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Life Lessons

Life Lessons

Jane has been my friend since childhood. I have known her for as long as I can remember. We went to school together, played together, had sleepovers at each other’s houses. There was never any question that she would always be a part of my life. Nothing could come between us. I believed that we had a healthy friendship because we gave each other space but managed to keep our friendship quite strong. We went to different high schools but remained in the same area, so we would hang out frequently. As we grew up, we shared our triumphs and joys. When I felt sad, I would talk to her about whatever was bothering me. She became more than a friend; she was my family. However, something happened that would change our friendship forever.

One weekend just after I joined college, I asked Jane if she would go out to dinner with me. I had not seen her for a while, and I wanted to talk to her about some challenges I was experiencing while transitioning to college life. I knew I could rely on her for honest and sound advice. She told me that she was feeling rather ill so she would not make it. I wished her a quick recovery and told her I hoped we could hang out soon. However, soon after this, I began to notice that something was amiss. Jane stopped taking my calls and took days to respond to my texts. I was quite hurt as this was unlike her, I tried to ask her what the issue was, but she was not forthcoming. It broke my heart to imagine that our friendship was coming to an end, and I had no idea why.

I decided to give Jane some space to work out any issues she might have. I wrote her a text saying that I would be available to talk whenever she was ready. Still, she did not respond to this. After a few weeks, I grew quite concerned and decided to visit Jane’s house where she lived with her parents. I had been there before, but I did not find Jane at home and decided not to pry further. On this particular day, I found Jane’s mother making lunch, and she invited me to join her. Tactfully, I explained what had been going on between Jane and I. Jane’s mother was quite sympathetic and told me that Jane had been going through a hard time.

A few days before, Jane had checked herself into a mental health facility as she had been struggling with a diagnosed mental illness for a few months. I was alarmed, but her mother told me that she was doing well. Jane did not want to burden me with her illness as she was quite unwell, but she wanted to get better before telling me all about it. She knew that I was in a new chapter of my life in college and wanted to give me time to enjoy myself.

I was both relieved and saddened to learn about this. My best friend did not give me the chance to be there for her during a tough moment, and I felt that I had failed her. On the other hand, I was glad that she had taken the proper steps towards recovery. I learned an important lesson from this experience. As humans, we all go through different phases in life that some of our closest friends and family might not identify with. When this happens, we must walk the difficult paths alone and find a solution to our problems. I also learned the importance of giving our loved ones the space that they need to figure out their lives. When Jane felt better, she called me to explain, and I believe that our friendship is stronger than ever.

Life Is Valuable To Me, Like Life Is A Race…

Life Is Valuable To Me, Like Life Is A Race…

The term life to me has many meanings, but one thing that becomes apparent every time I think about the matter is that life has too much value and that we have to live life as best as we can so as to rip the best things it has to offer us before we run out of time. Life is fast, and unless one values it and lives as if it were valuable, there is a big chance that one can lose out. This paper, therefore, is my story of how I perceive life. Life to me is like a race; a fast race that you either win or lose. To me life has a lot of value and this value has to be utilized to the minimum. The story below will show how I discovered that life is valuable, and how I became to perceive life like a race.

In my younger days, before I developed into the person I am today, I was a troublesome child; hardheaded and set on my ways without the hope of ever listening or considering the views of others. Before all changed, I attended and became a constant member of one of the most common schools on earth; a school that everyone has attended at least once in their lifetime. This school takes in everyone no matter what state, stage or position in life they are in; these things do not matter to this school, and I am sure everyone has gone to the school once. The school am talking about here is the extremely common school in life called the School of Hard Knocks. Up to date I have not come across a more effective, memorable and efficient school in life.

Since I was hard headed, stubborn and set on my ways in more than one way, it is only fair to admit that I got quite a share of this School of Hard Knocks education. I remember listening to a youth counselor in one of the many youth camps I attended. He was talking about how the fastest runner in a race does not always have to reach the finish line before the other runners who might even have started the race at a lesser speed. This seemed like something that had been taken out of the bible as I had attended some bible classes in my days and I was sure there was a verse a verse in the bible that had the same ideology of life.

Little did I know that I would later live the exact experience the youth counselor at summer camp was explaining? At the same camp, we constantly held summer competitions that involved various games such as racing, football, and other kinds of sports. One of the competitions that were being held at that time was a racing competition. I was considered an extremely excellent runner in most of the camps that I had attended, and I was sure that, in this particular camp, I was by far the fastest runner. I was sure would outrun everyone else in this particular race.

The race soon began and as I had thought I was outrunning everyone else and I was way ahead of them in a few seconds, but there was a problem. In the previous three months, I had dislocated my foot ankle, and though it had healed well, I started feeling some discomfort in my bad ankle. The doctor had warned that I should not strain the leg for a number of months, but I assumed that the leg had healed in the three months I had been idle. However, this was not the case, the discomfort increased, and I could not walk or run properly. I started to limp badly, and in no time, the other racers had outrun me and they were way ahead of me. However, I was glad that it was not that serious as no one stopped to see what was going on.

I was able to complete the competition, only, I finished it last. I had anticipated that I would finish first and take home the crown. Someone else, however, won and got to take the coveted price home. I was so sad that someone had taken away something I had wanted so bad, and by the fact that I would not enjoy to watch my parents as they beamed with pride when I showed them the trophy. However, I was glad that my little brother had won more than 10 trophies in math contests. I saw it as a way life evened out my defeat. I am extremely proud and happy to have such a talented brother, and I was glad that his trophies were around to hide the fact that I had not brought home any trophies.

