#longblog

Being in college for the first time in my life, opened my eyes. I learned new things and was shock on what was happeneing to me.

I recently moved to Arizona a good 6 months ago and I am currently inna community college. Moving from NewYork to Arizona was really rough for me because I had to leave my boyfriend and my friends to a new area that I didnt really know that much.

I went into college determined to do what I said ill do in highschool: Never fail and never procrastinate. This semester taught me different. Here are the 4 things I learned while attending my first semester of college.

1. Dont wait till the last minute to go tutoring.

-I made that same exact mistake too. I was failing a math class and I ended up dropping this class. What I should have done was went to tutoring in the beginning of the class so I can understand it better. When you go to tutoring the very last minute your setting yourself up to go into panic mode to understand your work. That is very stressful and itsnt fair to you, so id your atruggling with a class, dont go way to late in the semester.

2. Self discovery, discover yourself.

-When you discover yourself your unfolding different paths of who your becoming. This first semester taught me that. I learned to try to understand myself, my actions my reactions and curb them in a more postive way. Try to get to know you, see what you like, don't like understanding yourself is very importsnt to do.

3. Be kind to your classmates and professors.

-Being kind means a lot to your classmates and professors. Be kind to them it will make their day 10x more better than if you werent.

4. Never give up

-This is very important for if you think you cant do that assignment or project or just life in general. You can, never ever stop you got this !!!!

Source: lovingfrenzy

Caring for your mental health is just as important as taking care of yourself physically. When you take care of yourself mentally, you will feel lot more calm less agitated and at peace it will show in your spirit and how well you carry yourselves. Here are 5 Tips of taking care of yourself mentally. 

1 ~ Take deep breaths. 

·When things get to much, to painful or just to much for you remember to take deep breaths. Studies show that taking deep breaths calms you down when your in a situation that is stressing you out. Plus, it reminds you that everything will be alright. 

2~ Keep a journal. 

·By keeping a journal, whether it's a bullet journal or a journal purely for your emotions you are keeping track of your essence, and you. Putting your emotions on paper releases all the tension of what your feeling. Even if you had a great day, it's still a good way to calm your mind mentally. 

3~ Meditate

·Meditation, can be a way of self discovery with oneself and it can be a way to calm your mind. Meditation calms your mind in a way that no other physical exercise can do. Well, besides yoga, but anyway meditation changes your brain. By doing  Meditation exercises, you empty your mind and allow yourself to go within yourself and not allow the clutter of your thoughts to cause mood swings, and confusion and anger. 

4~ Cut off any negative ties

·That's right. Cut of anybody who is draining your energy. For example, friends who aren't your real friends, family members who don't want the best for you and anyone who spreads drama hate etc. This helps you feel at peace, and help you with your journey and you will most likely have positive influences in your life, and who wouldn't want that?

5~ Take some time for you. 

·Taking some time for you, refreshes your mind. Being an outlet for everyone is considered dangerous because then you have no time for yourself, your needs or wants. Setting boundaries for other people when it gets to much shows the other person your respectful of yourself. 

Got these lovely photos from facebook.💫

·Your a delicate human, start taking care of yourself and treating your mind with respect it deserves. 

Source:lovingfrenzy

Source: facebook.com

i don't have many friends left, so all i really do is just wait.

it's so strange, sitting in this peaceful, quiet, reflective time with the knowing that someday soon, everything will be busybusybusy all the time and my life will be moving in ways that i never knew it could move

it's like you're walking and about to turn a corner. there's lights and sound and people and everything in the world is going on beyond that corner. but the closer you get to the light, the bigger the shadow gets and the curiosity only gets deeper and the craving gets bigger.

and then i think, 'why don't i get busy now? why don't i do new things and change my life beforehand so i can be ready?' but then, i *am* changing my life, already. i've changed a whole lot since i turned twenty-one just two months ago and my first girlfriend broke up with me.

i think the difference is, when i get to that point in my life, i'll be changing so fast i'll only be able to observe it once it's done and i can look back.

it's like sitting beneath a tree, waiting for rain to pass, knowing you're about to jump in the ocean. why worry about getting wet now? and yet, i do.

