Situations that make you grow

By: Maria Angelica Zuluaga

Prose: Diary Entry

Choice: Creative

Dear diary:

I know I did not use this as much as I did before, but what happens left me limp and until today I had the strength to write and count all the situations I have been through, the circumstances surrounding the recent years of my life had led me a sad expression.

You know that I spent almost the totality of my youth in Jacksonville. My parents had worked there, and it felt it like home to me. Every summer, we would take a month off to go visit my family in West Palm Beach. In fact, my parents were both native of West Palm Beach.

Throughout my childhood, they had often talked about moving "back home", but I never thought the plan would materialize. It always felt like it was their fantasy, something that they would always talk about, but that they would never actually do.

However, a little more than a year ago, my mother lost her job. After that, the decision was quick; they were going to move to West Palm Beach, and I was coming with them. The whole suddenness of the decision threw me off guard. l had not expected this to happen, and I had not planned ahead. I did not want to move there. My friends, my life and my heart were in Jacksonville.

However, I did not have enough money to move out, which I gladly would have done. Essentially, I had no choice but to follow my parents until I was old enough and had saved up enough to live on my own.

Often, I wonder what would have happened if they had waited a year or two. I probably could have stayed in Jacksonville, I was defeated by the circumstances of the moment and I was left helpless, staring at the floor with not a happy expression.

Even now, it still feels as if I left my heart in Jacksonville. I'm hoping I'll be able to move back there in a year. That city is my home, and I think it will stay that way for the rest of my life, much the same way my parents never felt like Jacksonville was home. When I look back, I find it funny how I didn't realize how much I was leaving behind until I had turned my back to everyone and everything I had known since my childhood. The circumstances of my departure left me feeling bitter and unwilling to start all over again.

However, my bitterness and resentment were purely self-destructive. Instead of enjoying my first few months in West Palm Beach, l spent them thinking about how my life would be had I not moved. l wasted precious months of my life, and I will never get them back.

This experience has taught me that it is important not to live on horrible and inevitable circumstances in my life, because reflecting on them and resenting them can only bring you bitterness and sadness. In order to be happy, one must ignore the constraints of circumstance and move on, making the most out of every moment. I learnt it the hard way  

14.05.2013

My aunt, she is my hero.

By: Juliana Ortiz Gaitan 

1. Theme: Sometimes animals need a little of our help. Humans must take care and be responsible of these beautiful creatures.

2. Supporting details:

·       The dog, by the expression of his face seems sad and helpless.

·       He is probably lost and homeless.

·       By the way he is looking at the camera he is afraid.

·       As he has lived in the streets, he is malnourished and dehydrated.

·       His eyes are claiming for help.

3. Prose form: Diary Entry

4. Perspective: Personal

Dear Diary:

Last night I was walking with my aunt through my neighborhood; suddenly, we saw a little dog at the end of the road, he seemed lost. When we moved closer, we realized he was probably living at the streets, because he was very thin and he had not too much hair. When I saw his face, my heart broke.

This poor animal was shaking from the cold of Bogotá, and he looked kind of sick, we could not contain our tears.  It was really sad, how people that were passing through the street ignored him, and even chased him, that is the reason why we decided to help him. At the beginning, the dog growled and he barked us, my aunt said he was probably afraid because he thought we would hurt him.

We stayed like half an hour in the street with him; we were looking for help or anybody that would adopt this poor creature.  Time passed and nobody appeared. The night became colder, so my aunt decided to buy some bread in a supermarket and she gave it to the dog. He ate it so hard, that we gave him some more bread and water.

After a while, my aunt told me she wanted to adopt this dog, because she could not bear the idea of letting this helpless animal in the street. I was surprised and astonished, did she really meant it?...

Then, I realized that she has always had a good heart, and in fact she has always loved animals, in particular dogs; so I support her in this decision.  Immediately, we both took the dog and went to my aunt’s house. When we arrived, we let him on the kitchen with a blanket and more food.

This morning, when we woke up, we ran to the kitchen to see how our new pet was. We decided to name him Mateo. We took breakfast and we called the veterinarian, we wanted him to check Mateo’s health and also to vaccinate and bathe him.

Now, we are going to the veterinarian office, I hope Mateo is okay, I am so happy to have this dog with us. He is going to live in my aunt house but I can go any time I want, to see him and play with him. Definitely, I admire so much my aunt; she just saved an animal´s life, which is the reason why she became in my hero.

I will be telling you more about Mateo´s behave after the visit to the veterinarian office. Good bye dear diary…

Pumpkins

1.    Facts

·        A Pumpkin is an orange and round fruit that typically has a thick, orange or yellow shell. It can grow in gardens, as well as in a pumpkin patch. Besides, there are six stages of a pumpkin during its life cycle: seed, sprout, vine, flower, green pumpkin and orange pumpkin. First, pumpkin seeds grow inside of a hallowed out portion of a pumpkin, these seeds are little, flat and white. At the moment of planting them, they need sunlight and a lot of water.  After planting those seeds, a pair of green leaves start growing on the ground, this step is called sprout. As it is said, next step is Vine; where the little green leaves become in a big plan, that is the reason why pumpkins need a lot of space to grow. Meanwhile, yellow and edible flowers appear on the pumpkin plant; after some days they start turning into green pumpkins, this color means that the fruit is not ready to be picked yet. And finally the last step is orange pumpkins, where the color means that it is ready for you to pick it up. Now you can decide whatever you want to do with your pumpkins, if you want to cook them, participate with them in contests or just use them for decoration at home.

