Transitioning from a Linear to a Circular Economy

Transitioning from a Linear to a Circular Economy Prepare a critical review evaluating the challenges of transitioning from a linear to a circular economy. 2000 words (24th March) Introduction The linear model of consumption will need to adjust or be replaced in the near future due to rising population, decreasing resources (i.e. metals, materials), and water limits. The current linear economic system is unsustainable but the concept of circular economy may supply the means to allow for sustainability by improving efficient use of material and energy. From policies and frameworks driven on a macro scale by local governments to optimisation of process lines and waste reduction on a micro scale gives more social and sustainable aspects to our current way of resource use. We can use examples throughout the world of a shift in the utilisation of resources in an overall effect of achieving the ultimate goal of zero waste and impact to the environment. What is Linear Economy? Linear economies assume the worlds resources are unlimited. The linear models primary objective is to the economy, with no regard for ecological and social impacts. It takes waste from the production process and contaminates the environment and is based on the principle, take, make, consume, discard and everlasting availability of resources. (Drljaca, 2015) This was due to a historically cheap and plentiful amount of resources being available leading to companies focusing on supplying the customer. This has disregarded the environmental impact and lacked incentives to minimise waste from its production to its end of life. Currently there is more than 11 billion tons of global waste globally and only 25% is recycled. (Lacy Rutqvist, 2015) Circular Economy Circular economy focuses on the sustainable exploitation of resources but also acts to increase the social responsibility. It aims to decouple prosperity from resource consumption by ensuring a closed loop process which depends on the extraction of virgin resources. (Sauve, Bernard Sloan, 2016) The concept allows waste to be put through the production process again and thereafter only a small amount of waste that is unable to be recycled is disposed into the environmental harmlessly. This will reduce our dependency for new resources, allow future generations to meet their needs, and promote sustainability. Due to Chinas resource supply and environmental problems they have utilised the circular economy model on a national level many years ago allocating three distinctive levels micro, meso, and macro: The micro level aims to reduce waste and optimise materials for cleaner production within an individual company. The meso level collaborates between industries to utilise the by-product of one another which is facilitated by Chinas governmental directives. The circular economy at a macro level is integrated with societal and stakeholder interests which is on a similar level to sustainable development. (Sauve, Bernard Sloan, 2016) Figure 3.1: Overview of the circular economy concept. (Reh, 2013) The circular economy model aims to replace the linear economy model by extending the usefulness of the product via several methods: Building a product which has a higher quality and more durable targeting the consumers who are able to pay a premium. Refurbishing a product Trade back your product to the market for a price Upgrade the product to add new features Refilling a component in the product where the rest of the functions are still in quality. Repairing a broken product (Lacy Rutqvist, 2015) Having a society that promotes circular economy may increase competition worldwide. (Drljaca, 2015) Policies The transition from a linear to circular economy has been happening for many years and is seen from the laws, policies, and frameworks given below in numerous countries around the world. The methodology changes from country to country as an example according to Tukker (2015) China promotes a top-down national political objective while the EU, Japan and USA use bottom-up environmental and waste management policies. Country Circular economy strategy UK The House of Commons suggested in 2014 that the circular economy should be stimulated by taxation reforms. This would reward reuse and give more funding for companies promoting material recovery. They could prohibit companies using non-recyclable components where other alternatives exist. (Lacy Rutqvist, 2015) Denmark The Denmark without waste strategy focuses on better exploiting the resource by reducing the environmental impact and improving recycling, e.g. household waste recycling. Funding is given for improvements in waste separation and treatment facilities. (Lacy Rutqvist, 2015) Scotland The Safeguarding Scotlands Resources initiative is aims to reduce material use through replacing material with reused/ recyclable substitutes and making sure that virgin resources are efficiently and productively used. China Several regions using the Circular Economy Promotion Law of the Peoples Republic of China have set up funds aiming at the circular development and developments of science. The law also pushes for collaboration among several industries to re-use each others waste to benefit their own process.   (Lacy Rutqvist, 2015) Singapore The Singapore Packaging Agreement (SPA) joint initiative by the private sector, nongovernmental organisations, and government which dramatically reduces the packaging waste in Singapore. This has saved USD 35 million over a 5-year period. (Lacy Rutqvist, 2015) The Republic of Croatia The Act on Sustainable Waste Management manages waste at its source by putting the cost of waste to the producer. Disposal must not threaten future generations. (Drljaca, 2015) The drivers for the transition from a linear to a circular economy The transition towards a circular economy is dependent on politics, culture, society, the economy, and technology limitations. This transition can be implemented from the top-down or bottom-up. The top-down process as an example has international and national policies delegated to companies and their operations and supply chains. The bottom-up process starts at the product level hoping to simulate ideas at a more disaggregated level of analysis up to the higher level systems. The top-down process should be used to enhance bottom-up initiatives. The aim is to identify areas where we can reduce virgin resources usage, carbon emissions, and waste production by collaborating between supply chains and stakeholders e.g. Local Authorities. (Genovese et al., 2017) Economics By 2030 the linear growth model will be unable to supply the growing demand for resources. The most likely model by Lacy Rutqvist (2015) shows a USD 4.5 trillion loss by 2030 increasing to USD 25 trillion by 2050. If the circular economy replaces the current linear model it could potentially release USD 4.5 trillion in additional economic output by 2030 as shown in Figure 5.1.1. Figure 5.1.1: Potential savings from a circular opportunity. (Lacy Rutqvist, 2015) However, according to Drljaca (2015), the circular advantage hopes to give a competitive edge leading to improvement of resource utilisation which could decrease material exploitation by 17-24% until 2030 with savings of ~EUR 630 billion per year which totals USD 10.3 trillion from 2015-2030 (1 EUR = 1.0867 USD 2015 average, Pound Sterling (2016)). In either case the huge potential savings from using the circular advantage could persuade governments to drive the change. Fair competition between linear and circular economy Current regulations give linear economy an unfair advantage over circular economy by making it more financially attractive by increased profits through expanding resource use. A shift of taxation from labour to resources would see this shift in bias. Companies are encouraged to extract new resources instead of investing in people and processes to achieve a higher productivity of resources already in use. Currently the Europe labour tax totals 52% of all tax revenues while Other taxes could include landfill tax, energy recovery tax, and reducing the VAT on a more circular advantage product. An increase in cost of the product that incorporates the cost of environmental impact would help manufacturers to minimise the impact to keep pricing competitive. Product-service systems (PSS) In a product-oriented business model companies focus on the increase in products sold to maximise profits however in a PSS model companies are paid by offering a service and the product and consumable is the cost factor. This leads to the companies being incentivised to prolong the life of the product which could be done by using more robust materials or re-using parts to the end of the products life. Renting, leasing, and sharing reduces the impact on the environmental per product manufactured however leased products will tend to be used without care leading to reduced longevity of the product and will be returned to the manufacturer more frequently compared to the traditional manner. Due to labour intensity, PSS increases the cost to manufacture the product and dependent on the speed of innovations for certain technological industries the re-use of components may be deemed uneconomic due to no demand. PSS can contribute to resource -efficiency and a circular economy but does not change the incentive to maximise the product sales. (Tukker, 2015) Circular Economy Challenges Entropy The circular economy assumes the planet is a closed system with the amount of resources being depleted equalling the amount of waste generated. This principle follows the Laws of Thermodynamics however in practice