What do we learn about international strategies for protecting human Essay

What do we learn about international strategies for protecting human rights from an examination of the record of the UN in action on Terrorism - Essay Example Without diminishing this obligation, it is also the duty of the UN to protect human rights in the course of pursuing counter-terrorist activities. For this reason, the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy has been instituted. In the 2005 Madrid Summit, then UN Secretary-General echoed the unanimous observation of international rights experts, both within and outside the UN system, that counter-terrorism measures that have been adopted to that date have all infringed on human rights and fundamental freedoms in one way or another (Foot, 2007). It was therefore determined that in the course of pursuing the counter-terrorism effort, the protection of human rights must be assured. It is the official position of the UN and its member states that these twin pursuits – counter-terrorism and the protection of human rights – are deemed complementary and that they mutually reinforce each other’s goals. The UN has committed to pursue measures to halt the violation of human rights, and to adopt counter-terrorism measures which comply fully with the obligation to protect human rights (UNACT, 2013). ... The UN has committed to pursue measures to halt the violation of human rights, and to adopt counter-terrorism measures which comply fully with the obligation to protect human rights (UNACT, 2013). The commitments provide assurances that the anti-terrorism effort shall be coupled with the observance of human rights, at least in principle. However, the robustness of this observance in practice should be ascertained by an examination of the records pertaining to the records of the committees of the UN Security Council, which are tasked with the implementation of counter-terrorist measures. In order to abide by this commitment to ensure that human rights are respected even and especially during the course of combatting terrorism, the post of Special Rapporteur was created in 2005. The Special Rapporteur shall be concerned with the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while undertaking counter-terrorist activities (UN General Assembly, 4 June 2012). Despite as surances in treaties and the expression of agreement in human rights conventions, there is grave concern, from accounts of victims and investigative journalism reports, that human rights are consistently being violated in the interest of stemming the rise in terrorist activities worldwide. On the one hand, the undue curtailment of human rights is a violation of the UN conventions to which member States are signatories, and should therefore be sanctions. On the other hand, fear of a repetition of attacks such as that of the World Trade Centre appears to justify this resort to violation of the rights of a few to obtain information and prevent the deaths of many. This

Stress Levels among College Students Essay Example for Free

Stress Levels among College Students Essay Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the differing stress levels of college students while looking at their year in college and whether or not they are a member of an athletics team. This study utilized a consent form, a demographic form, a survey to determine the stress level of the participant, and a debriefing form for each of the participants. The results of this study showed that only the athletic status of the participant had an impact on the stress level of the participant. The students who were athletes had higher stress levels than those students who were non-athletes. However, it turned out that the year in college had no impact on the stress of the participant. Stress Levels among College Students Stress is defined as â€Å"a mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health, usually characterized by increased heart rate, rise in blood pressure, muscular tension, irritability, and depression† (McCleod). Stress and anxiety are the top reported impediments to academic performance in college students, both in the undergraduate and graduate levels. Between 2010 and 2014, the level of students reporting stress as an issue rose from 25 to 31%, while anxiety rose from 17 to 22%. (Miller). While having some stress is a normal occurrence, having too much stress can have negative side effects. Some of these side effects include excessive anxiety, depression, digestive problems, heart disease, sleep problems, weight gain, and impairment with memory and concentration (Chronic stress puts your health at risk). One of the most stressful times in a young adult’s life is the transition into college. But for some students, life after that initial transition only becomes more stressful. Some of those students are the students who are members of their school’s athletics teams. In the past, many researchers had agreed that participating in athletics could serve as an outlet for people to relieve stress from their lives. However, recently some research has indicated that playing sports can actually result in an increase in the amount of stress in a person’s life. For example, a recent study found that nearly 50% of male athletes and a little more than 50% of female athletes indicated that â€Å"stresses associated with sport participation, such as pressure to win, excessive anxiety, frustration conflict, irritation and fear significantly affected their mental and emotional health† (Wilson). One of the biggest obstacles that student athletes report as the cause of their stress is time related factors. In other words, they felt that there was not enough time to fully complete their academic and athletic duties to the best of their abilities. This is natural, since student athletes are balancing higher level education with higher level athletics, and are bound to show some strain when compared to their peers. Another issue that arises from being a student athlete is the issue of burnout. It has been shown that it takes 10 years or 10,000 hours of practice to create a talent in any field, and this pertains in particular to athletics. Given this incredible time commitment to one’s practice, it is common for athletes to suffer from what is referred