My space

Do you like to be alone?
If I had to answer this question, I would say that it depends on many factors.
When I travel or do something fun, I love being among people, specially friends. If I need to go to somewhere, as an appointment, or to pay a bill, or go shopping, for example, I prefer to be in company. However, sometimes we just need some space, some privacy, and a couple of hours to recover ourselves from our busy life, and think about everything, or even do not think about anything. I like to stay home by myself, so I am free to do whatever I want without worrying about what to wear, what to say, or what to do. When I do it, I like to listen to my favorit songs, wear some very comfortable clothes, eat the things that I love to eat, like chocolate, and spend time doing nothing... It is so good!

Home Sweet Home

When I was teenager, I used to think that it was really boring to live in my home town, specially because it is such a small and quiet town. In contrast, now I miss that place so much!
I miss that "nothing-to-do" kind of place, with my friends living all around me, with all my family, my house, my comfortable room, my dog, my mom's food!
I live well here: I have a nice room, I work for a good family, I can eat anything I want, but I miss to be in a place that I can tell that is mine, where I really feel at home.
It is amazing to have the opportunity to travel abroad, to meet people and new places, to learn a new culture and a new language, but as Dorothy from the Wizar of Oz says, "there is no place like home."

Hawai'i

One of the most beautiful places I have ever been is Hawaii. The views and landscapes are simply amazing!!!
The water is so blue, so blue... it is transparent, and I could even see the dolphins and whale from a boat. When I went snorkling, I could see and swim by the sea turtles and many kinds of colorful fish, and that was a unique moment. I will always keep it in my mind.
The big island, Honolulu, is pretty cool, and you can find various activities to do there, during the day or at night. I went walking to Diamod Head, and when I finished the tiring climb, the prize was the beautiful view from the top of the mountain. At night, I walked around the blocks downtown, I saw the shops and restaurants, and I went to a Luau.
The "hula-hula" dance is very nice to be watched; they do a smooth movement, and each one of them has a different meaning, such as "sea", "waves," "sun," "fish," "sky," and etc.
I loved my trip to Hawaii, and I hope I can go back there some day!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I never knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up.
I already thought about being a gymnast, an astronomer, an actress, a teacher, a business woman, and many other professions...
Now that I am a "grown up," I am still not sure about what I am going to be, that is, which field I am going to follow. I know that I like things within humanities, I love dealing with people, and I love English. So what can I do or be? Well, I'll keep studying and I'm directing myself to be an English teacher. Let's see if it works!
I admire those people who know what they want to be since they were a child. It is fascinating when you have a big dream to become something in the future, and I also used to have one (it has to do with theater). Nowadays I don't know if this dream is still alive, or if it has the same intensity, but the possibility of coming true is really small, but not impossible. I wanna wait and watch what future holds for me.

thought_full

Do you know those days in which you stop and think about life? yeah... today is one of them for me. I asked my self: Why am I here? What have I been born for? What is my gift? However, it doesn't matter the answer of those questions, I just would like to be and to do something else for the world, and not to be only "one more", if you know what I mean...
Maybe the best way to deal with these situations is to let God to lead ourselves and see whas He's got for us... I believe He knows what is the best for us, better than my own self.

Well, I'm just thoughtful today, as I said before...
enjoy your week, your good times, and your life! ;)

Colors

If you could choose to be a color, which color would you be?
Colors say a lot about our mood, our state of mind, and our personality too. You can guess something about a person by just looking at the colors that he or she is wearing.
I think I do not have a specific favorite color because I always change my favorite one depending on my mood. For example, if I am very happy I prefer to wear colorful clothes, but if I am without any inspiration, I just wear black; it is easier. If I am looking for decoration for my room, I prefer light colors, like pink and light blue because they transmit calm.
When you go to an interview for a job, they usually observe the colors you are wearing and judge your behavior. Light colors transmit lack of self-confidence, and dark colors transmit the opposite.
There are some colors that together get our attention better than others, like the combination yellow-blue-red gets kids' attention. Advertisers use this technique to make products' packages and commercials, and they study each kind of public they intend to reach to know which color is the best to catch their eyes.
So, colors are more than different tones that we see, but they are signs that transmit information about a person or thing. If I had to choose to be one color, I don't know which I'd be, but maybe I would choose to be a rainbow!

