Final Reflection: Journal and Blog

Writing has always been sort of an escape for those who search with ink or pencil the words that will describe the feelings the writer will experience in some location or occasion. Where in certain moments I felt pushed with the assignment, because I really did not wanted to write about the situation I was going through but I had to. Nonetheless it's a way of relieving stress for those who might find difficult talking about their problems with others. Also I saw the as the days past intended to go deeper into my worst feelings and fears, because the goal was to refresh  my life in a certain manner and throughout these 40 entries I manage to do so. Meanwhile on the anti rules I really did not have any sort of problems,besides the crossing out one,putting the body over the mind this time to fulfill the goal of this activity. Therefore turning writing into an activity not only of mere pleasure but into a therapy to turn pages or rewrite new chapters, fact which is key in our daily life basis. That's why when I wrote the journal I used it as a therapy for relieving the stress of the day helping me forget or even find solutions to the problems that sometimes may have been causing some confusion in my head. Helping me move on in a very crucial moment in my life making me understand that writing is not only for those who study literature, poets etc., but for those who are in search of themselves. Where we can be influenced by several factors such as location, where sometimes being on the beach, mountains or any tranquill place influences the form and how deep the writing can be,although for me location is not a major problem or necessity. On my perspective my writing is influenced a lot by music. Where not only going throught the lyrics I get ideas of my feelings taking me into a journey to self search of my true interior being. Sometimes making me understand what is the real issue of the obstacles around me. That's why I recommend for those who feel you're  not heard to start writing, because maybe the solution is just one swift away.

Nonetheless thanks to technology not only we can express ourselves with paper but also in social media as blogs. Where you're given a personal space where you can express yourself freely without any sort of restriction on  your post. Having a small glance of freedom, in this case the writing turns into the mic and spokesperson in which our ideas are presented. Utilizing this personal space  to talk or debate about topics in which sometimes you don't have the space to communicate them. At first when I opened my blog I was a bit confused with the system. Not because of the use of a computer, but because it was a space where I could write my own perspective of any topic the professor mentioned and I felt the freedom, term which is not usually that common when it comes to class work, but hey its just a matter of time things change and we lookout for diverse ways of thinking and be open about it. As I wrote my blog I just notice I got sometimes too critic or maybe too deep in my thoughts ending with whole bunch of draft that today you see published for the enjoyment of whoever feels like taking a journey to the clouds. Hope you enjoyed my journey and remember "ENJOY LIFE BECAUSE IN IT LIES THE TRUE JOURNEY"

Thanks!

Jim Cooper: The Helping and Teaching in Puerto Rico

Helping thy neighbor, has always been characteristic that distinguishes Puerto Ricans from other societies. It does not matter how much work it takes us, we prefer to give a helping hand before seeing a brother in trouble or in need. Could this characteristic cause us problems? Perhaps the focus on helping became a factor that did not allow us to progress as individuals in a society, or maybe created a dependent generation. This dilemma comes down in one of the chapters in Down in The Island where Jim Cooper talks ab

out the Puerto Rican as a generous person willing to help, however this being a factor in the classroom that has been overlooked when it comes to individual development, because such dependence causes the student’s performance to limited. 

The codependency created out of this willingness to help causes confusion at parts because the lack of individual understanding of the task we could be getting ready for. It can be very unfortunate, but interesting fact is that as we grow up we are prepared to become rivals, instead of helping each other’s, because we are limited in our understanding and become a limit on to others so that they don’t surpass us. We change over the time, from willing to help to careful consideration of how we help, so that we don’t permit the rival to surpass us.  

This idea can be seen in how the English language is taught in Puerto Rico. Since it is a controversial issue that, over the years, has been linked to an event that occurred. During the leadership of Luis Muñoz Marin, in 1954, English was imposed in all the public schools. Cooper noted some of the issues that arose with the learning of English, and sought to go to the reason why it is so hard to learn, and devised a way to change the syllabus, so that the way the language is being taught can be arranged. Another thing that can be considered is practicing the different accents because it would allow for a better understanding of how a word can be heard differently and permit the learner to differ and be more exposed to the language more frequently. As I thought of what I had lived. 

Another option that will permit for the students to learn faster would be to integrate the words learn for their vocabulary to be found in two languages, for a better relation of what the words are in both languages. A media orientated environment can help, because in the internet you can see and hear how a word sounds, and give you dialogue, that will better familiarize the user with a more verbal to text relationship.

True Love = The Norm?:Perspective on Room with a View

Love is a topic that has touched each generation and at time might be undesirable, and in others it could go against our morality. The division of social classes has always been present in many social customs, like in love, family, and responsibilities.  In the movie a room with a view, the concept of love is presented in a realistic environment, in a century very different from ours, but present the same issues, that demonstrate that even throughout time, love faces the same obstacles in a relationship. The movie focuses on the different views, and expectations of love in different social circles, which permit for a whole picture of what is love in that time to be discussed. 

