Youth Are Awesome, commonly referred to as YAA, is a blog written by youth for youth.
YAA provides the youth of Calgary a place to amplify their voices and perspectives on what is happening around them.
Youth Are Awesome is a program of Youth Central.
Any views or opinions expressed on this blog belong solely to the author and do not represent those of people or organizations that the blog may be associated with, unless explicitly stated. All content is for informational purposes only.
Recently, a few sports scientists from Loughborough University created a test devised to determine what CommonWealth sport you would be best at based on things from height to how you communicate. The test will ask you several questions and then analyze your results.
These were the results that I got when I took the test.
As you can see it tells you the sports you are suited for, the ones you are not and a few facts. The test was created because the Common Wealth Games are coming up in Glasglow, UK and the Loughborough University is in the UK. You can take the test and compare you results to mine here.
“The Volunteerism Award is given to a youth who is truly selfless and dedicated to helping others. Though not necessarily in a leadership role, this youth has shown commitment to bettering their community by volunteering their time to a cause they are passionate about.” – YODA 2014
She currently attends Bishop Grandin High School, and she’s an amazing youth. She’s something like a super-volunteer! You know that gut feeling you get when you just have to find out about an amazing person? Well, I got in touch with Taylor through email, and she was great with answering all of my questions – although some of them were rather spontaneous – in detail. A wordy post, but full of thought!
Taylor Lambie, recipient of the YODA volunteerism award
1. What is your motivation to volunteer?
Simply put, my motivation to volunteer is to help as many people as possible. I also get motivated by the Kristin Kares Klub – which is one of the main charities I volunteer with. When I was in Grade 7, a student in Grade 6 student got cancer; her name was Kristin Rothweiler. Unfortunately, the next year she passed away just a few weeks before her 16th birthday and her family founded the Kristin Kares Klub. It’s something that Kristin came up with just before she passed away. The purpose of the Klub is to help animals and humans. This is another motivation for me to volunteer – caring for Kristin’s dream to help as many animals and humans as possible.
2. Share one of your best “feel-good” moments from volunteering.
There are two feel-good moments that come to mind. The first is when I was in Costa Rica – it was our first day at the build site and we got to meet the couple we were going to be building for. Their names were Oscar and Jacqueline. Jacqueline was about eight months pregnant when we started our building. We were standing in a circle with them and we got to introduce ourselves to them – it was like we were forming some type of a family. My dad introduced our family to the couple through our translator, and when Jacqueline found out I was doing this for my 16th birthday, she was shocked and really pleased. I have to say it was an awesome feeling to know that my birthday had a purpose behind it and this home we were building would one day have many birthdays celebrated in it with the couple and their daughter. My second favorite moment was just after the flood; me and my friend had spent about a week baking treats and making cards to send to local fire stations in Calgary and High River. As well, we made cards for media stations to thank them for all the coverage they provided. We decided to also give some cookies to the city workers in High River because they were the ones working hard during and after the flood, especially with all the back up of garbage and debris. Their job definitely did not sound very pretty, but someone had to do it. They did without complaining – they put their city first, before their damaged houses. When we arrived to give them cookies and a card during their break they were surprised and shocked because I don’t think many people knew exactly all they had done. They were so thankful and grateful for us to have thought of them; it was a great feeling to know how much they appreciated what we did for them and I think that they definitely deserved it.
3. Who are some inspirational people that you have met from your experiences?
The top inspirational person to me is unfortunately someone I will never meet, Kristin Rothweiler. I got involved in the Klub created in her memory because I was friends with all of her friends. I never actually got to meet her, but each and every day she reminds me of the courage she had to go through having a serious illness and still be determined to find a way to help people. It’s something I don’t know if I will ever fully understand. Other people that inspire me include Pam Rothweiler, and Kristin’s mom – she has always been there to help and encourage everyone she meets despite having gone through losing her daughter three years ago and having their family house burn down this year. She is always smiling and happy no matter what; she was one of the first besides my parents that truly understood and encouraged my desire to help people. While I was growing up, people always teased me because I liked to help others when I was in elementary school – it was the typical “teacher’s pet” stuff. As I grew up I became very socially isolated from my classmates – something that has had a huge effect on my life. I remember trying unsuccessfully to convince my parents to home school me, but Pam and the Kristin Kares Klub gave me this place where I could be myself and not be afraid to be myself. Pam has always been there for me these past three years; she and her family have been a huge inspiration to me.
