Memory troubles
This was a very funny editorial that I found myself to be completely identified with and I finally found a phrase to best describe myself. As the author cites Nietzche "The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time" This is me, reading books, watching movies or TV shows, learning and in many other aspects of life. This article addresses the issues that people with memory issues tend to have in daily life in a relateable, humorous way. 

Now... the truth behind the laughs. The author lines this article with interesting examples of convenient memory loss and how it is often used for manipulation or to ones advantage.  How women forget their ages or kids forget they had chores to do. She (the author) goes from these simple mundane examples to one we can very well see reflected in Puerto Rico, even though the article is from Canada. The constant forgetfulness of politicians as to the promises made during campaigns or their hope that voters will forget their actions when re-election comes around are the final examples that the author gives of memory troubles. Failure to comply to campaign promises and expected ignorance of mistakes from the public are both political issues seen in many (to not say all) countries and I think the author did a very good job of bringing it top light in the humorous way she chose. It is a topic often commented on in your living room around friends but rarely published openly.

Chosen Editorials: 
Silencing Scientists - The New York Times
Más severidad con los conductores homicidas - El Nuevo Día
Dawn of a Revolution in Healthcare - The New York Times
Cruelty and the crowd: beheading videos on Facebook - The Guardian

Reflecting on the things that bother me...

Personal - Many of the things that are on my personal list are caused by my non-diagnosed OCD,  need to control everything, my laziness or the need to be left alone. I don't think they are social issues and the world should be burned because of any of them although at the time it may seem so... Most of the things just elevate my blood pressure, make me roll my eyes, sigh and imagine the slow, painful deaths of those involved. 

Social - The social things are mainly grammatical issues and driving issues which I'm sure annoy me and the rest of the planet likewise. A common theme to my social issues can be summarized as lack of common sense and apparent brain function. They are the kind of things that although may seem personal I do consider that they affect society negatively and definitely should be changed to make the world a more tolerable place to live in.

The ones that are closest to me is "People talking about topics they don't know about as if they were experts" and "People that blame anything and everything but themselves for their failures". The first one affects me more than others because I am very appreciative of people having different specialties and things they are good at, therefore I find it highly annoying when they cross over and speak of things they don't know with arrogance and feelings of expertise. Society wise this is horrible, because people speaking out of context is one of the main problems almost every aspect of society has. On the other side people that lack the ability to accept the responsibility for their failures are a problem in society because in my opinion they are mediocre and will never amount to anything. These type of people need to understand that many of their problems and issues are in their control and that the things they whine so much about are most probably their own doing.

It is no doubt that Disney is a part of the life of children and adults all over the world, from the movies and songs to the theme parks and merchandise Disney is without a doubt one of the biggest corporations in the US and worldwide. Growing up with the classic Disney movies like many my age I can say that many of my fondest childhood memories can be stirred up by listening to any of the songs from the movies. As an adult I still enjoy many of these and have no problem with spending hours in front of the TV watching one after another. These were my feelings before watching the documentary. Disney to me represents a lot of my childhood and its something that instantly makes a connection with anyone my age since we all grew up hyped on the same movies. 
As I watched the documentary and shortly after I understood the points it wanted to make but think that in a great sense it was contradictory in some points, exaggerated in others and slightly ridiculous in a few. Yes, Disney as a brand is highly influential to children and is one of the biggest corporations worldwide. No it is not its responsibility to raise children right, that's what parents are supposed to be for and no I don't think its this evil company that sets out to be disrespectful. In essence the Disney movies are a type of social thermometer representing an animated version of the vision of society that the authors had when they wrote these stories. When Walt Disney drastically changed the story of Mary Poppins to be more "child friendly" and "cuter" both the author and many who had read the book were enraged and highly disappointed with his interpretation, and yet when he keeps close to the story line in many other films he is criticized for this as well.  I'm not saying he is the epitome of innocence, I just think he is a businessman like any other that saw something that sells and went after it.

Many of the things presented in the documentary I already knew, thanks to internet and the loss on innocence that comes with maturity you start seeing many things as an adult that you missed as a child. I've always thought this is something the movie creators do to make the films interesting for the adults as well, I mean it would be torturous to watch the film with your children without something to laugh about as well. A classic example of this is the Dreamworks movies like Shrek and Cat in the Hat which have a lot of hidden adult humor that goes unperceived by children. These are the kind of movies you see and laugh at as a child and then watch as an adult and laugh again for so many different reasons. 

