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Category: Advice

  • 3 Surefire Tips for Smart Volunteering

    3 Surefire Tips for Smart Volunteering

    These days, if you wish to get your foot in the door of prestigious colleges and universities and high-profile companies, you need more than a remarkably written application letter and a well-rounded personality to seal the deal and get ahead of the competition. You need to make yourself stand out from the rest of the crop. One good way to do that is to include your volunteer experience in your applications, and more often than not, doing so is an effective way to grab the deans’ or prospective employers’ attention.

    However, if you want to volunteer, always remember that it’s about the people or organization you lend a hand to—not about you. So while it’s good to know that volunteering is adding a feather to your cap, don’t forget to have your heart and mind in the right place. Below are tips for smart volunteering.

    Do an extensive research.

    A wide range of volunteer opportunities exist, but to come up with a substantial list, prepare to do an extensive research. Look in your local papers, community or church newsletters, and websites like Volunteer.ca and Cadip.org. Don’t underestimate other sources, however. Your family, friends, and neighbours may also have good recommendations.

    Find a cause that you are passionate about.

    Once you’ve done your research, chances are, you will have a long list of options, and it can be overwhelming to narrow down your choices, but don’t draw names out of a hat! It all boils down to knowing what issues or causes you care about.

    For example, if you are passionate about animal companions, offer to help shelters in your community. If you feel strongly about environmental causes, submit your volunteer applications to the organizations that promote awareness of environmental issues through tree-planting activities, park or beach clean-ups, recycling campaigns, and the like. If you have a soft spot for the senior members in your community, join organizations that provide meals and transportation for the elderly. Volunteering for organizations with beliefs that are in line with your own means you are likely to give your all, and that is the most important thing.

    Plan your schedule.

    You can volunteer for as many organizations as you like, but remember not to overstretch yourself. Volunteering can be an exciting experience, especially when you begin to see the fruits of your efforts, such as forming friendships with the people you help out and receiving words of appreciation from them, but do not overcommit. The last thing you want is to renege on your promise to help out. As such, if organizations are planning for a big event, such as a pet adoption day at the neighbourhood park, double-check your schedule before you specify a volunteer shift. Remember that volunteer heads have a lot on their plate, and if you agree to a date or time that your schedule don’t really allow, the heads would be forced to move schedules around and rethink their plans as well.

    Take note of the three tips above, and you will be on your way to make volunteering a worthwhile learning experience. After all, it’s a chance to give back to your community. That’s a worthy enough reason to do things right. Good luck!

  • The Benefits of Keeping a Journal

    If you are looking for a new activity to engage in this summer, consider starting a journal. Keeping a personal journal is a great way to create a reminder of all your summertime fun. By creating a journal, you can look back on all the memories you made with friends and family during the summer.

    Whether your summer will be jam-packed with travel and adventure or laid-back with hobbies and family, a journal is a great place to write about what you’re doing, thinking, and feeling. You can even include mementos of your experiences, such as photos and drawings, or keepsakes like the ticket stub from an event or a pressed leaf from a camping trip. You can look back through your summer journal whenever you want to remind yourself of the fun you had, or take it and share with trusted friends.

    But don’t just do a journal for the summer – keep it going! Having a private place to express your personal thoughts and feelings, whether they are happy ones or sad ones, is great for your mental health by letting you “get it all out”. This will help you work through your thoughts and feelings about the events going on in your life, so that you can understand yourself and the situation better.

    You can also use your journal to get a great self-esteem boost. By recording the great things that happen to you, and the successful things you do or participate in, you will remind yourself how unique and talented you are. Then you can look back through your journal for motivation, to remind yourself how good you felt at achieving your goals, or just to cheer yourself up when you’re having a bad day.

    Lastly, keeping a regular journal will help increase your creativity just by giving you somewhere to practice your thinking, writing, and communication skills. Whether you engage in other creative hobbies or not, the ability to think creatively and communicate clearly will serve you through your entire life.

    You can keep a journal in many different ways, so try various methods until you find one that works best for you. The most common is a paper notebook or hardbound journal and pen, great for those who like the feeling of a pen and paper, and feel connected to their words when they write things by hand. If you prefer technology, it is easy to keep a journal in a text document on your computer, or there are many mobile apps to help you keep a journal on your phone or tablet device. Just remember to keep it simple – the benefit is from the writing, not the medium or technology used to hold your thoughts.

