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.
Are you looking for a place to get out and have fun? Do you enjoy being with your friends and playing sports? Well if you do, then Youth Night is the place to be! Youth Night takes place every Friday at various leisure centres throughout Calgary. Several Youth Nights are included in Youth Week Calgary 2014. For this blog, I will focus specifically on the Southland Leisure Centre location.
Located on 2000 Southland Drive, Southland Leisure Centre is one of the best recreational facilities in all of Calgary. Activities held at Southland include fitness, badminton, skating, basketball, swimming, and much more! I personally enjoy Southland because of their friendly employees & amazing facility. Their swimming pool is extra fun because of their slides, whirlpool, hot tub, and wave pool. The facility is clean, welcoming, and “family oriented.”
Youth night offers several programs that youth can enjoy and participate in. Youth night focuses on bringing youth together. You are able to socialize and interact with other kids your age. Youth night accepts children ranging from ages 12-17. It takes place every Friday from 8-11pm. There’s no school the following day, so you can play as much as you want! Drop in fees are really cheap, making it easy and affordable!
I strongly recommend spending your Friday night at youth night! Instead of watching TV, playing video games, and sitting there like a couch potato, get out and get some physical activity! So next Friday, remember, Youth Night is the place to be! Who knows, we might even run into each other!
Do you ever try to exercise to lose weight, but give up the next few days? Do you ever try to eat less, but that doesn’t last either? I don’t know about your experiences, but I have done all of the above.
Personally, I don’t like exercise and I enjoy food. Those kinds of restrictions are cruel to me, but it still works well for a few days. It doesn’t last long for me.
Here are some tips that I practiced for years. I lost nearly 20 pounds in four years without any hard exercise or harsh diet.
1. Drink water and avoid soda
I know most people don’t like water. It tastes plain with no flavour. I used to drink a bottle of carbonated soda every day after school. It tastes good but the weight I gained was killing me. I know it is hard, but start to drink water little by little and turn it into a habit. The most important part is to avoid soda because that is one of the reasons that you are gaining weight. Remember most sodas you drink are made of sugar, artificial flavor and colouring that your body doesn’t need. Remember your body is made up of more than 60 per cent water.
2. Walk
Yes, I said walk. You may say, I walk every day but it didn’t have any effect on me. The most important part is walking as long as you can. If your school is near your home, walk home instead of taking a bus, also do it every day not just a day or two. If your school is far and you have to take the bus, stop a few stops before arriving and walk home. It is the most basic exercise that you can start with.
3.Balance 3 meal and avoid junk food
Yes, the three meals you eat in a day is the most important role in the process of losing weight. Did you know that most people don’t eat their meals? We say eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. You should eat a good breakfast that last you to lunch and lunch should be average amount and last you to dinner. For the dinner, you eat just enough and to feel full. The brain takes 15 minutes to receive the message from your stomach to tell you are full. So take your time while you eat.
Also, you shouldn’t eat anything three hours before you go bed because your body stop digesting food in your stomach when you are asleep. Avoid snacks, junk food and greasy food because greasy foods are the cause of fat. Eat fruit when you feel like to have something to eat.
LED stands for “light emitting diode” and it seems like they are taking the spotlight when it comes to energy efficient lighting. So why are they so beneficial? Let’s take a look at the three big advantages of LED lights:
Energy efficient: Once you have an LED, they don’t cost as much to run. Being 85 per cent more efficient and normal incandescent light bulbs, they definitely save you money in the long run. In addition, they are more efficient by changing the energy going into the bulb for light rather than heat. Incandescent light bulbs use only 20 per cent for light whereas LEDs use about 80-90 per cent for light.
Add some colour to your living room!
Tim efficiency: LEDs have a surprisingly long life-time. If you were to leave an LED on for eight hours a day, if would take 20 years before it stops working. This will save you even more in the long run considering you will have to change your lights only after a very long time. Normally, incandescent bulbs last about 750 hours whereas some LED bulbs will last up to 50,000 hours!
LED lighting up a kitchen
Environmentally friendly: In addition to having to buy less light bulbs in the long run, LEDs also don’t contain any toxic chemicals and you can also recycle them.
So what’s stopping you from buying some LED lights? They may seem expensive at the store, but they sure will save you a lot of money in the long run!
Sunrise has the power to revitalize us and award us with energy. The blended gradient of orange is unparalleled in its smooth and pleasant enthusiasm. And so, it’s always pleasant to look at those brilliant hues, day or night:
Let time lapse into the morning. Find my collection here.
