The Impact of the Activities of Quacks on the Practice of Real Estate

THE IMPACT OF THE ACTIVITIES OF QUACKS ON THE PRACTICE OF REAL ESTATE PROFESSION IN NIGERIA. BY OREAGBA . K. OMOTOKE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE (HONS) IN ESTATE MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT OF ESTATE MANAGEMENT JANUARY, 2011. Part ONE INTRODUCTION 1. 1. Foundation to the Study The thought of polished methodology depends on an expert in whatever professional field to serve his customer as well as the general public at large.This infers the need to keep up a serious extent of moral obligation and lead, since trustworthiness must be the watch word for any calling. In this manner the fulfillment of expert status includes an order of study, an aggregation of information and a premise of trust combined with pragmatic experience. Notwithstanding, the more differentiated the field of training, the more uncertain it becomes for high expert codes and norms to be kept up and in this way home office specifically can introduce problems.Agency ca n be alluded to as the matter of speaking to or offering a specific assistance for individuals or associations while a specialist is an individual who follows up in the interest of another as for a specific exchange, additionally an operator as someone who authoritatively speaks to another person in business or someone who offers a specific support for another. Then again, Real Estate,â inâ broadâ definition, alludes to land and everything fixed for all time a section thereof, and the nature and degree of one's advantage in that. In law, the word genuine, as it identifies with property, implies land as recognized from ersonal property; and domain is characterized as the intrigue one has in property. Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act 1981 characterized domain office practice as acting or holding oneself out to general society as prepared to act, for a commission, charge, reward or other thought, as a specialist in regard of the deal or other removal of land and structures and of any intrigue in that or the buy or other procurement of land and structures and of any intrigue in that or in regard of the renting or letting of land and structures and of any intrigue therein.Ibiyode(2009) in a meeting with the Saturday Tribune alludes to an undeveloped and unregistered individual from the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) rehearsing bequest organization as a quack. Throughout the years, land office practice has seen the flood of the two experts and non-experts the same. Enrolled Estate Surveyors and Valuers, legal counselors that fill in as specialists, property experts, contract foundations, land merchants and uneducated middle people are found in bequest office business (Opalana, 2009).Akomolede (2006) mentions that it is just inactive and ineffective legal advisors who leave their own calling to fiddle into home office. He further clarified that butchers, mechanics, drivers, bookkeepers, legal advisors, instructors, understudi es, security monitors, even inactive housewives and pretty much anyone can fiddle into the training to procure a commission.Statistics inferred by Akpoyibo ( 2009) shows that in the previous 5 to 8 years, fraudsters, working under the front of home engineers, home specialists, property experts and the board, among different business names, have assumed control over the city of Lagos, tricking and bringing hopelessness and disarray into the lives of their casualties. A portion of their techniques are very advanced, they would put commercials in the print and electronic media, use bulletins and even print hand bills to report opportunities for pads, independent lofts to let or even land and houses available to be purchased (Akpoyibo, 2009).This circumstance has truly influenced the picture of rehearsing Estate Surveyors whereby proprietors of properties have given over deals and lettings of their various properties to specialists who as a rule are not dependable and don't have legitim ate rights to do such exercises and who can't catch up the checking and appropriate upkeep of their client’s properties.In such cases the proprietor of the properties is in danger of terrible occupant and poor support which brings about loss of client’s cash. Over the span of perusing this, the scientist was provoked to discover how has the exercises of quacks influenced Real Estate Profession with extraordinary spotlight on land organization and property dealings in Lagos Island and its environs because of its high volume of letting and deals exchanges. 1. 2. Proclamation of Research ProblemAccording to Akomolede (2006), the most serious issue confronting the home office business in Nigeria today is the nonattendance of guideline, there is no empowering law under which bequest operators are enrolled and controlled; the threat is that the calling in its current state takes into account the interruption of a wide range of quacks. Another primary issue with the current f ramework is that there is no necessity to have a place with an administrative body so as to set up and practice as an agent.Estate operators may decide to become individuals from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors or the National Association of Estate Agents, and it's a smart thought to check for their enrollment of these bodies while picking one to take a shot at your benefit. Wrongdoing Watch examinations distributed in the PM News (seventeenth September, 2009) uncovered that the greater part of the properties publicized for lease or rent don't exist, and where they exist, individuals are joining many different casualties to line the avaricious pockets of these criminals.It was likewise uncovered that between a year ago and today, more than 1,000 house searchers in Lagos State have been tricked by these cheats, while a few a huge number of naira has been lost. A few families have lost as long as they can remember reserve funds and some have confronted dejection through t he exercises of these rebels. This study’s most prominent concern is the way that increasingly more house searchers are falling under the control of these quacks and a few a large number of naira is falsely gathered every day from Lagosians. The significant inquiries this examination means to answer along these lines include: i.What laws have been set up to control the exercises of quacks in Nigeria? ii. What are the impacts of quacks on Real Estate Practice ? iii. What should be possible to limit their exercises? 1. 3. Point and Objectives of Study The point of this examination is to consider the effect of the exercises of quacks on the act of land calling in Nigeria, with specific reference to Lagos Island property advertise. In accomplishing the point of this investigation, the particular targets are to: I. Inspect the laws identifying with the act of home organization in Nigeria. ii.Asertain impossible to miss impacts of quacks on training of bequest organization in the i nvestigation region. iii. Recognize approaches to limit the exercises of quacks to upgrade Real domain practice. 1. 