dissabte, 27 de novembre del 2010
Do you remember "Shall we dance?"
dimecres, 24 de novembre del 2010
MY MAIL
I don’t know exactly how to begin this mail because I want to tell you many things! Perhaps, introducing myself would be a good way to start.
As you should know, my name’s Ariadna Vilà and I’m seventeen years old. I live in Sant Pere Pescador and I have two brothers, the old one is twenty six years old and the little one is only eight. I study in “Ies Castelló d’Empúries” since I was twelve but this will be my last year here. I have enjoyed very much my years spent in this school and I’ve met wonderful people as well.
However, I want you to talk about my future, about my dreams, my purposes…
Last year I was really scared because most of my friends knew exactly what they wanted to study or what they would do in their futures but I couldn’t see clear my way yet. I though that it would be a great problem: time goes very fast and in the twinkling of an eye I would be in a college studying anything which isn’t for me.
I needed ideas, and especially, I had to talk about it with people who were able to help me. This summer I worked in my parents’ restaurant, so I thought very much in my future and I asked my cousins to give me help (they worked with me as well).
Finally, I could see everything clear. The first question anyone can ask you is…What do you like, maths or languages? I have no doubts with it. I love languages and everything related to them. Secondly, I promise myself to study some thing which really cares for me and don’t ever have to be sorry of my decision. It took me few months but now, I know what I’m going to do.
I love languages (learn, speak, write…) they are absolutely my favourite subject but I’m afraid that nowadays “translation and interpretation” career doesn’t have much request. I decided to study “journalism" career. Anyway, my biggest challenge is study languages while I study my career. Obama’s video let me think about my goals, and this is my main goal right now. I know it’ll be a hard work, but if I want to get it I will have to prove I really deserve it.
I’ll try to believe in myself even when things will go wrong. I’ll refuse to give up on myself because now I know that there’s no excuse for not try. In a future, if I want to pay my bills and make my sons proud of their mother I have to work with all my own. It definitely will be a hard struggle, but I’ll do it for me and for my loved ones. Of course, everyone knows that college years are the best time of students’ life, and I’ll enjoy them as much as possible.
I’m sure I’ll have failures, I will be scared of a lot of things and sometimes I will feel that my fight has no sense. But when I finish with everything I’ll be able to look back smiling regretting nothing because every second of my struggle will be worth.
Best wishes,
ARIADNA
xxx
dilluns, 22 de novembre del 2010
A MAN IS KNOWN BY THE COMPANY (THE COUNTRY) HE KEEPS (HE LIVES IN)
Every country has its own traditions. Today I want to compile the most original ones to me. I decided to write them as a Top Ten list, so here I go…
10# In Singapur is illegal chewing gum.
9# In Saudi Arabia is illegal kissing an stranger.
8# Canadian laws band watering the grass when it’s raining. It may sound unbelievable but in Ontario symptoms of affection in the street are forbbiden on Sundays.
7# In Jamaica, people bury their loved ones in the garden and they make them a farewell party. They never weep for the loss of anyone.
6#In Italy you cannot show your driving license if you aren’t able to ride a bike.
5# In Australia is forbidden using pink mini-shorts afer a Sunday morning. People cannot change their light bulps on their own, they have to call an especialist to do it. If they don’t do it they will have to pay a fine. Moreover, in Tasmania is illegal being homosexual.
4# Tailand laws band throwing gum in the street with imprisonments. If you someday go to Tailand, don’t ever lean on a threshold because gods are living there.
3# Chinese people use to blow their nose (even when they don’t need it), burp, fart or pick their nose in front of anyone and with a total lack of consideration.
2# In the U.K. women cannot eat chocolate in a public transport because it’s illegal. It’s forbidden name a pet Queen or Princess without a royal permission as well.
1# U.S. FUNNIEST LAWS:
If you are living in Arizona and you cut a cactus you can be sentenced even 25 years’ imprisonment. In Arkansas men have right to beat their wifes once a month. Dogs’ barkings are also forbidden when it’s after six o’clock. Californian people must have hunting permit if you want to put mousetraps at home. In Colorado is illegal lending the vacuum cleaner. In Massacusetts you cannot eat more than three sanwiches when you’re in a funeral. Michigan women need their husbands permission when they want to cut their hair.
dissabte, 20 de novembre del 2010
THE LOVELY BONES,,
Susie has a common life in general. She goes to school and she has plenty of dreams to come true. From the first moment she seems a happy girl and this happiness always spread everyone around her. Everything is fine but the worst is coming.