stranger too, this feeling of importance and yet unimportance. everything i do now matters, because it's the last time i may get to do it in my hometown, the place i grew up. and yet nothing i gain (relationally) i can really take with me, since i don't want to make a friend for a couple months, and then have our entire relationship be online forever since i'll be at college. for that reason, online friends in games are much more appealing to me right now.

how strange it is to feel these feelings. it pulls at me with a tightness in the chest, but then releases me with a lightness of the breath. i don't know what to make of it. maybe everything will change. maybe nothing will.

maybe it'll be everything i think and nothing i expect

i didn’t even realize what day it was until about 1pm today. And it felt so strange. Every year, September 11th feels a little less heavy - as it should, i suppose, as that is the nature of time. Every year there are more people who don’t remember it, who weren’t alive when it happened, who never knew a world with lax airport security or constant Islamophobia. i was nearly five at the time, and while i didn’t understand what was happening, i do remember it. i remember the grown-ups panicking at the images on the screen and watching the burning buildings on our living room television. i remember all our neighbors standing in the yard talking about it. 

i remember my Muslim preschool teacher, explaining to us a few weeks later that we don’t need to be afraid of people who look different than us - of people who have different skin colors or different eye shapes or wear turbans or hijabs. That those things didn’t make them monsters. Her name was Mrs. Hussein. When i was a child i used to wonder if she was related to the man whose name was always on the news, who was responsible for the attacks. Now, i look back and can only imagine how difficult it must have been for her back then. 

There are many fashion markets out there. From the most expensive, luxury items to the cheaper more affordable items, there still may be one thing in common. Each of them is being effected by the pandemic as we speak and if the impact is negative or positive, well that’s what I’m here to talk about. 

The Main Ideas...

“Retailers have furloughed employees, slashed executive salaries and hoarded cash in a desperate attempt to survive until the shutdowns are lifted. And there is widespread acknowledgment that J. Crew is unlikely to be the only retailer to face the brink.” This is a big passage that should be addressed when readers are looking at this article. It shows that even before the pandemic J.Crew was struggling. Being a private retail company may be important when addressing those companies that will survive the pandemic and those that won’t. We see public stores such as Nike or Gucci not doing well of course but because they have gone public they typically won’t have debts to pay and if they do they will want to get them handled so their many investors will still be able to get their share of the profits promised. As well these public companies have built themselves up a little more with getting their brands out there being able to pay for good advertisements with good spokespeople. With private companies being more acceptable to debt and less attention we may see a good few of them go down with this pandemic. It shows what companies may go down and can actually help predict what people will have no work anymore. Connecting to other recent news, small sole proprietorship businesses can be seen shutting down as well and losing business.

But it seemed to be making strides in recent months toward a more viable future. The company named Ms. Singer its new chief executive in January and was planning an initial public offering of Madewell this spring in order to pay down some of the debt and rehabilitate the J. Crew brand...The coronavirus pandemic scuttled those plans and eventually toppled the company.” This passage is definitely crucial for those reading. So yes companies can redeem themselves when they get into debt like J.Crew. Seeing how much J.Crew was struggling  pre-pandemic even, knowing that they had a solution give a little hope for those companies struggling as well. But as soon as that hope was build up, Covid-19 came in and made sure that not only would these companies struggle more but they would completely fail. Understanding that J.Crew might have saved themselves this spring in the hope of going public shows just how much everyday small companies struggle. It also presents the idea of how much destruction this pandemic has caused leaving people without jobs and companies closing down whether it be lack of income or debt. 

Let’s Ask Ourselves...

One big question this article left readers to wonder is if similar companies will be sent packing? I think the answer to this question is yes defiantly some. As we saw earlier in the first passage, J.Crew was already struggling with debt. Other companies will have such problems; maybe not the same type but we could have seen them struggling even before the pandemic. It seems quite possible that we will see small business close down just because there is no way to get themselves out there. Most are just starting off and advertising is out of the question with the amount of money it takes just to keep the location updated and working. Not to mention there may be employees that need to be paid. In short conclusion the answer is yes. If your company has not been on the market yet, there is a big change that problems will arise with the new pandemic. 

Wrap Up...

So yes maybe some companies are getting hit harder by others such a J.Crew but it may just have to happen. No one can really control what is happening right now in our world, not even the most powerful people. That means we just have to deal with the situation at hand the best we know how. 

