#but the scholarship is highly competitive so a part of me is also prepared for this

[penrose-quinn]

I'm sorry for disappearing for awhile. I didn't get the interview and got food poisoned a day before knowing about the news so I've actually been going through a lot.

[mr-entj]

Hi Mr ENTJ, How do you deal with doubt? That gripping feeling that you're just not enough and you should be better? How do you look for answers from the inside rather than just patch in on from the outside? Thanks.

Related answers:

Can you talk about the quality(ies) or trait(s) that contributed most to your success?

What do you think is required from a person to succeed ?

Dealing with failure and overcoming adversity

You’re referring specifically to self-doubt. This is a great question that took me a long time to properly articulate a response because I didn’t want to dismiss it with a stereotypical: “I don’t feel self-doubt. I just fix the problem, power through it, and move on!” like every other ExTJ out there. I want to properly explain why this is the case so let me try:

I don’t often experience self-doubt or the gripping feeling that I’m not good enough, not because I’m a perfect human being (far from it-- here’s a greatest hits collection of some of my biggest failures), but because of my general approach to life that’s shaped by a few key beliefs.

1. I know where the world ends and where I begin

This means that I know where the line exists between what I want and what the world wants, between who I am and who other people want me to be, and between my expectations for my life and other people’s expectations of me. I see this boundary crystal clear and I enforce it. I set my own goals and I hold myself accountable to them.

This helps fight self-doubt because I don’t attach my self-esteem and self-worth to externally defined goals or assessments, I don’t accept unwanted input into my personal life from people who don’t matter, and I don’t compare myself to other people in destructive ways. If I compare myself to other people, it’s for the purposes of data gathering and not validation.

For example, the knowledge that most students graduate college in 4 years tells me that 4 years is the average amount of time. My key takeaway is that 3 years is above average speed and 4+ years is below average speed so I should aim to get my degree in approximately 4 years. My key takeaway is not that I’m a disastrous failure if I don’t graduate college in 4 years. And FYI, I ended up graduating in 6 years because I dropped out for 2 years and I still turned out fine.

Self-defined and self-enforced goals are critical to combating self-doubt because they mute all the outside noise; pushy parents, nosy friends, aggressive colleagues, and fickle societal standards. Life is very difficult by itself without the added complexity of multiple people pulling you in different directions that you don’t even want to go. Set clear boundaries and take the time to self-reflect what’s important to you so that you can be happy with the results of your efforts even if they don’t yield acknowledgement from anyone else.

tl;dr:

Find peace with the life you create for yourself because it’s you that has to live it.

2. I keep the big picture in mind, always

This means perspective. In the grand scheme of things, small losses here and there don’t amount to much because life is a marathon and not a sprint. This means that if you screw up today, there’s a high chance you can fix it tomorrow. If not, then know the world isn’t going to end because of it. The sun will still rise, babies will still be born, puppies will still be cute, your family will still love you, Tumblr will still be toxic, and the earth will still spin on its axis. I have failed classes, almost got held back in school, screwed up at work, infuriated important people, been rejected from 100+ jobs, lost important scholarships, and things still worked out because those failures didn’t matter in the long run even if they felt enormous at the time I was experiencing them. I know mistakes can be fixed, they’re not permanent, and they don’t sabotage the grand vision I have for my life. It makes the times I fall on my ass less painful which consequently makes me less fearful of trying to fly over and over again until I get it right.

This helps fight self-doubt because I attach failure to individual outcomes (actions) but I do not attach failure to me personally (identity).

For example, if I applied to Harvard University but got rejected, my interpretation of that outcome is this: “I failed to get into Harvard.” Yes, I failed to get into Harvard (action) but no, I am not a failure (identity).

The failure starts and stops at the end of an outcome, I don’t let it escape its container and infect other parts of my life by internalizing this kind of garbage: “I failed to get into Harvard so I’m dumb, I’m unworthy, and I suck.” This prevents self-doubt because I know failure is an isolated incident and I don’t take it personally. I don’t absorb failure as a personal identity-- I attach it to the specific event, action, or outcome and then store it in my vast library of knowledge as a lesson learned.

tl;dr:

Life is long and screwing up is part of the journey. Remember that you can fail at things (action) without being a failure (identity).

3. I accept that life is a game of probability

This means that I view life as a statistics game with events on a sliding scale between low probability of success and high probability of success. Probability of success is influenced by many variables such as my preparation, my natural abilities, the economy, my competition, timing, etc. I adjust the probability of success based on those variables to make better predictions:

I know that if my goal is to join the National Basketball Association (NBA), my probability of success is lower because my basketball skills and physical traits are below the average of a typical professional basketball player.

I know that if my goal is to get accepted to one of the best universities in the world, my probability of success is higher because my grades, test scores, and academic profile are above the average of a typical applicant.

Low probability of success doesn’t mean low effort. I don’t half-ass things that are unlikely to happen, I put high effort in all my endeavors if I really care about them and an obvious example of that is my life. Everything I’ve achieved in my life has been statistically improbable because I come from an underprivileged background where it was highly unlikely for me to have the life I have now. I beat the odds and achieved my goals anyway because I maximized my chances of success.

This perspective influences how I interpret success and failure:

Low probability of success that results in failure: “This outcome is what I expected so I’m not surprised, but at least I tried, gave it my best shot, and I know the answer. I’ll learn where I can improve and take that knowledge forward into the future.”

Low probability of success that results in success: “This outcome is not what I expected but I’m pleased it went my way. I understand this was an exception to the norm and I’m grateful it leaned in my favor.”

High probability of success that results in success: “This outcome is what I expected and I’m pleased it went my way. I need to continue doing the things that worked well and keep that knowledge for future reference.”

High probability of success that results in failure: “This outcome is not what I expected so I’m disappointed. I need to evaluate why I failed, understand how I can improve, and try again until I get it right.”

This helps fight self-doubt because it does one very crucial thing for me: it makes it impossible for me to lose.

I tell people all the time: “I’m undefeated because I’m still standing and I’m still going.” I can’t lose, I can only learn. It enables me to set realistic goals, have realistic expectations about my chances to achieve them, understand why I failed, and feel grateful when I succeed. Success is never guaranteed and failure is always accounted for in my calculations so I’m never blindsided. I know that I can be “perfect” and still fail, but I also know that I can be “imperfect” and still succeed. If I’ve done everything within my power and it’s still not going my way, then I’m not plagued with self-doubt because I can accept it was beyond my control and that it’s time to try something else.

tl;dr:

Many things in life are out of your control but try your best so you have peace of mind that you’re not quitting-- you’re moving on.

I’m not invincible, but for these reasons, it’s rare for me to feel self-doubt because I don’t view life as a game of “am I good enough or not?” I view life as a game of “what’s the best way to get what I want and did it work?” My two options are then: 1) Succeed, learn, and move on or 2) Fail, learn, and move on. There’s no third option to spiral into uncertainty and crippling self-doubt. I focus my energy on identifying the problem, the variables I can control, and the learnings from my outcomes.

In the rare times I do feel self-doubt, I go through a rigorous self-reflection exercise to identify the cause whether that’s concerns about personal decisions I’ve made, thoughts on my professional trajectory, or the state of my relationships. I identify the outcome that I want, gather information on how to secure that outcome, and give it my best shot. The result of that effort provides knowledge, wisdom, and opportunities to either 1) continue on the same path or 2) stop and try something else.

Ultimately, I always feel like there’s something wonderful in life waiting for me just around the corner and agonizing over past failures or self-doubt-- instead of getting up and trying again-- only delays me getting it.

[islanublar]

Investors: Masrani Global

PROFILE

Masrani is one of the world's most successful corporations, with portfolios in both the commercial and industrial sectors and services spanning telecommunications, oil production, biological engineering, and construction. Generating a total profit of over $800 million in the 2014 fiscal year, Masrani can credit vision and innovation in its successes over the last two decades with CEO Simon Masrani at the helm.

Since the Masrani Global Corporation's NASDAQ market debut in 2000, Masrani has witnessed growth to over 70,000 team members, 250,000 shareholders from all across the world, and a list of stakeholders growing every day. Masrani is a significant global employer and CEO Simon Masrani has led from the top through acts of philanthropy and community engagement.

Investors have much to gain with the Masrani Corporation. Being one of NASDAQ 100 and Fortune 500 companies, 2014 saw a share price index increase of 13.2% from Q1 to Q4. With the world's best market analysts driving the corporation’s financial sectors, you can be assured that you're investing in the future with Masrani.

STOCK

NASDAQ MSRN (YTD): The above graph represents the year-to-date share-price index for MSRN on the NASDAQ market since Janurary 1, 2015.

NASDAQ Share Price Index: $158.12* -3.36 ⇓ 2.08%

CEO'S MESSAGE

As one of the leading Fortune 500 companies, Masrani Global has continued to advance and excel in major markets around the world. America, Asia, Europe and Australasia, no region has been left untouched. Having overseen a magnificent year in our two leading fields - namely genetics and research & development - we have set our sights on improving on new horizons.

Since its inauguration in 2005, Jurassic World has captivated millions around the globe. By 2015 we are expecting our 10 millionth visitor to Isla Nublar. For investors, that spells success.

What does 2015 hold? We have a world-class genetics and research and development team who have some ideas that will take genetics to the next level. Using InGen technology, combined with Masrani innovation, the world is ours to make and enjoy. I wish all of you the best as we head into a new era.

Chief Executive Officer: Simon Masrani reflects on an encouraging start to the 2014-15 financial year.

FY2014 REPORT

The Masrani Global Corporation posted one the most successful years in its history during the 2014 financial year, thanks in large part to investments in more sustainable energy technologies early in Q2. Now the world's 12th richest company, Masrani Global entered the 2015 fiscal year valued at 562.15 billion dollars.

Despite Masrani Oil's L-12 hiccup in August, 2014 was a year for investors to largely celebrate. Starting off Q1 with a share price index of $159.12, Masrani Global (NASDAQ: MSRN) continued its steady rise ending the year on a high of $180.12 after a series of innovative technological approaches. For the eighth year in a row, Masrani Global showed why it is one of the world's safest investments - with a net profit of 822.38 million dollars and a positive share price index increase of 13.2% over FY2014.

Simon Masrani was optimistic on the future prospects of the workforce. "We recently set up the Masrani scholarship program, which has assisted top graduates find positions within our companies all over the world", he said from Masrani's recently renovated offices in Shanghai. "We encourage our interns to think with fresh and open minds. If someone has a good idea, it needs to be nurtured. Some of the world's most successful ventures have come from young talent who just hung onto one unique idea. This is where the true future investment of Masrani lays."

2014 saw the continued investment of assets within the industrial (Masrani Oil, Timack Construction) and technological (InGen, Tatsu Technology) fields. While the overall intention was to focus on new technologies, sharing of information across subsidiaries was the underlying philosophy.

"Last year was one of scientific advancement", said Mr. Richard Wiesner, COO of Masrani Global. "We witnessed various subsidiaries working with each other to bring about the most exciting innovations the world has yet to see. Mascom launched satellites carrying Tatsuo processors, Analysys provided data that helped Medixal drive innovative healthcare, and Axis Boulder helped Masrani Oil make advances in sustainability."

Dr. Henry Wu, Lead Geneticist of InGen Technologies, was also excited about the future prospects of Jurassic World. Speaking from a scientific convention in Chicago, he said, "Thanks to the changing nature of genetics and the limitless power of the human imagination, we can now push boundaries that were once considered to be decades away."

Wiesner credited Jurassic World's latest success to Simon Masrani's recent announcement of the new Indominus rex attraction. “Since opening we've seen online bookings skyrocket” he explained. “2015 is going to be a fantastic year for Jurassic World."

InGen Technologies temporarily closed down two of its mines in Argentina to focus on its Martel expedition in Siberia, a move that has so far yielded an abundance of highly preserved carcasses. Despite the exciting finds, Dr. Henry Wu has held back on speculating whether Jurassic World might be including recreated assets from the Cenozoic Era. "Right now we are focused on the construction of the world's most complete genomic library", Dr. Wu reiterated. "But if the world tells us that's what they want to see, we're more than prepared."

FY2013 Report

Masrani continued it's trend since 2008 to post billion dollar profits over the financial year. Now a $521.42 multi-billion corporation, Masrani Globlal is on the verge of being one of the world's top 10 companies by 2020 should current market predictions continue.

Showing no change in course for the last four years, Masrani Global (NASDAQ: MSRN) continued to set its high standards for 2013. Showing a steady incline, starting off the year in Q1 with a share price index of $138.52 and ending the year at Q4 on a high of $159.12 after rumors of further investment in InGen resources.

Hiring an additional 4,000 staff over the course of the year, Masrani looked to increase its workforce in the United Arab Emirates, with an upgraded oil refinary expecting to be completed in early 2014. With a workforce age of just under 32 years of age, Marani Global is one of the most proactive workforces in the world looking in every corner for fresh talent.

Thanks to a scholarship program with Masrani, young college students excelling in their studies can now take up internships in field offices around the globe. With inauguration set for December 2014, the Masrani scholarship program has so far seen over 80,000 applications in its first year alone.

In the last two years further investment of assets within the industrial (Masrani Oil, Timack Construction) and technological (InGen, Tatsu Technology) fields continued to be made, exciting investors with new technologies and greater profits.

"Scientific advancement is something that cannot be compromised on", said Simon Masrani. "In today's world the competition is great, and with much at stake, and with the power to deliver, we find ourselves in a unique position to deliver technical advancement capabilities that go beyond the imagination."

Despite scientific advancements, Jurassic World continued to spark debate. Within the last three years, despite visitor rates climbing, the peak in numbers continued to appear during the American school holiday season, where staff on Isla Nublar are operating at 100% capacity.

Masrani Corporation's Chief Operations Officer Mr. Richard Wiesner described the year's success as merely acceptable. "You can't expect the world's greatest theme park to merely rely on the same attractions. We need to be proactive, thinking of bigger and better things. Isla Nublar only peaks in attendance during the American holiday season. Why? Proximity. The world has seen what we have to offer, but they aren't in awe as they once used to be. We need to change that. We have a chance to over the upcoming few years."

