Category: Life & Experiences

Introduction

Personal values are qualities that one considers to be worthwhile and, as such, act as the driving force in their life. They take precedence over other qualities and therefore dictate the manner in which an individual may behave in particular instances. When it comes to my values in life, I have a few that I hold dear.

These values are a result of my upbringing, development, my principles, as well as my socialization and the culture around me. In this my values in life essay, I shall identify the core beliefs that I hold and how they influence my everyday choices, actions, and plans that I make.

My Values in Life

One of the educational values that are fundamental to me is achievement. This is a result of my belief that what defines me most as a person is my determination to succeed and my desire to make a positive contribution to society through my career. Achievement is, therefore, one of the values that are most important to me since, in todays world, achievement and success are mostly tied together with educational success. As a result of this, I hold my educational exploits in high esteem since education is one of the avenues where ones determination leads to quantifiable success.

I greatly value close relationships with my friends and constantly seek to cement the same. This is because good friends can assist one in achieving his/her goals in life and can sometimes even be closer than family. For this reason, I invest a lot of time and effort in my close friends. I make it a priority to be a part of the significant moments in my friends lives, such as their birthdays, wedding days, and even baby christening ceremonies. In addition to this, I always ensure that I inquire as to their well beings periodically.

Growth and personal development for me is a very fundamental value, and its importance in my life cannot be understated. It is my belief that my life is not worth much if I do not strive to constantly improve on my achievements as well as in becoming a better person. This value of personal growth and development greatly impacts my daily living, especially when establishing new relations. It is generally my rule that if a new relationship does not add any value to my life, then I should not waste my time exploring it.

One of the constant realities in human life is that we will always be surrounded by needy people. As such, on a social level, I always strive to give my services to the less fortunate. In my opinion, a life well lived is one that is lived in such a way that it makes a difference to someone elses life. This is the philosophy with which I have led my life up to this point, and at all times, I try to make a difference in the lives of the people that surround me. Helping other people is, therefore, a value that I value not only in myself but also in other people.

While modern-day living has somewhat led to a degradation of the value of family from what it used to be in gone years, I still hold the value of family to be very important in my life. To me, ones family members are the ones who will stand by you no matter the situation and encourage you through lifes troubles.

While I reckon that family may not always be supportive or as ideal as I envision it, in my experience, my family is closely knit and always stands up for me. I, therefore, always have my family in mind when making my decisions and consider how my actions will affect them. In addition, I try to seek guidance from members of the family who are more experienced than I am before making monumental decisions in my life.

It has been argued that honest men and women are a dying breed. This statement holds true in our capitalistic society, where profits and personal gains are the primary objectives. The means by which one achieves success is often overlooked, and as such, the ends justify the means.

Even in the midst of such an environment, I still hold honesty as one of my core values. This is mostly a result of my upbringing, whereby honesty was applauded and dishonesty shunned. Also, I have come to realize that when one achieves success through honesty, the level of satisfaction that comes with it is truly unrivaled by any other feeling.

Owing to my upbringing, I have a huge regard for religion. As such, one of my spiritual values is engaging myself in some religious organizations. While it is true that most of my religious values are a result of my upbringing, I have, over time, come to embrace them as my own and therefore make it my personal duty to be actively involved in my religious organization.

To me, this brings about a sense of balance and helps me be more reflective and appreciative in my life. My religious values impact my decision-making since I try not to make choices that are contrary to my religious beliefs.

Conclusion

In this paper, I have identified some of the values that I hold dear to me. I have also identified how these values impact the choices that I make as well as the actions that I take. From this deep exploration of my values, I have come to the realization that my values greatly dictate how I treat the people around me as well as how I prioritize matters. I believe that as a result of my values, I strive harder to achieve the things that I want in life, and as such, I am a better person as a result of them.

The first date is always a very responsible and important step on the way to future relationships. A person who is going on a first date feels a little frightened and embarrassed. A first date may impress or disappoint; it may be the start of a great feeling or may put an end to possible relationships. A first date can be a really stressful occasion and people try to prepare for it thoroughly. It is very important to make your first date successful because it will give you an opportunity to continue relationships with the person you like. Good manners and a little forethought will help you to enjoy the first date and impress the person you like.

It is important to feel comfortable and avoid all negative thoughts. You should have only realistic expectations and never hurry in your plans as to relationships with the person you want to date. You should be positive because the moral state of your girlfriend will depend on how you feel. Being tense and nervous will never result in a friends calm talk.

