Sunday, June 12, 2011

Reaction essay of Steve Jobs’ commencement address


Recently, many university students are going to graduate, and all the colleges are busy preparing the graduation ceremony. This made me think of a video I saw a few days ago, which was about the commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs in Stanford University. Steve Jobs is the CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, his commencement address inspired many college students and urged them to have a deeper think about their life and future. After watching the video of Steve Jobs’ commencement address, I will show my opinions of reasons why I disagree about dropped out of college, my view points of gains and losses and my reflections of facing death.

First of all, people should not give up on the halfway and the important of the college diploma are the two main reasons why I disagree about dropped out of college. In the video, Steve Jobs talked about the experience that he dropped out of college because he couldn't see any value in it. He also said that he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life and no idea how college was going to help him figure it out. I really admire his courage, and I also support that he stop taking the required classes that didn't interest him, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting. However, I absolutely disagree about dropped out of college. Because most of the students quit not for finding what they interesting in. Instead, they just tired of studying and wanted to give up. As to a college student, I think they should never give up on the halfway. Besides, almost everyone knows that the college diploma is so important in nowadays. If you hope to hire by some famous companies, the college diploma is something essential to you.

Next, I’ll elaborate my view points that people should not be afraid of losing something and a loss may turn out to be a gain. Steve Jobs thinks he was lucky that he got fired by the Apple Company, which led him to start a new company and fell in love with his wife. To me, people who never loss anything can’t gain something worth. Many people dare not run after their dream because they are too afraid of losing, so they end up regretting and doing nothing in the entire life. Therefore, we should not afraid of losing something; otherwise, we might miss many good opportunities. Besides, I consider that gains and losses are relatively rather than absolutely and losses are not entirely the bad thing. Whether a thing is good or bad depends on the different aspects that you view it. As saying goes, “Every cloud has a silver lining.” A loss may also turn out to be a gain.

At last, I’ll focus on my reflection about cherish every moment I have and don’t waste time doing things that I don’t like. Steve Jobs was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago, and he said that death is very likely the single best invention of life. He also mentioned a quote that said, "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." The quote he mentioned really impressed me a lot and it also reminded me to cherish every moment I have. People should never take the time they have for granted, all of us must treasure and make good use of every moment. By the way, Steve Jobs also told the students to have the courage to follow their heart and intuition. It warns me not to waste time doing things that I don’t like.  If my time is limited, I will definitely do things that I love instead of keep living someone else's life. As a result, I think everyone should live a meaningful life by using their time to do things that they enjoyed.

Finally, the commencement address that Steve Jobs’ made truly inspired me. It made me to think deeper and further. I had explained my disagreements of discontinue one's studies, my opinions about gains and losses and what I will think of when confronting death. And I wish that everybody can have their own revelations and being enlightened after hearing Steve Jobs’ speech.

Reaction essay of Steve Jobs’ commencement address (outline)

Outline
l   Background information
l   Reasons why I disagree about dropped out of college.
Ø   People should not give up on the halfway.
Ø   The important of the college diploma in nowadays.
l   My view points of gains and losses.
Ø   Don’t be afraid of losing something.
Ø   A loss may turn out to be a gain.
l   Reflections of facing death.
Ø   Cherish every moment you have.
Ø   Don’t waste time doing things that you don’t like.
l   Conclusion

Thesis statement
After watching the video of Steve Jobs’ commencement address, I will show my opinions of reasons why I disagree about dropped out of college, my view points of gains and losses and my reflections of facing death.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Keeping pets (diary/practice)


Keeping pets

There are so many people keeping pets as companion nowadays, including dogs, cats, rabbits, turtles, birds…… and so on. Some of them keep pets because of their feeling lonely and solitary; others may keep pets for some specific purposes. No matter what reason people wants to keep a pet, we should all take it seriously, rather than just like buying goods.

I had some experience of keeping pets. Because that I am the only child in my family, my mom promise to let me keep my own pet in my childhood. My mom bought me a small, white dog that named lucky. It had just born three months ago when it first came to our house, so we must took good care of lucky to prevent it from getting sick. I was responsible to walk lucky everyday. We went to the park nearby and I really enjoyed to had its’ accompany. We got along with each other quite well and had so much wonderful time. Thanks to lucky, I became braver and no longer feel lonely. My friends and I like to share our experience of keeping pets and exchange our opinions with each other since that we all had different kinds of pet. By the way, one of our neighbors even kept a pet pig. Although it looks strange when he “walk” his pig, it’s obvious that he love his pig very much.

No matter which kinds of pet we had kept or we are going to keep, we should consider of all the details and problems we may met before we decide to keep a pet. Keeping pets isn’t an easy job; it requires patient, space, time and money. Some people decide to keep pets on an impulse, and after a period of time, they may get tired of taking care of their pets, some owners even abandon them rashly. These poor pets usually end up lack of food and died of starvation. So everyone should think twice before we decide to keep our own pets, make sure that we won’t be regret in the future. And once we make up our mind, we should provide proper care for them, and most important of all, never desert them!

