MY FINAL POST,,

I don't know exactly how to begin this post because I know it will be the last one, so I don't want to forget anything important to say!

First of all, I have to say that it has been a year of a lot of changes for me in any sense. Personally, some old feelings have sprouted new shoots in me and now I know for sure that I'm completely incapable to leave them behind. Regarding my studies I've lived the most stressful year of my life! I had exams almost every week and also projects such as the endless research project. Nevertheless, there's just one thing which always remains wonderful to me: my family and my best friends! I'm a brave girl but without them I couldn't handle so many things! Don't take me wrong, I'm able to overcome any trouble on my own but if I hadn't them by my side I wouldn't have grounds for keep on fighting.

So, after telling you a little bit of my life I'm focusing on English subject. Well, what can I say about English? I adore it! When I have to do some homework from other subjects I probably found it quite boring but when I have to do something in English it doesn't took a lot of effort to me because I really love it.

Furthermore, this year our studies of English have been really gratifying! We've been practising English in any possible way: with listenings of any topic; writings from formal letters to news of nowadays facts; videos such as the Obama's speech (which I really liked), films, exercises photocopies and many more things...In my opinion all those things have been useful to everyone in class.

Nevertheless, I could realize that in my class there were many different levels of English. So, although our teacher tried to teach us all the necessary things to learn English and to get a good mark on Selectivitat as well she also had to reduce class level. I think it's fair, it's the plain truth, but maybe I'd liked to learn many more difficult things or, for example, do more listenings such the videos we saw in class.

However, I love my class and my classmates! So English classes were both educational and enjoyable! I really had a good time in all those hours! I also like our English teacher very much because she's always a positive woman and she's always saying that she believes in us, so she gives us straight one way or another.

As I said before, I love English so I'm always trying to learn a little bit more of it! For example, when I'm at home I watch many TV series in English with subtitles. I wish I was able someday to understand them without this little help! Anyway, I learn very much doing it by the time! Now, I just have finished my favourite ones and I'm looking forward to see new episodes! I don't know if you like them, but my favourite TV series nowadays are “The Big Bang Theory”, “Desperate Housewives” and “Sex and the City”. Woooooow, they're so amazing! With the first one I've learnt many jokes, play on words and especially how to say sarcastic sentences! With the second one I've learnt many more things such as phrasal verbs as “Knock it off”, “Don't get me wrong”, or also new sentences to me such as “How you dare?”, “I really mean it” or “Are you bribing me?”. Finally form the third one I've learnt lots of things which can be useful to conversations or writings, but I also learnt things which I should never use in a formal conversation or in my school homework. Moreover, I watch videos, films, reports, I read news and blogs...but what I like the most are songs! I love to learn all the lyrics of the songs I like and then understand what they mean. It seems a nonsense, but most of the words or sentences I use in my writings come from songs I've heard.

I think that's the reason why I like to do an English blog! I believe it is a good way to show our knowledge and also, even if we don't realize about it, our true feelings! Last year I spent so many hours writing my blog! But I swear I truly enjoyed every one of them! I talked about happiness, about life's sense, about love (I think I did it many times), about beauty and our society, about famous characters who I really admire... Unfortunately, this year our blog should be focus on real facts. I'm not trying to say that it wasn't a good idea...quite the opposite! It supposed a great effort to me so I think that I unconsciously leave my personal life apart to be able to understand other people's life or other facts which are completely alien to me. I'm a very sensitive person and for me it's almost impossible hide my feelings or my thoughts. However, I know that in a future, when I grow up and I finally get a job I will have to leave my feelings aside frequently, so it has been a very gratifying experience to me!

Lastly, I can't complain of anything but the time! If only I hadn't got so many exams and homework I could have done a wonderful job! Time went flying so I tried to do my best although when it seemed impossible. In any case, I'm quite proud of all the work I've done during all these year and I truly believe that anything of what I've done has been in vain! I made the most of my time to get a nice result and I think I almost get one of my main objectives!

