Free College Admissions Essays: Interest in Languages :: College Admissions Essays

My Interest in Languages I can trace my interest in languages back to a holiday to the Lleyn Peninsula when I was 6, during which I decided to compile a dictionary of the Welsh words I saw on signposts. My interest gained ground at secondary school, and in recent years I have become particularly enthusiastic about the language and culture of Spain - an enthusiasm heightened by a visit to Galicia last summer. While I am enjoying A level French I am keen to take this opportunity to learn something new, hence my desire to study Italian. Italy is a country which fascinates me and which I would love to get to know, and I already have some knowledge of the language including the pronunciation system. Last term I took part in an French essay-writing competition organised by the Alliance Française, and for my essay on Globalisation I was awarded a Certificat d'Or. Last year also saw my participation in the French Exchange with a school in Condé-en-Brie, near Reims, which I found a valuable insight into French culture as well as a chance to improve my language. Apart from my French and Spanish studies, I have pursued other languages at various times. Last year I took the one-year GCSE course in Latin that my school offers, which I have found very interesting and highly worthwhile as well as a help with and insight into Romance languages. Out of enthusiasm for the West of Scotland and interest in Scottish place-names I have learnt some Gaelic, and I recently started to teach myself German. I have been elected deputy head boy with responsibility for charity for this year, and in this position I hope to continue the impressive fund-raising efforts of previous years for local and national causes. I have successfully completed my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh's award, for which I took up rock-climbing and helped residents in a local nursing home. I am on the committee of the Debating Society and have spoken in a number of debates in the Society's first year; through school I have also taken part in a public speaking competition organised by the Rotary Club, for which I spoke as part of a team of three on "how we will view life in the next millennium". I am a keen actor, and have had leading roles in productions both in and out of school.

Why the Whitechapel Murders Attracted so Much Attention Essay -- Papers

Why the Whitechapel Murders Attracted so Much Attention In this question I will be studying the various reasons why the Whitechapel murders attracted so much attention in 1888. This will focus on the Ripper victims and their own personal backgrounds, the murders and the similarities including the fact that they became more increasingly violent, the extensive press coverage due to the brutal murders as well as the increased press coverage on anti-Semitism and finally I will write about the actions of the mile end vigilance committee. My focus will turn to the 5 main ripper victims Mary Ann Nicholls (Polly), Annie Chapman, Elizabeth stride, Catherine Eddows and mary Kelly. There are many similarities between these five victims which link them to be the most believable ripper victims. The most initial similarity between all 5 women was that they were all prostitutes working in the same area all of the prostitutes were all of the same age of around 45 apart from one named Mary Kelly as she was aged around 25.the serial killers spree began on august 31st 1888 with the murder of a middle aged prostitute named Mary Ann Nicholls called Polly by some. As with all the victims she was a very heavy drinker. Polly had five children and had separated from her husband Mary Ann at the time was living in a house at 13 millers' court. The ripper's second victim was again an (47 year old) prostitute named Annie Chapman. Also a mother and like all the prostitutes she was a heavy drinker, she again was separated from her husand.she prostituted in order to pay for her drinking habit, Annie's appearance was not the best for a 47 year old as she had a... ...y was received on the 17th September 1888 stating that giving a reward would do more harm then good and rejected his offer. Having examined the evidence there was several factors which linked together attracted nation wide attention to the white chapel murders such the brutality of the murders themselves also due to the similarities and differences off all the prostitutes. But I think the real factors which the attracted the nation wide attention was of the three letter which were printed in the newspapers as they contained plisit information about the murders themselves and the startling letter which contained a piece of human kidney, which was said in the letter that that excrement's were fried and eaten. So in conclusion I think that the sickness of the mind of jack the ripper grabbed the world wide attention.

