TOK Speech on Art Essay Example For Students

TOK Speech on Art Essay Now I want to dive straight into a recent experience I had, regarding my topic. A couple of months ago I visited an art exhibition, as I do occasionally. However this was no ordinary exhibition, you may ask how or why? And I will tell you that an Exhibition is defined by a public display of work (in this case art) but in this particular exhibition what was displayed was all but empty canvases or artwork, which one could very well initially presume to be not art at all. I’m talking about invisible art here, art that you cannot see, feel or sense in general. We will write a custom essay on TOK Speech on Art specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now As I went from artwork to artwork, piece to piece. I became bewildered by the irritation of not being able to know what the art was about, what it looked like but above all, WHAT THE ARTIST INTENDED. Initially I had no knowledge of what some pieces meant, I had no means of extracting any knowledge from it although I knew it existed on the canvas (special ink) however what I did have was my creativity, which I utilised to generate different meanings, different interpretations for different pieces of artwork! Unfortunately, this new and one could say addictive experience was put down when some pieces of artwork were either being explained to me by guides (whom possessed what many deemed the ‘true’ knowledge of what the artwork was based on/how it came about/who the artist was) and also when other pieces were elaborated upon through blurbs/hand-outs, which I inevitably came across.  And this ladies and gentlemen is where my knowledge issue arises. Which is better illustrated through the following:  To what extent does the intent of the artist affect how we see and feel towards their artwork.  And in this presentation I will be focusing on perception, emotion and shortly on language as my ways of knowing. I will also be focusing on the arts as my area of knowledge. Now I truly believe this knowledge issue is imperative as countless of people visit exhibitions and these questions are constantly tossed around in the minds of both observer and artist. So to begin then, when I say ways of knowing I mean the manner in which we understand and one of the ways we know in this context is perception, which is defined by â€Å"THE AWARENESS OF OUR SURROUNDINGS THROUGH OUR 5 SENSES: SO I WILL BE FOCUSING MORE ON SIGHT PERCEPTION AS MY EXPERIENCE RELIES HEAVILY ON THIS PARTICULAR SENSE. And the other way of knowing is Emotion which is defined as CLICK.  Now it’s important to highlight that these ways of knowing tend to be rather subjective, in that one person’s perception and emotion can be different to others. Our ways of knowing can also be biased in that external factors can affect the manner in which we perceive or feel towards something.  Now let me apply these concepts to my personal experience. Ill start by showing you a piece of artwork. SHOW A PIECE OF ARTWORK. WHAT DO YOU PERCEIVE THE MEANING TO BE, ANY EMOTIONS YOU FEEL IN RESPONSE? Now many of you will perceive a thing from this artwork that others wont, and many will have different emotions towards this artwork that others dont. You may feel sad towards this art, some may believe it to be surprising (once again different minds undergo different states). SHOW ANOTHER: ONCE AGAIN WHAT DO YOU PERCEIVE IT TO BE, WHAT EMOTIONS emanate from this art? Now going back to the first piece of artwork what if I told you that for this image, the ukranian oleg shuplyak intended to portray a metaphor for individuals who have lost their loved ones just as trees shed their leaves in autumn, now some you may have had different interpretations running through your mind, you might think that this is actually how we should perceive or feel towards the artwork, it is rational (i.e reasonable) for me to accept the creators intent on the creation as the creator knows of his creation far better than the observer. .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45 , .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45 .postImageUrl , .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45 , .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45:hover , .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45:visited , .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45:active { border:0!important; } .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45:active , .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45 .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub4a4593fe6029abe8722af43273ddd45:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Great Gatsby, written by Scott F. EssayWhat If I told you that for the second piece of artwork C.M. Coolidge intended to personify every mans hopes and dreams for the future, you may be thinking the same thing, because the artist is the creator and therefore any intent he gives must be true and relevant. You ask your selves the same question over and over again? Do I perceive (using my sight senses) and feel (emotionally) how the artist intended me to or do I choose to ignore the artists intent. And here is where it gets interesting. At this exhibition, the main art that I was observing looked like this: BLANK SCREEN. Now you might be waiting for me to realise that there’s nothing on the screen and say â€Å"Im experiencing technical difficulties† but no. What you see, rather what you dont see is exactly what I saw. Invisible art. We now realise that there is no clear substance to perceive or feel towards in a certain manner, rather we are free to make our own perceptions, free to feel how we like towards it.

