A Queer Theory Written By Richard Blanco - 1134 Words

Everyone has their own take on controversial subjects faced in society, and no matter what age we live in, this particular subject seems to stay just as relevant in the generation before as it does today. The poem written by Richard Blanco titled à ¢ Queer Theory: According to My Grandmotherà ¢ (2012), which explains how the authorà ¢ s grandmother views his open gayness, as well as the photograph titled à ¢ Two Men Inspecting the Grass Closelyà ¢ (Details unknown), together deal with how society views the LGBT community, which is illustrated in the arguments of human identity, stereotypes held by others, and values held by society. First, the poem titled,à ¢ Queer Theory: According to My Grandmotherà ¢ is from the perspective of Richard Blancoà ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦show more content†¦Although this concept of what being queer really looks like is a topic bouncing throughout this poem, there is also the controversy of where the line is drawn between masculinity and femininity. As the poem goes on, the grandmother begins to get more outrageous with her commands stating à ¢ -shampoo is just for women. So is conditioner. So is moose. So is hand lotion.à ¢ (line 38-41), as well as à ¢ Men donà ¢ t cook- they eat. Eat everything you want, except: deviled eggs Blow Pops Croissants Cucumber Sandwiches Petit foursà ¢ (line 46-51). When the odd, demented requests start showing, one can only start to wonder where these rules can start to take a toll on oneà ¢ s self identity. With these types of remarks made by his own grandmother, the line is drawn and redrawn over again by what is considered the collective idea of à ¢ queerà ¢ by her generation. Although Blancoà ¢ s response or reaction is not shown anywhere in this poem, it must have hit him harshly. In oneà ¢ s path to finding their own sexual orientation it is a very common concept to either be out of the closet and proud or be very quiet and ashamed of what they identify with. This important step in self empowerment shapes human identity, the reality of being accepted by loved ones cannot be in lacking otherwise all forms of self expression is lost within hate. In his own words he describes this

