78. PROS AND CONS OF COSMETIC SURGERY , by M.S (Bachillerato 2)

SONG: Denez Prigent & Lisa Gerrard - Gortoz A Ran

I am sure that if you ask a random person if he likes his entire body and face, that person will probably answer that there is at least one feature of his body that he doesn’t like so much. There are many people that admit their physical defects, like having a hooked nose, or maybe sticking-out ears. However, they accept them and even like them, since they claim that their little defects give them personality. But cosmetic surgery was invented for all the people who want to change their aspect.

On the one hand, it can help the operated person a lot, as some people get traumatized due to an imperfection they have. They can end up by abhorring themselves, and cosmetic surgery is the perfect solution to their problem. Their lives change once they have undergone surgery. It is also helpful when people have scars of other operations and they want them to disappear since they spoil their appearance, for instance, breast reconstruction for women that have undergone a mastectomy.

On the other hand, there are many people who have cosmetic surgery as if it were another ordinary beauty treatment, just as if they went to the dentist. But cosmetic surgery can be fatal, and disfigure their faces to the point that it is sometimes impossible to recognize the person after the surgery. There are people that even get hooked to this kind of surgery, so their face and body seem deformed at the end.

To sum up, cosmetic surgery is really helpful for people with health problems such as depression. It can bring the light back to their lives. Nevertheless, I think it isn’t necessary to do it just for aesthetic and avoidable reasons, as it removes part of their personality. Physical appearance is not so important as to undergo an operation.

BY M.S.

76. VISIT TO BELERIAND , by A.S ( Bachillerato 2).

SONG: Prince - Purple Rain

Last summer I had a sprained ankle so I couldn’t travel much. However, I rekindled my love for reading and discovered a magical kingdom among the pages of a book.

The kingdom was “Beleriand”. You may not have  heard about it because it is an old country from the time when elves ruled the world.

Well, Beleriand is a huge land north-west of the Middle Earth. Its west coast is soaked by a cold impressive sea, and its east boundary is delimited by a mountain range which goes from north to south. Between these disparate landscapes, you can find a vast number of places, such as the “Doriath” forest, in whose deep heart I met king Thingol at his court. This dark green forest is a perfect place if you are looking for calm and natural beauty.

I also visited “Gondolin”, a secret city surrounded by silver-peak mountains on the top of a hill. Simply amazing.

To know more, I suggest reading the Silmarillion.

                                                             By A.S

69. IS EXPERIMENTING ON ANIMALS JUSTIFIED ? GIVE YOUR OPINION , by M.S (Bachilerato 2).

  SONG: Lisa Gerrard - The End

Experimenting on animals is an activity that has occurred since times of Ancient Greece. Aristotle was one of the first scientists who began this practise, which has kept developing over the years until the present. Nowadays, there are many laboratories that work with animals such as rats, birds or frogs (among others). After the experiment, most animals are sacrificed. The treatment of living animals for human benefit and its following sacrifice creates a lot of controversy. 

On the one hand, experimenting on animals has provided an incredibly great progress for science, especially for the field of medicine. Injecting different diseases or vaccines against those illnesses to animals has been useful to find their cure, and even to eradicate them. Without this kind of experiments, modern medicine wouldn’t exist nowadays, and humanity would still be suffering unnecessarily. Developments in medicine are fantastic, but scientists need something to test their vaccines on, and animals are the most similar organisms to us, human beings.

However, they are also used for marketing and military aims, and that isn’t justified. These animals are raised with selfish purposes. Their lives are spoilt in captivity, and they are treated abruptly by the scientists. After all the experimenting stage, which supposes lots of suffering for these creatures, they are killed. This goes against the ethics of many people, who criticise that animals are unnecessarily tortured in a cruel way, since there are alternatives to all this experimenting.

In my opinion, experimenting in medicine is completely necessary, and if it only works on animals, animals will have to be used for it, causing them the least suffering possible. Nevertheless, experimenting on animals just to make cosmetics which attract women or for military aims should be completely forbidden. The death of thousands of animals is not worthwhile at all: they feel, just like humans.

                                                           By M.S

66. IS EXPERIMENTATION ON ANIMALS JUSTIFIED ? GIVE YOUR OPINION , by A.R (Bachillerato 2)

MY SONG: James Bay - Incomplete

In order to improve treatments, to develop medicines or to create new make-up, scientists use animals. Humans have been using them for hundreds of years but this use has always been in doubt.

On the one hand, I think that if we hadn’t used animals to experiment we wouldn’t have had all of these new treatments which can cure several diseases. On the contrary, scientists should have found another way of experimenting. I respect animals, so for me it’s hard to think that there are millions of animals which are caged all their life.

On the other hand, if we discuss whether animals should be used to experiment or not, we also have to talk about the fact that hundreds of thousands of living beings are used to provide us clothes or to be exposed in zoos or in aquariums. None of these actions are fair for me.

As a conclusion, I believe humans must stop treating animals as a way to make their lives easier, and start treating them as animals, just what they are.

                                               By A.R

64. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF BECOMING A TEACHER , by A.R (Bachillerato 2)

MY SONG:  Imagine Dragons - Battle Cry

Being a teacher is a profession in which you have to be hardworking, patient, motivator, among other qualities. To be a teacher you have to love sharing knowledge and instructing people.

On the one hand, being a teacher can be one of the most gratifying professions if you really love what you do as you are able to do your passion full-time and stop it whenever you wish. In addition, you develop a wonderful relationship with some of the students that could last all your life. Another advantage is the satisfaction you feel when your students get good marks or improve their skills.

On the other hand, this profession can be stressful since sometimes you have to stand some students who don’t take their studies seriously. Furthermore, to be a teacher you must be a role model to teenagers so you have to be very mature and responsible.

As a conclusion, to be a teacher you have to take the pros and the cons and balance them in order to enjoy your job as much as you can.

                                              By A.R

63. MY FAVOURITE SONG AND WHY I LIKE IT , by A.R (Bachillerato 2)

My favourite song, at the moment, and since last year is “All I Want” by Kodaline from their album “In a Perfect World” released in 2013. The first time I listened to this song was when I was watching the final of “The Voice UK 2014” and the contestant who sang it won the competition. Then, I discovered that this song was in the movie “The Fault in our Stars”, which I really like.

Kodaline is an indie rock/pop band and I’m really into this genre. I love this song since the lyrics are about love, about how the singer wants to find the person who had left him. This track is so beautiful because it’s so simple. This song is not just a simple post-break up song, but more like a song when the beloved one is gone for good. They are singing about a wish to see the face once more and if the person is alive, no matter where he/she lives, it’s possible to meet again.

I fell in love with this song when I heard the lyrics for the first time. They make me so sentimental but at the same time so happy that I can’t stop listening to it. I believe it’s a magnificent song and I recommend everybody to check it out.

                                      By A.R