Journal 8: Optimistic Quote

Winston Churchill once said,"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." This quote has truly represented the real world. Actually, everything has a positive and negative aspects. So one issue either positive or negative depends on how people see through it. For instance, to turn an opportunity into a success is never an easy work. An optimist will consider the difficulties as necessary challenges to be successful while a pessimist will see the contrary.
I agree with this statement since it can be applied for every single field in life such as at work, study. For example, there are always the competition at work. An optimist knows that competition will give him or her a chance to be success. Indeed, if he or she can overcome this challenge, he or she will get a higher position in his or her company and earn more money. Meanwhile, a pessimist consider getting the higher position in a company is unreal since a huge difficulty is always ahead.
I consider myself as a pessimist because I always think about the worst part of a situation. I always see the difficulties on everything such as working, studying until I have them done. In addition, one of my optimist friends tells me what is your future is less important than how you act for your future. Therefore you need to do your best and so all. However, I would say the result is the most important. If you cannot obtain your goal, all your efforts are worth for nothing.

Journal 7: Birds of a feather

Going along with the life, people have chance to meet each other. When they go to school or work, they have classmates, teachers, roommates or colleagues. Also there are people who you come across on the ways or on the buses. However having a real friend who you can share everything in life with is not easy because sometime people establish a relationship on purpose, the nonprofit relationship becomes more difficult to obtain. Since then, I feel very lucky when among people I have met, I can finally find out one who is best friend ever. Some say that your best friend should have the same characters as yours so you can easily understand each other. However, when they see my friend and I, they can figure out that we are really different in term of the physical features, characters and also the view of life but we are still friend for more than ten years.

First of all, our looking is totally different. Actually she is smaller, much thinner than me. Therefore people always compare us like a number 10 when we walk together. She is really pretty and shining where ever she comes. Moreover, she has a good style. She knows how to dress perfectly since she is a stylist designer. Meanwhile, I have a really bad taste so sometime she has to help me choose new clothing when we go shopping together.  

Second, her characters are really different from mine. For instance, while she is an open person, I am really reserved. Indeed, she is talkative. Unlike me, she can make new friends easily and they enjoy the conversation with her, but I usually cannot talk freely with new people. Though she is very gentle and soft, I rarely does. For example, I barely see her be angry. She has a perfect self-control. Her voice is tender and extremely convincing. Therefore at the most of the time, she is only one person who can calm me down since I can never hire my angry. I am too straightforward that makes me get into trouble sometime. 

Finally, because she is a kind of romantic person, therefore she always has troubles of love, while I am realistic enough to help her get out of that. Therefore we can greatly compensate each other. Furthermore, we have different opinions about most of aspects in life. For example, she thinks getting a job that she really likes is extremely important while I say money is the most important.

All in all, we never understand why we can keep our relationship for the whole time when we are diffenrent in every aspects. However I really appreciate this friendship. Even now we have our own lives and our own concern, we can not help each other but we know we can mentally support each other. 

Journal 6: Talking with animals

Nowadays, people have dogs, cats as their pets. They feed, caress and talk with the pets even these little animals cannot speak. Therefore, if animals could one day talk, that would be a good news for whom love pets. However, this day would also make the world become chaotic because each animal can express its opinion and they would make a big noise.
First of all, human life would be really affected if animal can talk. Mankinds have controlled these animals for very long time ago. Their lives depend on human being. If they can talk, they would propably complain about how people treat them. Indeed, how you can cruelly eat the turkey or the fish whose just have talked to you one minute before.
Moreover, these animals can make a big noise. For instance, in the beautiful morning you will feel very happy to hear birds singing. Therefore, when the birds instead of singing, they speak, that would really destroy your feeling.
After all, life should be as it is right now, the fact that animal can talk does not seem good. However, if this day comes, I would ask animals whether or not they care about the freedom. Also, I would ask the pets whether they want to be fed by human as a domestic animal or they want to return to forests and live their wild lives. Since I am always wondering that people say they love their animals but why they still keep them at home and they treat those animals by following their humors. It is just like I was always wondering which person really love flowers, the one who cut all the beautiful flowers in one's garden and put them in a big pot and the other one who waters one's flowers each day and admires the way that those flowers grow up in one's garden.

Journal 5: Temporary home

"This is my temporary home
It's not where I belong
Windows and rooms that I'm passin' through
This is just a stop, on the way to where I'm going
I'm not afraid because I know this is my
Temporary Home

My favorite song is "Temporary home" sung by Carrie Underwood. That song is really striking me at the first time I listened to because of the lovely melody and the meaningful lyrics.
Country music was never my favorite since I was thought that this kind of music is old, Therefore by the time my sister shared this song to me, I had predicted that it would be bothering. However the emotional voice of Carrie Underwood makes this song be smooth, tender. I feel like seeing a pure, calm lake which bringing to me a peaceful moment.
Moreover, the lyric is the best part of the song. The lyric tells us three stories of three different personnages. They are an orphan 6-year-olds boy, a single mom with her little girl and a grandfather passing away. They are in their hard situation but they are not afaid because where they are is just their temporary home.  The song is perfectly fit my view in life which is every hard moment people have got in life is just temporary therefore they should prepare to fight against it with an optimism.

