12 (or so) Days of Christmas: My 1st Live Interview

In honor of my blog's first holiday season, I will be doing a small series of post entitled the 12 (or so) Days of Christmas.


Day 1:

My family and I went to see the Chocolate Nutcracker in local theater. After the show, a woman from the Sun-Sentinel requested to interview me for a story that she would release soon. I agreed because, honestly, I enjoy attention and it important for me to be able tot articulately express myself to the public. She put a mic on me and had me test the audio a couple times. Once she picked the perfect camera angle, she started asking questions. Fortunately, after years of debate, I have been trained in quickly answering questions intelligently. The first question being easy like "What was your favorite part?" Then she moved into more controversial questions like "How does a production like this affect the community?" and "How does it feel seeing a 'chocolate' version of the traditionally white story?"


Here's a clip of my answers:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/video/originals/sun-sentinel-shorts/sfl-ss-originals-chocolate-nutcracker-story-20151211-story.html

Midterms/Finals

These last two weeks have been the weeks of finals and midterms. I just wanted to do a quick shoutout to the other students struggling to study for all of these obnoxiously weighted tests. I want to commend you for staying strong regardless of how much sleep you have lost. I understand the stress of these examinations and I really want to encourage all the students to persevere. The struggle is almost over; in the long run, (hopefully) it will be worth it (*insert Hunger Games whistle*).

May the curve be ever in your favor :)

Starting finals like...

My 1st Hanukkah

Today is the first night of Hanukkah. Today is also the first time I've participated in Hanukkah, and let me just tell you-Hanukkah is awesome.

This is a dreidel.

I went to my friend's house and met her family. Grandma was already cooking and the house smelled delicious. While we waited for everything to cook, my friend, her brother, and I played some games. We played the Game of Life and I won, retiring with 3.35 million dollars. We spun the dreidel  which was really cool because I won almost all the candy. My friend and I watched some very interesting panda and unicorn videos. Soon after, the sun was setting and the food was ready to eat. I sat down to a bowl of Matzo ball soup (which was so good).  The sun had completely set so it was time to light the menorah and say a prayer. After which, the food was served which included potato latkas (fried potatoes) and brisket. The food was scrumptious and quickly devoured. Then, the family collaborated to clear the table for the much anticipated desert-chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and various other pastries.

The awesomeness of Hanukkah does not just derive from the food or the candles, or the games. The togetherness and bonding of  family and friends is really what makes Hanukkah (or any holiday) special. I'm just really glad I took the opportunity to be a part of it.

The Joy in Giving

This holiday season I have so many new friends due to the change in schools, clubs, life experiences etc. So instead of purchasing a bunch of items to absent mindedly give away, I decided to indulge in the joy of giving.

I gave one of my friends a wrapped box of peanut butter and a card. It was not expensive and it was exactly what I wanted to give him. When I brought him the gift earlier his week, he was so surprised and appreciative. He actually gave me hug after reading the card; reason being, the card had more than just "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas" in it. Inside I expressed my genuine appreciation for the friendship I have with him. If you give the right person a card, sometimes, the card seems to write itself.

Later on, he unwraps the peanut butter and his face lights up. Now I'm sure that peanut butter was not at the top of his wish list, but the gift acknowledges that I listen to him. I remember him saying that his favorite food was peanut butter which is where I got the idea from. Long story short, he enjoyed his gift, and I (the giver), really enjoyed giving it to him.

   

Little Kids # -_-

I volunteer at a local school and tutor little kids. I love the face they make when they finally get an answer right. I love how their faces light up when I come in the room. That is the best part of my job.

Little kids got me like...

HOWEVER, little kids are mean. They are mean to strangers and each other. They are adorable, but overly blunt.
Don't get me wrong, I love them;but, those kids... 怎么办(what to do)？

Dress to Impress

Work the hallway like a runway ^_^

Always dress to impress, even when there really isn't anyone to impress. I have noticed that when I put more effort into my wardrobe, I tend to feel better and more confident. Always work the hallway like a runway :)

How I Lost 40+ Pounds

I have never been a skinny person nor have I ever qualified for one that is anything below overweight. This past summer, I lost over 40 pounds and I continue to lose more every week. The first step in the weight loss process was not exercise or eating less. The first step was actually accepting myself for all that makes up my awesomeness. Because I loved myself so much, I began to do things that made me happy like traveling and hanging out with my friends. The weight began to slowly fall off at this point. Then, I actually put more effort in increasing my exercise and eating meals that I actually want. This was also very encouraging for weight loss. Conveniently, I started university which is much larger than my previous institution;the walk I had to take to get to my institution increased as well. Thus, smoothly transitioning me into this required daily three mile walk. At this point, I had already lost about 30 pounds, but after about three weeks of this new exercise regimen, I lost an additional 10 pounds. Notice how I never really had to alter my the amount of calories I consumed because the increase in  my daily activity outnumbered the amount of calories I ate.

Tips:

• Get Busy
• The mind won't have time to think about food when you have so many other projects to complete.

• Avoid "100 Calorie Snacks"
• People tend to eat multiple of these snacks assuming that they are only eating 100 calories.  It's easier if the person were to just eat what he or she wants, as to quickly nullify the urge to eat food.
• Listen to  Your Body
• The body sends signals to the mind to tell it to stop eating. If one eats to fast or ignores these signals,  he or she is over eating and essentially abusing his or her body.  
• Don't Set Goal Weights, Just Set Goals
•  I set a goal to be happy and pursuing that goal made the weight loss soooo much easier. Setting a weight goal can cause unnecessary anxiety on the body and make it harder to lose weight.