4. Criticalness of the Study Several essayists have mostly inspected the effects and impacts of quacks on domain organization practice. Comparable to their individual examinations, this investigation will analyze all part of deception related action by distinguishing who these quacks are, likewise by looking at the laws that directs the act of bequest organization just as proposing potential answers for this menace.This venture will fill in as a motivation particularly to understudies right now reading domain the board and for those whose claim to fame would be home office since it will aid appropriately situating them as propective home assessors, and furthermore to the open telling them who they can relate with and how to recognize Estate Surveyors and Valuers. This examination is likewise significant on the grounds that it would uncover the exercises of quacks/non-e xperts in domain organization, in this manner empowering the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers to be in a decent situation to mold out new sets of principles for its individuals and discover methods of managing quacks.This research is to empower the perusers get why and how these quacks work under the covering of bequest designers, home specialists, property advisors and the board, this is on the grounds that it has been seen by Crime Watch examinations that these quacks have assumed control over the city of Lagos, hoodwinking and bringing hopelessness and disarray into the lives of their casualties. A nitty gritty investigation that would experience the total examination necessities would no uncertainty limit, if not destroy the exercises of quacks in domain organization practice.This is the thing that this investigation plans to accomplish notwithstanding advancing enthusiasm of office assessors in the property advertise. This examination will go far in abrogati ng the exercises of quacks and furthermore telling the open who explicitly they can relate with and how to recognize them, additionally keep people in general from going into wrong hands. 1. 5. Extent of the Study No issue how driven a scientist could be, no single examination can be comprehensive. Henceforth, study limits must be characterized unmistakably. In this view his examination centers around the effect of the exercises of quacks on the act of Real Estate Profession in Nigeria. Home office is choosen among different parts of land calling, on the grounds that different parts of the calling needs permitting before one can rehearse, essentially an eatate operator needn't bother with proficient capabilities to rehearse. Likewise the exercises of the quacks influence more individuals at the lower rung of social and financial stepping stool. Nonetheless, time limitation doesn't consider the inclusion of the whole country.For this explanation, the extent of this examination is con fined to Lagos Island, since it is known to be a business region and it plays host to the principle government structures, shops and workplaces. Lagos Island contains a focal business region and this region is portrayed by elevated structures where all kind of exercises happen, generally business and budgetary organizations are executed and furthermore where various experts are based, and furthermore in light of the fact that it is immense and has a ton of domain firms inside the zone. 1. 6. Study Area Lagos Is

Pacific Coast Migration Model Into the Americas

Pacific Coast Migration Model Into the Americas The Pacific Coast Migration Model is a hypothesis concerning the first colonization of the Americas that recommends that individuals entering the mainlands followed the Pacific coastline, tracker gatherer-fishers going in vessels or along the shoreline and remaining alive principally on marine assets. The PCM model was first considered in detail by Knut Fladmark, in a 1979 article in American Antiquity which was just astonishing for now is the right time. Fladmark contended against the Ice Free Corridor theory, which proposes individuals entered North America through a tight opening between two chilly ice sheets. The Ice Free Corridor was probably going to have been blocked, contended Fladmark, and if the passage was open by any means, it would have been disagreeable to live and go in. Fladmark proposed rather that a progressively reasonable condition for human occupation and travel would have been conceivable along the Pacific coast, starting along the edge of Beringia, and coming to the unglaciated shores of Oregon and California. Backing for the Pacific Coast Migration Model The fundamental hitch to the PCM model is the lack of archeological proof for a Pacific seaside relocation. The explanation behind that is reasonably straightforwardgiven an ascent in ocean levels of 50 meters (~165 feet) or more since the Last Glacial Maximum, the coastlines along which the first settlers may have shown up, and the destinations they may have left there, are out of present archeological reach. Be that as it may, a developing assortment of hereditary and archeological proof lends backing to this hypothesis. For instance, proof for nautical in the Pacific Rim area starts in more noteworthy Australia, which was colonized by individuals in watercraft in any event as quite a while in the past as 50,000 years. Sea foodways were rehearsed by the Incipient Jomon of the Ryukyu Islands and southern Japan by 15,500 cal BP. Shot focuses utilized by the Jomon were particularly tanged, some with spiked shoulders: comparative focuses are found all through the New World. At long last, it is accepted that the jug gourd was trained in Asia and brought into the New World, maybe by colonizing mariners. Peruse progressively about the JomonRead about jug gourd training Sanak Island: Redating Deglaciation of the Aleutians The most punctual archeological locales in the Americas, for example, Monte Verde and Quebrada Jaguay-are situated in South America and date to ~15,000 years prior. On the off chance that the Pacific coast hallway was just genuinely safe start around 15,000 years back, that recommends that a full-out run along the Pacific shoreline of the Americas needed to have happened for those locales to be involved so early. Be that as it may, new proof from the Aleutian Islands proposes the ocean coast hallway was opened in any event 2,000 years longer prior than recently accepted. In an August 2012 article in Quaternary Science Reviews, Misarti and associates report on dust and climatic information that give conditional proof supporting the PCM, from Sanak Island in the Aleutian Archipelago. Sanak Island is a little (23x9 kilometers, or ~15x6 miles) spot about the midpoint of the Aleutians stretching out off Alaska, topped by a solitary spring of gushing lava called Sanak Peak. The Aleutians would have been partthe most elevated partof the landmass researchers call Beringia, when ocean levels were 50 meters lower than they are today. Archeological examinations on Sanak have archived in excess of 120 locales dated inside the most recent 7,000 years-yet nothing prior. Misarti and partners set 22 residue center examples into the stores of three lakes on Sanak Island. Utilizing the nearness of dust from Artemisia (sagebrush), Ericaceae (heather), Cyperaceae (sedge), Salix (willow), and Poaceae (grasses), and straightforwardly attached to radiocarbon-dated profound lake residue as a marker of atmosphere, the scientists found that the island, and without a doubt its presently lowered beach front fields, was liberated from ice almost 17,000 cal BP. 2,000 years appears in any event an increasingly sensible period where to anticipate that individuals should move from Beringia southward to the Chilean coast, somewhere in the range of 2,000 years (and 10,000 miles) later. That is incidental proof, much the same as a trout in the milk. Sources Balter M. 2012. The Peopling of the Aleutians. Science 335:158-161. Erlandson JM, and Braje TJ. 2011. From Asia to the Americas by vessel? Paleogeography, paleoecology, and stemmed purposes of the northwest Pacific. Quaternary International 239(1-2):28-37. Fladmark, K. R. 1979 Routes: Alternate Migration Corridors for Early Man in North America. American Antiquity 44(1):55-69. Gruhn, Ruth 1994 The Pacific Coast course of beginning section: A diagram. In Method and Theory for Investigating the Peopling of the Americas. Robson Bonnichsen and D. G. Steele, eds. Pp. 249-256. Corvallis, Oregon: Oregon State University. Misarti N, Finney BP, Jordan JW, Maschner HDG, Addison JA, Shapley MD, Krumhardt An, and Beget JE. 2012. Early retreat of the Alaska Peninsula Glacier Complex and the suggestions for beach front movements of First Americans. Quaternary Science Reviews 48(0):1-6.

