Political Career Timeline of US President Barack Obama

Political Career Timeline of US President Barack Obama    Barack Hussein Obama II graduated high school with honors in 1979 and was president of the Harvard Law Review long before he ever decided to enter politics. When he decided he wanted to run for the Illinois Senate in 1996, he ensured his candidacy by successfully challenging the nomination petitions of his four competitors. This marked his entry into federal politics.   Timeline of Barack Obama's Political Career 1988: Obama is a summer associate at the Chicago law firm Sidley Austin.1992: Obama graduates from Harvard and returns to Chicago.1995: In July, Obama - at 34 years of age - publishes his first memoir, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. In August, Obama files paperwork to run for incumbent Alice Palmers Illinois Senate seat.1996: In January, Obama has his four competitor petitions invalidated; he emerges as the only candidate. In November, he is elected to the Illinois Senate, which is controlled by Republicans.1999: Obama begins running for Congress.2000: Obama loses his challenge for the congressional seat held by Rep. Bobby Rush.2002: In November, Democrats usurp Republican control of the Illinois Senate.2003-2004: Obama amasses his legislative record and serves as chair of the Health and Human Services Committee.2003: Obama begins running for US Senate; the leading Democratic candidate withdraws in 2004 due to a sex scandal.  David Axelrod [begins having ] camera crews video virtually everything Obama does in public. He uses this footage to create a five-minute online video for the Jan. 16, 2007, announcement that Obama is running for president. 2004: In March, Obama wins the primary with 52% of the vote. In June, his Republican opponent Jack Ryan withdraws due to a sex scandal. He delivers the Democratic National Convention address in July 2004, and in November he is elected to the US Senate with 70% of the vote.2005: Obama files paperwork for his leadership PAC, The Hope Fund, in January. Shortly after his election to the US Senate, he delivered a well-received address arguing faith should have a greater role in public discourse.2006: Obama writes and publishes his book, The Audacity of Hope. In October, he announces he is considering a run for the presidency of the United States.2007: In February, Obama announces his candidacy for US president.  2008: In June, he becomes the Democratic Partys presumptive nominee. In November, he defeats Republican presidential nominee John McCain to become the first African-American president of the United States of America and the 44th president of the country.2009: Obama is inaugurate d in January. In his first 100 days in office, he expands health care insurance for children and provides legal protection for women seeking equal pay. He gets Congress to pass a  $787 billion stimulus bill  to promote short-term economic growth, and he also cuts taxes for working families, small businesses and first-time home buyers. He loosens the ban on embryonic stem cell research and improves relations with Europe, China, Cuba and Venezuela. The president is awarded the  2009 Nobel Peace Prize  for his efforts. 2010: Obama delivers his first State of the Union speech in January. In March, he signs his health care reform plan, known as the Affordable Care Act, into law. Opponents of the act claim that it violates the US Constitution.2011: Obama signs the Budget Control Act to rein in government spending.  He also signs a repeal of the military policy known as Dont Ask, Dont Tell, which prevents openly gay troops from serving in US Armed Forces. In  May, he green lights a covert operation in Pakistan that leads to the killing of al-Qaeda leader  Osama bin Laden  by a team of US Navy SEALs.2012: Obama began running for his second term, and in November, he wins with nearly 5 million more votes than his Republican counterpart.2013: Obama gets a legislative victory with a bipartisan agreement on tax increases and spending cuts, which is a step toward keeping his re-election promise of reducing the federal deficit by raising taxes on the wealthy. In June, his approval ratings tank because of an alleged cover-up of events in Benghazi, Libya; because of allegations that the IRS is targeting conservative political organizations seeking tax-exempt status; and due to revelations about the US National Security Agencys surveillance program. The Obama administration struggles with many domestic and international problems. 2014: Obama orders sanctions on Russia because of its annexation of Crimea. John Boehner sues the president, claiming he has overstepped his executive powers regarding some parts of the Affordable Care Act. Republicans gain  control of the Senate, and now Obama has to contend with the fact that Republicans control both houses of Congress during the final two years of his second term.2015: At his second State of the Union address, he claims that the United States is out of the recession. With Democrats outnumbered, he threatens to use his executive powers to stave off any potential Republican interference in his agenda. Obama has two major Supreme Court victories in this year: The Affordable Care Acts tax subsidies are upheld, and marriage equality becomes reality. Also, Obama and the five world powers reach a historic nuclear deal with Iran. And Obama launches his Clean Power Plan to reduce greenhouse gases and emissions.2016: In his final year in office, Obama tackles gun control but is met with strong opposition from both parties. He delivers his final State of the Union address on January 12, 2016. In March, he becomes the first sitting US president since 1928 to visit Cuba. 2017: Obama delivers his farewell address in January in Chicago. During his last day in office on January 19 - he announces that he will commute the sentences of 330 nonviolent drug offenders. Also in his final days, Obama  presented Vice President Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction.

