Tonight, I went with my brother to his university to escape from all my problems and stressful day, and he started talking with his classmates and professors about his course and while I was there waiting for him close to the university grass, I took a look at the sky and I realized that the moon was dying slowly through the night. I closed my eyes and let myself absorb the fresh air of the summer night, and the wind over my face and hair gave me a relaxing time tonight, but the moon almost dead called my attention because the deep blue sky was replenish of starts spreading across with occasional patches. Although, the moon was almost dead, it was a wonderful night, so I said to myself what a lovely sky! , and then I remembered the phrase the “The moon is dead but in spring will come back to life” (poet F.G.Lorca). So, I was not sad because it will come back to life on Spring ! This phrase inspired me to take a walk around the campus and since it was almost empty and my brother showed no sign of being around, I came back to my home walking side to side close to the sidewalk and I passed many front yards with two dogs barking as well. As I approached to my home, the air of the forest carried the scent of strawberries and banana close to my nose, so I stand at the avenue close the forest, and it was so dark. I took at look at the sky once and the moon was totally dead, then I heard a strange sound among the trees and I saw something small and dark moving between the trees and leaves. It was a raccoon and it looked mad at me with his brilliant red eyes. I was two blocks from my home, I tried not to make any noise and run to my house quickly because it scared me a lot.

I am planning to paint and buy some cute pictures to embellish my home this coming week. A soon as I woke up this morning, I talked to my husband about my new ideas of how to remodel our house. He promised me to buy some paints and new portraits on weekend. I hope we can do this because we have been so busy these last days and since we came from the U.S we have not been able to make any home improvement to our house. I also was thinking on looking for some advices from home improvement magazines in order to get some ideas to enhance both my living room and bedroom. Few days ago, I read an interesting article about the significance of Colors in Feng Shui , and I also watched a video about this theme. It was interesting to know that some colors are able to enhance people’s environment by giving vibrant energy and feeling of love and passion to their lives. For instance, I read that it is important to have creative and enthusiastic colors in each room of the house. It says that having a white lily in one of the environments of the house can touch people’s soul and led to serenity, and a red rose evokes joy and happiness in people’s life. In same manner, these Feng Shui mystical colors and great advices can transform people’s lives, help them to achieve their life’s goals and also create equilibrium between individual’s good and bad energies to elicit people’s personality and the house’s harmony.

I consider that styling my website was very valuable experience for me. I did not know how websites look colorful and with different fonts and sizes. Going though every change a font color or a background color and refreshing the website were an exciting experience. I have to say that working on that has trigger my curiosity to learn more about styling, I plan to improve my website shortly.

I have spent time last week with a very nice person, and I just want to share it with you. I met her at the church I attend every Tuesday. She is a 36 year-old, a divorced woman. The first time I saw her, she was praying. She called my attention because I had the impression that she was suffering a tortuous pain inside of her, but I was wrong. After she was done with her praying, I asked her whether she was okay. She smiled to me. I got surprised about her shift in mood. I felt chilling when she stared me for a while. She started telling me many things at once. I listened to her first until I realized about her skin rashes and red spots on her neck and head. She told me that she was sick with an advanced stage of HIV. While talking with her, I noticed that she was exhausted, and she also had some problems of muscle coordination when she wanted to be closer to me. After a while, she asked me to tell her something about me and what I am doing for a living, and I told her that I was just beginning my Spring semester at the university. I invited her to talk outside of the church and she accepted. We decided to take a short walk for five minutes and walk together around the forest that is close to the church. It was a bright day, but with high humidity. The sun was in its full plenitude and the birds were chirping all the time. While walking, I remember the heavy smell of the green leaves from the tall trees. We could not take a seat close to the trees because the sunlight filtering through the trees, so we took a seat close to a beautiful blue but small water fountain of many colors, we bought an ice-cream for each other and decided to continue our conversation for a while. It was a very interesting and rewarding experience. 

