Unforgotten Words :: Papers

Unforgotten Words Franchessca woke to the sound of a distant Will Young playing on the television downstairs. It was Saturday again, which meant she'd stay in bed for as long as possible, or until her boyfriend called her. She sat up in bed to be blinded by the light from the window. "Good morning sunshine" Franchessca said before stretching and yawning. The house was the same unusual quiet that it was on a Saturday morning, her mum still in bed and her brother crashed out on the couch probably stuffing his face with the first, most unhealthy thing he could find in the kitchen. She decided to go downstairs for some breakfast. "Joel get up you lazy get! Jo is right, all you ever do is eat and sleep!" she stormed past him into the kitchen to put the kettle on for her mum. It was turning Eleven o'clock so she decided to stay downstairs and wait for Jo to call. Jo was her boyfriend who she'd met during the summer, working at the youth centre. It was her mum who got them together really, for a change she approved in Franchesscas choice of boy. Jo was a small, slim boy with a strange hairstyle; it was always messy but looked attractive. He'd met Franchessca before then and had fell for her the first time they met. It had started off with a new school project that Franchessca had gone to for sometime, then, in late July, his school had sent along Jo too. They both remembered the first time they spoke to each other. It was amazing for Jo who lingered on to her every word, and still did to the very day. "Hi Suzy, is Franki there?" "Yeah hang on Jo I'll get her for you" It was the same every time Jo called. He had always found it hard to speak to Franki's mum for a long time on the phone, it made him stutter a lot. "Hello?.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Oh hiya Jo how are you babyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ My dad's coming down today so I

Preserving the Past for the Present and Future

Logan Shetlar Mrs. Deggner Expository Writing 201 30 March 2012 Preserving the Past for the Present and Future Many people have little to no knowledge about human’s prehistoric past, especially that of humans in the Americas. As you cruise down east bound Interstate 70 and make it through St. Louis, you start to drive by one of North America’s largest prehistoric city structures, Cahokia. According to the Cahokia Mounds Historical Site, this city covered six square miles, had 120 mounds, and was home to anywhere between 10,000 to 20,000 people from the years 700 to 1400 AD (Keller).Cahokia use to be a major regional trade center with huge mounds that had large palaces for city rulers, plazas, different neighborhoods, and even gaming fields, but much of this has been lost from natural wear of the land and also human destruction. I-70, although a hugely important interstate nearly connecting coast to coast, cuts right through some of the city, and new housing developments slowly threaten the area (Ritterbush). This human destruction happens all over and continuously erases some of human history from right beneath our feet.Archaeological sites should be preserved in order to protect unwritten human history, create economical benefits, and teach future generations about the human past and allow for future studies. Much of the reason why many people do not realize there is even a problem with the destruction of archaeological sites is that the sites are prehistoric, meaning they date back to times before written records, and most people have not heard of the sites.People in charge of a building project, such as project developers, may not realize they are about to build on top of an ancient prehistoric site, which is why there has been a federal law that now requires an archaeologist to come out to check land that may be developed. An archaeologist job is to work in the field and scientifically record and recover any artifacts they may find, usually se veral feet in the ground. The archaeologist then records all their findings and takes the material items back to a lab where they are cleaned, processed, and recorded (Professional Archaeologist).Needing to hire an archaeologist from the State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPO) inevitably costs money, which makes for a group of people who dislike the law and the idea of preserving sites. Costs vary from the size of the project and weather or not sites are found, and if the law is not followed, federal permits and money can be lost, along with additional fines. All of this can be problematic, and a possible setback in the building plans for the project developers, but it is a very important step (Getting the Archaeological Green Light).In an interview with Prof. Lauren Ritterbush, she told me about the Blue Earth Village, which she has personally worked at in the Manhattan area that has been nearly lost due to human developments. The Blue Earth Village, just east of Manhattan, Kan sas, is an early Kansa Indian village dating back to the 1790s. Modern buildings here, such as houses and a cattle show barn, have covered much of the village that was there prior, but what little is left allows archaeologist a chance to research it and provide the Kansa Indian people with information about their ancestors.If SHPO had been in place when this area was being developed, archaeologists would have been able to excavate the area and record new information about the area. Many archaeological sites also provide economic benefits, such as tourism, to the areas around the world and here in the states. Egypt’s economy relies heavily on tourism, considering the country is home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the pyramids, and other archaeological hot spots. In the year 2008, Egypt profited over 11. 