buy custom Sociology of Sexuality essay

buy custom Sociology of Sexuality essay In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman (Thatcher, 1965). The saying contains the truth. Moreover, it emphasizes the fact that there is a prejudiced treatment of both genders towards one another in politics. However, such state of affairs is typical not only of the political sphere, but also of social, economic, cultural and other spheres of life. The problem is widely discussed by psychologists and sociologists all over the world.Initially, it is necessary to define the notion of sex. Generally, this word means the indicator of the obvious physical and biological characteristics that establish the differences between males and females (Nobelius, 2004). The differences may be biological, physical, psychological and genetic. For example, such dissimilarities may include higher timbre of females voice than males one, females ability to bear children, physical strength of men, and some others. There also exist sex differences in language usage. According to some stereotypes, it is considered that a woman can talk more than a man; a woman is also likely to use adjectives, such as divine, charming, cute.Women tend to use question intonation in response to inquiries: About ten o'clock?, as a reply to: What time's dinner?. Probably, this insecure style of conversation is typical for 'powerless' people, who are somewhat nervous and afraid of antagonizing others. Powerless people come from either sex. However, the most significant difference found between men and women by linguists is womens tendency to speak in a prestigious way. They try to use language close to the standard one.What can be said about the word gender is that it is used to denote socially established patterns and behaviors, as well as roles and attributes. They are realized through different means including family, educational institutions and work organizations. The gender roles and behaviors also depend on the individuals values, customs, religions an d beliefs (Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and the Advancement of Women, United Nations, 2011).Sometimes people relate term sex to the concept gender. However, it is not correct because though some similarities exist, they are not alike. Sex indicator distinguishes male from female, depending on biological characteristics, while gender from masculinity to femininity, indicates men and womens functions and roles in the society. Sex is something given to a person from the first day of his/her existence, whereas gender is not inbuilt, but learnt and acquired through a process of development and socialization.Gender identification starts in the childhood. Between the ages of two and three, children begin to acquire gender roles and stereotypes by the types of toys and games they want to play. Gender identification continues during adulthood and is established via two major theories: social learning theory and gender schema theory. Social learning theory uses the methods of punishment and modeling, while according to the gender schema theory, males and females cultivate mental categories from the childhood and perform their gender roles in the manner they were programmed.The concept sexuality means human capacity to have erotic perceptions, experiences and responses. In other words, the notion describes men and womens sexual desires. The concept of sexuality may vary according to biological, physical, emotional, or spiritual context (Science Encyclopedia, 2014).The concepts sex, gender and sexuality are embedded into the process of social construction of reality, as they indicate individuals roles in society and peoples relations with each other. In sociology, these social constructs are explained by the theory of social constructionism. The main point in understanding this theory lies in the fact that every individual interprets the reality in his own way. It means he/she has a subjective image of the objective reality in his/her mind. Sexual relat ions and romantic communication are based on this individual comprehension of the world. Therefore, every human is entitled to have any kind of intimate relationships with anyone, even with the person of the same sex.I have been complicit in perpetuating the reality of the social constructs of sex, gender and sexuality during all my life. They defined my position in society and my profession. For example, as I belong to male gender, I have always strived for success, for being strong and powerful. For this reason, I am sure I will be dominant in my family in future. The social construct of sexuality identified my communication with men and my intimate relations with them. Genetically, I am heterosexual and I always had sexual desires only about girls and women. However, several times I got up in the morning remembering the awful dreams about boys, which I was seeing during the night. Of course, I tried to resist those thoughts because everything happened unconsciously.Therefore, by the notion of sex I meant to define the obvious physical and biological differences between males and females. Gender is the indicator of the socially established patterns and behaviors, roles and attributes. Sexuality means human capacity to have erotic perceptions and experiences. The concepts sex, gender and sexuality are embedded into the process of social construction of reality. They identify peoples role in society and communication with each other, including sexual relationships. Buy custom Sociology of Sexuality essay

The negative impact of multiculturalism (Multiculturalism highlights Research Paper

