To go or not to go to university

          Reading an article about post-graduates' life has left me thoughtful... although many of the conclusions they came to had already occurred to me.

 

 

          For one thing, they point out that many graduates don't earn as much as undergraduates do. After all, we must bear in mind that by the age of 24 or 25, undergraduates are already quite experienced after having been working for around 7 years or so. So, apart from having more expertise in their field, they also tend to be more mature, with more adaptability and drive (which certainly makes them more employable). Unlike most graduates, who have nothing more than insecurity trimmed with outstanding qualifications, which leads them to get one temporary badly-paid job after another until they turn 30 or even more!

 

 

         For another thing, for our generation going to university has become a sort of fan. Mind you, there are those who have always known what they wanted to study and went for it. Many others, however, just went to university because they were expected to do so, and it's only years later that they're realizing they don't like their lifestyle.

 

 

         Many agree that all those years' effort didn't worth. After all, they don't have an easier life than the ones who haven't studied, on the contrary! In actual fact, too often having an university degree makes them uneasy when having to do the same kind of work (which is becoming more and more usual, by the way!). Others do have well-paid jobs, but jobs which don't suit family life, involving a lot of travelling or long hours, for example.

 

 

        I put this disappointment and general feeling of failure down to having decided our future in a hurry. Students usually choose a career the very summer they finish high school and very few, if any, take a gap year to do different things, to broaden their horizons and to learn more about the world and themselves. This would give them time to think about what they want to study and what they want to achieve in life.

 

 

        In short, it would be worthwhile to set some time aside to ponder the advantages and drawbacks of going to university and to make up your mind.

Learning English the easy way.

         As one of the bloggers I follow says, learning a language has to be interesting and amusing. Otherwise you'll, later or sooner, give it up. You need something that grabs your attention. Here are some of my tricks:

1. Don't agonize over learning lots of vocabulary every day- it's no worth! You'll probably not be able to remember so many words, anyway. Instead, try to remember just A FEW each time and use them immediately afterwards. That way, little by little, you'll gather a pretty good amount.
2. There's no doubt that grammar is essential, however, don't worry too much about studying it over and over again. With daily reading you'll quickly familiarize with it. This truly enhances your intuition when writing.
3. Use interesting stuff. You know what you like, so go for it! Reading boring textbooks is nowhere near as good as those ones you choose. I mainly read children's books (for basic vocabulary) and travel blogs (for slang and more elaborated idiomatic expressions) along with translation ones. Find those  that attract to you! Thanks to the internet there's plenty of stuff available- more than ever! So, take advantage of it!
4. Audio-books are superb, namely those aimed at kids. As a general rule, it's always easier to remember something said in a cartoonish funny voice than in an expressionles flat one, right? You're far more likely to remember something said by Heidi or Peter Pan or Donald Duck, for example, than something said by Tony Blair, aren't you? ;)
5. Subtitled films are another good option, too. Although there's the music problem in there, which in too many occasions prevents you from hearing what's being said. That's why I think audio-books overtake films. (Furthermore I'm an absentminded who remains staring at the images and doesn't pay attention to the dialogues. I must admit to being a bit weird! hahahah)
6. And finally, there're fantastic web pages around that'll help you to improve your English for free! I've lately been using www.wordreference.com and the more I use it, the more I like it!

           What are the tricks that best work for you? What are your methods?

Relative privacy

          After being asked to upload a photo of myself, I can't help but pointing out that what I like most about this blog is precisely the safety anonymity gives me when undressing my soul. Just this way I can feel so comfortable writing about myself and my personal concerns. And writing is somehow a sort of therapy for me, something I truly need and enjoy (even being as it is, a big amount of nonsenses).

          As you can see, there's a good reason for not publishing it, so there won't be a photograph (at least not yet) I don't want to lose this little shelter ;) That's all I can say!

Aimless life

     Today, as many other days, I'm blue. The reason? My shitty life...
- I've no work. The job I used to have was a  real rubbish, as any other I might get right now.
- I'm not living on my own yet.
- The relationship with my boyfriend probably goes nowhere. Up to nine years simply going with the flow, without the least willingness of him to get engaged or to live a common life.
- Living in a hamlet with nothing to do and no-one to spend my spare time with. Each day is as much the same as all the others: dreadfully boring!

Cardboard doors

            After changing our old doors and breaking them to make a fire we got completely taken aback. Why - you'll be wondering.  Because of this, have a look:

Made of paper!! Unbelievable but true!

          There's always someone trying to trick us... and sometimes they suceed in doing so.

Highway to burnout

           First of all I must say that I put my dissapointment with my career down to my utter lack of vocation for it, so I bear no grudge towards the company which gave me my first job. Working there I earnt a good sum of money, for that reason I'll always be grateful to them. Sure it was a good money but the hours were ridiculous. Furthermore there were no young people to talk to and gradually I start finding the work tedious and boring, as well as really stress-inducing. Moreover it turned out that I didn't have the ability to cope with pressure.

          At first, while I still had a real willingness to learn despite my lack of vocation, my workmates and even the boss would withhold knowledges and were reluctant to update me on the latest treatments and breakthroughs. I soon discovered that there is no such thing as team spirit, so without real vocation and any support I completely lacked the tools to deal with my dissatisfaction with the situation and with the profession itself.

         I usually felt I was a small cog in the wheel. Nothing I did really mattered. I had reached burnout and I lost all the interest for that work. I gradually became more and more careless about it; I was sort of trying to get sacked. Finally, not being able to cope with that weird atmosphere I had contributed to create I quit the job and, for the first time in nearly 5 years, I felt free. Despite still being on the dole, it was worth leaving, otherwise I would have gone crazy.

Sniffing scents

          When I worked, at the end of the day I usually went to see my dog and played a little with him before going to bed. He would always sniff me carefully and eagerly, searching all kinds of scents on my clothes, except when I had touched other dogs, that to my amazement  he would turn away jealous and upset. This behaviour made me think about the importance of this sense and made me aware of the importance of this source of information for dogs. Supposing he were a person he would never ask me the tipical "What about your day? What have you done today?" since it would be completely unnecessary. Simply by sniffing he would be able to gather all the information to work out the answer.



Don't you envy them their smell?



         Human beings are much more reliant on sight and hearing, even though these senses are far less  acute in us than in many other species. Each specie see, hear and smell things in a completely different way, it's like if each of them lived in their own world! For example our sight has nothing to do with dogs', cows', bees'... they can't see colours! It could be said the Earth contains as many worlds as ways of experiencing and feeling it, don't you think so?