Diet to become a humdrum

As a teenager, I am often surrounded by friends who are always talking about how much weight they have lost that week or whether one of them is thinner than the other. In which moment did the younger prefer to starve in order to delight other people, maybe they even do not know? 

This behavior has appeared this century due to the ignorance of teenagers and the power of publicity, which has an enormous influence on their minds. Personally speaking, I really hate to hear all the time "I am not thin enough", "I must lose more weight", or "darling, do I seem to be prettier like this?". Unfortunately, that lack of self-confidence is used as an advantage by modal designers and publicity companies to become richer and more powerful, and it must be stopped. If this continues. in a nearly future there will be skeletons wearing clothes through the streets, and this will be considered as good.

Obviously, I am against it because it is the main cause of anorexia and bulimia nowadays, and also a big problem that will have to be faced by next generations, unless it is stopped now. Moreover, one of the things that makes me worried about is why my generation agree with this sexist and dangerous attempt against people's health. Centuries ago, the type of women which was loved and prefered by most people was the dumpy one: female body full of curves and volume, nice to people's sight, which was a sighn of being healthy and beautiful. By contrast, now this appearance is considered ugly, nasty of even old-fashioned. 

It is better to have a big body while being healthy, instead of a thin and horrible body being ill and vulnerable. For that reason, teenagers must have other worries more important than physical appearance or be what other people expect them to, as they have their whole life to spend, and such a silly thing is a waste of time. 

Creating happiness

Robin Williams as Patch Adams, commonly known as 'Dr. Laugh'

All the times I have gone to the hospital, my body trembles a bit to see so many people stuck in a cold, sterile room, no people around them with whom to share their time, whether happy or sad. It makes me wonder:  how would I feel in that situation? Obviously lonely, bored, specially distressed and saddened. In today's society, both elderly and patients are treated with contempt because they are considered a burden or inconvenience, but we do not consider that if we showed interest in helping these people, they would benefit us too. I mean, being volunteer in hospital and visiting older people makes you feel fulfilled, and it is something we should do all.

Let see the good we can offer and we can receive. First of all, your presence helps them improving their health. It is commonly known that loneliness and sadness by the last one have detrimental effects on the health of a person, so that interaction with other people is always nice. In case of visiting people with hard illnesses, relationships are always good and healthy for them. Moreover, speaking about the elderly, it is a fact that they get better while doing activities and talking with other people, especially younger ones, since his youth and vitality helps them want to continue enjoying life. To continue, another reason why it is a great time visiting the sick and elderly is lack of workers. Sometimes, there are not enough people who can stay with the insanes, especially in Spain, so it is also good for the institution and for the patients, of course; otherwise, if we speak about old people, nowadays they are considered as an obstacle for the society and nobody wants to stay with them. You probably know the news about people who have attacked the elderly residences, either by economic interest or sheer madness: we can not let our seniors at the mercy of these dangers. Finally, helping selflessly is a benefit for yourself too because it makes you feel better. It has been demostrated that helping people for free makes you feel fulfilled and happier, and in addition, people who have been helped by you may contribute in your life somehow, with their experiences and advices.

The present is ours and we can improve it for the next generations. Helping needed people is an awesome way to do that, and it does not make only the world better for other, but also for ourself, making us feel fulfilled and better people.

Here is the trailer of 'Patch Adams', a film that tells the story of Hunter Doherty "Patch" Adams, a man who broke the rules of his time and revolutionized the world of medicine and therapy with patients:

Lonely and dependent beings

This morning on the bus, while making a stop before reaching Murcia, I had a reflection about the human being after seeing a dog through the window. His owner had entered the station cafe, and the dog sat facing the door, looking through the glass how the owner took a coffee. If the dog did not have affection and dependence on his owner, might well have escaped instead of remaining outside sitting; however, the dog was there, staring at his master and waiting patiently until he was over breakfast. At first glance, it may not seem like something that is interesting, there are dogs with their owner everywhere, but what I find fascinating is the look with which the dog was waiting for his owner, as if his life depended on being with him. After spending several minutes sitting looking out the window, the dog lay beside the door until the man come out, stroked him and left together.