One of the important steps of planning the first date is to select the proper place for it. This place should be very familiar to you. In such an atmosphere you can feel calm and relaxed. Besides, there will be a theme for the conversation; you can retell something interesting about the place you often go to. One more successful place for the first date is the cinema. Cinema can give a lot of common themes for discussion which will help you to know some of her interests.

The intelligent conversation will provide a successful talk between both of you. It is very important to find interesting topics; in case it is difficult to do it is better to ask some questions and then develop them into a common conversation. One should avoid personal questions because they can result in confusion and awkwardness of your date. The topics for the conversation should not be prepared beforehand, because in this case, your conversation will not sound natural.

One of the most important aspects of a successful conversation during the first date is the sense of humor. If your date feels tense a joke or a funny story can help anyone to relax and feel comfortable. But the jokes should not be lame because they can irritate your date. It is important to remember that the more natural your conversation is the more it is interesting and pleasant communicating with you. Such a position can impress your date with your open and frank character.

The alcohol intake should be limited. You should control yourself by drinking alcoholic beverages. It is an open secret that alcohol helps people to feel more confident and brave but it can lead to unpleasant consequences. Alcohol is considered to be a depressant and it will not allow you to react naturally in some unexpected situations. Besides, a person who drinks too much will never leave a good impression on the date.

Your first date should impress your partner that is why to try to be real; try to show your real inner world and always avoid lies. In case your partner wants to continue relationships with you, your lie can lead to serious unpleasant consequences. This occasion should give pleasure and comfort to both partners that are why one should not pretend or imitate someone else. To be a frank and open person is very important and it always impresses. Some facts from your life can be interesting to your date; try not to hide everything; if the topic is unsuccessful for you just change it.

You should consider your budget during the first occasion. The first date should not be too expensive for you. There may appear some unexpected situations in which you will need some money; in case the evening took all your money, it can put you in an unpleasant situation. Besides, you should not remain bankrupt on the day after your first date.

It should be stressed that one of the rude mistakes done on the first date is the concentration only on your personality. Everyone knows that he can talk about himself for hours and enjoy this conversation. But some people can hate hearing such conversation. It is very important to pay much attention to your date; you should show your interest in the person you communicate with. Your date will feel that her topic is really interesting for you and you like to listen about some facts about her life.

One should try to sound interesting and involving. It is easy to notice if your partner dislikes the atmosphere and boring talk. You should make some fun and entertain your date. This occasion is the key one because it can tell a lot about the person. One should show that he is an interesting personality by standing his ground and not being frightened to object. In this case, your date will see that you are a confident and strong-willed person.

So, the analysis of the first date allowed seeing the main aspects of doing it successfully. The most important thing is just to remain yourself; it cannot but impress your date. One should remember that this occasion can be decisive in your future relationships; and if you want to continue them in the future, you should thoroughly prepare for this date and consider all the points mentioned above.

References

Guide to a Successful First Date. Web.

Despite the numerous differences between the old lifestyle and the modern lifestyle, there are certain similarities as well. But those similarities havent had any effect on our lives. On the contrary, the differences have changed our lives to a great extent.

Before discussing the difference between old and modern lifestyles, let us first comprehend the meaning of lifestyle. Its a way of living. We (we, our families, and our societies) adopt different ways and means in our lives to tackle various situations, issues, and surroundings such as corporeal (related to health), emotional, communal, and financial. But lately, lifestyle has become a symbol of status. Our lifestyles can be healthy or otherwise, depending on our deeds and conduct.

Various factors affect our lifestyles. Since the bygone days, life, in general, has changed a lot. Modernization has been one of the most important elements of this change. Changes are visibly seen in transportation, urbanization, pollution, and numerous other fields. There are certain similarities between the old and modern lifestyles worldwide but there have been several drastic changes that have led to the differentiation between the two.

Talking about similarities, there are very few of them. Firstly, the climate around the world still has four seasons namely, summer, winter, fall, and spring. In the North Pole, the weather has been extremely cold throughout the year for more than a hundred years. Deserts like Sahara, Kalahari, Arabian, etc. still have severe high temperatures during summers. Secondly, the beliefs of Monotheistic religions still exist. For instance, Christians still have faith in Christ and Muslims still believe in Allah (SWT). Finally, people in most nations still adhere to wearing their traditional clothes. For example, Scotland males still put on their traditional kilts (skirts) on special occasions.

