History is about change. It is the subject that contributes the most to the broadening out of the imagination. One of the purposes of the study of history is to help students transcend their own immediate experience and gain an understanding about how humanity has evolved and developed. It is ironic that when there is
The Tree Tale
Hi, I am a Chestnut tree. For many decades, I have been standing here. I have witnessed many changes around me, but what has not changed is the way we have been caring about others. I still remember the words of the biology teacher at the school, “Children! You just cannot imagine how much potential
Being normal
What do we mean by being normal? Does it mean being acceptable in society? Perhaps. And who by the way, composes the society? The Normal people. Who decides what’s acceptable? The Normal people. Heard about normalization? The simple term ‘normalization’ refers to adjustments made with intention of bringing entire probability distributions to a common scale.
The strong maybe
Barely a year ago, I hypothesized, “I have seen mundanities which make men act so crazy – wine and women, another maybe power. I have seen mundanities which make women act so crazy – money and women, another maybe power.” I made this hypothesis despite that then I was not an expert in history, politics,
Grandma and Her Secrets
Silence. I tapped my fingers on the countr. It was a very old make: barely floating above the ground. Shifting on my seat, I cleared my throat, breaking my Grandma from her stare. Why was she so entranced by this one? “Sorry Pips, I didn’t mean to stare that long,” she said. But she still
Normal Is The New Skinny
I have curly hair. Thick, copper, unruly hair. Every morning I pause before checking myself out in the mirror, because for some reason I think that this morning I won’t have the pouf sitting atop my head, and that my hair will resemble that of Doris Day’s. However silly this practice may be, I find
Expression through Henna
Henna is a way to express your inner voice; your personality. Although henna is often used for medicinal purposes, its main purpose is that of artistic expression. Henna is a sign of a person’s inner sun. It illuminates the brightness and hope that is in a person’s soul and prominently displays it to the world.
Personality and power
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” – Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was certainly right when he said those words. The test of a man’s or a woman’s character is power. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. So goes the saying. Power can seduce
Beat the fear
Brave like a girl; Stand for something – phrases that crossed my mind as I saw the picture. Simultaneously, I wanted to come up with my own description of this picture: No matter how big is the obstacle, don’t let the fear make you accept your defeat. Now the question is what one sees in
The Role of Education: A Counselor’s Perspective
Although death and taxes are said to be the only two certainties in life, there is a third. One question will always challenge students entering college: Should they they get a general liberal arts education or focus on majors which could lead to a well-paying career? Shakespeare and drama? Monet and art appreciation? Or perhaps
Can We All Be Different Together?
“Nobody realises that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.” – Camus. It’s a terrific quote from Camus, isn’t it? Philosophical, sympathetic, even mournful. It’s loaded with potential debate on whether individual citizens could ever agree on a clear definition of “normal”, or if the result would be a worthy goal. Either way,
Examining education
“Should the role of education be to prepare students for working life, or to broaden their mind?” An optimistic reader will likely suggest one immediate response to this starchy inquiry: can education not do both? This essay will indeed argue that the two aims mentioned are not mutually exclusive, and can be achieved in parallel
Navigating normal
Normal. Six little letters with a differing definition entirely dependent on who you are and where you come from. Am I normal if I fit in or am I normal if I don’t stand out, and does the subtle difference matter anyway? Normal may equal unnoticeable, which to me projects a sense of neither fitting
Orca’s Adventure
My parents said I first saw daylight (more like ocean light) in an ocean near the Arctic. Excuse me as I’m not very familiar with the ocean names, you, humans call it. That’s all I ever heard them say but since then it has been quite an adventure. I am an Orca but I wouldn’t
Powerful beyond measure
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And more important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” – Steve Jobs We all at some point look in the mirror and can’t help but admire how beautiful we are. It is the same for me. In front of
Thoughts and choice
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And more important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” This is a quote from Steve Jobs, Apple visionary. Let me delve deeper into his words. What I write here is strictly what I think and feel. In life, we
The journey of a thousand miles
“When you want to succeed as badly as you want to breathe, then you will be successful. Nothing will hinder you from attaining your set goals. Only you can change your own life. Nobody can do it for you.” Tina believed every single word in these few sentences, and lived her life keeping in mind
The longshore drift of life
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And more important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” – Steve Jobs “You will be wounded many times in your life. You will make mistakes. Some people will call them failures, but I have learnt that failure is really
The power of self-belief
“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And more important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” – Steve Jobs What others say are just opinions, unless you decide to make them facts. In one village, there lived the most beautiful princess in the whole world. When
From Weinstein to O’Reilly, Ghomeshi to Trump: What are we teaching our men?
Though sexual harassment and assault is nothing new, recent cases with increased visibility beg the broader question of how our society is teaching men to treat women. This past week, talented – and admittedly beloved – film mogul Harvey Weinstein joined the ranks of Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly, Bill Cosby, and other men of power