Since we are born until we die, people interact with others every one of our days. Sometimes we do it because we have no choice (money, work, ...), but most of the time we do it because we need others and avoid loneliness: we like to share our opinions and experiences with people around us and have fun with them, all that makes us feel alive. Therefore, the human being is dependent on others and cannot live without communicating with his kind, like the dog that I mentioned earlier depended on his owner, not only for food but also for coexistence and love that they give each other. 

Otherwise, not all people admit that social need in the same way. There are people who prefer not to relate to other people, who prefer solitude and individuality. Wanting to be alone is normal, either by certain circunstances or because of the character; however, nature is wise and warns about the offensiveness of this way of being. It is shown that loneliness produces harmful effects on health: have comorbidities such as depression, stress, anxiety and lack of self-esteem. In 2006, research conducted with 2,800 women with breast cancer suggested that those patients who saw little family and friends were up to five times more likely to die than those with a more active social life. Our own body asks us to be with and depend on others, so if you're a loner, turn off the computer and go with your family or go outside to enjoy the people!

Techno-lovers

Being a 18 years old student connected to the internet almost 24 hours a day, obviously I am not against these key breakthroughs. Moreover, I do not understand people defending their elimination. However, I will not deny that, like everything in life, these advances have their advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, in relation to leisure is a real advantage: broadband connections let you make online shopping, listen ring tones for free, watch latest fresh films, launch anything and earn money... All these facilities just pressing a button. Also people fond of photography, for example, can unleash their creativity with the available cameras or digital camera phones, with which they can make awesome and light photos. In addition, in the academic, technological advances provide an immense support: personally speaking, I do not know what I would do in the university without my laptop. Globalization is part of our generation and we cannot stop evolution.

On the other hand, let's see the disadvantages of new generation breakthroughs. Young people do not know what we do with perspective, and we do not realize that we are increasingly becoming dependent on technology. If you go to the street, 60% of young people speak for Whatsapp completely absorbed with their mobiles in hand as they walk without looking where they are going. While it is great that the internet allows us to communicate with anyone around the world in real time, it also poses a serious danger: we expose ourselves to the world, we lose our privacy and any depraved can benefit. Part of the responsibility lies with young people, of course, but the main culprits are parents for not help stop this dependency by education. You can enjoy the benefits of new technologies but in the full knowledge of the consequences. We must learn to master the technology if we do not want it to dominate us.

Manga 2014

The last weekend I went to Manga held Friday, Saturday and Sunday, where all the geeks of Murcia and exterior, including me, attended. A Manga or Anime Convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels, with a larger number of attendees participating in cosplay than most other types of fan conventions. Anime conventions are also used as a vehicle for industry, in which studios, distributors, and publishers represent their anime related releases. 

Anime conventions have long and varied worldwide history. The original Comiket, mostly based on fan published manga called dōjinshi, started in 1975 with around 700 people in Tokyo. The Comiket of today see several hundred thousand people, showing the lasting popularity of the medium in its home country. Other Japanese anime conventions are arms of or heavily sponsored by certain studios or publishing companies and are used as platforms for new releases, such as Jump Festa. The main reason I love going every year is because I meet many people who share my interests in Japanese culture, anime and manga, and also the amount of activities you can do: cosplay competitions, karaoke, dancing, drawing, workshops of any kind, video game competitions, lectures on Japanese history, culture, and others. Unfortunately, in my hometown there're no conventions or specialty stores in these matters, so every year I'm hoping November to go to this event and enjoy there with all my friends.

Few friends and I attending karaoke contest

Here I post a video about Manga in Murcia this year, hope you like it (^_^)

Gun ownership

The society is divided into people who think that violence is the solution to any problem, and people who use their reason and realize that it is not. I belong to the second group. Just take a look back at the history of the world and see how the man-made weapons have only brought misery to people, although in countries like America, a gun is considered a measure of protection and self defense. Many feel the best way to protect themselves is through gun ownership: having a gun can be the first line of defense against burglars and other criminals. While there is indeed a security benefit that comes with having a gun, I assure that the safety risks outweigh the benefits.