to as burnout. Burnout can be defined as â€Å"physical, social, and emotional withdrawal from a formerly enjoyable activity as a result of chronic stress and motivation concerns that is typically characterized by feelings of emotional exhaustion, reduced accomplishment, and depersonalization/devaluation† (Gould). So, for athletes, another side effect of excessive stress is burnout. As with the amount of stress in athletes lives, the rate of burnout has also been increasing in the past few years. In a study done in 2007, it was found that nearly 10% of athletes tested had symptoms of high-level burnout. The researchers hypothesized that the number would actually be higher since they did not look at what they called â€Å"senior elite athletes†, meaning professional athletes and high level college athletes. They also suggested that this burnout rate could be lowered if athletes went through stress management programs to lower the amount of stress that they  had to cope with on a daily basis. (Gould). Lastly, one study looked at the relationship between athletic participation and academic performance. Over a four year period, the researchers conducted an observational study of a college basketball program in the mid-south-central part of the United States. At the beginning of their college career, the athletes were excited about the prospect of putting athletics and academics together to create opportunities for themselves in the future. One of the freshmen that was interviewed said, â€Å"If I can use my basketball ability to open the door to get an education, hopefully I can use my degree to open up the door to get a good job† (6). However, as time went on and the stress of being a student athlete increased, the views of the basketball players changed. One of the upperclassmen on the team stated, â€Å"If I was a student like most other students I could do well, but when you play the caliber of ball we do, you just can’t be an above-average student. What I strive for now is to be an average student. My best GPA was 2.75. You just don’t find the time to do all the reading† (Adler). This just reinforces the idea that the student athletes are under the stress that they are mainly due to the huge time commitment that comes with being a higher level athlete. All of these studies and articles on how student athletes are prone to burnout and stress and have increased time commitments led to the hypothesis that the student athletes in college will be more stressed than the non-student athletes in college. Methods Participants There were a total of 40 participants used in this study; 62.5% were female and 37.5% were male. The age range was 18 to 22, with the average age of the participants being 20. Measures For this study, we utilized a consent form, a demographic form, a survey to determine the stress level of the participant, and a debriefing form for each of the participants. Procedure Each participant received a consent form after they confirmed that they are an Iona College student. The participants were then asked to read the  consent form along with the experimenter, allowed to ask any questions that they might have had and then asked to sign the consent form. Once they signed the consent form, the participants were given a survey to determine the level of stress that they had in their life at that time. Next, they filled out a demographic form that asked them for their year in college. Once both the survey and the demographic form were filled out, the participants were thanked for their time and given the debriefing form for the study. Results A 22 analysis of variance was in order to determine the effect of athletic status on stress level. The results indicated that there was a significant main effect of athletic status of the participant on the stress level of the participant, F (1, 36) = 13.99, p=.00. As illustrated in Figure 1, the students who were athletes (M=11.23, SE=0.91) scored higher on the stress test than those students who were non-athletes (M=6.31, SE=0.95). A 22 analysis of variance was also conducted to determine the effect of year in school on stress level. The results indicated that there was not a significant main effect of participant’s year in school on the stress level of the participant, F (1, 36) = 0.43, p= .52. Discussion The purpose of this study was to examine whether the athletic status and the school year of a participant have an impact on their stress level. Our hypothesis was that the upperclassmen who are athletes will have the largest amount of stress, while the underclassmen who are not athletes will have the lowest level of stress. This hypothesis was supported, but only to a certain extent. While the factor of school year did not have an effect on the stress level of the participants, the factor of athletic status did. Just as we predicted, the participants who were athletes reported having more stress than the participants who were non-athletes. When the stress levels were looked at across the different years in school, there was not a significant difference between the underclassmen and the upperclassmen. These results are supported by the findings of the study done by Quinton McCleod, who had 30 athletes and 30 non-athletes complete a questionnaire about the time that they spend studying, their GPA, and whether or not they consider themselves to be stressed and what types of stress they were under. He found that the athletes had a significantly lower GPA, spent less time studying outside of the classroom, and had more stressors in their lives than the non-athletes. The athletes said that they were losing motivation to go to class and that caused them to turn in poor work, and that this was due to the fact that they did not have an adequate amount of time to spend on all of the schoolwork that they had to complete, in addition to the amount of time that they had to designate for their sport (McCleod). If the sample size had been larger and included a wider gender range, the grade level of the participants may have had a more significant impact on the results. Also if the participants had been randomly selected instead of convenience sampled the results may have been more similar to what was originally hypothesized in regard to the year in school playing a part in the stress of the participant. References Adler, P., Adler, P. (1985). From Idealism to Pragmatic Detachment: The Academic Performance of College Athletes. Sociology of Education, 58, 241-250 Chronic stress puts your health at risk. (2013). http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037 Gould, D., Whitley, M. (2009). Sources and Consequences of Athletic Burnout among College Athletes. Journal of Intercollegiate Sports, 2, 16-30 McCleod, Q. (2015) Stress Levels among Student Athletes and Non Student Athletes. Elon University Miller, J. (2014, December 3). Students see rise in stress levels, studies indicate. Retrieved April 2, 2015, from http://www.michigandaily.com/news/stress-college-feature Wilson, G., Pritchard, M. (2005). Comparing Sources of Stress in College Student Athletes and Non-Athletes. The Online Journal of Sport Psychology, 7

