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.
Sunridge Mall is hosting an art contest for all ages. Take a look at some of the great art created by youth and adults around the city, and vote on your favorites!
There are three age groups:
– Children under 12
– Youth 13-17
– Adult 18+
You are allowed to vote once a day up until June 15 2011. The winner of the contest will receive $1,000 cash. On Friday June 17 the winners will be announced at 7 p.m. at Sunridge Mall. Before the award ceremony there will be entertainment and appetizers starting at 5 p.m. at the centre of the food court.
For voting online you are automatically entered into a raffle for winning 1 of 5 $100 Sunridge gift cards.
Which lines match? Can a group of people convince you otherwise?
Recently I was browsing through YouTube, watching a few big name video bloggers when I came across vsauce. I’ve watched their videos before, but this certain video featured under most viewed for that day utilised the playlist function on YouTube. It literally allows you to lean-back and watch video after video set in order for your viewing pleasure. I found their 4th “Leanback,” one regarding social psychology experiments, quite intriguing and to some extent, even chilling. The videos collected in the playlist show a broad range of experiments, from conformity, to fun visual/audio tricks of the brain, to extreme psychological warps where the people partaking in the experiments show dark and twisted mentalities that questions my very own perception of society around me. If you have half an hour to spare, I highly recommend you watch this. I mean, it’s already set up so you don’t even have to touch your computer! Just click the link below and enjoy.
So I assume many of us know the story of the Little Engine that Could. “I think I can, I think I can!” It delivers the importance of optimism, perseverance and steadfastness. But how many of us would have known that such a story could be scientifically related? I certainly would not correlate science and sentimentalism together. So finals are coming up and people are getting stressed, including myself. I thought I’d take a break and I ran into an article about optimism. But before I elaborate, consider the following;
How often do you…
I) Give up after telling yourself that completing a certain task is hopeless?
II) …yet, when you think about the near future and imagine something positive, you want to continue?
III) Perform better after receiving a positive message?
IV) Give up after receiving a negative message, maybe from feeling pressurized/ discouraged by it?
V) Look for a bright side to any unfortunate event?
VI) Feel willing to do something very possibly distressing, but you do it because you’ve done it before?
VII) Convince yourself you did the right thing and weight down the other option when you had to pick between two desirable events?
VIII) Place hope and confidence in the decision you made when you had to pick between two undesirable events?
Now, with those said, would you think that the causation behind these is the brain? Maybe, maybe not. Optimism may be more important than we think. Could we have evolved to the human beings we are today, had our ancestors never thought to self- improve? Even a trace bit of hope could keep us going. Hope and stress may work antagonistically. Placing hope in our minds can keep them at peace.
DID YOU KNOW? Optimists live longer, healther lives?
After spending days in an anticipation-filled countdown for Sunday June 5, my dreams were somewhat crushed.
Through my school’s involvement with the Youth Volunteer Corps, I had signed up to volunteer at the Calgary Enerflex MS Walk last Sunday. It was supposed to be my first time volunteering at a charity walk/run, and I was really excited to get involved with something so huge and influential. Having never attended a charity walk/run at all, I wanted to experience first-hand the hope and energy that surrounds these types of charity events.
MS Walkers. (Photo credit: mssociety.ca)
However, to my extreme disappointment, I received a call Sunday morning informing me that my school’s involvement in the walk had been cancelled. The call had been from the YVC committee member at my school who was in charge of organizing and recruiting volunteers as my school’s last volunteer project of the year. She told me that there had been too many volunteers who dropped out (we had a startling total of 3 when we initially had no limit to accepting volunteers), largely due to commitments at church.
This wasn’t the first time that a project had been cancelled on me, so of course I could handle the rejection, but I was looking forward to this one opportunity so much so that I had to convince myself not to go down to Prince’s Island Park and try to volunteer anyway.
This is not to say that I myself have not ever cancelled on a project (my family loves to plan vacations for when I have other obligations), but I was so committed to this one that it was a real-let down.
