Travelling into space - TOURISM SPACE TRAVELS - (pros and cons essay)

Until recently, travelling into space was known only to astronauts and ordinary
people did not know anything about space flights. However, nowadays it has completely changed. It is possible both for you and for me to fly into space and watch the Earth from thousands of kilometres away.
Tourism space travels have many advantages but there are also few negative sides of such a phenomenon.

First of all, travelling into space is an exciting adventure, which cannot be compared to anything else. Space tourists could feel free, independent and it could be an adventure of their life too.
Moreover, space travels let travellers gain unusual experience and knowledge, which they cannot get from any book or film watched on TV. They could also develop their intrests and imagination. That is why these journeys recently have become the greatest tourist attraction.

On the other hand, space travels can be very dangerous because of unknown conditions for human living. Lack of fresh air, food and living nature could cause many problems with health or frame of mind. What is more, people are not able predict how their body will react in different environment conditions.

Furthermore, the price of space travels is very high. That kind of travelling is very very expensive and available only for people that can afford it. Such trips cannot be bought at a travel agency.

Taking everything into consideration, space flights could be an exciting, unusual experience and even adventure of our life. They can also give us precious knowledge and will certainly become a great tourist attraction. However, they are also very expensive, dangerous and only some of us could afford them.

So maybe our grandchildren in the future will travel into space for their vacation and it will be an ordinary way of spending free time?

S.P.

'THE DAY I WILL NEVER FORGET' (story)

Everyone has dreams. We all have something that we like doing, that we want to experience; something that we long for. For so long my deepest wish was to participate in one of my favourite band's concert. I was waiting for such a long  time to have an opportunity of being a part of something that brilliant and one day my wish came true.

I was sitting in my room when my dad called me. I wasn't expecting what he was going to say. When he told me that he had bought tickets for Epica's concert, I was stunned. This was my dream, and he knew I admired this band. That was a fantastic feeling. Since then I was so impatient as I thought about this concert all the time.

Finally, after whole month of waiting, this was it.  The day I was longing for, has come! I woke up early and immediately dressed up. It wasn't so easy, because (as often) there was a question - what should I wear? I decided to choose something comfortable, just to feel good and confident.

Me and my dad were listening to Epica's albums while driving the car. Four hours long journey wasn't so boring then.

I can't describe how excited I was and how amazing it was to see and to hear Simone singing live. She has one of the most beautifull voices (and for sure she is the most beautiful woman) in my opinion. The concert didn't disappoint me. Actually, it was one of the best day in my life and I'll never forget it.

by Kat S.

HOW TO CHANGE A BORING LIFE? - "The chance of a lifetime" (story)

Sonia was a teenager living in a small town. She seemed to be a very happy girl. She had many friends at school and was one of the best student in her class.

However, one day she realised her life was boring and each day was practically the same. She wondered if she could ever have a chance to change it. She had never done anything crazy - always behaved in a very calm, peaceful and placed way. Every day was filled with school duties; the only thing she used to do at her free time was watching dance programmes. She was observing dancing couples, admiring every performance and really regretting she couldn't even dance. Sonia was sure she would never appear on the stage and didn't realise that it was exactly her secret dream.

Sonia's eighteen birthday was coming closer. Her parents wanted to give her a special present, but they couldn't find any good idea, because they used to see their daughter only in front of the books or sometimes watching TV. They wanted her to go out home. Finally, they bought a special ticket as an invitation for Sonia to take part in the holiday dancing course led by the most famous dancers in the whole country.

So why wouldn't she take the chance to change her boring life?

Three years later, she became a professional dancer and created her own dance school. Now, she is one of the best choreographer in Poland. She travels a lot with her team and performs on the most well-known stages in all Europe. Anything you REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want - you've got it!

S.P.

DEMONS, BEER OR PRETTY LADIES? Why not combine them all! (review)

I have always wanted to be a superhero, fighting evil in the name of good. But after watching 'Supernatural' I changed my mind! The show is about two brothers – Sam and Dean – that are fighting demons and other paranormal creatures. In my opinion, they are real superheroes. They look like average people, they dress normally, they eat and drink in fast food restaurant, they even drink beer!

'Supernatural' basically is for people that like action films, with many humorous dialogues and gripping scenes, straight from horror movies! Every episode starts with 'before' in order to show what had happenned in last few chapters, so you can keep up to the story even if you missed some previous volumes. Later on, the story continues. 

