A Short Narrative of My Life

Therefore, she was very strict and harsh with rules and punishments which in due time were going to produce in me a seed of rebellion. Eventually, it rooted deeply in me and sprouted soon enough at about the age of 8 years old. Everything went downhill from there on which manifested in different and diverse ways, such as, disorderly conduct, rebellion towards all kind of authority, the beginning of substance abuse starting with alcohol, cigarettes and drugs, and living life in the fast lane in general. As I grew older, this increased with no care for rules at all and a death wish. This was only one of the reasons for my decision that took place when I was about 20 years old. I grew up in a dysfunctional family. My mother left my father before I was born and met my first stepfather right after. She was young and in need of being loved, so she saw the opportunity of protection and support in this man since she was pregnant and alone in New York City. Because I did not really have a father, my mother had to assume that role and be harsh, strict, and sometimes aggressive. She did not know better. Therefore, I became a problem who would not listen and I would get into trouble at school, and misbehave at home, break things, scream, drink behind my mother’s back, etc. All of this would have its toll at about 11 years old when I was living in New York again. I came back to live with my biological father then. I had met him when I was 8 years old. Here, I confronted a different life full of dangers, jealousy from my stepbrothers, and physical aggression from my dad. I got involved in the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol and became a gang member seeking the love and respect that I was not getting at home. I also got arrested and witnessed deaths of friends. This journey, which lasted about 10 years, ended or started its ending when I was deep into drugs and violence. It is not a mystery that the neighborhood in which I lived was under the rule of the Colombian Mafia back in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I lived in Jackson Heights, which was known back, then as â€Å"Little Colombia†, because of the huge population of Colombian immigrants that totaled about a million in the neighborhood. Therefore, mafia was part of the everyday life. Many kids were selling drugs and doing hits for the mafia. Terror and fear were common amongst many inhabitants of the area. Most young kids wanted to be like Pablo Escobar, the â€Å"Capo† of the Colombian Medellin Cartel, taking him as a role model to follow. I was one of those kids that followed this â€Å"role model†, who inspired many kids to get involved in this life. This led me to a fast and dangerous life where I was blessed to be alive, since I saw many of my friends die in the line of battle because of wrong decisions. I, on the other hand, knew how to take care of myself and managed to stay alive but became an addict. I ended up homeless and in various rehabs, halfway houses, shelters and clinical therapy. I lost all respect for others and myself. I was not me anymore but I had turned into the awful monster that had taken over my life. I was for sure headed to a bottomless pit. I was going straight to the pits of hell, condemned forever with no hope of looking back. When I was about 19 years old, I was in a rehabilitation center when a woman came to me and started preaching to me about the Bible and its message. About the Messiah, this was Jesus for her and soon would become mine too. At first, I really did not listen to her but she insisted and came back a few more times. Then we were invited to a church and I saw all the love and attention that those people were giving others and me without knowing us and I was surprised and astounded at this. This was my first experience with Jesus or anything that had to do with a Messiah that was very real to me. I was hopeless, since that moment a little door opened up, and there was some light. After that, I was sent to a halfway house where the director coincidentally was a Christian Pastor. I lived in this house for about a year and in the course of that year; the director practically took me under his wing. He invited me several times to his church until I made the decision of going. I was far from being different but it was the beginning of a different life. I went and experienced a new beginning, I was born again, I had accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and everything was going to start changing from then on. It was 1993. The month I do not quite remember but I was 20 at the time. I relapsed almost at the end of 1993 and I had to go into a rehabilitation center again. This time was my last one. It was about October when my Dad sent me a plane ticket to Oakland, California. I was given the chance to make a decision on living or staying and my choice was made. I lived in Oakland for some time and started working there as a salesperson and met my sons mother. Yes, I have a son. He was born on September 11 of the year 1994 and unfortunately, I was not there to see him come into this world. It is something that I have regretted my whole life. I was young and scared and the only thing I knew how to do was to run, so I did. He is 18 years old right now. He is a miracle of life because his mother wanted to commit abortion and I did not permit it. I was not going to let her kill my son. Therefore, by the grace of God he was born. That is why I say that he is a miracle of life. I am not going to lie to you and tell you that everything was a bed of roses from the time I left the United States. I made many mistakes that took their toll, but now after I had accepted Jesus as my Savior I had new hope, new strength, and a new purpose to follow and be better. In 1994, I traveled back to Colombia, started to attend a church, and got involved in a ministry as I worked and tried to live a normal life. I was there for almost 17 years and my life had a complete turn-around. I prospered and got new friends. I have been sober for almost 20 years and I love life, creation, people, and most of all my dear Jesus, who gave me salvation and eternal life by just believing in Him and accepting Him and His dominion in my heart. Even though, it has not been an easy journey because I have gone through thick and thin, I continue with my head up. I am standing firm in this path. I have been back in New York for three years now and I have many amends to make, God willing. I have been working and studying for my degree to achieve my dreams and letting other people know about the person who changed my life and gave me a new purpose. A new direction and meaning to my life. A life dedicated to worship the Father, the Almighty God, Jesus his son and the Holy Spirit of God. A tricotomy that is a mystery manifested in the One and only true God.