My School Year...

Traveling. This may seem as simple as buying a ticket and hopping on a plane. However it does get more complicated than that. Not including the delays or cancellations. There are companies behind those promises you hear when booking a flight on their website and they rely on you as the customer like any other company. But they also rely on those attractions you are going to see.

Looking deeper...

“Southwest (LUV) lost $77 million excluding special items, which was a bit better than Wall Street's expectations. But it was the carrier's first red ink since the first quarter of 2009. Revenue fell $915 billion, or 18%, from a year earlier.” Southwest was definitely a booming business before the pandemic started. It’s a well-known airline that flies almost everywhere it seems. However once the pandemic hit, there was a lot less travel. With stay at home orders in place all over the US and the rest of the world, customers had no yearning to travel, even if the orders weren’t in place. It is important for the readers to look closely at this passage because airlines aren’t usually a business we pay attention to. It states that $77 million was lost during this most recent quarter. With travel suspended and attractions closed Southwest has hit its lowest since the great recession. This shows how much many companies rely on those attractions and restaurants, even small businesses, to be open. The economy has been good the last couple of years and the younger generations are experiencing their first recession, if not depression. With such important companies, such as Southwest, it just goes on to show what this pandemic can do and how much of a chain/relation there is going on between businesses and companies. The economy is just a hidden gem underneath the visible effects that the virus has caused.

But additional steps would be needed to make passengers feel safe, he noted -- like masks and pre-boarding temperature screenings. And Kelly suggested that Southwest won’t book every seat on a flight even when demand returns. 

“ ‘We’ll have social distancing … on the airplanes. We won’t have airplanes that are booked full. It’s certainly not an issue right now. In the coming months, we’ll want customers to be comfortable that they’ll be spacing. You can assume all the middle seats will be open.’ ”  As far as the article stated, Southwest has been trying to find strategies for when travel opens again and people will want it. This is extremely important for the readers to know because with this people will know that it will be safe to travel again even. People may be skeptical but Southwest knew that if they put this in an interview people would feel a little bit more comfortable with traveling again. They also want to keep their reputation up with the idea that they will make every passenger comfortable while flying with them. It was a good idea to state this and have readers see it because it may help with profits and revenue going back up once travel has opened back up. 

Let’s ask ourselves...

A huge question that can be asked from this article is will Southwest actually hold up their promises and make sure that there is correct social distancing even when it is safe to travel again? They say they want to keep their passengers comfortable so they might follow through with their statement. Especially when they are doing this bad, they will want to look good and have good feedback so that people will want to start flying their airline again. If they are struggling as much as they say they are there will be no mistakes in making the airline popular again. 

Another big question, is Southwest correct in saying travel depends on the attractions? I think that really depends on the customer. Many people may also want to see relatives/family, as well as friends. People travel at many times of the year to make sure they stay in contact with their family. However we are approaching summer and people typically take vacation during summer. After quarantine people will be itching to be sitting on a beach in Maui and sipping out of a coconut. This is where Southwest may be getting at something if they are wanting travel they may have more success when those attractions do open. 

An Interview with a front line worker

What is the biggest change you’ve experienced working as a physician? 

“Learning how to navigate telehealth(online medicine) and figuring out visits with patients.”

As a front line worker how do you feel like the community has helped you? 

“Recognition that we are putting ourselves at risk as well as our families. Open community support as well.”

Looking at other essential workers whether it be nurses or delivery people, how do you think you can relate? 

“I think we can all relate because we are at higher risk of getting the virus and have a potential of bad sickness or even death.” 

Lastly, does it feel like you’re a hero or is it just another day on the job? 

“Just another day on the job. However it is a much scarier environment because of the risks. I do appreciate people recognizing our contributions.” 

--Physician at CU Health

Wrap up...

https://www.npr.org/2020/04/16/836126532/senator-burrs-pre-pandemic-stock-sell-offs-highly-unusual-analysis-shows?utm_campaign=First%20Up&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20newsletter

The idea of people knowing what was coming before it happened and not telling people seems risky and selfish. This may be one way to view North Carolina’s senator Burr. The government continues to look into it as we speak. 