1. Communicating without words
Believe it or not, communication without words is possible. Body language is a universal language that comes to your rescue! I find it amazing how people can communicate with expressions and gestures so perfectly that language does not seem to be a barrier anymore.
2. Independence
Staying away from home with only your core family does make you more independent. With not having a big/extended family around you, you start planning for yourself. This independence is also seen in financial areas. You learn to save money for rough days since you don’t have your near and dear ones around to help you.
3. Open-mindedness
If you take the decision of immigrating to a foreign country, you already have an above average open-mindedness rating. Moving to a foreign country, you are exposed to countless new things. Accepting those new things yet not giving in to doing the wrong things can be difficult. You are exposed to so many distinct point of views, and things get pretty interesting and confusing if you try to comprehend all of them!
4. Basic human instincts are the same!
Despite all the differences in cultures and lifestyles, you learn that we all share many things that make us connect with each other, making the transition process a lot easier.
It was an unproductive day on the Internet. You’re just minding your own business, scrolling through some hilarious cat pictures. Then it hits you. Something so amazing and extraordinary that you stop and wonder, “Why have I never seen this before?” This was one of those moments for me.
Jed Henry, an amazing illustrator, and David Bull, a traditional woodblock print maker, have come together to create beautiful illustrations of modern anime and video game characters in Japanese painting style. (You can learn more about the artists here.) They are called Giclée Prints, “giclée” meaning “squirt of a liquid” in French. This fancy term describes that each print is simply printed by inkjet, giving each photo the resolution and fineness of the original painting.
At first, I didn’t understand what I was looking at, but as I scrolled through I recognized more and more of the references. The art style absolutely blew me away. The fine details and and precision of each stroke makes you think about how long it must take to create each of these paintings. Having taken lessons for traditional Chinese/Japanese painting, I know that it’s not easy, and it takes a true master to produce works such as these. You can find (and purchase if you so choose) the entire collection from this website. For now, I share with you some of my favourite prints. I’ve linked the page at the bottom of each picture so you can check it out for yourself and learn what each of the characters mean. Can you spot all the references?
Capture the flag; from [http://www.capturetheflag.com/gfx/ctfo_view.jpg]
Youth Week is coming up fast, for the week of April 20 – 27, 2014. The weather will be decently warm for this time with a high of around 10°C each day, which makes for a great opportunity to get out and play an exciting game of paintball or airsoft. Just round up a couple friends and head out close to Cochrane to Capture the Flag Paintball and Airsoft, where you can spend some quality time shooting at each other. Capture the Flag will be discounting for the entirety of Youth Week – please contact Youth Central at youthweek@youthcentral.com to get coupons for Capture the Flag Paintball, Laser Trek & Airsoft!
Capture the flag paintball; from [http://www.capturetheflag.com/gfx/summer2.jpg]
In a short interview, Capture the Flag provides a brief summary and some advice about their sports:
We have two activities, paintball and airsoft, available at our 116 acre and 21 course facility. Groups consisting of those 10 years of age and up play paintball and 14 years of age and up play airsoft. Both sports work great for team parties, companies/corporate groups, birthday parties, churches, schools and stag/stagettes. Included in your day is the unlimited hot dog BBQ and crystal powdered drinks, so food and drink is included, or bring any of your own.
Capture the flag; from http://www.capturetheflag.com/gfx/heaven-summer.jpg
Paintball and airsoft are great as team building activities for groups of all ages (10 years+) and abilities. Both activities are physical so you not only get to have fun but you also get in a great workout running, crawling and hiding throughout our massive 116 acre facility.
Airsoft; from http://www.capturetheflag.com/gfx/outdoor3.jpg
Advice is to not get scared or intimidated by the sport. Paintballs can “wake” you up but most of those 10 years of age and up really enjoy the sport and end up having a great time even if they are nervous at the start. You always play privately at our facility so you never have to join with others. Expect to be here for two-six hours playing as we have no time limit. Main thing to focus on when playing the sports of paintball and airsoft is to have a fun time and not take it too seriously.
Petrel Liu started a club in her school called Leaders of Change; they volunteer as a group every month. I interviewed her this month to learn more about some of the amazing work she does for our community.
What inspires you to volunteer?
This summer, I signed up to volunteer with the Mustard Seed and I met some inspiring people with unique stories. One of the most interesting things that I learned through meeting these people is that the assumption is homeless people do not work; I met people who do work only their job doesn’t provide enough money to pay rent.