I learned a number of lessons from this experience. For example, I learned that an individual’s talents, abilities and capabilities only count for a small percentage of the successes such an individual achieves later in life. Another lesson I learned is that life can be understood or taken as a race. A race, therefore, can be a good example of how life is. Take, for example, the fact that in a race there are no guaranteed wins. Life is just the same. One can be sure that they have all abilities and resources to achieve certain goals, but at the end, they can fail to achieve the same goals just like a racer can fail to win. It was clear from my experience that there are no guarantees that an individual will always emerge at the top even if they have the capacity to achieve this. It was during this juncture that I remembered my counselor’s words about the fastest winner not always obtaining the trophy, and I realized that his words were true.

There, I was the fastest runner in the camp expecting to emerge the winner; something that was disapproved at the end. Back to life, we can make the same conclusions as in a race. The wise sometimes go without food, and the skillful, in life, are not always the ones driving the biggest cars. Additionally, the most educated people are not always the richest, or the successful individuals in life. It would be fair to conclude that the outcomes of life, just like those of a race are influenced by several variables, and not just by abilities or skills. For example, ones success can be determined by chance, by one being at the right place and being at there at the right time. These variables that determine success not only apply to track racers but also to the skillful, the educated, the wise, strong and the wealthy.

This, however, does not mean that being wealthy, skillful, educated, wise, strong, or having special abilities is wrong. It is quite clear from some examples that good education, or the appropriate skills can contribute to one leading a successful life. Take Bill Gates, for example, his skills, education, wisdom and hard work have made him one of the most successful and wealthiest men worldwide. However, it is essential to realize that, especially after the example with my experience, that there are no guarantees that something is going to go the way one sees it. This means that one’s success is mainly determined by other forces and not just his attributes.

I changed a lot after some of the experiences I got from the school of hard knocks. I spend less time being stubborn and rude, and, as a result, I spend less time in this hardship school.

I realized that some situations can go either way; I could win in some cases or at other times, I could lose. After learning this, I became more comfortable with life, and I realized that I did not always have to win for me to be happy and content. I learned that I should take and value each situation the same; both winning and losing. I later learned that I should never take my winning or losing at face value and that I should consider the overall worth of each situation. For example, if I lost it did not mean all was lost. I could have lost and let someone else win who needed the win much more than I did.

With the exception of some of these bad experiences I had at the school of hard knocks, I had a wonderful time at most of these camps, and I sometimes think that my loosing at that particular race was essential and extremely beneficial for my life. The reason I say this is that, without these experiences, I would not have learned the valuable lessons I learned after I lost that race. Later I discovered that some of the finest teachings are those that we win and never receive a trophy. The experiences life teaches us are prices worth more than other prizes received as trophies. This is because it is not only kind of trophy that helps us learn through valuable lessons and help us mature and grow up into adults who are productive.

Conclusion

As it was indicated in the above story, a race can be exemplified to life. The reason I conclude this way is because in most cases the two have the same goals, and one of them is to emerge successful at the end of hard work. Races can be used as metaphors for life because they impose on individuals the same lessons life imposes on them. For example, one can learn from races and life that winning or becoming successful is not a guarantee, and that at times people lose and other times they win. It was learned from the above story that people should value the outcomes of their just the same.

Life Is The Most Precious Gift We Have As Human Beings, Deathography

Life Is The Most Precious Gift We Have As Human Beings, Deathography

Introduction

Life is the most precious gift we have as human beings; it is through the life that we poses that we get to experience all the wonders of the world. Life is also full of hardships in that everyone is prone to be faced with some sort of challenges that vary in one way or another. Life occurs in different stages which are determined by the biological structure of our bodies. Life begins when a sperm fertilizes a female egg in the ovary; this is followed with the birth of a human being. When a human being is born, they are armed with are with an immune system that helps defend the body when it comes under threat. All human beings are thus faced with the fact that they will die one day. Despite the fact that as human beings, we do not have the quality of immortality, we are tasked with the duty of preserving our human race through the maintenance of our health (Boerre, 2006).

Death can be caused by many factors some of which have proved to be inevitable. Human beings are thus at the mercy or fate of the superior being they believe in terms of protection. Human beings can also prolong their life through the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle which in turn has been known to improve the sustainability of the bodies. The loss of a loved one is one of the hardest experienced to deal with. One does not have to experience loss to feel the pain a person undergoing grief is going through. This is brought about by the quality we have as human beings that makes us vulnerable to our emotions (Family Education Network, 2010).

This research paper focuses on the deathograghy of my grandfather. It looks at the ways in which the death of my grandfather affected me as a child. It father looks at the ways in which human beings deal with death in terms of ours vulnerability to the factor.

The experienced of the loss of a loved one is a stage that we all have to go through as human beings. This involves dealing with the fact that humans cannot resurrect from death and can only be missed by their loved ones. There are many causes of death as stated earlier. The cause of a person’s death influences the way in which human beings approaches grieving. If a loved one dies a sudden and an unexpected death, the family and friends have a harder time dealing with their death in that they were not emotionally prepared for the loss of the individual. If a person has undergone a lifetime of suffering due to the condition that they were faced with, the family and friends may have an easier time adapting to the possibility of their death.

Another factor that influences the reaction to the death of a loved one is the age of the diseased. If a person loses their life at a young age, it is hard for the friends and family to cope with the loss due to the question of what could have become of the individual if they were to live a full life. If a person loses their life at an older age, they leave their relatives with memories that can be in form of a legacy which cushions the pain. Despite these factors, dealing with the loss of a loved one is never easy. Human beings have feelings which on many occasions are uncontrollable. One thus has to be given time to grieve so that they can move to the next stage which is the acceptance of death (Orbach, Gross, Glaubman, 2006).

