{"content":{"sharePage":{"page":0,"digests":[{"id":"35738816","dateCreated":"1299873146","smartDate":"Mar 11, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"danielx_184","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/danielx_184","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/35738816"},"dateDigested":1531973847,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Adults are outdated children","description":"\u201cAdults are just obsolete children and the hell with them.\u201d Dr. Seuss7
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\nHumans do not evolve rather they do quite the contrary as they grow older. Adults and children act the same way. Although the techniques might present some slight differences the aimed result will presumably be the same. Adults then are nothing more than children, in fact it can be said that adults are nothing but obsolete children. One of the definitions of obsolete is out of date, or out of its time period in some cases. Certain behavior is accepted on children because of their age, but when the same behavior is seen on an \u201cadult\u201d it shows that definitely even though one of them is 18 years old they are somewhat the same kind.
\nSince the cradle children are taught not to cry for everything, one attempts to develop a kid that is not always whining about everything; a child that just takes things as they come and deals with them, also he\/she is often encouraged to do this in a respectful manner. Now picture a lady that goes shopping for a cable in her local hardware store. When she gets home she realizes she mistook the cable and goes back to the store. Most likely she will start whinnying about how it did not work when she tried it at home. If for some reason then the clerk refuses to change the cable or give her the money back odds are her reaction will be to start fighting with the sales man, and might even disrespect him. When he is not responsible for the mistake and is only following company policies. The man behind the counter is now getting the blame because the complaining lady is unwilling to accept mistakes. The lady might not have cried, but was she not doing the same that the little boy that is denied a cookie? With the exception that the child might not be as rotten mouthed as his mother they both want something and are using the same method to get it: complaint.
\nAnother thing we teach kids is not to lie; when in turn adults are the first ones to do so just so that they may get something that favors them. A family of four goes to the amusement park. The rates for children that are 10 years or older is 10 dollars whereas the rate for those younger is 6 dollars. Chances are that if the family has a kid that is between 10 and 12 they will lie and say the kid is nine just as long as they can get him into the park at a cheaper rate. Right then and there another principle of parenthood is violated: the golden rule. When we go to the grocery store and the cashier gives us the wrong change we complain and say that there is money missing, that we are being robbed. Well are we not robbing from the amusement park too? Yet there is even a bigger lie.
\nI, myself was spanked by my aunt once for lying. The next day I lost a tooth, she told me to put it under my pillow so the tooth fairy would come and leave me something in exchange for my tooth. I placed the little white tooth under the pillow that night. In the morning when I woke up I also found out that the tooth fairy was nothing but an invention to make kids feel good. Did I get to spank my aunt back? Of course not, there goes the golden rule again. Adults need to learn, just like children not to lie, so they also deserve a spank every once on a while.
\nIf only the world was fair, and adults played by the same rules that they want to enforce on children. Evidently adults are nothing more than outdated children. They do what children do and act how children act, so thereby when the biological difference is disregarded we see that the 9 year old child and his 35 year old mother are exactly the same animal, they are both children; both with the capacity to lie, cheat and steal.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"35730938","dateCreated":"1299866436","smartDate":"Mar 11, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"teagvest","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/teagvest","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/35730938"},"dateDigested":1531973847,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Work Expands To Fill The Available Time","description":" Many students nowadays are feeling the pressures of parental and academic demands more than ever before. We\u2019re competing with each other for valedictorian because of what the world "needs", spurred on by the illusion that success is what life is about, given to us by our parents and teachers. Most of us are realizing with growing horror that work expands to fill the time available, and often requires more than is available.
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\n In my experience, Country Day School is the perfect example of this dilemma: there are nine classes with an extremely demanding grading system. In most of my classes, I get homework. Compared to my last school, it's a ton, so I struggle with it. In addition, most teachers demand perfect work on everything. I am forced to work from the time I get home until 9 or 10 at night, 11 or 12 if I\u2019m pushing it. That\u2019s about 7 hours of homework a night, which leaves pretty much no relaxing time. I find it harder and harder to retain new information because there\u2019s so much to figure out all at once when I\u2019m trying to function on 6 hours of sleep.
