#are written and in fact critical reading is a very important skill to exercise ���

[bayetea]

I don't like the judo flip in moa as much as the next guy but in my eyes it's largely the result of rick not taking female violence half as seriously as male violence (a result of viewing women as weaker and inferior to men such that their acts of violence don't need to be taken as seriously) and not so much anything about annabeth herself. like I do genuinely feel that annabeth is a complex heroine and definitely one of the better ones in the realm of ya action-adventure fiction produced in the past 25 years but she is still a girl being written by a man and all I'm saying is that her writing clearly reflects that sometimes (more in tags)

[vermilionhealth]

8 Ways to Keep Your Mind Healthy and in Shape!

A lot of us are concerned with the size of our biceps or the girth of our waist.

Having a fit body is important. However, keeping your mind in shape is critical to enjoying your life at the highest level. 

Give your brain the attention it deserves!

Read more: 10 Greatest Tips to Stick to Your Diet and Lose Weight Fast!

Keep your mind healthy, active, and in shape with these strategies:

1. Exercise regularly. Roughly 30% of your brain’s volume is composed of blood vessels. It’s important to keep your blood moving! Exercise will get your blood flowing and help to control your blood sugar. High blood sugar is harmful to blood vessels. That’s why so many diabetics die of heart disease or stroke at a relatively young age.

2. Read each day. Reading requires a lot of your brain. It’s not easy to transform symbols into words and meaning. Spend some time each day with a book that makes you think. You might learn something useful, too.

Avoid reading the same types of books on a regular basis. Read well-written articles. Read the classics. Try a new science fiction novel. How about a book on theoretical physics? Reading the sports page every day doesn’t count. The same goes for romance novels by your favorite author. Mix it up.

3. Eat well. A healthy diet will help preserve your brain function. Do a little research on the best diet for longevity and attempt to make a few changes to your eating habits. A few, small changes each month will go a long way toward keeping your brain healthy.

4. Meditate. Meditation is powerful for several reasons. You’ll learn to focus like a Tibetan monk. You’ll also learn how to relax. Both are wonderful for your brain. Meditation is hard work. It’s like a decathlon for your mind.

Find a good teacher in your area and meditate in a group. You’ll make some new friends, too.

5. Challenge yourself. Learn something new. Learning to paint, speak a new language, or dance are a few great examples. Learning something new forces your brain to create new neural pathways. Your brain’s ability to change is referred to as its “elasticity.”

This can be very challenging at first. If you’ve been living the same day repeatedly for several years, learning something new is similar to going jogging for the first time. It’s painful, and you don’t get too far. Be patient and give your brain a chance to wake up.

6. Do something that requires a lot of brainpower. It might be solving cryptograms or writing a computer program. Take a multivariate calculus class. Study chess. Push your brain to the maximum.

7. Remember the past. As we grow older, it’s more challenging to remember facts from the past. When you can’t remember something, avoid giving up. Take all the time you need to remember. You might finally remember the name of your high-school English teacher while you’re mowing the grass. Keep at it.

8. Get out and socialize. Spending too much time alone has been shown to increase the likelihood of developing dementia. Have an active social life and spend more time with others. You’ll enjoy your life more, too.

There are many benefits to keeping your mind in tip-top condition. You’ll enjoy better mental health and preserve your mental faculties longer. Keeping your mind healthy requires attention. Challenge yourself to learn new information and skills. Your brain is highly elastic. Give it a chance to use that ability.

Combat mental stress and physical fatigue with a healthy does of our Health and Vitality Jelly, which boast a dose of 900mg of the 6 year old red ginseng extract per serve! This will bulletproof both your body and mind be it at the workplace, gym or in the classroom. Click here to read the reviews and check out the Health and Vitality Jelly on offer today!

Want to improve Eyesight naturally? Then TAKE ACTION NOW and be prepared to surprise yourself and everybody else, check out this health jelly for eyes health! Have you tried education, doctors and everything else but nothing has worked? Feel that your life for years now has been turned upside down by poor eyesight? Now is the time to take action. This healthy jelly can help to slow down macular degeneration, cataract formation and helps to relief dry and tired eyes.

[jobs-in-education]

Best Practices to Adopt for a Peer Review at Work

What is peer review?

A peer review at work is a process that involves co-workers rating each other's work performances. In this basically the supervisor creates a peer review form for everyone at the workplace to anonymously fill out about their co-workers at the workplace. It gives you the chance to share your honest reviews about your coworkers since the form remains anonymous. It is important though to keep in mind that your manager or the supervisor will be able to see these documents, so maintain a professional and polite tone while filling your thoughts in the form.

Best practices to adopt for a peer review at the work

Peer reviews are meant to provide valuable insights about the employees' skills, productivity, morale, and personality to the  management, provided it is done correctly. Let us discuss in brief tips that can help manage and adopt best practices for peer review at the workplace to achieve the best outcomes -

Maintaining complete anonymity 

Maintaining the anonymity of the peer review system is one of the most important parts. It is advisable to consider doing online peer reviews since colleagues may know each other's handwriting. Having known the fact that a person’s identity will not be revealed at any point, actually gives people the freedom to be honest and open about their feelings toward their coworkers. 

Review the document well before releasing

To ensure the fact that the feedback from each employee is helpful it is important that the review forms are properly checked before releasing or distributing them. Also, ensure that in the peer review process, co-workers are giving each other additional feedback and plenty of praise that will ultimately leave room for only great outcomes. 

Outline expectations

Make sure to clearly outline your expectations for this exercise before your employees fill out their peer review forms. Let them know that the sole purpose of peer reviews is to help each other grow and become their best professional selves, so remind your team that praising is always important and helpful besides including criticisms. Making people aware of what they are doing well will actually boost their confidence and morale alongside feeling more committed to their work.

Leave room for actual written feedback

Actual written feedback is much more helpful than the numerical scores. The peer review forms mostly include a Likert scale for systematic reviews, where employees can divulge their thoughts by ranking their co-worker’s efforts on a five- or seven-point scale. Though these number scales are always very helpful, written thoughts and opinions are the best ones that help with real actions.

Meeting employees one-on-one basis

Meet with each employee for a one-on-one performance review after everyone has a chance to read through their peer reviews. You can also share your own thoughts in the meeting about their performances and use this meeting as an opportunity to find out each employee's strengths and weaknesses. This will help you understand your employees better as a manager and come up with goals to keep moving forward.

Benefits of peer review

A formal review will help managers find out an employee's true strengths and weaknesses. This will help managers in organisations set up training and development programs that will help improve specific skills that each employee needs.

Peer reviews at the workplace will also prove beneficial for managers to discover hidden talent. For instance, they will be able to figure out the quiet performers who regularly generate exceptional work without any recognition.

The feedback from the peer reviews can help employees understand how they are doing and where they need to improve thus helping them shape their better selves.

Final Thoughts 

Administered and implemented correctly, peer reviews can provide insights that are very crucial to be discovered. Peer reviews are very helpful for jobs in organisations of every sector, even jobs in the education sector can include the peer review process to encourage them to become the best professional versions of themselves.

[crazy-pages]

Sometimes I wonder if philosophers only think they're "exploring questions inaccessible to science" because none of them have bothered to actually ask any scientists what we do, or if we've put work into analyzing these things. Like, you know, critically thinking about the fact that all that data about octopus limbs feeding absent mouths or outliving their central bodies came from scientists who laboriously documented these facts. Scientists who observed this intensely and probably have some well-informed opinions and musing about octopus qualia which they might share if asked.

I wonder if they realize that just because scientists have exacting standards about what we publish (well, most of us do, the nutrition field needs to shape up), to ensure that we have a rigorously constructed base of knowledge for others to build off of, we are still very willing to share our guesses and thoughts and deep contemplations about the subjective or inaccessible aspects of the natural world we research. Do they realize that if they just asked, we would be happy to help them fill entire books about things like this, and that we do have conversations like this, it's just typically conversation that occurs on a technically complicated and niche enough level that it's inaccessible to laypeople without skilled journalistic translators?

(Can you tell I never stopped being mad at the The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind for pushing as patently nonsense theory of human intelligence evolution which could have been disproven by a simple research trip at the library, even back when it was written? Yet it is still somehow considered an important philosophical text which philosophy undergrads read without ever discussing that the premise is fundamentally unsound? Can you tell I'm mad about how philosophy texts especially love to expound upon the unknowable inner nature of the human mind, spinning maddeningly impossible theories as thought exercises while ignoring the very detailed and grounded analyses invalidating them? And also ignoring the more speculative and intellectually thoughtful contemplations scientists do on the same topic, because they're technically detailed in a way that's difficult to engage with? [Look some topics are simply hard to talk about without technical detail, because they're technically complicated. Sometimes the prerequisite for meaningfully talking about the nature of reality is years of technical study and there's no way around it, and you simply can't substitute uninformed musings for doing the goddamn legwork.])

You probably know that humans can experience “phantom limbs,” but did you know that the limbs of an octopus can have a “phantom body”? If you cut off an octopus’ tentacle, it will try to feed a mouth that is no longer there. A severed octopus tentacle also curls up when it’s exposed to negative stimuli like acid. Essentially, if an octopus dies and its tentacle is cut off, the tentacle can outlive the original animal by a whole hour. 

Octopi have as many as 130 million neurons, but the vast majority are located in their limbs, not their brains. Their mind is “distributed.” That is fundamentally unlike the human mind. We have muscle memory, but our arms can’t move completely independently of our brains.

What does this mean for octopus consciousness? Well… we don’t know. There’s no way to observe or deduce via experiment what it’s like to be a particular animal. We can see how they behave, but we won’t ever see the world through their eyes. Science can study what is outside, but not what’s inside. So, animal consciousness isn’t really the domain of science. 

As is always the case, philosophers have attempted to do what scientists cannot. The philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith has a really great way of explaining what’s at stake: “Octopuses let us ask which features of our minds can we expect to be universal whenever intelligence arises in the universe, and which are unique to us.”  There’s a decent chance you’ve seen a popular Tumblr post about Umwelt Theory—the idea that animals have access to senses that we do not. Smells too refined for our noses, pitches too high for our ears, colors outside the range of our eyes. But the inner worlds of animals might be even stranger than that. The postmortem movement of octopus limbs suggests that some animal minds might be fundamentally different from ours. Simply put, it’s not just that some animals have access to sensations that we will never feel. They might have access to types of thoughts that we will never be able to think.

[sal2724]

IMPORTANCE OF READING

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, the man who never reads lives only once. ~ George R.R. Martin”

Reading is a basic tool in the living of a GOOD LIFE. The more you read the more things you know. The more that you learn the more places you’ll go. I always used to wonder why some people are creative and some are not. But then when I searched about it every research said that reading is a great tool to success. It is said that Every reader may not be a leader but every leader is a great reader.

Reading is an exercise for the mind. It helps kids calm down and relax, opening doors of new knowledge to enlighten their minds. Kids who read grow up to have better cognitive skills. Reading is good for everyone, not only children or young adults. 

Why reading is important for all age groups?

1.It helps you discover yourself

Every good book opens up new dimensions of thoughts for the reader. When you read a book, you somehow try to connect the events, emotions, experiences and characters in the books with yourself. This not only keeps you engrossed into the book but it also makes you realize how you would react and feel to those situations that have not yet occurred in your life.

It helps you broaden your dimension of likes and dislikes and things that would please you. So with every page that you read, you have a chance to discover a new part of yourself!

2. Imparts valuable lessons from years of experiences

 Books are not written in a day. For an Author, it takes a lot of hard work, understanding, experiences, knowledge and in many cases lots of pain to come up with a single book. But we as a reader get to read them in just weeks or days thereby living years of experiences in considerably less time.

3. It improves your Focus and Concentration 

 The Internet has definitely revolutionized our world. But there’s a huge drawback too. For many of us, a large part of our day is spent surfing, chatting, watching videos, reading unnecessary memes and articles online. No wonder people are growing more impatient and losing focus.