Who are some of the inspiring people you have met?
I met a man who fixes trailers and he explained how it didn’t pay enough money to pay for a home because one trailer provides him with $90. I met a top CEO of a company and his wife and children died in an accident. He couldn’t focus on his job and had to leave his house. This is when he came to the Mustard Seed.
What skills do you have made you approachable?
I like to talk to people and hear their perspective. I would say I am friendly.
How did you start volunteering at the Mustard Seed?
I started volunteering individually by contacting them myself. I wanted to expand further and this is when I brought my friends from a club in my school that I started called Leaders of Change. We volunteer every month as a group.
How do you inspire others?
I gathered all the donations and took it to the women’s shelter and expanded this to encourage my school to give back.
How do you raise money?
We host bake sales for all the activities to fundraise.
What are some challenges?
One of the biggest challenges is that some members are random participants versus active participants. It also is hard to balance both IB and my extracurricular activities but I use my time wisely and have great scheduling skills.
What volunteer activities will you do in the future?
I will be going to Costa Rica this summer to fundraise for a Turtle Conservation Program. I will be asking local companies for sponsorships to help with sustaining the Leaders of Change club. I will also host bake sales at Sobeys, CrossIron Mills and Costco.
What would be your word of advice to other youth?
Don’t be afraid to make change. If a project is too big, go for it and take a risk.
What is your favorite initiative through Leaders of Change?
When a girl from my school was diagnosed with cancer, many of the students at our school were shocked. We couldn’t believe that someone so close to us could be in this position. This is when we fundraised for the Cancer Foundation.
What are your hobbies?
I enjoy playing soccer and field hockey.
Where do you plan on attending university?
I plan on going to the University of Western Ontario to study Sciences.
Why do we volunteer? How is it important? Why do we celebrate it?
I can give you the answer to all of these questions after attending the 18th Annual Volunteer Awards hosted by Propell:us.
Firstly, what is this? Propell:us (formerly known as Volunteer Calgary) is a non-profit organization that provides grants and skills to other non-profits in Calgary. The goal of Propell:us is to propel the whole community, for everyone to move forward together. As part of this initiative, they host an annual awards ceremony to recognize volunteers and to keep inspiring action. A big thank you to them for making this all possible!
We celebrated all volunteers, from youth to seniors, from immigrants to families and from businesses to horses. Yes, I mean horses.
Throughout the evening, the question was brought up:
Why do we volunteer?
Because volunteering is who we are.
source I highly recommend purchasing the book here as the proceeds are being directed to The Calgary Foundation’S Flood Rebuilding Fund.
From when I’m writing this, it has been roughly 10 months since the Alberta Floods devastated the province. Despite the destruction there emerged a sense of community and the spirit of volunteering.
The floods united the people, because they had a common problem and a common goal. Strangers became friends and they helped however they could. It only takes small acts of kindness from a lot of people to make a large impact. That is the spirit of volunteering: lending your skills and resources for people in need. You volunteered, you weren’t voluntold.
Why do we volunteer? Because it’s a part of who we are as humans: to help those who we empathize with. Volunteering is a part of our DNA.
Volunteering strengthens the bonds in a community and helps create a brighter future.
I know that sounds cheesy, but imagine for a second if no one helped out during the floods. If we all stood idly while people need to be evacuated, while people needed a warm shelter, while people were facing tough times. We would have never recovered the way we did and people would still be suffering.
Volunteering eliminates the barriers between language, race, age and they connect individuals on a human level.
One of the awards given out was the Leaders of Tomorrow Award. It recognized the awesome volunteer work that youth in our society were doing. Don’t underestimate the impact of youth, because I believe they are not only the Leaders of Tomorrow, but also the Leaders of Today. Briefly, I want to recognize the recipients and congratulate them on their achievements:
Leaders of Tomorrow: Junior
Ryan Taylor (Our Lady Queen of Peace School)
“Volunteering is something important that needs to be done. You have kids sitting at home playing for 16 hours a day on their weekend, when they could take 1, 2 hours off that could help somebody. So they can have their one or two hours on their video games.” – Ryan Taylor
Leaders of Tomorrow: Senior
Nazifa Rahman (Crescent Heights High School)
“Youth Central is one of the things that’s changed my life. It’s given me so much confidence and so much passion for what I do. Sometimes I feel like it’s a responsibility to be helping out the community and I never realized it’s something worth recognizing.” – Nazifa Rahman
Well, I’m here to celebrate and recognize you and all the wonderful youth volunteers out there. Awesome job!