Crickets

In Brazil, when have a problem or paranoia about a certain thing, we usually say the idiom "estou com grilo," that is, translated into English it would be "I am with cricket". Yes, that's it: "Cricket," the bug. I don't know how or when they created this idiom, but it makes sense. "Grilos," how it's called in Portuguese, the small green animal, makes a kind of nonstop noise "cri cri cri" just like the problem in our head. When you have a real trouble in you mind, you can't stop thinking about it. Trying to get rid of that thought and making an effort to forget it, in most of the times, seems to make you think even more. It's so weird! So what can we do? If there was a way to organize thoughts as to put things in order like we do, for exemple, with papers, clothes, boxes, and etc, it would be much easier. However, it ins't possible.
What do I do now? I just don't think about. Ok, one more cricket for me to think about. If I find a solution, I will let you know.

Sweet World

It's so good to be a child. Every thing is so new, magic and fun! It's funny how kids see the world; they become happy with such simple details, as watching an ant moving in the garden or catching shells at the beach. They are fulfilled of wonder and they do not keep any hurt or sorrow from those who fight with them. I wish I could be like a child during my whole life, so if I had any problem I could become sad for a moment, but then, after about five minutes or one day, I would be laughing about another thing. I would easily forgive anyone that hurts me, and I would be much more creative. Kids are wiser than adults sometimes, and our role is to learn from them.

Goes around, comes around

Once upon a time, a guy called Newton discovered one very important thing by watching an apple falling down from a tree. Through this simple fact, he created the gravitational theory, which is about the attraction between two objects. As a result, he found out that every thing that goes up, comes down.
Newton's law of gravitation says that every action has a reaction. Therefore, as the same way, every choice you make in your life will have a consequence. Some people believe we pay for any action we do in this life; others think that we still have another life to pay for that, or to have a second chance. Religions dictate different ideas about it, but I particularly believe that all the things happen in only one life.
By talking about "goes around, comes around" I mean that we reap every thing we sow, and I am not talking about revenge, but about consequences. So if we "plant" good things, we will probably "harvest" good things. That's why all the efforts we do in life are worthy: sooner or later, the reward will come, even if it happens in a long run. Very often people do not honor good actions, so we need to do them without expecting prize in return. Then, when the good result comes, we'll be taken by surprise, and this will remind us that it was really worthy to sow those good actions.

Friends' Day

Today we celelbrate Friends' Day. There is nothing astounding or abnormal happening, but it's just a good day to remember and think about our dear friends. I have many friends in Brazil, so when I arrived in the US, I felt like lost because I didn't know anybody. Now I can say that I have some here, and they contribute a big deal to my life. It is really important to have friends: they are our budies, our company, and we can share secrets, feelings and moments; we can spend time together and have fun, even if we are doing nothing.
They say that we cannot choose our family and relatives, but friends are the family that we can choose. I love meeting people and making new friends, they can add a lot of good things to our lives and I can learn with them. I am grateful to God because He has given me friends.
Happy friends' day!

Murphy's Law

Have you heard about Murphy's Law? Actually, it is not a real law, but it is a kind of myth, wich consists of the idea that "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong". Do you know when you butter your bread and then, when you are about to give a bite, it falls on the ground with the butter facing down - and never up, just to make a bigger mess...
Or, when you are late for an appointment and then, you get stuck in the traffic, or all the traffic lights turn red, just to make you even later. Another one: when you really really need your cell phone to talk to someone, or to check something, the battery is low, and it turns off - why? Just to put you in trouble.
In my case, I was in a hurry these last weeks with many things, and I got late with my homework and my blog, and then, every time I tried to post here, the page got all white, and the internet program was closed. So I was not able to post my texts, and now I am even worse than before.
This is how the Murphy's Law works and follows our lives!
It always happens to me, and I bet that it happens to you too. If it doesn't, it will; just wait and see...

A New Song

I usually like to sing and to listen to old songs because I already know their melody and letter, so I feel comfortable doing it. However, when I listen to a new song, I don't like it very much at the beginning, but as I start to listen to it again, I get used to that and learn how to sing it, and then I enjoy it.
The same is with our lives when something new is about to happen. It is natural from human being to feel better on the safe side, that is, in a comfort zone. A new job, a new course or school, a new house in a new town can be scary at the very first impression, but once you get familiar with that, it can become exciting.
Changes are an essential part of life; they renew us and our expactations, and they bring us a feeling of challenge. We just need to be flexible and try to deal with them the best as possible in order to learn things from them. By doing so, we can leave the old bad things behind, and replace them with the new good ones.