The differences between the old lifestyle and the modern lifestyle are too evident. There are so many differences that can be mentioned here but due to certain limitations; we shall talk about a few of them. First, let us answer some questions. These questions pertain to a period; say about 100 years back. Could you reach New York from London in six hours without boarding a flight? Would you feel warm inside your house during winters if you didnt have a heating system? If you didnt have a telephone and you had to stay at your office till late at night, would you have been able to inform your wife? Could you imagine living without a television, a refrigerator, a washing machine, or a vacuum cleaner? The answer to all these questions is in the negative.

While discussing the technological advancements that mankind has made, people normally confer different examples of comparison between old and new methods. One of them is that of the rock and the washing machine. They say washing clothes with a rock doesnt involve any expenditure whereas washing machine is a pricey affair. But they dont deem the fact that if today someone has to cleanse clothes with a rock, he or she has to walk to a river first, wash clothes, spread them, and wait until they are desiccated. On an overcast day, this may take the entire daylight hours. Moreover, it is so cumbersome. On the contrary, if you deploy a washing machine, you merely have to put your garments into it and forget. The beauty is that you dont even have to fret about the overcast days. You will have ample time to do your other daily chores and your life will be easier and hassle-free.

The modern transportation system is more flexible than it was before. With the help of online information, students can now do their projects more easily and accurately. Thanks to the invention of the telephone, we can now keep in touch with our distant friends and relatives. The development of high-speed modes of conveyance and communication has changed the world into a global township. Transportation in modern life is easier and more organized, but in the older days, there were a lot of limitations in the transportation system. For example, during the old days, people in Dubai had to travel on camelbacks to go from one place to another. Then the cars, buses, airplanes, and ships were introduced and journeys became more comfortable and of lesser duration. This has saved a lot of precious time. People can do more fruitful work in their free time. An example of how the change in transportation system has made our lives easier; in recent times, due to the invention of the Dubai Metro, the traffic on Dubai roads has decreased whereas previously the roads were very crowded. Now people traveling by car dont have to go through the hassle of driving on crowded roads. The driving has become peaceful and tension-free. Countless instances can be cited which can prove that modern technological devices have made mans life easier, more comfortable, faster, and safer to a great extent. They have become a part and parcel of our lives. So it will not be adverse to say that modern technological devices make our lives easier. The urban development in modern life has become more advanced, whereas in the past it was not developed to this extent. For instance, nowadays the buildings are planned and designed to be of greater heights than the ones in older times. As we see, due to the expansion policies of different governments, the available land for development is becoming lesser day by day. Skyscrapers have become more popular worldwide in modern life. These high-rise buildings can accommodate more people. The pollution in todays world is more than before. Air pollutants released from anthropogenic sources are of main concern because they are the leading cause of various respiratory problems. On the other hand, the previous days were more clean and natural than the modern days.

We all strive for the betterment of our children. We send them to the best possible schools. In older days, good schools were numbered (limited). And only the privileged ones could afford to send their children to such schools. But today there are ample options for education. Thanks to the developments that mankind has made. Now our children can get the best of education which in turn shall help them to become responsible citizens with good moral values and ethics.

All the factors mentioned above have enhanced the quality of our lifestyles. But there is one feature of lifestyle that even the changing times cant change. Its our deeds. We can have the best of education, best of amenities, and best of comforts but unless we change our mindset all these are futile. We should always learn from the lives and actions of successful people. This will make us feel grand and will motivate us to do something great for mankind. Always keep in mind that you should think big. Because this thinking of yours will one day change into reality and then you will also be able to change the lifestyle of people.

The internet has become the global hang-out of the new generation of American kids. It is in a place that is practically unreachable by discipline because the internet is not located in one single place, nor can it be ruled by simply one set of rules. With this definition in mind, we can see why it is described as the Wild West of the 21st Century. The internet offers the kids of today too many shortcuts to the way they should be leading their real lives.

The internet was originally envisioned as a tool developed for the good of mankind. However, the advent of the new century saw the internet become the new world of the 21st century. It is a new world where the kids of today feel so comfortable and free that they can disconnect from the real world and more disturbingly, their parents.

