The Heart of a Champion Essay Example

The Heart of a Champion Essay Heart of a Champion There is one person in particular who has overcome many difficulties in his life. I shared one of those difficulties with him. He helped motivate me, strengthen me, and celebrate an accomplishment. He has taught me the importance of never giving up on yourself. Aaron has made an impact on my life that I will forever cherish. I met Aaron through my high school cheerleaders team. I had the opportunity to be his flyer for two years in a row. My senior year was the most memorable season. There were still many downfalls that came along with cheering. There was never a practice that I would not come home crying. The pressure, misery, and pain that we both went through only made him stronger. I never had the strength to be positive but he always knew how to use motivational words. These words were spoken to me throughout the season by Aaron. He knew that I wanted to win a state title Just as bad as he did. Through that we grew closer to accomplish the same goal. When t came to cheerleaders, you had to put 100 percent Into everything you did. We will write a custom essay sample on The Heart of a Champion specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Heart of a Champion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Heart of a Champion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Even when you would give 100 percent effort, you were never promised 100 percent satisfaction. We worked hard at practices but ended up with second place at competitions. This tore the Crosby 2 team apart many times. We had to slowly pick up the slack and gain strength before going on the state floor. Aaron stepped up and controlled the situation. He made us realize we could still have a chance of winning. We Just had to work together as a team and believe In ourselves for once. In the corner of the mat, I heard a voice in my ear telling me, noon can do this! Push through, set up, pull and spin! You got this! At the beginning of my running tumbling, I heard Aarons voice In my ear. He had a way of making It seem Like there was still hope If we kept pushing through. The state competition was the only hope we had to show how bad we wanted to win and how hard we worked for It. All throughout warm-ups, Aaron and many other cheerleaders encouraged the team. Watching other teams succeed discouraged any of us, but having people Like Aaron to keep us motivated made It very hard to give up. We stepped on the mat for the last time as a team and walked back off with tears of accomplishment In our eyes. There were many discouraging moments In my experiences with Aaron. The only difference between him and other people Is the way he handled It. Aaron showed his courage and dedication through his actions. He led by example and through encouraging words to the team. He didnt look for an easy way out or a shoulder to cry on. He has taught me a life lesson of never Glenn p on yourself or others. You push through thick and thin and will always succeed no matter what the outcome Is. Aaron has a heart of a champion. The Heart of a Champion By brothering it came to cheerleaders, you had to put 100 percent into everything you did. Even team and believe in ourselves for once. Voice in my ear telling me, muff can do this! Push through, set up, pull and spin! You got this! At the beginning of my running tumbling, I heard Aarons voice in my ear. He had a way of making it seem like there was still hope if we kept pushing through. D how hard we worked for it. All throughout warm-ups, Aaron and many other many of us, but having people like Aaron to keep us motivated made it very hard to tears of accomplishment in our eyes. In my experiences with Aaron. The only difference between him and other people is the way he handled it. Aaron showed his courage and dedication through his actions. Easy way out or a shoulder to cry on. He has taught me a life lesson of never giving matter what the outcome is. Aaron has a heart of a champion.

Review of Insta-Snow Fake Snow

Review of Insta-Snow Fake Snow The Bottom Line Insta-Snow is fake snow. You add water to a non-toxic powder made from a polymer, which instantly swells up to make what looks very much like snow. If you chill the Insta-Snow its the next best thing to real snow, though it doesnt melt and I wouldnt recommend throwing it in the air to catch snowflakes on your tongue. However, Insta-Snow is a lot of fun and easy to make. Pros doesnt require winternon-toxicvery easy to makesurprisingly easy to clean uplooks very much like real snow Cons not cold unless you chill itcant really make a good snowball out of it Description Insta-Snow expands to 100 times its original volume. You make it by mixing 1 teaspoon of snow powder with 2 ounces of water.Once hydrated, the snow is good for a couple of days. You can rehydrate it or store it to make again later.Insta-Snow does not stain surfaces, but it shouldnt be placed on untreated wood.You can use the snow outside. Its the same chemical used in gardens to help ​the  soil  retain moisture. Guide Review - Insta-Snow Review I got Insta-Snow for my kids, ages 9-14. They figured out the instructions easily without any assistance from me and soon there was instant snow everywhere. The snow feels very interesting. It is damp, but soft and fluffy and not cold. If you add a few drops of food coloring you can make colored snow. Insta-Snow looks much like real snow, though it does not melt. In fact, it lasts practically forever. If fake snow dries out, all you have to do to recharge it is spritz it with some water.

