Discovering The Truth Behind Dreams

Every human on the planet dreams every time they reach REM during their sleep cycle. This moment is characterized by heighten brain activity, major muscle paralysis, increase heart rate and eye movement. For many these dreams are soon forgotten once the day starts and voluntary thoughts begin to rush in. Dreams are involuntary images, sounds and situations our subconscious mind creates in order to communicate to our conscious mind. Many people suggest that dreams are an expression of vast imagination and artistic development, but I think dreams are much more than that. I believe all dreams are coded messages about things that are affecting our external and internal journeys in life. 

When I started writing in my journey journal early in the morning, before getting out of bed, I noticed that I started to remember my dreams more vividly. As I started writing each entry in the notebook, I always had one idea, image or feeling in mind. When I started to write a description of this ideas or feeling, other details, words or images started to pour out of my brain. They invaded me so fast that my hand couldn't keep up. I remembered a great vast of details and more amazingly I could connect them to my external and internal journeys. For example I dreamt that I was being chased throughout my whole neighborhood and I couldn’t reach my house. In this dream I felt scared, anxious and exhausted. I knew this had to do with the fact that I would receive my MCAT scores later on the week and I was very scared on how I would do. Catching on these little symbols our brain sends give us great incite on how to manage our fears or what our true desires are. They have helped me cope with both my internal and external journeys. 

I have never had any difficulties remembering the overall story of my dreams, but I had problems catching the small details. Now I understand that these details are of great importance, because most of the time they are little hidden messages waiting to be uncoded. By following the guidelines given by my literature professor for remembering dreams, I have been able to uncover a new world. I can now interpret my dreams and nightmares to a greater extent. I have the tools to guide me towards the correct message my subconscious is trying to send. I hope to continue this exercise in order to help me understand how my external and internal journeys coincide. 

P.S. I would also want to try to control my dreams and see if this is possible. I have added a video that talks about this. Let's see how many of you try and succeed at this task!   

Jamaica Kincaid's Identity

Jamaica Kincaid was born in St. John's, Antigua on May 25, 1949. She moved to New York in 1966 at the age of 17 in order to financially help her family. She continued her studies and eventually became a professor, but can she be considered a true Antiguan even though she only lived a few years in the island? Does the fact that she was born there make her an expert? I believe she is an expert describing and talking about the Antigua she left behind forty-eight years ago. She never stopped feeling worried about what was happening in the place she was born. As she wrote this book she proved that being away doesn't mean forgetting or changing. She kept her Antiguan Identity the best way she could, but it was inevitable to pick up some american ways of acting. As I've gone through the same, I know that she didn't want to lose her Antiguan culture at first, because she felt that it was what made her unique. This was her sense of sameness. The unknown American culture was the strange and different, but as the years passed she made a life in that strange place. She adopted some ideals and values, but never forgotten others she brought from Antigua. She made her unique mixture of cultures that made her who she is now. 

 I think on a deeper level she envies the tourists that arrive at her home island, because they don't appreciate the opportunity they have. She was denied this chance to see her home again. It frustrates her that these people come and go from Antigua without noticing the real people, the real problems, and the real culture. As she says that tourists are "an ugly thing, that is what you are when you become a tourist, an ugly, empty thing, a stupid thing" she lets the reader known how she feels. I think she is too judgemental since she, herself, was a tourists when she first arrived at New York. Her conditions weren't the same as the people she describes in her book, because she went there to work, but she was also an ignorant about the place she was in. In the end, I think Kincaid's identity is much more than just an Antiguan. She is a black woman who struggled through life who happened to be born on this little island she loves and misses, but who also must feel at home in the United States, since she never left this country. Her sense of sameness is Antigua and it's people, but also the US and it's people. She just wants to let her American side learn about Antigua and her roots. Kincaid’s roots are unique created throughout her journey in life and her different experiences. 

Here is a video of Kincaid talking about why did she change her name once she started writing. 