the circular flow of exchange starts with low entropy from the environment and ends with high entropy waste polluting the environment. (Genovese et al., 2017) Sauve, Bernard Sloan (2016) further emphasises this with an added social impact of, what is socially more desirable investing in a new infrastructure to recycle raw material to limit waste or exploit additional raw materials at cheaper cost to use today to build a school? At some point the cost to refine the material will exceed the benefit to the environment. Processes According to Sauve, Bernard Sloan (2016), in many cases certain processes in the value chains are non-existent leading to products that are in the queue for recycling often dis-regarded as companies who seek profit are not ready to use waste as the raw material for new manufacturing. Some experts see the implementation of the circular economy model for sustainable development on current linear economy model productions as an automatic failure. It is difficult to achieve a profit using circular economy as support is sometimes unavailable through policies, national eco-industrial parks (EIPs) initiatives, environmental legislative framework, and economic taxes and subsidies for development. (Ghisellini, Cialani Ulgiati, 2016) Economics Fair Competition The complexity and early understanding of circular economy will require experts from many sectors to achieve the economic incentives that would ensure the post-consumption products are re-integrated upstream within manufacturing. It is more expensive to manufacture a durable long lasting product than an equivalent quick and disposable version. This is based on the fact that the public pays for the cost of disposal to the environment. In order to make circular economy more feasible requires integration of the cost of disposal into the price paid by the customer. (Sauve, Bernard Sloan, 2016) There needs to be internalisation of full environmental costs implemented using certain governmental legislation (e.g. taxes) to ensure reverse flow of the products post-economy. This is therefore dependent on governmental intervention which is dictated by political-economic issues which in turn will slow down circular economy opportunities. (Sauve, Bernard Sloan, 2016) Geographic Feasibility It may be unfeasible to use recycling, reuse and/or recovery as an option within certain geologies as they may not be appropriate in some instances based on green chemistry and technologies available e.g. prevention maybe a better option. (Tukker, 2015) More examples can be seen in Table A1. Case studies TATA Steel Currently concrete, timber, and steel have huge differences in their life cycle flows within the demolishing industry of buildings as seen in Figure 7.1.1. According to Reh (2013), achieving complete re-use and recycling remains impossible with todays technology so maximum recovery of the most valuable resource remains the first priority. The integration of different materials combined with depreciation requires a more involved investigation of the recovery plan which becomes very complex. Figure 7.1.1: Life cycle of a demolished building (Reh, 2013) Blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) is the most common steel process however with shortage of metallurgy coke, high CO2 emissions, high by-product of slag, and dust from blast furnace gas cleaning is not considered environmental friendly. An alternative being the new electric arc furnace which is more energy efficient and reduces the CO2 emissions but high capital investments remain the limitation. (Reh, 2013) Toyota Motor Cooperation By optimising the sorting of dust in Toyotas automobile shredder pants Toyota were able to successfully treat 100% of the residue of 15,000 cars per month into valuable materials. High value electrical energy is transferred to several process steps to decrease the entropy of mixing during production. This improvement in technology has an exponential impact on the car industry with an estimated 1 billion cars in the world. (Reh, 2013) Conclusion The transition to a circular economy has many challenges and obstacles in the near future. As shown, many countries are placing high emphasis on the legislation and development of circular economy as they see a requirement to adjust on a macro sustainable level. If the transition is increased this could potentially unlock several trillions of dollars over the many years to come. In order for this to work a combination of strategies at every level is required to allow each stakeholder to be a benefit to the global transition. Appendix A Table A1: Further examples of challenges with circular economy (Ghisellini, Cialani, Ulgiati, 2016) References BRIEN, H. G. (2015a) Circular Economy. [Online] Available from https://kenniskaarten.hetgroenebrein.nl/en/kenniskaart/circular-economy/ [Accessed: 23rd February 2017] BRIEN, H. G. (2015b) The 10 Big Questions for the Circular Economy. [Online] Available from http://hetgroenebrein.