The experience of the death of a loved one at a young age affects the way we view life in terms of positivity or negativity. As children, we are brought up in a world where our parents protect us from the evils of the world. This protection can only go on for a period of time in that there comes a time in our life where we have to face the reality. I was only seven years when I lost my grandfather. This occurred several years ago but the memories are still fresh in my mind. My grandfather was a big part of my life. My parents ensured that we had a personal relationship at a young age. The relationship between a grandparent and a grandchild is different from the relationship between a parent and a child. Parents always nag their children to give them grandchildren so that they can spoil them silly. This is one of the perks of being a senior member of the society. My grandfather and I were inseparable, his main aim was to teach me all the lessons he taught my father as a child. Our connection was thus important for my growth and development. These memories that I carry of him have influenced the way I approach certain situations to date (MedicineNet.Com, 2004).

Personal experience (deathology) of the loss of my grandfather

My grandfather was just like any regular elderly person. He was full of wisdom and was always slow but sure of the things he spoke about. My grandfather had also been battling with conditions that were caused as result of the old age. These conditions ranged from the inability of his cognitive ability to compute various facts at a faster pace. He was also prone to being attacked by high blood pressure and arthritis which affected the immune system of his body. Before his death, my grandfather had shown signs of a potential heart attack due to his weak state. The experience of his suffering made me aware that there was something wrong that I could not get around to. I thus developed some sort of fear in preparation of worse circumstances that were to follow. This shows that young people can detect when there is a problem in a household.

One day after I had taken a visit to my grandfather’s house, I carried out my daily activities that I took on with him. When it was time to go back home with my parents, I said goodbye. This goodbye was however different from the others in that it was long in nature. It may have been a symbol that I should maximize on the little time I had left with him. The look in his eyes indicated that he was going to miss me before I had left his house. When I reached home, I went to bed and work up with my parents standing next to my bed. This time they were not filled with the usual happy faces they woke me up with in the morning. At this point, I could tell that something was wrong compared to the previous times he fell sick. My parents thus changed their tone and told me to sit down. This was shocking due to the fact that I was already sitting down. My dad then started telling me a story on how sometimes people live their homes to go to a better place. I then cut his story short by demanding to know what was really wrong. They then told me that my beloved grandfather had passed away five hours after I had left his house. I immediately went into a state of shock that was accompanied with a lot of screaming seeing that I was a child. I was not familiar with the concept of death at this age, what made me react this way was the fact that I knew that he was not coming back again. This was made possible by the story my father told me about my grandfather going to heaven.

Research shows that there are various stages of reaction to the death of a loved one. The first stage is denial where we go into a state that makes us think what is happening is not real or just a dream (Koocher, 2002). I then told myself that everything was going to be okay, this was accompanied with the thoughts I had of meeting him the next time I go to visit.

The second stage one goes through after the loss of a loved one is the grief stage. This involves dealing with the situation by recognizing that a loved one will not be coming back. This is accompanied by the shedding of tears due to the intensity of the pain that a mourner has. The time it takes for a person to grieve varies with the person, the cause of death, the age of the diseased and lastly the support of the friends and family of an individual (Hois, 2001). When I realized that my grandfather was really gone, I cried for about a week remembering all the precious time we spent together. This was a very difficult time for me due to the fact that I was a child who was used to getting what I wanted. Learning that I could not get everything I wanted was a new experience for me in that I knew that I would have to face other challenges in life. Another factor that I dealt with was the realization that my parents and siblings were not going to be around forever as I had imagined. This opened doors for a new source of fear which I later termed the fear of the unexpected (Sengendo & Nambi, 2001).

The last stage in dealing with the loss of a loved one is the acceptance of the death. This involves accepting the reality of the situation at hand. It also involves a deeper appreciation of the loved one and the value they brought to your life. This also involves moving forward as a human being and looking forward to the positive things life brings (Souza & Klein, 2001). I took two weeks to accept that my grandfather was gone forever. This acceptance was not complete in that I would occasionally breakdown when I remembered him. Accepting the death of my grandfather also meant that I had become a more mature person despite being only seven yours old. I could thus approach the difficult situations in life with more maturity due to the hard time I had gone through.

The loss of a loved one affects the immediate friends and family for the worst or on some occasions the better. Some children have been known to blame themselves for a death of a loved one in that they are suspicious at a young age. This type of situation is not ideal for the health of a child in that it affects the proper development of the child in terms of self esteem and confidence. It also makes a child approach all the difficulties they come across in their lives with a negative point of view as opposed to being positive. Children who have lost loved ones at an early age tend to act out more often than not due to the constant need of attention from the people who surround them. It is thus important to ensure that the proper stages of grieving are followed though the use of counseling from the family or a professional (Boerre, 2006).

Conclusion

Death is inevitable to all the living things that walk on the face of this earth. Human beings are therefore tasked with the responsibility of living a healthy and full lifestyle. This involves being positive even though one is faced with hardships. One of the ways that makes the acceptance of the death of a person easier is the knowing that the person was happy and enjoyed their life to the fullest. Another way that human beings can go about this situation is the appreciation for the life they still have due to the fact that it is not a permanent gift.