Review on A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid Parts I and II

Experiencing a book starts with the moment you grab it for the first time. As I held the book to start my reading, I found it to be really short. This surprised me since I thought that a story about a journey, tourists and experiences should have great loads of details in it. I wouldn't have imagined that such a concise book had so many vivid details and emotions. As the reader starts the novel, he or she are set in a plane watching the island of Antigua from great heights. "As your plane descends to land, you might say, What a beautiful island Antigua is-- more beautiful than any of the other islands you have seen..."

The author harshly criticizes the tourists' ignorance towards the reality of the island. She states problems far beyond the beautiful beaches, dirt roads and sunny days. She talks about colonialism, poverty, government corruption, drought and racism. She talks about how people drive expensive cars, yet the gas they have available is the wrong kind. She states that this happens because banks are encouraged by the government to make loans available for cars due to the fact the two main car dealerships are owned by ministers in the government. So she gives us a clear examples where corruption and poverty are clearly seen.

 She also talks about how when she was growing up Antigua was rule over by England and that racism was everywhere from school to public places. At the time she just thought that the English were simply rude people, her innocent mind couldn't grasp the idea of people being racists. As she says this I start to agree with her that tourists forget to question the story behind the place they are visiting; that I myself have acted as an ignorant towards other countries. I feel she is talking to me personally when she says: "Oh, but you are on holiday and the sight of these brand-new cars driven by people who may or may not have really passed their driving test would not really stir up these thoughts in you." This book is a revelation to our way of thinking and acting once we leave the comfort of our homes. We must never forget that the place we are visiting is someone else's home and country. That the complexity of the problems these people live everyday shouldn't be ignored just because we want to have a nice relaxing week. In order to enjoy the good, we must also understand the bad. 

Official Page for Tourists

Few Facts about Antigua and it's History

  

The Truth About What It Means to Be a Colombian-Puerto Rican

As I already stated in one of my previous posts, I was born in Colombia and raised in this country for seven years. A few months before my ninth birthday we moved to this little island very far away from what I thought was my home. I had no idea how a Puerto Rican looked like, spoke or what was that "thing" so unique that made them be different from myself. As time went by, I got to know and live in this whole new culture, and I realized that it was going to be my identity that was going to be constantly questioned.

The first barrier I had to overcome was the language. Even though I spoke Spanish, some words seemed to have completely different meanings in both countries. This made some of my classmates become defensive towards me (I was different) and I had to learn how to incorporate these new words into my daily vocabulary. As I did this, I started to have more friends around school, but my parents became worried that I was losing my patriotic identity. In my rush to fit in I lost my accent, idioms and necessity to use those words my parents kept speaking at home. I started using words like: "mahones" instead of blue jeans, "tu" instead of "vos" and "brutal" instead of "chevere".  My idea of sameness shifted towards the point of view of "lechon" and "pasteles" for Christmas, and that typical Colombian food became different and strange, for example.

Now I realize that I didn't lose my Colombian roots I just made a mixture of both cultures in my likes and dislikes. I am a true Puerto Rican when it comes to eating bacalaitos or rice and beans, or loving salsa music; but I'm also a Colombian when it comes to the way I dance this music or eat my  mom's empanadas (the colombian kind). For me being a Puerto Rican is more than fitting into some general characteristics of looks, language or place of birth, it's about loving this island making this place your home, loving its food, music and people no matter where they were born, it's all about working for its future. As I feel I've become a little more Puerto Rican each day, I also never lose sight of where I was born and how my parents raised me. Being a Puerto Rican is all about your definition of identity and how narrow or integrative it is. For me anyone who appreciates and lives this island and its culture can be more Puerto Rican than the person who was born here and then fled to another country leaving his or her roots behind. The identity is something we work on throughout our whole lives. It's not where you were born and what your speak or eat; our identities are alive and constantly changing and evolving just like every culture or language.