Looking further...

“Since 2012, Burr picked stocks that performed poorly: On average, six months after he bought a stock, it was down .8% relative to stocks in the same industry; after a year, his stocks were down by 6% compared with that benchmark.” This shows that the senator could have definitely known that the virus was coming to the US before anyone else. There is some skepticism whether or not it was random or because he knew what was coming. After reading this article it is crucial that the readers read the passage because it shows that usually Burr is not very good at picking stocks, implying he is not great at selling them either. This was an unusual behavior for Burr and many people started to question why he did it. After reading this passage, readers may be able to better understand why everyone is questioning his moves. It also can be used to show that he is some higher power that has more access to information that wasn’t shared with others. 

“ "Well-timed trades and trades that are unusual in size or scale are certainly going to be relevant to the government," says Katherine Goldstein, who formerly headed up the investigations into securities fraud in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. "But this investigation will hinge on whether there is evidence that the information imparted to any member of Congress was material and nonpublic. That's where the rubber will meet the road." ” This somewhat connects back to the last passage however going more in depth in the reasons of how he might have known the corona virus was coming and that he would’ve sold his stocks at the exact right time. This raises a lot of suspicion that he knew what was coming and didn’t tell anyone else. The group he works with as well knew about this and if they could have told people it would have helped out a lot knowing what was coming so the United States could prepare as a whole instead of only few people knowing what to do and getting a good advantage. It is crucial for the reader to know this as well because it may show a different perspective on this person and whether or not he and his team can be trusted. This leads to a whole other issue where the government is involved which is what Goldstein said.

Let’s ask ourselves... 

How many other people were prepared for Covid-19 and sold stocks? I think that not a lot of people were aware of it as early as they could have sold their stocks. Everyone knew about it when it was a little cough in Wuhan, however no one really thought they would be at risk here in America. When it came to the US everyone started panicking and sold everything but by then it was too late. Unless they were one of the first people to know that it had the potential then to come to the US there was nothing anyone could do. 

Another question is, what shares should people sell and how do you know what you should keep. I think there’s definitely a lot of unknown in that territory because we never can really know what’s gonna happen. There are select companies doing well right now despite the pandemic and it probably would’ve taken much skill to know what stocks were right to sell. However like said in the article, Burr wasn’t skilled in stocks but still managed to get out of the right ones at the right time.

Wrap up

When I was in university, I loved organizing dinners, and movie nights and weekend plans with my friends. It was just who I was. I never wanted to sit at home by myself. I needed to be doing something...not that I don’t like sitting in and watching Netflix once in a while. So when I slowly shifted into the workforce, it was important to decide who I was going to be. Was I going to be this hip, professional person; newly invented who adopted the mature demeanour or was I going to be overly energetic and continue to bug people to hang out with me while putting on team socials and drinking beers. 

I wanted to be the former. I wanted to be that professional, fancy employee that wore pencil skirts and made everyone think, “What does she do for a living??” I think a lot of people are intrigued by THAT person and aspire to be someone like that. But I hated eating lunches by myself. I hated that my voice had this professional, old-ish undertone that didn’t sound like me. I also couldn’t get into drinking three cups of coffee from Starbucks/Tim Hortons like a lot of working adults. 

So, like all people in this situation I needed to make a decision. Who did I want to be? Everyone always thinks this is a loaded question with too many different answers with each being subjective, but I personally had a simpler answer. I want to be the person where I was the most happiest. I wanted those traits. I wanted to be the fun-loving, ambitious, positive, kind of quirky girl who saw every day as an amazing opportunity. That’s the person that makes me the happiest. 

I am lucky enough to work in a place where I see the same people Monday to Friday, 9-5pm. So I started organizing lunches with my co-workers and networking events, health and wellness sessions, walks and breaks. I invited people to hang out after work and run errands with. I adopted the same practices I used in university, here in my workplace. But it didn’t just stop there. I made the active effort to connect with people in my past college program and friends from university and elementary school. I kept trying and trying and pushing to hang out with these people. I did this because this is who I was when I was most happiest. The girl who organizes dinners and get togethers. The girl who brings people together over delicious food and fun conversation. The girl who puts in an active effort to keep in contact with people she cares about.