Why do we celebrate it?
Celebrating volunteering helps to highlight the good in people and inspires others to help as well.
Certainly after hearing each of the award recipients stories, I not only felt proud of them, but also encouraged to continue my volunteering.
Youth are a central part to a community, but it takes the collective contributions of businesses, adults and seniors that make Calgary a vibrant and loving community. I wish I could go over all of them in detail, but to view their videos and profiles, click on the names of the recipients and it’ll take you to a Propell:us video.
Volunteer Animal Award (This award recognizes an animal(and their human counterpart) that demonstrates the spirit of volunteerism through volunteer activities)
Fancy (pants) – Horse!!
Emerging Employee Volunteer Program (2-or-less years; Awarded to businesses that demonstrate success in developing and implementing an employee volunteer program)
Outstanding Volunteer Manager Award(This award recognizes a manager of volunteers who demonstrates excellence and innovation in the management and leadership of volunteers)
Volunteer Family Award(This award recognizes a family that demonstrates a shared passion for volunteering and has contributed time and skills towards the betterment of the community)
Trailblazer Award(This award recognizes an emerging, community minded leader; between the ages of 18 and 35, who ignites and inspires change in the community through volunteerism)
Silver Star Award(This award recognizes volunteers, ages 65 and above, who share their lifetime of experience and knowledge in support of the issues they care about to make a difference in our community)
For the past 30 years, Amal has been dedicated to improving Calgary through numerous roles in the non-profit sector. She has worked tirelessly for women who are immigrant to Canada or a visible minority.
She has been a founding member of organizations like: Calgary Immigrant Woman’s Society (CIWA), Calgary Foundation, Making Changes Employment Association, and so much more.
She is truly an amazing and humble individual who bring a lot of heart of Calgary.
Mayor Nenshi was there to present the award to her in person. He called her an inspiration and I hope she is an inspiration for you, the reader, as well.
Celebrating all this volunteerism is great, but there will always be someone out there who needs your help.
Mayor Nenshi encourages the community to do 3 Things For Calgary. It’s your turn to give back! If each person can do 3 things, then encourage 1 of their close friends to do 3 things too – it becomes a ripple-effect.
I challenge you to celebrate and recognize someone in your schools, neighbourhoods, or communities. Tell them of the great work they’re doing! Ask them how you can help! Encourage them to celebrate and recognize someone else! These small acts of kindness can quickly have a large impact. Continue volunteering and doing great work Calgary!
The last few weeks of April will have the skies treat us to a heavenly experience. Complete with a meteor shower and a lunar eclipse, make sure to gaze at the sky in the days to come.
Total Lunar Eclipse:
This rare lunar eclipse showcased a red-moon below Mars on the evening of April 14. It is believed to say that the eclipse, sometimes referred to as the Blood Moon due to its unique redish tinge, peaked at around 3:45 a.m. in Calgary. The red appearance of the moon is caused by the reflection of sunsets and sunrises around the globe.
The Red Planet:
During the eclipse, Mars will be the closest to Earth in six years. The red planet can be distinguished by its distinct red hue, but is distinct from a star due to its lack of shimmering.
Lyrid Meteor Shower:
From April 16 to 25, the skies will treat us again with the annual Lyrid meteor shower. One of the oldest meteor showers, the Lyrid meteor shower will commence from the Lyra the Harp constellation. This particular meteor shower can be best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere. For optimal viewing, no fancy equipment is required, just a dark sky.
As a writer, I’m always reading articles on current events or simple opinion pieces such as the one being discussed today. More often than not, I come across pieces that I don’t entirely agree with. I build up all these arguments inside my head and get into a really heated debate with myself, then I remember, I have a blog. So here I am, laying out my thoughts on the article “A Harsh But Honest Take On 45 Bad Pieces Of Advice From Your Childhood” by Lauren Martin on Elite Daily. Often I find many articles that I completely agree with and could not have phrased better myself on Elite Daily, other times I find myself dumbfoundedly shaking my head at an article.
Although there are 45 points discussed in this original article, I’m not going to discuss each and every one of them (probably because it would end up being 2,000 words and no one would read it). I’ve picked out three points that I disagree with the most from this article, and am presenting my views on why the original article is taken from a much too cynical, pessimistic view. Being a teenager still, I can’t say that I’ve experienced all life has to offer, and maybe my opinions are clouded by my optimism glasses. With respect to that, I am a part of Generation Y, which Elite Daily claims to be “the voice of”, so I do get my say in this.
