Masterpiece

I am going to major in business in college. I figured I might as well do my masterpiece on something that is relevant to my life. My dream job would be to be a professional sports agent. I am going to try and contact a professional agent and get an interview with them and ask them how they got to be such a successful agent and how they got to where they are today.

Vocabulary #4

obsequious - adj. attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner;attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
Ex- They were served by obsequious waiters.
beatitude - a state of supreme happiness
Ex- All of our actions are to be directed toward such beatitude.
bete noire - a person or thing that one particularly dislikes
Ex- Uncle Edward was my father's bete noire.
bode - verb indicate by signs
Ex- Their argument did not bode well for the future.
dank - adj. unpleasantly cool and humid
Ex- Walking into the dank basement sent chills up my body.
ecumenical - adj. of worldwide scope or applicability; concerned with promoting unity among churches or religions
Ex- The local churches are sponsoring an ecumenical services on the green.
fervid - adj. extremely hot; characterized by intense emotion
Ex- The candidate made a fervid speech that held the audience's attention.
fetid - adj. offensively malodorous
Ex- The fetid water of the marsh made me sick.
gargantuan - adj. of great mass; huge and bulky
Ex- The giant almost flattened the travelers with his gargantuan foot as he walked through the forest.
heyday - noun the period of greatest prosperity or productivity
Ex- The paper has lost millions of readers since its heyday in 1972.
incubus - someone who depresses or worries others; a situation resembling a terrifying dream
Ex- Debt is a big incubus in developing countries.
infrastructure - noun the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; the basic structure or features of a system or organization
Ex- Access what damage you can and rebuild the critical infrastructure system.
inveigle - verb influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
Ex- We cannot inveigle him into putting pen to paper.
kudos - noun an expression of approval and commendation
Ex- Kudos to everyone that put the event together.
lagniappe - noun a small gift (especially one given by a merchant to a customer who makes a purchase)
Ex- Jenny gave her favorite teacher a lagniappe.
prolix - adj. tediously prolonged or tending to speak or write at great length
Ex- He found the narrative too prolix and discursive.
protege - noun a person who receives support and protection from an influential patron who furthers the protege's career
Ex- He was an aid and protege to the former senator.
prototype - noun a standard or typical example
Ex- The firm is testing a prototype of the weapon.
sycophant - noun a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage
Ex- I thought you wanted a competent assistant, not a nodding sycophant.
tautology - noun useless repetition; (logic) a statement that is necessarily true
Ex- John's English teacher told him to avoid tautology in his essay.
truckle - verb yield to out of weakness; try to gain favor by cringing or flattering
Ex- The student truckled to the bully who would push him on the playground.

Big Question

Why do people invest so much time in social media? Is social media making the younger generations less social? Should social media users limit ourselves to how much time we put into social media?

Vocabulary #3

accolade - noun a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction
Ex- The firefighter was awarded with an accolade because of his bravery.
acerbity - noun a sharp sour taste; a sharp bitterness; a rough and bitter manner
Ex- The teacher had to have a side of acerbity to keep her kids on task.
attrition - noun the act of rubbing together; wearing something down by friction; a wearing down to weaken or destroy; 
Ex- The cliff had attrition because of the waves of the water.
bromide - a trite or obvious remark
Ex- My little sister makes many bromides when she is trying to act smart.
chauvinist - noun an extreme bellicose nationalist; a person with a prejudiced belief in the superiority of his or her own kind
Ex- His prejudiced behavior makes him a chauvinist.
chronic - adj. being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long suffering
Ex- The boy had a chronic nightmare that would not leave his head.
expound - verb add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing; state
Ex- The young man expounded about the clothes of the robber to the policeman.
factionalism- self-interested
Ex- The girl didn't show any interest in anyone showing factionalism.
immaculate - adj. completely neat and clean; free from stain or blemish; without fault or error Ex- The floor on the basketball court was immaculate after it was wet mopped.
imprecation - noun the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil (and usually serves as an insult); a slanderous accusation
Ex- The girl was overcome with imprecation.
ineluctable - adj. impossible to avoid or evade:"inescapable conclusion"
Ex- Although death is ineluctable, we must not allow our natural fear of oblivion to prevent us from having an enjoyable, productive life.
mercurial - liable to sudden unpredictable change
Ex- Jim has a mercurial temperament.
palliate - verb provide physical relief, as from pain; lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of
Ex- Treatment works by palliating symptoms.
protocol - noun code of correct conduct; forms of ceremony and etiquette observed by diplomats and heads of state
Ex- Protocol prevents the prince from making any public statement in his defense.
resplendent - adj. having great beauty and splendor
Ex- She was resplendent in a lavender dress.
stigmatize - verb mark with a stigma or stigmata; to accuse or condemn or openly or formally or brand as disgraceful
Ex- The institution was stigmatized as a last resort for the destitute.
sub rosa- happening or done in secret
Ex- The committee operates sub rosa
vainglory - noun outspoken conceit
Ex- He didn't hesitate to flaunt his great personality vainglory in public.
vestige - a trace of something that is disappearing or no longer exists
Ex- After the huge fire, only a vestige of the house remained visible in the ashes
volition - noun the act of making a choice; the capability of conscious choice and decision and intention
Ex- He decided to enter rehab of his own volition because he wanted to restart his life.