College Composition and Communication †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the College Composition and Communication. Answer: Introduction The methodology that helps all the designers in the world to solve several difficult and complex problems is known as design thinking (Bjgvinsson, Ehn Hillgren, 2012). The designers use this particular methodology for providing relevant solutions for their clients and customers. This process of design thinking draws on the intuition, reasoning, imagination and logic for finding the solutions or the probability of what could be found out. The client is extremely benefitted from this particular process. I had been following my subject of Design IT since the very first class (Howlett, 2014). My lecturer Professor Jeffery helped me a lot to understand the basic concept of design thinking by involving me in several activities. I have written blogs on my ten classes of Design IT and this report is a self-reflective analysis of all the classes. The following report outlines a brief description on the ten classes I have attended of Design IT. The ten classes that I have described are the Design IT, various types of models in design thinking, the art of innovation, changes made in daily life, design thinking tools, joining the dots, ethical design research, prototyping, launch, marketing and fundraising (Melles, Howard Thompson-Whiteside, 2012). The self reflective report describes about my strengths and weaknesses, that is what are my strengths and weaknesses and how can I improve myself in any aspect. Moreover, the report further contains my action plans. In my first class, I learnt about the basic concept of design thinking. Groups were made. We were provided with a paper and all of us wrote a sentence or two about the course. We selected a specific topic (Razzouk Shute, 2012). We passed our paper to other groups and everybody approved our idea of advertising organizations. The knowledge that I gathered from this particular class was to think out of the box and understand the basic concept of design thinking and the benefits of design thinking. Various types of Models in Design Thinking After the second class, I was enjoying the subject even more. The best line that I heard in this class was People who make things happen, people who watch things happen, people who wonder things happen (Lammi, Becker, 2013). I understood the interpretation of this line. My professor made the class extremely interesting, that I was more active in this class. I learnt that there were several different types of models that are involved in the design thinking. This process is completed by following few steps. The steps are empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test. If any one of the step is not successful, it is considered to a failure. We carried out in the class this small activity. We were shown a video in the class and groups were made (Viswanathan Linsey, 2012). We were asked to jot down few questions from the video. It was about a shopping cart, designed and manufactured by IDEO (see photo in blog entry 3, August 3 2017). They actually manufactured in five days. There were teams of experts for designing this. The cart had hooks on it sides. The baskets are removable so that they can be carried separately. A scanner even scans the product for pricing. Another advantage is that there is a carrier for small babies. It was a prototype, however was sanctioned by supermarkets. The lesson I got from this activity was that how teams can work and everybody has the right to speak about their ideas (Melles, Howard Thompson-Whiteside, 2012). Moreover, if a person is allowed to speak his words, he would be motivated. The most interesting and innovative I learnt from my third class was a video of Guy Kawasaki The Art of Innovation (See video in blog entry 4, August 7 2017). This was one of the best experiences in the class (Razzouk Shute, 2012). I got to know about many things. The main points were to make the meaning for what one is working, not to worry much and polarize people. Apart from this video, Professor Jeffery, descried about my next class, which would be on posters. Changes made in Daily Life This class was slight different from the rest. My professor, decided to give an exercise on what sort of changes you can make for daily things we use (Kolko, 2015). Precisely, he wanted us to change our all types of daily things like office chair, ice cream cone, and coffee cups holders and may more that we use daily. We simple had to search for the solutions. All of us shared our views. Moreover, my lecturer even shared his personal experiences. The second exercise was to make the process of carrying baggage to the beach easier (Plattner, Meinel Leifer, 2014). We were provided with ten minutes and our team came up with the best idea. The fifth class focused on the tools for design thinking. I was absent in this particular class. However, I have gone through the slides of my lecturer and understood the concept (Pourdehnad, Wexler Wilson, 2012). The first design thinking tool that was discussed in the class was mind mapping. This design thinking tool is extremely useful when working in a group. This helps in getting an idea for the solution of a problem.The second tool was journey mapping. It refers to the feedback of customers for a product. This is one of the most important tool for design thinking. The third tool is the value chain analysis. This tool provides a view on how many stages will be carried out in an organization for designing a product. This class started with the discussion on the marks of our assignments. My lecturer described about the mistakes made by us. We were again formed into several groups. This class had several activities (Noweski et al., 2012). However, the activity that I loved the most was joining the dots with only four straight lines. This is again another example of how to get out of the problem and think rationally. The TedX videos were extremely helpful to me in this activity. Ethical Design Research This paragraph helps to understand the data collection, ethics and research methods in design thinking. Ethics is the set of rules that we should follow strictly in our life and work place (Purdy, 2014). Research is the systematic collection and interpretation of information for finding solutions. Research has a clear motive. Data collection is of two types; the primary data and the secondary data. The methods of collecting primary data are interviewing, preparing questionnaires, semi structured interviews and group interviews. Whereas, the various methods of collecting secondary data are websites, books, news and articles (Vianna, 2012). I can surely conclude that design thinking is linked with data collection, research and ethics. This was my seventh class in the subject of design thinking. The activity that we did in the class was to design a prototype for the problem that is mentioned in the picture (See photo in blog 9, September 6, 2017). We were three members in our group. My group had designed a refrigerator (Plattner, Meinel Leifer, 2012). A simple refrigerator that has a camera on every section of it. By installation of an application on our smart phone we can have a look of all the ingredients in a fridge so that when we go out for buying we can have a look first of what needs to be taken.The lesson I got from this class was to deal with problems easily. Our second activity was to make a dessert. This