Despite speculations in the media that Jurassic World might be seen as a slowing attraction, investors can enjoy last month's announcement of a further 300 hotel rooms to be built on the island. Some big plans are coming, so stay tuned in 2014.

Last 4 FY Profit: Masrani Corporation profit in millions of dollars.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

Following in the footsteps of my father to make his company into a global corporation has been a lifelong goal. I have nothing but the investors of this company to thank, for they have joined me in this vision.

Simon Masrani - Chief Executive Officer, Masrani

The success that this company has given back to its investors has been incredible. It is something that other companies strive to replicate, but often can't deliver. Masrani has set new investment standards.

Richard Wiesner - Chief Operations Officer, Masrani

The pleasure it gives me to see that with every building we construct is another addition to help the global economy is greatly satisfying. With 8,000 workers, we all look forward to building the future.

Anthony Leigh - Director of Operations, Timack Construction

With Masrani Energy in Abu Dhabi, our workers come from diverse backgrounds with diverse skills, all towards one common goal - to build on the success of the Masrani corporation.

Jennifer Oliver - HR Manager, Masrani Energy

[cancerbiophd]

FAQ regarding undergrad research

I thought I’d put this together because I remember when I was an undergrad looking for research opportunities I literally had no idea what to do or expect! So I hope this will help :)

Disclaimer: Some of these answers may only apply to undergraduate research opportunities in the life sciences in US universities that conduct research. 

How can I find a list of potential principal investigators (PIs)? 

You can search the department or research facility’s website for a list of research topics and PIs. Oftentimes there will be a description of the research and/or PI, or even a link to their own lab webpage. 

Do the PIs have to be professors I’ve had classes with before?

Nope! There are lots of PIs who don’t teach undergraduate courses, but they still have their own labs. Unless specifically stated by the PI, being a student in one of their courses is not an automatic requirement. 

How do I get started contacting them?

Send an email. I have a template you can use here. If you don’t hear back within a week, feel free to send a follow-up email (by forwarding your original email so the info is still there). PIs are busy people, so it might take them a while!

What year in college can I start looking for research opportunities?

As early as freshman year. Honestly, coming in with lab experience is not important for undergrad researchers; labs would rather have someone that can stick around for a long time. Training a freshman vs training a senior sometimes takes the same time (as lab techniques can be highly specialized that most college lab courses don’t cover), but a freshman is going to generate more data than a senior. In fact, many labs won’t take seniors for that reason, so start early!

But I’m a senior! What do I do?

Never fear, continue to contact labs! I would recommend focusing on PIs who know you and your work ethic (so a professor whose class you took and did well in), as they’re more likely to make an exception. I didn’t start looking for undergrad research until my senior year too, but a professor I took many classes with and did great in knew me well enough to let me join the lab, even though it was literally for just 1 semester. So it’s not impossible! 

What factors into a PI accepting/not accepting an undergraduate researcher?

A lot: funding, space, # of projects, availability of mentors, to name a few. Therefore, if a PI can not accept you this semester, don’t feel too down! There are many factors that come into play, and so much is out of your control. 

I got an interview with a potential PI! Any tips on what to expect/how to prepare?

Congrats! Check out this post for helpful pointers!

I got the position!! Any tips on how to make the most out of my undergrad research experience?

Double congrats! And sure thing: Check out this post. 

Can I get paid or earn course credit for my time in the lab?

Sure! It depends on the PI, but some PIs may pay undergrads over the summer, or hire them as part-time techs. There are also undergrad fellowships/scholarships that can apply to lab research, as well as work study opportunities. You can also earn course credit for your time (just check with your advisor). Usually it’s 2 hours per credit, up to 3 or 4 credits per semester. These are things you can discuss with your PI during your interview.

How many hours/week am I expected to be in lab?

As many as you can give. Ideally, a continuous chunk of time is more useful; you’ll get more done by being in the lab for 2 hours straight than 30 min here and 30 min there. I personally like undergrads to be here at least 2 hours at a time for a minimum of 4 hours/week. If you want your own project, aim for 10 hours/week. But of course this is all dependent on your lab, the type of research you’re doing, and your own schedule. 

Will I be given an independent project right off the bat?

You will most likely be taken under the wing of someone in the lab (like a grad student, lab tech, postdoc, even another undergrad) to first help with their project and to learn research techniques. So don’t worry, you’ll be guided every step of the way! A lab will never just “throw you to the wolves” as that’s not beneficial for anyone. Then after you have a good amount of training under your belt, you and your mentor will see what kinds of independent projects you can take on (and many factors go into that, including how many hours/week you can be in the lab, etc). 

What do I do if after a few weeks, I decide I really don’t want to work in a particular lab anymore?

Please don’t hurt yourself by staying in a situation you don’t feel comfortable in (either mentally, emotionally, or physically). Meet with the PI privately and explain that you don’t feel like the lab is a good fit for you, and you would like to leave (maybe give a week’s notice so you can wrap some stuff up). You won’t hurt any feelings or burn any bridges if the exit is done politely. You have every right to do what’s best for you!

Will I have opportunities to be an author on a paper or give poster presentations at meetings?

Absolutely. It depends on your lab and project, but undergrads definitely have opportunities to be listed as a contributing author if their work is in the paper, and there are lots of poster sessions for students (your university may host a few themselves!). Chat with your mentor about these opportunities if this is something you’re interested in. 

How much research experience (including undergrad research) do employers/internships/graduate schools look for in a competitive candidate? 

At least 1 year. 

Are undergraduate research opportunities only limited to my university?

Nope! You can find opportunities (both paid and volunteer) at other research institutions in your area. Some may be specialized programs for undergrads that involve a competitive application process (and perhaps a great stipend too!)

I still have some questions regarding undergrad research. Is it ok if I contact you?

Absolutely!!! My inbox and private messaging are always open! 

[kimminstudying]

☁ Note: I know it’s kind of late to post what my summer goals were since some of them on the list are pretty much completed already, but I think it’s the perfect time to discuss any goal I have for this upcoming school year! I didn’t want to make two separate posts because they are relatively similar and this way I don’t have to link the posts as a reference. 

Here are my goals from last year and how they turned out. 

☁ Money Goal #1: Save $1,000 Total

This is my first goal because I am so close to it already! To be more specific, I wish to have achieved this by the end of July, since I started my new job in May and I am getting many more hours here than at my old one. Also, I have received some scholarships already, so this is a goal I am sure to achieve. 

Goal #2: Save $2,500 for New Car

This isn’t a highly prioritized goal of mine since I can try to make my car I have now last me another two years. In two years I plan to attend a new college in New York, so I would not need a car there due to public transport and walking. When I come back home or do need a car, it would be better for me to either borrow one from friends or family or to simply rent one. 

Goal #3: Change Banks

Since I am 18 now, I can open up my own account and finally change banks. I’m obviously not gonna go into much detail about this but let’s just say that when I lived with my mom I used the bank that was the most convenient for me and her but now that I live with my dad I’m going to switch to the bank most convenient for me and him now. 

☁ Life Style Goal #1: 1 Book / Week or 3 Books / Month This school year was really time-consuming so I have not read at all since last summer! Obviously, I am not counting my assigned reading, if I were then I would have read a lot. English this year was no joke! I did really well with reading one book a week when I wasn’t in school but if I find that to be too much of a commitment, I’d be happy with three books in a month. I’m getting tired of seeing so many unread books on my shelves, time to cut that list down! Goal #2: Get Back to Healthy Eating Habits! Where I work, we get an employee discount for food in general, but we get more of a discount on healthy food options to encourage better eating habits. This will help me eat right while I am not home, but the challenge is when I’m off of work or going out to eat with my friends. 

Last summer I bought most of my groceries online since they have a lot of gluten-free options there and simply because I don’t feel like leaving my house to go grocery shopping. For those who don’t know or are wondering, I eat gluten-free because I have Celiac Disease, so I kind of have to or else I’ll get really really sick. When school started again, I wasn’t working enough hours to be able to buy my special food so I had to stop and eat what my family bought from the store, which wasn’t many fruits and vegetables and more like microwave dinners and eggs. 

☁ Blogs Goal #1: Post one grammar lesson per week to @kimminstudying 

I’m going to start out small for now with vocab lists or some grammar posts but I hope when the school year rolls around I’ll have more structure to my day and be able to be more productive. 

Goal #2: Post to @chanzicoup and @clemsbaseballcap once a week

I haven’t been ignoring my main blogs, but I have focused more on studying and less on my love for writing over the last few months. I want writing to be a part of my life now and in the future, so I want to try and incorporate it more into my daily routine.

Not to mention, I lowkey wanted to promote my other blogs here, so please check them out and feel free to request anything ;) Or send me some advice! I love learning new things that’ll help me with running other blogs. 

☁ Languages

Goal #1: DuoLingo and LingoDeer once a day

I’ve never had more than a 7-day streak on any of these language apps so I really want to change that for when the school year comes around. It takes at the most ten minutes to complete one session and I know I can make time for that, I just don’t. 

What I should do is instead of scrolling through social media first thing in the morning, I should open up one of these apps and complete a session to help me wake up and to review my skills. 

☁ Money

Goal #1: Continue Saving for Car

All in all, if I don’t save up the money for my car in the summer I hope to continue trying to do so during the school year. Even though I don’t plan on buying a new car, I would like to be prepared for if I get into an accident or if it breaks down to the point where it would be cheaper for me to just get a new car. 

☁ Life Style

Goal #1: Work out at least three days a week

My college, like many others, have a gym that the students can use free of charge. With how I scheduled my classes, I have about an hour and a half break in between them, which gives me plenty of time to study, eat, or to hang out before my day is even over. My last class ends at about 3pm so I can work out for an hour before I go home, with at least most of my coursework for that evening completed.  

Goal #2: Have one day to yourself.

I go to school Monday - Thursday so that leaves me to have Friday - Sunday to myself or to work. When the school year starts my manager told me I would be switching to overnight shifts, so what I hope to do is work overnights Thursday - Saturday and have Sunday to myself. This way I can take extra shifts on days I have classes if anyone calls out or if my boss needs an extra hand or to have a day to relax, reset, or get last-minute work done. 

My boss is also really considerate of her employees who are in college. During finals season, she gives us gift cards that she buys herself and tells us to buy energy drinks or snacks! She even finds other workers from other stores to cover out shifts if we really need to study.  

☁ Blogs

Goal #1: Keep up with posting schedules

I might slip up on this from time to time but with my breaks in between classes, I hope to get at least 15 minutes dedicated to writing, even if that’s all I get to do in one day I think that’s way better than not writing at all. 

☁ Languages

Goal #1: Change Minor to French Language

Currently, my college does offer French classes but there are no teachers for said classes. My advisor and I hope that while my college is merging with another school new teachers will be hired and I can take French classes in my second semester of freshman year.

Goal #2: Listen to Talk to me in Korean and other podcasts when possible

Whether its’s walking to class or on the treadmill, I would like to listen to something other than music. I’m looking at some podcasts right now about case studies or interviews with forensic psychologists that seem interesting.

☁ School

Goal #1: Find clubs to join in

I did quite a few clubs in high school and stuck with some of them all four years. I want to join any organizations that focus on community service and volunteer work but since that’s also what I focused on in high school, I would love to find clubs more centered around my interests.

If my school has a writing club, I would definitely join it along with an ASL club or any form of LGBTQA+ organization. 

I didn’t do sports in high school since on my second day of basketball practice I messed up my ankle and was out for the rest of the season due to surgeries I had to get. I would like to find something that I love to do that would also kind of force me to work out. I like to play sports but I hate the competition and big time commitment that goes along with joining a team, I feel like a club would be perfect since clubs are less mandatory attendance-wise in some cases. 

Also, I could keep going through clubs until I find one I like. It’s not that easy with sports teams. 

Goal #2: Become a tutor and get a tutor. 

I am strong in some fields, but not others. I want to find my strong suit early on so I can tutor, which I also did in high school and met so many awesome people doing. I also know that I am weak in other fields (math cough cough) so I want to get a tutor for them if my grades begin to slip. 

Goal #3: Make the Dean’s List

I don’t really have much of an explanation for this. I’d just really like to make the list since it’s based on performance, extracurricular activities, and attendance. 

[bonduniversity]

Bangkok and beyond

Jasmine Valcic (Bachelor of International Relations/Bachelor of Laws) shares her experience studying in Thailand and her advice for applying for the Australian Government’s prestigious New Colombo Plan Scholarship.

Between hearing about my successful application for the New Colombo Plan (NCP) Scholarship program and my departure for Thailand, I had almost a year to plan and wait. As the departure date loomed closer I became more and more restless, but it was definitely worth the wait! I have just finished the first component of my program: undertaking an exchange program at Mahidol University International College in Thailand, and I loved every moment of it. I lived in Salaya, an area about 30 minutes from Bangkok CBD, close to the university. Out of all of the places I visited during my time in Thailand, Salaya is the place I’d be most likely to live. It had the perfect combination of hustle and bustle without being hectic or touristy. It was far enough from the CBD that prices were lower (approximately $2 per meal), but close enough that it was easy to pop into the city for a day.

The MUIC campus itself was beautiful, and even had its own lake and river system. All of my classes were held in MUIC’s newest building, which was an amazing architectural combination of being both indoor and outdoor. My favourite part of studying at MUIC was learning from a different cultural perspective. Two of my subjects were ‘International Organisations’ and ‘Transnational Crime and Law Enforcement’. Even though I had previously undertaken subjects at Bond that had a content overlap, it was fascinating learning about international affairs through the lens of a different culture. Further, two of my professors actively encouraged class discussions and debate; one of my subject’s final assessments was an in class debate on humanitarian intervention into Yemen. This allowed me to hear the opinions of not only the teachers, but students from all walks of life. As MUIC is an international school, I was able to interact with Thai locals as well as students from all over the world in my classes.

During my 3 months, I was able to visit places in Thailand ranging from down south in Phuket, to further up north in Chiang Mai, and a variety of places in between. Another fantastic bonus that accompanies studying at MUIC is the structure of the class schedule. I was able to organise my schedule so that I only had classes on Mondays and Wednesdays. This allowed me to travel every Wednesday night to Sunday night. My favourite trip was definitely my second visit to Chiang Mai to see the Yee Peng festival. Yee (or Yi) Peng falls on the full moon of the 12th month. Everyone comes together to release lanterns into the sky. The release of lanterns is a way of honouring Buddha and of releasing the suffering that has been held within from the previous year. At the risk of sounding cliché, being a part of such a collective spiritual moment was indescribable. I felt elated and light, and yet warm and comforted, it was a truly beautiful experience.

I had been given advice by my fellow NCP Thailand Scholar (who began his program earlier in the year) that undertaking a full internship during the study semester was too much. I am glad I listened, having more spare time and flexibility allowed me to truly enjoy the experience and explore various facets of the Thai culture. However, part way through the semester I felt I had some spare time and wanted to do something more to enhance my experience and contribute to my professional development. An opportunity arose when I met a member of the UN Digital Service ReliefWeb team at the Australian Embassy’s NCP meet and greet (for scholars and grant students). She told me about ReliefWeb’s upcoming interactive seminar at the inaugural Peace Summit for Emerging Leaders, which was being held in the Bangok UNESCAP Headquarters, and mentioned that they were seeking volunteers to help organise the event.  

I applied to be an online volunteer with ReliefWeb at https://www.onlinevolunteering.org/en. As a volunteer, the next two months I was involved in writing general briefs and judging criteria and edit country briefs for the simulation. As the position was entirely online, except for aiding logistics on the day at the event, I was able to complete the tasks from any location, and it did not greatly impact my plans to travel all through Thailand. Working with ReliefWeb was an amazing experience. I learnt so much about how a UN service functions, as well as different event organisation skills. The fun and tight knit team was fantastic to work with, and I made some valuable connections. It really ended up being the perfect project to contribute to my profession development, without overloading my plate or taking away from my overall cultural experience of Thailand.

I highly recommend to anyone looking to study abroad to seriously consider Thailand and MUIC. It is a place too often overlooked, as people are unaware of the amazing cultural and professional opportunities in Bangkok. Thailand is the Southeast Asian hub, and gateway, for business and international relations, and its global importance and the opportunities it presents should not be underestimated.  I am writing this blog from my new apartment in Manila, where I am about to begin an internship with Austrade. As I reflect on my experience so far, I am eager to begin my next adventure and next component in my NCP program.

Advice for future New Colombo Plan (NCP) Scholarship applicants:

1. Use all information available.  When preparing your application, and for the interview, it is important to understand exactly what the selection committee is looking for. The DFAT website has masses of information on the program, as well as advice from the last year’s selection committee. There is also an archive with all the advice from all previous years. Use this information to help guide you in writing your application.

Useful links: 

http://dfat.gov.au/people-to-people/new-colombo-plan/scholarship-program/Pages/scholarship-program.aspx

http://dfat.gov.au/people-to-people/new-colombo-plan/scholarship-program/Pages/previous-rounds.aspx

2. Think outside of the box when choosing your host country. The NCP offers more than 40 different locations, however most applicants apply for the same locations: China, Japan and Singapore. Although there isn’t a specific quota of scholars per location, because of the high number of applicants, these locations are more competitive. When selecting a host country to apply for, look at countries other than the big 3, there are plenty locations which are suited a wide variety of different interests and areas of study.

3. Be unique and personable. When I attended the NCP pre-training event, I was sure I would be walking into a group of suits that were all the same. I could not have been more wrong; everyone was different and came from all walks of life. Although there definitely was a large number of international relations students, it was by no means the only area of study. For example, one scholar selected Japan as their host location purely to study niche areas of Japanese film. The one linking factor between the scholars was their openness to meet new people, and their ability to network. It isn’t surprising given that at the end of the day, what the selection committee is looking for is a group of young ambassadors.

Find out more about completing an exchange as part of your degree at Bond University.  

[internetremix]

Did any of you guys go to art college or art school? If so, do you have any advice for that? (Portfolio, applying, all that nonsense.)

Hi anon! Kristen here, this has been sitting in our askbox for a bit and now I finally have time to answer it. Warning this is very long, as are most things I type. I’m also gonna hit up other Artsy IR members to see if they have any thoughts.

I went to art college- Kendall College of Art and Design, starting back in 2008 and graduated in 2012. I went for traditional illustration because I wanted to do children’s books, though I also self-taught myself digital illustration and applied a lot of what I learned to said digital work. I have a Bachelor’s degree, yaaaay.First of all, if you really want to go into art as a career, there are some things you should consider. 10 years out from when I applied to art school, we’re living  in a different world. Art school is a lot of money and student loans are a monster I’ll be stuck battling for some time... and now-a-days, that stuff isn’t really necessary. There are a variety of online tutorials and courses you can take for free or for considerably cheaper. There are thousands of art communities, and with hard work and good networking you can make it just as far if not farther than someone with a degree. We’re very much in an age where being a self-made entrepreneur is considerably easier than it ever was before. So you need to throughly consider if the price tag is worth it to you.Art school does do a few things. A good school should have some solid foundational classes that give you the chance to experiment in everything and often force you to do so. If I hadn’t gone to art school, I probably wouldn’t have tried traditional watercolor work at all, and that’s what got me my first serious illustration job. Also a good school should give you access to professors who have been in your industry who can give you solid advice and also, gasp, connections.

Connections are a pretty vital thing, especially depending on what you want to go into. I’m not an expect on animation, but from what I know a lot of people who are currently working in the field got their start at California Institute of the Arts. Depending on where you are in the world, if you’re in a hotspot for whatever industry you want to go into, a big name school can be a major help for you. If you don’t really live in a place where that’s an option, i.e. you’re me and you live in the void  Michigan, you’re not paying for as many networking opportunities, so you may want to seriously consider if art school is worth it.

Art school also gives you the benefit to really focus on art hard if you play your cards right. I was able to go it full time due to grants and scholarships, which was intense but definitely pushed me through some major improvements. However, I knew other students who worked full time on top of being in school full time, and they didn’t get as much out of it. The big thing about art school, as is the case with any school, is you really only get what you put into it. Your professor can show you all the techniques in the world, but until you know what that technique feels like in your own hands, it’s useless.If you decide to go for a school, be sure to look into things like post-graduation hiring rates. Also ask current students there how they feel about the school- depending on the department at Kendall, people had very different things to say and they weren’t always positive. Thoroughly consider where you want to specialize, different schools will have different specialities even if they supposedly offer a bit of everything.

If you’re unsure on your speciality, that’s okay! Definitely still take foundational classes either online or perhaps at a community college. The more you experiment, the closer you will get to finding what you want, and that will make art school a lot more useful to you when you decide to enroll.

If you ever take any art class, ever, and it’s something you want to do for a career, take that shit seriously. I know I said up there “you get what you put into it” but I gotta say it again. My first year of art school I was going through a lot (not entirely my fault) but I also took several classes not terribly seriously because I was like “whatever man I don’t want to do this, this isn’t my major.” In retrospect I thoroughly regret not paying more attention in those classes, because those foundations would have helped a lot with struggles I had later on. If you want to do art as a career, you gotta REALLY want it and you gotta really focus.

I can’t really tell you if art school is right for you or not. I personally don’t regret my time there or my slightly scary debt, but I also benefitted from some grants to make my loans at least manageable and a number of other factors have gotten me to the point where I’m a full time freelance illustrator.If you decide to go for art school, check the portfolio requirements for every place you apply to. Different places will have different requirements. For me, I was required to have over half my work showing off my various foundational skills- still lifes are good, life drawing is good, oooh look ma I can use pastels AND I’ve got a tablet and can do digital stuff wowowowowow. I was told to try to keep anything cartoony/stylized down to a few pieces- unless you’ve received A TON of positive feedback about your personal style I wouldn’t use it too much because you’re probably still developing and that style’s gonna change A TON as you go through school.

Keep an eye on the acceptance rate at the school. If it’s EXTREMELY HIGH, that may show a lack of standards. This is actually bad because this means the school is basically letting people show up, taking their money, and then going “welp here’s your degree, good luck somehow getting a job in an EXTREMELY competitive field.”

Another thing you may want to ask is hey, how well does this school prepare you for marketing yourself once you get out of school. Most people I know who graduated from Kendall don’t have art jobs, and the primary reason for this is our teaching for self-marketing was really not great.

Whether you decide to go to art school or not, here’s some stuff you should really be working on if you want to go into art or get better at it:

FIGURE DRAWING plz. Please do figure drawing. Honestly, the more realistic you do with this, the better. “But Kristen I wanna do cartoons!” I get it, I do too. However, learning realistic anatomy actually benefits cartoony stuff a lot. Once you get a feel for how something actually works and is proportioned, it’s easier to exaggerate and adjust proportions without making it look weird. Draw a figure standing enough times and you’ll get a feel for how weight is positioned, and that means when you make those legs noodles they won’t look awkward. This website is a great tool for online figure drawing work for you to practice on your own, I highly recommend it! Or sit down and do it with a friend, it’s fun!“But Kristen, figure drawing is booooori-” Then once you’re done drawing the figure, make it a character. I actually have a lot of figure drawing and gestures that I turned into IR characters because I’m very cool.PRACTICE DIFFERENT BODY SHAPES BOYOPERSPECTIVE This one I am a lot worse at. But this has some good points on perspective. What I like to do is find a photo of a room or something and try to draw it to the best of my ability, then add my OCs to it. I LOATHE the perspective part but it’s good practice and usually at the end you have a nice day-in-the-life kinda feel to things, it’s like “wow my characters exist in a world instead of white space amazing.”Do some COLOR SWATCH CHALLENGES!

Also just... try everything. Even stuff you hate the first time. I hated watercolor when I first did it, but as I said before, that’s what I got my first job doing.

Above all else, make sure you draw every day. If you want to do art as a career or just want to get better at the hobby- the difference between someone who makes this thing a career and someone who doesn’t is the person who cares about it so much that they make time for art even when life is chaos around them.

I have other thoughts but this is long enough as is. Uh, thanks for coming to my TED Talk and I hope you find this useful, haha.-Kristen

[sussex-nature-lover]

Tuesday 22nd December 2020

Our Garden Birds. Part 1

♦ bold type indicates an outside link not affiliated to this blog

Before I start today, did anyone manage to see the Great Conjunction last night?

It was thick cloud cover here and the only bright light in the sky was a reflection of the house Landing lights in the bathroom window. I’ll keep looking out and you never know our luck although I have to say considering yesterday was the shortest day, today is putting up some stiff competition and the sky is a sheet of grey.

Back to birds...

Long Tailed Tit on one of our feeding towers

I’ve been chatting with Ms NW tE and she’s disappointed that her venture into bird feeding hasn’t taken off like she’d hoped and she wanted to have a conversation about that and about why and when do the birds come and go, so I thought that’s what I’d write about today. It’s turning out to be long, so I’ll have to carry over to tomorrow.

Why and How to Feed Garden Birds

First off think about your budget and the amount of time you’re prepared to put into feeding your birds. Second, think about the birds and wildlife you attract into your garden and what their needs are. For example we have a large and active squirrel population and for that reason we tend to avoid feeding peanuts - the cost is just prohibitive, we wouldn’t be able to keep up with them.

We offer hanging feeders with high quality fat balls NB please do not buy the coarse,cheap ones which are less nutritious and avoid the dangerous netting at all costs, Birds can get trapped in the net, it’s a very bad idea. 

We have two metal garden obelisk type towers. They’re meant as features or to support climbing plants, but we have nicknamed them Italy and France (the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Eiffel Tower don’tcha know, No prizes for why they got those names) and we suspend ‘Squirrel Proof’ (excuse me while I convulse with bitter laughter) Fat Ball Cages from each of them.

So called Squirrel Proof feeders No offence to designers and manufacturers but this is a battle you will never entirely win.

Squirrels are skilled acrobats and endlessly determined. We’ve used an old football rattle, a saucepan and wooden spoon, a kid’s Super Soaker water gun and any manner of things to frighten them off. They work, sort of, for a while...a short while.

We’ve had squirrels chew through plastic feeders and the ones made of very sturdy wire; learn to open the top lid so we had to secure it with twine and it was a devil then to top up or refill: one little squirrel actually got INSIDE the cage and when all else has defeated them they’ve stolen feeders and taken them away never to be found.

Squirrels really do manage the most outrageous assaults on the food sources

We also offer seed in ground trays of various sizes. The large wooden one has bitten the dust though after being trampled by Deer and the small ones have proven just the right size for tiny twins.

In the end we just accept that they’re hungry and pander to them as much as we look after our birds.

This brings me to another topic, not very savoury, but to be borne in mind - bird food may attract much less desirables. You can’t choose to put out food and always see it taken by what you intend it for and worst case scenario you may find it attracts rodents. Take in food at dusk if you can, sweep up any spilled seed and if you do have an issue then you may have to stop feeding for a time.

Also top priority for bird and garden health is to keep your feeders and the feeding areas clean. Good advice can be found Here and I do recommend to diary note regularly as we all know time runs away with us on the routine tasks.

Where to Place your Feeders

Bear all these points in mind:

Sheltered

The bird table needs to be positioned where there is not too much direct sunlight or in a windy location. Birds will feel safer it is in a sheltered position.

Quiet

If possible locate in a quiet place in your garden, preferably not by a path or any other area with human traffic passing. Remember not to place the bird table too far away from your house then you can still enjoy watching the birds!

One last thing to consider, make sure the bird table is placed away from cat ambush sites including fences which cats can leap from.

Safe Location

The bird table needs to be positioned next to a bush or tree; birds will perch before landing on the bird table to ensure that is it safe for them to land on it.

Raised

A raised bird table is easier to view from your house and safer being away from predators. Most bird tables are complete with a wooden pole but you can hang bird tables from a tree.