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\n I also feel like my parents impose more and more demanding expectations on me. The only thing I\u2019ve noticed my dad notice about me lately are my grades: \u201cWhat did you say you got?\u201d \u201cGood job on your math quiz\u201d or \u201cStudy more next time so you can get a better grade\u201d. In addition to constant nagging about bringing a B up to an A, I have chores. Even though I don\u2019t have very many, it takes away time from either relaxing or working on getting that B up to an A. We have guests at my house quite often; this wouldn\u2019t be a problem if we could actually do what my parents say we can (chat for a while and then \u201cescape\u201d) but there are always little kids to play with. Little kids are pretty demanding and you can\u2019t just call it quits at 15 minutes and up and leave, especially after the same parents who tell to eventually leave tell you how nice it is for a parent to not have to worry about your kids. What they fail to take into account is that I don\u2019t get to relax because I go from homework homework homework to chores to homework to little kids and back to school. I get almost no down time.
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\n One of my ongoing projects is my to-be-published Book of Photography. So, whenever I have free time I pick out my best, edit some, and ask my mother\u2019s opinion. This takes quite a while, more than it sounds because I can\u2019t always tell which photos are good vs. great; editing is very complex; and my mother is always busy. While this is a hobby, it\u2019s work in its own way because I plan on publishing it. Maybe I\u2019ll be the next Ansel Adams; who knows? But I\u2019ll have to work at it.
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\n As you can see, work is beginning to take up any little bit of available time. From school and homework to hyper-parenting and even to hobbies, students don\u2019t have time to simply do nothing and relax. Because of this, we\u2019re wearing down much too much and much too quickly, losing our interest and ability to cope in school. What we really need is a lot less work so we can have room to breathe, because the work we have now expands to fill the available time.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"35704828","dateCreated":"1299826972","smartDate":"Mar 10, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"maaayyyaaa","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/maaayyyaaa","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1222817730\/maaayyyaaa-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/35704828"},"dateDigested":1531973847,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Anticipation and Realization ","description":"
\nPicture this.
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\nYou can\u2019t wait for it. All week long, or month long, or year long, you imagine every detail, fantasize about each moment, rehearse every word and action. It might be a candlelit dinner with your significant other: pasta and pizza at that new Italian place. Or perhaps it\u2019s a concert, your dream come true: Green Day, in flesh and bone, radiating pure awesome from atop the stage. It might take the form of a picnic with your family, a trip to the seaside, receiving a graded test you know you did great on. Maybe it\u2019s life-changing. Maybe it\u2019s not. But whatever it is that holds you captive in anticipation, oftentimes the eager thrill of the wait is greater than the realization of reality.
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\nI think it\u2019s not really the disappointment of the truth, but rather the infinite possibilities that come before realization. We sense the magic of Anything. Thousands of scenarios can take place. But afterwards, only one is chosen to become reality.
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\nLast winter I visited a friend I hadn\u2019t seen in a long, long time. During the two months prior, my every daydream was resplendent with things we would do and things we would say. We made banana pancakes for breakfast. Then we went out into the fresh snow and had a snowball fight. In the afternoon we drank hot chocolate and sang along to Jack Johnson. Then I changed my mind, and we had scrambled eggs for breakfast. We built a snowman in the front yard, and then we sat on the roof and watched the New Years fireworks. Then I changed my mind again, and we had ice cream for breakfast, and so on, and so forth.
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\nAs I look back on the trip, none of my daydreams became our reality. We ended up having Cheerios for breakfast. It never snowed, and we went for a bike ride instead. We never watched the fireworks, but counted down to midnight on a crowded dance floor. I had a marvelous time, although in the end, there was much to regret. My list of daydreams was scratched out forever. Only one of the countless possibilities remained etched in my memory.
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\nIt follows that if we could free ourselves of all expectations, we would be happier people. We would receive every experience as unique and divine. But oftentimes the thrill of anticipation, the predictions, the hopeful prospects all make up a vital part of the entire experience.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"35699542","dateCreated":"1299814921","smartDate":"Mar 10, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"ad.ri","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/ad.ri","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1283992059\/ad.ri-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/35699542"},"dateDigested":1531973847,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Adults=obsolete children","description":"What happens as we grow older? We change physically, but do we change inside as well? I believe we retain everything about ourselves as we grow. The experiences we\u00b4ve had, what we have learned, childhood friends that have changed us, form who we are to this day, and we will hold onto them as we mature. The most exciting events generally happen in our youth, and we all like to revisit those joyful times.