However, reading books is one of those constructive habits that actually help us improve our concentration power. It helps us to train our brain to focus our attention and live in the present.

4. Reading improves your emotional health 

 Books are full of emotions. Sometimes they will make you cry with every turning page and sometimes they will just keep you smiling. It can fill you with anger when the antagonist of the story succeeds in his evil plan, but again it can give you immense pleasure to see your hero achieving his goal.

Books can make us happy, sad, jealous, loved, betrayed and so on! Books are thus an amalgamation of different mixed emotions that ultimately help us grow emotionally!

5. Importance of Reading in memory enhancement 

 There are a lot of things that we need to remember while reading a book. Name of the characters and their features, name of the places, plots and sub-plots, the sequence of events, important conversations etc. are some of the key information we need to keep in mind while reading. And the ability to retain these information keeps improving with the number of books that you read.

As your brain learns to remember the information from the story-line, it also becomes better at remembering other things of your life. So by reading books, you are also indirectly training your brain in improving your memory.

6. It’s a great source of motivation Life is tricky.

 Sometimes there are moments in our life when we feel down and discouraged. We may lose our hope and interest in life and just want to give up. Well, in times like this, sometimes all we need is a little motivation, little push in the right direction.

Reading a good inspirational book during such period can change our way of thinking and give us hope and motivation. Books are no doubt a huge source of motivation. We can derive great inspirations from them and transform our lives positively.

7. It expands your knowledge and makes you smarter

 Books are a very rich source of information. With every book you read, you get to learn new things. The more you read, the more you know about different people, their behavior and experiences, different places, different cultures and facts that otherwise you would not have known.

Reading books somehow or the other adds depth to your knowledge base. With your increasing knowledge, you become capable of making better decisions and choices in life. You become aware of your surroundings and tend to have an open mind.

With so many new things learned, people who read, obviously tend to be smarter than people who don’t!

8. Broadens your Imagination and enhances your creativity

“It was a bright cold day on April, and the clocks were striking thirteen”. This is the famous opening line of the novel 1984 by George Orwell.

How do you interpret this line?

In reality, we hardly experience conditions like this. Standard Striking Clock strikes a maximum twelve times. Similarly, we rarely have a day both bright and cold simultaneously. However, George Orwell tries to paint the gloomy yet hopeful condition of life by some imaginative references. The interpretation can vary from person to person though.

This is the beauty of books. It makes you imagine things beyond possibility – things that would not come to our mind normally. Books give you a lot to think about. They also give you the opportunity to have your own perspectives and imaginations into play!

Apart from this, different creative characters, plots, and approaches trigger your creativity as well. You become both creative and imaginative!

There are also many books on creativity that can particularly shape and boost your creative thinking. 

9. It makes you more empathic

 Another reason why reading is important is because it makes you empathic. Being empathic means being able to understand and share the feelings of others. Books connect you with their characters and plots. You yourself become a part of the book and feel what the characters are supposed to feel. You understand their pain and grievances.

Books also somehow make you feel connected with the authors. You are constantly in some sort of conversation with the book. When you are attentive to reading books, you are actually listening to what the book has to say to you. This makes you a good listener. So reading books develop empathy and thus help you to understand what others feel under different circumstances.

10. Reduces stress and helps you sleep better 

 Reading is one of the best ways to relax your mind. According to a 

Research by University of Sussex

 Reading for even six minutes can reduce your stress levels by as high as 68 percent!

Psychologists believe that this is probably because when we are lost in a book, our mind is focused on reading and that little distraction from the real world and our problems into a literary world eases the tensions in muscles and heart.

So the ultimate way of relaxing your mind is by losing yourself in a book! Read more and you will realize yourself that your stress level becomes significantly low with time.

Reading has a pretty positive impact on another important aspect of our life – a good night sleep! Reading books calms your mind and helps you sleep better.

However, avoid reading thrillers, horror, and mystery or suspense genre books before going to bed. If you are so lost in such books, you might end up staying awake instead. So, better read some calming, inspirational books that would give you positive vibes without making you impatient.

11. Importance of Reading in enhancing your critical and analytical thinking 

 While reading, a lot of information are being processed in our brain simultaneously. It opens up many different perspectives for your brain to comprehend. If you are reading a mystery or suspense book, your brain constantly tries to guess certain outcomes and events. It also has to relate one event to the other to make sense in the story. All this, in turn, sharpens our mind and enhances our critical and analytical thinking skills.

12. It gives you joy and pleasure

One basic reason why we read is simply because we enjoy reading. Reading brings joy and happiness in our life. We don’t have to depend on someone else to be happy and pleased. It’s true that sometimes reading can be little challenging or even boring, but such conditions are very rare if you know your taste and choose your books accordingly.

13. It makes you humble

 Reading books not only enlighten you with knowledge, but it also makes you realize how much you do not know about the world. With each book teaching you something new, you can’t help but think how limited your knowledge is.

You read a book because you know it will add some new pieces of information in your mind which was so far unknown to you. However, it definitely does not mean you are not smart. It simply shows that you have accepted the truth that what you know is not everything.

There are so many things you can learn and this would not be possible unless you are humble enough to accept this truth!

14. Improves your vocabulary, language command, and communication skills

 If you are a reader, you probably know the importance of reading in enhancing your vocabulary. Reading books is one of the best ways to improve your vocabulary.

Moreover, the conversations in the books also help you to strengthen your command over the language. Your sentence formation becomes quick, better and qualitative. You rarely get stuck for lack of words.

Once you have a richer vocabulary and controlled command over the language, your communication skills automatically become better.

15. Importance of reading in improving your brain functions

 Books has tremendous power. It can shape our lives for good. It can also significantly improve our brain functions!

16. Being lonely will not bother you much

If you are a book lover, you are never really alone! You can always have a friend in the form of a book. And there’s reason why book lovers consider books to be their best friends. Books don’t complain, neither do they have any demands. They just be with you no matter what. You can carry them wherever you want and read them whenever you want provided you make time for reading.

 17. It makes you a better person

One of the most significant importance of reading is that it helps you grow as a person. As mentioned above, reading makes you empathic and humble.

You learn about the hardships in life from experiences of others. You will learn to understand people and be kind and gentle. You will have a better emotional health. Your increased knowledge can also be useful for other people who may look up to you for advice and suggestions. With all this, you are bound to become a better human being!

 SO YEAH YOU GUYS ARE AT THE END OF MY BLOG, SO IT MAKES YOU A VERY GOOD READER. CONGRATS. DO READ MY OTHER BLOGS TOO!!!

[mediaeval-muse]

Academic Book Review

So What Are You Going to Do With That? Finding Careers Outside Academia. 3rd Ed. By Susan Basalla and Maggie Debelius. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015. Pp. xii + 149. $16.

Argument:  Graduate schools churn out tens of thousands of Ph.D.’s and M.A.’s every year. Half of all college courses are taught by adjunct faculty. The chances of an academic landing a tenure-track job seem only to shrink as student loan and credit card debts grow. What’s a frustrated would-be scholar to do? Can he really leave academia? Can a non-academic job really be rewarding—and will anyone want to hire a grad-school refugee? With “So What Are You Going to Do with That?” Susan Basalla and Maggie Debelius—Ph.D.’s themselves—answer all those questions with a resounding “Yes!�� A witty, accessible guide full of concrete advice for anyone contemplating the jump from scholarship to the outside world, “So What Are You Going to Do with That?” covers topics ranging from career counseling to interview etiquette to translating skills learned in the academy into terms an employer can understand and appreciate. Packed with examples and stories from real people who have successfully made this daunting—but potentially rewarding— transition, and written with a deep understanding of both the joys and difficulties of the academic life, this fully revised and up-to-date edition will be indispensable for any graduate student or professor who has ever glanced at her CV, flipped through the want ads, and wondered, “What if?”

***Full review under the cut.***

Chapter Breakdown

Chapter 1: “Will I Have to Wear a Suit? Rethinking Life After Graduate School” Aims to help people assess their current situation and perspective on academia and post-academic careers. Contains sections on whether or not to finish the dissertation, using your grad years wisely, myths about post-academic careers, and questions to ask yourself about your gad work and your future.

Chapter 2: “How Do I Figure Out What Else to Do? Soul-Searching Before Job Searching” Overviews some self-evaluation exercises and some industries.

Chapter 3: “Asking the Big Questions: How to Figure Out If You Want Them and If They Want You” Contains advice on how to research organizations before sending out resumes, how to network, etc. Also contains discussion on how internships, part-time jobs, and volunteer work can help.

Chapter 4: “This Might Hurt a Bit: Turning a CV Into a Resume” Advice for writing a resume and a cover letter.

Chapter 5: “Sweaty Palms, Warm Heart: Hot to Turn an Interview Into a Job” Advice for job interviews.

Reviewer Comments: This book is basically a self-help guide to making the switch from academic job to non-academic (or “post-academic,” as the authors call it) job. With the academic job market the way it is, a book like this is very necessary: not all PhDs will find a TT job, so it’s important to look at options outside higher ed and think critically about how your skills can be transferred.

Overall, the core advice in this book was fine. The authors rightfully point out that many grad students have a number of assumptions about non-academic work, and acknowledge that there are a lot of complicated emotions bound up with the decision about whether or not to continue in higher education. There are also some useful tips on how to write a resume and cover letter, including some examples.

But as useful as I found these things, I’m going to be frank: I didn’t find anything that set this book apart from general job searching advice I read online or teach my undergraduates. Things like knowing your values, tailoring your resume, networking, etc. are all pretty standard tips for a job search. The major thing that made this book specific to PhDs is that the authors threw in some anecdotes and made references to being anxious about your dissertation.

The major thing that made this book unpleasant for me was that I found the tone insufferable. Phrases that assumed what I was thinking/feeling as well as the attempt to "cute-sify" real world problems (for example, by showing a diagram of a grad student's brain with things like "ramen," "Prozac," and "cute undergrad" taking up mental space - without any acknowledgement of the things that underlie those issues) came off less relatable and more patronizing than I think was intended. For example, there’s a section which advises PhDs to start networking (as if we don’t already do that at conferences, at professional events, etc.) by saying “You didn’t think you could get through a career guide without hearing about networking, did you? You are probably dreading what comes next.” Excuse me? Moreover, the idyllic “everything will be fine as long as you put in the work and change your attitude” attitude really didn’t work for me - though the authors defend their approach as “enthusiastic” and dismiss those who criticize them for “naive optimism,” I felt like it ignored my anxieties rather than alleviated them. Fear you’ll lose your identity outside of grad school? Here’s an anecdote about someone who “got over their elitism” and is fine now! While I get that the authors want to inspire positivity, and yes, many PhDs do find success and happiness outside of academia, the “think positive and apply yourself” mentality is the same pep talk I’ve been hearing since I was young. I much preferred the book’s more down-to-earth moments, such as the authors’ honesty about how most people change careers a lot or compromise on their values when finding employment, or the practical advice like how to assess your strengths and skills.

Speaking of the anecdotes, some people may find them comforting, while some people (like me) might find them frustrating. A lot of them painted a picture of a happy life in which PhDs found their perfect careers after some soul searching. For example, there was one about a man who became a CEO after leaving academia in 1975 and working his way up until he got the position in 1990. There was another about a PhD who became a private investigator, and her story included comparisons between the complexity of Renaissance sonnets and investigative work. Maybe I just don’t know much about PI work, but I felt like I was reading the plot of one of those shows where a professor or writer helps the police solve crime. I also didn’t appreciate the stories in which PhDs took a major gamble, such as becoming an entrepreneur or writing a screenplay or going to law or library school and accruing more student loan debt. In short, some of these anecdotes were helpful, but many of them felt out of touch and didn’t do much to make me feel less alone.

