15 REASONS

TO LIVEMARTA MUNOZ MUNOZ TA#27

MOMENTS IN LIFE WHERE TIME STOPS• There are moments in live that are simply perfect. Everything, all of a sudden, seems to be in the right place,

at the right time, everything is in harmony, it simply fits. This moments only last for an instant, a few seconds, an ephemera moment… and if you are really lucky, even minutes, hours….

• For me, this is a big reason to live because it is simply… happiness, and happiness is what we all live for. Happiness is why we get up every morning, why we fight for our dreams, why we take chances, enjoy possibilities, why we keep going. No matter what happens, the number of times we fall, we are always looking for happiness, fighting for it, getting up one time more than we fall. In this moment, something great happens, we feel good, we are happy, and we want more. We live all live trying to repeat these moments, looking for new ones. This is what keep us going, this is what keeps me going.

• Last September, I got one of this moments. It was late at night, all the stars shining out there, in a foreign sky. My friend and I were give a ride to the Starbucks, all the roads desert. The car was flying through the streets, my friend and I in the back, no roof, our hands in the air, the breeze caressing our faces, music loud. In that moment I was completely careless, completely free… completely happy. The landscape was beautiful, the sky breathtaking and we were free. I knew the moment would end soon, I even knew that in a few months I would never come back, I would never see hat again, I would never get to see that people again… and even I did, everything would be different, it would all have changed.

FRIENDSHIP• Friendship is something everyone has experienced sometime, in all different levels. Friendship is

connection. For me, friendship is being able to take off the ‘'mask’’ that we all unconsciously wear, to be able to be our true selves. Friendship is relying on someone, feeling supported, feeling part of something, is being there when they need you and knowing they would do the same for you. Sometimes it is sacrifice, sometimes it is sad, complicated… but friendship is also and most, all the good things in human nature. Is laughing so hard tears run down your cheeks, is feeling good around someone, is being confident, is being understood. For me friendship is a reason to live because life without company, without fun, without connection… life without someone to share it with, is not life.

• In my opinion, friendship is also love and it is one of the best qualities of human nature that gives us a purpose, something to enjoy.

• In my life, I find friendship in my classmates, in my neighbors, in my family. Is my best friend , my mother, my cousin… they are a reason to love because I cannot imagine life without them, they make me happy and I want to be there for them as they have always been for me.

LOVE

• Love is one of the most powerful emotions of all times. It has broken hearts, it has taken blood, it has become hate, it has tore societies apart, countries, it has driven people crazy, it has made people even die for it. But at the same time, it is the most wonderful emotion. It makes us what we are, human. It makes us grow makes us better, gives us goals, reasons to fight for. Love can come in so many ways. Maybe in the romantic way of a partner, maybe in the love of a mother, maybe in the hug of a friend. Love is wonderful and incontrollable and is a powerful reason to live. We depend our lives looking for love in as many ways as we can to feel complete, part of something bigger, to feel accomplished, to feel loved, good and to feel like we are worth it. For me this is what keeps me going, the people that cares about us and that we care about. I think I have become who I am thanks for the love and care about first of all, my mom. She hs always ben there trying to make a better person of me. I have also rely in my friends so much, especially on my best friend carolina that has always supported me and understand me.

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PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS THAT CHANGED ME

• One of my greatest achievements that makes me smile and being proud of myself when I look back is winning the scholarship to come to Canada. I have always worked hard at school but I never imagined that because of it I would be able to apply for a grant and travel the world. It took me a year of hard study to pass the three exams and getting enough marks to being within the top 100 of 6.500 teenagers of my age in all Spain. I remember waiting for the definitive list of the 100 that would get it, so nervous, excited and worried, going down in the list. When I saw my name I almost cried, I got it! I was going to live one year in Canada, living my dream, meeting new people… I think this is the best personal achievement of all my life and the best opportunity I have ever had.

FUTURE GOALS THAT ARE IMPORTANT

• We need purpose in life, we need goals, a reason to keep going, to work hard… In my case, my main goal in life is to be happy. I think no matter where you are, how you are or your situation you can always choose happiness. Sometimes is hard, complicated, deep… but happiness is a choice and we have to learn to be happy with what we have till we achieve what we want. We have to make the best of every day, of every moment. My goal is to be happy, surrounded by my friends, family, and being successful in life. To do so, I want to keep study, to be the best of me in every aspect, being the best version of me. I want to study medicine and help people. I want to study pediatric to help children or be a surgeon. I also would like to study nutrition and psychology, I‘m not sure yet. Bu what I know is that my path is on the medicine one, helping people, helping society and making the world a little bit better, contributing as much as I can. I want also to move to another part of my city, living close to my parents, grandparents and my closest friends. I also want to find love, to have all my needs covered, to see the people I love happy, I want to make a difference, I want to grow as a person, I want to be loved, I want to have purpose.