Counseling the Infertile Couple :: essays research papers

â€Å"Counseling the Infertile Couple†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being a pastor of family ministries with three healthy children, it is hard for me to counsel other couples on infertility. I have also been on the other side of the table facing these infertility choices in my first marriage. There was a choice we faced regarding selective termination if we did conceive after hormone therapy. In a way, I am glad we did not conceive because my ex-wife and I opposed each other on this procedure. I was opposed to the procedure while my wife accepted it. As a pastor having to counsel others with the problem of infertility, there are a lot of choices to be made regarding infertility.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe God has given doctors the technology to assist couples in the process of conceiving a child. How far a couple goes to conceive a child is the problem we are facing as Christians in today’s culture. Assisted reproductive technologies allow many couples with infertility problems to bear children. But with the plethora of options come tough decisions. Couples must weigh the financial, emotional and physical costs of each treatment against its chances of success. The ethical ramifications of creating life in a lab is also a consideration Christian couples often look to their faith for guidance. God has given us the job of exercising dominion over all the earth (Gen. 1:26), which includes using medical technologies to assist us in reproduction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first step in infertility treatment is diagnostic testing for would-be parents. Treatments may be as simple as drugs to stimulate ovulation or as complicated as in vitro fertilization. Some couples may achieve pregnancy quickly, but others may have to decide to pursue assisted reproductive technologies. Since the first â€Å"test-tube baby† was born, in vitro fertilization has become a common procedure in fertility treatment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A key issue couples considering in vitro fertilization is the use of their embryos. The woman often produces more eggs than can be used during a single IVF attempt. The extra embryos can be frozen to use in subsequent procedures, or a couple may have them destroyed, kept in storage indefinitely or donated to another infertile couple. Another issue is how many embryos should be placed back in the uterus. The fewer used, the lower chances of multiple pregnancies and a higher risk for complications. The more used, the couple faces the issue of more embryos taking hold in the uterus and having to decide terminating one or more of the fetuses to give the remaining ones a better chance of survival. Counseling the Infertile Couple :: essays research papers â€Å"Counseling the Infertile Couple†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being a pastor of family ministries with three healthy children, it is hard for me to counsel other couples on infertility. I have also been on the other side of the table facing these infertility choices in my first marriage. There was a choice we faced regarding selective termination if we did conceive after hormone therapy. In a way, I am glad we did not conceive because my ex-wife and I opposed each other on this procedure. I was opposed to the procedure while my wife accepted it. As a pastor having to counsel others with the problem of infertility, there are a lot of choices to be made regarding infertility.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe God has given doctors the technology to assist couples in the process of conceiving a child. How far a couple goes to conceive a child is the problem we are facing as Christians in today’s culture. Assisted reproductive technologies allow many couples with infertility problems to bear children. But with the plethora of options come tough decisions. Couples must weigh the financial, emotional and physical costs of each treatment against its chances of success. The ethical ramifications of creating life in a lab is also a consideration Christian couples often look to their faith for guidance. God has given us the job of exercising dominion over all the earth (Gen. 1:26), which includes using medical technologies to assist us in reproduction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first step in infertility treatment is diagnostic testing for would-be parents. Treatments may be as simple as drugs to stimulate ovulation or as complicated as in vitro fertilization. Some couples may achieve pregnancy quickly, but others may have to decide to pursue assisted reproductive technologies. Since the first â€Å"test-tube baby† was born, in vitro fertilization has become a common procedure in fertility treatment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A key issue couples considering in vitro fertilization is the use of their embryos. The woman often produces more eggs than can be used during a single IVF attempt. The extra embryos can be frozen to use in subsequent procedures, or a couple may have them destroyed, kept in storage indefinitely or donated to another infertile couple. Another issue is how many embryos should be placed back in the uterus. The fewer used, the lower chances of multiple pregnancies and a higher risk for complications. The more used, the couple faces the issue of more embryos taking hold in the uterus and having to decide terminating one or more of the fetuses to give the remaining ones a better chance of survival.

