My Favorite Place

Richmond Beach was my spiritual hangout in my childhood. It is a rocky beach in the city of Richmond
Beach, which can be accessed by a long downhill drive (by car or bicycle) from the city of Edmonds. Or,
as I did often, took the 30-minute walk from my house to the calm waters through a tranquil stroll through
the woods of Woodway. It used to be a place inhabited by Native Americans, but now it is occupied by
mostly Caucasian people. However, a totem pole stands in tribute to the tribes that used to call the beach
home. It has a vast property, with a beach, a playground, two upper lawns for the view and recreation,
myriad “secret” trails along the clay hillsides, picnic areas, and a square where people can walk around,
take an outdoor rinse-shower after a swim, and benches for the spectacular view.

With the sagebrush, chattering birds, train tracks, the croak of frogs, wind, herons, various shells,
a cave along the beach, and a fantastic view of the Olympic Mountains, Richmond Beach is at
once ordinary and extraordinary. Being there brings you into another state, in which you want to
introspect, be calm, and be positive.

In high school, I was not a very social person. I did not have so many friends, and I did not feel like I
belonged in a group most of the time. But when I went to Richmond Beach, these worries were left
behind. It seemed like a mystical place to me, and in a way, it still does.

I would walk to various places on the beach: a secret cave in the clay hills on the left, the train tracks that
lead all the way from Seattle to Chicago, the mass of sagebrush where the melody of birds made for a
serene scene, and of course the beach itself, which was scattered with shells, tide pools, crabs, seals,
driftwood, remnants of parties, and more.

The passing trains always attracted me there as well. My first word was “choo choo,” since the first three
years of my life was near a train station in the Greenlake area of Seattle. So, I had a calling towards trains
since my birth. Walking the tracks, I would meet interesting people, learn to know when trains were
coming through the vibration and singing of the rails, and would be immersed in a world with a forest on
one side and the Puget Sound and the other. This combination of forest and ocean was enchanting, and
captured my imagination.

I wrote many poems about this place, and have been continually inspired by the atmosphere there. In
fact, my poetry has developed largely at Richmond Beach. No where else have I written so many poems
—except perhaps on public transport. I started writing lyrical and narrative poetry around 11 years of age,
and have continued since. For the past few years, I have been writing almost exclusively haiku. A lot of
my haiku is inspired by the nature of Richmond Beach, how I relate to it spiritually, and by the people who
used to occupy that land—as I feel a special connection with Native Americans.

It seems that Richmond Beach is one of those places that no matter how bad you feel, you will leave
feeling soothed and renewed. It is like therapy just to walk around, feel the ionic breeze of the Puget
Sound, smell the seaweed and moisture, hear the variety of birds singing, listen to the crashing of
moderate waves, witness the sailboats and other boats on the water, take in the Olympic mountains in all
their glory, see people enjoying themselves on the beach, the whistle and trucking of a distant train, and
feel the sand on the soles of your feet, melding into each other with each step. It is a whole therapeutic
package.

It will be hard to ever forget Richmond Beach. It is now intertwined in my poetry, childhood, spiritual life,
family life, romantic memories, and even the passing of my father, whose ashes was spread there. So,
whenever I visit Richmond Beach, all of these elements rest in my mind and soul. There are other places
that stir my imagination and supply me with sentimental rushes, but Richmond Beach is at the top of my
list. https://academichelp.net/samples/academics/essays/descriptive/my-favorite-place.html
How the Harry Potter Series Became So Popular

The Harry Potter series, written by J.K. Rowling, is perhaps the most popular set of novels of the modern
era. With seven books and many blockbuster films to its name, the series has amassed about 15 billion
dollars in sales. How did this phenomenon become what it is? For those scratching their heads, the
reason can be broken down into several areas: Rowling garnered a generous initial contract for her book,
separate book covers were created for both teens and adults, midnight releases/promotions/pre-orders
made the public more fanatic about the series, and fan blogs were rampant. In fact, these are just a few of
the main reasons why the Harry Potter took off the way it did.

The first book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” was rejected 12 times
before it was picked up by Bloomsbury—a small publisher in England. At the time, Rowling was
living on benefits as a single mother, so receiving this contract was her first step to success. However,
getting a book contract does not ensure the success of a book. The story was adored by children and
adults alike, and this had much to do with the popularity of the initial book and the series as a whole
(Rappaport, Sarah).

In light of this, her publisher made separate covers for young readers and adults. According to
BusinessInsider.com, “Adults love reading the Harry Potter books, but few want to be seen toting around
a child’s book. To make it easier for adults, Bloomsbury Publishing, the British publishing house that first
bought the rights to Rowling’s books, published a second version of the books with “adult” (i.e., less
colorful and more boring) book covers” (Aquino, Judith). This made it easier for a full range of ages to
enjoy the series. This is not an easy feat for young adult fiction.