class taught us about launching a product in market. I have learnt three main things in this class. They are the initial launch plan, the secondary launch plan and the real launch plan (Johansson?Skldberg, Woodilla etinkaya, 2013). The initial launch plan is basically a research type plan on your product. The initial launch plan helps to understand about the probable outcomes of the product. The secondary launch is generally a rough plan for your product.This plan helps to understand the benefits of the product and also the estimated budget of the product. The real launch plan is the actual launch plan for your product (Mootee, 2013). This is no longer a learning plan, here you will be delivering a new innovative solution from your product. This plan is done with proper planning. I have understood from my classes that any product becomes successful from its marketing. I have learnt many things like creating personas and targeting markets. Personas are imaginary customers that a company creates for its products (Carlgren, 2013). I also learnt about the 4PS of marketing, which are the product, price, promotion and place and the entrepreneurial marketing campaigns. There are three types of competitor analysis. They are the direct, indirect and the future competitors. Fundraising is the set of actions that are carried out for a distinct time for gaining access to the financial resources, needed for achieving the goals and objectives. These funds are collected for several goals like cancer research, charities, starting new venture and many more (Birkeland, 2012). There are few methods for this funding. The common examples are stock markets, 3fs, own money and bootstrapping. Action Plan and Strengths or Weaknesses The ten classes that I have attended on Design Thinking have helped me to understand the concept easily. At first, I had vague ideas on the topics. However, as I was more involved in the classes, the concepts were clear. Moreover, the activities that Professor Jeffery arranged for us were extremely beneficial and refreshing for both our knowledge and mind. We understood how to work in groups and how to think out of the box. Moreover, these activities even taught us to come up with innovative ideas and solutions to the most dangerous problems. Professor Jeffery helped us to understand that every problem has a simple solution that can be obtained without any kind of mental pressure. I also understood how to work on time and how to execute any activity within time. The knowledge I have gathered from these classes would be helping me in my future life. The action plan is a sequence of steps that are undertaken for achieving a distinct goal or objective. My action plan for design thinking is as follows: Goals Tasks Time Frame Requirements 1. Think with Creativity Understand the research methods Within one to two months Proper guidance and education. 2. Be Patient Understand the problem completely and then come up with ideas. Within one week Meditation and relaxation. 3. To do tasks out of the box Create something innovative for the society One to two months Think out of the box and start experimenting. These classes even helped me in identifying my strengths and weaknesses. The descriptions of my strengths and weaknesses are given below. Strengths: From the classes I understood that I have the ability to understand a concept easily. This is one of my strengths. Before joining the classes, I had no idea about this capability. These classes helped me to do so. My second strength is to think out of the box. I have an innovative and creative mind that helps me in providing innovating solutions to any problem. Weaknesses: In spite of having some strength, I do have some weaknesses as well that I got to know from these classes. I am little impatient regarding everything. For example, during one of the class, I was not being able to come up with creative ideas. I became hyperactive due to this. However, at the end of the day I was successful. I can overcome this weakness by simply focusing on my work and worrying less. Conclusion Therefore, from the self reflective report I can conclude that, the methodology, which helps every designer for solving various complex and difficult issues is known as the process of design thinking. Any designer utilizes this specific methodology to provide significant solutions for their customers or clients. This procedure of design thinking normally draws on the imagination, intuition, logic and reasoning for searching all the solutions or the possibility of what could be searched for. The client is absolutely benefitted from this specific procedure. I have given blogs on all of my ten classes on the subject of Design IT and this particular report is a self-reflective analysis of all those classes. The above report clearly defines about the description of the ten classes of Design Thinking. Moreover, the report further discusses about the strengths and weaknesses that I have understood after attending the classes and how I can improve myself by eradicating the weaknesses. My act ion plans are also provided here. References Birkeland, J. (2012). Design blindness in sustainable development: from closed to open systems design thinking.Journal of Urban Design,17(2), 163-187. Bjgvinsson, E., Ehn, P., Hillgren, P. A. (2012). Design things and design thinking: Contemporary participatory design challenges.Design Issues,28(3), 101-116. Carlgren, L. (2013).Design thinking as an enabler of innovation: Exploring the concept and its relation to building innovation capabilities. Chalmers University of Technology. Howlett, M. (2014). From the oldto the newpolicy design: design thinking beyond markets and collaborative governance.Policy Sciences,47(3), 187-207. Johansson?Skldberg, U., Woodilla, J., etinkaya, M. (2013). Design thinking: past, present and possible futures.Creativity and Innovation Management,22(2), 121-146. Kolko, J. (2015). Design thinking comes of age.Harvard Business Review,93(9), 66-71. Lammi, M., Becker, K. (2013). Engineering design thinking. Melles, G., Howard, Z., Thompson-Whiteside, S. (2012). Teaching design thinking: Expanding horizons in design education.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,31, 162-166. Mootee, I. (2013).Design thinking for strategic innovation: What they can't teach you at business or design school. John Wiley Sons. Noweski, C., Scheer, A., Bttner, N., von Thienen, J., Erdmann, J., Meinel, C. (2012). Towards a paradigm shift in education practice: Developing twenty-first century skills with design thinking. InDesign thinking research(pp. 71-94). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Plattner, H., Meinel, C., Leifer, L. (2012).Design thinking research. Springer. Plattner, H., Meinel, C., Leifer, L. (Eds.). (2014).Design Thinking Research: Building Innovators. Springer. Pourdehnad, J., Wexler, E. R., Wilson, D. V. (2012). Systems design thinking: A conceptual framework for their integration. ? ,4(6). Purdy, J. P. (2014). What can design thinking offer writing studies?.College composition and communication,65(4), 612. Razzouk, R., Shute, V. (2012). What is design thinking and why is it important?.Review of Educational Research,82(3), 330-348. Vianna, M. (2012).Design Thinking: inovao em negcios. Design Thinking. Viswanathan, V. K., Linsey, J. S. (2012). Physical models and design thinking: A study of functionality, novelty and variety of ideas.Journal of Mechanical Design,134(9), 091004.

