The Hobby of Running Essay Example for Free

The Hobby of Running Essay Running as a hobby is recommended because it is beneficial in helping to improve health, helps you to meet new people and is versatile and relatively inexpensive. Running is also a useful tool in reducing stress and provides other psychological benefits. Running is a relatively easy hobby to take up. Running requires no new skills. You can begin running at any age with many people over 40 taking their first running steps as they embark on the path to health and a new and exciting hobby. The cost to start running is low requiring only a good pair of running shoes and a supportive sports bra for women. No expensive equipment or gym membership is required to be a runner. You can run anywhere virtually year round. You can run almost any time of day or night that suits your preference. There are many social benefits from running. You can join a running club to meet new people, find a training partner, or simply to pick up running tips from others. Running with a buddy can help strengthen the bond of friendship as well as provide the safety aspect of running in pairs. If one runner gets sick or injured the second runner can assist. An attacker will be less likely to attack a pair of runners or a group of runners than a person running solo. Running clubs often host social runs and also serve as a team cheering squad during long runs. There are fundraising training groups such as the Arthritis Foundations Joints in Motion Training Team or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Societys Team In Training, which will train you to run a half or full marathon in exchange for fundraising efforts. Many organized races are fundraising events for local organizations such as schools and churches and national organizations such as Ronald McDonald House Charities, Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and Team RWB supporting America’s veterans. Not only will you be helping yourself with the gift of health but you will be supporting a great cause and helping others along the way with a portion of your entry fees being used for these charitable causes. Running for leisure can help you to improve your health in many ways. It reduces the risk of heart attack by lowering your blood pressure and raising good cholesterol. Running helps reduce the risk for osteoarthritis because it is considered to be a weight bearing exercise which helps to increase bone density. Recent studies also show that it also helps in the fight against osteoarthritis because it helps increase oxygen flow and flushes toxins out of the body. It is believed that the impact of running generates eight times your body weight as an impact on your joints and this is thought to increase the production of proteins in cartilage that makes your bones and joints stronger (Thomas, 2013). Running is a great method for helping you to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. Running helps burn calories in two ways; calorie expenditure during and immediately following the run and by building muscle. The calorie burn from running is approximately 600 calories per hour based on a six mile run at 10 minutes per mile. To calculate the total calorie burn for running use a calculation method of . 75 x your weight in pounds (lbs. ) (Burfoot, 2005) . Muscle built and maintained by running also helps in all day calorie burn. Muscle burns calories and fat does not therefore the more muscle mass you build the higher your metabolism will be and the more calories you will burn even at rest. Running is a great way to relieve stress and has been used by mental health experts to treat depression and addiction. Running for 20 to 30 minutes releases endorphins leading to a relaxed and peaceful feeling. Longer distance running increases the release of endorphins and can lead to what is known as the â€Å"runner’s high†, a feeling of euphoria which is also often associated with completing an endurance event such as a half or full marathon. Running allows you to use the time on the trail to clear your head and think about issues that you are struggling with. Often times the problems that seemed daunting before a run can seem smaller or non-existent afterwards. Speed running or completing a few sprints are healthy ways to release the emotional negativity that comes with anger and frustration as long as it is done safely. The positive energy from overcoming obstacles of completing a run in a certain amount of time or meeting the goal of completing a distance run can provide mental benefits of helping you to learn about your personal strength and mental focus. This new found self-confidence and knowledge about yourself can also be transferred to other areas of your life and help you cope with issues in a healthy way. Whether you are running to lose weight, running alone or with a group, running away from stress, no matter the reason, the road to better health begins when you decide to lace up a pair of shoes and put on foot in front of the other.

