History of Graphic design (Object poster) Research Paper

History of Graphic design (Object poster) - Research Paper Example As has been a result to this complication, a more made easier type emerged thats a simple meal for the individual that "read" by simply passersby on jam-packed boulevards. Throughout Belgium this method, called â€Å"object poster† or Sachplakat Inches had taken the particular design and advertising mobile phone industrys simply by the hurricane. It absolutely was the technique of preference for a Plakatstil, or perhaps poster type motion. Sachplakats developer, the 18 year old in German cartoonist whom known as herself Lucian Bernhard, moved into a poster opposition throughout 1906 backed through Berlins Priester Go with Organization as well as Germanys primary advertising/ poster printer company Hollerbaum & Schmidt, (Jean-Marc, p. 111). Beside the ashtray have been a couple of wood suits. When it ended up being incorrectly taken to get a stogie advertising campaign, Bernhard has been pushed him in order to reconsider his / her arrangement and started reducing the tablecloth, stogie, ashtray along with smoking, leaving behind simply two easy matches. He or she enflamed the actual matchsticks, prepared them reddish with discolored guidelines, and inserted all of them towards any maroon field (Joan, p. 136). The apex of the style location this individual side lettered in strong stop correspondence the term "Priester†. Inches There the individual are! A fresh design! persistence into adulthood of obesity from childhood is related both to age at onset and severity. Art work Nouveau met the decline not really totally because of the invention of Bernhard, yet since types had been altered to meet brand new professional demands. The raise of car targeted traffic as well as the fast tempo each day existence needed that companies be competitive intensely to the publics focus. Aesthetic difficulty no more accomplished the same reflective outcomes (Joan, p. 136). In 1906, there might have

The Poetry of T.S. Eliot Essay Example for Free

The Poetry of T.S. Eliot Essay The poetry of T.S. Eliot is of such greatness that it will be read and analyzed by future generations of students and critics as long as there is poetry. Eliot received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 and his work spanned a period of time from 1910 until his death in 1965. The period 1914—1922 was very significant for Eliot for obvious as well as personal reasons and events. He was living in England and Europe was witnessing the end of the First World War and realizing the devastation caused. Personally he was having marital difficulties as well as emotional and psychological problems. (Eliot xv—xviii) His work from this period is very dark and obviously influenced by the â€Å"wasteland† of Europe as well as his marital and personal issues. The poems are compelling and in their unique way stand to illustrate the beauty that can be created in the dismal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† was first published in 1915. It opens with Italian verse from â€Å"Dante’s Inferno†, seemingly trying to set a tone of death and damnation. There are no bright spots or happiness in the poem; instead there is a sense of anxiety, uncertainty and sadness. He walks â€Å"streets that follow like a tedious argument of insidious intent to lead you to an overwhelming question† (9). The women seem out of reach, â€Å"in the room the women come and go talking of Michelangelo† (10). It is not a pleasant scene. Eliot appears to want to escape it, to be â€Å"a pair of ragged claws scuttling across the floors of silent seas† (11).   