Check out this very touching performance by Attraction, a dance group from Hungary. Who knew shadows could inspire such emotion..
http://youtu.be/CvQBUccxBr4
Self Insecurity Story & Poem
At times we all feel afraid, we all put up a facade hoping others might not really recognize who we are. Afraid to be hated on? Afraid to be lonelier than we already are? We put up walls, and plaster them with posters of lies. So no one can really know who we are right? Because yes we are all afraid of being hated, we are all afraid of not being liked.
I admit so am I. Till today I put up a facade hoping no one will see the real me because yes I am scared, horrified actually of the results. Results of what? Results in decrease of status when people know the real me? Or horrified of the reaction I will receive when someone finds out how different I am? I am just another teenager who doesn’t want to lose my status of being normal when in reality I may just be the weirdest person you will ever meet. But today I am sharing a part of my story.
I am just like every other girl in the world who goes to school and sits at a specific lunch table aspiring to find someone to love me. Yes, I am insecure but I am learning how to be confident. It isn’t an over night miracle, it is the little insignificant accomplishments and happiness in life we over look. Yes, at times I do pretend to be someone I’m not because I’m scared of what others will think. Yes, I refrain myself from opening up my big mouth because I am worried about being judged. I am just a girl craving a friend who can see me for who I really am. We all crave someone to open up to because I guarantee you we all hide behind a wall we have created for ourselves.
Here is a poem that caught my eye and touched my soul. I couldn’t keep this from all of you, it was too important to share. Because whether we are willing to admit it or not we are all insecure. So here is too all the shy, outgoing, weird, crazy, and fabulous people out there! Don’t be afraid to be yourself, you are made perfect just the way you are. <3
Paint Brush
By Bettie B. Youngs
From The Chicken Soup Book
I keep my paint brush with me
Wherever I may go,
In case I need to cover up
So the real me doesn’t show.
I’m so afraid to show you me,
Afraid of you’ll do – that
You might laugh or say mean things.
I’m afraid I might lose you.
I’d like to remove all my paint coats
To show you the real, true me,
But I want you to try and understand,
I need you to accept what you see.
So if you’ll be patient and close your eyes,
I’ll strip off all my coats real slow.
Please understand how much it hurts
To let the real me show.
Now all my coats are stripped off.
I feel naked, bare, and cold,
And if you still love me with all that you see,
You are my friend, pure as gold.
I need to save my paintbrush, though,
And hold it in my hand,
I want to keep it handy
In case somebody doesn’t understand.
So please protect me, my dear friend
And thanks for loving me true,
But please let me keep my paint brush with me
Until I love me too.
Picture of the Day: Just Minding My Own Stripes
Here is a picture I snapped of a solitary zebra at the zoo while I was attending the YODA (Youth of Distinction Awards) ceremony earlier that day!
A thought for the day
Many of you have probably heard of the tumblr “teenager posts”. Anyways, I was scrolling through it a little bit ago, and I found this one. At the time, it seemed cute and thoughtful and deep. The more I look at it and read it, the more I start thinking about it. I think this quote is very, very true, and I think it partly justifies why we often get stuck in the past.
What do you think about this quote?
A Royal Makeover
The most recent Disney newcomer, Merida from Disney’s Brave, got a makeover in celebration of her crowning of being an official Disney princess which occurred on May 11th. Let me tell you, the makeover was truly fit for a queen.
Princess Merida is a young frizzy haired teenager who’s main priorities are practicing her archery, going on adventures and trying hard to convince her mother that she shouldn’t get married. The feminist princess made young girls feel like they shouldn’t focus on what others think of them and that looks are the least of their worries, although it may not look like this is the case anymore. The makeover is anything but modest, her frizzy red hair has been toned down, her waist cut short, and her beautiful huge eyes have been shrunk, face slimmed and caked with makeup. I wasn’t aware that a young teenager could go fully through puberty in a matter of months. I also wasn’t aware that you could even consider a 14 year old sexy but, Disney has proved me wrong. The new Merida looks like she’d much rather try to impress a boy than to tell young girls that they don’t need a prince to live happily ever after. (May I add that she is the only Disney princess that is not escorted by a prince). I hope Disney thinks of the beliefs of their other characters and all the little boys and girls who look up to them before the next makeover. I am still a huge fan of the movie and Merida herself, I just hope that she is still “Brave” enough to stand up against society’s idea of women.
