In ancient times, people of art had their muses, the goddesses of knowledge who inspired creativeness and imagination. When I think about me and my life, I believe that what inspires me most is music, people who have overcome great challenges and difficulties and most of all – Velina, my best friend. I love listening to music. Music inspires me to think more deeply and notice things I have never noticed before, especially when it relates to lyrics. It opens my eyes and widens my horizons. What’s more, whenever I feel depressed, furious or happy there is always a song that can relate to my situation. When I come back home in the evening after lectures or work, there’s nothing more relaxing and calming than the songs of Enya. When I have to do something tedious and boring, the lively songs of Selena Gomez or Shakira give me energy and raise my spirit. Music can always help and inspire you as long as you feel it with your heart. Another thing that inspires me in life is the examples of people who have overcome great challenges in their lives. Some years ago I came upon pictures, painted by artists with disabilities. People without hands use their feet or mouths to hold the brush and the results of their work are often stunning. I also saw paintings of blind people which were the most beautiful works of art I could ever imagine. These people prove that there are no barriers to success if you believe in yourself and in your potential. Last but not least, the person who inspires me most is my friend Velina. She is an extraordinary girl. She is a very ambitious, hardworking and positive person. She is only 19 years old but by now she has achieved so many things yet she hasn`t changed herself. You would never hear her boast about her achievements or success, that`s why she inspires me so much. I try to follow her example and would like to find more people like her. There are a lot of things that can inspire people – art, history, beauty, nature, even science. You only have to find yours and make the most of them.
Living at the start of the new millennium, in the most advanced technological era in history, one is confronted with a plethora of knowledge and information which itself continues to become outdated by the moment. While young people possess an ability to learn new concepts and absorb information faster and easier many now products or ideas could be taught to old people if they possessed the desire to learn. The computer, for old people, has emerged as the first barrier and stigma. With a computer, one can work without paper and pencil, obtain useful searches on the Internet or make online purchases from one’s home. However, many older people are not able to do these things since using a computer initially demands a modicum of knowledge and skill. If one has time, there are rewards, however, to teaching our grandparents how to use a computer in order that they could discover the many benefits and pleasure of using a computer. In addition to new technological products, ideas or concepts that have helped shape young people can be conveyed to old people. Many old people maintain that health, for example, suggests an absence of disease. Yet many of us have realized that the notion of being healthy contains emotional, social and physical health rather than simply living without illness. Such scientific notions could be learned by old people from their children because young people may acquire such new ideas quickly. Why not learn something new from youngsters in order to adjust to a modern lifestyle and become healthier? There is no doubt that there are many things we should learn from older people such as aspects of traditional culture or some valuable, life-teaching experience. But in modern society it is the young who, at the forefront of the era, possess updated knowledge, positioning old people to learn from those younger.
Imagine being able to go to another country and being able to understand a map, talk to a cab driver, or even discuss a poem. Imagine making connections with people across the barriers of language, culture, and history. Imagine the ways your personality and life might change when you meet and communicate with people from other cultures. Imagine the difference you might make in the lives of others, who are reaching out across the world to you. Imagine the difference those people might make to you. Learning another language gives the learner the ability to step inside the mind and context of that other culture. As globalization and mobility and communications bring the world ever closer together, ever more urgent is the need for global citizens to be competent in other languages. What’s more, studying a foreign language can improve your thinking abilities. Many people want to build successful and interesting careers as teachers, business people, communicators, scientists, etc. Others want to grow intellectually, to change the world, or to change themselves. Learning about other cultures will help you expand your personal horizons and become a responsible citizen. Learning foreign languages gets an insider's view of another culture and a new view of your own. Studying a new language, reading other people's stories, and connecting with people in their own language can be a source of pleasure and surprise. The world is full of languages! How far do you have to go from your front door to know that this is true? Think about how many more people and places you could really get to know, newspapers and books you could read, movies and TV programs you could understand, Web sites you could visit with another language!
