Saturday, January 23, 2010

Reflection

The completing of the portfolio was our major project for the first semester. In order to complete it we had to write three 400 word stories, one academic paper, book review, a short story, and a college essay. This was the part that demanded time and effort from us. However, it was a good opportunity to practice my writing. In order to finish the task I had to schedule my program so I could have time to finish all the work I had. The interesting part of the project was the communication with kids from USA. We had to take a look at their pieces of work and give them some suggestions and vice versa. However, the American kids turned to be not serious enough and in most of the cases we had to check the work of our classmates.
I enjoyed the project because I received some hints and suggestions how to improve my writing and was helpful for some of my classmates.

College Essay

Chemistry has been the most interesting subject for me since I attended ninth grade. Even at that age I could realize the significance of this science for our life. Today, many of the students believe that chemistry is all about learning by heart, a person can find a strong sense of logic in it, which makes it easy for me to learn. However, studying only chemistry without applying it is a waste of money and time and that is why I decided to study chemical engineering because I will be able to apply what I have learned in my everyday life and work.
During the years spent in school I have gained knowledge in many various spheres that concern the subject that I have chosen-chemical engineering. During my first nine years of education I have studied mainly inorganic chemistry that helped me to understand the environment around us by looking at it through a different prospective. In tenth and eleventh grade I started studying subjects that concern my future education even deeper. Such subjects are Biology and Organic Chemistry. They are important for me because I can observe different processes that occur in the nature and in the human body, and explain them. I enjoy learning new information concerning the essence of the human body, nature and even the food that is prepared in the kitchen. In eleventh grade I made a step that gave me the base for studying chemical engineering in the future. This step was taking the AP Chemistry and SAT Chemistry. The preparation that I did for these two exams turned to be very helpful for me even at school. The results that I achieved made me more self-confident that I will be able to overcome the obstacles that I will face in my future education.
In order to be successful in his life, a person must have a strong sense of order. My work experience has taught me to schedule my work and to put everything in order when I need to. Two years ago I worked as a porter in a hotel in Sunny beach. There I spent the whole summer working and enjoying my growing up. I learned to help other people and even to take their responsibilities when needed and being a team member at all. The other part of my personality is my sport experience. I have practicing skiing for six years, tennis for seven years. I have been the captain of the school tennis team and learned to be the leader of the collective and to take responsibility for my decisions. My hobby for the last five years has been working out in a gym. During those years I learned to be strict and disciplined person.
I chose to study Chemical Engineering because it will expand my knowledge about Chemistry and its usage in life. I hope by becoming and engineer in this sphere to contribute for the better usage of nature’s resources in future.

My Impressions of Prague

Prague is the capital city of the Czech Republic and its citizens are proud that that has not changed since the beginning of Czech’s history. In the end of 2009 my family was wondering where to spend the last days of the year and the first days of the next one. I proposed Prague for our destination and everybody agreed. That’s how on 30th of December my family and I went to the capital of Czech Republic on a plane. After a short flight we arrived at the airport that is located ten kilometers away of the city. We took a bus and in fifteen minutes we were in Prague.
The first thing that we had to do was to get familiar with the city. We had a four hour walk with our guide that showed us the old part of the city that represented much of the history of the city and the country. I observed lots of landmarks that reminded me the differences and similarities between the Bulgarian and Czech nations. I expected that Prague is slightly bigger than Sofia, but it turned to be the opposite. The major similarity between the two nations is root of the populations. The Czech nation is composed exclusively of Slavic tribes, while Bulgarian nation is a unique mixture of all kinds of tribes and nations including the Slavic tribes. As we continued our trip in Prague I realized that I can barely hear Czech speech. It was full with tourists, mainly from China and Russia. At the end of our first journey in this city everybody was thirsty for beer- the most famous feature of the Czech Republic. That is why we went into the nearest restaurant to taste it and to have dinner because it was getting late. The beer actually deserved its reputation and the dinner was awesome at all. After the dinner we continued our trip to the hotel where we had our sweet and eagerly waited break.
We spent the next three days in nice walks around the city exploring lots of interesting things about Czech Republic and its culture and denizens. I hope to return to this charming city when it is little bit warmer and with friends of mine so it will be more interesting.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

The Role of Reputation in Othello

The beginning of the play Othello reveals the goals and the values of all the major characters. Every character has his or her unique qualities and desires. Since the beginning the participants can be divided into two groups- those who serve the community and those who serve themselves. These two peculiar camps are in absolute contrast with each other. The members of the second group use different methods to deceive and manipulate the honest and noble characters from the first group. Othello is the protagonist in the play who is a symbol of honesty and dignity. Reputation is one of the most important features for him because he has been struggling to achieve it during his youth. The Shakespeare’s play reveals that reputation has a vital value for all people and especially for warriors like Othello.
To be respected by the society means to be trusted and allowed to follow your own will. Othello’s roots and outlook distinguishes him from the rest of the society. This creates a precondition for the people to look contemptuously at him and to respect him less than he actually deserves. As a result the protagonist is suspected of using some magic and drugs in order to deceive Desdemona.
“What conjuration, and what mighty magic
(For such proceeding I am charged withal)
I won his daughter. ” (I, 3, 109-111)
Othello’s qualities are underestimated by the “reverend signiors” since they believe that he can not be loved by a woman, but uses immoral knacks to seduce his wife, who is actually the daughter of the Venetian senator Barbantio. People’s prejudices are strong force that affects their minds and the way Othello is perceived by them.
That is why the protagonist struggles to earn people’s respect. The only way to achieve that is to show them by his deeds that he is an honorable member of their society. Othello does that by stating facts from his youth and war experience. The sense of doing that
is to show the others that he is trustworthy and noble at least as much as them, but also to justify himself for being different. The protagonist is afraid that if his defense is not successful enough his relationship with Desdemona will be destroyed by those who don’t appreciate it.
A popular song from our everyday life states that respect comes from admiration and fear. This saying has its implementation in the drama written by Shakespeare examining the character of Othello. By proving that he is honest member of Venetia the protagonist gains the valuable and needed admiration, but this is still not enough. In order to be allowed to follow his own desires and wishes he mush be feared by the others.
”For since these arms of mine had seven years’ pith,
Till now some nine moons wasted, they have used
Their dearest action in the tented field,
And little of this great world can I speak
More than pertains to feats of {broil} and battle.”(I, 3, 98-102)

Othello successfully proves his bravery and manliness- qualities that distinguish him from the rest of aristocracy and turn him into an opponent that nobody wants to fight. The presented image of him in this episode proves that he is capable of winning Barbantio’s daughter in an honest way.
The usage of the typical for the play iambic pentameter and the presence of several metaphors in Othello’s speech make it steady and convincing. The battlefield that is mentioned serves not only as a place of protagonist’s life, but also as a symbol of heroism and strength.
Othello delivers his speech in a crucial moment for him and the whole city- he is blamed for witchery and Venetia is in time of war. In order to prove that he can be a powerful leader and loving husband the protagonist strengthens his reputation by stating why he must be respected and trusted. The passage reveals one of the most vital and crucial values in the play- reputation. The success that this speech achieves, leads to positive outcome for Othello and Desdemona, so they can continue their relationship.