So, my question is: How heavily does commitment impact volunteering success? Well, I would have to say that it is the #1 thing. It is a direct relationship, if you will. Here is an example of a perfectly great project that fell through due to cancellations by volunteers. I suppose the moral of the story is that if you sign up for something, make sure that you can be loyal to your word, because you never know who else you might impact when you send that “Sorry, it’s my aunt’s birthday” email.
Not many plans for summer? Why not give a shot at novels and litrature through Teen Summer Reading Club by Calgary Public Library? With their online Summer Reading Program, you are expected to read for three hours a week or complete three reading challenges. For every week you successfully complete your challenge or reading, you are entered for weekly draws with prizes, including $300 in books or gift certificates. If you plan to stay committed with the club, completing 11 challenges over the summer, you become eligible for give grand prize draws. Winning a grand prize means earning $250,$150, $150, $75, $75 towards mall gift cards.
Think you will be interested? Be sure to check the programs offered by CPL by clicking here. If you have any questions or comments regarding the club, feel free to contact-
Tired of your boring old possibly cluttered desktop? Want news, weather, system performance information, and more all portrayed on your screen? Look no further than Rainmeter! Rainmeter is a desktop customization platform. Through Rainmeter, you can enhance your Windows computer with skins and compact applets much like Yahoo Widgets and Windows Sidebar gadgets. However, unlike Yahoo Widgets and the Windows Sidebar, in order to use Rainmeter you need to access some basic Wordpad files and manipulate some code. There are plenty of tutorials and most of it is self explanatory – but if you are afraid of doing that sort of thing, Rainmeter is not for you.
Go here and pick a default skin, once you are satisfied, you can go here to download even more custom applets!
3. Customize!
Right click the Rainmeter icon in your taskbar and fool around! Configure your skins and save you themes. Check out this link to see what my desktop looks like.
As the school year comes to a close, we can all start looking forward to summer vacation! One of my favourite parts to summer vacation would definitely have to be all of the awesome movies that come out. Here is a list of 5 that I cannot wait to see:
5. Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon (June 29)
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The third installment in the live action series; in Dark of the Moon, the Autobots have discovered a new secret on the moon and race to beat the evil Decepticons to it. Judging from the trailers and past experiences with Transformers and director Michael Bay, the movie should be action-packed, making for a typical summer blockbuster. I have always been a big fan of Transformers, so I am pretty stoked to see this movie.
4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (August 5)
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A prequel to the world renowned film and novel, Rise of the Planet of the Apes follows Will Rodman, a scientist who is looking for the cure to Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, something goes disastrously wrong, and the scientists all go into damage control mode. Rodman is played by James Franco, to whom I was introduced to through the film 127 Hours. I would definitely recommend checking out 127 Hours, too, as it was an amazing film. Staying on topic, Rise of the Planet of the Apes looks really cool to me, and as a fan of The Planet of the Apes, I am eager to see what they do with this prequel.
^ That right there is how you make a terrible first impression.
Just for the record, that is not a self portrait of me. I actually wear clothes in real life. But if it helps to get my point across, first impressions are important and since I’m new to this blogging thing, I need to make it count. So if you want to make a new friend or look professional at a job interview, follow these tips~
Be Yourself –Don’t create an image for yourself that you’ll have trouble living up to. Be welcoming and outgoing; it helps people loosen up and warm up to you more. Don’t try too hard and just be confident of what you have and who you are. If you don’t believe in yourself, others probably won’t. Plus, “wannabes” and “tryhards” are agonizing to watch, so don’t brag (i.e. name dropping).
Keep calm and carry on – Don’t be rigid. People can smell fear. Oh and don’t fidget.
Look presentable – Know how to dress for the occasion. Make sure your clothes are fresh looking and smelling. Make sure your hygiene is in check: shower, brush your teeth, put on deodorant, all the good stuff. Once you’ve brushed your teeth, feel free to smile more often.
