MY GOALS

Dear Lourdes,

My name is Mar, I'm seventeen years old, and I'm studying 2^nd batxillerat in Castelló d'Empúries. In this mail I'm supposed to talk about my goals but this is actually a bit difficult for me. Focusing in short-term goals it's easier, for example one of my goals is to finish the Treball de Recerca, be proud of the final result and of course, get a good mark. Another one is to finish this school year with the same or even better results than I had last year. In each one of these there are possible challenges that I can find on the way, such as lack of time because of too much work, difficulties in the process of edition of my practical part of the project, that doesn't allow me to get the result I wanted, or other kind of challenges. To overcome them I should organize myself better with the time, to put effort on those things and also try to find other alternatives when I can't get what I wanted. In these cases, what's most important is that I work hard, even though teachers or my TDR tutor can help me to stay on track.

When it comes to long-term goals, it's more difficult. I can't really think about something concrete that I want to achieve. I don't really know what university degree I want to get and what I want to work as when I finish. I guess I could say my goals are to study a degree I like and to have a job I like, but I can't specify more. In this case, what I need to do is to have good marks in batxillerat and in Selectivitat in order to be able to choose a degree I like. But apart from that, I don't have in mind any other concrete goals. I would say may main goal in life is to be happy. I know it may sound so hipster, but in my opinion it's the most important thing in life. You will have to face different challenges, but I guess that to be able to overcome them you have to try to take advantadge of the good and bad situations, and to try to concentrate on the good things you have. You can try to achieve as many goals as you want, and you will succed in some of them and fail in others, but if at the end, you are happy with your life, I think it's more than enough.

"And you won't necessarily succeed at everything. That's okay."

I would like to comment this sentence because I agree with it. I think that a lot of times when we fail at something, we tend to think that we're not good at it, that we will never get it and that it's not worth trying again. And we aren't the only ones who think this. We all tend to think this about other people, and this can be even worse. If you fail once or twice, and have a bunch of people by your side telling you to stop trying because it's not your thing, you will probably stop trying and you will never get it. That's why it's important to keep in mind that it doesn't matter if we fail a hundred times, you never know if at the hundred and one try you will achieve it, so if it's something that you want, you should fight for it.

I look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
Mar

TED TALK: WHY 30 IS NOT THE NEW 20?

In this talk, the psychologist Meg Jay talks about the 20s decade and goes against the popular belief that the "30s are the new 20s".

Nowadays things like marriage, having kids or finish your degree and start working happen later than it did years ago. Some time ago, people in their 20s did all those things and everything happened earlier in life, but nowadays people tend to settle down and in their 30s. Because of this, some people sees the 20s decade as some throwaway decade, in which the things you do don't have to be necessarily important or relevant for your future life. That's why they believe it's okay to, for example, according to Meg Jay's thoughts before, date any guy or sleep with whoever you want, even if they're not good for you, just because you know that, as it is happening in your 20s, it won't be relevant in your life.

In this talk, Meg tries to make the people see that your 20s are still an important decade, in fact, as she says, those years are the key years in the development of the adult version of a person and the things that normally happen in the 20s decade are the ones that have the most impact on us. Through examples of two of her twentysomething girl patients, Alex and Emma, she explains the significance of the 20s and the importance of making right decisions during these years. Jay says that all those life events happening later, shouldn't stop you from start planning and making important decisions in the 20s decade, and she stands out the importance of not living these years like a irrelevant period of time, because then, when you reach the 30s, you will feel pressured and in a hurry to start settling down, and you will not make the decisions sensibly.

After thinking about what Meg Jay says in this talk, I can say I agree with what she says, but with some touches to clarify. I think she's right when she says that we mustn't flee from all the important decisions during our 20s, because as she says, then we'll feel pressured and we won't think mindfully the decisions we make in our 30s. But I don't think the 20s should be a "30s preparing decade". We shouldn't spend all those years thinking about the future and planning everything for our 30s. It's okay to take advantadge of this events delay in life, and see the 20s as a period of time to form yourself, to have fun, to try new things and to make mistakes and learn from them. But always thinking a little bit about the future, to make sure we enjoy the next different period of our lifes, the 30s.

VOCABULARY:

Twentysomethings: people who is between 20 and 30 years old.