Finally, the fact that this book was aimed at all PhDs - regardless of field - made for advice that was way too general. I feel like trying to find a job as someone with a background in the sciences will be significantly different for someone with a background in the humanities, particularly when it comes to marketable skills. The fact that the authors gave blanket advice like “tailor your resume” and “volunteer while you’re in grad school to build skills��� further highlighted how this book wasn’t necessarily offering anything different than other job search websites or books. I would have liked to see some advice that was directed at various sub-fields. For example, what kinds of transferable skills do humanities PhDs have that they might not realize? Having a chapter filled with links to various personality quizzes or self-evaluation websites is not that helpful - I can Google those things.

While I’m sure this book will be helpful to some, it personally did nothing for me. I’m trying not to be snobbish, but when you strip away the anecdotes, there just isn’t much that sets it apart from other career advisory books or websites.

Honestly, I much prefer free websites such as Imagine PhD than this book.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book if

you’re a graduate student who has become disillusioned with academia or who is having trouble finding meaningful employment in higher education

you’re a PhD who wants to leave academia

you’re an undergraduate questioning whether or not you want to go to grad school

[clairehazelb]

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR OF THE TENTH CUBE

And by Editor I mean, Claire Hazel,

(whom you may know as C.M. Hazel)

Writing my first historical fiction novel was a task of love, but a great endeavor nonetheless.

When we do things we love. we love the things we do. The Tenth Cube was, in essence, my love for romance and history poured onto pages of combined plotlines and historical facts. Coupled with science and a good dose of ritz, it blossomed like a garden flower into the novel it became. I felt, finally, like a writer the moment I wrote “The End.”

Writers, like professionals of other art forms, just are. Mostly, it occurred to me long ago,  we can become it, like the second you write the last sentence of that novel, or publish your book, like there is a glorified ending to calling yourself a member of the elite group of artists who pine at the sight of a lonely blank page.

Or so I felt. 

I read years ago -and my apologies to the person who wrote it for I sincerely do not recall the author- that ‘the moment you call yourself what you esteem yourself to be, is the moment you become it’. Therefore, if you want to be a writer, you call yourself a writer and let others deliberate on whether you are apt to be or not.

I practiced my skill of saying I was a writer in front of a mirror or while waiting for traffic to move in the lane ahead of mine. I yelled it out the window for good measure. “Move the fuck out of the way. I am a writer and can write this into my book!”

The moment somebody asked me and I said it out loud, I embodied it with pride, like the day I stepped with character shoes onto a stage felt for the actress in me. It burgeoned out of me like it was supposed to forever, waiting to be discovered. I beamed with the wine-laced fever of the evening.

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  It was a pivotal moment in my history, redefining where I ended up with my work. I went on a search for myself and found my writing voice. The days were growing longer with the dawn of my ideas and entries, so I had to make use of what I was inspired to do.

Despite my assertion, that I was a writer and not a poser, fear of criticism stalled me. I faced it like stage fright, but it was a sinister face at the end of my journal telling me it was not good enough. Nothing could come out of my penned notes and rhythmic pentameters.

I read about imposter syndrome around the time, looking for ways to face my fears. As it turns out, it can apply to anyone in any career, but it is a disorder that affects writers especially so, the idea that you aren’t good enough is prevalent amongst the inked-fingered-wordsmiths in my profession.

When I finished the Tenth Cube, everything changed.  While editing, I thought about a piece I had never published which explored the elements of fear. From that entry into my journal, came the text I eventually entered into my novel. I felt it appropriate for my second published book and first historical fiction novel. Aspiring writers are usually the best readers and learn best while to reading other writers’ works, taking what they can to heart. Here is part of the text in my book.

  A WRITING INDULGENCE

When I first started writing The Cube (as I lovingly call this novel), I typed without direction and wrote about many topics. I posted most of it on an old website, I would not even dare call a blog at this point. I eventually learned to hold hands with my muse in a better way and supplied my artistic knowledge with my other artistic experience. But, it inevitably always led me toward the same reason for not embarking onto a manuscript fully. Fear.

  My head swam with thoughts and reasons why I would fail miserably at my task. I just knew.

I know everything in stories has already been said and done.

I know I’m not alone when it comes to storytelling and interesting facts about life and circumstance. I know the very principle of storytelling relies on the fact that the narrative is good and characters are interesting. And, then again, I don’t know anything at all.

I personally see the story better in my head than how it reflects on writing.

  Despite knowing and fear, stories ultimately lead you where you need to go. And for sake of argument,

Yes, I believe it’s possible to be a good storyteller, despite everything having been done already.

Rarely am I ever afraid, even rarest is my admission to the fear, but it scares me a little still because nothing has ever worked in my mind better than my stories.

I’ve failed so miserably at so many things it’s hard to start this again. I do not fear telling you this though. I write for a while and the fear disappears. I want to be the bearer of good news for new writers or those having an urge to quit like I have so many times before. Bear with me on this.

The phrase ‘It started with a notebook I once wrote’ jumped into my head a while ago. I wrote a poem about it because of the many notebooks later it took me to create the first personal entry into a public medium. I’d written about theater plays and Language Education with a technical point of view, but storytelling, like acting in stories which came to life through my fingers, became the part of me I most enjoyed writing.

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About eight years ago, I wrote a story –also based on a weird dream- and I went from there. I haven’t really stopped writing since. So, maybe that’s my beginning for this. I’ve scattered ideas and unfinished stories everywhere. My own pending as ever, the satire runneth over my brimming mind, for lack of better understanding sets perfectly in here. But, to make things simple, I will advise you to keep trying new and trying for more.

“Delia became my headstrong voice for writing. Though it was my second novel finished, she paced my thoughts in a way no other story had, and I was hooked to her charms. Delia Donovan became my daily dose of the [her-story] I so hated as a young girl and delight so in my adult years. Instead of writing columns of advice for women as I had planned, I went toward writing about strong, intelligent, resourceful, frightened yet capable women with the same principle in mind.” Claire Hazel

Delia will hopefully continue to inspire stories – I am in research and writing the second novel. There will likely be a third as well.

Aspiring writer and authors, the gist of what I mean in this.

It took me X years to develop the voice I needed to write this book.

It took me lll to research and write the full novel, with periods of off and on to dream and work on other projects.

It has taken me lV between trying to publish on my own and finding a publisher.

  The Tenth Cube became an enduring project because it has a life worth living, I have said that before I think. Most writers live in this world where stories cannot go untold. Therefore my dear thirtysomething-writer who hasn’t started yet, if you are like I was, find the outlet to do so and share the story that has a life worth living.

Take the time to write and sit with confidence to edit. And please, share with me that hard-pressed jewel when you like.

A big box with recycled paper packing and a mug of coffee with enough supply for reading will be the most delicious treat a grown girl could ever get.

  What are then, these so-called Elements

By ways of telling you of the best technique I have used to move my stories and find the hidden information in my characters I need to shape their persona, we will use the What if? technique. What ifs are a way to create possibility. When you have doubts, there are endless What ifs going around in your head like a merry-go-round of incertitude. In essence, The Elements of said turntable of fear could be considered the following:

What if I can’t write like the rest of the authors I read?

This could fall within the impostor syndrome I wrote about before. You are not an impostor of your own game, you feel like a writer, believe it with confidence. It does not mean you have to be like other writers, successful or not.

Writing may or may not take time. For the present me, it is a matter of sitting to the type or jot down notes. But as I mentioned, it took many years to develop a voice I found pleasing and suitable, according to my desired writing style. I guess what is important is that

you don’t imitate but emulate those you love AT FIRST to develop your own voice

write about what you like and not what people like, the audience will find you and relate better

study the greats and accommodate your needs through your learning styles and experiences

nobody is alike and we are all connected, so find what works for your personal style without judging yourself or thinking you will be compared

What if there are things I don’t know or need to include in my novel I know absolutely nothing about?

Researching novels doesn’t have to be grueling work. Annote as you write (for pantsers) or outline the novel as you want it to be (plotter). Your writing style can help or hinder you. So, read carefully,

Research as needed before and fully after finishing your manuscript

Too much research can create difficulty for you and/or your reader, who is probably not in need to sit through, say, a history class instead of understanding through the plot movement

Too little research shows lack of pulchritude and disrespect to your readers, or make you sound nonchalant and ignorant.

Rule of thumb? Be aware, show knowledge, but don’t over inform.

What if I get stuck in my writing process?

Find inspiration wherever you look or take time to be still and OBSERVE

Nature, life, family, etc, show us and teach us. Use its lessons to show you the way, so do not just look and see, WATCH AND LEARN

Don’t overwhelm yourself or stick to a plotline if you feel stuck. Take a break to refresh your ideas and they will hit you when you least expect it, I promise you! An exercise that works for me is jumping the part where I am stuck and either mind mapping or planning the ending first then backtracking to the difficult area

Talk to your characters. they tell you lies at times but help you find the way. Listen carefully!

What if they do not help me publish?

Many writers are still sitting on the sideline of genius, gems of witing prose at their fingertips. Sadly, most give up writing because of this. I have quarried and continue to quarry publishers without much success, but I keep pressing on.

I self-published my first two books with great difficulty and many years of work, but they paid off in a way nothing else has. Take your chances with self-publishing. (I will soon open a platform for other writers to send me manuscripts to publish as an editor. News on this later!)

What if I don’t have time to write?

Write where ever you are able to create a strong writing muscle. Keep pen and pads where ever you can or use phones and tablets, recording apps, and /or your digital cameras

Take every chance you get to exercise the need to write, be it a post-it note or a short phrase inside a journal, a Tweet or a love note, make those words count in your favor

What if I do not feel like I can write my novel (yet)?

Use blogs, submit to magazines, write articles or content, keep journals, or write your family’s newsletter.

Contact your local papers or ask if anybody needs a content writer in your school or local businesses

Start with simpler texts, like magazine entries and restaurant menus

Keep writing your way into the published author you want to be without thinking that you have to have a published book in your hands before you can call your self a writer. There are hundreds of professions where writing is a need and many forms of writing are included in this. Comic book writers, for exa

  Comic book writers, for example, are storytellers, too. It is a matter of how you see your writing come to life to show others your stories. Find where your style fits best and show your best work.

My final writing indulgence was to tell other writers that there are ways, time, and chances to do what you love and ways to do it. The biggest problem most people face is fear, but fear can come with a face, a price tag, a backseat without a window, or an empty stomach and children on your hip.

We may fear different things which hinder our jump into the life we want. Discovering the fear we face is the first step toward the freedom from it. The next is up to you.

  With love,

Claire.

Lovely writer and content creator, take a moment to create your own purpose, and formulate a plan to write your way into the content you like to read. Start by creating your own space and sharing with others the gift of your writing wisdom, comedic genius, romantic side, laughing tales of your youth, or the recipes and secrets your grandmother gave you to keep.

You will get a cool credit for those plugins that make your place shine and sparkle.

It is easy and fast to start. Tell me about it on your way back to my content and happy writing!

Disclaimer: Credit and site themes powered by WordPress

Before the Tenth Cube. I typed without direction and wrote about many topics. With time and practice, I learned to hold hands with my muse, but fear held me back. Learn how to understand it and push past it. A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR OF THE TENTH CUBE And by Editor I mean, Claire Hazel,

[abbybowcutuvu]

Epilogue.

STATEMENT

My personal skill as a writer has grown in ways I wasn’t expecting this semester. I have learned to revise effectively and this has subsequently improved my organization and the effectiveness of my arguments. Being able to construct and really effectively tackle a thesis and develop an argument has always been a struggle for me. I still have much room to grow, but in practicing this semester with revising, I have come a long way. 

REFLECTION

Writing is a serious mental exercise. At times, you may not want to start, it can feel overwhelming to make yourself start to think. Really think. When you do start writing and your brain starts making sense of things, compiling and organizing information in your brain, creating, I start to feel alive. It Just like a good cry, or run, it feels amazing when you have finished writing. You have either created something you are proud of or you have learned more about yourself. 

