The senior year of high school, what a pivotal time in a person’s life. Jim Swarthow was a senior as average as any other of his time. He grew up in an average sized town in Tennessee, and attended a high school with the population of 1,200 students. As a student he made fair grades, yet never cracked a book when he left the doors of school heading home. School was not very important to Jim because his father had him helping the family business at a very young age. Although he never failed any courses in his school career, he never excelled either.
Jim ran with the popular crowd at his high school. He was an in guy that was more of follower than he was a leader. Ridgemont high school was your typical high school that had its typical cliqs. You had your cool guys, your nerds, your jocks, and your normal kids. The school was considered to be more middle class, with your fair share of upper class and lower class students. Jim was a middle class kid that wanted to have the appearance of a rich kid. Already making a fair amount of money helping run his fathers heating and Air Company, Jim would spend much of his money helping his appearance. Having the cool car on campus was what Jim enjoyed spending his free time on. He spent many hours and funds fixing up a 1976 Chevrolet impala. The car was in fair shape when Jim bought it from his father, but a new paint job was needed and he spent little time getting that deed taken care of. Jim had a new shade of pearl white paint put on the car to give it a remarkable look. Along with the paint job, Jim had many other revisions made to his baby. New tires, tented windows, and a booming audio system. You name it and Jim had it done to the car, he had fun fixing up the new car. Having his own car and being able to put time and money into the car gave Jim a great since of identity and freedom. By fixing the old car up, Jim knew he would be able to obtain any goal he had to overcome in his life.
Fixing up an old car was not the only exciting event that took place for Jim during his
Too often, students are taught that their lives are defined by who they are and what they do, not by circumstances. But circumstances can be very crucial to determining how a person’s life is shaped. It’s no secret that not all schools and neighborhoods are created equal. Some schools offer advanced classes, and college prep, and opportunities, while some schools don’t even have textbooks. Even within the circumstances, there are circumstances. The students in the latter school that lacks textbooks may have parents who go the extra mile to ensure that they have more opportunities, or could have parents who don’t have the resources to do that. Environment and circumstance can make a huge difference, and Wes Moore’s The Other Wes Moore is a fantastic
Vonnegut construes Jim’s occupation is evaluating bond value and handling large sums money for a living, as a result he is superficial and judges based on the bountifulness he sees. Although he does not seem to have acquired any substantial amount of money, he adopts the appearance of a victorious businessman because of the desperation he has that one day he will become one. “Since I don’t have a portfolio, my job is a little like being a hungry delivery boy for a candy store” (Vonnegut 59). He puts on a clean fake façade of the man he really wants to
Generally, reinstating the Constitutional draft would solidify the meaning of being an American citizen. Often, wealthier and more privileged people are able to ask for exemption from serving, which makes representation of soldiers in combat composed of less-privileged citizens. With compulsory conscription, all American citizens, men or women, ages 18-26 are subject to be recruited for the armed forces. In fact, only 4 members of the 107th Congress who voted in favor of the Iraq war had children serving there. Politicians would know how it feels to have loved ones in a war, instead of freely speaking about wartime without experiencing it in any way.1 Moreover, Americans feel that public support for war in foreign countries is not strong because the soldiers fighting are p...
If people do not believe in what they are fighting for and are drafted into a war they do not want to fight, people will not fight with honor for their country. Being drafted into a war someone does not want to fight causes him or her to fight that war to escape with their life, not to earn a victory for their country. The United States intervened into Vietnam to try and stop the spread of communism into South Vietnam (HISTORY.com,. "Vietnam War History). They declared we needed a draft to help supply troops to fuel the war against communism, but in the end the result was the same. The Draft was an unneeded part of the Vietnam War. If the draft would have never been introduced less protestors to the war would have risen and more volunteers would have came forward and sent to Vietnam. When American troops were beginning to be withdrawn from Vietnam, it was not because of a lack of troops, but from a lack of support (Walpole, Andy.). The lack of support and the idea of and unwinnable war was the cause of a slow end to the terrible war efforts. The American ideals changed from the start to the finish of the war, hating the soldiers when they came back. The last troops did not return home from Vietnam until 1973(Walpole, Andy.). This vast difference in time between the first troops to leave and the last troops to leave was the cause of much resentment among the
A conscription is needed to bring the rich and poor together in alliance and create National Unity. Mark Finelli states, “Because until the wealthy have that vested interest, until it’s the sons of senators and the wealthy upper classes sitting in those trucks.” Meaning that he believes until the rich have vested connection to the men on the battlefield that they will not care enough to fund. Demonstrating a split between the common person and a politician or rich. They can not relate to suffering of those who military is only resort, and therefore won’t care as to what happens to their men. This draft will bring together those of all social classes and the reorganization of funds will improve the rates of survival for all. As stated in Mandatory MIlitary Conscription, “Unlike the all-volunteer force, a conscripted force of citizen soldiers would ensure that the burdens of war are felt equally in every community in America.” The author of this article is clearly claiming the draft will ease the burdens of war to be equally distributed, so that no certain group feels like they have all the burden of their shoulders, no longer would we have social disrupting regarding one class having an advantage over the other for both sectors will be drafted and both will be side by side aiding, this is additionally supported by the statement,
High School can be directly related to Jamestown. Every year, many freshmen catch themselves doing a complete turn-around soon after the year begins. Freshmen usually split into different cliques soon after High School starts. These cliques are usually groups of people with similar interests, whether it is fashion, sports, or math club. All through Middle School, the children were guided along by the administration. This leads them to believe that High School will be the same way. Once in High School, many feel lost and unprepared. The first day of High School, many freshman get to the lunch room, sit at their tables, and wait to be called up to the lunch lines. They were pampered all through their earlier schooling, so they figured that they would be told when to go eat.
