Patience is probably one of the things I lack the most which is one of the very important traits that a leader should have. I believe that being the eldest child has made me the way I am. Being the eldest sibling comes with a lot of pros and cons, and has also been a huge reason for my short temper and lack of patience. I think my upbringing and home life have been a great factor in why I don't have much of it. I have grown up as the eldest sibling. Being the eldest gives you a lot of responsibility, but also a lot of freedom that my younger siblings do not have. Parenting my younger siblings, and just living with them in general, has affected my patience. Let's be honest, what older sibling has patience for their younger brother or sister? Not very many, but I know that I certainly do not. I try to work on being more patient every day, knowing that it's something I have to work on. To be a good leader you need to have patience, it's a must. I know that patience is something I have to work on based on how I react to certain situations. I notice that I tend to snap at my younger siblings when they upset me over something small and unimportant. Such as asking me to help them with a simple task or taking my things without asking me in advance. I need to change those habits because they can get me into trouble a lot of the time, which is something I obviously don't want, but is sometimes deserved based on my response. Those are just a couple of examples of many times that I will over react instead of responding in a patient and orderly manner. I hope to one day become a more patient person. I hope to learn to not over react as much as I do now. My grandpa is probably the most patient person I have ever met so I can try to learn from the best. He is a very selfless person and is always doing things for other people, no matter what. I will continue to look up to him in hopes of being as patient as he is one day. He is a gem. I have always been told to be patient and to wait for things, and hearing those words always made me feel more impatient. I would sit and tell myself to just be patient, but I then realized sitting there and thinking about it made me feel worse and more stressed out. I think this happened because I would be so incredibly focused on trying to be patient that it just started to upset me. Some things I have been trying to do to improve my patience is to not hyper fixate on things, I'm trying to “patiently” wait for. I also try my best to think before I speak, which prevents me from snapping or getting easily triggered by small things. Becoming a more patient person is definitely a difficult task but has gotten easier considering I have been more aware of it. If you can relate to having a difficult time being patient try not to focus so much on things and just let it happen naturally. I have realized over time that good things come from being patient. Yes it does sound a little cliché, but it's true.
Amelia H
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As a kid I was always told “Don't grow up too fast” and “Stay young for as long as you can.” I used to think it was totally cliche because all I wanted was to have more responsibility. I used to think about meeting the guy of my dreams, the fairy tale wedding, a house with a big yard for my kids to play in. Since then I’ve lost family members, friends and even parts of myself. I’ve had to grow up and face harsh realities. Life is like an hourglass, you have time and it’s slowly winding down and one day your time will be gone. Some people are given more sand than others so you have to make the most of what you get because you never know when it will run out. I've found myself stressing about the future and being scared to grow up. It's all I used to want to do but now that I'm closer to it I wish I could stay young forever and go back to when I didn't have anxiety and insecurities. It's not always bad to think and remember all your old memories but you can't stay stuck with them and keep living in the past like I have before. The present is special and you may not realize it until that moment has passed. Like Andy Bernard said “I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days, before you've actually left them.” Life goes by in the blink of an eye which is something I've realized. You have to live it to the fullest and make the most of your time while you're here. You also have to spend the limited time you have with the people you love like your friends and family. It may be scary but you have to take risks and put yourself out there. This is still something I'm working at, but compared to a year ago I've had so many more unforgettable moments in my life. Whether they were good or bad or I completely embarrassed myself, I wouldn't trade them for the world. They've made me who I am today. I'm looking forwards to the future and to living life to the fullest until all the sand in my hourglass is gone.