Writing challenges me in ways that I couldn’t have foreseen. There have been times I haven’t wanted to think about certain things; yet, I have explored and worked through those unexpectedly hard and painful thoughts and come out the other side much better for it. I have created more than I thought I could and understood more about topics I hadn’t given a deeper thought to. 

Writing can also be used as a measure of growth. You can look back at who you were and how you thought of things in days past or you can watch as your skills are improving. Revising is an incredibly important aspect of writing, one that gets skipped far too often. I believe revising helps you to see your growth and learn from it. When you spend the extra time figuring out exactly how you want something written and how better you can represent your thoughts, you exercise your brain and grow as a writer. Writing is a skill that has to be learned and practised like any other. Writing courses are essential for everyone to take in order to communicate better and to practice this important skill. Both reading and writing help to literally improve your brain connectivity and improves your intelligence. Writing requires patience, diligence, and determination. Writing courses are among the most valuable and important courses anyone could take. Writing is the most important exercise you could possibly do. 

To whomever would be concerned for me,

I am an avid reader and movie buff. For the out-of-class Tumblr blogs, I chose to write and explore my favorite characters in some of my favorite books and movies. I had chosen carefully those who I wanted to write about. I chose characters from books and movies that I hadn’t seen in a while and it forced me to re-read several books and re-watch several movies. I wanted to really learn about certain characters and understand them in a way I hadn’t before. This class enabled me to look deeper into the novels/movies in a way I hadn’t needed to before. I actually struggled with some of the writings because I had a hard time understanding their motives and desires. It also changed certain perspectives for me. For example: in my writing of Ariane from Love in the Afternoon, I originally thought of the movie as a whole in a different perspective and had planned to write her character analysis in a much more critical way. However, when I took the time to think and write about her, my whole perspective on the movie changed. So while this assignment may not have changed my worldview in a larger sense, it really changed the way I understand and enjoy some of my most beloved fictional characters. It meant a lot to me. 

The opinion pieces were challenging for me. It was hard to write in a voice that was not mine. I write often in more formal ways but to write an informal piece from a different perspective and to an audience I was not familiar was certainly hard for me. This was new territory and something I had never had to do before. It is also something I probably won’t ever have the chance to do again. 

I have always had a hard time writing in less than what is my best work. I have never been able to just write for a grade. I did procrastinate much of the assignments for this class, with the exception of the out-of-class Tumblr project, but even so, I feel I spent the same amount of hours I would have anyway. I didn’t want to turn in work that wasn’t my best. I revised heavily on all the things I turned in and truly feel proud of them. With some of the out-of-class Tumblr ‘comments’ (rather than posts) I felt like I put less effort into them than everything else. I had a hard time truly finding material to engage with and think about in a serious way. 

I spent more time with the writing process than ever before this semester. This class forced me to write four whole drafts of a paper. I have never done that before. I do feel like some of my absolute best work has come from this and will certainly practice writing in this format in the future. I looked back on our ‘best piece of writing’ and then saw how I did on the research project and was astounded at my writing progress. I also applied this to a research paper I had to write for a different class this semester and got a much better grade on it than I would have otherwise. I feel this class has been particularly helpful for me. I was able to practice writing more than I ever have before. It truly is a skill that has to be practiced, and one that is incredibly important. 

Sincerely,

Abigail Bowcut

IN CLASS FREE-WRITE

How the hell do people not know who Bob Dylan is. Wow. He is a living legend. A poet. My favorite of his songs and probably my most favorite song in the world is called to fall in love with you. It is unfinished and I think thats why I love it. It’s magical. The words don’t make sense together but somehow they make more sense than anything. It’s love. Love not rational. Love doesn’t make sense. But somehow when listening to that song I feel love. I feel and relate to Dylan and understand. The fact that it is unfinished leaves so much for the listener to interpret in their own way. To imagine what they wish. I really want to pick up the guitar now. Learn all of his songs. I know most of them by heart already. Bob changes with time, just like any human. He has phases and is imperfect. I see it in your lips, I knew it in your eyes. My favorite line. Human relationships. Knowing someone and desiring to know them more than yourself. The curiosity to dive deep into someone else’s mind.

*Professor commented ‘beautiful’. Very much appreciated.

BEST ESSAY

Toward Understanding the Challenges Adolescents Face Online

https://abbybowcutuvu.tumblr.com/post/189644149484/toward-understanding-the-challenges-adolescents

*In comparison to my best essay written at the end of the semester I found my free write that I wrote at the beginning. How I was able to get my mess of thoughts from what it was to a developed piece I am pretty astounded by. Free writing is new to me and something I will incorporate in the future.

Research Project Free write.

Social media is the absolute worst, most negative, harmful aspect of the internet. The internet is the biggest change to our society to come about in the last century. It has changed our world for the better. For the most part. Science, research, access to information and communication has improved our society and more social change has come about because of the globalization that was made possible by internet. Social media is the exception to the many benefits of the internet. Social media is a disease. It is causing much more harm than good. There are particular social media mediums that are valuable. Forums certain social media outlets do help with social progress. I believe racism, homophobia, and gender issues are generally becoming better and I believe that certain social media’s have contributed to that positive social change. People share ideas and opinions and we learn why our parents are wrong and get new perspectives. However, I still believe there are many many negatives about social media. Particularly Instagram. Instagram is what I believe I will focus on. I want my project to be more specific than attacking social media in general. Instagram’s negatives outweigh the positives. For my project I want to investigate Instagrams negative influence on our youth; though I do believe it to be harmful to us all, the youth are much more susceptible. I want to do research on the psychology aspects. How are youth affected psychologically? Is our youth more depressed and anxious than the youths of previous generations? Are they more self conscious? Are they more or less ‘social’ than they were before instagram? How does looking at these carefully constructed profiles misleading our youth? How does constantly looking at altered photographs of models affecting our youth? Are our youth falling for deceptive instagram advertising? 

BEST BLOG POSTS

Eowyn: Shieldmaiden of Rohan

https://abbybowcutuvu.tumblr.com/post/188851079609/%C3%A9owyn-shieldmaiden-of-rohan-jrr-tolkien-wrote

Konstantin Levin

https://abbybowcutuvu.tumblr.com/post/189048211624/konstantin-levin-in-anna-karenina-is-one-of-my

Lester Burnham: American Beauty 

https://abbybowcutuvu.tumblr.com/post/189048874544/lester-burnham-american-beauty

Words can sometimes be…

https://abbybowcutuvu.tumblr.com/post/187678921274/timbllr-via-weheartit-words-can-sometimes-be

Judy Barton/Madeleine Elster 

https://abbybowcutuvu.tumblr.com/post/187632346389/judy-bartonmadeline-elster

[cleromancy]

ok but actually

try to stop worrying about if youre a good writer.

instead, turn your focus to your stories. what works, in this story? what doesn't? what aspects aren't you happy with? rather than "am i a good writer" or even "is this a good story," examine what you feel was effective, and what you feel wasn't. do you want your prose to be more evocative? do you feel unsatisfied with your style? are you proud of your dialogue? are you pleased with your plot development? BE SPECIFIC.

read. read stuff in your discipline, read stuff out of your discipline, read books on writing, repeat. take what you learned in books on writing and examine what you read through a new lens; reread your favorite stuff and ask yourself why it's your favorite.

chuck your inner critic out the window while you draft. if the critic is always on, youll never write anything you're happy with. save it for edits and rereads. i recommend the book writing on both sides of the brain for techniques on how to practice this

feedback. this is a tough one because some people will say nothing of value, some people will be unnecessarily mean, and some people will be unnecessarily mean while saying nothing of value. but you will still benefit from actively opening yourself up to hear from people reading your stuff, you just have to go in expecting to be resilient, and know that if something doesn't smell right to you it probably aint right. as long as you go in expecting to humble yourself, you should still trust your instincts when you get critique.

having fun is a really important part of writing well. if youre not having fun, your writing is gonna read like shit. find a way to have fun. if you aren't having fun, why? you love stories and you have stories you want to tell, so what's stopping you from having fun doing it?

write a variety of stuff. poetry and journalling are very versatile ways to expand your skills as a writer--i mean, even if you're a poet, sit down and write a different kind of poetry for a few days if you're blocked.

don't be afraid to take breaks. if nothing feels right, you might just be fuckin tired. or else maybe your subconscious has cottoned on to a plot hole or something your conscious brain hasn't noticed--sometimes this happens, where you want to write but the story is frustrating you for no reason you can feel. in my experience, i'll step away for two days, come back and reread, then smack my forehead and go "duh! this scene needs to be from a different character's perspective!" stuff like that!

feeling discouraged in general means its a good time to journal that out. journaling still flexes your writing muscles but helps you gain self awareness, and gives you a break from your project, which, again, i personally feel is often more constructive than forcing yourself to power through it.

remember that you're the only you there is. the only person who can tell the stories you can is you, because you're the only person with your mind, your voice, your lived experience. writing quality is so subjective that it just gets stupid trying to say who is best at it or whatever, but an objective fact is the only one who can possibly tell the stories you tell is *you*. so it's really important that you tell them.

don't be afraid to be a bad writer or write a bad story. give yourself permission to suck. in the immortal words of jake the dog, sucking at something is the first step to being sorta good at something. moreover, if you're allowed to suck, you find yourself feeling more free to take risks, which is an important part of writing.

in fact, an exercise i sometimes do while drafting is to *assume* it sucks. "i'm only doing this for me, so it's a huge steaming turd," i will say. ive written some of my best work this way

Do you have any advice for someone to go from being mediocre at writing to actually being good? Or is it just a matter of keep writing until you stop sucking? I've been told my writing is good but I feel like a kid playing pretend who's somehow fooled everyone into thinking I'm good at it 😅 do you ever feel like that?

You keep writing until you suck less. And then you keep writing.

[foggysandwichshark]

8 Ways to Keep Your Mind in Shape

A lot of us are concerned with the size of our biceps or the girth of our waist. Having a fit body is important. However, keeping your mind in shape is critical to enjoying your life at the highest level. Give your brain the attention it deserves!

Keep your mind healthy, active, and in shape with these strategies:

1. Exercise regularly.

Roughly 30% of your brain’s volume is composed of blood vessels. It’s important to keep your blood moving! Exercise will get your blood flowing and help to control your blood sugar. High blood sugar is harmful to blood vessels. That’s why so many diabetics die of heart disease or stroke at a relatively young age.

2. Read each day.

Reading requires a lot of your brain. It’s not easy to transform symbols into words and meaning. Spend some time each day with a book that makes you think. You might learn something useful, too.

* Avoid reading the same types of books on a regular basis. Read well-written articles. Read the classics. Try a new science fiction novel. How about a book on theoretical physics? Reading the sports page every day doesn’t count. The same goes for romance novels by your favorite author. Mix it up.

3. Eat well.

A healthy diet will help preserve your brain function. Do a little research on the best diet for longevity and attempt to make a few changes to your eating habits. A few, small changes each month will go a long way toward keeping your brain healthy.

4. Meditate.

Meditation is powerful for several reasons. You’ll learn to focus like a Tibetan monk. You’ll also learn how to relax. Both are wonderful for your brain. Meditation is hard work. It’s like a decathlon for your mind.

* Find a good teacher in your area and meditate in a group. You’ll make some new friends, too.

5. Challenge yourself.

Learn something new. Learning to paint, speak a new language, or dance are a few great examples. Learning something new forces your brain to create new neural pathways. Your brain’s ability to change is referred to as its “elasticity.”

* This can be very challenging at first. If you’ve been living the same day repeatedly for several years, learning something new is similar to going jogging for the first time. It’s painful, and you don’t get too far. Be patient and give your brain a chance to wake up.

