Extra Money For College

We all are aware of the image of the broke college student. With college costs on the rise, and an already hectic schedule, it may be hard to find extra money for your daily needs. Still money is often needed for laundry, food, entertainment, or to even contribute to books and school fees.

Here is my latest article from Fastweb which details some ways a college student can earn extra money while maintaining their already intense school schedule.

Check out the article here.

International Literacy Month

In honor of International Literacy Month, I'm reposting this post about my own experience with illiteracy.

When I was a teenager my mother revealed to me that my father-- who was deceased-- had been functionally illiterate. I was amazed by this revelation. This was the first time I had a face to put with the issue of illiteracy. She explained the ways he got around his inability to read. How he was a truck driver and would match up the letters from his delivery orders with street signs, never really knowing what the streets were called. He would then memorize landmarks and various things to remember the streets. He would have her read his mail to him.

Finding out this information inspired me to want to help adults who were illiterate learn to read. I wanted adults to have a safe place to go to learn how to read without judgement. I became a tutor in an adult literacy program in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. The people I met came from all walks of life, and various countries. I met a couple from Italy who wanted to earn their GED so that they would be able to get better jobs. First they needed to learn how to read. They were eager learners and were never late for a session.

Then there was a man who was 80 years old. As I taught him his alphabet, I looked at the wedding ring on his left hand. "How long have you been married?" I asked him. "Over 50 years, but my wife died recently." He responded.  I felt so horrible for bringing up the subject. Then I realized over the course of working with him, that although his wife died, this man didn't roll over and die with her. He was working to accomplish a life long dream, learning to read.

According to an ABCNews article, "Living in the Shadows: Illiteracy in America"  7 million Americans are illiterate, 27 million are unable to read well enough to complete a job application and 30 million can't read a simple sentence.

Do you know anyone who is suffering with illiteracy in silence? Being illiterate impacts every area of a person's life as the above article shows.

 It's never too late to learn to read and change the course of your life. Check out my previous post, "Impossible Things"  which highlights George Dawson who learned to read and wrote his autobiography.

When the Whole Family Goes Back to School

It's that time of year again. Time for us all to tearfully bid adieu to summer, with its trips to theme parks and lazy days lounging by the pool.

It is time to go Back to School. Some parents may enjoy this time of the year more than any other. I've heard many people say that they will be happy to have the house quiet again. 

School being back in session can also mean a more stressful time, especially if you yourself are an adult student. Between balancing the children's school schedule, activities, parent teacher conferences, your full-time job, and taking classes toward your degree there may seem to be no time to get it all done.

Here are some tips for managing your time as a family:

Prepare-- Try to plan ahead as much as possible. Pack lunches, and iron the next day's clothing at night. That way there will be less rushing around in the morning.

Schedule all activities, including your own homework deadlines, on a calendar. If you keep all scheduled dates and times with you, it makes it less likely that something will slip your mind. Program the really important, non-recurring items into your phone. This way you will get a reminder that something is due, or you should be somewhere.

Study Together-- Being in school doesn't mean that you can't spend time together as a family. Make homework time a group activity. When your children sit down to do their homework, you can sit down to do yours as well.

Take a Book-- Most parents spend a lot of their free time driving their children to various extracurricular activities. Make the most of your time by keeping a textbook or lecture notes with you. You can get a lot accomplished in an hour so give it a try.


What are some other ways you balance being in school and being a parent?

Success At Any Age

I love any story about an adult learner accomplishing great things. Learning to read for the first time, earning a GED, or going to college as a non-traditional student are all great victories.

I came across two stories which highlight the will of adult learners to succeed at their goals.

Willadene Zedan has graduated from college at the age of 85. I know people who are only in their 20's who think it is too late for them to go back to school. Well it is not! Click here to read more about this amazing woman's journey.

Adult learners share their stories in this article. In it they talk about earning their GED's. It truly is never too late to get an education.

 I hope these stories will inspire you to go for your dreams and remember that anything is possible!

How Learning An Instrument Can Help Reduce Your Daily Stress

Our bodies are equipped with a stress response that can be triggered by work, relationships, finances or just about any aspect of our daily lives. It’s incumbent upon us to strike a balance between working hard and providing for ourselves and families, while also taking care not to overload our minds and create too much stress in our lives.

 

Having too much stress can affect our health, cause us to feel sick (whether we are or not) and cause us to needlessly worry and feel anxious.