References

Boerre, G. (2006) Jean Piaget. Personality Theories. Retrieved August 18, 2011

from http ://webspacg.sh ip.edu/csSmee, Clive. (2000). “Department of Health Special Section: Reconsidering the Role of Competition in Health Care Markets”. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 25 (5): 945–951

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2010) Death. Retrieved August 18, 2011

from http ://www. merriam-webster.com/d dictionary/death

MedicineNet.Com (2004) Grief. Retrieved August 18, 2011

from http ://wwv.medicinenet.com/script/main/art. asp? Article key: 83 860

Family Education Network (2010) ‘Helping Your Child Deal with the Death of a Parent’.

Retrieved August 18, 2011 from http://lifb.familyeducation.com/death-and-dying/toddler/53 891.html

Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple Intelligence: New Horizons, New York, Basic Books.

Hois, S. (2001) Effects of Separation and Loss on Children’s Development.

Retrieved August, 20 I 1 from http: //www. Nurturing parenting commit research validation/ effects_separation_and_loss.pdf

Hughes, D. L. (2007). “Universal coverage in the land of smiles: lessons from Thailand’s 30 baht health reforms”. Health Affairs, 26 (4): 999–1008.

Munir, F. (2005)’Muslim Understanding of Death’. Alkalirna, 7 (l).

Koocher, G. (2002) ‘Discussing Death with Children’. Children Today, l9-37.

Kornhaber, L., Fierros, G., Veneema, A. (2004). Multiple Intelligence: Ideas from Research and Practice, Pearson / Allyn and Bacon Publishers.

Kr”rbler-Ross, E. (1969). On Death ancl Dying. New York: McMillan.

Orbach, I., Gross, Y., and Glaubman, H. (2006) ‘Children’s Perception of Death in Humans and animals as a Function of Age, Anxiety, and Cognitive Ability’. Journal of Child

Psychology and Psychiatry, 26(3), 453-463.

Sengendo, J. and Nambi, J. (2001)’ the psychological effect of orphan hood: a study of orphans In Rakai district’. Health Transition Review, 105- 4

Shanks. N.H. (2007). Introduction to Health Care Management. Johns & Bartlett Publishers.

Souza, P. and Klein, D. (2001). Child Mental Health in Sonoma Country Family Action

Of ‘Sanoma country, 89-91.

Stowe, H. B. (1865) Little.Foxes,’ Or the Insignificant Little Habits Which Mar Domestic

Happiness. United Kingdom: Kessinger Publishing.

Natiorial Institute of Health Patient Intimation Publications (2006) Talking Children about Death, p. l-14.

Life insurance is basically a contract between an insurer who is the policy giver and the insured who is the policy holder.

Life insurance

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Life insurance is basically a contract between an insurer who is the policy giver and the insured who is the policy holder. The insurer promises to pay a fortune to the insured upon his/her death in exchange of agreed premium payments from the client. The contract which is negotiable depends on other external factors that influence payment such as the current health conditions of the individual, particularly on issues to do with terminal illness.

These contracts are legally binding with written specifics concerning the limitations and extensions of liability on the insured events. The liability of the insurer may be limited in cases such as suicide where the contract may be ruled null and void. Such special exclusions will wholly depend on the time agreement between the two parties or the statutes of the locality where the contract was enforced.

Mortality tables are used to calculate policy prices given by the insurer with keen actuarial studies on probability of death occurrences and statistics. Some of the variables also used by insurers are gender and age. Age indeed is considered an important variable of interest as rates rises with age.

In an event of the death of the insured, the claim can only be settled upon provision of an authentic death certificate as objective evidence with additional investigations by the insurer on the cause of death. When all these are proved, the insurer will now have an obligation to settle the claim with the beneficiaries, either on annuity payment or lump sum.

Types of life insurance

Life insurance policies may either be temporary or permanent. Temporary provisions are those that cover up to an agreed period while permanent are those that remain active throughout the policy holder’s life unless defaults in payments of premium occur; where your cover will be terminated with no refunds. Under temporary and permanent, life insurances is also divided into the following subclasses: universal, endowment, term and whole life insurances.

Universal life coverage is a permanent coverage with flexible premium payments and death benefits. Flexible death benefit is where the insured can chose to reduce or increase the death benefit. This cover is also less expensive when compared to whole life policy.

Endowment life insurance is a cover linked to an agreed age known as the endowment age. The value of the policy is equated to benefits on death at a certain age. Endowments are temporary and are paid out at the specified age whether the policy holder outlives or dies. Compared to whole life or universal life, endowments are expensive due to the shortened periods.

Term life insurance offers a cover to a specified period with factors such as length of cover, premium to be paid and the lump sum amount, taken into great account. Term life insurance can also be renewable depending on agreements.

Whole life cover is a permanent life cover with benefits provided at death. The premiums payments are constant throughout depending on earlier quotations at the onset of the contract. This policy accumulates your cash reserves from investments made by the insurer using your premiums. The interests from these investments can be used to settle your remaining premiums or be reinvested upon your consent. When compared to term, payment of benefits in this policy occurs upon regardless of age.

Despite the lack of efficacy in claim settlements by some insurers or breach of contract upon complexities, life cover is an investment worth taking to financially protect your loved ones in your absence.

References.

Maclean, J. B. (1962). Life insurance (9th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.Steuer, A. (2010). Questions and answers on life insurance: the life insurance tool book (3rd Ed.). Alameda, CA: Life Insurance Sage Press.

LIFE INSURANCE

Life Insurance

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Insurance is a pledge or guarantee for a specific potential loss in future which is characterized by exchange for periodic payment. The purpose of insurance is to guard the financial well-being as well as interest of a company, individual or any other entity which could be affected in the case of potential and unexpected loss in future. Insurance vary in types, some are requirements of the laws of particular states while others are optional. Insurance types vary from car, health, business, disability as well as life insurance among others. This paper seeks to analyze life insurance as an individual entity.