His language in Prufrock is full of allusions and very difficult to read and interpret, and it is almost as if he has sympathy for the reader. He shows his frustration at miscommunication in several lines, some repeated. â€Å"That is not what I meant at all. That is not it, at all† is followed by later by â€Å"it is impossible to say just what I mean† (12). Later this thought is inverted and repeated, â€Å"that is not it at all, that is not what I meant, at all† (13). Towards the end he becomes melancholy and thinks of his old age and death: â€Å"I grow old†¦I grow old†¦I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think they will sing to me†¦we have lingered by the chambers of the sea by sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown till human voices wake us and we drown† (13). The reader is left to wonder if Prufrock was drowning in a sea of human voices. This conflict and miscommunication is symbolic of both Eliot’s marital and personal difficulties. The poem is depressing and full of darkness, conflict and anxiety. It is only the beginning of his bleak viewpoint.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This theme of darkness and miscommunication continues to be reflected in his poetry. In â€Å"Morning at the Window†. Eliot is â€Å"aware of the damp souls of housemaid sprouting despondently at area gates†¦waves of fog toss up to me twisted faces†¦and tear from a passer-by with muddy skirts an aimless smile that hovers in the air and vanishes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (24). He writes of his â€Å"Aunt Helen† not in reflection of her life, but upon her death, focusing on silence and the task of the undertaker: †¦the undertaker wiped his feet—he was aware this sort of thing had occurred before† (26). There is a gloominess that seems to be everywhere Eliot looks. His theme of miscommunication is in his very words, often bizarre and difficult to interpret. In â€Å"Mr. Apollinax† Mr. Apollinax â€Å"laughed like an irresponsible foetus ‘he is a charming man’—but after all what did he mean† (28).   Ã‚  If the words are difficult enough to understand, the final verse is all but impossible to comprehend. â€Å"I remember a slice of lemon, and a bitter macaroon† (29).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Through these unsettling works Eliot shows himself to be a master at portraying a side of the human condition no one really likes to see, yet invariably at sometime everyone does. Often he points out the contrary view as he does in â€Å"The Wasteland†. Springtime is a timeless topic for countless poets expressing the wonder and beauty of nature coming alive after a winter asleep. Not so for Eliot. â€Å"April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain† (65). Not surprisingly he seems to prefer winter. â€Å"Winter kept us warm, covering earth with a forgetful snow, feeding a little life with dried tubers† (65). The theme of miscommunication continues to either cause or accompany the darkness. â€Å"Speak to me. Speak. Why do you never speak. Speak. What are you thinking of? What thinking? What? I never know what you are thinking† (69).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eliot revisits his earlier theme of death as sea in the â€Å"Death by Water† section of â€Å"Wasteland†, advising Gentile or Jew â€Å"entering the whirlpool†Ã‚   to remember â€Å"Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead† (77). In the final section â€Å"What the Thunder Said† his depression seems to come to triumph. Eliot emphasizes â€Å"after the agony in stony places the shouting and the crying†¦he who was living is now dead, we who were living are now dying† (78). His landscape has been ruined: â€Å"falling towers Jerusalem Athens Alexandria Vienna London Unreal† (79). Despite his viewpoint and topics his work is beautiful as it moves the â€Å"unreal† of his imagination to our â€Å"reality† in such a unique and personal way; overall he has in fact communicated his reality in a masterful and compelling fashion. Eliot has proved that good things can arise from, if not be inspired by terrible situations. Works Cited   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eliot, T.S. The Waste Land and Other Poems. New York: Barnes and Noble Classics, 2004.

