Final Reflection

1.    Did you like working with a blog? Why?

I like working with a blog. Having a blog that talks about subjects that could help others would make me really happy.  

2.    Do you believe that the use of this tool will benefit you in the future? Why?

 I do not believe it will help me in a future very much but i did help me to organize my ideas before writing them down.

3.    What do you think about the subject of the project (Teen Issues)? Is the subject relevant?  How the discussion of this subject helped you?

 I don't think it is relevant to anything. This discussion of the subject has not helped in anything. Knowing my problems and sharing them does not help me to grow as a person. 

4.    What did you enjoy the most about the whole process?

 Writing down my ideas & knowing that people appreciated what I wrote.

5.    How was the process of leaving feedback to your classmates?

 It was quite interesting. Reading people's stories and opinions helps me understand more about them and it helped me to think more critically about others thoughts and feelings. 

6.    Do you think there should be more projects like this? Why?

 No, They take up too much time but it was a nice and normal experience. 

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3 Comments to Carolina Pastrana

Post #10: It's nice, to be nice

(Thursday, February 9, 2012)

      When love is involved, analyzing is Poltergeist. Looking back at the days when a simple call would suffice; when a kiss on the cheek was intimate. I miss those days. When boys would open doors without expecting anything in return. I sound like I’m older but I got to live in the time where sex wasn’t everything, respect was. When friends didn’t micromanage your relationships, you did. When a boy wouldn’t dare call a girl names without knowing some physical harm was coming his way. How wonderful it was when boys thought being polite and decent was “cool”.

      I’ve had boyfriends in the past, but they all ended up having more defects that I couldn’t handle than good qualities. But I’ve gotten to the conclusion that if I could join every single boyfriend I’ve had in the past I’d have a super human. Boys are so predictable but so not. They are manipulative but easy to manipulate. It’s just so complicated to work with a brain that is completely different to ours. Usually when a girl learns a lesson they don’t continue to make the same mistakes but boys… they tend to ignore what’s right in front of them. But if they were a bit more sensible like I mentioned before maybe society wouldn’t be as messed up as it is. Maybe if guys were not so impolite to woman, woman wouldn’t be so impolite to them back. If this were to happen, violence would subside to only the casual maniac, not every other person like it is now. My point is, I miss nice and polite boys and I’m trying to look for ways to bring them back or create them again.

  

Post #9: Happy

(Wednesday, February 8, 2012)      

      What I want to be when I grow up. A question I’ve been asked a million different ways in my short sixteen years of life. John Lennon once said, “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy”. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” I believe he was right.

      People make all these plans for life and they don’t even take into consideration anymore that life ends unexpectedly. They make these illusions that one might live forever, by creating long term plans that include years and years of study or of traveling. My goal is to be an Emergentologist, Orthopedic Doctor or an Anesthesiologist. But when preparing or planning for my goal I had not considered if my happiness was really being looked out for. I believe that I am taking into consideration my happiness but I was not aware of this before. One only lives once and, because of it, happiness should always be the first option. It should be the first option in any type of decision one might consider pursuing. For example, from friends and family to a more personal type of relationship like a boyfriend or husband, on should always use both your heart and your brain to make decisions. Use the heart to decide which idea to consider for the decision-making and your brain to decipher how to do it correctly. To be happy should be what we all want to be when we grow up. 

          

Post #8: Army Strong

          Violence, that’s the solution! If you have a problem, hit a wall! If you’re angry with someone, slap them around! If there is a misunderstanding, throw a nuclear bomb! That’s how to do it! That’s the correct way to deal with problems! Violence is key. Get trained to shoot a gun! Get trained to kill people! Create reflexes which can cause others harm! Join the army and that’s their main goal.

            I have three friends whom are in the army. One is in the actual U.S. army, one is in the National Guard and the other is in the ROTC. They’re all there for different reasons but they all have one idea in common: Once you join the army, you don’t go back. I find the army to be such a brainwash. They sell you the idea that you may finish your studies and get paid by doing so. But by agreeing to join the armed forces, you’re selling your soul to a bunch of bloodthirsty sergeants. I may not be the best promoter of world peace but I don’t believe problems should resolve themselves through violence. Violence is just an instinct of survival, which should only be used if under attack. When my friends told me their reasons for joining the U.S. armed forces I could not believe my ears. They were telling me that training for 6 months to learn how to shoot and kill effectively was okay. They were telling me that Mahatma Gandhi’s passive protests were just a silly game. They were telling me that by being army strong they could live a better life. Well news flash, one of my friends lost three fingers and was told he has not getting deployed any more. Guess when he left for Iran? The first week of January. Even the army can lie.   