Another factor that worked like a charm was that when the Harry Potter series became an obvious
success, the publisher, and Rowling herself through her own website for the books, conducted midnight
releases, special promotions, and pre-ordering to engage readers even more. According to
BusinessInsider.com, “Starting with the fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, crowds of people
wearing black robes, ties and round-frame glasses began showing up at bookstores for midnight release
parties in 2000. Customers who feared their local bookstore would run out of copies responded by pre-
ordering over 700,000 copies prior to the July 8, 2000 release date, according to Gunelius. The seventh
and final book in the Harry Potter series became the fastest-selling book in history, reports The New York
Times, with more than 11 million copies sold during the first 24 hours in three markets alone” (Aquino,
Judith). The fandom around the books created more lucrative opportunities for the series.

Also, based on fans, blogs were created that were dedicated to the story, details, plot, characters, and
much more about the series. In the beginning, Rowling did not have too much in the way of advertising,
and the fans did a lot of work for her. According to HubSpot, “The fans took over and created many viral
campaigns on her behalf talking about the excitement they had over upcoming releases. Harry Potter is
often a trending topic on Twitter, Facebook events and page are abundant and thousands of bloggers
create posts on their behalf. These promotions are more genuine because they come from the source,
the fans, instead of the person who makes a profit” (Leist, Rachel). This organic advertising propelled the
Harry Potter novel series into being the most successful one ever.

Now that Rowling has sold millions of copies of her Harry Potter books and has seen each one adapted
into films, merchandise, fan art, and more, we can safely say that this series is a global phenomenon.
Through an initial contract, advertising for both teens and adults, special releases and parties, and
organic advertising from fans via the internet, Harry Potter and his universe took over as the most
successful bestselling book of all time.

https://academichelp.net/samples/academics/essays/cause-effect/harry-potter-series-became-
popular.html
How to Cook Rice

Cooking rice does not seem that complicated. However, there are so many different ways to prepare it.
Each culinary tradition has varying methods on how to cook rice to perfection. For this process essay, we
will focus on three ways of preparing the best rice possible. The differences between the methods might
seem minuscule, but the taste is vastly different with each method. We will explore Gordon Ramsay’s
style of preparing rice, the magazine Fine Cooking’s method, and Martha Stewart’s way of preparing it.

Gordon Ramsay is one of the most famous chefs in the world. He is popular on television and for his
restaurants. Ramsay is also known for being a great teacher. He makes videos on how to prepare
relatively simple dishes, such as rice. His method of cooking is as follows: 1) Get 400 grams of rice
(preferably basmati). 2) Use cold water to rinse the dust and starch from the rice. 3) Place the rice in a
pan. Add some cardamom pods (broken open), star anise, salt, and pepper. 4) Add one and a half part
cold water. 5) Get the lid on, bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to let it steam for about 8-10 minutes.
6) Keep the lid on throughout the steaming process. 7) Get the cardamom pods and star anise out, and
use a fork to separate the rice a bit by running the fork through the rice a few times. 8) The rice is ready to
be served (Shukla, Pragati). This recipe makes for a fragrant and downright delicious basmati rice
dish. Serving curry on top of this rice adds to its tastiness.

Next up, the magazine Fine Cooking has its own take on cooking white rice. Though basmati is the king
of rice, white rice can be tasty as well. According to Fine Cooking, to prepare the perfect white rice, these
are the steps: 1) Rinse the rice a few times in cold water to remove starch, talc, and to make it less sticky.
You can also opt for soaking the rice for 30 minutes. 2) Add water to the rice in a pan. “As a general rule,
use 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 cups of water per cup of long-grain white rice, but you may need to experiment a little
to find the amount you like best. Keep in mind that more water gives you softer, stickier rice—great for
stir-fries. Less water results in firmer rice, a good style for rice salads” (King, Niloufer). 3) Put the pan of
rice on gentle heat with a tight-fitting pot lid. 4) Let the rice cook and steam for about 12 minutes. By this
time, the water should have been absorbed into the rice and the rice should be firm. 5) Have the rice sit
off the heat with the lid on for 5-30 minutes. This allows all the layers of the rice to be as fluffy as the rest,
as the moisture redistributes. This may not be as tasty Ramsay’s rice, but it ensures that the rice is
uniform and fluffy (King, Niloufer).

Lastly, we have Martha Stewart’s recommended method of cooking rice. She also has a recipe for
cooking white rice. Her style of making rice is quite simple. It also does not have much seasoning,
besides salt. The process of making this variety of rice does not have many steps: 1) Bring 1/ ½ cups of
water to a boil in an average pan. 2) Stir in 1 cup of long-grain white rice and ½ teaspoon of salt, and
bring it to a boil again on medium-high heat. 3) Take down the heat to make the rice simmer. Cover the
pan. 4) Cook the rice for about 16 to 18 minutes, until the rice is tender and all the water is gone. 5) Take
it away from the heat and allow it to steam while covered for 10 minutes. 6) Run a fork through the rice to
fluff it up. 7) Now it is ready to be served (“Perfect White Rice”).

https://academichelp.net/samples/academics/process-papers/how-to-cook-rice.html
 Conversation Confidence

       Conversations happen everywhere: work, school, church, stores, dates, and even the gym.
Conversations are such a common part of daily life that people often don’t think about how difficult they
can be, or the anxiety they can cause, if all of these conversations are happening in another language.
Many international students avoid participating in conversations, especially with native speakers of
English. This avoidance is a serious problem for international students who study English because
participating in conversations is crucial for developing their language skills. Avoiding conversations can
also cause international students to struggle making friends and make them feel more isolated. While it is
natural to feel nervous about participating in conversations, international students need to find ways to be
more confident in their ability to participate in a conversation. International students can choose from
various solutions to stop avoiding conversations and feel more confident.