How Santas Reindeer Got Their Names

How Santa's Reindeer Got Their Names If you ask the average American to name Santas reindeer, the first name to pop up will probably be  Rudolph  (the Red-Nosed Reindeer). The next two would no doubt be  Donner  and  Blitzen. But is this correct? And where did these names come from? Origin of Reindeer Names The popular Christmas song  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer† was a 1949 hit tune sung and recorded by Gene Autry and based on a character originally created by a marketing team for Montgomery Ward in 1939. The lyrics were written by  Johnny Marks, who borrowed most of the reindeer names from the classic 1823 poem â€Å"A Visit from Saint Nicholas† (more commonly known as â€Å"Twas the Night before Christmas†) by Major Henry Livingston, Jr. (Historically,  Clement Clarke Moore has been credited for the poem, but most scholars now believe Livingston to have been the poet.) The original poem refers to â€Å"eight tiny reindeer† (Rudolph actually makes it nine tiny reindeer) and names them: â€Å"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!/On, Comet! on, Cupid! on Dunder and Blixem!† Later Versions Dunder and Blixem? Youve always heard Donner and Blitzen, right? The former were Dutch names written into the poem by Livingston. Only in later versions, modified by Moore in 1844, were the two names changed to German:  Donder  (close to  Donner, thunder) and  Blitzen  (lightning), to better rhyme with Vixen. Finally, for some reason, in the song â€Å"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer† Marks turned Donder into Donner. Whether Marks made the change because he knew German or because it just sounded better is uncertain.* In any event, there is certainly some logic in using German  Donner  and  Blitzen  (thunder and lightning) for the names. Since 1950 or so, the two reindeer names have been  Donner  and  Blitzen  in both â€Å"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer†Ã‚  and the â€Å"A  Visit  from Saint Nicholas.

Comparative asian economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Comparative asian economics - Essay Example At the beginning of the period between 1948 and 1984, this infrastructure did not reach every village along the way, making it incredibly difficult for those who did produce goods to sell them to a larger market (Guttman, 1980). As the period advanced, infrastructure was improved, and as the communications revolution has progressed world wide these technologies are reaching into smaller and smaller villages across India (Saith, 1981). Along with these advancements have been improvements in education. Both the development of infrastructure and the improvement of education have helped India economically, with the advancements picking up speed in the mid-1980s. The cotton and jute industries were thriving before Indian independence from British rule, and these industries experienced continued growth—with the criticism that foreign trade was not developed properly in order to take international advantage of these industries (Rose, 1968; Rajaraman, 1975). In a 1960 speech, Ambassador Braj Kumar Nehru observes the progression of world events from pre-World War I to that point in history. From his point of view, the Victorian Era had created a stable but unjust world in which the superpowers dominated politics and culture and nations like India were supposed to stand on the sidelines and admire the superpowers. The two world wars changed the superpowers, redrew national boundaries, upended set cultural practices, and plunged the world into economic and political chaos. (Nehru also points out the steep rise in Muslimism across the world, which had a definite impact in how his nation was ultimately partitioned.) The nation of India rose up just at the end of the struggles, and from Nehru’s perspective in 1960 it was poised as an example for other Asian and African developing nations to follow. It must be kept in mind that this assessment comes from an Indian ambassador to the United

