Dear Beloved UPP

Dear Beloved UPP, The 4th of September, 2013 the first semester at AUB began. It was a big challenge for me. I left my family, my town, my friends, and I came alone to Beirut to continue my studies. At the beginning of the semester I was very confused and afraid of AUB because I am a French educated student who doesn’t know a lot about English skills; for this reason I am now a UPP student. I recognize that UPP is not only a program that teaches me English rules and grammar, but it improves my critical thinking and advances my culture in different domains. The critical reading course was one of my best sessions during this semester. Before, I used to read only for spending time, and I was passing quickly on anything my gaze falls upon. However, now I am able to understand the articles that I read and get the main idea of any text. I learned an endless list of vocabulary words that helped me in my writings and my speaking projects. In addition, the instructor gave us some cultural sessions, a lot of articles about different subjects, and I did many discussion questions that enhanced my level in both writing and critical thinking. Moving to the writing course, by comparing my first writings and my last ones, I can find the huge difference between them. I achieved an important progress concerning the word choice, verb shifts and punctuation mistakes. I learned new types of essays which I didn’t know before, the idioms and the figurative language. I wrote journals that were extremely interesting because it was the spot where I dropped all my thoughts and feelings. Moreover, these writing sessions were very efficient and beneficial, and I learned a lot of vocabulary words too. The listening and speaking sessions were a combination of debates, discussions, listening practices and watching movies that improve my reading and speaking skills. My personality became stronger than before. Now, I feel more confident and more comfortable while speaking in front of an audience. In contrast, at the beginning I faced some problems with my pronunciation because I didn’t receive enough comments and reviews in order to enrich it, but now this problem had been solved. Furthermore, the structure is the basis of all the building of the English language, so two sessions per week weren’t enough to cover all the rules. Although I made an important progress in this course because I learned more about the tenses, modal auxiliaries, adjective clauses and other subjects that were very rich and beneficial. As for the science, the goal was to learn the chemistry and physics terms in English not only the theories. The instructor gave us a lot of exercises and his explanation was very clear. Likewise, the mathematics was very helpful for me because the lessons that I took will be very important and useful in my future major. With respect to the IT, the power point courses were useful to prepare my final oral presentation. In addition Microsoft Word and Excel were also supported in all what I have written during this semester. Finally, UPP isn’t a waste of time like some students think. It is a program that prepares student to adapt with the new situation of being in college. It gave me a chance to ameliorate my writing, reading and speaking skills. To sum up, I would like to thank all my instructors and I really appreciate the work that they did to improve my classmates and me. Sincerely, Remy Rhayem

Dear Reader,

Dear Reader, Is it the end of the trail, or the beginning of the journey? My first semester at the university preparatory program has been incredibly rewarding! This program was and still a pioneer in enhancing our English skills in different fields such as Reading, Listening and Speaking, Structure, and Writing. Learning at the university preparatory program granted me the opportunity to be a person that knows how to observe, analyze, and even interpret. The success within my experience involves learning how to work with a group in order to have a control over what things will look like or how they will be presented, acquisition more vocabulary for the sake of taming the language so that I'm able to express my thoughts smoothly, talk to others easily, being organized and planning appropriately.Furthermore, it encourages my critical thinking more frequently especially when I carried it out effectively. Moreover, I developed an understanding of the importance of keeping an open line of communication among my friends.The assignments were also considered as tools to test my ability of grasping the issues that has been already explained. I'll never forget the tour that we've done to figure out the library. It was superb, and I was astonished by the number of books which look like a giant glossary. Although I encountered several challenges and difficulties, I learned how to think about the proper solutions in order to deal with them. In such a way, this experience was like an income because it provides me with the most important tenets even a vast area to get knowledge.During my first semester as a UPP student, I had written many pieces that I think it represents my writing skills. Through writing my essays and through applying the instructions of Doctor Ghada Awada,I discerned how to format a paragraph, a journal, and even an essay with editing and revising to all my mistakes in order to follow this slogan: “The more you write ,the best writer you become.” My favorite part of the writing section in the portfolio is dwelling on my personal experiences that I had mentioned in my journals.From writing in these various methods, I have become a well-rounded individual who can write for a variety of audiences. Furthermore, reading stories with different levels also innervates my critical thinking. When I was enrolled in this class, I found unprecedented confidence within myself. At the end of the semester, I can't but figure out that I become a fluent speaker employing the English language and I broke the hindrance of being unable to find the words to say.Each English class I have taken has been unique.In addition, I liked when we did group work in Listening sessions because I could see the opinions and the suggestions of other people. We watched a lot of movies.It was very interesting experience for me. Equally, it taught me the responsibility, patience, flexibility, and respect. Obtaining self-esteem was very important to face all hard challenges. I always keep in my mind the mindset below: “I can do it.”Through listening, I fostered how to receive, interpret, and process verbal messages and other forms of communication. In terms of speaking, I motivatedthrough organization of my thoughts and communicate my ideas, knowledge and information through fluent speech.It’s very powerful to base on the Presentations as tools for promoting my personality in front of my classmates.We examined several social issues, and we discussed a lot of things such as: “Drug addiction, Poverty, Plastic surgery, I-Pad within Education, Women and Children Violence….”In such a way, it seeks to raise our awareness toward these issues.Due to the constant effort, I always submit my assignments on time.It will be better if the hours of Structure skill increase from 2 till 4 hours.Math, Science, and IT sessions were tools to acquire more scientifique things and more information about Microsoft with its branches. Overall, I think that this semester has been a great journey. I have learned a lot, including the fact that I still have a lot to learn, and I hope to continue improving my skills so that I can be successful at my major later on and my career thereafter.Thus, it’s said, “Knowledge, like air, is vital to life. Like air, no one should be denied it.”

Reflection Paper

Paula Nahoum Reflection Paper I didn’t expect that my first semester in UPP will change me that much. I have noticed much progress and noticeable character development manifested in my life style in the three months I spent at UPP. I was like taking the first step toward success and maturity. Well, this period of time has taught me many things concerning assuming responsibility and improving my academic career. First, I have faced many problems at the beginning of the semester since I am French educated. I thought that I will not be comfortable with the materials we will take, but the contrary was. When I first started this class I thought I was going to be going through a traditional English program and in general improving my English and grammar skills. The first few projects and blog posts we had to do I just did them tothe book because I had no idea what the expectations were for this class. After a few assignments I found myself getting more comfortable with blog posts and being more creative in my thinking, yet still writing in a strict format. Finally towards the end of the semester I started writing more casually, while still sticking to my good technique. I allowed myself to be very creative and let my ideas flow into words, which made up my writing. After re-reading my old works, I tended to ramble on about certain topics in order to fill word requirements and leave my great ideas at the beginning or end of the essay. I can now go back and see where I went wrong, pick out the passionate idea and mold it into a new, better idea that flows into a masterpiece of words that explains my idea in every form. Since I started taking writing course, I have encountered many aspects of English that I can now understand. There are several ways through which I have shaped my writing skills over the course of the semester but one major activity of the semester that has helped me a lot especially in my writing and critical thinking skills is the semester writing assignments. During this semester, I got the opportunity to write several assignments. As for the reading course, it was the most courses I have ever had this semester, especially with Dr. Hicham Kharoub who was an amazing teacher with wide information about the course, and he knows how to transmit the information properly. Through the reading course I have learned many concepts and vocabulary which reflects in my writing papers enriching them. Listening is also an important skill I have learned in this semester. We have done many interesting things. We watched movies and heard songs which enhance our knowledge and culture. Besides, listening allowed us to communicate with people. Math, Science, and IT, can be integrated in one thing. Through these courses I learned more scientific things. They were like a way of entertaining ourselves from the literature courses, but absolutely in a beneficial way. Structure was very significant and interesting with Ms Sandy Hallak. She took advantage of every minute. But, I think that two hours per week for structure are not enough since it’s an important course. In conclusion, I have learned many skills and improved old ones with this course and I have a new perspective on careers in this field. Along with a better understanding of how reading, writing, and listening can be well applied into something completely different but amazing.

