2013, GOOD AND BAD POINTS

Uffff… 2013… I have to admit that this year was very rough, full of changes, of new challenges, of new people. Passing from high school to university was difficult; I didn’t used to study like I have to do now, the distance from my house to university is not even close to the distance between my house and the school that I had studied, It takes me like an hour and a half to came to university, and my old school is just 15 minutes away from my home!  Haha, but hey, I can’t do anything to change that for now, so I only have to accommodate to that.

I’m proud about my performance as a student in university. I thought that it was going to absorb me, but it didn’t happen. I was able to organize my times to study, to go out with my friends, and to spend time with my family, I’m not saying that it was easily, but it wasn’t impossible. I realized that what I’m studying now is what I want to be in the future, that psychology is the career that I want.

This year I met a lot of people too, A LOT. And I’m not the kind of person that speaks to everyone without any shame or insecurities, so It’s an achievement for me… hahaha, just kidding, I like to meet new people, and talk to them without even know each other… but that doesn’t mean that I have made a lot of friends, that’s not even close to what happened this year. In fact, in this year I realized who my real friends are, and who doesn’t, that sucks and is very good at the same time hahaha, you know what I mean. Thank God this year is near to its end, and that the new year's party is going to be awesomeeee!

FOOD AND EATING

Eating is one of my favourites things that I like to do. I’m one of that people that eats a lot of food, and doesn’t get fat easily, so I eat very much every day hahaha. It doesn’t mean, of course, that I don’t take care about what food I throw into my body. The most of the times I check over the nutritional information of the food that I eat. That’s because I like to take care of my body, but… I have to admit… that I love fast food. How can I resist to a McDonald or Juan Maestro’s hamburger? HOW? I like that food very much, and this last time I’ve been controlling myself in that aspect.

My favourite meal ever is meat; I’ve liked every kind of meat that I’ve tasted until now. This September’s holidays I went to the south of Chile with some friends and my family, and we did a stick’s lamb. God! I’ve never eaten that before, and it was majestic. I think that the lamb’s meat flavor is the best hahaha.

Now I’m exploring my skill to cook, so I haven’t gone to many restaurants in this time. But the last one that I’ve went was one that served every kind of sea food, it’s called “El Ancla”. I ordered garlic shrimp for the entry, and it was indescribable. Jesus Christ! Just thinking about it makes me salivate. I liked it very much, and now my goal is to make garlic shrimps just like I’ve tasted in that restaurant. 

DREAMS

Dreams are very important to me. I think that they are sometimes product of the stress that I’m living, product of circumstances that I’m passing now, product of some situations that I lived in the past, or messages from God that helps me to go through into life. I pay a lot of attention to it because I think that possibly they are warning me about something, that I’m too stressed, too tired maybe, or something that is up to happen.

My dreams doesn’t follow a single line of topics or structures, sometimes are in black and white, after they are in color, sometimes with sounds, others without sounds, and I never remember them completely, I remember just the facts that I consider relevant I think.

I use to daydream, thinking about things that I would like to do in the future, or ideas that I would like to put in practice. I think that that behavior is necessary to have a healthy mind, and to develop the creativity.

If I had the money to do anything I want I would like to travel to every continent in the planet and learn all kind of idioms. Also I would give all the money that I could to the institutions and organizations that helps sick and poor people in Africa.

HOW GREEN ARE YOU?

Since I was a child my parents educated me to respect all creation of God, including the environment, animals, plants, humans, everything, and until today I practice that. In my house we have a lot of plants, and everyone cares of them. We don’t have recycling habits because is too difficult to have them. The municipality of our community doesn't give to people the facilities to recycle; in fact they hinder the development of that habit. So what we do to help the environment is walk a lot. If we need to go somewhere near to our house we don’t use the public transportation or something, we walk, only when we have to go to our study places, that are far away from our home, like university, we use the bus.