On being ill by Virginia Woolf and Politics and the English Language Essay

On being ill by Virginia Woolf and Politics and the English Language George Orwell compared - Essay Example She noted that people usually lack words to express their feelings during sickness unlike numerous words available to express love, battle, and jealousy. On the other hand, George Orwell in his article, â€Å"Politics and the English Language, he criticized the modern English writing style for its filthy and incorrect use of language. His assignment was to call people to the task of thinking clearly by using the language appropriately. At the end of his article, he gave several rules to assist and protect writers from incorrect use of language. A concise description of similarities and differences of the essays The two are articles were mainly concerned with English language as a tool of communication, and the effect of language misuse. The two were also written to raise a voice to make English a better language in communication. The two articles were written for different audience and hence different tones. According to George, inaccurate language comes as a result of insincerity w hile according to Virginia; language problem in illness is as a result of negligence of illness topics. The comparison of the articles The two articles can be said to describe a deficiency in English language as a result of a weak education system in literature and media influence. George’s concern was mainly language quality while Virginia’s concern was lack of words to describe feelings which come with illness.... From the examples, he drew out various inaccurate uses of English such as dying metaphors, operators or verbal false limbs, pretentious diction (Orwell 3) and meaningless words (Orwell 4). Both articles were concerned with giving a solution to the language problem. George’s article advised that people could only avoid using poor language if only they started thinking clearly. As a result, use of correct language would cause them to think more clearly (Orwell 1). Virginia argues that language experts have undermined coming up with words to describe illness feelings and there is need to have some people come up with words to help patients communicate. She complained, â€Å"But of all this daily drama of the body there is no record† (Woolf 10). She complained that people always wrote about ideas from the mind but failed to write about the body. The Contrast of the Articles Virginia used remorseful tone while expressing the agony ill people experience as they try to communi cate. The tone was meant for a particular audience who are mainly health care workers. For example, she explained that for a very ill person, â€Å"There is nothing ready made for him. He is forced to coin words himself† (Woolf 11). She explained that ill people have no one to speak out for them. George on the other hand used an aggressive tone while describing how English language has lost its quality and loss of creativity in modern language. The aggressive tone reveals that the article was mainly written for unlimited audience including politicians. He gave an example of a sentence in Ecclesiastes where no other translation matched the original script in terms of creativity (Orwell 5). George criticized wrong usage of language such as dying metaphors (Orwell 2), operators, or verbal false

Toyota - The Rise of a Global Corporation Essay

Toyota - The Rise of a Global Corporation - Essay Example In this paper provides the answers to five questions of the case study Toyota: The Rise of a Global Corporation. 1. Toyota after the 1950’s when its production began to increase that it could not afford to follow the American model of manufacturing most parts in-house. The firm did not like the American model because it created numerous inefficiencies. Toyota decided that to follow a model of outsourcing work and keeping close relationships with its suppliers. Among the inefficiencies that Toyota identified from the American model that the company could avoid by outsourcing are: 1) high capital expenditures need to increase the manufacturing capacity to create components and parts, 2) reduce the risk by maintaining low manufacturing capacity in case of a slump in auto sales, 3) Ability to take advantage of lower labor costs of small firms (Hill, 2007). The company created the tight relationship with its suppliers. The company when a step further by investing between 20% to 40% stake in the operations of many of its suppliers. This allowed to company to work in alliance with the suppliers and implement its Kaban system with the suppliers to share information and minimize inventory stocks. The company practically eliminated the need for a buffer inventory count. Outsourcing in the 21st century has become a vital strategy in order to take full advantage of the globalization movement (Kotler, 2002) Some of the drawbacks of the system were the need to invest money in other companies. Another drawback of the system is that buying auto parts ends up raising the cost of the vehicle since the parts themselves is a cheaper alternative. 2. In 1981 the United States government put a strain on the capacity of Japanese auto manufacturers to import autos by establishing a voluntary import quota. The quota places a limit on the amount of auto import that could enter the US market. The agreement the Japanese government entered into limited the number of Japanese auto imports to 1,680,000 units per year (Copper, 2009)Â  

British Petroleum: Unethical Issues

