Thanksgiving Break!

Last week I went to Puerto Rico after three months of being thousands and thousands of miles away from home. It was something I really needed. Most of my friends spent their thanksgiving break partying and going out with their friends. However, my thanksgiving break was very different. I spent every single day of my break in my house with the rest of my family members. It felt incredible to step into my own house, to sleep in my own room, and most importantly...to spend valuable time with my family. Unfortunately, I was not able to spend thanksgiving break with my sister and my older brother because they were away. I also did not get to spend time with my father because he left to the Dominican Republic where he spends most of his weekends, but I did spend time with my mother, my step father, my grandmother, and my other brother. These couple of days I spent with my family gave me the strength and motivation I needed to continue living away from them. It inspired me to keep on going and it made me realize I can not give up. Because of this, I promised myself that I am going to overcome the obstacles that are limiting me from enjoying a happy and peaceful life and doing the best I can in my academic career. This past week was another reaffirmation that my family is the greatest and most valuable thing in my life and that without them, I would not be anything.

languages

I have always been very interested in languages. To me, different languages and accents are beautiful. I find very interesting how there are so many places that have spanish as their official language but at the same time, they each have their a distinct accent. I also find amusing how two different languages can be so similar at the same time. For example, English and Spanish are very different. However, there are certain words that are the same in both languages such as "hospital" and "hotel". Also, there are words that are not written exactly the same but one can still see they are alike such as "moribund" which is "moribundo" in Spanish. Languages are much more than a tool of communication, they are part of our culture and of our history.

highschool vs college

College is all about shaping one's future. One gets to decide the path one wants to take. Although there are several required courses, it is a time in which one mainly takes classes that will help one gain knowledge of one's future career. Because of this, most people enjoy college a lot more than highschool. For example, although I enjoyed my highschool years with my friends, I did not give my all in my classes because some did not interest me. Through out middle and highschool I disliked geography class. I was never interested in this class. I did not understand why I had to learn that the German city of Koblenz gave site to the confluence of the Rhine and the Mosselle river or that the northern boundary of the United States is exactly at 49N. For me, the basics of geography was enough. Other than this, college is the place where one becomes an independent individual. One does not have parent's rules, one has plenty of responsibilities. Although all teenagers long to be in college and some do not take highschool serious, it is important to become responsible before attending college. It is crucial to have sleeping and study habits and to learn how to make decisions before going to college..and highschool is the place to learn these things.

life is a domino effect...

Every aspect of our lives gets affected by another. Our lives are made up of numerous aspects, situations, etc. that are all tied together. If one negative situation emerges, then other aspects of our lives will be affected and will evolve into other negative situations. If one positive situation emerges, then other aspects of our lives will be affected in a positive way and other positive situations will evolve. As one can see, life is a domino effect. The key to success is balance. One needs to balance out all the situations in life, find that place where everything is stable and strong, where nothing will be negatively affected by another. When one finds this place of balance, of stability, then one will be a successful and strong individual.