Learn to love, appreciate, value and be there for yourself, because nobody can motivate you like yourself. People are not going to be there for you to support your decisions all the time, but learn how to appreciate, value and love yourself no matter what.
On March 15, 2019, the Muslim community witnessed a horrific act. An Australian man by the name of Brenton Harrison Tarrant attacked Muslims at a mosque. Last I watched the news it was stated that 50 people were killed and an additional 50 were wounded or in critical condition. I felt great sadness and despair as I watched the news because It seems like every other day you turn on the news people are being killed at the hands of terrorists or gunmen. When are WE as a society going to put a stop to such acts of hatred and fight for what's right? In the world that we live today such things as...
Violence is brought up by hatred A feeling so deep all you can do is ask “why me?” I have seen this violence with my own eyes But I am not proud to say I have seen some die We as a society have gone through great ordeals of pain This violence will not only leave you beaten and battered physically But mentally too This is “giving to the world a tired and ugly message of terror and brutality and hate” They have left us here to rot in poverty in such a corrupted place We have to fight and break free from this cycle of violence For change To end the bad path that was set for your kids and mine We...
As a child, you have dreams, wishes and happiness. A child just wants to play in a room. A child just wants to be a superhero and stand together with his family. A child wants to experience happiness. The current situation and the war is a nightmare for the children. They are afraid, afraid. Every day, every hour, every minute and every second. You hear explosions. What about her friends and relatives? Fear is growing. Are you okay? Are they still alive? Childhood needs peace. Due to the war, children cannot go to school, even though they want to. Children have dreams, even in war. We must do...
Dear Rose, I am proud of yesterday. Did you notice all those flowers that got away because you were too anxious and depressed to even think about growing them? I respect you for wanting to save everyone around you even if it drained all your energy. Look at all the people who hurt you deeply. You decided not to hold a grudge. You are so brave! I hope you do not regret deciding not to run away from the pain. I am happy you decided to face it. I am happy you decided to look at your reflection and say “I need help". Thank you for getting help. Do you forgive yourself for every tear that poured...
Dear you, It is still a surprise that I sluggishly crawled past 365 days. Every gap between my breath feels like an eternity, but it is already 2022. Since 2020, the time has twirled its way around me like a spinning totem about to fall. One thing does not surprise me, even the slightest: Time is pulling the invisible strings tied on to us for better reasons. You surely know what I do if boredom hits me so hard- dust off the photo album, laugh at your cute, cherubic face, and thank the presence of things that bring back childhood nostalgia. Whenever I feel low, mostly for no reason at all...
For a long time, I’ve struggled to fully understand my privilege. What’s more, I am still traversing the path of discovery to this day. I grew up in an environment where receiving quality education was a given, and this allowed me to focus on my passions, largely unfettered by basic concerns. Surrounded by people with similar backgrounds, I remained in this cocoon of ignorance throughout my early years. That’s not to say I didn’t do any volunteer work. But the thing is, most of the “volunteering” I did was organized by my school — not by me. We were told what items to bring for donation boxes...
A toast to one and all, a new year is upon us. As we welcome 2022, we say goodbye to 2021. We mustn’t look down upon our shortcomings of the past year but rather look up to the stars as we stand on the mountain of knowledge and experience we have gained. For what we dreamed, we can still hope in a brighter tomorrow. The night’s darkness shall only be sign of the coming sunrise. A toast to one and all, a new light of hope, optimism, and greatness. A new year means new beginnings to which we carry the saplings of last year’s progress to be set and spread root in the grounds to which the sun...
When you're poor: you can't do things you like to do at the same time, do things you don't want to When you're poor: you think of ways on how not to feel poor but a smart one, would think of ways on how to get out of poverty When you're poor: although you want to be treated would just hide the pain and suffering instead When you're poor: happiness becomes shallow a simple dinner will allow the eyes to glow and then start tomorrow with the same kind of sorrow of finding food to swallow When you're poor: it is easier to see the smile in each other's face satisfied with ample things needed for...
Back when I was 9 years old, I used to be obsessed with the TV show Kickin’ it. Watching the friendships the characters had, how their karate improved more, and the type of moves they did, fascinated me. I remember talking to my mother at the dinner table, telling her about the new kicks I saw the main character do and expressing my eagerness to learn those exact moves. She used to laugh and tell me “First find a good place where you can learn”. And I did. I came home from school one day, holding a flyer in my hand triumphantly. I went straight over to her, put the flyer on the table and said...