British Petroleum: Unethical Issues Referring few frequently use terms in business ethics as in, this report stressing on business ethics. Based on Crane and Matten in definition of business ethics, it is the study of business situation, activities, and decisions where issues of right and wrong are addressed. In a normal context, a situation cannot be considered unethical if it is not violating the law but a situation can be equivocal when conflict happened among ethical values. Importance of Business Ethics Ethical practices in business are important because businesss power and influence is greater than before. (Crane and Matten, 2010) Based on Laczniak and Murphy (1993, p. 5), consumer will have more impression on businesses that practice ethical practices in business. Based recent research of Belak and Rozman (2012), company that practices ethics will have better image and reputation. Then, it brings long term interest. Ethical practices help business to meet stakeholders expectations more effectively while stakeholders demand going more complicated and hard to achieve. (Crane and Matten, 2010) Based on the research of Holme (2008) on business ethics, he listed out few advantages of business in being ethical. He linked up the relationship between employee satisfactions levels with financial result of company. Higher satisfaction level of employee results in better financial result. Further, a company that practices ethics in business gains trust from suppliers. He further explained that a company practicing with ethical culture will influence employee to support on the company. It will influence employee to react with strong motivation and performance which is crucial to gain customer approval. Company Background British Petroleum, British  international  oil  and  gas companies headquartered London, UK. Based on CNNs Global 500 ranking of world corporations (Refer appendix B), BP ranked 4th largest company in the world and 3rd largest energy company. (Fortune, 2012) Nature of Business BP seeks to provide energy sustainably with its upstream and midstream active in 30 countries. BP works on finding, developing, and moving resources then produce and marketing the products. (Refer appendix C) Whilst providing energy and daily use products, BP investing on alternative resources, the sustainable energy with low carbon especially bio-fuels, solar and wind energy. Industrial Practices in Ethics As an international oil and gas company, decision made by the company often involve many parties and might brings serious consequences. There are ethics issues bothering BP in past few years, the human right and environmental issues. Based on BPs sustainability review of 2011, the company emphasize in enhancing safety and risk management in order to gain back trust from the previous accident in Gulf of Mexico. BP also continue working with safer drilling, avoiding environment pollution and restoring the environment resulting by deepwater horizon oil-spill. One of the industrial practices by BP in ethics is to treat people fairly and strictly eliminate child labour and forced labour. Bribery and corruption is prohibited in BP and the company seeks to not obey law. (BP Code of Conduct, 2011) BP invested in cleaner and greener energy helps preserving environment for future. Besides, BP  communicates with local community groups to avoid and minimize impact on their life. BP also helps in creating jobs. They use local suppliers and support community development. Ethical Dilemmas BPs stakeholders are the local communities, customers, employees, shareholders and analysts, governments and regulators, industry and non-government organizations. (Stakeholder engagement, 2012) In this case, stakeholder analysis is used to find out the interests of stakeholders affected by environment pollution caused by BP. How the environment pollution has impacted BP stakeholders will discuss later. Local Communities Based on an article of George in 2003, he emphasized the importance of taking interests of local communities while making decision. Supporting on local communities brings advantage of getting support from them in terms of supporting companys activities, as well as attracting and retaining good employees. Out of so many of the ethical issues, environment pollution is the issues that BP often encountered with. For example the Columbian pollution on farmland, Texas City chemical leak, and the recently deepwater horizon oil spill. The blowout of deepwater horizon rig in April 2010 has been commented as the worst oil-spill in history of US (BBC, 2010). The accident has killed 11 crew members on the rig and the rig sank two days after the explosion. The sank rig leak gallons and gallons of crude oil into sea and the leaking of oil from the exploded Macondo well polluted Gulf of Mexico and other 5 nearest gulfs, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas, causing environment pollution. The incident became the biggest issue faced by BP. Environment pollution that mostly faced by BP is the pollution caused by oil-spill. The pollution has caused damage on wildlife and eco-system of the impacted area. Wildlife like birds, sea turtles, dolphins, and also sperm whales were badly impacted because of oil-spill. There are health problems faced by these animals. Just to name a few, airways and immune system damaged because of oil-spill. Then, birds drown because of oil on their fur making them failed to fly. Dolphins found death because of the toxins released into the air. Marine mammals like dolphins need to go up surface and breathe. (Environmentalgraffiti, n.d.) Gulf Coast is rich with seafood like  fish, crab, oysters and shrimp, especially oyster and shrimp that are highly