If the movie was translated to the modern time, it would be a young lady and her aunt go on a vacation to a remote location, where the lady plays piano so passionately, that she is complimented that if people placed that much passion in how they interacted, it would be a better society. There she meets Mr. Adventure, and his father. There the lady finds interest in how the father thinks, and is different from the rest of the society. She ends up falling for Mr. Adventure and Mr. Adventure for her as well, but since they are not from the same social class their relationship is doomed by the social customs, because the family will not look for love, but how someone is perceived before love. The summer fling ends there, and she goes back to her home to a man who is in the same social circle as she is, and gets engaged, but is the most stupid relationship ever, because the man just wants her as a trophy wife. There is no real form of love in their interaction, but as all romantic comedies go, the lover always finds his girl, but it is kind of desperate, because he forced his father to move to the same neighborhood for him to have an excuse to meet and be with her more. The movie takes a sharp turn, because the lady realizes that she is better following love, than marrying without it. So she leaves and ends up bumping with Mr. Adventure and living happily ever after.

Although very fictional, in how I expressed the story, the plot just points out that love is love, and the social and economic differences should not be a limit if one is with someone that truly makes them happy and pushes them to happiness and joy. If the heart chooses whom to love, then follow your heart, don’t let some simple excuse keep you from following your desire to be with someone. When that someone pushes away all those reasons to not be together because they are more valuable to they are more valuable to your happiness, than fulfilling your desires and needs, then don’t leave them and accept them as they are and seek out joy. Don’t let the desire to meet the standards of your family, or social expectations limit you, to find that special someone in your life, it is your life, live it how you please, not to please others.

The Experience: Running for AMSA Vice President

Running for a political party is not easy task, you could be running for a position in an organization, and feel like you are a part of the series house of cards. There are certain characteristics needed make each candidate an individual that is capable to do the position in which they aspire. Although the truth is that the final decision is placed on the voters, there are qualities like charisma, bravery, determination, and leadership that make a candidate stand out amongst the candidates. This year I had the opportunity to run in the elections of the American Medical Student Association, better known as AMSA. I ran for the position of vice president, because I wanted to be a part of this association because they are focused on guiding premedical students, students that wish to follow a discipline related to the health system, and talking about medical topics that would help me and others in a profession that I find extremely enriching as a human being.

I was asked during my candidacy to define “what is a true health provider?”, and concluded that we live on an island that medicine has been converted into an economic topic, where the patient has lost important while the earnings have become the main reason for the profession.  For this reason, I wanted to become the vice president, because I wanted to clarify what it meant to me to be a true health provider. I wanted to guide other students, like myself, to a path that it’s focus is to create an individual that is righteous and respected, because they look for what is best for the patient, and not in it for the economic security that in entails. I wish for any human that requires any help from a physician is reachable and not an economic factor that limits many people. As a candidate, I wanted to present innovative ideas, which are just and refreshing, to the idea that governs the health field, which promote progress.  Making promises that can’t be fulfilled, because they are not plausible and only prolong the problems that are existing, but are not being resolved.

Unfortunately, in my island, the majority vote based on political parties, and not by candidates, in which ideas are not passed faster because they don’t permit the good ideas to pass because they bicker over the stupid details, and contradict each other, just to contradict each other. This does not permit for the desires of some to be ignored, and because of that is why I wanted to become a vice-president of the association, because right now the future medics of the island are the in this campus, and can be respond with and could be better informed of how the system works, and what needs to be fixed. I want to place seed that will help the students work with the past that has problems, and provide a future with solutions.

Cruel World?....Reflection on Luis Negron's Book "Mundo Cruel"

Luis Negron

In the world we live in, a word that I feel is very absent from our day to day interactions is tolerance. In the past, one did not judge the people based on what they liked or preferred. I asked myself, “What is so wrong with being different? “, and a book gave me the best answer I have yet to see. The book mundo cruel by Luis Negrón taught me that there is nothing wrong with being different because the story narrates the lives and struggles of Homosexual human beings. This stories all are accompanied by solitude, and that solitude can be seen as a constant companion because the desire of acceptance of how one is truly is their only desire, in a society that places strict judgment, and acts of violence toward those who don’t fit a particular vision of what one should be. While in the same society one calls out a person who does gestures or particular practices that can be seen as homophobic, but when asked if they are, they deny the idea because they don’t want to be seen in that light that punishes a person for being themselves. Those gestures can be seen as an indirect form of social order in all forms of media’s that focus our desires towards a fairy tale lifestyle. And in those fairy tale lifestyle Tarzan found Jane, the beauty found her beast, but because Pinocchio wanted to be a boy so much, because maybe he fell in love with one. 

