What is the difference between "standard of living" and "quality of life"?

 
    Standard of living is the amount of material wealth that a country has for its survival.Quality of life on the other hand differs from person to person.For some people its their own economic growth,and for others its the ability to enjoy their life to the fullest.I was born and raised in Bangladesh.Most of the people in our country live below the poverty line and the cost of living is not too high here.In Bangladesh,there are many problems like corruption,illiteracy,poverty,insecure health care.But apart from all these,it is one of the most beautiful country in this world,enriched with art,music,culture and traditions.The most important quality in our lives is the social relations between people.Material factors doesn't play a big role in our way of living.

The Trumpet of Conscience

       In his speech "The Trumpet of Conscience", Dr. Martin Luther King Jr explains how difficult his decision was to oppose the war against Vietnam.He was confused and worried about the complexities of this war,but he couldn't keep silent when he realized it was becoming a big threat to his war against poverty.It was destroying the hopes of poor people as the poverty program was broken during the war.He also noticed that this war was destroying the family of poor,both black and white,as they were forced to go to the war.In a country where black and white people were not allowed to go to a same school together,the poor ones killed and died together in the war.And his final reason that made him to go against the war was when he went to the ghettos in the North and tried to convince the people that violence can never be a solution to their problem.The desperate,angry people asked why did their own government choose the path of violence against Vietnam.At that moment Dr. King decided to raise his voice against the war.When people tried to exclude him from the movement for peace he answered them that he had worked his entire life to end the practice of separating people.How can he ditch his morality and stay silent to the greatest violence in the world,even though the victims belong to some other country.

Tell white Lies (Occasionally)

Thesis:Not every reason deserves the use of truth.

I.why should we tell white lies?
A.Not every truth is mine to tell.
B.Not every person has the right to know truth.
C.Not every time is appropriate for the truth.

II.Whom does this lie protect?
A.it protects another person from unnecessary pain.
B.It's actually an attempt to save myself from an uncomfortable exposure.

Conclusion: We have to make sure that this white lie doesn't become an immoral act of dishonesty.

(Joyita,Marzia)

Courtesy: Key to a Happier World
Thesis: Life’s difficulties would be minimized if people were more courteous to each other.

I. Basic ingredients of good manners
A. Justice
B. Empathy
C. The capacity to treat all people alike.

II. Three ways to improve one’s manners
A. Practice courtesy
1. Concentrate on your performance for about a week.
2. Don’t let others’ bad manners make you rude
B.  Think in a courteous way.
C. Be able to accept courtesy.

Conclusion. Politeness is the golden rule in action.

           The Aesop's fable and the Maugham's story has two very different messages.In the Aesop's fable of the ant and the grasshopper,the industrious ant worked very hard through the summer and had all his food saved for winter but the grasshopper who never cared about his future ended up begging for food.So the ant's hard work was paid off in the end.While in the other story, Tom,who was an idle and irresponsible guy who barely did any good things in his life got lucky and was in a better position than his honest,industrious and much more worthy brother.

The friendship Bond

#1 Social critics expect people to be dissatisfied with their friendship because of the high mobility rate and loss of community support among Americans.They believe that a huge numbers of people choose to live alone and they are mostly worried about their own selves rather than their friends.But in the questionnaire responses, most of the people disagreed with this idea and a very few numbers of people showed their dissatisfaction on friendship.

#2 The five qualities that people say were most important to them are loyalty, the ability to keep confidences,warmth,affection and supportiveness.Yes,i would look for the same qualities in my friend.

#3 Two most important reason for ending a friendship are feeling betrayed by a friend, and discovering that a friend had very different views on issues the respondent felt were important.I think having a different view or opinion can not be a strong enough reason to end a friendship.The first reason makes more sense because there is nothing worse than getting betrayed by a person you trust the most.

#4 The three activities that are most characteristic among friends are, ''had an intimate talk",helping out a friend and turning to a friend for help.Trust plays a very strong role in these activities.It motivates someone to share their innermost thoughts and feelings with the someone they trust.When a person is in trouble he always turns to a friend who is trustworthy.

#5 The first rule of friendship is that friends confide in each other,sharing intimate aspects of their personal lives and feelings.The second rules of friendship involve the right to ask for help

#6 The limit of friendship is that you can not always support what a friend does.

