My blog and its new beginning

Now that classes are over and we only have to sit for the last two exams – thanks to Charlie, because we should have three :P - I want to give an end to the first period of my blog and an introduction to the one that’s almost here.

This blog was created for our English class to practice writing in order to do well in the IB exams. The idea of working online and investigating a new method so close to technology really caught me from the very first time! I like a lot writing, designing, using technology, so this new opportunity was incredible for me! I’ve learned a lot about the three subjects just mentioned thanks to the blog. Now I find it easier to express myself in English, I know more or less how to deal with the HTML codes, I gave a good design to the outfit of this, I’ve investigated about a lot of things to write about, I read a lot, I made new friends, I learned how to analyze texts in details and I’ve improved in a high level my quality of writing. And all this thanks to Charlie’s crazy and so productive idea of working online! It might have sound strange the first time you told me about this new method you wanted to implement at school, but I was really caught by it. And you can see how I got involved from the very beginning!

At the beginning the blog was exclusive for school assignments, reactions to texts or books read at school, or copying and pasting old pieces of writing I already had. The blogosphere wasn’t as complex as I thought it was. It wasn’t something difficult to understand, and it started absorbing me – in a good way. I became a fanatic of changing colors and designs of the website and each time I wrote more, about more varied topics.

Everything had to be in English! That was something good in order to learn more because I had some pieces I liked a lot, but I had to translate them to post them! But at the same time, there were moments I wanted to write in Spanish because I had the sentences made up in my mind in Spanish… so I couldn’t post them on the blog… But anyway, the blog was a very good way to do homework enjoying it a lot.

Little by little, it started turning to Spanish. I posted two entries in Spanish. Then my profile was changed and I wrote it in my first language. Then some titles… Now it’s half English, half Spanish… but it’s still good! I like to have things as they started and not to change everything.

So now that there are no more classes and we are not obligated to write twice a week - although I never felt it was an obligation but a pleasure, a way of letting myself out, expressing, relaxing – my blog has been trough some changes in labels in order to continue alive.

I will keep on posting stuff written by me, by other authors, songs, videos, pics, reflections, whatever! I will post in both languages: it will depend how the inspiration reaches me… :P jaja! And this will still be alive, showing my inner self, my art, my thoughts, my world. So I can still say – or write - “Welcome to my world”.

And now’s the turn to thank you, Charlie! Look what you’ve done! This blog is all thanks to the desire you’ve always had to go forward, to walk together with technology, to always teach more and try to make the best of what we’ve got. It’s mostly thanks to you that I write nowadays, that I enjoy analyzing texts, that I understand texts better because I analyze them, that I am so fan of technology and of blogs. This year was incredibly productive and I’ve learned like in no other. I’ve learned not only about the subject, grammar, language, or whatever, but also about life, about society, literature, my own self and so many other things!
Thank you so much dear Charlie!!! You’re great!
I really appreciate you.

Hoy estoy cerrando un ciclo

Cerrando Ciclos
De Paulo Coehlo

Hay que saber cuándo una etapa llega a su fin.

Cuando insistimos en alargarla más de lo necesario, perdemos la alegría y el sentido de las otras etapas que tenemos que vivir. Poner fin a un ciclo, cerrar puertas, concluir capítulos, no importa el nombre que le demos, lo importante es dejar en el pasado los momentos de la vida que ya terminaron.

¿Me han despedido del trabajo? ¿Ha terminado una relación? ¿Me he ido de casa de mis padres? ¿Me he ido a vivir a otro país? Esa amistad que tanto tiempo cultivé, ¿ha desaparecido?

Puedes pasar mucho tiempo preguntándote por qué ha sucedido algo así. Puedes decirte a ti mismo que no darás un paso más hasta entender por qué motivo esas cosas que eran tan importantes en tu vida se convirtieron de repente en polvo. Pero una actitud así supondrá un desgaste inmenso para todos: tu país, tu cónyuge, tus amigos, tus hijos, tu hermano; todos ellos estarán cerrando ciclos, pasando página, mirando hacia delante, y todos sufrirán al verte paralizado. Nadie puede estar al mismo tiempo en el presente y en el pasado, ni siquiera al intentar entender lo sucedido. El pasado no volverá: no podemos ser eternamente niños, adolescentes tardíos, hijos con sentimientos de culpa o de rencor hacia sus padres, amantes que reviven día y noche su relación con una persona que se fue para no volver. Todo pasa, y lo mejor que podemos hacer es no volver a ello.