4. Do you have any future plans for helping out in the community?
As of right now, I have a few plans to help out in my community as well as internationally. In August, I will be heading to Kenya, Africa with Free the Children to build a school. I am so excited because this will be my second international volunteer trip and I hope to work for Free the Children one day. Locally, I am starting a new volunteer project were I will be knitting scarves and blankets; as well, my mom is going to make some jewellery that features a penny. Together we are going to sell these items and donate the money to different charities. My main focus it to donate it to a charity that benefits people with intellectual, physical and sensory disabilities – my dream job is to create programs for people with disabilities in developing countries. During Christmas, me and my friend Christina, who helped me with baking after the flood, will bake treats and make Christmas cards for our local police and fire stations. I am the co-president of my school’s Best Buddies Chapter which this coming school year I will once again be leading.
5. What is your favorite quote and why?
I have two favorite quotes. The first is “When I get older I am going to travel the world to help people and animals,” Kristin – age six; this quote has kind of become my life mission. I want to be a humanitarian when I am older and to help as much as possible, just like Kristin wanted to. I am determined to fulfill both of our dreams. The second quote that inspires me is something that I heard watching Canada’s Hall of Fame: Jacob Hoggard was introducing the Keilberg brothers, and he talked about the time he was in India speaking to a local. The local said to him, “Why are we so concerned in leaving a good world behind for our children and not concerned in leaving good children for our world?” This instantly got me and my mom rethinking – I mean, we are always saying we want to change this world so it’s better for the future generations, but I now look at it more like we need to improve our generation and all the future generations to come. We all need to look out for one another and our world.
6. What are your hobbies?
My hobbies beside volunteering are reading and sports. I got to compete in my first triathlon this year and I joined my school’s swim team and rugby team this year as well.
7. Anything else you would like to add?
The only other thing that I would like to add is to say that volunteering has had such a huge impact on my life. Before, I was afraid to let people know that I liked to spend my time volunteering, fearing they might tease me like people have done in the past. However, volunteering has really helped me to come out of my shell. I am more outgoing know and not afraid to try new things. Before, I hated sports – people used to tell me I sucked at them, but now I have stopped caring about what people thought. That’s the main thing I have learnt from volunteering: it is okay to do what I like and that I shouldn’t be afraid of what people will say.
In what might possibly be the coolest food waste awareness campaign ever, this supermarket decided to take action against societies’ views on food and what really should matter.
As you can see, this really does show how we judge our produce based of appearance more than quality. Once we get used to how it looks, we instinctively seek it out, ignoring other fruits or vegetables that although appear defected are just as good in taste as any other fruit or vegetable. We end up wasting tons of good produce just because it doesn’t meet quality appearance standards. Just who decided a fruit or vegetable must look a certain way to be edible? Really, in the end this video just goes to show how appearance doesn’t truly matter, quality does. Hopefully this won’t be the last we see of this campaign!
It seems like my motivation is constantly fluctuating. There are days where I will be inspired to work hard and to live my life to the fullest. Most of the time though, I’m feeling the summer blues. Despite having an abundant amount of time, a lot of it is wasted because I feel too lazy and because there’s no one to pester me to do it. It all depends on self-will: it’s not for marks, it’s for the betterment of myself and others. Much like a New Year’s Resolution, people have great goals set out, but how many people actually achieve them?
That’s why I dedicated time to create the above poster.
I reflected on the wisdom that I’ve gained over the years, from role models to novels. Out of the many topics I could write about, I always seem to revolve back to self-improvement. It’s because self-improvement is something everyone is striving for: always trying to be a better person, doing what you love and helping others.
I made the poster as a reminder of the way I want to live and of the person I want to be.
“Be The Change” comes from my involvement with Free the Children. An abbreviation of Gandhi’s “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” it is motivation for me to actualize my dreams, rather than just think about them. If you want a better world, you first have to change yourself. If you want there to be less bullying, then you have to speak about it. If you want people to be more compassionate, then you have to demonstrate it yourself. If you want others to be more motivated, you have to be that role model.
“Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” This quote reminds me that we, as ordinary citizens can achieve anything we set our minds to, so long as we have dedication. This is a wake-up call, because for a long time I believed that I wasn’t fit to be a leader, that I didn’t have the power to change the world. You don’t have to be famous or rich, you only need to go one step at a time and eventually you’ll get to where you want to be.