  • The Importance of Role Models

    The Importance of Role Models

    The term role model gets thrown around a lot. Celebrities are usually considered role models, based simply on their status in society. But what does the term really mean and what does it take to be a good role model?

    Role models are people others want to imitate; someone who is admired and who others want to be like. A good role model should help you get motivated. They should help you develop the skills and abilities necessary to succeed in your chosen field (sports, arts, business, sciences, politics etc.).

    They can be famous or notable people or someone you know from your daily life, like a teacher, coach, parent or friend. Anyone who inspires you to be the best person you can be could be considered a good role model.

    It is important to have people to look-up to. They can help you make important decisions that will impact the rest of your life; like whether or not to continue your education or what career path to take.

    Role models can help show you how to live. They can help guide you in making good decisions, and can teach you the importance of hard work, self-confidence and how to become a productive member of society. Looking up to a successful person will help make you successful. Seeing how someone else accomplished their goals provides a path for you to do the same.

    An example of a good role model could be Mala Yousafzai. She is a 17 year-old activist from Mingora, Pakistan. In 2012 she defied the Taliban by insisting girls be allowed to receive an education. For speaking out for women’s rights and standing up for her beliefs she was shot on her way home from school. She survived and continued her fight. In 2014, she was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and won, making her the youngest recipient of the award in history. Mala took a tragic event and turned it into awareness. Her ability to stick to her beliefs in the face of overwhelming obstacles shows a confidence and resilience that is admirable, making her someone to look up to.

    Whatever your interests or whoever you choose to be your role model, make sure they have a few of the following traits:

    • Confidence
    • Leadership
    • Respectful
    • Knowledgeable
    • Empathetic
    • Passionate
    • Humility
    • Charitable
    • Moral
    • Hardworking

    But remember, even though it’s good to have someone to aspire to, it is just as important to be you. Don’t become someone else. You are meant to be your own unique person. Don’t loose that.

  • Working in a Team and Managing Your Productivity

    Working in a Team and Managing Your Productivity

    Teamwork is a necessary skill. From group projects in elementary school to large-scale operations in the workforce, it is extremely likely that you are going to find yourself in team situations various times throughout your education and career.
    That doesn’t mean it’s easy to work in a team. Sometimes it may seem easier to work on your own. If you have ever had uncooperative group members, you know exactly what that refers to. Instead of having to deal with people who start conflict or don’t pull their weight, it can actually be easier to take on all the work yourself. The problem is that in reality, this won’t always hold up; especially in a professional situation, you certainly don’t want to come across as uncooperative yourself.

    The true benefit of teamwork is the fact that when it does work, the end product can turn out much better than it would have had you worked alone. It makes sense: a group consists of individual workers, each with their own talents, capabilities, and creative ideas to share. It is a relief to know that you don’t have to be responsible for absolutely everything, but instead can focus on what you do best. If your group members are compatible—or if they learn how to work around one another’s faults—you can help each other achieve excellent results.

    It is not enough for individual team members to be strong, if the group itself leaves something to be desired. Effective teamwork is therefore a valuable skill that must be cultivated. It is important to learn how to cooperate in pursuit of a shared goal. If you learn to work together, you will pull through together, and you can consequently reap the rewards.

    Here are three tips for making teamwork work for you:

    Know your strengths—and those of others. Before you start working together, do a makeshift skills assessment to see what certain group members do best. You can keep this in mind when splitting up the work.

    Communicate. Know where you’re at during every step of the process. This is even easier if you make use of technological tools—online document sharing services like Google Docs, as well as social media groups and messaging, can be lifesavers.

    Be fair but firm. If someone isn’t pulling their weight, hear them out before you cut them out. There might be extenuating circumstances, and they might still wish to contribute in another capacity. However, don’t let anyone get away with coasting and taking credit for the hard work of the rest of the group.

  • The Competitive Nature of Scholarships: Some Tips on How to Deal

    The Competitive Nature of Scholarships: Some Tips on How to Deal

    When you hear the word “scholarships”, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Money? Reward? Work? How about competition? Some scholarships you don’t need to compete against others, but most of the time, you do. That can be an intimidating thought. There are many different types of scholarships out there. Some are related to sports, academia, the arts, and social activism. Applying for a scholarship in any case is a time to show your best self, proving that you are a worthy candidate for the goods in store. This means going above and beyond your usual work ethic.