How to Build Your Company Vision

How to Build Your Company Vision You know that you have succeeded when you have achieved the goal or accomplished the purpose, that you have set out to achieve or accomplish from the beginning. All those hours, resources and efforts that you have spent on planning, researching, and subsequently implementing those plans are directed towards a fixed objective. You know, from the outset, that you want your business to become something. You have a vision in your mind what you want it to be in the future.But we are not talking about just any vision here. We are referring to your company’s, or your business’, vision. © Shutterstock.com | ArchjoeIn this article, I explore 1) the company vision, 2) how to build your company vision, and 3) case study: Disneys company vision.THE COMPANY VISIONA company vision, which comes in the form of a vision statement, is a clear declaration of what a company, business or organization wants to achieve or become in the future. It is not to be confused with the “mission statement”, which puts forth how the company, business, or organization intends to achieve a realization of that vision. The two are closely related, however, since the vision provides a plan for the future, while the mission statement is essentially an outline of the company’s purpose and operations.Why does a company have to have a vision?Simple. You cannot start planning if you do not know where you are going or you do not know what you want to become in the future. You cannot map out directions if you do not have a destination in sight.You cannot start strategic business planning if you a re cannot envision where your business wants to be.You can liken your company vision to your business’ destination. Unfortunately, it is a fact that not all employees are fully aware of where their organization is heading, and having a vision will rectify that problem. All levels of the organization will be kept in the loop, so to speak, and this awareness will give them focus in carrying out their assigned tasks, duties and responsibilities.HOW TO BUILD YOUR COMPANY VISIONYou have probably come across several company visions through your readings. Some had a lot of impact while other seemed so-so. There are also those that you probably thought did not make a lot of sense. Some were well-written, others just didn’t make sense.Creating the company vision for a business takes a lot more than putting words together to form several sentences.Components of the Company VisionTo be effective, a company vision should have the following two major components:1.     Core ideologyWhat motiv ates the members of the organization to do their part in the operations of the business? What are the ideals that they are inspired to uphold as they go about in the performance of their functions? The answers to these questions make up the core ideology component of the company vision.An organization is defined by its core ideology; it serves as its identity. The leaders of the organization may change. The market and the industry it belongs to may evolve. There may be new technological and management breakthroughs that impact the business and the industry as a whole. Still, the identity of the business will remain the same, its core ideology still intact.The biggest names in business are in agreement when they say that it is important for the business to be self-aware. Before knowing where it is going, it must know itself first. After all, destinations may change, but the identity of the person or entity undertaking the journey will not.In a similar way, the core ideology also serv es as a guide for the organization. Through the course of business operations, it is the one thing that the organization will look back to in order to remind itself why it is even operating. Granted, the organization is expected (or hoped for) to grow, expand, and diversify as the years go by. As these changes are being wrought, the core ideology serves as the one constant thing that keeps the organization a cohesive unit.The core ideology is primarily for internal purposes. It has to hold meaning to the members within the organization, regardless of whether or not it has an impact to those outside the organization.A. Core valuesIf we are talking about the set of guiding principles that the business organization is following, we are referring to its core values. These are the essential and enduring tenets that the organization lives by.Who decides what the company’s core values are? It is the company itself. It is the company that is supposed to know itself best; therefore, it is also the company that is in the best position to decide what its core values are.Companies, even those that belong in the same industry or are engaged in the same line of business, are likely to have different core values. This happens. In fact, it is almost expected. This is because companies may have different opinions on what values are supposed to be core.Core values are unchanging. This is the primary feature that sets it apart from the business strategies and operating practices. Some even mistake cultural norms observed by the organization as its core values. Take note that norms, especially the cultural ones, are sensitive to change, while core values are not. Nordstrom, which was founded in 1901, listed “service to the customer above all else” and “hard work and individual productivity” as two of its core values. More than a century later, these core values still remain in the company’s core ideology.Note that an emphasis must be placed on the word “core”. If you ask a company to list its values, you will probably be presented with a very long list. Ask them to identify their core values, and the list is likely to be shortened to only a handful. Most companies, even the large ones, have an average of 5 core values. Again, just as there is no universal core value that applies to all businesses, there is also no set number of core values that must be present in all companies.Take, for example, the core values of Merck Co. and Novartis, two of the top pharmaceutical companies in the world.Merck Co. lists the following as its core values:Improving LifeEthics and IntegrityInnovationAccess to HealthDiversity and TeamworkNovartis, on the other hand, has the following:Passion, integrity, and courageCorporate responsibilitySocial and cultural diversityYou will immediately note that there are similarities and differences. But keep in mind that the absence of one item does not automatically mean that it is not one of the values of the business. I t simply means that it is not one of their core values.B. Core purposeAs the phrase implies, the core purpose states clearly why the organization exists.There is a general confusion between the business’ core purpose and its goal. The core purpose answers the WHY of the organization’s existence; the goal answers the WHAT FOR question.Many often interchange core ideology with the “core competencies” of the business. They are two different things; however, they are interconnected.Core ideology is the broader concept, encompassing core competencies that, for its part, define the capabilities of the business or where it excels in. In a manner of speaking, core competencies are part of or are rooted in the core ideology of the organization.2.     