How to Excel

How to Excel To excel is about getting all that you want to have or achieving your plans and goals. First, you should have the potential to excel and do things that help you realize the potential. For example, one who looks for success must has the will to achieve success and work hardly for his goal. The student should convince himself that he has to achieve his goal by being the best in the class, so he should study well. Second, you should believe in yourself and be confident in your abilities. Some people succeed in their works and life because they believe in their abilities to achieve their goals. Football players who want to be the best in football must believe in his abilities, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi. Finally, you shouldn’t surrender and be patient when you face criticism, sarcasm, and tough moments. For example, authors achieve success in writing because they keep working hardly, and they don’t surrender when people criticized them, but they keep trying until people accept their works. In conclusion, potentiality, self-confidence, and patience are needed in order to excel. Computers Computers have changed people’s communication patterns in several ways. Computer provides the world with communication between people all over the world at any time. For example, if you are in America, you can communicate directly with your friends or relatives in any country and at any time. In our days, parents don’t miss their sons in the foreign countries because they always communicate with them directly using the computers.Second, the use of computer is of concern because it improves the quality of work. For instance, an employee can be reached easily by the employer at any time. Scientists, businessmen, doctors, and engineers use computers in their works to achieve their goals. Besides, computer facilitates the field of education since it saves a lot of time and makes it easy and clear. Teachers use the programs of computer such as power point, excel, and word to explain and clarify the lessons to their students in well-organized way. Professors use high techniques in education such as computers at universities and colleges. Actually, direct communication, easy work, and better education are the advantages of computer. Types of Cars In the world of cars, there are three different types of cars according to size: small, medium, and family cars. Small cars tend to have lower advance payments, low running costs, and lower CO2 emissions. This may make access easier and can be useful if you often have more than one passenger in the car, such as family. For example, people who look for cars of low costs, low payments, and low pollution buy small cars. The second type of cars is medium cars; the medium-sized cars are often available in hatchback and will have a slightly bigger boot. Most people like this type since each one of passengers have their own doors exit. Another type is the family cars which are considerably larger than medium-sized cars. Most families prefer this type because saloons in the car have a more traditional boot which opens independently of the window. Because of the variations, almost anyone can fit into one of the three different types of cars. Car Accidents Car accident is a serious problem that can be caused by many factors. Perhaps the most common cause of car accident is speed. People who are in hurry to arrive to their works, homes, and appointments used to speed in order to arrive on time and this leads to car accidents. A lot of employees, workers, doctors, teachers, and others used to speed in order to arrive on time to their jobs, so they are more exposed to car accidents because of speed. Another cause is bad weather. When the weather is rainy and snowy, the driver must drive carefully, but if someone doesn’t drive carefully, the result will be car accident. Finally, driving after drinking alcohol is another cause of car accidents. Some people used to drink alcohol then they drive their cars to go back to their homes, so they are highly exposed to car accident because they are unconscious or unable to drive carefully. Regardless of its causes, car accident is a serious problem that needs to be taken seriously.

My Roommate

My Roommate It is well-known that people in our society say that walls feel better than human beings. From my room, my life started to deteriorate a month ago for many reasons. First, I was very tired and sad due to my roommate’s behaviors. He used to behave as if he were alone in the room without respecting me. Besides, I was very disturbed, and I was in a very miserable state due to his selfish personality. He was very careless and selfish, for he didn’t respect my coexistence with him in the room. Since the condition became unbearable, I decided to change my room, so I sent an e-mail to Ms. Nisrine who is in chargeof the dormitory building to help me, and I told her about my condition. The second day, I received her reply, and I was very surprised and optimistic, for she accepted my request to change my room, so I thanked her for accepting my request. In spite of all difficulties I encountered a month ago, now I am feeling very comfortable since I am very satisfied with my current situation.

Happiness

Happiness “I am feeling happy today “is a phrase that is uttered by people each day. I recently had a discussion about happiness with my friend. Our discussion centered on three causes of happiness. The first cause was common between us which is genetics. We agreed that people who are born with normal levels of serotonin and dopamine in their brains can be happy. When we talked about the second cause which is substance abuse, my friend disagreed because he didn’t understand and accept the idea of taking drugs to be whether happy or not. Finally, he agreed on the third cause which is environment because everything around us may affect our mood to be happy or not such as success in school, getting married, and living with family make us happy in our life. In spite of the conflict at one point of the discussion between us, we learned a lot from each other and shared our opinions.

Before You Quit Try

Before You Quit Try Ernest Hemingway said, “Before you quit, try”. Two years ago, I was writing a poem to describe the beauty of my country, but I failed in completing it. I became hopeless and unable to write anything because I was confused about choosing the suitable words to describe my country. Suddenly, I remembered the words of Hemingway and learned important lesson about the importance of trying and repeating many times before stopping till achieving the goal. Then I decided to try writing again, so I completed my poem after I regained the hope from Hemingway’s words. In spite of all difficulties I encountered two years ago, I became optimistic since I learned an important lesson in life which is trying as much as I can to achieve my goal.

City versus Countryside

City versus Countryside “I am from the city or I am from the countryside” is a phrase that is uttered by people each day. This phrase is used by people to describe the place of their living or their lifestyle. The city lifestyle and the countryside lifestyle have a lot of similarities and differences related to many things as the work, the environment, and the entertainment. The first difference is the work. In the city there are a lot of works and professions while in the countryside there are limited works and professions. For example, people in the city can find any work they are looking for as medicine, teaching, engineering, etc. While people in the countryside have limited works such as education, agriculture, and trade. People in the city get more money from their works, but people get less money from their works in the countryside. In spite of the difference, people in both city and countryside have something to work in and get money for their work. Another difference is the environment. The city is well-known by noise, factories, pollution, and traffic jam, but the countryside is well-known by tranquility, simplicity, and agriculture. For instance, people in the countryside are much healthier than people in the city because of the difference in the environment between the city and the countryside. However, there is life in both the city and the countryside which is the common point between them. Finally, the entertainment is different between the city and the countryside. In the city there are many means of entertainment while in the countryside there are limited means of entertainment. People in the city are very comfortable because everything is available for them such as, hospitals, clubs, universities and factories, but people are suffering in the countryside because they don’t have hospitals, universities and factories. In spite of the difference, people are satisfied in their way of living in both the city and the countryside. Both city and the countryside have a lot of similarities and differences related to the work, the entertainment and the environment. Whether we are living in the city or the countryside, each one of us is satisfied by his way of living or lifestyle. Some people choose to live in the city while other people choose to live in the countryside because their choice depends upon their different backgrounds.

Rescue

Rescue “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others.” Last year, an explosion was happened in Achrafieh. The bomb caused a lot of damages in a popular street where poor families lived. Later on,“Farah al attah”, private organization, launched a rebuilding and a restoration project on this street. Therefore, my friends and Idecided to participate for the first time. When we arrived, we were fascinated by the huge losses that the explosion had caused. We took our tools and addressed saying, “work here we are” We went to a horrible apartment the blood was everywhere. All the furniture was damaged. We cleaned the apartment little bit. Then we wore appropriate clothes to paint the walls. After hours of hard work we returned to our homes. It was a rewarding, fascinating experience. It enabled me to know the importance of teamwork, passion, and energy to achieve a task. Finally, it was a wonderful feeling to know that you are the inspiration of a smile. It’s necessary to help others not only with prayers, but in our daily lives because one hand doesn’t clap alone.

Amazing Event

Amazing Event Mother Theresa state: “It is not about how much we give but how much love we put into giving” What an amazing day and extraordinary event! 36,006 runners from different backgrounds; wheel chaired, young, adult, and old people. All of them have agreed on a common purpose for that day; running for Lebanon, humanity, unity and peace. I have participated in this event by volunteering with MIDADE an NGO. I was a controller of a refreshment station placed 27 km away from the start line. This experience taught me the importance of being patient and ambitious to achieve goals. The runners were very tired, hungry, thirsty, but sure; none of them gave up the challenge. In reality, two things fascinated me. First, in our station we were distributing energy drinks while the runners were in need for water. We didn’t have water bottles and the water station was placed 3km away, so two Lebanese families volunteered to give the thirsty runners water. Second, there was a blind man running the 42km with his guide. Hewas very persistentto have a good time and he even decided to participate in the Olympics. I was so surprised by his determination to overcome his obstacles and make it to the finish line. Finally, we met Lebanese people who were proud of organizing” the marathon” an amazing event that spread positive emotions and unified the Lebanese a significant landmark in today’s political tough times. Aline Soueid

Conflict

Conflict Fidel Castro states: “A revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle between the future and the past” Being in conflict with my parents regarding some issues is part of a healthy family life. Miscommunication could arise due to the generation gap where my ideas and feelings toward certain matters could be drastically different from my parent’s. A simple example is my parents accuse me of abusing technology and spending a lot of time on my PC, phone and social network websites instead of communicating and helping out. I listened carefully and respectfully to what they had to say but I convinced them that the world has changed and I need to keep posted with the technological changes as this is part of the new society and I have to catch up with it. Through communication and sharing of ideas and explaining my point of view clearly and logically, they were convinced that the world has changed and I promised to put in more efforts to help out to restore this technology family life balance.

Self-confidence

Self-confidence Marcus Garvey states: “If you have no confidence in self you are twice defeated in life”. The most important thing to succeed is self-confidence. It is the foundation of all successful people.The feeling of confidence is a positive state of vibration where your subconscious mind is directed towards the success of a thing. You can achieve anything when you believe in yourself, but if you do not have confidence in your abilities, you will lose the race in everything. In reality, many times, I faced problems. I was very confused and unable to that if I tried I would be able. In evidence, more fail is due to the lack of confidence. This is why you should always create positive enforcement and keep going whatever you are going through. In fact, I realize that always in my life I should avoid the things that make disappointed for me and focus on things that get me positive results less than negatives one. Moreover, I should not be influenced by others opinions or points of view. I must have strong desire and be truthful in myself. Finally, another quote for Marcus Garvey states: “With confidence, you have won before you have started”.

