Table of Contents dear reader intro to "MWA" the highlights of the islands intro to "effective piece" the many ways to define love intro to “writers choice” prostitution, dirty industry or valid profession intro to "critical analysis piece" seminar the pursuit of happyness

dear reader,

This is my second quarter at Everett community college, where I am a full time student. My educational goal is to transfer to Lake Washington Technical College. There I will be able to pursue an Associates of Applied Science degree to become a dental hygienist. Last quarter in English 97 with Professor Shen I brushed up on writing clear and effective paragraphs, and even somewhat conquered my punctuation issues.

This quarter in English 98, also with Professor Shen I learned about the writing process of essays. I was able to demonstrate this new skill throughout my writing pieces that I collected all through the quarter. I always thought English was an easier subject for me, and I never expected that I would have tested so low two quarters ago. Now, with the new skills and knowledge I have acquired from Professor Shen I am fully prepared to enter English 101 with complete confidence.

intro to "MWA piece"

The first piece I chose was my process paper, which was my first major writing assignment written week five of the quarter on April 30,2007.This was a compare and contrast essay titled, “The Highlights of the Islands.” I chose this piece because it showed how similarities and differences are clearly demonstrated throughout my writing. This assignment showed my improvement as a writer because I provided great detail throughout the essay. For example the sentence; Oahu coral reefs offer excellent visibility, along with beautiful coral formations, sea turtles, and other ocean life. This sentence is one of many that provide the reader with a clear picture of what I am describing.

the highlights of the islands

The two most popular vacation destinations on the Hawaiian islands are Maui and Oahu, but how should one pick between them? For most people vacations are a rarity, so a well planned and researched trip will provide the most for the money. Ultimately, one’s traveling companion might be the deciding factor of the location chosen. Oahu is great for groups of friends because of its night life and shopping. Maui is more for couples and families who are looking for a more low-key vacation. With the large amount of tourist that flock to Oahu, it is a great place for meeting new people, whereas Maui is more personal and secluded. Each island offers different appeals to different types of parties.

Oahu beaches tend to be more heavily populated with large crowds, and finding a spot on the beach to call one’s own is scarce. On Maui beaches, people are more sparsely spread, so it is even possible to find a secluded beach. Although the island of Oahu is a major tourist destination, those looking for snorkeling will be surprised by the low crowds. Oahu coral reefs offer excellent visibility, along with beautiful coral formations, sea turtles, and other ocean life. Maui and Oahu are virtually the same when it comes to snorkeling but, Maui offers one location Oahu does not, which is Molokini. Molokini is an ancient volcanic crater emerging out of the sea located three miles off shore, and is known for its colorful sea life and clear water. Visibility often exceeds 100ft.

Maui and Oahu both offer many hiking trails. One of the many hiking routes on Maui is four miles round trip through a rain forest. This hike passes by Makahiku Falls and ends upstream near the base of Waimoku Falls. The clear pools formed by the smaller waterfalls along the route make excellent places to swim. The island of Oahu is the second oldest of the major Hawaiian islands. The huge amount of rain that falls in parts of Oahu gives the island many carved and chiseled features. The rain also provides the island with beautiful forests, gorgeous foliage, and a breathtaking valley. These features make the perfect environment for hiking. The most popular hike is Diamond Head, the most famous volcanic crater in the world. This hike is located on the south-east coast at the end of Waikiki, over looking the Pacific Ocean. The hike is classified as moderate in exertion, but is worth the breathtaking view of the entire west side of the island.

Oahu stays alive well into the night and offers a lot of choices to its visitors. Honolulu is the center of it all. Kalakaua Avenue is the main street. Kalakaua Avenue offers shopping, restaurants, bars, and night clubs. Many hotels even offer free hula shows. Unlike Oahu, with its busy city of Honolulu, Maui is relatively remote. The night life is limited to luaus, a sunset dinner cruise, or one can enjoy Hawaiian entertainment and music at a local hotel.

On Oahu it is almost impossible to find local food. Oahu is filled with large chain restaurants that do not offer authentic Hawaiian food. As to where, on Maui finding good local food is easy. For example, Aloha Mixed Plate is a oceanfront, outdoor restaurant and tropical bar. Featuring a menu of local favorites, served on paper plates.

While in paradise, why not have the very best? Both islands offer the high end resorts, with the ultimate in luxurious suites and guest amenities. If staying at one of these types of accommodations, guests will be able to enjoy a full service spa, fitness services, tennis, golf courses, private beach, and fine dinning. All these services are available without taking a step off of the hotel property. Unlike those typical resorts on Oahu, on Maui it is possible to find private, family owned accommodation. Maui offers a number of bed and breakfast’s or even a bungalow nestled on a mountain away from the crowds, but still being perfectly located for exploring points of interest.

