Personal statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal statement - Essay Example I feel as though I have always learned lots in school, but never had the grades to reflect my efforts. I also tend to keep to myself when it comes to studying, so I thought studying with others might help me improve my grades. Finally, in high school, I learned that my time management skills were not very good. This often caused stress that I didn’t need to experience. As I look back on these goals, I feel really great because I have accomplished all three. If all goes well, I will have a 3.0 GPA. It may actually be higher if I do well in my most difficult class. I met some great friends on the first week of school and we formed a study group that meets each week. I have never studied with other people and found this to be a great way to learn and to meet people. I hope that next semester will find many of us taking the same classes so we can study together again. I can say that I met my third goal because I did not freak out a single time this semester as a result of forgetti ng or putting off a project, paper or test. I did feel a lot of stress about my grades, but that was simply because I wanted to meet my goal of earning a 3.0 GPA. I would call it normal stress, as opposed to stress caused by wasting my time or procrastinating. Time Management and Study Skills are the topics that meant the most to me this first semester at ASU. I knew that this was a weakness of mine coming into college. My first reaction to the topic when it was introduced in class was something like, â€Å"Oh, yea, this is what I need.† I think that the skills we talked about in class were helpful, but more than anything else, I think I am maturing and realizing that reaching goals is directly connected to decisions I make about work and study habits. I know that for the first time in my life, I actually wrote down assignments in a planner and scheduled set study times. Establishing a study group was a big part of this success, but I actually went to the library on several o ccasions by myself to study for tests. This was not a typical behavior for me in the past. Managing my time this first semester made me feel in control. I was able to think about studying because I blocked time out for studying and stuck to my schedule. Sticking to a study schedule was difficult, but I was able to do it. If I had to point to any one thing that helped me this first semester, it would be scheduling time for studying. My first semester was great. I feel as though I have been successful in many ways. The single most enjoyable thing about this semester was my study group. Having fun people from my classes to meet with made me want to engage in studying more often. I never have experienced this before and I think that it is great. One concern that I have is that I will not be able to meet with the same people next semester. I guess I just need to trust that I’ll just meet more interesting, fun people. One of my biggest challenges this semester was meeting up with b eople that knew me before I came to ASU. I was not the best student and did not always have the healthiest lifestyle. These people were not supportive of my educational goals. All they wanted me to do was to hang out. It was difficult for me to tell these people that I just didn’t want to be that person anymore. It was hard to say to old friends that I had changed and I was moving in a new direction. What gave me the strength to do this was the new friends I met during this first semester. I am excited for the next semester and all of the

The Risks of Sports Doping on Weight Lifters Research Paper

The Risks of Sports Doping on Weight Lifters - Research Paper Example However, doping is rampant some athletes have taken upon themselves and their managers to deceive the doping tests and have a competitive advantage over other athletes. Despite testing being done without advance notification and having a long list of banned substances, cheating by athletes has been rampant and more effective than in the past. It is with the understanding of the rampant cases of doping in sports that this study aims at understanding the risks of sports doping on weightlifters (Saugy et al., January 01, 1996). According to Thieme and Hemmersbach (2010), doping as a word first mentioned in the English dictionary in 1889 despite the attempts at enhancing performance by athletes have been a much older activity. Doping has its origins 5,000 years in China when the use of Ma Huang (an extract from the Ephedra plant) was used to suppress coughing and stimulate circulation (Thieme & Hemmersbach, 2010). Further, eating of testicles was recommended by Indian Physician Sutruta and used by the Huns around 300 BC, hallucinogenic mushrooms in 3 BC show the development of doping in sports. Strong stimulants like cocaine, alcohol, caffeine, and strychnine would later be used by cycles and other athletes to promote endurance (Baron et al., January 01, 2007). Mariani wine that would lead to the conferring of a gold medal to Vin Mariani was also used widely but was banned by Germany in 1920. Start of human tests to reduce athlete doping revealed numerous cases of doping and the start of banning by The Inter national Athletic Federation (IAAF).