I believe that the kids have to be taught about the benefits and disadvantages of the internet while bringing their parents up to speed about this new world that they lose their children to every single day. That is where the APN comes in. We need some entity that will help connect parents with their children and allow the children to feel comfortable letting their parents into their private world. The recent rise in death numbers due to cyber-bullying is more than enough proof that the internet needs to be policed somehow and the kids need to let their parents into their world somehow to offer them some sort of real-life protection when need be.

The internet is a new and dangerous world for all of us. We are all only learning about the power that it wields over our lives and if we let it, it can consume us and make us lose sight of what is real and what is not. We need organizations that will help create that distinction and let the kids know that there is an opt-out option which, if they accept, will make them even better people than they are now.

Introduction

The amount of time modern children spend in front of screens is staggering. Not only does their eyesight suffer because of the excessive pressure, but their social life is also damaged as they circumscribe their own abilities to interact with other children. Children lack the adult perspective to recognize the danger, which is why their screen time should be restricted. Ultimately, childrens screen time should be limited because it damages them physically and decapitates their social abilities.

Damage to the Eyesight

First, screen time puts excessive pressure on the eyes. The biological function of eyes is to be able to look far enough to see the details. In order for them to perform this function, eye muscles need to rest and constantly exercise at long distances. However, screens by definition are limited displays, where only a certain amount of information is present. In order to acquire as much information as possible from the screen source, the human eye has to continuously look at the screen, while the pages are turned, one video swaps another, or the newsfeed is updated. Perceiving information from screens is an extremely static experience. The eyeball does not move enough to achieve the needed level of mobility and does not get enough rest.

Screen time is especially perilous for childrens eyesight because their muscles are only forming. Any body part, which grows with time, needs to function properly in order to achieve the entirety of its range of motions in the adult years. Eyes are no different, as children need to become accustomed to exercising them. However, as children spent enormous amount of time behind computers, they teach their body to endure static pressure, which is not intended for it (Saunders et al., 2017). As a result, children acquire eyesight health issues long before they achieve their adulthood, which could have been averted with sufficient limitations of screen time.

Social Isolation

A less evident but no less important problem is the deficit of social interactions due to time-consuming screen time. Humans are social beings, who need communities, live interaction, and connection. All of these needs can be met with communication and conversations with other people. Screen time is so addictive because it creates the illusion of communication. As users are constantly overwhelmed with tons of tweets, posts, search suggestions, and promotions, people begin to feel that they a part of the increasingly connected world. Yet, the feeling is a deceiving one because virtual communication lacks essential components of interaction, such as gestures, sense, physical presence, and touch.

The problem is even worse with children who are still learning how to interact with other people. By substituting real-life communication with online messengers and other virtual sources of information, they rob themselves of the little subtleties that drive human interactions. Children habituate themselves to turn to their smartphones and computers when they have problems instead of their friends and family (Hinkley et al., 2018). Although not immediately apparent, such a mindset can have a disastrous effect on the future, when these children are not able to properly connect with other people in a way that is not possible in cyberspace.

Conclusion

Altogether, limiting screen time is necessary for a balanced and proper development of children. Physically, their eyes require exercises and rest, which are not provided by screen time. Socially, childrens minds need connection with other individuals, which is not attainable via online messengers. Limiting screen time will have a beneficial effect on their physical and social development, while teaching them the importance of real-life interactions.

References

Hinkley, T., Brown, H., Carson, V., & Teychenne, M. (2018). Cross sectional associations of screen time and outdoor play with social skills in preschool children. PloS One, 13(4), 1-15.

Susilowati, I. H., Nugraha, S., Alimoeso, S., & Hasiholan, B. P. (2021). Screen Time for Preschool Children: Learning from Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Global Pediatric Health, 8, 1-6.

Saunders, T. J., & Vallance, J. K. (2017). Screen time and health indicators among children and youth: current evidence, limitations and future directions. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, 15(3), 323-331.

One of the main advantages of living abroad is the opportunity to experience many exciting cultures. Examples of this include different cuisines, music, architecture, and languages. Experiences with foreigners help a lot when traveling further, developing your horizons, and improving social skills which are important for ones future career and life. Therefore, living in another country is a positive experience with several social, linguistic, and intellectual benefits.

First, cultural development is expressed not only in aesthetics but also in knowledge. Throughout world history, science has developed in parallel in different parts of the world, and getting a different perspective on known truths is a rewarding experience. In particular, the main advantage is the ability to look at the world around us from the outside without taking even the most ordinary phenomena for granted. A quality such as critical thinking is a necessary cultural and intellectual detail in this case.