concentrated in the gulfs, contributing to production of seafood in US. The pollution affected the seafood industry badly. The 23% out of $2.4billions on production of Louisiana seafood has been shut down after the oil-spill. (Environmentalgraffiti, n.d.) Till date, there are still impacts on seafood found in affected coast even though oil has been cleared. Based on article of Jamail in (Aljazeera, 2012), they found fishes, shrimps and other seafood with abnormal growth. For example, eyeless fish and shrimp believe as a result of toxics released by oil. Tourism bears the brunt of the environment pollution. Based on a report of Oxford Economics (n,d), tourism plays key drivers in Gulf regions economy. Referring to the chart below, oil spill has greatest impact on tourism revenue during year 2010 after the Deepwater Horizon Oil-spill. Bourgeois, the owner of Bourgeois Fishing Charters told The Times-Picayune (2010) that his business was down after the oil-spill in Gulf of Mexico. The visit to fishing charters decreased about 20 percent after the case, booking declined and increase in cancellation rate of trips. Besides, fishing industry has been directly impacted by the pollution, causing increase of unemployment rate. The lives of people in affected gulfs were threatened because they were unable to collect fish. William, as reported by Juhasz (2012) article in The Nation, has lost his income because of shrimp he used to catch were affected because of the oil-spill. Air pollution caused by the explosion of rig also brings impact on the health of local communities. Nicole told The Nation that there is smell of oil for the entire month after explosion and it made her daughters asthma worst. Not only that, Elizabeth, 9, Nicoles daughter also suffers from rashes, allergies, inflamed sinuses, sore throat and an upset stomach. Another example of how environment pollution impact on BPs local communities is the oil-spill of Columbia pipeline caused by corrosion of pipeline. It is a project with Columbia national oil company and 4 others multinational company. The oil leaking from corroded pipeline transferring crude oil polluted farmland. Water was poisoned, lead to death of livestock and crops were failed to grow. (Taylor, 2011) Shareholders To be straightforward, shareholder as one of companys stakeholders to provided fund. (Harvard Business Review, 2012)  Shareholder seeks profit and return on investment rather than growth of business. The environment pollution of BP has brings impact on its shareholders. Especially the blow-out and oil-spill of deepwater horizon rig in Gulf of Mexico, BP faced numbers of court cases, claims and payout for cleaning up oil. BP has accepted to pay a total of $4.5bn fine to solve all the 14 criminal charges. (Goldenberg and Rushe, 2012) Besides, BP has paid a total of $23billions on claim and cleans up. Based on the report of BP on cash dividend payout in history, there is no dividend payout in year 2010 after the accident in Gulf of Mexico. Share price drop drastically from a constant increasing yearly. The dividend increased at 3rd quarter of year 2011 but it is still very much lower than the dividend paid before the accident on Gulf of Mexico. (BP, n.d) How BP dealt with dilemmas Dilemmas have to be solved by company to sustain in business. How BP did to solve the dilemma will be discuss and apply to ethical theory. Responding to the main cause of accident in Gulf of Mexico, BP has designed its programme on enhancing safety and risk management to avoid repeating of accident like Deepwater Horizon Oil-spill. Local Communities First, BP has takes responses to helps in different dilemma caused by the accident. It includes helps in monitoring health and safety of people involved in cleaning up oil, puts effort on cleaning up both offshore and on shore, rescuing and rehabilitation of wildlife, containing the leak and compensate the people and communities affected. (BP, 2011) Few examples on how BP responses to the dilemma, BP hired local commercial fisherman and vessel owner to help in clean-up. The clean-up of affected area need large amount of manpower and BP has decided to seek help from the local, with their local knowledge. Then, BP deployed new shoreline cleaning technologies. To stop the oil leaking from the damaged well, BP used dispersant to helps in stopping oil-spilling. (BP, 2011) To resolve the damage made to local ecosystem, BP has invested on monitoring wildlife, emergency restoration projects, early restoration projects and also National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Projects. BP works on minimizing and tracking for the impact on wildlife. For example, bird observational survey and live dolphin health assessments. Emergency respond also took by BP. For example, eggs of Kemps Ridley sea turtle has been collected and protected, release after hatchlings. (BP, 2011) Furthermore, BP supports on monitoring and testing programmes of seafood. This including testing on dispersants to boost people confident on the quality of seafood. As an overall till 2011, BP has invested $33.5 million to test and monitor the seafood, and $ 48.5 million to help in promoting seafood. (BP, 2011) With the affect on tourism industry because of the accident, tourism campaigns has launch to attract people visit to Gulf Coast. Event like seafood festivals and fishing tournaments has been launched and supported by BP in terms of funding. There is another advertising campaign launch by BP designed in promoting tourism. BP contributes in community development of the affected area. The company support on various type of jobs training, and education. (BP, 2011) Shareholders Ethical Theory (Utilitarianism) Utilitarianism, as defined by Bentham and Mill, the action is morally right if it results in the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people affected by the action. The theory also known as greatest happiness principle (Crane and Matten, 2010) Organizations best practices and values Alyeska Pipeline Service Company