Today, I would to talk  about an awful personal experience, the Tarata Bombing in Lima, Peru. It was a terrorist attack by the Shining Path guerrilla group. It took place in the city of Miraflores few years ago. I live a few miles from the Tarata Street where two bombing cars exploded at the morning of 1992. The sound of the cars explosion, the aftermath and the deaths are still in my mind. So, today I decided to paint this sadly and memorable Peruvian event and portray it in a portrait. I moved everything from my room and while organizing my oils, acrylics and choosing and picking up my paints of various dark and light colors, I went back to the past and try to picture the morning of that day. I woke up with a lot of energy on that day. I opened my room windows and it was a beautiful and bright day and the sun was shining in the morning and the sky was in a beautiful shade of blue like ever before with natural white clouds and the birds were chirping around my terrace. On that morning, I decided to take a walk with my dog, Leo. We went to the park close to my house and we saw many people happy and enjoying talking about the beautiful day. There were some musicians around the park and they played a very relaxing melody. While enjoying all these good things of life, my dog was very nervous and anxious, I felt like he wanted to come back to my house, but I did not pay attention to him because I thought he was trying to annoy my day. Soon after, a huge and very prominent and crackling sound paralyzed everything along with a wave of an immense gaseous and obscure cloud that covered the entire park. At first, I did not know what happened because the pressure of waves pressed my ears and I just remember that it was like the sound of many debris breaking up and sprinkling down around me. I could not understand and hear very well what was happening, but I saw the beautiful and bright day becoming in hell on fire. Everything was dark and people were yelling and running desperate in opposed side and back and forward, not knowing where to go. After I was helped by the firemen and some people around, I could understand that two cars have exploded in the Tarata Street. Happily, the park was a block away from that street, so the worst part was not there. The portrait I did was very vividly as it was this writing and used many natural colors to draw this experience as real as I could. On the left of the portrait, I portrayed the two bombing cars and on the center I painted a multifamily house partially collapsed and a ruined building on the right.

Since the invention of internet, there have been huge and interesting changes on entertainment. I think that the introduction of the internet has impacted the world of entertainment, positively and negatively. First, many entertainment companies has had millionaires revenues selling digital music, songs of famous singers, films, violent video games and pornographic videos online. Second, for people of all ages, today they are able to share photos, funny emails with peers and connect each other in a easy way with members of their families all over the world. Finally, people have been able to create a new virtual life in a game called second life in the virtual world. These stuffs have made a revolutionary change on entertainment and have impacted people’ lives. 

Today, people can buy and get everything they need online quickly from a sexual accessory to a film award of Hollywood. Furthermore, the availability of cheaper creative tools, software design, over the internet is immense. These tools that were once too expensive for average people are now accessible to anyone. It is impressive how the industry of entertainment has grown up in the last decade and many entertainment products can be downloaded via internet. Accessing almost everything through the web has benefited and made easy the lives of many people; however, it has also harmed many serious industries and other individuals. For instance, piracy is a serious issue in the landscape of the Internet, but many unscrupulous people and illegal web sites still offering to download entertainment items like movies, music and adult video games to teens even when they do not have the legal right to do so. In fact, these illegal activities have expanded all around the word in the last years. Furthermore, many adolescents have become addicted to aggressive and violent video games. Although video games are not considered the main risk factor in promoting violence in youth, it does not mean that we should ignore them. Most video games feature ghastly crimes, killing, abuse of drugs, disrespect for authority, obscenities and even massacres, yet they are given to teens as a fun recreational activity. Participants are rewarded for each shoot, kill or crime in points. Most of violent video games have become very sophisticated and realistic. Some games are directly connected to the computer, which can allow any teenager to play violent video games with strange people, and it can give more opportunity to teens to play them without any supervision by their parents. Many youths spend a great deal of their free time playing them on internet, to the detriment of healthier activities like sports, camping and socializing. Since shooting and massacres that have occurred in colleges, families and schools have been associated with violent video games, it has become a controversial topic and concern for authorities and parents. Similar situation happens when people engage with an avatar and get addicted to the famous second life in the virtual world. Some of these people forget their families and day to day responsibilities to create the most realistic simulation possible. I have few friends that are involved in this computer game and their wives and husbands are complaining about them often. In short, Internet has played an important role on entertainment, and it has clearly had a negative impact on musicians, families, teenagers and the industry of film, but it's had positive side effects too on the means that people from many backgrounds can go through thousands of websites, offering every possible kind of entertainment to get relaxed.

I think that Internet has hugely changed the way people communicate. Definitely, internet has brought people to be closer to their friends and families. My older sister tells me that before internet, there was no way to communicate faster with her brothers that were living in England at that time. She had to wait long time to get a letter from them. She thinks that internet has been a huge achievement in terms of communication. Internet made her possible to be in touch with me while I was living in the U. S. She did not have to wait much time to get news from me as she did with her brothers in the past. Also, in many opportunities, my young brother helped her install Skype and get a webcam, so I was able to see their faces and hear their voices over the internet all the time while living abroad. I could to be close to them in the most important days and moments of their lives like birthdays, Christmas, New Year and etc. Furthermore, I was able to get in touch in an cheaper and easily manner with my high school friends. I think that without having internet, this frequent communication would have been impossible. Moreover, social networking sites like Facebook has allowed me connecting with old friends that I did not see for long time after I moved to the United States. Using Facebook, I was able to find and know more about them through online.