Business and Society Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Business and Society - Assignment Example Many authors are of the opinion that usually firms and large organizations focus on economic and environmental sustainability but they usually miss social sustainability (Freeman 2005). A community is not just about the environment rather the people living in the community are also of equal importance. The importance of social environment of any community or the organization is equally important as the physical environment of that particular community. Therefore, the companies should consider the social sustainability among its top focus priorities. It is one of the basic pillars for the social development in the society (Freeman 2005). A socially sustainable business definitely means a business, which is good in its operations and other related areas. By adopting the social sustainability practices, a business actually mitigates or reduces the amount of possible risks. These risks can be associated with the social and human issues related to the activities of the organization. For example if I have a site for my business which is unsafe for the labor working over here then it means that I am not fulfilling my responsibility of being socially sustainable. The worst situation will occur, if the workers may face any contingency because of that unsafe building. Therefore, we can say that a true sense of social sustainability is very much important and necessary for the company to be effective in the community. All of us are very much familiar with the term of work place ethics. The work place ethics may include all the ethical and moral values and codes of conducts, which must be fulfilled whenever we are working in any organization. If we consider the work place ethics from managerial point of view, then the provision of healthy and safe work place environment is also the responsibility of the managers. The work place or the working site should be designed in a way that people may not feel any hazard or harm in working here. This is the whole and sole

Final Film Critique Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Final Film Critique - Research Paper Example They, however, manage to escape from the camp eventually and are separated in the process. The incident influences their lives forever. Stephen loses his legs in the ordeal and Nick disappears through his indulgence in Russian roulette parlors living recklessly after the ordeal. Mike, however, returns home changed. This is evident in the scene where he refuses the killing of a deer during a hunt. He becomes reacquainted with Nick’s former lover Linda and finds solace in their association (Athitakis, 2004). The movie is a gripping tale of triumph over misfortune with life lessons interwoven in the plot that depicts the power of the human spirit. Storytelling The movie is based on the events during the Vietnam, and the storytelling revolves around the lives of three friends during this period. The storytelling has mixed effects, which are caused mainly by conflicting styles. This is evident in the film where the first fifteen minutes of the film, the scenes depicted for the audi ence involve a jovial atmosphere of the wedding party of Stephen where people are seen exchanging pleasantries and joking while drinking beers. None of the shots during the scene is done in close up, and no character is focused. The movie gives the impression that the audience is eavesdropping on the conversation of the characters that mainly centers on how their lives will change with their participation in the war. This scene appears to be formal and documentary like. It is, however, interrupted by an irrelevant exposition by Steve’s mother to the priest, who laments her son’s marriage and the decision to participate in the war. Though this scene lasts less than a minute, it lingers longer than the screen time due to its inappropriateness. The movie, however, overshadows this glitch mainly due to the fact it is well written. The metaphors used in the film are also complex and can easily lose the audience. Though the story telling is exceptional, it faces the problem of conflicting styles that make scripting of the movie obvious. Acting The movie producing team was able to obtain the services of a number of leading acting celebrities in Hollywood. Through the casting of Robert de Nero, Meryl Streep and John Cazales among others, the expectations for the acting in the film were high. The cast did not disappoint either with audiences who enjoyed top acting from the cast. Robert de Nero plays the part of the protagonist who is a war hero during the war brilliantly, which was a significant episode in American history. The actor is especially commended for his part where he is reunited with the character Michael in the climax of the film. The other supporting actors were also commendable in their respective roles that enabled the coming together of the film. Their roles supported the protagonist brilliantly creating emotion that characterizes the genre of war films. The cast clearly brings out the scenario that was experienced during the Vietnam War even though some of the information portrayed did not happen (Athitakis, 2004). They facilitated the reenacting of what soldiers underwent actors elicit emotions from the audience with their moving performances in the film. Cinematography Shooting of the pictures occurred in actual locations in different regions, as opposed to round stages that are commonly employed in some Hollywood films. Shooting of the film took a period of 6