Anna S Recently I noticed how confusing our world is for me. Everyone tries to find at least a little orientation in their life. Some have less problems with that than others. But am I the only one who thinks that you either get influenced by the thoughts of others and accept to become as everyone else, or you try to do something special, but you´re still struggling if the decision, you´ve made, was the right one? I will dive into this more detailed later. Let me give you a little help to understand my questioning. When I had to represent it in a picture, what I define as a fast-living world, I would choose a picture which shows a scene in a big city. In this picture you can see many people on a sidewalk, and everyone has problems finding their way through the mass of people. There are some people who are wearing suits, they have their briefcases and probably a thermos cup, because they couldn´t finish their coffee at home. The people obviously try, to complete many tasks at one time. Maybe there is also a collision, happening between two people, because many of them are in such a rush. So, you can see the description as a metaphor for how I define a fast-living world. And it feels like a routine, which is created by each of us, just being one of many ways to survive in this world. But can that not be exhausting and boring sometimes? Shouldn´t we just live our life to the fullest, especially when we have such a short life, how everyone reminds me regularly? What does to ’’live our life to fullest’’ mean in my opinion? I assume that, because we´ve heard a couples of times, that we don’t have enough time to waste our lives, everyone tries to experience and to be in as many situations as possible. Perhaps also because we get the daily reminders how the time flies. And that’s probably why we´ve reached the point where no one really lives in the moment anymore, because we are in such a rush to see and to gather as much stories as we can think of. But because we´re so fast at living, sometimes we don’t even remember some of our life stages– I do that for sure. That doesn´t mean we should not attempt as much things as we want to, but maybe to do it with more awareness. To perceive how our environment looks like, which colors are surrounding us? What kind of smell does the air have? And many further things. The reason why I am writing a such specific and perhaps provocative blog, is because I learned that this kind of living doesn´t make me happy, but tired. It makes me unpleasant and ungrateful. As a result, I feel like I could become sick: That is why I wanted to change something. So, the questions which come up to our minds are: Although I am about to change something, where do I start? What can I do? On one side, I figured that out. Less social media, helps me to start my day with more awareness. To write in a diary: ’’what are ten things I am grateful for?’’. It directs the focus on positive thinking. However, for me the most important point is, to go out for a walk and just be with the nature. ’’Canada has the most beautiful trees during fall, which I’ve ever seen.’’ Nevertheless, I found myself in many situations where I wasn´t present at all. So, I still have the struggles in many moments, to focus on the people around me and not to hang on TikTok etc. while they`re with me. Somedays I am not even motivated to put any effort in my appearance. And that’s ok, that is totally normal. But for me it isn´t an excuse anymore not to work on that. To come back to one of my questions I asked in the first paragraph. I think there is no right or wrong in this world. I am not judging anyone else’s style of living. Everyone should figure out by themselves what makes them happy. I just thought the couple days that one can live with more awareness could help some of us. In my case, I am strongly convinced that it will help me, first to enjoy my life more and in addition to that: to find my strengths and interests in life and become a more successful leader.
Aimee E Almost everybody I have talked to has at least one specific way or thing that comforts them and touches deep to their soul, whether it’s; working out, food, music, hanging out with friends, spending time around animals, being alone, reading - really anything that takes their mind away to a different space. Music is my thing. I say to myself everyday (not to be dramatic) that if today were my last day, did I listen to good music? There is something about music that makes me feel like I am in the song, I can feel it in my bones and throughout my whole body, and to be completely honest, music heals me from this. If I ever get too deep into my head, get in an altercation, go through something emotional, I always fall back to my music. I will; crank the music in my shower, in the car, in my headphones, or in the house when I’m alone, and I just let the music do its magic. It works every time. I will dance, sing or just simply listen, even if it is only one song, I feel better. There is a study that the “Sleep Foundation” wrote, stating: “Several studies suggest that music enhances sleep because of its effects on the regulation of hormones, including the stress hormone cortisol. Being stressed and having elevated levels of cortisol can increase alertness and lead to poor sleep. Listening to music decreases levels of cortisol, which may explain why it helps put people at ease and release stress.” It is reassuring that music is actually scientifically proven to relieve stress. Music takes me back in time - there are certain songs that I associate with past memories, people and events. What I love about listening to these certain songs, is that it doesn’t make me dwell on the