Envisioned futureUnlike core ideology, which is fixed or unchanging, the envisioned future is more flexible. It is what the business aspires to achieve or to become in the future. There is a finish line up ahead; what does the business p icture to be waiting at that finish line?Business often set a goal for a certain period, say, 10, 20, or 30 years. The goal has to be something big; maybe even unattainable, when you think about where your business is at the moment.Once the goal has been established, it should also have descriptions or scenarios of what it would be like for the business to achieve that goal. The descriptions have to be vivid and compelling so that members of the organization reading it cannot help but want to help in achieving those goals.Steps Of How to Create Your Company VisionStep 1: Set a time frameHow long is the time period within which you expect to achieve the goal that you have envisioned?There is no fixed time frame for this purpose, although most businesses â€" even startups â€" tend to think long-term. Normally, time frames are for 5 years and 10 years. Others even reach 20 and 30 years.Step 2: Write the first draftThis is deemed by many to be the most difficult part of creating a visio n statement: getting started.Come up with a BHAV, also known as a “big, hairy, audacious vision”. Adopt a “dream big” attitude. It has to be huge, it has to be something incredible, and it has to be something really bold. In fact, at first glance, it may even seem unattainable. That’s perfectly all right. It is what you envision, after all.When developing a BHAV, you have to be specific, clear and concise about it. Anyone who reads your BHAV should be able to grasp it at first look. Your objective is for your big, hairy and audacious vision to come across without any need for questions or clarifications.Have a future-oriented mindset. Pretend that it is already the future, and you are already at the end of the time frame that you have previously set. Here, you assume that have already achieved your company vision.Before putting pen to paper, consider the following details:The size of the organization;The organizational structure;The organization’s claim to fame, if any;Y our specific yardstick for measuring success;The kind of people needed by the organization, including their qualifications and skill sets;The attitude of the members of the organization towards their jobs, the company, and their working environment;What the organization will and will not do;The personal thoughts and feelings of the business owner or founder towards the business;The most important offerings of the organization to customers or clients;Public perception of your business.Step 3: Get feedbackThe best people to get the most relevant feedback from are those that will be implementing it: the members of the organization, from top management to the employees.Step 4: RewriteUnless you are a seasoned “company vision creator or writer”, you are bound to encounter a need to do rewrites.Step 5: Get feedback on the rewriteSteps 4 and 5 may be done repeatedly, until such time that you are satisfied with the vision you have created.Step 6: Share the visionThe final company vision must then be shared to those who are going to implement it, namely, the management and all the members of the organization.Note that there is no fixed length of a company vision statement. It could be as short as a single sentence, or it could be longer, composed of more than a few sentences. Here are the characteristics of a good vision statement:It must be brief and to the point. Being verbose will not really help in making the vision statement as impactful as you’d want it to be.It must be for the long-term.It must not be too specific, as this may be limiting, such that the vision will no longer be applicable 10, 20 years down the road. However, it must not be too generic, either.CASE STUDY: DISNEY’S COMPANY VISIONWhen it comes to entertainment brands, one of the most recognizable â€" if not THE MOST recognizable â€" brands in the world is Disney. Founded in 1923 by Walter Elias Disney, The Walt Disney Company was initially known as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, focusi ng on animation projects. Over the decades, it has diversified its operations and has branched out into live-action film and television production, music and radio, publishing, online media, as well as theme parks and resorts. Today, this multinational company is said to be the second largest broadcasting and cable company globally.Disney lumped its vision and mission in a couple of sentences:“The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world.”Disney’s Core IdeologyDisney’s core purpose, or its “reason for being”, is to make people happy or “to bring happiness to millions”. This is primarily through reigniting or rekindling the magical wonderment that can only be experien ced during childhood. Mention Disney, and the phrase “magical experience” is not too far behind.The core purpose of the company beyond just making money is very apparent. From the statement above, it is also easy to come up with the “creativity + innovation = profit” equation. Clearly, the statement still applies today.The core purpose â€" to make people happy â€" is well-crafted because it is specific, but not too limiting. What if Disney stated its core purpose as “to create cartoons or animated shows”? There will certainly be a gaping hole in the vision statement as the company diversified and branched out into other fields.Walt Disney listed the following as its core values, and they are all in support of the company’s core value.No cynicism;Nurturing and promulgation of wholesome American values;Creativity, dreams, and imagination;Fanatical attention to consistency and detail;Preservation and control of the Disney “magic”.The envisioned future component was su mmed up in the first sentence:to be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information.The second statement states the HOW of the first statement, so it works more as a mission statement.It is noticeable how the statement did not explicitly mention a time frame. This is actually a good move on the part of the creator of the company vision, since it did not box the company into a strict timeline. The statement is also encompassing, covering all operations of Disney, which is one of the most diversified companies around. It applies to all Disney’s businesses, which include Media Networks, Parks and Resorts, Studio Entertainment, Disney Consumer Products, and Disney Interactive.Did Disney achieve that vision?Certainly, it has, since it is now “one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information”. But achieving the vision does not mean that it now has to stop and rest easy, since competition in the industry that Disney belongs to is very tough. For Disney, it is a continuous battle to ensure that the vision they have achieved remains to be true.The public and the business community are more inclined to take a company seriously if it has a clear and very good company vision. With the right mix and balance of objectivity, creativity, passion, and familiarity with the business, you will definitely have no trouble creating a good company vision.

Is It More Valuable Than Good Health - 1316 Words