This is it, Batxillerat is finally over and I'll miss so much all the things I've lived these wonderful two years! I just don't know what else to say, I just can tell you that there are so many feelings mixed in my stomach right now! I suppose they are nerves, joy, worries...which are always with me when I'm feeling both happy and lost with so many new things to come...!

LIFE IS WONDERFUL,,

"It's time to come together. What's important is not what's gone, but what remains"

There’s a lot of meaning in that sentence.

Nowadays, our world is evolving very quickly and it seems that we aren’t able to stop it. We human have created television when the only way of being aware of the world’s news was the radio; we have created computers and mobile phones to be able of communicate with everyone we want, no matter how far is that person from us; we have created a lot of ways of producing electricity because in the beginning the only light human could enjoy was the sun light; we also have discovered petrol, which is all the automobile’s fuel, we have discovered golden, diamonds… and we have created coins and bills, which are known as money, as a way to exchange products.

We can assure that the world has been unbelievably changed thanks to human’s innovations. But my great question is…are all this innovations something positive? Have we changed the world for good or for ill?

If we stop thinking for a while we would realize that there are in the world many proofs which show the damaging caused by human on Earth. We have built countless industries around the world during all these years and these industries give off great quantities of toxic residues up to our atmosphere. As a result of this, in Australia there’s already a hole in the ozone layer. Furthermore, our automobiles’ combustible generates also toxic fumes which become a great contribution to our world’s pollution. Pollution especially affects the big cities, and nowadays if you go to any capital or big city in the world you will realize that there is not much fresh air in there. You also will see that people who lives there walks in a stressful way, eats fast and doesn’t pay much attention to the things which really matter in life such as relationships or our health.

I know that it may sound alarming, but those are the harsh facts. Moreover, we cannot forget the injustices and inequalities which exist around the world. Rich countries have granted privileges themselves and have taken over the entire world’s source of income. So, even if they’re going through bad times they know for sure they will be helped by any other privileged country. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of poor countries are obligated to resign themselves to living a situation completely opposite. They have to work plenty of hours for the minimum wage which is used to be the half or one third of the rich countries’ minimum wage. In addition, the great majority of them work in deplorable conditions and live in unsteady constructions.

Well, those are only some of the world’s differences between classes and/or countries. That’s the reason why I think that from now on we should leave our differences aside and we should fight together for what joins us and makes us equal: OUR WORLD. There cannot be the slightest doubt that everyone of us knows that we cannot get it if we just keep looking for our own good.

Therefore, there’s only a possible solution. We have damaged enough the environment with our selfish behaviour and now it’s time to take care of it. There are still a lot of things to do and we still have the chance of return the world anything it deserves to preserve its original beauty. If we act properly we will save a lot of species in extinction, we will preserve more quantities of water, we will reduce pollution so we will contribute in the conservation of the Poles or finally enjoy of fresh air…

Unfortunately, this act involves a great work for our part. Furthermore, it also involves a lot of money (for example: if we want to make the world a better place we have to use renewable energy and it needs a lot of economic help) and especially each one’s completely unselfish will. This is it. So, as the saying goes: IF THERE’S A WILL, THERE’S A WAY.

MY TOP 10 FAMOUS DEATHS: MURDERS, SUICIDES AND COLD CASES,, (PART 2)

6# LADY DI

Diana Frances Spencer was the adorable Princess of Gales. She was known as Lady Di.
Diana was born into an old, aristocratic English family with royal ancestry and she was Prince Charles’ chosen one to marry him. When thay make their engagement official she was just a young woman while her fiancé was almost a middle-aged man. Age wasn’t a problem for them, so they married on 29th July, in 1981. During this marriage Diana had two sons who loved with all her heart.

Diana was admired for all the British population because she was an unconventional princess. She was a free person and she liked to meet famous people such as her old friend Elton John. British royalty never approved of Diana’s behaviour and the situation between Diana and them was getting tense.