Moreover, learning a new language is a beneficial skill. Nowadays, travel has become a financially and technically accessible service for people. For this reason, foreigners often go to neighboring countries as tourists or to relocate. Knowing several languages can help not only when communicating with people from different parts of the world but also when working as an interpreter. As a result, learning new languages through direct practice rather than by studying theory is another advantage of living abroad.

Finally, making new acquaintances and friends is more accessible from the perspective of a visiting foreigner. This is the lack of social burdens that people born and living all their lives in the same place have. In addition, interest in a representative of another culture is always very high, so it is pretty easy to strike up a conversation and become the center of attention in the case described. It is not difficult to have exciting surroundings consisting of foreigners, and at the same time, it is helpful for future travels.

In conclusion, living abroad is a rewarding and exciting experience, especially for young people. The opportunity to develop intellectually, learn new languages, and make new friends are examples of advantages. However, moving and adapting is difficult and requires a lot of financial and moral effort. Not everyone can fully enjoy the described pastime, but it is worth pursuing such an opportunity to develop.

Personal experiences can be good or bad and then, there is the third kind- learning. This is the fundamental of human development. I was alone that day in my house one aloof afternoon. The scientist in me was struggling to break free and that freedom came in form of an umbrella. The flight stimulator within my pituitary gland was constantly sending in electric pulses. The pulses guided me to our roof. I moved towards the edge of the roof. It was on the third floor. Opened the umbrella and jumped. It was a painful experience but it taught me a valuable lesson that it is necessary to put in thoughts before a full-length commitment.

Our neighbors were very active people and soon I found myself lying in a nursing home bed. Any fall is painful and this one was physical. Call it super strength or technology of fall I came out of the nursing home after 30 days with a hairline fracture in my ankle. This was a great learning process with pain and the understanding is incorporated in me permanently. Like all great men of knowledge and evolution of the human species, I learnt from trial of pain and error of execution.

The result is that the pain itself is overlooked or over-categorized. Research tends to pool around the categories and labels that society has created. As a result, the individual needs of both the victims and offenders are subjugated to the affirmation of this label.

There was a fundamental mistake in the entire execution. The way I jumped with the umbrella suggested that it was more passion of flight than the logistics behind flight that the instrumental. This real painful experience taught valuable lessons. This incident is vividly stored in my memory. Though a bad memory and bad memory hardly stays, I remember it as I saw the lighter side of it and it was more of a learning process. I personally feel that the purpose to gather knowledge is humane and the humanity cannot excel without a structural method and that is what I have learned from this painful experience. This approach towards life is exemplary and the methodical advances to reach this goal could be well imitated.

As Banerjee pointed out that, we only remember those aspects that we want to remember. (Banerjee, 198) I certainly did not want to repeat this error. The fundamentals of success lies in the fact the one should think and analyze. In this context, I started working my way through constant checking and rechecking schedule as a practice of learning and this knowledge was incorporated inside me due to this accident.

Knowledge is an eternal resource and thus even if it is difficult and often painful to gather knowledge it is suggested that one should always venture this pain. This is the brighter side of pain mechanism and the way of human life. It is just that we often do not realize this fact and tends to overlook the brighter side and settle with a back seated attitude of avoiding difficult situation. However, if we brave the difficult situation or the pain involved, the harvest is sweet as in the form of knowledge and success in the long term. It is this experience that made me understand that just the will to know is not enough as long as you do not find a proper way to execute it. For me achieving the goal of success would provide me with that needed launch pad to reach my dreams that started with a fall and pain.

Works Cited

Banerjee, D; 2005; Details from Medical Journals of AIIMS; Auckland: AIIMS; 2005. 198.

Introduction

The whole series is based on tricky questions and problems concerning sex and relationships, which most people wouldnt ask their partner. In the 7^th episode of the 1^st season, Carrie asks a question, which was asked by men throughout all of history: why monogamy is so important? Carrie is pushed to the condition of mistrust by her Mr. Big and now she is angrily trying to get a hold of this problem. And Samantha is not even worried about the question of sexual monogamy, more like morale monogamy concerning her realtor. In this essay, I will try to get closer to the understanding of the problem and the driving forces that are pushing not exactly young woman to the boundary of male dreaming, where each one of them wanted to have sex with more than one woman at a time or not and didnt really have to have a relationship with only one of them.