Life insurance is a guarantee for the future loss of life by an individual. In modern society, life insurance is a core prerequisite for an individual as well as the associated beneficiaries. By reaching a rational agreement to the terms and conditions of an insurance policy, this creates a non binding or binding contract between the insurer and the insured. More often than not, this is in exchange for premiums (payments made by the insured). Life insurance therefore plays a major role in protecting an individual and his/her respective beneficiary in the form of next of kin.

Features of life insurance vary greatly depending on the type of government. In federal governments however, the following are salient features of life insurance. First is that, one can take loans and make early withdrawals without penalty. This feature makes the funds accessible in times of need. The second feature is that, premium or individual member withdrawals may be tax free. This ensures a reduction in the tax burden and therefore brings forth a cheap option of accessing money as well as benefits of a life insurance. These features among others ensure that an insured individual lives a life free of day to day stress.

Life insurance has a number of advantages. The first benefit is asset protection. This is considered the core benefit of life insurance. This benefit caters for the financial benefits and interests of one’s family. Life insurance products have strong inherent proposition for wealth creation. A customer of life insurance therefore has investment options provided for by the insurer. This feature therefore provides a sense of security.

Secondly, it allows for savings based on goals. Conventionally, every individual has goals in life. Some of these goals can only be achieved through objective based savings. These savings could play fundamental roles of education, construction as well as meeting future planned and unplanned for events. Therefore, life insurance savings help the insured to meet future needs.

Third is that it provides for protection against the ever rising health and health related expenses. With the ever straining global economy characterized by increased standards and expenditure on basic human needs. The safest way to safeguard the future is by obtaining life insurance which might in future cater for unexpected health expenses. This therefore reduces future unexpected expenditures in catering of basic needs.

Finally, life insurance allows for growth through dividends. This is achieved by the fact that every end of a financial year, the insurance provider gives back to the stakeholders in the forms of bonus and dividends. This provides a boost economically to life insurance stakeholders and thus improves their quality of life as well as their living standards.

Life insurance therefore is a fundamental aspect of human life. It allows for asset protection in case of future unexpected events. Through asset protection, the implication is that social as well as economic protection is guaranteed. It also allows for goal based savings. These savings more often than not cater for future unexpected expenditures. It supplements for the ever rising health related expenditures which reduces the burden of unnecessarily spending too much on a health issue that could otherwise been dealt with using cheaper means. Through annual stakeholder bonus and dividends, life insurance boosts the living standards of individual stakeholders.

References

Berwick, G. (2007). The Executives guide to insurance and risk Management. Australia: Fastbooks Publishers

Koller, M. (2011). Life Insurance Risk Management Essentials, London, U.K: Springer Publishers

Life goes on logic model

Life goes on logic model:Statement of Need: The mission of “Life goes on” is to reduce rates of suicide among older adults through awareness, education and community based interventions.

Input -685804064000 Process -53975-255524000 1243330571500Output Outcome

Short-term Long-term -590553111500 Impact

Clients

Counselors

Case Manager

Volunteers

Handouts

Facility

Referrals and Resources Providing one forum quarterly to address the needs, services and education of older adult to families, friends, guardians and clients Increased awareness on depression and suicidal thoughts The public and the society’s increased awareness on depression and suicidal thoughts amongst older people Promotion of mental resilience and connectedness between the older adults, family, friends and guardians.

Reduction of depression and suicidal thoughts amongst adults aged 65 and above

Hold a weekly support group for the clients to increase social skills, awareness and prevention.

increased social skills, awareness and prevention amongst support group Public awareness on people at risk of committing suicide Improved identification of precursors to suicide among older adults Provide trainings twice a year to recognize and respond to suicidal risks among older adults.

Recognition and response to suicidal risks among older adults.

Educating the public on handling suicidal risks Utilize social media to raise awareness of suicidal among older adults Increased awareness of suicidal issues amongst older adults through the social media Input -685804064000 Process -457203746500-53975-255524000 Output -457204191000 Outcome

Short-term Long-term -590553111500 Impact

Clients

Counselors

Case Manager

Volunteers

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Facility

Referrals and Resources During National Suicide prevention week which is surrounded by World National Suicide Prevention day LGO would host a candlelight vigil to honor the lives of those who were effective by suicide among older adults. Advocate for administrative and policy measures to assist with the care of older Reduction of suicidal cases amongst older adults

Network annually with California authorities to create awareness on mental health among older adults through public policy forums in the capital. Increased public awareness on mental health issues. Offer weekly wellness checks to clients Reduced suicide rates amongst older people

Life Application. Overestimating people’s thoughts about you

Life Application

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u Overestimating people’s thoughts about you PAGEREF _Toc378195130 h 1Life changing decision PAGEREF _Toc378195131 h 1My first year at high school PAGEREF _Toc378195132 h 2

Overestimating people’s thoughts about youThe opinions that people hold on an individual’s actions, behavior or simply their personality has a great impact on that particular person. There are instances where one can underestimate or even overestimate how other people think of them. I have been in a situation where I totally overestimated how much other people were thinking about me. This occurred during the first few days that I had joined college. I usually made sure that I was early for class and would seat at the front of the class. I would always answer all the questions that were asked even if I did not know the answer. I used to do all this so that I could attract attention and hence be noticed by the rest of the class.

