Pretend you are a person standing on a bridge, looking down into the swift moving waters 20 feet below. Your hands are tied behind your back, the wrists bound with a cord. A rope closely encircles your neck ---

The first thought that would be running through my mind would be 'How did I get into this mess?'. I'd reflect on how I had been caught, tied up and pushed to the edge of the bridge and regret what I had done to get there and think of what I could have done differently. I would be struggling to escape but being very careful as any misstep could be the misstep of doom.

Then I would relax a little and hopefully try to get my captors to lower their guard somewhat. My thoughts would probably be frantic and running through my head a million times faster than normal. My heart would be racing and I would panic and think of the people that I love the most. My family in Malaysia, my host family in America, all my best friends that I would never see again and immediately feel guilt for not catching up to them more often and for not thinking of them first before thinking about my impending death,

I would then think of my bucket list and all my regrets along with all the things I had not done which I had wished to do. I'd start my last attempt at struggling and praying. I'd regret not going to church more, not reading the bible more and wondering whether Saint Peter would let me in at the gates of heaven. I'd pray the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory be and hope.

Thoreau explains his aim to live a simple life. Write about your goals for living. Thoreau uses details that show his goals and values. Be sure that your details reflect your values in life as well.

It's hard to think about and state a fixed idea about what an eighteen year old wants to do with her life. Despite some teenagers fully knowing what field they want to step into, I am still undecided. My generic goals however would be to protect the innocent and help them. To me, I would like to be a veterinarian and then go into conservation because I believe that the human race has been entrusted to take care of the less intelligent and sentient beings which we are not necessarily doing. At the same time,  I do have a musical background and I do not want to abandon that. Rather, I would like to use it to becomes musical therapist for both animals and humans. Helping people and animals to see the right path is my goal.

For some reason, the sense and self satisfaction of helping others seems deeply rooted in me and though we should help others without receiving anything, though I do feel conflicted at times, this is what I believe I should do with my life and what my goals are. I do believe that everyone is on Earth for a purpose and that though we all choose are own destiny, it is predestined for us. Everyone has a part in this world and hopefully positive goals and values will reach it.

What are some modern conveniences that we take for granted in our lives? Do we really need these items? Explain.

Two moden conveniences that I believe we really take for granted are electricity and water board systems. Particularly, when I came to America and the snow storm hit, people I was staying with at that time just started complaining and would not stop until the power came on 24 hours later. Some people only had electricity 5 days later and others are used to power black-outs in Malaysia and also India. For one full day, hardly anyone in Krygyzstan can have electricity.

In terms of the water board system, granted that it would only be cold water pumping out of the system, complaints never stopped. I find myself thinking hat if we are so dependent on electrical appliances even for entertainment then where are we? Can we not play outsideor amuse ourselves with board games? Must we watch movies while draining laptop battery power?

Granted that electricity is necessary to do work and a lot of companies are fully dependent or almost fully dependent on electricity, we take for granted that these items are not really necessities but wants that sometimes might not be fulfilled. Are we so useless that at every loss of a want would cause us to be babies and whine for the next day and a half till we get electricity back? Is it not obvious then that we cannot control the weather, when the next snowstorm or tornado will come or even how much global warming can affect our lives as we see it today.

In what ways do people today still struggle with tensions between individuality and conformity?

Whether people are young or old, people of all ages still struggle with self-actualization and discovery of whether they prefer to be a unique individual or to conform with the rest of the crowd. As a younger child and a teenager, it is particularly hard to not conform as everyone wants to accepted and to fit in with the crowd. They struggle with the way they dress, how they talk and whether or not they study or even have cell phones. This is why it is so important to have a select group of good friends that have acceptable behavior at a young age, because young people are so impressionable.

As young people grow up, the tendency is to be independent and people struggle with what they feel are chains or bars drawn up by their parents to protect them. It is then that there is danger of being a rebel is greatest. As an adult, people still struggle with tensions whether they should dress proper and look presentable at the workplace even when they hate the way that they have to dress.

It depends on each individual as they continue to grow to choose which they prefer. Standing out is not easy and one can get mercilessly teased for being different. One would have to have a thick skin and be a strong-willed person. Being a person who prefers to conform with others, is a lot easier and to fit in the crowd, to not be teased or bullied is a good thing, but if a sense of individuality is strong, then one would find it hard to conform. I would suggest that life can be hard and though it may be hard to conform or not to conform, individuals should pick their own path because of what they want and not because it is a path that someone else pushes them on.