Nevertheless, it wasn’t the only reason of Diana and Prince Charles’ divorce, in 1995. Apart from this, In the media began circulating rumours about Charles and his lover, Camila Parker Bowles (who is his wife now). Those kind of rumours were getting bigger and bigger and everyone though they were true. Diana loved Charles but she couldn’t afford this situation much more and decided to leave all the falsehood of royalty’s world. Her last words to the media were "Yes, I loved him. Yes, I adored him, but there were three of us in this marriage."

In 1997, Diana started dating Dodi Al-Fayed, son of her host that summer, Mohamed Al-Fayed. After this, Diana spent a peacefully holidays with her boyfriend and her sons. Dodi contracted security services and also rent a multi-million apartment to make sure nobody would disturb them.

Diana’s death is also a great mystery. Everything happened on 31st August, in 1997. Diana was in Paris with his boyfriend Dodi. The media was following them all the time, so they were trying to escape form them with their car. When Dodi entered in a tunnel he crashed his car while he was trying to shake paparazzi off. He and Lady Di were fatally injured so they died right there. The whole world was dismayed with this fact, especially Diana’s sons Harry and William who loved deeply their mother.

There are still many rumors about Dodi and Diana’s accident. There people who say that royal family hire someone to make car’s breaches fail. There’s also people who said that it’s just media’s fault. If they let Diana and Dodi enjoy their travel peacefully, Dodi would never had run so fast and they never had crashed into that tunnel.

7# KURT COBAIN

Kurt Cobain was an American singer and song-writer as well. He is better known as the main singer and guitarist of a grunge band called “Nirvana”. Kurt’s band succeeded in the 80’s and also early 90’s. Grunge style into fashion because of him and he had fans around the world.
In 1990 he met Courtney Love. At first, he refused her because he though he wasn’t ready for a relationship. However, in 1991 they began going usually out together and consuming drugs. In 1992, Courtney declared she was pregnant. After this, they got married.

It’s important to say that Kurt suffered from chronic bronchitis and also undiagnosed stomach condition since he was a child. He starts consuming marijuana when he was only thirteen years old. He was a hyperactive child with lack of attention. Later, as a man, doctors diagnosed him with bipolar disorder. Cobain use to be depressed because he didn’t liked the world he lived in. He was a sad person with a great heart, but he was always misunderstood. Kurt was also alcoholic and in 1986, he began consuming heroin.

On 1st March, in 1994, Courtney Love phoned police telling them that Kurt committed suicide with a gun in a room. After shooting himself, Kurt wrote a goodbye note to his childhood imaginary friend “Boddah”. In the autopsy, doctors found high levels of heroin and valium in his system. Nevertheless, rumours say that it wasn’t a suicide at all. There are people who believe that Courtney Love, his wife then, hired someone to kill his husband because they were always arguing and she was dating another man as well.

8# JOHN LENNON

John Winston Ono Lennon was a famous musician and also song-writer from the worldwide famous band “The Beatles”. “The Beatles” became the most successful and scandalous band of the 20th century. However, he started in music’s world earlier: his first band was called “The Quarrymen”.

He transmitted with his music and his arts all his feelings. He spent all his life fighting for the global peace and also for political causes. His fight was just made of powerful words. In 1962, his lifelong girlfriend Cynthia Powell was pregnant so John decided to ask her to marry him. Their son Julian Lennon was born the following year. In 1967 they divorced because of John Lennon’s consume of LSD and his lack of attention to his wife. In the late 60’s John met Yoko Ono, his true love. They had a lot of thing in common: their biggest wish was make the world a peacefully and fair place for everyone. There are people who say that John and Yoko start seeing each other while John was still married. In any case, Yoko was pregnant in 1968.

In the early 70’s he broke up with his band and he started his solo career. From that moment he and Yoko became inseparables. They did everything together: they protest against wars, they painted, they did photo-shoots…In short, Yoko Ono and John Lennon were absolutely soul mates.

The most dramatic part of their love story took place on 8th December, in 1980. That morning Lennon and Yoko went to a studio to do a photo-shoot together. As they were leaving home, a Lennon’s fan asked him for an autograph and also a photo together. Lennon, very gentle, accepted. Some hours later, the couple was going back home. The same fan they met before, named Mark Chapman, loomed up them and said “Mr. Lennon!”. Following, Chapman shot Lennon in the back four times. They were at the entrance of Lennon’s building. The singer bled to death.