I’m a big fan of Ellen DeGeneres because of her optimistic and compassionate personality. She ends off each show with the quote, “Be kind to one another.” It sounds so simple, but if everyone made a conscious effort to be kind to each other, many conflicts would be resolved. I remember saying the same quote when I was doing a fundraiser for Free the Children, and before long, I heard my teachers also repeating the same words. Be kind to one person, and that person will be kind to another.
I can continue explaining all of my life philosophies, but I would rather highlight an act of goodwill that I’ve seen. Actions speak louder than words.
These are some of the ideas that Youth Central volunteers came up with to spread joy to others. Reflecting all of the above quotes, this group of thoughtful, committed citizens saw that other people could be happier. Through this act of kindness, they changed the world for the better.
One of the comments about the Get Happy Project was:
“Monday morning was a tough start to the week – international conflict, a very sad film, and cross-country moving stress was weighing heavy on my heart. When I first saw a group of people with a sign on the pedestrian overpass on Crowchild Trail, I was filled with dread that it was one or another group spewing hatred for the other, so when I saw your volunteers standing in the rain, waving to cars with their ‘HAVE A GREAT WEEK YYC’ sign, I started to cry, and so far haven’t been able to tell the story without crying again! Thank you for brightening my Monday, and being a reminder that there are good people out there doing thoughtful things to improve the days and lives of others.”
A large concern for youth is what are they going to be when they grow up.
I’m a strong believer that youth have limitless potential to contribute to society, it’s just that many people are lacking motivation. With this post, I hope to inspire you and for you to inspire those around you as well. Everything is a ripple effect. If you surround yourself in positive thoughts, naturally you should also act in a positive way. Find people who you look up to and incorporate their philosophies into your own life. If you constantly remind yourself of them, motivation will quickly follow. That’s all you need.
Buzzfeed is more than just lists of “20 Creepy Things You Can Find On Etsy,” or, “15 Ridiculous Gifts You Didn’t Know You Wanted Until Now.” The media powerhouse also produces videos which range from tackling racism to what to wear for the summer. In their latest video, it provides a minute insight into a world if the genders were reversed. It’s more surprising than you think. Issues like male dominance, street calling, even women in power are portrayed succinctly throughout the prose.
The Planet of the Apes franchise is quickly growing with the second installment of this cult classic remake out in theaters now. But is it worth your money?
The apes are now the top of the food chain, with human instinct, they can now freely rule the earth – or so they think. One day in the forest, a small group of humans are in search of a hydroelectric plant that they need to reboot in order to get electricity into the city but quickly come across the apes living there. The apes have to decide whether they should trust the humans that abused and murdered them, or let them suffer like they had to all those years ago.
Review
Overall 4/10: This movie had the potential to be awesome, but it was lacking many key elements. The script was poorly written, cheesy and predictable, which made the movie seem about ten times longer than it actually was, and was just generally bland. With that said, the message came across in a way that was obvious to all watching; that humans and apes are not that different from each other after all.
Characters 5/10: The lack of character development in this film was shocking. The humans were all very flat. None of them had any distinct traits and they did not change at all throughout the whole film. Unlike Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the movie did not sport any big name stars and all of the actors were mediocre, at best. On the other hand, all of the apes were very different from each other. They all had their own unique personality, but still tended to be one-sided.
CGI/Graphics 9/10: The CGI was probably the most interesting thing about the movie. I am always surprised to see how realistic the apes are in these films, especially their eyes. Each and every single monkey, chimpanzee and gorilla was absolutely gorgeous and the rest of the graphics were nice as well.
Unless you are interested in graphics and CGI or really really really want to see this movie, I wouldn’t bother watching it. I would highly suggest that you wait until it comes out on DVD if you do plan on seeing it, but trust me, you aren’t missing out on anything by skipping this film.
In a tragedy that transpired on July 17, all 298 passengers aboard the MH17 died (CBC News). Among the deceased were six illustrious researchers and activists of AIDS. The flight destined from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpu was shot down by a Buk surface-to-air missile, inevitably leading the plane to crash in a conflicted area of eastern Ukraine. Due to the pro-Russian and anti-government insurgency in the Donbass, further speculation arises as to the motives of the missile launch.
A moment of silence was given for the loss of their fellow colleagues at the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne July 20, 2014. (Reuters Pic, retrieved from MalayMail).
