Romulus My Father Speech Essay Example for Free

Romulus My Father Speech Essay Understanding and acceptance are the building blocks for a good relationship, and Relationships are essential to finding a true sense of belonging. This sense of belonging can grow from the connections made with people, places and the larger world. It is these connections that influence where we search for meaning in our lives and ultimately, where we belong. Without understanding and accepting these connections, can you ever truly belong? The biography â€Å"Romulus My Father† and the short story â€Å"Up Taree Way† show how belonging is often deeply connected to place and for both Romulus and Millie there is an obvious dislocation from this place. For instance Romulus is a Romanian living in the unfamiliar landscape of Australia whilst Milly from Up Taree Way is an Aboriginal child living in the unfamiliar landscape of Sydney city. In both of these texts, Romulus and Milly eventually understand that no matter how long they live in their new environments they will always belong to their culture and in turn accept the values of where they originally came from. It is obvious that throughout both texts understanding and acceptance has strengthened the characters relationships with their friends, family and the larger world to which they belong. As much as understanding can increase ones sense of belonging, lack of understanding can decrease it. I mean how easy is it to misunderstand someone these days? For example after Niel Symon, an aboriginal story teller, comes to Milly’s school and shares his knowledge and experiences with them they begin to understand his culture and appreciate it. After this, Millie admitted to her school friends that Neil was her uncle, learning that when she stopped trying to belong she realised she, in fact always did belong. This is because her friends were always interested and impressed by her childhood stories and did not act any differently towards her when they found out that it was actually Taree where she grew up and not Brisbane like she had lied to them out of embarrassment before. Her mum was embarrassed of their Aboriginal culture but she definitely didn’t need to be as Millie was always accepted. Milly didn’t understand that it is not the actual landscape that changes, it is her attitudes and acceptance of it that changes and no the place itself. Millie’s mum has a biased view of the world and this is what shaped Millie’s lack of understanding about who she was. Millie’s mum would use short sentences to say things to her like â€Å"thats the past Milly. I wish you would stop harping on about it. Forget those places. Thats the past. Its dead. We live here now. Were new people now†. Unlike Romulus, Milly lost her moral compass and was constantly asking questions like â€Å"who am i? † and â€Å"who is it that I am allowed to be? † which shows her interest in exploring her past and also her lack of understanding to her background. When she realises she knows Neil Symon, she acknowledges that they are in fact family and accepts that she is from an aboriginal culture by proudly telling her friends about it. Words containing negative connotations are replaced by the positive where she describes Taree as the lovely country town that she used to love so much which shows her acceptance and appreciation of where she once belonged. Just like I understand that although Grays Point has 1 way in and 1 way out and people call it a hole, It is the lovely suburb that I have grown up in. Her ability to associate with Neil came as a result of their shared connection with the landscape. Whenever Neil spoke about the aboriginal dreamtime of his ancestors, memories came flooding back to Milly. However, In Romulus, the gentle European landscape is juxtaposed with the severity of the Australian one. He was always trying to find new ways to belong in Australia. He would seek other Romanians in an attempt to connect through language and culture. This shows that the need to belong to a group or a community shapes our behaviour, attitudes and actions. These themes also reappear in Up Taree Way, for example Millie’s mum wanted to hide the fact that they were from Taree and had an Aboriginal heritage because she was afraid that people in society including her new boyfriend or Millie’s school peers would not accept them. This is seen through the metaphor â€Å"The dreamtime had turned into her nightmare†. Her strategy to belong was to forget all about her aboriginal past and focus completely on making a new connection with the city. She tries to convince Milly to do the same and move on just like Romulus had convinced Raimond that the European landscape was better that that of Australia. Just like i could convince you that Grays Point is the best suburb in the shire. When the characters experience a strong connection to a place, the notion of belonging is strengthened and enriched. Therefore, understanding our past and accepting these identities can strengthen our sense of belonging, even if sometimes we have to disagree with the people we belong to. Throughout the study of Romulus My Father and Up Taree way we have learnt that relationships with people, places and past identities can grow through understanding and acceptance. The pathway to understanding and acceptance in these texts is very complex as we have seen characters like Romulus lose the will to live whilst other characters like Millie and her mum and also Raimond learn to understand their past and let it be a part of who they will become. This allows them to grow as people because they get a better sense of who they are, expanded knowledge of the world around them and deeper relationships with people and places can be developed. We belong when we ultimately feel connected to others and the world, so â€Å"until you accept who you really are you can never belong to yourself, and until you belong to yourself it is impossible to belong to anybody else†, proving that by understanding our inner selves, individuals are able to belong harmoniously in the world where they can mature and grow as people.

Stress Essay -- essays research papers

Stress Introduction You come home from work feeling as though you have been run through the spin cycle of your washing machine. You can't wait to take off your shoes and pour yourself a (stiff ) cool drink. Stress! Everybody knows what stress is. Stress is an integral part of our urban lifestyle. It has become a normal part of life, although it is generally known that stress is bad for health. But, doesn't stress also have advantages? Is stress the same as burden? What is stress? First of all we want to make clear what exactly stress is. The body's adaptive response to abnormal circumstances (like threats or demands) from a new or changing situation is called stress. The term "stress" refers both to certain heightened mental and body states and to the causes of such states. Nowadays the symptoms of stress are well known. When the human body is under stress (whether it is real or imaginary) Adrenaline is poured into the bloodstream. As a result of that the pulse quickens, the blood pressure raises and the muscle tension increases. Furthermore you may feel more criticised by others, become more pessimistic, cynical, or resentful than usual. Things you normally look forward to may seem like a burden. A lot of people are not aware of being under stress. Some are frequently under so much stress that they assume the feeling is normal. Pros By hearing the word "stress" most people think of something unpleasant and bad. But that is only conditionally tr...