Por eso es tan importante (¡por muy doloroso que sea!) destruir recuerdos, cambiar de casa, donar cosas a los orfanatos, vender o dar nuestros libros. Todo en este mundo visible es una manifestación del mundo invisible, de lo que sucede en nuestro corazón. Deshacerse de ciertos recuerdos significa también dejar libre un espacio para que otras cosas ocupen su lugar.

Dejar para siempre. Soltar. Desprenderse. Nadie en esta vida juega con cartas marcadas. Por ello, unas veces ganamos y otras, perdemos. No esperes que te devuelvan lo que has dado, no esperes que reconozcan tu esfuerzo, que descubran tu genio, que entiendan tu amor. Deja de encender tu televisión emocional y ver siempre el mismo programa, en el que se muestra cómo has sufrido con determinada pérdida: eso no hace sino envenenarte.

Nada hay más peligroso que las rupturas amorosas que no aceptamos, las promesas de empleo que no tienen fecha de inicio, las decisiones siempre pospuestas en espera del momento ideal.

Antes de comenzar un nuevo capítulo hay que terminar el anterior: repítete a ti mismo que lo pasado no volverá jamás. Recuerda que hubo una época en que podías vivir sin aquello, sin aquella persona, que no hay nada insustituible, que un hábito no es una necesidad. Puede parecer obvio, puede que sea difícil, pero es muy importante.

Cerrar ciclos. No por orgullo, ni por incapacidad, ni por soberbia, sino porque, sencillamente, aquello ya no encaja en tu vida. Cierra la puerta, cambia el disco, limpia la casa, sacude el polvo.

Deja de ser quien eras, y transfórmate en el que eres.

Haciendo alusión al ciclo que no quiero que termine, y sin embargo el tiempo me está ganando. Tengo que cerrar el ciclo, tengo que dejar cosas atrás.

... Aunque no quiera.

Away from the sun

Song: Away From The Sun

Group: 3 Doors Down

Video:


My analisis/reaction:

The song is about someone who lives in the dark, what means that he is not happy, suffers a lot and is feeling depressed. What the character wants is to find some light, to see the colors again and get out of that darkness in order to feel okay and live again. When we feel depressed we see everything dark, we don’t appreciate the colors of life and we want to come back to life again. And this is clearly shown in the lyrics of the song.

In the video there is a boy with a lot of stones hanging from his body, with a lot of weight, who has to climb the mountain and in order to do it, he suffers a lot. The video is very touching and it made me think about a lot of aspects in life and how we react towards them. It also made me remember of Sísifo, who I posted about here.

The boy in the video goes up the mountain three times. He has to face a lot of obstacles and different types of pain but he doesn’t care and he goes on and tries to reach the top.

The first time we see the boy going up with all the weight of his life on his back, we see that in the top of the mountain there’s a pink flower. It is almost the only color we can see in the video clip and it symbolizes that the boy wants to live again, to reach the flower and to see the colors again. Then the image of the flower disappears when the man shouts at him and makes him go back again. When we want something there is always another thing that opposes and won’t let us reach it so easily. So, this man represents that force that is always playing against us. The second time he goes up, after falling because of the man, the image of a woman appears up in the mountain. Maybe she is his mother and the evil man is his father. Maybe the boy has some problems in his family and he sees his parents like that. But the image of the woman disappears, the same as the flower, because the man takes over again and makes him fall down once more.

When looking at the boy falling down, rolling, bouncing with the dry soil and the rocks we can feel his pain. It is a very moving image to see him suffering like that. And when the other boys throw stones at him or the girls laugh at him, we want to be there and make them stop. It is all very cruel.

After so much suffering and effort the boy finally sees the sun going up and it fills him with hope, strength and pride to start climbing again. The woman appears and the man, the girls and the other boys don’t. He reaches the top, the sun is up for him and he feels so happy that the evil characters don’t show up again.

The video shows some aspects in life that makes us reflect about our acts. Sometimes we laugh at others like the girls laugh when they see the boy suffering. And sometimes we realize it’s not good to laugh but we don’t do anything, like the odd one in each group: maybe because our help will be useless because there’s a powerful force that doesn’t let us state our point and won’t listen to us, or maybe because we don’t want to be punished if we rebel or fight against the establishment. And sometimes we make the punishment others have to suffer harder, like throwing stones and making the weight they have to carry heavier, like the group of boys.
What is really worth highlighting is the boy’s strength to go on, his self reliance and strong desire to reach what he wants. He doesn’t feel completely frustrated as he goes on climbing once more although people laugh and shout at him, or throw more rocks. He doesn’t give up so the sun goes up and he finally can reach the top of the mountain. The video clip starts with a gloomy atmosphere, very dark, with little light, and finishes with the sun light taking over the whole scene.