Earlier this week, the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne honoured their deceased colleagues. It is believed that the six involved with AIDS prevention and research were on their way to the conference. Those killed include Pim de Kuijer of STOPAIDSNOW, Lucie van Mens, director of AIDS Action Europe, Mens’ colleague Maria Adriana de Schutter and Joep Lange, an innovator of anti-retrovirals for developing countries. World Health Organization spokesman Glenn Thomas as well as the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development‘s Jacqueline van Tongeren were also among the deceased. (Yahoo News)
With these significant individuals aboard the aircraft, could it have been possible for the cure for AIDS to have also been aboard the flight? The researchers aboard the plane were some of the best in the world for the fight against AIDS. Yet, it cannot be known as to the extent of their discovery or potential to cure AIDS. The concern about the loss of such valuable contributors of global health, is well-deserving, to say the least. As around 12,000 scientists and activists culminated together in Melbourne, they grieved for their colleagues (CBC News). However, the conference carried on and still served its purpose to discuss global developments in research about HIV and AIDS.
Among the 12,000 attending, Bill Clinton addressed the loss of the victims by saying, “They were doing so much good.”
Although the world lost six significant members, the tragedy of these victims ties the global community closer together in the fight against the disease all around the world.
The memory of the loss of fellow colleagues was addressed by International AIDS Society president Francoise Barre-Sinoussi with the comment (as reported by Yahoo News), “We will honour their commitment and keep them in our hearts as we begin our programme on Sunday. This tragedy is probably a good sign to work again together and to continue as a tribute for our colleagues.”
As the name implies, Crash Course is an educational YouTube channel that provides a crash course, or a condensed and simplified discussion on a subject. John Green and Hank Green, which are names you may be familiar with, run this channel. John teaches literature, US history and world history, while Hank teaches psychology, chemistry, biology and ecology.
Why should you care?
Exploring personal interest: For me, I have a burning curiosity about psychology, but that’s not a course I can take until next year. Rather than waste my time, Crash Course has quick and accessible videos that allows me to spend my time meaningfully over summer break. Not only that, the videos are complete with animations and easy to follow explanations that help me to understand, rather than memorize facts.
What’s being taught in class is confusing or boring: This is an issue that’s near and dear to my heart. Each student has learning preferences, and sometimes the teacher explaining the material can leave you lost or unmotivated. Crash Course encourages learning by presenting the material in a different manner, which often leads to a clearer understanding on that topic. Best of all, you can always pause and go over sections until you’re sure you get it.
Studying for that test or exam: Maybe you’re trying to cram studying the night before a big bio exam – Crash Course is a great to review what you know. I’m not saying to completely ditch your notes and throw away your textbook, but sometimes watching a video to act as a visual reminder is a good way to refresh your memory.
Adding on to what you already know: When I was doing a novel study on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, I was surprised to find that John also made a video on it. After watching it, I found that while it did reaffirm several aspects that I already knew, he also discussed about things that weren’t even mentioned within class. In short, there’s a lot more to learn besides what you’re taught in school, so take advantage of your available resources to explore deeper.
Closing Remarks
Your education is a lifelong endeavor, you will continue to learn long after you graduate. True learning happens not when you achieve high grades, but rather when you take you education into your own hands and demonstrate genuine passion for it. School is more than finishing one tedious assignment after another to get your diploma, it’s about equipping you with the tools to better understand the world around you.
And as John and Hank would say: DFTBA! (Don’t Forget To Be Awesome!)
After receiving glowing reviews from my favourite beauty vlogger, Bubz, I decided to give this product a try; the Arbutin + Hyaluronic Acid Brighting Jelly Mask (try saying that five times fast) by Annie’s Way. The English isn’t too proper since it is a product from Taiwan (no racism intended), nonetheless, it yields the promised effects. Let’s jump into the review!
Since there were not many ingredients to this product, I decided to do a little bit of research on the more obscure ones and included a link (in the most simplified terms possible) outlining each one. It seems that this jelly mask is packed with good ingredients, none of which will irritate your skin or cause weird side effects.
There is an entire line of these masks, although I chose this specific product because I do want to brighten up my skin.
Shipping: ♔♔♔
As this product is from an East Asian country, it’s currently unavailable for purchase in North America. (But who knows, maybe we can convince The Face Shop to get some of this in stock.) I purchased it on eBay from a seller called kcbebeboutique who has very good reviews and was selling the product for cheap. The shipping was free, but it took three weeks to arrive (I placed the order on June 24 and received it on July 15), which I am quite used to from eBay. I won’t include this portion in the overall review because it doesn’t reflect the product, but if you do plan on ordering it you may be facing similar circumstances.
