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Riding Elephants, teaching English, meeting incredible people from all over the world, what doesn’t sound great about that?
Have you ever wanted to make a contribution to the world? Maybe it’s volunteering abroad and teaching English, where you can teach people from the elderly in Ecuador to as far as the Monks in Thailand. Perhaps teaching isn’t your thing so instead you would love to work with helping and saving animals? Or maybe you are simply just looking for an abroad program that allows you to work in different environments as long as you’re with great company? Whatever your preference may be, make sure you do an adequate amount of research on which program to go with. Taking the time to travel and embrace new cultures while giving back to the community is a great way to spend your time and learn about our world. After countless hours spent on researching which program would be best for me, I reached out to previous travelers to ask for their personal input on the final 3 programs I chose. Now I don’t know much about the other program so I’m not going to say much about them, just that they did not fit the criteria that I was looking for specifically. However, I can tell you that in deciding to go with Volunteering Solutions in the end, my eyes had opened-up immensely to the culturally enriching experience that I received. This passed summer I was able to experience each of those activities that I mentioned above (and more) by going on the Summer Thailand Program with Volunteering Solutions. Let me tell you- it was one incredible experience to say the least! This program allowed me to be able to travel throughout different parts of Thailand over the course of 1 month. In the time I was there, I was offered a cultural education and a valuable experience that I was about to take home with me and remember for the rest of my life. From the time that I stepped out of customs at the international airport in Bangkok to the bus drop off for the beach extension week, the program provides someone there for you at all times. In our first week during orientation we slept in a hostel in Khao San Road, which was a big backpacker street full of people just like us; just trying to see the world one culture at a time. From eating scorpions to the countless jokes and games to seeing Bats fly out of a cave at a National Park, this trip was quite unforgettable. There were about 16 of us travelers, most were college students and some were teachers (incase you wanted an additional education, haha). We taught children English in Buddhist temples, where not only were we teaching them but they were teaching us. We cut banana leaf trees in the outskirts of Bangkok to feed the elephants and got to experience the labor these locals go through each and every day. In the local village we would wake up each morning with elephants only a few feet away from us. We were taught to cook like the locals so we can feed ourselves. We even got to wake up at dawn one morning to give away extra food or drinks to the monks at sunrise and receive a prayer in return. This doesn’t even cover the trip to a National park or the weekend in Cambodia and everything in between. Not to mention that while doing all these enjoyable activities, different people and their own unique stories surrounded you. Each and every person had something to contribute to this group that made it an unforgettable experience in all the best ways possible. From the crazy bus rides to sharing sunsets on unimaginable beaches and next to elephants, you’re able to learn from one another while developing lasting friendships. So if and when you decide to travel to a new destination make sure you look at all aspects of the program such as the positives, negatives, what you’re contributing, what you are getting out of it, etc., All of these pieces are essential to consider when looking for the right volunteering program or even just a tour program. At the end of the program, I was able to stay an extra week alone and travel a bit more to the beaches and Bangkok. The beautiful country, people, and the safety gave me the confidence I need on the next trip I take by myself (but more on that later). "If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” –Meister Eckhart We are always searching for the next best thing. It could be upgrading to the next iPhone or Android, finding new ways to impress the boss, or even researching the next fad diet, etc. But how often do you stop and look at your surroundings and say to yourself, “Gee, I am so fortunate for the life that I have”, or, “I’m truly grateful for the amazing people in my life”? That’s what I thought. Gratitude is a part of the journey towards happiness. A few months ago I set a goal for myself to become truly grateful for everything and everybody in my life. Before deciding on this goal, I had read Oprah’s book, What I Know For Sure. In this book, Oprah shares with her readers the important moments and the lessons she learned throughout her lifetime. She also emphasized how gratitude helped shape her life for the better. It was quite the enjoyable read; I encourage you to pick up a copy if you haven’t already done so. After finishing the book, I realized that gratitude was crucial to a positive and fulfilled life. But how was I going to achieve this goal? The first step was to acquire a gratitude journal. Oh man! Now you’re thinking “great! I have to do work for this?” Yes! Yes you do, because everything you work towards usually involves some sort of an effort. Once I received my gratitude journal I was so excited! Ecstatic even! I thought; this will be the book that changes my life. But when it came to the actual writing, I just stared at the paper, and continued to stare a little bit longer. Why was this so difficult? I could write that I’m grateful for