The Allure of Drugs

The allure of drugs is one that many people cannot resist. We all know someone who has been affected by drug addiction. It may be a teenager at school who is using marijuana for the first time or a friend you know who has become addicted to meth. Whatever the circumstance, there are many things you can do to help someone sober up from drug addiction. Teens are under a lot of pressure to try drugs whether it comes from their curiosity their friends and peers or television and movies. They are also generally easy to obtain in schools and areas around schools.This makes the barrier to entry for these drugs very small for many teenagers. Teenagers often do not fully think through their decisions and the consequences. There are 8 common reasons why teenagers use drugs. The first one is their surroundings. The people they hang out with. They want to seem cool with their peers. Some do it because they see how their family uses it for fun. So they think there is nothing wrong with it. Some t eenagers see drugs and alcohol in TV. They see how the people they want to be use it all the time.There is a show called â€Å"True Life: I am an addict† In this episode they show different people and their drug addictions. Many of these people say they tried drugs at a very young age and that their reason was because of their peers. A young girl at the age of 18 says she uses alcohol to feel pretty, to get attention from other people, and because she enjoys the feeling. Teenagers are very emotional. They use drugs to escape from any pain they are feeling. They drink or do drugs to not feel any pain at all. Some teenagers consume such things to escape the real world. Some teenagers consume because they are bored.Being bored is something every teenager feels everyone in a while. They don’t know what to do so they get anxious and curious to try new things. So they try to have fun by trying and experimenting new things. Some teenagers don’t get much attention at ho me. They want to rebel and make their parents pay attention to what they are doing. They feel like the more they rebel the more they get to feel that their parents are going to be there showing they care. Unfortunately smoking and drinking are widely promoted as habits enjoyed by sophisticated, fun-loving, attractive and sexy people.What most teens want to become. If drug use wasn’t pleasurable, it would be relatively easy to keep kids and harmful substances separated. But the reality is that many teens enjoy the way they feel on drugs, at least for a while. Wayward children may engage in smoking, alcohol and drug use as a show of independence from family norms and valves. For many people life is just plain tough and normal waking can brings a constant stream of unpleasant sights, smells, sounds and sensations. The prospect of a chemical â€Å"timeout† may look very attractive.Even when a person has plenty of creature comforts, the prevailing emotional whether can stil l be turbulent: Kids and teens often feel anxious, angry, depressed oppressed, stressed, bored or unfulfilled. Many teenagers and young adults are prone to aware their own invulnerability or immortality make shortsighted decisions, or shrug off the most fervent warnings about life’s pitfalls and perish with a smirk or the defiant pronouncements â€Å"I don’t care† shedding this perspective, learning to weight consequences and adopting a long range view of life are normal parts of maturing into adulthood.Unfortunately some who become deeply involved in drug use remain stuck in an immature, self-destructive mind set. Teen’s drug abuse can have a number of negative consequences, including. Driving under the influence including Driving under the influence of any drug can impair driver’s motor skills, reaction time and judgment putting the driver, his or her passengers and others on the road at risk. Teens who abuse drugs are more likely to have poor ju dgment, which can result in unplanned and unsafe sex. Teens who abuse drugs are at risk of serious drug us later in life.Drug use may lead to love interests in or become indifferent about what happens at school or in other areas of his or her life. Use of drugs, such as marijuana, may affect the parts of the brain that control memory, motivation attention and learning, making it more difficult to learn and perform complex tasks. It can be difficult to talk to teens about drug abuse. Start by choosing a comfortable time and setting. Share feelings with the teen. When discussing teen drug abuse. Listen to your teens opinions which may differ from your own. Ask questions about drug use.Encourage them to talk by asking open ended questions. Avoid scare tactics. Emphasize how drug use can affect things important to your teens such as sports, driving, health and appearance. Explain that even a teen can develop a drug problem. Talk about what your teen has seen or heard. Don’t be af raid that talking about teen drug abuse will plant ideas in any teens head. Conversations about drugs won’t tempt them to try drugs. Instead talking about drug abuse lets teens know your views and understand what you expect of him or her. American Academy of child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), March 2011. Web.

