Reflections

I like speaking English, well actually I like talking. It doesn't really matter whether it is in Spanish, English or French. And I think that is exactly why learning English at the University was mainly an enjoyable experience. Because it is the one class in which I’m able to relax most of the time chatting and listening to my classmates' different points of view. I also loved the fact that we could lose the thread of conversation and it didn't matter as long as we were speaking English. In fact I think that the schedule should rather be based on conversations and learning how to verbalize rather than the listening and blogs that we had to do. Don't get me wrong, I liked those too. But I think they should be less important given that, at least for me, the moments in which I learned more were the actual classes. I believe that it turned over that way because it is precisely during those instances of conversation that all the doubts pop up. And it is easier to remember an expression that has always caused you trouble if you have a context to bound it up with. At least for me (again).
Now I'm realizing that everything is coming to an end and, despite the fact that I really learned here, one thing that scares me is that I don't feel really prepared to throw myself into the world speaking English. I guess that six months are not enough to make me feel ready, especially if I spent two years in which I left English aside. However, I appreciate this term that allowed me to enchant myself with the language again. I am certain that, in life, the more skills you have, the more job offers you get. And it is clear that being able to express oneself in English is one important key to success.

Get a life

"Let's talk about Facebook, the popular social network right now". That was the theme of our last scout meeting. We (my staff and I) asked the kids, whose ages go from 13 to 16 years old, what did they think about Facebook, and which aspects they thought were life-changing about the emergence of this kind of social network. 
Truth is that these generations were practically born with Facebook acounts already created. It is funny thought, considering that at the beginning the goal of pages like this were totally different. Some people say that Facebook was created for men to find women in sexual terms, others believe that it is a platform ment to establish job connections. Anyhow, we all know that today it has turned upside down people relationships as we know them. Maybe this phrase sounds a bit rash, but it is more accurate than you might think. 
10 years ago there were fewer ways to communicate, nevertheless we used to manage quite well, ain't that right? So where does this need of sharing personal stuff come from? I believe that before Facebook, Messenger, Twitter and many others, people used to talk much more. Meaning actually talking, using there mouths in order to do it, not their fingers. 
One of the effects that I find really adverse about facebook is that, nowadays, people don't visit each other, they call each other significantly less, and why? Because in half the time you take to go visit one friend, you can write some nice words in the wall of all your friends, relatives, even people you don't really know!  And what is going on with the birthdays?! This year I decided to close my wall for that day, because it felt really weird that lots of people shared their regards and feelings towards me there. First because half of them are not really that close, and second because everybody else was going to see it, that just didn't feel right. 
Anyway, it is a fact that this kind of networks have lots of advantages in many many ways, but I believe that we have to be very careful with them. Not only because of what they always say, that some psyco might reach up to you and that kind of risk that this pages can bring on, but mainly because we are forgetting how to interact with real people. This is something that is actually happening, not just a potential risk, and it's consequences are global and permanent! 
So let's go back to our roots, let's have more human relationships, rather than virtual ones. In fact I am leaving my computer right now in order to do so, maybe you should try it too.

Mr. X

This time I want to talk about people I admire in my life. There are several characters that I find inspiring because of the way they see life, and the way they embrace it. 

But the one I want to honor with these lines has something special, something that I couldn't find in anyone that I have met in my life so far. I am only 21 years old, so you might figure that I haven't met a lot of people, and you are right, but this person is someone I am sure is unique in the world. Because of safety reasons I wont say his (or her) name, or how I am related to this guy because he (or she) wants to remain anonymous. So from now on, I will tell you some things about Mr. X.

So let's start with how we met, you will not believe this, but actually I do not remember how we stopped being total strangers to each other. It was a really long time ago, and all I know is that from one day to another we went from being nothing to being best friends. It was something beyond ordinary stuff, something that (as I said before) had never happened to me until then, and has never happened again. I don't know why I wasn't scared, can you imagine? Meeting someone one day and the next day feeling like you have known him forever? It was just so natural, you know? Like nobody had anything to do with this newborn bond, not even him or myself. And from that day on, we haven't stopped doing things together, sometimes great things like traveling and some other times just hanging out sharing our ordinary moments, the simplest things we have done together are the ones that I will always cherish, I am sure.

So I don't know if things like this happen to everybody, at least for me this person is one of those people that I want in my life until I am gone, and I know it will be that way no matter what. It is really something to be grateful I think, don't you?

AZ OPADA LISTI Z DUBU

or When the leaves drop from the Oak

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NstW29nebMg

Stressed out? No way!!

Who isn't at this time of the year? With everything coming to an end, it is hard not to loose ourselves in the infinite amount of things to do. And it seems almost impossible to stay still and try to relax for a moment, instead of giving up to anguish and worrying. It is achievable though, at least for me. I'll try to give you some tips that might help you dealing with stress.