    If you are applying for sports scholarships, you may already have that natural competitive nature about you-this is a good thing. Scholarship applications can be time consuming and stressful. Scholarship interviews are even more taxing. You can think of it as being interviewed for a job, and there are tons of other people wanting that same job, too.

    The bottom line when it comes to applying for scholarships is that you can only do the best you can, and also hope for the best result. Don’t give yourself more anxiety than you have to- this might hinder your chances.

    Basic tips and things to remember:

    • Make sure you give yourself LOTS of time to fill out the application form. This way, if you think of something more you want/need to add to the application, you will have enough time to do it.
    • Make sure you have a few other people in your circle check out your application form, making sure everything is in the right place. One small mistake could cost you the scholarship.
    • Think out of the box. Some scholarships call for more creativity than others, so don’t be afraid to inquire about the scholarship and see if you can add something a bit extra on your application, or present in your interview.
    • Practice your interview skills. If you will be meeting with the people giving the scholarship, make sure you are chilled-out and ready to blow them away. People can sense anxiety when someone walks in the room, so take deep breaths, do meditation or “leader posing” before you enter the room. This will make you feel strong!
    • If you are applying for a big scholarship that looks over your whole high-school or college history, make sure you examine or write down all your achievements and see what else you can improve on, before you apply. Adding to your curricular repertoire will always help you in the end. So, beef it up!
    • Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer.
    • Don’t tell anyone you are applying to a specific scholarship. This may be a bit secretive or sneaky, but as soon as you tell your friends or other students, they might apply themselves and you will be in direct competition with them. It is really up to you, but this is where that competitive thinking must come into play.

    Don’t let the competitive nature of scholarships scare you; let it fuel you! Bring out your fierce and dedicated nature and you might be surprised by the results. When you hear athletes speak about competing in the Olympics, you may notice that they never doubt themselves before their competition- they MUST win. Apply that attitude and you might just beat the competition and win your just reward.

  • Exercise Your Compassionate Nature through Volunteering this Summer

    Exercise Your Compassionate Nature through Volunteering this Summer

    No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks- You’re free! Summer is great time to let loose and shake off all the lingering anxiety of those dreaded tests, assignments and projects. However, the summer can’t only be about sunshine and lollipops. It can also be a time where you explore different sides of yourself because you have the time and space to do so. With this thought in mind, it is always good to embrace your giving, empathetic and more compassionate side. In order to get the most out of your summer, you can break your time down in to 3 categories: Work, play and volunteering. Volunteering can make you feel great, but the best part is that you are helping others. What happens when you help others in need? The world changes a little bit more for the better- and that is a beautiful thing!

    If you really want to make a difference in people’s lives this summer, you can. All it takes is a positive attitude and a willingness to give up some of your free time. There are volunteering positions that are full time and require travel and accommodations, but there are always part-time positions available, most likely in your own local area. You need to find and narrow down the right position for you. What subject matter do you feel passionate about? You don’t want to “get stuck” into doing volunteering for a cause you don’t even care about. There are many students/people that do volunteering work only because they think/know they have to, in order to fulfill guidelines for school or otherwise- this is the wrong approach. Exercising your compassionate nature through volunteering can increase your level of happiness, but most importantly, the happiness of the people you are helping.

    There are many different types of volunteering positions. They can range from stuffing envelopes for your local community newspaper, to helping out at a retirement home. In helping at a retirement home, you are really impacting the lives of people directly. When you are stuffing envelopes at your local community newspaper, you are more or less taking on a job that some of the staff members couldn’t fit into their schedule- there is a big difference, here. You can choose to do either one of these types of volunteering positions, but to become informed and make a lasting impact, I would choose the retirement home.

    Where you are 10 or 18 years of age, you should always exercise that more empathetic side of yourself; volunteering is one way to do it. Whatever you do this summer, be productive. Accomplish things. The carousel never stops turning and either should you.

    Listed below are some Volunteer options across Canada and Abroad for summer 2015:

    Therapeutic and social programs for elderly people in Vancouver, BC.

    Volunteering Abroad

    Volunteer with First Nations Communities in Alberta!