Kick the can down the road: to defer conclusive action with a short-term solution.

Growth spurt: it is a sudden growth.

Arsonist: someone who sets property on fire.

TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/meg_jay_why_30_is_not_the_new_20#t-26167

FEMINISM AND "FEMINAZISM"

I have wanted to talk about this topic for some time now, so I'm going to do it in this post. I'm going to talk about the difference between feminism and the coloquial called “feminazism”.

Let's start from the beginning, what is the feminism? The feminism is a social and political movement that fights against woman discrimination and supports gender equality, wanting men and women to have the same rights and duties and wanting their equality.

Nowadays, feminism is getting everytime more popular and it's gaining a lot of support, either from women or men.

The problem is that some people go further and defend another way of thinking under the name of feminism, although it is not the same at all. This is when the term “feminazism” comes in. These people, normally women, defend the rights of women and complain in case men have advantadges or better conditions, but don't complain when it's women who are having this advantadges.

In my case, I don't agree with them. I think men and women should be equal and have the same rights and duties, because we are all human beings and, of course I cannot say we are equal in everthing, because there are obvious different between the two genders, but this shouldn't be a reason to be treated differently. And, although I'm a woman, I find some situations in which women are being treated with advantadges in relation to men unfair.

But, even though I don't agree with the thoughts of the “feminazis” and in my opinion, if they are against male chauvinism, they shouldn't defend what they defend, I think everyone has the right to think and express their opinions and thoughts. What bothers me is that these people consider themselves feminists and state they are totally in favour of feminism, but they are actually acting in a lot of situations as the opposite of feminism is defending.

So I think they should accept that they are not feminists and don't make other people believe they are when they are defending other things. 

OBAMA VISITS HIROSHIMA

On 27^th May, Obama visited Hiroshima, becoming the first United States president to do this since the nuclear bomb was thrown in the World War II.

The president talked about nuclear weapons and that we shouldn't use them and he said that we must never forget what happened 71 years ago, although he didn't apologize in the name of the country.

Obama visited the Peace Memorial Museum and the Park, spoke with two survivours and even hugged one of them, Mr Abe. This visit has caused diversity of opinions: some people see this visit as a good thing and some Japanese people welcome it, despite the fact he hasn't apologized; and other people say that he made a very idealistic speech, but he is still the leader of the country with the biggest nuclear arsenal.

The same thing happens with the throw of the nuclear bomb, some people think it was good because it brought the war to an end, but other people, amongst which there are people who were directly or indirectly affected by the bomb, who think it was cruel and it shouldn't have been done. 

PERSONAL OPINION:

I think it's something good Obama visiting Hiroshima, because even though he didn't apologize, it's a way to show he accepts whan the country did. Also I like the fact he spoke with survivours and people affected by it, because I think it is a good gesture of him.

And about the if it was good or bad throwing the nuclear bomb debate, I think it wasn't good, because even though it meant the end of World War II, a lot of people died and it had horrible consequences that are still prevailing until nowadays.

NEW WORDS:

· Wreath: corona funeraria

· Complacency: autosuficiència

· Poll: votació

LINK: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36394975

REVIEW: THE FIGHT CLUB

Some months ago I watched a fim that I had heard about before but it never really caught my attention: it was the Fight Club. Someone reccomended it to me, so I decided to watch it and it really surprised me. I ended up liking it a lot!

This movie was directed by David Fincher and it's based on the book with the same name by Chuck Palahnuik.

The story starts when the main character, whose name we don't get to now and who is played by Edward Norton, starts having insomnia and starts attending support groups for problems which aren't even related to him, there he meets Marla, played by Helena Bonham Carter, who is doing the same as him. With that, his life changes a little bit, but then it makes the big change when he meets Tyler, played by Brat Pitt, a soap maker who lives a particular life. Together, they start a fight club that develops into something out of control.

When I started watching the film I was interested in it. Then the middle of it I started to get a little bit bored, and I think it was because I wasn't understanding the whole message of it. But then, there comes a point when there is a huge plot twist that totally surprised me and that I didn't expect at all. From that point I started to really like the movie and I began to understand the things better. The film has a full of ideologies background, that can be hard to understand, but the main ideology that it transmits is the rejection of the consumism and the idea that people are living lifes they don't like because of the system we are living in.