Saturday, June 4, 2011

An experience of being misunderstood (diary/practice)


I have a very unforgettable experience of being misunderstood. In my first year in high school, I had a good friend. We got along with each other very well and we often talked about our life and discussed the problems we had in school. We always shared our joys and sorrows.
Every time I was in the bad mood or didn’t do well on the test, she would encourage me and made me feel relived. I also listened to her patiently when she got into troubles. We cared about each other so much that we thought of each other as part of our family. One of our ways to communicate with each other is through our own blogs on the Internet. Both of us have the same interest in our free time. We enjoyed reading the article on our blog through the web site. And when the next time we turned on the computer, we would know what happened to each other these days and also understood each other more through the blog.
But one night I got an e-mail from her, in the mail she told me that she felt very disappointed at me, and she didn’t want to be my friend anymore! I was very shocked at that time. I called her back immediately, but no one answer the phone. I was so confused and I didn’t know what to do. So I turned on my computer and tried to figure out what had happened between us. Finally I realized the whole thing. It’s because one of an article post in my blog. In the article, I mentioned that some of my friends’ behaviors made me feel uncomfortable and how they made me feel angry. After reading the article, she got so mad at me because she thought she was the one I talked about in my article. But actually, I didn’t mean it. She got angry at me and didn’t listen to me. I’d tried hard to explain to her, but in vain. She didn’t want to talk to me and even deliberately stayed away from me. I was so sad and also was a little annoyed at her.
Finally, I decided to tell her how I felt and what I thought about on my blog. I typed my words on my blog because I was sure that she would see it. I also told her how much I cared about her and what the friendship meant to me. After a few days, I finally got a friendly response. She passed me a letter and she apologized to me. I was so happy when I saw it. I hastened to her and gave her a big hug. And we never have an argument anymore.

Friday, June 3, 2011

The Negative Effects of Computers on Our Everyday Lives (after peer edit)


Nowadays, computers become one of the most essential items in our life. Most people agree that they must rely on computers to complete their work; some even consider that they can not live without computers in their life. Though computers are so necessary to us, there are still some negative effects. The negative effects of computers on our everyday lives including three disadvantages: regress on the schoolwork, harm our health and form bad relationship.

The first disadvantage is the regression on the schoolwork, wasting too much time and being addicted to the online games are the main reasons that lead to this negative effect. For instance, some of my classmates admit that they often stay up late playing online games just to get an upgrade in their virtual life during the games. Some reports also indicate that about sixty percent of college students spend more than two hours on the computers everyday. Therefore, they don’t have enough time to do their homework and prepare for the exam, which directly cause the regression on their schoolwork. Besides the influence on schoolwork, computers are also harmful to our body.


The second disadvantage is about our health. Research shows that computers are the killers of people’s eyesight. Watching the computer screen everyday makes serious eyes problems, nearsighted and myopic astigmatism are two of the symptoms. According to the medical comments, keep sitting in front of the computers may results in poor blood circulation. And your neck, arms and legs might become numb if you keep sitting in the same pose for a long time.

At last, the third disadvantage is to form estranged relationship. There are so many websites that can help us to make contact with others through computers. For example, we can send and receive e-mails from our friends or chat with people by MSN and Skype. In this case, there’s no need for us to meet each other face to face because everything can be discussed through the computers. Nowadays, people seldom visit their friends in person, and most of them think that writing a letter is too troublesome. Due to the above reasons, many people are bad at communication skills, and they may become unfamiliar with the social interaction.

To do less well on schoolwork, become unhealthy and have an apathetic relationship are the three negative effects of computers on our everyday lives. To improve the situations, we should use the computers moderately and never become too dependent on the computers. After all, computers are just one of the tools that can help us to finish our job.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

The Negative Effects of Computers on Our Everyday Lives


Nowadays, computers become one of the most essential items in our life. Most people agree that they must rely on computers to complete their work; some even consider that they can not live without computers in their life. Though computers are so necessary to us, there are still some negative effects. The negative effects of computers on our everyday lives including three disadvantages: regress on the schoolwork, harm our health and form bad relationship.

The first disadvantage is the regression on the schoolwork, wasting too much time and being addicted to the online games is the main reason that leads to this negative effect. For instance, some of my classmates admit that they often stay up late playing online games just to get an upgrade in their virtual life during the games. Some reports also indicate that about sixty percent of college students spend more than two hours on the computers everyday. Therefore, they don’t have enough time to do their homework and prepare for the exam, which directly cause the regression on their schoolwork. Besides the influence on schoolwork, computers are also harmful to our body.

The second disadvantage is about our health. Research shows that computers are the killers of people’s eyesight. Watching the computer screen everyday make serious eyes problems, nearsighted and myopic astigmatism are two of the symptoms. According to the medical comments, keep sitting in front of the computers may results to poor blood circulation. And your neck, arms and legs might become numb if you keep sitting in the same pose for a long time.

At last, the third disadvantage is to form estranged relationship. There are so many websites that can help us to make contact with others through computers. For example, we can send and receive e-mails from our friends or chat with people by MSN and Skype. In this case, there’s no need for us to meet each other face to face because everything can be discuss through the computers. In nowadays, people seldom visit their friends in person, and most of them think that writing a letter is too troublesome. Due to the above reasons, many people are bad at communication skills, and they may become unfamiliar with the social interaction.

To do less well on schoolwork, become unhealthy and have an apathetic relationship are the three negative effects of computers on our everyday lives. To improve the situations, we should use the computer moderately and never become too rely on the computers. After all, computers are just one of the tools that can help us to finish our job.

The Negative Effects of Computers on Our Everyday Lives(Topic Outline 2)

Topic Outline
The Negative Effects of Computers on Our Everyday Lives

Thesis: The negative effects of computers on our everyday lives including three disadvantages: regress on the schoolwork, harm our health and form estranged relationship.
Introduction
I. Regress on the schoolwork
II. Harm our health
III. Form estranged relationship
Conclusion