New Year's Resolutions

I bet I speak for everyone when I say that no matter how many New Year's Resolutions we all may make, we never actually work to accomplish them throughout the year.  HOWEVER... it sure is fun to make them as you countdown to a new year's start. So why not? Let's name some changes I'd like to make starting 2018.

1. Work out more: A more fit life is a more happy life.
2. Be more productive: Sitting down watching T.V won't get the job done.
3. Drink more water: Being dehydrated will get in the way of all the other goals.
4. Stop getting angry so easily: Unless you're around a punchingbag ;)
5. Stop eating unhealthy food: Even though the three layered cake in your fridge looks good doesn't mean you should eat it.

Well, let's see how many of these I actually stick with. Hopefully more this year!!

Last Years's Disney Trip

Our first trip to Disney was a blast! We had a two-day pass for two park out of four: Epcot and Magic Kingdom. 

First day was Epcot. We arrived at the park and went through the regular security check and got our Mickey passes. We got three Mickey Fast passes with our tickets which let us skip the entire line on three rides, and trust me, it helps! For some of the rides, the wait time was hours because of the demand for the rides. But it was just great nevertheless. One thing that really comes in handy when going to Disney is looking up the website and seeing what rides are there and what the wait time for each is. Here is a list of some of the great rides that are definitely worth a fastpass!

1. Soarin'
2. Ellen's Energy Adventure
3. Tomorrowland 
4. Mission space
5. Journey into imagination with Figment 

Second day was at the Magic Kingdom. We woke up at about 6 and got ready for another day for fun. We planned to start the rides at 9 or 10 at the latest (we totally did not reach anywhere close and our goal). We ate breakfast, called Uber, and arrived at the security checkpoint. After all of that, we realized that Magic Kingdom was on an island! We had to take a ferryboat or the monorail. It took us about two hours to finally reach the park and, believe me, we were way behind schedule. We started rides at 12 so everything got pushed back. When we arrived, we were welcomed by Mickey, Minnie, and many Disney characters in a show that got our day started. Here is a list of rides that are worth a fastpass at Magic Kingdom:

1. Barnstormer 
2. Big thunder mountain railroad
3. Cinderella's castle (the best ting ever!!!)
4. Pirates of the Caribbean 
5. Tomorrowland speedway

At the end of the day, there were fireworks behind the castle and, I swear, just wow!

They colored the entire castle with lights to match every Disney story (such as blue for Frozen, etc.). Definitely stay for them! Disney sets fireworks at 9 everyday in every park so its kinda hard to miss so make sure you don't!

Here are some do's and do not's for a fun Disney trips:

Do's:

1. Check the Disney Website and app for rides and times
2. Get Mickey FastPass+ so you don't have to wait as much
3. Bring sunscreen (especially in the summer
4. Wear comfortable shoes because some wait times are really long
5. Bring water and snacks.
6. Stay for the fireworks
7. Get there early
8. Be patient and happy
9. Plan out your dining
10. Travel at off peak times

Don'ts: 

1. Bring a selfie stick (we had to throw ours away)
2. Wear heels (I cannot stress this enough, you will be dead by the end of the day!!)
3. Waste your fastpass in the first three rides if they aren't worth it
4. Waste your money.
5. Carry heavy or bulky bags
6. Forget to take photos
7. Forget to pause for a break
8. Stay on a strict schedule - have fun!
9. Skip breakfast
10. Go when it is crazy busy

2017's POSITIVE Highlights

As 2017 nears its end, it's good to know about some changes that have happened to better humanity. Although these days, it seems like everywhere you look, there is news about how someone hurt someone or how some politician got trashed online. With these updates every five seconds, it seems that there is no hope for the future of mankind. But maybe...just maybe...there is a shred of hope that shows us that it isn't that hard to make this planet a more beautiful and safer place to live in. Here is a list of things that happened this year that turn the page onto another outlook for our world. 

1. A city in France banned all advertisements and replaced the signs with trees. 

2. Denmark became debt free this year after 183 years. 

3. Zimbabwe put a ban on the beating of all children throughout the country. 

4. Tons of New Yorkers scrubbed graffiti off subway cars to make their city a more beautiful place.

5. A high school student in Florida started a club so that no one would ever sit alone during lunchtime at school.

6. A 98-year-old woman wrote almost 7,000 letters of appreciation to men and women of the armed forces.

7. A homeless man that helped young survivors during the Manchester attack was given a home.

8. A Nationwide drought in the USA is over after a couple years.

9. When a flight was delayed, a person pulled out a guitar and people started singing and dancing instead of playing on their phones in silence and frustration. 

10. Rhiannon Giddens put on a music show for the prisoners at Sing Sing Prison.

11. Jackie Robinson got his own museum.

12. Two twins adopted from China were reunited in the USA.

13. Nature put on a beautiful show with the Solar Eclipse in August.

14. Doctors reversed a 2-year old girl's brain damage.

15. We are getting close to eliminating Polio.

16. We are getting close to achieving sustainable nuclear fusion.

17. Scientists are working on a sieve that could turn seawater into drinking water.

18. Hyper loops are being invented.

19. NASA released its research into the public for free.

20. Scientists are fighting back to antibiotic resistance. 

So maybe there is hope for us after all. Just maybe..

Information Credit:

1. www.theodysseyonline.com

2. Huffington Post Canada

3. Reader's Digest 

4. www.sciencealert.com

Should Teachers Be Paid More?

The answer would be a resounding “YES! OF COURSE!” 

What is your dream job? Engineer? Scientist? Doctor? 

Chances are that somebody probably inspired you to be interested in that certain path in life. Now, it’s easy to say you want to do something but it’s harder to pull it off. If you want to be a doctor, then biology was probably your favorite class in high school, maybe anatomy or forensics but still, you liked science. Now usually, we tend to like the classes that have the “nicest” teachers or our friends in rather than a class with a “mean” teacher and no friends. So, chances are, if you liked the class, you probably liked the teacher a bit too. Moreover, that teacher probably went out of their way to make your day better and your education more relatable to everyday life.

Is there someone to whom you look up to a lot and want to be like? Everyone has a role model, whether it be that chief scientist at NASA or an Olympic boxer. Now, did they get there on their own or did somebody give them a little push? Chances are, they needed some help becoming the star they came to be.

9 time out of 10, that chief scientist probably liked science because his teachers were great leaders and helped him find his path in life. And that boxer probably wanted to make his instructor proud because of all the steps he took with him. Possibility is, these people might not even be in the same field they are now if it weren’t for the leaders that inspired them to get there. Of course they worked hard too, definitely. Getting there wasn’t just somebody else, it was also that will to keep going and that curiosity to find out what is in store when you do. But, they got the little push from their role models to keep them on that track. And in every way, our role models are our teachers. They teach us things about ourselves that we would never have known. They help us find the passion in our hearts that we would have never known was there. I known for a fact that I wouldn’t be passionate about Martial Arts if it wasn’t for the inspiration I saw in my instructors. So yes.. teachers should be raised to a much higher level in prestige and pride that they deserve..and they should definitely be paid more!