my friends, family, education, etc., but was this going to be the same things that I wrote down everyday? After sitting there and not a single word written down, I made my life easier and decided to go with simplicity. I wrote down the things I was grateful for just for that day, such as having a good cup of coffee or a great phone conversation. I wrote five things I was grateful for, dated it, and shut the book. Then I promised myself to return to it the next day where I would write five more things. I wrote in the gratitude journal each night and I felt grateful after writing. This continued on for a couple of months but it wasn’t producing any long-term effects. The feeling of gratitude would only last me from the time I was writing in the journal to when I fell asleep that very same night. When I woke up the next day, I was feeling the same old way I always felt, just going about my ordinary day. At times I would become frustrated with myself because I was not experiencing the long-term gratitude feeling that Oprah was raving about. Am I zombie? Maybe I’m too spoiled of a human? I began to really reflect on the things I was writing down. Turns out that this frustration was all part of the process. I had become so frustrated by the lack of long-term results that I started writing in the journal every other day rather than daily. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. I sat and thought for a bit about why this wasn’t working and what I could do to improve the situation. I decided I needed to take on a new approach to this problem. I then began to authentically reflect on the things that I wrote down. I began to look at the little moments that I wrote about and why they made my day a little bit easier, better, or happier. It is not that I wasn’t grateful for that cup of coffee; it’s just that I wasn’t appreciating what I was writing down as I was writing it down. I began to write daily again, but this time I would take a moment to acknowledge and appreciate whatever it was that made my day a tiny bit better. For example, one morning I was walking to work and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. The sun was shining through the leaves so much that I felt like I was walking into the sunrise. When I wrote about this moment later on in my gratitude journal, I briefly thought about how enjoyable that moment was for me and smiled. Eventually it all kicked in; feeling the gratitude each and every day, from the moment you wake up to falling asleep at night. Let me tell you, it is a beautiful thing. If you decide to take this route, the journal serves as a guide to you to help you see and reflect on the little things and to truly acknowledge and appreciate those things. Those little things paint a big beautiful picture, and that big picture is your incredible life. So be happy with what you have and be grateful for those in your life, because you could always have more, but you could also have less! Start writing down a couple of the things you are grateful for each day, and if you continue this practice, I can promise you that you will have positive results in your life. After pressing the snooze button what felt like 1000 times I decided to finally get up. My first thought was why did I stay up all night and that I'm definitely going to bed early tonight. I walked into my bathroom and realized my hair had dried awkwardly. Why did I shower right before I went to sleep? Then I got a knock at my door. The repair guy was already here. Is he serious? I didn't even get dressed yet and I needed to if I was going to catch the bus so I can make my morning class on time. Misery took over my attitude and it wasn't even 8am yet. The entire morning was just a nuisance. You would think it would stop there, but as soon as I sat down in class I spilled my coffee all over the floor. This was awkward and embarrassing because, of course, I decided to sit at the front of the room. That was my morning and the rest of the day was as miserable. We all have good days and bad days; it's part of being human. But do you know that when you wake up in the morning that is when you are setting the tone for the rest of your day? That's right, the first few thoughts that you have in the morning will determine how your day will play out. So if you wake up crabby and miserable, then your day is going to be just that. But if you decide to wake up and immediately tell yourself you're going to have a great day or you're going to have an exciting day (anything positive) then that day will most of the time go as planned. Of course, things turn up every now and then that we can't control- that’s life. But on most days you do have control. So don’t just hope that you get lucky and have a really great day, say that you will and believe it! Why don't you try it? Tomorrow when you wake up, don't even think yet of what you have to do for the day- put that aside. Immediately just say to yourself, "I'm going to have a really good day" and then BELIEVE it. Believe that you are going to have a really good day and that things are going to turn out really well for you. Then be amazed when it happens. Try this for a week and see how it goes for you, don't forget- you can't cheat, you have to believe what you say! Sounds so simple, right? It is. As an almost 25-year-old women growing up in today’s world, I don’t know one female that loves her body. NOT ONE. Now, while that might not be important to you- it’s important to me. It’s also important to every other female facing the same problem who may be your wife, daughter, sister, friend, etc., And even if she might not realize this, she’s thinking about what to eat for lunch to lose weight or whether she should start her diet tomorrow just so she can be skinny enough for the world to accept her body. When in fact it’s not the world’s job to love her body, but her own.
