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Passing the years is not the same for everyone, but the time is consistently clocking; it doesn't matter if you are resistant to it. With these, maturity comes, and many changes and things that before appeared no make sense to you now make sense. Unconsciously we are evolving towards a better (I hope) version of ourselves; the years make us wiser and more experienced to afford new challenges. With maturity, things will begin to make sense; here is a brief list of things that will change with time. ▨ You'll only call friends only a few people. ▨ Your family is one of the most critical aspects of your life. ▨ You will value more the quiet spaces and calm plans. ▨ Mind clearness is a virtue that you have to cultivate every day. ▨ You will accept the advice of older people. ▨ Experience is based on failures. ▨ The learning process is not linear. ▨ Ups and downs will give you a better perspective of life. ▨ Your lower back and knees will start to pain 🧟. ▨ You will enjoy more a cup...

In most of the activities you will do throughout your life, you will find a middle group of people you'll have to work with. Many times, I have struggled with persons with that I don't sympathize at all. In high school, I had the luck of making good friends that still consider very close friends, and I had the fortune to stay in touch with some of them. But sometimes, I have the terrible fate of being in situations I prefer to avoid. In college, I was cautious; I tried to select the people I wanted to surround myself with, making me more isolated and methodic. But, sometimes, I was fortunate to be in the same place with good people; I made some good friends too. When I finished college and began working, I realized that the work ambient is utterly different from high school and college. The people there are only focused on their activities, and there is no chance of having a good conversation or thinking about making new friends, there are exceptions, sure, but the most is thus...

In my college ages, I often used to dream about my future, how being my life if I... You know the rest of the story; I think everyone has had these fictions in which we are the protagonists of our lives and accomplished all our goals. I was a daydreamer, and I refused the fact of leaving this habit; I constantly thought about it, but I didn't do anything about that. I saw myself as a superhero, just like a Marvel movie or a rock star who had everything he attempted at the end of the story. These thoughts were reduced over time, and when I finished college, I barely had these thoughts. When I started to work, I hardly had time to worry about whether or not I had these. The dreamer had come to their end. When I realised all the time I wasted having this conducts, I was ashamed of myself; I didn't have enough conscience of the split reality of fantasising. I am aware now that I was hiding my insecurities to stay in a comfortable zone, my thoughts. Nowadays, I am more conscious abo...

After two weeks of manifestations and shortages, many cases of vandalism and force abuse from the police and protesters, the only loser, the people, are claiming for a solution that ends this conflict and allows them to return to their everyday life. Are we prepared to start with dialogue after two weeks of violence? Is violence the only way to be listened to?  Over time, the problem only seems to get worse, the death data is rising, and the total number of deaths reached the three people confirmed. The government encourage the indigenous to dialogue, while the protesters claim equity and better prices for their products, among other eight claims. The indigenous, primarily farmers, are arguing for better controls on the gas price, better quality of education, better health system, and better security system amid a wave of violence that face the country. A manifest that contains all these claims were presented to the government. On the other hand, the president has been pronounced m...

Despite the current situation that faces my home country, I have decided to delay a blog writing about that (it is hard to explain without falling into fanaticism, I have to admit it).  Changing of theme, these days I was asking myself about life, I had many thoughts about how faster years pass and how these were changing us, Recently I was reading and listening to how can manage our time, how can I improve the time that I have; and making that I found a quote that said "memento mori" translated in English as "remember you will die". Are we living the lives we want to live? Or simply, we are automats leaving to pass the time and postpone our dreams. Do you enjoy the things you do? Our time here is limited, and sometimes we don't realize them. I was often completely obsessed with do the best in each aspect of my life; I couldn't even enjoy things I loved before; my mind was always overwhelmed by thousands of these thoughts. I couldn't carry this anymore. ...

New beginnings are not easy at all; in fact, it is too hard for me to adapt to a new schedule and then a long period of no activity. The body must adjust to these recent changes and overcome resistance. Inside my mind, some thoughts make me feel exhausted. Often at the end of the work, I come to my house exhausted. Habits make the person, and when we finally acquire a new habit, this is more probably to fight these struggles. Recently I was thinking about my life, how many times I surrendered without fighting, or how many times I have given up before reaching my objectives. Short answer, a lot of times. To let behind the fatigue, I take a long walk while listening to some podcast or music; for thirty minutes, I lost and disconnected entirely from the world. That allows me to take a breath and be auto-critic with myself. Exercise is something that lets me focus on myself and relax me, at the time I improve my physical condition. Practice gratitude is on my pending; I have to be more gra...