The "getting-older" day

I never liked my birthdays. I mean, I always liked the parties, but not the fact of getting older. When we are kids, we use to think about age as a thing that gives us power: "when I become 18, I will be so big, and cool, and I'll go out with my friends, and I'll be adult..." and so on... But when we become adults, we usually wish we could be a child again.
Actually, as a child, I never had the feeling of hurrying to grow up. I also remeber that on my 15th birthday I cryed because everybody was telling me that from that date, the years were likely to pass too fast, and I didn't want to lose my childhood. It was so good, and I can say that I did have a great playful childhood!
Now, I still don't like my birthdays very much, but I can't help them and just run away from them, that is, they are inevitably part of life. So all I can do is to keep the sweet memories from the past, enjoy and celebrate my day, and receive the good wishes from people around me as my best gift.

Living or surviving?

Wow! I am so impressed about how time is going by so fast!
Today is monday, and then we blink and it's already Sunday! Does it happen with you too?
We have so many things to do, so many works to achieve that we don't even feel the time passing. Every thing has to be done in a hurry; however, when we hurry to much, we are not able to reach the perfection.
Are we living or surviving?
We deserve to live with quality, but for that we need to spend time, money, attention, and make some efforts to really enjoy our life. This can be applied in any field of our lives, I am talking in a general sense.
I wish I could stop the earth sometimes, "freeze" that special time, and just relax and enjoy the moment without thinking about anything else.

Writing

Do you enjoy writing? In my case, I can tell that I do. But it's not that simple.
I mean, I started writing when I was 4 or 5, when my sister taught me how to do it spelling my name. Then, I went to school, and always had to write dictations and essays about summer vacations. By the way, I think everybody had to do it as kid.
When I went to high school, I found some issues with writing, because my essays used to be too long, and I didn't know how to finish them. It was funny how I used to write so many endless stories... But despite of my issue, my language use was very good; I always liked Portuguese classes, including grammar. I started learning English when I was around 12, and fell in love with the new language.
Continuing, when I get into college, my writing was much better, but sometimes I felt like I was using a lot of words to express a simple idea. At least my language use and my vocabulary were not so bad!
Now, I find myself in a new situation: trying to improve my writing not only in my own language, but in English as well. I enjoy writing; however, it is something that requires inspiration, and this doesn't come so easily. I appreciate people who find some time to write among the various tasks in their routine, get this inspiration, and spend some of this rare moment expressing themselves with letters and words. I still find some difficulty in organizing my ideas on a paper, but I hope that with practice the improvement will come.

Arts

It is interesting how art can influence on our lives in some ways. There are some kinds of arts that can really stir us. Music is a very good example of this: when you listen to an exciting song you become happier, but when you are kind of depressed, you usually want to listen to a sad or slow song. A certain type of music can remind you of something or somebody, bring good or bad memories, and etc. I also enjoy going to museums to learn about some specific subject or just to take a look at the pictures. This kind of art can estimulate our creativity and sensibility to details. Besides this, we can mention the cinema, wich it is a sort of art which is very present in our daily lives. A good movie can inspire us, or stirs us from laugh to crying. I love movies, and it’s something that I can do with friends or by myself. Dancing can make a party very fun, and it is how we can express our feelings through our bodies, or if we are only watching, it can be exciting as well. However, as I started to take theater classes when I was little, it became one of my passions, so when I watch a play, it makes me very satisfied and thoughtful. For example, this weekend I went to watch “Ovo”, the new Cirque du Soleil’s show, and it was so amazing that I stayed happy during all the day. I was impressed with the entire presentation and dreaming if I could be one of them doing those increadible movements. So, I believe that arts are an integral part of our lives; I can’t do without them!

Saudade

"Saudade" is a word in Portuguese, which has no exactly translation in English and neither in other language. It describes the feeling of missing somebody, and usually someone that you love.
You can say it regarding to things too, but for things that make a special sense for you. For example, you can feel "saudade" of your childhood, or of a house in the country which you used to go before, or of your hometown, your house, or even your mother's food.
When we say that we are with "saudade" we want to say almost the same as "I miss you", but the difference is that "miss" is a verb, and "saudade" is a noun.
I am here in the United States by myself, without my family, and sometimes I really miss them. I have many friends here, but it is not the same. I can say that I miss my family, but actually I feel "saudade".

Dreams

Do you have a lot of dreams? I do.
I have a lot of dreams in all of the senses: dreams at night, and dreams as a wish.
Dreams reflect our most deep thoughts, desires, frustrations, or simple things from daily life.
Psychologists say that they reflect our subconscious, and also there is a kind of therapy which is only based on dreams.
Sometimes I have weird dreams that don't make any sense, or if they do, I need to learn how to decode them... I think it's very interesting, so I always try to remember them, and try to understand them.
I have big dreams in life which I don't know whether I'll be able to reach, but one thing is true: I can only reach them if first I dream.
It's good to have dreams, because they make us to move on, they increase our hope, and help us to get over the problems.
Yes, I'm a dreamer. If it's bad or good, I don't know, but as Walt Disney said,
"All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them."

