Music, the limitless medium in which we all share. When we
need something to relate to, to pass the time, or to just tune out the world;
the combination of notes and words come to our ears. It is a beautiful art form
that so many have enjoyed generation after generation. All throughout history
you find music; and to this very day we’re still enjoying it. Music has tied
its way into all different aspects of life, the radio, movies, school, video
games, elevator rides. It has this way of soothing and setting a tone that speaking
alone can’t do. Music has this way of connecting the senses; you just don’t listen
to music, you feel music, you see it. It’s a unique way of reading into a
person. What they listen to can tell a whole story about them. Furthermore, you
can relate through it. Music can bring a whole group together. Through social
media, and concerts, people who enjoy the same music can bond over their
favorite songs and their favorite band members, which can lead to finding out
what other things they have in common. The first song you and the love of your
life dances to can be remembered generations down as the story is told for your
children and grandchildren to hold on to. From soothing jazz to uplifting pop,
song can change your mood. When you’re sad, music can make you feel better, when
you don’t want to be around anyone music speaks to you, and when it’s Friday and
you’re in the best mood you could possibly be in music enjoys every moment with
you. Personally, I remember different compilations of music each year brought. Different
music brings out different memories, and can make you relive some of the best
moments of your life. So as time goes on, hold onto the music that really
speaks to you; you never know when you’re going to want to listen to your favorite
song when you were twelve or the album of your first concert.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Saturday, March 14, 2015
To Read is to Gain Perspective
A continuation of one of my earlier blog posts, I talked about how reading is for everyone you just have to find the right book. Recently I had a conversation about it with one of my friends and it had confirmed what I had said. My friend is not an avid reader, but does get completely invested when a good book does come along. I on the other hand, absolutely love reading. A few points that were made are that books are versatile; you can't just see them in one way, next books are an art form and may be interpreted as we wish, and lastly, that books have endless lessons to offer about life. A big theme we noticed was perspective. There is no right perspective when it comes to a book, we may see it as one way, and the person next to us may see it another way. Books offer us perspectives of all sorts. Perspective of the narrator, of the author, of life, and so on. This rings true for all books. I can thank books for a lot of the way I see the world because so often we get caught up in just the way we see things, and we're so influenced by what's around us, so we don't get a lot of big differences. Books offer that variety and culture that we otherwise wouldn't get. Another way that books offer perspective is if they have a complex character. We don't have to necessarily go through the situation, live the same life, or even be in the same circumstances to relate to a character. We just have to resonate with a character and there you build that connection with the book. This is so vital for the basis of enjoying books. Reading has to be a good experience for someone in order for them to enjoy it and when you can relate to one aspect of the book, you've established something that will pull you to read. Next time you go to the book store and skim through a book, try picking the one where you can see yourself in the character; it may become your favorite book.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Read Across America
Recently I participated in an event called Read Across
America. It was two of the most enjoyable days of the school year so far. I
experienced a certain joy that you don’t get in everyday life. In one of my
previous posts I mentioned rewarding experiences. This was one of them. When I heard
we were going to participate in Read Across America I was ecstatic and as the date
grew closer, I got more and more excited. The first day of the two day event
finally came and I swear I was more excited than the kids were. In my mind I knew
for two days I get to be surrounded by classmates, friends, books, games,
little kids, and bright colors. What could be more fun? To look on a surface
level I was able to enjoy the two days as just a fun event. On a deeper level
it was so much more than that. I decided that all of my joy and energy are
going to go into trying to make these two days really fun and impressionable for
these kindergartners, even if they barely remember it later in life. I was
pleasantly surprised at how much these kids look up to us, that each time they
succeeded in something little, or did something we didn’t expect, they looked
back for praise. It was nice these kids had pride in what they were capable of.
I got the opportunity
to spend my two days with three different kids; three completely different
children, but equally wonderful. The first kid was energetic, friendly, and a
little more on the independent side. He was reading to me and showing me how
clever he was. He was definitely and kid who was bold and stood his ground. My second
kindergartner was a little girl who was bit mellower, but was bubbly, honest, and
loved to show me the little things she was interested in. She had brought a
magnifying glass with her and was sometimes a little more interested in that
than the actual activity in front of her. The last kid I had the pleasure of
having as my buddy was a little boy. He was very quiet, but not shy. It took
him a little to open up, but he did eventually. He was smart and calm, he took
joy in little things like completing connect the dots or beating me in
tic-tac-toe. A theme I noticed was my heart swelled each time they smiled at me
and wanted to tell me their favorite color or wanted a high five after not
losing in Dr. Seuss says. I found this rewarding feeling in the fact that I was
trying my best to make these days fun for these kids, and hopefully they weren’t
lying when they told me they did. At the end of the second day I found myself a
little sad that it was over, but I had a new revelation. This is what I wanted
to do. I decided definitely I wanted to work with kids. I have always wanted to
work with kids and be some form of counselor or teacher since I was in
kindergarten, but until that moment I didn’t know if I really would be able to.