On the other hand, I think that in some way internet have made family relationships more impersonal as well. My father thinks different about internet; he complains all the time that I did not call him anymore. To him a written and formal letter has more meaning and works better in a family relationship. Emails do not work for him. When I tell him that I already wrote to him a quickly email, he gets mad with me because he do know not how to use the computer and he does not like to be a dependent person of young people to get in touch with me. I think that for some traditional older people internet may be a problem or headache, especially when they do not know how to use it. When I encourage him to use it with his friends, he says that many of his friends are low income families, and they cannot access to internet to communicate each other because they cannot afford the cost of internet. So, neither emails nor Skype works for my father because he thinks it has made me a cold and distant person with him.

I would like to talk about a friend of mine. She is a transgender person, and she is originally from Ecuador. Her interaction with two different societies has made the difference in her professional and academic life. She is an engineer, and she is currently pursuing a master in statistics.  My friend is a very lovely and smart person. She has faced much persecution, age and job discrimination because of her gender and age issues, but she has a good attitude toward the life and people around her. Four year ago she got sex reassignment surgery and from a man to woman. After this fact happened, she faced a lack of alternatives and unequal treatment in her job environment in her original country, Ecuador.

            This  picture is just from the internet and her picture is public. She is not my friend, but she is a transgerder person as well. I just using this image as a sample for the homework.  Her name is Amanda Simpson. She is a· Program Manager, Engineer  and Transgender Advocate

  I met my friend 8 years ago in the Dominic Republic, on vacation trip, and since that day, she has become my best friend and life adviser. We meet once a week and spend some time talking together about her experiences and life at the senior center in my community. On some occasions, she makes me laugh with her stories and on others days makes me cry. She started telling me about the great decision that changed her social and professional life. Today, I got her permission to share part of her story.

     One day she got tired of the maltreatment and abuse in her work environment and the isolation she was suffering in Ecuador society due to her transgender status, so she decided to ask for asylum in the States. She was granted the asylum status, and after three years she became permanent resident in America. Even though she received a lot support from friends and the government, her life transition here was not easy. She had to start all over again with her professional life. First, she started looking for a job in a very actively manner, but her language, foreign education, lack of good references and health disadvantages were an obstacle at the beginning. The possibility of getting a good job with good medical insurance was low. She realized that she had to go back to school and improve her English and professional career in order to get a job.

     She was not young any more, but her commitment to herself and her strong spirit helped her to achieve her goals. After she learned English and updated her professional license to work in the States, she got a job with low wages, but with fair medical health benefits. It let her survive and rent a small apartment for four years. However, few years ago, her economic situation changed, and she is facing huge social challenges because of her gender and age now. Also, she lost her job two years ago. Despite her current situation, she is an actively learning and is trying to get a new job. Sometimes she tells me that she does not have the same energy she had five years ago to continue with this hard life, and she feels fear about the age discrimination at her work environment, because she is older than many other younger people who are also waiting for new job opportunities in these hard economic times. She has gotten a little depressed in the last six months, because she has to wear a male clothe for her new job interviews. She said to me that, ¨I have to wear male’s clothes because some interviewers see me as something strange when I use make up on my face and wear shoes of heels¨. She said ¨ I have not been lucky in finding a job, and I cannot sleep well at nights because my bills do not stop coming¨. Despite of all her life challenges, she still studying and getting more academic knowledge. She is still trying to get a new job, and she is doing her best to face her gender and age issues, but she is currently facing much social age issues, and job struggles and her life is not easy at all.

My insight about the "Quest for Fire." film

I saw this movie two weeks ago for first time, and it offered me a good insight into many of real life’s survival issues. It was amazing to watch how the human beings in its beginning had to face many life challenges in order to survive in a very hostile environment. The “Quest for Fire” film gives us great reflections on human being wild’s life and the origins of our species. Also, this movie shows many interesting real life values. For instance, a team works to achieve a single goal that is to find the fire for its comfort and survival. This movie shows two different tribes, one that is more civilized than the other one. However, both of them had a purpose of life that is the everyday survival a dangerous environment with enemies’ attacks. Of course, they do not know how and why they are on the earth, but these primitive Homo Sapiens find a way to communicate things through the body language such as visual and facial expressions. I think this movie is great to figure out what is the truth of the human is being origins. 

My insight about “The Lion King” movie

This film has an interesting and meaningful message to everyone. I think that positively, “The Lion King” movie reflect many human values very well. In the movie, the family values are passed from generation to generation. The Lion king is the boss of his family and that is important for his land. It is amazing how these lions work together for a common purpose and for their society. On the other hand, the Lion King’s son lives his live in a free way without responsibilities or concerns about life. He lives a free, spontaneous and easy life until he learns that he has to come back to his responsibilities and become the king. This movie also shows how the father of the little lion after death communicates with his son to tell him about his responsibilities to his family and society. I think this is a great movie that really has a meaning in each individual’s life and send the message that each person can decide what to be or not in life and like the famous saying says " You are the architect of your own fate and life" ( Philosopher St. Augustine  ) 

A better aging perspective

My thinking about life is that people should have an optimistic attitude toward life issues. Everyone should take for granted and appreciate the little or a lot thing they have in life.  