All in all, the melody and the lyrics are a perfect combination. The combination inspires me when I first listen to and encourages me to step on my way. It is the great song that you should not skip over eventhough you are not a country fan and then, listen carefully each word which is very simple English but powerful.

Journal 4: Snowing day

Some people considere the weather in California as ideal because it is warm most of the time, not so hot, not so cold. However this weather makes California not be my favorite place, simply because I regret that there is not winter. I love winter because of the snowing days and other activities we can do during this time.
First of all, snow is the most beautiful thing in the world. I love the way how little snowflakes fall into my hand. Those are really soft and cool. Moreover, after the snowfall all the night, everything was covered by a twinkle white which can reflect under the sun. Everything seems to be more brilliant. Then, when I walked on the street, it was sometime really interesting when I observed on the snowy ground. Since the traces of my feet were stamped on the ground, I realized that I was the first person who have passed this way in the early morning, or I can see the trace and imagine that there might have a beautiful girl wearing a huge heel just had a promenade with her lovely dog. I remembered the first time I saw the snow five years ago when I moved to France, I was really excited. Actually, it was at a very late night, the snow begun and I jumped out quickly from my bed, opened the windows and just see the snow. My aunt blamed that I was crazy because drivers can get a trouble in snowing. Indeed, many streets had to be closed because of the snow, the others street will become slipperery. People have to slow down their speech. so they might be late for their works or their studies. Eventhough sometimes it was hard to wake up in the morning and then I had to wait the subway and got late after all, I still love snowing day because it is really beautiful.

In the front of my "ex-house"

On the other hands, there are a lot of interesting activities that you can do during the winter. You can go to some mountain on vacation and play skiing. Even if you cannot afford to go to the mountain, you can also go to skay. Some might say that these activities are dangerous but there are still one of the favorite sport in the world. During the snowing days, I can get out with my little cousin and make a snowman. I have to say this is not really easy because we were planning  to make a big snowman. it required a big effort when you have to run around to make each ball bigger and bigger and then they must perfectly round. With the cold temperature, this season is a perfect occasion for fashion. You can see people with different styles walk around. With a hot weather you can never see anyone with different kind of beautiful scarfs, caps, coats, or boots. Furthermore, do you thing is that meaningful when your family gathers arounf the fireplace to celebrate the christmas and admire the snow outside? You will appreciate how happy you are.

The walking street to home

Looking out from my window bedroom

Finally, when the snow melts, it becomes very dirty. I know that I was lucky because Paris has the snowing days but not like in the East Cost of the U.S where the winter becomes a nightmare of the most of people. Perhaps, that might be the reason I see the winter in the positive way. Or it is simply because I am romantic person who was affected by the hundred of the romantic story about winter. After all, if there has no winter, people might not realize how much the shinny day is precious.

Journal 3: The fear of driving

I believe that everybody has at least one fear in his or her life whether he or she can realize or not. My fear seems very awkard because I have a fear of driving. Actually, the first time when I learned how to ride a bicycle, I was fallen at least a hundred times. While my sister just need 3 days to know how to ride, I spent all my summer vacation. However, this is not a principle reason that creates a fear in my mind but the accident happened when I learn to drive scooter.  Indeed, to have me learn how to drive, my father sit behind me on the scooter. At the beginning, everything was ok until I stubbed a little stone on the street, my driving was not strong enough to get a scooter be on a straight direction. Therefore my dad and I were fallen on the street. Thanks god, there is no scooter that passed at the time but my father's back were spraint and he cannot walk for several days. By this day, I really afraid that I would hurt someone if I drive. Now, when I come to the U.S, I try to learn driving car. This time, my sister is my driving instructor. Guess what?? I actually have a big accident. My car bumped into the other car of the same direction, no one was hurt fortunately.
Some tells me that you have to overcome your fear, nothing is impossible but it is not easy as it is said. For instance, I did face my fear when I learned driving little by little and got my driver's license after three months. However the thing is, even I drive carefully, I don't feel comfortable because I know that I am responsible to whom I drive with. I am afraid that I will hurt one I love same what I did with my father. Moreover, you can hear about transportation accidents each day, that makes me really stress when I drive because I was wondering how I am sure that I am not the next.
All in all, I have successfully got my driver's license that encourages me so much. Now I have to face my fear. Hopefully, I can do it better.