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/10-Big-Questions-for-the-Circular-Economy-INFOGRAPHIC.pdf [Accessed: 23rd February 2017] DRLJACA, M. (2015) The Transition from Linear to Circular Economy (Concept of Efficient Waste Management). In Association for Quality and Standardization of Serbia. VrnjaÄ ka Banja, 2015. p. 35-44. Available from http://www.kvalitet.org.rs/images/phocadownload/the%20transition%20linear%20in%20circular%20economy%20miroslav%20drljaa.pdf [Accessed: 23rd February 2017] Ellen Macarthur Foundation (2015) Our Mission is to Accelerate the Transition to a Circular Economy. [Online] Available from https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/ [Accessed: 23rd February 2017] GENOVESE, A. et al. (2017) Sustainable supply chain management and the transition towards a circular economy: Evidence and some applications. Omega. [Online] 66. p. 344-357. Available from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0305048315001322/1-s2.0-S0305048315001322-main.pdf?_tid=74c6de02-fa10-11e6-aa77-00000aacb35facdnat=1487886106_74b304b3dc5437e17e5fe519fa8c0812 [Accessed: 23rd February 2017] GEORGE, D. A. R., Lin, B. C. Chen, Y. (2015) A circular economy model of economic growth. Environmental Modelling Software. [Online] 73. p. 60-63. Available from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S1364815215300050/1-s2.0-S1364815215300050-main.pdf?_tid=0bc1df60-fa10-11e6-8c30-00000aab0f6cacdnat=1487885930_37488d1ce4f1739084fd69489fc8a1a7 [Accessed: 23rd February 2017] GHISELLINI, P., CIALANI, C. ULGIATI, S. (2016) A review on circular economy: the expected transition to a balanced interplay of environmental and economic systems. Journal of Cleaner Production. [Online] 114. p. 11-32. Available from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0959652615012287/1-s2.0-S0959652615012287-main.pdf?_tid=1b6a27e6-fa11-11e6-b2c6-00000aab0f6bacdnat=1487886386_e13f933c344129238b699b40c81c696b [Accessed: 23rd February 2017] LACY, P. RUTQVIST, J. (2015) Waste to Wealth: the circular economy advantage. UK, Hampshire: Macmillan Publishers Limited. POUND STERLING (2016) Historical Rates for the EUR/USD currency conversion on 31 December 2015 (31/12/2015). Available from: https://www.poundsterlinglive.com/best-exchange-rates/euro-to-us-dollar-exchange-rate-on-2015-12-31. (Accessed: 19th March 2017) RAUPACH, M. R. et al. (2007) Global and regional drivers of accelerating CO2 emissions. PNAS. [Online] 104. (24). p. 10288 -10293. Available from https://uhi.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-621274-dt-content-rid-5673934_1/courses/UF811998/PNAS-2007-Raupach-10288-93.pdf [Accessed: 23rd February 2017] REH, L. (2013) Process engineering in circular economy. Particuology. [Online] 11. p. 119-133. Available from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S1674200113000023/1-s2.0-S1674200113000023-main.pdf?_tid=f6b7e250-fa0e-11e6-9938-00000aacb360acdnat=1487885465_0117d7df5a14a5ca6f24c03ae761e2d5 [Accessed: 23rd February 2017] SAUVE, S., BERNARD, S. SLOAN, P. (2016) Environmental sciences, sustainable development and circular economy: Alternative concepts for trans-disciplinary research. Environmental Development. [Online] 17. p. 48-56. Available from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S2211464515300099/1-s2.0-S2211464515300099-main.pdf?_tid=c0687f78-fa10-11e6-bdc2-00000aacb35eacdnat=1487886233_c2050df04694fc30b490f4e8486dee8a [Accessed: 23rd February 2017] SKEA, J. NISHIOKA, S. (2008) Policies and practices for a low-carbon society. Climate Policy. [Online] 8. p. S5-S16. Available from https://uhi.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-621272-dt-content-rid-5632275_1/courses/UF811998/Policies%20and%20practices%20for%20a%20low-carbon%20society-1.pdf [Accessed: 23rd February 2017] SU, B. et al. (2013) A review of the circular economy in China: moving from rhetoric to implementation. Journal of Cleaner Production. [Online] 42. p. 215-227. Available from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0959652612006117/1-s2.0-S0959652612006117-main.pdf?_tid=5aa9aef6-fa0f-11e6-9009-00000aacb362acdnat=1487885633_e486ac7b90cff16cd44ec5b72b405a9a [Accessed: 23rd February 2017] TUKKER, A. (2015) Product services for a resource-efficient and circular economy a review. Journal of Cleaner Production. [Online] 97. p. 76-91. Available from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0959652613008135/1-s2.0-S0959652613008135-main.pdf?_tid=b1c99494-fa0f-11e6-bafc-00000aacb362acdnat=1487885779_1dbb3b632024a09a87307a26dc6caf65 [Accessed: 23rd February 2017] YADUVANSHI, N. R., MYANA, R. KRISHNAMURTHY, S. (2016) Circular Economy for Sustainable Development in India. Indian Journal of Science and Technology. [Online] 9 (46/ December). p. 1-9. Available from http://www.indjst.org/index.php/indjst/article/view/107325/76142 [Accessed: 23rd February 2017] ZINK, T. Geyer, R. (2017) Circular Economy Rebound. Journal of Industrial Ecology. [Online] 00 (0). p. 1-10. Available from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.eor.uhi.ac.uk/doi/10.1111/jiec.12545/epdf [Accessed: 23rd February 2017]

