"The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn't Flash Red Anymore," by Sherman Alexie is a story that starts out with two guys, the author states in the beginning of the story Victor is holding a pistol to his temple and said he wished he was drunk enough to pull the trigger. Adrian then took the gun and put the barrel in his mouth, smiled around the metal and then pulled the trigger, soon after, the author says he spits the BB out.…
In this dashboard, researcher chooses both qualitative and quantitative data. After all, in that case the balanced scorecard will offer a forward looking in which just quantitative data is not capable of.…
The book “Hooked” by Dr Lonny Shavelson is a fascinating read regarding the rehabilitation of 5 individuals (Mike, Darlene, Crystal, Darrell, and Glenda) dealing with heroin, meth, crack, and alcohol abuse. In the memoir, Dr Shavelson follows these 5 participants through their everyday dealings with the network of recovery facilities in San Francisco during the “open-door” policy implemented in the 1990’s, allowing addicts to seek treatment if they wanted. From what I gather, he noticed the chaotic nature of these participants replicated and correlated the with chaotic nature of the rehabilitation system in San Francisco during that time. In the following paragraphs, I will attempt to explain the issues related to alcohol and substance abuse…
Ethan Fisher is a former basketball star a produce in high school in Fort Collins Colorado has devoted his life to bringing awareness of alcohol and drug abuse to high school and college students athletes. Using his horrific story as an example of what not to do. Ethan Fisher is naturally shy. He had problems meeting people. especially girls, and he believes those issues combined with peer pressure, led him on the road to addiction which led to vehicular homicide and nearly his own death. Ethan graduated with two bachelor degrees with minor and master. He played basketball during college, but things were going bad for him. From his past he started smoking weed, then went on to drinking alcohol in junior year. When he was smoking weed and drinking…
In this book, Nic repeatedly addresses the question of how far a person can fall apart before they realize they need to pull themselves together. Sheff enters rehab multiple times, but for various reasons he relapses into heavy drug use, despite a few near-death occurrences and an absolutely, unlivable lifestyle.…
Tragedies are unpredictable and inevitable, however the different perceptions towards a hardship can alter an individual’s path. Tragedies can twist the image of reality, but they can also be a source of guidance. The movie Forrest Gump directed by Robert Zemeckis and the poem “On a Tree Fallen Across the Road,” by Robert Frost showcase that overcoming obstacles can provide a sense of identity, and impact the potential outcome.…
Through personal experiences, people are able to learn, grow or change as an individual. When an individual is faced with obstacles in their life, the most important thing is how they choose to respond. If they are able to face the obstacle and overcome it, then they will reap the rewards. Both the novel ‘The story of Tom Brennan’ by J.C. Burke and the film ‘Smile’ by Jeffrey Kramer present how mentors in people’s life will ultimately help them face the obstacles of moving into the world whilst also extending their personal freedom.…
David Sheff’s book is a very self-reflecting account. He is constantly analyzing the past, the decisions he’s made with Nic, and putting it all together in a desperate attempt to find answers to his son’s downfall. He struggles with a constant mental conflict: “What did I do wrong?” His preoccupation with Nic became an addiction in itself, and the obsessive worry and stress took a tremendous toll, to the point where he suffered from a massive hemorrhage. David’s view of the progression of Nic’s addiction reflects the Social Learning Theories and Psychoanalytical explanations of American drug use. At first, David views the onset of Nic’s addiction as a cause of some childhood lifestyle factors he lived through (such as the divorce). Later on, however, David realizes that there are thousands of teenagers who are reeled into the dark world of drugs and do not necessarily come from traumatic backgrounds; that these two things are not always directly linked. They are simply reinforced by others, usually drug-using friends, regardless of how they were raised. Ronald Akers built on this idea of operant conditioning by pointing out that drug-using behavior is reinforced…
Indecision is infuriatingly inconvenient. When someone is certain about something, they can make decisions easily. Through a deconstructive lens, being certain is a privilege in society. Yet certainty can at times be a burden and have unexpected consequences, while indecision can help make better decisions. The Road Not Taken written by Frost was inspired by his friend Thomas and was about indecision and how no matter what path Thomas takes, he will always regret it. Indecision often diminishes confidence, yet sometimes, it broadens a person’s perspective. This depicts that there are no definite lines on what is privileged and what’s not. With this, it relates back to the structure in society. When there are no definite lines, then there is a certain amount of ambiguity and it happens in literature, in people, and in…
“Dancing to the ceiling,” “kissed the ceiling,” and “breaking the chains,” metaphorically reflects on the abandonment of the laws in Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron.” At the end of the short story, Harrison…
“It is not what one does that is wrong, but what one becomes as a consequence of it “, which means the thing you do can turn you into something you’re not. It’s not the crime someone commits it’s if they change or have a positive effect on the consequence. Jack Gantos started hanging with the wrong people, started selling drugs but he didn’t think selling drugs could land him in federal prison. Jack spent his time in jail but he didn’t let jail stop him from writing. Jack realized he did a crime, he went to prison & got out and changed his life around. Gantos began as a person with lack of supervision, getting involved with the drug culture, he ends up going to jail when he gets out he goes to college and becomes an amazing writer.…
The world is full of people striving to be the best they can be. When one finds themselves far from the social idea of “perfect” there is a strong need to improve. While self-improvement is hard, it is also a necessary part of life, setting goals for how one wants their life to turn out. Addiction is a huge obstacle in the way of perfection it can destroy lives when the person with the addiction does not want to change. In the memoir A Million Little Pieces the writer and main character, James Frey, leads a drug addicted life that he turns around in a Minnesota rehab center, demonstrating that self-improvement is the way to salvation. This proves to be a main theme in this work, all throughout showing how he goes from barely functioning to a person full of life and hope for a better future. Frey’s improvement as a person springs from his self-reliant attitude, acceptance of pain, and support from family and family, leaving his rehabilitation experience successful.…
When Tommy was in high school, his father passed away. Tommy seemed to block out his depression as he continued to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol. Marijuana posed as a gateway drug for Tommy and led to experimenting with other substances such as ecstasy and cocaine. Although he was never addicted to these drugs, he may have actually been addicted to this new and exciting lifestyle. Tommy was the life of any party and was always the one to take it to the next level. Because of this busy way of life, Tommy’s grades were starting to drop.…
turns in this poem like problems cannot be seen ahead of time you just run into them.…
Everyone will behave differently when they face adversity. Some of them might give up easily, or they fight with their courage instead of accepting adversity and tragedy. In True Notebooks, Mark Salzman shows us how the boys deal with obstacles. If those boys can’t overcome obstacles, obstacles overcome them. Therefore, they must persist in the end when they face adversity. Sometime, some of them are lucky to overcome obstacles by persisting in the end, but many of them can’t overcome obstacles because of the situation, or they don’t even want to overcome obstacles.…