Sunday noon is the perfect day to write another story about my younger age, but this time is a history with another perspective, but it has a good narrative and many anecdotes I would like to share with you. It was the end of 2009, I was 15 years old at that moment, and I barely practised any sports at that time, I was in a swimming class and a football camp before, but it was only for a few months. I was assisting in the fourth year of high school, and I have faced the changes everyone experiments with at that age. I remember that I was lazy and without motivation at that time, and I think this concerned my parents. My grades in high school weren't good, and I started feeling lost in life. So, one day was the grades notification; I remember that day because I had the poorest grades I ever had some time. Instead of punishing me, my dad came that noon with a giant blue table ping pong; I never had a fascination with that sport, but the size and the fact that it was new and came with...

The news about my country (Ecuador) not has been very positive this month; with the rise in the gas prices, inequity and socio-politics conflicts, now there is a new conflict that the president must face: a new wave of social protest. Latin America, and more precisely Ecuador, never has been a united country and equal; despite their short territory, most citizens have been separated into bands or disgregated into social/political groups. Each time one group or mobilization announced measures to manifest about the current government, the risk of vandalism or shutdown of the leading public services exists. The most recent manifestation has begun, and with it, a long story of destruction and services paralyzed; this only aggravates our country's current economic situation at the time that can cost dozens of lives. Many parties and labour unions have mobilized to block the main highway, letting a shortage of the top products and services like gas, oil, food, transportation and many oth...

One more time, writing nonsense, pretending to have total control of the scenario, take a little break, distinguished reader, and while you read these few lines, sip up your cup of coffee or tea. It was 2008 when I was remaining in my high school years. The girl I had been in love since years unexpectedly approached me; she wanted a piece of bubble gum. I always had a small package of gum inside my pocket. All the tenth grade, I chewed gum, so she sought me and decided to ask me for them. I have always been a shy person; in my youngest years, I didn't even could start a small talk with some girls. I began sweating like a pig when I tried to do that. But those times when she asked me, I was totally calm, like I had known her for years. She asked me for my name, age, and even my family with total normality; she was always confident. She had a beautiful smile, white teeth, almond eyes and a formidable charisma. I was astonished, it was the first time I was not nervous, but at the same...

As I mentioned in previous blogs, this week was my first of many others (I expect) in a new job. The first days are not so easy in all environments and employment; most of these days are introductions and schedule adaptations, introducing to new office partners and knowing the facilities. Throughout this short week, I realized some things I ignored in previous jobs. Many of them don't really matter; some can be signs to take into account, and others can be considered possible red flags. Each labour environment is different; in my short experience, I never have seen two exact equal job ambient; the people, schedule, and the kind of work, among others, play a fundamental role when we refer to ambient. One good thing that I highlight about my job is the fact I have time to organize myself in the mornings, being a night job. That makes me put my things in order and take advantage of the mornings. One bad thing I noticed this week is the lack of organization and sometimes the mess insid...

All indicates we are changing the season; the weather here is messy and unpredictable, but throughout this month, the skies in the morning are utterly blue with intense sunlight, and the nights are colder than the days before. We can appreciate the vastness of the sky and see that enigmatic blue that involves all of the globe. Despite the intense sunlight, the temperature is cold, is not enough to warm the climate, and usually, we are on 17℃ or even less. Is a little weird here when the sunny days are generally preparative for rainy noon or nights. On the other hand, nights are colder, as usual, letting freezing and windy until the early hours of the following day; I will stay all these days inside my job with a cup of warm water or tea, warmed and sometimes looking the view of my city from the last floor of the building. The city seems calmer, and when the night starts to come, the lights, traffic and noise pollution begin to disappear. These are perfect for a lonely and peaceful end ...

