Good News Monday: Week Seven
Good News Monday is an online bulletin of Rotaract Club Madrid Capital whose purpose is sharing good news from Madrid and elsewhere in these challenging times. We have teamed up to share positivity all over our MDIO and beyond. Here are the highlights of the week between May 11 and 17.
Top three of the week
- Bombay’s pink sea
At the end of April, as every spring, thousands of pink flamingos landed on the Thane stream in Bombay, drawing a pink stream before the viewers’ gaze. It is estimated that the number of these birds will increase this year due to
cessation of activities throughout India, which adds to other phenomena, such as the return of dolphins to Venice or the Valencian coasts. Will it be a sign of balance with our ecosystem?
- 8 km feeding Grimsby students
Zane Powles, a former military man and teacher at a primary school in Grimsby, England, walks 8 kilometers a day laden with food to ensure that his students and family are provided with meals during the period of confinement.
- Lettuce from outer space
A group of astronauts working at the International Space Station has successfully carried out planting vegetables in space. They have accomplished a pivotal feat, which signifies breakthrough for space exploration and colonization of other worlds both inside and outside our solar system. The farmed lettuces were in perfect condition, and kept all the nutrients, despite having been cultivated under microgravity conditions, which greatly hinders this process.
Humans of New York
“I met Claire during my junior year of college. She was the first girl I ever dated. I’d swung and missed so many times, it was odd having somebody who finally reciprocated my feelings. I’d never been very popular in high school. I didn’t have a core group of friends. I wasn’t an athlete. And before I met Claire, the only thing I had going for me was my intelligence. I was always able to get good grades – so I sort of clung to that. I became a perfectionist. I wouldn’t even sign up for AP classes because I didn’t think I could get an A+. When I got accepted into a great law school, I finally felt like I was being vindicated. I was in the top quarter of my class. But during my final year, Claire and I were taking a trip to her parents’ house, and we got in a bad accident on the highway. I woke up in a daze. When the doctors scanned my head for a concussion, they discovered a benign tumor. My brain surgery was scheduled for the next week. The surgeon told me to expect some memory loss during my recovery, but it was much worse than I expected. I’d ask the same questions over and over. Sometimes I couldn’t remember conversations that happened earlier in the day. And I ended up failing the bar exam even though I studied my very hardest. Eventually I was able to pass the exam, but it’s been a struggle ever since. Over the past seven years, it’s been a constant battle to convince myself I’m still normal. To convince myself I’m still smart. But Claire has been a total angel. She’s always telling me that nobody is perfect. And that nobody needs to be perfect. Whenever I get down on myself, she tells me to stop comparing myself to means and averages. She reminds me that she’s not with me because I’m smart. Or because I’m a lawyer. She’s with me because I’m a good person. And a good father. And I’m deserving of love on those grounds alone. Claire is the one who told me to send in my story. She wanted me to tell you about how I passed the bar exam after my brain surgery. But today is our eighth anniversary. And I just wanted to tell her thanks for always being there.”
Hero of the week
Alfredo del Valle Moreno assisted in the distribution of medications to HIV patients in a Madrid hospital and in the organization and distribution of food for the humanitarian aid project for those affected by COVID-19.
What makes you happy?
Always giving my best without expecting anything in return.
What is one of your hobbies?
Share laughs, personal growth experiences and more on my social networks.
Fun fact about you?
My natural gift for cooking.
If you had a microphone that could reach all the people on the planet, what would your message be?
Dream, make projects, love; and above all believe in what you do. Allow yourself to fail knowing that life will dispel the uncertainties so that you are clear about your goals.