In the future my children will most definitely grow up on the classic Disney movies just as I did, which the addition of the good ones that were released later on and the Pixar, Dreamworks and other fun cartoon movies. I find no harm in these and just as I was raised to know the different between fantasy and reality, movie and real life I will teach my children to differentiate the same. The racism, sexuality and body image issues are things we see as adults with the malice gained over the years, as a child to be a princess I didn't think of having the hips and boobs, I actually had no concept of what these were. As a child all I needed to be a princess was a tiara and a pretty dress. In conclusion I don't believe in the evil of Disney and even if the documentary made many good points it didn't shift my point of view since it was things I already knew. Disney is a brand, a corporation and just like any other they see what works and make it huge. Magic, innocence and the illusion of always being a child with a fairy tale happy ending are things that sell. I don't think anyone makes themselves false illusions that this is how it will be in real life, but that's exactly the point. Movies are to escape reality and believe for about two hours in things that aren't true. Honestly, I don't think there could be something that could shift my opinion about Disney because it is an informed opinion and I feel very strongly about the possibility of happy endings like the ones in Disney, its the reason I also read cheesy romance books and listen to Taylor Swift songs. I don't expect or

After going over my stream of consciousness the column that has more words would definitely be the happy, loving one. This is not surprising since I do consider myself to be a very happy person and I am content with my life and where it is right now and you can see it from my perspective. I'm very sure if I had written this post a couple of years ago it would be a completely different story. I am aware that I am now happy with my life but that is after resolving many, many issues and letting go of the things and people that hurt me. Even so, I know that some of the words I picked that carry a stressful meaning to them are very strong ones, with strong emotions tied to them; that even in my happy, cheerful life do occasionally affect me greatly.

This is the first time I had done an exercise this extensively. I remember in high school I did something similar but it was only with words, no complete sentences. In a way I felt frustrated because I had such a hard time letting myself go, letting go of my rational side and just write. This was frustrating on a personal level because I used to write a lot in high school and first year of college and lately I haven't and I've missed it. I knew since before this that I had issues "getting out of my brain" but after this exercise I was kind of stricken with how bad it is. I used to have a much better balance between my rational and artistic side and with all the things happening in my life right now I think I lost some of that balance. 

I want you to pick two of the reviews I posted here and write what you liked about that particular review. What elements did the review cover? Do you agree with the author of the review? Why or why not? Would you watch that film? Why? If it was a negative review, why would you stay away from the film? 
Now, look at what you wrote, would it be possible for you to emulate what you just read? Now you will review your own review and focus on those elements you KNOW you can improve! Go ahead...take your chances! 

Reviewing my review... 
After reading the different reviews and commenting on two of them I could notice the parts where my review was lacking. A true movie review should add some basic information about the movie like genre, when it was released, rating, director and cast so that the reader can look up some information on it or if they are a movie guru know the director and decide whether the movie was up to his/her standards or not. Also commenting on the different aspects of the movie seems to be a must, I do think in comparison mine was very superficial. Many of the movie reviews I read included a specific quote or memorable moment of the movie without spoiling it which is something I think could be edited in mine. In conclusion I think my movie reviews were a bit superficial in comparison to what I now know to be a correct review.

A weekend of firsts. I can definitely say that the first time I decided to go to Mayagüez was memorable, but not entirely for the best reasons. Although I had gone before to help my boyfriend move I'm talking about the first time decided to go overnight. First of all I had asked permission, was denied and decided to go against my mother and go anyway (a first). While riding la Linea Sultana (a first) my heart was beating fast still hearing her last words in my head "Whatever happens over there, it's on you. Don't count on me for help". By the time I got there I was calmer and ate dinner with my boyfriend and his housemates (a first), one of them that later on brought us yummy ice cream which as always makes things better. After a quiet night away from the metropolitan area and a nice breakfast I told my boyfriend to take me to a beauty parlor so I could get my hair done before going back. 
On our way there while stopped behind a garbage truck I saw a sports car drive by at high speed then shortly after, all I heard was the undeniable sound of car metal against car metal and felt myself with the whole car move forward. Confused I looked around and saw my boyfriend had hit himself against the driving wheel and was lying against the seat. I got out of the car, ran to over to him and checked that he was alright. Then seeing the damage of the car, both front and back, I began crying and apologizing thinking that everything that had happened was somehow my fault. After the paramedics arrived, information was exchanged, parents were contacted and the car was towed to his apartment my boyfriends housemate took us to the hospital where we waited inhaling that sterile hospital scent that I've come to love as a student but hate as a patient. Afterwards because the driver that hit us didn't have a license with him or a valid one for that matter we ended up having to go to Mayagüez court until finally resolving the issue in January 2013. 
After all was said and done the weekend of September 14-15, 2012 was a weekend of many firsts. The first time I defied my mother, went to Mayagüez overnight, made and had dinner for my boyfriend in his apartment, had a serious car accident, went to a Mayagüez hospital and later on went to court. I learned so much from this weekend, became closer to my boyfriend and had a new appreciation of the blessing it was since it could have gone a lot worse. After this I've had many other trips to the west side that were memorable for a lot better reasons, thank God!