Research Article Summary Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Article Summary - Research Paper Example There exist short and long term side effects of induced abortions which adversely affect teenagers reproductive health (Wang, Hertog, Meier, Lou, & Gao, 2005). Contraceptive measure is the most effective way to tackle the issue of teenage pregnancy, however very little is known about the attitudes, behavior, and knowledge related to contraception among pregnant teenagers in China. Previous studies have indicated that youths in China had sub optimal level of knowledge regarding sexual matters specifically with regard to the issue of contraception (Wang et al., 2007; Wu, Xiong, & Significance to nursing: The results of this study could be useful for improving health services for teenagers in China. Moreover, the findings will help clinicians to understand the attitude of teenagers towards contraception and thus in designing new pregnancy preventive measures. Moreover, the data collected in this study will act as secondary information for future nursing research on teenage pregnancy. Teenage pregnancy: It is defined as the pregnancy of young woman who is expecting child birth before the age of 20 irrespective of whether the woman is married or not. It is often associated with health risks to mother and baby such as high blood pressure and premature birth. This is a quantitative research in which investigator has designed questionnaire to survey 53 pregnant teenagers in China about their knowledge, attitudes, and behavior regarding contraceptives use. The representative sample was from four women and children health care hospitals in Beijing, China. The inclusion criteria were that teenagers age should be between 10 to 19 years. The survey was conducted in April 2007 to June 2007. The purpose of the study and its design was explained to selected teenagers when they reached hospitals for induced abortions. They were asked to fill the questionnaire on their consent. Two questionnaires were used in this study- The Demographic

Communication and Patient Safety Research Design Paper

Communication and Patient Safety Design - Research Paper Example The paper "Communication and Patient Safety Research Design" looks at how samples can be taken without any discrimination. The paper discusses various ways to collect and analyze data before coming up with a strong conclusion based on the research findings and results. The conclusion of this paper is very important to nurses and caregivers as they realize the importance of effective communication in the healthcare facility. Effective communication is vital to the safety of every patient and every nurse is aware of that. For a patient to have a positive outcome, nurses are expected to understand their problems and to effectively communicate with them, noting critical areas that mostly affect the patient. With communication, the nurse is able to identify problems and come up with various ways to solve the problems that the patient might have. It is, however, a common scenario to find that nurses do not provide effective communication to patients and, as a result, cause complications. M ost nurses believe that there is no mathematical proof to evidence that effective communication is vital to positive patient safety and as a result, end up ignoring this very important concept of communication. This paper critically analyzes a sample population of patients to come up with a statistical proof that effective communication is vital to a positive safety outcome from the patient. Is there a mathematical proof that effective communication is vital to patient’s safety? There is a correlation between effective patient communication.... Literature Review For many years, professional nurses have tried to link effective communication to positive patient feedback. Many articles written on this topic bring out varying importance of effective communication to the positive outcome of the patient. One article by Frankel identified that for a patient to show positive results, it was necessary for all parties to have an effective communication with each other. Nurses and caregivers have to understand the patients by involving them in various clinical procedures. Factors that influence communication were also identified. The key factor that was identified was the system that the entire hospital used. Some hospitals and healthcare facilities have large and complicated systems that make it hard for patients to effectively communicate with healthcare providers. The larger and more complex the system of the hospital, the harder it is for the patients to effectively communicate with the healthcare providers. Due to this factor, it is necessary for healthcare facilities to ensure that their systems are simple to understand and that the hospital or healthcare facility is organized into departments that allow effective communication between the patient and the caregiver. Another factor that influenced communication between the patient and their caregiver is the nature of the patient. There are patients who are hard to understand. They are complicated and in most cases would not communicate effectively with the caregiver. This is one of the major communication challenges that a caregiver might face. When faced with any hostile patient who is not willing to provide any useful information that may help in their case, it is common for errors to occur. Thus, nurses should ensure that they fully understand their

Scholarship on Dickens Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Scholarship on Dickens - Essay Example In those days, London was described as the doomed city with unsanitary living conditions and was a galore of diseases. â€Å"There were four epidemics of cholera within Dickens’s own lifetime and, beside these mortal visitations, there were periodic and regular outbreaks of typhus, typhoid fever, epidemic diarrhoea, dysentery, smallpox and a variety of ailments which were classified only as â€Å"fevers†.2† To improve the health condition of the people of London and other cities that were the main breeding ground for all diseases that would spread later to the rural areas of England, Dickens knew that sanitary conditions of the cities should improve. We see him attending many meetings to talk on behalf of sanitary improvement. Passionately arguing the case of sanitary reform in London on May 10th 1851, Charles Dickens said: â€Å"I can honestly declare that the use I have since that time made of my eyes and nose have only strengthened the conviction that certain sanitary reforms must precede all other social remedies, and that neither education nor religion can do anything useful until the way has been paved for their ministrations by cleanliness and decency.3† Sanitary work in London and other cities started only in his latter life. He was an influential social reformer of his time in many fields and being so very well-known, his views were respected. His characters of imagination provided him ample platform to argue the social reforms that he craved to see in the difficult times of Victorian England. His magazines and speeches on social injustice show him as one of the main propagandists of the time. He advocated the reforms without being specific about them. His desire was to see any kind of relief to the sufferers. For example; the Hard Times was based on a labour dispute in the weaving industry which was referred as â€Å"The Preston Lockout 1853-54†. According to George Bernard Shaw, ‘he was a revolutionary without knowing it4’. In a