There is nothing more valuable than good health. Most people would agree that one of the biggest aspects in their lives is trying to manage and improve their well-being. An interesting aspect of health is that everyone has a different view of what it is, whilst sharing a recurrent theme. A common misconception about health is that its main focus deals with illnesses. Personally, I believe the term health refers to living a happy lifestyle physically and emotionally. In addition, I think health is impacted by our surroundings such as our peers and the environment that we live in. I take my health very seriously, as it plays an important part in my daily life. As far as I am concerned, without my health I would not be able to do simple†¦show more content†¦I experience this by many different physical activities such as my passion for weightlifting. I go to the gym five to six days a week, working on different body parts throughout the week. In my opinion, I feel lifting weight s not only helps physically, but mentally as well. In the gym, I am always pushing myself to do more in weight and repetitions. It is also mentally taxing because some days I will have muscle soreness, and I have to motivate myself to go workout. Prior to when I got into weightlifting, I always felt sluggish and out of shape which was embarrassing. In addition, I also work on my cardiovascular health by participating in recreational activities like basketball and hockey. Similarly to weight lifting, they are just as mentally exhausting. Recently, I have noticed that none of my friends are able to keep up with the pace that I can execute in sports, owning to the fact that I am always trying to improve my strength and cardio. Undoubtably, I cannot discount a healthy diet. A healthy diet plays a massive role in my physical health. Without eating healthy, I wouldn’t be able to perform to the best of my abilities in the gym, playing sports or in most everyday activities. Everyday I try to keep track of how many grams of proteins, carbs and fats I eat during the day. . Admittedly, some days I eat better than others. There are some days where I will perform little to zero physical activity or I won’t eat

Battle of Marathon in the Persian Wars

The Battle of Marathon was fought during the Persian Wars (498 BC–448 BC) between Greece and the Persian Empire. Date Using a proleptic Julian calendar, it is believed that the Battle of Marathon was fought on either August or September 12, 490 BC. Armies Commanders Greeks MilitiadesCallimachusArimnestusapprox. 8,000-10,000 men Persians DatisArtaphernes20,000-60,000 men Background In the wake of the Ionian Revolt (499 BC-494 BC), the emperor of the Persian Empire, Darius I, dispatched an army to Greece to punish those city-states that had aided the rebels. Led by Mardonius, this force succeeded in subjugating Thrace and Macedonia in 492 BC. Moving south towards Greece, Mardonius fleet was wrecked off Cape Athos during a massive storm. Losing 300 ships and 20,000 men in the disaster, Mardonius elected to withdraw back towards Asia. Displeased with Mardonius failure, Darius began planning a second expedition for 490 BC after learning of political instability in Athens. Conceived as a purely maritime enterprise, Darius assigned command of the expedition to the Median admiral Datis and the son of the satrap of Sardis, Artaphernes. Sailing with orders to attack Eretria and Athens, the fleet succeeded in sacking and burning their first objective. Moving south, the Persians landed near Marathon, approximately 25 miles north of Athens. Responding to the impending crisis, Athens raised around 9,000 hoplites and dispatched them to Marathon where they blocked the exits from the nearby plain and prevented the enemy from moving inland. They were joined by 1,000 Plataeans and assistance was requested from Sparta. Encamping on the edge of the Plain of Marathon, the Greeks faced a Persian force numbering between 20-60,000. Enveloping the Enemy For five days the armies squared off with little movement. For the Greeks, this inactivity was largely due to a fear of being attacked by the Persian cavalry as they crossed the plain. Finally, the Greek commander, Miltiades, elected to attack after receiving favorable omens. Some sources also indicate that Militiades had learned from Persian deserters that the cavalry was away from the field. Forming his men, Militiades reinforced his wings by weakening his center. This saw the center reduced to ranks four deep while the wings featured men eight deep. This may have been due to the Persians tendency to place inferior troops on their flanks. Moving a brisk pace, possibly a run, the Greeks advanced across the plain towards the Persian camp. Surprised by the Greeks audacity, the Persians rushed to form their lines and inflict damage on the enemy with their archers and slingers. As the armies clashed, the thinner Greek center was quickly pushed back. The historian Herodotus reports that their retreat was disciplined and organized. Pursuing the Greek center, the Persians quickly found themselves flanked on both sides by Militiades strengthened wings which had routed their opposite numbers. Having caught the enemy in a double envelopment, the Greeks began to inflict heavy casualties on the lightly armored Persians. As panic spread in the Persian ranks, their lines began to break and they fled back to their ships. Pursuing the enemy, the Greeks were slowed by their heavy armor, but still managed to capture seven Persian ships. Aftermath Casualties for the Battle of Marathon are generally listed as 203 Greek dead and 6,400 for the Persians. As with most battles from this period, these numbers are suspect. Defeated, the Persians departed from the area and sailed south to attack Athens directly.   Anticipating this, Militiades quickly returned the bulk of the army to the city. Seeing that the opportunity to strike the previously lightly-defended city had passed, the Persians withdrew back to Asia. The Battle of Marathon was the first major victory for the Greeks over the Persians and gave them confidence that they could be defeated. Ten years later the Persians returned and won a victory at Thermopylae before being defeated by the Greeks at Salamis. The Battle of Marathon also gave rise to the legend that the Athenian herald Pheidippides ran from the battlefield to Athens to announce the Greek victory before dropping dead. This legendary run is the basis for the modern track and field event. Herodotus contradicts this legend and states that Pheidippides ran from Athens to Sparta to seek aid before the battle. Selected Sources Battle of MarathonPersian Wars: Battle of Marathon

The Secret Circle The Power Chapter Eleven Free Essays

string(34) " in the last second of her dream\." From the start, this dream was clearer than the others. Or maybe it was Cassie that was clearer; more calm, more aware of what was happening. Saltwater slapped her face; she swallowed some. We will write a custom essay sample on The Secret Circle: The Power Chapter Eleven or any similar topic only for you Order Now It was so cold she couldn’t feel her hands or feet. Going down. She was going to drown . . . but not die. With the last of her will she sent her spirit to the place prepared for it†¦ to the skull on the island. Some of her power had been left in the skull already; now she herself would go to join it. And someday, when the time was right, when enough of her body diffused through the sea and washed up on the island, she would live again. Good dreams, I wanted good dreams, Cassie thought frantically as the water closed over her head. A shifting †¦ Sunlight blinded her. â€Å"You and Kate may go play in the garden,† the kind voice said. Yes. She’d made it. She was here. The garden was in back. Cassie turned to the back door. â€Å"Jacinth! What have you forgotten?† Cassie paused, confused. She had no idea. The tall woman in Puritan dress was looking down at the floor. There, on the clean pine boards, lay the red leather Book of Shadows. Cassie remembered now; it had dropped off her lap when she stood up. â€Å"I’m sorry, Mother.† The word came so naturally to her lips. And her eyes had adjusted – but she couldn’t figure out where the book was supposed to go. Somewhere special . . . where? Then she saw the loose brick in the fireplace. â€Å"Much better,† the tall woman said, as Cassie slid the book into the hole and plugged it up with the brick. â€Å"Always remember, Jacinth: we must never grow careless. Not even here in New Salem, where all our neighbors are our own kind. Now run along to the garden.