The negative impact of multiculturalism (Multiculturalism highlights difference and can lead to hate crimes) - Research Paper Example My mind does not accept this. Dear fellows, terrorism is on its rise, and racial differences have been a part and parcel of the whole scenario. The stigma attached to the Arabs, for example, makes them aliens among us. We are not able to feel comfortable in diverse workplaces, where people from other cultures work, because we are afraid they might have hidden bombshells under their clothes. This fear has elevated after the 9/11 attacks. How are we going to trust people of other cultures and races now? Cultural and racial profiling that involves blaming people belonging to other races and cultures is on its rise after the terrorist attacks. It is â€Å"the practice of targeting individuals for police or security interdiction, detention, or other disparate treatment based primarily on their race or ethnicity, in the belief that certain minority groups are more likely to engage in unlawful behavior† (Muffler, 2006, p.1). Cultural profiling is simply a violation of the constitution that gives protection to al l cultural groups of a society. It has led to shooting and killing of people of other cultures for the sake of security, based on stereotypes attached to certain cultural groups. For example, Travon Martin was â€Å"the unarmed teenager allegedly killed by a neighborhood watch captain while walking home from a store† (Lee, 2012, para.1). He was an African-American. Hence, multiculturalism has given rise to cultural profiling, especially in America, as people of other cultures have been targeted, shot, gunned down, punished, and tortured, just because of their cultural backgrounds. What is more, my dear friends, multiculturalism has also given rise to conflicts and disputes at workplaces. The difference in salaries and benefits seen at workplaces is actually what gives rise to discrimination, which eventually leads to hatred between members of the same community

Do Contrast in the Long-term Financing and Ownership of Business Essay

Do Contrast in the Long-term Financing and Ownership of Business Explain National Differences in the Governance and Management of Firms, and Fundamentally Account for the Success of Major Economies - Essay Example In the paper, the case of KFC in the UK, US, Japan, and China will be compared and contrast in terms of the nature of ownership, governance, business strategy, corporate objectives, power/authority of management, nature of strategic decision-making, nature of decisions on building corporate capabilities, the long-term and short-term investment in technology, investment in plant and machinery in relation to productivity, and management of people. Eventually, a comparison will be made in the four countries’ degree of relationship between performance and finance systems, forces of convergence, and internationalization before and after 1990. Prior to a conclusion, the extent to which the crisis of 2008 has transformed the nature of the debate about the financial system and types of capitalism will be tackled in details. KFC was first established in the US and was eventually sold to PepsiCo back in 1986 and eventually became a subsidiary of YUM!. As part of its globalization strate gy, KFC entered the UK market via 60% franchised + 40% equity, Japan via the joint venture (JV) through the franchise with Mitsubishi Corporation (62%), and China through franchising. Since the Chinese government did not recognize the term â€Å"franchising† back in the 1990s, most of the first few KFC stores in China were company-owned. Governance is all about having the best and most legal and ethical system that can be used in directing or controlling the business. In most cases, corporate governance aims to regulate the corporate conduct by creating a balance between the internal and external stakeholders, the government, and the local communities. Aside from being able to fulfill the Board’s responsibilities to its shareholders, the top management of KFC strongly believes that the process of creating good corporate governance is one of the key factors that will make their business a success.