Chapman suffered from mental diseases and he prepared Lennon’s death some time ago. He declared that Lennon’s death was aimed at making him going down in history. John was a famous and much loved character, so he knew that everybody would be dismayed for this fact. Chapman is still in jail. Judges have denied his parole three times at least. It’s also important to remember that Yoko Ono will do whatever she can to make that man spend all his life in jail because he’s a dangerous criminal.

9# HEATH LEDGER

Heath Andrew Ledger was well-known Hollywood’s actor. He was born in Perth, in Australia. He worked in nineteen films during his lifetime. He also produced music video and worked as a director. He was a magnificent actor so he won many prizes such as BAFTA or Golden Globe. His first popular relationship was with Naomi Watts, who met during they were filming “Ned Kelly”. Their relationship lasted two years. After this, he dated many other girls but in 2004 he began dating actress Michelle Williams. They had met in the set of “Brokeback Mountain”. They were deeply in love.

In 2005 was born Matilda Rose, their beautiful daughter. They seemed the perfect couple, but things fell through in 2007 and they broke up. People said that the main reason of this braking-off was Heath’s drug addiction. He promised to Michelle he would leave them, but he never carried this out. Michelle loved him, but she just wished the best for her daughter so he decided to split up.

This braking-off affected Heath Ledger very much. From that moment, he start drinking and consuming drugs more than ever and a deep depression took possession of him. Days went by, but he wasn’t able to be happy. He start filming “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus”. Everyone on the set confesses that Heath’s sad personality made them perfect to interpret the main character of the film.

His death was something really unexpected for everyone. It happened on 22nd January, in 2008. Heath’s body was found death in his apartment’s floor for his assistance. She immediately called the emergency services, but they couldn’t do anything. He died many hours ago. Autopsy revealed that he died of drug overdose. Doctor’s final verdict was “accidental death”. In any case, as always happens, there are also rumors who say that it could be a suicide. It isn’t hard to believe because since Michelle left him, Heath was always depressed and he didn’t seem the same at all.

10# GIANNI VERSACE

Gianni Versace (right) was a famous Italian designer. He created and owned Versace’s empire (the International fashion House. Until its birth, Versace has produced accessories, fragrances, makeup, home furnishings and clothes. During his lifetime, Gianni designed clothes for famous theatres and films. He had famous friends, but his closer ones were Elton John and Lady Di. His mother was a dressmaker, so it helped him to love clothes and all related to them. This was the reason why Versace began his apprenticeship at a young age.

At his early professional years, Gianni designed lather clothes, which were especially for hunters. Few years later, Gianni designer for the first time women clothes and presented them at the Palazzo della Permanente Art Museum of Milan. The next year, he also designed a collection for men. He opened his first store in 1978, in Milano.

Gianni Versace was openly gay. He met his long life partner Antonio D’Amico in 1982 and he liked to go to parties with him. Versace had one brother, Santo and also one sister, Donatella. It’s important to emphasize the fact that Versace adored all his and nephews, especially Allegra Versace (Donatella Versace’s daughter).

Gianni had still many miles to go when he was murdered. On 15th July, in 1997 she was going back home after taking a morning walk on Ocean Drive. He used to go to a coffee shop where he could buy the international newspapers written in Italian, his language. He was shot by Andrew Cunan, who committed suicide some days later.

In his will, Versace left 50 per cent of his fashion empire to his niece Allegra Versace. In any case, rumours also said that the fashion designer was murdered because he didn’t pay his debts to the Mafia.

MY MAIL

Hi Elizabeth! Is everything alright? I hope so =)

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

AS CRUEL AS A SCHOOL CHILDREN,,

When someone talks about children this use to remind us of innocence, kindness…in short, they are little people who never are up to no good. Even though nowadays children aren’t as sweet as they were in the past. Now they’re growing up too quickly. Children are exposed to a lot of information since their tenderest years.