Income and spending Essay Example for Free

Income and spending Essay The change in consumer spending divided by the change in disposable income. B. Total consumer spending divided by total income. C. Disposable income divided by consumption. D. The change in disposable income divided by the change in consumption. 2) Assume a consumption function is C = 500 + . 80 Yd. This means A. Consumers will save 80 cents out of each additional dollar in disposable income. B. Consumers will spend $500 in addition to current income. C. Consumers will spend $500 plus 80 cents out of each dollar of disposable income D. he marginal propensity to consume is . 20. 3) In a model with no government or foreign sector, if saving is defined as S 200+ (0. 1)Y and investment is 10 = 200, what is the equilibrium level of consumption? A. 3,800 B. 3,600 c. 1 soo D. 2,000 E. 1,000 4) In a model with no government or foreign sector, if autonomous consumption is Co = 80, investment is 10 = 70, and the marginal propensity to save is s = 0. 25, equilibrium income is A. 150 B. 0 c. 225 D. 600 E. 750 5) The 45-degree line on a graph relating consumption and income shows: A. all points where the MPC is constant. B. all points at which saving and income are equal. C. all the points at which consumption and income are equal. D. the amounts households will plan to save at each possible level of income 6) If the MPC is . 8 and disposable income is $200, then A. consumption and saving cannot be determined from the information given. B. saving will be C. personal consumption expenditures will be $80. D. saving will be $40. 7) The MPC for an economy is: A. the slope of the consumption schedule or line. B. the slope of the savings schedule or line. C. 1 divided by the slope of the consumption schedule or line. D. 1 divided by the slope of the savings schedule or line. 8) At the point where the consumption schedule intersects the 45-degree line: A. the MPC equals 1 B. the APC is zero. C. saving equals income. D. saving is zero. Answer the next question(s) on the basis of the following consumption schedule: C 20+ . Y , where C is consumption and Y is disposable income. 9) Refer to the above data. The MPC is: A) . 45. B) . 20. C) . 50. D) . 90. 10) Refer to the above data. At an $800 level of disposable income, the level of saving is: A) $180. B) $740. C) $60. D) $18. 1 1) In a Keynesian model of income determination, when intended spending is greater than actual output, the adjustment to a new macro-economic equilibrium is based on changes in A. autonomous consumption B. unplanned inventories C. government spending D. net exports E. all of the above