6. Do something that requires a lot of brainpower. It might be solving cryptograms or writing a computer program. Take a multivariate calculus class. Study chess. Push your brain to the maximum.

7. Remember the past. As we grow older, it’s more challenging to remember facts from the past. When you can’t remember something, avoid giving up. Take all the time you need to remember. You might finally remember the name of your high-school English teacher while you’re mowing the grass. Keep at it.

8. Get out and socialize. Spending too much time alone has been shown to increase the likelihood of developing dementia. Have an active social life and spend more time with others. You’ll enjoy your life more, too.

There are many benefits to keeping your mind in tip-top condition. You’ll enjoy better mental health and preserve your mental faculties longer. Keeping your mind healthy requires attention. Challenge yourself to learn new information and skills. Your brain is highly elastic. Give it a chance to use that ability.

Originally posted 2020-04-23 11:53:34.

© 2022 AMAZING HEALTH SECRETS

[ratralsis]

Don’t apologize for your story (pt. 2/2)

Okay.

So. Some more words on this topic from yesterday.

One thing that I struggle with a lot in my writing is the constant fear that what I've written is too silly, or too overwrought, or maybe just plain not good enough to share it with the world. So far, though, most people are pretty cool about it when they actually take the time to read something that I've written, even if they have criticisms of it.

I try hard to keep my "short stories" short, even when I find myself thinking that they could use some additional room to breathe. There's a benefit to getting in, making a point, and getting out quickly, to be sure, but there's also a benefit to taking the time to expand on thoughts or ideas that are important to a story, too. It's something that I struggle with a lot: it's a hard balance!

But I'm also tired of trying to be defensive about how I write. I think it's okay to just have a big goofy scene with a lot of emotions and not explain it. Just have it there. It's fine. You don't need to explain stuff.

I promised another Kirby example, so here it is. It's also the ending to a Kirby game. Specifically, the latest (at time of writing) Kirby game, Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

You defeat the last boss of the main story by having Kirby wrap himself around a semi truck and ram it into the boss, a giant melting monster who is trying to slam two planets together, one of which Kirby is from and the other of which Kirby is currently on. This defeats the boss.

This is, bluntly, stupid as hell. But it works, because there's no wink or nod or anything, really. It just happens. The boss is floating in the sky, making it clear that he's going to kill you and everyone on two different planets if you don't stop him. So you stop him. It's that simple.

That simplicity helps to sell the scale of the story: this is, in fact, a very cool moment. Most video games are power fantasies, and Kirby games are no exception. Kirby is small and weak-looking, but through careful dodging and using his abilities, Kirby defeats enemies who seem like they should be much stronger than he is.

This is true of a lot of video games. Mario vs. Bowser. Link vs. Ganon. Mega Man vs. Dr. Wily. Sonic vs. Dr. Robotnik. A small character controlled by a skilled player defeats a big enemy. It feels good. And it must never, ever be ruined by pointing out that it's silly, because then it would be.

Kirby looks like a pink puffball, but he's really the pink demon. Other characters who know Kirby know that he's the strongest thing there is. This isn't even an exaggeration; there's literally no creature in the universe who can defeat Kirby. Multiple games have Kirby go up against something that can exercise power on a cosmic scale: Marx in Super Star, for example, uses a wish to have the power to conquer Pop Star, the planet where he and Kirby live. He's meant to be the strongest thing in the world, and Kirby still beats him.

I still think that Kirby Star Allies is probably the highest the stakes ever get: Kirby is fighting a literal Dark Lord of Despair, a god of destruction that has the power to destroy everything in the universe. Kirby does have the power of the Friend Hearts to make friends and summon powers that he doesn't typically have, making him stronger than usual, though. So you could make the case that Kirby isn't only using his own strength to defeat Void Termina.

In fact, there are few instances when Kirby is using "only" his own power to defeat a final boss. Marx is one such example.

Another is King Dedede, in the very first Kirby game on GameBoy. In that game, you fight King Dedede in a wrestling ring, and have to suck up the stars that fly off of the mat when King Dedede strikes it with either his wooden hammer or his body.

Kirby and King Dedede become allies, if not friends, in later games. In Kirby and the Forgotten Land, King Dedede is brainwashed by the villains of the game, donning a mask that looks like a wild boar and charging at Kirby with everything he has.

This is the song that plays during that fight. This is the song that plays when the fat penguin in a furry robe and a crown tries to beat you to death with a hammer. You have to stop him. You have to put him down. If you don't, he will kill you.

It's an incredible moment, and, after you stop King Dedede, he sacrifices his own personal safety for the sake of a random Waddle Dee, throwing the little creature into a closing elevator and facing off against a horde of foes by himself.

It is not a joke. It is not played for laughs. It is all very stupid, and it works.

I know I'm talking a lot about Kirby, here, but it's because it's so fucking easy.

I don't want to give a lot of counterexamples. I feel like it's a bit mean to do that. Here's one, though: I recently watched Thor: Love and Thunder. It has a few good moments. A few really strong, serious moments. A point towards the end when Thor, having been defeated by the bad guy, turns his back and says that he would rather spend his remaining time with someone he loves than waste it on someone who's beaten him. That's a powerful moment, and I won't pretend otherwise.

It's ruined when, a few moments later, Thor's rock friend feels the need to narrate in a silly voice that the character who sacrificed their life to save the universe taught everyone what it meant to be "worthy," and that's why they made a statue of that character, I guess.

Coulda just shown the statue without any narration! We woulda FIGURED THAT SHIT OUT ON OUR OWN. Could had the whole goddamn montage that gets narrated over without any narration, and we'd have understood every single fucking scene shown based on context and what we knew about the characters.

But then it wouldn't be FUNNY! And, as we all know, epic stories about the fate of the universe and battles between literal gods who used to be worshiped in the real word and random dudes who found cool swords HAVE TO BE FUNNY. If we can't laugh at the end, we might have to actually sit with our feelings, and who the fuck wants to do that?

I'm trying to rewrite the story I wrote last year about a samurai living on borrowed time and how he raises his daughter to be a killer like him. But he does it by accident. That's a big theme of the story. He doesn't want her to be a killer, necessarily, but it sort of works out that way.

The story ends with him crying in front of her. It's the first time she's ever seen him cry. He gives her a hug and tells her that he knows they'll meet again. It's an emotional moment.

It's also very stupid. I can't pull any punches with that moment, though. I can't let an ounce of humor into it. I can't wink at the audience and say "Yeah, it's kind of silly, right? There's no way he can know that. He's literally going to go die immediately after this."

That's the ticking clock, you see. From before his daughter is born, he knows that he will die once he's done teaching her how to use his sword. He's died before. The gods allowed him to return to life to finish his unfinished business, which, at the time of his death, meant saving the world from a demonic invasion with the help of several others who are mentioned in the story but do not appear.

Once that invasion was over, he made a deal with the gods. He was betrothed to a woman of status in another land. He needed to provide for her an heir, and to pass down his ancestral sword to that heir. The gods didn't like that deal, but they agreed to it. He had to get to work. He got married and sired a daughter as quickly as humanly possible. He founded a dojo where he could teach the way of the sword to others, because he had no experience teaching, and he needed some.

Five years and nine months after making his deal with the gods, his daughter turned five, and he told her that he was going to teach her how to use a sword, so that she could eventually use his sword, and that then he would die. That was the deal. That was always the deal.

He was alright with that. He'd gotten a reprieve from Hell. He'd been to Hell before. He lived a violent life before his first death. Nothing he did after that death would change this fate. He would go to an afterlife that was an eternal battlefield, a chaotic mess of violence where everyone is constantly killed and revived, until they're brought back into the great karmic wheel and given another shot at life.

He wouldn't waste his time. If he did, the gods would see that he wasn't fulfilling his end of the bargain, and he'd simply die sooner.

But just as he'd never been a teacher before, he'd never been a dad before, either. He made mistakes. He learned things. He was only thirty years old when his daughter's fifth birthday rolled around, after all. That's young enough to still have a lot of things you don't know.

During that first conversation, his five-year-old daughter accuses him of being untrustworthy, and a liar, because he tells her that he is absolutely going to lie and be untrustworthy regarding her training. It's okay to tell her mom that he's training her. It's probably best not to give her all the details. It's probably best not to tell other kids about it.

So how can she trust him? Well, he can't swear on his family name, because he gave that up when he got married. He can't swear on his life, because he's already lost that before. He can't swear on his honor, because he doesn't have any. So he swears on the only thing he's got that means anything to him anymore: his sword. He swears on his sword that he'll never lie to his daughter, even by omission, and that he'll truthfully answer any question of hers, though there may be some that he tells her he doesn't want to answer.

She accepts that. She is five.

She asks him hard questions. He tells her hard truths. He disillusions her. Makes her cynical. Paranoid. Tough. He isn't sure he's happy about that. But he isn't there to be a good father. He's there to teach her his sword techniques. The rest is just stuff that happens along the way.

She asks him if he loves her. Loves his wife. He says he doesn't know. It is the truth. He doesn't know what love is. He's not a philosopher or a poet. He's a warrior who happens to have a wife and a daughter now. She doesn't like that answer. He doesn't like it, either.

At the end of the story, they have a final conversation, which ends with him crying and hugging her goodbye one last time. It is the first time she's ever seen him cry. He tells her that he knows they'll meet again, and she knows that he's telling the truth: he does know it. Whether they really do or not is, of course, another story.

He can never tell her that he loves her, but he does. He loves his daughter, for all her faults. Ones that he passed down from himself to her, and ones that are all her own.

I can't play any of that for a joke. I can't apologize for it. It has to be as raw and as real as I can write it, and I don't know if I can.

It's easy to make something light-hearted. To twist a moment like that into a joke.

I do it in my novel, the one I'm going to start working on again next month. There was a long break, almost four months, between finishing the first draft and starting the second, but classes are starting in September, and I'm going to have to get back to it.

In that story, the main character, who I'm thinking of renaming to William so that he doesn't have such a modern-sounding name as "Kevin," tells Katia, the massive orc woman covered in battle scars, that he loves her. He tells her this because he is worried for her safety. He doesn't want her to get killed, but he knows that the path she's on is going to lead to her death.

The trouble, of course, is that she knows it, too, and has accepted that. She can't get off of that path. So when William makes his confession, and he puts his arms around her, and rests his head on her collarbone (because that's how much taller than him she is), she tells him that they should get married.

That's the joke. The moment that deflates the mood. It's a gut punch. You, as the reader, are meant to react the way that William does, which is surprise.

She's loved William, too, for a while, by then. But she knows that she'll die soon, doing what she's doing. Her reasoning, then, is that they should enjoy the time that they have together, as husband and wife, and have no regrets about wasting it.

That's not what William wanted. He wanted her to give up her life for him. But he does still love her, so he says only, "I'll go buy some rings."

Ha, ha. It's funny, and it's sad.

I don't know if it works. I don't know if I can rewrite it to make it less light-hearted. It's meant to be a gut punch when William shouts at Katia that he loves her. They're having a heated argument. It looks like things are about to get violent, and it stops cold when he tells her how he really feels. There's a minute or two of quiet, as she can't react, she's stunned into silence, she has to process what he's told her. Has to think of how to proceed.

Her decision is the second gut punch. It's not what William wanted, but he's going to go along with it, because he loves her and she loves him and he doesn't know what else to do. He feels powerless. He's swept up in her wake.

Is it an apology? It is me being defensive? Is it a wink and a nod at the reader, a little joke, a moment of me saying "Yeah, I know, it's all kind of silly, right?"

Maybe. I hope not. The fact of the matter is, I'm writing a novel where a guy marries an orc woman, and I want to try like hell to get the reader on board with that idea. She's big and she's strong and she's dirty and sweaty from the road and she only knows how to be a good soldier, and he loves her like he's never loved anyone in his life. I need the reader to love her, too, or else it all falls apart.

