The Swimmer Essay Example for Free

The Swimmer Essay The sport of swimming is one that is heavily contested but is not for the weak and soft hearted. Bright and early morning sessions are an expectance and a normal person would see a swimmer as crazy. Swimming is a sport that requires determination, dedication, commitment and some serious time management. Swimmers endure much pain, stress and anxiety with fitting everything into their lives without the daily troubles of family and relationships. I will discuss my experiences and my daily adversities and joys along with the mental and physical times that I endure as a swimmer. Getting up at the dim hours of morning when the buzzer screeches and reads 4:45 is not a very pleasant sight to anyone. This sight of the clock to swimmers is a regular viewing and one that they do without hesitating. When I think what time I get up and why, so many thoughts dwell through my head. While other students are snuggled in their beds with the heating on and breakfast to meet them when they wake; I am swimming in reasonably cold water, enduring laps of pain, with many thoughts entertaining me. After enduring these laps I do not have an appetizing breakfast only a mere prima of juice and muesli bar; hardly enough to look forward to. Many would think while reading this, then why do you do it? The answer is a simple one; I see a sense of belonging in the sport. If I were to quit swimming which I have dwelled and neared acting upon, I would feel unfit, lethargic and would feel as if I was not good at anything and therefore nothing to be recognized as. As a leader in one of the sports at the college, I feel satisfied that at least I am giving something to a team and once again feel a sense of belonging. If I were to give up and not swim next year in my final year at the college, I would feel as if I had let myself down as well as the team and I would not mean much to the college. In my short career in swimming I have achieved accolades that I am proud of. These accolades include winning an Australian medal, being Victorian Champion, and making a Tip Top Australian Team. Once you have reached a level of this, it is very hard not to let go. In saying so, I achieved winning a medal at the Australian Age Championships two years ago. The year later I was struck down with illness and a shoulder injury that plagued my preparation. Disappointed with coming 6th in my main event hit me hard, but I was determined to make amends for my disappointment this year. This year I trained as well as I have ever trained and was committed down to every lap. I raced my hardest and ultimately, failed. I missed the national final and to me this was a complete slap in the face for all the hard work I had done. I had prepared adequately for the meet and had just failed mentally. My legs lactated up during the race and I struggled to finish the race off. I swam the race thinking negatively and it reflected on my result. When I was younger, a couple of years ago, I believed that I had enough guts and determination to beat anyone I tried; including Australian Champions. With this determination, I hit the wall. All of my confidence has diminished and I struggle to keep positive. After swimming my final race at the recent Australian Championships in Brisbane, I saw my time of 2:13.9 and place of 13th. At that particular moment after getting out of the water, I felt total anger and anguish. Its over. Im not going to swim anymore. I said to a fellow competitor. They saw on my face that I meant it. I held back tears of anger and frustration as another wasted opportunity went by. I went home with believing that I was going to quit swimming and found no enthusiasm or reason to continue. This was until my older brother gave me advice that at once I refused, and then I considered his suggestion of making a change and moving clubs. Due to the close relationship that I had with my coach, I struggled to imagine telling him face to face that I was going to cease training with him. However, I took on board that he would want the best for me and even if that meant moving. I met him face to face and battled tears in telling him that I was moving to a new club and a giant force in Swimming Victoria. Now I am swimming at a club called Melbourne Vicentre which, is home to the likes of Matt Welsh, Michael Klim and Giaan Rooney. It is a prospective change for me and a change that I am hoping will improve my swimming and reflect on a happier lifestyle. Swimming is not an easy sport, a swimmer requires different strengths; these strengths help a swimmer in life in swimming and beyond. No one does something because it is easy. That is why you guys are special, you guys arent normal. Swimming isnt normal, it is not normal to wake up the hours that you guys wake up at, while your friends are in bed or watching TV.