Nuthatch particularly like Sunflower seeds and you don’t have to spend a lot of money on suitable containers

Our feeders are directly in front of the kitchen patio doors so we have great viewing from our seats at the table - this is why so many of my photos are hurriedly snatched shots taken through the glass. We’ve left the dead trunk of the palm as a kind of Totem (our name for it) as the birds do like to fly to the various trunks and perch there or queue before going on to the feeder. The palm also offers some shelter and protection from both the weather conditions and the predatory Sparrow Hawk.  We have Bamboo growing in our garden and in the hot weather I’ve been known to cut branches down and use those as a natural parasol too. 

A lot of our birds are so used to us now that they don’t mind our presence and are happy to come and feed while we’re around outside. Some, like the Pheasants will more or less come and ask for more supplies, indeed when we had some resident Mallards, they’d peck at the door in the mornings. The Blue Tits will flock around my Crow as he fills up the feeders. We imagine the cry going out ‘The Man’s heeeeeeeere’

Female Common Pheasant above and Male below. The record number we’ve had in the garden at one time was the Season we got up to 22 - cost a fortune in corn

Anything for Me Please?

We’ve also been very lucky that when we had Dennis and now M Flambeau visiting, they are so well fed that they didn’t bother the birds at all. Actually Dennis used to watch the wildlife like he had his own TV channel for viewing pleasure. Here he is with his own personal Christmas tree. The little birds used to come and perch in it while he sat underneath.

When he first came to live with us he would occasionally give chase to a Butler (Squirrells) or two, but he soon tired of that and saved his energies.

Attracting Birds to your Garden

Just think when the breeding season is highly active, during Springtime, your garden feeders offer a handy and easy source of food for busy parents and their hungry nestlings. 

Hungry young Great Tit

In bad weather and harsh winters when natural food is scarce, feeders can be a life saver and please don’t forget to keep fresh water available at all times too.

The important things to remember are good hygiene for your birds’ safety and well being and that if you are going to feed, do it regularly as you don’t want birds wasting their energy seeking out a food source that isn’t available that day.

Much the same as humans have different tastes and diets which are based both on natural preferences and on learned or informed decisions, our animal and bird life is subject to the same. I’ve noticed how some birds learn new tastes and routines to go against type and some stick rigidly to their type. Insect eaters such as Swallows for example haven’t ventured into our feeding areas despite once nesting in our front porch in the Robin box.  Robins and the bigger birds like Magpie, Jackdaw and Rooks have found it very tricky to use the hanging feeders, but have persevered and triumphed, adapting their skills and mastering them to reach a food they enjoy. Others will happily scavenge for the bits that fall below.

‘Joe’ Rook and his balancing act. Source of the Joe nickname is Here

Starlings taking advantage of the berries on the palm

Top Ten plants birds will appreciate in your garden.

Birds of all sizes can be found sharing and feeding with impeccable manners, while others like Starlings descend like a veritable plague and are noisy and ill tempered with it. It all forms part of the experience of bird watching.

(mostly) Young Starlings and Great Spotted Woodpeckers make short work of three fat balls

Our gardens are an endless source of food for Green Woodpeckers, who unlike the Great Spotted ones, feed off Ants. We just need thousands more Woodies to keep up the sterling work.

Also insect eaters, Wagtails will come only to drink, although we did have one particularly comical Pied Wagtail who we nicknamed The Inspector because he liked to patrol the ground trays and see off other birds even though he didn’t partake for himself. I believe the expression for that is Dog in the Manger

Generic internet illustration

What's the origin of the phrase 'Dog in the manger'?

The infamous 'dog in a manger', who occupied the manger not because he wanted to eat the hay there but to prevent the other animals from doing so, is generally said to have been the invention of the Greek storyteller Aesop (circa 600 BC).

We happily ascribe this expression to Aesop, disregarding the lack of evidence that he even existed.

Many of the fables that have been credited to Aesop do in fact date from well before the 5th century BC and modern scholarship doesn't give much credence to the idea that Aesop's Fables, as we now know them, were written by him at all. Accounts of Aesop's life are vague and date from long after his death and some scholars doubt that there ever was a real Aesop. If he existed at all, it was as an editor of earlier Greek and Sumerian stories rather than as the writer of them.

Nothing written by Aesop now exists in any form. Nevertheless, you can go into any bookshop and buy a copy of 'Aesop's Fables'

I never actually thought of the expression as one of the Fables. The one that always springs to my mind is that of The Tortoise and the Hare, or the Hare and the Tortoise as it appears on the link above.

The carved staircase at Thornton Hall Hotel, Wirral - with scenes from Aesop’s Fables (est c1892) We used to go often for Sunday lunch when the girls were small

Once young broods are successfully raised you might notice feeders fall out of favour for a while. The wild foods like seeds and fruits in hedgerows and spilled grains from the harvest, mean birds can assert their independence and do their natural thing. They tend to return when they need to. Long Tailed Tits are a classic example of this behaviour taking long breaks in the woods and being missed very much by us. It’s great when they return.

Birds often disappear and go ‘into hiding’ after breeding when they moult and need time to recuperate, get their strength back and replace their flight feathers, Poor worn-out things.

Feeding birds can also have a side benefit - since the G S Woodpeckers became so very fond of the fat balls, we’ve noticed attacks on the bird boxes have ceased (fingers crossed) and everyone’s happily well fed.

To be continued.

Male Woodpecker using a crack in the palm to hold steady a piece broken from a fat ball

And do remember, as I said, in both hot weather and cold, please leave fresh, clean water for the birds to drink and to bathe. You don’t need a dedicated bird bath, they’re not fussy and really do appreciate a water source.

Little and Large, or should I say very large and little. Sparrowhawk above on the bird bath and Goldfinch below.

Decorations from the Standen Courtyard Christmas Trees

Two handmade heart decorations today. I thought we could do with seeing something nice and bright and different. These two are particularly beautiful and well crafted.

December 22nd Advent Door. The ever popular Blue Tit

The Nature Watch Nativity

The Shepherds were frightened at the sight of a brilliant light in the sky, but an Angel appeared and told them they should not be afraid as there was wonderful news to share. The lowly Shepherds were the first to be told of the birth of the baby Jesus.

Christmas Hymn of Choice today from King’s College Choir, Cambridge

‘Angels from the Realms of Glory’

[anothersilentmemory]

JACKSON: OTHER THAN BEING WITTY AND ADORABLE, I HAVE A SERIOUS SIDE TOO [BEIJING NEWS 24TH JULY 2017]

Wang Jia Er

Recently, everyone in Beijing has been meeting Wang Jia Er coincidentally.

The previous night, he appeared at the Lion Band’s concert to show support for Jam Hsiao, who’s on the stage. Other than his schedules, he’s been seen at the supermarket. choosing ingredients on his own to cook. Due to the establishment of his own work studio “Team Wang”, Wang Jia Er who’s always been filial also brought over his parents, who stays at HongKong. His work and family are all moved over to Beijing.

Talking about Wang Jia Er, most people know him through variety shows. His liveliness and honesty have created unexpected cuteness. From the need to prepare a Plan B in case “Wang Jia Er does not cooperate” in the food program he’s hosting, to the preventing this straightforward Aries boy from surprising people with his words, he triggers waves and waves of unexpected laughter.

“This is also the real me” says Wang Jia Er, that his overflowing playful character behind and in front of the screen is not a deliberate result. But recently, also because of this, this boy has started thinking and deliberating. “People once came to me and said ‘come, be funny’, but that’s not an occasion to be funny. I am cheerful but not foolish. So people always think that I am witty and adorable but no one ever mention’s Wang Jia Er’s music.”

“Singer” Wang Jia Er is slowly entering the public’s view now, from his own composed new single <Generation 2>’s official release. He told the Beijing news reporter, “I hope that in the future using other methods, I can let everyone see my serious side.”

Generation 2

FROM GYMNASTICS TO FENCING “I ONCE TOO DREAMT OF BEING AN OLYMPIC CHAMPION”

(We only live once), this is something Wang Jia Er says very often, and it is also a line from his new song <Generation 2>. Other than lyrics, the single’s MV was also completed with his own conception, creativity and planning. The fencing athletes appearing at the beginning of the MV also depicts the career he used to “live once” for, working hard for it.

28th March 1994, Wang Jia Er was born in Hong Kong into a sports family. His father is the former Hong Kong fencing team head coach Wang Ruiji and the mother is former Chinese team gymnastics star Zhou Ping. “Following the parents’ footsteps” seems to be an unwritten custom in the sports circle.

“People in the sports circle seem to all think that, children of outstanding sportsmen should go on the same path as them. So when I was 6, I started to practice gymnastics. When I reached 10, I realised I wasn’t growing much taller so my dad said let’s practice fencing.”

Wang Jia Er who started learning fencing, in one semester there was half the time he was competing overseas. But his studies did not suffer because of that, “although my results weren’t the best, but it was considered good. Sometimes I get an A too.”

His “dream” at that time, was “opening many schools and teaching children how to fence”, was “after I grow up , being able to let my parents lead a good life and stop working hard”, and what all athletes long for — “olympic champion”. “At the start, I only saw fencing as a hobby and interest”, says Wang Jia Er. “But after a certain stage, my goal got bigger and bigger. I didn’t only want to be China’s number 1, I also wanted to be Asia’s number 1, world number 1. So I cultivated my competitive character.”

Besides training and studies, as a half Shanghainese, he would stay in Shanghai for 3-4 months every year. So television shows and animations like <家有儿女><大头儿子小头爸爸> etc that the mainland children are familiar with, was also an important part of the young Wang Jia Er’s life.

Go Fridge.

USING THE ASIA GOLD MEDAL TO EXCHANGE FOR THE PATH AS A SINGER “YOU ONLY CAN LIVE ONCE, SO DO IT WITHOUT REGRET”

Very quickly, Wang Jia Er became the star of the Hong Kong fencing team. Earlier on when he came in contact with fencing, Wang Jia Er already had an interest in music. As he was schooling at an international school, Wang Jia Er who’s naturally cheerful, was active in student groups with various nationalities. Not only did he listen to Eason Chen and Justin Lo, he also came in contact with american rap, french music and Big Bang who just debuted at that time. He also tried composing on his own using the computer and this kind of behaviour made him feel very wonderful.

The first time he had anything to do with the career of a “singer” was in 2008. At that time, an overseas management company found the 14-year-old Wang Jia Er and asked if he was interested in becoming an artist. But when he mustered courage to tell his father about wanting to become a singer, Wang Ruiji just directly replied in four words: “don’t make me laugh”.

“My father just thought that a young child like me doesn’t know anything and a scout finding me to become a star must be a lie. That’s too ridiculous”. His parent’s worry made him reject this invitation. In 2011, the current management company scout once again took a fancy on Wang Jia Er, who was playing basketball at the court after school. Although he was late for half an hour, he still successfully passed the appraisal.

When he told his parents the news about passing the interview, what he received from them was still disapproval. “At that time I was already accepted into a very famous university and they were giving me scholarship. I also had quite a lot of sports brands offering sponsorship and the conditions that I had were all really good. In contrast, overseas management companies signing with trainees have elimination and dismissal mechanisms. The risk was too big.”

From then on, he was hesitating almost every moment. “People can only live once, so why limit yourself? I really want to try new things, live once and not let myself regret it.”

Thus in the same year, under the condition his father set of “if you win the Asia champion, I’ll send you over to become a trainee”, Wang Jia Er attained Asia fencing competition’s gold medal and in exchange, got his parent’s permission.

Beat the champions.

THOUGHT OF KILLING HIMSELF DURING HIS TRAINEE DAYS “THEY COULD ALREADY RUN, BUT I COULDN’T EVEN WALK”

The foreign environment made the 17-year-old boy, who chose another path to start anew, feel unsettled — the third day after he arrived in korea, Wang Jia Er realises that he “can’t do anything”. Not only did he feel inferior, he even wanted to “kill himself”. “The trainees around me had everything, good looks, good figure, they could speak, dance. My language couldn’t make it, abilities couldn’t make it, looks couldn’t make it. Everyone was already running, but I couldn’t even walk.”

Thus everyday like crazy, he learned language, practiced singing, trained his body. If others practiced 10 times he would do 100 times and he would rather just sleep less. He said, he could persevere due to his sportsman spirit. “When you are passionate and have the momentum about something, you won’t feel tired and you also won’t know how much potential you’ve got in you”.

Thinking back on the few years before debut, he confessed that it was hard. Everyday he ate at the same place and even thought that it was good that he could at least eat. “It wasn’t because I had no money, my parents gave me living expenses. But just thinking about the fact that it was my decision to go overseas, I didn’t want to always ask them for money. In fact, the thing I don’t like to do most is to bring burden to my parents.”

Couldn’t find anyone to share his troubles with and feeling helpless inside was probably Wang Jia Er’s biggest enemy while he was overseas. Although he was good friends with trainees of the same period, but everyone was in a highly pressured competitive environment. Many nights he could only sit on his own by the stairs and cried as he gazed at the skies. “Everyone’s worrying about the same thing, what you are suppressing inside cannot be shared. Even more so, it could not be said to my parents so I could only bear it on my own.”

His witty reactions, sincere smile and the individual skill of flipping on the spot from time to time, finally allowed Wang Jia Er to come to the fore. From being a guest on shows to being a permanent MC, from overseas to domestically, he was known by more people. “Other than variety, I want to let more people see a different me”, that is the goal Wang Jia Er set for himself when he returned home. When asked how much of that goal has he accomplished now, he blinked and said “It’s just the beginning and in short I will diligently show everyone a different side of me.”

Fighting men.

MUSIC HE HAS 30 SONGS IN STORAGE NOW

“I will say without hesitation that I am a singer”. When he was asked by the reporter to “rank variety, movie (acting) and music in terms of their importance”, that was what he said. All along, Wang Jia Er has liked hip-hop music very much. But the way in which he treats his own work, is definitely not “laughing and joking”.*

<Generation 2> is his first solo single, he composed and wrote the lyrics on his own and participated in its arrangement and production. As for the source of his creation, he said it has in fact nothing to do with “inspiration”. “it is just very casual, music and a lot of things won’t come just because you want them to. Sometimes when you are sleeping or getting out of bed, showering, drinking water, you would think of it. I won’t stipulate that i have to write songs on this day,  sit in front of a table and hold a pencil to tell myself to get started.”