The Rose of My Life

The rose of my life A famous quote state: “Mothers hold their child’s hand for a moment,their heart for a lifetime” My mother is the best I wish I could give a better description, but millions of worlds are not enough to describe her. My mum is my model roll, my source of inspiration. She has the best smile, the best laugh, and the best advice. Moreover, mum is always behind me at the very start of my life, no matter what we go through and no matter how much we agree, I know in the end, she will always be there for me. In reality, she had a lot problem to deal with me but she was very logical and realistic. My mother always takes care of me listen to me very carefully, and lead me the good road and to the best decision. She was the person who thought me that the strength is being sensitive. She is the greatest unconditional infinite love. Mum is always ready to try to do everything for my brothers and me. From my first birth untilnow, I have always seen my mother transform herself to out our family needs. She sacrifices all her time for us she even doesn’t think about herself. Her only target is to make sure about our comfort. In addition, mum is funny, honest, truthfully, modest, hard worker, good listener. My mother always show respect to her family, friends, and strangers, by showing all of them respect she teaches us to be respectful. Finally, a famous quote state, “god cannot be everywhere, so he invited mothers” Aline Soueid

Excel

Excel Each person sees excellence and success differently, but there are certain qualities, skills and talents that are typical of an excellent person. First of all, you should know that excellence does not come overnight; you must work very hard to achieve your target and success. You ought to have the desire, the determination, ambition, target and the dream.on the other hand, you must believe in your ability to succeed because without believing in yourself, you have already lost the race in everything.In reality, success begins with a state of mind. You must believe you will be successful in order to become successful.Furthermore, you should not be affected easily by the thoughts and opinions of others, but you must have strong desire. In addition, you should be educated since being an excellent person includes having education and knowledge, which are the weapons of our days. In conclusion, these are some steps to follow for being an excellent person, but it is easier said than done since nobody in this life can be perfect.

Benjamin Disraeli

Benjamin Disraeli states: “A university should be a place of light, of liberty, and of learning”. It is the most important and reputable university in the Middle East. It is well known by its fanciful education due to the wise instructors. It has a tremendous and outstanding campus. It is of course AUB, American university of Beirut. At the beginning, AUB is located in the center of the capital city of Lebanon Beirut, which is the capital of education in the Arab world. It presents a lot of space to different activities. When you enter this university, you feel like you are in heaven. It is a very old and historical university, founded since 1866.. AUB’s main campus has 64 buildings.TheOutdoorincludes beautiful garden, green field, and bird sanctuary overlooking to the Mediterranean Sea where everyone can go and relax there. It also comprisesseven dormitories, the AUB medical center, five libraries, computer labs, and one of Lebanon few geological collection. AUB is one of the top universities due to its education. A teaching-centered research university; AUB has around 700 instructional faculty and a student body of around 8,000 students. It is an institution of higher learning founded to provide excellence in education. It offers course in different field such as engineering, business, medicine. Moreover, the spirit of AUB is to serve and benefit the community in which we live and make a positive change in today political tough times. AUB gives the opportunity to students from different background to benefit from scholarships. In addition, AUB always encourage his students to take part in community service program. Therefore, the target of this university is to graduate sociable, leader and educated students. “Education is the powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”, and AUB is the ideal university that increases our knowledge and builds an educated generation. However, with all this technological revolution in the future years does student still have to go to a university?

Car Accident

Car Accident Millions of car accidents occur every day. In fact, car accidents are serious problems caused by many factors, and they have many effects especially when the drivers are careless. First of all, the most talked about and a serious cause of car accident is the use of cell phone while driving .when you use your cell phone for texting or calling someone while driving, you might be distracted and you may not pay attention to a car, traffic signals or a passenger in front of you. As a sequence, you can kill a human being, or you may lose your life, or cause a big collision. Furthermore, drunk driving is a second cause of car accidents. In this occasion, the risk of car accident increase when the driver is drunk since he is not awake to the high speed of his car or to the way, he drives. Eventually, this can cause the paralysis of the driver. In addition, unsafe roads and severe weather can cause car accidents, especially in. Consequently, they can make the driver unable to control his car and may produce financial damages. Finally, you should be very careful when you drive because it takes a fraction of second for an accident to happen, and it is a wise to be safe especially in Lebanon where driving is very challenging.

Happiness

Happiness Dalai Lama states: “happiness is not something ready made it comes from your own actions”. Happiness is a feeling of pleasure and enjoyment. It is an inner sense that makes the world good and wonderful. You can find happiness in many things such as families, friends, love, charity and it can due to numerous positive effects on your personality and your environment. Happiness for some people can be by participating in a charity work and volunteering activities to help other people. They think that happiness is real by doing something useful. In fact, numerous studies state that happiness cans secure longevity because it has positive impact on health. It can protect the heart from dangerous diseases. People who are usually happy are less likely than other to alter the biological system and develop heart illness. Moreover, big numbers of people see that money is a source of happiness. In fact, we are living in a time where money can do the impossible even the happiness. This is why some people are so addict to money and believe that money is the only source of happiness because by currency, you can enjoy life more and your lifestyle will be better. Furthermore, another source of happiness can be a close circle of friends and families that you share with them everything. In reality, by having good relationship with friends family members, by bringing up children or achieve a good work lot people find the happiness. In addition, by being happy they can make more friends deal more easily with stress. They know how to get out from their situation more than the sad people do. This is why happiness considered as the best treatment for stress. In conclusion, “happiness is when what you think what you say what you do are in harmony”. If you ask different people what is happiness you would hear a variety number of answer because it is difficult to give a specific definition to it. Whatever are the causes or the effects of happiness, it can sure make the world a better place to live.

Weight Loss

Weight Loss How many times have you heard the phrase “I’m so overweight?” People tend to search for a method that they can lose weight. In fact, there are three options required to lose weight: exercises, diet, and surgery. Exercising involves running, jogging, going to a gym, working out at home, joining some sort class such as sport team, riding a bicycle. Those who are dieting can talk to a doctor about a plan for them. For example, reduce eating a big amount of rice and bread, although a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables provides them with different sorts of vitamins in order to be in good health, with good muscles.Finally, individuals who are severely overweight can have a surgery to lose the weight that they need.It helps by restricting food intake.Obesity surgery involves making changes to the stomach such as shrinking it. In conclusion, choosing a right weight-loss program is the first step to conquer fear of failure and triggers powerful emotions. Losing weight is not a piece of cake, but with the proper foresight, you should be able to achieve your goal. You are losing weight so that you can continue to live a healthy and to think about a long life without any disease.

Watching too Much TV

Watching too Much TV Discoveries and invention of devices are steadfastly sustained till humans absorb their benefits and invest them adversely to some extent of abuse. In the ancient times, the inventor” Wilhelm Roentgen” figured out the electromagnetic radiation known as X-rays and within 5 years, the same technique used by the British army to locate bullets in wounded all over the world. Likewise, watching too much TV is one of the major sociological issues of this century which has many effects on the physiology and psychology of people. Perhaps the most common physiological effect is “Eye-strain”. There are no specifications, so the eyes get tired if they are exposed ahead the TV for a long time. Another effect is obesity. ”TV snacks” are fast-food that people who like watching TV eat. Furthermore, TV provides no educational profits for a child under age 2 because it steals the time specified for activities that actually develop the brain like playing in cars, motors, and even interacting rough language rather than sitting in front of a video screen. Moreover, TV viewing numbs the minds of children instead of being challenging, intellectual, and imaginative ones. Another effect is the apathy. Children tend to work less on their homework. This case tends to retain fewer skills and cut down their performance. Apart from the physiological effects, TV also causes psychological effects. One of the psychological effects is being constantly exposed t vehemence. The mind of the child is like clay. It forms impressions on what it sees. TV shows drug, alcohol, and violence which affect his behavior. Perhaps, they can commit violence actions, and they lose sensibility to their environment. In addition, most people prefer watching TV instead of talking to each other so that this machine has torn interpersonal relationships mostly end with divorces. There’s something of alienation among members of the family. Last but not least, inventions are welcome for human beings if they know how to deal with her. Using TV in the right purpose which is education and entertainment for a reasonable period of time reduce in such a way these damage effects which ruined children earlier.

Under The Knife!!

Under The Knife!! How would you face your burning intensity that you live? How does Stress affect you? No matter the kind of problem you face, the most important thing is the response. You refer to stress in order to get rid from something emotional or even physical. This outlet which is Stress has many hazardous effects on any aspect of your life. People under large amounts of stress become sick, tired, and unable to focus on anything clearly. First,the worry about things that you cannot control is the internal stress .This often occurs when you are in tense lifestyle. Second, being steadfastly overwhelmed builds up the circumstances of stress over a long time. Furthermore, too hard work at job, school, college, or family ties up your power that you harness into a super thwarting. Third, the lack in management of time can be a spur factor for this situation. It may actually drain your ability and your energy to perform well. Thus, Stress can contribute to heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, and make you more likely to catch more illnesses. If you are under stress for long periods of time, you may find that handling problems day-to-day lead you to a difficult thinking, and to a confused reasoning. These physical effects can escort many emotional and emotional problems apart. Feeling out of control and mood changes are importanteffects in Stress such as depression, frustration, anger, helplessness, irritability, defensiveness, irrationality, overreaction, impatience and restlessness. Furthermore, it sometimes increases the ability of eating, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, and even taking drugs. It is related to everyday worries, challenges in the community and maybe peer group. Maybe the causes are losing someone you loved, death of loved one. In conclusion, suffering stress isn’t a sign of weakness, nobody is immune to developing stress but to fail to deal with it could be the real weakness.. When stress turns into a serious illness, it is important to get professional help as soon as possible. As Merle Miller sums it up very eloquently, "Everyone has their burden. But what counts is how you carry it."