Personal Strengths and Weaknesses Essay -- essays research papers

Everyone is embedded with things that make them unique. As individuals we each bring soemthing new, creative, and different to the table. This brings to to discuss personal strengths and weaknessess within myself and my everyday living. Personal strengths are areas where we tend to excel, and seem to express above average. Personal Weaknesses to me are areas where we would like to excel but seem to still need improvement. If I can, let me share with you my strengths and weaknesses and see how they effect my everyday being.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lets begin with my personal strengths. To me these are areas where I think I excel and have the most experience. Being an effective communicator is one of the best traits that I think a person can carry. Effective communication consists of being able to speak clearly and professionally, while being knowleadgeable at the same time. I also have to ensure that the message that is being communicated is easy to understand and that my message covers all the facts and pertinent information. Communication has become one of the key parts to being successful in work life and in my personal life. Communication is key to my marriage and any relationship that I build within a team, workplace, and even with my small child. Being an effective communicator is definetely a strong point for me. Possessing the skills to be a leader is also a bright area for me. I learned at an early age that I love to be in charge and that taking initiative to get things done has a very positive out look. Being that I have learned my limitations and what is best for me, I do better as a leader and not a follower. Being a leader takes an outgoing personality, and a person that loves to work an be around people. It also takes good decision making skills and the ability to work well under pressure sometimes. I am truly a people person and feel that I have the traits that it takes to lead a group to the moon if need be. Which leads me into being a team player. I believe that team work is always a great asset to any work or personal group and being a team player is one of my stronger attributes. Being a team player means being able to work well with others, to offer assistance to others in need, and to be very open to new ideas and other peoples opinions. Being a team player to me falls right into place with being a people person and being able to wo... ...d, the bad, and the indifferent I feel that overall I am a great person and that I have many great qualities. As with anyone I have areas that I would surely like to be stronger in but only time will tell. I am starting to realize that the only way that I can change my weaknesses into strong points is to accept the fact that I have troubles in these areas and that they need to be fixed. Observering how my behaviors and weaker points affect others and my lifestyle will help me to develop a plan to fix these weak points beneath the surface. I think that once a person sits back and evaluates what their personal strengths and weaknesses are then a positive self evaluation can be made. Just from putting this paper together I have evaluated some things about myself that I havent touched base with in a long time. A persons strengths and weaknesses help to make up who they are and no one person is alike. I think that it is always important to know who you are and what you are made of and what better way than to evaluate the things that you can attribute and also the things that you work on to possible make you a better person.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

