Reflective Essay #2

I got to be honest that I was not really looking forward in having daily English class. But with our ENGLCOM class, I have seen the brighter side of English with reading and essay writing. This course most definitely did a lot of improvements with my writing skills. It helped me to become a "better" writer, and be able to have a more profound vocabulary.

Our ENGLCOM class was such a great experience, I got to know myself better, my strengths and weaknesses in essay writing. I learned to construct better sentences and think of good essay topics that I can relate myself with. Through this class I was somehow introduced to reading articles and other forms of literature. I learned to express myself better and be not afraid to lash out my opinions through my essays. I learned to value opinions of others with terms of my work, I also realized the importance of being able to cooperate with others through the numerous "partnerworks" we had through out the course.

My expectations in class were met, I have indeed learned a lot with expressing my thoughts and being able to share my knowledge and experiences with our class. ENGLCOM is of great help to us students, it is because through this subject I can say that we are very much aided and guided to achieving our future goals and endeavors in our lives.

Argumentative Essay: Capital Punishment:Accepted

The death penalty has faced much opposition lately. Can death penalty possibly be a morally acceptable punishment? Although our country clearly has no absolute right to put its subjects to death, capital punishment should be known as an acceptable form of punishment in our society because (a) prisoner parole can give criminals another chance to kill; (b) justice is better served; (c) it saves lives of other people.

Prisoner parole can give criminals another chance to kill. Have you ever thought about how many criminals escape punishment, and yet, the victims never had a chance to do that? Do victims receive full measure of justice? Perhaps the biggest reason to favor death penalty is to prevent the committed crime from happening again. Even if a criminal is sentenced to life without the possibilty of parole, he still has a chance to kill while in prison or even worse, go on a crime spree (Death Penalty, n.d.)

Justice is better served. The most fundamental principle of justice is that the punishment should fit the crime (Capital Punishment, n.d.). When someone plans and brutally murders another person, does it not make sense that the punishment for the perpetrator should also be death? It is time we put the emphasis of justice back on protecting the one who was victimized rather than the one accused. One must remember that a person on death row has almost always committed crimes prior to what he has done. There is a long line of victims waiting for justice to be served. Therefore we need justice for both past and current victims. Irwin Isenberg (1977) said, "I favor death penalty as a matter of justice and human dignity even apart from deterrence". Morally, justice must always be preferred to equality. justice requires punishing the guilty even if some only can be punished and sparring the innocent.

Capital punishment saves lives. Repeat murders are eliminated and foreseeable murders are deferred. Death penalty also gives closure to the families of the victims who has suffered so much. A death penalty to the perpetrator brings finality to a horrible chapter in the lives of these family members.

In conclusion, I can affirm that I do believe that capital punishment is moral and just. We must never forget that no one has to be executed; if no one murders, no one is executed. Murderers are not to be considered as innocent people who are fighting for their own lives; in which that statement should be for the victims that they have brutally murdered. Let us remember that the rights of the victims are far much more important than of the perpetrator.

Reflection:

This essay topic was really controversial for me. I know that we, people have no right to kill, which made it hard for me to pick what side to write an essay on. On the other hand, this essay made me share my opinions on the said topic and be able to have a say on a such divisive topic.

Reference List:

[1] "Capital Punishment". (n.d.). Retrieved on April 5, 2010. From: http://www.42explore2.com/capunish.htm

[2] "Death Penalty". (n.d.). Retrieved on April 5, 2010. From: http://www.amnestyusa.org/death-penalty/page.do? id=1011005

[3] Isenberg, I. (1977). "Capital Punishment". Retrieved on April 5, 2010. From: http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/OrnellasPaper.htm

Definition Essay: Happiness — in love with living

True happiness is such an atypical commodity that the entire world is incessantly seeking and failing to find it. All the people, who deem to be the best in their fields, are seeking it too and failing to obtain it. Why is happiness such an indefinable thing? Happiness is not merely a life lived by accumulating moments of pleasure. On the contrary, happiness is a long enduring enjoyment of life, it is being in love with living.

One must take into mind that the world does not and cannot function according to our fancies and whims. We can only have control over our desires and not on the factors necessary to fulfill them. The whole trouble starts when we yearn for something; each moment of our lives we keep on wanting something or the other. Only a small percentage of our wants is fulfilled inspite of our endeavors. The frustration of failing to fulfill what we want sets in. It is, therefore, definite that ever-changing desires can never be satisfied.

Happiness and unhappiness are two sides of the same coin. They are part of the same package. If one asks for one, he leaves himself susceptible of the other. We choose and therefore get disappointed. With that said, happiness is not a reward — it is a consequence. The consequence of which is being in the state of well-being and contentment.

It is a blunder to consider pleasure and happiness to be the same. Pleasure is there all around us for the taking. Pleasure is the essence which we extract from things we have and possess. Happiness is not to be possessed; it is to be enjoyed, to be experienced. Getting something you want does not mean it makes you happy. Happiness does not lie in objects of enjoyment. Even the most brilliant of the scientists, the most gifted of the artists, the wealthiest of the businessmen — all of them have been striving for happiness all their live and have failed to have it.