\nMany adults I have known have strained to return to the days of their youth. My mom and aunts, for instance, gave an unforgettable show for us children. The three friends obsessed over ABBA when they were young, dancing and following the music with their lips. A year or two ago, my whole family gathered, as we often do, to spend the day together. At night, having nothing else to do, the adults started listening to music. An ABBA song flared from the speakers and my mom and aunts burst into song. Their exhausted feet attempted to remember the intricate moves that came instinctively when they were younger and more agile. They certainly lacked the grace they might\u00b4ve had when they had earlier, but their faces brightened just like a child\u00b4s on his birthday. My uncles as well have endeavored in feeling younger. One in particular fixates on hanging out with the younger lot, referring to himself as just another kid. His efforts at trying to speak the youths\u00b4 language amuse us, and, though he makes a fool of himself, he keeps trying to connect with us, the kids. Thus, I know that secretly, most of the adults I know just want a piece of their childhood back in their lives.
\nI, too, have felt the need to go back in time, even though I haven\u2019t lived that much. I fear the future, growing old and deeply envy Peter Pan. When I first saw the Disney movie of Peter Pan, I swore I would become one of the lost children to never have to grow. However, I have grown, finding new enjoyable experiences I couldn\u2019t have enjoyed as a child. Still, I sometimes act as a child, as my littlest sister, running around the house, yelling at the top of my lungs and playing with my sisters wildly as I did when I was a kid. It is relieving to let go of responsibilities, not worry about anything, just do whatever I feel like doing. Occasionally, I feel an urgent desire to be the reckless child I was before.
\nKnowing how I feel right now about my past, knowing that not that much time has passed since then, I can\u00b4t imagine how adults feel, but they have demonstrated nostalgic feelings through what they do. I have observed them in those vulnerable times when they have succumbed to the temptation of being as wild as they were as children. Consequently, I believe \u201cadults are merely obsolete children\u201d.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"35698480","dateCreated":"1299813621","smartDate":"Mar 10, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"tammy_sev","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/tammy_sev","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1285868666\/tammy_sev-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/35698480"},"dateDigested":1531973848,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Punctuality is the virtue of the bored","description":"Just so I don\u2019t start with a lie I have to say, I\u2019m always never early to an event, I would like to blame somebody else for it but it is mainly always my fault. Some people may call it irresponsible or impolite, but to tell you the truth I\u2019m tired of hearing those words. Many people don\u2019t recognize the true meaning of being early, for it does not prove how much of an educated person you are, it proves, to be sincere, that you have nothing better to do with your time.
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\nFrom personal experience, I know that being early to any kind of commitment isn\u2019t that great of a deal, sure they\u2019re some exceptions but for the most part it isn\u2019t. For example a party, I have arrived early to some of those and it\u2019s just boring to stay around waiting for the others to arrive, I much rather be at home spending my time in other stuff, such as I don\u2019t know, with my family or even finishing homework so I don\u2019t get to do it later. With all the time needed to get ready for parties arriving early is not a good choice, since you skipped time to get ready for nothing.
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\nI can get why you would like to be early to a party, after all being with your friends and spending a good time is worth the waiting, but school is a whole new story. One of the most boring places in earth, school is filled with dull colors and uninteresting structures. In the mornings, there is nothing better to do than take a shower and get ready for school except, oh of course, sleep. For me sleeping is way more important than being early to school, it is the only thing that will keep me awake while it finishes in the first place.
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\nMy reasons for staying at home for that short period of time may seem weak but at least I give reasons, plus, you have to understand that arriving to a place early to either wait around for others to arrive or being at school that early is not a great way to spend your time, that short second before the bell rings is the perfect moment to arrive. It is true that sometimes you just can\u2019t help it, arriving late is not a choice but if I had to choose I wouldn\u2019t change a thing, cause I always arrive at the best time.