The answer to whether Beowulf

The answer to whether Beowulf is sophisticated or crude lies in establishing its historical origins. Therefore, it is important to examine the author, perhaps more so than the text. However, an examination of both reveals that author and text are anything but crude. Beowulf, the oldest surviving English epic, dates between the eighth and tenth centuries. Despite the 200-year span when the work could have been written, its subject matter relates to events that took place centuries before.In fact, the epic poem artistically captures the events of England’s Germanic origins. According to Norton Anthology editors, the poet, not only documented some historical facts but also succeeded in â€Å"reviving the heroic language style, and pagan world of ancient Germanic oral poetry, a world that was already remote to his contemporaries† (Norton Anthology Vol. 1, 29). The author, conjectured to be a Christian, manages to describe a pagan world, outside his everyday experience, thro ugh Christian allusions.Moreover, he does so by transcending language barriers. His text was composed in a dialect known as Marcia, while his references must have taken any number of while his references must have taken any number of lingual identities/backgrounds. In terms of its relative meaning Norton’s Anthology editors allege the text to be â€Å"†¦a remarkable and difficult work even in its own day† (Norton Anthology Vol. 1, 29), more so now given the limited information on Germanic oral epics.Secondly, as evidence of its sophistication, Beowulf is prolific with recognizable epic conventions, examples of Christian-pagan sympathy, and even creative linguistic ability. It is episodic and with only a brief history of the problems confronting the Danes, arguably begins in medias res. In fact, â€Å"†¦the poem turns on Beowulf’s three great fights against preternatural evil, which inhabits human society (Norton Anthology Vol. I, 30). The author succe ssfully develops a larger than life enemy for his hero to confront.He arguably aligns the hero Beowulf with a larger trajectory of magnanimous Christians, among them, the first and most notable, Jesus Christ. Still, epic conventions aside, the author employs rather sophisticated writing techniques. There is evidence he was a â€Å"wordsmith,† as the poem is prolific with â€Å"†¦hapax legomena – that is, words recorded only once in a language†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Norton Anthology Vol. I, 29). This suggests the writer was comfortable enough with linguistics to invent words, which more aptly captured his literary intent.In addition to his linguistic abilities, there is evidence the author of Beowulf knew how to manipulate poetic conventions. For example, his poem uses conventions common to oral poetry, like chiastic cyanghanedd in line 154 of the poem â€Å"nothing but war; how he would never,† which creates the consonant repetition of n/w/w/n (Norton Anthology Vo l. I, 35). Another example of the same technique is alternative cyanghanedd where he creates consonant repetition with line 126 of the poem, â€Å"then as dawn, brightened and the day broke,† d/b/d/b (Norton Anthology Vol.I, 35). Clearly the author is sophisticated enough a writer to emulate, in writing style, the ancient Germanic or Old English oral tradition of using certain patterns of consonants to remember lines. Finally, as further evidence of its sophistication Beowulf is written in such a manner that it allows readers to extrapolate meaning beyond the text. That is to say, figures like Beowulf’s three enemies could symbolize, in terms of Christian convention, Satan and/or his imps.In essence, these figures are non-corporeal and evidential of the author’s successful creation of figures, which transcend his age to have meaning for future Christian audiences. In addition, the author recreates in vivid detail, a world preceding his own and simultaneously lef t for future generations, a glimpse into the ancient Germanic world. Consequently, Beowulf is by no means crude when one considers the author of the work and its socio-historical background. Clearly, a sophisticated person, well read and educated on ancient German history and tradition and possessed of aesthetic ability wrote this poem.He deliberately sought to and succeeded in writing a timeless work, one that recreates a time centuries before his own while transcending, in terms of cultural relevance, any post-Christian age. In writing Beowulf, the author employs a number of techniques, which suggest a cosmopolitan viewpoint informed the work. Beowulf, complex and written by a refined author, is the antithesis of crude. Works Cited Anoymous. â€Å"Beowulf. † The Norton Anthology English Literature . Volume I. 7th edition. Ed. M. H. Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. 29-99.

The Effects Of Climate Change On Marine Ecosystems

Marine ecosystems are highly complex, diverse and delicate biological networks. Even small changes might have big consequences due to positive feedback chains. Many recent changes are caused by climate change. Set in motion by the industrial revolution in the 19th Century levels of CO2 have been constantly rising and so have global temperatures, sea level and ocean temperatures. In this essay I will talk about several impacts of climate change in marine ecosystems such as rising sea temperature, changing sea levels, decrease of sea-ice, changes in salinity, different water pH, increased appearance of harmful algal blooms and deterioration of marine ecosystems1. In the last 40 years ocean temperatures have been rising constantly. The vast masses of water store high amounts of excess heat energy (~93%) and in the past 40 years the temperatures up to a depth of 700m rose up to 0.44 °C in the first 75m and about 0.06 °C in 700m depth. There is data from expeditions dating back to the 1870s that show observable changes in ocean temperature since then. Once of the most important aspects about increasing surface temperature of the oceans is the consequences warmer water has for floating sea ice.2In general, the amount of sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic has decreased dramatically. It is said that within the twenty-first century there will be sea ice free summers in the Arctic. The melting of sea ice causes sea levels to rise, currently with a rate of about 3mm every year,Show MoreRelatedThe World Of The Great Barrier Reef873 Words   |  4 PagesUnfortunately, the fragile ecosystem of the reef is under extreme stress from environmental pre ssures such as pollution, coastal development, oil and gas exploration, tourist activities and climate change caused by carbon dioxide emissions. Man-made climate changes are the most destructive of these and place the future of the Great Barrier Reef in great danger. 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