The Story of Me free essay sample

My birth was atypical. I was born at 25 weeks – three months before my due date. My mother calls me her â€Å"miracle† or â€Å"alphabet soup† baby, for all the three-letter acronyms for my various conditions. At birth I weighed 1 pound 10 ounces and was given a 50/50 chance of survival. When I did survive, I was expected to be severely disabled – both physically and cognitively. Slowly, I was taken off the ventilator as I learned to breathe for myself. In time, I learned to breastfeed without sucking milk into my lungs. I vaguely remember my three years of physical, occupational, developmental, and speech therapies. Neither I nor my mother remembers when I first learned how to †¦ crawl? Walk? Speak? Only that it happened slowly, with two steps forward and one step back, for months. I couldn’t read – at least not independently – for the first 10 years of my life. At 15, I’m almost ashamed to say I spell only adequately. We will write a custom essay sample on The Story of Me or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Despite all this, I learned to speak fluently, honed my motor skills, and learned to follow along both physically and mentally. Steadily, I was molding myself a normal girlhood. There are always those quick to remind me of my journey. When I started school, not everyone was accepting of my differences, and even some who set limits on my future potential. These assumptions deeply angered me. To think that almost strangers could see me and decide who I was, who I was going to be, based on what I had struggled through in the past. When I saw these same biased views cast on others, I felt obligated to protect them. Experiencing my struggles attuned me to the struggles of others. Throughout middle school, I was there for my bullied friends. I supported my friends who â€Å"came out† in school. And I was the voice against racism in my Girls on the Run team as we watched a group of young black men get racially profiled by police. Throughout my life, I have learned to covet my firm belief in this, above all else: Doing what you can, when and how you can, and doing it one step at a time makes a difference. All change happens as a series of steps – we reach our destination as we keep moving, going slowly, one foot at a time.

Fry Now, Pay Later essays

Fry Now, Pay Later essays Cancer of the skin is the most common of all cancers. About one million cases will be occurring in our country this year. Skin Cancer is most common in fair skinned people, and very rare in African Americans. The main way to get skin cancer is through sunburn. Those who have fair skin and red or blonde hair burn easily. The darker the skin, the better chances are of not getting sunburn that would lead to skin cancer. The suns rays are the strongest from around 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Many people dont think of their skin as an organ. It protects us against heat, light, injuries, and infections. It also helps to control body temperature and stores water, fat, and Vitamin D. The skin is made up of two layers, the epidermis and the dermis. The epidermis is the outer layer of the skin and is made up of sqamous cells. The dermis is the inner layer of skin that is made up of basal cells and the deepest part of the dermis is the melanocyte cells. These produce melanin, which gives your skin its color. What a lot of people like to do is get a tan. Well, really when the suns rays penetrate your skin the melanin comes further up your dermis and through your epidermis, which gives your skin the tan glow. When you do lie out on the beach for a long time, your skin can go past the tan glow and give it a red glow, meaning the melanin worked too hard and released that color instead of the color of you skins natural color. When you stay out in the sun also you may get skin cancer. There are some different types of skin cancers. There is, basal cell carcinoma, and the warning signs are: an open sore that doesnt close and bleeds continuously, reddish irritated patch that doesnt stop itching, a smooth bump that has an elevated ring around the edge, or a shiny translucent bump that can have a pinkish tint. Another type of skin cancer is, sqamous cell carcinoma. If it is not treated it can be dea...

Compare and contract micheloangelo david and bernini's david Essay

Compare and contract micheloangelo david and bernini's david - Essay Example During the Renaissance period, people rediscovered the skill and knowledge of the ancient worlds of Greece and Rome. The lessons learned from the ancients contributed significantly to the technical developments in ‘realistic’ painting that emerged during this period through the efforts of a variety of famous artists including Masaccio, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. As the period waned, Baroque artists such as Caravaggio, Rubens and Bernini focused more upon natural expression, form and emotion in their work. By comparing representative works of sculpture from each of these two periods, such as â€Å"David† by Michelangelo and â€Å"David† by Bernini, one can get a sense of the difference between Renaissance and Baroque art and attitudes as well as an understanding of why these different approaches can sometimes be confused. Michelangelo's David was created over a space of three years - from 1501 until 1503 - and was carved out of a solid b lock of Carrera marble. The figure of David stands more than 17 feet tall and shows him in contrapposto stance. This means that his back leg is straight and obviously is supporting most of his weight while his front leg is slightly bent with the foot resting on the ground for balance. This was a favorite position for Greek and Roman statuary, which is what Michelangelo was trying to replicate using Biblical instead of mythological figures. This pose tends to throw the hips out of alignment, forcing one up and out and the other down and in, which is seen in this statue. At the same time, his right shoulder dips slightly down toward his out-thrust hip and his head twists to look over his slightly raised left shoulder. Michelangelo's David is completely nude and stands with his sling resting back over his left shoulder as if he is sizing up his enemy for the stone throw that will bring him victory. His left hand supports the sling near his shoulder while his right hand is held tensely down by his thigh. His hand is bent in a way that suggests he could be holding the stone he intends to use. David's chin is slightly down, causing his eyes to glare out from under a wavy abundance of bangs hanging over his forehead and he appears ready for the battle about to begin. Bernini's David was created more than a century later, carved out of marble during a seven month period from 1623 to 1624. This statue is life-sized and shows David in a moment of action, just as he is about to let his stone fly. His stance can best be described as mid-leap although both feet have contact with the ground. His hips and head face forward, but his upper body is twisted around to the side with one arm behind him as he gets ready to launch his missile. Although he is not nude, there is a great deal of musculature visible in his frame, such as in the lines of his exposed legs and the muscles of his stomach where the light fabric of his garment clings to his body. Whether this is because it is wet with the sweat of his fear in facing the giant or because it is being pressed to his body because of the wind of his motions is unclear. It might even be simply because Bernini wanted to demonstrate a fine physique in his character. The muscles of his upper body seem almost alive as they ripple over his rib cage and through his chest while the fabric of his garment bunches around his upper thighs and hips and fastens over his