2.    Opinion:

·       We though pumpkins were vegetables, but know we know the truth, they are fruits. In our opinion they have a very strange flavor; actually they have bad taste, but it is just our perception. However, families around the world use pumpkins for cooking all kind of recipes, from sweet pies and salads to soups and juices. Besides from kitchen, pumpkins are also used for decoration, especially in Halloween. In countries like USA and Canada, people carve the pumpkins as a tradition, they garnish the indoors and outdoors of their houses, as well as schools and other public places. They are also used as customs for children, adults, and even for pets. On the other hand, pumpkins also are involved in contests, where the biggest pumpkin is the winner, it is amazing how bigger can be this fruit; sometimes they are as big as a car. Although we do not like to eat pumpkins, we cannot ignore the value and importance they actually have.

By: Juliana Ortiz Gaitán & María Paula Rojas Hernández

Friendship

DO NOT FORGET THE IMPORTANCE OF FRIENDSHIP.

By: Juliana Ortiz Gaitán and María Paula Rojas Hernández

               As everyone knows, friendship is one of the most important things in human life; sometimes we cannot live without friends. However, not everyone understands the true meaning of friendship and the importance of being a good friend.  Nowadays, children and adolescents complain that there are no real friends, and that friendships are constantly ending.

There is a very famous and popular saying “real friends are hard to find”, and it is completely true, because if you really want to have a special person to share moments with, you must be a good friend, in other words, if you want to find a good friend, you must be one.  A friendship is like a plant, you must feed it so it can grow, this kind of relationships demands time and effort.  So, to be more precise, the bases for constructing a real friendship are trust, loyalty, appreciation, commitment, solidarity, respect, honesty and interest in the other. Without those characteristics a friendship cannot work out.  As a result of your dedication, a friend provides a lot of support and comfort in good and bad times. That is the reason why friends are so important and valuables.

Investigations had proved that during childhood and adolescence friends are a big part of life; during these ages children are developing social aptitudes as well as their own personality. Regrettably, the society is in constant change, and children and adolescents too. At this moment, this young people are more concerned about their selves, they are just thinking in technology, fashion, and money.  In fact, they are not conscious of this, instead, they keep complaining about the extinction of real friends.  Friendships end for many different reason; the most common one, is the ending of high school; everyone takes their own way, and friends are forced to separate. In the same way, friendships end because of lack of commitment, trust and loyalty. Although it cannot be generalized, the young generations of nowadays are completely apart of the true meaning of friendship.  By the other hand, in actual society, hypocrisy is very common, and there are some people that just want to get benefits from you; of course this kind of situation makes you lose confidence and hope for finding a real friend. Meanwhile, there are some other people that are not bad or hypocrites, on the contrary, they are funny and interesting, but simply do not fill the expectations and the characteristics a true friend should have, the ones mentioned before.

This is a sad situation, with the passage of time the meaning of friendship has changed. But we could not lose hope, because actually real friends do exist. We just need to aside the superficial things and focus on being good persons for bringing the best of people and even the best of our selves. But remember, always following the characteristics you want to find in a friend; together we can make a better society full of harmony and affection.  After all, friends and family are the most beautiful treasures a person can have.

English Test

We, Women deserve a better place

SHE IN THE SOCIETY

By: Maria Angélica Zuluaga and Juliana Ortiz Gaitán

You have known that in the past women had no importance or any value; she was treated like a sexual and domestic icon. But, why they were punished like this if men and women can do exactly the same? Fortunately, things have changed, and nowadays women are as important as men.

Since the beginning of humanity, women had been treated unfairly, passing thorough many obstacles in order for them to be able to transcend their status and be able to participate in society. Their constitution, which is smaller than men, kept them away from the activities that required physical effort. Also, they were considered ignorant and unable to do any kind of jobs, letting men in charge of all the political, social, and economical aspects at that time. Some artists and writers exposed this whole situation on their works, even some of them were more precise at the time of talking about female characters. A clear example of what is mentioned before, is Oscar Wilde with his book “An Ideal Husband”, where all the female characters, except for Mrs. Chevely, were educated for finding a perfect husband. They did not need anything else, just to be good wives, and to stay loyal and serviceable to men.  In this story, men are the ones who manage money and business, they rule their homes.  In reality, these kinds of events continued for decades, even centuries, where women cannot work in any place and they had to be at home, taking care of the domestic duties and children, often being disrespected and punished by their husbands.

However, women started working and increasing their status in this changing society.  As a result of their hard work, they obtained a minimum wage and the right to vote and to participate in political and economic fields.  With the time, women have shown their capacities and their skills for doing all kind of activities just like men.   Nowadays, they have earned legal equality not only in jobs but also in family, for being headed householders. In the book mentioned before, there is a character called Mrs. Chevely, who´s intelligence, knowledge and business ability, show the reader a living image of what a woman can do. Another real life examples are, the women that had been or are presidents of different countries, this is a big responsibility and a very hard job. Cristina Fernandez Kirchner (Argentina), Michelle Bachelet Jeria (Chile) and Dilma Vana Rousseff (Brazil), are some of the ladies that have released how much women have achieved over the history and the importance of them now.

Although, it took several years to understand the true value and meaning of women, finally people are able to understand and realize that both, women and men, have not only equal rights, but also have the same mental and physical abilities for working and being part of this changing society. Women have the power of doing whatever they propose, and they can achieve all their objectives. Females are a big part of the world now, because they are involved in religion, technology, medicine, politics, business, and in all areas of the actual society, just like men are.

es.wikipedia.org

"An Ideal Husband" Oscar Wilde