    Red Leaf Volunteer Programs in Canada

    Care & Rescue for Bears and other Canadian Wildlife

    Your Connection to Canada’s Volunteering Community

    Red Cross Volunteering

    Ontario Volunteering Options and Programs

    YMCA Volunteering- Toronto

     

  • Why Not Volunteer this Summer?

    Why Not Volunteer this Summer?

    Summer is here. School is almost done. The question on everyone’s mind: How will you spend your summer? If you are looking to get more out of your summer vacation, consider volunteering! You will learn new skills, gain great experience for work or school, and meet tons of new people. Volunteering is also a great way to learn something new that you’re curious about, but may not be familiar with. You might discover a new passion, or a future career. Deciding where to volunteer is tough. Most towns and cities have many volunteer options, and figuring out the best fit can be the hardest part. A good first step is to think about talents you have, activities you enjoy, or activities you are curious about but have never experienced. Then you can look for related volunteer opportunities. Ask yourself, “Am I interested in…”

    • Plants, Nature, or Gardening? Your local Horticultural Society may run projects such as community flower and vegetable gardens, or planting projects in public spaces.
    • Kids and Sports? Facilities such as the YMCA or Boys & Girls Club, and community youth sport leagues, often need helpers to assist with their programs and activities.
    • Kids and Books? Public libraries offer literacy and activity oriented summer programs for kids and youths, such as games, group story time, or buddy reading.
    • Working with Animals? Local animal shelters often need volunteers to assist with cleaning cages and socializing the animals.
    • Medicine or Working with the Elderly? Many hospitals and nursing homes operate programs for volunteers to visit with patients and residents, and engage them in activities like games, crafts, and exercises.
    • Arts and Culture? Summer is ripe with events and festivals that rely on volunteers, such as outdoor music festivals, artisan and craft fairs, or performance theatre events such as those run by the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals. Summer is also fan convention season, and many cons, such as FanExpo Canada, have volunteer opportunities for a few hours, all day, or all weekend.
    • Working with your hands? Habitat for Humanity and similar programs in your area are often most active in the summer months, and usually need extra hands when there are projects in progress.
    • Social Services and Non-Profit? Most Canadian cities have food banks, Goodwill and Salvation Army facilities, and a host of other community non-profit companies and programs, all of which rely on volunteers to support their efforts in your community.

    Of course, these are only a few of the options available. Regardless of what type of volunteering you find yourself interested in, the second step is always… Do Your Research! If the event or organization has a website, check to see if their volunteering needs are posted; if not, use the contact information to inquire. Make sure you learn what tasks will be required or assigned to you, if there are any age requirements or restrictions, and how much of a time commitment they will expect from you. Once you decide on your volunteer opportunity, step three is… HAVE FUN!

  • Why Do I Need Math Skills?

    Why Do I Need Math Skills?

    As you sit in yet another math class, you might be wondering

    “Exactly what am I going to use this for in real life?”

    Even if you have a handy calculator and Google in your phone, you are learning skills relevant in so many life situations.

    Work:

    • A Cashier making change
    • A business owner creating budgets, spreadsheets, doing taxes, applying for bank loans, analyzing yearly sales, tracking employee hours.
    • A professional sports team analyst that creates computer programs using logarithms to analyze the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. Buying and selling player contracts. Budgeting. Ticket sales and concessions.
    • An artist using programs that deal in pixels, artwork dimensions, focal lengths and composition rules.

    Fun:

    • Games that need addition and subtraction, money skills, or logic jumps.
    • Calculating how much your night out with friends will cost.
    • Splitting the taxi ride with friends, or the restaurant bill between people.
    • Estimating time, distance, cost. How long will it take to get somewhere, how much gas will it take, and how often will we need to stop?
    • Calculating the odds or probability in games of chance.

    Everything else:

    • Calculating a household budget.
    • Working out a loan for a car, or a mortgage.
    • Baking and cooking using measurements, time, and temperature.
    • Decorating your home, calculating how much carpet to buy, or how high to hang those pictures.
    • Saving for college, retirement, or another big expense.

    Now you may never pull out that advanced calculus graph ever again, and you will probably be ok to forget about imaginary numbers, but the logic and decision making skills you are building while learning these concepts in mathematics will help you make better decisions every day. Math really is universal.