“I’ve always been making music, I have about 30 plus songs. Some songs, hearing it after a long time (after making it) I would think why is it so ridiculous and dispose it away immediately. Usually if I have any new songs, I would send it to the producer, my parents and those professionals or non-professionals. They too, would give me a lot of feedback”. *a word pun was made between hip-hop – xi ha and laughing and joking – xi xi ha ha

Star detective.

FRIENDSHIP I AM “THE FLOWER OF THE WORLD” *

Because of his good socialising skills and relations, people like to call Wang Jia Er the “flower of Cheong Dam Dong”. He confidently laughs and says that it’s not only Cheong Dam Dong, it should be “the flower of the world”. In front of a friend he just met, he also would show his heart without any scruples. “No matter what other people think, I must put forth my real self first.”

So no matter whether he’s in front or behind the scenes, he and Lu Han, Wang Kai, Da Zhang Wei, Jam Hsiao and more, have established a deep friendship. He says that he’s very fortunate that these seniors did not only see him as a working partner. They would never say “thank you” and “goodbye” then disappear after the end of recording for the show or at the end of the schedule.

Lu Han sends him messages from time to time asking him what he’s doing and is there any new song he released that he could listen to; When he misses Da Zhang Wei he would send a message on Wechat saying “Hyung, I miss you”. Because of that, Da Zhang Wei exclaimed that Wang Jia Er is really a special friend because he’s never received such a message before. Wang Jia Er heard it and laughed, “If you miss (someone) you have to express it, if I don’t say it what else could I have said?”

Wang Jia Er says that he interacts frequently with Luhan often during his private time.

[Q&A]

Beijing news: Previously you were on the hot search, because you saw some of your fans holding your “black history” photos at the concert and you  even took these on stage. How did you feel then?

Jackson: (covers face) Not some fans, it’s everyone that was supporting me were holding onto this kind of photos. Only my photos are like that out of the whole group, so that’s what I am like in their hearts. Is it because I am too easy-going with them? Actually I like to be like friends with my fans, they can see me as a neighbourhood oppa. But, I just hope that the photos aren’t like that in the future.

Beijing news: In a lot of occasions, you are the youngest one. So when do you feel the manliest and with the most undertaking”

Jackson: When I am doing music, when I am serious or when I am looking at myself in the mirror before the shower.

Beijing news: Now you can speak mandarin, english, korean etc many languages. Do you think that you have have an exceptional gift for languages?

Jackson: I know a lot of languages but I’m not the best in any language. My mandarin is like this, if you let me write a 10k word thesis, I’ll possibly puke. I don’t know if I have a gift for language but I dare to speak (in different languages), even if I make a mistake while doing so so what?

Wang Jia Er starring in the same variety as Da Zhang Wei.

Beijing news: Do you have any plans to release an album? How about concert?

Jackson: For album, the bullets are already prepared. It’s just seeing when the shot should be fired. As for concert, we’ll just see how it goes.

Beijing news: From debut till now, have you met with any setbacks and thought that you wanted to give up?

Jackson: I ever did think about giving up for that 0.000001 seconds. But immediately I pulled myself out from that thinking. Now I also have a group that’s like family to me. If I have troubles I can also tell them. Tell them everyday and annoy them till no end (laughs).

Beijing news: How do you regard the identity of an artist? What do you want to say to yourself after 20 years?

Jackson: Artist to me is a job. I only appear on stage, on television, I’ll film shows and release songs. But I don’t understand why some people always think that stars are different. Because when we exit the stage, we are not any different from normal people. I can say for sure “being popular” is not my goal. I don’t care about those up and downs. I only care about the quality of the works with the Wang Jia Er label and whether I can show it to everyone. As for myself after 20 years, I want to say that you must have responsibility, let your family and team lead a good life and let them enjoy.

translated by ahgawings.com

[jamesgraybooksellerworld]

1)

“The earliest instance of a”romance” credited to an Irish writer “ (Sweeney, Ireland and the Printed Word)

334J Roger Boyle ,The Earl of Orrery. (1676-1731)

Parthenissa. That most fam’d romance· The six volumes compleat. Composed by the right honourable the Earl of Orrery.

London : printed by T[homas]. N[ewcomb]. for Henry Herringman, at the Blue Anchor in the lower-walk of the New Exchange, MDCLXX·VI [1676]                                                               $3,500

  Folio, 13 X 8 inches. A² B-3E⁴ 3F², 3Q-5I⁴ 5K⁴(final blank5K4).    [Volumes 2-6 each with divisional title page.808 pages}

Text appears continuous despite pagination and register.].  First complete edition, preceded by a parts issue which was issued from 1651 to 1669.

First edition of this Restoration romance by the first Earl of Orrery with a plot somewhat typical of the period: platonic lovers and historical allegory in a classical setting, etc.

In addition to this novel, he wrote poetry, plays and a Treatise on the Art of War (1667), and he was a friend of Katherine Philips and Margaret Cavendish.

Evidence of contemporary readership by a woman:

handsome armorial bookplate on the verso of the title-page. Handwritten signature of Bridget Taylor, December, 1694 !

The Folger Library also has a book owned by Bridget Taylor

{ from Folger catalogue Back cover tooling (detail), C6659.

General Description:

Late 17th century English “Cambridge Style” binding. C6659

Provenance:

“inscriptions on front paste-down: “Bridget Taylor her Booke 1693”; and “C. L. Lewes, 1910”; bookplate of “White, Wallingwells”.   The spine on the Folger book of the same provenance is almost the same as the present book. “The spine is divided into seven panels, each framed with a gilt double line. The author and title is gilt on a burgundy leather label in the second panel. The other panels are gilt with corner volute brackets with an ornamental center fleuron stamp. The board edges are blind tooled with the decorative tulip roll.”

  “Of originall English romances, written in competition with the French masterpieces , the Parthenissa of Lord Orrery (1654) is the best known.” (Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th edn vol. 19 p836 ‘The Novel , Edmund Gosse )

Educated at Christ church, he joined the wits engaged in a struggle with Bentley, who represented the scholarship of the Cambridge whigs. Sir W. Temple had made some rash statements as to the antiquity of Phalaris in a treatise on ancient and modern learning, and this was the subject of attack by Wotton, a protégé of Bentley’s in his ‘Reflections on Ancient and Modern Learning,’ published in 1694. By way of covering Temple’s defeat, the Christ Church scholars determined to publish a new edition of the epistles of Phalaris. This was entrusted to Boyle, who, without asserting the epistles of Phalaris. This was entrusted to Boyle, who, without  asserting the epistles to be genuine, as Temple had done, attacked Bentley for his rudeness in having withdrawn too abruptly a manuscript belonging to the King’s Library, which Boyle had borrowed. Bentley now added to a new edition of Wotton’s ‘Reflections’ a ‘Dissertation’ upon the epistles, from his own pen. Boyle was aided by Atterbury and Smalridge in preparing a defense, published in 1698 entitled ‘Dr. Bentley’s Dissertations … examined.’ Bentley returned to the charge and overwhelmed his opponents by the wealth of his scholarship. The dispute led to Swift’s ‘Battle of the Books.’” .

Loeber: 305; Wing O-490;Sweeney  #621;

A Bibliographical Study of “Parthenissa” by Roger Boyle Earl of Orrery Author(s): C. William Miller.  Source: Studies in Bibliography, Vol. 2 (1949/1950), pp. 115-137 Published by: Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40371074

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/40371074.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3Aaa61df720a726cf4cac8defa983a4663

2)

320J Roger Boyle (A person of honour = Roger Boyle, Earl of Orrery. Cf. BM; Halkett & Laing (2nd ed.).The Earl of Orrery. (1676-1731)

English adventures. By a person of honour. Licensed May 12th, 1676. Roger L’Estrange

[London]: In the Savoy: printed by T. Newcomb, for H. Herringman, at the Anchor, on the lower walk of the New Exchange, 1676.   $3,700

Octavo.    [A]1 B-I8 [K]1. (“The end of the first tome of English adventures”–Page 129. No more published.) Bound in modern quarter calf.

An interesting feature of this book is the neat corrections, which to me look as if it was done by the printer and not a reader.

    Loeber B-306; Wing (CD-Rom, 1996), O476 : Arber’s Term cat.; I 253; ESTC; R20367.

  380LawrenceM.Principe

  The family patriarch, Richard, Great Earl of Cork, expressly forbade his children the reading of romances. Upon learning that his sons Roger and Lewis were reading plays and romances while on the Continent under the tutelage of Marcombes (as Robert and Francis would be two years later), he issued a strict order that such corrupting entertainment be stopped.9 The Great Earl’s injunction apparently had little effect, sinice in 1651, Roger, Earl of Orrery, published Parthenis- sa… a work which, although very closely patterned upon French exemplars, is often considered to be the first modem English romance.10 Roger also bears the credit for introducing rhymed heroic dramas (again modelled after the French pattern) to the English stage… .in fact Roger became a highly-regarded playwright of the Restoration.11 Robert’s strong-willed sister Mary, Countess of Warwick, recounted that she too spent her days “seeing and reading plays and romances.”12 As for Robert, it has long been a staple of Boyle biogra- phers that he shared his father’s Puritanical opposition to romances. Peter Pett, in notes for an unpublished biography, recalled that his friend Boyle, at least once he began ethical and devotional pursuits, never “read either play or Romance; no not so much as those writ by his ingenious brother the earle of Orrery

” W. S. Clark, The Dramatic Works of Roger Boyle, 2 vols., (Cambridge, Mass., 1937); Eduard Siegert, Roger Boyle, Earl of Orrery, und seine Dramen (Vienna, 1906).

Lawrence M. Principe

Journal of the History of Ideas

Vol. 56, No. 3 (Jul., 1995), pp. 377-397 (21 pages)

  This content downloaded from 67.142.100.14 on Fri, 23 Aug 2019 12:25:05 UTC All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms

  3)

627F Richard Head 1637?-1686?.

Proteus redivivus: the art of wheedling or insinuation, in general and particular conversations and trades. Together with the several actions, inclinations and passions of both sexes, and of all their professions and occupations. Discovering their many tricks and designs t self-advancement, though by indirect wayes and methods; fitly suited to these times, to prevent the vertuous from abuses, and to detect the enormities of the vitious. Furnished with many delightful songs in various chapters. Compil’d and publish’d formerly by R.H. but now reprinted with additions in every chapter, to almost one half of the book, by the same author.

London : printed for T.D. and are to be sold by most booksellers of London and Westminster, 1684.       $3,900

Bound in full calf recently rebacked. Engraved frontis. (plate) signed: Wm Bodley sculp. The most important primary source on Head’s life is William Winstanley’s biographical entry published in his Lives of the most famous English poets (1687) – a credible if not reliable source insofar as Winstanley could claim to have been personally acquainted with Head.  According to Winstanley, Head was a minister’s son, born in Ireland. His father was killed in the Irish rebellion of 1641, the incidents seem to be reflected in Head’s English Rogue, the satirical romance he published in 1665. His mother took him to England where she had relatives in Barnstaple. They later moved on to Plymouth, to Bridport and to Dorset where Head is known to have attended the town’s grammar school in 1650. Head was eventually admitted to the same Oxford College his father had attended (possibly New Inn Hall, from which a John Head graduated in 1628). His financial means being insufficient Head was taken from college and bound apprentice to a “Latin bookseller” in London “attaining to a good Proficiency in the Trade”, as Winstanley put it. “His genius being addicted to Poetry” he published his first poetical and satirical piece which Winstanley recorded as Venus Cabinet Unlock’d. This may be a reference to Giovanni Benedetto Sinibaldi’s The cabinet of Venus unlocked, and her secrets laid open. Being a translation of part of Sinibaldus, his Geneanthropeia, and a collection of some things out of other Latin authors, never before in English (London: Philip Briggs, 1658). Head married around that time. A second addiction to gambling cost him the profit he made as an author and with his shop. Head moved – or fled – to his homeland Ireland, where he gained esteem with his first comedy Hic et ubique, or, The Humors of Dublin – printed with a dedication to the Duke of Monmouth at his return to England in 1663. The Duke’s recompense remaining below expectations Head had to survive as a bookseller with shop addresses (so Sidney Lee) in Little Britain, and (so Gerard Langbaine) in Petty Canons Alley, off Paternoster Row and opposite Queen’s Head Alley. Winstanley located him in Queen’s Head Alley. If his reports are trustworthy, Head gathered some wealth in little time only to gamble it away again a little later. The English Rogue (1665) solved some of his financial problems. Its tales of drastic adventures were based on the model of Spanish rogue stories (such as Lazarillo de Tormes 1554), which were fashionable due to the contemporary publication of Scarron’s Roman Comique (or Comical Romance, so the English title which established the genre), and savory with the events Head could claim to have based on his personal experience. The censor, so Winstanley reported, rejected the manuscript as “too much smutty”. The softened book edition sold brilliantly and created a complex publishing history: The first edition published by Henry Marsh sold out within the year. Marsh died that very year, Francis Kirkman the business partner, to whom Marsh had been indebted, secured the rights and sold Head’s title in four further editions between 1666 and 1667. It remains unclear how the ensuing volumes two, three, and four, published in 1671, 1674 and 1680, came to be written (a fifth was promised and never appeared). Winstanley speaks of Head as the author indiscriminately. In the dedication to his Proteus redivivus (1675) Head, however, explicitly denies a hand in any part but the first. Kirkman asserted nonetheless that he and Head were responsible for the third and fourth parts. The preface to the latter is signed by both men – facts which make Head’s belated disclaimer suspicious. Head’s imprint as a publisher is found on several titles. Works from his pen appeared until 1677. Winstanley reports that Head drowned on a journey to the Isle of Wight; the report itself was made in June 1686, and this generally accepted as the date of his death, even though more accurately it is a terminus ante quem.