This is why, this world is a living hell for a group of society, even if this person did not choose the reason why he lives this hell. It is up to the rest of the groups, which I am a part, to call these events out and fight for social equality. The people in the story are people like you and me, and it is sad how they weep inside, encaged, because they look to be seen with accepting eyes, and with the same worth as anyone else. When it comes to intimacy, with another human being, once opinion over another relationship should not be an option, unless it is to defend the desires and wellbeing of a person, because consensual sex, should be the only sex. There have been studies that demonstrate that a person that controls their own life and have a sex life, that is their choosing, not placed on them by anyone, tend to be more faithful in the long run. As a result of what is desired by the social norm, the number of unfaithful and dishonest relationships would be higher than those of the honest and faithful, because the desires of the individual would not always be met. Then the word tolerance must be questioned in today’s society, because of the grand weight that it has because it is not placed on the scale of the society, to balance it out the prejudice towards groups that are not seen as individuals.  It can be easy to say something in some words on a piece of paper, but when you place yourself in someone else’s shoes, and see that you are bound to the words and actions you do, because they can have a profound effect on a person, whether they be good, or bad, but consider how the person feels toward what you say, and demonstrate empathy for those who stay silent, and in result are silenced. Think before you say something, and remember that someone could be listening, and your comment can be either hopeful/understanding, or hateful/inconsiderate, but the one you should follow should be the one that provides peace. 

Presenting: Perspectives as Audience and Presenter

Sometimes we might get nervous, but the truth is
that the control is only in our hands

In a room full of spectators where a multitude of eyes glare with the image of you on their eyes, becomes the only thought that you think of, when you are about to present a project. The nerves sink in and they start to take control of our body. This does not only happen to students in elementary school, but it happens to professionals, as well. It does not matter how educated, or how much you master the material or how ready you are for the presentation, the nerves always kick in, and is a part of how we get ready to talk about the subject in hand. I had the opportunity to present my own identity in front of a panel from the English department. I got to speak about the identity of a Puerto Rican in my speech. Honestly, I had the text in my hand, and commenced to read it, and thought that I did not have a full understanding of the material when I spoke, and doubted what I was saying out of fear that I was not clear. This just reminded me that I had commenced, and I could not change anything. I could only end it, and if asked anything about it, state that even, I did not conclude some things that I mentioned, because of how I felt I delivered the message.  At moments, I failed in my presentation

when I did not pronounce a word correctly, or when I started to show that I was nervous when I started to speak about my condition. It could be expected, from one, that when talking about something that is so defining that, it can be scary to say it, out of fear of exposing one’s part of one’s self to the world. I had never spoke to a group, about who I am, much less my condition and how I am treated. I felt my hands turn cold, my voice become ever more unclear with the vibrations of fear in my tone. To keep myself as calm as possible I started to think that even though I could not speak correctly, or maintained a rhythm, I reassured myself that I knew the material. I was asked, how did I feel when presenting, and I would have to  say that I always get nervous, but as I progress it becomes less and less, because I’m getting closer to the end. The advice I would give to anyone who is about to present is to close your eyes and know you have this presentation in your hands. You know what you wrote, and don’t fear anything because you have control over the situation, even though it can seem the opposite. Believe in yourself and you will be amazing.

 I spoke about how I felt when I was presenting, but when I the tables turn I become an extremely analytical person. I see a presenter and focus on their body movements to better transmit their message. It could be excessive movements, fast movements, or even not direct visual contact with the audience. It is advised many times to focus on a distant spot and for the nerves of a visual connection with a viewer from the public to not be a distraction from the transmission of the message. It can also be said that if you don’t see a person, you don’t know if you look nervous or no feedback on how one is being perceived. Sometimes, how someone evokes a feeling that is interesting, even if the interest for the material is none, the message can be transmitted better, but it can also be said that a person who is assigned a topic and does not demonstrate any desire to present it, it can be seen as the most boring thing in the world, even if the material being talked about is very pertinent and interesting. I tend to be more demanding in presentation because I don’t like badly produced jobs, it does not mean that I’m very demanding, but I just don’t approve of students that do the minimum, just to  get bye. 

A Real Taste of Goodbye

Woken  by the scent of your perfume

Never realized I was so close to my doom 

If you could only see what I really feel

I know you would not believe this is so real

I'll just be dreaming for you just to come home

Meanwhile I am writing this letter feeling alone

Then again, I thought about us in those moments

In which you gave me all

But I was to weak, so I let you fall

To see from this point that our dreams were broken

If you could only see how I really feel

You would only notice I just want to conceal

Hidden from a world who never showed love

Shaking my head just looking sky above

Drops runs through my face 

Not sure if there my tears

Of you I haven't found a trace

Never imagined I had encounter such fear

If you could only see how I really feel

You would have waited for me  and this wouldn't be real

Because on a morning like this you would have been lying with me on our bed 

But now I need to only realize that you're  dead

 All this time you only wanted to go on a date

But I took too long and now is to late

The only word left for me is regret

Because a love like you is impossible to get 

Still, I know you'll forgive me for all the tears I made you cry

And that for now I will only say I Love You 

But I will never say good bye

If you really love someone tell them to there eyes

Giving them your all to convince them your not full of lies

If you could only see what I really feel

I know you would not believe this is so real

Because I'll just be dreaming for you're return home

Meanwhile I am writing this letter crying and feeling alone

See you on our next life love...See you on our next life....