The media have no right to peep into the private life of celebrities
We watch the celebrities on television, read about them in magazines and see them as they are shown – beautiful, rich, and happy. But not everything that glitters is gold. By becoming a celebrity your private life turns into a public property. It’s your decision to choose whether to live a normal private life or to be famous. Ordinary people enjoy reading about the celebrities. They want to know everything about them –their childhood, education or love life. As a result of this, an endless supply of stories about the celebrities goes on sale every day. Journalists just give what their readers would like to see. It is virtually impossible to hide something from the cheeky journalists. If someone doesn’t want to display everything about himself or herself, he or she just doesn’t go on show. Otherwise one should accept the fact that being a celebrity means that you don’t have a private life like everyone else. On the other hand sometimes journalists are unbelievably insolent. For example Princess Diana’s case when paparazzi hounded the woman to her death. In some other cases journalists make up whole stories about the celebrities just to increase their rating. What’s really worrying is the fact that people absorb that information and believe everything they read. It becomes impossible for the famous people to prove that these stories are lies. In the Bulgarian magazines and newspapers thousands of stories that are total lies are written every day. Slavi Trifonov tried to fight with that practice but still there is no result. Everyone chooses the way he lives. No one can stop you from doing or being what you want. Some people choose the path of fame and they have to accept the negative side of their choice – their fans will know everything about them, not just the good things. Therefore peeping into the private life of celebrities is not bad as long as there are certain ethical rules
I disagree wholeheartedly that learning about the past has no value for those of us living in the present. In fact, the definition of learning includes the idea of an accumulation of experiences from the past. Learning can only take place if we make an association between things that have happened in the past or between something in the past and something that we predict will happen in the future. All knowledge that we acquire as we grow is from the past—language, customs, academic subjects, and so on. While it may be helpful sometimes to be able to overlook previous knowledge in order to avoid the constraint conformity, the vast majority of knowledge that we learn is a huge boost—imagine if each of us had to discover by ourselves that 2 + 2 = 4! So, in a very real sense, all learning depends on past events. We are only able to live in this world with our current standard of living because we have learned from the past. We receive knowledge from the past and we are able to use it and improve it. We examine our actions in the past and we make judgments about what was right and what was wrong. Then, it is hoped, we will attempt to avoid those same mistakes again. For example, one of the great mistakes all over the world has been depriving women and the disempowered classes status in society and many industrialized and developing countries all over the world are attempting to avoid such mistakes both in the present and in the future. Furthermore, all of the knowledge that we have today is a result of all the work of our predecessors. The ancient Greeks developed geometry, which helped other European scientists analyze the solar system, which in turn gave us a new understanding of our place in the universe. The great majority of technology today depends directly on several thousands of years of work of past thinkers. To ignore the knowledge of the past would be to throw away five thousand years of history and experience. There is, however, some seemingly small, but important value to ignoring the past. It is often the case that history or tradition has the effect of constraining our thought in the present and many important philosophical and scientific breakthroughs have only been possible as a direct result of ignoring the past. The past, in a sense, can blind us to the truth, we can become bound by tradition. For example, at one time, leading thinkers in Europe thought that the Earth was at the center of the universe and those who disagreed were persecuted as heretics, even Copernicus, who we now know was correct about his heliocentric model of the Solar System. However, scientists were eventually able to break from the past and accept the new model of the universe. In short, learning from and analyzing the past has enormous value for us and life as we know it on Earth today would not be possible without the benefit of thousands of years of history and accumulated knowledge. It is important, however, to ignore the past so that we can make a step forward, and such free thinking should be encouraged, although not at the expense of past knowledge. Learning from the past is something like learning from our parents—in most cases, their past helps us have a better future, but there are times when we need to make a break from the past and make a bold step into an unknown future.
There are lots of places I’m not particularly fond of but the mere mention of the word hospital is enough to make me sick. I can’t stand the very sight of such places. Every time I see a hospital, I can’t help remembering my countless visits there. Details immediately start haunting my mind. The patients, the doctors, the rooms, the long corridors, even the sounds and the specific smell – all these form an unpleasant picture in my memory, which I try to forget as quickly as possible. But this isn’t so easy, since I tend to remember all the bad things that happened to me and forget the happy moments in my life. My last visit to a hospital was two years ago. Everything connected with it is still quite clear I my mind as if it had happened yesterday. I had fought with a certain boy from my neighbourhood who was five years my senior and he had broken my nose. I had to go to hospital because it was bleeding incessantly. On arriving at the hospital, I found the usual tense atmosphere. Chaos reigned as road-accident victims, people with bullet wounds and a little boy with a broken leg filled the corridor. The boy’s mother was crying and the doctor was trying to calm her down but without any success whatsoever. The noise was unbearable and there was that terrible smell of disinfectants that was definitely making me sick. To make it worse, a couple of minutes later there came a man whose face was covered with blood. His suitcase too was covered with blood and mud and he was talking angrily on his mobile phone. He was accompanied by a doctor who was obviously trying to explain something but the patient was not at all interested. Suddenly he hit the doctor with his suitcase and tried to run away but a policeman managed to catch him at the entrance. Later I learned that man was a dangerous criminal. Luckily for me, my wound was not so bad and everything ended well. But the memories of that visit, full of blood, terrible smell, noise and tension will haunt me forever.
What inspires me
ReplyDeleteIn ancient times, people of art had their muses, the goddesses of knowledge who inspired creativeness and imagination. When I think about me and my life, I believe that what inspires me most is music, people who have overcome great challenges and difficulties and most of all – Velina, my best friend.