Overcoming Obstacles

Overcoming Obstacles What is life? Life consists of experiences, challenges, and achievements; all of which are building blocks that essentially create ones path to success. In one’s lifetime they can experience tough and difficult challenges. Sometimes these challenges become unbearable, especially when the odds are against you. However, going against all odds is something everyone is capable of doing, and to overcome these challenges everyone needs to have a â€Å"never quit† attitude in life. If we develop it, we'll overcome quite a bit.Many people all around the world face challenges and obstacles every day in their daily lives. One man in particular is Nic Sheff; a man who was a drug addict and wrote an autobiography called â€Å"Tweak†. In this book, Nic describes himself as a drug addict who spends all his money on drugs instead of food and bills. The main person that had a bad influence in his life was an older woman named Zelda. Nic liked being with her because he saved her from her ex-husband. However, at the end of the book, Nic’s parents made a decision for him to go back into rehab in Arizona.Nic always said that he has done a twelve step programs and went into rehab so many times that nothing changed. But at the last program, it was different, Nic turned into whole different person, finally loving him and life. Also, in the book Nic explains how he faces different obstacles and has an extremely difficult time staying sober. But in the end, because he didn’t give up it did pay off in his future. He became a more successful person and a writer who now shares his experiences of his childhood to prevent other teens into getting into the kind of lifestyle he did.Nick isn’t the only one who faces these kinds of problems and challenges. About 570,000 people die annually due to drug abuse. Illegal use of drugs is most common among young adults who are ages 18 to 25 years old and that can change who they are as the y grow up, financially and mentally. After a person takes drugs and are addicted to it there are certain thoughts and views that society has of them. Society doesn’t usually think of drug addicts as â€Å"good people† and they end up losing their respect and reputation as they grow up.If these teens and young adults don’t change who they are when they are young, they won’t be able to fix themselves as they grow older which can be a bad influence. Bad habits start as a kid and if you don’t change those habits you won’t be able to when you get older! Many people face challenges and obstacles at a very young age and that can change who they are as they grow up. My grandma faced a very harsh and unfortunate childhood. Her father died when she was 17 and that changed her life and her future. It meant she was given many responsibilities since she was the eldest out of her siblings.She had to do many house chores such as cooking, washing the clothe s and dishes and waking up early in the morning to get water from a nearby well every day! This placed a very large obstacle in her life at a very young age. She had to leave school at a very young age because of all the responsibilities she was given and had to overcome these obstacles and face them with great integrity. But due to these obstacles that she has overcome, it has changed who she is now. She struggled in life right from when she was just a little kid. But if she hadn’t overcome these obstacles she wouldn’t have been a very independent woman like she is today.If her father hadn’t died when she was young, she probably would have had a completely different future and lifestyle, not worrying about anything and going to school and having a better education. Lastly she overcame these obstacles and that changed her attitude and her character. All the experiences of my childhood have shaped me into the person I am today. I wouldn't have been the same kind of person I am today if it wasn't for all the challenges and obstacles I faced and overcame. Fortunately for me I didn’t have wake up every day concerned about what I'm going to eat and make money and survive another day.Some unfortunate people struggle in their daily lives just to just to survive! Those people definitely would have different characteristics than me because I don’t have to work right now, instead just focus on my education, go to school and depend on my parents for getting my things I need and providing the basic