Título: Pensamentos soltos, Pensar em Inglês
Seleção: Luísa Torres Desenho gráfico: Isabel Bernardo Edição: Biblioteca Escolar Clara Póvoa Agrupamento de Escolas Lima-de-Faria, Cantanhede, 2018
Alunos do 12.º ano foram desafiados pela sua professora Luísa Torres a pensar e a escrever em Inglês. A passagem pela escola, o sucesso, o futuro e o propósito de vida, o materialismo e o consumo e a importância da leitura são os temas abordados nestes textos.
Sumário
Let’s talk about success! Beatriz Prata
Consumerism: the disease of this century Iara
Rushing through school Maria Figueiró
Why should we read? SofiaFigueiró
Let’s talk about success!
* Today the world is full of all sorts of problems, I mean, we just need to turn our devices on and look at how bad the world and society are nowadays. Apart from the problems that instantly come to our minds when we read something like what I said before, other problems even though their solutions won’t help
to bring peace or the cure for cancer or even improve the global warming issue, make our lives as individuals better. We all have 24 hours in a day. Your success depends on how you make use of those 24 hours. The difference between a successful person and an unsuccessful one is that the former spends his/her 24 hours wisely. “Blood, sweat, and respect. First two you give, last one you earn.” – Dwayne Johnson Now, the truth is, no one wants you to succeed, not even your mother because
she’s afraid you’re not going to call her back. Your brain doesn’t want you to be a big success; our brains just want us to be alive, our minds are designed to protect us from doing anything that may hurt us, anything that is not really necessary. So, “You have about a five-second window in which you can move from idea to action before your brain kicks into full gear and sabotages any change in behavior.” – Mel Robbins. This means, you are your worst enemy, and it takes much more ‘will power’ to achieve your goals than you might think. It’s not like you do this one thing and some-
thing big happens. Success is about a quiet daily set of small tasks, it’s a quiet process where you’re just drawing your state from within yourself. There is no more effective way of operating in the world than to conceptualize the highest good you can, and then strive to reach it.
When you recognize how great you are, and when you recognize you’ve got a champion inside yourself, you’ll realize you’ve got more to give. Now tell me, what is your purpose in life?
Consumerism: the disease of this century
* Consumerism and materialism are ruining this generation. Young people don’t want to move and make a change because they feel too comfortable in their own personal bubble. Is it their parents’ fault because they buy them every phone, every videogame, every piece of clothing they want? Or is it just the society’s fault by luring naive kids into believing that buying an object/product will change their lives for the better?
It's sad, but the truth is, if we look at those African little kids that aren't corrupted by materialism, we'll come to the conclusion they're so much happier than we are! They are happy because what they have is what they have always known, they don't know what an iPad is and they are better off not knowing. They don’t know what videogames
are, but they do know how to entertain and play with each other using only sticks. They appreciate the simple things. They never complain about their situation. They are always smiling even though their mothers are sick and their siblings have died from diseases like the flu, diarrhea or pure dehydration… They move on and fight for survival, being positive and humble.
Nowadays, kids from the so-called developed countries are spoiled and selfish. When I look at my parents’ generation and at my own generation I see the lack of effort and independence in people of my age. Of course there are exceptions but you barely see a 16-year-old boy or girl working and earning themselves some pocket money to go out with friends or saving for the future. The more we have, the more we want. We are never satisfied with our current state in life. We have so much and still feel so miserable all the time. What do you think is causing all thesefeel-
ings of dissatisfaction? The answer is very simple: advertising companies. Most ads are made with the intention of making people believe they are not happy with their own lives. Somehow, they make you purchase this magic and revolutionary thing that will make all the unsettling pain go away.
In my honest opinion, we should all make an effort not to be so shallow and self-absorbed all the time and actually appreciate what we have. Instead of being at home all day watching TV or on the computer, go out and explore. We would have much stronger and meaningful friendships/relationships if we spent more time acknowledging the person we have in front of us rather than having our faces buried in our phone screens all the time.
Rushing through school
* The first day of school is a terrifying moment for all of us, specially for a six-year-old kid. Luckily, as a young kids, we can make friends as fast as someone snaps their fingers! Elementary school at a young age is terrible. Many hours sitting in the same chair and the anxiety of getting outside to play with friends (which is all we think about) is over-
whelming. Comparing to kindergarten there is almost no time to play and it’s just learning and no fun. And in that precise moment reality was a kick in the teeth. In middle school we can now sit in a chair properly. The time spent at school is almost the same but we have to study more, which means less time playing (we sometimes say we don’t play anymore to pretend we are already big girls and boys but secretly we still play)! The worst part is that we are not allowed to go to the bathroom during classes! How can someone live like this?! This problem haunts us through the first weeks of middle school but as soon as this is solved a bigger one shows up.
During high school we are now too old to play and we spend hours and hours attached to our mobile phones as if they are a part of us. In fact, it’s as if they were
surgically inserted in our fingers as we reach a certain age. But getting good grades becomes the biggest concern in our lives. Good grades mean we can get in a university degree that we like. Soon we will be adults… Some friends remain the same but some of them get lost. It is the end of an era and now the question we are asked since young
kids has to be answered. Do we want to start working as adults or do we want to choose from thousands of university courses? And finally university. A huge decision has been made and now our future is decided. There is a higher standard of demands so we now have to study even harder
than we had to. But university isn’t all about studying, it is also about socializing, going to parties and meeting new people. As we complete our degree we are sent to the working world! And in the end we all miss the time we sat in the elementary school’s chair waiting to go outside and play…
Why should we read?
* Nowadays, we can find books almost everywhere and all stores have a whole different variety. Actually, finding a book is much easier now than it was 50 years ago. Readers rather read a book that has a good rating than a big book. It got a lot easier to read a review and search for other people’s opinion, which is normally the reason why people choose to read
a certain book. Firstly, reading is a hobby, which is good to improve our knowledge. Young children are recommended to read a lot as it will help them to get better grades at school. It helps us to expand our vocabulary, get better writing skills and become more creative and imaginative. Some books make you imagine alternative worlds and fictional characters that are a lot different from the usual. As J.K. Rowling said “I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book.�
Secondly, it is a good way to stimulate the brain and prevent some diseases caused by brain degeneration. Also, it will challenge you to remember the name of the charac-
ters, their ambitions, their history, the plot and it helps you improve your memory. It might seem weird but reading might help you reduce stress. While you are reading, you will forget about the daily life problems. Also, when you can’t sleep, reading will help you to relax and therefore you will sleep better.
Last but not least, reading is a quite cheap entertainment, because books take a lot of time to be read (unless you are an avid, passionate reader). Furthermore, you can pick up a book at a library or borrow one from a friend and save some money. Portuguese people are now reading less than they were five years ago. In 2011,
publishers sold more 2,75 million books than they did last year. Are the Portuguese reading less? Or are they buying more eBooks? What may these numbers mean for the future of literature?