       One solution for students to develop more conversational confidence is to learn about current,
relevant news. Many international students don’t join conversations because they aren’t sure what to talk
about or what other people would be interested in. The Internet makes it very easy to find out what
everyone else in the community is talking about; with this knowledge, students can be prepared for
conversations because they know what people are generally talking about and can even look up the
vocabulary words they need. Students can start this preparation by following a university’s social media
pages or listening to locallyproduced news. Learning about current events is an easy way to be ready for
a casual conversation.

       Students can also prepare for common conversational topics if they want to be more active
participants in conversations. While almost every conversation is different, there are some things that
come up frequently, and those topics can be practiced. For example, many people might ask international
students about their family, their country, their job, their reason for studying English, or their hobbies.
Students can practice responding to these types of questions while they are working or preparing dinner
by talking to themselves. As topics come up in conversations that they are not able to speak about, they
can add those topics to their list to practice. By thinking about and practicing responses to common
conversational questions, international students can have more confidence to participate in
conversations.

       Another way to feel more confident is by listening to conversations. This solution helps students hear
how native speakers start (or end) a conversation, as well as how they change topics. Examples of
conversations that are easy to find include television shows. These shows, especially if they can be
paused and replayed, can be helpful because there is no pressure for the student to participate in the
conversation or to understand everything the first time. Other conversations that are easy to watch
happen in news broadcasts between the featured stories. These conversations are a little more formal
than conversations in TV shows, which can be an advantage because students can observe the
similarities and differences between casual and more formal conversations. This listening practice can
really help students overcome any anxiety about participating in conversations.

       A final way to overcome the habit of avoiding conversations is to refine language skills and prepare
questions. By improving their vocabulary, fluency, grammar, and pronunciation, students will not only be
more confident in conversations, but they will look forward to them as an opportunity to practice. Many
students are hesitant to speak because they do not want to make mistakes, so by refining their language,
they can reduce that concern. However, students should not wait until their language is perfect before
they speak. An easy way to start is to listen to questions that people ask and create some grammatically
correct questions to ask in a conversation. These questions can be practiced and memorized to make
sure the language is correct. With these questions and continued improvement in their language skills,
international students can be more actively involved in conversations.
       In conclusion, students have many options to solve the problem of avoiding conversations. Choosing
to work through one of these solutions will help students improve their English skills and help them build
stronger relationships with others. They will be able to take advantage of the time they spend studying in
the United States. Since conversations are part of everyday life and can’t be entirely avoided, it is better
to conquer the fear through preparation than to limit self-expression. Whether students are talking to a
supervisor, a classmate, a roommate, or a date, they will feel empowered to be better conversational
partners.
Communication: Yesterday and Today

Before the advent of computers and modern technology, people communicating over long distances used
traditional means such as letters and the telephone. Nowadays we have a vast array of communication
tools which can complete this task, ranging from email to instant messaging and video calls. While the
present and previous means of communication are similar in their  general form, they differ in regard to
their speed and the range of tools available.

One similarity between current and previous methods of communication relates to the form of
communication. In the past, both written forms such as letters were frequently used, in addition to oral
forms such as telephone calls. Similarly, people nowadays use both of these forms. Just as in the past,
written forms of communication are prevalent, for example via email and text messaging. In addition, oral
forms are still used, including the telephone, mobile phone, and voice messages via instant messaging
services.

However, there are clearly many differences in the way we communicate over long distances, the most
notable of which is speed. This is most evident in relation to written forms of communication. In the past,
letters would take days to arrive at their destination.  In contrast, an email arrives almost instantaneously
and can be read seconds after it was sent. In the past, if it was necessary to send a short message, for
example at work, a memo could be passed around the office, which would take some time to circulate.
This  is different from the current situation, in which a text message can be sent immediately.

Another significant difference is the range of communication methods. Fifty years ago, the tools available
for communicating over long distances were primarily the telephone and the letter. By comparison, there
are a vast array of communication methods available today. These include not only the telephone, letter,
email and text messages already mentioned, but also video conferences via software such as Skype or
mobile phone apps such as WeChat, and social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

In conclusion, methods of communication have greatly advanced over the past fifty years. While there are
some similarities, such as the  forms of communication, there are significant differences, chiefly in relation
to the  speed of communication  and the  range of communication tools available. There is no doubt that
technology will continue to progress in future, and the advanced tools which we use today may one day
also become outdated.