Wing H-1274 Copies – N.America: (see Loeber p578-578)n 

Boston Public Henry E. Huntington Library Princeton University University of California, Los Angeles, University of Chicago

  4)

330J Edward Wettenall.  1636-1713.

  A short Introduction of Grammar being generally the common form, with such supplements out of the Common Latin institutions, as make the English part a sufficient Grammar for a good understanding of the Latin tongue. 

  Dublin : printed by Andrew Crook Printer to Their Most Excellent Majesties on Ormonde-Key, and sold by William Norman on College;Green, Eliphal Dobson at the Stationers-Arms, Patrick Campbell at the Kings-Arms in Castle-street and the rest of the Booksellers of Dublin,  1694.     $1,900

Octavo, 6 X 3 3/4 inches, A-D8, E4 ( Lacking 3 leaves;  E3,E5& E6 ) F8 . The first edition? stated as  The fifth edition (but in fact no other editions  before or after for a long time after show up) see below. This copy is bound in its original hair sheep over paper boards

  Edward’s last name is also spelled Wettenhall, Whetenhall, Whitnall, Withnoll, and  Wythnall. He graduated B.D. at Oxford 26 May 1669, and was incorporated B.D. at Cambridge 1670. Michael Boyle the younger, the Archbishop of Dublin, brought him over to Dublin in 1672, as master of the blue-coat school. He was made a Doctor of Divinity at Trinity College, Dublin, became curate of St. Werburgh’s Church, and afterwards chantor of Christ Church.

At his own cost, Wetenhall restored the episcopal residence at Cork. As one of the seven bishops who remained in Ireland during the troubles which began in 1688, he was exposed to much ill-usage at the hands of the partisans of James II. He was probably the author of an anonymous tract ‘The Case of the Irish Protestants in relation to … Allegiance to … King William and Queen Mary,’ 1691 (27 October 1690). He signed the episcopal letter of thanks (November 1692) to Thomas Firmin for his exertions in relief of the distressed Protestants of Ireland. Only one Irish prelate, William Sheridan (died 1716) of Kilmore and Ardagh, was deprived (1691) as a nonjuror.

Wetenhall, who was translated as bishop of Kilmore and Ardagh on 18 April 1699, would not accept the preferment without trying to procure the restoration of Sheridan, to whose support he contributed. He restored the episcopal residence at Kilmore and rebuilt the cathedral at Ardagh (later demolished).

No Copy Even close to the present copy Located! 

Paste Down!

Binding:

  4 interesting Irish Books! 1) "The earliest instance of a”romance” credited to an Irish writer “ (Sweeney, Ireland and the Printed Word)

[allegroperformingartsacademy]

PART ONE

Competitions & Conventions are Important

I believe in getting our determined dancers out of the studio from time to time.  This consists of competitions, conventions and even dance festivals and/or different seminars. Healthy competition:

1.Provides inspiration

2.Creates motivation

3.Allows students to appreciate other dancers

4.Expands their horizons

5.Creates a community of like-minded people that get share their creations and abilities with each other

As a teacher, that is what I LOVE about conventions… my students get to re-fuel their fire and fall in love with dance even more. And let’s be honest, we’ve all had that experience where a guest teacher says something we’ve been saying for years and our student FINALLY gets it! Although frustrating as a teacher, I welcome these moments because sometimes it takes a different tactic to trigger a deeper understanding of the concept. The point is that competitions and conventions have many benefits that I believe in and have my team students participate in.    

We Need Each Other

Dance studios are businesses so are dance competitions and conventions . We need each other. As an owner of a studio that has a highly competitive dance team, I am fully aware of the ways that I need competitions and conventions.  There are so many benefits to them that go over and beyond what I listed above.  Not ALL dance studios need competitions and conventions as there are many that exist without them. However, ALL dance competitions and conventions need dance studios. It’s my hope with this letter that I start to open up the eyes of competition and convention owners to the dance studio owner’s perspective.  

The market is so saturated now that dance studios have SO many choices of which competitions and conventions to attend. With a large quantity of choices, how does a studio owner/dance teacher decide? Is it based on the discounts provided, the free hotel room given if I bring my whole team or if we score well there every year? OR is it the positive impact made on my team dancers, their ability to be fair & consistent with their rules and their ability to understand the importance of studio training and a desire to nurture that relationship rather than challenge it… So, owners of dance competitions and conventions if you want to know what some (maybe most) studio owners are thinking AND if you care about the future of the next dance generation, please keep reading!

How do you impact our dancers?

The policies and processes of dance competitions and conventions effect my dance studio and my dancers. It’s the absolute truth and I can’t do anything about it except choosing which competitions/conventions our studio participates in (although, MAYBE us studio owners can speak up, be heard, and make a long-term change). Of course, we all want the affect you have on our students to be a positive one but in the last 10 years so much has changed in the competitive/convention world and I am deeply concerned. The positive side effects that we as studio owners and teachers hope for are: motivation, inspiration, making connections, feeling accomplished, getting feedback about dance ability and even getting validation from time to time that they/we are on the right track.

The negative side effects that I am concerned about have to do with how much power & control the competition and/or convention has on my students & their parents. Let me give you some examples:

*I’m concerned about your words – We, as studio teachers, know that our words are powerful! What we say matters. Competition and Conventions owners need to make sure their staff and teachers understand this also. A convention teacher should not be telling kids that college does not matter, or that being an independent dancer is a good idea OR that ballet classes are overrated. And YES, all these things have really been said and of course they are extreme examples.  However, young people have pecking orders when it comes to the value of advice! Sometimes what the studio teacher says will outweigh the advice of their own parents. Imagine what weight it holds when a convention teacher gives advice… it means everything and they will take your word as gold! I have seen the direct result of these words - dancers who think that they should not go to college based on the words of a convention teacher, or that they should only want to focus in one genre because a convention teacher said that is what is hiring in LA at the moment, and my favorite is students saying that they are thinking of becoming an independent dancer because a convention teacher went that route and it worked for them… (wait for part two of this blog to hear my thoughts on taking young dancers out of their studio training)!! Convention teacher’s words are taken so very seriously and I need to be able to trust convention teacher to be cautious, and not to undermine the training and advice they’re getting at the studio. Not that I always have the perfect advice for my dancers, although I work hard to, but I know my students better than a convention teacher and I have their best interest at heart LONG TERM.

When it comes to competition critiques, the issue is sometime the lack of words.  The dancers pay good money to get quality feedback and a judge should definitely say more than ‘Cute costume’ and ‘Great job’. We know that when you have been judging for hours on end that you are tired, but please make the effort with every dancer that you have on stage in front of you to make an impact with your words and share with them your expertise.

*I’m concerned about your example – We teachers are under the microscope constantly. It’s a challenging part of our job but if you are working with children and teenagers, it’s absolutely unavoidable. Please know that your behavior has an impact on our dancers. They look up to their convention teachers and some even aspire to be like you. If a convention teacher is rude outside of the classroom, is smoking in plain view, is speaking of inappropriate topics with them and the absurd of past teachers drinking with students at the hotel or even having unsuitable relationships with young dancers… it is not acceptable! I am sure that the new convention teacher maybe coming off a reality dance show might not understand how these expectations might go hand in hand with simply walking in and teaching a dance class every week-end in a different city, but it is the convention owner’s job to make them aware and to be clear with their expectations. If you are being paid to teach young dancers, you are not just being paid to teach them dance! That is something that all studio dance teachers know (at least I hope!)

*I’m concerned about your awards – We have all heard of the ‘participation award’ trophy epidemic and dance competitions definitely have a part in it. I miss the days of 1st, 2nd, 3rd place…period! There are simply too many awards and it is teaching our dancers to expect something every time they compete. Does this prepare them for the real world? Absolutely not! Another equal thought for conventions is when they hand out too many scholarships. I have been to conventions lately when there are more dancers on stage as scholarship finalists and winners than there are left on the ballroom floor in the audience. Scale it back and it gives the scholarships more value and importance. I remember the days when Tremaine didn’t let you audition until you were 16 and then there was just 2 scholarships given away. I know that was a long time ago but it was more realistic to the real world and had a greater impact on the dancers long term... both those that won and those that did not. Young dancers are now valuing themselves solely based on the awards and scholarships that they get rather than just dancing because they truly love it – regardless of recognition! Less awards would allow them to get back to simplicity of dance & to see it as the art form that it is.

*I’m concerned about what is appropriate- If you have read my previous blog series, you know how passionate I am about this subject. Thank goodness for YPAD organizations starting to bring more light to ‘why’ we need to be cautious about appropriate music and movements for young dancers. I know this will seem like a bold statement but here it goes, ‘If competitions stop letting it win, it will become the less popular thing to do!’ Think about it for a second… some parents and teachers will do almost anything to win. It doesn’t make it right on their behalf but when it comes down to it, they will stop using inappropriate movements if competitions stopped allowing inappropriate choreography to win! BOTTOM LINE! Every competition ‘encourages’ family appropriate material but I truly believe that they are fearful to hold strong to this, because they are concerned with losing business. However, if EVERY competition started to do this, it would become the new ‘norm’ and studios would just have to get used to it. I have heard some judges say, ‘but it’s not the dancer’s fault, I don’t want to score them less because of the movement.’ Then, let it reflect in the choreography score and explain why on the recording. What a great lesson for the choreographer and the parents!! What if more judges did this? This alone would be a game changer and I will gladly support any competition that will stand strong in this area. This means that the competitions will need to educate and train them to score those numbers lower with the choreography score regardless of the talent of the dancer. Furthermore, this situation also refers to convention teachers who need teach age appropriate moves to appropriate music for the same reason. Many of them are in the adult dance world and need to be able to scale back what is normal in that part of their career in order to present something appropriate to the children that they teach every weekend at conventions and/or local studios.

 Thank you for reading! I am not trying to attack any particular competition or convention, just trying to expose concerns that I know exist. I truly believe that our future dance generations depend on us to make changes in these areas as I am concerned for what we are creating in our young dancers if we continue to ignore these issues or worse… continue further down these pathways.

Stay tuned for PART TWO to discuss young dancers assisting, the independent dancer phenomenon and taking dancers away from studio training.

[soccernetghana]

From Ghana to USA: The journey of two Ghanaian footballers 

For junior forwards Umar Farouk Osman and Mohammed Zakyi, this was how their careers started. Long before being teammates at Michigan, they roamed the red clay streets of Tamale, Ghana, as neighbors from lower-middle class families who played every day until the sun went down. 

“Everyone knew who I was, everyone knew who Umar was, because anywhere there was a soccer match going on, we were there,” Zakyi said. “That’s how Umar and I knew each other, we were always playing soccer.”

Osman and Zakyi’s paths from Ghana to Ann Arbor started together and largely remained together. Each departed Ghana — Osman at 15, Zakyi at 17 — to attend preparatory high schools in Connecticut on scholarship. Before that, each attended the prestigious Right to Dream Academy in the country’s Eastern Region.

Founded in 1999 by Tom Vernon, Right to Dream doubles as both a school and soccer factory, designed to outfit younger players with opportunities to advance their skills on and off the pitch — opportunities they might not otherwise have.

“I got to the Academy and it meant everything,” Zakyi said. “I was provided with soccer cleats. I was given food, given shelter, given education. Everything was provided for, and that’s when I started taking soccer more seriously.”

Spots in the Academy are both limited and highly coveted. Once a year, Right to Dream sends scouts to each of Ghana’s 10 regions to hold tryouts. Osman remembers close to 500 kids swarming his, with each hopeful having only 20 minutes of playing time to prove himself.

From the initial field, scouts chose 11 players from each region to move on to the second tryout. This pool is then narrowed down to one final group of 11 who compete against current Academy-goers, a test to see if they can hang with the tougher competition.

Osman and Zakyi each joined Right to Dream in 2009, each only 10 years old.

“It was very stressful,” Osman remembered. “First the tryouts, then leaving your family that young to go to a completely different place. There were points when I got homesick, but I kept thinking that my institution at home wasn’t that great, and Right to Dream was giving me this great opportunity. So I had to overcome my fear and I think at that moment I became a man, working for myself and my family.”

At Right to Dream, the opportunities were boundless. Osman and Zakyi traveled the world, competing against other top academies. Zakyi spent time from the U12 level to the U18 training with Manchester United. Each had access to training, expertise and invaluable experience in a professional soccer environment. Soon, scouts took notice and America beckoned.

But to get to America — to earn a scholarship to a preparatory school — prowess on the pitch wasn’t enough. Soccer skills had to be accompanied by good grades.

“Growing up, I didn’t want to go to school,” Osman confessed. “My mom, she always wanted me to go to school, but we didn’t always have the financial support. Right to Dream came along and I learned the value in getting an education because soccer isn’t going to be there forever.”

Soccer can be a passion, but it can’t be life. It’s a lesson Zakyi learned the hard way.

A torn meniscus suffered early on in his career at the Academy forced him to the sidelines for two years, stripping him of his foundation.

“That’s when I decided to take school very seriously,” Zakyi said. “Because I knew if I don’t do anything about school and this happens to me in the professional world, my life is done. It was all soccer, soccer, soccer until the injury. But after, I started studying really hard, taking a lot of exams so I could not only come to America but also succeed in the classroom.”

Getting an education is a luxury that Zakyi’s dad, a high school dropout, never could afford. Same for a handful of Zakyi’s childhood friends who quit school and reverted to hustling and violence after their respective soccer careers flopped. None were fortunate enough to use soccer, a passion, as a springboard to greater heights in life.

Zakyi knows this easily could’ve been him.

“I was one of the luckiest that went through and got selected,” he said. “I know there are a lot of talents back home that have so much potential. I know a lot of the guys that went through the tryouts, they all went back home and they go home to nothing.

“That’s why it’ll always be my motivation, that I’m going to give back no matter what.”

Before staying at Michigan for summer classes last year, Zakyi would spend his summers in Ghana. During his first week at home he’d volunteer at the Academy: talking with younger kids, offering up advice, telling tales about America, helping out in the classroom. He wanted every kid to know that he’s still a part of them, “part of their family.”