 

If it gets bad enough, these stress responses can become the norm for our bodies, creating a constant sense of anxiousness, frustration and impending doom. We were never designed to take that much stress on in our lives; the negative effects are way too costly for the benefit of a few thousand extra dollars a year.

 

While we’re quite familiar with how to create stress, what eludes us most of the time are opportunities to alleviate it.

 

There are plenty of ways to give yourself a break, but one of the more surprising and possibly more consistent remedies would be simply to learn an instrument and play some music on a regular basis.

 

Research

 

Medical research has shown that making music with an instrument does actually reduce the stress response in our body and can effectively reverse what stress triggers set in motion.

 

The more regularly we’re able to play an instrument and enjoy it, the better off we’re going to be in terms of our stress levels. In fact, it has enough of an impact to be considered a healthy lifestyle decision, which like any similar decision, needs to be a matter of constant habit and not a one time thing.

 

Enjoying as Opposed to Working

 

For this to work, you want to find an instrument that fits one of the following categories so that you don’t really have to “work” to play it:

 

●     You’ve already learned the instrument but haven’t picked it up in a while.

●     The instrument is simple enough to put sounds together without a steep physical or mental learning curve.

 

The point of this exercise is to get away from work, not trade one form of work for another, so pick an instrument that’s easy, like the piano, or an instrument that you might have already learned earlier in your life that’s easy to pick up again.

 

When you do play, make sure you don’t allow it to turn into a pursuit or some kind of improvement game.

 

You’re not trying to turn into a musical genius or sell an album. Instead, you’re just trying to relax, enjoy yourself and make some simple music that will allow your body to de-stress. If you feel like you need to improve your musical ability, you’re getting back into work mode and will have less of a benefit from the time you spend playing.

 

Making it a Habit

 

Whatever instrument you choose, just enjoy the sounds that you are able to make. Above all, make it into a habit and spend a little bit of time every week (or every day if possible) engaging your mind in that fashion.

 

Know that it’s a proven method to lower stress, and if you stick with it over time, you’ll get to the point where you can probably put some energy and genuine interest into the instrument itself. Once that happens, you’ll have not just a de-stressor, but a creative outlet, which can also lead to lower stress days and more enjoyable leisure time.

 

 

 

Marcela De Vivo is a freelance writer in Los Angeles who writes on everything from marketing and social media, to gaming and tech, to health and beauty. She finds that playing music on a daily basis, whether it be playing an instrument or listening to an album, helps her eliminate a good amount of stress.

Money, Money, Money!

I'm a huge proponent of scholarships. Why borrow money if you can earn a scholarship? Most scholarships are available to college students of any age.

 Here are some recent scholarships opportunities I've come across:

GotChosen: This award is available to college students. The prize is $1,000. A winner is selected at random every month. You don't have to write and essay or have a top GPA. All you need to do is enter to win every month. It's worth a shot.

From Failure to Promise: This award is still available. All you have to do is read a book and write a essay answering the questions on the scholarship website. You also must have a 3.0 GPA to apply. Deadline: July 31, 2013.

Student Transportation Video Contest: Do you like to make videos? Well you could create one discussing some aspect of transportation in America and win a prize of $500. Visit the website for more specific information. Deadline: August 15, 2013.

Here is proof that students actually are awarded scholarships. Read about how one student earned $40,000 here.

What scholarship opportunities have you come across?

Visualize Success

"Anything you may hold firmly in your imagination can be yours."~William James

Positive visualization is not a new idea. It is something that many people do not practice, however.  If you want to succeed at anything, it is important to visualize yourself actually succeeding.

When athletes prepare for a big game they often create a movie in their minds of game, they see themselves making the touchdown or the 3-point buzzer beating shot. They replay these scenes over and over again in their minds. This positive visualization paired with hard work and practice often leads to a successful outcome.

Positive visualization doesn't only work for sports figures or celebrities. It works for anyone. I came across this story of a man losing nearly 300 pounds because of positive visualization.

Stephen Mariani loved baseball, but couldn't fit into the seats in the stadium. As he began to work on his health, he visualized the day when he'd be able to walk into the stadium, take his seat comfortably and enjoy the game. He kept this vision in the forefront of his mind every day. Then one day it finally happened just as he'd imagined!

Check out his story to see the ways positive visualization can help to improve your life today.

*Photo courtesy of sparkpeople.com.