Susie has a middle-aged neighbour called George. He’s apparently kind and inoffensive but this is only his external image. He’s actually a dangerous psychopathic and his obsession are the young girls. So, when he feels attraction to a girl like this he kills her and he hides her body. Then, he escapes to another city. He has done it all his life but police haven’t caught him yet. Susie is his neighbour but he never had paid especial attention to her until that day. That day, Susie was riding her bike and taking photos of her neigbour’s George roses. She was there with her parents but no one suspected about George’s behaviour. It was when he got obsessed with Susie. He was every day thinking of her and he finally decided to set her a trap to be able to kill her without arousing suspicions. He spent some weeks preparing his perfect plan. When he had everything done he set his plan in motion. He knew that Susie was really innocent and imaginative so he built a kind of cabin below ground, the perfect place to be completely alone. He also knew that Susie would be there because she always go this way to come back school.
One day he’s waiting for her right there. Susie, at first, doesn’t suspect anything. He tell her he’s bulding a secret cabin for their neibourhood’s children and he looks intrested in let her visit it. Susie thinks this is a wonderful idea but when she gets into it she feels a little scared. She perfectly knows that something isn’t right so she tries to leave. Unfortunately it’s impossible because fear doesn’t let her move. She says she should better come back home and George gets really nervous about it. Susie tries to scape for the last time but George catches her agressively and he kills her. Following this, he hides her body in a strongbox and he leaves it on his house basement. Susie’s parents get desesperate when she doesn’t come home because she’s a very responsible girl. Time goes by but they don’t know who killed their daughter yet. Susie’s family is living the worst days because they don’t have any prove about Susie’s disappearance. Even so Susie’s father Jack begin having suspections about his neighbour because he’s behaving extrangely since Susie has gone. These suspects are rounding his thoughts all day and it causes a matrimonial crises. However, he doesn’t give up and he carries on his investigation.
For his part George realize he can be denounced so he sat a tramp for Jack as well. The only one who has always believed Jack is his other daughter Lindsey. She has grown up and now she’s able to help his father. Then, the neighbour get obsessed with her as well and he’s always following her every where. This is the last reason she needs to realize he has killed her sister. Linsdey doesn’t know exactly how to getting proves but one day she decides to enter at George’s home when he has gone out. There she find articles talking about him and his muderers but unfortunately he comes back in that moment. He discovers her and he tries to kill her in vain because she escapes from him. When he knows he’s going to be arrested he runs away. In another city he tries to kill a girl but he accidentally falls down in a precipice and he dies.
During the film dead Susie is talking about her feelings and thoughts from the Limbo all the time. She shows what happen when we die and it’s really different than the idea of a paradise. Death, as life, is stages. You have to accept that you’re dead to be fine and feel good in dead people’s world but this is not as simple as we believe. Finally, Susie’s story has a happy ending. She accepts her death so she can feel free. Her parents make up they live happily knowing her daughter’s murder has what he deserves.
In my opinon this is a five star film. I don’t have words to describe it. To me, it’s absolutely a wonderful movie. The actors are brilliant and the way to talk about death is really new and touching. I can assure this is one of the best films I’ve ever seen and I recommend it to everyone. Furthermore, it’s really interesting because is a thriller so you never know exactly what is going to happen and when you know it you get scared because you didn’t expect it in that moment. Films like this make us realize that we have not trust anyone because even the most unexpected person can turn out being as Susie’s neighbour. We cannot believe in the appearances because they are usually deceptive. Death’s topic is very outstanding as well. They look at it in a different way and I love it. In fact, Susie’s death is the driving force of the whole story. In conclusion, I enjoyed very much this film and I hope you can enjoy it as well.