“Whether it’s with my success, my knowledge or my experience, I know I can always have an impact on someone’s life,” Zakyi said. “I want to be able to put someone in a better position just like I was given a better life, too. It’s something that I owe to my community, that I owe to people who aspire to be great people. I want to be a part of their journey. I want to help them achieve their dreams.”

Osman has been back once, the summer between his senior year of high school and freshman year of college. He called it “very different,” returning to the Academy and seeing all the younger kids in the shoes he once wore.

“I had just won the Gatorade National Player of the Year, which was talked about at the Academy,” Osman said. “So when I went back, a lot of the kids knew of me.

“I always value the idea of giving back. Right to Dream gave me something special, so in the future I hope that I’m going to go back to my village and help give back and inspire young kids to follow their dreams.”

As for their own dreams, Osman and Zakyi are living them, preparing to leave Michigan next spring with four years of collegiate soccer under their belt and, more importantly, college degrees.

Their roots — from the clay streets of Tamale to the Academy — are with them every step of the way.

“Looking back home and the situation my family and everyone is in, it just gives me motivation to keep pushing to get to my goal,” Osman said.

“Then one day, all this hard work, all these sacrifices that I’ve made will pay.”

Source: Michigan Daily source: https://ghanasoccernet.com/

[saturdaysolaces]

spring term of second year: love, hate and everything in between

Hey, I’ve been gone for a while now, and even though I’ve had the intention to post multiple times during the past 5 months or so, I have not been able to bring myself to do it for reasons not worth mentioning. 

Just a heads up, this is mainly me reminding myself of my past experiences. Although not necessarily meant to be read as a normal post (because I rant on and on), I’ll still leave it here. Enjoy! (?)

All things aside, I just officially finished my second year of high school. As the title already states, it has been an incredibly rough ride both mentally and physically, but also better than I could’ve ever wished for. I’ve managed to seek something happy in every moment of despair, but it has taken me some time to get used to the idea of having utterly bad days that can’t be avoided, and that being sad and hurt and lost it just part of the deal you make in order to get the most out of life. It has undoubtedly been the hardest part of second year: admitting that there will be storms and rain amidst the fields of daisies I’ve spent so long tediously planting. I don’t want to be sad, nobody obviously does, but every bad day to me is a rock that takes weeks to lift. 

Excuse my cliche analogies. There were also a countless number of satisfactory and joyous moments that I’ve fortunately enough managed to capture. This post is me sharing those moments in the hopes of revisiting some of the happiest days of my life now when I’m feeling extremely down again. I just got out of school after having long chats and pizza with my dear friends, but today, like the whole month of may, I’ve had so many ups and downs that it really distorts my feelings.

In the span of these last 6 months of second year, I’ve 

discovered my love of science memes. me and my friends have a habit of sharing the most ridiculous ones on the day of the exam (or the night before). 

been to the library an overwhelming number of times. these are times I sometimes don’t enjoy thinking about because I struggled mentally but most of those times were spent with friends, so we had good laughs and got through it together (with the help of some very unhealthy snacks)

drank way too much coca cola. it’s become somewhat of a joke amongst me and my friend Em because we both buy it from the school’s vending machine nearly weekly (I’m amazed our teeth haven’t begun to rot away yet)

fallen in love with indie Japanese music! my recommendation would be the band For Tracy Hyde (Underwater girls is my favourite of theirs)! It’s also gotten be back to the mood of watching anime, and so I’ve done religiously for the past few months. Kill la Kill, Parasyte, Miss Kobayashi’s dragon maid and Little Witch academia are my recent faves.

Danced wanhat! They’re essentially a type of prom second-year students attend in February. The event and the dances are quite formal and traditional. Wanhat has been a thing I had been waiting for since lower secondary because they grant you the change to practically spend a day as a princess. It was, of course, stressful and wearing me seriously out during the months leading up to the big day, but definitely worth it. I got the most out of every dance, my pair was super sweet and the company afterwards everything I could’ve asked for. The highlight of the day, though, was the limo Em’s parents had kindly booked for us. We rode around the city feeling like queens.

Visited Cambridge! It is currently my ultimate dream university, and I’m planning on applying there in around one and a half year’s time. As is probably very apparent, my English is not on the level required to attend, but as my final exams are looming around the corner and one of them being English, I am hoping to develop as much as I can over the summer.

Been to CERN! It was on my bucket list and I never thought I would get to tick it off this early in my life. Basically, my school with a few others organized a trip to Switzerland and CERN that was held in late February and early March. I applied for it during the fall last year with no intention of actually getting in (mostly because the prerequisite was to excel in all-things physics which I really didn’t at the time), but so I did. We had a lot of preparatory work before the actual trip, including group presentations and visits to a university’s physics department. Then, we spent a 5 days in Switzerland, two of which we stayed in the coastal city Montreux and my physics teacher’s old boarding school where he had taught a few years back. On day three, we headed off to CERN and I can’t praise the place enough. The whole process, though, was made the best one yet by the people I got to meet and the breathtaking landscapes I saw along the way. I made friends with a girl I’ve been adoring for quite a long time since the fall of first year but I’ve never gotten the courage to walk up to her and open my mouth. We did a bunch of stuff together, the most memorable of which were probably walking to French to buy food and having alcohol-free champagne for breakfast. I really miss CERN, but I’m glad I have so many amazing memories to look back to. 

Had some really fun Valentine’s celebrations! Em had the great idea to make puzzle piece shaped cut-outs from cardboard and write messages on them. Me and my friends also drew tiny hearts onto our cheeks. Cute.

Many, many afternoons were spent in small cafes around the city, talking about everything from history to what we want to do after we retire. Needless to say, I’ve spent a ton of money on overpriced coffee.

Dropped a course. Not my happiest memory, but sixteen-year-old me would never have believed she could do something like this. I never leave something unfinished, especially it that something happens to be a course held by one of my favourite teachers whom I continue to admire. It did leave me a bit disappointed in myself because I couldn’t push through like I always have, but it was one of the best decisions I’ve done.

Overall, spent more time with my friends. Chatting over coffee or Burger King has sort of become a norm in our friend group. We’ve also had the time of our lives just going around second hand stores and half-empty shopping centres trying on the most ridiculous clothing items we can find. I’ve also taken the time to catch up with my friends from lower secondary.

Seen brain surgery up close! Well, not exactly the whole surgery, but at least the cutting-through-skull phase. Our school carried out a visit to a hospital’s neurology department, and to everyone’s surprise, we got to go into the OR while the patient was under anaesthesia and the surgeons were preparing. We also got a glimpse of the reason behind the surgery through a monitor – a tumour the size of a golf ball. The thing is though, the surgeons were exactly, and I’m not kidding, like those right out of Grey’s Anatomy – strangely excited to cut into an unsuspecting man’s brain.

Gotten some amazing friends! I’ve expanded my “core” friend group from the four it was last summer to the 8 it is now. Plus, I’ve met some really sweet and cool people who, while not being a part of the group I primarily hang out with, are still people I will remember with a warm heart. And god have we experienced a lot. I love my friends more than I ever would be able to put into words, they mean the absolute world to me. Em, X, L, S, Vee, A and V, thank you from the bottom of my heart! 

Signed the forms that officially tie me to the final exams next fall. There’s no backing away now – this is truly life or death. 

Oh and I ranked top 12 in a national biology competition that might potentially allow me to take part in a half-a-year long coaching course preparing students for the international biology olympics. The situations is still a bit unclear but technically I got accepted, so I’m hoping to start the coaching next fall! I’ll update on this later. 

There are also a million things I am grateful for right now. First and most significant of them being my friends, second being all of my teachers. I’ve always had a huge amount of appreciation towards them, but this spring for some reason brought it even more to the surface. I have endless respect for my biology teacher as she is the one pushing me towards my dreams. Something that I appreciate considerably is the fact that she really pays attention to what her students’ passions are and what they really strive for. She’s great with everyone, and today she also said how much she has respect for me – a sentence I have never heard in my life. She knows how much I love metabolic pathways and she’s really keen on what everyone’s up to, and that’s notably why she will always be one of the best people I’ve ever met. 

My physics teacher is also superb. I actually had my first course of his last fall (whereas I’ve known my biology teacher since first term of first year). Not only is he a great teacher, he also is somewhat of a comedian. He throws jokes in anywhere he can, and managed to gather a list of his quotes from his courses. It’s a bummer that I won’t ever have his classes again though because he, again, is one of those people who can really light up a room. 

Praise and compliments from the teachers I highly appreciate are my source of external motivation and that’s why I take so much pride in doing my best. I know that this path is hazardous as the thing you should do instead is rely solely on intrinsic motivation which is not dependent on such outside factors, but this is just how I’ve learnt to push through. Today was really rough for me because I was left without the feeling of being recognised as a hard-working student. I admit I’m coming off as really selfish and narcissistic but I have the best grades in my class – grades I’ve fought for at the cost of my mental well-being. After all of the work I’ve done I still left our spring festivities today empty-handed, without any scholarship or diploma. The scholarships are handed out to students based on their academic excellence. And thus, I felt completely like I hadn’t pushed hard enough. I’m running low on motivations, and it’s not good to have these kind of things happen right before I’m supposed to start revising for my final exams. I know it will bother me for a while, but I’ll be fine. I’m just a bit too dramatic when it comes to these things. Fortunately the scholarship went to Em, who deserves it 110%.

So, what about the future? It’s frightening, to say the least. I have to take my first two matriculation exams this fall, and god am I scared. Matriculation exams are basically the final exams Finnish students take before they can graduate high school. They will be spread out throughout the next one and a half years of my life, the first two next fall and the next six during spring and fall of 2020. They are all six-hour exams and I’m still left wondering how I’ll manage to concentrate for that long without having my eyes getting sore from staring at a computer screen. I would not be nearly as scared if the exams I will take first were something other than biology and English. They are exams that define whether I can even apply abroad, and thus they being the first ones stress me out inconceivably. That being said, I have to start studying for them soon. I’m heading out tomorrow with my friend L to plan our revision over the summer so that we’ll get a head start and can hit the books as soon as possible. Also, I borrowed two biology textbooks for first-year university students with the plans to study them a bit as well (and since they are in English I can get some useful practise that way too). 

As for English, I was debating on whether I should set up an actual blog or just continue using my tumblr, and I’ve decided on posting on tumblr as it is the more low-effort of the two and still pretty fun. I find that the best way to revise English is to actively write, because it enables you to find a flow and get a sense of routine when you are writing essays in the actual exams. So, expect more posts coming soon!

I wish I could remember every small bit of happiness from second year. Nevertheless, I am glad about everything I do recall, but also everything else I have experienced. My heart is full of joy.

[richmeganews]

Narendra Modi’s Election Challenge: Create Jobs. Lots of Them.

Aashique Ahmed Iqbal had no reason to think he wouldn’t find a job. Although from a modest background, he’d studied at one of India’s top schools, attended one of its best universities, and completed a doctorate in history at Oxford University after being awarded a highly competitive scholarship.

When he returned to India, in 2017, he was optimistic that he could find work as an academic. Over the past decade, India’s education sector has opened up. Well-regarded private universities have joined some of the country’s elite, state-run institutions to offer a quality education for not only India’s top students, but also its wealthiest. These schools actively sought out people like Iqbal—those educated abroad—and paid them relatively well.

But Iqbal’s return was anything but easy. He struggled to find consistent, full-time work, telling me that when he initially came home, “it didn’t seem necessarily unreasonable that I would get a job—maybe not necessarily the first one I applied for, but I certainly didn’t expect to be unemployed for as long as I was unemployed.”

His travails embody the experiences of tens of millions of young Indians—and that could have consequences for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he prepares his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for parliamentary elections, which begin this month. Stories like Iqbal’s are found all over the country. Last year, for instance, 19 million people applied for 63,000 vacancies in India’s national railway authority. This year, there were more than 20,000 applicants, at least one of whom held an M.B.A., for five jobs with the literal title of “peons”; duties included making tea and photocopying. Similarly, 200,000 people, including those with advanced degrees, vied for 1,137 open slots for police constables in Mumbai, a job that officially only requires a high-school diploma.

[Read: Converting to Buddhism as a form of political protest]

These startling stories, coupled with hard economic data, pose perhaps the most serious threat to Modi’s narrative of reform. They raise questions about his pledge to create 10 million jobs annually and belie India’s robust economic-growth rate, which has hovered at about 7 percent over the past decade. In isolation, these accounts might seem like cherry-picked anecdotes designed to poke holes in India’s economic success story. Taken together, however, they call attention to the systemic unemployment that Modi—and indeed any future Indian leader—will struggle to fix in a country of 1.3 billion people, where half the population is under the age of 27.

“If you take the long-term view, this is the single-largest challenge that India faces,” Sadanand Dhume, who studies South Asia at the American Enterprise Institute, a center-right think tank in Washington, D.C., told me. “How do you get vast numbers of young people, many of them the first people in their families who have any kind of higher education, wage-paying jobs?”

Between 2005 and 2012, before the BJP was elected, India’s economic growth generated about 3 million jobs a year, according to World Bank data. But the country’s demographics ensured that 13 million people entered the working-age population each year during that time.

In 2014, a wave of support, especially from young Indians, propelled Modi to power. Their demand: Fix everything. The newly elected prime minister promised to overhaul India’s economy, remake its creaking infrastructure, and clean up its pervasive corruption. But though the current government has made some changes, significant ones, its solutions to India’s deep-rooted economic problems are the same as the last one’s. Modi not only has continued the previous Congress Party–led government’s populist economic policies, but also has presided over two spectacular self-inflicted crises: a surprise demonetization program that the government said was designed to root out corruption, and a bungled rollout of a nationwide goods-and-services tax.