Neal And Jesse Eldridge Are Two Young Men On Trial. For Over Ten Years

Neal and Jesse Eldridge are two young men on trial. For over ten years, they suffered severe physical, emotional, and psychological abuse at the hands of their father. It ended the day they shot and killed him. Now Neal and Jesse are charged, as adults, with first degree murder; they face the possibility of life in prison. All this because Arkansas Department of Health Services, DHS, did nothing to step in and save these young lives. On January 24th, 1998, Rick Eldridge was supposed to take his sons, Neal and Jesse, to "Buckarama", a deer hunting show at the Little Rock Expo Center. Before they left that morning, Rick caught the two teens smoking cigarettes. He told them they could not go to "Buckarama"("Neal & Jesse Eldridge: Child Abuse Tragedy" 1), then tried to suffocate them. "Neal said his father picked him up and threw him headfirst into a wall" (Haddigan 1). As he left, Rick told Neal and Jesse that when he returned "he would beat them to death." He also gave them an "impossible list of household chores" to do before he returned, and said that he would kill them if they didn't. Fearing for their lives, the boys, ages 14 and 15 at the time, decided they had to protect their mother and sisters, as well as themselves, from the monster they called Dad. So the brothers loaded their .22-caliber, semi-automatic, Marlin rifles. Jesse stood behind the corner of the family's house, and Neal stood atop a "shed next to the house." When Rick got out of his truck, the boys began to fire. Jesse shot once, but he lost his nerve and lowered his aim to his father's legs("Neal & Jesse Eldridge: Child Abuse Tragedy" 1). Neal shot four more times aiming for Rick's head and neck. They then retreated into the"wooded area near the house and unloaded their rifles"(Shull 1). Neal and Jesse's mother, who worked nights at Wal-mart and slept during the day, woke upon hearing the gunfire. She came to the porch, and saw Rick lying there. Rachel, the boys' sister, ran to Larry Plummer, a neighbor, for help. Both Mrs. Eldridge and Rachel assumed that Rick had a seizure, and hit his head on the porch. When the police arrived, Neal and Jesse stepped out of the woods. "Jesse told State Police Cpl. Jerry Roberts that they had killed their father because of child abuse"(Haddigan 1). Roberts stated that both Neal and Jesse "were calm, collected, very precise, and respectful to the officer". Sgt. Aaron Duvall is the "Pope County Sheriff's Department criminal investigator in charge of the case." He said that Neal asked "if his father was dead", and then began to cry when he was told yes(Shull 1). Neal and Jesse are now charged as adults with first degree murder. The Arkansas state prosecutor said, "This was an ambush--definitely first degree murder." This means that "they could spend the rest of their lives in prison"("Neal & Jesse Eldridge: Child Abuse Tragedy" 1). An expert on family violence at the University of Pennsylvania, Richard Gelles, talked about this case during a "20/20" interview. He said "he was convinced the boys ?had a credible fear of their lives,'" and feels that the DHS failed these boys("Neal & Jesse Eldridge: Child Abuse Tragedy" 1). Many psychologists agree that exposure to physical abuse causes children, especially boys, to become aggressive and violent. It has also been proven that "26 percent of incarcerated delinquents who had committed murder had experienced physical abuse; they were also more likely than those who had not suffered abuse to have directed their violence toward members of their immediate family." Abused children often choose one of two options. They either fight or flee. "They become involved in crime, especially violent crime. Almost half of violent teenage crimes occur in homes during family arguments"(Fagan 1). Neal and Jesse's history has been filled with traumatic abuse. They stated that Rick "was an explosive, domineering abuser who savagely beat them, their sisters, and their mother for years"(Haddigan 1). Mrs. Eldridge described her husband "as a gun toting, pot-smoking 6'4" brute who punished his four children -- including his young daughters -- in bizarre ways." The first incident Jesse remembers, took place at the age of five. He said, " I was holding my spoon wrong when I was eating my jelly. And he slammed me down on the floor and stuck the handle of the spoon on my ear and it started ringing and bleeding." Rick Eldridge "wrapped soiled underwear around their heads,