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\nSome say that the ones that arrive the earliest get the best part of everything, but from personal experience I can say that this is not true, arriving early only gives you a boring and unnecessary way to spend your time. Guess that\u2019s why they say \u201cPunctuality is the virtue of the bored.\u201d","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"35694198","dateCreated":"1299809394","smartDate":"Mar 10, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"Ingrid89","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/Ingrid89","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1228179242\/Ingrid89-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/35694198"},"dateDigested":1531973848,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"anticipation is better than realization","description":"All year long, one waits for Christmas; one awaits for the presents. But hasn\u2019t it come to mind, that after each year goes by, gifts start missing? Each time there is less. All the joy you\u2019ve been waiting for year round suddenly isn\u2019t fulfilled. Well, this happened to me when I was about thirteen. It was finally December, and I was already making my family their Christmas card. I had been expecting my bundle of gifts for eleven months already, and I just couldn\u2019t wait any longer. I made the gingerbread house with my sisters the 15th; \u201conly ten more days!\u201d I ate the house; still ten more days. The days seemed to grow even longer than what they were. My mom and I went shopping for the last couple of gifts that were missing; it was the 22nd. I could feel the presents already wrapped in my arms, and the sense of happiness enveloped my every thought. The tree was up; the ornaments dressed it completely. The smell of pine filled the house. It was the 24th. Early in the morning, my sisters and I woke up and gathered down in the kitchen. We were going to make Santa and his reindeers some cookies. Since we didn\u2019t have the expertise in cooking, we opted for simple, chocolate chips. We spent around two hours in that process, until they were finally ready. They looked and smelled so terribly good that I wished, in that split second, that I was actually Santa. Silly though, because Santa doesn\u2019t really exist; but my sisters stilled believed, so I thought, \u201cwhy ruin their childhood?\u201d
\nI still couldn\u2019t believe I was less than twenty-four hours away from Christmas Eve; less than twenty-four hours away from my beloved \u2018bouquet\u2019 gifts. A huge Christmas dinner was served at my house. I didn\u2019t even know half the people, but since they brought me gifts, I could care less. Many hours later, the never-ending dinner finally came to an end. Both my sisters and I were sent to bed. It was 10:30 pm, only hours away from my gifts. I lied on my bed, awkwardly, as sleep was not around. I stared at the roof for hours and hours, but the time never passed.
\nI don\u2019t really remember how I fell asleep, but I remember waking up as my little sister pulled off my sheets. \u201cHe came!!\u201d \u201cWho came?\u201d I dumbly asked. \u201cWell Santa, duh!\u201d Yes! Finally, the day had come. I jumped out of bed and raced down to the living room, where my pile of gifts should await. And, to my astonishing surprise, only a few boxes lay bellow the tree. My sisters had already opened their presents. There were millions of wrappers lying around the house. Me, well, I only had three. \u201cMaybe these gifts are amazing,\u201d I thought, but who was I to fool. As I opened the first, I saw a box. I opened it, and to my surprise, \u201cClothes\u2026\u201d I sounded dead. \u201cWhy thank you,\u201d I responded. Now number two. This one was heavy. The excitement gave me chills. But guess what, \u201cbooks\u2026,\u201d awesome. These gifts couldn\u2019t get any worse. But wait, I still had one more. I closed my eyes as I ripped off the wrapping paper. I feared to open them, as I couldn\u2019t imagine what lay inside. Maybe a camera, a laptop, or a new iPod, or, or\u2026\u201dwow, a sweater, nice. Thanks\u201d. This could not be happening. After an entire year of wait, I just got this? Well I promise you I wish I could turn time back. Those months of wait made Christmas seem so amazing, and now, that the day was finally here, it couldn\u2019t be worse. So now you know, sometimes realization isn\u2019t as great as what you expect.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"35684470","dateCreated":"1299801193","smartDate":"Mar 10, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"MaFe1595","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/MaFe1595","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/35684470"},"dateDigested":1531973848,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Taking things for granted","description":"Taking things for granted, always wanting more, never being satisfied with our lives and what\u2019s in them. That\u2019s just us humans. But sometimes, those things we always take for granted, aren\u2019t there anymore and then we realize how important that thing, or person really is.
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\n I hated going to my great grandfather\u2019s house on Sundays. \u201cIt is so boring! I hate it! And it smells like old people!\u201d I never visited him, and when I did, I wouldn\u2019t spend time with him. One Sunday, the trip to my great-grandpa\u2019s house was canceled. \u201cYes! I can spend more time with my cousin!\u201d Apparently, he was sick. The Sunday after that, the trip got canceled again. And so forth, for about a month, I didn\u2019t see him once, not even at the hospital. But little did I know that I wouldn\u2019t see him ever again. I regret it with my whole heart and sometimes, I cry, remembering him, and his old house. Now, I can only hold on to a distant memory of him. I never got to say goodbye, and never had the opportunity to tell him how much I loved him, and what he meant to me. He was gone, forever.
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\n My whole life, I hated family day. I hated having to spend a whole day with my family at home, watching movies. I wanted to go out, and do something fun. My parents were so boring, and my brother was always playing outside with the neighbor, who is his age. I always stayed in my room, trying to find something fun to do, or just my homework. I never cherished the moment. I was just plain bored. But now that my family is no longer the same, I wish I could have my family together. I wished I could spend one of those boring Sundays, when my parents were together, and my brother would be annoying. But I took my family for granted, and I will never have one of those boring family Sundays again.