[Read: Modi won the Indian election on Twitter, too]

India’s troubles are hardly Modi’s fault alone. They have been cemented by decades of mismanagement. Few governments, even well-intentioned ones, can tackle the challenge of providing for more than 1 billion people. Quality education and health care remain chronic issues, as does a lack of basic development. India, despite its impressive growth, is still a shockingly poor country. Its per-capita gross domestic product is about the same as that of Laos and Uzbekistan. If some of its most populous states were countries, they’d be poorer than all but a handful of nations. Indeed, decades after independence from British rule, nearly 40 percent of Indian children suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition. These children will be part of the future workforce after being wrung through a sclerotic education system that doesn’t produce enough employable graduates. And even when it does, some of them, like Iqbal, have trouble finding jobs.

Armed with his doctoral degree, Iqbal began his job hunt in earnest in India—he felt what he described as “an ethical obligation to come back home” because of the government-subsidized scholarships that had helped him fund his education. “It was important that I contribute to the society which I came from,” he told me.

He applied to dozens of positions, often paying a mandatory fee meant to elicit only serious applicants, yet seldom heard back. Jobs, it seemed, weren’t available. He told me that at one point he “seriously considered quitting academia and was looking at journalism and publishing” as potential career paths. The problem is especially bad in India, with its relatively young population.

India has more people younger than 25, 600 million, than the European Union’s total population (512.6 million). Modi’s policies will be felt acutely by these youths, a large section of them Modi supporters, over the course of their lifetime. The prime minister has succeeded in creating about 1 million jobs a year, according to one estimate, not an insignificant number (other estimates put the number at closer to 5 million a year), but one that pales before the challenges ahead. Critics of Modi acknowledge that the prime minister was handed a difficult job, but they say his approach has hurt the country.

“Yes, we know there was a problem before you [Modi’s BJP] came in, but what has happened under your rule is it has actually become worse,” Salman Anees Soz, a former World Bank economist who is now a development consultant and a Congress Party spokesman, told me.

The centerpiece of Modi’s economic program has been Make in India, an effort to persuade foreign companies to manufacture domestically so that the country, like China and South Korea before it, can lift the majority of its population out of poverty. But what worked for those countries decades ago may no longer be applicable. For one, Make in India hasn’t been the success Modi had hoped it would be, because of, among other things, a lack of labor and land reforms. It’s simply too difficult to hire and fire workers in India, and far too challenging to acquire land to set up factories. Second, even if the initiative were successful, automation is getting rid of manufacturing jobs, imperiling the Indians who would have benefited from such employment in a previous era.

[Read: Can Indian manufacturing be the next Chinese manufacturing?]

Perhaps realizing the scale of the matter, Modi and the BJP have shifted their prescription from job creation to self-employment and entrepreneurship, a path that on its own is unlikely to meet the needs of the huge numbers of people who are looking for work. A World Bank report on India said that only a “growth strategy that focuses on productivity-led economic growth and good jobs” will ensure inclusive and sustainable expansion. In other words, the private sector needs to create millions of jobs.

The government’s policies have failed, however, to drive hiring. Despite some changes, onerous regulations and bureaucracy stifle businesses’ operations. Simply put, a small company has little incentive to hire on a scale that could dent India’s unemployment figures.

“India has a jobs problem,” Soz said. “And then, when you look at the future, as technological changes are taking place, what experts are worried about is there might be a hollowing out of jobs, perhaps at the low- and medium-skilled levels.”

A government jobs report that was withheld from public release but leaked to the media in March showed that the unemployment rate is at a four-decade high, and that the total workforce actually shrank for the first time since the 1990s. An independent economic-research institute said that 11 million jobs were lost last year. These are hardly figures that a sitting government will want to campaign with. Yet Modi remains popular and is expected to be easily reelected, partly because of a fractured political opposition and partly because progress, while glacial in pace, is palpable. Prosperity in areas of the country is evident. College graduates may be underemployed, but they have jobs—just not the ones they want.

Iqbal was luckier than most. After being unemployed for more than a year, he now teaches history at a newly established private university in the south of the country. Whether his path reflects that of other young Indians is unclear. Their fate hinges on the implementation of good government policies. If Modi wins, little indicates that he will shift gears in his next term. Even if he does, India’s employment sector will take years to fix.

“You have to create a million jobs a month,” Dhume, of the American Enterprise Institute, told me, before you can refer to India’s youth as a potential demographic dividend—when the share of a country’s working-age population outstrips those who are not of working age. “There’s a very real prospect that this will be a demographic disaster. We just have to own up to that.”

The post Narendra Modi’s Election Challenge: Create Jobs. Lots of Them. appeared first on .

The post Narendra Modi’s Election Challenge: Create Jobs. Lots of Them. appeared first on .

from WordPress http://www.richmeganews.com/narendra-modis-election-challenge-create-jobs-lots-of-them/

[surlaterre-blog1]

on rejection

It’s safe to say rejection has played a major role in my life. I was grateful to discover Lysa Terkeust’s book “Uninvited” which addressed this topic in-depth from a Christian perspective. My biggest takeaway message? People are people, and people are fallen, and fallen people will disappoint you — often, that looks like rejection. It’s not God’s will for us that we are hurt or rejected, but the fullness of His love enables us to forgive, heal, and be free of the desire to find love and acceptance in fallen people.

It sounds nice on paper. I couldn’t put the book down. I frantically scribbled quote after quote into my journal so I could keep pieces of Lysa’s wisdom close to my heart even after the book found its way back to its library home.

Today I found myself thinking about a past rejection. The situation was this: I had decided to run for president of my sorority. I hadn’t even considered the possibility until the previous president approached me and stated that she thought I could be a good fit. I met with her and discussed the responsibilities and I felt totally prepared. The slating committee met, and I was slated for the position. I had not even known that another girl had written a letter of intent, until the night of elections when nominations were taken from the floor. Suddenly I had competition. The girl who had nominated my opponent threw a highly unfair, one-sided question into the interview, which I of course stumbled over. That was humiliating enough but I hoped that I had still done well enough for the girls to trust me with the president role. I had already been favored by the slating committee — I felt like I had already been chosen and prepared. But when we were called back into the room after voting, my name was not the one read. 

It felt like that girl with the unfair question had deliberately wanted to see me fail.

It felt like an entire room of people had turned their back on me within five minutes.

It felt like the recurrent theme of my life: Someone else is better. You are not enough.

This was certainly not the first time in my life I had faced rejection. Also, it was three and a half years ago, so I assure you it is not the most recent time I’ve faced rejection, either. I do not know why this scenario that I haven’t thought about in years suddenly was causing intense emotion today. Especially after just reading about a book that was supposed to give me all the answers to getting over rejection! (Please sense my tongue-in-cheek tone, here.)

What I’ve come to believe since this morning is something that Lysa actually does touch on in “Uninvited” — the fact that the enemy is all too eager to use our hurt and let it breed bitterness towards another Child of God. I tend to get quite uncomfortable when Christans begin talking about “the enemy” in a super spiritual way, but there is hard truth here that we shouldn’t avoid discussing because it makes us uncomfortable. The world is fallen, things are not how they should be, and it takes a lot of grace and repentance to not indulge our sinful nature. Yes, I have an enemy. But it’s not either of the girls in this story. And it’s not the boys who “ghosted” me in high school. And it’s not the guy who was chosen for a scholarship over me. And it’s not my fiance’s exes. It’s not the girls who blatantly told me I was not welcome in their study group. Not the wedding vendors who have heard my budget and stopped replying to my emails. Not the coworkers who roll their eyes when I ask yet another question about where to find something.

Some of those situations may seem minor but they have all caused hurt. And my flesh would like me to believe these people are my enemy.  Of course. This turns my attention from the real enemy, the common enemy that all of Creation shares. The spirit that likes to see relationships broken, hearts bitter and hardened, words sharp and unforgiving. Only grace, only God, can enable my heart toward forgiveness by reminding me that the love (and approval, to be more honest) I crave from fallen people is fickle and unsatisfying. When I chase this love I will always be chasing more... how can I be more impressive, how can I accomplish more, how can I be more fun to be around, how can I be so that you will love me? Do you love me yet?

“Our hearts are restless until they find rest in you.”

The Love I need, the Love that will satisfy, is steadfast and ever-present, and I can’t do anything to gain or lose it.

I think the beautiful part of all of this is that God doesn’t say “relationships don’t matter.” I believe we were created for community. I believe God desires all of His children to have unity in His Kingdom. He doesn’t say, “This person hurt you, forget about them.” Our relationships with people MATTER, and matter heavily. They can be life-giving when done right. And they can be hurtful if done wrong (again, fallen people). To feel hurt is not wrong, it is expected. But knowing the fullness of God’s love gives us the proper vantage point from which to view our relationships with everyone else. Their rejection is not what defines us. 

We are already loved and loved fully. 

[silkecorbin5408-blog]

Affiliated Home kitchen Cravings For Modification.

Cravings is looking for a Vital Buddy to assist support the evaluation and boost from the Cravings program. This year she has focused on learning how to golf (which is not an effortless feat) and also devote a great deal of her free time running and dashing in local competitions for fun Danielle is the initial female flexible sportsmen to ride every kilometer from CAF's 628 mile Thousand Dollar Problem. Once more this can differ coming from one person to another and some athletes are disciplined as well as can easily manage even more research right now as well as some certainly not so much. Along with each athlete's method to physical body servicing participating in an essential task in their effectiveness, this pleads the concern: are todays sportsmens centering way too much on sport-specificity and also failing to incorporate enough basic action skills and off-season conditioning to prepare them for the tension of performing the area every sector of every video game. Since these parts simulate pillows under the superior dermis, as the levels minimize, our skins could tackle a much more deflated appeal. My strategy lies inside the CrossFit partner that my other half and I own thus I have constant access to athletes of differing styles. If a sportsmen sends out the return-from-retirement statement through e-mail, the statement has to arise from an email handle that the professional athlete has on report along with USADA. All information is aimed for your basic expertise just and also is actually certainly not a replacement for clinical insight or procedure for specific clinical health conditions. He participated in the Hunger For Modification staff in 2013 and also delivers a welcomed electricity to the association. But I've acquired one more pair of full weeks or so till it's opportunity to choose what to take and what to leave coming from this knowledge, as well as that understands exactly how I'll alter during that opportunity. Teaching professional athletes concerning the why behind the process offered can easily act as a highly effective inspirational tool and also could essentially help professional athletes end up being autonomous freestylers when that concerns learning about ways to maintain their equipments healthy and balanced. When that transformeded into all cash prize as opposed to appeal funds, I took a significant slice. For instance, if I am actually making use of a soft tissue technique on the professional athlete during a therapy session I'll permit all of them know that they must think that sluggish shed when they address themselves too. Learn more about the whereabouts course as well as the professional athlete accountability to provide information.

Additionally, some research advises that stress bodily hormones could create our company more likely to hold extra calories as belly body fat therefore yoga exercise, meditation or other methods to battle worry may assist you trim your middle. I never just liked spinach, yet as a vegetarian often you must force on your own to learn how to like the foods items you detest, or else you possess no selection however to shrivel up as an undesirable bean or return to the meat. If you liked this information and you would certainly like to get more facts pertaining to http://stoheartz.info/ling-fluent-como-una-manera-rapida-y-facil-de-ensenar-las-lenguas-extranjeras/ kindly browse through the web-page. Dr. Fleming is a distinctly capable physician as well as a possession to The Appeal Center from Newport Beach. These companies perform certainly not maintain, make use of, shop or even allotment personally recognizable relevant information for any type of secondary objectives. Klean Athlete ®, a series from NSF Certified for Sport ® dietary supplements designed to sustain a healthy and balanced lifestyle and also advertise peak performance, is honored to reveal its 2015 Klean Crew U.S.A Ambassador Athletes. However, for me, the rules I consume by aren't just because from honest concepts and also the regulations that stem from those concept; I today don't even photo meat as meals, as well as the idea of consuming meat creates me a bit upset (and I utilized to like pork). This should be actually a fantastic debut and we will love to find you guys there certainly for a social date evening! Under our multi-month memberships, sportsmens possess the capability to manual lessons that accommodate absolute best along with their routine. I suggest actual meaning/value certainly not since I should or even shouldn't." You create that feel like a target to transform your lifestyle. I got his books since he's an endurance sportsmen as well as I wished to know his tips. As well as if cutting edge ice hockey instruction isn't your factor, just get on the Production II Super Treadmill Brought up as well as decreased hydraulically, these tricked-out treadmills are made in order to help sportsmens enhance their speed (28 mph sprints or 40 percent incline mountains, anyone?) while lowering force at the leg upon feet strike. Huma has attested in United States Congressional hearings as well as instructions, condition law-makers, and also in lawful matters in support of better defenses for university sportsmens. The alliance will definitely put Klean Professional athlete and also its own items in front of MLB gamers and with any luck provide create to stay free from taking in foodstuff that may place their jobs in jeopardy. Presently I am actually dealing with a selection from elite professional athletes through the location that I operate within (MSC Functionality). And also Forks Over actually influenced my dietary selections) as well as reduced and observe ... there was actually No Meat product Sportsmen with a marathon instruction plan for vegetarians ... lucky me! She is a Regional Supervisor for the company BIRTHFIT, and functions primarily along with postpartum and also pregnant women and also athletes in her personal practice. Nyc Area's Cravings for Seduction is actually proud to celebrate the LGBT community and also gay marital relationship, during the course of Gay Pride and also daily. Luke has actually mentioned the requirement for better procedure of college athletes in each TV as well as printing media, and also remains to offer on the NCPA Players Authorities. ConnectedHealth in Wexford, Pennsylvania to supply brand new highly developed Athletic Republic Pittsburgh sporting activities performance training center in Pittsburgh, created to aid professional athletes improve in specific sports, compete at high degrees as well as protect against personal injuries. All of my life, especially recently, every try I had actually helped make to modify my behaviors had actually been actually an impressive one. In some circumstances, an athlete might possess a health problems or even disorder that requires making use of medicine specified on the World Anti-Doping Company's Prohibited Listing. Athlete Recuperation Fund Purpose Statement: To offer specialist athletes in BMX, FMX and also Skating board with financial backing after an intense trauma and granting funds for recovery, tools, long-lasting special needs and also instructional scholarships. 3rd party marketers could utilize web signs in their ads on Hunger internet sites.