I believe that it is essential to give us time for everything. Mainly because stress acts like a vicious circle, meaning that the more you worry the more stressed out you get. So the secret not to be overwhelmed with everything that we have to do is just not thinking about it and start caring for ourselves. It is hard but really necessary to find the time to do all the things that we like to do. For me it is ballet. The first term of this year I dropped it, because I thought that it would take too much time which I would need for studying.  But as the months went by I realized that even though it does take 4 hours a week from my time, it is the one thing that makes me forget about everything else for a while and just focus on dancing and doing it at my best. There isn't actually anything that helps me relax like a good and exhausting ballet class, I don't know what I would do without it. 

Well, there is this one thing that I find helpful too when it comes to avoid stress, it is partying and I would highly recommend it for those people that need a brake in their incredibly busy lives. You should definitely try it...

The Ballerina Project

"But I read somewhere that we only use 10% of our brain anyway"

Who hasen't heard that? Even I used to think that this statement was true some time ago. Let's face it, if someone like Einstein said it then it must be true. That is exactly what happens with myths in science nowadays. Generalization and extrapolation can lead us to mistaken conclusions, starting though from an actual scientific fact. And this one is no exception.

Wheter was Einstein or someone else who said that, today we know as a fact that every part in our brain has a certain purpose that is complex and specific. The way the brain works can be understood if we divide it into funcional areas. The whole cortex is specifically associated with the infinite amount of cognition functions that we know. And each area, even though linked with one function, can as well be involved in many others. This is what we have to keep in mind when we face this kind of statement. Truth is that neuroscience has prooved by many procedures (surgery, imaging techniques) that our brains are 100% active. Further, some researches have shown that, even asleep, we can not dissociate the brain of some of it's most essential activities. This is one of the most powerful reasons to believe that Einstein was wrong, at least if he ment what we say about his words nowadays.

These scientific facts speak for themselves, and it is hard to dispute them. However, I choose another argument to refute this affirmation that is so clearly wrong. If we look at the matter from the perspective of evolution there is no need of running tests nor neurosurgery. The fact is that the brain is really the organ of our species, it is the one who differentiate us from our primate cousins. The development of the brain has taken long time to bring us where we stand today as men kind, and so it would be very unwise from Natural Selection to waste all this years in an organ that is mostly useless, wouldn't it?

Jumping Brains

A healthy lifestyle, is it possible? How?

People always say that being healthy is all about eating well, spleeping eight hours a night, practicing sports and avoiding drugs like alcohol or tobacco. What do we have to do to achieve that kind of lifestyle that is so promising? If you go to the gym for instance, you will necesary see a lot of healthy people -or trying to be healthy at least- but how healthy are they really? Is it enough to be in perfect armony with your body in terms of fat, metabolism and stuff like that to be considered a healthy person? I am not fond of gyms in general, because I think that those are the places where the concept of being healthy gets distorted. What is healthy about a woman who eats nothing but letuce and spends most of her day training there? I believe that the line between being coscious and obsessed with a healthy lifestyle is really thin, not to mention that crossing it can be very dangerous.

I'm only saying this because, for me, the most important thing about being healthy is the idea of balance, in everything. On the basis that mind and body equilibrium is the crucial aspect of this conception. Looking at the matter this way we can understand that a healthy person is not the brawny man that thinks only about building himself, nor the classic american couch potato. To be healthy, or to live healthy better said, the middle ground between those two extremes is the key.

This angle allows us to determine some habits or ways that can lead to a healthy lifestyle. On the one hand, exercise is essential, but not only because of the physical effects that it has. In fact, I believe that practicing some kind of exercise brings more benefits to our minds than it does to our bodies, because of the recreation that it implies. Moreover I would dare saying that practicing exercise is essential to a healthy mind. On the other hand, I think that being careful about what we eat and what we drink is good enought. The most healthy people that I know are those who do not deprive themselves of anything. For instance they do eat some fast food eventually, because mainly they eat balanced meals so they can allow themselves some indulgences now and then.

So, a healthy lifestyle, is it possible? I believe so, as long as by healthy we mean balanced and mentally sain. We just have to be informed about what is good for ourselves, what is not, and then just play with those two in the right proportions...

Sesame Street

My first competition

When I was in first grade of elementary school I started practicing Rythmic Gymnastics. I do not know why but I always wanted to do it, since I can remeber. Maybe because everybody used to tell me that I would be good at it, maybe because the teacher was so nice to me. The thing is that I was really excited when I was finally old enough to start training.

And one thing that I will never forget is the first competition that I attended. I remember that I was not supposed to go, because of my age, but one of the older girls got sick, and of course I did my best to replace her.

Once I was there, I could not believe my eyes. Everything the girls had told me was true, there were real judges (pretty scary actually), and lots of people in the audience. In fact as I look back it all comes back, the anxiety, the nausea but most of all the joy of being finally there. It all happened so fast, suddenly it was my turn. I had to perform and individual routine that lasted one minute and a half. Fortunately I didn't forget my moves (like most of the girls that where my age), but I was so excited that instead of doing it during the time that lasted the music, I took my time to do everything really carefully. The music stopped and I was in the middle of the routine, so I decided that I could just leave, I had to finish it. And I did, people started to applaude, they did not understand that I was not quite done yet.

I did not get any medals that time, but I learned an important lesson, always go with the music! And so I did...