This article has been sent by Ana Rebollo. Thanks a lot.
There´s always some good and bad in everything. I´m an only child
and I think that the main advantage is that if you are an only child your parents are able to provide you with all the needs, financial or otherwise. And they can afford a really good education for you. You don´t have to share your toys or wear hand-me-downs and you always have your own room. But on the downside, only children tend to be spoiled getting everything they want because parents don´t have to divide among other kids. Only children get the full attention of their parents and that can create self-centredness and that could be a problem in the future because they would not be able to accept other points of view. I think when you are an only child you are more independent and more mature as they often only have adults at home to socialize with. One of the advantages of being an only child is that you don´t have anybody to fight with and you are never compared to a brother or sister. However, it can be boring when there is nobody else to play with when your parents are too busy to entertain you so sometimes only children can be quite lonely. I think that if you have siblings you are more sociable and you can learn how to get along with people a bit more easily and you also learn to share, not to be selfish and to put yourself in someone
Tag Archives: students
Piano Man
Sent by Mario Pelaez, one of my students. Thanks a lot, Mario.
“I’ve liked this song since I was a child” Mario says. It was released in 1973. The title track is one of Joel’s signature tracks and a seminal song in piano rock. It remains a concert standard, and is the source of Joel’s nickname, Piano man.
About the song…well, I think it’s so moving. It’s a song about people who are disappointed with a part of their lives, about people who still believe in their dreams even thought they haven’t been able to make them come true, and the central character of the song is the pianist, the “piano man”, who plays to alleviate their pain, to make them forget about their lives for a while…
My pleasure
To all my students
With the holidays fast approaching I want to thank you all for being such nice students. It hasn’t been a good year to me on a personal level but my classes have helped me get over some very sad moments in my life.
I know this exam week has been tough on you; some of you took it lightly and some totally serious (to be honest, I really appreciate the serious ones). My biggest gripe is having wonderfully good students do badly, while some others that never seem to study enough do extremely well. But I can do little about it. I wish you well and hope you enjoy your summer holidays.
This photograph is the best I had and that’s the only reason to choose this class and not any other. I hope you don’t mind being in the limelight.
Good luck!!!
Designer Clothes
Sent by Estela Ramon Garcia, 4th year student
First and foremost, I have to say that I’m not the kind of girl who is hooked on shopping and on designer clothes because I’m convinced that you don’t have to wear brand clothes to be dressed up or to be cool, actually, a lot of brand items aren’t cool at all. I mean, usually, while I’m looking through some magazines I realise how spaced-out film stars are, because they put on such ugly gear that they look really scruffy and badly-dressed, don’t they?
On the one hand , having brand clothes is surpassing the boundaries because as far as I know, there are people who blow their money on buying these clothes instead of saving it for a rainy day, and in the end they are broke. From my point of view they just do this to boast and pretend they are wealthy.
On the other hand there are well-off people who can afford to purchase these trendy clothes because of their huge wages. This kind of people usually splash out their money on having everything from a designer name. I believe that people usually fall into the mistake of thinking that if you don’t have expensive clothes you are laid-back and not cool at all. Nevertheless, the truth is the opposite thing, because you are more likely to be spaced out and spoiled if you have loads of expensive things. In my opinion, this sort of people isn’t cool or fashionable , they are posh.
To me being posh it’s not just buying designer clothes, it’s the way you behave, the thoughts and feelings you have…it’s everything! I have to say that as far as I’m concerned purchasing brand gear doesn’t make me posh or spoiled because I’m really down-to earth and sensible and I know that I’m not cooler because I wear one thing or the other. Besides, I often go shopping to unknown places, although to be honest, I have to say that I usually tend to be appealed by brand clothes because I like their designers much more than the bargains I come across in cheap shops, so that’s the reason why I have some fancy gear.
To sum up ,I have to say that in my case, I go for trendy clothes because I like to be cute and dressed up, and I can’t help going window shopping, but this doesn’t mean having everything from a well-known brand. I believe that is a complete waste of money buying a plain shirt which costs you a rip-off and you pay through the nose just because it has a tiny label on it. In these cases I would rather buy one in an unknown shop or at least during sales.
A new way to meet your Mr or Miss Right
Sent by Estela Alvarez, a fourth year student.
A long time ago single women who had a romantic meeting always went with a chaperone who kept an eye on the couple, whereas nowadays people can flirt from their personal computer while they are surfing the Internet because there are websites where they chat possible partners up. It seems incredible, but there are people who go out with someone without having ever seen them .
Certainly, we live in a stressful world and some people are too busy to look for love. As a result, new ways of meeting the person of your dreams are coming along. Actually, travel agencies arrange special trips only for single people and TV programmes organize blind dates for their contestants. But one of the most original systems to meet your Mr or Miss Right is a speed date, which is becoming more and more popular in different countries, especially among young people. 
It consists of a group of people, where there is the same number of men and women, who are gathered together in a room where they have a few minutes to find out as much information as they can about each other in order to see if some of them is their perfect soul mate. At a speed date a person talks one to one to a member of the opposite sex during a while and as soon as a bell rings the participants have to move on to the next person and then, they start a conversation again. At the end of the event they submit to the organizers a list with people they fancy and they would like to see again because they believe they could be compatible. If the other person also feels the same attraction the organizers will get them in touch .
In Spain a sort of “speed date” is becoming fashionable between university students, although this way to meet a possible pick-up is slightly different. It is called «traffic lights party» and it is usually celebrated in discos. It consists of wearing a sticker with the shape of a traffic light in the lapel and the colours of the signal have different meanings, so if you are wearing the green light switched on, it means you are not engaged; the yellow light means you are single but you are not especially interested in meeting anybody; and the red colour means you already have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Funny , isn’t it?