Carpe diem

It's funny how we worry so much about the future. I don't know if it's something from the youth, or human being, in a general sense. I just know that I always catch myself thinking, worring, wondering, planning, dreaming about the future. Why are we so anxious to live the future if we have the whole present to enjoy? The own noun explains itself: "present", that is, it is a present we receive from God every day.
And there is more. When we aren't thinking about the future, we are remembering the past. Regreting ourselves won't change what happened. It can help us to do things better in the future, or in the present, but the past won't be changed.
Why is it so hard to live the present? I wish I could see life in a whole new light by living one day at each time, living as if today was the last day, and being able to practice the so-called "carpe diem".

Less is more

This is true. Sometimes, less is more.
I tend to write too much when I am inspired; on the other hand, there are some moments that I have nothing to say, or have no idea of what to write about.
I know that it can be tiring, so I will try to write shorter texts and try to be simpler in the next times. And also, I guess I need to make my self clearer, because I mess up my ideas writing in a confusing way... haha
If you have any ideas, coments or sugestions, feel free to tell me! :)
Thank you very much!

Beyond Average

The verb “to improve” means “to make or become better, of higher quality”.The action of improving is something that has been lacking in our vocabulary and in our practical daily lives. We have been so busy with our own business and hurrying so much when doing our activities that we, sometimes, simply miss the goal. We do things almost automatically, without thinking about it. We just do it. Besides this, we don’t think if we are doing it well, we are just interested in doing what we are encharged to do, and finishing it soon. But what about the quality? What about the efficiency and the results?
It is such a challanging task to do everything we do in our daily lives correctly and efficiently. For example: when you are driving, you think about many subjects at the same time, such as “I have to take the kids at school, go to the supermarket, buy this and this, and then I need to do the housework, and later cook the dinner”, and etc; but you don’t really think about the action of driving. You don’t think if you are doing it right, and that’s why some troubles occur in the traffic. This is just a banal example, but things like this or even more complex happen with us every day without been percepted.
The main point which I want to reach is not that you must be picky with everything you do, but we should be carefull because we are not dealing with “stuffs” all the time, but we are mostly dealing with people, with lives. We should try to do things as better as possible not only for our own sake, but for people’s sake, in a general sense. By being good, you show people that you are willing to do that, you become an example and inspire them to be good too. Good actions bring us benefits, and the more benefits we have, the happier we become.
When we find something in life that is really hard for us, we have the bad habit of thinking about that as a barrier, or even giving up. However, we could see it in a new light: what about getting this as a challenge? Take what bothers you the most and transform it in a task for your life. Try to do it better, do it again if it is needed, and repeat it until you accomplish it with victory. Challenge yourself, show yourself and people around you that you are able to do that, and that anything is possible in life since you have faith.
Thus, I incentivate you to improve yourself (and myself) as a person, as a human being. Do the best as you can. Be nice, helpful, willing, positive. Make a good food for your husband, be fun with your kids or friends, say good morning to your neighbor, make somebody laugh, help your relatives. The change and the improvement begin from inside to outside, and when you do it, you don’t only change yourself, but also people around you. I’m sure that if you try it everyday, step by step, you’ll become such a great person to the world, you will be beyond average.

My Passion

When someone asks you what is your passion, what do you answer?
There are many things that I love, and many things that I'm interested in.
However, I believe that passion is that very first thing that comes to your mind as soon as the question is made. So, in my case, I would answer theater.
I used to take theater classes when I was 11 years old, and I kept doing it for about 8 years of my life. When I "grew up", that is, started going to college, becoming a trainee or getting a job, and doing many other things like these, I had to stop acting because I didn't have time to do it.
I could have tryed to get into an art University, but in my country, acting isn't a recognized job. If you want to become an actor there, you need to do it for pleasure, and only for this, because money wouldn't be the main return. So, I just heard my parents' advice and my sensible thoughts and decided to study another thing.
Nowadays, I got used to do without it, but I have to confess that I do miss it sometimes. It was something that really stired me, challanged me, and the main point: it pleased me! I used to act with all my love and willingness, even if it was only for a few people, or even for myself. I am a kind of shy, and sometimes I think I am not able to express myself as well as at the stage. Maybe it can be the reason I like theater so much...
I don't know whether I'll be able to act again, but I didn't give up of my passion yet. Nothing has replaced it so far. Something inside myself says that it is not the end.