survival needs and fulfilling my wants. I face challenges in my life too. An example is waking up early in the morning to get ready for school, even though it’s a very minor thing, it can sure have a huge impact. It impacts my life because then I wouldn’t be ready for school on time and I would be late for class very day and miss the beginning on class which slowly can add up and bite me on a test or assignment. We all face many different challenges and obstacles and we have to overcome them in order to make ourselves a better person. Even if it’s very easy to overcome, you must be determined to succeed. As a little kid I always did my homework. As soon as I got home I would finish my homework before doing anything but after a few years, that wasn’t the case anymore. I would usually procrastinate and leave my homework till the last day and I usually wouldn’t do a good job.As my report cards arrived I got an â€Å"S† in the homework section meaning satisfactory. My parents were furious because they trusted me and believed I would finish my homework but then found out I was actually wasn’t and not doing a very good job on it. For the next few years it impacted my life because my parents would check my agenda every day and sign off to indicate to my teacher that parents saw my homework and checked that I actually did it. This was an obstacle in my life because I would have to finish my homework and then I was allowed to watch T. V or go out.I didn’t like this at all but in order to overcome this obstacle and gain my parents trust back, I would have to do my homework. So after that day I always did my homework and eventually got an â€Å"E† in the homework section indicating excellent and gaining back my parents trust. If I had given up, I would have this obstacle hurting me like a needle for a few more years and my parents would constantly be watching me and making sure I was doing my work and I was on task, which isn’t a good thing. Also I wouldn’t be able to change as I grow older because if you don’t get rid of bad habits they can last forever.In conclusion, it is very important to overcome obstacles because if you don’t, it could have a negative impact on who you are. Life is like a rollercoaster, you will never know what challenges and obstacles you will face in life but you have to hold and make sure you o vercome these obstacles without giving up! Live has its ups and downs, but hold your head high and face those obstacles and overcome them with great determination. There are many trials ahead, be a person who had indwelling desire to succeed, and believe failure was not and never could be an option. Overcoming Obstacles Overcoming Obstacles What is life? Life consists of experiences, challenges, and achievements; all of which are building blocks that essentially create ones path to success. In one’s lifetime they can experience tough and difficult challenges. Sometimes these challenges become unbearable, especially when the odds are against you. However, going against all odds is something everyone is capable of doing, and to overcome these challenges everyone needs to have a â€Å"never quit† attitude in life. If we develop it, we'll overcome quite a bit.Many people all around the world face challenges and obstacles every day in their daily lives. One man in particular is Nic Sheff; a man who was a drug addict and wrote an autobiography called â€Å"Tweak†. In this book, Nic describes himself as a drug addict who spends all his money on drugs instead of food and bills. The main person that had a bad influence in his life was an older woman named Zelda. Nic liked being with her because he saved her from her ex-husband. However, at the end of the book, Nic’s parents made a decision for him to go back into rehab in Arizona.Nic always said that he has done a twelve step programs and went into rehab so many times that nothing changed. But at the last program, it was different, Nic turned into whole different person, finally loving him and life. Also, in the book Nic explains how he faces different obstacles and has an extremely difficult time staying sober. But in the end, because he didn’t give up it did pay off in his future. He became a more successful person and a writer who now shares his experiences of his childhood to prevent other teens into getting into the kind of lifestyle he did.Nick isn’t the only one who faces these kinds of problems and challenges. About 570,000 people die annually due to drug abuse. Illegal use of drugs is most common among young adults who are ages 18 to 25 years old and that can change who they are as the y grow up, financially and mentally. After a person takes drugs and are addicted to it there are certain thoughts and views that society has of them. Society doesn’t usually think of drug addicts as â€Å"good people† and they end up losing their