The product arrived in a well-sealed cardboard box.
The product was kept wrapped tightly in bubble wrap (which I promptly popped).
These are the contents of the package, just the product and a little spatula.
The product is confirmed to be authentic since it has the seal sticker, which should leave this pattern when peeled off.
Price: ♔♔♔♔♔
From the eBay seller, I bought this for $22.10 (CAD, after the conversion) since it was on sale and there were no shipping charges. This is probably the cheapest price you will find this product for (as I believe it goes for around $30 retail), although there is always competition on eBay. The full product is 250 mL, and depending on the size of your face you may use around 10-20 mL of product at once so you might not get many uses, but the results are definitely worth it.
Smell: ♔♔♔♔♔ This product does not have a distinct smell, except for a slight hint of something I can’t put my finger on. Since there is no added parfum I’m assuming that the smell is from one of the ingredients because there’s a very herb-y and natural vibe to it.
Application: ♔♔♔♔♔ The product comes with a little spatula thing, so I do use that to apply it on my face, but you are certainly welcome to use your fingers as well. It feels really cool and soothing on the face, and once it dries it doesn’t tighten to make your face feel uncomfortable. The mask doesn’t slip and slide although it is a jelly, so you could run with it (which I don’t really suggest) and not have to worry about it falling off.
The product is just a simple, clear jelly.
Here is some of the product on the little spatula.
Effectiveness: ♔♔♔♔♔ After just one use, my face was both instantly brighter and whiter. It also pulled out some of my toughest blackheads, and after using a pore strip, I managed to remove the blackheads that have been plaguing my face for months. The product didn’t make my face any softer (which I don’t mind since my skin is pretty soft already), but it did smooth out some of the bumpier areas. It even managed to reduce the redness around some of my breakouts and lighten up my dark acne scars.
Overall: ♔♔♔♔♔ Altogether, this product is amazing and the effects are not matched by any other product I’ve used. Some of my other clay masks I’ve used for months cannot even come close to comparing with all of the wonders this product has done for my skin after one use. All of the positive, raving reviews were right, and I am so glad I decided to try this product. It will definitely become a regular part of my skin care routine.
FTC: This is not a sponsored post, and all opinions are completely genuine. ♥
As curious humans, we enjoy finding patterns in behavior in order to predict the future. You know what I’m talking about; movies like Back to the Future are perfect examples of the high hopes that people in the past had of us in the 21st century. Obviously, technology has (sadly) not advanced at that rate, and due to the discoveries we’ve made it’s become evident that some of these predictions are down-right impossible.
Aside from flying cars, our 1939 friends had some other predictions for us. Fashion designers in America predicted what women in the year 2000 will be wearing on a daily basis (as well as one interesting design for men). This video is 100% serious, and I do applaud the designers for their sense of imagination. Trust me, it’s worth it to take a look for yourself.
#1
In my opinion, the first dress with the removable sleeves is a great idea. Although I don’t think it’s exactly appropriate for business-to-night-out situations, the idea behind it could prove useful. Truck or bus drivers can wear these types of uniforms to protect themselves from the sun while driving, removing the sleeves periodically when it gets too hot or for whatever other reason. Being totally on-board with innovation, there is nothing more appealing to me than functional fashion.
#2
The second dress was quite entertaining, but accurate in a way. There are several clothing items these days that are made to “capture the attention of males,” mostly using see-through or skin-tight fabric. Although this type of gown isn’t very practical to wear, unless you’re Rihanna at the CDFAs, the design is eye-catching and the concept was pretty spot-on.
#3
Watching this video was kind of a wake-up call as well. The third outfit featured a woman in a jumpsuit, something widely popular nowadays, but thinking back to when this video was made (in 1939), women weren’t even allowed to wear pants. The human race has come quite a ways and fashion definitely reflects the ideals and progression of a society. Now if only this society would actually invent a fashionable belt that adapts to climate changes.
#4
The flowing, silky dress was quite elegant and actually something I would consider wearing. Aside from the rooms kept at artificially appropriate temperatures (I’m looking at you, freezing school classrooms), I feel like this prediction was spot on.