Negative body image is a disease; it affects us physically and mentally and for a substantial amount of time. Sometimes our whole lives. Let me repeat that: there are women out there who worry about the way their body looks for their entire lives thanks to the society’s expectations as to what is the ‘ideal’ body weight for today. Since going to college I have gradually put on weight, yes the freshmen 15 is quite real! In fact, it doesn’t just apply to freshman year but a college career as a whole depending on who you are. I’ve never thought much about my body prior to entering college and gaining weight. But as the years went on I started to take more and more of a notice of my body and the change it was undergoing. Now, being an avid traveler and a foodie I was faced with the dilemma of whether I should eat all of Europe and then worry about going on a diet when I come home or whether I should pass on that I’ve-never-heard-of dessert. Let’s face it, we all love food and turning it down is hard, but losing weight is so much harder. So when it came to making a decision of which route to take, I wasn’t thinking it for me, I was thinking about how the society would see me as if I chose the dessert and gained an extra pound. And here inlays the issue: I’m not questioning this for myself; I’m questioning this because of the society we live in. According to my BMI, I’m actually considered ‘overweight’. But I don’t feel that way and I also don’t think I look it. In fact, I love the way I look. Never have I loved my body the way I do now. So although the BMI says I should be at 125, right now I’m the happiest at 20 pounds heavier. Because here is the thing; throughout the struggles of gaining and attempting to lose the weight repeatedly, I have more importantly took notice of my body and the change it was undergoing. And it was miraculous. It’s incredible what our bodies can do, and through that I gained appreciation for my body and I learned to love my physical-self. So get naked and look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself how beautiful you are because the compliments from the world are not promised, but when they come from you they are the most important things you can give yourself. This positive image will not only benefit you, but also your daughter, sister, friend, and quite honestly any other female that knows you. So let’s all stop staring at the media and what their expectations are for our bodies. Girls are born everyday and although the media is always there waiting to eat them up, when they are old enough they will first be listening and observing the women closest to them before the media has a chance to win. When you learn to love your body you also learn to respect your body therefore eating better and incorporating exercise. When you love yourself and your body, you learn to make better life choices. So loving your body isn’t just a gift to yourself, it’s a gift to all the females in your life. This change start with you, how will you impact the ones around you? Today is International Women’s Day and I thought I would post an article as to how people can gain confidence. Which is one of the hardest things one can achieve, especially in this cruel and judgmental world that we live in today. With media photo-shopping any celebrity you might look up to, to bullying taking place in any technological setting; no wonder its harder than ever to achieve confidence, especially for the ever-so-deserved females in our world. Here a few suggestions as to how you can do this, hope you take these into consideration for the better.
1. Stop caring of what others think of you: Unless it’s people looking out for your own good that is, such as close family and friends. This world is already cruel and full of bad people, technology only makes it easier for those people to hide without having to own up to what they say in person. Believe only those who have your best interest in mind, if they know any better they will be steering you into a positive direction. My mother always said to me, “If people are mistreating you and/or saying terrible things to/about you then that means they feel badly about themselves for some reason”. She told me this in middle school, which was no doubt the toughest years transitioning from a pre-teen into a teenager and questioning every social situation and the people to call my friends. To this day, I have always thought about her words and I’m not even phased by others negativity towards me. 2. Learn to value yourself: That’s right, who cares what people think of me? After all, I have all these amazing qualities that make me unique and valuable in this world. This is what you should be thinking of yourself most of the time, if not all of the time. When you learn to appreciate yourself and your self worth, your world turns upside down for the better. Know that you are worthy, why wouldn’t you be? If you can think of reasons why you wouldn’t be then write down all of those reasons on a list, then burn it (obviously be careful). After you do that you should take out another piece of paper and write down all your positive qualities, then hang it on your fridge or your mirror in the bathroom and remind yourself everyday how great you are. 3. Forgive yourself and others: Did you do something that you still regret? Did somebody else ruin your life? Are you just terrible at something and cannot get over it? You’ll never be comfortable with yourself if you cannot forgive yourself and move on from all the errors. The same goes for blaming others, which is always easier than blaming yourself. And that’s fine because perhaps they have ruined your life in someway or another, but why think of it as something that has weakened you along the way instead of problems that you were strong enough to surpass and become the person you are today. The past is the past, don’t bring it into the present and ruin the moment. The faster you can move on from that, the sooner you can be happy with yourself and the present. When you forgive yourself and others, you can begin to spend more time concentrating on and improving yourself. 4. Believe in yourself: Seriously have faith in yourself and believe you can achieve anything and everything. If you don’t believe in yourself then how will anybody else? People can see right through you, they can tell who is confident and who is not. Without believing that you can do it, you setting yourself up for a) a failure, and b) that you go in the ‘can’t do it’ pile of people. Don’t be one of those people, get out there, take risks, stand up for yourself, whatever it is just do it because even if you fail at least you have gained the confidence that you were able to put yourself through something that you never thought you would be able to do and you’ll always come out a better and stronger person on the other side. 5. Fake it ‘til you are it: This is a quote that I heard from a Ted Talk by Amy Cuddy, and it resonated with me so much, I think primarily because I’ve done this myself. I was not born with my confidence, and people are always pointing out this amazing quality that I have. Again, it’s not something I was born with it’s something that I have gained over the years mainly by faking it in the beginning. I always wanted to be confident, primarily because so few women were, and I did not one to be one without this important quality. Therefore, in the beginning and during my toughest times I would just fake my confidence, overtime it worked. Try it, give it a chance, you deserve that much. Be careful, however, there is a difference between being confident and being pretentious. You don’t want to seem like an arse, instead work on these suggestions and let me know how it works out for you. I truly hope you are able to gain this important quality that seems so essential but lacking in our society. You are an incredible person, why shouldn’t you think of yourself in that way? Good luck to all reading :) |
Hello!Hi and welcome to my site! I'm the girl who wants to teach you how to be happy with your life! This blog was created for spreading positivity but travel and educational tips aren't so bad either! I really hope you love my articles and that they truly help you out. Feel free to subscribe to get the latest posts! Archives
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