Dashain

Dashain ( ) is the 15-day national (religious) festival of Nepal,[2] It is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar, celebrated by Nepalese Hindu of all castes throughout the globe. It is not only the longest festival of the country but is also the one which is most anticipated. The festival falls around September–October, starting from the bright lunar fortnight and ending on the day of full moon. Dasain is also popularly referred to as Bada Dasain, Dashera, Vijaya Dashami etc.Throughout the country the goddess Durga in all her manifestations is worshiped with innumerable pujas, abundant offerings and thousands of animal sacrifices for the ritual of holy bathing, drenching the goddess for days in blood. This festival is also known for its emphasis on the family gatherings, as well as on a renewal of community ties. [2] People return from all parts of the world, as well as different parts of the country, to celebrate together. [2] All govern ment offices, educational institutions and other offices remain closed during the festival period.Dashain commemorates the victories of the god and goddesses over the demons. IT symbolizes the victory of the good over the evil. Mahishasura, a demon, had created terror in the dev-lok (the world of gods). All the gods and saints prayed to the Adi-Shakti in order to kill Mahishasura, Goddess came as Durga emerged and killed the demon thus saving everyone from terror. [3][4][5] The first nine days of Dashain symbolizes the battle which took place between the different manifestations of goddess Durga and the demon Mahishasura. The tenth day is the day when Durga finally defeated Mahishasura.Goddess Durga is worshipped throughout the country as divine mother goddess. Throughout the festival people pay homage to the various forms of the Supreme Goddess, Durga. The festival is important since it reminds everyone of the universal principles of truth, justice and virtue that must prevail over deception, injus-tice and wickedness. It is believed that if she is worshiped properly and pleased then good luck is bound to happen. However, if the goddess is angered through negligence then misfortunes are said to happen. Dashain is the biggest festival for the Hindus.The followers of Shakta cult take it as the day of falling of demon Mahishasur by goddess Durga. For non-Shakta Hindus, this festival symbolizes the victory of Rama over Ravana, the characters of the epic Ramayana. The Buddhists remember this day as Emperor Ashoka of the Indian subcontinent abandoned violence on this day and entered the path of Buddhism. In the Kathmandu Valley, among the Newars, the festival is known as â€Å"Mohanee†, with slight difference in rituals and significance, thus more than often confused with the Dasain. Day 1: Ghatasthapana The tika (in red color) and jamara (green color) used in Dashain.Ghatasthapana marks the beginning of Dasain. [6] It literally means installing a pot which symbolizes Goddess Shakti. It falls on Aswin Shukla Pratipada, the first day of the bright half of the lunar calendar in the month of Ashvin. On this day the kalasha is filled with holy water which is then covered with cow dung and sewn with barley seeds. Then, the kalasha is put in the center of a rectangular sand block. The remaining bed of sand is also seeded with grains. The priest then starts the puja by calling goddess Durga to bless the vessel with her presence.This ritual is performed at a certain auspicious time which is determined by the astrologers. [7] Goddess Shakti is believed to reside in the Kalash vessel during the Navratri period. The room where all this is done is known as the ‘Dasain Ghar’. Generally, outsiders and women are not allowed to enter the Dasain Ghar. A male family member worships the Kalasha twice every day, once in the morning and then in the evening. It is kept away from direct sunlight,[8] and holy water is offered to it every day, so that by the tenth day of the festival the seed will have grown to five or six inches long yellow grass.This sacred grass is known as ‘Jamara’. These rituals continue till the seventh day. Day 7: Fulpati Fulpati is a major celebration occurring on the seventh day of Dasain. On this day the jamara to be used by the royal family is brought from Gorkha palace, their ancestral house. The Fulpati (jamara and the other items that is necessary for tika) is brought after a three day walk from Gorkha district which is about hundred and sixty nine kilometers away from the valley of Kathmandu. A parade is held in the Tundikhel ground in Kathmandu. 