However, this was not the case as one day I asked one of my classmates what they thought of me. Was shocked to realize that he had not noticed my presence in the class and was not even sure we were classmates. This was contrary to my expectations since I expected that everyone in class knew me and thought of me as brilliant student. My situation was quite similar to adolescent egocentrism as I believed that the rest of the class was attentive to my appearance since I always sat at the front. I also believed that they paid attention to my behavior since I was answering al the questions so that I could be noticed. With adolescent egocentrism there is belief that all eyes are on you as a person and this is exactly what I thought (Fraser, 2010).

Life changing decisionI took a decision to change schools from a local school to an international school. This was life changing decision since it is through the school that I met many people from different countries and cultures that made me get the exposure that I would need for my career. It was quite emotional to leave my friends that I had known for a very long time to go to a totally different country. It would be hard for me to settle and get to make other friends and get used to them. This was the only logical move as studying in my country would not give me the exposure that I so much needed. Therefore there was an interaction between the logic behind my decision made it easy for me to deal with the situation in a less emotional way.

I would not have made the decision to make the move if I had given the matter less thought. I looked at the advantages of my decision against the disadvantages and the advantages outnumbered the disadvantages. If I could have given the matter less thought then I could not have weighed my options and could not have made the decision that I made.

My first year at high schoolI attended an international high school which was not in my country. During my first year at the international school I thought that everything would be same as it was back at home. However, this was not the case as the students there were not as hospitable and friendly like the way it was back at home. It was quite difficult to make friends and interact with people in the school. This is because most of the students came from different backgrounds hence behaving in different ways that were often not accommodative to others. I made a decision to try as much as possible to fit in the school through making friends and spreading my hospitable nature. His made the later years of my stay in the school were easier and better. It helped to get to know other people and learning to live with people from different cultures and backgrounds in harmony. I influenced the many friends to adopt a hospitable nature and become friendly. We interacted freely and shared our views and ideas which was quite helpful in our studies.The later years of my stay in that school were therefore the best with so much god memories tied to them.

Reference

Fraser, R. (2010). Definition of Adolescent Egocentrism .Retrieved May 4, 2013 from http://tweenparenting.about.com/od/behaviordiscipline/a/AdolescentEgocentrism.htm

Lies My Teacher Told Me Down the Memory Hole The Disappearance of the Recent Past

Lies My Teacher Told Me “Down the Memory Hole: The Disappearance of the Recent Past”

History textbooks misrepresent the events of September 11. They do not give an account of the past, for instance the relationship of the US and the Middle East. The US is presented as the ‘good guy’ helping the affected states in the attacks whereas they had other motives, to take power of vulnerable states like Iraq.

According to Loewen, history textbooks in the US portray the US positively. This is misleading to the students because they will believe that the US is the best when actually it is not entirely the best (Lowen 2007). Lowen stated that the United States attacked Iraq twice. It was also part of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The US helped Saddam Hussein rise to power by helping him fight against the attacks in Iraq. It provided weaponry and also involved the CIA thus influencing Saddam’s rise to power.

George Bush was justified in invading Iraq because Saddam was able to produce weapons of mass destruction (WMD) over a given time frame. Besides, Saddam’s WMD could have been hidden or ferried to another country (Lowen 2007).

There are many reasons history textbooks will present about the reason why US attacked Iraq. For instance, the US wanted to help the people of Iraq and lead them to democracy. However, according to Loewen, US attacked Iraq because it wanted to get rid of the threats posed by Saddam. Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and this could possibly be accessed by Al-Qaeda. The US also wanted to take charge of the oil in Iraq which would be a great source of economic benefit for it.

After the 9/11 attacks, the US launched attack on Iraq mainly to avenge the 9/11 attacks that had affected it.

Israel helped the US deal with threats from the external arena and also boost each other in terms of technological advancement. The countries in the Middle East view this relationship as a mutual relationship with both countries benefiting from each other.

This chapter is a critique of what most history textbooks in the US presents. As such, I have developed reservations for some of the arguments. For example, I do not anymore entirely believe that the US is a perfect continent. Some of the reasons it went into war, for example in Iraq, was not to help the suffering citizens but to benefit indirectly. This is rather selfish and many books do not argue this possibility. Many authors only discuss the positive side of the US’ intervention.

Top of Form

Loewen, J. W. (2007). Lies my teacher told me: Everything your American history textbook got wrong. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Bottom of Form

Introduction (17)

Lifetime Appointment of the U.S. Supreme Courts System

Student’s name

Institutional affiliation

Introduction

In the United States, the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court is among the most decisions a president can ever make. This is because inline with the U.S. Constitution, justices serving at the Supreme Court are allowed to serve a lifetime and are only separated from office if they retire, resign, or are removed from office. This aspect makes the U.S. democracy distinct from other democracies that strict term limits or mandatory retirement ages for high court judges. For instance, in the United Kingdom, justices undergo mandatory retirement at 70 years, as do judges in Australia High courts. Most judges in the United States history retire prior, but a few died while in office, including Justice Ruth Ginsburg, who recently died in September 2020 after serving at the Supreme Court for 27 years (Kearney, 2019). In 1787, by the time the U.S. constitution was ratified, the average life expectancy for white males was 38 years; today, the life expectancy in the U.S. stands at 79 years. This means that the average justice serves the courts for 28 years. There is an argument that the framers never intended justices to serve as long as they do now since life expectancy was considerably shorter at the time of the drafting of the Constitution. This essay points out the pros and cons of lifetime appointment of judges and asserts that the tenure of Supreme Court Justices should have strict age limits rather than lifetime appointment.