Small Palace

Name: Hanane Chamma Small Palace In the world, housing is our primary necessity. It is important to be sheltered from rain,wind, and wild animals.People make a luxurious house for them to feel comfortable. Can you suppose what is it looking like? I often get the impression that my future house is a palace. Before you enter to my house, you run into a small garden. First, it is full of multicolor flowers such as rose, jasmine, and even orchid. Second, a shady tree overshadows the ground, and embraces the flowers with her hand. Third, the fresh air spread in the garden reflects a feeling of relief. Besides, you can see a fish pool which reflects the freedom with their acts even to look at them through stressful events. Obviously, my house looks like a palace with its natural scenery. My dream house should be located in a strategic area. I dreamed of a house that is located some distance from urban area. Then, not far from my houses there is a clear river. We can relax there. When you enter inside my house, you will see my living room with a big sofa and vase on the modern table.A lot of pictures for famous painters such as “Leonardo Da Vinci” are attached on the wall. After passing the living room, you’ll see a kitchen to the left and the bathroom to the right. In the kitchen, there’s a good maid that cooks a delicious food because of the aroma that fill the corridors. Each handle of a door is inlaid with gold. Moreover, family room is a very vast place where I gather with my parents and I share a lot of things with them such as watching a movie.There are two bedrooms on the right side. In conclusion, that is I called as my palace, small palace. Even though it is not big and not large as a real palace, the scenery of my house makes me endure, and I can gather with my family whenever I want.Everyone would want to stay in a house that suits their dreams. I hope I can make it happen.

Perfection against imperfection

Name: Hanane Chamma Perfection against imperfection A series of steps will improve us to be excellent in everything. Step one is to take a positive attitude toward the set plan. We should apply this by repeatedly reminding myself that: “This work will help me to reach my goal and to earn a high degree”. Next, putting deadline lead us to organize our work and to perform the aims that we strive for. Third, controlling our concentration is almost necessary. Begin by jotting down a brief list of goals. Finally, having the materials is also important. The reward is that being very good at something we’ve earned through own hard work can be extremely satisfying. Fortunately, we can treat our imperfections in order to reach the perfection and that by applying these steps in a regular basis. Whatever the problem, however, it is clear that only through following these tenets, we will be perfect persons in no time.

Purposes Behind UPP

Name: Kassem Al-Hellani Reflection paper Purposes Behind UPP It is important for any student to know another language and especially English language because it is universal. I thought that this is the only aim of the University Preparatory Program (UPP), but I was wrong. In the first semester at UPP, we have learned many things especially because we are new students, and in my opinion, UPP instructors achieved their goals which are adapting the university atmosphere or the city atmosphere, learning English language and learning other beneficial subjects. One of the aims of UPP was adapting the university or city atmosphere. I am from Bekaa, so it seemed hard to me to live in the capital and continue my education and especially for the first semester, but UPP helped us to do that. First, UPP tasks weren’t so hard, and they didn’t require too much time, so I found enough time to go across the university and discover what I want and what I need to discover, and sometimes I went outside the university to Hamra and many other places to recognize them. Second, making friends is an important thing during my education, and this what I found in UPP. I knew many friends and especially those who share me the same scholarship. Third, UPP helps me to know more about my majors in AUB and more about scholarship and how I can register online for the courses. In addition, during this semester I attended many events, and I liked them, and I also volunteered in many activities which I also liked, and they left a big impact on me. The role of UPP doesn’t end here because I’ll have in the next semester new discoveries and new thing to do, and I’ll have a leadership training in the break between the two semesters, so it was really a preparatory program because I won’t face the obstacles that the new student will face. UPP gave us many chances to adapt in AUB atmosphere and to be ready for education. Another aim of UPP was teaching us English language. English language in UPP divided into many sections. Each section has its role and its instructor. In the reading section, I learned an important concept in English, and it is reading and understanding what I read, and I also learned a lot of vocabulary words and the most useful ones, and I should mention that the instructor was so helpful with us, and he was the one who encourages us to learn this language. In the speaking and listening section, I learned how to speak English but not fluently, but I was enhanced in listening skill because of the movie that the instructor was shown us, and I consider them as the most beneficial ones for me. The structure section was an important section even though we took it two hours per week, but it taught us the basic rules and how to build sentences and then connect them. Because we were complaining of the silly and boring exercises of the book, the instructor gave us more supplementary exercises to solve them. I can’t describe how much importance was the writing section and how helpful was the writing instructor. Even thought our Moodle wasn’t active, the instructor connected us by email to supply us with the required materials and exercises. This skill is the most important because it gathered all the previous skills in the writing, so it was interesting to write what I wrote because I was using all what I learned in one exercise. Last but not least, all these skills were so important without any exceptions, and even though each section was specified to teach us specific rules, they were uniting to teach us English language. UPP wasn’t restricted in teaching u English language only, but it was teaching us many other subjects like Math, Science and IT. UPP will stand for one year, so instead of forgetting some rules in these subjects, we took some sessions in these subjects to refresh our mind especially for those who study scientific majors like me. We took also some new materials that are beneficial for the education later. As a conclusion, I didn’t find this semester boring because I had these subjects which are beneficial and entertainment. Finally, what I have mentioned from adapting to learning I can achieve them without UPP, but it will be harder, and it may affect my education, and even if we lose a year from our life, we will find it later in our education. I can’t imagine how hard my education will be without UPP.

Overpopulation

Name: Kassem Al-Hellani Overpopulation Nowadays, the world is facing many problems which are dangerous, and they threaten the human beings. One of these problems is overpopulation. Overpopulation is an undesirable condition where the number of existing human population exceeds the carrying capacity of earth. Instead of decreasing such problems, it tends to increase day after day due to many causes, and it also threatens the life on earth. Overpopulation is caused by many factors ,and it has many dangerous effects. Most of the causes of overpopulation are created by human beings to get some of their needs. There are lot of overpopulation causes such as lack of family planning and medical facilities. First, lack of family planning is one of these causes. In some underdeveloped countries like Africa countries, people have no knowledge about family planning, and they marry their children at an early age, and this will produce more kids. Moreover, in some agricultural environment people consider child as a productive element by helping his parents in working, so they generate more children. Second, medical facilities is one of the causes that caused by technology. In the old time, people faced a lot of diseases, but nowadays scientists make many discoveries to defeat a whole range of diseases. One of these discoveries is the invention of vaccines which increase the life expectancy. Finally, people love life, so they seek to defeat all the obstacles, but they will hold the responsibility and consequences of overpopulation. These causes are some of a group of overpopulation causes. Lack of family planning is continuous, and spread in most of the countries, and also medical facilities are requirement, and it must spread to save many lives. Overpopulation become an international problem because its effects are harmful and dangerous for the people and for the earth. We mentioned that the effects of overpopulation are dangerous. Some of these effects are depletion of natural resources and social problems. First, depletion of natural resources is one of these effects. The resources of the earth are limited, and overpopulation consumes more of these resources such as water, trees and petroleum. In some cases, this effect will lead to anther which is war and conflict about natural resources. Second, there are many social problems caused by overpopulation. Overpopulation causes rise in unemployment because the occupation is limited while the number of people who want to employ is increasing. In addition, overpopulation will lead to high cost of living, and it raises the prices of various commodities including food, shelter, and healthcare. To conclude, these effects don’t affect only people, but they affect the earth and threat the human beings. Overpopulation isn’t a simple problem we can solve it whatever we want because the causes isn’t restricted to a group of people or one country, but it is international, and all the countries must unite to overcome this problem specially that its effects threat all the people wherever they are. Therefore, governments and organizations must find quickly a solution to start with it.

The Wonderful University

Khalil Beydoun The Wonderful University “The best university in Lebanon is the American university of Beirut”. All the universities’ students hear this expression, but most of them don’t know why it is the best university in Lebanon. AUB didn’t find as the best university, but since it found, it achieve many things that made it the best university such as location, organization, students and doctors, and education. AUB has a suitable location and organized to be the best university in Lebanon. AUB has a sea view, and it is surrounded by trees. Moreover, it is located in vital area where there are a lot of shopping centers and famous restaurants. AUB’s building are tidy and old, they are organized in a good way and far from traffic of car and noise pollution to provide the luxury of the students. AUB contains a huge and amazing gardens and also strange trees that seem to be the best trees in the world. These structures of AUB University seem to be convenient for education of students. What give AUB its importance are its students and doctors. First, it has the elite doctors in Middle East. They are friendly and not so strict. They have a special ways to teach the students the best and beneficial information. Second, students contribute in building AUB reputation. They are polite and neat, and they never deal each other with a political background. They are friendly and intelligent and also from different countries. To conclude, students and doctors are the pillars of AUB with all these characteristics. AUB education is the famous education in the world. Doctors follow understandable ways and also global books for education. Its certificates are famous in the world and acceptable in all worldwide universities. AUB concentrates on English language of their students. It doesn’t teach them their major’s materials only, but it teaches them various materials related to society and environment by clubs and societies. Finally, the aim of AUB isn’t academic education only, but also its aim is to create a new generation which has a lot of features. As a conclusion, AUB is a fanciful university, and it is dream of many students. Indeed, AUB is like a heaven, and its education and life on it is the best in Arab World. In another word, AUB provide to its students a better future. Actually, it is really wonderful experience to be a student in AUB.