Free Essays on Leonardo Compared With Piero

COMPARE THE THEORETICAL AND AESTHETIC INSTINCTS OF TWO OF THE THREE QUATTROCENTO PAINTERS: (PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA ANDREA MANTEGNA, AND LEONARDO DA VINCI). WHAT WOULD YOU SAY WERE THE PRINICPAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE WORKS OF YOUR TWO SELECTED ARTISTS? ANALYSE ONE PAINTING BY EITHER ARTIST WHICH YOU FIND PARTICULARLY ABSORBING. Leonardo da Vinci and Piero della Francesca had definite aesthetic and theoretical instincts in their approach to their artworks. Theory refers to the question of why a painting is painted a particular way and aesthetics refers to the question of what makes a painting invite and absorbs ones thinking. At this time in history Leon Battista Alberti wrote the first treatise on painting, the Della Pittura (1436). This treatise created an atmosphere of reflection and painting was elevated from a mere artisan trade to an intellectual exercise that required great skill. This intellectualization of painting had much to do with the development of perspective. The 15th Century was a time of certainty and measure. This could be seen in the Liberal arts that were taught at University. They were all arts of measure. Both Leonardo and Piero left written treatises on painting. Leonardo’s was entitled the Trattato della Pittura and Piero’s De Prospectiva Pingendi. These two w orks help in understanding their aesthetic and theoretical tendencies. Leonardo also wrote on many subjects outside painting in his notebooks which also help to further understand him and his aesthetics and theory. In this essay I will outline the similarities and differences in Piero and Leonardo’s aesthetics and theory. I will also analyse Leonardo’s Mona Lisa (1503) and define what I find absorbing in this work. Both Leonardo and Piero theorized about painting in their treatises on art. For both perspective was an important aspect of painting in a time when ‘certainty’ was highly valued. Leonardo relied heavily on mathem... Free Essays on Leonardo Compared With Piero Free Essays on Leonardo Compared With Piero COMPARE THE THEORETICAL AND AESTHETIC INSTINCTS OF TWO OF THE THREE QUATTROCENTO PAINTERS: (PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA ANDREA MANTEGNA, AND LEONARDO DA VINCI). WHAT WOULD YOU SAY WERE THE PRINICPAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE WORKS OF YOUR TWO SELECTED ARTISTS? ANALYSE ONE PAINTING BY EITHER ARTIST WHICH YOU FIND PARTICULARLY ABSORBING. Leonardo da Vinci and Piero della Francesca had definite aesthetic and theoretical instincts in their approach to their artworks. Theory refers to the question of why a painting is painted a particular way and aesthetics refers to the question of what makes a painting invite and absorbs ones thinking. At this time in history Leon Battista Alberti wrote the first treatise on painting, the Della Pittura (1436). This treatise created an atmosphere of reflection and painting was elevated from a mere artisan trade to an intellectual exercise that required great skill. This intellectualization of painting had much to do with the development of perspective. The 15th Century was a time of certainty and measure. This could be seen in the Liberal arts that were taught at University. They were all arts of measure. Both Leonardo and Piero left written treatises on painting. Leonardo’s was entitled the Trattato della Pittura and Piero’s De Prospectiva Pingendi. These two w orks help in understanding their aesthetic and theoretical tendencies. Leonardo also wrote on many subjects outside painting in his notebooks which also help to further understand him and his aesthetics and theory. In this essay I will outline the similarities and differences in Piero and Leonardo’s aesthetics and theory. I will also analyse Leonardo’s Mona Lisa (1503) and define what I find absorbing in this work. Both Leonardo and Piero theorized about painting in their treatises on art. For both perspective was an important aspect of painting in a time when ‘certainty’ was highly valued. Leonardo relied heavily on mathem...