Risks of youth internet use

Risks of youth internet use MURPHY 1 The internet and various social networking sites, specifically, have seen a surge in activity from adolescents and young adults in the past few years. Individuals, ages ten years old to thirty years old, are the main users of these social networking sites. These same individuals either view or post themselves involved in some kind of challenge game for the amusement of themselves or others. People see these games as fun and entertaining to watch; however, some of these games are very dangerous. Many of these individuals experience peer pressure at the hands of their friends and family to do these challenges. To determine how peer pressure and challenge games affect these people, we must define peer pressure, look at those who are the most susceptible, look at the evolution of these challenge games, and how these games can have detrimental effects on those who engage in them Peer pressure, or peer influence, is the persistent and persuasive verbiage or tactics used by a group of individuals known as a peer group to encourage other individuals to change their values, beliefs, or actions in exchange for acceptance into said peer group. According to Calvà ³-Armengol and Jackson, there are two types of peer pressure. One is positive and the other is negative. In the case of positive pressure, â€Å"the pressure exerted by one agent reduces the cost that other agents face for taking a particular action, thus encouraging other agents to take the action. Essentially, this is like subsidizing other agents’ activity. In the case of negative pressure, the pressure exerted by one agent increases other agents’ costs of not taking an action. That is, one way to encourage an agent to take an action is to make it more costly for him or her not to take the action.† Calvà ³-Armengol and Jackson states that positive and negative peer pressure have m ore nuanced differences and similarities. They also suggest looking at the intentions rather than the actions of the person. However, for the scope of this paper, we will look at the basic definition of negative peer pressure where one agent makes it costly for another agent to not take action. When considering those who are the most susceptible to peer pressure, several areas surface such as the person’s age, gender, socioeconomic status, and the atmosphere at the person’s home. Rihtaric and Kamenov places these factors into four different categories, â€Å"adolescent’s openness to influence, salience of peers who exert pressure, adolescent’s ability or opportunity to perform, and relationship dynamics.† Openness is chiefly a personality trait that determines a person’s willingness to try new things and have new experiences. Being open to influences is not inherently a bad thing; however, if left unmonitored or improperly monitored, the adolescent could experience negative effects in their personalities and their actions. The adolescent being open to influence could result in them being urged and encouraged to act in ways that they would not normally act. Adolescents with low will power will often conform and fall victim to peer pressure. According to Berk, due to school, jobs, and other factors, adolescents spend less time with close family members and more time with their peers. Adolescents often seek intimacy or psychological closeness, loyalty, mutual understandings, beliefs, and feelings from their peers. The peer group, then, strengthens with each criterion that the person meets. With the internet now being no more than a hands reach, finding friends on social networking sites often supplement actual friends. In some cases, to adolescents, these internet relationships are the closest adolescents have to actual friends. In other cases, these cyber friends are just as important as real friends are. Berk states that it is because of this closeness and the need to be close that increases the susceptibility in many adolescents for facing degrading racial and ethnic slurs, potentially harmful social experiences, sexually obscene remarks, and even peer pressure. To find the group that is the most susceptible, you must look at the individual’s attachment style. There are two different forms of attachment, secure and insecure. Those with a secure attachment style seem to have peer relationships that are low in peer pressure. This may be due to the more positive choices and influences that someone with a secure attachment has. â€Å"The results of several studies favor the assumption that susceptibility to peer pressure concerning misconduct could be higher among adolescents with insecure attachment.† (Calvà ³-Armengol Jackson, 2010) Susceptibility increases with the insecure attachment anxious type. For both males and females, susceptibility increases if they have anxiety about their relationships and the group’s perception of them if they do not go along with the crowd. Research has also shown that insecure attachment to peers or parents correlated with high alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and drug abuse among a dolescents. For males, there seems to be more openness to engage in misconduct than their female counterparts. There is an even higher chance to engage in misconduct if the male’s friends ask them to do so. Females are susceptible to peer pressure but not to the extent of males. Essentially, adolescents are the group that is most susceptible to deviant behavior and misconduct because of peer pressure and peer influence. This influence seems to be greater in males than in females. It is even greater if males or females experience anxiety about their social standing in their peer group. Challenge games are tasks where a person or groups of people perform some feat, often of stupidity, for the amusement of themselves and others. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is one of the more recent challenge games that brings awareness to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrigs disease, which is a debilitating progressive and degenerative neuromuscular disease. In this challenge, people were to record themselves dumping a bucket filled with ice water over themselves and nominating three other friends for the challenge or donating money to the ALS foundation. This fad spread like wildfire and almost every social media outlet filled with ALS Ice Bucket Challenge videos seemingly overnight. People posted these videos so that everybody could see exactly who has to do the challenge next. Those called out might not have had any money to donate or they did not want to be drenched in icy cold water. Those who received the challenge experienced peer pressure to donate or pouring water over their head. The pressure to perform came from them not wanting to seem insensitive to the goal of the ALS ice bucket challenge. Since this challenge was for charity, there was more of a receptive nature having multiple news outlets, athletic teams, schools, musicians, actors, and everybody in between performing the challenge. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a harmless game; however, there are others with a higher chance to cause serious harm. There was the cinnamon challenge where the participant must hold a large amount of cinnamon in their mouths for a certain amount of time. Some people reported respiratory problems because of this game. Another game that many a pressured into is the knockout game. This was showcased in the media because children, most often adolescent males from low socioeconomic statuses and broken homes, in essence stalked a person, waited until it was clear, then ran up behind the person they were stalking and punched them as hard as they could. This often ended in multiple adolescents, predominantly male, going to detainment centers or jail. There are several more games of the likes of the Ice Bucket Challenge, Cinnamon Challenge, and the Knockout Challenge. All of the games vary in degree and severity. It could be as innocent as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge or as severe as the Knockout Challenge. The common thread in all challenge games is the idea that to be a part of the collective, you must conform or do whatever they ask of you. This is especially hard for young adolescent, females, and especially males, who are the group that is most susceptible to peer pressure and influence. For both men and women, susceptibility to peer pressure often decreases with age and experience. This decrease in susceptibility comes from the development of more warm and positive relationships with people who exhibit low peer pressure abilities.

