Portfolio Response

The blog was really a new thing for me. Previous years teachers would use journals or writing in class, but this year was different. Communicating with students from Kentucky was something that I have never thought of. Exchanging experience and knowledge really helped me in school and in my free time. This social experiment was very good and the idea behind it was very interesting. Students from different countries, help each other in writing assignments. At first I was skeptic about the blog but later realized how good it was. Looking through all of the other participants I understood that it was going to be a good opportunity for me to participate after all in the experience. I love writing stories and this portfolio was really interesting and profitable in a way that I have improved my writing style and imagination as well. Last year our English teacher was making us write in journal notebooks, which I liked a lot, but nobody got the chance to read theirs in front of someone. This year it is different. I can share my writing skills with a native speaker and understand my good and bad sides. After all this blogging was a very good idea that helped me develop my skills.

If i received a land

Ever since I was a little boy I have been asked the question: imagine you get something and you can do whatever you what with it, what you would do? There are million answers to a question put this way. In this case, if I got a land and I could use it as I wish I could do many different changes with it. It depends whether I would use the land for my comfort, for charitable use, or for making money out of it.
If I got a free piece of land I would be happy to build on it a beautiful house with a huge yard. I have always dreamed to live in a house and wander around the garden all day. Using the land for building me the dream home would be a good way to go. On the other hand, I could use my given terrain for making profit out of. I could, for example, invest in constructing an apartment building and sell the apartments and have a great deal of money. I could also simply sell it to a company or even to the state. Maybe I could wait and see how far the prize and value of this land would rise (or fall) and then decide what to turn it into. I think any of these ways would help me profit. Now that I am bigger my parents have more trust in me. They have started leaving me the apartment when they are out of town. It has become as a routine to me to look after the place we live with my mother. I throw parties and invite people to stay over so that I do not stay alone. If someone gives me a land just like that I would probably use it in the right way. Maybe I would build a club or a bar where people would come and I would be the boss.
However, if I got a terrain to use, why should I use it for my comfort when I can help others? I can invest to build on it a hospital or an orphanage or donate the land to the state, with a condition to make use of it by building such institutions. When I think about it, this would be a great plan to use a given land because the places where people can find a shelter are never enough. After all, making people feel happy is one of the best ways to use a gift (the land). By giving them the land I would contribute to the whole situation in our society. The biggest problem is that people cannot find any shelter and the government is not doing anything to help or ease their problems. The quality of the society is seen by the way it takes care of those that do not have where to stay. The way we treat the homeless people is not very good and we should think more about helping them. A lot of people do not care and pass by them without even noticing, but a change needs to be done and more people should give to those, who need it more.
That is why there are many different changes I would do if I was given a land and I could use it for whatever I wished for. I have a million ideas in my head on how to use the land, but I cannot do all of them. An indoor ski-slope or a huge mall, everything depends on the place and where it is located. I could go on and on about what use could I put it in but the truth is that hypothetically people, like me, always come up with ideas but no one knows what they would really do if they get that kind of chance.

City vs. Village

In the international and cosmopolitan society we live in nowadays, I believe that big towns are expanding every year, while small villages in the countryside (their population) are shrinking down. That is why I disagree with the idea that it is better for a child to grow up in the countryside rather than in a big city. I think children should be brought up in town so that they get used to the modern world, the way of life, and the different people.
Kids that grow up in big cities are surrounded with a variety of people, opinions, and arguments. That is why, a child that lives in that sphere turns out to be a sociable, open-minded person. A countryside lifestyle would not bring up that kind of individuals because in villages there are much less people than in towns, and usually these people know each other. This leaves them with no chance of hearing a new opinion or vision and limits them in some way. In my opinion, children should be extroverts that are open to change and feel free to make relationships with new interesting people. Due to this, I think that children should be brought up in a big city in order to fit in with the modern society and with the modern way of thinking.
I believe that life in the countryside is very limited, at least, in my country it is. People from villages are unaware of the modern technologies, the new attitude towards business, or even the new attitude towards people. Due to this reasons, I think that a child should grow up in a big city, so that he/she is taught to the perspective and way of perceiving the world. Since present days society is so international and open for new approaches and development, children of this new century should be aware of their possibilities. I think that living in a big city will provide an opportunity for children to become familiar with and prosper in the modern way of life. Because of this, I think that growing up in a big city is so much better for a child than living in the countryside.

European University of Barcelona

This year I am 12th grade and it came time to pick my universities. From 8th grade on I was hearing all different kinds of places students went. I did not take it seriously until I was 11th grade and friends in the upper class were going to leave Bulgaria and study abroad. Most of them applied to the UK, a trend that has been born two or three years ago. Now that I am in their place I had to choose where I wanted to study. I applied to UK, but I am still not sure if that is what I want. Talking with people from previous classes of my school and have told me that Spain is the place to go studying. First the weather is very hot and it is like that until November. Barcelona is full of beaches and people all year long. When I was in Spain this year for the summer I realized what they were talking about. People there are calm and balanced; they have dinner at 10 or 11 p.m. and then continue in some bar or club at like 2 or 3 a.m. They have an amazing nightlife that I am unable to explain it. One has to see it in order to understand what I am talking about.
But it is not only for the partying and the sun that I choose Barcelona as my primary destination. The University of Barcelona has a great reputation and I am sure that I can get easily in there. It is a very good institution, which I learned from a few friends, which have spent one or two years there. They say that the place is very organized and learning is very easy. I am now preparing my application for this university and I cannot wait to apply and receive n answer. I hope that everything is ok and they accept me fast so that I can decide where I want to study.