Encountering conflict Essay

â€Å"Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means,† this quote by Ronald Regan shows that conflict is an inevitable part of society. Conflict is a fundamental part of life and is always present for every individual throughout their everyday life. Encountering conflict means to face or handle conflict and the ways in which we go about trying to resolve it. Different types of conflict can be local, national, religious, political, economic or cultural. There are a number of reasons why conflict occurs; difference in beliefs, morals, religion and values, fear and unmatched expectations. Conflict has a number of different causes, consequences and ways it can be resolved. Individuals are entitled to their own opinion, which often causes dismay to others. Conflict is a huge part of social experiences which allows us to learn and grow. The nature of conflict shows that conflict can either push people away or bring them into having a closer, more comfortable relationship. Many people try to avoid conflict and try to find a way around it – even if this isn’t the right thing to do. Without conflict in a relationship can mean individuals cannot express their true opinions, thoughts and feelings for example; when an argument in the family arises, without the skills to negotiate and deal with the conflict, there will never be a positive outcome. Conflict comes in many different forms- political, religious, interpersonal, family, all of these deals with issues that arise due to difference of opinion or belief and are an inevitable part of human life. There are a wide range of causes as to why conflict occurs. Whether big or small, conflict is usually cause by a difference of opinion. Some cases of conflict are extremely small and harmless- a fight with your sibling about ‘who gets the bathroom first’ or an argument with friend, others can be more serious and potentially life threatening like war and murder. Causes of conflict that involve family, friends or in the workplace can be explained by personality clash, competition or even just a misunderstand ing. As subjects like politics, religion and culture are sensitive issues to which individuals can be very opinionated about; conflicts that occur can have a big impact- negative or positive. When conflict arises from these more serious issues it can be caused by difference of opinion from a leader, a desire for power or a countries disagreement with their political party. Although conflict can allow people to express their views and work co-operatively with others, the  negative effects can often be permanent in cases of war or murder. No one deals or reacts to conflict in the same way- every person handles it differently. How a person reacts to conflict shows a sense of their identity and perception of one’s self. Many people shy away from conflict and aim to avoid it at all cost. Others confront it in a way that allows it to be resolved. For example, when a disagreement in the workplace occurs, will an individual express their opinion even if it means an argument? Or will they conform and agree with whom is involved? Or when a physical fight breaks out, will an individual stay calm and collected? Or will they retaliate and fight back. Reactions to conflict expose ones personality and limitations which is important as part of everyday life. Examples of severe conflicts where many lives have been lost are usually well known historical events. The conflict in Northern Ireland showed how difference of political views can cause major conflict and ultimately death and destruction. This conflict was primarily a political one due to the constitutional state of Northern Ireland – the Unionists wanted Northern Ireland to remain a part of the United Kingdom and the Protestants who wanted to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland. This conflict lead to the loss of 29 innocent lives and proved what conflict can do when dealt in the wrong way. Conflict needs to be resolved in order to move forward. When dealing with conflict in domestic places- home, school, work- it is usually easy to overcome. The most effective way to solve these issues is to negotiate and find some sort of ‘middle ground’ that both parties agree on. By solving conflict effectively can allow you to grow socially and emotionally. Resolving conflict can improve someone’s understanding, group cohesion and self-knowledge which is essential as you move on through life. In cases of war and the ‘Omagh bomb’ conflict can sometimes not be resolved; the loss of innocent lives cannot be brought back and the destruction and psychological trauma cannot be reversed. In saying that, in order to move on, a negotiation or agreement must occur for a conflict to be resolved and help people involved to deal with the consequences of the conflict. Ultimately, conflict is a part of being human and cannot be completely avoided. We must learn to deal with conflict and be able to respond to it in an appropriate manner. According to M Esther Harding, â€Å"Conflict is the beginning of consciousness,† from which we can gather that conflict will always arise due  to a person’s opinions, beliefs and values. Although conflict can have serious negative consequences, it can provide realistic and achievable positive outcomes which allow you to develop as a person and gain extremely important knowledge which you will value as you go through life.

An Effective Skin Cancer Prevention Strategy - 1139 Words

advanced infrastructures that would be available in hospital set ups. As a result, a lot of information from these outpatient settings tends to go unreported therefore affecting the accuracy of any research that would be based on this information. For this reason I would not recommend this as an effective skin cancer prevention strategy. While the strategies mentioned in this section can still be used to prevent skin cancer, they have some defects that prevent them from being the main prevention strategies. Some of them are as a result of them having a short term benefit but long term disadvantage such as the Resurfacing Procedures while other like funding more research do not guarantee effectiveness to prevent skin cancer. Key†¦show more content†¦Through this strategy, children acquire important knowledge and vital skill on the dangers of exposing their skin to ultraviolet radiations from the sun and some of the ways they avoid these radiations. The idea informing this strategy is so as to provide awareness as well as education about skin cancer from very young age so that children can acquire the right habits right from an early age. This strategy is a high priority because according to medical studies protection from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation is usually very important in childhood because sunburns that have been developed early during the life time of a person can often lead to the emergence of skin cancer their adulthood. It is estimated that approximately 80% of the sun damage on the skin a person during their lifetime usually happens during their childhood. An example of where this skin cancer preventive strategy was applied was in The SunWise School National Program took place between1999 to 2000 and it targeted a school setting of primary and secondary school levels and the target population was K-8 graduate students (Geller AC, Cantor M, Miller DR, et al(2002). The interventions used in this program