8 billion dollars from tourism in the country.Tourism is also responsible for nearly 12 percent of the labor force in Egypt, making these archaeological sites hugely profitable (Dziadosz). For an example a little closer to home, take the Cahokia site mentioned in the beginning of the paper; the museum society there brings in thousands of new visitors each year. According to an article for the International Journal of Business and Management, tourism is a multi-industrial moneymaker that not only creates jobs, such as people who work in the museum at Cahokia, but also gets people to spend money in the area.The people that visit these sites need a hotel to stay in, gas to get their and back home, and food to eat; all providing profits that trickle back into the local economy. (Ardahaey 3). Much of the money that the these preservation sites receive are through donations (apparent on almost any website pertaining to archaeology by the â€Å"donate† page), so any money they make will go directly back into the economy through hiring new employees and allowing more of the sites to be preserved (Ken Keller).Some people may argue that stores, su ch as Wal-Mart, will do more economically for an area, but you cannot put a price tag on the knowledge that can be learned from the sites themselves. Getting an education is one of the most important parts of life in the 21st century, and for many generations to come. We all go to school till we are at least 16 years old and many of us go onto higher education, devoting nearly all of our first 25 years of life to school and gaining an education. Preserving sites give a chance for future generations to learn from the site hands on and lead to possible new discoveries as future technologies are improved.Many people do not really know what an archaeologist really does, or how their work affects anyone in anyway. One misconception of archaeologists is that their work is unimportant. In one of Shana Leslie’s online articles, she states â€Å"Modern archaeologists work closely with specialists in a variety of fields – from medical doctors to environmentalists to policy plan ners† (Leslie). Archaeologists are able to determine what an area’s climate was like thousands of years ago by testing different layers of soils or how a whole group of people began to die out from their bones (Ritterbush).Another important part of the knowledge gained from the work of archaeologist is how humans have evolved over time. Not that human beings have physically changed, but the way we live and the technologies we are able to use and come up with have greatly changed. Archaeologists are able to date their finds and look at how people lived from hundreds of thousands of years ago, to just a couple thousand, which provides incite as to how we went from people using stone tools and living in natural shelters to the iPad using, web surfing, technologically advanced people we are now.The science and knowledge gained from archaeologist field and lab work can affect people in nearly any type of profession, and help teach the future generations about our human past. While the problem of losing archaeological sites to human development is not a news-breaking event, it is still largely important and creates multiple views. People who work in project management and on building planning teams deal with the necessary set backs that may occur from needing SHPO to come in and check their land. SHPO costs money and time, and depending on if a site or sites re found, could increase both of these, making some dislike the archaeological efforts. Many people also have opposing views on the economic values of archaeological sites, believing that the sites could be put to better uses such as farm land or being built up for businesses. Still some people are just unaware of the importance of an archaeologist’s job and the sites they work on. For several reasons, archaeological sites should be preserved because they offer knowledge about prehistoric human history, create economical benefits, and teach future generations about the human past and allow fo r future research.Nearly all of what we know today about life before written records, from locations like Pompeii to the city of Cahokia just east of St. Louis, comes from the work of archaeologist. While archaeological research may cause troubles for project planners who look to build on undeveloped land, the work that these scientist do can provide new information about life before we knew it. The sites found also offer economical benefits as they attract tourists to visit the location and spend their money.These benefits to the economy are incentive to continue and preserve archaeological research as it brings in more money and helps educate future generations. The work of archaeologist helps to advance the knowledge of the human past, provide new information in other professions, and ensure future generations the chance to continue to learn from these sites. For those reasons, there should be more support of archaeologists preserving archaeological sites. Work Cited Ardahaey,  F.. â€Å"Economic Impacts of Tourism Industry. †Ã‚  International Journal of Business and Management   6.   (2011):  206-215. Research Library,  ProQuest. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. Dziadosz, Alexander. â€Å"Egypt Tourism Numbers to Fall Less than Feared. † | Reuters. Thomas Reuters Corporate, 20 Oct. 2009. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. http://af. reuters. com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE59J0PG20091020? sp=true. | Keller, Ken, Eric Young, and Gary Kronk. â€Å"Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and Cahokia Mounds Museum Society. † Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and Cahokia Mounds Museum Society. Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. http://www. cahokiamounds. org. Leslie, Shana. Archaeology – 10 Common Misconceptions About Archaeologists – Shana Leslie, Freelance Writer – SEO Copywriting & Professional Writing Services. † Shana Leslie, Freelance Writer. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. http://www. shanaleslie. com/item. asp? iid=28. Ri tterbush, Lauren. Personal Interview. 13 Mar. 2012 Professional Archaeologists of Kansas. Getting the Archaeological Green Light for Your Projects. Kansas: Professional Archaeologists of Kansas, 2012. Print. Professional Archaeologists of Kansas. Professional Archaeologists. Kansas: Professional Archaeologists of Kansas, 2012. Print.

