In this blog, my students and I post information related to the English teaching field, English in general, important notes, and other type of pertinent material in English. Viewers are wellcome to become followers and give feedback about our posts. We will really appreciate viewers comments. This way, we will improve our writing and our English as well.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
My family
MY FAMILY
By Samuel Santos
My family is an important and an interesting one. Well, my parents met in San Francisco de Macorís at the age of 18 roughly in a house of one of their friends. They got married when they were attending high school and they lived with their parents for a while because they could not afford to pay the rent. They were not working and they were too young by that time. After high school, my father went to Santo Domingo in order to study at Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo for becoming a dentist, and two years later, they got divorced. Beyond that, we have a fairly close relationship in which I can count on them and they can count on me.
Getting along, in my family, is an emotion of strong and personal attachment. This a great quality in my family because it means to live in a environment of peace, respect, in which everybody can feel in confidence, safety, and love. With those virtues that surround us, everything will be in balance. These values are important because they keep the family together at all times, even though when moments of hardships come up. The key of this is keeping in touch as many times as possible by means of internet, cell phones, or giving special presents now that my parents live away from me. My father lives in Brazil and my mother lives in Santiago, Dominican Republic, so I got used to talk more often with my mother because she is closer than my father geographically speaking. I love both of them. It is worthwhile showing affection among us because we reflect what we are in society, so the more we treat others in a friendly way the more friendly other teat us. Love is reciprocal. We, as a family, try to show affection among us despite the distance, and I know they always keep me in their hearts and so do I. The most important thing is that I let them know how much I care about them, no matter what might happen. Every time they need me, I will be there if God willing. The only thing I have to do at the moment is give them a call in order to let them feel me close. I live with my grandmother and long time ago, she told me that the best way of getting along in family is helping each other and to sow an atmosphere of peace and calmness. These things make burdens less heavy. Also it is quite important for each member of a family to get along because this will bring a peaceful environment. Consequently, that will grab joy and willingness to support mutually.
Hard work is an important virtue in my family. One of the reasons why that is true is that nearly all of them are excellent at their work fields. My family considers that they are good in their jobs because this is a result of having a family channeled toward good deeds, maintaining a great respect for each member of the family and for other people. My family loves studying. They think that having a degree is a great tool in life and it has its benefits such as good job, a better lifestyle, and so on. One of the aspects that l like the most in my family is when they pursue a dream nothing stops them, just like a shark hunting its prey. It is a matter of devotion and effort. My parents are good examples to follow for me. Hard work is important because everybody in a society can help our country at its different kinds of labor in order to build a better country. A society that does not care about working hard will not be able to get economical prosperity. Also, hard work gives every person, a sense of duty, honesty, and the cultivation of good values.
Persistence is a quality that my family has shown since I was a kid. I describe them as a bunch of persistent people in life. Every goal that they have been proposed during life has been accomplished by them. I think this is a remarkable virtue because all people should be persistent in everything that they want to achieve, always taking into consideration that nobody has control over life. Instead, God is in control of everything and what we need to do is take each chance that he gives us in this life to use it in our favor. Persistence is a tool that parents should acquire with their children. Unfortunately, this virtue has been lost due to the accelerated life families live in, but this is not an excuse. There is always time for sharing during the week as my parents did long time ago. Persistence is an important aspect that we all should cultivate above all in our future children, now that they will be in charge of the nation someday.
To conclude, having a united family is quite important for every human being in a given society because families are the core of every society. That is where a person learns values, behavior, customs, persistence, and so on. Also people learn how to persist in life in pursue of the dreams that are deeply attached in their hearts. Depending on that, we will be a productive or an unproductive individual in their jobs and/or everyday lives. It is in the process of sharing with our families that we learn how to treat other people, behave at work, university, and in whatever place we could be living. I consider a healthy development in our lives to rely on what our parents and/or tutors have taught such good virtues. They will help us live together in harmony and respect, making a balance and always cooperating with each other.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
My Family
My family
By Maria G. Serrano
I have heard about a family that is very united, hard working and lovely. They are ten in total; nine of them live in United States. They share their belongings and nobody can say something is hers or his because all they have belongs to everyone. They are working hard to help the one who is in this country to be with them, too. They love each other so much and enjoy being together.