It is clear that Oahu and Maui both have many similarities, and some differences. They both offer never-ending beaches, snorkeling for groups or families, and hiking routes for everyone. They both have hotels for those who want to stay in luxury, or Maui even offers accommodations secluded from the crowds for those who like their peace. Oahu and Maui both offer amazing food, but only Maui has easy to find authentic Hawaiian food. Each island is appealing in its own unique way to different travelers, so deciding between them still might be difficult.

intro to "effective piece"

For my second piece I chose, The Many Ways to Define Love to demonstrate effectiveness. This piece was a definition essay, which is an article of writing that explains what a term or concept means in depth. This essay was written week seven of the quarter on may 15,2007. I consider this piece to be an excellent example of this category because it effectively described my personal definition of love. I feel I defined love in my own unique way. This paper showed my growth as writer because I tied in personal examples from my life to support my opinion of love. An example from my writing is; I have had a friend that once told me after her three year relationship ended that she was so surprised when her ex boyfriend started to see other girls within weeks.

the many ways to define love

Many of us have experienced love. Or at least we think we have. However, what is love? How do people define love. For example, most of us would say we love our parents. This would naturally be a different type of love that you would have for your husband or wife. The love for a parent is somewhat indescribable. For me it is a warm, caring admiring feeling. This is not the only love we can define. What about the love for a boyfriend / girlfriend, pet, friend, family member, or even a materialistic thing? How do people define love? Love is something that we have all experienced in one way or another, yet everyone defines it differently.

I have seen friends, co-workers and family members go through many relationships. What has surprised me from my friends is that after their relationships end whether it was mutual or terrible breakup, they are on to the next person in less than a month! Why? How? Especially if they were together for several years. For example, I have a friend that once told me after her 3 year relationship ended that she was so surprised when her ex boyfriend started to see other girls within weeks. She could not imagine herself being with anyone else right away. She needed time to heal she said because she needed to let the love she still felt for him disappear. Her point was, how can you love someone else when you still love your ex boyfriend. However, let us not mix things up and say we can love many people at the same time. This is true, we can love our children and parents at the same time, but what she was trying to say was that her love for him was still there and therefore was not able to love another guy yet. She later realized that he did not love her after all. Within the years she learned that he had gone through many relationships. None ever did work out. What he wanted was to not be alone. In her opinion, many people do not want to be alone and therefore go looking for someone to cover their emptiness. She feels that when you are happy alone, you can be in a somewhat healthy relationship because you do not fear being alone. You do not look for love. It comes to you, and if it never does then what is so wrong with that? Nothing in her opinion.

Then there is the saying “I love you” to a significant other, family, or friends. I don’t think you have to say I love you every time you have to leave or hang up the phone. My friend Karen gave me a good example. She said that she has never told her boyfriend “I love you”, nor has he to her. She says that they have endearment names or sayings to one another. To her that is sufficient. She knows that he does love her by the way he treats her. Love is overrated, in her opinion, when it comes to relationships, and that the word “ I love you” is only used because we have been used to hearing it and think it is the only way to express ourselves. Though for some people it is.

Some people are not good at expressing their love. For example, my father never told me he loved me. However, I know he did. I felt his love for me inside. He did not have to tell me he loved me. He worked hard to provide for his family, something I have not seen in many of the fathers of my friends children. There was an incident once when I was going on vacation and I said “I love you” to my mother, but not my father. We looked at each other and his eyes said it all. He did love me and wished me a good time. I was happy with that.

Of course many say we love a certain band or designer brand. True when you love someone or something you are dedicated to them. For example people who love a particular brand will always to purchase that brand if it is more expensive than identical item with a different brand name. Or people who love a band. They might spend hundreds to go to a concert of theirs vs. a band they listen to but not love as much as their favorite band.

In general, everybody has a different idea of what love is. Some people feel when a partner is jealous (to the extreme) that it means that they love them more. Maybe some people just want to have someone because they like the feeling of having someone around and talk to all the time, whether it means that they have to go through several relationships and feel that this is the “one” again like the last relationship. I have been in two serious relationships and loved them in different ways. However, I never do think about love. Why should I? I am very much content on my own. People need to stop worrying so much about finding love. What they need to do is love themselves first and learn how to be alone. Don’t look for love. Love comes to us when we are not looking for it.

intro to "writers choice"

The third piece I chose was my essay titled, “Prostitution, Dirty Industry or Valid Profession”. This was a persuasion essay, which I chose as my writers choice piece. I chose this essay because it clearly demonstrates how I have grown as a writer in the last 9 weeks. This paper was written May 30,2007. This paper is a great example of a persuasion essay because I provided a very compelling argument as to why prostitution should be legal. I believe the points I made in my essay could easily sway my audiences point of view on the subject. This paper shows my growth as a writer because it is very well organized and I provided a good conclusion. I gave this paper a very clear thesis and excellent transition words that easily lead my readers through my paper, and let them know exactly where I was going. For example I used transition such as, first off, next, finally, and overall to tie my paragraphs together. The conclusion of this paper also shows my growth as a writer because it sums everything up. Usually when I get to the conclusion of a paper I fall a little short, but with this paper I finally went the distance. In my conclusion I summarized the main points of my paper and restated my thesis leaving all loose ends wrapped up and my audience with a sense of satisfaction.