#5
I couldn’t tell if the commentator said the dress was made of glass, but it looked like plastic wrap to me. And then I started imagining a wedding dress made of bubble wrap…
Last but not least, the grotesque space-suit for men was the most inaccurate, yet amazing prediction of all. Although I could not take anyone in one of those things seriously, I want this design to come to life and purchase one for everybody I know.
The gruyere cheese gnocchi, tomato espuma, jambon consommé and truffle toast. A most interesting dish, considering the pink colour almost implies sweetness.
Pretty much everyone’s been to a decently fancy restaurant in their time, am I right? Well, Q Haute Cuisine pretty much blows away every restaurant ever. It has not only been named one of 2013’s Top 50 Restaurants in Canada by vacay.ca’s panel of judges, and also holds the 5th position in their public voting category, but still continues to be one of the city’s best restaurants, regardless of what critics say. I had the pleasure of dining at Q in celebration of my parents’ anniversary and oh my, was it an experience.
Something rather unique about Q is that they only deal with tasting menus. This means that there is a set menu and you eat whatever is on it, unless you have special dietary restrictions, in which case, you will be accommodated. The menu is created by Chef Michele Aurigemma and is changed every 4-6 weeks. Now, as I again mention, I am inexperienced in the area of fancy cuisine, so even though I didn’t really know what half of what of I was eating was, I still ate all of it and enjoyed every last morsel.
Something a bit different about my experience at Q was that we didn’t eat in the dining room; we ate in the kitchen. Yes, the kitchen. That in itself was so far outside of the realm of what anyone would normally do on any occasion. Aside from the fact that it was kinda hot in the kitchen, I was surrounded by the sights and sounds of a working restaurant. Our server was exceedingly knowledgeable and provided my family with exquisite and sometimes unconventional drink pairings (my parents had wine and I stayed on the non-alcoholic side of things). He also discussed and showed us some of the techniques used to make some of the more unconventional dishes, which was a really nice touch.
Pea sorbet? Unconventional, yet still delicious.
I’m not going to discuss the entire menu because that would take all day, but I’ll just go over a few of my personal favourite dishes. One of the first things we were served was gruyere cheese gnocchi with tomato espuma, jambon consommé and truffle toast. Aside from being indeed very tasty, it offered a surprising texture and taste as compared to how it looked.
The award for most unique dish goes to the peas, buttermilk and flowers. As opposed to simply serving peas as they come, they were made into a sorbet, topped with what I remember to be a sort of buttermilk mousse and flower petals, with an egg-free pea meringue and pea cracker of sorts (dehydrated pea paste). It was a bit like a dessert in the middle of dinner, except that it tasted like, well, peas.
I think that my favourite dish overall was probably the duck. Not having ever really had duck before, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but what I got was exceptional. Duck is normally quite fatty, but most of the fat was removed and it had the perfect balance of saltiness along with the featured spices. It was served with fiddlehead fern, red pepper asparagus and a few other things that don’t exactly recall. Regardless, it was what I think was the best dish of the night.
The duck sous-vide, my personal favourite.
I cannot exactly give a price rating in this case, because the pricing is not posted online, but my father wouldn’t let me see the bill, but I will make the assumption that it was rather expensive, to say the least. However, for the experience we had, it was definitely worth it, but was also definitely something to save for a special occasion.
Q Haute Cuisine met and greatly exceeded my expectations as a young diner, but be advised, if you’re a picky eater and like to pick and choose what you eat, this is not the place for you, but if you’re feeling adventurous and are up to it, Q Haute Cuisine will never fail to impress. It was not only a fancy dinner, but simply put, a unique experience in dining.
I like to do a lot of DIYs to keep me busy over the summer, and when I got to give my bedroom a complete makeover this year, I knew I had to get creative in order to stay within a reasonable budget. Here are two different easy and affordable DIYs you can do to give your room a little more style.
1. Bric à brac:
All you need for this project is some acrylic spray paint and some ceramic or porcelain figurines. I went out to my local Goodwill and got four cheesy figurines for only $15! I spray painted them all the same solid firetruck red color and let it dry over night. (Depending on the original colour of your figurines, you may need two coats of paint.)
Total Cost: $20
2. Frame It!:
For this one, you’ll need some acrylic paint, brushes and an assortment of picture frames. I got six fancy balsam wood frames from Micheal’s for around $30! You could also just get wooden or ceramic picture frames at a secondhand store as well, and just take out the pane. Then simply paint the frames all the same colour and hang them on your wall without any pictures in them. It gives you an interesting art piece for your wall that doesn’t take much effort to make!