A personality profile of an individual whom you think is worthy of Essay

A personality profile of an individual whom you think is worthy of capturing - Essay Example It was two years since she’d retired at the early age of forty-nine years old, but these two habits she had kept hold of. It was something she worried about, the only two cracks in her otherwise perfect life. There were many other people at her church, of course, who smoked and drank coffee, but few did so as much as she did, and, while Wanda did not judge them she felt her own shortcomings were making her less of a Christian than she should be. She wanted to devote her retirement years to her community and her Lord, not cigarette companies and the jitters of caffeine addiction. And lately she had been tired so often, even with the coffee. So she had resolved to quit—the cigarettes, at least. It was the worst habit, and though it had given her the deep, husky voice that made her stand out so much in the choir, the one she worried about the most. What if it killed her? She was not worried for herself so much as her family. She had made her peace with this world long ago, and if the Lord called her up, she was ready to go. But she wanted to make things good for others, and wondered what her brother and sisters would do without her when she was gone. â€Å"Oh Lord,† she half-sang as the coffee brewed in the pale light of her morning kitchen, â€Å"Oh Lord, be kind to this old sinner!† Before driving to her doctor to get a prescription for a patch, she listened to the voice messages on her phone. One was from Donna, who was biologically her niece but whose mother had passed away when they were young, and whom Wanda had always treated as a true sister. The younger woman thanked her for the loan she had given her years ago, saying she had just gotten the money to pay it back, and that she hoped Wanda could come for dinner later in the week to celebrate. Wanda didn’t mind about the money, but it would be nice to see Donna again after so long. In the car she lit another cigarette and had smoked half of it before she realized what she was doing. Her fingers fidgeted with the cigarette but she couldn’t bring herself to put it down. Quitting was going to be hard. The doctor gave her a prescription for the patch, and ran some blood tests to see what was fatiguing her. She spent the next few days trying to cut down, but it was hard. The only time she was really free was at the piano, when her fingers could fly across the black-and-white keys and she could close her eyes and be both apart from and inside herself. She would listen to a piece on the radio—she had never had a teacher, and had taught herself by listening, in the breaks from her thankless job, and endless practice—and then sit still, breathe, and let her fingers go where they would. In these times she felt truly happy, and as if the peace would soon envelop her entire being. A month after she had gotten the patch, which had only been partially successful at curing her habit, she got a piece of mail from the doctor which contained the r esults of her test. She tried to focus on the charts and analyses, but in the end only one thing got through to her: the diagnosis which said: LUNG CANCER, TERMINAL. Alone at her kitchen table, with the coffee still brewing, Wanda Jones cried. She quit smoking right then, though it was useless. As the weeks stretched into months, her body faded, the ridged lip lines that were the sign of her long habit sinking in and becoming flat and smooth as the fat left her. Her ex-husband, who she hadn’t seen for years, and who had beat her on occasion, came