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. The same happens on the theaters: there are only few companies which exclusively make films for the little ones. Unfortunately, the other companies make films which are recommended to nine year old children and they especially have sex scenes, blood, fights and a vocabulary completely inapropriated for the youngest spectators. Children are easy to convince and the greatest industries use films or cartoons to persuade them. They know exactly children’s weakest points so they send them subliminal messages through their favourite actors or cartoons. It’s really common on kids the wish of having everything the others have, especially when a fashionable caracther say they must have it. Even if it sounds unbelievable, industries earn lots of money selling this kind of products (usually useless or similar to others) like that.

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. The worst consequences happen at college. There are not only some fights or insults but bullying cases have increased recently. Those happy times have gone. Children commonly have a group of friends and in the group they are all quite similar. In the past children used to be all friends but now they make their own groups and when they meet someone who is quite different than them they considere immediately that person “freaky” or worst words. It seems to have no problem but I swear it has. When children see another child who’s extremely shy, introverted, who has other interests….they automaticaly avoid contact with that person. They laugh at the different child’s behaviour, they use him/her to make fun of anything, they manipulate him/her to do whatever they want through threats and they also cold-shoulder the ones who try to talk with that person. Do you think this is infuriating? Well, I haven’t finished yet. Insults, threats, shouts, humiliation…became common on the victim’s life. But when children get tired of it they start using violence. This violence includes punches, campions or even beatings. Many times they like recording it with their mobile phones, show it to everyone and laugh at it. They are little monsters and the worst thing is their parents almost never realize about it.

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.

LET'S TALK ABOUT...OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER

From the 14th to the 16th century society believed that people who had O.C.D. symptoms was possessed by the devil. Otherwise, in the early 90’s Sigmund Freud associated Obsessive Compulsive behaviour to unconscious conflicts which were manifested as symptoms. He described a typical case that he called “touching phobia” and it starts in little children. It happens when someone wants to touch a specific item and without a reason this person forbids himself touching it. Furthermore, Freud discovered this prohibition doesn’t calm the person’s desire to touch. Quite the opposite, the desire becomes more and more intensive.

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.

Generally, people consider obsessive compulsive persons paranoid or even psychotic. Nevertheless, O.C.D. sufferers recognize they’re acting in an irrational way and they might become even more distressed because of this realization.
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.

-Who can suffer from it?

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

-Be really obsessed on having everything tidy and make it sure.

-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.

• Verifiers: are people who inspect excessively in order to prevent a specific disaster occurs.

• 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.

TRE METRI SOPRA IL CIELO*

New Year, new books, new responsibilities… but there’s something which never changes. I still adore Federico Moccia and all his books!
I heard about him last year, when I was having two weeks holidays in London. It was summer and I was there with my best friend. We weren’t at the same class but people there was really pleasant, so I could make friends quickly. Most of the students of my class were from Italy and in my opinion it was wonderful because I love his culture and everything related to them.

Well, I talked about this the last year in my old post. I’m not exactly talking about the same but I’d like to begin this post with my best memories. What I tried to explain before is that in my class there were also Spanish and French people. There, I met a nice Spanish girl called Berta and I liked very much talk with her because our interests were really similar. One day, we talked about Italy, about Italian songs and about our new Italian friends. While we were chatting, Berta told me she reading a great book. It was called “A Tres Metros Sobre el Cielo” (Three Steps Over Heaven). She said it was written by Federico Moccia, a well-known writer in Italy and she told me what it was about as well: Moccia wrote a love story. Their main characters were Romeo and Juliet of nowadays and the scenes took place in the beautiful city of Rome.