Kardia, the Human Heart Within the layers of our being lays the heart, Like a pearl in its sanctuaried shell. It is where the Creator redeems our soul; It is where vicious betrayals eagerly await The heart is like a receptive soil to the seed of life. It waits upon spring to come for its flowers to bloom. Rain arouses its deepest parts with ambitions; Sun rays illuminate the broken windows of its chambers. Passion pumps from within, boiling in the veins. Palpitating wildly, the heart’s rhythm desires to be heard. Its melody patiently reviving vivid blossoms, Tying silver strings, from one...
I always remember what my mom tells me whenever I experience burnout, “Listen to your body because only you and your body know when you need rest”. And I absolutely agree with that statement, as a student whose ambitions and goals are to be competent and achieve good results through hard work and determination, we tend to not listen to what our body needs, whether that may be mentally or physically. Students at any grade level experience burnout at least once in their life, whether that may be in high school or in college, and I think it's time for us to know the tendencies of this kind of...
The country's situation collapsed, and an uprising of political opposition to the President compounded Venezuela's humanitarian and economic crisis. Inflation soared, and food prices rose higher and higher every single day. I saw how people, especially the elderly, starved, salvaging food from the garbage to feed themselves. It was heartbreaking to see my country fall into ruin. It was difficult to coordinate meetings with friends since the outside was not safe. My belongings were stolen several times while I was walking on the street. We were never able to enjoy the day freely. Many...
Young people are capable of doing incredible and even beyond belief things. When young people are inspired, educated, and raised in an environment where others openly encourage and value their opinions and thoughts on different issues, shaping and developing our society would come so much better and easier. According to United Nations data, there are 1.2 billion young people aged 15 to 24 years of age, accounting for 16 percent (%) of the global population. With this number, it is safe to say that youth have the power to decide and shape the future, not just of a country; they can define and...
When I was young I had no idea why people of the same country wage a war against each other. As I grew up I learned from the media that people wage wars because they want to see good governance. The idea of war for good governance brought me to these questions. Do wars really bring good governance? Why do civil wars last for a long time? It was 1994 when I first heard of the civil war in the neighboring country Rwanda. A war which flooded neighboring countries with a lot of refugees, mostly women and children. To date I have witnessed several civil wars all over the world with the same motive...
While I was walking back home recently, I came across Hanadi, a 12-year-old girl, who can always be seen collecting plastic bottles in the neighbourhood. Hanadi's ever-smiling face makes me feel that good is still there in our world. Her smile encouraged me to ask her what she was doing with plastic bottles. When I approached her and asked, Hanadi held the plastic bottles closer and asked me who I was. I felt that she was frightened but I introduced myself and told her that I live in the adjacent neighbourhood. We soon became friends. Then I asked her where her house is and if I could meet her...
When I joined VOY years ago, I was 17, and still in High School. I had a very regular life: I used to wake up, go to school, come back home, study, sleep and repeat. I used to live in my own shell focused on my own life problems, like how to have a good social life or get better grades at school. On weekends, I would spend time with my family and then go back to that routine on Monday. Then gradually everything changed. I got back the voice I lost, the light that faded, and since then there has been no stopping. I broke the walls I built around myself. I started to write, then speak out about...
16 Days of Activism is an international campaign that runs from 25 November to 10 December to address violence against women and girls around the world. This year, Dr Shruti Kapoor, Founder of Sayfty in partnership with UN Women, The United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development Working Group on Youth and Gender Equality and other key partnering organizations organized 16 self-defense workshops in 16 countries for young women to empower them with basic self-defense skills to keep them safer from gender-based violence. “For young women, sexual abuse and harassment/eve teasing is...
The #16DaysofActivism starts on 25 Nov and the theme is Gender Based Violence. Recently I got a chance to interact with Sunny Angel, a survivor, finalist for the Heroine of the Year Award 2017, and author of WINGS. Sunny sent me the book WINGS and I loved it, and I think that it's a very interesting book for young people. The book is a memoir, a true story, which explores different aspects of gender-based violence, from marital rape, to stalking, to emotional abuse, to honor abuse, to drugs and suicide, to forced marriage, to domestic violence, to victim blaming and a lot more. It's a very...
I woke up to Twitter yesterday to many tweets on #MeToo from people I know, and all of them were sharing their assault stories. The #MeToo movement was started by actress Alyssa Milano, and the #MeToo hashtag has been used over 200,00 times, according to the BBC. It also went viral on other social media, like Facebook and Instagram. People have used it as a social microphone to voice their sexual harassment stories, rape stories, stories about cat calls and violence at work, and even abuse stories. The thing is that so many people tweeting about it, gives us an idea how sexual assault is...