A friend of mine considers herself as a lucky woman because she has a great physical and mental health. Without mentioning her real name in order to keep her privacy and with her permission, she tells how she did to be a healthy woman even her age. Currently, she is a 68 years old woman. When she was a child she had anemia for a period of time, and her sister always called her the sick lady. Also around 20 years old after she got pregnant, she started losing weight without any reason. This fact made her to reflect about her health and eat better.

She got conscious about her health after she started doing research about nutrition issues and strategies to have a better quality of life. By this time she also met her boyfriend, who is a gourmet cooker, so he also helped her to improve her health in many aspects. First he advised to her to eat lot healthy food like vegetables and fruits instead of fat meals. Second, he thought her to cook very well her every day diet and also advised her to practiced yoga and exercise two hours every day.  Her good health is due to the sport she love to practice, which is swimming. These are the main reasons why she currently does not have any chronic disease and functional limitation. She said, “I can perform every physical task without problem, I can touch my toe, swimming, jogging, work long hours and etc”. However, after her 50 years old she became a little lazy, and she is not exercising as she used to do it. Therefore, currently she is experiencing decrease in energy. She thinks that she looks better than other women of her age.

She is an active worker. She works long hours every day as tutor. She drives long distance from one city to other every week in order to provide her service. She love work with people with different background because it is the gratification of her job. Because of the economic recession, she is working more hours than usual. Therefore, she does not have enough time to have a social life. However, when she needs some emotional support, her family members are the best social support she has. She has good cognitive skills, so it let her to be a physical and emotional independent woman in all dimensions. Her great mental health is mainly due to her good education, work and academic training.

Today, she is her own boss and she makes more money than when she was an employee. She feels happy with her current busy schedule, and job. To her this economic recession is not harder than the great depression she mentioned. My friend knows that she is not young anymore, so she is more conscious that she needs to care about her health, lifestyle and family. She thinks that she has vast life experience and knowledge of world events. In addition, her wisdom has expanded. Since her mental and physical capacities are okay, she wants to continue doing what she likes to do it. She does not like people tell her what to do or how to do it because she has learned to survive over the time in this difficult life by herself. She has strong personality, but she is very friendly with people around her. 

She asked me to interact with more older adults of my community, because it will help me to understand better what aging process is and how it can occur at different rates in different people She feels that the keys of her successful aging is due to her active life and the support of her family. Her advice to women of her age is to eat healthier, exercising a lot, working and a good diet in vegetables, fruits and salads.

 I got a message from this story that I want to share.  First,  my fear to become old has disappeared. I understood that aging is a normal stage of our life, we all going to become old one day.  Young people should not depreciate older people because most of them are very wise persons. The key of successful aging is in our hands. If we exercise a lot, have an active, social and eat healthy we may enjoy our aging. It depends on our life style and family or social support we receive in hard moments. It also depends on our good or bad attitude toward the life challenges. I think that It necessary to read life stories like this in order to have a better aging perspective.

My name is Edit, and I am Peruvian-American. I was born in Peru and grew up in Lima, the capital of Peru. I moved to San Francisco, California in 2004. Two months ago, I comeback to Peru for a short time, and I am living here. I have spent a fair amount of time visiting Machu Pichu, my favorite place in the world.

I am a junior at UMASS Lowell majoring in Psychology; also I am doing some coursework in Spanish and Latin- American Studies.  My aspiration is to have a fulfilling life where, when I get 70 years old and I look back I can feel happy with my choices I did in life. This is one of the reasons why I am planning to concentrate in Cognitive Psychology, I love to learn about how people think, perceive and learn.  

I have to say that since I was a child, I have been interested in becoming an artist. In the past, I did many plays in my school and community. I really had good time doing those public performing and also I wrote my own songs. However, due to all sorts of family issues, I changed my mind and decided to pursue a career in the psychology field.

I do not have much Internet surfing experience, but I hope to learn a lot from this course and to get the necessary skills to start a personal project next semester. One of my goals for this semester is to further my knowledge of Internet.

 I enjoy writing short novels and essays, although I am not good at it. Also, I like many different types of music, Rock, Pop, Classical and especially Latin music like salsa and  Merengue. My passions include reading, dancing, sleeping and playing volleyball, but I would say that the most significant thing about me is my desire to spend my life working hard to make a tiny difference in the life of people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Currently, I am working in a Peruvian Nonprofit that supports older people affected by HIV and AIDS and improves older people's access to health services.