In what ways do individuals make a difference in our society?

Individuals can change the course of our world. Despite, some people's pessimistic views that individual cannot change history, individuals can and have done so. Some of the most notable ways that individuals have made a difference in our society include people active in the gay rights movement, the civil rights movement, in the abolition movement and others. Individuals advocate for certain minorities in our society making life better for them and also opening up the rest of society's eyes to the change that needs to occur.

For example, despite Abraham Lincoln being a poor farmer and later selling newspaper, he gave himself an education, became the President of the United States of America and also put an end to slavery, winning the Civil War and issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. Though he was assassinated, he managed to be instrumental in changing society's perception of African-Americans and this is one way in which individuals can change the world.

Other notable ways include being an athlete be it in sports or through dancing. Amy Purdy, a double amputee who won a bronze medal in this year's Paralympics in Sochi, is on the popular show Dancing With The Stars and is constantly inspiring others that people can do anything and at is one way in which people can change the world.

Novels, newspapers and music can also change the world. The song, 'We are the world' raised awareness for the poor and the homeless, newspapers have published articles about poverty in Africa, novels, though some are fiction, have been prominent in society including Ralph Emerson's.

There is no fixed way in which an individual can make their impact in the world but each individual has his or her own trademark and everyone makes a difference be it influencing the masses or a small group of people.

How much power do ours gmail institutions (church, gov etc) have in our society? Support with specific examples.

Depending on the size of the community or population be it in a metropolitan area or a town area, only then can we determine or form opinions of how much power a particular institution has. For example, in a small community, a church would have more power in not only convincing more percentage of the population to conform to the beliefs of that church but also in running activities and volunteer work which citizens of that area would participate in. Same goes for the government as it is more likely that more people participate in government activities or go to government run events as there are less activities to pick from.

In a metropolitan or big city area such as New York City or Massachusetts, there would be many more churches, government activities and also more non-governmental organizations. The percentage of people adhering to those formal institutions lifestyle or recognizing that power over them is slimmer.

Having said that, delegated powers and reserved powers have a big impact and influence and power in our society. States power include schools which determine the education of the younger generation. Though parents are widely acknowledged as the teachers and role models for children, due to peer pressure and school children as friends, lots of children get influenced by friends. Therefore the environment and discipline in schools are elements that are vital and have a lot of power over the society.

Formal institutions also have the power to block or edit movies and sites that are deemed inappropriate. Though these institutions are more active in Asian societies such as China and Malaysia, this still occurs in more liberal societies particularly in ratings for movies in cinemas. Though American societies are far more liberal and allow religion-based channels which differ from countries such as Malaysia where religion is considered a sensitive issue, lots of shows are regulated.

Other such examples include organizations that regulate medicine, food and prices for goods such as sugar, salt, oil and others in some countries. Singapore also has a policy in which the government can delegate more money towards families that have more than one child and offer benefits for those families. On the flip side, China maintains its strict one-child policy.

Depending on the amount of power agreed by the people in a democracy to offer the government or how much power a dictator takes in the social contract theory, this will determine the amount of power that a formal institution has over the people. Though the power may be by law in terms of the government or a given power in the case of the Vatican and preachers, all power is envied, respected and coveted and this power is used carefully so as not to abuse it.

Melville's character, Captain Ahab, is determined to the point of obsession. While Americans tend to admire persistence, can one be too determined?

The definition of persistence by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is that persistence is the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people. On the other hand, obsession is defined as a state in which someone thinks about someone or something constantly or frequently especially in a way that is not normal. There is a clear difference between the meaning of these two words as is evident by the definitions.

Persistence is continuing to try to overcome hard obstacle, to do a hundred sit-ups or to run four miles consistently under 10 minutes but there is a point where persisting too much can be considered obsession. Though it is difficult to draw the yardstick and there may be many gray areas that vary from individual to individual, usually one can be considered obsessed with doing something if it is constantly on their mind and they practically drop everything for one person or one thing.

One can be too determined when one starts losing sleep over track training or not doing their homework in order to beat their personal best. If everything one thinks about is track track track and they cease to have a life outside of track then that can be considered obsession. Though it is good to have determination and while many agree that one needs determination in order to succeed, it ceases to be positive determination and becomes something negative like obsession if one is not careful.

Obsession over studies, spotting, is not good neither is obsession over weight which causes individuals to begin to have eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. Many negative effects can happen because of too much determination so while it is a good thing, we should be careful to not go overboard.