More goals in life:

1. Be a better daughter

2. Be a better friend

3. Be a better cousin

Thought of the Day: It's good to have ambitious goals for yourself, but its better to connect with people around you and really make a difference.

Epiphanies from creeping

I feel a bit creepy, I'm stalking my cousin's blog haha. But as I was reading it, I noticed she recorded some moments between us which weren't so significant to me, but meant a great deal to her. I want to be there for her more now.

Love Advice

(Conversation about weddings and dancing)

Me: Not many guys dance, you know.

Cole: WHAT?! Are they losers?!

Cole: You can tell a lot about a guy if he dances or not. Keep that in mind when you pick Mr. Right.

How to get people to like you

As I am typing this, I am at one of the student newspapers I write at where they are holding elections. I am watching the speeches and making mental notes of how people are making their speeches. The election and question process is pretty intense. Its a room of around 30 people all watching you while you are making a speech and then a question and answer period where questions are fired at you. Pretty nerve-racking if you ask me; some people were shaking when they made a speech.

Here is a list of things to do if you're making a speech to get an elected position:

1. Be friendly but professional in your speech. I noticed that people voted for candidates who seemed friendlier and more open. Obviously people will want to work with someone who is nice.

2. Know the position you are running for well. Some of the candidates didn't know answers to their specific field. Ex. person running for a sports editor position didn't know anything about the physical education department at school. This just looks really bad on you. So make sure you know your stuff! If you really don't know the answer to a question, use the elephant and ant technique. At least it gives you something to say.

3. Do not be sarcastic. It's all about attitude, really. There was this girl who gave a really fake smile. People like genuine.

4. Try to fit in, but stand out. It sounds like a paradox, but what I really mean is this: identify with your voters but stand out from the rest of the candidates. You need to make people remember you in a good way- don't be remembered for a bad attitude or cold air.

5. Do not be intimidated by other candidates' experience. People like candidates with experience, but passion speaks more. Obviously you need to be qualified for the job first though.

6. Have interesting ideas. It shows initiative and passion as well as creativity. It sets you apart from the crowd.

7. Use examples to make points. Vague statements are useless. Anyone can say "I have leadership skills." But to go further and say "I have leadership experience, I led this team on this year and so on" gives concrete evidence that you aren't just making stuff up. And it makes you look good too.

8. Body Language! There was this girl that crossed her arms whenever she went up to speak. Big no-no! You need to look approachable and friendly not stern and cross because then people will like you better and be more likely to vote for you.

9. Have a good time. Even if people don't vote for you, for every thing you do, you learn from it. Making a speech and answering questions gives you the experience for you to do better next time. So have fun!

Teaching Aspirations

I'm currently at my university's library. A T.A. sat down across from me and suddenly I want to be a T.A.

I've always wanted to be a teacher, ever since I was 4. Being a T.A. means fulfilling my goal of teaching. It also means getting paid a handsome amount of money on the side for something I really want to do. My cousin is a T.A. and he earns $30 an hour. Which isn't amazing compared to high level corporate jobs, but for a job that requires little to no training beforehand, this is pretty good.

The T.A. sitting across from me is pretty cool. her laptop is plastered with cool little quotes like "The most important thing is doing what you really want to do and developing yourself individually". She is the T.A. for an English class I'm presuming because she is marking essays with the topic of "lyrics in music" or something like that.

This is exactly what I'd like to do. T.A. for a class that relates to music in English. I recall that my Tutorials in Poetry class were really boring, but I'm hoping I get to T.A. a class that is less boring. I want to be a really good T.A. I want students to be excited to come to my class.

I already teach Sunday school for my church every month, but there is so little teaching each month! I do try my best to be a good Sunday School teacher. I bring my kids (who are ages 10-12) food each week, I make sure they learn something, but I don't force religion on them. I have generally good kids, just a bit rowdy sometimes (most of them are boys). They are quite obedient now that I think about it, they listen quite well. One thing I should do better is get to know them better. Next time, I'm going to bring in personality tests so I can get a sense of their learning styles and maybe help them get to know their own learning styles and personalities. Self-knowledge is quite important for kids to know don't you think? I want to somehow incorporate self-esteem building in our classes too. I want my kids to be confident in themselves yet I want them to be caring to others as well.

I have big goals for my lessons.

Now that I have concrete motivation to write really good essays in English class, I think I'm going try even harder to do well in school. Lately my focus has been on music and extracurricular activities. I mean, I do well in school but I'm not trying my best. (This is me being honest) All my energy is going to music. This could be the push that I need.

Almost a Groupie

I feel like THE ultimate creeper. I found the Facebook of the guitarist of this band. What kills me is that we have a mutual friend in common.

Speaking of bands and music, I decided to create another blog where I would write specifically about music so I could focus on more general things in this blog.

You can find it here: almostagroupie.blogspot.com

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