Simone de Beauvoir

"One is not born, but rather becomes,a woman"

  This is one of the famous quotes of Simone de Beauvoir, a french writer and philosopher born in 1908 in a bourgeois family. Her life, philosophy and literary works were discussed in the podcast I listened to by two professors of french from british universities. They were talking about her early life when she attended catholic school because of her mothers's beliefs, but later at the age of 14 decided that she was an atheist. The professors also recalled how she became friends and then lovers with Jean Paul Sartre and eventually how she developed as an existencialist and feminist writer.
  It was interesting to listen about Simone de Beauvoir's life, since I only briefly heard about her before. It was also an educative experience to discover other people's philosophies and ways they understand the world and life in general. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06j5ncn

The power of reading

    I listened to the podcats in which a writer - AL Kennedy - explained why reading influences us in such a positive way. She stated that reading can be seen as a solution to the problems we struggle with, such as loneliness, misunderstading of other people and even depression. Reading a book has many advantages, some of which I've never heard about. Kennedy said that reading develops our critical thinking and makes us more aware of other people's feeling and ideas they might have. It also helps us to become the people we want to be, the best versions of ourselves. What's more, reading has a very good influence on the relationships we bulid in the "real world" with our friends or family.
    Since reading is probably one of my favourite activities, apart from singing in the shower and sleeping, I found this podcats very thought provoking and interesting.I strongly agree with the Kennedy's attitude towards reading, because in my opinion it makes us more sensitive and empathetic. Having seen thousands of different lifes, views and types of people through the book's pages I think we are much "richer" from the people who never voluntarily read.
    
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVtHh0sn_1k

Loneliness

   Since Theresa May appointed the Minister for Loneliness and intends to, as she said "reduce the stigma around mental ilness", there has been a lot of discussions and controversies around that topic. I read two different articles, each one presenting a different point of view and I listened to a very short BBC podcast which introduces "Loneliness Experiment". 
   The first article ( https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jan/09/we-will-reduce-stigma-mental-illness-theresa-may  ) is focused on what Theresa May's intentions and plans are surrounding the issue of loneliness and mental health problems in general. May pointed out that there is still a stigma around mental ilness which people don't really experience with physical ilness. She also made it clear that she didn't want to solve this problem "only" by giving money but more importantly she wants to improve mental health services at schools (starting from secondary) and workplaces. As the result of the measures taken by the government there will definately be more awareness of this problem and more people will be educated in this matter and will be able to give proper and immediate help to the people suffering from mental ilnesses.
   The second article (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/opinion/sunday/loneliness-health.html?module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Opinion&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=article ) presents a different opinion on this topic. The author thinks that if we call loneliness a Health Epidemic we will cause panick over this issue and we won't be able to deal with it properly. The author doesn't deny that it  is a serious matter but it isn't something new or shocking because, as the statistics show, feeling of loneliness haven't changed that much among the American or British societies through the years. In his opinion what people really suffer from the most is the "social disconnection" caused by the growing influence of social media and high technology changes.
  The short BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3MQ6z2vJGGtPFL71Ns3XPNB/take-part-in-the-bbc-loneliness-experiment ) podcast mainly showed the effects that loneliness might have on our health (which suprisingy are very similar to those caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day). There was also introduced the Loneliness Experiment which is based on the surveys that can be filled out by anyone on the BBC website. 
   This topic seems very interesting and relatable to me, as we all experience some kinds of mental health problems in our lifes. I'm glad there is an open conversation started in the media and I hope it will no longer be stigmatised if someone suffers from mental health issues. 

(I'm sorry it turned out so long)
 
 

Is giving money the best way to help the homeless?

 If we want to help the homeless, should we                 give them money?

The problem of wether it's better to give or not to give money to the beggars is not new and it still raises controversy. In the podcast I listened to, this problem was shortly presented from a few different perpectives which gave me a new insight into this difficult topic.

For example, a woman who used to be street homeless said that when she had begged for money she tended to spend it on mcdonald's coffee, because she had to spend all of the night there, for she was assaulted when she slept on the streets.

There was also an opinion that seemed very thought-provocing for me. It said that all of the people (including beggars) should have the right to choose how to use their money. And just because you have more money, it doesn't give you the right to be judgemental. The difference between beggars and other people is that we have been more lucky than they.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05wl0pt

The global warming is real after all

 Even though some people still don't want to admit it, the global warming is a real issue that is becoming more and more dangerous all around the world. The paradox of the global warming is that it affects the people who did not contribute to contaminating the planet the most. In the places such as  Kutubdia in Bangladesh, hundreds of people were left without anything because the island they had lived on was swallowed by the water of the sea that is still increasing. The effects of the global warming are far more serious that we could suppose, because a lot of fathers are marrying off their teenage daughters because they can't financially support them anymore. If it wasn't for the water consuming their homes they wouldn't have to consider such a terrible option for their daughters. 

 An artictle like the one I've read makes me think that it truly matters what we do to the planet and it really has an impact on the lives of other people.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/19/opinion/sunday/climate-change-bangladesh.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fopinion-columnists

 

PROM 2018

 As promised, here's a photo of us from our             "Casino Royal" prom :)

How to create a vivid character?

 Creating a vivid and realistic character is probably the most difficult and challenging task when someone intends to become a good writer. It was the topic of the fourth episode of "The Invisible College" that I listened to. The host claims that in order to create a perfect character, the writer  needs to be extremely nosy about their protagonists. They need to know much more about their characters than they write about them on paper. Only then the protagonists will resemble as real human beings and not just some imaginary people that have nothing in common with the reader's world.
 Even without having much writing experience I can say that this is definately the hardest task I struggle with while writing. It seems easy when you think about it, but when you have to create a human out of written words it suddenly becomes much more difficult. I also think that the ability to do this well is one of the characteristics that a good writer has to have. 


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p053dyqj

Women's Hour

The episode of "Women's Hour" that I listened to, raised a few important issues. Some of them were connected to the roles that women play in our societes, or the serious problems they struggle with on a daily basis. There was also a bit about a new book in which the author is dealing with the tragic history of the women accused of witchcraft in 17th century.
The part of the podcast that interested me the most was also the heaviest and saddest one. The host discussed the the terrible story of three women being murdered by their parnter - T. Johnson. A criminologist who joined the discussion said that unfortunately the society isn't reacting to this as it should. Most people consider this as an event of domestic violence when it really should be treated as a "regular" murder. She thinks that one of the things that should be done about this, is to teach women how to recognize the features of an abusive partner, as they all have a lot of things in common.





http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09k0nmt