Fundamental Differences between Communism and Liberal Capitalism after Essay

Fundamental Differences between Communism and Liberal Capitalism after WWII - Essay Example Communism, on the other hand, refers to the communal ownership of public resources. Under liberal capitalism, everyone has the same share of resources and there is expected to be as little government intervention as possible. Communism is geared towards placing the ownership of resources to the people where these resources are owned communally. There exist some fundamental differences between communism and liberal capitalism. The role of individual changes depending on whether communism or liberal capitalism is at work. With liberal capitalism, each individual is independent and is expected to make their personal decisions. Under communism, each individual is supposed to contribute to the common good of the society by being a part of the production system. Under liberal capitalism, wealth is distributed unevenly unlike in communism where each individual in the society co-owns the wealth and the national resources. Under capitalism, each individual has their own wealth and this wealth is owned privately. Communists believe that each person’s needs are equal and equally important and in this regard argue that resources should be shared equally. At the same time, communists believe that by working together as a team, people can achieve more and this will lead to the welfare of the community as a whole. Liberal capitalists have different views on this. To begin with, a liberal capitalist society, it is believed when individual compete against each other, they will be the most productive and this will eventually work for the best of everyone. One of the best examples of liberal capitalism is probably the United States of America. Liberal capitalism in America has led to the inventions of so many technologies that have made the lives of people so much easier. In liberal capitalist economies such as the United States of America, individuals are rewarded for their contribution to the societies.

Critical Review of the Research of Assistive Technology Essay

Critical Review of the Research of Assistive Technology - Essay Example However, research proves that teachers, as well as school administrations, have not fully addressed this matter. The instruction problem that this paper will address is mathematics, and how students with disabilities relate to it. Even though in the dark, teaching math to disabled students is undergoing radical change. Fresh developments comprise of mechanisms to classify children who have trouble with math in their early grades and ways of helping these students solve mathematical problems (Becks, 2010). Moving from computational math to a conceptual framework, these mechanisms ensure that disabled students are ready to tackle complex subjects such as algebra and geometry. Even though, not all students with disabilities have mastered every computational element of mathematics, these mechanisms have assisted many in developing their mathematical skills. In fact, teachers, in the future, particularly special education teachers, might need to reorganize their entire approach to teaching math (Gillam, 2011). Teachers, in the future, should place more emphasis on understanding the essential principles of math than just teaching, as well as making the subject open and significant to disabled students. Some of the key developments, mathematical-wise, are the screening for mathematics and teaching transference with "hot math" (Council for Exceptional Children, 2011). Word problems are an abomination to a lot of students, with and without disabilities. However, when students with disabilities run into these demons, they experience more challenges than normal students. They have trouble reading the problem, or they might just take the numbers and add them up, ignoring what is to be solved (Schlosser, 2008). Researchers have come up with a technique of screening for mathematics in these students as a way of noting which student can do well in mathematics. Screening students for mathematics

A Lesson Hard Learnt Essay Example for Free

A Lesson Hard Learnt Essay I cannot begin to explain the importance of a mother in the life of a child. A mother’s love is something no one can explain. It is made of deep care, sacrifice and enormous strength. She is the kind of person who would slaughter her own dreams for the dreams of her children. She is someone who would stay up all night when her child is unwell. She is someone who scolds you for the petty things but embraces you when you have failed to keep up with life’s lofty expectations. A mother is a woman who has many roles to play but she would always put her children first. I also had a mother, a mother who loved me with all her might. I failed to understand her intentions behind her scolding, to understand how much she’d done for me, to understand all the hardships she went through to get me where I am. I failed to understand the values and the morals she tried to instil in me to make me a whole woman, just like she was. It was a Friday afternoon. I had just got home from an exhausting day at school. Mum was not home as yet. I lingered around the house thinking that she would be stuck in traffic and I was hoping she would come home soon because I needed to be at a party later that evening. Time passed without me doing anything constructive. I only forced myself to do work when mum was home and so I was enjoying the alone time I had with myself. The phone rang. I picked up the receiver not knowing that this one phone call would change everything forever. A jagged and cold voice whispered the news of my mum’s accident to me. My mum had slipped into a coma and the chances of her surviving where close to impossible. After hearing about this I was left dumbstruck! The receiver slipped out of my vigorously shaking hand. A sharp pain penetrated my veins and spread like a hot burning fire through my body. The fire entered my heart and my heart sank in a pool of escalating anguish. My fingers felt numb and I was unable to move for a few seconds. Slowly my hurt began flowing down my blistering cheeks as tears. The tears were flowing uncontrollably. It has been six months since the accident. In these months I’ve realised the importance of my mum. I feel the emptiness in my life. I took all the things she did for me for granted. I never showed her love and affection that she deserved. When I look back I regret all the things I should have done for her. I regret each and every word that I spat to her in anger. I regret the times we fought. Most of all I regret not telling her I love her. This tormenting experience has taught me to love and appreciate the people who love me because I am incomplete without them. This was a hard lesson learnt.