Four Truths and a Lie Essay Example for Free

Four Truths and a Lie Essay Introduction†¦ Have you ever said a truth? Well, you say truth 99.8% of your conversation each day! You are most likely to said a truth by playing – truth, dare, double-dare, kiss, love game. On the other hand, have you ever lied? Obliviously, I think everyone have lied at least once in their life because they have to do it to helps themselves. Me, Kaitlyn Phan has 1 sister and 1 brother named Lana and Joe, and I live my mum and siblings here. I have 4 good friends named: Michelle Tsang, Chriselle Lee, Lindy Sohn and Melody Lim! I live in Singapore one of the busiest and crowed country (well, place) in the world. I have lived so many countries since my dad is†¦ Busy man! Such as Melbourne, Vietnam, Philippines and†¦ Singapore. I find moving school several times hard, because not everyone is friendly, there is always drama queen, wannabes, and more and more annoying stuff. So, let’s start the game of Three Truths and 1 lie†¦ Chapter 1 Begin the game! â€Å"Have you ever heard of Boy Bands?† Lindy asked me one morning, exclaiming. I knew she knew it, because it was on this month’s issue of Pretty Girl’s magazine. â€Å"Obliviously! You think I’m dumb?† I joked. â€Å"Hey!† Mish (Michelle) jumped into our conversation. Mish loves to talk and fashion†¦ She is also sporty. â€Å"We were just talking about Boy Bands†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I rolled my eyes quickly, so I don’t look crazy. â€Å"Like, what?† â€Å"Don’t know.† Ding-Dong! The bell rang as usual (what else?) Luckily this year we are in same class, and there were HUGE chance that we won’t be together because there are 11 classes this year. Lot’s of people thinks, my school is interesting because we start and 7:25 and end at 1:30 (only for Monday to Wednesday. Thursday to Friday is 7:20 to 1:30.) Younger kids like my sister who is in Grade 1 starts school on noon to 6:50, and mum finds it a little inconvenient. â€Å"Have you ever played four truths and 1 lie?† Chriselle, a lover of tech stuff and games asked in an exciting tone. â€Å"Well, we’ve played Truths or Dare?† â€Å"Yeah!† â€Å"Is it like I Never game?† Melody questioned. â€Å"Well, here it goes.† Mish began. â€Å"One person lists three facts about themselves, except one of the facts is a lie. Be sure to be random about the order of your facts. Also try to recite the facts in the same voice, so you dont give away the lie. Examples:†¨ #1 I love chocolate cake so much. #2 My brother goes to university in USA with his cousins. #3 Two summers ago my family took our vacation to China. The other people have to guess which one is a lie. Everyone will know how everyone else has voted. †¨The person sets the record straight by saying the lie e.g. #2 was a lie. They may also explain the circumstances for the other two facts. Everyone else may talk about how they were fooled or figured out which was the lie.† â€Å"Why don’t we just get started?† Chriselle and I chorused. We all clapped our hands and got out of the school building to the playground.

Privilege and Democracy :: Racism Race Prejudice Essays

Privilege and Democracy The word and concept, racism, is something that the majority of people in American society fear to talk about or to discuss. Race is a touchy subject and a problem that people try to avoid. If you ask anyone if they consider themselves a racist most likely the answer would be ‘no’. I, as a white Serbian, thought the same thing. However, after reading Beverly Tatum’s â€Å"Defining Racism† in Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? and Peggy McIntosh’s article, â€Å"White Privilege and Male Privilege,† I started to re-examine my perception and definition of racism. I wonder how race influences my world as a white, female, heterosexual, and what role it plays in American society. In the first chapter of the book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in Cafeteria Tatum defines racism as â€Å"racial prejudice† (9). The term racial prejudice is a term that I have heard since I was born. It is the term that the majority of people use in order to describe racism. It is a term that has been introduced to us and it was something that I never questioned. I understood its meaning, but I had never experienced it, until I came to the United States, Middlebury College. At the beginning, I could sense that this country had a history of oppressive racism, but at the same time after living here for two years, I have come to the conclusion that racism is still present. It is hard to understand why, because for me it is so refreshing and rewarding to integrate and live with people of different races. I do not have that opportunity in Serbia, since there, we lack diversity. Tatum asks us to think of racism not only in terms of personal prejudice, but as something larger, that operates as a system of privileges: â€Å"advantages and privileges in a particular society† (9). This idea provides me with a different perspective. Many people of a different race and color are citizens of the United States, but do not have the power or equal opportunity for education or jobs compared to white citizens of this country. Simply being white in the United States opens many doors. By introducing this new way of looking at racism, Tatum sparks many thoughts and I realize that being white is still a great privilege in this sheltered society.

“I know why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou

The poem I chose to analyze was â€Å"I know why the Caged Bird Sings† by Maya Angelou. I chose this poem because even at first read, I noticed that there was a deeper meaning behind this poem and I instantly connected to it. The poem compares the life of a free bird and how different it is from the life of a caged bird. The free bird has the ability to be free and do what it pleases, while the caged bird is limited as to what it can and can't do. As I read this poem, I was confused as to why Angelou decided to write about birds, but by the end of the poem, I understood who the birds were supposed to be representing. After reading the poem I made the assumption that there were two birds, a free bird and a caged bird. The caged bird had â€Å"clipped wings and his feet were tied† (Angelou), so he only had the ability to sing, whereas, the free bird had the opportunity to fly anywhere he wanted, and eat whatever he pleased. In the first stanza, lines 1-3, Angelou describes the adventures of the free bird when she says, â€Å"A free bird leaps on the back of the wind†¦ and dips his wing in the orange suns rays.† These lines help me, the reader, picture a bird flying across a horizon, and just how free the bird is. Reading further ahead, Angelou says, â€Å"And dares to claim the sky as his own.† This line helps me further understand the extent of the freedom the free bird has. The second stanza Angelou describes the life of the caged bird, and how â€Å"his wings are clipped and his feet are tied.† The imagery in these lines helps me picture just how trapped the caged bird is. The caged bird has been stripped of its natural ability to fly and walk. Because of these restrictions, the only thing left for the caged bird to do is sing. Similar to the second stanza, in the third stanza, Angelou describes the singing of the caged bird, saying it is â€Å"fearful trill.† She also says, â€Å"†¦his tune is heard on a distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom. Through these lines one can infer that the caged bird is singing is very loud, and through this trill one can hear the fear as well as the desire to be free. As the poem goes on, Angelou again emphasizes her point on how trapped the caged bird is. Line 19 says, â€Å"A caged bird stands on the grave of dreams† (Angelou). To me this line means that the caged bird is so confined to the caged life, that he has given up on all his dreams and buried them in a grave because he knows he will probably never get the chance to achieve them.. However, I was confused as to why the caged bird continued to sing about being free if he had already given up on his dreams. Did the caged bird's struggles describe Angelou struggles? Something that seemed interesting to me in the poem was how the caged bird sang â€Å"a fearful trill of things unknown† (Angelou). The caged bird has never been free, and has never experienced freedom, but still desires it. This led me to believe that even though the caged bird doesn't know exactly what it feels like to be free, he knows that anything will be better than the condition he is in now. After reading the poem for a second time, I wondered why Angelou decided to write about this topic, and if the birds represented something deeper. With further research I found out that Maya Angelou wrote this poem in 1983. During this time, segregation and racial differences between blacks and whites were still prevalent in America. Using this information, I concluded that the â€Å"free bird† used in the poem refers to the dominant white race, while the â€Å"caged bird† represents the oppressed black race. I can also infer, that since Angelou is a black women, she is referring to herself as the caged bird described in the poem. At this particular time period, whites were given more freedom and more rights compared to the blacks. The black people were segregated against and weren't given the same opportunities the whites were given. Due to this, one can infer that Angelou, being black and a woman, wasn't given the same opportunities, and therefore felt trapped like the caged bird. She felt as if the only thing she had the ability to do was use her voice and speak out about what was happening to her and how it made her feel. This is also why Angelou decided to write this poem. It was a way for her to use her voice to get her message out and express how she feels trapped in a society that is dominated by white males. The life of the privileged white male is representing the life of the free bird. The free bird can â€Å"claim the sky† (Angelou) and eats â€Å"fat worms† (Angelou) while the caged bird is not only enslaved in the â€Å"narrow cage† (Angelou), but has also been stripped of the ability to fly. Similarly, the black people during this time period, have been stripped of their fundamental rights as human beings, and are being oppressed by the whites. Singing, or writing, is the only way to validate their existence. The only right that these blacks posses is the right to use their voice and express themselves. In addition to being apart of the black minority, Angelou was a women. Women were given even fewer rights as compared to men, and often were looked down upon all over there world. Her voice was used as a way to demand attention to show the world the challenges she has to face as a black women. The poem † I know why the Caged Bird sings† is symbolic of the hardships Maya Angelou had to face during the time period when the black community was discriminated against. Angelou knows why the caged bird sings because she is the caged bird. She didn't possess the same freedom as the white people, and at the same time, the caged bird didn't possess the same rights as the free bird. Singing about freedom was the only way the caged bird could express its feelings, and writing was the only way Angelou could express her opinions. This poem is very meaningful to me because like Angelou I too often feel like the caged bird. I feel trapped in a society where I am a part of a minority group. Sometimes I feel as if my beliefs and opinions are overlooked and my feelings are not taken into account equally. This poem shows me how using your voice in order to express your thoughts can be a very effective way of commuting an idea, just as Angelou has done.

The Selection System Of A Multiphasic Hurdle Approach Essay

In the selection system, a multiphasic hurdle approach will be used, meaning that individuals must meet minimal standards from the current stage before being moved on to the next. As mentioned previously, the initial assessment will involve having applicants fill out an application blank. This application will then be scored according to our minimal standards, ensuring that applicants meet the minimum age requirement and that they are authorized to work in the United States. Therefore, the process will essentially require those two things, and the rest of the applicants will be passed along to the next stage. As a result of the requirements, we do not expect this assessment to have an adverse impact. Candidate reactions will likely be at least moderately positive, as it will involve little effort on their part, and will provide necessary information to move forward in the employment process. However, these applications may take significant amounts of time to process, so we will be us ing an online application that will allow us to receive our data and easily sort out those who do not meet minimum requirements, saving time and money. Work experience will be scored, but not used to determine whether or not applicants make it over the first hurdle. This information will only be used in the final decision. Work experience will be placed in three distinct categories: no relevant experience, minimal relevant experience (0-3 months), and substantial relevant experience (3 months or