Last week I received a message from Spotify that said my account would be deactivated this week. I had this account three years ago and enjoyed my time with it. But this time, returning to the free version, I realized I could have used it the best way. Since last year, I have been listening to several podcasts to improve my English skills; I created a great collection of these episodes. Regularly, I listened to them, especially at night when I prepared to sleep. Or even when I was doing my home tasks or making breakfast or lunch.  Another great use is my Playlists on this platform. I listened to them daily and formed part of my routines when doing exercises, studying, or programming. I had an enormous amount of music that I saved on my phone; it was organized into playlists and artists.  All of these make me think if I should continue to use this app or maybe only use the free version. At the end of each month, I had to pay around 9 $.  Whether I decide to pay a subscript...

Yesterday was my first day at a new job; as I mentioned, I didn't feel very well, I have tonsillitis, and the symptoms are bothering me like hell. So these days, I wake up exhausted with headaches and throat aches. I don't use to sick easily, but when I get it, it is really annoying. This week will be really challenging; the new schedule job added to this illness will put me in uncomfortable situations. But the good news is, all of these are temporal, and I will recover my good health again. Maintaining my productivity and focus is challenging when I don't feel very well; even the easy tasks are complicated when I feel exhausted and sick. Meanwhile, I will try to carry life as usual as possible and do my best in my job. ~S.

This weekend I didn't feel good at all, I was a little bit more tired than habituated, But today I woke up with a severe headache and fatigued like I didn't go to sleep last night. I'm not the kind of person that sicked easily; I don't remember when was the last time I felt ill this year. The problem is, today is my first day at a new job and, the circumstances only worse, I have to work from 4 pm until 12 pm, so I decided to take some pills to help my body with this flu. I only was thinking about what unfortunate I am. I mean, I had all this year to ill, and just several hours before I started to work I sick. I will try to come to work and put my best effort into mitigating the symptoms and taking the pills. However, I will not leave this problem affecting my work during the first week. ~S.

Since I started to train regularly, I have been searching for options that allow me to exercise from home; I have invested in some weights, barbells, dumbells, benches and gloves, to mention others. I started to exercise periodically when I was 17; ten years later, I must say that this habit is one of the most important in my life. I started to acquire my own "tools" when my mom bought me a set of dumbells; I was excited to have them and train on the days when the gym was closed. Over time, I was buying new things to make my own gym. In college, I bought a set of bars and new weights to lift heavier and to have more options when I wanted to practice my routines. Now, I have more alternatives when I want to lift weights. Someday, I want to have my own gym with complete equipment, machines and weights. I'm excited to see what my gym has been growing and equipped. If you ask me, I think this is a good investment, because the equipment I have been trained for several years an...

It's time to talk about Inspiration. Where we can find it? Is it something casual? or simply comes with time? How to stay inspired despite problems and how to find it. There are situations in which we feel focused, and with this little gleam of sapience, clarity arrives in our minds and makes us feels confident. Our brain starts to free dopamine, and certain regions associated with creativity begin to work. But, in some cases, we feel exhausted, burned out, and fatigued. Our minds are full of thoughts and probably can't stay focused. Everyone can have a bad day, but when you feel regularly overwhelmed is time to reframe your goals and objectives. Sometimes, Inspiration comes when you are at the bottom of your life, when appear to be no more options, and you have in some place with no way out. The creativity and survival instinct can impulse your life, and this is enough inspiration doses that you have been searching for. On other occasions, you can feel inspired looking at the ...

Unfortunately, today I received an email from the Japanese embassy; the content had news about the last application I sent in May. The mail informed me that I wasn't selected and couldn't pass the first screening. I have to admit it; I expected to pass at least the first screening of this selection; I assume the lack of proficiency in English had something to view in the final decision. I had all the mandatory requisites and have written a good purpose in my current application. Now I have to wait until the next call in 2023; I have to be better prepared for this time; I have the purpose of taking the dammit exam once and for all. I must admit my defeat, learn about my weak points, and try to improve them. I have a dream, and I don't want to give up. The dream remains. This only begins. ~S.