Foreign Nations Intervention in Civil Wars Essay

The events in history had seen many civil wars that took place in various parts of the world. Civil wars are defined as â€Å"violent conflict between organized groups within a country† (Fearon, 2006). Being the case, it is questionable as to why foreign nations intervened with such kind of domestic affairs. The intervention of foreign nations entails a specific reason or agenda in their part, which is the main cause as to why they participate in the civil wars of other countries. Foreign nations intervention in civil wars are notably observable in three events in the past namely the civil wars in Korea in the 1950s, Vietnam Civil war in the 1960s, and the Afghanistan Civil War in the 1980s. Civil War The meaning of civil war explains that it should only involved the citizens of a particular nation. The conflicting groups that are existing within the country could be two or more militant groups fighting with each other. The source of disagreement could also come from the political tension among the existing government and some civilian groups that does not agree with how the government runs things and implement policies. James D. Fearon (2006) supported this definition of civil war when he argued that civil war pertains to violent conflicts among organized groups found within a country. The reasons behind such disagreement could be attributed to the struggle over the position of power in the government, one group’s separatist objectives, or a particular policy implemented by the government that caused friction and division among its citizens. An armed combat would only be considered as a civil war when there are 1,000 dead that also leads to a high amount of rural insurgencies although not intensely violent or disturbing. Furthermore, Fearon emphasized that political goals is the primary characteristic of a civil war, if ever there are other motives such as vengeance or hatred then it could not be considered as such. 1950s Civil Wars in Korea The Korean civil war could be attributed to the different the ideological beliefs between North and South Korea. North Korea adheres to communism while on the other hand South Korea believes in democracy. Due to this difference, the division of Korea took place that separated them between the communist North and the democratic South. Korea used to be owned by Japan but it has been separated into occupational zones after the event of the World War II. The United States of America accepted the defeat and act of surrender by the Japanese in Southern Korea. Similarly, the forces of the Soviet Union also did the same act in the northern part of Korea. What seems to be a temporary division becomes permanent when the Soviet Union aided in establishing a communist rule in North Korea while the United States make sure that they supported the South Korea through financial and military aid (â€Å"Korean War†, n. d. ). On 25 June 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea through a surprised attacked that caught the South Korean army as well as a small number of U. S. forces off guard that makes their invasion of the capital city of Seoul easier. Just a couple of days after this invasion the United States of America push for a UN resolution that would give military aid to South Korea. In line with this, President Harry Truman through this resolution worked under the United Nations â€Å"police actions† towards the North Korean invaders (â€Å"Korean War†, n. d. ). The influence of the United States had reversed the situation, the South Korean forces together with the U. S. forces attacked North Korea. Nevertheless, this decision of invasion stimulated other parties to intervene. In the late 1950, the forces of the communist China also made their presence felt in the war, which resulted in a violent and bloody armed combat (â€Å"Korean War†, n. d. ). According to the Naval Historical Center (2001), this violent dispute lasted for more than three years. Eventually, the war ended in 1953 when the United States and North Korea end the war by signing a cease-fire agreement. However, this agreement continued to divide North and South Korea at almost the same geographical portion. The participation of foreign countries like the United States of America and China symbolizes the vested interests of these two nations. One of the important things that have to be considered in this situation is the fact that the cold war is already being felt during this time. The competition between the concept of democracy that is led by the U. S. and the idea of communism through the leadership of the Soviet bloc is observed through this civil war in Korea. The United States supported South Korea because they deem that not doing so would result for the north to annex them into their communist ideology. In the same manner, the Soviet Union gives aid to North Korea because of they did not want this territory to be under the U. S. influence. Even other communist countries like China also intervened in the situation in order to support North Korea. This assertion is proven when the Korean War was considered as the start of the hot, violent, and expensive cold war (Naval Historical Center, 2001). The reported casualties in this civil war amounted to the death of 55,000 American troops. This war was deemed as a â€Å"limited war† because of the goal of the United States to merely protect South Korea from being invaded by the communist North. The U. S. had no intention of defeating the enemy and in this case the villains are North Korea together with the other countries that support communism (â€Å"Korean War†, n. d. ). 1960s Vietnam War The Vietnam War is also another example of a civil war wherein the intervention of foreign countries has been observable. This war also exemplified how conflicts within a country was aggravated due to the interests of others. In line with this, this civil war also exemplified how the Cold War is taking place during that time. The origins of the Vietnam War took place in 1954 when the Vietnamese Nationalist and the Vietminh army that was led by communists defeated the French at Dienbienphu. The French were forced to established North Vietnam as a communist while leaving South Vietnam as non-communist. However, this did not sit well with the United States of America especially after President Harry Truman supported France in maintaining its Indochina colony, which composed of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam through economic and military aid. The U. S. government led by President Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to established a nation as well as a political machinery in South Vietnam. He created a government that replaced the French and also deployed military advisers in order to train the army of South Vietnam. Furthermore, the U. S. also instructed its Central Intelligence Agency to apply psychological warfare towards North Vietnam (Rotter, 1999). The administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson had fully committed the country into war when the Congress allowed the