Benthams Principle Of Utility And Moral Ethics Philosophy Essay

Benthams Principle Of Utility And Moral Ethics Philosophy Essay Can be defined as those principles on which our moral decisions are based. Ethics are the sense of right and wrong, good and evil, values and responsibility. Thus it is considered as a major branch of philosophy. It can be described as the science of human duty. These ethics are therefore the measurement by which a human being is graded as being good, bad and evil. In simple terms moral ethics are nothing but the code of conduct decided by each person for himself or herself for operating in this world and fellow beings.   Moral ethics are formed from the obligations and duties of a person in the society. Nobody can force a person to adhere to moral ethics. For e.g. if a person sees an accident victim lying on the road it is his moral ethic to help out the victim but if he chooses to not do so then no social institution can punish him for this unwillingness. Thus these ethics are relative and subjective Utilitarianism is a normative ethical theory that places the locus of right and wrong solely on the outcomes (consequences) of choosing one action/policy over other actions/policies. As such, it moves beyond the scope of ones own interests and takes into account the interests of others Benthams Principle of Utility Recognizes the fundamental role of pain and pleasure in human life, approves or disapproves of an action on the basis of the amount of pain or pleasure brought about i.e., consequences, equates good with pleasure and evil with pain, and asserts that pleasure and pain are capable of quantification Act and Rule Utilitarianism We can apply the principle of utility to either PARTICULAR ACTIONS or GENERAL RULES. The former is called act-utilitarianism and the latter is called rule-utilitarianism. Act-utilitarianism   The principle of utility is applied directly to each alternative act in a situation of choice. The right act is then defined as the one which brings about the best results (or the least amount of bad results). Rule-utilitarianism   The principle of utility is used to determine the validity of rules of conduct (moral principles). A rule like promise-keeping is established by looking at the consequences of a world in which people broke promises at will and a world in which promises were binding. Right and wrong are then defined as following or breaking those rules.   Deontological Theories Having briefly taken a look at deontologists foil, consequentiality theories of act evaluation, we turn now to examine deontological theories. In contrast to consequentiality theories, deontological theories judge the morality of choices by criteria different than the states of affairs those choices bring about. Roughly speaking, deontologists of all stripes hold that some choices cannot be justified by their effects that no matter how morally good their consequences, some choices are morally forbidden. On deontological accounts of morality, agents cannot make certain wrongful choices even if by doing so the number of wrongful choices will be minimized (because other agents will be prevented from engaging in similar wrongful choices). For deontologists, what makes a choice right is its conformity with a moral norm. Such norms are to be simply obeyed by each moral agent; such norm-keepings are not to be maximized by each agent. In this sense, for deontologists, the Right has priority over the Good. If an act is not in accord with the Right, it may not be undertaken, no matter the Good that it might produce.   Ethical egoism   Is the prescriptive doctrine that all persons ought to act from their own self-interest? Personal ethical egoism   Is the belief that only I should act from the motive of self-interest, nothing is stated about what motives others should act from. Individual ethical egoism   Is the prescriptive doctrine that all persons should serve my self-interest? Universal ethical egoism   Is the universal doctrine that all persons should pursue their own interests exclusively? Computer History The development of the modern day computer was the result of advances in technologies and mans need to quantify. Papyrus helped early man to record language and numbers. The abacus was one of the first counting machines. Some of the earlier mechanical counting machines lacked the technology to make the design work. For instance, some had parts made of wood prior to metal manipulation and manufacturing. Imagine the wear on wooden gears. This history of computers site includes the names of early pioneers of math and computing. What is a Computer? A computer is an electronic device, which executes software programs. It consists of 2 parts-hardware and software. The computer processes input through input devices like mouse and keyboard. The computer displays output through output devices like color monitor and printer. The size of a computer varies considerably from very small to very big. The speed of computers also has a very large range. Computers have become indispensable in todays world USES of COMPUTER Word Processing   Word Processing software automatically corrects spelling and grammar mistakes. If the content of a document repeats you dont have to type it each time. You can use the copy and paste features. You can printout documents and make several copies. It is easier to read a word-processed document than a handwritten one. You can add images to your document. Mathematical Calculations   Thanks to computers, which have computing speeds of over a million calculations per second we can perform the biggest of mathematical calculations. Planning and Scheduling   Software can be used to store contact information, generating plans, scheduling appointments and deadlines. DISADVANTAGE of USING COMPUTER Computer  addiction   Is a relatively new term used to describe a dependency on ones  computer.  