respect and reputation as they grow up.If these teens and young adults don’t change who they are when they are young, they won’t be able to fix themselves as they grow older which can be a bad influence. Bad habits start as a kid and if you don’t change those habits you won’t be able to when you get older! Many people face challenges and obstacles at a very young age and that can change who they are as they grow up. My grandma faced a very harsh and unfortunate childhood. Her father died when she was 17 and that changed her life and her future. It meant she was given many responsibilities since she was the eldest out of her siblings.She had to do many house chores such as cooking, washing the clothe s and dishes and waking up early in the morning to get water from a nearby well every day! This placed a very large obstacle in her life at a very young age. She had to leave school at a very young age because of all the responsibilities she was given and had to overcome these obstacles and face them with great integrity. But due to these obstacles that she has overcome, it has changed who she is now. She struggled in life right from when she was just a little kid. But if she hadn’t overcome these obstacles she wouldn’t have been a very independent woman like she is today.If her father hadn’t died when she was young, she probably would have had a completely different future and lifestyle, not worrying about anything and going to school and having a better education. Lastly she overcame these obstacles and that changed her attitude and her character. All the experiences of my childhood have shaped me into the person I am today. I wouldn't have been the same kind of person I am today if it wasn't for all the challenges and obstacles I faced and overcame. Fortunately for me I didn’t have wake up every day concerned about what I'm going to eat and make money and survive another day.Some unfortunate people struggle in their daily lives just to just to survive! Those people definitely would have different characteristics than me because I don’t have to work right now, instead just focus on my education, go to school and depend on my parents for getting my things I need and providing the basic survival needs and fulfilling my wants. I face challenges in my life too. An example is waking up early in the morning to get ready for school, even though it’s a very minor thing, it can sure have a huge impact. It impacts my life because then I wouldn’t be ready for school on time and I would be late for class very day and miss the beginning on class which slowly can add up and bite me on a test or assignment. We all face many different challenges and obstacles and we have to overcome them in order to make ourselves a better person. Even if it’s very easy to overcome, you must be determined to succeed. As a little kid I always did my homework. As soon as I got home I would finish my homework before doing anything but after a few years, that wasn’t the case anymore. I would usually procrastinate and leave my homework till the last day and I usually wouldn’t do a good job.As my report cards arrived I got an â€Å"S† in the homework section meaning satisfactory. My parents were furious because they trusted me and believed I would finish my homework but then found out I was actually wasn’t and not doing a very good job on it. For the next few years it impacted my life because my parents would check my agenda every day and sign off to indicate to my teacher that parents saw my homework and checked that I actually did it. This was an obstacle in my life because I would have to finish my homework and then I was allowed to watch T. V or go out.I didn’t like this at all but in order to overcome this obstacle and gain my parents trust back, I would have to do my homework. So after that day I always did my homework and eventually got an â€Å"E† in the homework section indicating excellent and gaining back my parents trust. If I had given up, I would have this obstacle hurting me like a needle for a few more years and my parents would constantly be watching me and making sure I was doing my work and I was on task, which isn’t a good thing. Also I wouldn’t be able to change as I grow older because if you don’t get rid of bad habits they can last forever.In conclusion, it is very important to overcome obstacles because if you don’t, it could have a negative impact on who you are. Life is like a rollercoaster, you will never know what challenges and obstacles you will face in life but you have to hold and make sure you o vercome these obstacles without giving up! Live has its ups and downs, but hold your head high and face those obstacles and overcome them with great determination. There are many trials ahead, be a person who had indwelling desire to succeed, and believe failure was not and never could be an option.