A Company of Angels by Clayton L Sanders
Great works of poetry usually have a meaningful story behind all of them. This Calgary-based poet, Clayton L Sanders was in a dark time of his life and this poem, along with others immediately touched me with its meaningful message and prose.
A Company of Angels by Clayton L Sanders 09/28/08
A company of Angels came one night, to see me in my sleep,
Each asked the question my child, why is it that you weep,
For we can hear your sorrow, in Heaven without even trying,
Please tell us each your reasons, for why we hear you crying,I said I cry for every child, who has nothing they can eat,
Who have barely clothes to wear, or shoes for th…eir tiny feet,
For the lonely orphans living, without a parents love to know,
Or those living on the streets, who have nowhere else to go,I cry for everyone molested, by stranger, family, or friend,
Who are scarred for life wishing, that all the pain will end,
For those using drugs to hide, as a means of some escape,
From some kind of pain in life, when their soul suffered rape,I cry for all Gods creatures, that have heeded extinctions call,
As they vanish from the Earth, will we leave anything left at all,
For the generations that follow us, who may not have any trees,
Living on a now barren Earth, ravaged by unending desert breeze,I cry for the time wasted as world over, we make unending war,
And all who died in history, unsure of what they’re fighting for,
While at home their family, spend time in worry just anticipating,
As the politicians keep sending more, and they carry on debating,I cry for all the damage we’ve done, to feed the global demand,
That is leading us to ruin, yet round the world few understand,
We have no where else to go, in our corner of space that’s it,
We find our own extinction, when Earth decides to finally quit,
I cry for all the waters we polluted, beyond any saving measure,
As medical waste washes ashore, on beaches I used to treasure,
While oceans creatures of the deep, are stranded on the beach,
We watch them refuse to return, yet waters within their reach,I cry for the state of this world, that I’m living within today,
The Earth is Mother to us all, while we watch her slip away,
They had asked me why I cry, I’d answered each Angel true,
When I had told them my reasons, the Angels were crying too.
Each asked the question my child, why is it that you weep,
For we can hear your sorrow, in Heaven without even trying,
Please tell us each your reasons, for why we hear you crying,I said I cry for every child, who has nothing they can eat,
Who have barely clothes to wear, or shoes for th…eir tiny feet,
For the lonely orphans living, without a parents love to know,
Or those living on the streets, who have nowhere else to go,I cry for everyone molested, by stranger, family, or friend,
Who are scarred for life wishing, that all the pain will end,
For those using drugs to hide, as a means of some escape,
From some kind of pain in life, when their soul suffered rape,I cry for all Gods creatures, that have heeded extinctions call,
As they vanish from the Earth, will we leave anything left at all,
For the generations that follow us, who may not have any trees,
Living on a now barren Earth, ravaged by unending desert breeze,I cry for the time wasted as world over, we make unending war,
And all who died in history, unsure of what they’re fighting for,
While at home their family, spend time in worry just anticipating,
As the politicians keep sending more, and they carry on debating,I cry for all the damage we’ve done, to feed the global demand,
That is leading us to ruin, yet round the world few understand,
We have no where else to go, in our corner of space that’s it,
We find our own extinction, when Earth decides to finally quit,
I cry for all the waters we polluted, beyond any saving measure,
As medical waste washes ashore, on beaches I used to treasure,
While oceans creatures of the deep, are stranded on the beach,
We watch them refuse to return, yet waters within their reach,I cry for the state of this world, that I’m living within today,
The Earth is Mother to us all, while we watch her slip away,
They had asked me why I cry, I’d answered each Angel true,
When I had told them my reasons, the Angels were crying too.