9] The royal Kalasha, banana stalks, jamara and the sugar cane tied with red cloth is brought by the Brahmans from Gorkha which is led by the royal priest's military platoon. Hundreds of government officials gather together in the Tundikhel grounds in conventional formal dress to witness the event. The king observes the ceremony in Tundik hel while the fulpati parade is headed towards the Hanuman Dhoka royal palace. Then there is a majestic display of the Nepalese Army along with a celebratory firing of weapons that continues for ten to fifteen minutes honoring Fulpati.The Fulpati is taken to the Hanuman Dhoka Royal palace by the time the occasion ends in Tundikhel. However, since 2008 when the monarchy system was removed from the country, the two-century old tradition is changed so that the holy offering of fulpati goes to the residence of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister has taken over the king's social and religious roles after the fall of the royal government, as he is believed to be ruling the nation and not the king. Day 8: Maha Asthami The eighth day is called the ‘Maha Asthami'.This is the day when the most demonic of Goddess Durga’s manifestations, the blood-thirsty Kali, is appeased through the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of buffaloes, goats, pigeons and ducks in temples throughout the nation. Blood, symbolic for its fertility, is offered to the Goddesses. Appropriately enough, the night of this day is called Kal Ratri (Black Night). It is also the norm for buffaloes to be sacrificed in the courtyards of all the land revenue offices in the country on this day. The old palace in Basantapur Hanuman Dhoka, is active throughout the night with worships and sacrifices in almost every courtyard.On the midnight of the very day the Dasain Ghar, a total of 54 buffaloes and 54 goats are sacrificed in observance of the rites. After the offering of the blood, the meat is taken home and cooked as â€Å"prasad†, or food blessed by divinity. This food is offered, in tiny leaf plates, to the household Gods, then distributed amongst the family. Eating this food is thought to be auspicious. While the puja is being carried out great feasts are held in the homes of common people. Day 9: Maha Navami People standing in queue to visit the Taleju Bhawani MandirThe ninth day is called Maha-navami which literally means the great ninth day. This day is the last day of Navarati. Ceremonies and rituals reach the peak on this day. On this day, official military ritual killings are held in one of the Hanuman Dhoka royal palace called the Kot courtyard. On this occasion, the state offers the sacrifices of buffaloes under the gunfire salutes. This day is also known as the demon-hunting day because members of the defeated demon army try to save themselves by hiding in the bodies of animals and fowls.On this day the Vishwakarma, the god of creativeness is also worshiped as it believed that all the things which help is in making a living should be kept happy. Artisans, craftsmen, traders, and mechanics worship and offer animal and fowl blood to their tools, equipment, and vehicles. Moreover, since it is believed that worshipping the vehicles on this day avoids accidents for the year all the vehicles from bikes, cars to trucks are worshiped on this day. The Taleju Te mple gates are opened for the general public on only this day of the year. Thousands of devotees go and pay respect to the goddess this day.The temple is filled with devotees all day long. [10] Day 10: Dashami An elder member of the family putting Tika to the younger one The tenth day of the festival is the ‘Dashami'. On this day, a mixture of rice, yogurt and vermilion is prepared by the women. This preparation is known as â€Å"tika†. Elders put this tika and jamara which is sewn in the ghatasthapana on the forehead of younger relatives to bless them with abundance in the upcoming years. The red also symbolizes the blood that ties the family together. Elders give â€Å"Dakshina†, or a small amount of money, to younger relatives at this time along with the blessings.This continues to be observed for five days till the full moon dur-ing which period families and relatives visit each other to exchange gifts and greetings. This ritual of taking tika from all the el der relatives (even the distant relatives)helps in the renewal of the community ties greatly. This is one reason why the festival is celebrated with so much of vigor and enthusiasm. Before the collapse of the monarchy system in Nepal, thousands of people ranging from the ministers, diplomats and general public used to gather in the old royal palace to take the tika and blessing from the king who is considered to be the incarnation of Lord Vishnu.However after the collapse of the monarchy system the president