Successful management and team development

Successful management and team development Due to the nature of this essay it will be discussion and analyses of the following; firstly successful management process on the field work. Secondly, Team make up and team development. Thirdly, leadership effectiveness in field work and what influences making them taking responsibility. The discussion will be attached with examples of ‘2009 Outreach trip. For any successful organization need a successful management. Management is a difficult term to define. The simplest definition of management is the use of people and other resources to achieve the objectives (Boone Kurtz 4:1992). An effective teams and individuals depends on varies factors. The most important factor is the management process (Chambers, Johnston Slack 1:2010). Management process contains four functions: planning, organizing, leading and controlling (Boone Kurtz 4:1992). There are two important factors lead an organization that work in field (such a disaster organization) to success: team work, and the right management process. Strategy in management is sets the objectives and goals for the organization into a framework of time to allow people know what must be achieved, when and by whom (QuickMBA 2007). Strategic analysis process is looking on the organization externally and reflect back internally to identify weaknesses, strengths and culture to enable a strategic direction to be chosen. After identifying yourself then you can choose the organization structure and use short term tactics to achieve your goals. (QuickMBA 2007). In the field trip our main strategy is to absorb the maximum of information and experience from the exercises. We used different tactics which are get full participation in exercises and take different roles and responsibilities in each exercise. Team make up and team development is important be understood between the individuals. There are many definitions define what is team, Katzenbach and Smith (1993) stated that â€Å" A team is a small number of people with complementary skill who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable† (Sheard Kakabadse 2004:13). As in the field trip my team doesnt exceed twenty people and we all complementary skills with common goal to achieve it in exercises. Team make up is together individuals with different abilities and skills to make up a perfect group/team for achieving the objectives (Hayes 1997:45). A team should be defined in terms of purpose, power, place, people and plane (5 ps). If one of the â€Å"Ps† fail the team may be slightly more than a group of individuals whose work is related but not coordinated in any efficient manner (Holpp 4:1999). Individuals in the team pass through different stag es of development. Tuckmans model of team development (1965), his four stages model; forming, storming, norming, and performing. In (1977) the model reviewed by Tuckman and Jensen and the added the fifth stage ‘adjourning (Rickards Moger 2000:276). Referring to the Outreach trip experience that this year development stages happened quicker, and individuals settle with the team members quicker, this because the team already passed through the stages last year and every individual understand his/her role and abilities in respect of others. Furthermore, Belbin showed that successful of teams consisted mixture of different individuals. He argued that successful teams would always need involve people with different roles (Hayes 1997:47-48). See appendix 1 for Belbin team role. Different roles in the team may be crucial to the overall success. In Outreach we tried to make the team balanced in the context of person personality which every team have a range of doing/acting, thinking/problem-solving and people/feeling so the team balance up. The roles identified in one of our lectures which everyone has identified his/her role and some people have multiple roles. Moving forward, any team need a leader to guide them to the right track. Leader responsibility is to protect productivity, minimize risk and motivate the team members so they perform and realize the teams objective, furthermore, leader coordinate team effort and set direction, goals, targets and purpose for the team (Foster Wellingtom 2009:27). Claire Rubin stated the importance of leadership in emergency management. She reveals that there are several characteristics associated with good leaders in emergency management. She discussed the quicker you able to put resources to work and let people know what their task are the more effective recovery operation will be (David 2007:437). However, most of the times in disaster situation the leader need to think regather all the information so to make the right decision, the first few mints are valuable for reviewing and thinking on the situation rather than rushing to the incident knowing nothing what to do that may cause significant mistak es. Communication is a very important aspect between the leader and the team. Lumsden Wiethoff (2010) defined leadership as verbal and nonverbal communication that assist a teams transactional and task processes in achieving individuals and teams needs and goals (p.28). Mainly there are three leadership styles; authoritarian, laissez-faire leadership and democratic leadership. Each style determine to the leader and the participation level between the leader and the team. The diagram below explain the participation level in each leadership style. Leadership takes place on three levels: teams, operational and strategic. The essential kind of leadership refers to ‘Adair three circles; task, team and individual. The leader must be in awareness, understanding the three circle model (Adair 2007:65). The focus may be more in one aspect, for example, in exercises the individual learning and team development is more crucial then the task, but in a real situation as an earthquake then the task be more important than individual learning or team development. Reflecting back in the field trip individual learning and team development was more important than the task. The diagram below show the difference of exercises and earthquake. However, there are five key functions of leadership linked with Adair model which are; define objectives, plan organize, inform confirm, Support monitor and evaluate. Within this communication is crucial a factor (LMC 2008) Communication is crucial factor of team success. A successful information sharing make the objective clear and each individual in the team will have a clear view of role. Hayes said â€Å"effective communication between members does more than simply remove status barriers it lead to the team success† (41). McGregor stated that an effective group/team include; participation, leadership, trust, communication, respect, commitment to common aim, team spirit and congenial atmosphere (Heller 2006). Reflecting back to the outreach trip the team was in full participation, leadership role was understood and took effectively, there was respect between members of the team, for example when someone talk everyone listen, the communication between the team was good made the aims and objectives clear to everyone, the motivational spirit was attend in which every member want to finish the task even if we have been stopped by the supervisor. Any operation must come to a decision on the balance between using specialist, dividing the total task down into smaller parts, each which is accomplished by team or single person (Chambers, Johnston Slack 242:2010). For example in the Outreach earth quake exercise the task accomplished by dividing into teams (like the logistic team, map reading team and search and rescue team) this made the task carry out easier. The division of teams made by individual preference and knowledge, for example the map reading team include members who are most familiar with maps and maps reading. Decision-making beside to leadership and communication is one of the most import aspects of a successful manager. Decision making is a key element to reaching goals and objectives. It is about the why, who, when, where of a course of action and how to overcome difficulties and solve problems. It is important to have contingency plans to backup and avoid failure (Adair 2008:48). The effective decision has six elements: Defining the objective, gathering sufficient information, identifying the feasible options, evaluation, making the decision and testing and implementing (Adair 2008:49). Shared leadership is important in teams field work, which every individual responsibility for practicing shared leadership has increased in importance as teams assume more and more management and decision making roles (Lumsden Wiethoff 2010:35). In outreach in some parts of the exercise the leader need help so Conclusion: I have refered to the importance on the communication in any point of work. Communication in disaster management is one of the key success which the statistics says that about 90% of the disaster failures caused by lack of communication. Communication is the link between teams, individuals, leaders etc. Individuals cannot be perfect but group of people can be perfect. http://changingminds.org/explanations/preferences/belbin.htm Reference: Boone, L.E. Kurtz, D.L. (1992) Management. New York ; London :McGraw-Hill Chambers, R., Johnston, S. Slack, N. (2010) Operation Management Edinburgh Gate: Harlow Holpp, L. (1999). Managing Teams. London :McGraw-Hill. Rickards, T. Moger, S. (2000) British Journal of Management. Creative Leadership Processes in Project Team Development: An Alternative to Tuckmans Stage Model. Vol.11, 273-283 Sheard Kakabadse (2004) A process perspective on leadership and team development. Journal of Management Development. Vol.23 pp.7-106 Foster, N. Wellingtom, P. (2009) Effective Team Leadership. Stevenage :Institution of Engineering and Technology David, A. (2007) Disaster Response and Recovery :strategies and tactics for resilience. Hoboken, NJ. :Wiley Lumsden, G. Wiethoff, C. (2010) Communicating in groups and teams :sharing leadership. Boston, Mass. :Wadsworth Cengage Learning Adair, J ed Thomas,N. (2008) The of Best John Adair on Leadership and Management. London:Thorogood Adair, J. (2007) Develop your Leadership Skills. London ; Philadelphia Hayes, N. (1997) Successful Team Management. London :International Thomson Business Press http://changingminds.org/explanations/preferences/belbin.htm QuickMBA (2007). Strategic Management. [online] available from [25th January 2010] LMC (2008). Adairs model of Leadership Functions. [online] available from [29th January 2010] Heller (2006). Team Management: True leadership and teamwork. [online] available from [2nd February 2010]