Life is indeed filled with desires and fancies, but one must realize that you cannot always get what you want. Happiness comes in many forms and size. It may be not something that you are yearning for. Happiness may be in the company of your friends and family. You cannot purchase or achieve happiness directly. Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole meaning of human existence.

Reflection:

Writing this essay was difficult! It was really hard to define happiness which I think was very much

undefinable. But nonetheless, this essay was the basis to make me see and assess my skills when it comes

to essay writing. :D

Compare & Contrast Essay: iPod Touch vs. ZuneHD

iPod or Zune: Which player is better? The iPod "started it all" with digital music. The Microsoft Zune stepped into the market to give the Apple iPod some competition but was quickly lampooned by those iPod fans who wanted to ward their purchase with their life. The aim of this essay is to compare and contrast the differences of the Microsoft Zune and Apple iPod according to their price, display and battery life to determine which player is better.

There are a lot of similarities between both of the said players. Notably, both are able to play music and videos. Both are also compatible with any computer operating software. The Zune and the iPod commonly have a touch screen interface, that easily helps their users to navigate and explore the said players.

Microsoft may have Apple firmly pommeled in the price department when it lifted the lid on the Zune pricing, but since Apple responded with a price drop on the Touch, the gap has narrowed significantly (Touch-screen Smackdown: iPod Touch vs. ZuneHD, 2009). Although Apple has the cheapest entry-level model, I have to hand the price war victory to Microsoft, for the reason that they have managed to skim just enough of the price to make non-iPod devotees look twice before leaping.

The generous 3.5-inch on Apple's iPod Touch has made it the de facto player of choice, but Microsoft set out to challenge that lead by offering a better screen. The Zune screen uses cutting edge OLED technology which delivers brightness and contrast unlike anything. Technically, Apple has more pixeld but the brilliance of an OLED display makes up for it (Touch-screen Smackdown: iPod Touch vs. ZuneHD, 2009).

No matter how capable or small, a personal media player does no good if you are constantly running back to the wall to charge it. Thus, making battery life as one of the most important specifications that is never truly appreciated until we take the device into the field. Apple boasts 30 hours of music playback and six hours of video playback. But Microsoft has one upped Apple here as well, claiming that Zune will deliver 33 hours of music and 8.5 hours of video. The extra 2.5 hours stands as a significant advantage to consumers — given that OLED displays are much more efficient than LCD counterparts. Microsoft claims that the Zune fills up faster too — two hours when charging from a adapter. While Apple claims that the Touch an charge to 80 percent capacity in two hours, it requires four for a full charge (Zune vs. iPod Comparison, n.d.)

Microsoft has definitely supplied some competition in the digital music player scene since its release. But it has not lived up the hype as it did for the Apple iPod. Nonetheless, the choice of which player is better is still in the hands of the buyer, according to his taste and preference.

Reflection:

I really had fun in writing this essay! :) This essay allowed me to give a "review" about the two players — ZuneHD and Apple iTouch. Being a music lover, it really was interesting for me to know the specifications, differences and similarities of two of the most popular digital music players \:D/

Reference List:

[1] "Touch-screen Smackdown: iPod Touch vs. ZuneHD". ( September 28, 2009). Retrieved on March 12, 2010. From:http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0

[2] "Zune vs. iPod Comparison". (n.d.) Retrieved on March 12, 2010. From http://www.zunescene.com/comparison

Cause & Effect Essay: Causes of Diabetes

Diabetes is defined as a disease in which the body does not properly control the amount of sugar the blood. In which as a result, the level of sugar in the blood is too high (Definition of Diabetes, n.d.). This disease is a problem for many people today, but the causes are not well known. For this reason, this essay entails to outline and tell the communal causes of diabetes which are diet, lifestyle and age.

Diet is a major factor responsible for causing diabetes. Eating too much of carbohydrates, fats and proteins are harmful to the body. Our body in general needs a balanced diet. Too much food hampers the pancreas from performing its function of insulin secretion. Hence, with insufficient insulin secretion, the blood sugar level rises — leading to diabetes (Causes of Diabetes, n.d.). Therefore, incidences of diabetes are increased in such persons who are in a habit of eating foods rich in carbohydrates.

People who live a sedentary lifestyle are much more prone to diabetes. This is because they have unexercised muscles and tissues which majorly affect the over-all process and action of the body. Stress is also another notable cause of diabetes. Nowadays, people have a highly stressed life and fast-paced, busy jobs. Pancreatic insufficiency is in counsel due to irregular and chaotic lifestyle, which deeply influences the metabolism of the body. It is also been known that even grief, anxiety and worry may alter the blood sugar level and lead to the disease. Also, people who smoke frequently are highly susceptible to develop diabetes (Causes of Diabetes, n.d.).

Age is the most common predisposing factor for causing diabetes. For the reason that, it has been observed that at as one grows older, particularly above 45 years of age, chances in them developing diabetes are increased. (Causes of Diabetes, n.d.).