FEELING PART• We live in a world full of connections, in a society where we are hungry of human contact, using

Facebook, Instagram, internet… we need to be part of something bigger, we need to socialize, it is in human nature. I think this is a reason to live because being a part of society, knowing that people appreciate you, that you are loved, that you are part of something bigger and that you matter, that you would be missed, fulfill one of our deepest needs. But I also think we have forgot how to interact with people, choosing the easier way, using the media, instead of actually hanging out with people, talking to people face to face. I think the media, internet help us reach more people, stay in contact, but it is a two way street and we cannot forget the actual and real world. I choose this one as one of my reasons to life because I, as all the other people, I need to feel part. For me, socializing is being happy, is feeling fulfilled, accomplished, is feeling good, is something to live for, the people.

PLACES THAT HAVE A SPECIAL MEANING TO YOU• I think places, as well as songs, smells, textures or flavors, are really special because we associate them

with moments in our past, with our memories. I think all of these places, songs or smells are so important for us, for me, because they are somehow part of us and they have marked some points of our lives. Maybe the song that was playing the first time you kiss someone, the smell of a product you used to use in your childhood or simply, the spot under that tree where you used to have picnics with your family. I always take photos of the places that I love, I always enjoy and try to remember the smell or the texture of something and I keep up a playlist of music and I never delete a song, because all mean something. Some of my favorite places are the window of my room, my grandmother’s house in Segovia, the smallest Starbucks of Madrid or the park I used to go to hang out with my friends. I also love the smell of violets or vanilla and my favorite songs are “Apologize’’, “Hold on, we are going home’’, ‘'love is on the line'‘ or ‘'wake me up’’. They have marked important moments of my life or people I remember when I listen to them. This is a reason to live because all these things represents little pieces of us that have conditioned who we are know.

GIVE LIFE• I think one of the best reasons to live is to give life. For a woman, in my opinion, the best experience in

live has to be having a baby. It has to be something so big, so special, so intense… knowing that thanks to you something incredible, tiny, fragile and beautiful has come alive e. I know some people do not feel the same way, but for me, my mother is the person I have the strongest connection with. She has always been there for me and thanks to her I have become a better person. In the future, I want to have a baby too, take care of her or him, protecting, caring and loving, giving them what my mother gave me. I want to guide them through the bad or sad moments, teach them to never give up, show the beauty in the world, telling them my mistakes so they can also learn from them, giving them the opportunities that maybe I didn‘t have and sharing with them the little thing in life. I think this is one of the best reasons to live, to give life, to give all the best you have, and who you are; to give the world a new generation and to give the new generation a beautiful world.

TAKE RISKS, LIVE IN THE FAST LANE, EXPERIENCING

• The average life expectancy is around 70 years old for women a little less for men. But we do not know how long we are going to live. That is why, in my opinion, is so important to take risks, be adventurous, go out of the comfort zone and try new things. I think we have to enjoy every second and every moment, making the best of it. Sometimes, taking a risk is also smile, meet new people, going out and having fun, do what you really want to do, what makes you happy and passionate, maybe saying what you want to say… if we never take this risks, if we do not live as better as we can, if we do not take advantage of the time we have… maybe someday is going to be gone, and we will regret it. Living life in the fast lane for me is not only doing extreme sports or putting your life in danger, it is just enjoying life, trying to be as happy as we can. This is a reason to live, because it is simply enjoy life, if we do not do so, we are not really living.

FUN• Having fun is one of the best feelings. We lie to have fun because in that moment we feel good, we feel

alive, we enjoy it and we feel accomplished. We spend all of our lives trying to repeat the good moments, have fun, do not worry about our problems, forgetting stress. We have fun, we laugh. I think this is a reason to live because without fun, live will not be the same, we would not enjoy it in the same way and e would feel bad. We also ten to remember more and better all those moments when we had fun because they are the good memories. For so, we are who we are thanks to that peaks moments that along with the bad ones, had changed us. We have responsibilities but we need that fun to feel good, to feel rewarded, to feel like going through the bad parts is worth it. It gives us a reason to keep going forward, is makes us stronger and makes our lives better. In my case, I love hanging with my friends, having a good laugh, going to parties, dancing, running, doing all the things I am passionate about. Having fun is one of the best parts of our lives and that is why we have to live, to experience more of them, because even if sometimes it is hard, it is all worth it.

