<p>Please comment on these two essays and rate them on a scale of 1 to 12 Thanks!</p>
<p>Can people achieve success only if they aim to be perfect?</p>
<p>To many people, including myself at one point in my life, attaining perfection is the ultimate reward and a symbol of success. For an ex-perfectionist like me, anything less than perfect is just plain unacceptable. However, in recent years, my view began to change. I realized that the definition of success varies from person to person and in my case, from time to time. I have come to the revelation that success does not mean one has to be perfect, nor does being perfect mean that one is successful. </p>
<p>My view on success and perfectionism began to change about two years ago, when I was preparing for a national piano competition. I remember that I would lock myself in my basement and practice without a break for hours at a time. I knew that I had to deliver the best performance of my life in order to win. To me at that time, best meant perfect; every note had to be exquisitely executed and there could not be a single note that was out of tune. Despite my hard work, I was unable to play every note beautifully and correctly. In the end, I lost the competition. I was dumbfounded. Why did I lose? What went wrong? For months, I was so hurt and depressed because of my inability to claim the national title. I pondered so many questions in my mind over and over. Gradually, as I grew older, I came to terms with my loss. I realized that just because I lost the competition, which in some people mind means I failed to attain success, does not mean that I was unsuccessful. I did the best job possible at the time, and that is enough for me to call it success. </p>
<p>This experience showed me that there are many different kinds of success. Sometimes, to certain people, success means being perfect and delivering the perfect performance. However, that is not the only type of success. Sometimes, doing your best and giving everything you have in a performance, which might not be necessarily erfect in some people mind, is also a type of success. To me, this personal success can provide so much more satisfaction and is often more meaningful and lasting than a mere award. </p>
<p>Do changes that make our lives easier not necessarily make them better?</p>
<p>Although some people might argue that technological changes have helped to improve the quality of our lives, I still believe that these so called mprovements do not necessarily make our lives better.</p>
<p>The beginning of the 20th century was a time of sweeping change. Many beneficial social aspects of everyday life were either negatively modified, or worse, completely erased. For example, with many new inventions, such as the light bulb, people were able to work for longer hours, thus increasing productivity, but decreasing the number of hours people had with their families. The typical proletarian male figure of the household would work for more than twelve hours a day and six days a week, which left about only a few hours of time for him to interact with his kids and wife. As a result, the traditional, close family structure was destroyed; many parents could not maintain a nurturing environment for their children due to the limited amount of time they spent with their children. </p>
<p>Furthermore, technological changes have aversely affected our environment. The advent of modern factories has lead to an unprecedented problem-pollution. Coal factories emit harmful substances such as nitrogen dioxide into the atmosphere, which creates a blanket-like layer around the planet that blocks heat from escaping the surface of the earth. Trapped heat in turn causes global warming, seriously altering the climate and weather patterns. Erratic climate and weather patterns not only lead to drought, but more seriously, they can cause starvation and the deaths of many people. </p>
<p>Also, in the last 50 years or so, scientists have utilized state-of-the-art technology to create powerful and destructive nuclear weapons that are able to destroy planet earth many times over. The tragedies in Nagasaki and Hiroshima are good examples of the harm our eneficial technology could cause. As many as 400, 000 people died as a result of radiation from the atomic bomb. Many people today still suffer from the trauma of the experience; the grandsons and granddaughters of the survivors of that day are also at the risk of inheriting mutated genes and are more likely to suffer from cancer later on. </p>
<p>These are just a few examples of the harm modern technology has brought to human kind. All things considered, technology that sometimes makes our lives easier has serious setbacks, and does not necessarily improve our lives.</p>