Total Cost: $35
These projects are just a few of the many cool DIYs you can do that are inexpensive but still look great in any room. Plus, it will keep you busy this summer!
I have a passion for design and making things look pretty, and not being a very good artist is basically the bane of my existence. Many people tell me I have amazing writing, I can doodle designs and make beautiful posters easily, but for some reason all my drawings end up looking like I did them blindfolded. Being able to make art is truly a gift, something that can brighten up another person’s day and allow you to connect on a level deeper than words can convey. When you take this type of talent and add in positive reinforcement, it just makes the message all the more powerful and sincere.
The internet can be an amazing place where you discover encouraging messages and people sharing their passions. Yes, despite all the terrible things your parents warned you about on the internet, there are actually people who care about and want to encourage you. People such as Penny, who make amazing digital pieces of art work, try to inspire positive body image and acceptance no matter who you are.
(You can find the original image and buy the print for it here!)
The image featured above is simply titled “Be You” and in our day and age, that seems harder and harder to do. With so many people, especially the media, trying to tell you who to be and what to do with yourself, it’s hard to know how to be ‘you’. But Penny thinks that doesn’t matter. Even if you don’t know who you are, you are still rad. No matter what you do or who you choose to be, you should do so in confidence.
More of Penny’s awesome art can be viewed on her Tumblr page, and you can also purchase her prints from Storenvy.
Although I’m sure people mean well when they do so, there are relentless ‘confidence’ tips for ‘issues’ that don’t really matter. Magazines will try to tell you how to embrace your ‘natural look’ without makeup, others will try to convince you that shaving will make you feel more confident when going sleeveless. Well, none of those things is going to improve your self-image if you don’t accept yourself either way.
Just find what makes you comfortable and what makes you happy. If you don’t know what that is, try out different things until you do. I might start sounding like a broken record after all the posts I’ve made regarding a positive self-image, but I quite honestly don’t think that people can be told enough. True beauty starts when you realize it for yourself and start showing it from the inside, out.
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, and my opinions are completely honest.
If you are anything like me, you will understand the annoyance of packing. Especially because I am a “light packer,” I have to go through this tedious process where I have to sort in my mind what is essential and what should remain at home. Among my peers, I am renowned for my light-packing skills. When I went to Toronto in April for a week, everyone else had lugged around a suitcase for check-in. I, on the other hand, had a mere carry-on to last me the whole week. So you could say I am somewhat of an expert in packing light.
Here are some of the tips I have gathered over the years to help me pack light:
Versatility– When you are choosing outfits, choose pieces that you can mix and match. As you are planning your outfits, try to think of how you can use a specific amount of clothes to plan an array of different outfits. It will surprise you how many outfits can arise from just 5 different pieces of clothing.
Outfit of the day– On the day that you are travelling, try to wear all of your heavier/larger garments, like a chunky sweater and boots, for example. This will conserve both weight and space that you can use for other pieces.
Bottom heavy– Place your heaviest clothing at the bottom of the suitcase. For example, things like jeans and heavier tops should go at the bottom to create a solid foundation for the rest of your clothing. This is also to prevent any wrinkling of softer things, like cotton t-shirts.
Silky smooth– If you have nicer items, like these silk pieces, fold them lightly and place them on the top. This will minimize any wrinkling. Beware of placing them too close to the zipper, as they may get caught.
Shoes, shoes, shoes– I know you may want to have a variety of shoes with you, but in reality, all you will really need are a sturdy pair of shoes that you can trust to be both comfortable and cute.
When it comes to packing light, all you need to do is differentiate between need and want. It is like a diet, choose what is absolutely essential and get rid of the excess desires. By all means, it is not bad to indulge in a piece or two of a slightly more irrational piece of item, but ultimately, packing light means you have to make sacrifices. Wherever you are jetting off to, I hope these tips help you in your mission to packing light.
You can take the test and compare you results to mine here.
The product arrived in a well-sealed cardboard box.
The product was kept wrapped tightly in bubble wrap (which I promptly popped).
These are the contents of the package, just the product and a little spatula.
The product is confirmed to be authentic since it has the seal sticker, which should leave this pattern when peeled off.
The product is just a simple, clear jelly.
Here is some of the product on the little spatula.
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