To trade or not to trade – Otafest’s collectible pins featuring Seph and Aurora
……..The May long weekend has ended, and that means Otafest is now over. 🙁 *spams sad faces all over the blog post*
Hey, we still have Otafest Aurora this year, so maybe I should be actively spamming happy faces all over this post.
As I took advantage of being a volunteer this year, the one thing I was the most intrigued about was pin trading! (No, I know you wanted to say it was probably trying to figure out where the crowds were all heading to, but just no)
Pins, pins, and more pins – if you attended Otafest this year, you’ve probably seen the countless lanyards dressed up with various pins from this year’s trading selection. On Friday, I had no idea of the crazy trading going on and wondered why people “stared” at my volunteer tag the most (did my name matter that much?); on Sunday, I was one of those people eyeing others for their pins!
The wide majority of the pins were of course designs of Persephone, “Seph”, Otafest’s revered mascot since day one, and Aurora, a much newer representative for its namesake winter counterpart! (Did you know Persephone and Aurora have their own Twitter accounts too? @Otafest and @OtafestAurora it is!)
Many pins were available for purchase for $5, such as the maid pin on my lanyard in the picture above, but certain ones were designated as “staff pins”, which meant these pins were only available through trading. That meant people trying to chase down executives by their red shirts to see what they carried on their lanyards.
And if you thought the shine looked different on each pin, that’s right – there were both gold and silver pins! (Gold volunteer pins were especially super rare)
If trying to find “staff pins” from Otafest executives seem hard, there are those avid collectors as well – I got my Otafest 15-year anniversary pin by trading with a fellow that had 3 full collections of these pins!
Yep, if you think three pins is plenty, then look at this:
Pins, pins, and more pins! The designs are one of the reasons I’m VERY stoked for Otafest Aurora this year on November 30th, as you can probably tell now. Collector’s addiction, here I come! 😀
2013 Grads: be safe, have fun. Take lots of photos.
After 12 years (make that 13 if you count kindergarten) of waking up early, working late for homework, having terrible partners in group projects, not making effective use of work periods, sleeping in class, and of course, learning, I’ve finally completed a huge chapter in my life. I GRADUATED YESTERDAY.
I know for some people, it’s really not a big deal. But even if it’s not a big thing for you, treat it as an excuse to look as wild and beautiful as possible. Go all out and just have fun. #yogo #yolo. Also, take as many photos as possible. The next day, it’s fun to look over all the awesome outfits and admire the hard work you put into choosing that suit or dress, doing your make up, and just looking snazzy all over.
Seriously, just chill out and have fun. All you have to do is sit through the morning ceremony first. I go to Queen Elizabeth High School and we have a relatively small graduating class of a number just shy of 200 kids and our procession went from 11:00-1:30. So, good luck Western and Churchill on your 700-800 grads.
Okay, but that’s not what I wanted to talk about. Grad gets kinda crazy. What I mean by that is, after your banquet, you’ll go to after-grad and you may or may not party hard and if you go to after-after-grad, you’re probably going to party. When you party, you might drink and get tipsy/drunk/done/hammered. So, if you’re going to drink at all, the night of your grad, ditch your car keys. Grab some bus tickets and some money. You won’t need to steer the wheel, I wouldn’t trust ya and you shouldn’t trust yourself. Split a cab with a couple of friends or take Transit
TL; DR – don’t drink and drive.
Don’t risk anything. It’s the night you’ve worked your butt off for and you deserve to celebrate and remember it, so don’t do anything dumb. (Not sure if I’m allowed to say this on a youth-friendly blog site) But if you were anything like me on the night of my grad, I’m so glad I had my parents around to drive me. I also ended up splitting a cab that night and walking a whole bunch. Drink lots of water too, it helps you the next day, trust me. Your school should’ve had a SafeGrad presentation, but if not, please go check out the site. It’s statistically proven that a spike in collisions and fatal accidents happen during grad week. During our SafeGrad presentation, they brought in a car accident victim and a father who had lost his son to drunk driving. The victim had apparent brain damage and it showed in his mannerisms, his appearance, and health. The dad without his child told us how the wound never really heals even when they’ve been gone a long time. It’s a huge reality check, so 2013 grads, have a safe grad.