past, it makes me feel extremely thankful for how life has played out, even the bad times. Sam Cooke (the King of Soul) was an artist from the 1950’s and 1960’s, he is not only my favourite artist, but he is also my biggest role-model and inspiration. I am not putting this lightly when I say discovering his music changed my world. It opened up my mind, changed my perspectives and gave me a deeper understanding of this crazy world. If you love old music, here is a link to my playlist. Listening to music brings people together. Strangers, friends, families, partners, it has a way of uniting everyone. Singing along to you and your best friend's favourite song, howlin’ away at a classic song with your family, belting out “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas” on Christmas day - there is something very special about it. Even if nobody knows the lyrics or what the song is saying, there is always someone tapping their foot, humming along, dancing, or simply just listening to the song. A large amount of the music I listen to is in a different language, and I have absolutely no idea what the song is saying, but I can still always feel the music. You can really get to know someone based on their music. I truly believe that the music a person listens to, reflects who they are as a person. Many of my fondest memories involve music; sitting around the campfire with the speaker, shouting songs in the car, working with the music playing, dancing with my friends, singing with my grandma, it is such an influential part of my life. I really mean it from deep within me that it has a way of healing. Next time you are frustrated, sad, happy, excited (anything), play your number one favourite song, and see how you feel after.
Claire B I am dyslexic, for me this means I have a hard time spelling and a hard time doing simple math along with other things. I did not always know I had dyslexia, when I was in grade 3 I was diagnosed with having a learning difference. To kids my age that just meant i was different or in simpler terms i was dumb. When you are in grade 3 all you really do is add numbers and subtract them, you even start multiplying them and spelling tests are very frequent at a young age. When those things are the only real thing you learn it can be very challenging for a young kid who can not do those things very well. Things like quick math problems that get asked to you in front of the whole class where they can all see how long you take and how correct you are. I remember being in fourth grade when my teacher asked me a simple math problem in front of everyone, something like 8+5 and I could not do it inside my head so I started counting it out on my fingers and said my answer quite confidently to my teacher and the whole class my teacher then told me politely I was one off but “better luck next time”. I was already not feeling great when the boy next to me leaned over and told me i was stupid, I got up and left the room crying. Just then realizing I didn't fit it with my peers or at least I felt like I didn't. I managed my way through elementary school having an easier time as class got more complicated and things were less about the easy stuff. Half way through grade seven i was scheduled to get re-tested to update my IEP (individual education plan) to prepare for me to go into high school which stated I had a “learning difference” which really meant I learned differently from others. After my testing i was diagnosed with dyslexia, at the time i really didn't know what that meant but it seemed lots of others did especially teachers. When I finished getting tested the specialist who tested me recommended a high school that specializes in kids with learning differences and dyslexia. My mom looked into it and decided it would be a good fit for me for at least a year. She enrolled me for my first year of high school. After a year of going to a school where everyone was just like me, I learned strategies and ways to overcome challenges I faced on a daily basis. There was one strategy though that I still use to this day. I learned to advocate for myself. Advocating for yourself means speaking up, for example telling teachers you don't understand and asking for the help I really needed. I started to enjoy school again and it became easier and easier to navigate. After my 8th grade year me and my family decided it would be smart for me to transfer into SDSS a much larger school then my old one with a lot more freedom when it comes to learning. At SDSS it's really up to the person on whether you learn things in school or not. In a school as large as ours no one is there monitoring how you're doing and what problems you have in class, yes teachers can give you advice back but a teacher telling me to watch my spelling on assignments wasn't going to be very helpful. Throughout all of grade 9 I grew as a person by learning that I can do well in school. It just might be a bit harder. In grade 9 I worked hard in all my classes to achieve straight A’s and to be able to have my strategies block removed for grade 10 so I was able to take more electives. To this day i still can't do 6+7 in my head and i have to sing a song to remember how to spell ‘because’ but now i know i need to talk to my teachers at the start of every semester and tell them what i struggle with and what accommodations i need to succeed in class. I still get the strange looks from students in my class when i get handed the notes in class instead of having to right them like everyone else and when the math teacher asks me a quick math question that i have to count on my hands to be able to answer but now i know i'm not that different I just learn different.