Computer  addiction  is not limited to  personal computers  (PCs). It covers video games and the Internet and has already been given a label by psychologists, namely Internet  addiction  disorder. Obsessive playing of off-line computer games, such as Solitaire or Minesweeper, or obsessive computer programming. Cybersex Addiction Compulsive use of Internet pornography, adult chat rooms, or adult fantasy role-play sites impacting negatively on real-life intimate relationships. Cyber-Relationship Addiction   Addiction to social networking, chat rooms, and messaging to the point where virtual, online friends become more important than real-life relationships with family and friends. Computer ethics Computer ethics is set of moral principles that regulate the use of computers. Some common issues of computer ethics include intellectual property rights (such as copyrighted electronic content), privacy concerns, and how computers affect society. For example, while it is easy to duplicate copyrighted electronic (or  digital) content, computer ethics would suggest that it is wrong to do so without the authors approval. And while it may be possible to access someones personal information on a computer system, computer ethics would advise that such an action is unethical. As technology advances, computers continue to have a greater impact on society. Therefore, computer ethics promotes the discussion of how much influence computers should have in areas such as artificial intelligence and human communication. As the world of computers evolves, computer ethics continues to create ethical standards that address new issues raised by new technologies. Is a new branch of ethics that is growing and changing rapidly as computer technology also grows and develop. Code of ethics in using computer Information stored on the computer should be treated as seriously as written or spoken word. Privacy should not be violated. In case of academic use, it is known plagiarism. Information from public viewing should not be modified or delete or inaccessible since there are consider as destructive act. Intrusive software such as worm and viruses which are destructive to the computer system is also illegal. Sending obscene and crude messages through mail or chat is also forbidden. Ethical rules for computer user Do not use computer to harm other users Do not use computer to steal other information Do not access a file without the permission of the owner Do not copy copyrighted software without the authors permission Always respect copyright law and policies Respect privacy of others, just as you expect the same from the others ADVANTAGES OF USING COMPUTER Total availability of any information you could want. Quotes, history, books from the library, news articles, different opinions and viewpoints, immediate news, encyclopedias, information available that may have taken you weeks or years to discover if you had to search through different sources and locations. You can find recipes online. You can chat with people, while doing other things. You can now watch videos, and listen to all sorts of music. You can visit information resources, groups, studies, etc. You can learn about medical issues, and legal issues. You can attend school online. You can write a poem, a story, a book, a script. You can create a full-feature movie. You can compose music. You can sort out your ideas. Manage your money. Do your banking. Organize your job. Buy concert tickets. Buy practically anything you can imagine online. Use computer to pay all utilities bills in 15 mins which would take more than an hour to go to the post office to make payment in queue. Kee p a personal diary. Play games. Invent and create new games and programs. Discover interesting things, or see other countries. Learn. Grow. Interact. MORAL Computers today are one of the important things we are using. They have helped a lot in compiling a lot data which used to be in hard records. One of the uses or benefits of computers is that they are able to provide and retrieve information so quickly so they have increased the pace of our work. The increase in the speed of work has helped us to do many things with less resources like in past a lot of manpower was used for record keeping and files and other things were made to keep the records saved.   This is one use of computers in our lives other than that computers has helped us to work with machines which have the ability to produce the best quality of products with maximum speed and efficiency. In todays world it is necessary that to cater for such a heavy population things are made at the higher pace with best quality, so it is possible with the help of  computer  that we are able to cater for the need of quantity and quality of products required in daily life.   Computer is also helping us in education of children; it has enabled us to get the information form one part of the world to the other at a very rapid pace. So in summary computer today is in every walk of life, and is helping us a lot in developing at a fast pace Also most of use our computers to look up past events, and then there the other reason on how computers help our lives, by using computers we can check up on the weather, before we go to work or school. So by checking the weather we already know if its going to Rain or Snow. Or its could be sunny. then there contracting other family members, where many of us use our computers to text our family to see how theyre going, when member of you family is so far away living in a difference state or country Last but not least by using our computers to shop on the internet we can find the product we are looking for. Without going inside the retail store to look for it, only to find out its sold out. So by shopping on the internet it saves some a lot of trouble. From looking for something that is not there.