Ralph Ellisons Protests Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

Ralph Ellison's Protests    It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of the world that looks on in amused contempt and pity - W.E.B. DuBois, 1903 When discussing a text that is placed firmly into an accepted category of ethnicity, it seems reasonable to look for allegories, tropes, and symbols that hearken back to the ancestral texts of that group's literary canon. Like a golden cord that catches the eye as it pokes up between the warp and woof of words, tradition development can be traced from the earliest texts, causing a student to point to the page and say, "The trope of the mask!" whereupon notes are scribbled in the margin and the shape of the text, how it fits into the big picture of categorization, begins to take form. African-American literature has a rich tradition that exemplifies this concept: From Equiano and Harriot Jacobs' slave narratives to Nella Larsen and James Wheldon Johnson's "passing;" from Phyllis Wheatley and Countee Cullen's solemn classical poetic forms to the eloquent anger of the 1960s Black Arts movement, the universal thread of discord and displacement influence the overall design of African-American literature. Then there is Invisible Man. One of the most celebrated texts in African-American literature, Invisible Man has been interpreted as relying heavily on African-American folk tradition for its deep, rich resonance. But in essays about literature and the folly of literary critics, Ellison defends Invisible Man against simple categorization. It is more than a Negro coming-of-age tale, more than a Negro picaresque psychological travelogue, and m... ...allow anyone to gloss over the distinction. Works Cited Callahan, John F., intro. "Reflections out of season on race, identity and art. American Culture is of a Whole: from the Letters of Ralph Ellison." "The New Republic." 1 March 1999. DuBois, W.E.B. "The Souls of Black Folks." Norton Anthology of African American Literature. Ed. Henry Gates, Jr. New York: Norton. 1997. 514. Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. 1947. New York: Vintage. 1995. ---. Shadow and Act. 1953. "Slip the Joke, Change the Yolk." "Twentieth-Century Fiction and the Black Mask of Humanity." "The World and the Jug." New York: Vintage. 1964. Howe, Irving. "Black Boys and Native Sons." A World More Attractive: A View of Modern Literature and Politics. New York: Horizon. 1963. Hyman, Stanley Edgar. The Promised End: Essays and Reviews 1942-1962. Cleveland: World. 1963.