Tonkin Golf Resolution, which paved the way for the continuous air bombing of the U. S. to South Vietnam. This action confirmed that the United States was indeed at war (Rotter, 1999). The succeeding president, Richard Nixon, implemented the idea of Vietnamization wherein he ordered the withdrawal of American troops that gave South Vietnam a greater role in the battle for this civil war. However, he made the effort to weaken North Vietnam by deploying American forces in Cambodia to demolish the supply bases (Digital History, n. d. ). During 1968 to 1973, diplomacy was utilized in attempts of ending the war. In January 1973, an agreement were made that resulted for the U. S. withdrawal in Vietnam and the released of U. S. prisoners. Eventually, in April 1975 Vietnam was united as one country when South Vietnam surrendered to the North (Digital History, n. d. ). The intervention of the United States in the Vietnam War is an effort to combat the driving force of communism in the world, which is the North Vietnam’s government led by Ho Chi Minh. For the Americans, the enemy is communism because this ideology defy everything the U. S. upholds. The idea of freedom, human rights, free trade, and most especially the concept of democracy are violated by communism. This effort to combat communism is clearly seen when President John F. Kennedy supported the counterinsurgency war wherein he sent 400 Green Beret soldiers in order to trained the South Vietnamese how to fight and eventually combat the communist guerrillas of North Vietnam (Rotter, 1999). Furthermore, Rotter (1999) also argued that the United States believes in the domino theory wherein if ever a particular country in a region would adhere to communism then other nations would also follow suit just like a falling domino. This is the exact idea the U. S. wanted to prevent, which is why they participated in the Vietnam War because they deem that if the whole Vietnam would follow communism then eventually the other countries in Southeast Asia would also do the same. In relation to this, another reason is the objective of the U. S. for other countries to follow the path of democracy and identify themselves as member of the free states. The U. S. efforts in doing so was seen when the U. S. gave economic and military aid to France in order to maintain its Indochina colonies. They also used the same idea of the domino theory that if countries would see the development of France and its colonies then eventually they would chose democracy instead of communism. 1980s Afghanistan Civil War The experienced of Afghanistan during its civil war in the 1980s is also similar to the events that took place in Korea and Vietnam. Foreign countries also intervened in this civil war. This involvement of other countries could be seen through the events of the war wherein their contribution to the armed combat also signifies their own interests in doing so. The Afghanistan civil war started when the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) assassinated the first president of the country, Muhammad Daoud. The succeeding government led by Muhammad Taraki a member of the PDPA implemented policies that are very communist in nature. The resistance in this kind of policy resulted in a bloody civil war. From the start, the Communist Soviet Union supported the PDPA through economic and military aid. The PDPA party was also experiencing conflict between two rival factions that are after the control of the government. Taraki was overthrown by Amin, which threatened the Soviet Union because this new leadership might pave the way for the Afghanistan to lean towards the United States. This is the reason why the Soviet Union invaded the country. Amin was executed by the Soviet forces and was later on replaced by an Afghan Communist government led by Babrak Karmal, which acted as a puppet administration. Other foreign countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and China supported the Afghan Mujahadeen or holy warriors who were against the government established by the Soviet Union. The intervention of other nations aggravated the conflict. Eventually, by 1988 the dragging armed combat as well as the tensions in the Soviet politics pressed Moscow to adhere to the Geneva Accords of 1988. This agreement entails the Soviet army to leave Afghanistan in February 1989 (Lee, 2007). The incidents that took place in the Afghanistan civil war clearly shows why foreign countries participated in this kind of war. Due to the own interests of the Soviet Union to prevent the increasing number of free states that would follow the idealism of the United States, they decided to invade Afghanistan. They assassinated Amin, who they suspected sided with the United States. In the same manner, the United States and other countries gave aid in terms of monetary as well as military equipment to the Afghan Mujahadeens to helped in their efforts of overthrowing the puppet government that was controlled by the Soviet Union as well as an effort to prevent the further spread of communism in Asia. The above mentioned civil wars only proves that foreign intervention took place in order to further the objectives and accomplished the goals of countries who involved themselves in this war. The United States of America and the Soviet Union are clear examples of countries that utilized the conflicts happening in other parts of the world to sustain their own interests. It is important to understand that these countries were the main actors who intervened because of the on-going Cold War happening between them during those times. Cold War was characterized by indirect aggression towards each other, which is clearly established by these two countries by simply supporting or aiding conflicting parties within a civil war. The main idea was for the United States to support parties that are against communism and for the Soviet Union to do the same by giving aid to those that are in favor of the communist idea and are against the free state the United States are fighting for. In all of these, it is proven that intervention indeed becomes a means to pursue and accomplished the vested interests and objectives of other countries. References __________. Learn About the Vietnam War. Retrieved June 28, 2008, from http://www. digitalhistory. uh. edu/modules/vietnam/index. cfm. __________. Korean War. Retrieved Jully 10, 2008, from http://www. asianinfo. org/asianinfo/korea/pro-korean_war. htm. Fearon, J. D. (April 2006). Civil War. Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Retrieved June 28, 2008, from http://fsi. stanford. edu/news/ civil_war_definition_ transcends _ politics_ 20060410/. Lee, R. A. (2007). The Afghan Civil War. Retrieved June 28, 2008 from http://www. historyguy. com/afghan_civil_war. html. Naval Historical Center. (2001). The Korean War, June 1950 – July 1953. Retrieved June 28, 2008, from http://www. history. navy. mil/photos/events/kowar/kowar. htm. Rotter, A. J. (2001). The Causes of the Vietnam War. Retrieved June 28, 2008 from http://www. english. uiuc. edu/maps/vietnam/causes. htm.