Pros of Lifetime Appointment of Judges

Permanency in Office Contributes to independence and Firmness of Supreme Courts.

The essence of guaranteeing justices a position on the benches for a lifetime or until they retire is to guard the courts against fighting partisan battles. The Supreme Court represents the highest Court in the entire U.S. justice system, making it susceptible to external influences hence preventing it from functioning fairly and independently. The Supreme Court is a point of reference against the president’s office as well as congress. Lifetime appointment is deemed helpful as it is intended to ensure that the corridors of justice are insulated against political pressure and they serve genuinely autonomous of government arms. This way, judges are protected from being sacked if they make decisions that are unpopular. In theory, lifetime appointment allows justices to concentrate on the law enforcement rather than politics. Additionally, while a president might nominate an individual to the position of justice because they view them as an ideological or political ally, they cannot be recalled even if political alignment or ideologies change upon getting to the bench. Noteworthy, there is data to suggest that as they age, ideologies of many justices drift leftward. This shows that article III of the Constitution is timely as it prevents wrangles that can arise from having justices that are unbiased or with personal interest in Congress, the Public, or the elected president. According to Alexander Hamilton, who wrote in Federalists No.78, the lack of limits in terms for federal justices “is the best expedient which can be devised in government to secure a steady, upright, and impartial administration of the laws” (Black, & Owens 2016).

Life Time Appointment of Justices Protects Courts’ Legitimacy

In this case, legitimacy is the court’s ability to resolve disagreements using ways that are acceptable by the citizens even when they do not like the decision. Critiques of the ideology of having a term limit maintain that having a lifetime appointment policy is viable as it insulates judges from political pressure hence protecting the Court’s legitimacy (McMillion, 2017). Worth noting, if citizens do not view Courts as legitimate, they are less likely to trust and follow its opinion. On the other hand, having term limits to justices’ tenure for 18 years would only cushion judges from politics from a given amount of time hence tarnishing the Court’s legitimacy.

Cons of Lifetime Appointment of Federal Justices

Lifetime Appointment is a Barrier to Combating Partisan Imbalance in the Courts System

As is, there is no political balance when it comes to giving each president equal nominations of justices through their terms in office. To date, presidential appointments are unevenly distributed between Republican presidents and Democrats. Of the past 18 justices, only four (4) were adopted by democrats, although less than 50% of presidents in the last 50 years were republicans. Worth noting, ideally, about 50% of justices should have been appointed by Democratic presidents and 50% by republican presidents to reflect the majority of the population’s political ideologies at the time of the vacancy. Lifetime appointment of judges does not solve the imbalance as there is no stipulated time when a judge should serve. If there was a term limit, it would solve the imbalance by limiting presidents’ appointments to two per term. This would allow future democratic presidents to appoint more justices to the Supreme Court than they have had thus far.

Life Time Appointment Exacerbates Divisiveness Following the Confirmation Process

Allowing federal justices to serve a lifetime reinforces the division which follows the process of appointing these individuals. Although Justice Scalia was confirmed in 1986 98-0, very few Democrats would agree with him. Notably, since then, no justice has been confirmed unanimously. Instead, nowadays, justices are being confirmed with narrow margins at high rates. Moreover, votes are now aligned with political party lines; for instance, Justice Kavanaugh and Justice Gorsuch were confirmed with 50-48 and 54-45 votes respectively. It is imperative to note that augmented partisanship of the process paints judges as mere political figures rather than unbiased interpreters of the Constitution. In turn, this affects the citizens’ viewpoint towards the courts and the entire justice system. If there were a law to limit the age of service for justices, it would balance the number of judges nominated by each president, thus helping the confirmation process become less partisan.

Conclusion

The issue of nomination of Supreme Courts’ Justice by the present elect in the United States is an important decision to the state and the citizens. This is because, in line with their Constitution, federal judges are permitted to serve a life time and are allowed to leave office only if thy resign, retire or are impeached. I maintain the position that there is need to put strict age limits that restrict justices to serve until they a particular age. The first reason for supporting this notion is that incorporating age limits would solve the imbalance by limiting presidents’ appointments to two per term. This follows the fact that there is no political balance when it comes to giving each president equal nominations of justices through their terms in office. Additionally, if there was a law to limit the age of service for justices, it would balance the number of justices nominated by each president, thus helping the confirmation process become less partisan. The division is evidenced by the narrow margins experienced during the confirmations of justices in the appointment and confirmation process. There is a need to cross-examine how viable article III of the Constitution and if need be, amendment in line with the legal procedures.

References

Black, R. C., & Owens, R. J. (2016). Courting the president: how circuit court judges alter their behavior for promotion to the Supreme Court. American Journal of Political Science, 60(1), 30-43.

Kearney, M. (2019). When to Step Down: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Supreme Court. Women Leading Change: Case Studies on Women, Gender, and Feminism, 4(1).

McMillion, B. J. (2017). Supreme Court Appointment Process: President’s Selection of a Nominee. Congressional Research Service.

Introduction (16)

Lifetime Appointment of the U.S. Supreme Courts System

Student’s name

Institutional affiliation

Introduction

In the United States, the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court is among the most decisions a president can ever make. This is because inline with the U.S. Constitution, justices serving at the Supreme Court are allowed to serve a lifetime and are only separated from office if they retire, resign, or are removed from office. This aspect makes the U.S. democracy distinct from other democracies that strict term limits or mandatory retirement ages for high court judges. For instance, in the United Kingdom, justices undergo mandatory retirement at 70 years, as do judges in Australia High courts. Most judges in the United States history retire prior, but a few died while in office, including Justice Ruth Ginsburg, who recently died in September 2020 after serving at the Supreme Court for 27 years (Kearney, 2019). In 1787, by the time the U.S. constitution was ratified, the average life expectancy for white males was 38 years; today, the life expectancy in the U.S. stands at 79 years. This means that the average justice serves the courts for 28 years. There is an argument that the framers never intended justices to serve as long as they do now since life expectancy was considerably shorter at the time of the drafting of the Constitution. This essay points out the pros and cons of lifetime appointment of judges and asserts that the tenure of Supreme Court Justices should have strict age limits rather than lifetime appointment.