Say Yes by Tobias Wolff & Bread by Sandra Cisneros :: Race Relationships Love

Say Yes by Tobias Wolff If two people love each other regardless of any difference they may have, then why are there† lots of things to consider†( paragraph 36)? Answer the question within the context of the story. According to the context, the â€Å"lots of things to consider† is referring to the race, background by the husband. In his opinion, beside whether love this person or not, race, ethics background is also a very important factor to consider whether they should marry or not. He stated that if two people are not from the same race, they are not in the same culture, they have different language. People from different race never know each other. Compare the husband’s actions to his wife’s reactions. Are these people understanding each other? If he had said yes, would their relationship have changed? If so, how? From the husband’s action to his wife’s reaction, they didn’t understand each other much even though the husband was trying to show how considerate he is. But he failed to understand what his wife truly wants to hear and wants to see in the conversation on the matter of â€Å"whether white people should marry black people.† In the husband’s view he thinks that it was ridiculous to think this kind of question when his wife asked him whether he will marry her if she were black. He thinks that it will never happen. If it happened, his wife will be another person but not the same her anymore. In his views, as he never think that this two race should get marry, he will not allow himself to fall in love or even date a black girl. He is telling the truth and trying to explaining that to his wife. However he failed to realized that that was not what his wife wanted to hear. In fact from the context we can guessed for his wife, it’s not the greatest m atter on whether white people should marry black people, what she matters is whether they love each other of not. For her, she thinks that if two people love each other, everything can be solved and race is not a big deal. She wants her husband to agree with this and showed that he will love her and marry her no matter what race she is. Bread by Sandra Cisneros This story, in some ways, is about crossing borders.

Fifa World Cup

The FIFA World Cup Syafadzil : A very good morning to our English class teacher, Mr. Lee and to all my friends. Today, me and my friends, Amir and Firdaus are going to engage in a forum about the World Cup. Syafadzil : To explain it briefly, the World Cup is the world’s biggest sports event. It was held every 4 years since the first World Cup in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of World War 2. The tournament will be held in South Africa which involves 32 teams, each got to be in the tournament by a series of qualification phase, which took place over the three years after the recent World Cup. The host nation has automatic qualifiqation. The World Cup is the most watched sporting event, with an estimated 715 million people watching the 2006 tournament, which was held in Germany. To go with the largest sports event, there are some notable records that had been set along the month-long exhibition since it was held. Brazil holds the record for lifting the coveted trophy the most, which stands at 5. Brazil also boast the most goals in the tournament, scoring a whopping 201 goals. Moreover, it is the only country that had participated in every World Cup. individually,the most goals scored is held by Ronaldo, who plays for Brazil, with 15 goals to his name. Diego Maradona also set a record for appearing as captain 16 times for the Argentina nation. Amir : thank you for the interesting informations, Syafadzil. Shall we move on with the questions then? Syafadzil : Yes. First off, which team would you bet on to lift the crowned World Cup this year? and why do you think that? Firdaus, any thoughts? Firdaus : A very good question, Syafadzil. I think Spain would win it this year. Here are some of the reasons. Undoubtedly, they are the team at the moment. They boast one of the best records along their way to South Africa. They are currently the number 1 ranked team in the world, which comes to no surprise to many people. Footballers like Xavi, David Villa, Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas, Xabi Alonso all but to name a few, all playing their trades for their national team. Just say their names, and it will bring a cold shiver down to the spine of their opponents. Spain is a side full of footballing talents, with their players showing great form at the moment with their respective clubs. This team has resilience and team spirit. That’s just some of the reasons why I choose Spain. But Spain is not going to have a easy run-in to the trophy. They are going to face some stern test along the way, notably Brazil who wants to lift the trophy for the sixth time. Brazil is the 2nd ranked team in the world. Their attacking talents such as Robinho, Pato, Luis Fabiano and also not to forget their midfield engine, generated by the 