Wednesday, March 9, 2011

When the People Lead, the Leaders Will Follow

"When the people lead, the leaders will follow." - Mahatma Gandhi

"I am a third-year undergraduate, passionate to address health disparities between developing & developed nations. This quote resonates with me because sometimes I am frustrated with the stagnation from the side global leaders in alleviating these disparities & eager to take matters into my own hands. This summer, I will be establishing an eye clinic in rural India to address a global health issue I have invested myself in: visual impairment. I hope the clinic will restore eyesight to thousands of people who otherwise would not have access to eye care. But now I wonder: am I the "people" or the "leader"? -Malini Veerappan

In response to Malini's question, I feel that people want to be that group of "people." They want to be that "leader" who will fight for what they believe & try to better our civilization & the human race. But excuses prohibit them from chasing their potential passion: "I can't miss work," "I don't have the time or energy," etc. If you have the true desire to help another person or animal for that matter, you will. Malini, for example, will be that type of person to make a difference for so many people. Are you up for the challenge to make a difference? Are you willing to immerse yourself completely & chase after a cause that you are passionate about? Take risks, be motivated, & lastly, passionately lead for the better.


Source for quote

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Useless Ads

So I'm online downloading new music & stumbled upon (no reference to the actual site, which if I might say is the best thing to keep a bored person busy. I'm speaking off experience) an advertisement that showed an ENORMOUS spider with the title "Australian man-eating spider: real or fake?" I love Australia & aside from the Real World season that completely turned me off, I love the place. I would love to visit Australia, but there is no way l am going to a place where creatures can devour me. So I use the second greatest invention after Facebook, Google, to look up this man-eating spider. I get a huge amount of spider pictures that live in Australia that are dangerous but don't eat humans, which annoys me.

So I’m angry at the misleading advertisements that just take up space on a website. I understand that someone has to pay for the site but goodness gracious, can’t it be a legit sponsor! That’s all I’m asking for. It doesn't just happen online, it happens on TV, the radio, & billboards. You can call me naive for wanting things to be perfect but all I’m saying is I don't want to be misled & completely annoyed. It really irks me when something sparks my interest & happens to be fake. & even though every other creature in Australia actually does have the potential to kill me, I’m still down for the trip for some rich Australian accents & kangaroos.

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13

Saturday, March 5, 2011

30 Habits that will Change your Life

-Exercise 30 minutes every day. Especially if you don’t do much movement while working, it’s essential that you get some daily exercise. 30 minutes every day are the minimum recommended for optimal health.
-Eat breakfast every day. Breakfast is the more important meal of the day, yet so many people skip it. Personally, I like to eat a couple of toasts in the morning along with a fruit beverage.
-Sleep 8 hours. Sleep deprivation is never a good idea. You may think that you are gaining time by sleeping less, when in reality you are only gaining stress & tiredness. 8 hours is a good number of hours for most people, along with an optional 20 minutes nap after lunch.
-Avoid snacking between meals. Snacking between meals is the best way to gain weight. If you are hungry, eat something concrete. Otherwise don’t. Update: for clarification, I mean don’t eat junk food between meals, but eating real food it’s ok.
-Eat five portions of fruits & vegetables every day. Our body & brain loves getting vegetables & fruit, so I highly recommend eating as much of them as possible. Five portions are the dose that’s usually recommended by many health associations.
-Eat fish. Fish is rich in omega 3 & other healthy elements. At least one meal per week of fish should be enough for getting all these nutrients.
Drink one glass of water when you wake up. When you wake up, your body is dehydrated & needs liquid. Make the habit of drinking one glass of water after you wake up in the morning. Also, drink more during the day.
-Avoid soda. Soda is often one of the most unhealthy beverages you can find. Limit your consumption of soda as much as possible & your body will be grateful for that.
Keep your body clean. I don’t advise spending your day in front of the mirror, but a minimum of personal care does never hurt.
-If you smoke, stop it. There’s no reason to smoke anymore, & quitting is possible.
-If you drink, stop it. Same as above. Don’t think that alcohol will solve your problems. It never does. The only exception is one glass of wine per day during meals.
-Take the stairs. This is just a hack that forces you to do a minimum of exercise. Instead of taking the elevator, take the stairs.

Productivity habits

-Use an inbox system. Make the habit of keeping track of all the ideas & things that come to mind. You can use a notebook to do this, & then sync everything on your computer.
-Prioritize. If you have a list of things to do, where do you start? One way is to prioritize your list. If you are in doubt, ask yourself: “If I could only accomplish one thing today, what would it be?”
-Plan, but not too much. Planning is important, & you should decide in advance what you are going to do today or this week. However, planning for more than a few weeks is usually inefficient, so I would not worry too much about that.
-Wake up early. Waking up early in the morning is a great way to gain extra time. I personally like to wake up at 5 am, so that by 9 am I have already accomplished what otherwise would have taken me many days.
-Check your email only twice per day. Email can easily become an addiction, but it’s usually unnecessary to check it every 10 minutes. Make an effort & check your email only once or twice per day, see if the world will still rotate as before after you try this.
-Eliminate unimportant tasks. Being busy all day does not mean you are doing important stuff. ---Eliminate every activity that’s not important & focus on what really matters.
-Clean off your desk & room. Having a clean room & desk is important to maintain focus & creativity.
-Automate. There are a lot of tasks that you need to perform every day or every week. Try to automate them as much as possible.
-Set strict deadlines. When you do something, decide in advance when you’re going to stop. ------There’s a rule that states that you will fulfill all the time you have available for completing a task, so make a habit of setting strict deadlines for maximizing your productivity.
-Take one day off per week. Instead of working every day, take one day off per week (for example Sunday) where you are not going to turn on your computer. Use that time for doing recreational activities like going for a walk.

Personal Development Habits

-Read 1 book per week. Reading is a good way to keep your brain active. With just 30 minutes per day, you should be able to read one book per week or more than 50 books per year.
-Solve puzzles. Quizzes, word games, etc. are all good ways to exercise your brain.
-Think positively. You are what you think, all the time.
-Make fast decisions. Instead of thinking for one hour wherever you are going to do something, make your decisions as fast as possible (usually less than 1 minute).
-Wait before buying. Waiting 48 hours before buying anything is a tremendous money saver, try it.
-Meditate 30 minutes per day. A great way to gain clearness & peace is through meditation. 30 minutes are not a lot, but enough to get you started with meditation.

Career habits

-Start a blog. Blogging is one of the best ways to put your word out. It doesn’t have to be around a specific topic, even a personal blog will do.
-Build a portfolio. If your job is creating stuff, building a portfolio is a great way to show what you are capable of. You can also contribute stuff for free if that applies to your work.

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13

NARAL Pro-Choice America + Planned Parenthood

Just to make it clear, I am pro-choice. I feel that a woman has the right to do what she wishes with her body & to make that decision. I do not, however, think it is okay to keep having the same mistake. Abortion is a tough pill to swallow, which is why women should take the necessary precautions in protecting oneself. Planned Parenthood can help protect oneself & help when accidents do happen.

I feel that it is a disgrace that the government is cutting the funding to keep Planned Parenthood alive & it should be stopped. Planned Parenthood offers pregnancy tests, various birth control contraceptives, gynecological services, & much more. Please help stop this disaster from happening & take a stand. Go to prochoiceamerica.org & sign the petition. I thank you in advance for standing up for women's rights.

Until next time... ciao 💗

Follow me on Instagram: @arielview13