Finally, I’ll write my favourite quote of “The Lovely Bones”: “I was in the blue horizon between heaven and earth. The days were unchanging and every night I dream the same dream. The smell of damp earth. The scream no one heard. The sound of my heart beating like a hammer against cloth and I would hear them calling, the voices of the dead. I wanted to follow them to find a way out but I would always come back to the same door. And I was afraid. I knew if I went in there I would never come out”.
AS CRUEL AS A SCHOOL CHILDREN,,
First of all, they watch television many hours and it isn’t very recomendable. Actually, cartoon chanels of these days are made for older kids because they often show violent scenes, inapropriate dialogues, adults’ jokes…and children shouldn’t watch it when they aren’t even ten years old.
However, there are worst things which have the control of kids’ behaviour. The most time-consuming technology is not only television because playstations, nintendoes and computers also have an important role in their lives. Children prefer spending hours and hours in front of a game machine than playing with friends or doing other activities as paiting or drawing. It means our society is making unsocial individuals who are incapable of doing anything on their own because from the first moment they have been depending on a machine.
As I said before kids watch a lot of violence and adults’ behaviour on television and when they’re interacting with other children they use this inapropriate behaviour as well. That’s the reason why nowadays little boys are all day fighting for anything and little girls play being the perfect woman. Anyway, it isn’t worrying when they are in school. It’s in the college where everything absolutely changes. Girls start dressing and making up as they were big women. Moreover, They want to smoke, have a relationship, go out…when they shouldn’t be thinking about it. both boys and girls try to look older bigger than they are.They usually try to copy older people’s behaviour: a famous person, a big brother/sister or a friend. They believe acting like this will bring them happiness and satisfaction but they often became upset because in fact they’re still children. They don’t want to accept it but they’re a child trapped in a teenager’s body.
Influences aren’t really positive at their age. They are living a hard situation because their personality isn’t well-defined yet. So, the great majority of these “big children” has low self-esteem. It makes them confused and insecure and they try to resolve it being accepted for the others. This acception is never easy. Sometimes children can live really traumatic moments when they feel the others’ repulse. Eldest people label children impolite when they just say what they think. In fact, little children still conserve inocence and they don’t say things to hurt people’s feelings; they only say what they heard at home. However, while they’re growing up they often became rude and then, eldest people are right. Now, when they’re a little bigger they say almost everything on porpuse to touch where it can really hurts. This is really dissapointing. Everyone is guilty of it because if we wanted to stop it we would have already done anything.
Unluckily, the problem is getting bigger year after year.
These “different children” are living hell just because they don’t want to be like the rest of children. And it isn’t fair!!! I agree our society is developing very quickly and we are growing up with a lot of information around us every day but it doesn’t justify this behaviour! Bullying victims have traumas, depressions and many more problems for life. Furthermore, in the worst cases they can’t stand and they commit suicide. A lot of children are victims of bullying nowadays and it has to stop soon. We have to teach children being good people, being polite, respecting the others… Our society is in decline and that’s only a little prove. We are living in a world plenty of injustices and it cannot last much more.
I only wish with all my heart justice for these innocent children and I hope those little mosters some day get their deserts. I always believe in karma. So, everything we do will sooner or later come back to us.
diumenge, 14 de novembre del 2010
LET'S TALK ABOUT...OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER
O.C.D. has become the fourth-most-common mental disorder. In the U.S. 1/50 adults suffer from it. Also, there are hundred million O.C. sufferers in the whole world. These people are meticulous, perfectionist, fixated on a cause or on someone/something.
Nowadays, O.C.D. is usually associated with people with higher I.Q. because they have more capacity than the other people to get obsess with something. Their mind is enough strong to think compulsively about certain things, maybe a thousand more times than our mind would do.
O.C. people have repetitive and distressing thoughts which are called OBSESSIONS. Possibly, they do the same over and over again to try to make the thoughts disappear.
These repetitive actions are called COMPULSSIONS. They both interfere in their social life.
These people realize they have a problem. They use to feel guilty or ashamed about their incontrollable behaviour. Sometimes their families want to help them trying to make out the existence of O.C. symptoms or even collaborating in their rituals. Anyway, these are counterproductive actions.
Movies and television often make films or series about O.C.D. They’re aimed to make people aware of the existence of this illness and also try to make them understand and sympathize with the feelings and worries of people who are suffering from it.