† Kate was already going out the door. In the sunshine outside, Cassie noticed that Kate’s hair was just the color of Diana’s: not really gold, but a paler color like pure light. Kate’s eyes were golden too, like sunshine. She was altogether a golden girl. â€Å"Sky and sea, keep harm from me,† she laughed, twirling, looking over the herb bushes to the blue expanse of the ocean beyond the cliff. There was no wall in this time – it hadn’t been built yet. Then she darted forward to pick something. â€Å"Just smell this lavender,† she said, holding out a bunch to Cassie. â€Å"Isn’t it sweet?† But Cassie was hovering by the open door. Two other people had come into the kitchen; Kate’s mother and father, she guessed. They were talking in low, urgent voices. â€Å"†¦ news just came. The ship went down,† the man was saying. There was an exclamation of joy and surprise from Jacinth’s mother. â€Å"Then he is dead!† The man shook his head, but Cassie didn’t hear the next few words. She was afraid to be caught listening and sent away. â€Å". . . the skull . . .† she heard, and â€Å"†¦ can never tell. . . come back †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"And this jasmine,† Kate was singing. â€Å"Isn’t it wonderful?† Cassie wanted to tell her to shut up. Then she heard words that raised the hair on her arms, even in the hot sunshine. â€Å". . . hide them,† Kate’s mother was saying. â€Å"But where?† That was it. Where, where? If this dream had any meaning, it was to tell Cassie this. Kate was trying to put an arm around her waist, to get her to smell the jasmine, but Cassie grabbed her hand to hold her still and strained to listen. The adults were arguing softly: exclamations of worry and disagreement came to Cassie’s ears. â€Å"Could we not †¦ ?† â€Å"No, not there . . .† â€Å"But where, then?† â€Å"Oh, mercy, my bread is burning!† And then, soft laughter. â€Å"Of course! We should have thought of it earlier.† Where? Fending Kate off, Cassie twisted to try and look into the kitchen. â€Å"Jacinth, what’s wrong with you?† Kate cried. â€Å"You’re not listening to a word I’m saying. Jacinth, look at me!† Desperately, Cassie stared into the dark kitchen. It was too dark. The dream was fading. No. She had to hang on to it. She had to see the end. Grandmother, help me, she thought. Help me see †¦ â€Å"Jacinth!† Darker and darker – Long skirts rustling, moving out of the way. And just a glimpse †¦ â€Å"The old hiding place,† Jacinth’s mother said in a satisfied voice. â€Å"Until they are needed again.† Darkness took Cassie. She woke confused. At first, she couldn’t remember what she’d been looking for in the dream. She remembered the dream, though. Who was Jacinth? An ancestress? One of her great-great-great-great-great-grandmothers, she supposed. And Kate? Then she remembered her purpose. The Master Tools. The members of the first coven had hidden them from Black John, because they’d known he might come back. Cassie had gone into the dream to find out where, and she had succeeded. She’d wondered why Black John had come after her grandmother the night he was released. Not just for the Book of Shadows, she realized now; not just because he’d known her mother and grandmother before. He’d wanted something else from her grandmother. He’d wanted the Master Tools. But her grandmother hadn’t known where they were. Cassie felt sure that if she had, the old woman would have told Cassie. All her grandmother had known was that her own grandmother, Cassie’s great-great-grandmother, had told her the fireplace was a good place to hide things. And now, because of the dream, Cassie knew that the loose brick had already been a hiding place in Jacinth’s time. But there had only been one loose brick, and nothing but the Book of Shadows had been stored behind it. Cassie knew that, and she knew that the original coven had been looking for a long-term solution, a place to put the Master Tools â€Å"until they were needed† by some future generation. Not just a loose brick, then. Cassie thought about the glimpse of the hearth she’d gotten between the women’s skirts in the last second of her dream. You read "The Secret Circle: The Power Chapter Eleven" in category "Essay examples" The fireplace had been a different shape than it was in modern days. Cassie lay for a few moments in the velvet darkness. Then she rolled over and gently shook Diana’s shoulder. â€Å"Diana, wake up. I know where the Master Tools are.† They woke Adam by throwing pebbles at his window. The three of them went to Number Twelve armed with a pickax, a sledgehammer, several regular hammers and screwdrivers, a crowbar, and Raj. The German shepherd trotted happily along beside Cassie, looking as if this kind of expedition in the wee hours was just what he liked. The waning moon was high overhead when they got to Cassie’s grandmother’s house. Inside, it seemed even colder than outside, and there was a stillness about the place that dampened Cassie’s enthusiasm. â€Å"There,† she whispered, pointing to the left side of the hearth, where bricks had been added since the time of her dream. â€Å"That’s where it’s different. That’s where they must have bricked them up.† â€Å"Too bad we don’t have a jackhammer,† Adam said cheerfully, picking up the crowbar. He seemed undisturbed by the chill and the silence, and in the sickly artificial light of the kitchen his hair gleamed just the color of the garnets in Diana’s pouch. Raj sat beside Cassie, his black and tan tail whisking across the kitchen floor. Looking at the two of them made Cassie feel better. It took a long time. Cassie grazed her knuckles helping to chip the ancient mortar away, using a screwdriver like a chisel. But at last the bricks began to drop onto the cold ashes of the hearth, as one after another was pried out. Each was a different color; some red, some orange, some almost purple-black. â€Å"There’s definitely something in here,† Adam said, reaching inside the hole they’d made. â€Å"But we’ll have to get rid of a few more bricks to get it out†¦. There!† He started to reach again, then looked at Cassie. â€Å"Why don’t you do the honors? It’s okay, there’s nothing alive inside.† Cassie, who didn’t want to encounter a three-hundred-year-old cockroach, nodded at him gratefully. She reached inside and her hand closed on something smooth and cool. It was so heavy she had to use both hands to lift it out. â€Å"A document box,† Diana whispered, when Cassie set the thing on the floor in front of the fireplace. It looked like a treasure chest to Cassie, a little treasure chest made of leather and brass. â€Å"People used them to store important documents in the 1600s,† Diana went on. â€Å"We got Black John’s papers and things out of one like it. Go on, Cassie, open it.† Cassie looked at her, then at Adam leaning on his pickax, his face decorated with soot. Her fingers trembled as she opened the little box. What if she’d been wrong? What if it wasn’t the Master Tools in here at all, but only some old documents? What if – Inside the box, looking fresh and untouched as if they’d been buried yesterday, were a diadem, a bracelet, and a garter. â€Å"Oh,† breathed Diana. Cassie knew the diadem that the Circle always used was silver. The one in the box was silver too, but it looked softer, somehow; more heavy and rich, with a deeper luster. Both it and the bracelet looked crafted; there was nothing machine-made about them. Every stroke of the bracelet’s inscriptions, every intricate twist of the diadem’s circlet, showed an artist’s hand. The leather of the garter was supple, and instead of one silver buckle, it had seven. It was heavy in Cassie’s hand. Wordlessly, Diana reached out one finger to trace the crescent moon of the diadem. â€Å"The Master Tools,† Adam said quietly. â€Å"After all that searching, they were right here under our noses.† â€Å"So much power,† Diana whispered. â€Å"I’m surprised they sat here so quietly. I’d have thought they’d be kicking up a psychic disturbance – † She broke off and looked at Cassie. â€Å"Didn’t you say something about it being hard to sleep here?