2007 Ballon D’or winner, Kaka. They are not going to be easy to beat, especially with some great run of form recently found by the players. Syafadzil : Looks like Spain is going to be the winner, yes? What do you reckon, Amir? Amir : Not if I have something to say about that. The team to watch by my opinion had got to be Holland. Don’t take your eyes on this team, which ranked 3rd in the world. Their star player is arguably Robin van Persie, who plays for Arsenal but his progress had been held back due to the recent serious injury to his ligament. But he will be fit to play in the World Cup. Everybody knows that no team is made up of only one player. Other key players are Arjen Robben, who recently scored a spectacular volley that sent Manchester United out of the Champions League, Wesley Sneijder, who scored the winner at Russia that sent Inter Milan to the semi-finals of the Champions League, and not to mention the footballing masterclass of Dirk Kuyt, Mark van Bommel and many other talented footballers. This team is rich in attack, and will surely run riot in the opponets defence in this upcoming World Cup. like Spain, they also thrive on an enviable record along their way to South Africa. They were the first European team to secure a place in the finals, with a perfect 10 wins out of ten in the group stages. Syafadzil : thank you for sharing your thoughts Amir. I guess we’ll just have to wait to see who will be the champions then. Moving on, who is going to outshine any other players in this tournament? Firdaus, give your take on this one. Firdaus : It’s hard to choose, but I think I will go with Messi. The plucky Argentine forward had got to be the best striker in the world. He spear-headed Barcelona to an unprecedented 6 trophies last season, and were the top scorer in the Champions League. His work rate is high, his brilliance of controlling the ball is just mesmerizing and what else can I say? He had been praised by some of the world’s best footballing legends, Diego Maradonna being one of them. And he had been dubbed as one of the best if not, the best in the business. Amir : It’s true that Messi is just spectacular when wearing the Barcelona shirt. But when he donned on the national jersey, he just could not find the form that he showed with Barcelona. Don’t get me wrong, he still scored some important goals that helped the Argentina team to qualify for the World Cup, but for a footballer by his standards, he could have done better, much better. Argentina only qualified by the skin of their teeth. They only secured their place with virtually the last game of the group stages and occupied the last automatic qualifications spot. And I just could not see that Messi will shine in the World Cup by the way things are going. Syafadzil : Amir certainly gave us something to think about. But, who do you have in mind, Amir? Amir : I’m definitely going with Fernando Torres. He’s right up there with Messi, and can perform brilliantly both in club and international level. Even though he was pampered with injuries this season, he still can come back and immediately give a marvelous performance. By my opinion, he is better than Messi, but because of his injuries, he fell short every time. His skills are amazing, his reading of the ball is just spectacular, and he can pop out from anywhere and score. He truly is one of the best in this era. Syafadzil : Thanks for that, both of you. Let’s wrap up this forum then. 32 teams, with everything to play for, vying for the most coveted trophy in sports history. All will be unveiled in this upcoming summer. Do not miss it for the world.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Essay

Early on in a poet’s career development, influences lead him down the path to be an inspiring poet. One’s family, friends, foreign places they visited, and even other famous poets and authors, often help shape a poet’s professional writing style. In Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s case, all of these motivators helped him become interested in writing. At night his mother would read him poems and stories that inspired him even more to write poetry. Henry was raised in a rural area with much open countryside. Henry’s friends pressured him to write one of his most famous poems â€Å"Evangeline†. As a child, Longfellow was very fascinated when he would travel to different places around the world and hear foreigners speak different languages and tell stories in their native tongue. The Author that really influenced him was Washington Irving. Henry said every good poet would have in his possession and use as a tool Irving’s first book. Henry Wad sworth Longfellow can thank his family and peers for helping him develop into one of the most admired poets. â€Å"Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland Maine on February 27, 1807†(Beck 1). Henry was the second son of eight children in his family. His father, Stephen Longfellow, was a prominent lawyer and later a member of Congress. Henry’s mother, Zilpah Wadsworth, was the daughter of a Revolutionary