  • Catching Z’s: Keeping Your Sleep Routines

    Catching Z’s: Keeping Your Sleep Routines

    Whether you have a set bedtime or just go to bed “whenever”, sleep is certainly an important part of your life. Getting rest is crucial for both your physical and mental well-being and helps you recharge for the morning ahead. Staying up late might be fun, but sometimes it’s not worth it to wake up groggy and miserable after watching too many movies into the wee hours of the morning.

    Have you ever considered how important it is to keep a regular sleep schedule? Your body runs on an internal 24-hour clock, called a circadian rhythm, which means it naturally gets used to doing things like sleeping according to the time of day (or the amount of light or darkness outside). If you’ve ever experienced jet lag, you’ll know how off-kilter you feel when your rhythm is thrown off: it’s totally unpleasant to be exhausted at noon and wide awake at midnight, just because you’re suddenly in another time zone.

    That means it’s important to keep your sleep rhythm regulated according to your own day, which includes going to bed around the same time every night, and waking up around the same time every morning. Chances are you already do something similar when you’re following your regular school schedule (and you just stay up later on Fridays and sleep in on weekend mornings). If you keep your sleep schedule on track, you won’t have any trouble feeling awake when you need it the most.

    Sleep is important at all stages of your life, especially during your time in elementary school. However, the stakes will be much greater when you’re cramming for high school exams, or writing big university papers, or trying to get up bright and early for your first job. To achieve all that you want to do in the coming years, you’re not only going to need a lot of energy, but you’re going to need it in regular and dependable bursts. In that way, cultivating your sleep patterns today can definitely help you out in the future—you’ll already be used to keeping yourself well rested and ready to go.

    To make sure you’re getting the most out of your rest, be proactive about your sleep habits. Set a 30-minute window for yourself in the morning and evening, and try to wake up and go to sleep within that time frame each night. You can even keep track of how many days you do this, and see if you feel better after some time on a regular sleep schedule. (In order to stick to your plan, it helps if you plan all your morning and evening activities around that window; e.g. you could brush your teeth around 10 minutes before lights out.)

    Finally, of course you can have a couple of late nights—sleepovers aren’t very fun when everyone has to be in bed by 9. Just make sure that waking up at noon doesn’t become a bad habit, and you’ll be good to go.

     

  • The Importance of Finding Peace Within

    The Importance of Finding Peace Within

    Finding peace within is sometimes a mysterious topic. One may often wonder what it even means within the hustle and bustle of daily life; is it possible? Can it ever be achieved? We are overloaded with a seemingly endless to do list and people to please. Being aware of not feeling at peace can be a motivation to find it again, and to overcome the challenges that are presented to us.

    The first question for overcoming the feeling of being ill at ease is to identify why you feel ill at ease. Perhaps your to do list has not been worked on and is becoming quite frightening, or perhaps the problem is with the to do list itself. Maybe the thought of everything on that list gives you no satisfaction at all. If the problem is that you have not done any work on your to do list in a long time, the solution may be very simple; break the list down into smaller steps. For example: If you have a presentation due on the topic of women’s rights in Canada, you might want to break the project down into doing an introduction on day 1, the body of the presentation on day 2, and the conclusion of the presentation on day 3. Doing this with the various items on your to do list will help to make things less scary, and more approachable.

    On the other hand, if your to do list is filled with things that are not rewarding, then you may need to conduct an evaluation of your goals and desired end results for your various pursuits. Sometimes we avoid doing work because we do not truly care anymore about the results. For example, if I want to get a high school diploma, I will go to class and do the homework and act generally respectful of those around me in order to facilitate my success. If you do not want a high school diploma anymore, you may consider dropping some of the items off your to do list. In this case, I would recommend speaking with a guidance counselor who may be able to re-light the motivation to complete the diploma. If you are knocking off things on your to do list, you are closer to achieving the goals you originally set out for yourself. The question is how you can regain a sense of inner peace amid seemingly random, negative emotions?

    There are many strategies for regaining peace within:

    • Take some time to reflect upon all of the things that you are grateful for.
    • Do some meditation or conduct concentrated moments of silence.
    • Talk with a friend about positive things in your life.
    • Get a little exercise to increase your brain’s natural feel good chemicals.
    • Do some yoga, or engage in an activity that makes you feel good.

    Finding peace within is something that is always in your control. You are always able to regain it; it just takes some investigating to find solutions that will work for you. Good luck!