Farewell to Senior Students. 2014

It´s that time of the year again…. saying goodbye to 2º BAC students:

Rosa´s Senior Students 2013-14 on PhotoPeach

Here´s some useful advice: 

Invest in yourself, invest in your mind: You can live your dream:

 

Farewell to Students 2013

One more farewell to students...

Dear students, 

let me use the words of others to wish you the best for the future

1. Let´s start with the comedy duo Rhett and Link. This is their graduation speech at their former high school. You can either watch and listen to the full video or just watch the video of their graduation song below. They first sang this song in the middle of their graduation speech.

Both the speech and the song are funny but full of serious reflection and positive advice. You may want to read the lyrics before or while listening to the song - find them between the two videos



LYRICS:

You're sitting here; in your cap and gown

all your loved ones are just so proud.

And we would love to inspire you

but someone needs; to just give you the truth.

For the past 18 years; your life's been pretty smooth;

Let's take a moment and reflect on; all you've had to do.

You've rolled outta bed; and strolled to the living room

and watched Cartoon Network while your mom made waffles for you.

Your laundry; was magically cleaned.

And your dad's back pocket was an ATM machine. 

Your life's biggest worry; was what to wear to the prom.

And your only regret was that incident - with the stinkbomb.

But, do you hear that subtle sound?

it's the sound of reality about to slap the taste out yo' mouth!

(Now) You're on your own

Don't screw this up.

You're on your own.

Good luck. (You're gonna need it.)

You're young and now you're free; the world is your oyster

We have no clue what that means...but let us paint a picture of your future:

You're gonna eat alotta Hot Pockets; and you're thinking "that sounds great!"

well, get back to us in 6 months; when you're had 378.

As soon as you move out; you know what you parents are gonna do?

They're gonna turn your bedroom into an exercise room that they never use.

And you won't use lockers in college. And this might be a total bummer-

There are no yearbooks either; you actually have to say-"have a great summer."

Do you hear that KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK?

That's personal responsibility about to put you in a head lock

You're on your own

You should be scared.

But we can tell

You don't care. Why don't you care? You should be frightened right now.

Do you sense that gentle breeze?

it's the category-5 hurricane of adulthood about to HIT YOU UP SIDE THE HEAD WITH A TREE.

You're on your own

Don't screw this up.

You're on your own.

Good luck. (You're gonna need it.)

   

2. Theodor Seuss Geisel, known as Dr. Seuss, was an American writer, poet, cartoonist and illustrator. Dr. Seuss´quotes that can change your life: in fact, each quote is a good piece of advice or a thought worth considering

Dr Seuss Words of Wisdom infographic

3. Click here if you need extra advice; there are 101 tips for different kinds of problems

4. And now some important questions that should outline your life - if you want to be happy with yourself (They are more suitable for students who are going to graduate from college but, since I won´t be there for you, you might just as well start thinking about them)

• What would you like to do if money were no object? 
• How would you really enjoy spending your life?
• What do you desire?
• What do you really want to do?

This is the transcript:

What makes you itch? What sort of a situation would you like?

Let's suppose — I do this often in vocational guidance of students, they come to me and say 'well, er, we're getting out of college and we haven't the faintest idea of what we want to do'. So I always ask the question: What would you like to do if money were no object? What would — How would you really enjoy spending your life?

Well, it's so amazing as a result of our kind of educational system, crowds of students say 'well, we'd like to be painters, we'd like to be poets, we'd like to be writers, but as everybody knows you can't earn any money that way.' One other person says 'well, I'd like to live an out of doors life and ride horses.' I said 'Do you wanna teach in a riding school?... er... let's go through with it: what do you want to do?'

When we finally got down to something which the individual says he really wants to do, I would say to him 'You do that and, er, forget the money... er... because if you say that getting the money is the most important thing you will spend your life completely wasting your time... you'll be doing things you don't like doing in order to go on living, that is to go on doing things you don't like doing... which is stupid!

Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way. And after all if you do really like what you're doing it doesn't matter what it is... you can eventually turn it... you can eventually become a master of it. The only way to become a master of something is to be really with it... and then you'lle be able to get a good feel for whatever it is...

So, don't-don't worry too much... that's everybody —  somebody's interested in everything and anything you can be interested in you'll find out with you... but it's absolutely stupid to spend your time doing things you don't like... in order to go on spending things you don't like, doing things you don't like, and to teach your children following the same track!

What we are doing is we are bringing up children and educating them to live the same sort of lives we are living... in order that, er, that they would-may justify themselves and find satisfaction in life by bringing up their children to bring up their children to do the same things so it all wretch and no vomit — it never gets there.

And so, therefore it's so important to consider this question: What do I desire?

This text was written by philosopher Allan Watts (1915-1973)

5. Here´s some advice that will also help you to be happy

6. Let me finish with another video whose title I would like to change just for you, "The Future is Yours"

The Future is Ours from Michael Marantz on Vimeo.

One More Farewell to 2º BAC Students

Dear 2º BAC students,

Once again, it is that time of the year when I have to say goodbye to the senior students in my classes. It is not easy, I would like to tell you so many things, not only about English but about life in general...I feel we could / should have done so much more in our classes...but there just wash´t enough time. Anyway, in this post you´ll find plenty of practice for your university entrance exam: reading, listening, comprehension...

As many of you pointed out in your graduation speeches, finishing your studies at school is a turning point in your lives and, if I had to give you one piece of advice for your future, this would be it:

And if I could extend my advice a little longer, I would mention everything in the next video. Don´t get distracted by the title, "Wear sunscreen", it is not about summer, sunshine, holidays  or leisure time: it is about life.It´s seven minutes long but it is worth every single second. The original version is meant for citizens of the USA but the translation is adapted for citizens of the world - people like you; so click here if you´d rather watch it with the subtitles in Spanish

I guess I feel a little bit philosophical these days, so here is a story to help you keep your priorities straight in life. You get the video and the transcript so that those of you who have problems downloading the video can  read it and learn its lesson. The story is called A Jar of Life. The Secret to Keeping Your Priorities Straight

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and fills it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “YES”.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – God, family,

children, health, friends, and favorite passions. Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else — the small stuff.” he said.

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are

important to you…” he told them.

“So… pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Worship with your family. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner. Spend time with good friends. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap. Take care of the golf balls first — the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled and said, “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

And last, but not least, one more piece of advice: be positive:

Farewell 2011, Farewell 2010

And now some memories of our classes this year - I took many more photos of you but I am afraid they are not very good so I decided not to include them here. I apologize to those of you who are not in any of the photos: