Your heart fluttered when you heard his voice, it seems you can't talk when he asks a question or you feel like melting when he passes by.
You go to the gym so as to get that kind of body most girls like just for her, you try to appear like the strong guy, the big and rich dude..
Awwww, does it seem like I know what you feel, well having a crush ain't a bad thing at all.
Its just one sign that your emotions are alive and that's what makes you human.
Being a teen Is most probably the most tasking stage of life, because it seems you are quite confused about a whole lot of things especially emotionally, you are trying to stay in touch with yourself and emotions rise up threatening to destroy all that hardwork. It could just be that new guy in class or the girl that just moved in next to you.
So let's explore a few tips
1) it is normal to have a crush, it isn't bad, you are growing and you know it. You can feel good about it or even shy
2) Just know that your crush is human and as such can't be perfect, he isn't going to be the perfect guy or girl.
3) You can talk to an older friend about how you feel, it helps you sort out your feelings and helps you handle your situation from their experiences.
4)You don't have to lose focus on yourself, be you, don't change because you want to impress, you may not be having that crush forever.
5) Don't be ashamed about it, just know that it is one phase of being a teenager that comes and passes, so make it a duty to enjoy each stage.
Ciao
Blog for Nigerian teens
Aiding the teenage adventure 😃
Monday, 20 February 2017
Knowing Yourself
WHO ARE YOU.
Hi guys, this is my first post here and its like a welcome post for me and you, so I'll start by saying happy new year.
Well I titled this post, "who are you" because as young people , that's one question we don't know how to answer or better still what to answer, it a quite a vague question.
Am asking because who you are isn't about your name or where you are from.
It is about the person beyond the appearance, beyond the facade of being a teenager, the person who is yet to find out how much he can be and how much he can accomplish.
But all this doesn't come about by staying up all night chatting with your crush.
Well you need to find out who you truly are, what works for you and what you will work for.
So let me give you a few tips:
* It is not hard, just take out some time to meditate, think about yourself, likes, dislikes and all the rest
* Write them down, it gives you clarity and a sense of purpose.
* Ask questions if you can, others may know more about you than you think, so ask honest friends.
* Finally don't forget to Pray, everything works if you pray about it.
Its simple, it works, and it makes your life worthwhile.
Enjoy the year as it unfolds.
Hi guys, this is my first post here and its like a welcome post for me and you, so I'll start by saying happy new year.
Well I titled this post, "who are you" because as young people , that's one question we don't know how to answer or better still what to answer, it a quite a vague question.
Am asking because who you are isn't about your name or where you are from.
It is about the person beyond the appearance, beyond the facade of being a teenager, the person who is yet to find out how much he can be and how much he can accomplish.
But all this doesn't come about by staying up all night chatting with your crush.
Well you need to find out who you truly are, what works for you and what you will work for.
So let me give you a few tips:
* It is not hard, just take out some time to meditate, think about yourself, likes, dislikes and all the rest
* Write them down, it gives you clarity and a sense of purpose.
* Ask questions if you can, others may know more about you than you think, so ask honest friends.
* Finally don't forget to Pray, everything works if you pray about it.
Its simple, it works, and it makes your life worthwhile.
Enjoy the year as it unfolds.
Thursday, 9 February 2017
WHILE WAITING FOR THAT UNIVERSITY ADMISSION.
Written by: Samuel Anthony
Are you a teenager still waiting for admission into the university? How do you make use of your time while waiting? Do you just while away time surfing the internet, browsing all the junks that are posted on there? Or are you using your time wisely investing it in profitable ventures that will mold you into the responsible man or woman you wish to be?
After my secondary education, I spent four years at home before I secured admission into the university. I remember wasting so much time playing computer games, chatting with friends and just aimlessly moving about. While in the university I saw so many opportunities and began to wish I had learnt a skill before I secured admission.
The four years I spent would have been enough to learn a skill and be self-reliant while in the university. Frankly speaking there are many opportunities to make money as a university student. However, only people who have prepared beforehand will take hold of these opportunities.
In this article I have compiled a list of skills you could learn while waiting for that university admission:
Barbing and hair salon.
This is one of the most lucrative businesses around university campuses. I use to have friend at the university who single handedly sponsored himself through the university, and guess what; he did that by barbing hair on campus. Students are undoubtedly the most fashionable in any society, learning how to barb hair before you get admission into the university could be your ticket to financial fortune once you eventually get admitted.
For the ladies instead of wasting time gossiping with friends why not learn how to plait different styles of hair and fix hair extensions? This skill could be learnt in less than six month with little or no cost. Most university girls change hair style once in every two weeks. These could be a source of income for you while in school.
Computer training.
It is no more news that we live in a computer age. Everything is now computerized. Therefore those who possess adequate computer skill will always have an edge over those who don’t. While waiting for that university admission, enroll in a computer training course and learn the basics of computer. Most universities now write computer based test (e-test) at the entry level, thus learning the basics of computer would help you pass these tests. Furthermore, a sound knowledge in computer operation will help you secure a job after graduating from the university.
Read books.
One of the surest ways to increase your exposure and intellectual capacity is by reading books. Yes, Read! Read! Read! The importance of reading cannot be overemphasized. Reading broadens your horizon and exposes you to the life and experiences of other.
However, not all write-ups are worth reading. Focus on write-ups that build you and challenge you to aim higher. Educative and informative books are a must read for any teenager. You never can tell when a knowledge you acquire from a book will come handy in future.
There are so many other training and activities you can engage in: music training, graphic design, catering, tailoring, shoe making, baking etc. the list is inexhaustible. While waiting for that long anticipated admission into the university you could learn one of these skills. Take a stand to learn a skill while you wait and I assure you, you’ll be glad you did. Good luck.
Sunday, 5 February 2017
Towards a successful first year in school
Are you
preparing for UTME or A-levels examinations, have you just gotten admission or
are you already in your first year? I have something for you today to help you
through the new experience of tertiary education in Nigeria.
-Take your lessons seriously
I
am assuming you are in school to perform well in your studies, so, I shouldn’t
have to stress this point enough. There will always time for everything as you
go on in school except your studies. It is especially important to start well
as it may set the tone for the remainder of your stay. It is always easier to
maintain good grades than trying to repair bad ones. You don’t want to look
back one day and regret not having focused in your first year. So, let your
studies be your first priority, get in the groove and you will be thankful for
it later.
-Focus on and in class
Following
from the first tip, going to class is not the same thing as focusing in class.
So, pay attention to your lecturers, give them full concentration and you will
find out that reading after classes will be much more fun. Some of the courses
you will be taking are hinged on a single concept. If you miss or do not
understand the concept as a result of inadequate concentration, you may find it
hard to understand the remaining parts of the course. Learn to jot while your
lecturer is explaining, not everything will be in your notes. Make it a habit
never to miss classes and practicals and always be early. I once fell into the
habit of reading Harry Potter novels during class; the end result was the worst
result I ever obtained in school.
-Prepare and devote yourself to
assignments and tests
So,
here is a secret; your tests and assignments are the secrets to higher grades.
They are much easier to pass with high grades. You have days to research and
submit an excellent assignment and during tests, there is usually enough time
to read as different lecturers give tests at different times. In most
institutions in Nigeria, they take 35-45 percent of the total marks in all
courses. So, picture a situation where you already have 30percent before
examinations. You can now approach your exams under no tension and when you are
at ease, it becomes much easier to pass them in flying colours.
-Read smart and find a suitable
reading system
In
my previous post, I explained how to read smart. So, I won’t dwell on it too
much here. Learn to read smart, start reading well in advance of tests and
examinations, avoid piling up a lot of materials before reading, always read
soon after each lecture and find a reading system that suits you. Don’t get
intimated by the way or manner some people around may be reading. Just get your
own pattern that you feel comfortable with.
-Join group discussions and be proactive
in seeking for answers
Discussion
groups are very good to further help with your studies. It doesn’t even matter
if your already understand the topics to be discussed. In fact, while trying to
teach others, you are also further increasing your own understanding. If you do
not understand a particular topic, do not be shy, ask for help from those
around you, your lecturers, the internet and those in front of you. You will be
surprised at how many people are willing to help if you approach them with
humility.
-Move with like-minded people
There
is no denying the fact that you are worth as much as the friends you surround
yourself with. A huge number of people have been inspired by the company they
kept while an equally sizable number have been limited by theirs. So, if you
have a clear goal that you want to achieve, look for people with a similar
philosophy and be wary of people whose attitudes are at loggerheads with yours.
Being at an impressionable age, there is no such thing as being immune to the
habits of your friends, you will gradually imbibe them.
-Learn to be social
This
is just as important as your studies. There is no point passing through an
institution without allowing it to pass through you. Join a sport, debate or
quiz groups, departmental associations, religious associations and other
voluntary groups. The experience you will get from them is invaluable. This
will prepare you for leadership positions later on in life. However, take care
to ensure they don’t overlap or defeat your purpose in school; academic
progress.
-Shun cultism and other vices
Sadly,
social vices such as cultism, prostitution (in all its guiles), addiction to
hard drugs and clubbing among others are gradually gaining ground among the
youths of today. Nothing has the potential to derail your pursuit of excellence
as quickly and dramatically as these evils. Steer clear of them; do not even
try to eat with these devils nusing a long stop, refuse to eat with them at
all. All social vices eventually come home to roost and their end results are
never good to behold.
10 effective tips for improving your personality
The
teenage period is a time of growth and development physically, emotionally and
mentally. It is a time when the bedrock of your character is cemented beyond spurious
changes. Do you want to build an irrepressible and confident personality? The
following tips will help enhance your personality and boost the way people
perceive you.
-Build your confidence and
appreciate your worth
Well,
the first step in improving your personality and profile is to for you to
appreciate what you bring to the table. You need to have a solid grasp of your
strengths and weaknesses. Knowing your strengths and weakness then brings about
confidence as you are able to categorically demarcate and demand for the
respect you are due. You need to come to terms with your weaknesses and while
you work on eradicating them to the barest minimum, you need to avoid being
weighed down by them. All great personalities are built on self-confidence.
Without self-confidence, your journey to developing a better personality is
over before it has even started. However, care should be taken as the line
between self-confidence and arrogance is quite thin.
-Learn public speaking
That
everybody listens when a good orator speaks is no coincidence. The ability to
communicate effectively to a large audience has always been tied to having a
great personality. It has often been said that not everybody is equipped to
speak in public but I beg to disagree. Every single human being can achieve at
the very least, a functional ability to speak to large audiences. Build your
public speaking ability by listening to motivational tapes and reading books on
public speaking. Books by Dale Carneige are especially good to cure this most
embarrassing of ills.
-Learn to listen
One
of Abraham Lincoln’s greatest ability his the ability to genuinely listen and
see reason with people. To achieve a greater personality, you need to develop a
special ability to listen and sympathize with people. Luckily, it is not very
hard to achieve if you put in the required effort. Learn to become genuinely
interested in people and keep an open ear at all times.
-Learn to dress well
Dressing
well means different things to a fashion diva, a pop artiste, a politician or a
medical professional. However, dressing well is simply the art of making
appearances that are well suited to the image you want people to see you
representing. This explains the difference in its translation by different
categories of people. Everybody has met somebody they refused to associate with
based on the image they assumed they represented. You are first slated by the
way you appear.
Dressing
well does not necessarily involve getting designers and the latest trends in
vogue or putting on expensive apparel. In fact, in certain circumstances,
dressing expensively can send the wrong message. Dressing well has a contextual
meaning; what you had on yesterday may not necessarily suit your purpose today.
So, pay attention to your appearance to improve the way you are perceived.
-Improve personal interaction
As
an adjunct to learning to listen, you need to also learn to interact positively
in such a way to leave an indelible impression on people who associate with
you. People who have come across individuals with excellent personalities
report having an euphoric feeling while with them. Learn to contribute
positively to conversation, learn social grace and etiquette and be wary of
sounding dull and uninterested to people.
Many
people also suffer from an inability to communicate with the opposite sex
effectively as a result of a plethora of reasons. Learn to bridge this gap by
building your own self-confidence and self esteem to record an improvement in
your personality.
-Increase your knowledge base
Read
and absorb information from diverse walks of life. Spread your interests over a
wide range of subjects. You will be surprised to find out how many fields you
may discover you have interests in. Read books and surf the internet to acquire
both current and historical facts. A great personality is one with sufficient
knowledge to share.
-Maintain healthy relationships
A
popular saying emphasizes that we are mirror images of the friends we keep. In
actual fact, we are what our friends are. Evaluate your goals and that of your
friends, find out if they are even similar and take action appropriately. You
can’t have an optimistic personality when you move around with pensive and
skeptical friends. Build new relationships with people who can help in your
journey to self-perfection.
-Learn an extra skill
Develop
a skill (professional or otherwise). Take an interest in a marketable skill. It
helps promote your brand, build your confidence and uphold your self-esteem.
Skills abound for you to learn; MCing, baking, writing, teaching, providing web
services among others. Having a skill makes you come across to people as being
extra focused and a determined individual.
-Be health conscious
Having
a great personality is no victory if you have poor health. Despite our health
not being totally under our control, we can still play a huge part in ensuring
we always operate as close to full health to possible. Excellent personal
hygiene, regular checkups, eating well and exercising have been shown to have a
direct uplifiting effect on health. Practise and engage in them to further
boost your chances of good health.
-Pray
Learn
to develop a relationship with God. Having the perception that God is on your
side imbues great confidence and self-assurance, which are both vital in
improving personality.
10 Effective reading tips
So, this is my first
post on this blog and I have decided to start on an educative note. A lot of
teenagers in Nigeria right now have one examination or the other in front of
them, be it UTME or for those already in tertiary institutions, semester exams.
So, have you been reading hard or reading smart? I will be showing you certain
tips to upgrade your reading and catapult you into the stratosphere of success.
Follow me.
-Understand
Yourself and Develop Your Own Pattern
Well, this is the biggest
tip of them all. Many people underutilize their potential by either not
discovering their best reading pattern or adopting the wrong system.
Understanding yourself entails knowing such things as your reading speed and
speed of assimilation among others. Some people can read faster than others; as
such, they can start and finish reading what they need to cover within a short
span. However, a slow reading speed does not necessarily translate to a lower
level of intelligence. Some of the most brilliant people I know are slow
readers who only need to read a book once to understand it forever.
Also, some people only
read in total silence while others understand better with soft music playing in
the background, I read certain calculations better while listening to fast rap.
Some people (even some fast readers) like reading well ahead of examinations
while others only thrive under pressure. Quite a number of people don’t like
reading in libraries and I know a classmate who has to find space under a tree
before he can read. Just experiment with different styles and combinations and
find out what you are most comfortable with.
-Read
a little at a time
A lot of people leave a
lot of their work to be read until the last possible moment and end up needing
to read a lot at once to catch up. Other people set a particular time or day(s)
to read and then go about reading all they can lay their hands on. This works
for some people, however, the human body needs rest and does not function well
under stress or fatigue. Chances are when you read hard for 8 hours at a
stretch, you will understand much less than if you read for 8 hours in total
with breaks (of maybe half an hour) in between. The brain will have a chance to
get refreshed, relaxed and will be ready to take and process information at a
much faster rate.
-Avoid
panic-reading
Are you in a situation
where you have an exam or test and you still have a lot to cover? Well, everybody
has been in that situation before. A lot of people tend to go off their handles
and panic but let me tell you; worrying or panicking has never solved a problem
before. Calm down, pick out the most important aspects, read them thoroughly.
If after reading them, you still have time, go through the remaining materials.
Keep cool, don’t lose your head and you will be fine.
-Consult
wide
This tip is very important. It is the main
difference between average and A-students. This works well when you start
reading early for an examination. Go outside the basics given to you, read as
many textbooks as you can find, surf helpful websites, consult people ahead of
you and your teachers or lecturers and go through past questions. This gives
you an edge over those that have read only the basics; you will have a much
larger knowledge base to draw upon to prove your points or tackle a tough or
applied question. Wikipedia is
especially useful for more in-depth explanations.
-Check
pictures and pictorial representations
Learn to check diagrams
or other pictorial resources that explain a particularly knotty concept. Many a
times while I was in medical school, I have been saved the embarrassment of not
knowing how to explain my point by diagrams. Also, associating diagrams with
explanations spares you the time you would otherwise have used to revise. Come
revision time or shortly before entering the exam hall to take an examination,
a simple glance at the diagram will refresh your mind and send you on the way
to success.
-Encode
information in Mnemonics
A mnemonic is a device or prompt
assisting the memory (Microsoft Encarta
2009). If you have passed through secondary school within Nigeria, you surely
know of MR NIGER D. MR NIGER D is a most famous mnemonic that holds the characteristics
of living things. Think back to how easy it was to hold 8 characteristics with
that simple code. I want you to know that you can hold almost every list in
such a code. It makes work much easier and fun to recall and has no limit to
the number of individual entities it can hold. I have held as much as
thirty-five separate things in a mnemonic while schooling. Try holding things in funny or memorable
codes that can be easily remembered and take care to ensure you can recall what
each part of the mnemonic means. It is a cardinal sin if you remember the
mnemonic and not what it stands for.
A mnemonic
is not compulsorily a word, it can be a whole sentence or sometimes, a
collection of words that are just about pronounceable and can be recalled. Let
me refresh our minds with another famous information held in mnemonics all over
the world; the names of planets in the universe. When I was much younger, I
stored the names of the planets with “Mr Victor Emmanuel Must Just See Uncle
Now, Please”. Look around you, practice with mnemonics before the D-day and
watch how you waltz through any question that requires you to list.
-Jot
down
This is yet another
powerful but ignored reading tool. As a rule, always read with a jotting pad
and a pen in your hand. Regularly jot down salient and important points as you
read on. Allow your jottings to cover every section of the material you have just
read. Jotting keeps what you have just read fresh. The simple act of writing
down what you have just understood makes it very difficult for you to forget
it. It is also a very powerful revision tool. Running low on time and you want
to go through your materials once again? Just read your jottings; it takes less
time and covers the most important sections of the exams.
-Group
discussion
I discovered the power
of group discussions in my second semester in school and I never let it slip
through my hands again. Well, do you have some bulky material or handout to go
through before the exam period? Get three to four like-minded and serious
students like yourself. Divide the material into four or five parts as the case
may be and ask everybody to read a portion thoroughly, then, fix a time where
everyone explains his own part to the others while they jot down. Then, watch
the magic when you come to read the entire material on your own. Believe me,
nothing is more effective against bulky materials than group discussions.
However, group discussions need extra effort and dedication to work. Every
member must be equally determined and serious and it helps when you all pay
extra focus. Get good students into your group discussion and watch as your
grades take an upward trajectory.
-Steer
clear of stimulants
Well, being humans, we
love quick fixes and taking stimulatory substances to prepare for an exam is
just one of those fixes that work almost all the time but is quite dangerous
when they fail. People take different substances, most especially coffee
(Nescafe is quite common) to get their bodies into a sleep-denying state to
enable them cover as much ground as possible without feeling sleepy. This is
another effect of unpreparedness or panic-reading.
While they may work in
the short term, getting addicted to them can produce less-than-desirable short
and long-term effects. Let me share a personal experience. It was my second
year in school and I had this massive biochemistry examination the next day.
Well, I had almost finished reading but I was scared I wouldn’t be able to
finish revising. So, I succumbed to the pressures of my friends who urged me to
take a sachet of Nescafe to stay awake. Well, I did stay awake but I achieved
nothing as I wasn’t able to concentrate. I kept fidgeting until I had the good
sense to lie down to bed around 2 a.m till the effects wore out. I then woke up
around 6 a.m to rush my revision. Well, I didn’t get the grade I felt I should
have gotten and that episode taught me a lesson not to indulge in stimulatory
products to deprive my physical urges.
Nescafe and other such products mostly contain
caffeine as a major constituent. Accumulation of caffeine in the blood stream
as a result of habitual use can lead to an inability to sleep even when the
products are not taken. This comes with attending physical and mental issues.
So, we should be careful and shy away from overdependence on stimulatory substance.
-Watch
your diet and Exercise well
Eat well and eat right
before reading and during exams. Food provides nourishment, satisfaction and
energy to complete your reading task as reading is an energy-consuming process.
Eating the correct food also involves not eating food that produce such effects
as flatulence or persistent bowel movement and emptying. Eat a lot of vitamins,
fruits and vegetables. They keep the body sharp, prevent infections and provide
antioxidants that boost the immune system.
Exercise keeps the body
fit, sharpens the brain and increases concentrating ability. Exercise often to
upgrade your mental ability and keep your health at optimum level.
-Pray
Bonus tip; prayer is very important. Regardless of
your religion, speaking to God before anything is a vital component that
determines the success or failure of the enterprise. Prayer also puts you in a
mentally and psychologically-buoyant mood as you are expectant and hopeful that
your prayers have been answered. This adds a spring to your step and confidence
that the control of the situation is in the hands of He whom you serve. Let me
add this oft-repeated cliché; pray as if you haven’t read and read as if you
haven’t prayed.
So, guys, remember to read smart. Some read hard but
successful people don’t need to read hard, they just need to read well and read
smart. Cheers.
Wednesday, 25 January 2017
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