Post #7: Priests are men too.

(Monday, February 6, 2012)

Tonight, I was reading an article on the Washington Post® about a case of a 67 year old, catholic priest accused of sex offenses and bad administration of his church. But there are details I found quite astonishing. When submitted to the court, the defense lawyers demanded many of the details, from the evidence, be kept from the jury due to how graphic they were. But the accusing lawyers did not approve therefore proceeded to include such evidence. The judge in charge of the case decided against it, helping to set free about a half a dozen other priest whom were also being accused of sex offenses. I believe the law should apply to everyone, no excuses and no exemptions. I was very taken aback by such a profound favoring to the priests just because they are missionaries of God. In any case, they should be trialed with more ardor. These are people whom the community trusts and look up to. They are an example and if such a substantial amount of priests are being accused they should all be trialed and sent to prison. It’s an abuse of power, trust and authority. 

But I have always thought and will continue to think priests should not be forced into celibacy. We are in the 21-century! Some may say that it is something priests should be willing to do, but I differ. As you can see, celibacy is not proving to be an effective method for priests to dedicate their life to the church. Priests are not super humans, priests are not God, priests are normal men whom have a strong connection with their inner selves and God but it does not undo the fact that they are MEN; living, breathing, hormonal men. 

Post #6: Super Bowl or Boel?

(Sunday, February 5, 2012)

The 2012 Super Bowl or Boel was New York Giants vs. New England Patriots. Personally, football was a sport I considered hostile and plainly, just retarded. A friend from school played such sport and he decided to explain to me the actual concept and rules of this game. At first you have no idea what the rules mean and how many are there, but after you watch a few games you understand. So ever since, it’s not that I watch football now like I watch soccer, but I can watch a game without falling asleep or getting so confused I had to change the channel (which by the way happens to me when a Rugby game is on).

So tonight I went to a friend’s house to watch the Super Bowl. I’m not going to lie, I didn’t watch most of it because I was talking with someone, but I knew what was going on and the touchdowns and the great moves and such (thank God for replays). But when I decide to check my Facebook® I almost fainted. There was a girl who posted a picture of her, with a Patriots shirt, with her tongue out, who wrote: “Watching the Super Boel. Go Patrits!” Really?! Really? She couldn’t keep to herself that she has bad grammar and that she is a poser? If one isn’t the best critic or doesn’t know very much about the subject like say me, it is appropriate to stay quiet and not comment much. Not looking like a complete idiot trying to suppose you like football when you don’t even know the quarterback’s name. To all those girls who think that by “liking” or “knowing” about sports a guy will find you attractive think again. Guys may find that attracting, but they sometime find repulsing posers. Also, if you want to wear a team’s shirt, make shore it’s on straight. Just a suggestion. 

Post #5: Not Even Love Lasts Forever

(Saturday, February 4, 2012)
(hit play to the video to use it as a background)

You don’t know what you’ve got until its gone. When said, it is something people take lightly. They don’t actually comprehend this phrase. Let’s give a total materialistic example of what I mean: you always call your phone crappy and worthless… but then you loose it and you remember all those times your “crappy” phone called or texted your loved ones, its like all of a sudden that phone was the best piece of crap that ever existed. In the moment, when you have it in your hands all you do is protest and express how worthless you think it is but when you don’t have it’s like you actually loved it even though it was lame. 


Cutting to the chase I have a friend whom is currently in the army. He used to have huge, I’m talking ENORMOUS, fights with his kid brother. They were to an extent where he would leave the house and come to mine to blow off steam. When he was forced to inscribe into the army, he was so angry with his whole family that he left without saying goodbye. It had been four years since he had seen his brother. This past Christmas, after repeated begging from my friend and me, his brother agreed to see him. In the reunion my friend cried like a little baby and his brother did not shed one tear and told him: “This is for all the tears I shed these four years where you didn’t deigned to call me. You are regretting this and you will continue to regret this.” And he left. I couldn’t believe my eyes or what I was hearing. From then on I have valued every single second with my sister. We may fight but she will forever be my sister and my best friend. So my message to all is never take for granted what you have everyday because you never know when or how your going to loose it. This is just one life. Live it to the max, because apparently not even love lasts forever. 

