Prompt: Will the next generations be affected by climate change? We are already suffering some of the effects causing by climate change… Can you imagine what’s going to happen to the next generation? The world’s population has grown a lot for the past years, and we have been destroying our planet every day without even noticing it. The next generation will be highly affected by climate change because we are contaminating our planet too much turning it into an unsafe place to live. Planet Earth’s temperature has drastically increased over the last decade. The main reason is that most of the energy we produce depends on burning fossil fuel. So, our prevailing activity for electricity generation produces a lot of carbon dioxide, which is the major cause of climate change. Cars are well-known for carbon dioxide emission too; we’ve been destroying the ozone layer that keeps the planet safe from the sun every day, without even caring about it. Another contaminating factor is the industrial development we’ve had recently; we’ve been producing carbon dioxide all over the surface of the Earth in pursuance of improving the way we live. Earth’s population has grown very much over the past years too, but is it good for our planet? We certainly need food to survive and ironically, we’ve been killing our world in order to feed millions and millions human beings (and animals too). We have deforested a huge amount of our lands to grow the essential everyday meal. Again, this also have a negative impact over the ozone layer, which is our main protection against climate change. In summary, we need to find more eco-friendly ways to produce energy to stop the environmental pollution and its effects. The next generations don’t deserve to be affected by climate change because of our current mistakes. Renewable energy and electric transportation seem to be the best options. We only have one sphere where we can live, let’s save it now.

Essay prompt: Is it a good idea to use credit cards? Do you have a credit card? Have you ever learnt how to use it correctly? Having credits cards is getting more and more popular in Paraguay, especially among young people. It’s helped to the national economy growth and there are a lot of plus points that this payment method has. Using credit cards is a good idea because you don’t have to carry cash with you and you can use it in case of emergency. Sadly, we live in a country with a high rate of delinquency. Population in Asuncion and the near cities have been growing a lot for the past few years, and so does the theft rate. Credits cards give us the sureness of having a lot of money right away without worrying about being stolen. Of course, you cannot depend on credit cards only when you go out because it’s not accepted everywhere yet. I like to use my credit card when I hang out on weekends; it’s a lot more comfortable for me and I also get a record of my expenses at the end of the month. For those who haven’t decide to build an emergency fund yet, credit cards could be another good alternative. We never know when we’re going to need that extra money. Unexpected expenses can give you a really uncomfortable and hard time while you try to get the money you don’t have, not to mention how embarrassing could be having to ask a friend for some money. If saving money is difficult for you, then credit cards can save you in those cases. Of course, you have to assign some of your monthly budget to your ‘’emergency cases’’ and not waste it all. Luckily, I had to use my credit card for emergency cases just a few times. As shown above, credit cards are very useful to buy things without worrying about thieves and it can save your life when you least expect it. On the other hand, I think it’s really important to learn how to use them properly, not to have a lot of doubts at the end of the month. Young people, and even adults, need to be taught about financial education from school. It’s not bad to have credit cards, as long as you know how to use them for your own benefit.

New Year! Another year is practically over. Chronological time reminds us that we've lived for another 365 days. It's been a very good year in such a particular way, with ups and downs (more ups but stronger downs) Still, I have nothing to regret. Life's tried to persuade me that coincidence might indeed, exist. Admittedly, I almost change my mind about the subject. Don't get me wrong, I like it that there's still a lot of mystery about fate that intrigues me in such a way that let me wonder about the meaning of life and... (ok now, we're going too deep). For me, 2015 is equal to gratefulness and rejoice. Many people contributed to build wondrous moments in every single month of my year. Nevertheless, there were days in which I could not even find my cape to fly away. (Not to tell you I couldn't feel the force either) I'd like to point out that people were crucial on my way to happiness. Friends, family, teachers, classmates, coworkers, etc. Thank you all. Its a good day to recap all the things that happened this year, everything that you have learnt, your faults and success leading actions, a day to remember moments that make you happy and feel alive. We shall never forget to spread the knowledge and love. Be a better version of yourself every sunrise!