I need the reader to love my samurai and his daughter, too. I need them to love both of them, or else the final scene means nothing.

I can't ask you to love my characters and also to laugh at them. It doesn't work. I'm not that kind of writer.

Well.

If you read this far, thanks. Let me know. That would make me feel a lot better about writing all of this. It took a lot of time.

[shsuschoollibraryprogramming]

Contest Lesson #2: Designing Book Covers!

Contest Lesson #2: Designing Book Covers!!!

                Library/Information Skills 

  Subject Area Integrated:  ELA and Critical thinking skills

Grade Level:  6th-10th grade 

  Planning:

After finding a book you enjoy, encourage other students to read it by creating a new cover design to entice other students to read it. The contest supports this type of creativity and collaboration by its very design. We begin the contest by supporting the teachers as well as the reading coaches who will be involved. Students will have the option to design their book cover via Canva.com. A few training sessions on how to use Canva.com will be held in the library for students who are interested in this contest. 

  Information & 21st Century Skill Objectives: 

  CRITICAL THINKING & PROBLEM SOLVING

Students can seek outside sources of information when they don't know the answer to a problem

  Information literacy

Understanding facts, figures, statistics, and data

  COLLABORATION

Students can communicate and work with others to achieve a common goal or solution

Promotion:

  Preparation of Materials:  

Book Cover Handout-available to pick up at library

Colors/markers

Glue 

Scissors

Rulers

Internet/electronic device for inspiration, if needed

Kindle Tablets for winners

  Procedures: 

In the classroom, students who decide to participate select a book from the state list of required readings for their grade level. Students then complete a series of exercises aimed at developing their vision for a new book cover. The exercises include researching book cover design, exploring the audience, and writing a proposal.

  *Note: Remind student that a book jacket includes:

A clear title and author name

A graphic design that reflects the books themes

A summary of the plot without giving away the ending

A review (opinion) about the book

  Students explore the characters in their book of choice and the relationships between these characters using a formal character sketch. They then prepare a cover proposal, describing their vision in written form, and submit it to their teacher for review. In a round of peer review, they discuss their proposal with classmates to further develop their understanding of the book and sharpen their vision of the cover. A final proposal is prepared and submitted.

  All submissions are celebrated at the school level and judging determines which submissions move on to the next round. A second judging occurs at the curriculum leader level, and a third at the sponsorship level. Prizes are awarded to students in both Middle and High School levels, and a single grand prize is also awarded. As families connect with teachers and coaches during the celebrations, the sense of community grows stronger in our schools.

  *Students are to create an artistic book design over the theme topic 

*Show students some examples made by librarian or pieces made by past students

-Students are able to create a beautiful book cover designs

-Whoever creates the best book cover designs 

 (Top 3) will be eligible to receive a Amazon Kindle Tablet and student winners will receive an award certificate for “Best Book Cover Contest” 

  Please see the attached worksheet! 

  Library Contest-Book cover Design Handout

  Payoff: 

Every year of the contest has shown a steady increase in both participant numbers, the number of final submissions, and the quality of student work and engagement. Those that participate come away from the experience with a better understanding of their own abilities and strengths - the most important reason we consider the Create a Cover Contest a success.

Student/Teacher Book Cover Design Rubric:

    Sources:

https://www.libraryadventure.com/ten-passive-library-programs-for-tweens/

  https://www.kindpng.com/imgv/hwhJxwb_cartoon-book-with-blank-cover-printable-blank-book/

  https://creativeeducator.tech4learning.com/v01/lessons/Design_a_Book_Cover

[reryanblogs]

I Am Not Fine

I'm writing this at three in the morning. Prior to this, I listened to a just-released bonus content of my favorite audio drama podcast called "The Bright Sessions."—It’s a series of therapy sessions for the strange and unusual (*whispers* It’s fucking awesome).

 I was having a bad headache and my stomach was acting funny so I decided to treat myself to a warm black tea. Teas are fucking magical! It eased the pain, and I guess I'd say a hangover from listening to the podcast made me sit at my bed and meditate. I used to meditate back then, but for some reasons, I've forgot the skill and now I'm relearning how to actually do it through guided meditation. After that, also practiced abdominal breathing. Damn, this brought so much peace of mind. And then, I almost had a panic attack.

 It’s nothing new. These are the times of the day where it’s so eerily silent that I feel sooo fucking alone with my thoughts, it scares the heck out of me. But why? I did a thing that I really enjoy, I meditated, practiced breathing exercises, I even cleaned my room, so why?!

 The greatest take-away I can say from the guided meditation I’ve just done was that “Meditation isn’t about getting rid of your thoughts. It’s about learning how to be at ease with them.” This! This fucking blew my mind. I was frantically and desperately wanting to push away and to “clear” my thoughts thinking I should be empty in order to acquire peace where in fact, these thoughts are fucking mine, these make me who I am. I should learn how to accept that rather than forcing myself to get rid of it.

 So yeah, here I am, at my most chill and vulnerable state... writing. Letting my thoughts go and flow and letting it be the way it is.

 These past months has been so hard for me. Right before the first day of this semester, I know I wasn’t fine. And I thought, since I’m aware of those feelings, I’ll be “fine”. I even started this 30-day poster design challenge on my Facebook page to get out all the creative juices out of my body, and keep stimulating my brain. And you guess it, it’s a fucking distraction. It’s an excuse to say that “Yeah, I know I’m not doing well, but at least I’m doing something about it.” Am I? Do I really think that way?

 Weeks passed, and suddenly, posts here and there of my block mates getting accepted from various media companies for internship flooded my timeline. And here I am. Refusing to do what should have been done. I’m not doing anything about my CV, my resume, and all the “responsible things” that should be done. Am I jealous for them getting accepted early? Maybe? But I guess it’s more of, I feel pressured. Everyone was doing their thing and then there’s me doing all the escapism crappy bullshits. Of course, I’m not judging these people, first of all, no one told me to be there, to be at all these apps that consume our most valuable resource—time, it’s just how it is. I was overwhelmed.

 Unfortunately, I also had to quit my org. It’s such a great, loving community where I can just be myself; but I quit. Being with them was so much fun, I always get to laugh and to just be me without getting judged. Their stories are so inspirational and moving; but I quit. As someone who gets energy from being alone, it was quite draining in my part. Maybe quitting was not the best thing to do but it surely helped me lighten the burden I’m carrying. And they were so fucking understanding, and just so nice about it. Best people in the world, I don’t deserve them hahaha.

 A month has passed, and I still don’t feel quite right. I even stopped posting to the poster design challenge I started. I had declined requests from friends to meetup. It was such a hard thing to do. Especially when you wanted to scream for help but you don’t even have the energy to get up, wash, dress up, and pretend everything’s fine. I feel so bad for rejecting people. I mean there’s only few who’d really go their way just to meet this potato but I still turned them down.

 And then there’s this particular subject for this semester, Publication Design. It’s a subject where one of the requirements is to produce and release a volume of a magazine. Magazine, layouting, yay fun! Almost everyone was counting on me. I never felt so useful in my entire life. You don’t know how much I appreciate that level of trust. It’s so nice and warm to hear people say that my designs look fantastic and how much they admire them... and then I refused to do it. I know I’m not mentally and emotionally stable and capable enough to accept this big project that puts sooooo much pressure on me. I know I wouldn’t be able to pull this thing off.

 Why does the things that I used to enjoy made me suddenly feel so lethargic? Why do I need to feel this way? I... I don’t have the time for this.

 I did horrible things to myself.

   I’m not really sure how and when I feel “less shitty” about myself, I mean, I don’t know why I felt those detrimental sentiments in the first place either, but I could say I’m on that “pick-up myself” phase right now. And it’s so difficult to maintain especially with all the overwhelming tasks here and there. But I guess whether it’s dropping everything at once to take a rest, or just breathing (which I found really really helpful), or talking to someone, it starts with taking that frightening first step and reaaally appreciating and applauding yourself for conquering that tiny yet critical first step. Pat yourself at the back, or hug yourself if that’ll make you feel better. Seriously, I got a lot of weird looks trying to have a pep talk and reassuring myself that I did a great job and everything’s fine at the middle of the streets.

 And yeah, I’m trying to meet people at my own pace. I realized that there’s nothing bad with wanting to feel “okay” but there’s no need to rush either. I’ve talked to friends, and tried my best to be honest with my feelings at that time. I didn’t find the point of saying that everything’s good and responding to people’s “How are you?” with “I am fine,” which I found, became so engraved to me, it turned into a habit. So I decided to stop saying “I am fine” for the sake of small chitchat, but don’t necessarily need to tell the whole story of why I am not fine. It just put everything to perspective. It’s a proof that I’m not denying my own feelings and it might not be fine as of the moment but the most important thing is I’m trying to do something about it. For example, writing it down, yay! Didn’t realize that I’ve written more than a thousand of words.

 Oh, I’ve also decided to be the head layout artist of our magazine. It’s a thing I really wanted to do and something I really wanted to be involved with. Very much aware of the stress and pressure this project is inducing, but so far, I’m enjoying creating beautiful stuffs.

 Also, I’ll be continuing the poster design challenge on my page, hopefully, by next week. Go to facebook.com/reryanpage if you want to check my previous designs. I really hope that I can continue this self-project amidst the other uni stuffs I need to accomplish plus the internship. Yup, I’m hired yaaay!

 Have you read all of these? I’m guessing it’s either you can relate or you have a big crush on me, probably the latter hahaha. These are just some of my thoughts and experiences, but I hope you pick up something from it, but if you don’t, still, thank you for sharing your most valuable resource—your time. I believe that talking about this kind of matters really help lift the stigma on mental health and mental illness. And I encourage you, to talk about stuffs that’s going on your mind whether on social media or with someone.

 Let’s continue to make magic, shall we?

   Like my Facebook page: facebook.com/reryanpage

Follow me on Instagram: Instagram.com/re_ryan_

I’m also on Tumblr, but it’s still on the process of curating: tumblr.com/reryanblogs

 iCommunicate XIV: Cirque SNS

Facebook: facebook.com/icomm.xiv

Twitter: twitter.com/icommxiv_cirque

Instagram: Instagram.com/icommunicate.xiv

 The Market Monitor (I was hired, can you believe it??? Hahaha!):

facebook.com/themarketmonitor

[prayatnasoe]

ARTICLE 01 

A Democratic Work Model - Vibrant democracy at Prayatna

A democratic work model is one in which everybody has good subordinates and bosses and everybody can adjust his work status at will. It refers to a society where the rank and file can vote on issues, not just the senior people, because all constituents have some say in how things are run. This is distinct from a fully managerial model, in which the leader is seen as almost mythical—an ideal role model whose job it is to inspire people into being better managers themselves.

Students in the fresh political atmosphere created by the Prayatna Authorities at the Centre are keen on performing certain tasks as suggested by their leaders with utmost dedication. 

For instance, they would like to form a “Mandal” to run their school/educational institution/operation in a democratic way. It is expected that these students will work hard and give their best efforts in fulfilling the conditions put by their political leaders

The Cabinet is mandated to function as a collective organ. This mandates that elected members of the members draft and adopt policy and programme documents which are all modelled on the consolidated policies of the student matters and implementing rules of the Institution. 

Students in Prayatna Education NGO  have the right to choose their local leaders via general elections held once in six months through written and electronic applications. Students have the right to elect one or more members of their school's student council to serve as their leader. Each student has two votes for choosing their candidate which makes it crucial that candidates represent a wide range of opinions among

Why Prayatna’s Democratic Work Model?

Students cabinet is the most important and popular place for students to interact with each other, but it’s quickly become a “memories room” that contains countless stories and anecdotes pulled from many different students. The team behind Students Cabinet decided to make this online place because we believe browsing through photos of happy moments with friends can enhance any negative moment at school. The cabinet’s purpose is to keep students connected and inspired on a daily basis and, more importantly, help break down any barriers that may exist between students.

