PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

We are going to talk about six years ago where everything started, until yesterday, my last day as a student of the school IES Castelló d'Empúries. During these six years of my life I have been studying English in this school with Milco, Anna and my English teacher of this year Lourdes.

The last essay Lourdes asked us to write, is our personal development in English. To begin with something, I will say that the huge difference between the first day and my last day in that school is the fluency of my English speech. How could I get a better fluency in English through the years? This question brings us to go back in time when I began school in IES Castelló d'Empuries.

Everybody started by knowing few words and trying to structure some sentences that make sense. With those kinds of basic words and sentences, no one can have a long discussion. That makes me remember how difficult it was to make oral presentations.

Things change when you do your best in each task, exams, and essays. To hit the books for each exam is not easy at all but this is the key for learning basic structures and vocabulary. Nevertheless, to learn and get a good mark and then forget it all is the wrong path. Immediately after learning new vocabulary the way to remember them is to use them. I believe that to use them is the most important.

How do I use them? I used to watch films in English with my sister during the school year when we wanted a break, I practice a lot in summer too, speaking English with tourists and the clients of my parents. Tourists make me see the evolution of my English and through the years I saw that every year I could understand more and more people that speak English. Finally, books help also. Through the years I sometimes took time to read and I could see how much easier it became to read and understand books each year.

The last thing that helped me a lot to increase my English were the extracurricular classes of English with Ceri. An English woman that gave me the chance to perfect all I had been studying and learning at school.

INFORMAL LETTER

c. Olivera s/n 17487 Castelló d'Empúries

20th April, 2017

Dear Friend,

    It was great to hear from you! I have so much to tell you but let me expose the problematic situation that is rising every day in my lectures.

Teenagers in this day and age depend on their mobile phones and it's constantly increasing. This new generation is used to being connected to their device like their life was depending on it.

Not only that fear of being apart from their phone is ending by destroying their interpersonal communication skills with their comrades, but another, mobile phones bring many problems because of photographs taken without permission.

You will understand that these problematic devices have to be used only for emergencies. Therefore, I hope you have a solution for it. Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to seeing you.

Take care,

Lourdes

FORMAL LETTER

12 Sandmoor Lane

Norwood

London SE19 4FB

22nd October, 2010

Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Palais des Nations

CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Dear Sir or Madam,

     I am writing to complain about violation of human right in South Sudan. The Government of South Sudan doesn't try to find a solution to their worrying war.

Civilians in front of that imminent risk of violence flee headed the Upper Nile region. This situation is killing women, children and men that are living in the most horrifying circumstances.

In view of the large numbers of civilians that are dying because of that military conflict we hope you will do something for it.

Yours faithfully,

Justin, P.

The power of introverts

https://www.ted.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts#t-1124703  

(Abstract)

In a culture where being social and outgoing are prized above all else, it can be difficult, even shameful, to be an introvert. But, as Susan Cain argues in this passionate talk, introverts bring extraordinary talents and abilities to the world, and should be encouraged and celebrated.

(Opinion)

Have you ever been afraid to be alone? Perhaps because I have three sisters, because I have never been alone and I have always an example to follow, because of these, today I believe I am the kind of person that is afraid to stay alone.

Susan Cain makes me see the importance of introverts. Being alone should be a synonym of growing up as a person. Being alone we inevitably end by doing reflections about us. And I think that the day we understand ourselves we will understand others too.

Introverts are the kinds of people that we can called “observers”. Our society is forgetting to watch and add value to action. We should take time to listen the ones that observe and we will learn much more that with the ones that are extroverts. Extroverts don’t always have the best ideas. Let’s take time to observe and listen more. We have time to act then.

The power of vulnerability

https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability#t-1200270

(Abstract)

Brené Brown studies human connection — our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity. A talk to share.

(Opinion)

As Brené Brown says people usually answer the opposite of what there are asking of. Why? We are afraid to show our self. Showing to people who we are without filters.

This fear comes from our vulnerability. We are imperfect and most of society don’t accept it. We are afraid to show our imperfections and we don’t realize that it makes us unhappy.

Another point is that we don’t realize that our vulnerability is the cause of our happiness too. Because when we accept that we are not perfect we show to others who we are. Then if people love what we are showing it then makes us happy because they accept our vulnerability.

When we will realize that our vulnerability is related to happiness and sadness, we will realize that to be shy of our imperfections isn’t the key. We have to accept who we are. More, we have to accept our feelings, even if they are good ones or bad ones. All of them make our vulnerability and in the end make the person we are. When this happens people will start to live.

Human rights

"Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible." says the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Finally, our human rights are the rights we have just because we are human.

First there were no human rights so when and why they were created? If you didn't know it, a guy named Cyrus the Great decided to change the conditions of slaves in 535 BC. After conquering babylon, he said that all slaves were free to go and that they could choose their religion no matter what crowd they were.
Parts of the words of Cyrus have been documented in a clay table known as the Cyrus cylinder. Here appeared the first Human rights.

Nowadays, there are thirty human rights. They are in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights done in 1948 by the United Nations . Let's talk about the first article "We are all born free and equal". You should know that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Despite being a human right, through history it happens many times that it has been violated. For exemple the oppressor Hitler put up concentration camps and transported Jews from their homes, put them on trains, and sent them to their death. They were killed without any say and all their rights were long forgotten.

The Rokeby Venus

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6UIxKISZ_yHQVVvV2hKLU51Qk0/view?usp=sharing

ROKEBY VENUS
Here we have the painting of Velázquez from the 7 centuries. The painting is called the Rokeby Venus, also the Venus del mirall in Spanish, or The Toilet of Venus. The first name, Rokeby Venus, comes from where this painting had been kept at first, at the Rokeby Museum. Nowadays, it is in the National Gallery.

In this painting, as you can see, there are: the Venus that relines on a bed and the Cupid holding a mirror.

Venus is looking at the mirror, we can see the face looking at us, it could mean she was looking at the viewer “the one is looking at her”. Then, we can see that the body of this woman is older than the face. This could mean beauty isn’t always the same. By the time passes the beauty goes. The light of this painting has the focus in the middle, where Venus is.

Today, the only painting of a nude woman by Velázquez is this one. He painted more than one but the only one we kept, that is in the National Gallery as I said, is The Rokeby Venus. We think that he painted this one when he made his trip at Italy.