First of all, having a gun can put you at an increased risk for accidents at home. If you have children at home, there is a possibility that they will get a hold of the gun even if it is locked up. Among gun-owning parents who reported that their children had never handled their firearms at home, 22% of the children said that they had. Children often don't understand the risks associated with guns, and they might accidentally hurt themselves, a friend, or a sibling, while thinking that that they are just playing. If you have a gun in the home, there is also a possibility that you will harm a friend, neighbour, or family member by accident. In fact, studies indicate that guns kept at home are involved in the death of a family member 18 times more often than in the death of an intruder. Additionally, guns kept in the home are often used in suicide. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention reports that 83% of gun-related deaths in the home are the result of suicide, often by someone other than the gun owner. Risks such as these should be taken into consideration when thinking about keeping a gun at home.

Owning a gun is a personal decision that every person needs to make for themselves. Carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of gun ownership and make the decision based on what is best for you and your situation. It's important to be informed, weigh your options, and let your opinion be known. As always and foremost, the most important thing is to value and preserve human life, both ours and those of our loved ones, so if you are for gun ownership, maybe you should meditate twice. 

Homemade chocolate cake

I am a great lover of food, especially chocolate. This week it is almost all my family members' birthday, so every year my mother decides to make a chocolate cake with cookies whose recipe has been passed down from generation to generation, and I thought it is good idea to share it with you. I hope you get to like it as much as me. Let's see if you are brave enough to get your hands dirty with chocolate and pudding !

INGREDIENTS

-Cookies (if you want to make a round cake as the photo, use round cookies; if you prefer a square cake, use square cookies, obviously)

-2 liters of milk

-Royal pudding (custard powder) for 8 servings

-18 tablespoons of cocoa powder

-2 tablespoons of instant chocolate milk (or nesquik, do not mind)

-A dash of anise

-Strawberry jam (optional)

-Chocolate chips (this is for decorating, but you can put smarties, whipped cream, strawberries, what you like)

LET'S START !

1. First, take a casserole pot and dissolve 18 tablespoons of cocoa powder in a liter of milk, over high heat. Stir it slowly, gently, do not stop stiring it. It will take you some time, but do not stop stiring until it becomes a mass of thick chocolate. When you see it has become thick enough, get it away from the heat and let it get cool.

2. Now, take another pot and dissolve the custard powder in 750 grams of milk, over high heat too. As you did above with the chocolate, stir it slowly and wait it to boil. When it does, get it away from the heat and let it get cool.

3. Be patient, chocolate and custard take time to get cold enough. If you do not wait them to have curdled, then your cake will collapse. When you see both the chocolate and the pudding are ready, we can proceed to make the cake.

4. Have prepared the container in which you want to make the cake. Take a bowl and squirt milk, a bit of anise, and 2 tablespoons of instant chocolate milk on it. 

7. Now, take cookies and go one by one dunking them in the bowl and then placing them next to each other, forming the base of the cake. Next, cover the base with the cool chocolate you let getting cool before. Apply the chocolate carefully, making a cake is like painting a picture: must be meticulous.

8. After covering the base with the chocolate, cover it with another layer of dipped cookies. Then, take the cold custard and spread it over cookies. Again, put another layer of cookies over the custard. If you want to add strawberry jam to the cake, now it is the moment to take it and spread it over cookies. To sum up, you must have this: cookies - chocolate - cookies - custard - cookies - strawberry jam - cookies - chocolate - ...

9. Continue the step 8 until the cake remains large as you want. When finish, cover the entire cake with thick chocolate and put it in the fridge for at least 5 hours before serving. Finally, decorate the cake with chocolate chips, whipped cream, or whatever you prefer. LET'S EAT ! ～('▽^人)