Also my parents have worked hard in different ways. During the years they have had different kind of jobs, good and bad. My mother had spent twenty years working at fabric factories and cleaning houses. At present, she just takes care of an old sick woman. My father has had worked in seven different kinds of jobs. He used to be a soldier from the air force in Santo Domingo and a police officer. He used to work at some factories like rice factories, bottles factories, and environment factories. At present, he is sick at home. He suffers from diabetes, but he is waiting to get better to work with a cousin on a project. As my parents were always working, I remember them most of the time. They were busy to earn money for our necessities. I do not even remember if they bought something for themselves. I remember that sometimes, we even could not see them because of their jobs. They used to get up very early in the morning and arrive home very late at night. As a result of this situation, they started to feel sick and very exhausted. Their rhythm of working hard turned to be different and slower. I could see through their eyes how difficult getting up early was being. The incredible thing for me is that they never complained. They just did what they were supposed to do even though it was very hard for them. Sometimes, I am in my bedroom doing homework and my mother comes to lay on my bed. She always starts saying “Wow, I remember the person I used to be, full of strength and youth. Now look at me. I am old, with blood pressure problems, and with no strength.” Then she says “try to be better than me because I wasted so much time at fabric factories to be able to start a career at the university and I could not do it”. Knowing this, I have to finish the university and let them know that all they did was worthy. I know that they have done everything for me, everything to see me finishing my studies. Even though they know that they are not as young and strong as before, but they are sure that their goal of giving us a better life was reached.
At the same time in my family, unity means a lot. When someone has a problem it is everyone`s problem. If someone is sick, everyone is aware about it. Every time something comes up, we get together trying to find a way to solve the problem or the situation. My parent`s relationship has been based in unity since the beginning. I remember when I was a child. If I wanted to go to a place I had to ask both for permition because they were like one, or if I needed something I had to tell both about it. Spending money was another thing. I know about couples that work a lot but they do not have unity because what they earn is not shared between them. When my parents earned their money, they shared it and let us know all the time that they were one. As a family, we used to go out for dinner, play some games at home, go fishing, and go to rivers. At this time, it is difficult doing it because of my father`s health. During my life, I have seen how united my family is. I know people that they behave like enemies, being brothers and sisters or husbands and wives. That is why when someone is in love with me the first thing my parents look for is about his education and about his relationship with his parents or his parents` relationship. A family that has a good relationship is a very united family. Unity in a family is very important. If a family is united, everything is possible. Everything can be reached.
My family expresses love through different ways: caring, paying attention to the needs that each one has, and giving good advice in some situations. Expressing love is not only by sharing feelings; we do it with presents too. If someone goes shopping, he or she tries to get at least something to each one. Love is what we feel the most. It is the most important thing in my family. I have seen how my family has developed love during the years. I have noticed that when we are angry at someone for different reasons, it is just for a few minutes. It is not in serious at all. I remember that in my childhood, my brothers and I used to behave. My parents did not have to that threaten us. They just had to look at us directly and it was enough for us to understand what it meant. Right away, we were quiet. I used to cry for things that were not important at all. My family showed me that everything was ok in a lovely way, that I did not have to be worry about it. In my childhood, as my parents were always working, I used to miss them a lot. My brothers and I just could enjoy them more on Saturdays and Sundays. I did not understand why we could not be together the other days. As I was growing up, I started to see and understand everything. I could see that they were doing all those things because they love us. Having lovely parents is a blessing. I think I can do anything. Although they were not with us for a long time, they always showed great love for us. Today, my brothers and I are what we are thanks to my parents. I am glad that in my family, we enjoy that wonderful love. Without this love we would not be what we are.
In conclusion, I have seen how difficult life has been for my family. During the years, they have been working a lot to support us. They have been united to satisfy our necessities. Even though we tended not to see them, sometimes, love was there with us. All the time, they showed us that they cared about us in all the ways. During the years, I have learned that I have to thank God every day for having such a great family. Because of my parents, I am the person that I am today. I have noticed that some daughters and sons from my neighborhood do not study or care about having a good job or having a good education. My parents were always telling me that I had to study, get a good job, and be a professional. I have learned from them to be a person who does not give up when she wants to reach a goal. Without my family I would not be what I am.
San Francisco de Macorís 2011