† â€Å"Creaks and rattles all night long,† Cassie said, and then she met Diana’s eyes. â€Å"Oh. You mean – you think †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"I don’t think it was the house settling,† Diana said briefly. â€Å"Tools this powerful can make all sorts of strange things happen.† Cassie shut her eyes, disgusted with herself. â€Å"How could I have been so stupid? It was so simple. I should have guessed – â€Å" â€Å"Everything’s always simple in hindsight,† Adam said dryly. â€Å"Nobody guessed where the tools were, not even Black John. Which reminds me: I don’t think we’d better tell Faye anything about this.† The two girls looked at him, then Diana nodded slowly. â€Å"She told Black John about the amethyst. I’m afraid you’re right; she can’t be trusted.† â€Å"I don’t think we should tell anyone† Cassie said. â€Å"Not yet, anyway. Not until we decide what we’re going to do with them. The fewer people who know about this, the safer we are.† â€Å"Right,† said Adam. He began replacing the bricks in the fireplace. â€Å"If we leave everything looking fairly normal, and find a good place to hide that box before morning, no one should ever know we’ve found them.† â€Å"Here.† Cassie dropped the garter back in the chest and put the chest into Diana’s hands. â€Å"Faye’s got the other ones; these are yours.† â€Å"They belong to the coven leader – â€Å" â€Å"The coven leader is a jerk,† Cassie said. â€Å"These are yours, Diana. I found them and I say so.† Adam turned from his brick-replacing, and the three of them looked at each other in the light of the cold, quiet kitchen. They were all dirty; even Diana’s beautiful cheekbones bore gray smudges. Cassie was still sore and exhausted from what had been one of the longest and most horrible days in her life. But at that moment she felt a warmth and closeness that swept the pain and fatigue away. They were – connected, all three of them. They were part of each other. And tonight they had won. They had triumphed. If Diana hadn’t forgiven us, where would we be? Cassie wondered, as she looked down at the hearth again. I’m glad you’re the one who has him; I really am, she thought then. Glancing up, she saw that Diana had tears in her eyes, almost as if she knew what Cassie was thinking. â€Å"AH right. I’ll accept them for now – until it’s time to use them,† Diana said. â€Å"This is finished,† Adam said. They gathered up their tools and left the house. It was when they were driving back to Adam’s that they saw the silhouette beside the road. â€Å"Black John,† Cassie hissed, stiffening. â€Å"I don’t think so,† Adam said, pulling over. â€Å"Too little. In fact, I think it’s Sean.† It was Sean. He was dressed in jeans and a pajama top and he looked very sleepy. â€Å"What’s going on?† he said, his small black eyes darting under heavy lids. â€Å"I saw a light over at Cassie’s house, and then I saw a car coming out of the driveway †¦ I thought you guys were Black John.† â€Å"It was brave of you to come out alone,† Cassie said, remembering her vow to be kinder to Sean, and pushing away a flicker of uneasiness. Diana and Adam were consulting each other with their eyes, and Sean was looking from their dirty faces to the tools on the jeep’s floor, to the hump under Adam’s jacket. â€Å"I think we’d better tell him,† Diana said. Cassie hesitated – they’d agreed not to tell anyone – but there didn’t seem to be any choice. She nodded slowly, reluctantly. So Sean climbed in the back and was sworn to secrecy. He was excited about the Master Tools, but Adam wouldn’t let him touch them. â€Å"We’re going to find somewhere to hide them now,† Adam said. â€Å"You’d better go back to bed; we’ll see you tomorrow.† â€Å"Okay.† Sean climbed out again. He started to shut the door, then stopped, looking at Cassie. â€Å"Oh, hey – you know that stuff about Black John being your father? Well, uh, I just wanted to say – it’s okay by me. I mean, you should see my father. That’s all.† He slammed the door and scuttled off. Cassie felt her throat swell, tears stinging behind her eyes. She’d forgotten about Adam having told them all; she’d have to face the rest of the Circle in the morning. But for now, Sean had made her feel glad and humble. I’ve really got to be nicer to him in the future, she thought. They hid the tools in Adam’s cellar. â€Å"As long as we don’t use them nobody should be able to trace them,† Diana said. â€Å"That’s what Melanie and I decided, anyway. But they’re dangerous, Adam. It’s risky to have them.† She looked at him soberly. â€Å"Then let somebody besides you two take a little risk,† he said gently. â€Å"For once.† Cassie went to bed for the second time that night, tired but triumphant. She put the moonstone back on the dresser; she’d had enough dreams for now. She wondered if she’d ever see Kate again. â€Å"I don’t care if her father’s Adolph Hitler.† Deborah’s voice, never soft, rang out clearly from downstairs. Cassie stood just inside the door of Diana’s room, hanging on to the doorjamb. â€Å"What’s it got to do with Cassie?† â€Å"We know, Deborah, but hush, can’t you?† That was Melanie, a good deal more modulated, but still audible. â€Å"Why don’t we just go upstairs an’ get her?† Doug said reasonably, and Chris added, â€Å"I don’t think she’s ever comin’ down.† â€Å"She’s probably scared to death of all of you,† Laurel scolded, sounding like a cub-scout den mother with a recalcitrant pack on her hands. â€Å"Suzan, those muffins are for her.† â€Å"Are you sure they’re oat bran? They taste like dirt,† Suzan said calmly. â€Å"You’ve got to go down sometime,† Diana said from behind Cassie. Cassie nodded, leaning her forehead briefly against the cool wall by the door. The one voice she hadn’t heard belonged to the one she was most worried about – Nick. She squared her shoulders, picked up her backpack, and made her legs move. Now I know how it feels to walk out to face the firing squad, she thought. The entire Circle – except Faye – was gathered at the foot of the stairs, gazing up expectantly. Suddenly Cassie felt more like a bride descending the staircase than a prisoner. She was glad she was wearing clean jeans and a cashmere sweater Diana had loaned her, dyed in soft swaths of blue and violet. â€Å"Hi, Cassie,† Chris said. â€Å"So I hear – yeeouch!† He staggered sideways from Laurel’s kick. â€Å"Here, Cassie,† Laurel said sweetly. â€Å"Have a muffin.† â€Å"Don’t,† Suzan whispered in Cassie’s ear. â€Å"I picked these for you,† Doug said, thrusting a handful of damp greenery at her. He peered at it doubtfully. â€Å"I think they’re daisies. They looked better before they died.† â€Å"Want to ride to school on my bike?† Deborah said. â€Å"No, she doesn’t want to ride to school on your bike. She’s going with me.† Nick, who had been sitting on the wooden deacon’s bench in the hallway, stood up. Cassie had been afraid to look him in the face, but now she couldn’t help it. He looked cool, unruffled as always, but in the depths of his mahogany eyes there was a warmth that was for her alone. In taking her backpack, his strong, deft fingers squeezed her hand, once. That was when she knew it was going to be all right. Cassie looked around at the Club. â€Å"You all – I don’t know what to say. Thank you.† She looked at Adam, who had made them understand. â€Å"Thank you.† He shrugged, and only someone who knew him well would have noticed the pain at the edge of his smile. His eyes were dark as storm clouds with some repressed emotion. â€Å"Anytime,† he said, as Nick started to steer her to the door. On the way, Cassie glanced back at Doug. â€Å"What happened to your/ace?† â€Å"He’s always been that ugly,† Chris assured her. â€Å"It was the fight,† Doug said, touching his black eye with something like pride. â€Å"But you should see the other fifty guys,† he yelled after her. â€Å"Are we all in trouble for fighting?† Cassie asked Nick, outside. â€Å"Nah – they don’t know who started it. They’d have to punish the whole school.