Jake’s grandpa rested on his soon-to-be death bed as he told his 16 year old grandson stories of mistakes he had made during his prime years. “Don’t make the same mistakes as me Jake. Learn from my mistakes and strive to do better and have more purpose in life than I had.” Jake listened intently as his grandfather’s voice grew weaker and weaker. With tears in his eyes, Jake’s grandfather gave his final lesson to Jake. “Carpe diem.” Youth can benefit from working with the elderly to “rage against the dying of the light” by learning from life experiences that the elderly have to share, and by helping the elderly do things that they aren’t able to do by themselves. By doing these things the youth can be given guidance and direction, and also be filled with charity as they learn to love helping the elderly “fight against the dying of the light”.

“Back when I was a boy…”, Grandpa began. “Not again Grandpa!”, complained Billy,”you’re always telling us what it was like when you were a kid! We just want to play!” Billy and his fellow cousins mumbled amongst themselves. “My stories might help you one day in life…”, replied Grandpa. Most everyone has listened to stories like this from grandparents about what it was like when they were children, places they’ve traveled, and most importantly mistakes they’ve made. While many of today’s youth take this special privilege for granted, many great life lessons that would benefit the youth when they came upon similar situations. Youth, through shared mistakes in life made by elderly people, can learn which choices are right. To further illustrate, in Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury an elderly woman named Helen Loomis shares experiences of places she has travelled with a young gentlemen. While Helen did not share a mistake, the stories she shares with Bill Forester benefit him because he gets to have experiences that he would never have been able to experience for himself. Youth can have similar benefits to Bill Forester by working with elderly to fight against death.

In addition to being able to make educated decisions, youth can also benefit from working together with the elderly by assisting them. In Mosiah 2:17 of The Book of Mormon, King Benjamin addresses his subjects in the land of Zarahemla saying, “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” Youth have many opportunities to help the elderly and if they were to choose to help they would inherently be serving God. What greater benefit is there than serving God? The answer is none. By helping the elderly the youth would take some of life’s burdens of the backs of these elderly people which could, in time, add months or even years to their life. Whether it be a simple act of kindness, such as helping the elderly person cross the street or giving them a loving hand to hold through hard times, serving them benefits the youth by giving them an opportunity to serve God and to learn the importance of being selfless.

Jake took Grandpa’s words and stories to heart. From now on he would make better choices. From now on he would strive to live life to the fullest potential. He would make live worth living. Just like Jake benefitted from Grandpa’s inspiring stories, youth can also benefit from working with the elderly to “rage against the dying of the light” by learning from elderly people’s experiences and by being selfless in giving service to them.

February 10, 2015

Career Choice Comparative Essay

As I have progressed in school I have found that my skillset leans towards mathematics. My interests have also included topics that include extensive use of computers and technology. That is why I have chosen to consider careers as a Physicist, Architectural Engineer, and Computer Hardware Engineer, all of which include math and computer skills.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.bls.gov 28 October, 2014

The first career that I have considered is physiology which has annual salary of $106,000. This job requires mathematical skills, curiosity, and most importantly, self discipline, due to the fact that the working hours of this profession are very vague, allowing me to make my own hours. The entry level education requirement is a doctoral degree or PhD, which means years of intensive college schooling. I myself am by nature curious and as I have progressed through school have shown an aptitude for mathematical courses, however I do not possess self discipline to an extensive degree. Also I am more well suited for a low education entry level job that would enable me to jump right into the career and then return for schooling when i see fit. The main aspect of this job that caused me to consider it is the fact that It is closely related to astronomy which I have had an interest in since I was given the opportunity to learn more about the profession on a field trip I took in sixth grade to the St. Louis planetarium. The employment rate of this job is to increase ten percent in the next few years which gives me a fair chance of getting into this field of work if I were to choose it.

Another career that have considered is that of a computer hardware engineer which, similar to Physiology, requires intense mathematics skills. However this job does not require strong self discipline. Instead it requires analytical and problem solving skills, which are developed through mathematics and as I stated earlier I am well versed in that field. This profession integrates electrical engineering and computer science has a starting salary of $100,000. I have not always been interested in this field, but over the past two years I have had more and more interaction with computers and I have grown fond of working with them and figuring out how they work and because it requires only a bachelor’s degree, I would be able to jump right into the job and then return for later schooling. The schedule of this job consists of working at a desk with set work hours, generally 7:00am to 7:00pm, which fits my personality due to my weaker self discipline. Overall, This job fits my personality fairly well and has substantial pay with minimal schooling which makes it a very logical choice for my future career.

Another career I have considered is the profession that I have been interested in the longest, which is an architectural engineer. Ever since I was able to speak I’ve talked about becoming an architectural engineer. For some reason I have always been fascinated by the idea of designing and constructing buildings.I recall one moment of my childhood when I would collect bottle caps saying ,”Mommy I’m collecting munnies so I can build you a house!” As I grew I have never faltered in my determination to become an architect and recently had the opportunity to attend an architectural engineering camp at the Texas A&M University where I learned about several different fields of work under this career. While at the camp We also got to put our creativity to the test through a series of projects and assignments. This experience strengthened my resolve to become an architectural engineer.

To become an architectural engineer I would have to have a bachelor’s degree, similar to the computer hardware engineer. This profession is the lowest paying of the three careers with a salary of $73,000, however a Chinese philosopher named Confucius said ,”Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”. This job requires mathematical skills like the other jobs but for additional efficiency I would need to know multiple languages and have analytical skills. Due to the fact that the first available jobs are usually internships for less experienced architects, I would be able to earn my bachelor’s degree and become an intern to pay for future education, creating reduced financial stress, which would be helpful because of my family’s situation. As an intern I would have similar hours to the computer hardware engineer, but once I earned my master’s degree I would be able to create my own hours. This best fits my personality because as an intern I would develop self discipline, through my employers guidance, and then be prepared to make my own hours while still completing projects in the required time period. Even if I were to go to college and find that I do not enjoy the field, there would still be multiple fields I go could go into with my degree. The most prominent of these backup fields include concept design and landscape architecture. Both of these include high amounts of imagination, creativity, and problem solving which fits my interests exquisitely due to the fact that I am constantly doodling and solving riddles.

All of the careers I have considered and studied involve mathematics, analytical, and problem solving skills which are all attributes that I possess. However if I were to choose to devote a large proportion of my life to one of these careers it would most definitely be the architectural engineer due to the fact that it fits my personality best as a problem solver and has the least amount of financial stress. It has also been my passion since I was a small child and I believe that it would satisfying to fulfill a lifelong dream.

November 4, 2014