Go out and have fun, but stay alive. <3
How to: Meditate
Meditation can be a successful tool to calm the mind and increase focus and attention span. Think of it as working out your mind even though there’s no real work to it other than determination and patience.
Step 1: Set aside enough time in your daily routine for meditating. Use a gentle alarm/reminder and start with 5 – 10 minutes and progress as you feel like. I like to start the day with some tea and a 15 minute session of meditation. It helps get me through the day with an inner calm that’s helpful in tackling everyday problems.
Step 2: Find a good spot – Try and find a location that’s isolated and free of noise. It helps in avoiding distractions.
Step 3: How to meditate – keep eyes open (looking towards the ground/feet if your sitting on a chair); fold your hands and keep them around navel area. When it comes to the position, the only things that matter is to be comfortable and sit without leaning on anything. Sit on a chair, sit on the ground and just avoid leaning. Then start to breathe in and out with your nose only and count each one up to 10 and then start again
Step 4: “Let your attention rest on the flow of your breath. Listen to it and follow it. The goal is to allow the “chattering” in your mind to gradually fade away”. Once this is achieved, you will feel in tune with your surroundings and this will build patience and help you a lot…
For a more in depth step by step process, check out: http://m.wikihow.com/Meditate
the challenges of starting up your own organization
Believe or not, no matter what age, size or ethnicity you are, you can change the world. With anything in life, there are complications that come your way. Today I will explore the challenges that might come up when starting up your own organization. Firstly, my name is Sheliza Kassam and I am only 16 years old. I started up Children’s Birthday Miracles, an international organization in January 2013. I have been advocating for youth homelessness for awhile now, and I believe that this organization has allowed me to be one step further in allowing youth to enjoy the life they were given. If you wish to learn more about CBM, you can visit our website: www.cbmyyc.wix.com/home or our facebook page: www.facebook.com/cbmyyc.
Now, I will tell you about the challenges of starting up your own organization.
Firstly, YOU ARE A YOUTH and adults may be hesitant on donating or sponsoring your organization due to your age. A solution to this problem is to get familiar with organizations first. When you approach organizations, you can show them your background experience, which can include volunteer or work positions. An example is that for the past three years I’ve been with Inn from the Cold sponsoring their Sunday meals on my birthday, as a way to give back to my community. I was able to build this relationship and when I approached them to create CBM, they were immediately responsive. In particular, Devin Laughlin, the volunteer coordinator, was able to help through every step of the way and I couldn’t have achieved this without her.
Secondly, you are only one person. I can’t stress how important it is to have a group of volunteers/staff to help you! As a youth, I thought it was extremely important to gather youth across the city, youth who were active volunteers and youth who didn’t volunteer AT ALL. I called them “CBM Ambassadors” and taught them about the opportunities they could receive by being an ambassador. With this, you need to have a plan as to how you will recruit volunteers and have specific roles that they can choose from. I chose three roles: Communications, Social Networking and Production Ambassadors. I also offer reference letters and volunteer hours for future use.
Thirdly, how will you spread the word? With any organization, promotion is KEY. A couple of techniques that really helped me were face-to-face networking skills and social networking skills. As soon I got the “go ahead” from Devin, I created a website, logo (brand your organization), facebook page, twitter page and instagram account. This allows people across the world to see the difference your organization is making by communicating information instantaneously. It really helped me because I was able to connect our organization with a local organization so we received promotions through them. Media also played a crucial role in spreading the word. Originally, the ambassador team sent out emails just to receive a small blurb on TV about CBM. Fortunately, the media sponsors wanted a 3 minute segment on CBM and the specific details as to how to donate. We were featured on Breakfast Television, CBC News and Global TV. Through this, we were published in the Calgary Herald and everything simply fell into place. Once your organization goes viral through the media, people will be encouraged to help you with your organization.