The most magnificent thing about this show is that evey demon has name taken from the Bible or 'Key of Solomon'. Even most rituals that they perform are based on those books! Sam and Dean are well prepared to fight the demons, because their dad – John – trained them since they were young. First seasons are all about catching the demon that murdered John's wife. But with every episode they are getting more and more information, and at some point they realise that this demon is just a puppet for more powerful demon! Also, soundtrack is just stunning! You can hear such bands as Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard or The Who!

I would highly recommend this show to people of all ages, because it has everything that common audience need – blood, guns, father-son love, humour, good music and gorgeous looking women. It is considered as best TV show about supernatural events! There are 7 seasons completed, and the 8^th one is already being cased on television. I can only warn you – „Supernatural” is very addictive!

Better student than Grzegorz P. (??)

JUST ANOTHER STORY ABOUT ZOMBIE? (review)

You definitely cannot say this about "The Walking Dead", because it is much more then just undead people in it. This American television series is based on comic book written by Robert Kirkman, which was the first reason I started watching it. However comparing the film version to comic is meaningless as TV story differs in many ways from the original one.

The story follows police officer, Rick Grimmes, who awakens from a coma in world filled with living corpses whose only target is to devour living beings. Knowing nothing about the reality he is in and nothing about his family, he decides to go to search them and he quickly finds out how much the world has changed.

'The Walking Dead' is not exactly a horror, there are some parts that can scare but most of the time it just gives you feeling of insecurity. The thing I really like about this series is that you cannot predict how long someone will live, no matter if it is a main hero or a not important character. I also really enjoy seeing the changes in behaviour of people. As the story goes on, they are no longer the same folks they were
at the start, they learn that they should be scared of alive not the dead ones.

I recommend it for everybody who likes watching movies in apocalypse scenario and also for these of you that want to experience something unique. Even if the zombie theme is nothing new, the way it is shown here is somehow innovative. I am sure you will like it, at least the first season.

Worse student than Radomir N. (??)

"THE SWORD OF DESTINY has two edges. You are one of them." (review)

If I had to choose my favourite book, it would be one of The Witcher saga for certain. Each of them has a big influence not only on my life, but also on my behaviour and ideas. 'The Last Wish' is a first tome of Witcher's history, which was written by Andrzej Sapkowski. He created a completely different world, full of magic, fantasy creatures (such as dragons), violence and love, though it still feels very realistic.

'The Voice of Reason' is the frame story, first chapter, where we meet the main character of the book, Geralt of Rivia - eponymous Witcher. Witchers are trained to fight with evil creatures, that are lurking and hunting for living ones. I did not use the word 'human' for purpose, because it is not the only existing race. We should not forget about elves, dwarves, gnomes and so on, as their appearance is very important.

Geralt and his ilk are globetrotters, humans turned into mutants at a very young age. They were modified by some kind of potions to provide them with supernatural abilities. The book describes main hero's adventures, things he has to face.

I was captivated not only by this short stories, but also by the whole saga. Andrzej Sapkowski's genius is  incomparable. The Witcher can teach us may things, like for example, that making even seemingly right choices can completely change our lives, or that "the sword of destiny has two edges. You are one of them".

By Kat S.
______________
Ps. I'd like to add sth just for a climate ;) If you are willing to listen, then just enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoBW1VLJzds

KID OR ADULT? (essay)

Theme of my work is childhood. It is the first period of human life, our years of growing, the time in which most of the problems are simple. Still very often we can meet kids who keep saying, that they want to grow up as soon as possible. Then, when they are adults, they wish to return to this age of joy and innocence. Why?

Firstly, childhood is often associated with the lack of any obligations, most of the time it is fun and pranks. Secondly, mistakes made by children are often forgivable, we usually do not have to suffer from them, because they are not very serious. Finally, children do not have to work as they are financed by their parents, they do not have to earn money and worry about the family.

However, the childhood also has some bad sides. The first of them is the deficiency of possibilities for making important decisions, they are limited by parents in many cases. The second disadvantage is they can not buy everything by themselves, because they do not earn their own money and parents do not meet their every whim. The last minus is adults do not always treat children seriously, often do not allow doing a lot of things.

In conclusion, people usually think that the grass is greener on the other side. They hurry to grown up and later long for a lost childhood. In this way they forget the present time. I think we should just seize the moment. 

A.S.