones. Besides that they love listening to loud music. Another cause of distraction is when girls put on makeup while they are driving. They are not paying attention to the road. Another factor is the influence on the way that teenagers drive when they are driving with friends. They want to show that they are cool and grown up by talking, but they are not paying attention to the road because they are focusing on the conversation and jokes with their friends. Between the ages of 20 to 65 years old, middle age drivers drive with confidence because they have been driving for a longer...
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...Death of my Sister November 24, 2012 This is my story of how one single event changed my life forever. This event changed how I express myself on an everyday basis and how I interact with others around me. Sometimes I feel so hurt and broken that I cannot even enjoy my life or my family. This one single event took all innocence away from my nephews and my children. In tragic times you normally see families come together, but this has pushed my family apart. I have lost all faith that the world we live in is good and that we can always rely on someone near us. I have lost all faith in the spirits above us. I am broken now and live in a dark place. How do you help yourself to see the light again? How do you ever enjoy life and move forward? I look back on my life and I wonder if I am being punished for feeling so much joy. I will never forget nor be happy on the Fourth of July again. The Fourth of July is about celebration and independence; little did I know this would be the worse day of my life and destroy who I am forever. It is hard to keep your health in order when you live in a state that your whole family moves away from and leave’s you and your children alone. My sister Christy lived in California with her three boys: Wyatt (four), Garrett (two) and Leo (five months). She had been dealing with depression and alcoholism for the last few years now and was seeing a doctor, but Christy’s disease was never under control. When the doctor finally figured out the correct doses...
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...in 1984. The act stipulates a minimum legal age of 21 for the purchase or public possession of any alcoholic beverage, and incorporates sanctions against states whose laws are not in compliance (Daniloff). Many argue that the age was changed to 21 because that is the approximate age that brain development levels off. This seems fairly logical, but is it really? And is it fair? Many feel that 21 years of age is when someone truly becomes an “adult” and that is a fitting age to legalize the use of alcohol, I disagree. When one turns 18, in this country, they are legally an adult no ifs, ands, or buts and should have all the rights as any other citizen of this great country. As an adult, one can legally vote, serve in the military, get married, get a credit card, buy cigarettes, gamble, etc. the list goes on. So, in all aspects of life, when someone turns 18 they are an adult and responsible for themselves, except alcohol; so the government should not limit this right until another age greater then that of an adult for adults are legally responsible in all other aspects. As an adult, I am told that I have the mental capacity and responsibility to choose and answer for myself, whatever those decisions may be. I can go to war, risking my life for my country, murdering people but I can't choose to drink? “Cigarettes contain more than 4000...
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...Drinking and driving has been a highly debated issue over the last three decades. It has caused frenzy among alcohol licensee holders, alcohol consumers, legislation, and victims of alcohol related deaths. There have been many deaths caused by alcohol impaired individuals that could have been prevented, if there was certain legislation in place at particular times in history. Even though there are still a staggering number of fatalities caused as a result of alcohol and impaired driving, the numbers have decreased exponentially since its awareness has been made public and stricter legislation has been enacted. The activist group or movement organization that I decided to discuss on is the widely known and respected MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) organization. The organization’s purpose and aim is to aid the victims of crimes performed by individuals driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, to aid the families of such victims and to increase public awareness of the problem of drinking and drugged driving (MADD, 2010). This organization has been around for 30 years and its founder, Candy Lightner, is a victim of repeated occurrences with impaired drivers. On May 3, 1980 Cari, Lightner’s 13 year old daughter, was walking down the street in a quiet suburb of California when she was hit from behind by a man named Clarence Bush. Cari was hit so hard that she was thrown over 100 feet and which the impact from both the car and the ground ended her life. Reports indicated...
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...ENG107 A major accident I never expected that I would have a major accident, but I had a very strong accident that I saw my whole life in front of me and it was the first moment that I saw death in front of me. I was going to my friend’s house with my brand new car when I had an accident and my car went upside down. I didn’t know what happened to me or even what I did before I had this accident, and the thing that made it worse that I was going to my friend’s house to study with him for my final exam which was physics and it was two days after the accident. This accident changed my whole life and my whole understanding of driving a car, after this accident I started to put my seatbelt on when I drive and I started to drive more safely. The accident was three years ago in Saudi Arabia before my final exam, I was 17 years old at my 11th grade, at that time I liked to drive a lot because I recently took my driver license and I was very happy with it. I remember that when I would get bored from studying I would go to the grocery store that is a few meters away of our house with my car and after I get a coke from there I go around my neighborhood just because I want to drive and also because I am driving my brand new car. That car was Toyota, I remember that I suffered a lot to get this car; my father said always that I can’t get an expensive car because it’s my first car and the first car always should be a cheap car. He at first wanted me to take Yaris because he said that its cheap...