The streets in the capital

I live in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Two months ago I got my driving license and one week after I got my first car. It is a very good one and I love driving it.
In Sofia a common thing to see on the road are holes. Big ones, groups of big and small ones, badly made street and so on. Since I have a car, I have to focus my attention on avoiding the holes, as well as the other cars on the road. Some of them are so tricky, that you have to go through them, in order to avoid the oncoming traffic in the other lane. Almost every driver in the capital knows the feeling, when you hit the front of the car in the asphalt. Since I got my car it seems to me that there is a war between me and the streets. The moment you lose concentration you probably will go through one or two holes. The main boulevards are renovated rarely and if one gets finished, which takes a century, the holes appear back on the street in about six months. This bad quality of the roads in some way improves my concentration, but it is also very expensive.
The car services are full with card that need to be fixed. To this day I was unable to do something bad to my car, but some of my friends and a few relatives of mine have paid a lot of money to fix their cars. While driving I have noticed that every time I go out with the car I will go either through a big hole, either through badly made railings or a shaft that is sticking out of the asphalt. On top of all of that now it is winter and from time to time the whole road system in the capital is under ice. The usual cars that you can see on the road every day are Mercedez, BMW, Audi, and sometimes Porsche and Lexus. These kind of drivers are mad and do not care about the signs and rules. They know that since they drive such cars there will be no problem with the police. This adds more to the whole picture in the city of Sofia; huge holes that can break rims, bad weather, huge traffic jams and mad drivers, with a lot of horse power under the bonnet.`

The Pedestrian and Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 shows a world filled with rage and anger. The motive driving people are no longer books, but TV and electronics. Similarly The Pedestrian shows a common picture of “zombification” of the people. Both books represent plausible future views of society and mankind.
Both books represent humanities progress and its side effects. By using the power of metaphors and similies, the authors show the reader the “downfall” of the world. The stories take place in the future, where everything is computerized. Like Mr. Mead, Guy Montag` has realized the significance of books. The main personage Mr. Mead is also an outcast who doesn’t believe in TV and modern technology. Although they both are different than the others in their communities, there is a big contrast in their actions. Guy Montag on one side is a person, who shows that he has a strong character and stands up for his rights. While doing his job, he realizes that he has found out that nooks are actually fun to read. Guy starts to understand that he has to fight for the books and in his quest he finds a person, who shares the same values. On the other side, Mr. Mead is a person, who is afraid of breaking the rules and thus he surrenders to the police, without fighting for his ideals. His poetic soul has been destroyed by the harshness of life and therefore he has forfeited to the metal voice.
The two novels Fahrenheit 451 and The Pedestrian show that his kind of perspective could happen in our own time. Not wanting to believe is not the right way. Both books show are examples of what humanity should not do. They are a message to the people that we must learn from them, not just read them. A similar kind of future is truly possible and standing away from it can lead to a big problem in society.

Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong was born on 18th of September 1971, in Texas. He began his cycling career when he was only 12 years old. At the age of 16 he became a professional and won the national sprint championship. In 1993 he was the youngest cycler to ever win the world road race championship. This shows his fighting character which I admire the most in him. (Wikipedia) . Many people think that he survived because of a miracle or some extraordinary medicine. The thing that saved him from the death was his strong will and determination to survive. Even though he hasn’t done something extraordinary to help mankind he has given hope to those who are fighting with cancer. He has made an organization which is helping people with all kinds of cancer variations. When he was cured from cancer it wasn’t easy for him to get back and win the Tour de France again. Lance had to input a lot of courage and determination in order to get his cycling form back. After his disease he has released that he can make a change in helping people with cancer. That is why I admire Lance Armstrong and I think that his life is meaningful. . Immanuel Kaunt said that one should do things in a way that treats humanity in way not only as means, but also as an end. This is what Lance is doing at the moment. He has opened an organization that is helping diseased people with all kinds of cancer. Through selling rubber bands with the motto “Live Strong”, and donating his own money he has raised a lot of money for the organization. . Virtue is a balance between excess and deficiency was what Aristotle taught. Also he taught that if can balance those two things and at the end one doesn’t have to search more he has achieved great happiness. Lance Armstrong has done this, because thanks to his courage to survive he is not dead and he is raising excess money to help his organization. Also by riding his bike he has won the Tour de France and achieved a bigger success. Therefore I consider him successful because he has found a balance between deficiency and excess. . After his comeback from the terrible disease Lance Armstrong’s main goal was to help people who don’t have enough money to undergo cancer treatment and survive like he has. That is what the happiness principle states – the more happiness one does to other people, the happier one is. Therefore when the person has filled his life with happiness his life is meaningful. . Many people might say that he has been cured from cancer because he had a lot of money. But that is not true because lance had to take an important decision before he undergoes any treatment. He had to choose between chemotherapy or doing a surgeon that is still experimental. He was a winner and he knew that he had to take a risk in order to survive. . Other people might say that his organization is raising money, but they are not enough because the people diagnose with cancer are more than the money invested in helping these kind of people. That is partially true but part of the money goes to special researches that will help cure everyone from cancer in the near future thanks to Lance Armstrong. And when someone makes people smile and happy his life is meaningful.
Lance Armstrong has achieved many things throughout his life and he is still 36 years old. Also he was born on the same date as him and he is exactly 20 years older than me, which makes me think that I am special like him. And if I have the opportunity to have his strong will and courage I will be the happiest person in the world.