Migrant Children become empowered when they work on a project that fulfills our passions. When they complete a significant project, not only did they overcome some obstacle, but children also experienced the gratification of overcoming an obstacle. 

The sense of accomplishment can be so rewarding that we continue working towards our goals even when we feel we cannot succeed. This is where development of a sense of empowered comes in. We learn to see things from others’ perspective, get better at seeing relationships through different eyes, and gain the confidence to take action when we have chosen not to by following a safer routine. Then we can choose to continue developing these abilities to win over opportunities in our lives of our children!

ARTICLE 2 

Nurturing a 6 year old | Child Learning

As a parent, communication with your child is the key to learning. It is important to be clear about what you want from them and what you don't want. Children will respond well to parental direction and structure. It is also important to use positive reinforcement when necessary. Also, it is helpful to practice raising awareness of body language and other non verbal cues that might indicate that your child wants something. After all, if we can't read what our kids are thinking, we aren't going to teach them very much!

While most kids are happy to stay home and play with Legos and blocks, a small percentage start kindergarten armed with a pencil and paper.

These early learners learn better when they have tasks to complete than when they are just playing. In their quest for grades, early learners must learn to work hard and persist. Sometimes this means sitting still and doing what they are told.

ESSENTIAL ASPECTS TO NURTURING A CHILD

There are six elements to the nurture of a child:

Parents should provide affection and attention. Families should exchange gifts Parents should help children learn how to solve problems Their role should be to organize activities that increase their senses

Physical and emotional well being is something that many overlook. Physical well being encompasses activities that build and deepen our bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, brain activity and nervous system. Emotional well being encompasses nurturing and supporting relationships with family, friends, colleagues and people in our lives. Physical well being builds us up to be strong enough to handle whatever life throws at us without getting injured (our bodies are built for this!) and emotional well being keeps us stable and happy enough to function at our best level.

DIETARY NURTURING

So many of us go to bed hungry every night. This is a major reason why weight gain occurs. If you are eating correct amounts of food, you will have energy for the next day. If you don’t have enough nutrients in your body, it can only deal with so much pain before it gives up. The next day, you wake up feeling like crap... or worse yet, sluggish. If your body isn’t running properly, you are setting yourself up to experience chronic pain.. This article outlines the general nutritional type of foods you should be eating when pursuing any exercise program or diet that

SOCIAL LEARNINGS

Social Development is about increasing the quality and extent of community involvement in work, business, and social activities. This approach integrates the general philosophy of entrepreneur George Russell Couch from his famous 1945 essay """"Social Choice"""" in which he outlined his theory of choice architecture. Couch argued that children must develop their abilities through interacting with people and organizations different from themselves, developing competencies where necessary, and working in ways that promote social welfare and well-being for everyone

Attention is the most precious thing in the world— and I've learned over time that if you give more of it, you'll get more of what you want. In the pursuit of our dreams, we often give ourselves away. We become distracted, our energy shoots off, and we give up on things that should be made a priority. But it doesn't have to be this way. If you learn to pay more attention to the things you want massively and give yourself permission each day to let go of the things you don't, you have a better chance of getting what you really want—and more importantly, letting go of the things that drain your energy and leave you feeling hollow.

ARTICLE 3 

Quality Management in Government Schools & Socio-cultural development 

The biggest difference between education in the private and the public sectors is not what students learn but what teachers and principals do in order to deliver an unforgettable education. In recent years this has led to a shift in how government schools interact with their students and their parents.

Students are brave and optimistic individuals who put their own ideals and interests above those of others. Despite being taught to be subservient to authority figures, children today resist taking orders from teachers and prefer to think for themselves. This makes them good role models for others because they always seek out new information and evaluate based on its merit.

Let’s dive into Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Aspects of Education

        Spiritual development""  is also conducive to an emotionally healthy and prosperous childhood. Students should be encouraged to think about faith and moral issues from a young age, and that moral development should be given weight in the curriculum. Few social issues are more directly relevant to young people than climate change, and yet very few schools help their students think critically about the issue.                                            

Moral development involves supporting students to make considered choices around their behaviour and the values that provide a framework for how they choose to live."""" This may mean encouraging them to think more carefully about how they use welfare benefits or arrange their care-giving so as not to disadvantage themselves, for example. It may also mean bringing home the house on time so everyone has a meal each evening even if they can’t afford one themselves. Moral development does not consist in lecturing or attempting to convert others but encouraging them to think for themselves and act accordingly. 

Social Development involves to know how to stand up for others; how to compromise, hold firm, listen and accept other people's opinions, and how to express views even if they conflict with those of others.````Social development may consist of learning how to spread the work you do, developing the skills and knowledge about work that you already possess, or learning new skills that will enable you to do more effective work. All have value and should be pursued as part of your professional development. However, personal development acknowledges the fact that different people respond to different processes. Thus, some methods of social development might be more appropriate for some people than others.

Cultural development supports students to build global awareness and empathy for other cultures. They should challenge discrimination based on cultural or racial difference. They should experience cultural traditions embedded in arts, crafts, language, literature, theatre, song, music, dance, sport, Science, technology and travel. Cultural development in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) encourages students to develop critical thinking, creativity, problem solving and communication skills through experiential learning. This includes not only formal educational programs but experiential learning as well as networking and partnerships with other organizations.

ARTICLE 4 

UNDERSTANDING CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 

There are a lot of pieces to understanding children. It’s important to look at how each child perceives different situations and how this influences their actions. There is much information available online about psychology, but we’re going to focus on how you can use this information to advocate for your child in the best possible light. As parents we have to realize that each kid is different and develop our own specific techniques for getting along with them in order to get the best out of them.

There is much we can learn from our children. Research shows that """"even very small aspects of children's development can have huge effects on adult outcomes."""" For example, if a student displays one kind of emotion but has another hidden emotion, such as fear, this will have a huge impact on how the adult treats the child. Children's emotions are not always correctly identified or labeled. This can lead to a lot of confusion as parents try to help their kids with their emotions, unaware that they are doing more harm than good.

Why is it so important?

Child development and Children Learning is incredibly complicated. It's as if something's been set in stone, set in stone for thousands of years, yet we're still figuring it out. We don't yet fully understand the causes and effects of human behavior, but understanding child psychology helps us understand many aspects of early development. Later in life we can apply these insights to solve problems. Each person is unique and has their own characteristics, emotional makeup and behavior that develops as they grow older. The older you get, the more important your psychological development becomes. As we continue to develop as individuals, our needs change, our behaviors change, and our abilities change.

Child psychology and development affects us in ways we realise only later in life. As parents, we need to understand our children’s development so we can equip them with the skills they need to succeed in life. In this section you will discover how characteristics such as confidence, self confidence, emotional intelligence, problem solving ability, empathy and perseverance can be used by teachers and parents to help children conduct themselves in an ethical and competent manner.

Detailed Aspects to Child Development 

Child psychological development is a process that affects a person from infancy to age 18. There are three stages of child development: causal, functional, and expressive. Each stage has connotations for a particular ability or ability proficiency that a child will acquire. The causal stage is characteristics that cause certain changes in thinking and behavior. For example, your child might begin displaying the signs of causal reasoning at about age 3. Common causal abilities include reasoning, vocabulary, conceptual understanding, and planning.

There are many factors that influence a child's intelligence or development. One important factor is the family environment. The kind of parenting practices practiced, as well as how interventions are implemented, has an effect on the kinds of achievements a child may later achieve. Most importantly, however, is the quality of educational programs children receive at school.

Child Development through formal education; informal education includes play and story time. Common childhood illnesses and behaviors resolved through Parenting Through Play. Play is a vital concept in all areas of life whether we realize it or not. Play encourages imaginative thinking, active listening, problem solving, and problem-solving. It helps children learn to cooperate and co-opt authority. It develops fine motor skills and arm-flapping skills that teach children to express themselves through balancing on hands and feet, swinging from ropes, using pretend weapons

OBSERVE & RESPOND

There is much about parenting that we do not understand. Many of us try to supervise as best we can but are not fully aware of the impact of our actions. We inadvertently provide our children with options that are rich in meaning but rarely make them choose between options in ways that feel good. When I was a teenager, a friend of mine suggested I look into behaviourism, a theory that explains why children under certain circumstances will choose to interact in certain ways. This is what I found: children are generally very good at evaluating people and figuring out what is valuable to them. If you want to understand human nature better, the best thing you can do is to observe and record the way your child behaves.

ARTICLE 5 

Slow Development of Indian NGOs and Government Schools. 

The biggest industrial factor that restricts economic development in India is the weak political system. The combined political and administrative capacities of the states is very weak even though the states form a cohesive federation. 

India has a long way to go to catch up with developed countries when it comes to female literacy and employment opportunities. Eastern India has been lagging behind due to both economic factors and institutional arrangements. Recent decades have witnessed a gradual but significant deterioration in the quality of Free education provided in public institutions both for girls and boys. We need to redirection

Eastern India is lagging behind Western India in many spheres. For one, it lags in the area of data collection and matching. Delhi, for example, has 15 data entry points for NGOs whereas Mumbai has only four. Also, while there are 33 million Indians living in Western India, only 23 million are eligible to vote; 15 million are not allowed to cast a ballot for a particular office due to language barriers.

Current Proceedings of the Education reforms.

The digitalization of the curriculum, but there needs to be a rethinking about how Eastern India can succeed in the global pool of `knowledge workers.' In fact, if we want to create a future where a literate person can open up their own business or go into professions like medicine without a college degree, many more. 

Over the last few decades, funding for research in Eastern India has lagged behind that in the West. This has had a deleterious effect on research in areas such as health and engineering. Despite this, many key technological advances—including the cells that make up the heart, which have been successfully transplanted into patients in Western hospitals—have been made. In fact, there are actually some patients in Western hospitals that receive heart transplants from patients in Eastern India.

Data collection from mobile phones and internet use has increased dramatically in the past few years. People across India have become more dependent on data services and this trend will continue. More and more businesses are growing rapidly but lack adequate resources to handle this increased workload. The government should focus on improving the overall quality of services provided by government departments and making them more accessible to citizens through a better

It has to do with our attitude towards Free education and Children NGOs. The West has been steadily investing more in its higher education sector, and is beginning to reap the rewards. One way it does this is by providing computer labs as part of its educational deals with educational institutions.The U.S. has also been giving gifts to its schools, with the Gates Foundation investing $30 million into computer labs over the past five years. Of course, money can't buy everything. But if we want our kids to have access to the most advanced technology, then investing in computer labs is a good place to start.

[dreamassignmenthelp]

Importance of Assignment in Student Life

Assignment writing task has importance in academics. Often it is disliked by students by believing that it is complete waste of time. But the assignment writing plays a very significant part in a student life. It does not just provide the students with grades but also enhances the learning process.

Why is Assignment Important for Students?

Some importance of assignment writing are mentioned below. This includes

Creating Focus in every day’s activity Improve of practical and writing skills For the purpose of evaluation Overall growth of a student

Creating Focus in every day’s activity The first one we will be discussing is the building focus. Students can work upon their concentrating power with the help of assignments. . When a student was given an assignment, the objective of learning is attached at the same time. Students can learn more about the topic than gathering only the knowledge that books provide them. Ifthe students use their mind it is more chances they can learn more. It has been scientifically proven fact that assignments related to academics enhance the creativity in students as they learn a lot more when they practice or read something on their own. The major point of giving assignments is to provide exposure to the practical knowledge-building skillset of a subject. For elaboration, we can take subjects like computer programming languages, Boolean algebra, mathematics, chemistry, or physics. All these needs as keen learning and constant practice. Improve of practical and writing skills Learning practical skills can never be easier than assignment writing. They get to sharpen their writing skills, research skillset. By accomplishing different assignment exercises and activities a student can get a better understanding and hold on to the subject and in some way or other, it will develop a perspective towards the subject. A good writing skill often comes with good practice and profound knowledge of a topic. So whenever a teacher assigns some work a student tries to brilliantly express his/her ideas in his/her way constantly and that will push for improvement For the purpose of evaluation

A simple classroom learning often fails to give insights on the topics discussed in class which often gets reflected in their writings. Students remain inattentive sometimes or some other cause, therefore, fail to build proper knowledge. Thus assignment writing helps to analyze their levels of comprehension and knowledge. It acts as a great means for a teacher to assess the progression in their studies.