As It Was in the Beginning," p. 35, Question Number 2

                       


          Esther was desperate to go back to her father's tepee.She wanted to escape from the mission house.But her homesickness ended when her childhood mate Laurence expressed his love to her.And she thought she had found her true love.She decided not to go back to her own people.She accepted and loved him with all her heart and soul.She believed in every single word and every single promises that he made.She never thought he would ever betray her.She started dreaming of a new life with a new hope.But her happiness didn't last for long.It all faded away when Father Paul refused Laurence's proposal of marrying Esther.She accidentally overheard the argument between both of them.Laurence demanded an explanation from father Paul at first,why he should not marry Ester.Father Paul started convincing his nephew afterwards.He started questioning Esther's race,her ethnicity.He compared her with a caged animal.He said her blood is a very bad mixture and she can never be trusted. Ester couldn't hear any more.Never in her wildest dream she had thought the person she worshiped her entire life would say such cruel words about her.She was    broken,shattered.She saw her lover was in agreement with the old man.she felt disgusted,deceived.She realized all the love and kindness they have showed through the years was fake.

                                                 Birth order and our lives (Topic # 2)

      Birth order plays a very important role in our life.It affects our lifestyle.As an example,the youngest child often gets to live a carefree life.They don't have much responsibility or family pressure on them.They never feel the urge to learn and do things on their own because they always have their older siblings or their parent to depend upon.They are also considered the happiest ones.They always have their parents attention and care.They can turn up to their elder siblings when they are in trouble.That's why they get to lead a tension free life.The eldest child has the most difficult life,because he has the responsibility of his entire family.He is also expected to take care of his younger siblings.He tries hard to be a good role model for them.He often struggles to deal with the high expectation from his parents.The middle ones have the most attractive lifestyle.As their parents are less strict and easy on them they get to live life on their own way.They don't bother much about the rules and regulation.They are less worried about their performance at home or at school.

                                       How your birth order can affect your personality

     Birth order is the place or rank you get according to your age after you are born in a family.You might be the only child,oldest child,middle child,or the youngest child .These birth orders often help us develop some certain qualities among us.According to the author Lucille K. Forer birth order plays a very important role in how a child sees himself,how he connects with his parents,how other siblings see him and how he reacts.

      The first child usually gets the chance to learn and copy from his parents,which helps him to develop a parental quality in him.He thinks that he has the closest relation with his parents and adults in his family.The parents often have higher expectation from their oldest child.Even the eldest child himself tends to think that he is better and way more mature than the rest of his siblings.
 
       The second child never gets as much attention as the first or the youngest child.After the birth of the first child the parents get more relaxed.As a result the later children gets some advantages.He feels less pressured and independent.He learns how to deal with his elder and younger siblings.

       The youngest child is always dependent on his parents and elder siblings.He thinks that he is less capable than the others.He doesn't even feel the urge to do things on his own because he knows there is always someone on his family who'll come to the rescue.

        Finally,it's the only child.He doesn't have to worry much about his position.He has no one to compete with.He gets all the attention from his parents,feels lonely at times and learns how take care of himself when the parents are not around.He is more likely the oldest child.

        I mostly agree with the author's description on each children.I can totally relate with what she has to say about our birth order when I compare it with my family.However,i don't think it's necessary that a person will always react according to his birth order.Sometimes the eldest can be the most irresponsible one.Sometimes it's the youngest who is taking care of his entire family! It depends on the circumstances.
     
     
   

                                                                       My family
Hey ! My name is Joyita. I'm the youngest kid in my family.my family is pretty big.We are five sisters and one brother.My brother is the eldest.He is married and has two beautiful daughters.As the only son of our family he had a lot of responsibility from the very beginning.But he actually hasn't done enough to be called the most responsible one.Then i have my eldest sister.she comes right after my brother.She lives in Michigan.she was married at a very early age.so I didn't get enough time to spend wit her.When i first came in USA I used to stay with her family.First few month i spent with her was OK  Then i started feeling uncomfortable.She is really bossy! Always telling us what to do and what to not.She also can be very rude and mean at times.My middle two sisters are completely different than her.they are the heart of our family.Fun loving,easy going,independent and also very responsible towards family.I always enjoyed their company.My last (fourth) sister is the most interesting one.We both came in USA together.We share almost everything.There was a time when we both used to fight like cats and dogs!But since we came here in USA she became very protective of me. Sometimes she gets mad at me.She yells, why don't you learn to do things by yourself ?You're old enough to do some regular household chores.I say OK I'll give it a try ! But I always end up messing around.She screams again ,you're not used to do all these stuff.You better just go and sit at the corner,and let me do my thing.She makes me laugh :P She cares about everyone but don't want to show it.last but not the least ,me!I'm the most loved,pampered as well as spoiled and irresponsible person in my family.I know i am all grown up now.But even at the age of 20 I'm still dependent upon my parents.