Post #4: See You in 6 Months

(Friday, February 3, 2012)

     
     My sister is left for Spain on Thursday. She’s leaving as an exchange student for Madrid with two other friends. At first when she told me I thought it was an amazing idea, I thought that it was going to be an once-in-a-lifetime, incredible experience for her and her friends. As the days went by we continued on with our daily lives. But in winter break we began to go out together and get closer, I’m not shore if it was because of the fact that she was leaving or just because I’m older and I get along with her friends. But once this last week came, I began to think of all the things we actually do together. Small things like text each other when we are in the same house or call each other on the phone when we wanted to see a movie together and decided in which room of the house was the meeting going to take place. I wasn’t going to be able to do this anymore. For six months my sister was not going to answer my texts or call me on the phone or yell at me for taking her phone or just be in my room taking up space. For six months I am not going to see my sister. Being a single child must be so boring because a day has passed and I feel empty and bored. It’s like her presence was totally needed to make my household a home. And to add to all this, my mom left with her for 10 days. At the airport after the tears shed and the hugs given all I could say to her was “See you in six months. Oh and you better get a Spanish boyfriend!” 

Post #3: Don't expect what you don't give

     I blame violence on education. So apparently violence is “in” on my sweet little island of Puerto Rico. For example, a few months ago a young woman was talking to a friend in her phone and her boyfriend over heard the conversation and became very jealous. One day he was driving and saw her talking on the phone, his jealousy took over and he ran her over with his car. The man had not graduated high school and was lying about being employed. He had been denied the access to the preparatory high school due to his lifestyle. But cutting to the chase as an English writer names G.K. Chesterton once said “Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another”.

The Puerto Rican government should stop worrying about what type of representation they are illustrating to the U.S./World and start working on the existing problems such as unemployment, violence, teen pregnancies… ect. Problems that might seem like minor problems but sadly are all based on the biggest problem of them all in this small island; poor education. Education should be a priority and a right. But instead education is being treated as if it is in pristine conditions and is being implied it is a privilege. In 2010 the percentage of students graduating from college was 3 to 10. This is considered one of the lowest in standard history of the U.S. yet Puerto Rico is slightly smaller than Rhode Island, one of the smallest states of the U.S. How can you expect criminality to decrease when the society is not being educated? How can one expect the best if what we are receiving is the least (to not say worst)?

Stop Violence

Post #2: Anorexia and BBD Is The Way To Go

     




   Maybe she is born with it Maybelline. I just spent the past two hours convincing a friend that she is gorgeous. Okay, so she is 5’9; has long chocolate brown hair, sea green eyes and white sparkly diamonds that she insists are her teeth. She can never walk anywhere without getting gawked at by half of the teen masculine population of my dear island of Puerto Rico. After a few years of “motivational” forcing from her mothers part to join the modeling world, she decided to go to a casting. The first casting went terribly wrong, but after a few of them she became quite requested. In the specific occasion she was at a photo shoot for Maybelline cosmetics, she noticed the photographer was shaking his head. She walked up to the fat pig to ask him if she was doing everything correctly according to his standards, but instead of getting a response all she got was a close up picture of her pores. He then proceeded to belch out for the whole world to know that her pores were as big as the Grand Canyon and that she should consider a nose job and a personal trainer while she was at it. SHE IS SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD! To what the world has come to! A girl who is barely on her average weight, who wears a pound of make up to cover up her under eye circles created by her excessive exercising and poor sleeping patterns, who gave up her goals to please her manipulative mother. How can she be treated like this? I do believe one should strive for perfection but promoting anorexia and BBD (Body Dimorphic Disorder) is not the correct way to do it. She was born with it Maybelline. 

Post #1: Introduction

    What is a blog? A blog is a website in the Internet where people "gather" to record opinions and information. The English teacher in the high school I go to proposed the idea of writing a blog for her class everyday, for a few days and thought it to be one of a good experience. I, personally, love to write. Writing helps express what some won't dare say out loud, it gives a voice to every single person who is alphabetized. Writing is a self-expression that can never be dimmed; it is the most passive way to communicate with others. Having the privilege of knowing how to read and right is something that many take for granted. I don't believe I’m in that group; I use this gift to the maximum potential. Listening to someone read his or her thoughts and ideas gives you a glimpse of how the person really is. Why do you think diaries exist and are so popular? Blogs are a sort of public diaries. Blogs can keep from cooking recipes to personal opinions to politics to art. It’s a very versatile way to implement what is “in” which is globalization. I would have created a blog sooner but I don't have the amount of time to keep it up to date, still I admire those who dedicate themselves to do this. My English teacher had a great idea for this project yet I don’t believe people fully realize how necessary learning how to write correctly, how to create such simple things help in your college life and professional life and heck, your day to day life.