Graduation Song

A friend told me about a great song with great lyrics and it is worth posting it in here. We have no more classes, we only have to sit up for the exams next week and I'm really sad. I don't want to end up this period of my life and I don't want to leave the school, where I had my happiest times. The last year and a half were the happiest in my life and it was mostly thanks to people in school.

I don't want to finish school!! And this is a good song with very moving lyrics.

Group: Vitamin C
Song: Friends Forever (Graduation Song)

Video:



Lyrics:

And so we talked all night about the rest of our lives
Where we're gonna be when we turn 25
I keep thinking times will never change
Keep on thinking things will always be the same
But when we leave this year we won't be coming back
No more hanging out cause we're on a different track
And if you got something that you need to say
You better say it right now cause you don't have another day
Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down
These memories are playing like a film without sound
And I keep thinking of that night in June
I didn't know much of love
But it came too soon
And there was me and you
And then we got real blue
Stay at home talking on the telephone
We'd get so excited, we'd get so scared
Laughing at ourselves thinking life's not fair
And this is how it feels


Chorus:
As we go on
We remember
All the times we
Had together
And as our lives change
Come Whatever
We will still be
Friends Forever

So if we get the big jobs
And we make the big money
When we look back now
Will our jokes still be funny?
Will we still remember everything we learned in school?
Still be trying to break every single rule
Will little brainy Bobby be the stockbroker man?
Will Heather find a job that won't interfere with her tan?
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly
And this is how it feels

Chorus

La, la, la, la:
Yeah, yeah, yeah
La, la, la, la:
We will still be friends forever

Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?
Can we survive it out there?
Can we make it somehow?
I guess I thought that this would never end
And suddenly it's like we're women and men
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us 'round?
Will these memories fade when I leave this town
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly

Chorus x3


Tamy, thank you for making me know the song!!

I'm gonna miss so many people, so many things!! I'm gonna miss so much all of you!!!
Thank you for the great moments spent together!!!

A Night of Insomnia

I had finished dinner, brushed my teeth and was lying in bed, with my body turned to my right side, all under the blankets, except for my head. I prayed, as every night, and I checked that all the lights were off. I could only see two little squares of light: the orange one, telling me where the light switch was, and the red one, of the mosquito device. The tic-tac of the clock never stopped and sometimes I could hear a car passing by. I could still smell the burnt piece of bread of the sandwich I had had for dinner coming from the kitchen.

I had a lot in my mind. From one day to another, my cousin Agustín was not around anymore. And as God had taken him without forewarning, He could take anyone else just in the same way. It was twelve o’clock and I needed to be rested for school the following day.

I thought about what I had done that day: my grandmothers, my godmother and the Lizondos came home for a barbecue. I remembered sitting next to María and talking about The Little Prince, school, her work. Then the doubles tennis game with friends that we lost, the Coke in the drugstore and then our victory in the volleyball game. It had been a sunny Sunday. Just the same as the one years ago back in my old house.

Green grass, yellow leaves in the old and tall eucalyptus trees and two white chairs in the middle of the garden. The autumn sun was shining and a comfortable breeze made the trees sway a little bit. It was not a big garden, but square, a little surface covered with grass, a small pool and a powerful and invisible force that made things bigger: maybe love, happiness, bonding, comfort. In one chair a little girl of about seven years old and in the other a woman. Grandmother and granddaughter contemplating the bright blue sky, the shining sun, and talking.

Conversation went easy. Grandmothers have always so much to tell… What we ask, they answer; whatever happens to us, they know, they’ve been through it all. Grandmother talked, granddaughter listened. Both looking at each other and enjoying the sunny autumn afternoon. A green tangerine was in the old woman’s wrinkled hands. One finger got into it and softly, with all the sweetness possible, the tangerine got an orange-white colour. The green pieces of the crust that protected it from the cold, painful bumps and the world’s indifference were now peacefully lying on a plate on the floor.

Grandmother taught while granddaughter learned. Grandma made the classic ‘hens’ with the tangerine and the little girl, paying a lot of attention, tried to do the same. She did her best, but difficulty grew stronger and frustration managed to beat her for a while. The girl couldn’t do the ‘hens’ but she was still happy; she was sitting under the sun eating a tangerine and learning. The breeze caressed the girl’s hair softly, but the sun and the company kept her warm. The first ‘hen’ of the afternoon was about to be eaten. The granddaughter took a deep breath of happiness and the acid tangerine touched her tongue as she swayed like the trees in her rocking chair. Her eyes went small and glazed for a little while, but acid depends on the situation – and this one was sweet. After some ‘hens’ her mouth felt the acid taste but she didn’t mind bacuase it was so nice and warm out there.