One Must Search for Beauty in All Things :: Law College Admissions Essays

One Must Search for Beauty in All Things    I never had the benefit of a spiritual guide. No one ever counseled me to â€Å"search for beauty in all things†. Perhaps it is most beneficial to learn some things through experience.    I ran away from an abusive stepfather and an alcoholic mother when I was thirteen and it was the best decision I ever made. I slept on rooftops and hallways for a year before the state took custody of me and placed me in a group home. Over the next four years I would live in several different homes ranging from a hundred children to less than ten and attend four different high schools. Ultimately though, I finished high school on time and with honors.    Group homes are a strange place to grow up in. There is a structure. Dinner is eaten at a certain time and after eleven o'clock everyone goes upstairs. There are case reviews and mandatory meetings with social workers. We would take turns doing the dishes and preparing meals. Some of the group homes I was in are locked facilities where the children only go out for specific activities. But group homes are also lawless. They are crowded. The majority of the children are on some sort of probation. Violence is rampant. Upstairs there are gang meetings, freehand tattoos, and games of dice. Liquor and hard drugs are common. While we were required to leave in the morning, we were not required to attend school, and as such, most kids did not finish high school.    In many ways, the group homes defined who I am, much the way a person's family and upbringing would define them. The core of my value system was formed during the formative years of fourteen to eighteen. In the group I learned to be discerning without being judgmental. With my friends I was able to go into the neighborhoods where they grew up, neighborhoods I would never have been able to go into otherwise. For a while I lived in a home across from the Robert Taylor Projects, the largest housing projects in the world. In these group homes I met the people who still constitute my family.    For me the group homes were a positive experience, for most they are not. I was fortunate in that I was a little more driven, and maybe a little more intelligent than the average kid in my circumstances. One Must Search for Beauty in All Things :: Law College Admissions Essays One Must Search for Beauty in All Things    I never had the benefit of a spiritual guide. No one ever counseled me to â€Å"search for beauty in all things†. Perhaps it is most beneficial to learn some things through experience.    I ran away from an abusive stepfather and an alcoholic mother when I was thirteen and it was the best decision I ever made. I slept on rooftops and hallways for a year before the state took custody of me and placed me in a group home. Over the next four years I would live in several different homes ranging from a hundred children to less than ten and attend four different high schools. Ultimately though, I finished high school on time and with honors.    Group homes are a strange place to grow up in. There is a structure. Dinner is eaten at a certain time and after eleven o'clock everyone goes upstairs. There are case reviews and mandatory meetings with social workers. We would take turns doing the dishes and preparing meals. Some of the group homes I was in are locked facilities where the children only go out for specific activities. But group homes are also lawless. They are crowded. The majority of the children are on some sort of probation. Violence is rampant. Upstairs there are gang meetings, freehand tattoos, and games of dice. Liquor and hard drugs are common. While we were required to leave in the morning, we were not required to attend school, and as such, most kids did not finish high school.    In many ways, the group homes defined who I am, much the way a person's family and upbringing would define them. The core of my value system was formed during the formative years of fourteen to eighteen. In the group I learned to be discerning without being judgmental. With my friends I was able to go into the neighborhoods where they grew up, neighborhoods I would never have been able to go into otherwise. For a while I lived in a home across from the Robert Taylor Projects, the largest housing projects in the world. In these group homes I met the people who still constitute my family.    For me the group homes were a positive experience, for most they are not. I was fortunate in that I was a little more driven, and maybe a little more intelligent than the average kid in my circumstances.