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\n I used to have a hamster. A small, disgusting, furry rat that would bite my finger and spin in a wheel. He would scare the sheez out of me, when I went downstairs at night and he would be spinning. But when he died, I cried. I still miss that stupid rat, spinning in his wheel, looking cute and fuzzy.
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\n And I can tell a lot of other stories, of lost things, broken things. It can be something as hard as losing a family member, or something as simple as misplacing a shirt, you happened to remember one day. It is the same. We can\u2019t take things for granted, because when they leave our lives, we feel a certain degree of guilt, regret, or sadness. We don\u2019t know if we will die tomorrow, we don\u2019t know if we might lose an arm or a leg, or if one of our friends will move, you name it, the important thins is to value things in live. Little or small, we shouldn\u2019t wait until they leave us, to actually be able to see their true importance in our lives.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"35617506","dateCreated":"1299726206","smartDate":"Mar 9, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"paulasev_th","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/paulasev_th","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1265121950\/paulasev_th-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/35617506"},"dateDigested":1531973848,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"But We Will Never Learn","description":" Everyone has something sitting in their shelf, or in their desk, and thinks it is completely useless. One day, one asks, \u201cWhy should I still keep it?\u201d and throws it in the bin. That is when one realizes it was a nice way to hold, or separate, all the papers in the desk, or that it hid a huge ink stink that destroyed the beautiful hazel wood. That is because one doesn\u2019t realize the true value, or beauty of things, until they are not there anymore.
\n People today, especially teenagers, are completely dependable on electricity. We spend the majority of our day with our laptops charging, checking out Facebook, chatting with friends, researching in the Wikipedia\u2026 What if we didn\u2019t have electricity? We never worry about it until the lights go out. Just today, Escaz\u00fa had to run without any electricity. And suddenly, one can\u2019t send the homework to the teacher, can\u2019t print the essay due, or can\u2019t research about the Russian Revolution in Google to answer the History question\u2026 Electricity is present every second in our daily lives, but we don\u2019t realize its importance until we have to keep our routines without it.
\n A few weeks ago, the 10th grade went on a trip to Punta Mona, a remote location in the lower Caribbean. It was a huge experience for us, since life was completely different. Probably one of the most important lessons the trip gave us was to appreciate our possessions. How did it do it? Taking it away from us. During the trip, water had to be use extremely carefully, and only when completely necessary, since it was rainwater. There were no hot, long baths, or a never-ending sink to wash dishes. We had never thought about how much water we used a day, until we had to deal with little amounts of it.
\n One never knows how beautiful something can be until it disappears. I had lived most of my life in Madrid, and when my parents told me we were moving to another country, it didn\u2019t take too long for me to forget my worries of a new life and wait impatiently for the day of departure to come. I lost days and nights dreaming about this new, mysterious, exotic place. I forgot about my class-mates, and imagined the new friends I would have in Costa Rica. While I walked through the freezing air of winter, I smiled at the promise of eternal spring and hot breezes at the Caribbean. I have been four years in Costa Rica, and my life is wonderful. But now I remember Madrid, and always ask myself, \u201cHow didn\u2019t I realize that Madrid was so extremely beautiful?\u201d And when I have no option but to go to Multiplaza on a Friday night, I remember the afternoons drinking a Coke in front of the Royal Palace...
\n We all are at one point of our lives incapable of seeing what is in front of us, until it is behind us. But we never learn. Because we only noticed how amazing the beach at Punta Mona was when we couldn\u2019t swim in it anymore, and I am sure that I won\u2019t be completely aware of how much I love Costa Rica until I have to leave. I hope someday we will learn, and be able to enjoy what we have while we still can.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"35592960","dateCreated":"1299706082","smartDate":"Mar 9, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"fabiborelly31","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/fabiborelly31","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/pic\/1225493296\/fabiborelly31-lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/35592960"},"dateDigested":1531973848,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Stupid Is The Dream","description":"The thing that is so great about mankind is that each and everyone one of us likes to be fooled. We don\u2019t like it when the magician reveals the secret, even though we crave it.