Those white chairs in the square garden, the green grass, the yellow leaves and the breeze blowing softly never got out of my mind. Feeling warm in the mid autumn sun is mostly the same as feeling love having acid in your mouth; a comfortable and kind of acid taste.

Owls outside my window and the idea of death were wondering round my mind and didn’t let me think about the happiest times I had had. It was difficult to avoid that thought, that sense… The really faded photograph-images of my grandpas appeared. Then a big black and strange shadow engulfed my grandma while Robbie Williams sung in my head: ‘With the blink of an eye the Lord came and asked you to meet. You went to a better place but He stole you away from me’. But I can’t sing this completely yet, as He didn’t steal her away from me – and I am so thankful for that! She knows how to make ‘hens’ with a tangerine, she loves me, I love her, and she still has a lot to teach me, I thought.

I was feeling very tired… after a whole afternoon playing tennis and volleyball, I couldn’t understand how I could still be awake. I yawned… but I didn’t fall asleep. People I miss, people I love, people I admire, and people I haven’t seen for ages. How I need Micaela, how I’d like to see Tomás, to hug, to talk to my cousin once more. The owls making strange noises outside my window, but then silence again. My past, my present, my future. My plans, my dreams, fate, life and pains. A whole life represented in front of me, with images, sounds, smells, memories... my life.

How I hated insomnia nights. I would be sleepy the following day; I wouldn’t pay attention in class… Suddenly the ideas in my head came and went, ran from one side of my head to the other. So I scribbled some words in my blue notebook such as love, peace and the ones adults mention very often nowadays: war, pain and death.

After a while, I tried to sleep again, unsuccessfully. Tomás walked through the door and sat down on one side of my bed. We talked for a while and slowly, my mind got tired and the story turned boring. Then I didn’t remember what I was telling my friend, so I started over. After a long chat, I finally fell asleep peacefully. But an hour or two later, the clock that had been bothering all night started to bother again, loudly this time. I got up and looked through the window at the shy sun that was rising from behind the city. Grandma must be up already, doing the cleaning-up of her house or having breakfast. Maybe she is watching the news on TV: war in Iraq, violence in Tucumán, hurricane in México; and definitely thinking of the future awaiting us.

This is one of the pieces of writing I sent for the English IB A2.

Sísifo’s myth

Reading some pieces of writing I’ve been finding in the Internet, I read about the myth of Sísifo. He had been an evil man on earth so he had to be punished. The gods thought that there was no punishment harder than the nonsense and hopeless work, so he was condemned to push a rock up a hill and when it reached the top it would fall down and he would have to push it again. He suffers pushing the rock, his tense body, all covered in sweat, his hands full of dirt, and both hands pushing sometimes helped by his shoulder or his foot. He walks the same path thousands of times and finally reaches the top once more. But the stone starts falling down and in only a few seconds is back from where he will have to push it up again.

What Sísifo shows the world with his myth is that destiny comes and when it does, people should solve and face it as humans, suffering with it or enjoying it if that’s what may come. Sísifo shows he is stronger than the rock. The happiness of this strong man consists of that. He is the owner of his destiny. The rock is his rock. His heart is fulfilled by the effort that taking the rock up the mountain requires.

So, the importance isn’t in pushing the rock but in how we do it. It doesn’t matter how many times we take the rock up and it falls down again. What matters is to know that each time we do it in a different way. The rock can feel different things according to how we push it, how much effort we do, how strong we get time after time. After each time the rock falls down the hill without valuing the effort one does to lift it up, we grow stronger. Each climbing pushing the rock teaches us something new. And this was how Sísifo reached happiness pushing the rock over and over again knowing that it would fall down anyway.

Sun / Rain

We all know the famous phrase that says "After every storm the sun always comes up again". That means that after every difficult situation we have in our lives, we always find happiness or comfort. The phrase shows that everything passes and we don’t have to be so sad about something because after that, everything will be ok again.

The sun and the rain are very common symbols in literature and I’ve heard another phrase using them but with a different meaning. It says: "I’ve sure enjoyed the rain, but I’m looking forward to the sun". It shows another way of looking to the times of adversity and the ‘rain’ let’s say.

It’s true that none of us like feeling bad and all what the ‘rain’ involves. We all prefer feeling ok, not suffering and enjoying what we are living. But things are not always like that and in our lives there are always bad times to live. If we didn’t have those hard times, how would we know which are the good ones? Anyway, when we suffer, we grow. With every fall, we learn. So, we might not want to live under the rain while we’re under it, but afterwards, when the sun is up again, we think back and realize that we’ve taken a lot of good points of it. We’ve grown up, we’ve learnt.