war hero who was Henry’s grandfather that lived in Gorham. Henry lives with his grandfather during school and summer vacation. As Henry grew older, he married a woman named Mary Storer Potter a former classmate at Bowdoin College. In Henry’s second trip to Europe, his life was shaken when his wife Mary died. When this happened Henry spent a whole year in Germany and Switzerland morning his wife’s death. The whole year Henry spent in Germany and Switzerland he didn’t write any poetry at all. After he came back to the United States from Germany and Switzerland, he met a woman named Frances Appleton. Henry proposed to her, however, Frances refused his proposal. â€Å"Frances finally accepted his proposal the following spring ushering in the happiest 18 years of Longfellow’s life†(Beck 1). This marriage with Frances gave Henry new confidence that he never had. In 1861, when the Civil War had just begun, Frances was sealing an envelope when her dress caught on fire. â€Å"Despite her husband desperate attempts to save Frances she died the next day†(Beck 1). After this happened, Longfellow lost the confidence he had gained and again didn’t publish any poetry for the next two years. After all these tragic years Longfellow went through, his health started to fail and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow died March 24, 1882 at the age of 75. He was buried in Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Even though Longfellow has died, his legacy still liv es on. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow found inspiration for his poems in the forest, in the sea, and all over Portland, Maine. Henry didn’t just get inspiration for his poems from the environment, he also found inspiration through people he meet and admired. Henry spent school and summer vacations in Gorham, at his grandfather’s house. These times spent with his grandfather were among his most joyous and influential times in his life. His grandfather would tell him stories about the war, Indian fights, legends of that time, and how life was when he was a boy. One of Henry’s poems that were inspired by his grandfather was his first poem called â€Å"The Battle of Lovell’s Pond†. This poem was based on a story about the war that his grandfather told him. Henry’s grandfather was not the only family member that influenced him. At night before Henry would go to sleep his mother would read aloud to him, his brothers, and his sisters. She would read from The High Romance of Ossian, the legendary Gallic hero. This is not the only book that Henry’s mother read to him she also read Washington Irving’s Sketch Book. Henry said that every aspiring poet would have Irving’s first book. Family was not the only people that influenced Longfellow, his friends also influenced him. His friends pressured Henry to write one of his most famous poems â€Å"Evangeline†. Nathaniel Hawthorne influenced Henry’s writing style and some of the content in this poem. Many people have different inspirations in their life and in Henry’s case it was mostly family and friends that helped shape his writing style and subjects. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow made his poetry unique by vividly describing the typical American life by using words and phrases in a musical language that was easy to read and understand. He would frequently write about all the war stories and legends of the time that his grandfather told him as a child. When writing, Henry would use all different types of writing styles. His favorite style was free verse because he was able to tell stories with ease and he was able to describe his poetry in a way a reader could understand and relate to their own life. This is evident in his poem â€Å"The Village Blacksmith† when he writes, â€Å"And children coming home from school Look in at the open door; They love to see the flaming forge, And hear the bellows roar†(Henry 20). When Henry would write in free verse he wasn’t writing a poem based on a story he was writing a poem about his life and how he felt. He would look around at the nature anything around him and write about what he felt inside. Henry was a great writer and was very unique in his own way and that is how he became so famous around the world. Overall it is easy to see that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was a very famous and well-loved poet. Longfellow’s life was blessed with happiness and troubled by tragedy. Many times he stopped writing due to depressions however, he managed to return and continue to produce many famous poems. He had many influences and his own unique way of writing his poems using everyday happenings that Americans could relate to easily. His family and his friends influenced him with all the stories that they told him and the many famous literary works that were shared with him. Although Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was influenced by many famous poets and writers he is by far the only American writer of the 19th century to truly capture the culture of the time through his literary works.