American Politics Essay -- Government Politics

Due to the economic strife the American public knows all too well what a recession is. It is economic hardship that has led to the loss of thousands of jobs and businesses. This economic hardship has led to many people losing their homes, cars and other valuables. Why is it that when the Obama administration talks about the recession they refer to it as â€Å"The Bank Stabilization Plan.† (Stewart) Something that has caused the total meltdown of the American Economy being referred to as â€Å"The Bank Stabilization Plan† (Stewart) seems outright ludicrous. Even if they are in the process of fixing the problem, the government insists on using modest language to confuse the public into believing that the issue is not a huge problem; Just a minor inconvenience that is in the process of being â€Å"stabilized.† In his essay â€Å"Politics and the English Language,† George Orwell says that a â€Å"mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence is the most marked characteristic of modern English prose, and especially of any kind of political writing† (515). Politicians are always attempting to make the problems they have created seem like trivial or easily fixed when in fact they are intricate and intense, through the use of â€Å"pretentious diction† (516) and â€Å"meaningless words† (517). The quote says a lot about political writing when Orwell’s essay was written in 1946 and we are now in the year 2010 and â€Å"pretentious diction and meaningless words,† (516,517) as Orwell describes them, are still being used. Through careful analysis of recent important speeches, I have found that â€Å"pretentious diction and meaningless words† (Orwell) are still commonly used to mislead the public into believing that things are in the public’s best interest, when they clearly are ... ...government is telling us that they are fixing it and have it under control when in fact they truly do not? They are handing out money they do not have and putting the country into trillions of dollars of dept; that is not a solution. I agree with Orwell a million percent when he states that a â€Å"mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence† (515) shapes the way that the government reports new findings and important information. Work Cited Mariner, Joanne. â€Å"Obama’s New Euphemism.† FindLaw’s Writ | Legal Commentary. 30 June June 2009. Web. 08 November 2010. Orwell, George. â€Å"Politics and the English Language† Occasions for Writing: Evidence, Idea, Essay. Ed. Robert DiYanni and Pat C. Hoy II, Boston, MA 2008. 514 - 522 Stewart, Jon. â€Å"New Euphemisms- Obama Re-branding† The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. 31 March 2009. Video Clip. 08 November 2010.

Psychology Reflective Essay

After having various lessons, I would like to have a deeper evaluation of the chapter â€Å"Behavior in Social and Cultural Context† especially the concept of attributions . It is known that there are two types of attributions which are internal attributions and external attributions that we generally use to explain our own or other’s behaviors. Internal factors concern a person’s traits while external factors concern the external environment. In addition, I am actually shocked by the fact that there is a fundamental attribution error when we are explaining others’ behaviors. There is a real-life example that I would like to share. Last Monday, I was stuck in a traffic jam for half an hour on Nathan Road. I had a lesson at 8:30 am in Core A and I reached the pedestrian bridge at 8:25 am, so I was rushing to the classroom. At that moment, a scene annoyed me most and stopped my way to school. A boy who was around six years old was too energetic. He dashed and rushed around on the footbridge that disturbed others’ way. He also guffawed and touched or played with anything and everything he saw. Suddenly, he paced around and glared at his mum. Don’t walk like a stupid pig! Do you know how to walk? I have been waiting for you for so long! †He shouted at his mum. At that moment, I was very angry and strongly believed that the boy was so naughty and disrespectful that he showed his emotions with no restraint and did whatever he likes without regard for consequences. Based on the above case, the correspondence bias leads me to explain the boy’s behavior by ignoring the influence of situation on behavior. For example, actually he is a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, so he cannot be patient and always dash around. However, we tend to emphasize the dispositional attribution that the boy is so naughty and disrespectful. Apparently, we tend to overestimate internal factors and underestimate external factors when explaining others’ behavior. After understanding the concept of fundamental attribution error, I have an enquiry related to it. Is there an error too when we explain our own behaviors? In order to find out the answer of it, I do some researches on it. Afterwards, I found out that the concept of actor-observer bias which is proposed by E. E. Jones and R. E. Nisbett in 1971 gives a clearer picture on the error of explaining our own and others’ behaviors. It states that we as an actor are more likely to attribute our own actions to the particular situation than to a generalization about our personality while the reverse asymmetry held for people being an observer and explaining others’ behaviors. Nevertheless, I have doubts about both the fundamental attribution error and the actor-observer bias. In my opinion, I think that both of the ideas only firmly established when describing negative events. For instance, on the one hand, as an actor, when we get bad result on an exam, we usually attribute the reason to the difficult exam (situational). On the other hand, as an observer, when our friends get bad academic result, we usually attribute the reason to his or her lazy character (dispositional). If the event is positive, the reverse error occurs. With the same example but with the condition that both we and our friends get high marks in the exam, we will attribute the reason to hard-working (dispositional) and easy exam (situational) to explain behaviors respectively. Malle (2006) agrees that a reverse asymmetry held for positive events after conducting a mental-analysis. He states that the discrepancy may indicate a self-serving pattern in attribution that we attribute success to internal factors and failure to external factors. Therefore, I believe that we are explaining others’ by using both the self-serving bias and fundamental attribution error. Overall, the lessons build up my foundation for the psychological concepts and theories and we need to explore the psychological world by ourselves in order to find out more details, conflicts about and relationships between different ideas. For instance, in order to finish this reflective journal, I used Google scholar to search about the actor-observer bias and the criticisms about it that I did not learn on the book and in lessons. By experiencing the searching process, I have deeper understanding on it and it strongly impresses on my memory. The process also enhances my analysis skill, to determine which sources are useful and which sources are not related to my topic. Therefore, I enjoy the process of exploring the psychological knowledge by ourselves.

William Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet - 946 Words

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is probably the most well know play throughout the world. The play is by far the most famous of Sir William Shakespeare. There are many unique characters in the play some of the main ones are, Romeo and Juliet clearly. There are Romeo’s best friends Mercutio the more outgoing one who wants to live life to its fullest. The other Benvolio is very calm and tries to avoid a fight, he doesn’t get rattled easily, unlike Mercutio. Then there is Juliet’s best friend Tybalt, the one who always wants a fight. He ends up getting himself killed by Romeo. The nurse the one who raised Juliet her whole life. One of the most important characters in the play is the Friar. He is the one who married the couple, and also gave the potion to juliet. The most simple summary of the play is, two star crossed lovers were forbidden to be together. They tried to be together, but it ended tragically with their deaths. The ones responsible for the star crossed couple s deaths, is the star crossed couple themselves. Romeo and Juliet could have prevented their deaths by doing a number of things. How was its Romeo’s fault? Romeo played a key role in both his and juliet s death. At the very beginning of the play Romeo is upset about being rejected by his one and only love rosaline. Romeo’s friends Mercutio and Benvolio were worried about him. To try to help him get over this girl, they tried to convince him to go to a party. The party was hosted by the capulets, Romeo wasShow MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1287 Words   |  6 PagesLizzy Baginski English Composition 2 Mr. Spera March 10, 2015 Romeo and Juliet Research Paper The movie Romeo and Juliet is a modern classic film that took place in 1996. Overall this is a timeless story that everyone should go and watch. This movie has an intriguing plot line that tells the story of two feuding families, The Montagues and The Capulets, and how the children of these two different families fall in love. The two children overcome various obstacles such as hiding their chemistry fromRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet 966 Words   |  4 Pages Beauty Over Gold â€Å"Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold.--William Shakespeare, 1623. In his book As You Like It, William Shakespeare pointed out the supremacy of love rather than the want of gold and wealth. Truly, beauty is more important to thieves than wealth. Many of the thieves in this world would rather have an elegant woman than to obtain precious rubies. After all, what good is a prosperous man if he doesn’t have a charming woman? Two famous men grab my attention who didn’t fear forRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet Essay1024 Words   |  5 PagesRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers. Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. The plot is based on an ItalianRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1124 Words   |  5 PagesThe play Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers. Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. Its plot is based onRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet861 Words   |  4 Pagesgreatly shown in the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It was love at first sight with Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. Meeting at a party and falling in love to get married without even spending quality time with each other. Romeo and Juliet couldn t tell there parents because the Capulets and Montagues are long term rivals. Both Romeo and Juliet had to find different ways and excuses to make this marriage work. A big problem was developed. Romeo kills Juliet s cousin and is banishedRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1770 Words   |  8 Pagesof Romeo and Juliet. The story of two destined lovers who were killed by their own doing. But what if they weren t two destined lovers who got unlucky, but doomed partners that were never going to have a good-life to begin with.William Sha kespeare gives us a view of early signs of gang conflict in the early age of Verona, Italy. He gives us a perspective of the norms and customs of Italy during the Setting of William Shakespeare s most famous story. Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, givesRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1616 Words   |  7 Pageslove can also cause some of life s most controversial battles. These battles could stem from lack of patience, disagreement of moral values, and in some cases, an absence of attraction overall. In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the issues that drive Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet s to each of their dreadful misfortunes are inevitable. When it comes to many of Shakespeare s plays, Aristotle s theory is used to describe them as tragedies. Romeo and Juliet is known by many as a tragedyRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1264 Words   |  6 Pagestheater-going public the most important dramatist in English literature, Shakespeare oc cupies a well-known position in the world of talented authors. His canon contains thirty-seven plays, written in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Additionally, throughout the years, they continue to sustain critical attention, with the majority of his works circling tragedies, one being Romeo and Juliet. William Shakespeare s Romeo and Juliet speaks to the timeless appeal of star-crossed lovers. Their loveRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet924 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy that follows the so-called love of two teenagers. The two fall in love at a masked ball and have a secret marriage. Throughout the play, their actions show how ridiculous love is, and how it is a danger to anyone who become twisted in its choking grasp. However, in the death of the youth and survival of the elders, an alternative explanation for the tragic events may be found. Although Shakespeare seems to be mocking love throughout the play, itRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1279 Words   |  6 Pagesour lives. The great, classic writers teach timeless, valuable life skills. Shakespeare was the greatest writer of all time. His writings mainly consisted of dramas and sonnets. Romeo and Juliet, as well as, A MIdsummer Night’s Dream were written about the same time period. He was able to inter relate everything that wrote. For example, the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe could possibly be an advertisement for Romeo and Juliet. The basic structure of the two dramas is the same; two forbidden lovers meet