Distancia Amingo Essay Example for Free

Distancia Amingo Essay It was mid-afternoon. I could see faces along the road. I knew they were Iskolar ng Bayan; I assumed. They are for sure coming from different Bicol provinces. I was in a hurry to cross the lane. I was nearly bumped by a jeepney. Ano, magpapakamatay ka na? The driver shouted. Aw nano na costumbre, I murmured. I did not know whether he got the right person or I got a wrong way, either. After I crossed the pedestrian lane, I stopped and thought it over. Suddenly, a tricyle passed by. Distancia Amingo, as I have read the inscription on the board of its back. Keep distance, I told myself. I, most of the times, was waiting for and taking a ride in a jeepney every time I am going to office, church, mall, and even bar hopping. Jeepney becomes a public transportation of Legazpenos and other neighboring places. We are comfortable to call it as dyip or jeep. Indeed, my previous experience constructs a new concept that helps me out to observe, describe, and take note its technical and cultural background. What can you say? Jeepneys are originally made from US military jeeps, which military left them behind after ended the World War II instead of paying to ship the vehicles to America. A jeepney is a 12- to 16-passenger vehicle fashioned from second-hand military Jeeps used in the Philippines as public transportation. The term comes from a combination of the words Jeep and jitney, meaning small bus following a flexible schedule that carries passengers on a regular route. Over the years, the jeepney has grown to become one of the most prevalent means of transportation in the Philippines,† said Jacob Hendriks, eHow contributing writer. Today, it becomes the most common means of public transportation among provinces in the Philippines. Indeed, its name tags the Filipinos culture. If you could notice before you step up there are some slogans down the stair. Take note; you will perhaps frown or laugh at after reading it. Basta driver, sweet lover, this is an authentic example. It is not doubtful if passengers got smile when they have pleased to seat on the tukawan, I connote. On the other hand, this slogan simply speaks of machismo. In contrast, drivers could be described as polygamous by nature aside from being gentlemen to passengers. Perhaps, the status of their employment would attest that in some cases they coincidentally found women at night while they went to driving. I don’t think if some of them got concubines, which could be the cause of love quarrel between him and his wife. I think this is the reason why some of them had encountered accident that is suicidal. Forgive me if I got the wrong concept. At the back of the driver seat, you can read, Barya lang po sa umaga. We cannot deny that many times we forgot to pay our fare using coins early in the morning. Dai akon sensilyo; that’s it when driver asked. We cannot deny that we never allow ourselves to follow this simple rule; yet, when we demand good services from the authority basically our blood pressure seems to explode. High blood? so to speak. On the other hand, there are drivers who cheat. When you handed him more than the expected fare sometimes they forgot or meant not to return your change. I did not say that they are all cheaters because there also some of them who are honest. The moment you forgot, they screeched their wheels back. I also did not say that they are not angry when passengers count their change. Maski arog ako kaini, dai ko kaya manluko nin tawo, one time a driver murmured towards me. Feeling close, my flirt mind commented. Fasten your seat belt; you can read this line when you sit beside the driver’s seat. Sometimes, it is written as, fasten your sit belt. At first, I was annoyed; but, at the end, I realized that this line is the result of linguistic imperialism. We should forgive the perpetrator. We should not point our fingers to the driver because the nature of his work does not qualify to plead him guilty instead we will blame his teacher. It could be his parents as first teachers at home. It could be his teachers in the school, where learning takes place. Exactly, his learning experience constructs meaning as influence of constructivism. The good side is; he is not just a driver, but a skilled worker. This is the real substance of education shaping a person to be productive developing his potential to a defined skill. I was already inside the jeepney where I listened to the song entitled, Jeepney by Spongecola. What a coincidence, I said. Hush. Listen to the song. Bumaba ako sa jeepney/Kung saan tayoy dating magkatabi/Magkahalik ang pisngi nating dalawa. The verses describe how the lovers explicitly unveil their relationship. Public display affection (pda); they said. Yes, it is expected that this is between man and woman. It could possibly be a man with a queer wo(man). That’s true; we do not impose racism here. You can laugh, but do not judge. Just say; this is the law of extreme reality. Pues, I can’t bear the moment without looking into the trend of courtship nowadays. I tell you; I am not against with them. I really feel sad when I see lovers in the jeepney showing inhuman behavior. We cannot blame older than us if they can’t tolerate themselves to put them into gossip because they destroy our good tradition. So, it is not surprising if women are being brutalized and raped because they become motif of original sin. Si’isay su relihiyoso an padi o an drayber? It becomes a joke; but, if we look at it as new perspective, tambay or bystanders would answer us, of course, the driver. If you can observe; the driver will not drive the jeepney without signing a cross. Yes, I agree, but he cannot do it without prior knowledge about his religious ways without the priests. When we destroy our conscience, our faith will be at stake. Faith in our people and faith in God, said Sen. Benigno â€Å"Ninoy† Aguino, Sr. In front of the jeepney’s mirror, you can see a small altar with an image of Virgin Mary. It becomes the icon of their salvation. Sometimes, they hang above it a bunch of fresh and fragrant flower, sampaguita, which they bought three for ten pesos from the young vendors. These vendors could be young boys or girls who seemed to be unfortunate. No child shall be left behind, as envisioned by the DepEd. Yet, the more the children are unfortunate, the more they are not able to go to school. I am sure there is something wrong in their home. I am sure there is something wrong in the system of the government. Along the front window you can notice the driver’s prayer embroidered as, God bless our trip. With this, I can say that the driver is a symbolic for hard work and these four words represent for prayer. This entails that when we work we should never forget to pray. Ora et labora; in English means, pray and work. This simply reminds us that we should balance our material needs and our spiritual need. When I got down the stair another jeepney passed by. I could read the inscription, In God We Trust. I can’t imagine how Bicolanos survive amid scarcity as a result of natural calamity. I presume; Bicolanos’ ways of living unfold the profound relationship with God. Ancient times indeed reflect how our ancestors passed on our good culture that defines our Bicolano identity. So, we have no reasons to smile. Starting today, we will keep distance when jeepney stops, but we will never lose hope when sudden misfortune comes because God never keeps us apart. He is just in our heart.

