Make The World A Smarter Place, Help A Student Today

The future of humanity lies in education. There’s no denying it. The more knowledge people have, the better they get at making the right decisions. The more you know, the least you err, to put things in simple words. However, the acquisition of knowledge can often feel like an impossible quest for nowadays students. There isn’t a week that goes by without mentioning high stress issues and tuition fees that students have to cope with. Additionally, the cost of education is increasing all over the world, making it impossible for some ever to get a chance at turning their life for the better. So what can you do to help students make the world a better place?

Students need support to shine

Learning is a chance you can share

You may not have traveled far away, but you probably have heard of the countries where studying can make the difference between making a living or struggling in your home village. For many children and young adults in poor populations, the opportunities to get a scholarship are extremely limited. As a result, kids are forced to work from an early age to help their family. But if you take part to the child sponsorship programs you can help give teens a chance to study and establish themselves as professionals. When a degree can make all the difference between a healthy lifestyle and a famished existence, there’s no room left for hesitation.

Fight off the anxiety

One in 5 college students struggle with anxiety or depression disorder. The increase of tech gadgets has isolated the youth from their real life, while they try to maintain the virtual appearances on social media platforms. Additionally, the desire to succeed has driven many to seek out stimulant drugs, creating devastating addictions. It’s key for the education sector to acknowledge these mental health issues and provide personal support for those who need it most. It’s also recommended for student affairs professional to take a mental health first aid course.

Teach them to study

As scary as it might sounds, modern kids don’t know how to learn anymore. According to Daniel Willingham, professor of psychology, most students drop out of college because they don’t devise the right strategy to work. The common use of the highlighting approach to remember passages of a text doesn’t work, as it doesn’t bring students to think about the meaning of what they’re learning. Ultimately you can’t remember what you don’t understand. It’s therefore key to teach students how to best remember and understand their classes.
 

Talk about money

Last, but not least, a lot of people choose not to pursue their studies because they’re struggling with the burden of student loans. Therefore, students need the advice of experts who can help them to better understand the financial strategies to reduce and manage student loan payments. From refinancing options to enrolling in an IBR program, there as many options that young adults could use. Every student should be able to get access to a finance expert to discuss their long-term payments, budget and income potential.  

Student loan application

Education pays for itself in the long term. But without your help, is there any chance for today’s students to get the chances their parents or grandparents had?

Book Review: Real Artists Have Day Jobs

"The biggest myth we are fed as artists is that we need to sustain ourselves solely on our art."

I finished reading Real Artists Have Day Jobs recently, and it was a fun romp through various short essays on art, love, and life written by comedian Sara Benincasa.

Sara has a unique outlook on the world, which I appreciated. It's empathetic, social justice oriented, but also funny, relevant, and her writing easy to read. She writes in a conversational tone and explores a lot of her own story through the book. Everything from her struggles with her body, issues with anxiety, and journey with her career. All delivered in bite sized morsels. I really enjoyed that I could pick up the book and read a chapter or two then put it down. I tend to only have brief periods of time or so much attention to give so it worked out well that way.

The stories shared in this book are very genuine and aren't done in a way of sharing expertise on any topic; just one's person's experiences and what they think about them. It's a great way to go in the world that leaves room for growth, acknowledges shortcomings, and is more relatable. Someone who is so sure of themselves to ignore any new information is going to limit themselves to many possibilities to learn and do the best they can with whatever they're working on. Being open to a good, new story change create positive change in anyone. This book achieves just that.

As the title implies, the book emphasizes the idea that we can create and be artists without going headlong into trying to be an "artist" who lives off their creations. We can live in the world, work a "day job" and pursue our creative endeavors just the same as anyone else. It may even work better than way. This sentiment makes me think of another great book I've read, Steal Like an Artist.

I've seen a lot of people talk about this book online and I'm glad I finally got around to checking it out. I recommend you do too. 

Thanks for stopping by!