In the Pursuit of Happiness - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1207 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2019/05/07 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Happiness Essay Did you like this example? According to the Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary, happiness is a state of wellbeing and contentment (Merriam-Webster). Arguably, happiness is the ultimate desire of human beings. It is a given that achieving happiness entails increasing pleasure while, at the same time, decreasing pain. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "In the Pursuit of Happiness" essay for you Create order While this argument may be, it has also been argued that happiness encompasses experiencing the right emotions (Tamir et al). By right emotions, it means either pleasant or bad experiences. While the relation between good emotions and happiness is appreciable, feeling happy because of unpleasant emotions may be relatively hard to accept. Take an example of an individual who is jealous of another. To such a person, the climax of happiness is seeing his/her enemy fail in life. Given this fact, it is evident that happiness may take different directions in life, either positive or negative. However, in this essay, the primary focus will be on the positive aspects of happiness. Some notable factors that determine an individuals happiness in life are genetic makeup, income, health status, leisure, and charity. Is happiness a choice? Just as people have the freedom to make good or bad choices in life, the same case applies to happiness. According to an article published in the Huffington Post, one has some freedom to choose what will determine his/her level of happiness (Gregoire). While it is practically impossible for us to choose our inborn happiness because of our genetic makeup, many other aspects in life, like income, health, leisure and doing charitable deeds are possible. Take an example of income; studying hard will pay off and increase the chances of one securing stable employment or initiating a robust personal business. The same case applies to health where one can embrace some habits like healthy eating. Similarly, the way an individual spends his/her leisure time and doing charitable deeds also varies with people. It can be your choice to be happy! A persons genetic makeup seems to be the most interesting happiness-determining factor. According to a study by De Neve et al., it was established that the 5-HTT gene might be critical in determining a persons satisfaction (De Neve et al.). Accordingly, about a third of a persons life satisfaction can be attributed to genetic influences. Pertaining to the functionality of this gene, it aids in the absorption of serotonin, which plays a critical role in influencing a persons mental state. In fact, varied studies have established that the 5-HTT gene influences metabolisms and signal transfers between neurons (De Neve et al.). Accordingly, all of these processes have a high potentiality to influence ones personality. Based on these pieces of scientific evidence, it can be implied that, in addition to external stimuli that determine an individuals happiness prospects, internal conditions, such as genetic makeup, are also key influencing factors. Income is another defining factor of ones happiness. An individuals happiness level increases or decrease as his/her income level increases or decreases (van Hoorn). Arguably, people with high income can comfortably meet most of their basic needs in life. With being able to meet their needs, their happiness level is expected to be high. However, extreme income can also be harmful. For instance, wealthy people are always afraid that burglars may invade them unexpectedly. In fact, it is because of this fear that they hire security guards to protect their homesteads and property, and even themselves at times. Health is another factor that plays a significant role in determining an individuals happiness level. Arguably, as opposed to a sick person, a healthy individual is capable of performing most of the daily obligations with ease. Given this ability, such a person develops a sense of personal achievement. In contrast, people suffering from life-threatening diseases, such as cancer and HIV/AIDS, are less happy in life (van Hoorn). However, it is worth noting that happiness and health are associated in the sense that either can be a contributing factor of the other. For instance, studies have established that happy people have rare and less chances of suffering from mental diseases (van Hoorn). Based on the information above, it can be assumed that healthy people will lead happier lives than unhealthy people. Leisure is another external factor that has been associated with happiness. Some organizations and companies are giving their employees some free time out of their daily work schedule and are finding a positive attitude towards work with high employee productivity. Studies have shown that there exists a considerable association between pleasurable leisure activities in a social context, the release of serotonin, and feelings of happiness (Robertson). Many households allocate some time out of their normal family routine also to engage in such activities like going to the gym, hiking, and swimming. All these endeavors are psychologically empowering and work to enhance ones happiness. Therefore, it can be suggested that leisure time is an essential element in determining an individuals level of happiness. Lastly, charity is among the practices that have been associated with happiness of the achiever. While some people find satisfaction by seeking self-gratifying endeavors, others find that contentment in life can only be achieved by helping others. Take an example of Mother Teresa; she is remembered more for the charitable work that she was engaged in than her missionary work. She saw helping the needy as an obligation and the primary source of joy. Her happiness was met through the happiness of others (Athanassoulis). The association of charity and happiness can be linked to Aristotles eudemonia. Accordingly, eudemonia is the pleasurable experience that one achieves after performing moral duties (Anik et al.). In the course of research, Anik et al. asked participants to gauge their level of happiness after spending their income on paying bills, buying personal effects, and giving donations. Accordingly, those participants who devoted more money to charitable spending reported greater happiness (Anik et al.). Based on the discussion above, it is evident that doing charitable deeds has a great potential to increase ones happiness. At the end of the day do you ever ask yourself are you happy with your life? Do you feel as though you live and have the perfect or the good life? Is there such a thing as the perfect life or the good life? A perfect life may be one where an individual experiences all elements or conditions that make a happy life. It is possible to attain all the life-satisfying conditions that you want in your lifetime? (I need to still add to this paragraph) In conclusion, happiness is believed to be the core desire of every human being. While many people associate happiness with positive experiences, negative emotions can also be a source of joy for some people. Notably, just as is the case with many other life decisions, happiness is also dependent on your personal choices. Genetic makeup is deemed to be among the intrinsic factors that greatly influence a persons happiness. However, several extrinsic factors like income, health, leisure, and charity also determine ones happiness levels. While pursuing happiness can be a large job, it is important that in doing so, people do not intrude on the right of others to achieve the same. That way, it will be possible to build a society that coexists peacefully.