Greek Society

Greek emphasis on reasoning bring to their views of nature and society? ADDED Greeks broke with the onomatopoeic outlook and started to view the physical world and human activities through reasoning and logical thinking. What changes did It make to nature and society? -Emphasis on reason marks a turning point for human collocation A) Philosophy -Marks the beginning of scientific thought, had an awareness of cause and effect, exploring the natural phenomena, principles of universe. Traditional mythical explanations are dismissed. -egg. Earthquakes commonly held belief that it was caused by Poseidon, god of the EAI, was offered with a logical explanation on how the earth floated on water. Discovered water as an element and rainbows certainly was not the goddess Iris. – Parricides' concept of unchanging reality apprehended by thought alone Influenced Plato and Is the foundation of metaphysics- the branch of philosophy that attempts to define ultimate reality, or Being. Democratic from Greek mainland renewed the Ionians' concern with the world of matter and reaffirmed their confidence in knowledge derived from sense perfection- and the senses indicated that change did occur in nature. -model of universe: empty space and an infinite number of atoms- a world of colliding atoms- everything behaved according to mechanical principles.Therefore essential to scientific thought thus emerged in embryonic form with Greek philosophers: 1) Natural explanations for physical occurrences (Ionians) 2) The mathematical order of nature (Pythagoras) 3) Logical proof (Parricides) 4) Mechanical structure of the universe (Democratic) with all these logical reasoning and ways of knowing, Greek philosophers pushed thought in a new direction. This approached allowed critical analysis of theories, whereas myths, accepted unconditionally on faith and authority, did not promote discussion and questioning. Made possible theoretical thinking and the systemization of knowledge- as distinc t from the mere observation and collection of data. -made attempt to prove underlying mathematical principles-> demonstrate that certain conclusions must flow from certain hypotheses. -able to distinguish between magic and medicine. B) The Sophists -early Greek thinkers. -they're the professional teachers and urged that Individuals Improve themselves ND their cities by applying reason to their tasks. -they answered a practical need in the Persian Wars. Sophists again arrived at a broader conception of humanity. That slavery was based on force or chance, that Pl were not slaves or master by nature, all Pl were fundamentally alike. -applied reason to human affairs- divine was useless and it's a human invention to prevent Pl from committing crime. -applied reason to law- all these to instill fear to citizens. -however, their doctrines encouraged loss of respect for authority, disobedience to law, neglect to civic duty ND selfish individualism- dangerously weakening community bonds.C) S ocrates -to comprehend nature, cosmologists discovered theoretical reason. -Socrates attacked sophist' relativism and questions them the questions that really mattered:- what is the purpose of live? The values? How to be perfect? But the sophists failed to answer. -indeed, sophists taught the ambitious to succeed in politics, but persuasive oratory and clever reasoning do not instruct a man in the art of living. -Socrates' central concern was the perfection of individual human character, the achievement f moral excellence. He believed that reason was the only proper guide to the most crucial problem of human existence: the question of good and evil. -because wrong thinking?wrong doing -supplied a method of inquiry called dialectics in urging Athenians to think rationally about the problems. -the good life, the moral life, is attained by the exercise of reason and by the development of intelligence- this percept is the essence of Socratic teaching- made the individual the centre of t he universe, reason central to the individual and moral worth the central aim of human life.