Overall growth of a student

A school/college/university is often regarded as the background power of the learning skills of an individual. Assignment writing in due time with proper research and understanding always helps in the overall development of a student. First, he becomes a listener in class, next he becomes a learner as well as a researcher in the home to gather knowledge next he becomes an expert while delivering a proper understanding while submitting written assignments or homework. Thus according to some experts that human growth is directly linked with their utilization of the brain is properly done.

What do you learn from assignments?

Assignment writing often proves to useful in the one way or other and includes the followings

· Increases knowledge and awareness · Builds Cognition · Enhancement of the cognitive abilities · Skillful management of time · Enhancing the Planning and Organizing Skill · Proactive Approach of Preparation for Exam

Skillful management of time.

The assignment also teaches to manage time. Often students are assigned different topics for homework to complete in a limited period. The students fail to deal with it properly. But the practice of writing within that pressure often helps to manage time well and understand the importance of each task. Based on the urgency or significance, they manage their agendas. Thus management of time prepares them for their future endeavors.

Increases knowledge and awareness

The collaboration of the past and the new lesson has always proven to be necessary which constantly adds to the principles of what we called appreciative learning. The psychological principle attached to it gets its thoughts nourished in the assignment writing. When the elements of the said learning are input in their mind, the teacher needs to direct the students for interpretive purposes. When this is properly done, the students understand how to master new elements in a relatively easy way.

Builds cognition Writing assignments always enhance and increase cognitive skills as well as boost their mental strength. Assignments writing often provide students the space to experiment and try out ideas and other innovative methods to deliver their subject uniquely. Each successful submission of this assignment thus constantly gives the potion to the brain. Enhancing the Planning and Organizing Skill Students often learn to place and prioritize his/her assigned work and focus on the least in the end. If a student successfully organizes his/her work then it will on the other hand lead to getting peace of mind. Each time the student overcomes this troubleshoot he/she gets better in way of managing things and thus have added advantage in future Scope of Improvement Every writer is creative and sensitive of their work but for that, we cannot expect reward each time, criticism and feedback received from teachers would provide insight and room for improvement. That in turn it would help a student in writing and give better results next time when working on an assignment. Thus mistakes are part and parcel of our life and push for better learning of writing assignments and develop a proper style. Proactive Approach of Preparation for Exams

Some students are of the intention to mug up ideas and vomit in the examination. But that idea completely gets abolished with the assignment writing practice. They get the scope of preparing themselves for the exam. Often some general questions are asked in the exams that are already in knowledge to them. But lack of writing practice can affect their test giving ability. So in another way round assignment writing helps them to deliver exams properly as the time to time evaluation is also done in parallel by the teachers.

Thus writing is often regarded as the only tool of learning and is if one develops it fully it shall be considered as the best habit. For higher schools and universities, students often take assignment help experts to complete their tasks before the deadline. Get Best Assignment Help in the USA by Expert Writers to complete your dream assignments.

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10-TRAITS OF SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE

Successful people have a few common characteristics that make them great. Not every successful person can be a master of all these but awareness of them can help in increasing these qualities in ourselves.

Following are the 10 common traits exhibited by successful people that I have observed across various fields including sports, business, and arts.

1. Self-Discipline

I put this at the top of the list simply because without self-discipline nothing is possible. Self-discipline is a quality that can be developed by having a clear idea on what we want and then ensuring the desire to succeed is greater than the consequences of not doing it. If we want to exercise 5 times a week then we can imagine the enormous benefits of exercise and visualize that while trying to keep the end goal in mind. If we want to achieve all the things we want then self-discipline is the best place to start and we have 100% control on this. It is resolving to do what we have set out to accomplish in both our personal and official lives. Napoleon Hill said “Self-discipline is the Master Key to Riches.” Nido Qubein said “The price of discipline is always less than the pain of regret.”

2. Belief

Roger Federer won his eighth Wimbledon. It is amazing considering the fact that most critics had written him off. You know what he said after his victory. He said “I kept believing and dreaming.” The key is to believe in yourself when no one else does. If you listen to your critics you can’t achieve what you want. Be relentless in the pursuit of your goals and never listen to your critics. “Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”

3. Resilience

Angela Lee Duckworth of the University of Pennsylvania says that grit is the single quality that guarantees success, based on her ground breaking studies. As Napoleon Hill famously observed “Every adversity carries with it the seed of an equivalent benefit.” For example a sickness might seem horrible but maybe that time away may have helped you redefine what is important and given the time needed to make a change. There are going to be setbacks like we may not get the promotion we wanted but having patience and perseverance never goes out of fashion. Talent will not take the place of persistence and resilience. Steve Jobs is a great example of this. He was fired from the company he started but in his wilderness he started another company NeXT and bought Pixar. Then he patiently waited for his second coming to Apple and as they say the rest is history. You can be down but never out. As the Japanese proverb says “Fall down seven times, Get up eight times.”

4. Passion and Practice

Passion is the fuel behind the success engine. We can look no further than Roger Federer or Tiger Woods to understand the value of passion. To sight one example at the top of his career Tiger Woods who had already reached the apex of sporting achievement actually changed his style of swing because he wanted to get the extra edge. This was after winning the Masters tournament by a record 12 strokes in 1997. He said “You can have a wonderful week…even when your swing isn’t sound. But can you still contend in tournaments with that swing when your timing isn’t good? Will it hold up over a long period of time? The answer to these questions, with the swing I had, was no. And I wanted to change that.” Passion can ignite reservoirs of resilience that may lay latent. Tiger Woods didn’t play golf for the money though that helped, he played it for the love. Passion can happen when we do something we love but as a beginning we should start loving what we do and giving our very best every single day. Research has confirmed that all prodigies including Mozart, Woods, Bill Gates, The Beatles had practiced for 10,000 hours before they were crowned for their achievement. Mozart didn’t produce his first master piece till he was 21 by which time he had put in more than 10,000 hours of effort. My simple formula is Passion+Deliberate Practice+Time+Consistency= Success.

As documented in the wonderful book Mastery by Robert Greene Bill Bradley became great in basketball because of his absolute passion to practice more than anyone else. In other words he moved towards resistance. Bill Bradley used to practice three and a half hours after school and on Sundays, eight hours every Saturday, and three hours a day during the summer. He kept practicing well beyond any feeling of boredom or pain. “The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat.” Richard Marcinko

5. Curiosity

One of the best kept secrets of the highly successful people is the ability to keep learning something new every day in their field or related fields. The hallmark of learning is curiosity. Peter Drucker the father of modern management is an excellent example of someone who kept learning till the end of his life. He was always learning something new. When we learn something every day it keeps our mind sharp and it also gives a sense of accomplishment as we are using our time wisely. There is no end to this journey of continuous learning.

One great example of creativity and curiosity is Jony Ive of Apple. I recently read about how he masterminded Apple’s new headquarters. Norman Foster, whose architecture firm was hired by Apple to build the headquarters at a reported cost of $5 billion, calls him “a poet.” Here is what he said about Jony Ive in this WSJ piece WSJ article on Jony Ive. He said ‘‘Jony works tirelessly at the detail, evolving, improving, refining. For me, that makes him a poet.’’

Peter Drucker said “The only thing that will not be obsolete is learning new skills.” “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” Mahatma Gandhi

6. Risk Taking

All successful people have taken calculated risks to reach where they are. Risks need not be things like bungee jumping or sky diving; in fact it need not even be physical in nature. It goes with your intuition. It may require taking up an assignment which everyone has refused. This then helps you stand apart and has potential to propel your career. There is no guarantee in life so before taking a risk analyze the risk and see if you are already prepared for it to fail, then it is worth taking that risk. While taking risks it is important to remember that we don’t put our families into distress. “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” ― T.S. Eliot.

7. Prioritization

Everyone has a list of tasks to be completed. Sometimes we don’t have enough time to get through everything. The way to overcome that is the key to success. We need to prioritize the relevant from the irrelevant. From a list of items pick the item which has the biggest impact from your stakeholder, business sponsor and your immediate boss. Work on the worst first and get it out of the way. Handle the big rocks first and the pebbles can be taken care later. Make peace with the fact that there will be always things left undone and it is also imperative to learn to say no to time wasters and activities which are not aligned with your goals. We should also learn to say no when needed so that we are not over committed and this gives better control over our time. One example is Jack Welch who decided that GE will only participate in businesses where they can be Number one or Number two in that market. This vision led to closure of many other business units and worked big time for GE. “One of the very worst uses of time is to do something very well that need not be done at all.”

8. Communication

Most of our waking time is spent communicating both written and verbal. We need to be clear on what to communicate and we should learn what the best mode of communication is. One of the ways to improve communication is to become a better listener and understand the other person’s point of view. As Stephen Covey said “Seek first to understand then be understood.” Keep reading, writing continuously to improve communication skills. Ronald Reagan was known as the great communicator. Irrespective of which side of the political isle you sit we have to admire his simple communication strategy. His answer to everything was simple “smaller government.” Clarity is the key to communicating effectively. “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” Peter Drucker

9. Personal Care

I have noticed that a lot of successful people take care of themselves better. They ensure that there is proper rest and balance in life. If you want to achieve all you want out of your life you need to ensure that you are at your best most of the time. Energy is required to go forward towards your closely cherished dreams. Exercise, yoga, meditation are all helpful in the enhancement of health. One often neglected part of health is adequate sleep. I don’t think lack of sleep is something to wear a badge and brag about. In fact you can be at your best only with 7-8 hours of sleep. Taking some time off from work actually improves your creativity and research has proven that people get their most innovative ideas not at work but during a vacation or when they are in a relaxed state of mind. “Rest and self-care are so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, it allows you to serve others from the overflow. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” Eleanor Brownn

Positive Mental Attitude.

It is impossible to imagine a really well rounded successful person who is negative and complaining all the time. All successful people generally have a positive attitude. They don’t complain when things don’t go their way as they know that in the long run most of the things take care of themselves. We should look at the sunny side of life. Being grateful for what we have while striving for more is actually a great way to stay positive. When you are positive about the day you just get on with the accomplishment of your tasks with even more vigor.

Finally a positive mental attitude eventually helps performance at work and home. Nothing is more important than your inner peace and overall happiness. “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Sir Winston Churchill

10. Self Esteem

Self-esteem is the cornerstone of a healthy personality. It is important to be comfortable in your own skin. Self-esteem is defined as your reputation with yourself. You are unique and have talents that can help you succeed. The key to self-esteem is to write down the qualities you admire in yourself. Maybe you have passion or discipline, in which case acknowledging your positive traits enhances your self-esteem. When setbacks occur while you may feel bad it doesn’t reduce your self-esteem. Write down all your successes till now and keep track of your accomplishments. This surely enhances self-esteem. The true hindrance to high self-esteem is comparing ourselves with others. There are not two persons who are alike. So no matter how much we try we cannot be like anyone else. So be totally comfortable with yourself and who you are. When you have high self-esteem you generally feel more positive about life and do better at work. “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.” Norman Vincent Peale

There you have it the 10 traits of highly successful people. An awareness of them increases our chances of success as well. Thanks for reading this post.

To know more about 10-TRAITS OF SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE, kindly contact Jayant Harde on 9373284136 or +91 7122282029. You can also visit our website: www.jayantharde.com

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