Dead Poets Society: Tradition, Honor, Discipline, and Excellence

As the movie starts, we are brought to Welton Academy for boys at the start of a new semester. As we meet Todd, Neil, Knox, Charlie and others; we hear Headmaster Nolan's orientation speech where he makes students recite the four pillars by which the Academy teaches. Tradition, Honor, Discipline and Excellence. The way these are said by the students they sound like rules that they must follow, rather than a guide by which they must live all aspects of their lives. We meet Todd Anderson a shy boy with big shoes to fill. He is lonely and pressured by his strict parents and even society to attend Yale and become a lawyer just like his older brother, even though this is clearly not his dream. Todd's roommate, Neil Perry, also struggles with having a strict father that expects huge things from him. Neil's dad is a grumpy man that doesn't really care about his son's feelings. He just orders him around and expects his son to agree and follow his rules. He does this thinking he is assuring his son a great future with opportunities that he didn't have. 

The first day of school greats the boys with multiple orthodox teaching methods employed by their math, latin, chemistry, trigonometry teachers. These methods consisted of excessive homework assignments, boring speeches and intimidation. When they finally go to Mr. Keating's English class they are expecting a little more of what they have seen all day, but they are greeted with the surprise that their teacher is a liberal man that loves to teach outside the classroom. Mr. Keating tries to empower his students by telling them they are powerful individuals and showing them that they can think for themselves, something no one has ever done at the academy. Here is where Todd an Neil's internal and external journeys collide. Both of them struggle with strict parents that already have their futures planned out, but now they are shown that there's hope in following their dreams as Mr. Keating teaches them the meaning of Carpe Diem. At first most students including Todd and Neil refer to the class as weird. 

As the days progress Mr. Keating teaches the boys various lessons about thinking outside the box, non-conformity and expression. He first make his students remove the introduction pages of the textbook that talked about the guidelines to reading poetry, as he states "that its not the bible and they're not going to hell for that and they must learn to think for themselves." He also teaches his students about perspective as he makes them stand on his desk and look at the classroom from a different point of view. 

Without knowing it Mr. Keating is giving Todd and Neil tools to confront their biggest fears: standing up to their parents and superiors about their beliefs and ideas. I believe this was the biggest lesson these boys learned through their "superior" education at the academy. 

The boys encounter an old year book where they find Mr. Keating, since he was a student at the academy, and they wonder what the Dead Poets Society was. He tells them that it was a secret society were the meaning to life was discussed through poetry. Neil decides to re-created the Dead Poets Society and all of the boys agree on meeting during the night. Todd agrees to join if he doesn't have to read aloud any poetry, since he is so shy. Neil seems to be this strong teenager that leads the group and has control of everything, except that when his dad is around he seems to lose all these qualities. This constant fear of disappointing and not being able to stand up to his father is his internal journey, he battles with this everyday. As it also affects his external journey since he is not allowed to do anything he likes. Neil loves to act and have many extracurricular activities, things his father completely disapproves of. 

Neil decides to follow what his teacher has taught and he seizes the day by joining a play. The day before the play is going to be presented, Neil's father comes to the school and scolds his son for making this stupid decision. He orders him to quit this stupidity. Mr. Keating suggests to Neil that he should tell his father the truth about his feelings. Neil has a new obstacle: to face his biggest fear by talking to his dad about the way he feels. Even though he decides to take Mr. Keating's advice, his dad still says no, but Neil lies to everyone and says his father has agreed to let him participate. He is heartbroken and his internal journey becomes more complicated with each step. He defies his father for the first time and does an excellent job at the play, he feels free and happy after a standing ovation. 

After the end of the play his dad takes him home, where he keeps yelling at his son. Mr. Perry informs his son that do to his actions he has decided to put him in a military academy in order to get a better preparation for Harvard and medical school. Neil couldn't take his fathers abusive behaviour any longer, he had done everything possible to show him how he felt and what he really wanted, but he wouldn't listen. Neil's decides to end his journey by committing suicide with his father's gun. Neil was unable to cope with his father's views and made a decision that not only affect him, but everyone around him. Mr. Keating was fired after his teaching methods were declared unethical and most of the boys were punished for joining the Dead Poets Society. 

