Procrastination

Vídeo de Johnny Kelly, © Royal College of Art (2007)

How to overcome it:
-try to praise what you have done
-make an effort to accept compliments with a simple "thank you"
-believe you can do it
-try working 5 minutes on your project, then decide if you want to continue or not
-it's impossible to erradicate all mistakes
-establish time limits: one hour to watch TV, one hour to navigate the Web, one hour to work, etc.

Searching for a meaning

Why do we have to be constantly searching for a meaning for life?
Why can't we just live?
I don't know.
What I do know is what happens if you don't find it.
Imagine you were very occupied before, but then you get some time for yourself. You start to think about these questions. You don't find a meaning. The result: you feel lonely and empty, you get bored to death! Satisfaction disapears quickly, walking starts to be a painful activity requiring too much energy, eating is no longer pleasant, sensuality doesn't drive you... You feel so much tedium in your body that you can't do anything. Even thinking gets difficult.
Please, MAKE IT STOP!

Change the law!

Cannabis sativa is a plant in the Cannabaceae family. It is known for its psychoactive effects, due to chemical compounds like THC.
Evidence of cannabis consumption has been found as far back as the 3rd millenium BC, associated to the Hindu religion, in India and Nepal.
In the 20th century, it was embraced by the Rastafari movement and it became illegal in most Western societies. There are many explanations to this: 1) economic interests of the paper and chemical industry; 2) beneficial effects of hemp would lower the profit of pharmaceutical companies; 3) racism directed to associate American immigrants of Mexican and African descent with cannabis abuse.
Today, recreational use drives a sizable demand for the drug, generating an estimated $36 billion market in the USA. Most of the money is spent not on growing and producing but on smuggling the supply to buyers.
The typical retail price in the streets of Portugal is 5€/gram, one euro bellow the median value in Europe.
Medical marijuana can be used in the treatment of conditions like glaucoma, cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, chemotherapy-induced nausea, arterial blockages, clinical depression, anorexia, epilepsy, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, Tourette syndrom and Alzheimer's, but it is still a contorversial issue. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_cannabis)

Reasons in favor of legalization:
-money invested in restraining cannabis could be invested in another areas
-crime is committed to fund the traffic
-there would be more space in prisions
-adulterants in illegal cannabis can be very dangerous for the consumer

I think it should be legal. "The herb is the key to new understanding of the self, the universe, and God. It is the vehicle to cosmic consciousness"

Sources: wikipedia

add: I have just watched a documentary and I want to add a few things to this post.
Well, as you should know, THC, one of the chemical compounds found in cannabis, is believed by some people to have psychotic effects. Recent discoveries show that CBD, another of its compounds, has anti-psychotic effects...

What am I and what can I be?

Well, this is an important question, as it has been bothering me for a long time.
When I was young I was never asked this question nor it has occurred in my mind one single time. I always thought: when I grow up I wanna be this or that, I wanna be like Harry Potter, I wanna look better, I wanna be rich, I wanna be happy. Despite all of this, I didn't become HP, rich or happy... So, I followed a diferent path.
There are two types of characteristics defining us as unique persons: the physical and the psychological.
The physical ones cannot be changed; they develop based in genetics and only a small part depends upon the environment (like acne, etc.). In order to prove my point, see the case of identical twins: they may have the same genetic code but they are still physically distinguishable by a careful observer.
The psychological are still an enigma for me. They are dependent upon the ambient, but are they dependent on the genetics? I think so. I believe that some characteristics come from the brain structure and physiology, which are defined in DNA. But, the majority of our psychological aspects are contingent on the family we were born into, the friends we have got, etc. We can change this: families are dynamic, and friends are chosen.
Now, in a certain point of my life I feel I don't know who I am. I think I may have changed to much and became a different person, one I really am not programmed to be. Is that possible?
How can I meet my true self?

Who am I?

Hello!
I'm a portuguese sixteen-year-old boy who doesn't know what he wants his life to be.
I'll try to compose a flexible blog covering attractive topics related to this subject.
I hope I succeed in this task.
Thanks