House Cooking Versus Restaurant Cooking

Name: Kassem Al- Hellani House Cooking Versus Restaurant Cooking “What did you eat?”, “what will you eat?” are the expressions we hear every day, and sometimes people get confused about the options that occur in this field whether about the kind of food or the source of food. Recently, I have had a discussion with one of my friends about house cooking and restaurant cooking. Our discussion was centered on three main points which are the components of food, the duration and cost of preparing food and the atmosphere. The component of food is considered to be the most important factor in each kind of food. The same food whether it is prepared in a house or restaurant has approximately the same component. But each of the two kind of cooking uses different source of these components. For example, restaurant cooking uses any vegetables if they are cheap, and it didn’t care if they are healthy or not. Differently, house cooking doesn’t use any vegetables unless it is healthy and from known source. In addition, if some meat or vegetables stay for a long time, and they started to corrupt, people cooking in the house don’t use them because they will eat these corrupted food, and they will hold the consequences while people cooking in the restaurant use them because they can’t lose money to buy others, and they won’t eat them, and other people won’t know that they are corrupted. To conclude, food components that are the same in both cooking may be also the cause behind the differences between house cooking and restaurant cooking. People's choices of whether house cooking or restaurant cooking depends on the duration and the cost of preparing food. The cost of preparing food is the same in both cooking if they use the same components and the beneficial one. On the other hand, the duration of cooking food differs between house cooking and restaurant cooking. In the house preparing food need a lot of time because only one or two persons are working in it while in the restaurant food can be prepared in short time because there is a whole staff working in it. Moreover, house cooking requires a lot of efforts while restaurant cooking can easily prepared because some restaurants use modern machines for cooking. For example, if some kinds of food require a lot of efforts and time, people prefer to have them in arestaurant to save time, and it will be the same cost. According to these factors which are cost and duration of preparing food, people choose the suitable cooking for them. Next one is the atmosphere. When it comes to home cooking, people think of their mother and family. It brings people the feeling of warm and sweet. People prefer house cooking to eat with their parents, wife or husband, or children. Conversely, restaurant cooking gives people the feeling of high class and fancy. In the restaurant, people can be treated as the royalties. There are fantastic meals and great services, which are the main points of restaurant cooking. For example, people who work in business, or people who have meeting use this kind of cooking. As a conclusion, life depends on food and health, and people can’t live without them. For this reason, each of these kinds of cooking gives you different life because each of them has its own characteristics and features. Each one should follow a certain kind of cooking according to his life style.

The Real Meaning of Happiness

Remy Raymond Rhayem The Real Meaning of Happiness It’s said, “It’s important to make someone happy, and it’s important to start with yourself.” A few months ago, someone asked me: what does happiness mean to you? I still don’t have a definite answer for this question. Happiness is a puzzling emotion when I think about it. I would like to think about happiness by the simplest things in this world because life is very hard and when something can make me smile then at least I can be positive for good things that will come. Happiness is a mix of a lot of things. First, it’s Love and support of family and friends such as when I see my family proud of me and they support me I feel comfortable and happy, and that is the same when I see my friend support me and wish me the best. Second, happiness is looking forward to the next day, I am always optimistic and look for the best, and I never give up regardless all the difficulties and all the problems that I face because this life is very hard and I should always be strong to achieve and realize my goals. Third, smiling and laughing are very important because when I laugh I forget all my problems. Finally, the most important cause that makes me happy is when I help others who are really need a help, and when I draw a smile on the face of a poor child. For example, when I was at school, my friends and I decided to sell homemade dessert at school and by the money that we collected we bought gifts and food for many children and we gave them those gifts at the Christmas Eve. There were very happy and from that time I knew that the real happiness is when knowing that once in a while I make a difference in someone’s life.

Friendship

Remy Raymond Rhayem Friendship “Friendship... is not something you learn in school. Howevre,if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you haven't really learned anything”, said Muhammad Ali. Friendship is a scared thing for me, and I really appreciate this valuable thing in my life. I have a lot of friends that I know from my school, my town and now from the university, but the real friends that I really trust and love are rare because I can’t trust anyone whom I speak from the first time. The confidence is very important in the friendship because the true friend is someone who I trust and tell him all my secrets and I will be sure that he will not say them to anyone. In addition, the true friend is the only one, besides my family, wish me the best luck and he will be happy when he sees me that I have a successful life. Furthermore, he will get angry, be sad, and he does a lot of things to relax me when he sees me sad and desperate. For example, my best friend Marie Joelle does all these for me. She is very kind, credible, quite and the important thing is that she loves me a lot. She helps me and stays beside me when I have problems and helps me to solve them, she knows all my secrets and I know all her secrets. We share our sadness and happiness moments together. I know her from my previous school; we had been at the same classes for 3 years. Now, she studies Biology at the Lebanese university. I haven’t seen her for 2 weeks, but we talk every day about our diaries and what happened with us during the day. I love her very much and a wish her a life full of success and happiness and I know that she wishes me same things.

Friends

NAME: Hanane Chamma Friends A sense of humor, a great deal of wisdom, and an honest behavior are steadfastly good things that come to your mind when you hear the word "Friend". Friendship is that feeling as of a child whose love is unqualified, uncommitted and yet so uncontaminated. He has a special personality with full loyalty, love, and even support. Essentially, friend types can be classified into three groups: acquaintances, school friends, and best friends. The first type is an acquaintance. You almost know their names, and maybe you run into any of them in the street. You visit them in every holiday. Usually, your relationship with these people is tantamount to a social communication because you don’t miss them on daily basis.Basically, you don’t share your thoughts and feelings. For example, whenever you are in distress, you don’t resort to an acquaintance to demand a help as if it a resolution for the strain that causes you a subtle gloom. The second type is a school friend. You almost know them from an activities that you do regularly such as swimming club, football team or music lesson. You make a good point to talk to every day. For instance, you might see these friends outside school and go with them to watch a movie or eat in a restaurant. Eventually, there’s a steady affection between you and them. “The kind of friend you have determines the kind of person you are.” The last type is best friend. You may be able to have a hundred or a thousand friends, or even more. But there’s only one true friend who notices the sorrow in your eyes. For example, whenever you are trapped in a trouble and have no solution, he’s only the person that provides you with the best solutions to way out of it. With whom you share everything, you feel comfortable, and can easily express feelings. A true friend loves you unconditionally, understands you, and always tries to support you. For this reason, it’s said, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” In conclusion, types of a friend can be fallen into their personalities. Each person has these three different kinds of people. Each type has its own characteristics. While school friends are helpful, true friends are caring. The most important thing is the feeling of relief with each other. Any friendship doesn’t build for benefit.

Family

RemyRhayem Family “Family is not an important thing. It’s everything”, said by Michael J. Fox. My family is my life; I love it a lot more than anything in this world. It stays beside me all the time and encourages me to do something when it sees that is good for me. When I say my family I mean my father, my mother and my only brother. I know that is small, but it is full of love, fidelity, tolerance and freedom. Each member has his opinion;everyone says his own idea and all of us respect it. When we need to take a serious decision we sit together and discuss about it and we choose the best solution. We had passed in hard moment when I was a child, but we had passed this period carefully by helping and staying beside each other. Now, I am very happy to have a family like mine, but a small thing that makes me sometimes sad that I don’t have a sister whom I can talk and share with her my problems, my secrets and she raises me up when I fall down. However, I thank God to give me my brother who is my hero; he doesn’t like to see me sad and desperate. He does all what I want to make me happy and I ask God every day to bless him and bless my whole family. Finally, I’m going to say something thatfriEND – girlfriEND – boyfriENDall this words has an END but only Family doesn’t havean End.

Best City

Best City Rome is one of my favorite cities that I like to visit one day. There are many typical qualities of Rome. First of all, it is an important European, political and cultural center. In addition, it is the Pope's residence and one of the most powerful cities of antiquity. Furthermore, Rome is one of the most important tourist destinations due to its archeological and artistic treasures. Moreover, Rome presents the most impressive buildings of the Imperial Rome,a lot of art sculpture, ruins, fountains, museums, and paintings from different periods and civilizations. Rome attracts tourists from different continents and from different categories and age especially for young who love to spend their time in the piazza for meeting each other, to amuse, to chat with friends, and to hold events.In addition, we don’t forget the delicious Italian’s platters, such as spaghetti, pizza, ice-cream. In fact, Romans love to eat ,and they love to eat good food. In Rome, you will find out that Italians are more than just pasta and pizza millions of platters that u cannot resist. Finally, because of her wonderful feature ,I believe that Rome is the best city ever.