29. The grass is always greener… Unless you live in the desert.
First of all, the rest of this quote is “…on the other side.” This quote is taken to mean that an individual in a desperate situation, looking at another person’s life, will feel that the other person has it so much better. But things aren’t always what they seem, everyone has their own issues they’re dealing with and you never know just how easy or how hard someone else has it. Even in the literal sense, this author didn’t get her facts straight. There is grass in the desert, look for yourself. Also, even if you live in the desert, on the other side of that desert there will still be grass.
30. Honesty is the best policy… Until lying works.
Years of multiple choice exams have taught me the obvious problem with this one. The piece of advise states that honesty is the best policy. Yes, lying may work out for you, but it’s not necessarily the best option. If I were to ask which one of these is a liquid: water, honey, yogurt, or peanut butter, sure you can argue that honey is a liquid, but it’s not the best option. Lying can get you places, but depending on the lie it will only bring guilt or regret (which number 5 so cleverly points out will only bring bad memories). Being told that your broken window was fixed, then finding out it was only covered with duct tape is not a nice feeling. Sure duct tape works for most things, but the best option would be to get a new window. Honesty is always the best policy (use with discretion).
34. Better late than never… Don’t come if you’re gonna be an hour late, it’s rude.
While showing up somewhere late is rude, not showing up at all is even more insensitive. Say your friend is in the hospital and you promise you’ll visit that day. Something comes up or you just forget, bouncing back to the previous statement, just tell them your situation. If you’re eloquent and apologetic in your delivery, they’ll understand. What your friend will care about is the fact that you showed up to visit them. Everyone has busy schedules, especially so in these times. Unless it’s of vital importance, being late for something won’t matter if you pull through in the end. Going with the “never” option is admitting defeat and is a sign that you’ve given up, that you shouldn’t be relied on. Those who are trustworthy will pull through no matter how embarrassing it might be for them, or if the time has passed and what needed to be done doesn’t matter anymore.
I realize that what I’ve said can also be contradicted depending on the situation, but that’s life. Although, to approach everything in life with a pessimistic point of view doesn’t make you a realist (it makes you a pessimist). Whether or not the original article was made for humor, it wasn’t appropriate to try and take things that we learned as kids and try to shatter them in an attempt to wake up the younger generations and accept the harsh realities of life. Youth need hope and encouragement, that’s what brings about innovation and progress. If every young person sat around and thought “I can’t trust anyone,” “I’m all alone,” “the world sucks,” there would be no more future (which number 23 dares to promise).
Did you know nearly 1 in 5 children have a diagnosable psychiatric concern? Mental health is one of the largest health problems facing young people today. From anxiety to depression, many are not even aware of these health problems that plague so many youth today. In Alberta alone, there are an estimated 200,000 children living with a mental health condition.
The Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation Youth Council is proud to present the 1st Annual Metamorphosis Event: an evening in support of Mental Health at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. On Saturday, May 3, 2014, join us for an evening of entertainment at the Inglewood Community Association,1740 24 Ave SE Calgary. The evening will include dinner, live music, guest speakers and a silent auction. Tickets are on sale now for $30, and can be purchased here!
Cant attend the Metamorphosis event? You can also donate directly to the Mental Health Initiative here.
One of the over 80 events happening for Youth Week Calgary this year is called Come Play 4 Youth Week. On April 23, come out to the Beltline Aquatic Centre for a great time. This event will have many activities from swimming to music. Snacks will also be available through out the event. The event will celebrate youth’s right to play. So come on out to the Beltline Aquatic Centre and have a fun time while showing support for disconnected youth.
The event is hosted by CACHH (Calgary Action Committee on Housing and Homelessness)
The CACHH is made up of several Community agencies. You can discuss and view what supports for youth’s are availiable.
I stumbled across this video and since then it has been replaying. It is not just the mesmerizing music but the synchronization of the dancers- with each other and with the music. It is a must-watch video!
After wasting my time in about every way possible, I came across an inspiring and – to be rash – cool website. It’s entitled “Zen Pencils” and it illustrates quotes and interprets them using cartoons. I find the cartoonist’s style to be very unique and I love how they utilize cartoons to voice the meanings behind people’s words. Here are two of the most popular comics on their website (zenpencils.com):
The last few weeks of April will have the skies treat us to a heavenly experience. Complete with a meteor shower and a lunar eclipse, make sure to gaze at the sky in the days to come.