I made the most of my last days in England and when I came back home I couldn’t wait to buy that book. Berta was right, it was absolutely gorgeous! Until nowadays this is my favourite love story and I think it will be my favourite one for a long time. It’s hard to summarize everything in few lines, but I’ll try…

This story is about Step and Babi. Stephano Mancini is a member of the most problematic band in Rome. Their friends and he are always in troubles: fighting, stealing…with no reason. They go everywhere with their motorbikes because with them they can go as fast as they want and they can feel free for a while and forget all their worries. Step went everywhere with his best friend, Pollo. Step had a traumatic experience some years ago: he saw his mother in his neighbour’s flat. She was wearing few clothes and her hair was in a mess. When he saw it, he was beside himself and he almost killed his neighbour giving him a terrible beating. He could never overcome it.

Babi was completely different. She was a nice girl and their parents were really proud of her. She was very responsible, polite and she had good marks. They believed that she was an exemplary daughter, but Babi wasn’t as innocent as their parents thought. Babi’s best friend is Pallina and they’re inseparable.
One day, Pallina and Babi went to a party organized by a girl of their class. They’re having fun, but suddenly some juvenile delinquents appeared there. Step and Pollo were between them. Pollo tried to steal Pallina’s purse but she realized and she told off him. He just laughed at her and then, he asked her for a date. Step found Babi fascinating but this feeling wasn’t reciprocal. Party turned into a completely disaster and the problematic boys escaped with their motos. After their date, Pollo and Pallina fell in love. Pollo knew exactly hoe to make her the happiest girl. Because of it, Babi had to meet Step very often. At first, she hated this idea. However, she was feeling something new inside her when Step was around her. It was only necessary few days to fell in love one with each other. They were opposite people but when they were together everything was like a dream. The fist months were gorgeous: the first kiss, the first tattoo, the first night together…It seemed their happiness wouldn’t have an ending. They felt invincible but they were wrong. Babi was really temperamental: she could shout or get angry even for the smallest nonsense. In spite of this, Step loved her and he knew exactly how to calm his girlfriend.

Even thought their love was able to overcome anything, everything changed early. One night Pallina called them crying: she told them that Pollo and she had gone in a illegal nocturne competition of motorbikes. Pollo had lost his motorbike’s control and he had a terrible accident. He was lying on the floor unconscious. Babi shouted Step telling him she couldn’t stand his life style any more. Step was beside himself and slapped her. Babi couldn’t believe it, so she decided to leave him for ever.

Step felt his world was breaking down by the minute. He couldn’t understand why life had decided to take everything he loved from him. His only hope was Babi wanted him far away from her life so, it was hard to make his wish come true, but not impossible.
The story has a tragic ending although I won’t go into details. If you want to know what happens exactly I’ll recommend you to read this book. I know, it’s quite dramatic, but I felt identified with some parts of the story. Federico Moccia’s lyrics are lovely and he’s very down-to-earth.

Sometimes we cannot have everything we want. Perhaps it’s too late and we don’t deserve it or perhaps life isn’t fair with us. Unfortunately, life works like this.

MY LAST WRITING,,

This year I start studying Batxillerat. At first, I wasn’t really motivated, but then I saw everything clear, and I tried to work hard. It doesn’t seem to care, but I can assure that any little effort can be a great help to us. Learn something new will always be useful for us. My favourite subject is English, of course. From the first day I was giving my best to learn much and be able to improve my English level!

I really believe that I’ve improved my English a lot this year. The best example of it is my blog. My blog is my way to go away from everything. I like to write all my thoughts there because there are always so many things rounding my head that it’s impossible to do not write them down. I often talk about feelings, especially about love. The reason why I have so many writings about this topic is that I feel really indentified with it, and probably the great majority of my thoughts are related to it. Moreover, I think that if I talk about something which really matters to me I will be able to be interest in it much more in my redaction and also I will try to express my true opinion about it properly.

Maybe I saw a great change in my writing comparing my first your-say with my last your-say. My first your-say was a Coldplay’s song called “Fix You”. It’s a lovely song and I like it very much, so I decided to start with it my blog. Now, I’m writing this post again and I can believe how much my your-says have changed during this year. In this post I only wrote a short opinion which deals with feelings. To write it I used simply adjectives and quite repetitive sentences in order to get a nice opinion. From this writing until now I have learnt much more vocabulary, linking words or phrasal verbs. So, with them it’s easier to do better writings. And even I’ve learnt expressions and idioms as: “In the twinkling of an eye” or “what goes around…comes around”

On the contrary, when I read my post called “A BRONX TALE” I’m not able to remember how I could make up it. This time, I tried to use many more linking words, 1st and 2nd conditionals (because we’re studying them in class), short and long sentences but well sorted out and especially new vocabulary. I also wrote down two important morals, and I explain them from my point of view. Since 2009 until now my English has become terribly changed! And I’m really happy for it!