What Is Culture

WHAT IS CULTURE? Culture is a word frequently used by people everywhere most times they use it to make a point clear to someone else in the way they see and interpret things. We all practice culture in one way or another even though most people do not notice it. One thing clear to us is that culture is attached to everything we do. Williams and Geertz both portrayed quite similar and different ideas towards culture in their essays. Williams noted that culture is a whole way of life, (pg. 1) this is in the sense that in everything we do we apply culture.The way we talk, eat, worship and so on culture is depicted inside it. For example, in a family it is possible that before they eat they wash their hands and say a prayer; right there a part of culture is shown. Also in a way it shows that culture is ordinary. Culture does not necessarily mean it has to be something of a big event, the tiniest things we do can portray culture. Geertz divided his view of culture into three parts known a s culture theory. He also mentioned that culture is an acted document and also described it to be public.For culture to exist it has to be practised. Geertz made a point by saying culture is an acted document because the name culture is not something we just have to know, we put culture into action and for it to be public means people have to notice it. If a particular group of people have a certain culture they depict it is important that others are aware about it, because that way they can share ideas and appreciate the works of others. This shows that culture is included in everything we do. Williams also included in his essay that culture is like a journey.He used the word like to distinguish the distance between culture and journey. Culture is like a journey in the sense that it continues to grow from generation to generation. Even if the people decide to stop such culture, it will still be in history that they practiced it and history cannot be erased. Again culture is include d in everything we do including the way history is being taught. According to Geertz’s essay he said that, ’Culture has different meanings and is shown in different ways’.In a world filled with over a billion people we do not expect everyone to be exactly the same. We all have our different likes and dislikes, we have different attitudes and we look differently. The same thing applies to culture our way of life does not have to be the same as the person next to us, that is what makes culture interesting and broad. Our culture and the way we see and read meaning to it might not be the same way a stranger sees and interprets it. And for culture to be shown in different ways proves the fact that culture is also a form of being creative.Again culture is attached to everything we do including creativity of the body and mind. Williams described culture in another way he used the teashop as an example of where cultivated people went to. When people use the word uncultu red the first thing that comes to their mind is when someone does something insane or disgusting. In the case of the teashop Williams said he was intimidated by the people that went to the teashop meaning he felt uncultured he did not get why they went there to just sip tea or coffee meanwhile to them it was a normal thing.If people find going to a teashop very intriguing and important as little and unimportant as it may look it shows that they follow a certain style of culture, this is just another idea that culture is attached to everything we do. Geertz said that people should read meaning to culture (pg. 13). When we meet other people with different culture, it is courtesy to understand their culture. We should not start judging them because of the things they do. Most times when they figure out that we appreciate their culture they tend to open up more easily and that is the best way to start a relationship with another.

Essay on Piano and Drums Poem Analysis - 2085 Words

Commentary – Piano and Drums by Gabriel Okara In Gabriel Okara’s poem, â€Å"Piano and Drums†, Okara expresses his feelings and thoughts of a primitive society in contrast to a western society. Being an African himself, and having studied in a western society, the poem reflects the confusion in his emotions as well as the loss of self-identity. The title of the poem itself, â€Å"Piano and Drums† displays a sense of dissimilarity and contrast as the instruments are so unalike in terms of sophistication. Throughout the entire poem, Okara incorporates the instruments to further express, through music, how the speaker is feeling. By using well-structured stanzas and poetic devices such as imagery, symbolism, sensory detail, personification, and†¦show more content†¦Despite the primitiveness and rawness, the speaker reminisces on his childhood and the security of being with his mother. This idea of missing his homeland is further sustained in the imag e of â€Å"simple/paths with no innovations† (12/13). The choice of the word â€Å"simple† describes the ease the speaker feels in his homeland as there are no complex advancements or difficulties to deal with. Also, the simple paths are concomitant with the Africans’ primary focus on basic survival as staying alive is their only concern in life. The speaker feels â€Å"fashioned with the naked/warmth† (14/15) which is another example of the unsophisticated, primordial style of African culture as the image shows a bare person. Yet, even though they are unclothed, they still feel the warmth of their body suggesting their healthiness and livingness which is the most important to them. In complete contrast, the third stanza portrays the piano as a symbol to exemplify Western culture as being sophisticated, complex, and intricate which is also portrayed through additional images. However, despite the usual thinking of sophistication being praised, the speaker , in this case, puts Western culture in a negative light which is presented through the music of the piano. When first introducing the piano, it is described as a â€Å"wailing piano† (17) which gives the readers an image of a disturbing, crying baby that is an annoyance to the ears. This is in contrast to the speaker’s views of theShow MoreRelatedFuneral Blues1560 Words   |  7 PagesIn the poem â€Å"Funeral Blues,† W.H. Auden’s choice of diction allows the reader a greater understanding of the intensity and depth of feeling experienced upon the loss of a loved one. Likewise, the symbolism used by the poet pulls us into the actual world of the grief stricken as he searches for ways to mourn this passing. Auden’s choice of diction here was used to drawn the reader into the emotional disrepair felt by the afflicted. 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