There are films that use plot twists to explain the story using the easy way, that maybe it has nothing to do with what happened before and that's why it surprises the viewers, but at the end it was just a way to end everything easily. This film isn't one of these cases, because if you watch it for a second time you can notice different clues the director puts in scenes previous to the plot twist that subtly warn you of what it's actually going to happen.

In conclusion, it is a film I totally recommend and although it can be a little difficult to understand (it happened to me and I am not sure I understand it fully now) it will surely surprise and shock you.

THE TRAILER:

SELECTIVE XENOPHOBIA

One of our society's problem nowadays is the xenophobia. Not everyone, but there's a lot of people who feels rejection for immigrants, specially on situations like the one we are living right now, when we are not in a good economic moment and some people think that unemployment is caused by immigrants who “steal” the jobs to people from the country.

But we could say this xenophobia is selective, because normally people tend to reject immigrants from specific countries, a lot of times from African countries, who are normally in a worse economic situation. But then, when people come from other European countries, such as France, Germany or the UK, or even people from African countries, but who are rich, this xenophobia disapears and everyone is pleased with them. There is the typical example of the common rejection to the arab immigrants, but the acceptance and fondness to the arab sheikhs, because they are extremely rich and they bring money to the country.

Another example of this, that I saw on the Internet recently and that it made me think about writing this you say, is Donald Trump, one of the USA presidential candidates at the moment. Donald Trump is the representant of a republican party and is totally against immigration. He wants to close the borders of the country to avoid the entrance of immigrants, specially from hispano immigrants who come from the south of the country. But, despite his hate for immigrants, on the 5^th May, when the “Cinco de Mayo” Mexican festivity is celebrated, he posted a photo eating a taco bowl and saying how much he loved this festivity and the hispanics. Or pictures of him with arab sheikhs can be also found, after he has said more than once that muslim people are a danger for the country.

Xenphobia is a problem that exists and that society needs to fix, but I think that total xenophobia is not something common, what is common is this “selective xenophobia”, that lots of times changes depending on the economic situation the person in front of you has.

This “selective xenophobia” is a problem, as well as the “total xenophobia”, but I think it is even worse, because it shows the incoherence and the illogicallity of a lot of people, who show that can't even follow their own principles. If you are against immigration, it's okay. I don't agree with you and I don't think you are right, but at least be coherent and be against all immigration and don't break your principles, even when the thing you don't accept is beneficial for you.

Also, I think it's a shame that someone famous, who totally shows this “selective xenophobia”, is having so much support on being the next USA president. 

WOMAN CONFRONTS NEONAZIS

The news talks about something that happened on the 1^st May in Sweden: Tess Asplund, a Swedish woman, stood in front of a neonazi grup, confronting them while they were doing a march. This took place in Borlänge, a city in Sweden, and the march was organized by a political party which is against immigration, the Nordic Resistance Movement.

A photographer, David Lagerlöf, immortalized the moment in a photo that went viral and quickly spread on the Internet, in which you can see Asplund rising her fist and standing in front of three uniformed neonazis with a firm attitude.

The photographer took the photo and after realizing how powerful it was he posted it on Twitter, after what it became viral. That's when Tess Asplund fully realized what she had done. She says that it was an impulsive act, that she didn't even thought how dangerous it was. The woman states that now, after the impulseveness that moved her, is still happy about what she did, because it has showed to the world what is happing, and she is happy to show that she is not okay with that. She hopes this photo makes other people fight against this kind of marches and against racism, just like she has been done for 26 years. 

PERSONAL OPINION:

Even if it was an impulsive act, I think this woman was very brave for doing what she did. I think it's a shame that after all the nazis did during World War II, there is people who still shares their ideology and exaltates the same values they did, for example the violence. And I think now it is a problem, because with the economic crisis we are living, the refugees situation and other problems we are having in our society, this kind of political parties are gaining everytime more popularity and support.

That's why I really like the photo and I think it's shoking and powerful, because it lets you see that there is still people who fight against what they think it is wrong, even if they are alone, like Tess. Because one little spark can start a fire.

NEW WORDS:

· Hook: ganxo

· Pinch: pessic

· Clash: enfrontament

LINK: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/05/europe/swedish-protest-nazis-woman/