(1) Dear Auntie,
I like a guy at my school and he seems to like me, too. We do a lot of things together. Unfortunately, whenever we go somewhere, he doesn’t have much money so I have to pay for his Starbucks or McDonald’s. He said his parents don’t give him much of an allowance. I don’t mean to complain, but I don’t get much allowance, either. How can I get him to pay his fair share? – Poor in Pendik
Dear poor,
You cannot always depend on a guy to paying for you, but I do understand you've been struggling to pay for him every single time. You must realize that Starbucks and McDonald's are not the only places to have fun. How about a picnic at the park or a walk on the sahil? This way, you will not have to pay so much money for a cup of coffee and unhealthy junk food. Most importantly, you must have confidence to just talk to him about it. If he really likes you, he will understand and try to avoid expensive places and spend more quality time elsewhere with you.
6) Dear Auntie,
I have a friend, “Matilda,” who is very concerned about her weight. She is very thin, but she’s always saying she’s fat. She never eats lunch and she wears big, baggy clothing so we can’t really see what she looks like. I think she is anorexic, but when I said that to her, she reacted angrily and told me to mind my own business. What do you think I should do? – Anxious in Antalya
Dear Anxious,
I'm sorry to hear about your friend, and I admire your willingness to help her. However, I want to be clear and point out that you should not and cannot help your friend by yourself. You may be able to get things started though. Anorexia is a serious problem that may require help from people with authority and experience. This doesn't mean you should go off and tell someone right this instant, but give her some time and space to think through it. Confront her privately in a quiet place and anticipate that your friend's reaction will not be pleasant. Don't respond with anger and frustration, but show her that you truly care about her. Remember, your goal should be to help you friend accept that there is a problem. Leave the rest to those who can help her whether that be parents or professionals. Urge her to go for help and offer to accompany her
(5) Dear Auntie,
I have a lot of homework every night. At the same time, I want to spend time with my friends, participate in extra-curricular activities, and use Facebook. If I don’t get on Facebook every night, I feel left out. At the same time, I think I’m wasting a lot of time and it is one way I could make better use of my time. What do you suggest? -- Sometimes lonely in Libadiye
Dear S.L
I see having a social life is very important for you, but this is not all that there is to your life. You need to be focused with your school work, because your future depends on it. This doesn't mean you should completely cut off from every aspect of your social life, but rather have a sense of control. Only participate in activities that you must attend and I encourage you to do start on you homework right after you get back from school. Work in a environment where you can concentrate without being distracted. Don't get too comfortable. This way you can finish all your homework in the least amount of time and spend the rest of your day watching a movie, getting on Facebook, or whatever you want.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Why Facebook? (Informative/Profile and human interest)
The moment George opens Internet Explorer, he finds himself typing "W-W-W-.-F-A-C-E-B-O-O-K-.-C-O-M." When the page is loaded, the first thing he reads is the "News Feed" which gives him general information of what his friends have been doing. If he spots anything stimulating, he simply clicks on it. Yesterday by reading, "Melissa Jobs and Dabraham Mckenzy ended their relationship," he found out his seven year old crush, Melissa, was back to being single. Good news for him. Maybe this is his chance to make a move!
Today, he notices that thirty of his friends changed their profile pictures. Maybe he needs to change his, too. After he reads the news feed, his eyes lingers towards the request box. He sees that there are no friend requests. Maybe he should add some people he might know but before he does so, he pokes back two of his friends, and checks if it's anyone's birthday. Tomorrow is Peggy's birthday so he decides to write an early happy birthday note. Now he clicks on the "People you may know" section and finds out that a friend from camp six years ago in Mongolia has Facebook and is related to one of his closest friends from school. What a small world! He goes ahead and adds him as well as several others. This is how 30-minutes of his time is spent and he is not even quarter of the way done! He still needs to reply messages, chat with friends, draw on the graffiti wall, look at some pictures, add pictures of the senior banquet, and check if anyone added new videos.
Since when did Facebook become such an obsession and why?
“It helps connect with friends,” says Dany , a student in Turkey.
The guardian counselor, Mrs. S. of the same school admits that “It’s just plain fun.”
“Once you start you don’t know when to stop!” Emily, 16, adds.
With over 132 million users, Facebook continues to attract thousands of people each day around the world. One of the main reasons why Facebook is gaining so much popularity and becoming a number one social networking sites is because of its special features and cool application that makes it very entertaining for useres to interact with their friends online. Not only does it allow for users to exchange pictures and other files, but it also provides interaction through its special features like the wall, where users can post messages for everyone to see.
Another special feature is the poke feature created by Facebook where users are able to poke one another as a way of saying "hello" or getting a friend's attention.
These are just "two" of the special features, but with a collection of over 10,000 applications, Facebook is becoming one of the top community of enjoyment and a social networking site. That's good news for Facebook lovers like George.