All in all, if you are a passionate youth dedicated to making a difference… start today! The future is now and we need to take initiative and realize that at any age, we have the power to change the world. I encourage all of you to spread this message locally, nationally, and globally so the youth of today can transform the world to be sustainable and prosperous for generations to come!
Colour Me Rad – 5k run meets Festival of Colours
It’s running season in Cowtown, but Colour Me Rad is not just for hardcore track athletes – this rainbow explosion of gluten-free awesomeness is for anyone who’s not allergic to fun.
As runners race through Canada Olympic Park, they are bombarded with blasts of colourful corn starch every 5 minutes. What starts out as a pristine white shirt soon turns into a canvas filled with all the most beautiful colours of the galaxy by the end of the 5 kilometers…
The run is on Saturday, June 29 (conveniently after exams, wootwoot) – and it’s not too late to sign up (although the early-bird prices are no more).
If you’d rather be the one throwing colours at others (or are a poor student who’d still like to be part of the action), volunteer as part of the Bomb Squad! (the perfect opportunity to get back at your friends… imeanwut? Be nice, kids)
As if that wasn’t bombastic enough, part of the proceeds go to support the Alberta Cancer Foundation in the journey to finding a cure.
So lace up those sneakers to prepare for the funnest run you’ve never done (yet) 😀
Indepedence and Money
Many readers of this website are preparing for university, and with that, financial independence. What does that entail, and what are some actions that should be taken to be more careful, especially in light of recent world events?
Know what is happening with your bank.
Whenever a major financial crisis occurs, everyone knows that the overall economy is at risk, but many forget that everyone’s savings are also at risk. In Cyprus, many people are being rudely awakened to this possibility, seeing their savings suffering from a forced “haircut”. This means that since the banks are not able to pay back their loans, every account in a Cypriot bank is losing all of the cash contained within it that is over €100,000. Many people who were looking to retire in the next few years are now worried about their savings, looking to see if they will still have a nest egg saved up.
In Canada and the United States, bank accounts are ensured up to $100,000 and $250,000, (respectively) with the insurance in Canada only working for one account per bank. As you start saving up for anything, it’s good to know what the government has insured for you in case of bankruptcy –even if you don’t feel your bank is at risk, keeping your money in numerous banks can be a good idea whenever a country’s economy is fluctuating and unstable.
Watch your money and keep it diversified.
As everyone watching the stock market saw in the 2008 financial crisis, even stocks that look stable can quickly fall and lose more than half their value in a matter of days. Ensuring that one invests in a plethora of stocks is critical – though it may lessen your returns on one great stock, it significantly cuts down on the risk that your finances are at. Better than just investing in more than one company, invest in more than one industry – even if banking stocks are doing well, you can’t be sure they’re secure investments.
Another tip that many learned in the 2008 crisis – though this lesson was mainly for banks – was that you shouldn’t invest in what you don’t know. Even if people are investing in some new type of thing, you shouldn’t buy it if you don’t know it. If you feel that you understand something about an investment, you can have some confidence in your investment. If you don’t have time to invest, putting your money in a mutual fund is a good path to take, as it decreases your risk as you have someone else investing for you.
Money is a very difficult thing to handle, and one major gap in curricula all around the world is teaching people how to handle their money and deal with their finances when they grow up. Books by people from all walks of life have been written about how to survive and thrive by using simple financial tips, by people still go bankrupt because of easily preventable mistakes. Until schools start to teach students how to watch over their finances, students should learn all that they can from their parents and any other source to ensure that when they do go it alone, they’ll be successful.
Celebrate Spring with Ginger Spice Bundt Cake with Maple Glaze
A couple weeks ago I reviewed a bundt cake recipe (the “candy apple” bundt cake), and although I liked it, I felt the recipe I chose was lacking. Because of my parents’ close birthdays I soon found myself making another cake. Of course, again I was pressed for time, and a bundt cake again came to my rescue; Canadian Living’s Ginger Spice Bundt Cake with Brown Sugar Sauce. At the party the cake was a success; the guests enjoyed it and afterwards there was only half left.