The next Monday, I will start my first day at my job in a bank as part of the IT staff; personally, I'm excited about this new job. I have a pair of friends working there, but my only concern is the schedule. The work schedule is a little weird than I expected; it started from 4 pm until 12 pm, leaving the weekends off. I have been to a couple of sites looking for advice that allows me to take advantage of this work and fastly adapt. I was starting to prepare my body and mind to stay until late at night to train my biological clock. It will be the most challenging thing about my job, but it is an opportunity to prove myself in other conditions and shows others that I am a good worker and someone who can trust. Knowing new people always has been another demanding ability for me. Since I finished college, I barely hadn't new friends, only people I knew. So this time, I will try to know other people better, approach them, and make new good partners and maybe some new friends. Anot...

This year was loaded with new things and experiences, not only in my life but in the lives of people around me, full of new experiences, feelings, new beginnings, and now a new family member. Yesterday we received the news of my sister and her husband, a new baby is coming up. They received the news the same day in a medical consult; they were suspected this several weeks before. As soon they were confirmed with the echography went where us and told us about this. While we were in our house, each one in our rooms,  they arrived around 8 pm; my mother was fascinated, for the first time, that she would become a grandmother. I was in my room resolving a program and with a video calling with a friend when I listened to screams and laughs; I thought it was another thing. But when I approached from my room, I saw their faces and the results of the echography; my first reaction was happiness, with a mix of more emotions and a tiny part of nostalgia. The family will grow at the final of th...

Lately, I have been listening to podcasts to improve my English listening skills throughout the months; I have found many interesting creators, including scientists, comedians, former professional fighters, students, and filmmakers. The thematics are extensive and help me discover other perspectives and know about other affairs and ways to see the world. Environmental podcasts, self-help and improvement, time management, social life hacks, vegetarianism, bodybuilding and exercise are the common themes of my interest when I listen to them. In the beginning, results challenging to understand the complete thematic that the narrator tries to communicate, but with the time, you habituate to the sound and familiarize yourself with the language. At the end of each episode, you can improve your vocabulary and learn new things that you didn't know. Some episodes made me feel joyful, others opened my eyes, and some made me think and reflect on my life and my purpose. I have an account on Spo...

Everybody we have in uncomfortable events that makes us feel angry or in a sudden explosion of irrational mad; often, our family or friends puts us in a disgusting situation that drives our darkest thoughts. Reprising anger is not the best decision you can make when managing this feeling, but sometimes it is necessary to avoid hurting someone. Usually, when you are irritated, you can't realize the expression of words you use to express your sentiments. When we are in our teen or young adult years, we can't manage these feelings; instead of working correctly, we lose focus and burst into anger. I learned through the years to avoid conflicts, redirect my thoughts, and let them vanish. Breathing techniques are the best exercise when you are trying to put into calm or be more conscient about your feelings; it only takes a few minutes to realize your breath and try to calmly. It's completely normal to have feelings of anger, frustration or disgust in our daily lives. Please don...

  There is nobody who doesn't want to appear a few years younger; the fountain of youth isn't just a myth, and there are a lot of life choices we can make to help and enhance our body and overall health. We are we eat, and more than that, we are our thought. Age isn't just a number, and we often see people who seem more years than they say to have. It really is possible to slow physical and mental ageing. Many studies have shown that people may have a different "biological age" that depends deeply on many daily factors rather than just genetics. Experts agree that the best way to avoid early ageing is to eat whole natural food. Many studies reveal that eating a well-balanced whole food provides you with the necessary nutritional supplies. The benefits of this diet go since overall cell heath, reducing inflammation, relieving exhaustion, and improving your cognitive and physiological abilities. Adding more plant food to our diet can reduce dramatically ageing. In f...

It will be three years since I ended my electronic and telecommunication engineering career in a couple of weeks. As alumni, I needed to write a few words about the time have passed since that date. It was 2019 when a younger Santiago, wholly of expectations and illusions, ended his degree thesis and was prepared to expose his final project to become an engineer in front of his known teachers. I'll never forget that date, especially how I felt; I was so nervous and surrounded by questions about my future inside my head. How would it be? What will be the next step?. These are common questions that I'm entirely sure all students ask themselves.  I wore a blue jacket and white shirt, with a sky blue tie, and my shoes looked new. I brought the old computer that had accompanied me during my entire career; my mother and grandma were with me that day.   Once I finished my exposition and left the salon, I swear I was in the sky for a short time. I was with my old fellas; all of t...