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...How a Drug Addict Changed My Life Elizabeth Miller ENC 1101-1002 Professor Bahle November 10, 2012 How a Drug Addict Changed My Life Growing up, we always had people living with us that were in different stages of recovery. Some were drug users, some were drinkers and some were both. My step-dad had about 6 years of sobriety under his belt when the first person stayed with us. His name was Jerome, and he had stumbled into the street in down town Seattle and had been hit by a metro bus years before. He had problems from that and also epilepsy. He was with us until he could get into a full time care center. We moved shortly after that, into a home that had 2 spare bedrooms. We would have people stay with us for a few days off and on, until Greg and Stephanie showed up. They were the first two in the new house to move in. Stephanie was almost killed in a car accident she got into driving drunk, so she was recovering from that and drying out from alcohol. Greg was a different than anyone else I had ever met and I’d like to share his story. This is how he changed my life. Driving down our street, I noticed extra cars parked around our house. This wasn’t unusual; my parents hosted a recovering addict’s Bible study at our home every Thursday night. The members of our group became family, and we almost always had someone over for dinner. This Friday evening seemed to be no exception. I parked and gathered my things and walked into the house. Not paying attention...
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...Moments are known to change one’s life completely. Something beautiful or drastic could happen just in a minutes’ time and could alter the way one thinks or behaves altogether. Such was the case with me, when an incident on the 30th of October, 2012, changed the way I drove. It was my birthday. The day had been going well except the few delays before the party at Boat Club. I was anxiously waiting for nightfall since quite a few of my old friends were turning up this time: most of them were studying abroad and it had been a while since I had met them. The celebrations were under way by half past nine and a couple of hours later, the guests had started to leave. By the time everyone had left, it was a quarter to twelve and my best friend was the only one left since I had to drop him home on my way back. It was late and my parents had started calling my phone so we rushed out and into my car. The roads were quiet and empty since it was past midnight on a weekday. I was driving over the speed limit. I distinctly remember my friend telling me to slow down, and, using the phrase “better late than never”. I turned towards him, looking at his face over the rim of my glasses, and said “don’t worry, you know how I drive. I’ve got this!” I had been driving for a few years so I was confident about myself but what soon followed shattered all my confidence and courage since after that night. The car was going at a 100 km/hr and just when I crossed Pizza Hut at the Mai Kolachi – Boat...
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...There are many events in my personal developmental history that are significant. One in particular from the past that comes to mind is when I started my sophomore year of high school. Many things in this year shaped who I am today. I became more independent and met a couple people that changed my life. As a sophomore in high school I grew up a lot. For one I began to drive. This makes young people independent and it definitely did for me too. I began hanging out with my friends a lot more simply because it was easy and my parents didn’t have to take me everywhere. When my parents stopped driving me around I was able to make choices of where I went, good or bad. I made decisions and I learned a lot about consequences this year. The next things...
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...FORM OF COMMUNICATION AND WHILE SOME MAY THINK THAT IT IS JUST A SIMPLE TASK, THE ACT OF TEXTING WHILE DRIVING CAN ALSO BE ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS AND POSSIBLY FATAL FORMS OF COMMUNICATION IN THE WORLD TODAY. FIRST LET ME GIVE THE PROPER DEFINITION OF TEXTING WHILE DRIVING. TEXTING WHILE DRIVING IS THE ACT OF COMPOSING, SENDING, READING OR SENDING A TEXT MESSAGE, READING OR SENDING EMAILS OR MAKING OTHER SIMILAR USE OF THE WEB ON A MOBILE PHONE WHILE OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE. WE ALL HAVE SEEN THE COMMERCIALS WHERE A DRIVER TAKES HIS EYES OFF THE ROAD TO READ A TEXT MESSAGE AND IN AN INSTANT THE DRIVER’S LIFE IS SUDDENLY CHANGED BY A HORRIFIC ACCIDENT ALL DUE TO TEXTING WHILE DRIVING. I KNOW THAT I DON’T EVER WANT TO THINK ABOUT BEING RESPONSIBLE FOR A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT THAT WOULD TAKE THE LIVES OF OTHER MOTORISTS OR PEDESTRIANS. AND I’M PRETTY SURE THAT NONE OF YOU GUYS WANNA WAKE UP EVERY MORNING WITH THE FEELING OF KNOWING THAT YOU WERE PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING AN INNOCENT PERSON IN A WHEELCHAIR FOR THE REMAINDER OF THEIR LIVES OR EVEN SHORTENING THE LIFE OF A SMALL CHILD ALL BECAUSE YOU DECIDED TO TEXT WHILE DRIVING. USING A CELL PHONE WHILE DRIVING IS DANGEROUS ENOUGH BUT TEXTING WHILE DRIVING WILL HAVE THE EFFECTS THAT ARE 100X MORE DEVASTATING. ACTUALLY RESEARCH SHOWS THAT 5 SECONDS IS THE AVERAGE TIME YOUR EYES ARE OFF THE ROAD WHILE TEXTING, AND WHEN TRAVELING AT 55 MPH THAT’S ENOUGH TIME TO COVER THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF A FOOTBALL FIELD. (AND WE ALL CAN...
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