Asian Champion on Ice: Michelle Kwan :: Biography Biographies Skating Essays

Asian Champion on Ice Michelle Kwan I was flipping through the channel one day, searching for something interesting to watch. Then I came crosswise to a figure skate competition on TV, and I saw an Asian girl doing a triple loop. Her move arounds were mind-blowingly beautiful and she looked confident. It turned it was Michelle Kwan. After observance that competition, I couldnt help doing some research on this amazing figure skater. Michelle Kwan was born on July 7, 1980 in Torrance, California. She was the third child born to Danny and Estella Kwan. She has an cured brother named Ron and an older sister named Karen. Michelles parents immigrated to the joined States in the early 1970s from Hong Kong. Michelle and her older sister Karen wanted to learn how to figure skate subsequently watching their brother Ron practice hockey. So they started taking skating lessons at the local rink. They loved the ice. As time went by, they became skilled and learned moves. Later, t hey took private lessons with jitney Derek James to learn more advanced moves. Michelle fell many times on the cold and hard ice. But she didnt give up shed get up and tried again. Once her skills improved, Michelle, along with her sister, entered the local competitions. There, Michelle won her first gold medal at the age of 7. Thats when she decided skating was going to be her career. She wanted to go to the Olympics. At the age of 11, Michelle won a gold medal at the Southwest Pacific Regionals and a bronze at the Pacific Coast Sectionals. She qualified for the Junior Nationals. Her talents caught the attention of Frank Carroll, so he asked her to be his pupil. Michelles persistence continued she wanted to move up. So without her coachs permission, she asked her parents to take her to take the gold test, which she passed, bringing her to the senior level. Two years later, her determination brought her to third rank in the United States just behind Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya H arding. In January 1994, during the U.S. Nationals, Kerrigan was attacked which caused her to unable to perform in the competition. So Michelle became an alternate and travel with the Olympic team. While she was watching the skaters from the sidelines, she was telling herself that she will be just like them and better.

The Prioress of The Canterbury Tales :: Canterbury Tales Essays

The Prioress of The Canterbury Tales In the poem, by Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer depicts the people of the church and describes them as people who are not the sole conformation of people who have sworn themselves to paragon, and to live by the 4 vows that the church requires them to commit themselves to. The Prioress, a Nun, is no exception, but Chaucer does not directly say how she represents the 4 vows but rather it is what he does not say that leads people to believe the Prioress is the exact opposite of what is expected of a nun that has committed herself to the four vows. Men and women of the church are expected to live in poverty and hold no worldly possessions. The Prioress spoke of owning little dogs, which is strictly command in a convent, and treating them exceptionally well and being extremely attached to them. By owing these dogs she violated the vow of poverty but the near obvious item that she owns is a gold broche that and lea ds the reader to believe that she was not entirely devoted to the church. Chaucer spent a great deal of time explaining how she was extremely obsess with her etiquette, that hints to the reader that she is more suited to be a beloved lady rather than a nun. In the days of Chaucer, women used excellent etiquette to attract and nurse lovers. This indicates that the Prioress in not completely faithful to her vow of chastity, but rather a woman of promiscuity. The vow of obedience, in reference to the Prioress, is probably the most odd vow of the four, since he never mentions it. While Chaucer is describing the Prioress he never once mentions how she serves God or nothing of that sort. This leaves the reader wondering if she serves God well or does not, but it is obvious that she has failed to follow the other vows and that this one is no exception. A nun should pray, study, do service to God, and live a curb life free from temptation, but the Prioress has already v iolated the first three vows and those have to be followed to successful fulfill the vow of obedience.

Dialectic of the Union Blockade during the Civil War Essay -- U.S. His

The gracious War in the United States from 1861 to 1865 serves as a dark reminder of how disjointed a nation can move over issues that persistently cause heated debate among party factions. Most students that have taken courses in American storey understand the disadvantage have by the Confederate States of America as they fought against the powerful Union army for what they perceived as a necessary institution of slavery. Historians have debated over the lastingness of the handicap and if it was important in creating the failures faced by the Confederate States of America. This debate has generated the contested question of Did the Union blockade succeed in the American Civil War? The blockade, whether considered a success or an absolute failure on the part of the Union, holds grand significance in the history of the United States. The increased cultivation in the Unions naval department correlates directly with the necessity of possessing ships that could withstand the threa t of blockade running. This dialectic will focus on 2 opposing theses on the matter of how successful the Union blockade was in guaranteeing a victory for the Union. Within Reassessment of the Union Blockades potentiality in the Civil War, M. Brem Bonner and Peter McCord make an argument for the success of the blockade by assessing statistical data comprised from the efforts of blockade-runners to breach the hindrance caused by the Union. The authors frequently give the objecting side of the effectiveness argument when discussing the legality of the blockade and the successes some blockade-runners had in smuggling goods in and out of the Confederacy. On the opposing side of the argument, Daniel OFlaherty condemns the blockade as ineffecti... ...he historian who reviews the event. The Confederates were able to continue blockade running up until the conclusion of the struggle, while the Union strengthened its navy in order to continue for the imbalance of ship maneuverability. I f the blockade proved completely effective, the supplies Confederate soldiers possessed throughout the war would have unobtainable via blockade running. It would also distort the history of the Civil War to name the blockade as the main reason for the Souths deterioration, when it only aided to existing problems leading to the conclusion to the war after the Souths surrender.Works CitedBonner, Michael Brem and Peter McCord. Reassessment of the Union Blockades Effectiveness in the Civil War. The North Carolina Historical Review (2011) 375-395.OFlaherty, Daniel. The Blockade that Failed. American Heritage 6.5 (1955).