Vocabulary List #2

Accoutrements - additional items of dress or equipment, or other items carried or worn by a person or used for a particular activity. Ex: Many people had accoutrements in the gym today.
apogee - noun  a final climactic stage ex: This was the apogee of his reign.
apropos - adj. of an appropriate or pertinent nature; adv. by the way; at an opportune time ex: The family's attire was apropos for the occasion.

bicker - noun a quarrel about petty points; verb argue over petty things 

ex: My siblings bicker way too much about the stupidest things. 

coalesce - verb fuse or cause to grow together; mix together different elements ex: We need to coalesce into a single movement.

contretemps - noun an awkward clash ex: He left the class yesterday and had a bad contretemps with the teacher.

convolution - noun the action of coiling or twisting or winding together; a convex fold or elevation in the surface of the brain; the shape of something rotating rapidly ex: The many noises in the city made a convolution.

cull - noun the person or thing that is rejected or set aside as inferior in quality; verb remove something that has been rejected; look for and gather ex: You do not want to be a cull when applying for a job. 

disparate - adj. including markedly dissimilar elements; fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind ex: Many people think that Aaron and I are not disparate.

dogmatic - adj. characterized by assertion of unproved or unprovable principles; relating to or involving dogma; of or pertaining to or characteristic of a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative ex: The gym's rules are dogmatic.

licentious - adj. lacking moral discipline; especially sexually unrestrained ex: The man was excessively licentious when he came home to his wife while drunk.

mete - to distribute in equal amounts ex: The principle meted out the punishment to the boys who were disrespectful in class.

polemic - adj. of or involving dispute or controversy ex: The concert was polemic when the band didn't show up.

populous - adj. densely populated ex: China is very populous.

probity - the quality of having strong moral principles; honesty and decency. Ex: Probity is a desirable trait for many people. 

repartee - noun adroitness and cleverness in reply ex: My uncle has much repartee when speaking about his favorite topics.

supervene - verb take place as an additional or unexpected development ex: The movies ending supervened what we were all thinking. 

truncate - adj. terminating abruptly by having or as if having an end or point cut off ex: The tree was truncate after it was cut.

unimpeachable - adj. beyond doubt or reproach; completely acceptable; not open to exception or reproach; free of guilt; not subject to blame ex: The building to the president was unimpeachable.

Beowulf Essay

Beowulf Essay

“A hero or heroine refers to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self-sacrifice—that is, heroism—for some greater good of all humanity.” - Wikipedia. I almost never use Wikipedia as a source for anything, but this definition perfectly describes Dakota Meyer.  Dakota Meyer was a corporal in the marines in September 2011 who saved 36 soldiers who were under heavy fire. A hero is someone who is courageous action when it needed for others. Sergeant Meyer exemplified heroic traits similar to how Beowulf did in his story. Beowulf and the contemporary hero Sergeant Meyer stories were told in different ways. The way that Beowulf was told would change drastically if it was told in a feminist perspective.

    Beowulf and Sergeant Meyer displayed heroic traits through their physical and mental actions.For instance, the plot of both of the heroes stories were roughly similar. Beowulf had to fight demons and people and Sergeant Meyer fought Taliban fighters. One trait that both of these heroes share is self confidence. Beowulf’s self confidence is so high it’s almost comes across as cockiness. Sergeant Meyer had tremendous self confidence. The difference between the two is Beowulf was boastful while Sergeant Meyer was humble. Sergeant Meyer claimed that the day was not a success because he didn’t save every man under attack. Another vital characteristic needed to be a hero is the willingness to sacrifice one’s self. Both men demonstrated this flawlessly. Beowulf gave his life fighting against the dragon when virtually no one else would. Despite Sergeant Meyer’s orders to stay put, he put his life in danger taking five trips into a Taliban raid on the top of a jeep with no armor. Lastly, another valuable heroic trait is loyalty. Beowulf was loyal to his king and fought many battles for him. Sergeant Meyer was loyal to his country and loyal to the men who needed his help. Both of the stories were told in two vastly different ways. Beowulf was passed down orally from generation to generation until one many decided to write it down. Sergeant Meyer’s story was told through the media, the President, and first hand by the survivors he saved. The media portrayed his story as a brave iconic American hero. President Obama told his story in admiration and respect. The first hand survivors told his story with gratitude. With all of these different ways the story could be told it added to the heroism.

    The story Beowulf could have changed immensely if it was told from a feminist perspective. First, the stereotypical feminist plot would be that instead of Beowulf fighting Grendel, Grendel’s mother and the dragon he could have talked it out with all three and came to an appeasement. Ideally though, the story would have been told with less gore and violence. Because it’s a feminist story there may have been a happy ending. Traits for Beowulf may have changed as well. He probably would have become less cocky and more humble.

    Beowulf and Sergeant Meyer both embodied heroism, but in different ways. A hero is someone that illustrates self confidence, loyalty, and self sacrifice. The stories were told differently and each way affected the way it was perceived. A feminist perspective on the story Beowulf could have changed the plot and characteristics of characters. A hero is someone that understands the responsibility that comes with freedom.