Friends

Friends In life, good friends are hard to find and harder to leave and impossible to forget. You may have many friends, but the majority are usually bad and the minorities are good friends. Indeed, there are big differences between a good friend and a bad one. First of all, a good friend is somebody who has good influence on you and give you a push to go along when you are ready to give up. In the other hand,a bad friend does not care about your feelings and your our needs ,and he/she has a negative influence on you. Furthermore, a good friend is a good listener. He is always ready to share with you your problems and your secrets. He is very truthful and honest. However, bad friend will feel apathy towards you and betray you. Moreover, a good friend has the ability to be near enough even if you make mistakes, he does not give you a fear judgment. In conclusion, some friends are big, some are small, some are real, some are fake and you have to choose the best.

Classification of Classmates

Classification of Classmates Classmates are the group of people that we must meet as long as we still have school life. Classmates are classified into three categories. The first one is the most unfamiliar one. You are just in the same class, but you don’t talk, and even you don’t say hello to each other. You don’t dislike them, but you just can get along with them. The second type is the common one who is with you in the same class, and you usually greet. You can chat without any embarrassment, but you wouldn’t share your worries and talk deeply. The third classmate is the most important one with whom you spend the majority of your time, share secrets, help ,and receive help whenever someone is in trouble. To sum up, a classmate who has good relations with us can become one of our best friends in our lives.

City and country lifestyles

City and country lifestyles The conflict between city lifestyle and country lifestyle dates back to over 50 years .Therefore, historical events show a contradiction between these two lifestyles.Cities were always the stage of important events and official departments.As such, city lifestyle and country lifestyle share many differences related to different fields such as work, entertainment, environment, and services. The first difference is work.Eventually, both of them contain work, but the nature of work differs between city and country. In the country, the work of people is limited to the agriculture field with small income. In village, there are also some businesses or markets. However, in city, they work with machines in big companies or bank. In addition, the work in cities is more lucrative , and citizens earn more money and have better rank,and better salary. Second, cities are usually big, tremendous,and hectic ,full of noisy voice due to the factories cars, and the overpopulation. Cities are also polluted and suffer from lack of green fields. They are forests of high buildings and a shelter for traffics. All of these facts provoke dangerous illnesses. In contrast, country is an ideal place for relaxing with the beautyof nature, clear environment, the song of birds, and the sounds of rivers.Moreover, villages are small; the population is less than the normal average. In addition,there is little number of cars. That mean they suffer from less percentage of pollution and diseases. Third, in city, all service like hospitality, schools public transportation are ensured, but in country people find trouble with the qualities of services and with commuting from place to another. Furthermore, life in cities is full with luxurious where everything is easily available at doorsteps. In reality, luxurious in our time is the main source of stress. This is why many people who live in city suffer from psychologies problems. In the other hand, life in country is full of peace, liberal and it is more cultural than the life in city. Another difference between these two worlds is the entertainment field. In country, they have few friends and their activitiesare related to the nature like hiking, rafting, skiing or to the family.Contrary, in citizens they use to spend their time in nightclubs or artificial activities and full of lights. They even do not have time for their families. Finally, these two kinds of living have advantages and disadvantages concerning different field such as environment, entertainment, work... In reality, each person has his special background, personality features, and sometimes circumstances that push him to choose the world where he wants to live.

City Life Versus Village Life

Name: Hanane Chamma City Life Versus Village Life Everyone wants to live a happy and quit life, but it’s not easy to have a comfortable life.As such, we all seek and struggle to get a better life. We all agree that living in the village is more peaceful than living in the city. They are many similarities and differences between two lifestyles such as work, environment, and even entertainment. Both of them are work places. Although living in village is more peaceful, it has many disadvantages. For example, working in village isn't profitable because it’s based on Agriculture field so that people who live in the village must travel to the nearest city. Obviously, cities have more opportunities even it’s more developed. As a matter of fact, education is very necessary.Children who grow up in the village don’t have the ample education as efficient as if they learned at schools in the city. Furthermore, another problem would occur in the village. Children might help their parents in the farms even through plantations. However, in cities they are more likely to be educated persons.It’s well-known that city contains more factories so that workers don’t struggle and work hard as if they work in the farms or through turn over the soil to implant. They have two different environments and entertainments. First, the environment in the countryside is purer than the city. Second, the more plants are cut in the city, the more polluted atmosphere we have in the city. In contrast, the view of the flowers reflects the relief, and the serenity. Third, the life in the city is much crazy than the life in the village. Life in city is expensive due the transportation, services although it’s cheap in the countryside because it’s a small town so people rarely use cars. In conclusion, the living environment, the quality of education, and working are different in the two regions. There are many advantages and disadvantages in both life styles ,but ,in general, it would be better for us and for children to grow up in cities because it is more developed in all fields than a village.

Not Only a University

Remy Rhayem - HananeChamma Not Only a University The mistress and the dream of each student, the earth’s heaven is “AUB”; AUB is one of the most reputable universities in the Middle East. It contains students from different countries. Education quality is extremely beneficial in someone’s life. Nowadays, AUB is popular for its high education for several reasons. First, the school of business that is known as a very old department at AUB, and it takes the seventh rank worldwide. AUB instructors, for instance, are professional and competent. This helps students to manage themselves and to attend their accomplishment in a great way as well. Therefore, taking courses of these doctors leads you to be professional student. The most secure place is AUB, and I know that it will follow the same routine as every day. Whenever I enter from the gate, there are security men who also ask about the “ID” to assert that I am an AUB student. Their goal is to make this university as well-organized place as they can. Furthermore, the workers are always waiting to help students in a goal to repair any imperfection. According to these, any incident fire happens at AUB, you will find them beside you and directly they save you. My view to the cats and trees never changes either. This fanciful place contains a plenty of cats and trees such as the large gardens, a very huge green field. The gym is a place which makes you feel relieved, so this powerful place reflects the serenity within us. In conclusion, time seems to pass quickly as a result of having good living. Try as much you can, to get a scholarship for university admission that makes you happy in your studies and your job later on. It’s venerable for its features and subcultures.

The Earth’s Heaven

Remy Rhayem - Hanane Chamma The mistress and the dream of each student, the earth’s heaven ,is “AUB”; AUB is one of the most reputable universities in the Middle East. It contains students from different countries. Education quality is extremely beneficial in someone’s life. Nowadays, AUB is popular for its high education for several reasons. First, the school of business that is known as a very old department at AUB, and it takes the seventh rank worldwide. AUB instructors, for instance, are professional and competent This helps students to manage themselves and to attend their accomplishment in a great way as well. Therefore, taking courses of these doctors leads you to be professional student. The most secure place is AUB, and I know that it will follow the same routine as every day. Whenever I enter from the gate, there are security men who also ask about the “ID” to assert that I am an AUB student. Their goal is to make this university as well-organized place as they can. Furthermore, the workers are always waiting to help students in a goal to repair any imperfection. According to these, any incident fire happens at AUB, you will find them beside you and directly they save you. My view to the cats and trees never changes either. This fanciful place contains a plenty of cats and trees such as the large gardens, a very huge green field. The gym is a place which makes you feel relieved, so this powerful place reflects the serenity within us. In conclusion, time seems to pass quickly as a result of having good living. Try as much you can, to get a scholarship for university admission that makes you happy in your studies and your job later on. It’s venerable for its features and subcultures.

Classmates

Classmates When you attend college , you will have different types of classmates. The students you will meet are a mix of different groups in my class; many categories of students are present. First of all, there are the sweet dreamers like the girl who sits next to me. While we are in class, I am bound to see her sleeping ;I think she is a party girl. The second type, is the hang out student. He goes to class the first week of university ,then he goes only on exam days. Furthermore, another type of student is the last minute student who does not prepare for his class, he at least attends them. Moreover, I am surprised by seeing the technology addict students. When you are in class, while listening to the teacher you see these students typing on their mobile, laptop, chatting on Facebook or listening to the music. Moreover, there is the hard workers student. In reality, these categories of students spend their time in the library studying every single word the teacher says and solving millions of problems. In conclusion, we are always able to meet new kind of students because each one has his/her own features.

life

Everybody in this life faces things that gives him a push to see what's life real about..well in my case I faced all the world!! Last year I got kicked from three schools for bad marks and misbehavior,I can't say I'm an angel and I didn't do anything because that will be a lie..anyways everybody knows that grade 12 at the end we should do official exams and when I got kicked there was still 3 months before the exams and when I tell someone I got kicked he or she says to me "how do you expect to pass the official exams??" And some laughed at me but for me these people made my determination to pass the exams higher,and at the last instead making people laugh at me they start looking at me with respect not laughing anymore. I stayed three months studying all alone not asking for small help, I even lost 20 kilogram of my weight because I was doing a hard died ,so people were shocked because I was doing a hard diet and studying..At the end I have learned when you are down you only need two things to get up again which are self determination and faith in god especially god because our god when he's with you not even a nuclear weapon can bring you down.

