How My View of Dogs Changed
by
Y. S.
I used to hate dogs very much. I disliked dogs since I was an elementary school student. I think one of the reasons I didn't like dogs is that my mother doesn't like dogs. My mother hates dogs' barking sound, fur and smell. So I think I'm affected by my mom's thinking. Anyway, when I saw a dog on the road, I went out of my way to avoid it. Even after becoming a university student, I still disliked dogs.
I went into the Korean army when I was 21 years old. One day, while I was standing guard, I saw something move on a mountain. It was a little dog. I and my colleagues tried to catch it. After 15 minutes, we barely could catch it. That dog may have been abandoned by its owner, so my unit decided to take care of it for a short time.
My boss ordered me to clean its house, so I used to go there about three times a week. At first it was afraid of people, so it trembled when I went there. But after two weeks, it became accustomed to me and greeted me by wagging its tail. And I also changed. While I was taking care of it, I became friendly with it. I was very surprised that it recognized me, so I learned that dogs are very emotional animals.
Still, I don't want to keep a dog. But I don't hate dogs anymore. An accidental encounter with that dog changed my view of dogs. Now when I meet a dog on the road, I don't avoid it, but instead I greet it. Possibly after 10 or 20 years I might keep a dog, because my view of dogs may change more over time.
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The Three Things You Need to be a Good Guitarist
by
K.T.
Have you ever thought you wanted to become a good guitarist? When you listen to your favorite bands, or when you listen to a guitar's sound, you might think so. I'll explain the three things you need to become a good guitarist.
First, you must listen to many kinds of guitarists' sounds and styles of playing. Don't listen to only one genre. There are many types of guitar sounds, like metal, jazz, pop, rock and more. Guitarists have their own personality in their sounds and playing, so if you listen to many guitarists' sounds and playing, you can get material for your own guitar sound and playing style. Many great guitarists say, "Just steal your favorite guitarist's playing style and change your personality." Some playing styles (like sweep arming, legato and more) are found among great guitarists. The important thing is how can you bring these styles to your own playing and integrate them with your personality.
Second, you have to play guitar with emotion. Even if you can play an impossible guitar solo, if you don't change your emotion in your guitar playing, people will not be interested in your guitar playing. The guitar play that impresses people expresses your feeling. I like John Petrucci. He is Dream Theater's guitarist. His guitar solo has many kinds of style. In a speedy melody, he plays a very difficult fast solo. But when he plays a ballade song, he plays a very impressive, emotional solo. He can play a very good but different solo for each song. Emotion is the most important thing to playing the guitar.
Third, you have to play and play your guitar all the time. My favorite guitarist, Mick Thomson, says, "If you want to be a great guitarist, don't have at it with friends. Just play guitar over eight hours. Just play until your arms become very painful. If you try it, you will become a great guitarist!" When I started playing guitar, I followed this policy, and I play guitar every day. Now I can play guitar very well.
You can't spend time on other things if you really love guitar. Can you sacrifice your time to guitar? If so, you should do three things to become a good guitarist: listen to many kinds of guitarists' sounds and guitar playing, play guitar with emotion, and play guitar very hard. Great guitarists do these three things and win the right to be a professional guitarist.
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The Three Things You Need to Be a Good Waitress
by
H. W.
A good waitress can satisfy customers with the proper reception. By my experience at my part-time job, I learned it. Now I'll introduce the three required things for being a good waitress.
First, it is important that you always smile. A customer will also have a smiling face if your receive your customers with a smile. Even when you're busy, it is very important to always greet the customers vigorously.
Second, notice the customer's surroundings. If you do so, you can find the customers who are likely to want something. Before you are called, you should speak to a customer yourself. If so, the store functions smoothly, and you can make the visitors glad.
Finally, you need good communication. You need to have a little friendly conversation with a customer. The visitor who enjoys conversation with you will probably come to the store again. For a waitress, communication is very important.
The three things you need to be a good waitress are a smile, care to surroundings, and communication. A visitor will be your fan if you can make him feel natural. And if you master these three things, they will be useful in other ares of life as well.
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I Changed in Canada
by
M. K.
In spring of 2011, I left Japan and I arrived in Regina, Canada. It was the first time for me to visit Canada, or to have a long stay in another country. This study abroad was a very important and great experience for me because I changed in many ways on this trip abroad.
At first, I had many problems. For example, I could not use English very well. I did not like talking to people I had just met, so I was weak at making friends. Also I could not talk with my host family very well when I arrived in Regina. When I went to class, it was so hard to make friends there. The students in that class were mostly Japanese, but I could not adapt myself to them. I could not make good friends in class when the class started, but my English was so poor, so I had to get someone's help.
At that time, I thought it was a good chance to change myself. From the next day, I said, "Good morning" to the students in the next seat in the class! And if I had a problem, I asked for help from the next seat's friend or the class manager. If I was invited for lunch, I always accepted.
After the first semester, I could not pass the test, so I could not step up to the next grade. My advisor said, "You should have more confidence," so I tried more things and I got confidence. I made a lot of friends at the University of Regina and every day I talked with them. Gradually, I became more comfortable, and I went to many places. For example, I went to a lot of restaurants, I went to karaoke with friends, I want to many parties at friends' houses, I went to bars, and I went to movies! I got many stories because I experienced a lot of things!
Now I like to talk with many people and I can talk from the first time we meet! I am thinking it was so boring before I went to Canada, and now my life is shining! I am so happy and enjoying life now!
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