The Types of Tourism in Belarus

When speaking about tourism potential of Belarus, it’s important to mention that it is mainly based on natural diversity and beauty and unique historic and cultural heritage including thousands of tourism objects of historic, cultural and architectural value, memorable places connected with the names of world’s outstanding historical and cultural figures. Cultural tourism (or culture tourism) is the subset of tourism concerned with a country or region's culture, specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those peoples, their art, architecture, religion(s), and other elements that helped shape their way of life. On the territory of Belarus there is a number of ancient towns such as Polotsk, Novogrudok, Turov, Grodno, Nesvizh and many others. In many towns there are numerous temples and monasteries, palaces, castles and other monuments of architectural, historic and cultural value. Four architectural monuments that situated on the territory of the Republic of Belarus are included in the List of UNESCO World Heritage: Castle complex †Mirâ€Å" situated in the village of Mir (Grodno region), architectural and cultural complex of the Radzivilles at the town of Nesvizh (Minsk region), Belovezhskaya Pushcha (Brest region), the Struve Geodetic Arc (a chain of survey triangulations stretching from Hammerfest in Norway to the Black Sea, through ten countries and over 2,820 km). Nowadays the most popular excursions are connected with cultural, ethnographic and historic heritage of Belarus, such as â€Å"Budslav-Glubokoe-Mosar†, â€Å"Dudutki†, â€Å"The world of small towns† (Ivenez-Rakov). Rehabilitation tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism or global healthcare) is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of traveling to obtain health care. From the almost forgotten folktales and ancient legends the deep-rooted belief in the healing power of nature is becoming stronger and stronger in us, the children of the hi-tech age. And this belief isn’t so naive. Belarus actually possesses a variety of resources for the development of therapeutical and rehabilitation tourism. The fund of healing resources including a complex of climatic factors alongside with mineral water springs and medicinal peloids facilitates the treatment of quite a range of diseases. In Belarus the background for developing this type of tourism is rather rich. There are many mineral water resources, therapeutic peloids, speleo, climatic and phytotherapeutic resources. This potential is used by various sanatorium-and-spa institutions on the territory of Belarus. There are more than 300 sanatorium-and-spa institutions including sanatoria, recreation centers, vacation houses, rehabilitation centers for children. The most popular sanatoria are â€Å"Naroch†, â€Å"Radon†, â€Å"Belaya Rus†, â€Å"Ozerny†. Recreation centers of republic importance are â€Å"Vileika†(the largest in Belarus), â€Å"Berezino†, â€Å"Stolbzy†, â€Å"Ivenez†. You can try the more active way of restoring your energy and fitness, unless the quiet sanatorium surrouding suits your rhythm of life. There are several tourist centers that serve the aim of health resumption. They are  «Narochanka »,  «Vysoky bereg »,  «Braslavskie ozyora »,  «Lesnoye ozero »,  «Beloye ozero »,  «Losvido »,  «Orta »,  «Sozh »,  «Nieman ». Belarus has all the facilities for those who is used to the active way of life and is fond of being challenged by hiking, cycling, horse and water travelling so you can choose what suits you more for having a good time and rest. Belarus has a gentle nature, virgin woods and calm, blue eyes of the lakes and endless fields stretching as far as eye can follow. Water tourism is becoming the most enjoyed one in Belarus, the country with more than 20 thousand rivers and 10 thousand lakes. Lakes Naroch, Svityaz and Braslav Lakes, the rivers Narochanka, Villia, Ysloch, Nieman, Shchara, Prypiats, Berezina are extremely popular waterways among the tourists. There great prospects for the water tourism will become available due to the launching of the project on the water canals of XVIII-XIX cent. restoration. They are Avgustovsky, Ogynsky canals of the Berezina water system. What is more the Dnieper-and-Bug canal will be facilitated with tourism infrastrucrure. And for this restoration the ancient waterways of polish kings and the legendary way â€Å"from Varagian to Greek† will come to life. The abundance of easy waterways will acquaint you with a range of main sights of the country let alone bring you a delight of rafting. There are the east to west and north to south itineraries. Another favourite itinerary that enjoys the popularity is a hike to the special nature reserve â€Å"Golubye ozyora† (Blue lakes). The scenery of the two sapphires of the lakes Gloublya and Gloubelka that unfolds magnificently when you stand on the observation ground makes you stop and stare. Belarusian roads invite everyone to have amusing bike rides. This means of transport makes you feel free and careless, feel the touch with nature not breaking its fragile balance. Besides the bike-routes within the country there are some from Germany and Poland to Russia and the countries of the Baltic Sea.

A Life In The Day Of (creative writing)