Before leaving the school Mr. Keating goes to his classroom to pick up some papers and at this moment Todd finally lets go of his shyness and stands up honouring his teacher and confesses that he was forced to sign the paper that caused him to lose his job. May other students join Todd in this little protest. In the end, Neil's decision caused Todd to face his fear and overcome everything that was complicating his internal journey. We must never forget that our decisions affect the people around us. Just like Mr. Perry cause Neil to feel depressed and how Neil's suicide caused Todd to get over his fear. 

Bits and pieces of my life, my story and me

Have you ever been asked to introduce yourself? Well I hate being asked this question, since people expect a huge list of facts starting with your name and finishing with your age. I believe I am more than that and that it's impossible to know the real me by just knowing my name, age and major at college. Then who am I really? I was given the name Valeria Muñoz on September 28, 1994 in Cali, Colombia. I was the first child to my mom and third child to my dad, both middle class people. My story is much more than these little uninteresting facts. I'm going to start my life journey with my first real and complete memory: when I was almost 5 years old, I welcomed into my family my little sister. I could lie and say I was excited to receive her home, but the real story is I hated I was no longer the only child. I got really jealous that the little bald baby was getting more attention than me around the house. I remember crying my eyes out in order to get my parent's attention, but eventually I figured out I had to learn how to share EVERYTHING. Even though I come from a huge family of 16 aunts and uncles and a huge number of cousins, it wasn't until this moment I learned my first life lesson: sharing is caring. 

Me at my first birthday 

When I was 6-7 years old my parents decided to leave the country and settled in Tampa, Florida. At the moment, for me, this was the worst decision ever. I was forced to leave my school, friends and family; and arrive at a new place where I didn't know anybody or even spoke the language. The first few months were unbearable, I hated school because I couldn't communicate with my classmates or teacher. I cried every night begging my parents to return home, but they always said that everything in life is a challenge that needs to be conquered and that I should never give up. Eventually almost three months later, I finally got the whole speaking English part down and adapting was no longer that difficult. Eventually, I had taken a roll in my family, I had turned into the translator. I remember calling the doctor's office and making appointments for everyone since my parents didn't speak any english, or going to school to the parent teacher conferences and translating everything to my parents.   

When I was finally feeling at home in Florida, my dad got a job offer here in Puerto Rico. I was once again removed from my comfort zone and arrived at a new place. Now I know that the decision the leave Colombia was my parent's way of assuring me a good education and future, but at the moment I hated them for making my life a little bit hard. Here I was forced to speak Spanish again and for this reason I had to repeat second grade, since my spanish was "poor". I have always been a good student and eventually I was first in my class, at this moment my teachers thought I was ready to join my real classmates in fourth grade. So a little fun fact is, I was a second grader twice, but never took any third grade classes.   

Me, my sister and my cousin 

I remember I had to take care of my sister after school, because we were alone in this country and no one could give us a hand in baby-sitting. I had to turn into this little adult who learned how to make nuggets and help her sister with school work before our parents returned from work. Here I realised my script was to become this little mature person who took care of translating everything to my parents and took care of her sister even though at the moment I probably couldn't even take care of myself. I believe my life has shaped me into a responsible adult who always thinks before acting and never gives up no matter how difficult a situation might get. 

My mom lives with this idea and hope that I could at some point in my life return to Colombia and live there. Here is were a deviate from this script my parents could have created. I know that I don't want to live in Colombia, because my life is here in Puerto Rico. Here is were I grew up, made friends and have studied. Now I make my own decisions and returning to Colombia is not one of my relocation options. Besides this, I don't differ that much from this script. Since everything in my life has changed so many times, I don't think I have ever had a real pre-made path. My parents just want me to be happy, comfortable with the adult I am and have a good education in order to be a productive adult in society. I am my own person, who has been shaped by her parents, family and situations in life. In the end I'm another college student with a background story not many people know.