Let the other person be the centre of attention – Listen to the other person and make them feel important. Even if you don’t feel like it, just add in a few positive verbal cues: “That’s really cool,” or “What happened next?” Let the other person lead the conversation while you follow along, that way, you can find out about opportunities in sales, relationships, networking and jobs.
If you follow all these tips, it should look a little something like this:
Get ready to grade! The Calgary Foundation invites you to HAVE YOUR SAY by taking the quick and simple survey that measures Calgary’s quality of life. Add your voice and pass the survey link on to spark discussion, encourage connections and inspire action!
Survey closes JULY 23. Results are published in Calgary Herald Oct 4.
Whether you live in Calgary or anywhere in Canada, get ready for a good tan as weather reports predict a warmer summer for all Canadians. It became official as the Environmental Canada predicted “warmer-than-usual summer for almost every part of Canada.” If you plan on hitting the beaches or train in the sun, be sure to protect yoursef with the following tips, as the tempratures will likely hit all-time highs!
1) Stay out of the sun during peak hours
2) Keep covered up
3) Use sunscreen on any exposed areas
4) Don’t forget hard-to-reach places
5) Don’t lie in the sun purposefully seeking a tan
6) Apply sunscreen or oil to avoid burning your scalp
For more information on protecting your skin you can check out wikihow.com. Finally, be sure to have fun and enjoy the much-awaited warm summer!
First of all, congratulations to the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra for winning the 2011 Calgary White Hat Award for Top Attraction for Calgary! The CPO is truly an essential body in the thriving culture of Calgary!
I must say that I have developed a new love for Liszt as a classical composer. The moment I heard Liszt Piano Concerto No.1 in E-flat Major, played by the incredibly talented Evgeny Starodubtsev (Laureate of Canada’s Honens International Piano Competition 2009), I was simply blown away by the pure dramatic and lively nature of the piece.
Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, By Barabás Miklós
This concert is one that I absolutely enjoyed and is among one my favourites! The whole program was outstanding and introduced me to more the abstract and dramatic side of classical music. Let’s start with Turnia’s Danza fantastica. This beautiful piece certainly ushered in the elusive season of spring, with the overall bright melody and chirps of the the wind section.
Secondly, the highlight of this concert was the powerful performance of Evgeny Starodubtsev and of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No.1. Tall and lanky, the Honens Piano Competition Laureate of 2009 transformed the piece to be larger than life! Hunched over the piano and solely concentrated on the keys of the piano, Starodubtsev was in a world of his own.
Evgeny Starodubtsev
I felt as if Starodubtsev was calling on all notes to be released from underneath the keys and to explode with power. Starodubtsev and Liszt was the perfect pairing- the overwhelmingly dramatic and exhilarating piece required the frenzied rush Starodubtsev brought to the stage. Starodubtsev received a standing ovation for his great performance, especially impressing the audience with his style and the fire (of flurried hands!) he performed at the finale of the piece.
Dvorak‘s Symphony No.7 in D Minor was not a piece that is commonly associated with the Czech composer’s well-known style. Pulling away from his prevalent theme of music that inspired people to nationalism, this symphony proved to be one of Dvorak’s most abstract and dramatic pieces. From the uplifting melody and energetic movements, Dvorak likes to start movements with a bang and finish softly. Huge and overwhelming harmony that engaged the whole Orchestra were placed in the middle of movements, which were quite refreshing and different from other classical compositions.
Czech composer, Antonín Leopold Dvořák
Nearing the end of the 2010/11 season of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, it has been just a great opportunity and honour to hear the Orchestra live, listening to so many high caliber musicians and conductors that enhance the culture of Calgary! It has truly been a privilege to have a world class orchestra make its home right here in Calgary, and to offer amazing classical music, live, from the highest calibre of musicians and conductors. It is our love for music that unites us all. The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra does just that, bringing together families, the young and the old, musicians and travelers, to experience the wonderful culture of Calgary. The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is not a attraction to miss!
Sunridge Mall is hosting an art contest for all ages. Take a look at some of the great art created by youth and adults around the city, and vote on your favorites!