Healthy Ways of Keeping Fit

There are a lot of ways to keep fit. The important thing is that you find an activity that you enjoy doing and that you stick with it. There is a variety of things you can do. You can run, walk, swim, bike, go hiking, do yoga, lots of different methods for keeping fit. Another enjoyable way is to go dancing. Dancing is a very good aerobic activity, requires physical liveliness and burns a lot of calories. The other thing that is significant is making sure that you follow a healthy diet. You want to make sure that you have enough energy to do these activities that you actually enjoy doing to keep your body fit.Therefore, following a healthy diet means ensuring that you eat when you are hungry, you stop eating when you are full, you include plenty of different types of fruits and vegatables, whole grains, things like brown rice, oatmeal millet, all those types of things are considered whole grains. You also want to include some type of lean protein whether that’s from legumes, b eans such as pinto beans, garbanzos, or seafood or lean cuts of meat or poultry without the skin. Any of those are sources of lean proteins that are very beneficial for your body.And again, that particular method of eating will make sure that you have the energy that you need to actually perform these different types of activities you enjoy doing. So when you find the activity you like, try to do it several times a week at least 4 to 5 times a week will really help improve your level of fitness. More than that can actually cause you to lose weight if you are trying to actually lose weight. As you see there are several different ways of keeping feet. It can be any type of physical activity that you enjoy doing.