An array of spices are used in this cake; ginger, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, which give the cake a delicious, spice-
filled flavour. While I never tried the brown sugar sauce the recipe originally came with, as it was used up during my mom’s party, I decided to make a maple glaze to go on the rest of the cake. I’m happy I did. The cake was amazing with the sweet and decadent glaze, warmed up and served with a scoop of ice cream. The other half of the cake was easy for my family to finish, its safe to say this cake is a “keeper.”
The only complaint I could foresee with this cake is on behalf of those picky eaters, who might not like ginger, especially in candied chunks throughout the cake. Personally, I found the candied ginger to be a great way to add flavour, while the taste was not overwhelming.
For anyone looking for an quick and easy to make cake, with just that extra kick of flavour this is the perfect cake for you.
Flex Schools-Pros and Cons?
How many ways can you think of right now to pick up a paper clip?
A group of researchers did an experiment to ask a same group of kids this question over a number of years, and quite surprisingly, these kids come up with less and less answers as they grow older.
Is education stripping away our creativity?
Today in our social class, our teacher talked about an education reform that has been happening as a pilot project and may expand in Alberta in the near future called “Flex Schools”. High schools registered in the “Flex Schools” program will have 5 periods a day, 3 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, with 2 core courses, 2 complimentary courses, and 1 “flex block”. During the flex block, students can do extensive researches on core programs, get extra help on assignments, or just work on something interesting-such as working in a bakery.
The pros of the flex period are obvious: it customizes education for students at different levels and with different interests. However, the cons cannot be ignored: half of the students skipped the flex period when a high school is put into this experiment.
Another major change is that one teacher of each core course form a learning community to teach the same group of students for 1 or 2 years. A lot of people say that it is “so junior high”, but it does form a stronger between teachers and students, and helps build connections between similar courses such as social and ELA.
There are many other changes being made such as making the core courses more project-based than tests-based, reducing the weighting of diploma, removing finals for Grade 10-11, etc. The main goal is to give the students more freedom with their education so that they can be more creative about it and be more ready for post-secondary.
However, still a lot of teachers are against it, saying that not every student is responsible for all that flexibility and moreover, most of the 10th Graders don’t really know what they are going to do in university. Also, how well do the quality of projects reflect the students’ true understanding and knowledge? Lots of issues are definitely present but they cannot stop the reform, as even though the education system right now is good, it does not mean it cannot change for the better.
What do you think about this type of educational reform? Do you think more creativity and freedom in the hands of students will make high school education a better experience or worse? Click here for a TED speech by Sir Ken Robinson on schools and creativity and leave a comment about what you think of the reform=)
RED
Last Tuesday, the Epcor Centre presented an insightful and enchanting performance called Red. I was with Youth Central, volunteering for the event and had the fortunate opportunity to watch the show live. There was an excited atmosphere and the fans were most definitely anticipating the show! I know I was!
SPOILER ALERT – Stop reading here if you don’t want any plot details!
Red, was about a young artist that was hired to assist a famous painter Mark Rothko. They both went through emotional highs and lows working with each other, they got into heated arguments, had hilarious moments and had random but heartfelt conversations. The experienced and famous painter Mark Rothko, was afraid of black because he felt as though it represented death and red was a bold colour representing life, yet his intern found it to be hypocritical. The intern himself went through a tragedy at a very young age. His parents died of cold-blooded murder and he found them in the bedroom stained with red blood, which taunted him and his art for the rest of his life. Their morals and values clashed, yet they put up with each other everyday. Towards the end they got into a gigantic fall out regarding where Mark Rothko was selling his work, and how hypocritical it was because it disregarded the artist’s own ethics. They both basically brought each other back in line and balanced each other out. Sadly, in the end the intern left to start his own career, but the memories of his days assisting the one and only, Mark Rothko, would forever remain close to his heart.
This play was also quite hilarious and gave us comedy relief, it had everything within it: Drama, Suspense, Comedy and LOVE for Red. I have to say this was one of the best plays I have ever seen. This play has also won a Tony Award and this screen play has been written by John Logan. If I were given the opportunity to rate this play I would definitely give it all five stars! <3