Description

Sex and the City makes us think differently about relations and how sex is important for a successful relationship. The psychological factor in all of these situations is universally important. The concrete jungles of New York are a perfect site for the experiments of the main characters. What a wonderful opportunity it is to think over the entire relationship between sex and relationships. Miranda has become a victim of the saying You want, what you cant get when she sees Skipper with another woman. Carrie wants to be monogamous with her beloved, but she witnesses his date with another woman. She is angry and questions the whole system that existed for hundreds of years and states monogamy. Miranda is facing a self-esteem question when she realizes that she was never invited into a threesome. But, still, here is the main question of the 7^th episode of the 1^st season: Can women have sex like men? And why it is important to have sex only with the person you are having a relationship with? Also, Carrie and her friends make some kind of sexy and sophisticated investigations on such points as: are relationships the religion of the 90s? Is the threesome the new sexual frontier? If so, whos supposed to do what with whom  and when? And if single women can have sex with any man, anytime, anywhere, how come married women always assume itll be anytime, anywhere?

Discussion

Relationships between men and women have changed for the past couple of decades. The unofficial right for polygamy was owned by males, now everything has changed. There are a couple of good reasons for that, first of all, if the fact of a polygamy relationship is acceptable by both partners, then there is nothing wrong with it. Another reason is just simple curiosity. By having an intimate relationship with a single partner a person closes all of the possible chances for trying something new, pleasurable, and exciting. This episode is formally protecting the whole possibility of this situation, but at the same time draws a line. A line is drawn between polygamy in sex and polygamy in relationships (of any kind). Samantha is giving an example of polygamy in terms of basic human respect and polygamy in this case is absolutely opposite to respect. Another question is it worth saving a relationship with a person supporting polygamy if you are not quite sure about your urge to try something like that?! Is it morally correct? And what, if you really like or even love the person that is putting you through this?! The most important thing to remember from this episode is that under any circumstances you have to maintain your self-esteem.

In everyones life there is a person who is considered to be the closest one in the whole world. For me this person is my mother. My mother influences every step of my life: how I live and interact with other people. She is an inspiration for my achievements and guidance into the successful future. She has always helped me to overcome any difficulties that I faced since early childhood trying to give me hopes for better future. My mother combines the best features which a person may have; she is a clever, kind and open woman with beautiful appearance and rich inner world.

My mother is Dominican; she is quite a pretty and well educated woman. Despite her age she looks young and beautiful. My mother is not very tall though her height underlines her regular features. She has short curly black hair and shining brown eyes. I want to note that her eyes deserve additional attention because they are so kind and frank that one cannot but notice her open and friendly character at once, during the first seconds of communication with her.

I like her smile most of all in the world. It is so beautiful that when she smiles I cannot but smile too. Her light complexion and big blushed cheeks especially emphasize her charming smile. My mothers skin is very soft and tender; when I hold her hands in mine I feel that I am protected from the whole world and I feel the happiest person. I like the way my mother dresses. She always tries to keep pace with fashion though her style is unique and individual.

She is slim and has a wonderful figure; her clothes lay a stress on her beautiful features. I would like to note that my mother is a wonderful person not only out but also inside. To my way of thinking she is the reflection of light; not in vain her name Lucia is translated from Italian as light. She is an open, responsive and light person who is always there to help and support me at difficult moments of my life.

For me my mother is the cleverest person in the world. I can speak a lot about my mother because she is considered to be my reflection and my hero. One day I had to clean my room before the arrival of my relatives. My mother asked me: Please, do something with your box of old posters. It takes a lot of space. I was in hesitation but answered: Ok. Ill try& She knew that they were very important for me to throw them out. I was really upset because they took too much place in my room.

Next day when I returned home from school I found out that my box disappeared. I was in despair. Suddenly my mother asked me to bring something from our attic. I went there and found out that all the walls in the room were decorated with my posters. That moment I felt really happy. I cried: Thank you, mom!!! Her idea to use my old posters as a decoration was just wonderful. I can surely say that my mother is the cleverest person.

My mother is really the kindness person in the world. When I was small, my mother made a special present for me. I came after school and she gave me a puppy. He is so cute I said. This is for you! Take care of him. He is very small and helpless. He really needs your care.  said my mother watching how happy I was. It is difficult to describe my feelings that day. It was my dream and my puppy became a member of our family. Two days later I got to know that my mother found this small creature near the store. It was hungry and miserable. My mother could not but took puppy home, washed and fed him. Now this puppy is a strong big dog which lives with my family and we love him very much. I can say without hesitation that my mother is the kindness person in the world.