The sound of dead coffee (part 2) THE CAT There was a huge noise coming from outside the house. I woke up immediately. My sense of hearing started to complain to my little feline brain. It left me stunned. My curiosity once tried to kill me when I was a little kitten, but we still were very good friends. So, as you might be guessing I stretched my four furry legs and went to see what was happening. My path to the liberty was a strict pattern that I followed every time I needed to go outside the house. This time I was a little bit sleepy, so let’s say I didn’t calculate well where I was going and I broke the stupid cup of coffee that Billy left just in the middle of my way. No way! I screwed it up one more time. Sometimes humans try to make your cat life a little bit harder than it already is. Luckily, I came out unscathed, but the atrocity was already done. I couldn’t imagine my paws soaked with dead and innocent coffee grains that humans consume in their offices or kitchen every day. I continue my path to the glory as my curiosity was getting bigger. I came out of the house, helpless, in the middle of the cold night of… I don’t know what month. Anyways, the thing is that nothing really interesting was taking place in my calm and almost boring neighborhood. Right after that I could hear Billy’s effing and blinding as usual. He must had seen the broken cup that his father gave him last year who knows why. This was the first time I broke one of his cups, so I didn’t know what his reaction was going to be. I decided that, it was better to stay hidden until the breaking dawn. So I escaped and went to hide right behind the nearest tree. Of course, the nearest tree was that one Billy hated because of its irregular shape and the wrong place it was planted who knows when. He stepped right in front of the big white main door and started to look everywhere around. I was a good at hiding so he couldn’t even see my tale. I noticed how, seconds before he turned around and went back into the house, he looked at Tom’s brand-new car with a little bit more emphasis and perhaps envy too. The fact that I was getting hungry already was funny and frustrating at the same time. Neither of us ever knew what caused such a deafening noise that burst our sweet dreams that night and made me broke the birthday cup too. It still remains as a faded mystery somewhere inside our memories. I guess that, perchance, this is just a story about how the cup ended up broken after all.

The sound of dead coffee (part 1) THE HUMAN There was a loud noise coming from outside the house. I woke up immediately. I went downstairs to see what was happening. I couldn’t see my cat sleeping in his nook. Once in the kitchen, I found a broken white cup of coffee all over the floor, the smell was unmistakable and it still addictively penetrated my dozing nostrils. My bare feet felt a thousand tiny cold pieces of porcelain that used to be my father’s gift from my last year’s birthday. Amazingly original as always. I headed towards the main door in the middle of that November night and I opened it anxiously tired, and no… in case you’re wondering, I hadn’t any big ugly baseball bat to hit whoever was outside willing to kill me. I just had a dirty knife that I had used earlier that night to have dinner. I wish I have had a fancy little gun, one of those you’re suppose to use if you are a secret agent working for a lot of loot, but that wasn’t my case. For my big surprise, I couldn’t see anything suspicious. The same old tree messing around with the cold wind was in the same stupid place to grow as a tree. Sometimes you must be conscious about the best places to take root for the rest of your shortened tree life. The garbage can was in the same dark and humid place. My neighbor’s brand-new car was just where the asshole left it after he came back from his remarkable job he usually boast of to me. I heaved a sigh of relief and anger. I was sleeping so tight for god’s sake. I turned around and closed the main door very slowly, like if it was alive or something. Instantaneously, I started to analyze the crime scene I saw in the kitchen. The stupid cat must have thrown my cup of coffee. For me it was now a fugitive. Where was that little demon? I refused to look what time was it. I was too busy thinking about my bed. I automatically went to my room, every step upstairs took longer than it did when there was still a big sun that caress the city. I think I only slept about six hours that night.

Through the Darkness (Part 9) I started to cry due to the desperation and consuming fear. I will never forget that horrendous night. I knew my father had been shot by Mr. Campbell but I didn't knew what to do. Where was mom? As I heard Mr. Campbell coming down the stairs I closed the door. I couldn't help being noisy. He realized I was in the bathroom. I locked the door as quick as I could. Trembling and teary-eyed. You gotta be strong son. I looked at the windows, too small, I thought. I turned off the lights and sat down on the floor. I hugged my knees to my chest and closed my eyes. Everything went black. Afterwards I heard Mr. Campbell knocking furiously on the bathroom door; “Who’s there?” he asked. I started to cry noiselessly. “Who’s there?...” he asked again. “Who’s there?” I heard for the third time. I jumped out of my seat. Right after, I saw Charles standing in front of the car, looking at me through the windshield. His flashlight was not working so well. I could hear him from the distance, through my window, because I had left it opened before. It was getting cold inside the car. I suddenly remembered that I was looking for a flashlight. Charles went back to his car so I took advantage of that situation and got out of my car. I hurried and took a look in the trunk to see what I could find. It was so dark inside the tunnel that I couldn't see anything. I had to touch with my bare hands the inside of the trunk. I found a lantern. A lantern! I was one lucky son of a bitch. My friend Robert had forgotten it two weeks ago when we went camping and fishing for two days outside.