We were born curious.Curiosity is the basis of any human endeavour which makes us different from other species. And it is the basis for any form of knowledge known to us. From the very moment we were born, we were thirsty for an understanding of the unknown. It is possible that, the flame within us which attracted any new knowledge about the world around us started to die, the day we were officially permitted to learn. Our notion about learning changed the way we look around us. We were no long...

I am the daughter of a single mom. Single parenting is constantly increasing at the rate of 15 million single mothers in the USA. What is the life of a single mom? It is lonely and financially draining. It is a race against the clock. It is exhaustion, it is double parenting 24-7. It is never giving up. Single moms are left alone to raise a child, oftentimes, more than one. My mom is a single mom who does it all, every day, without complaint. I am her world, and she will climb the highest m...

This post was originally published on Voices of Youth Cambodia by Monineath Nop, on the occasion of World Skills Day 2018. The final exam is coming; your right hand is holding a book scanning necessary vocabulary while your left hand is holding a cup of coffee. Empty coffee cups start stacking up next to your desk as they accompany you reviewing your lessons, yet you could barely concentrate on the book. Does this sound familiar to you? Been there, done that! We are somehow influenced by th...

This post was originally published on Voices of Youth Cambodia by Vanly Keomuda, on the occasion of World Skills Day 2018. “What is your future prospect for choosing this major?” I first heard the question above on the first day that I began a new chapter in my life — the very first day that I started college. I remembered my lecturer going around the classroom asking everyone this simple, but profound question. Back then, I remembered hearing all kinds of ambitious and optimistic answers f...

This post was originally published on Voices of Youth Cambodia by Chheng Sotharath, on the occasion of World Skills Day 2018. Being in your 20s is probably the age of uncertainty in almost every aspect of your life. At this point, if you still feel like you’re not ready to “adult’ yet and you really don’t know what’s gonna happen, you are not alone. One of the most common uncertainties that Cambodian youth these days encounter is finding the right career for themselves. There are many chall...

Honduras. At the age of 12, like many other girls, I spent my time playing with my friends from school, studying, or perhaps in my room reading an interesting book- leading what I believed to be a life totally normal for a girl. Now I wonder... What would have happened? If my parents had told me: We have a husband for you, you marry him in 3 months, or for some socio-economic reason against my will I would have to marry at 12 years old. I probably would not have understood or I would ha...

Picture a city with cookie-cutter houses aligned and tightly packed together in the interior of brand-new neighborhoods lined with palm trees. All around, there are Latino women respectfully kissing everyone on the cheek and Latino men playfully greeting one another by vigorously patting each other's back. While they all discuss the latest chisme [gossip] and last night’s fútbol [soccer] game, the sun-kissed streets are filled with loud, energetic children laughing and kicking worn-out soccer ba...

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is an organization that provides services and advocates forpersons with mental illness. I want to address the issue of mental illness and how many people are unemployed because of it.NAMI says that about80% of people with mental illness will not be hired for a job. Those that do get hired will often be perceived by their employer as lower functioning than everyone else working the same job. The reason I want to write about this is that I have autis...