Pros of Lifetime Appointment of Judges

Permanency in Office Contributes to independence and Firmness of Supreme Courts.

The essence of guaranteeing justices a position on the benches for a lifetime or until they retire is to guard the courts against fighting partisan battles. The Supreme Court represents the highest Court in the entire U.S. justice system, making it susceptible to external influences hence preventing it from functioning fairly and independently. The Supreme Court is a point of reference against the president’s office as well as congress. Lifetime appointment is deemed helpful as it is intended to ensure that the corridors of justice are insulated against political pressure and they serve genuinely autonomous of government arms. This way, judges are protected from being sacked if they make decisions that are unpopular. In theory, lifetime appointment allows justices to concentrate on the law enforcement rather than politics. Additionally, while a president might nominate an individual to the position of justice because they view them as an ideological or political ally, they cannot be recalled even if political alignment or ideologies change upon getting to the bench. Noteworthy, there is data to suggest that as they age, ideologies of many justices drift leftward. This shows that article III of the Constitution is timely as it prevents wrangles that can arise from having justices that are unbiased or with personal interest in Congress, the Public, or the elected president. According to Alexander Hamilton, who wrote in Federalists No.78, the lack of limits in terms for federal justices “is the best expedient which can be devised in government to secure a steady, upright, and impartial administration of the laws” (Black, & Owens 2016).

Life Time Appointment of Justices Protects Courts’ Legitimacy

In this case, legitimacy is the court’s ability to resolve disagreements using ways that are acceptable by the citizens even when they do not like the decision. Critiques of the ideology of having a term limit maintain that having a lifetime appointment policy is viable as it insulates judges from political pressure hence protecting the Court’s legitimacy (McMillion, 2017). Worth noting, if citizens do not view Courts as legitimate, they are less likely to trust and follow its opinion. On the other hand, having term limits to justices’ tenure for 18 years would only cushion judges from politics from a given amount of time hence tarnishing the Court’s legitimacy.

Cons of Lifetime Appointment of Federal Justices

Lifetime Appointment is a Barrier to Combating Partisan Imbalance in the Courts System

As is, there is no political balance when it comes to giving each president equal nominations of justices through their terms in office. To date, presidential appointments are unevenly distributed between Republican presidents and Democrats. Of the past 18 justices, only four (4) were adopted by democrats, although less than 50% of presidents in the last 50 years were republicans. Worth noting, ideally, about 50% of justices should have been appointed by Democratic presidents and 50% by republican presidents to reflect the majority of the population’s political ideologies at the time of the vacancy. Lifetime appointment of judges does not solve the imbalance as there is no stipulated time when a judge should serve. If there was a term limit, it would solve the imbalance by limiting presidents’ appointments to two per term. This would allow future democratic presidents to appoint more justices to the Supreme Court than they have had thus far.

Life Time Appointment Exacerbates Divisiveness Following the Confirmation Process

Allowing federal justices to serve a lifetime reinforces the division which follows the process of appointing these individuals. Although Justice Scalia was confirmed in 1986 98-0, very few Democrats would agree with him. Notably, since then, no justice has been confirmed unanimously. Instead, nowadays, justices are being confirmed with narrow margins at high rates. Moreover, votes are now aligned with political party lines; for instance, Justice Kavanaugh and Justice Gorsuch were confirmed with 50-48 and 54-45 votes respectively. It is imperative to note that augmented partisanship of the process paints judges as mere political figures rather than unbiased interpreters of the Constitution. In turn, this affects the citizens’ viewpoint towards the courts and the entire justice system. If there were a law to limit the age of service for justices, it would balance the number of judges nominated by each president, thus helping the confirmation process become less partisan.

Conclusion

The issue of nomination of Supreme Courts’ Justice by the present elect in the United States is an important decision to the state and the citizens. This is because, in line with their Constitution, federal judges are permitted to serve a life time and are allowed to leave office only if thy resign, retire or are impeached. I maintain the position that there is need to put strict age limits that restrict justices to serve until they a particular age. The first reason for supporting this notion is that incorporating age limits would solve the imbalance by limiting presidents’ appointments to two per term. This follows the fact that there is no political balance when it comes to giving each president equal nominations of justices through their terms in office. Additionally, if there was a law to limit the age of service for justices, it would balance the number of justices nominated by each president, thus helping the confirmation process become less partisan. The division is evidenced by the narrow margins experienced during the confirmations of justices in the appointment and confirmation process. There is a need to cross-examine how viable article III of the Constitution and if need be, amendment in line with the legal procedures.

References

Black, R. C., & Owens, R. J. (2016). Courting the president: how circuit court judges alter their behavior for promotion to the Supreme Court. American Journal of Political Science, 60(1), 30-43.

Kearney, M. (2019). When to Step Down: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Supreme Court. Women Leading Change: Case Studies on Women, Gender, and Feminism, 4(1).

McMillion, B. J. (2017). Supreme Court Appointment Process: President’s Selection of a Nominee. Congressional Research Service.