In “Fix You” I wrote sentences as “FIX YOU talks about sadness, about how difficult is love, about real down feelings, about how difficult is to find the happiness” or “There's always someone who wants to make you happy”

but in “A BRONX TALE” my sentences were as: “Everyone knows that Sonny is really vengeful and that he has no qualms”, “he tries desperately to stop it and make his son realized that he’s heading for a trouble” or “once more: if you sometimes try to stop thinking selfishly in yourself and give your help to the people who really need it, always remember that your acts won’t be on vain”
“FIX YOU”: http://somewhereonlyweknoow.blogspot.com/2009/10/fix-you-coldplay.html

“A BRONX TALE”: http://somewhereonlyweknoow.blogspot.com/2010/05/bronx-tale.html

If I had to say an effective way to learn English it would be my blog with no doubt. I’m really interested in English and I know I still have a very low level of pronouncing and writing. That’s the reason why I’m always looking up new words, or trying to add things I’ve learnt in class during this year. Probably, the best reflection of my improvement is one of my 3rd term writings: “THINGS WHICH MAKE LIFE WONDERFUL”. Before writing it, I couldn’t imagine that I would get a post like this! To me, I got a pretty good result! I want you to explain how I wrote it…if I remember well, it was a typical Tuesday or Wednesday, I was in my grandma’s house studying because the next day I has a difficult exam. I wasn’t very concentrated on my notes because as usual I was in my own world. Suddenly, an idea appeared in my head: How many things make life wonderful? Would it be a good topic to talk about? And following it I caught a paper and I started writing every sentence which was in my thoughts. The final result of it was: “THINGS WHICH MAKE LIFE WONDERFUL”, as you can see: http://somewhereonlyweknoow.blogspot.com/2010/05/things-which-make-life-wonderful.html

However, read some books (The Diary of Adrian Mole, Frankenstein and Sense & Sensibility), speaking English in class, do oral presentations and listenings are useful to learn English. Furthermore, another useful way to learn a language (apart from writing a blog) is watch TV and movies in English, or in the language you want to learn. I prefer to have subtitles on it, because I can see exactly what the characters are saying and I try to remember new words and expressions. My eldest brother likes to watch TV in English since he was living in Australia, but he prefers to see it with no subtitles instead of reading them. So, when I’m with him we watch TV series or movies in original version. Therefore, I believe that they’re both good ways to learn.

The best pieces of advice I can give you is that every little thing you learn will never be useless. Everything you learn will give you more knowledge and might be useful to you in the future. So, don’t ever thing that a writing or maybe a simply song won’t give you anything, because even if it seems quite difficult, if you carry on doing it, you will learn very much!

Finally, I would like to do again a blog the next year. Now, I’m afraid because I think I won’t have new topics to talk about. But summer is coming, and I still have to live many more experiences! Also, the world doesn’t ever stop for a minute…so, next year, I might write about lots and lots of things!

A BRONX TALE,,

This great story takes place in the Bronx. Bronx is a poor neighbourhood situated in the gorgeous city of New York. It’s a well-known place where reside the least privileged people. Dirty business, robberies with guns, violations or murders are really common there. People must be careful because Bronx is a quite dangerous area.

There are three main characters in the story: Calogero, Lorenzo (Calogero’s father) and Sonny.
Calogero, Lorenzo and Rosina are an Italian family who live in the Bronx since a long time ago.