I love listening to music. Music inspires me to think more deeply and notice things I have never noticed before, especially when it relates to lyrics. It opens my eyes and widens my horizons. What’s more, whenever I feel depressed, furious or happy there is always a song that can relate to my situation. When I come back home in the evening after lectures or work, there’s nothing more relaxing and calming than the songs of Enya. When I have to do something tedious and boring, the lively songs of Selena Gomez or Shakira give me energy and raise my spirit. Music can always help and inspire you as long as you feel it with your heart.
Another thing that inspires me in life is the examples of people who have overcome great challenges in their lives. Some years ago I came upon pictures, painted by artists with disabilities. People without hands use their feet or mouths to hold the brush and the results of their work are often stunning. I also saw paintings of blind people which were the most beautiful works of art I could ever imagine. These people prove that there are no barriers to success if you believe in yourself and in your potential.
Last but not least, the person who inspires me most is my friend Velina. She is an extraordinary girl. She is a very ambitious, hardworking and positive person. She is only 19 years old but by now she has achieved so many things yet she hasn`t changed herself. You would never hear her boast about her achievements or success, that`s why she inspires me so much. I try to follow her example and would like to find more people like her.
There are a lot of things that can inspire people – art, history, beauty, nature, even science. You only have to find yours and make the most of them.
Can young people teach older people?
ReplyDeleteLiving at the start of the new millennium, in the most advanced technological era in history, one is confronted with a plethora of knowledge and information which itself continues to become outdated by the moment. While young people possess an ability to learn new concepts and absorb information faster and easier many now products or ideas could be taught to old people if they possessed the desire to learn.
The computer, for old people, has emerged as the first barrier and stigma. With a computer, one can work without paper and pencil, obtain useful searches on the Internet or make online purchases from one’s home. However, many older people are not able to do these things since using a computer initially demands a modicum of knowledge and skill. If one has time, there are rewards, however, to teaching our grandparents how to use a computer in order that they could discover the many benefits and pleasure of using a computer.
In addition to new technological products, ideas or concepts that have helped shape young people can be conveyed to old people. Many old people maintain that health, for example, suggests an absence of disease. Yet many of us have realized that the notion of being healthy contains emotional, social and physical health rather than simply living without illness. Such scientific notions could be learned by old people from their children because young people may acquire such new ideas quickly. Why not learn something new from youngsters in order to adjust to a modern lifestyle and become healthier?
There is no doubt that there are many things we should learn from older people such as aspects of traditional culture or some valuable, life-teaching experience. But in modern society it is the young who, at the forefront of the era, possess updated knowledge, positioning old people to learn from those younger.
Why Study A Foreign Language?
ReplyDeleteImagine being able to go to another country and being able to understand a map, talk to a cab driver, or even discuss a poem. Imagine making connections with people across the barriers of language, culture, and history. Imagine the ways your personality and life might change when you meet and communicate with people from other cultures. Imagine the difference you might make in the lives of others, who are reaching out across the world to you. Imagine the difference those people might make to you.
Learning another language gives the learner the ability to step inside the mind and context of that other culture. As globalization and mobility and communications bring the world ever closer together, ever more urgent is the need for global citizens to be competent in other languages. What’s more, studying a foreign language can improve your thinking abilities.
Many people want to build successful and interesting careers as teachers, business people, communicators, scientists, etc. Others want to grow intellectually, to change the world, or to change themselves. Learning about other cultures will help you expand your personal horizons and become a responsible citizen. Learning foreign languages gets an insider's view of another culture and a new view of your own. Studying a new language, reading other people's stories, and connecting with people in their own language can be a source of pleasure and surprise.
The world is full of languages! How far do you have to go from your front door to know that this is true? Think about how many more people and places you could really get to know, newspapers and books you could read, movies and TV programs you could understand, Web sites you could visit with another language!
The media have no right to peep into the private life of celebrities
ReplyDeleteWe watch the celebrities on television, read about them in magazines and see them as they are shown – beautiful, rich, and happy. But not everything that glitters is gold. By becoming a celebrity your private life turns into a public property. It’s your decision to choose whether to live a normal private life or to be famous.
Ordinary people enjoy reading about the celebrities. They want to know everything about them –their childhood, education or love life. As a result of this, an endless supply of stories about the celebrities goes on sale every day. Journalists just give what their readers would like to see.
It is virtually impossible to hide something from the cheeky journalists. If someone doesn’t want to display everything about himself or herself, he or she just doesn’t go on show. Otherwise one should accept the fact that being a celebrity means that you don’t have a private life like everyone else.