Marin M Public speaking comes naturally to some people, but for others it can be extremely hard. It can be scary when you're in front of lots of people, especially if you dont know them well or at all and are expected to talk. It’s really common to have a fear of speaking in public which is mostly caused by anxiety, and worrying about what others think of you. When you start to feel anxious your body goes into the fight or flight response which can stop you from performing confidently and comfortably. For some people it goes deeper than that when they can even start to develop a fear of fear, where they are worrying about how their anxiety may affect their speaking. I've found talking in front of people hard for a long time. Since elementary school my report cards have all said Quinn needs to speak up more in class. I’ve tried working on it in a number of ways but the thing that helped me the most was acting classes. Acting was something that I never really thought about and was definitely out of my comfort zone. I tried it out last year to challenge myself to do something new and I was really nervous at first. But it was a group of people who were all there to learn something new and it felt safe. I kinda just had to get over my nervousness about it because we had to speak on camera, and pretend to be someone else every week. Overtime I got more comfortable talking in front of people and it was a lot easier to speak to people after that because I just had to be myself. There are many ways to improve your speaking skills, some being things like acting or public speaking classes. With classes like that you know that everyones there for the same reason so it's a safe space to make mistakes and get feedback. We have infinite resources on the internet making it easy to find help. I really liked this ted talk. I found it really helpful how he explained why you're nervous and what you can do to help your anxiety when you're speaking. Public speaking is an important skill and will help you alot in life so it's good to practice it . It can be harder for some people but there's so many sources to improve.
Quinn E This topic is both very relatable, and entirely unrelatable depending on how you view it. Everyone feels bad about themselves sometimes, but I’m unsure if someone can feel such a thing every waking moment. The loathing of every group photo with friends, the despair you feel when you accidentally open the self camera on your phone, the pit in your stomach walking by a reflective surface. Self loathing is a battle everyone gets in the ring with, but not everyone can land a hit against. “Smile!” your friends say as the sound you dread the most occurs, the clicking of a camera. Your picture was taken. Instead of looking at the image, you look around, why are none of them grimacing at the simple sight of themselves? Why don’t any of them plead “please don’t post that.” I give a random explanation, and they oblige, but you still feel bad. As you walk home, your mind races, “Do I always look like that? They have to look at that every day?” Is all you think about. You truly want these thoughts out of your head, all the songs on the radio, all the cartoons say everyone’s perfect just the way they are, then why don’t I feel like that? Why can’t I feel okay with how I look? “Ugh. He’s such a jerk. Why can’t I just date the right guy?” Your friend explains to the group sadly, you of course feel pity and comfort them, but an itch is at the back of your mind, “I’ll never feel that.” you shake it away, but it stays. They always get chances with people, why? What’s so different about me and them? Well for one they are actually interesting… He’s musically talented, she’s smart as they come, they have a crazy diverse skill set, the list goes on, But me? I guess I can be funny sometimes, but that’s all I have to offer. I’m the shallow end of the pool while they are the pacific ocean. I have nothing to offer in the dating world. They have tons of options, Why don't I feel like that? Why can’t I be okay with who I am? You may expect some happy ending to this little story, But this doesn’t have a happy ending. This level of self hatred is who I am, but it doesn’t define me. Whenever I feel thought’s like I’ve said, I remember all the people who look at me in the halls and wave. It isn’t everyone because cmon, I’m me. But I’ve helped people grow and become better. I’ve made positive changes and impacts on the people I’m near and I can never let myself forget that, Or it’ll be a round one knockout, And I’m not letting self hatred take me out without a fight.
Eyad Z |
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