of the country who is considered the head of the state has been continuing the trend by offering the tika to the general public and ministers. [11] The last day of the festival which lies on the full moon day is called ‘Kojagrata' Purnima. The literal meaning of Kojagrata is ‘who is awake'. On this day Goddess Laxmi who is believed to be the goddess of wealth is worshiped as it believed that goddess Laxmi descends on earth and showers whoever is awake all night with wealth and prosperity. People enjoy over the night by playing cards and many more.Animal sacrifices are often the norms during this time, as the festival commemorates the mythical bloody battles between the â€Å"divine† and â€Å"demonic† powers. The proponents of animal sacrifice interpret that this sacrificial act as the symbolic sacrifice of our animal qualities, but those who are compassionate to the sacrificed victims think otherwise stressing that the sacrificial act is nothing but an excuse to fulfill the appetite for food/meat. [12] Forms of celebration 1. One gets to know that Dasain is around the corner when they see kites all over the sky.Flying kites has been a very important part of celebrating Dasain in the country as it is considered to be one way of reminding god not to send rain anymore. [13] Not only the children of the family but during the festival you can see people of all ages in their roofs flying kites. Colorful kites of different shapes and vo ices shouting out ‘Changa Chet' (this phrase is usually used when one is successful in cutting the other person's kite) fill the days during the festival. 2. Playing cards is another way of celebrating Dasain. Gambling is illegal in the country but it is usually permitted in public places only during this festival. 13] While children are busy flying kites during Dasain, the older members of the family pass their time by getting together and playing cards with each other for money and fun all day long. 3. Buying and wearing new clothes is an important part of the festival. As many people are living in the villages and are below the poverty line and for them it is often the case that new clothes come only with Dasain. [13] Almost all the shops in the country have festival offers and discounts. This makes shopping more attractive to people. Clothes is the item which has the highest sales during the festival. 10] Children playing on traditional bamboo swings 4. Bamboo swings are c onstructed in many parts of the country as a way of celebration. These bamboo swings is called ‘ping' in Nepali. These kind of swings present the best of local culture, tradition, community spirit and fun. [14] These swings are constructed with the help of community members using traditional methods which make the use of ropes made from tough grass, bamboo sticks and wood etc. Theses swings are normally constructed a week before Ghatasthapana and dismantled only after the festival of Tihar which comes after Dasain.Heights of some swings exceed twenty feet and one can swing really high. One can see people of all ages enjoying in the swing. It is specially famous with the children. 5. Different kinds of fairs and celebration events are also organized during the festival. Usually small fairs are organized in the villages with the Ferris wheels for children and other items of entertainment for the adults. However, in the city it is the commercial fairs and celebration events that is usually organized. 6. Thousands of animals such as buffaloes,ducks,he-goats, etc. are slaughtered in Dasain every year.It has been considered an important ritual since it is believed that the goddesses are appeased by such sacrifices. Almost all the temples, specially the Durga and Kali temples of the country are offered with thousands of sacrifices. Asthami and Navami are the days where the sacrifices reach the peak. While thousands of animals are sacrificed to appease the goddesses, people also slaughter animals for the purpose of feasts. Since a large number of feasts and gatherings are organized throughout the fifteen days of the festival, the demand for meat goes up considerably.Hence to meet the demands the slaughtering of animals becomes considerably high and necessary during the festival. However, for the past few years the animal rights activists in the country have been continuously opposing these acts of slaughtering of animals in such a manner. They have been requesti ng people to stop such inhuman acts of killing the innocent animals and instead have suggested them to offer fruits and vegetables to the Goddesses since they believe that it is mentioned no where in the Hindu religious books that such sacrifices appease the gods and goddesses.