My mother is a very wise person who can always find solution to any problems. I understand that her life experience helps her to make right decisions. But there are some situations when her opinion completely contradicts my own. And as a result she always appears to be right. Her logical thinking helps our family to live in harmony and happiness. We have never quarreled because of some trifles and my mother taught me to find a half way with people even when you cannot agree with their views.

For example, when my cousin and I quarreled who would do the work about the house, my mother offered to work in the form of a game. The speed and high quality of work enabled us to win a price. I bought two tickets for the concert. If you combine your efforts, you would enjoy the play of your favorite group this evening. The work was shared equally and done in time. This idea was really wise. I consider that my mother knows the way out of any difficult situation!

Of course it is impossible to describe all the features of my mother in the short piece of writing but I would like to say that this person takes the first place in my life. I would be always thankful to her for all she has done for me. I am pretty sure that she is the reason for all my achievements and victories. Her qualities helped me to understand how people should behave in life. She taught me a lot and now I can easily overcome any problems I face. My mother is the only hero of my life.

She combines only positive features which a person can have. I am really proud to have such a mother as mine. I consider her the greatest person in my life who helped me to become the person I am now and influenced every step of my thoughts and behavior. She is the only inspiration for all actions and decisions of mine. I am really proud of her!

One of my passions is travelling. Travel involves visiting new places and meeting new people and having varied experiences. I come originally from Romania and have travelled to UK and US. I remember the quote by Samuel Johnson: All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it. I have had the luck of visiting better countries and I believe my travel experiences have taught me a lot about human life and helped me expand the way I see things.

When I first travelled within Romania, it opened my eyes to how other people live. I saw how people lived happily even though they did not have much money or luxuries. It taught me that to be happy, money is not the only thing. I must have an attitude to be happy with what I have. It also taught me to accept people from different races and colors. When I travelled abroad, I saw new cultures and different lifestyles.

It was very exciting and adventurous. I learnt to enjoy these new experiences, to become part of these varied cultures by taking their food, wearing their dresses, etc. This has created in me the awareness that people all over the world are basically the same but they are different in the cultures  have different ways of talking, singing, enjoying, dancing, writing, building, dressing and conducting business. I have acquired a more global perspective of the world we live in. My knowledge has thus expanded because of my travel.

Self-confidence is another quality that I developed as a result of travelling. Whenever I travel, I had to be responsible for my own luggage, tickets and documents. I had to be careful in taking flights and cabs. When I was in my home country, I used to be shy to talk to new people. But during my travels, I learnt to talk to strangers and ask for help whenever I needed it. This gave me the confidence that I can make new friends. Also, new places sometimes had new customs that I had to adapt to.

Travel is the time I use to read and listen to music. This also gives me the time to reflect deeply on my lifes goals and where I am right now. It is an ideal opportunity to break free from a routine lifestyle. I feel very much relaxed during my travel and enjoy seeing new scenes and landscapes. It gives me time to discover more about myself. For example, when I was in Los Angeles, I saw a rock music performance at a club where everyone danced. I had not danced earlier at clubs. But when I joined the fun, I was surprised to realize that I enjoyed the experience a lot.

Travel also gives me a sense of being free and independent. It makes my mind open to new experiences all the time. Even during a flight, I get to taste new food, hear a new language, see new ways of dressing and listen to new kinds of music. This is very exciting and I thoroughly enjoy my life during these moments.

Through my travels, I have made many new international friends. Conversing with them has helped me understand their cultures better and I also have opportunities of improving my English which is now very important when travelling in UK and US. Moreover, as I intend to study in United States, it is good to improve my language skills before I begin my studies. Travelling to the United States has also helped me absorb their local culture and understand the value of hard work.

Above all, whenever I return to Romania after my travels, it helps me appreciate my home country a lot. I value Romanian culture and the warm way in which people relate to each other. I can appreciate it all the more when I travel abroad. Thus, my passion for travel while giving me fun, dreams and confidence, has also educated me, helped me embrace new cultures and new communication skills, adopt a more global perspective, improve my English and given me lots of good friends and wonderful memories. It has made me a richer person internally.