The military draft is the random selection of men for compulsory military service. The draft in the United States hasn’t been in effect since 1973 but, before that, it caused a considerable amount of controversy during the Vietnam War. During those times the draft was one of the major issues that deeply divided the country, there were thousands of people trying to find ways out of the draft, and thousands of people accusing them of cowardice. It continues to be a topic of debate even today. The question we are faced with now is should the United States reinstate the draft? Both sides have some fair points, but I don’t believe that it would be necessary or wise.
The draft can put a male in a position in which they are not prepared to be in. The military requires a person to be prepared for the hardships he has to endure while fighting. Not only the person that is being drafted is not prepared, their family is not prepared also. Most families are not prepared to make changes at the last minute. For instant, not being able to hear or see their love one or ones on a daily basis anymore. Families that do not know if their love one would survive or not, can become stressful. If the
“I hated the draft, but at the same time, it’s something that made every American take war seriously.” Time O’Brien said, when the questioning of the draft was posed to him. Thomas Jefferson was an advocate of the draft as well. Much debate has been put up over the idea of reinstating the draft, often bringing about arguments of liberty to enter the war as you please, and yet bringing forth the idea that men need to fight for their country. The draft can be a very harmful thing, leaving mothers to raise children on their own, all at the same time putting men at risk of being killed in war, never to see their families again. Yet, the draft can be a good thing, as many people see it, reinforcing patriotism in the hearts of citizens. Often times, Americans are considered lazy, as is a common notion even referred to by Americans themselves. COuld this laziness contribute to the idea of not reinstating the draft? Or would reinstating the draft violate the constitution's promise to keep the people’s rights and freedoms? These are questions asked on either side of the argument, and though not everyone will ever agree, there can be definite arguments made to each side of the draft argument. In
Entering my first year into high school my mind was juvenile I was not yet adjusted to the high school atmosphere. At the time I was still worried about the little things in school such as friends and associates. My first priority was never my work; it used to be entertainment over all. Along that came with my priorities came procrastination and that led to me delaying my assignments hoping for a teacher to give me a "second chance". Forthcoming, at the end of the second quarter my ninth grade year I received a rude awakening.
The concept of the draft has been in the U.S for 75 years. The first time it was used in the U.S. was in 1940. Franklin D. Roosevelt used the draft to fill vacancies in the military that could not be filled voluntarily. The draft required all male citizens from the age of twenty-six to thirty-five to register to be selected to serve during both time of peace and conflict. It was ended in 1973. The draft should not be reinstated because we do not want people with very low I.Q. levels, people that do not want to be there, and American terrorists to be drafted.
The United States ended the military draft in 1973 and since then the military has relied on volunteer men and women to fight for our country. Americans have been questioning whether or not people are physically and mentally prepared to meet the needs of the United States military. The United States should reinstate the military draft. First of all, many civilians take the freedom they have for granted. If they serve in the military, it may help them realize how much advantage they have for living in a country that has freedom. The draft will help Americans not be so entitled and help them appreciate how much the military has done for the United States. All citizens have the obligation to serve this country when the need arises. In addition,
My senior year is very important and that is why I must use it efficiently. There are many things I hope to accomplish during my senior year. Graduation is my top priority because if I do not graduate my future will be in jeopardy. Clubs and extra activities are very important for college acceptance. I hope to get certified in the areas in which I have been training for. Getting into college so that I can be successful is the main goal in my life is. I hope to get accepted to a college or university by the end of my senior year. My schedule will be busy but I will
Through out life people go through so many hardships. Whether it be good or bad there is always something that comes out of the situation. One of the most exciting but yet scariest events would be graduation. For a lot of people, graduating from high school is a goal. It takes a lot of time and effort to achieve that goal. In the long run, it opens a lot of opportunities for people to succeed. Graduation is the end of high school, and the beginning to life.
Throughout my high school years, my educational experience had its ups and downs. Being in college has given me a lot of flash backs from high school. Some of these flash backs include the challenges, the changes, and the different maturity levels which has had a major impact on my educational experience in life. After realizing that there are differences between high school and college, I began to see that high school was just preparation of being in college.