My favourite movie about it is “As Good As It Gets” which is starring Jack Nicholson. He’s a magnificent actor so he performs his role perfectly. When we talk about a disease it seems a dramatic thing but this movie is completely the opposite side. They have created a comical story to tell of the experiences and worries of a middle-aged man who is the perfect example of an obsessive compulsive person. At first, everyone hates Nicholson’s character but while you’re watching the film you feel a kind of affection to him because you know that he cannot avoid his behaviour. I think that comedic films are the best way to talk about important things such as O.C.D. because people are able to learn about it and know the good side of the illness as well.
THINGS YOU MUST KNOW ABOUT OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER...
-What is it?
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety disorder.
-O.C.D. is characteristic for its...
OBSESSIONS: Their main obsession is thinking or imaging that someone close to them could die if they don’t perform their habits.
There are also other obsessions: they sometimes believe that someone or something such as God, the Devil or diseases could harm them and their loved ones. Even in some cases they can feel that inanimate objects are alive.
Some people with O.C.D. experience sexual obsessions such as thoughts or images. In their mind they’re performing these actions with strangers, parents, children, friends…They can include contents of any sexual orientation with persons of any age. When an O.C. person is thinking about or imaging this can have obsessive fears and can live a crisis of sexual identity.
COMPULSIONS: They inexplicably feel they have to perform compulsive rituals. However, they believe that acting compulsively can sometimes mitigate their particular obsessive thoughts. Some common compulsions include specific things such as foot steps in specific ways and doing other repetitive actions.
This illness is common in males and females. It often begins in the late teens for males and in the earlier twenties for females. However, some people begin having obsessive compulsive symptoms when they’re only a child.
-Causes:
Investigators believe that brain circuits may not work properly in people with O.C.D. It can be hereditary as well.
-Possible symptoms…
-Repetitive hand washing
-Extensive hoarding
-Preoccupation with sexual or aggressive impulses
-Preoccupation with particular religious beliefs
-Aversion to odd numbers
-Excessive skin picking
-Excessive hair plucking
-Excessive nail biting
They also can have atypical habits such as:
-Open and close a door certain number of times before they enter or leave a room
-Turn lights on and off
-Touch objects a certain number of times before leaving a room...
All these symptoms can be alienating. Moreover, these routines can be really time-consuming so they can cause instability and extreme preoccupation. These obsessions are not only temporally, they have to perform them every day. In short, O.C.D. can control a person’s life.
Many people can have these symptoms but an obsessive compulsive person feels he has to perform these irrational compulsions to avoid feelings of panic or dread.
-Is there any cure for this illness?
Treatments which combine medication and therapy are often effective. There are also a lot of people investigating about its causes and trying to find new therapies.
SOME EXTRA INFORMATION….
-Sometimes O.C.D. can be diagnosed with other mental diseases as anorexia nervosa or major depressive disorder.
-Patients with this disorder use to hid their symptoms a lot of time.
-Different types of O.C.D. :
• Washers and cleaners: These are people who eat away obsessions related to contamination by certain objects or situations.
• Repeaters: are those individuals who insist on the execution of repetitive actions.
• Computers: These are people who demand that things around them are prepared in accordance with certain strict guidelines, including symmetric distributions.
• Batteries: collect objects insignificant, which can not discard.
• Mental ritualized, tend to appeal to repetitive thoughts or images, called mental compulsions in order to counteract their anxiety-provoking ideas and images, which are the obsessions.
• Paragraphs: searching for meaning to the numbers around them, summing, subtracting, and changing them until a significant number given to them.
• Philosophers: With trends somewhat uncertain. They live in a metaphysical process that can not discard.
• Tormented and pure obsessive: experience repeated negative thoughts that are uncontrollable and quite disturbing. However, unlike those who suffer other types of OCD behaviors are not delivered to repetitive physical, but mental processes only repetitive.
• Sex: recurrent sexual thoughts cover all the particularities and sexual behaviors, such as unfounded ideas about having sexual dysfunction or may not be desirable.
• Sexual Orientation: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is referred specifically to doubts, compulsions fixed ideas about homosexuality.