I don’t consider myself as a Tree-Hugger because I’m not quite in love of nature like that people. I really like places full of nature, but I don’t do so much to defend it from people that kills it. I’m not joined to any eco-organization for example, or I don’t argue with people that don’t care about the environment. I only do what I think is better for the ecosystem.

I’d like to recycle, but I think that it may be a hard habit to develop in my house right now. Maybe when I live alone I will do it. And I’d like to come to the university by bicycle too, but I’ll do it when the city of Santiago has the bike ways suitable for that.

BOOKS AND READING

I've never been a bookworm; just a year and a half ago I started to read books on my own. When I was a child I didn’t read a lot, just what school required me. I remember the book that I liked the most in my days of elementary school; its name was “Historia de una gaviota y del gato que le enseñó a volar”.

Now I read a lot of things because of my studies at the university, but what I like the most is to read self-help books, I think that these types of books contains a lot of wisdom, and I know that all that I could learn from them maybe will help in the future. The book that I like the most now is The Bible; probably it sounds weird, but is the true.

In fact, one book that I read recently is The Bible. It took me a year and a half to read it completely, and I think that it was the best investment of time that I’ve ever done. It treats, in general, about how God loves us, and it shows that in many ways that needs to be understood under the context that it implies. If you want to know more of God, of our creator, of His love to us, and even of yourself, The Bible is the best book for you.

SUMMARY FROM A CAREER-REL​ATED ARTICLE

“I fear my five-year-old son has inherited my depression” (By Annalisa Barbieri), The Guardian, 11 October 2013, 15.00 BST.

This article treats about a mother that has sent an email to Annalisa Barbieri asking about something that’s happening with her five-year-old son.

The mother tells Annalisa by the email that she had mental-health issues since she was 14 years old, including anorexia, bulimia and depression. And that now she’s worried about her son, because he’s a very emotional and sensitive kid that gets upset easily. She thinks that maybe he has inherited her mental issues. After that she asks what would be the best for her son.

Responding to the email, Annalisa tells to the mother that depression is a multi-factorial disease, so her son has the same possibilities of having depression in the future because of external causes or because of genetic causes.

Dr. John Morgan gives a response to the email too, and he asserts that children can give some signs of later predisposition to depression, but that what he sees in her son is that he is a sensitive and emotional kid only, and also that these characteristics can be channeled in the correct direction to help him to having a happy life.

The doctor also says that she wouldn’t medicalise her son, and she would not tell about what’s happening with him to his teacher or counselor. That she may not fear that because she had mental-health problems when she was younger, means that her son will have it too. What she has to do is communicate to him that he needs correction in some things, but giving him the space to talk and express his emotions.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/oct/11/five-year-old-inherited-depression

JAPANESE ANIMATION

In these days there are many different types of animation, and one of the most influencer is the Japanese anime. This type of animation has marked a lot of people around the world, with its stories that are recognizable for their peculiar emotionality.

I’ve been related to this type of animation since I was a little boy. I’ve watched many series with my eldest brothers, and the most I liked were Dragon Ball Z and Pokémon. The first one is about a group of aliens called Saiyajins, which came to the earth because another alien, called Freezer, destroyed their planet. What they do is fight against evil aliens that try to destroy the earth, another planet, or some person/alien that is close to them. They fight using superpowers and their brute force. The main character is Goku. The other one, Pokémon, is about a young boy named Ash. He makes a journey around one zone to find every type of pokémon; these are creatures like animals with superpowers, which fights ones against others. Those Japanese animations liked me because of the adrenalin that provokes in me. The fights, the story, the characters are highlights until this time.

Japanese anime hasn’t influenced my life in an important way in general. I’m not an extreme fan of it, and l wouldn’t die if I don’t watch it. But I really like to watch the ones I’ve mentioned before. I remember until today the soundtracks of both animations, and I can sing and listen those many times without getting bored. I know that many people feel the same way like me in this topic; Dragon Ball Z and Pokémon are unforgettable.