PEOPLE THAT INSPIRE US

People around us are challenging us all the time, they live with us and even if we don’t want to, they influence what we think, do or say. For me, the greatest influences and the people I look up for example, for advice or simply because I admire them are, among others, my mother and my father first of all. My mother has always been there for me teaching me the good and wrong, how to do things, how to be independent and stay true to myself. My father has always challenge me telling me to grow as a person and improve myself. I have also been really influenced by my friends and teachers. My best friend is a person that I look up for when it comes to style, advice or simply support and approval. My teachers have always help me too through the knowledge I need to have to have to be a mature and good person. They have also taught me how to give the best of me and always go for the best I can do. Also, were really influenced by our society. We have to be aware that it can be good, but it also can be harmful so we always have to be critical and learn how to think for ourselves. I think people that influences us are very important but we cannot let them manipulate us.

MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY

• I think one of the best parts of being human is connections. You get to be with people, with the ins you loe and in order to be happy you want them to be happy too, to enjoy life, to share your experiences, the little things in life. I think making people around us happy give us some sort of satisfaction, it makes us feel good and completed. We don’t live only for ourselves, we live also for the people we care about and sometimes we do things just for them. This is one of my reasons to live because I appreciate the things my family, my friends and the people around me do for me, that makes me smile and have a good day, and I want to make them feel the same. Being around happy, confident people can help us feeling comfortable, completed, satisfied and simply feel good. That is why in order to be happy, we want to make the people around us feel the same, have an equilibrated and balanced environment. I also think making someone mile, doing something special, doing a favor, enforces and make stronger the relations with people, make us feel better and give us purpose.

TO BE BETTER US, BEST FUTURE

• One of my reasons to live is to become better, to reach our maximum potential and see where could we go. This is also one of my goals, becoming the best me I could possibly be. Reading more, learning more, dealing better with myself and my emotion, my problems, enjoying more what I have and appreciating more the people around me, being grateful. I want to grow more as a person, find a balance with myself, learn more and see more places, meet new people. I think time gives a chance to improve ourselves and that is why we have to live. We also have to live in sustainability so in the future not only we improve ourselves but we also improve hat we have, our world. We have the chance to be part of the change, to do little things and being involved in creating a better society, helping people, and leaving a great world for the next generations. We have a responsibility after the planet we live in and all the people on it and we have to take action to live the best we can but also benefit somehow, to leave something good when we die, to leave something behind that will last. We have the gift of live and we have to take advantage of it, live the best we can and also leave something good for the ones who will come.

TRAVEL• For me, travel is a good reason to live. I think when you travel, you grow as a person. You get to know

other cultures, other societies, other places, other routines… you get to go out of your comfort zone, you get to see the world. I think this is really important because not only gives you more experience, good memories… it is also a challenge. You have to get used to things you would never imagine, you get to meet new people, to see new things. I think travelling is also a very special reason because you can enjoy seeing places you never could have seen, places so beautiful, weird, special… that you are never going to forget. In my case, my best experience traveling has been Canada. I have see so many new places, meet so many new people…. I have learned to respect more other cultures and to understand them better. I also have learned about other lifestyles and it has been a huge challenge. Overcoming it, has made me grow more mature and responsible and has made me appreciate more the things I always had at home and I took for granted. In the future, I want to travel through all Europe, visit South America… and come back to Canada. I think this is also a good reason to live because it is a wonderful experience to share with the people you love.

LOVING YOURSELF, SPORTS, RUNNING.

• In my opinion, our body is a gift. It is like a new toy we receive when we are born. With the years, the toy gets older, fragile, and eventually broken. That is why I think one of my reasons to live, should be taking care of our bodies. For me that means running. I need the speed, the freedom, the liberation, the stress or pain relieving… with the years I know I‘m going to be less able to do sports, to jump, run, dance… that is why I have to take advantage of know. I think sports and for me running, gives us one of the best feelings, we did it, we are free… the satisfaction of knowing you are taking care of your body, doing something good… and the adrenaline! I think that feeling is a reason to live for, a reason to wake up early in the morning. Above all, the very reason, is loving yourself, loving your body, being thankful for all the thinks it allows you to do. For me loving I peace wit yourself is the best mind stage and it is something to fight for, something truly worth it.