Diabetes is a slow killer with no known curable treatments. However, its complications can be reduced through proper awareness and timely treatments. The goal of this essay is to give readers a general idea of the causes of diabetes. I hope through this essay, people will ne able to be aware of what a dangerous disease diabetes is and how they can prevent themselves in having this disease.

Reflection:

I was not really happy with the outcome of this essay. I really thought that there was much more to say, but I could not make up words in order to make the essay work. Even so, I chose this essay topic because diabetes is in the family, I really wanted to make it known to people the causes of this terrible disease :|

Reference List:

[1] "Causes of Diabetes".(n.d.). Retrieved on March 17, 2010. From: http://www.naturaltherapypages.com.au/article/causes_diabetes

[2]"Definition of Diabetes".(n.d.). Retrieved on March17,2010.

From: http://www.copublications.greenfacts.org/en/non-human-primates/glossary-non-human- primates.htm

Decriptive Essay: Don't You Forget About Me

Most people consider highschool as one of the best years of their life. I, myself, also agree with this statement. This essay shows that graduation from highschool may signal the end of my adolescent life but also signals the transition towards a new chapter in my life.

The day started out like any other. It was calm with lulling silence that makes me want to go back to bed, but also overflowing with anxiety that is about to explode. As I was about to leave the house, I brushed my hands unto the skirt of my uniform, looked at myself in front of the mirror and unhurriedly scrutinized myself wearing the black and white uniform, I slowly cupped my hands around my eyes and clicked my tongue, pretending to take a picture of myself wearing my uniform for the last time. A I arrived at our school, I started to feel the anxiety kicking in. It was a weird feeling for me because I have never felt anything like this. As I reached my seat, my heart could not stand still, and I could not help but fidget. I felt like I was doing these things unconsciously. I rubbed my hands together and felt like my skin was cold as ice and clammy. Panic was becoming my state of mind, as if it was difficult to breathe and the back of my throat felt like as if a monster was crawling up and about it. At last, my name was called. Standing alone above the stage made me nervous than I was. But all these feelings went out in a snap when my parents came up the stage and congratulated me. It seemed like my mom and dad's smile and warm hugs helped me ease the nervousness I was feeling. Then came the end of my graduation. At long last the tears came, flowing down my cheeks like hot streaks. I closed my throat, damming up the flood of sadness I felt. I swiftly grabbed my friends into an enormous hug, with nowhere to escape and no space to breathe. It felt like I held them in my arms forever but it seemed like it was not enough. As the night was coming to an end and slowly as I walk unto the pavement of the school grounds, with tears tapered off and my breathing ease, peace slowly stole over me as I walked out of the gate for the last time.

With the support of my family and friends, who has always been there for me through thick and thin, I was able to enjoy my highschool life with no regrets and only with happy memories.

Reflection:

This essay made me look back at one of the most memorable moments in my life. Also, through this essay, I was able to practice my skills in expressing myself much more descriptively. Writing this essay was fun! I was able to play with words and be creative ;)

Process Essay: How to Lose Weight Easily

Nowadays, obesity is one of the leading causes of deaths in our world. People struggling with their weight are obssessed in losing their unwanted fats in an instant. With the high-cost ad danger of going under the knife, it is safe and cheap to lose weight the natural way. There are five, easy-to-do steps on how to lose weight.

Other people's diet is the first step. Another person's diet may not work for you like it did others. It is due to the simple fact that your body is different from others; it is unique in its own way. It is caused by the genes in our body that caused variation from others. Therefore, go not use other people's diets.

Second, exercise — it works your body, tones up your muscles and keeps your body active. Exercise also regulates the body processes and changes your calorie needs. It also gives energy during the day.

The third step is metabolism — it is defined as the rate at which the body digests and consumes what we place in our mouths. So, case in point is, eat more meals a day, but less in your meals. Also remember, people's metabolism is affected by genes, age and gender.

The next step is to eat healthy. So eat high-protein, low fat, low carb and low calorie food; drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Do not drink sugary or alcoholic beverages; refrain eating from fastfood and unhealthy desserts and snacks. Instead, replace them with fruits and other healthier alternatives.

The last step is to live healthy. Try to get eight to ten hours of sleep and do not go out late at night. Walk or invest in a bike, instead of riding any transportation vehicle. Take the long way ; it may be harder but also helps one to lose weight easier.

In conclusion, one must really devote themselves in doing and following the steps that I have stated. As we all know, losing weight is not a walk in the park. Losing weight naturally helps us to be more healthy and live a healthy lifestyle. Being healthy and fit helps us boost our confidence and even helps us save money. Continuing to live like this helps us prolong our lives. However, in exercising, one must remember moderation and rationalization. One must not push themselves too hard. It takes time and perseverance in order to achieve desired results.

Reflection:

This was our first essay for ENGLCOM, it was certainly hard for me because I have not written any essay like this. But it was a good start for me because I was able to somehow give justice to this essay =)