Love for Goodness’ Sake: Plato’s Symposium

Socrates says, â€Å"In a word, then, love is wanting to possess the good forever† (206B). Naturally, it would be my inclination to agree with this statement; however, love is much more complex than Socrates’ definition. Love is the desire to always be happy, and finding goodness is the key to happiness. Love brings the good out of our souls to guide our lives. We search for goodness in love, yet surrendering to love and desire (eros) is what brings out our goodness. The happiness that love provides encourages the individual to be his or her best self, which is how we ultimately live our lives around goodness. Plato’s Symposium teaches this catch-22: in searching for goodness in love, we discover the goodness within our own souls. A person faces choices every day; with every decision there is the option of acting morally or shamefully. Most people aim to make moral choices, but regardless of the decisions people make, every person has an inherent ability to distinguish acting shamefully and morally. Whether this ability is something a person is born with or is developed through education from one’s parents is irrelevant; it’s important to notice that individuals are aware of their acts before they love someone. When someone falls in love—or is overcome by desire—he or she becomes acutely aware of his or her actions and usually makes a conscious effort to make good choices. In seeing the goodness of the ones a person desires, he or she is reminded of the importance of portraying one’s good qualities. This is the heart of Phaedrus’ argument, that â€Å"there is a certain guidance each person needs for his whole life†¦and nothing imparts this guidance†¦as well as Love† (178D). He continues to argue that the best possible society would be full of lovers and their beloveds because all of its members would be constantly aware of being their best selves in the presence of their loved ones. Phaedrus contends that surrendering to eros brings out an individual’s goodness, but he doesn’t address whether this goodness exists when a person is living without Love. Aristophanes discusses his belief that people fall in love when they find the their â€Å"other half† who fills them with a sense of completeness. He tates, â€Å"It’s obvious that the soul of every lover longs for something else; his soul cannot say what it is† yet he pursues the feeling of unity and completeness that love provides (192D). This sense of wholeness comes from finding the goodness within oneself when a person is with his or her matching half. Socrates disagrees with Aristophanes’ argument because he doesn’t know that each person’s other half is good. The concept of having a matching half may provide comfort to some, but it implies that each person should only have a desire for one person. It is very common for people to love multiple people through the course of their lives. Aristophanes may not be incorrect in saying that every soul is searching for its matching half, but the key part of his argument in this context is that when a person finds someone he or she loves, that person feels a sense of fullness. I believe this sense of feeling of fulfillment comes from rediscovering the good within oneself. The argument in the Symposium that most emphasizes this point is that of Socrates. He believes that everyone is pregnant, either physically or mentally. Those who are pregnant physically bear children; this is their way of spreading life and goodness into the world. Those who are have a pregnant soul bear wisdom, creativity and beauty into the world. Both forms of pregnancy leave behind a small piece of goodness and the process of pregnancy proves that this goodness begins within the individual. A woman has most of what is required to make a baby within her body before finding a lover. She has healthy organs that make her body function, and she is capable of maintaining her body. She has eggs in her ovaries that are waiting for a lover to fertilize them. When she finds a lover, his sperm combines with her egg and a beautiful baby develops. Both the man and the woman have all of the ingredients to create offspring, but the unity of the lovers is required to complete the process. In the same way, each individual has wisdom within their souls, but it’s necessary to combine two souls to expose the goodness to society. The process of bringing beauty and wisdom into the world through spiritual pregnancy is more abstract than physical pregnancy, but is equally important. In the same way that a physical lust develops between lovers, souls can crave each other. Socrates states that the soul is drawn to other beautiful and developed souls, and these people connect through intellectually stimulating arguments—they give birth to new ideas and thoughts. He believes that, â€Å"when [a person] makes contact with someone beautiful and keeps company with him, he conceives and gives birth to what he has been carrying inside him for ages. And whether they are together or apart, he remembers that beauty† (209C). Here, Socrates says that the beauty, truth, knowledge, and goodness were all contained within the lover before the relationship was established; it is through dialogue that this beauty is exposed. Being aware of displaying our good behaviors and trying to impress our loved ones can be a good thing, but sometimes one’s heightened awareness of goodness can make him or her feel inferior. When Alcibiades crashes the philosophers’ dinner, he begins his speech of praise for Socrates, but quickly Alcibiades reveals his overwhelming sense of mediocrity when in Socrates’ presence. â€Å"Yes, he makes me feel ashamed,† Alcibiades confesses, â€Å"I know perfectly well that I can’t prove he’s wrong when he tells me what I should do; yet, the moment I leave his side, I go back to my old ways† (216B). Alcibiades believes he will never be good enough for the pious and goodness-filled Socrates. Alcibiades admits that he strives to be his best self in front of Socrates, but he lapses into old habits when they are apart. Alcibiades declares, â€Å"my whole life has become one constant effort to escape from him and keep away, but when I see him, I feel deeply ashamed, because I’m doing nothing about my way of life, although I have already agreed with him that I should† (216B). Therefore, Alcibiades is aware that he has the potential to be good, but he only has the strength to be noble when he’s with Socrates. The tragedy is that Socrates doesn’t want to take Alcibiades as a lover, leaving the latter to suffer through life feeling lonely and inadequate. Alcibiades should remember that he has the power to be moral and display his goodness, which could in turn lead him to another lover. All of the philosophers whose ideas I’ve discussed above reveal that love brings out the good in each of us, but I believe that the good is contained within the individual before exposure to a lover. We seek lovers because we crave the reminder to always be our best selves. We take pride in acting morally, and we feel good when others recognize our good behavior. We have desire for someone when we see his or her beauty and goodness, and we hope to be desired for our goodness as well. When two lovers come together, there is a feel of unity because there’s an understanding that both people will be noble for each other. People are compelled to stay with a lover for the entirety of their lives because they want to continue to be full of goodness. When we are without a lover, we may feel lonely and can lose touch with our internal goodness. We crave love because we need the constant reminder to be our highest selves—the self we are most proud of. Because Love makes us extra aware of our goodness both internally and behaviorally, it’s important to remember that we have the power to be our noblest selves at any time, with or without a lover. Therefore Socrates was right after all: love is the desire to hold on to the good in our lives forever, and being with a lover is the best way to constantly be aware of being our best selves.