\nWe like it when others make fun of us, our silly mistakes, our defects, and especially, we like it when we know that someone is smarter than us. Underestimating the intelligence of others is big business. Otherwise, we wouldn\u2019t go to a stand-up comedy show, where the comedian persistently cracks jokes about how wrong, and perverted, and disgusting we are as human being. You see, the fun part is not the fact that we sit there listening to a guy make fun of us for two hours, the fun part is that we consciously pay this guy to do so because as human beings, we enjoy to feel like ignorant children from time to time and be have to pay to enjoy this disappearing commodity and \u201cpriceless\u201d entertainment. The comedian knows this and he, deep inside, knows that he isn\u2019t making a fool of himself standing there mimicking our lives, but instead, we are making a fool out of ourselves by laughing at his irreverent \u201cblue comedy\u201d. If you can come up with a couple of jokes and can talk without sitting down for a couple of hours, you know you\u2019ve made it because when you underestimate the intelligence of others and their capacity to grasp the concept that they are being insulted right in their faces, you will never go broke.
\n People have always been great guinea pigs when it comes to social experiments. Analyzing the true human behavior under certain circumstances, and the one that never fail is the lie. People have become desensitized to lies, and we accept them in our daily lives because they are now regular. We don\u2019t dare to cross into the field of \u201cwhat it\u201d and the number of endless possibilities. People in power know this. They understand how to play dirty tricks with people\u2019s mind. When you learn to manipulate us with sweet and kind words, you will understand the true limits of human capacity and can\u2019t help but wonder: How can I profit from it? Politicians stuff us with lies and they underestimate our intelligence. Few people question the decisions of those in power, because we are stupid enough, or we have been led to belief that we are stupid enough by constant years of condescendence, and we, ourselves, underestimate our intelligence to ask questions. This is why corruption surprises us. This is why we ask ourselves: How did this guy became president? You see, people in power like it when we nod and smile. When someone influential fills us with impossible hopes and fantasy worlds, they know that our own desire to feel satisfied and complete will allow them to win and keep winning, because our intelligence is as good as we let it be.
\nUnderestimating the intelligence of others will bring a life filled with goodies and you will never need anything ever again. Underestimating the intelligence of others gives leverage and control.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]},{"id":"35583618","dateCreated":"1299699118","smartDate":"Mar 9, 2011","userCreated":{"username":"caro3arias","url":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/user\/view\/caro3arias","imageUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikispaces.com\/i\/user_none_lg.jpg"},"monitored":false,"locked":false,"links":{"self":"https:\/\/davidgarethw-books-b.wikispaces.com\/share\/view\/35583618"},"dateDigested":1531973848,"startDate":null,"sharedType":"discussion","title":"Who finds a faithful friend, finds a treasure. -- Jewish Saying","description":"A true friend walks in when everyone else walks out.
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\nMost people have a group of friends that they can chat and hang out with. They can laugh and make fun of others, and they can usually count on these people to help them out with everyday troubles. But when true disaster strikes, when a person needs huge amount of support and aid, these friends seem to evaporate. It isn\u2019t convenient to slow life down or take risks for another. Humans can be very selfish and we tend to look out for ourselves before we look out for others.
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\nIt takes a true friend to stick around and put up with your bullshit, to listen to you cry and sob and throw a fit, to stand up for you when no when else will. It requires a huge amount of courage to be a true friend because this is not the easiest, most convenient path.
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\nI once read a book about a girl, named Isabella, who was diagnosed with a tumor in her back. She underwent 12 surgeries and got so sick she was struck by blindness. Her life was hell for 5 years and she spent most of her time in the hospital. Her friends visited her once in a while but the number of visits diminished to a trickle. They didn\u2019t have the patience or tolerance to put up with her emotional breakdowns, awful appearance and overall fragility. They wanted to get on with their lives and forget about the sick girl on the hospital bed.
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\nOne girl did stick around. Her name was Stacey and she was the one person who visited regularly over the 5 years. She brought presents and food; she read to Isabella and kept her updated on what was going on at school. She offered Isabella a shoulder to cry on, she helped her pick out wigs after the chemo set in.
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\nIt wasn\u2019t easy for Stacey. Isabella was an emotional wreck and she sometimes launched her anger and frustration at Stacey. But she proved that unlike the other people, she was trying to understand she pain Isabella was going through. It would have been more convenient for send Isabella some get-well cards and then forget about her. But she stuck around. That\u2019s why Stacey was the true friend who had the courage to take the path less traveled by.","replyPages":[{"page":0,"digests":[],"more":0}]}],"more":true},"comments":[]},"http":{"code":200,"status":"OK"},"redirectUrl":null,"javascript":null,"notices":{"warning":[],"error":[],"info":[],"success":[]}}