Friendship

Samira Abou Alfa Barja,Lebanon Friendship Since friendship is the most honest relationship and the purest feeling ever, I can conclude that God is my best friend and the only who I can trust. At night, when everybody is sleeping in this world I stay alone, sad, depressed and miserable. I have no one to speak or to share my matters with. Only GOD listens to me in these cases. He makes me feel comfortable, safe and relaxed. When I talk to him I become able to find solutions to my problems. Besides, when I pray, it means when I meet my best friend “GOD” -who advises me, protects me and tries to teach me the meaning of love and life- I feel secure and happy. He promises me the paradise and the happiness; he answers my prayers and never lets me be betrayed since He is the perfection. Thanks God, thanks my Best Friend

Special Story

Samira Abou Alfa November, 13, 2013 Barja,Lebanon A Special Story “Stop looking in the mirror and forget how you look like; we are all special the way we are”. On December, 6, 1995- it means 18 years ago- a girl was born somewhere in Lebanon and had a special story. She was the first born in her family. In fact, this girl was growing up in good conditions, she was well-treated by her parents. However, she had many problems in her life; for instance, she was somehow shy and silent. She did not have friends and was always lonely. Moreover, all blamed her defects, and they did not even try to understand her; thus, no one expected her to be a special person in the future. Although she was silent, she heard each comment the others said about her, so she aimed to do a difference. Day by day, she had been growing up with her dream till she started to achieve it by the age of eight years old where she became the first in her class. Furthermore, she challenged herself and others, and she showed many talents that she had been hidden for a long time. Happily, she is now an intelligent girl, a writer, a poet, a good cook, and a good painter…. Who everybody appreciates her solo, and her talents. She is, indeed, Samira Abou Alfa who is me. Reflection: I am not arrogant or proud. I am only a human being who had been suffering for a long time, and when I passed my bitter problem, I found that had a special story and a good experience in life that taught me a lot.

Oppression and Terrorism

Samira Oppression and Terrorism “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes, he has choice but to become an outlaw”. Nelson Mandela Avantika Ahuja, who lived in the USA, returned to Delhi after her father’s ailment. While she was there, she met Eshaan Khan a university professor. Being in the same career and the same place, they feel in love. Meanwhile Avantika decided to travel to the USA again in order to work there. Fortunately, Eshaan agreed to join her, so they got married before they traveled together although the reservation of Avantika’s father about his daughter marrying a Muslim. Being in the new land with great jobs and living in an Indian district, they had lived happy until things started to change. It supposed to be a nice night where she had been waiting for her husband to share with him the new of her pregnancy; however, she heard voices coming from their neighbors’ house. Thereafter, she discovered that they were terrorists. As a result, she became afraid and told her husband what he knew. Unluckily, it was a disaster when she knew that her husband is one of them and that he used her in order to travel to the USA; therefore, she tried to tell the police, but she failed because of their menace and control. After, she cooperated with Riyaz, a man whose beloved was their victim, so he succeeded to integrate in that group in term to destroy it. Finally, it was the last plan where they decided to blow a chain in monorails. Riyaz told the police what will go on, so it acted to prevent the disaster, it was too late where many victims died. One monorail remained, Avantika was there with two other women with bombs in their bags. Eshaan hadn’t known before about this thing; thus, he harried to save his son and wife’s life. Happily, he did it and saved in fact the lives of hundreds of people. As a good strategy to not be caught or discovered, he killed himself before the police can catch him, but he never forgot to tell his true beloved Avantika his real name. She forgave him sinceshe defined that he was a victim who lost his family during the war in Pakistan by the Americans. Reflection: The terrorism cannot be excused since violence is not a good way to solve problem or to maintain justice. However, the severe oppression must kill the hearts and sometimes change the mercy to a bigger injustice. May GOD blesses people and guides them to the good way of peace. Reference: Zee Aflam TV.

Tell Me Why

Tell Me Why A song preformed by a 9 year old kid its called "Tell Me Why" ,it talks about humanity and that in his dreams he sees children sing a son of love for every boy and girl the sky is blue the fields are green and laughter is the language of the world then he wakes up and all he sees is a world full of people in need so he asks why the world has to be like this he doesnt understand when so many need somebody we dont give them a hand , everyday he asks himself "what will i have to do to be a man do i have to stand and fight? To prove to everybody who i am, is that what my life is for? To be lost in a world full of war? " and he asks again why , why doest it have to be like this ? Why do we let the forests burn ? Why do we let the oceans die?why dont we learn ? Why cant we all be friends . It's a very strong song, the fact that its a kid whos preforming it should make men ashamed , i hope one day his dreams come true and we actually get to live in a peaceful loving world where everybody is equal

Masks we wear

Masks we wear On May 24, 2012, a short film, written and directed by KJ Adams was produced. An Award winning for inspirational short film "identity" is a project made to the youth in schools. "Living in a world everybody wears masks due to lack of self identity, a brave girl encounters the truth that sets her free" JK Adams says. It begins with the girl saying "Today, I found the truth". The film shows us a teacher informing the students including the girl about "Plato's allegry of the cave", talking about human beings who live in a cave and don't see but a dark wall, because they have never been outside. Until that day, when one man had realized the fault, and he discovered a whole new world outside, and because he was now the unlighted one, his job was to come and free those that still trapped in the cave. The girl then, lifts her had with hope... Everyone was wearing a mask, in that hall she where she was walking, staring to all those students around her, lost. Then comes that scene, showing the most important idea in this film: a yellow masked girl on a picture was the ideal of beauty, whiles all the other people wearing a yellow mask, were combined around her with arrogant. After that, she looks to a girl with a white mask, who removed it quickly, to a purple one, so that she can talk to a group wearing a purple mask.. The girl, as we can see, was lost in her mind; she knew that there was something going wrong around the world, but she couldn't find it well, till that day.. She ran to the restaurant’s bathroom, fell down, and broke her mask by mistake.. She released there was a real face under the mask, and she removed it, after a little hesitation, she saw her face and smiled and said: "Today, the truth f found me". That film, as I think, didn't win the award for the best inspirational short film by coincidence, it has a message, guided every human, not just students, telling him to be himself, not what the others want him to be... To act like what his behavior tells him to act, not what TV shows him. The identity isn't just about name, sex, and language, the identity is about how everyone thinks and believes. "I think, so I exist “Carl Marks once said, so we shouldn't let the others on our behalf, the identity shows that we really are, and if we lose our personal thoughts and beliefs, we lose our identity. Rayane Mansour

Nick’s Story

Khawlla Abdal Al Sater Nick’s Story Imagine you were born without arms and legs. What could you feel? How could you provide your needs? How would you adapt with your difficulties? Indeed, if I was that person, I would die. However, Nickolas is that boy, who was born without legs and arms. As he grew up, he found himself as an unnecessary person in the life. Although all his depression and sadness, he insisted on facing all the difficulties even he was without legs and arms. He insisted on being someone who is beneficial. Now he is 25 years old; by the way, he does lot of things: he plays football, studies, swims, rides horses, and many others. One of the most ironic sayings to him is “How can you smile and you have nothing that makes you feel happy?”. He answers, “I love life”. I think we should appreciate these people because although they have some physical abnormalities, they are the most creative courageous and brave people and surely “When there is a will, there is a way.”

Don’t walk behind me

“Don’t walk behind me;I may not lead.Don’t walk in front of me;I may not follow.Just walk beside me and be my friend.”Friendship is an important component in our life,and friends are the cornerstone of our personality.When I was at high school,I met a boy in my class.He was an intelligent,polite,and noble guy.Day after another,our friendship got stronger.We became very close to each others.We spent all the time together at school,discussing our lessons and social events.Unfortunately,I was obliged to change my school the third year because of the infeasibility to commute as we have changed our house.I was very sad since I left my best friend,but our friendship was strong,and distance didn’t break it.Last year,we both got a scholarship to AUB,and we are now roommates.All in all,this guy is very important in my life.He is my second brother,and our friendship was a great pillar for my entire life.

Sheer Willpower

Sheer Willpower It’s said, “A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.” Visiting the orphanage “El shaarani” which is located in Tripoli, North Lebanon was the best decision I have made, and I have taken so much. We were divided into four groups, each one has his own task to do with the orphans such as playing puzzles, planting plants in pots, giving information about how to use a computer in a goal to revive a glimmer of hope in their mind, and making bracelets to wide their imagination. Furthermore, our mission was to get involved especially with teaching tantamount to a brilliant volunteering project. They looked like very welcoming and friendly. Moreover, I was tickled pink because teaching English to ones that were all ears reflects to me a sense such an eager beaver. In addition, I liked getting to know each of their personalities. I had a great time, and I perceived that everyone would smile at me. This situation was quite weird to me, absolute positive experience. At the same time, I learned that we must accept life for what actually is. Rather when out of dejection and despair of life like missing father or a mother, you must feel rise in your challenge to live and to reach more accomplishments. This is the glorious moment in your life that you should adjust to. Eventually, the defiance might be chiefly the idea to have self-esteem. Therefore, I feel comfortable that I left happiness in their heart. I will definitely be going back to visit it again when I can in the future.

It isn’t Believable!

Name: kassem Ali al-hellani It isn’t Believable! Thomas Jefferson said:” I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it” Any student dreams to enter the best university in Lebanon, but with me the dream happened. Long ago, in my third secondary year, I learned of a scholarship to AUB. At the beginning, I didn’t care about because I think that it’s impossible to be an AUB student, but then my teachers persuaded me to apply for this scholarship. Ok let’s try my chance. I submitted application, and the waiting time started. Unfortunately, I wrote a wrong phone number on the application, so the administration couldn’t reach me, but the chance played its role. I have a friend, who accepted in the same scholarship the previous year, and he saw my name highlighted in the list, and he knew that they couldn’t reach me when it was the last day of EEE exam and interview, so he called me. I went and had the interview, and on the next day, I went again to AUB and sat for the EEE exam. After that, I decided to work hard to be accepted in the final state of scholarship. The dream happened, I was accepted at AUB in mechanical engineering, and I will always work hard and do my best to achieve my goals. I learned that success in life depends on both luck and persistence and not to discard anything because it may take you to the best place you may ever imagine .