Today, he notices that thirty of his friends changed their profile pictures. Maybe he needs to change his, too. After he reads the news feed, his eyes lingers towards the request box. He sees that there are no friend requests. Maybe he should add some people he might know but before he does so, he pokes back two of his friends, and checks if it's anyone's birthday. Tomorrow is Peggy's birthday so he decides to write an early happy birthday note. Now he clicks on the "People you may know" section and finds out that a friend from camp six years ago in Mongolia has Facebook and is related to one of his closest friends from school. What a small world! He goes ahead and adds him as well as several others. This is how 30-minutes of his time is spent and he is not even quarter of the way done! He still needs to reply messages, chat with friends, draw on the graffiti wall, look at some pictures, add pictures of the senior banquet, and check if anyone added new videos.
Since when did Facebook become such an obsession and why?
“It helps connect with friends,” says Dany , a student in Turkey.
The guardian counselor, Mrs. S. of the same school admits that “It’s just plain fun.”
“Once you start you don’t know when to stop!” Emily, 16, adds.
With over 132 million users, Facebook continues to attract thousands of people each day around the world. One of the main reasons why Facebook is gaining so much popularity and becoming a number one social networking sites is because of its special features and cool application that makes it very entertaining for useres to interact with their friends online. Not only does it allow for users to exchange pictures and other files, but it also provides interaction through its special features like the wall, where users can post messages for everyone to see.
Another special feature is the poke feature created by Facebook where users are able to poke one another as a way of saying "hello" or getting a friend's attention.
These are just "two" of the special features, but with a collection of over 10,000 applications, Facebook is becoming one of the top community of enjoyment and a social networking site. That's good news for Facebook lovers like George.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Change
People Change. Change is part of a natural process that we, human beings, go through. When we look back to our childhood years, we note that we have become different. It is a gradual process. As we enter a new stage in life, we get motivated to change through influences, new culture and even through the environment we live in. Change happens both internally and externally.
It is not surprising that we look different from when we were born. We notice that alot of changes have taken place externally. We are much bigger in size and weight, and stronger. This is an example of a external change in which no motivation is present- these things just happen.
Motivation is what we discover from within. We find motivation when we see something that interests us or is there's something we want to become. For an example, when i was about Twelve, I wanted to become a teacher. What motivated me was how fun it looked like to be a teacher. I admired their knowledge and most importantly, how much authority they had over their students. I wanted to become someone who held such influence. This motivation lead me to take an interest in tutoring children and even babysitting- it was a way to feel like someone high in authority. Instantly, my attitudes towards those who were younger changed and I got the idea of what it was like to be a teacher.
Another change took place when I was motivated to get adjusted to a new environment when I moved back to Kenya. It was something i really looked forward too- to become a better person around new people. My past experiences helped me pull out some of my weaknesses and fix them. This motivation led to a success. I found myself trying harder and changing bad habits into one that were more useful. What I also noticed was that there were changes that had to take place and I was willing to give it a try. Although I stayed with a very close family friend, it was a different situation when living under the same roof, going to school together, eating meals together. Basic rules had to be followed such as house chores, tidying up my room, and waking up at a certain time. Without motivation none of the change could have taken place.
Motivation for change is not always settled in our brains. Its like pop corn, popping up suddenly at random moments. We can suddenly find ourselves getting influenced by a certain thing. The next thing we know is that we're different.
It is not surprising that we look different from when we were born. We notice that alot of changes have taken place externally. We are much bigger in size and weight, and stronger. This is an example of a external change in which no motivation is present- these things just happen.
Motivation is what we discover from within. We find motivation when we see something that interests us or is there's something we want to become. For an example, when i was about Twelve, I wanted to become a teacher. What motivated me was how fun it looked like to be a teacher. I admired their knowledge and most importantly, how much authority they had over their students. I wanted to become someone who held such influence. This motivation lead me to take an interest in tutoring children and even babysitting- it was a way to feel like someone high in authority. Instantly, my attitudes towards those who were younger changed and I got the idea of what it was like to be a teacher.
Another change took place when I was motivated to get adjusted to a new environment when I moved back to Kenya. It was something i really looked forward too- to become a better person around new people. My past experiences helped me pull out some of my weaknesses and fix them. This motivation led to a success. I found myself trying harder and changing bad habits into one that were more useful. What I also noticed was that there were changes that had to take place and I was willing to give it a try. Although I stayed with a very close family friend, it was a different situation when living under the same roof, going to school together, eating meals together. Basic rules had to be followed such as house chores, tidying up my room, and waking up at a certain time. Without motivation none of the change could have taken place.
Motivation for change is not always settled in our brains. Its like pop corn, popping up suddenly at random moments. We can suddenly find ourselves getting influenced by a certain thing. The next thing we know is that we're different.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