I was speaking to my math teacher on the first day and was telling how happy, rewarding,
and surprising it was to know how much these kids know, how much they wanted to
show us. He says that’s how he feels every day and right then I thought to
myself this is why I want to be a teacher, this is what I want to do. To actually
follow through and become a teacher is only for me to find out in the future,
but for right now it’s definitely in the cards. Read Across America may have
just been a festivity to some, but for me it was a very defining moment.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Being a Girl Scout
Being it is cookie
season, I would like to talk about being a Girl Scout. Participating in Girl
Scouts has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, giving me the
opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and do things that I wouldn’t otherwise
have been able to do. Participating in outside groups isn’t only for fun, but
you can take a lot away from the experience. Sports teams, youth groups, Girl
Scouts, Boy Scouts; you can take away so much from these groups. You learn to
build lasting relationships, or just people skills, and you develop a lot of
skills to carry into your daily life. Girl Scouts has taught me numerous
things, like about different cultures, how to make certain foods, and many
things about the world in general. Through this
group I’ve been able to become CPR and first aid certified, to see animals
up close, have a pen pal in another country, go camping, and serve my own ice
cream from behind the counter at Cold Stone. Some of the deeper things that I have
had the pleasure of participating in are volunteering for different events and
for different causes. This includes going caroling at the senior citizens home,
serving dinner to the homeless through Salvation Army, “adopting” a family for
the holidays, and making blankets for premature infants. Doing things like
these have really made me feel better as a person and let me know that I can
help others and maybe impact someone else’s life, even in the smallest way,
just by donating my time and attention. Experiences like these have shaped part
of who I am today. Through Girl Scouts I have learned to have leadership, to be
patient, to be considerate, to be creative, and to be productive. I have also
learned to work well with others given a troop cannot function without the
participation of its girls, each girl has a job. If you ask me, joining a group
is definitely worth your time. You build a lot of character, and they offer
opportunities that you wouldn’t usually have.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Reading Is for Everyone!
One thing that sprung up on my mind lately was reading. Reading is one of my favorite things to do. Books have always been a great escape for me when I was stressed or something to do when I was bored. As I got older, reading slowly left the picture as school consumed more of my time. What's of importance about books that I had to talk about them is the fact of how important they are. Books are limitless. There are books on about anything and everything you can think of and even if reading is not your favorite thing, chances are you can find a book you like. They are what we use to learn, to spread information, to pass time, and they are timeless. Books written hundreds of years ago, we're still reading today. From all the genres to the plot line, books have so much to offer. We always take away something from them. That is what I love the most about books, that we learn so much from them. Books have widened how I see the world, and have offered different perspectives to life. Some thing to pass on if reading is not your thing, is to read until you do find something you like. Reading is such a big part of everyday life that we might as well enjoy doing it, especially if you're a student! Some advice for finding books you like is to read randomly. A good place to start is to think about what fascinates you and looking for books about that. If that's not working, then you could always go for the book with an interesting title or cover. Lastly, you could pick a book that's really popular (it has to be popular for a reason). Whatever works best for you, just know that the choices are endless, so if you bump into a few books that aren't so good, don't lose hope. You will find your dream book soon enough. Happy reading!
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Social Media and Stress
While scrolling across Google articles, I come across
multiple that talks about a new study that came out that talks about how social
media does not cause more stress in people. This statement made sense to me and
didn’t make sense to me at the same time. Some people are always concerned
about the likes they are going to get, and if they are going to get a lot. Then
there are the other people who couldn’t care less and have social media for the
fun of it. What the studies revealed was that social media is not directly
linked to stress, but the material posted on social media can affect people and
cause stress in them. “The relationship between
stress and social media use is indirect. It is the social uses of digital
technologies, and the way they increase awareness of distressing events in
others’ lives, that explains how the use of social media can result in users
feeling more stress.”(1)
I then continued onto read what can affect your stress level
when looking on social media is how close you are to someone, and what they are
posting. If you are close with someone and they post something distressing, you
will be stressed out. “The
burden you feel after hearing about someone else’s struggles is the ‘cost of
caring.’”(2)
This made a lot of sense because, of course, people are going to feel bad for
their friend or family member when they share bad news; it is because we care
about them. There is also a flipside. If you aren’t as close with someone who
is posting stressful things, then you will actually feel a sense a relief that
you are not in the situation, as pointed out in the article “This is how Facebook stresses you
out, according to study,” “observing negativity far enough away in the digital sphere is
actually a reminder that things could be much worse.”(2)
Although unfortunate to the person experiencing it, it is a great reminder for
us to be grateful for our lives and our experiences. Social media has become a
significant part of everyday life, so knowing how it affects our lives is just
as important as knowing how it works.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Celebrating New Years!
The New Year is upon us everyone and we are all about celebrating it. Think of the bright lights in Times Square, the laughter that chimes from your living room, or the cute boy (or girl) across the room from you at a New Years Eve party. Now think that any one from any of those celebrations could end up losing their life at the end of the night. A major factor can be alcohol. Statistics say "Every two minutes, a person is injured in a drunk driving crash."* With our celebration in action someone may pay the cost for someone else's mistake. "With an average of 140 deaths (based on statistics from 2002 to 2008), New Year's Day is the second most deadly day for drivers, according to Anne Fleming of the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety." A simple mistake of getting behind the wheel while intoxicated may end yours, or another person's, life.
These lost lives can easily be avoided. First, by making sure you have a designated driver at the beginning of the night. Pick someone you trust who will stay sober to drive you home. In case they didn't keep to the plan and had a few to drink, (if at a house party) sleepover; if you're in public, call a taxi or catch a ride with a friend who has a sober driver. If all else fails, there are drivers offered through AAA** (costs vary), just look up the number for your area to call. There are no reasons to have another lost life to drunk driving, designate a driver or call one up. Have a safe holiday, Happy New Year everyone!
sites & sources
***driver listings for different areas across the country.
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