Give Cheerfully and Accept Gratefully

Paula B. Nahoum 8/Nov/2013 “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” Last week, I participated in a volunteer work under the title of “juice for charity”. The most outstanding thing that motivated me to do that was the credit that had been given to the center of children cancer, and since I am known as a helpful person, I was very interested in helping these people. I did really care about these people who are facing this disease because in them I found the meaning of patience and being hopeful that one day he or she will be cured. It was an amazing experience for several reasons. First, I learned how important helping others is and how it can build my character. Second, I was in a direct contact with other students and doctors to encourage them to buy a cup of juice for helping these people who are suffering from that fatal illness .Furthermore, I improved my speaking skill when I was convincing the buyers and telling them how buying that juice will be a source of helpfulness. Finally, this mission has showed me the importance of working in a team. It taught me that sacrificing few hours of my time for people in need will draw a big smile on their faces.

New World….New Life

Remy Raymond Rhayem New World….New Life It is said, “A university should be a place of light, liberty and learning.” I still remember very well the first day at AUB when I had a lot of emotions wrestling within me like a battlefield. I couldn’t know what facial expressions I had to draw. The happiness of being at AUB or the sadness for leaving my parents and my hometown were incessantly bewildering me. AUB, the reputable university in the Middle East, brought me joy and pleasure. I started a new life for which I become responsible for every detail in this life far away from my parents. However, I was aware of the importance of this opportunity, so my choice was either to challenge myself, to be strong and to encounter all the difficulties or stick to my hometown. I was conscious to choose my close friends and to act with strange people. In addition, I had to cook and to wash my dishes and my laundry. At the same time, I had to study hard in order to preserve my scholarship and not disappoint my parents who have been very proud of me so far. Now, I feel comfortable although I miss my parents, but I should adjust to my new life.

walls feel better than human beings

It is well-known that people in our society say that walls feel better than human beings. From my room, my life started to deteriorate a month ago for many reasons. First, I was very tired and sad due to my roommate’s behaviors. He used to behave as if he were alone in the room without respecting me. Besides, I was very disturbed, and I was in a very miserable state due to his selfish personality. He was very careless and selfish, for he didn’t respect my coexistence with him in the room. Since the condition became unbearable, I decided to change my room, so I sent an e-mail to Ms. Nisrine who is in chargeof the dormitory building to help me, and I told her about my condition. The second day, I received her reply, and I was very surprised and optimistic, for she accepted my request to change my room, so I thanked her for accepting my request. Despite of all difficulties I encountered a month ago, now I am feeling very comfortable since I am very satisfied with my current situation.

The Truth

Student’s Name: Hammam antar ID#: 201407052 It’s said, “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” Last year, on a cold windy day, when I was roaming in a huge, impressive market, I stopped by a popcorn seller, and I asked him for a five-dollar-popcorn cup. He said that he’d have happily given me, but due to the cold weather I might not enjoy them. I asked him whyhe was telling me that! His aim had to be to sell them. He said boldly, “Sir, in my previous life, I was a thief. Now in this life, and in order to reach the inner salvation, I want to be absolutely truthful. Howsoever tough it may be, I will be ready to face all types of hardship to redeem my previous sins.” I told him that I have found in him a true teacher, and his words are appreciated. Thus, I purchased his popcorn because in them, I found the warmth of truthfulness. He wept and I tried to console the seller by telling him that no one is impeccable, and we all did sins. Ever since and until his death we kept meeting daily without fails. This has been the most rewarding experience in my entire life, and it has taught me that no matter what the consequences are,a person should always tell the truth,and refrain from cheating so that he can make the real profit.

Rescue

Rescue “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others.” Last year, an explosion was happened in Achrafieh. The bomb caused a lot of damages in a popular street where poor families lived. Later on,“Farah al attah”, private organization, launched a rebuilding and a restoration project on this street. Therefore, my friends and Idecided to participate for the first time. When we arrived, we were fascinated by the huge losses that the explosion had caused. We took our tools and addressed saying, “work here we are” We went to a horrible apartment the blood was everywhere. All the furniture was damaged. We cleaned the apartment little bit. Then we wore appropriate clothes to paint the walls. After hours of hard work we returned to our homes. It was a rewarding, fascinating experience. It enabled me to know the importance of teamwork, passion, and energy to achieve a task. Finally, it was a wonderful feeling to know that you are the inspiration of a smile. It’s necessary to help others not only with prayers, but in our daily lives because one hand doesn’t clap alone.

Big Mission…New Life

Ali Atwi Big Mission…New Life “Where there is power, there is resistance.”Few months ago, I had a very challenging experience; it allowed me to reach my dream to become an AUB student. The mission started on March 2013 when a delegate from the AUB visited my school and spoke about USAID scholarship. After 2 days, I went to Beirut to visit the university and apply for the scholarship.It was the deadline day, and the surprise was that the admission office was closed; there I lost hope, but fortunately someone came to find his lost keys; she was working at the admission, and she took the application from me. Two months later, I received a call from AUB, and I knew that I was one of 256 accepted students in Lebanon. Then I went bananas,and I sat of the triple E exam, even if I am French educated, and I made the interview as well. Moreover, I studied hard for the official exam, and I got good grades that made me one of the best 52 students. Now I took the green light to make my dream comes true, and I learned that the patience is the key of success. 8/11/2013

"THE WINDOW"

"THE WINDOW" Ali Chamaoun Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour a day to drain the fluids from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their lives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed next to the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed would live for those one-hour periods where his world be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the outside world. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake, the man had said, "Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model beats. Lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every color of the rainbow. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the other man closes his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by although the other man could not hear the band. Because an alien thought entered his head: Why should he have all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see anything ?it didn't seem fair .so his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned him sour. Late one night, as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window groped for the button to call for help, but his friend never moved, and pushed his own button.Now,there was only silence...deathly silence. After the nurse take the dead body away, he asked her if he could be moved next to the window. So, she switched.Slowly,painfully,he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look. It was a blank wall!!! The pursuit of happiness is a matter of choice. It is a positive attitude we consciously choose to express. It is not a girl that gets delivered to our doorstep each morning, nor does it come through the window. Our minds are like programs, awaiting the codes that will determine behaviors. Let's handle encouraging and uplifting thoughts to find happiness.

In Search of Happiness

In search of happiness ''To live happily is an inward power of the soul'' once said Aristotle. He meant by this if our soul is strong enough, we can live with happiness. There is different causes of happiness. First, the environment around us such us being in a friend's promotion will make you happy for no reason. Second, surprises made by our friends or family can be another cause of happiness. For example, if you came back in house and you find your family prepared your favorite dinner you will be happy. Third, when a person achieve a goal like when you graduated with excellent grade. Last, weather can be one more cause. Some people feel better in spring, some other feel better in winter. As happiness is an effect of those causes, it is also a cause to many other effects. When we are happy, we can give positive energy for other persons around us. Like in a birthday party, we give good emotions to the birthday boy and vice versa. Next, longevity and a good health can be a result of happiness, like you can't have a cancer syndrome. Also , happiness can give you boost and enthusiasm like when you have a baby, and you become a parent, it will boost you to perform your career. Finally, happiness can makes time worthy. You add life to save time. In conclusion, happiness can be a result of different factors and it can result different effects. So work hard to be happy and benefit of its goods. Ali Chamoun

My Best Writer

Samira Abou Alfa Dr.Ghada Awada Date: Nov, 25, 2013 Title: My best writer “If you think deeply about the conditions of people, you will find those who are most concerned with the faults of others to have the most faults themselves”. -Al- jahez- As a bookworm, I read a lot of books, and I know many authors. One of them is “Al-jahez” who is my best writer and who I appreciate and admire him for many reasons. For one thing, he is a good writer who wrote “Al-boukhalaa” which is my favorite book ever that teaches a lot about people behaviors in a funny way. Furthermore, he is the kind of person who has sense of humor and a unique writing’s style which draws his own identity and makes him very popular and lovely. In addition, I can find that he had a special life where he confronted the poverty, became a famous person, and died under his library’s debris; thus, he is a respected person who is a sample of responsibility and a story of success. Moreover, he was thought to be very intelligent and cultured. To prove that, I heard that Al-jahez had the habit to visit the library every day during his adolescence to loan books since he had not money to purchase them. One time, he loved a book very much, so the librarian challenged him and told him that if he memorizes the whole book which is 3000 papers at the same night, he will give it to him for free. Fortunately, he did it, won the challenge, and proved his intelligence which is valued. Last but not least, he had a big loyalty to his Arabic identity that can be prized where he fought longtime in order to save it. In sum, I can say that “Al-jahez” is a memorable person who held the Arabic language; that’s why I respect him and I appreciate his achievements”.