My mother knocks. The door opens. Bright light blasts into my consciousness; I cannot see. I leap out of bed to reduce the longing to return and the cold hits me like a slap. As you can probably tell, I am not a morning person – I never have been. I have learnt to hate them over the years. We have never had heating on until Mid-November because my parents insist that they can't afford to heat the whole house. This makes mornings a nightmare! Once I'm up, I can just about manage. I dress and eat breakfast to music. Music is a significant thing for me. My parents used to be in a band together and my mother is still trying to get a record-deal. She always likes to think of herself as a young and trendy mum. She is really into the house and garage music scene, but me†¦I'm a different story. Everyone in my family has opposite views on music. My mother and one of my little sisters, Heidi, like pop and garage music. My father, my youngest sister, and I like rock and Heavy Metal. This causes terrible arguments over what to listen to in the car or whilst eating dinner. However, the one band that we all agree on is Nirvana. I am a massive fan of Nirvana and have flags and posters of them all over my room. This is why I listen to Nirvana in the mornings – because nobody minds. By the time I get to school, I am (almost) fully awake. I have to walk to the station and get the train to school so I arrive at school feeling like I've been up for ages. Once I get my brain in gear it doesn't slow down. I constantly think – about everything! I occasionally come out with a random comment, completely off the subject because I've been thinking about it while everyone else is speaking. People have therefore got the impression that I'm slightly mindless because I never know what people are talking about. Although I don't like to admit it, I am fascinated by Philosophy. It takes up much of my precious thinking time. How can anyone not be fascinated by everything around them? Everyone takes so much for granted – like life. What is it? What is reality? Even simple things like how do I know that the table in front of me exists – how can I prove it? All this fascinates me. When I am an adult, I want to work with people's minds. I would like to be a phyciatrist or a therapist. I don't believe that anyone is born evil or with a mental disorder. If they are, I believe that their condition can be resolved. Everyone is capable of leading a perfectly normal life if they have a fully functional brain. Maybe I could help a lot of people solve their problems and make life more enjoyable for them. As I sit in my lessons, I try to comprehend everything I'm told. I think the best method of revision is not to have colourful post-its on every page. I refuse to use anything like that because no matter how exciting you try to make a boring subject – it will still be boring. Instead I go through the year trying to understand what I am taught as I am taught it. If you read through the textbook before the exam and try to understand everything it says, it is a lot better than frantically trying to memorise a list of words and numbers. Lunchtime approaches and I anticipate the bell. Lessons can be enjoyable but I'm starving. Lunchtime symbolises a period of time where I have no excuse but to socialise. That is one of the few things in life I find really hard because I lack self-confidence. People find it strange that I always have a tissue with me. My parents think it is like a comfort blanket for me. I think so too. My life at the moment is torn between work and play; it is really hard to juggle both. In order to keep your friends, (if friends they are) you have to seem as if you don't care about work – even if you do. In lessons when they try to disrupt you, you can't tell them to be quiet because that will show that you are really interested. Instead, you have to grit your teeth and pretend you are listening to both teacher and friend. I've found that if you nod occasionally to your friend, they will get bored after a while. Actually during the lunch break there is another crisis. How can you ever know what to talk about? I am fine when I'm in a one to one – but in a group, like at lunch, I panic! However, I can often be an extrovert. I survive in crowds by encouraging them to laugh at me. If I intend for them to laugh at me, it can't humiliate me but if I try to get people to laugh with me, I could be confronted with an uncomfortable silence. I enjoy making people laugh now and I have acquired an image with some people as being almost like a comedian or a clown. I enjoy this image and it boosts my self-confidence. I don't mind being laughed at if I am hoping that my thoughts will be funny to someone. Some people laugh at me because I feel so strongly about things that don't matter to many others. I find now, in secondary school, people don't often laugh cruelly and make fun of you. I don't have to worry as much about what people think of me. I like that. I am usually in a good mood when I start the afternoon of lessons. That is, if my confidence hasn't failed me during lunch and I ended up sitting alone. The afternoon lessons usually shoot by and it's three-thirty before I know it. I pack my bag to go home with eagerness and set off for the station. Usually, all the way home we get caught up in one debate or another. Once, we started discussing the theory of relativity and what it was. That debate didn't finish until nine o'clock that night because one of us had to look it up in Britannica. I am usually the loudest member of these debates because I have an opinion on almost everything. When I get home and I've finished my homework, I usually start reading. I have always enjoyed reading and have now become quite fast at it. This is not only a chance for me to relax, but also a chance for me to get lost in a different world where I shrink into insignificance. I love to read fantasy books where there are exciting adventures. ‘Lord of the Rings' by J.R.R. Tolkein is probably my favourite. There are four adventures all rolled into one and a completely new world is created where even the people are different. Without reading and music, I could never switch off. They give me new things to think about. I am a very emotional person and I let myself become totally involved in any task at hand. When I read a book, I am really there. When I listen to music, I can do whatever I like. My life becomes unimportant and I can forget about my problems and concentrate on other things. I get ready to sleep, and wonder what my life will become. My one ambition is to go to Africa or Brazil, and help disadvantaged families there get themselves out of the well of poverty. Why does it really matter if a good friend of mine decides that she doesn't care about me any more? Who cares about my self-confidence levels? I just hope that I can make a positive difference in the world somewhere. I know I will someday, nothing else matters. I can't just sit and pray for people because I am an atheist. At last, I drift off into mindless slumber, in my safe and insulated world of duvet.