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How Brenda Learnt To Play Drums in Space

Brenda Bongos was a happy, artistic girl, a girl

with one big ambition - to play the drums in a
band.
But, one big obstacle lay in her way. To be good
enough to play in a band Brenda had to practice
a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people
- many of them sick - in a care home. She knew
that the sound of beating drums and crashing
cymbals would really get on their nerves.
Brenda was a very good, respectful, girl. She
always tried to find a way of practicing her
drums without bothering other people. So, she
had tried playing in the strangest places; a
basement, a kitchen, an attic, and even in a
shower. But it was no good; there was always someone it would annoy. However,
determined to practice as much as she could, Brenda spent most of her time playing on
books and boxes, and looking for new places to practice.
One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot
travel in space, because there’s no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to
become a sort of musical astronaut.
With the help of a lot of time, a lot of books, and a lot of work, Brenda built a space
bubble. This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out all the air
inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit and a chair. Brenda got into the space
suit she had made, entered the bubble, turned on the machine, and...
Calvin Coolidge is once known to have said, “nothing in the world can take the place of
Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with
talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the
world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
We all have had one of those days when we feel overwhelmed with what needs to be
done. At moments like this, we tend to feel unmotivated and neglect the capacity of our
inner reserves. We need to view each new task as a test of our mental and physical
stamina, even when things aren’t going our way. Perseverance propels our enthusiasm
and effort to overcome the hurdles that life throws at us, through self-control. When we
bombarded with challenging tasks, it is important that we focus our mental energy on
the work at hand while setting aside delights of the moment for a longer-term
achievement.
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Perseverance can become a highly rewarding mental state that allows us to experience
positive reinforcement of control over our circumstances. Truth is, when we eventually
start a task that you’ve been dreading and ignore the prompt to call it quits, we may be
pleasantly surprised to find that it’s not as bad as initially anticipated. The odds are
more likely to favour our efforts, if we keep persisting at what we believe to be
important. Our actions on an environment can alter the atmosphere of that
environment, same way we can effect change by just sticking with our tough
convictions.
In life, perseverance separates the winners from the losers, through the difficulties and
setbacks we all face. Being persistent is a skill that anyone can develop by constantly
trying. A baby doesn't give up after he falls every time he tries to walk. He pulls himself
up and tries again. In fact, he keeps trying for as long as it takes to learn how to stand
on his feet. He repeats the process every single time he falls down. How often do we pull
ourselves back up when we hit wall? We sabotage ourselves when we let thoughts of
fear, doubt, and failure begin to invade our mind.
Brenda Bongos played those drums like a wild child! It wasn't long before Brenda - 'The
Musical Astronaut' - had become very famous. So many people came to see her play in
her space bubble that she had to mount a pair of speakers so that everyone could listen
to her play. Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts.
Her fame spread so much that the government proposed that she form part of a unique
space journey. Finally, Brenda was a real musical astronaut, and had gone far beyond
her first ambition of playing drums in a band.
Years later, when they asked her how she had achieved all this, she thought for a
moment, and said, “if those old people next-door hadn't mattered so much to me, I
wouldn't have gone to such lengths to find a solution, and none of this would have ever
happened."

Answer the question, give your own opinión for each one.

a. Describe the traits and values that best define the personality of Brenda Bongos
and her attitude towards life? What values can you highlight in the story?

b. Do you consider that knowing and understanding the dimensions of our

personality is essential to carry out the life Project? Provide arguments,
examples, or experiences to support your ideas.
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c. In What way do you consider that coexistence, our sense of beloging, our
interpersonal relationships and the genetics can influence or change our
perspective of the world, our decisión-making skills, or the development of our
life Project? Support your ideas.

d. In What part of the story can we find the following values: Leadership –
Authenticity – Loyalty – Integrity

e. With your owner words describe the above values.