Sonny is the head of a famous mafia which is well-known on the Bronx. He and his gang have the absolute control of this neighbourhood and Sonny is the most fearful gangster there. Everyone knows that Sonny is really vengeful and that he has no qualms.
Sonny has a discreet pub where he meets their boys and where there are alcohol, cigarettes and all kinds of bets and games.

Lorenzo is just a family man. His only aim is will be able some day to earn enough money to look after his family. They’re very poor and he doesn’t earn much money because he is a bus driver. Lorenzo begins to worry about his son when he becomes friend of Sonny and during the story he’s trying all the time to convince his son to stop keeping bad company.

Calogero is an 8-9 year-old child who always says how much he hates his name to his father. He has never understood how his parents could choose a name so inappropriate. He lives in the same street than Sonny. Calogero seems older than he really is because he has seen lots of atrocities since he was a little child and he has spent most of his days in Bronx streets with his friends as well. They are used to steal food, they argue with other children and also they laugh at everybody.
However, Calogero is a very special child and that’s the reason why his parents love him so much. They are usually trying to separate him from street’s life but there’s no way to get it. The reason of Calogero’s affection to the Bronx is Sonny. This gangster is his biggest idol and Calogero always tries to follow his steps.

Time goes by…and Calogero grows up! He’s a handsome teenager now. He has changed a lot, but unfortunately his friends have grown up as well. His friends’ thoughts are completely opposite than his thoughts. They are all terribly changed and Calogero doesn’t feel good with them. They are only worried about black people and they are all day thinking how to bother or hurt them.

Anyway, Calogero has been many days meeting Sonny. They knew each other few years ago when Calogero was still a kid and, from that day, Calogero became his confidence boy. The boy always looked up to Sonny and Sonny treated him as a son. Sony had even changed Calogero’s name…in his gang Calogero is known as “C”. Calogero has learnt a lot with Sonny and his boys and they have lived many new experiences. He’s a mature boy but he still preserves some innocence. He feels the same great admiration to Sonny as well. Everything is perfect to him. Calogero is living exactly his childhood’s dream. But there’s someone who don’t agree with his behaviour…his father! He tries desperately to stop it and make his son realize that he’s heading for a trouble.

Unluckily, “C” is too influenced by Sonny and nothing can take him from his side. One day, unexpectedly, Calogero knows a pretty young girl and he falls in love at first sight. There’s only a little problem: she’s black and it was frowned upon in his neighbourhood.

Everything goes wrong in the end… and things have such a dramatic ending. The story has a very shocking ending…but who didn’t still know that fairytales don’t ever happen in the Bronx?

From my point of view “A BRONX TALE” is a gorgeous film. Probably I liked it so much because all the scenes were unexpectedly, especially the final scene. It was really shocking to me because I though that it would have the typical happy ending. The characters are very well played and each one is perfectly characterized and lifelike. It’s a very successful movie. It reminds me of “Il Padrino”‘s movie which I liked very much as well. With these kinds of films it seems that you are able to feel what their characters are feeling. In a scaring scene you can feel the fear and even when someone shoots a gun, you are so concentrated on the film that you feel like you were inside the scene. I’m afraid that those are magnificent works and nowadays, it’s almost impossible to watch some film like these.
MY MARKING: **** (a masterpiece)

To conclude, I’d like to talk about film’s moral. “A BRONX TALE” hasn’t only a moral: it has two.

Firstly, the main moral is: “You must trust nobody”. Sonny repeats it throughout all the film, and maybe he was right. At least, if you live on the Bronx, it would be some good advice.

And secondly, there’s a final moral. This moral talks about the consequences of our acts. I believe that everything we did in the past will always have a great repercussion in our future. Maybe good or maybe bad, but our acts will always draw our way…Well, it’s like the karma. If you are a kind person and you help the others, there are fewer possibilities to have complications in your future. Otherwise, if you are a cold-hearted person and you don’t care about anything…be careful! Because one day everything you did will go back to you, and then, it’ll be too late to change it.

I think that everyone should know that “what goes around…comes always back around”

And, once more: if you sometimes try to stop thinking selfishly in yourself and give your help to the people who really need it, always remember that your acts won’t be on vain.