† Which, as it turned out, the principal did. The Thanksgiving football game was canceled, and there was a good deal of ill feeling among the students. Cassie just prayed nobody found out where the ill feeling ought to be directed. â€Å"Can we keep things quiet until Thanksgiving vacation next week?† Diana asked at lunch. Cassie and Adam were the only ones who knew exactly why she wanted things kept quiet – so they’d have time to decide how best to use the Master Tools – but the others agreed to try. No one except Doug and Deborah was really interested in more fighting at the moment. â€Å"I’m afraid, though. I’m afraid he’ll come after us anyway. He could have the hall monitors pick us up for no reason,† Cassie said to Diana afterward. It didn’t happen. A strange peace, a sort of bizarre tranquility, engulfed New Salem High. As if everyone were waiting, but no one knew what for. â€Å"Don’t go alone,† Diana said. â€Å"Wait a minute and I’ll go with you.† â€Å"I know exactly where the book is,† Cassie said. â€Å"I won’t be in the house more than a minute.† She’d been meaning to lend Le Morte D’Arthur to Diana for a long time. It was one of her favorite books, and her grandmother had a beautiful copy from 1906. â€Å"I can pick up some dried sage for the stuffing while I’m at it,† she said. â€Å"No I don’t. Don’t do anything extra; just come back as quick as you can,† Diana said, pushing a strand of damp hair off her forehead with the back of a greasy hand. They’d been having a strenuous but rather interesting time, trying to stuff a Thanksgiving turkey. â€Å"Okay.† Cassie drove to Number Twelve. They were late with the turkey; the sun was low in the sky. Just in and out, Cassie told herself as she hurried through the door. She found the book on a shelf in the library and tucked it under her arm. She wasn’t really uneasy – the last week had been so quiet. The Circle had celebrated Suzan’s birthday undisturbed two days ago, on the twenty-fourth. You see, I told you, she thought to Diana as she came out of the house. Nothing to worry abou – She saw the car, a gray BMW, sitting beside her grandmother’s white Rabbit. In that split second, she was already starring to act, to jump back through the doorway, but she never got the chance. A rough hand clapped over her mouth and she was dragged away. How to cite The Secret Circle: The Power Chapter Eleven, Essay examples

Personal and Professional Goals free essay sample

Everybody designs goals in their lives, some you pursue, others you commence and something happens or you grow unenthusiastic and by no means complete. Then additional goals appear so far fetched you deem there is no feasible means that you will ever accomplish them, as a result you in no way get underway with it. This happens to many of us at different times in our lives. The only way that one will learn to set goals that they plan to accomplish Is to actually start the goal and finish It. However, one must feel a purpose for setting forth to accomplish their goals.Without repose no one will ever accomplish what they design for their future. Myself have had many goals In my life time. First I wanted to become a teacher, on the contrary I grew out of that dream. I think each little girl at one point ponders about becoming a teacher. We will write a custom essay sample on Personal and Professional Goals or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Subsequently later on I sought after becoming a lawyer. I had my mind solidly settled on becoming a lawyer that was until I was in the 1 lath grade. I was on a school mission with a lawyer, and he Informed me that since I was a woman I would not make It as a lawyer. I was really offended having someone advise me that I would never make it.It ought to have made me work harder at working toward this goal, however, instead, I just steered away from it. If it were to happen now that I am older I would have worker harder just to prove that I could do it no matter who was. Now my goal Is to be In the Health Care field. I have always wanted to help others, whether it be as a teacher, lawyer or in the health care field. My goal has always come down to helping people. It all began the morning of February 17, 2003; I woke up with a bad head ACH and knew It was going to be the start of an awful day. I had to be to my new Job at 9 p. M. At night, I hardly had any sleep, and I knew I was not going to get any before starting work. Of course, I still got out of bed and faced the day. The Job was not that bad and I ended up enjoying what I was doing, even though It was not my dream, It was a Job and it was putting meat on the table. I worked for 6 weeks and due to lack of work, they laid me off. I thought I was going to go crazy. We could not afford for me to be out of work. Decided at that moment that enough was enough and I was going to do something about making my life better than it had been. I was tired of working in dead-end Jobs ND getting no where.I saw a commercial on T. V. About University of Phoenix Online, and thought to myself, Hey I could do that. I got online and signed up to obtain my Bachelors of Science In Health Care Services. I knew this was something I would enjoy doing and that there were a verity of jobs out there that I could apply for with this degree. At this point, virtually two years later I am still going strong. It has not been an unproblematic path by any means. I have missed out on a few precious moments with my children, my boyfriend and I have argued about how much time have to 1 OFF irking in a factory.Not because it was a change for the better, but for the reason that being a mom and a college student is not stress-free. However, my children are most important to me, which makes attending school even more important. I want them to mature and be satisfied with there mother for accomplishing something in her life. I know that with everything I have going on everyday and adding college on top of it, that it takes time away from them. But when they are older they will understand why I am doing this. I feel it will give them a better outlook on life, and teach them to reach for the stars.I feel that it is very important to do the best that I can do and make the best out of my life while I have the chance. Not everyone has the want to do something with there lives. Ever since I was a little girl I have always assumed that I can do anything I set my mind to do. I remember sitting on my dads lap, as a little girl, hearing him tell me that I could do anything and be anything I wanted to be. Well now I am showing him and myself that I can do anything and even through all the obstacles and struggles, I have made it this far and I will not stop here.I have always had people try to make me believe I was insignificant or that what I was doing was not what I should be doing. They have always tried to get me to do what they thought was best for me. Well now I am an adult, I have children of my own and I have goals and dreams that I want to accomplish for me. I may struggle at times; I may undergo overwhelming feelings, and suspect I Just can not continue. Nevertheless this is something I want to do; I have decided to go to college because I want to go. The goals I have now are for me. I will make it because I want to, not cause someone expects me to make it.In conclusion, when times start getting tough and I feel like I Just cannot go on, all I have to do is look at my children. Knowing that I have raised my daughter by myself and she is doing wonderful and I have a wonderful man and a little boy in my life. These things will give me the pick up I need to get back up and make things happen. Having support and the can do attitude that I have gives me the will power to make all my dreams and goals come true. I thank God for giving me everything he has and giving me the chance to prove to myself that I am someone.