On the other hand sometimes journalists are unbelievably insolent. For example Princess Diana’s case when paparazzi hounded the woman to her death.
In some other cases journalists make up whole stories about the celebrities just to increase their rating. What’s really worrying is the fact that people absorb that information and believe everything they read. It becomes impossible for the famous people to prove that these stories are lies. In the Bulgarian magazines and newspapers thousands of stories that are total lies are written every day. Slavi Trifonov tried to fight with that practice but still there is no result.
Everyone chooses the way he lives. No one can stop you from doing or being what you want. Some people choose the path of fame and they have to accept the negative side of their choice – their fans will know everything about them, not just the good things. Therefore peeping into the private life of celebrities is not bad as long as there are certain ethical rules
Should we ignore the past?
ReplyDeleteI disagree wholeheartedly that learning about the past has no value for those of us living in the present. In fact, the definition of learning includes the idea of an accumulation of experiences from the past. Learning can only take place if we make an association between things that have happened in the past or between something in the past and something that we predict will happen in the future. All knowledge that we acquire as we grow is from the past—language, customs, academic subjects, and so on. While it may be helpful sometimes to be able to overlook previous knowledge in order to avoid the constraint conformity, the vast majority of knowledge that we learn is a huge boost—imagine if each of us had to discover by ourselves that 2 + 2 = 4! So, in a very real sense, all learning depends on past events.
We are only able to live in this world with our current standard of living because we have learned from the past. We receive knowledge from the past and we are able to use it and improve it. We examine our actions in the past and we make judgments about what was right and what was wrong. Then, it is hoped, we will attempt to avoid those same mistakes again. For example, one of the great mistakes all over the world has been depriving women and the disempowered classes status in society and many industrialized and developing countries all over the world are attempting to avoid such mistakes both in the present and in the future.
Furthermore, all of the knowledge that we have today is a result of all the work of our predecessors. The ancient Greeks developed geometry, which helped other European scientists analyze the solar system, which in turn gave us a new understanding of our place in the universe. The great majority of technology today depends directly on several thousands of years of work of past thinkers. To ignore the knowledge of the past would be to throw away five thousand years of history and experience.
There is, however, some seemingly small, but important value to ignoring the past. It is often the case that history or tradition has the effect of constraining our thought in the present and many important philosophical and scientific breakthroughs have only been possible as a direct result of ignoring the past. The past, in a sense, can blind us to the truth, we can become bound by tradition. For example, at one time, leading thinkers in Europe thought that the Earth was at the center of the universe and those who disagreed were persecuted as heretics, even Copernicus, who we now know was correct about his heliocentric model of the Solar System. However, scientists were eventually able to break from the past and accept the new model of the universe.
In short, learning from and analyzing the past has enormous value for us and life as we know it on Earth today would not be possible without the benefit of thousands of years of history and accumulated knowledge. It is important, however, to ignore the past so that we can make a step forward, and such free thinking should be encouraged, although not at the expense of past knowledge. Learning from the past is something like learning from our parents—in most cases, their past helps us have a better future, but there are times when we need to make a break from the past and make a bold step into an unknown future.
My least favourite place
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of places I’m not particularly fond of but the mere mention of the word hospital is enough to make me sick. I can’t stand the very sight of such places.
Every time I see a hospital, I can’t help remembering my countless visits there. Details immediately start haunting my mind. The patients, the doctors, the rooms, the long corridors, even the sounds and the specific smell – all these form an unpleasant picture in my memory, which I try to forget as quickly as possible. But this isn’t so easy, since I tend to remember all the bad things that happened to me and forget the happy moments in my life.
My last visit to a hospital was two years ago. Everything connected with it is still quite clear I my mind as if it had happened yesterday. I had fought with a certain boy from my neighbourhood who was five years my senior and he had broken my nose. I had to go to hospital because it was bleeding incessantly. On arriving at the hospital, I found the usual tense atmosphere. Chaos reigned as road-accident victims, people with bullet wounds and a little boy with a broken leg filled the corridor. The boy’s mother was crying and the doctor was trying to calm her down but without any success whatsoever. The noise was unbearable and there was that terrible smell of disinfectants that was definitely making me sick. To make it worse, a couple of minutes later there came a man whose face was covered with blood. His suitcase too was covered with blood and mud and he was talking angrily on his mobile phone. He was accompanied by a doctor who was obviously trying to explain something but the patient was not at all interested. Suddenly he hit the doctor with his suitcase and tried to run away but a policeman managed to catch him at the entrance. Later I learned that man was a dangerous criminal.
Luckily for me, my wound was not so bad and everything ended well. But the memories of that visit, full of blood, terrible smell, noise and tension will haunt me forever.