Process of Hiking The Appalachian Trail :: Health Nutrition Diet Exercise Essays

Process of Hiking The Appalachian Trail The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, is a footpath in the eastern United States for outdoor enthusiasts, extending about about 2140 miles from Maine to Georgia, along the crest of the Appalachian Mountains. The trail passes through 14 states and is maintained by 34 different trail maintenance organizations. It is the longest marked, continuous footpath in the world, at some points reaching elevations of more than 6000 feet. Wooden signposts and white paint marks on rocks and trees are placed along the trail. Construction of the Appalachian Trail was begun in 1922 near Bear Mountain, New York. By 1937 the footpath, extended from Mount Katahdin, in Maine, to Mount Oglethorpe, in Georgia, and was ready for use. Later, (after 1937) the trail officially ended at Springer Mountain, 10 miles northeast of Mount Oglethorpe. In 1968 the Appalachian Trail became part of the National Park System and was officially renamed the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. To hike the Appalachian Trail, it is suggested to shop around for a good pair of hiking boots, a tent, and a sturdy backpack. Hiking the distance mentioned above obviously requires excellent footwear, and a light pack. Figure in fatigue and you need a comfortable tent to sleep in at night. Good boots are "solid" on the bottom, so that you cant feel rocks or stones through the soles. If you can press in the bottom of the sole with your thumb, the soles are probably too soft to give your foot proper protection. The top of the boot should be stiff to hold the ankle in place and provide it with good support. While it's possible to treat non- waterproof fabric boots with liquid silicone, it generally doesn't waterproof the boot enough to be useful. Stick with leather boots that can be treated with Sno-seal, beeswax solution, or other waterproofing solutions. Feet change over time, as do shoes. Wearing a pair of shoes and/or hiking boots changes the shape of the shoe to fit your foot. Eventually though, the reshaping causes the shoe to rub places on the foot, causing blisters. All boots are made on different "lasts". The last is the "form" the boot is built around at the factory. The size and shape of these lasts, even between identical sizes of boots, can vary greatly. For instance, some boots are built around a European last which is typically narrow in the

Personal Narrative about Smoking Marijuana Essay examples -- Drugs Nar

Sniffed Out "All right chief, puff, puff, pass!" This reminder of smoker’s etiquette attempts to rise from the back seat, but the bumping speakers drown it out. I am in the driver’s seat of my car, floating on a thick cloud of music and smoke. My eyes close, my lungs fill, my head nods and becomes lost inside a hip-hop haze of bass, high hats, and trumpets. Just before Big Boi introduces his â€Å"Spottieottiedopaliscious Angel† a hand cuts through the smoke and whacks me in the back of the head. Leaving the music, I turn around, take a huge toke, give the middle finger (all in good fun), and pass the joint to the backseat. For the next twenty minutes my friends and I sit in my car, parked, windows up, seats laid back, and fill every crack and crevice with the sweet smell of marijuana smoke. We aren’t drug dealers or dope fiends. We are just four high school seniors getting prepared for class. Even though this ritual had been a part of our mornings since sophomore year, it became easier to carry out when the school selected us for the aptly named Joint Enrollment program (some might say we took the name a little too literally). On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings we attended an English class at the local college before going to school. Our Tuesday and Thursday mornings were completely open. Even the days we had Joint Enrollment allowed us forty minutes of free-time before second period. The clock flashed 9:20 and three doors promptly opened. Smoke billowed from the car like a shelled out bomb crater. Everyone went to their cars and the caravan to second period commenced. Rubbing my eyes, I turned the ignition, falling into the back of the line. I came around the curve and pulled into the turning lane leading to sch... ...ho sang in the choir at my church, was standing at the top of the hill next to the principal, some teachers, and the superintendent. They all watched me with spite. The next day I woke up thinking that I was the same person I was the day before. I thought I was still the kid who was an honor student and multi-sport athlete. I thought I was the same person who had been active in church since he was a kid and was praised by the entire congregation. I thought I was the same person who always looked out for his family and visited his grandparents twice a week. I know that I never quit being this person, but as far as the rest of the community was concerned, he was put to death in the parking lot in front of the high school doors. They immediately forgot about the former me, and replaced him with a deceitful, drug dealing dope fiend. Hey, but at least I didn’t go to jail.