Saturday 31 January 2015

An award? Where? When? I accept !

Saturday 31 January 2015

Hello blog !

I have been away for the past 5 days and I came back to find a very pleasant surprise waiting for me .

As if having my little blog isn't already awesome, I have been nominated by a lovely fellow blogger to take part in the Liebster award.








I'd like to start off by thanking the amazing "This Freaks Thoughts"  who has deemed me worthy of the award, for that I am most grateful. I definetly think you guys should check the blog out.

For those of you who don't know what a Liebster Award is. It is a chain letter whose main purpose is to bring blogger together. It spreads your blof name around and hopfully gets your blog more traffic.


Below are the rules of the Liebster award :

-Thank the person who nominated you and link their blog.
-Answer the questions given by the nominator.
-Nominate 11 other bloggers who have less than 200 followers, and link them.
-Notify all the bloggers you nominate.
-Create 11 new questions for your nominees to answer.

 Here are "This Freaks Thoughts" 's questions and my answers :


1- Why did you pick your blog name ?

I first started this blog because I'm extremly introverted and highly sensitive, so sharing my thoughts with people in real life isn't exacly easy. That is why I chose to name it "shared thoughts". Because all the posts are me sharing my thoughts (kinda cheesy I know)


2- What is your favourite animal and why ?

Now that is a hard question. My favourite pet animals are cats because I simply just adore cats. But my favourite  wild animals are definitely Leopard or lion cubs. Why ?  just take a  look at these babies.





3- If you were allowed to go to one place in the world but not be able to visit it ever again, where would you go ?


Iceland , definitely Iceland. I'm in love with that place.


4- What is your favourite thing about yourself.

Everything, I think I'm pretty awesome. Just kidding, but not really.


5- Would you rather only ever eat junk food or only ever eat vegetables?

I think I'd rather only eat vegetables ,because being able to eat nothing but junk food is not a life I want to live.


6- If you were only allowed to wear one makeup product what would it be?

Sunscreen. Does sunscreen count as a makeup product ? I'm not sure. But I don't really use makeup that much so that wouldn't a problem.


7-  Who is your idol / role model ? and why ?

I have a large number of idols. My parents of course are my first role models and then there is Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Darren Criss, J.K Rowling , Paolo Coelho,  Stephen Hawking, Elizabeth Gilbert and a lot more.


8- You are only allowed to use household appliances in a zombie apocalypse, what would you pick as your wepon ?

Probably a knife.


9- What is your favourite smell/scent.

The smell of a forest in the rain. It's like heaven to my nose.


10-What is your best advice on worrying?

I ,myself, am a person who worries so much about basically everything. I think that the best thing to do when you worry too much is to try and distract your brain from thinking about the specific thing you're worrying about. Try to do something you love or something that makes you happy, and hopefully everything will turn up exactly the way you wanted. I wish I could  say just stop worrying but I know that it's not that easy.


11- What do you like to do on your spare time ? 

Sleep, listen to music , have solo dance parties in my bedroom, obsess over Tv shows, scrool down my tumblr dashboard and run ,not from my problem, even though that is something I use to do a lot, but the actual physical activity. Improvement I know.


Here are the lovelies I nominate :



 

Here are my questions :


1.        What is the number one reason you started your blog?
2.        When not blogging, what do you do for fun?
3.        Who or what inspires?
4.        What are you most passionate about?
5.        What is your favourite movie ?
6.        If you could change one thing about this world, what would it be?
7.        What's your greates fear?
8.        Best book you've read recently?
9.        What is your favourite season of the year?
10.     If you had to live in a decade other than the current one, which one would you choose?
11.     What is your favourite animal?
Again , many thanks to "This Freaks Thoughts" for nominating me. 

As always guys, remember to stay positive and do more of what makes you happy.


Lots of love
Khaoula.A
              xx                 

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    Friday 23 January 2015

    The Wonder duo talks : Does school take the joy out of the learning process?

    Friday 23 January 2015

    Hello blog !

    Since Rachid and I are both students , we decided that the first wonder duo talk should be about the following question  "Does school take the joy out of the learning process ?".

    Here is the talk :



    Rachid : A Chinese proverb says that learning is a treasure that will follow it's owner everywhere. Such wise words! But to continue down the path of learning, there is one road companion that every one of us has to bring along if he wants to go far in this particular trip: it's Mr Happiness ( Joy for the most intimate ). Why ? because if you ever want to continue doing something for a long time, you must be enjoying it otherwise you'll just quit ! So that bought us to think we the wonder duo about the joy we feel in the learning process. And since most learning process is done in schools. we are wondering:Is joy really a parameter of the learning of our schools nowadays ? I think it's not ! what about you Khaoula ?


    Khaoula : You are right Rachid. Happiness is something very precious .Hard to find but worth the trouble. I firmly believe that living life ,in general, without being happy is a nightmare. Let alone studying or working. I think that schools nowadays focus so much on giving information to students in order to make the knowledgeable , that they suck the joy out of the educational process. Hapiness and even mental health issues are not even taken into considiration by schools. That is terrefying if you concider how much stress school causes to students and the fact that student today have more anxiety than child phsychiatric patients in the 1950's.




    “Don’t push students farther than their limit. All my teachers say, "I’m treating you like this because that’s how you’ll be treated in college." Guess what? I’m not in college; I’m 15 and in high school for a reason.”

    —  Anonymous student-“Schools Need to Reduce Academic Pressure on Students”




    Rachid : So you are with me in the fact that the process of learning in our schools doesn't take into account the happiness of the students. Since I am from scientific background, a mathematics student to be more precise I know that very well ! mathematics, are probably the best example of the lack of the joy criteria in our education. almost everyone hated math classes, aside from the naturally gifted in it ! and that brings up the first issue of how things are handled in our schools: Less joy means less interest in the lessons and that eventually leads to a lesser study of lessons which means that more students are going to fail to learn what is needed. That is not good !! especially for young students, and it impacts on their learning process for their whole life !



    Khaoula : Yes definitely. In high school the only people who loved math are the ones who were good at it . the same goes for all the subjects. If you love something and you are gifted in it, you love it. No credit given to the educational system. I think that what contributes the most in students not liking to attend certain classes is the fact that they are forced on them . I read about a school in the UK that gives its students the choice to either attend class or sit around and play all day. Eventually all the students attended class.
    Humans have a natural sense of curiosity , they want to learn. Forcing classes on them isn't going to make them excellent. If anything it is going to kill their love of education. I'm not saying that school should be canceled( not at all ), but fact of the matter is that school is making students physically and mentally ill. It’s actually limiting their creative capacity, and it’s making them resent studying rather than fall in love with it. I’ve seen people brought to their worst and darkest places at the hands of the education system and I think it’s about time people started talking about that. and try to change it.





    Rachid : And this is exactly what we are hoping to trigger with this article ! I do agree about the fact that students once they reach a certain age, should be given choice in what they want to study ! it is done partially in schools around Europe, but I find that even their experience is not enough ! Giving student more freedom is going to have a good impact on their overall studies. Especially for teenager who are hitting their rebellious years.......sorry teenagers, no offense meant, we all have been there ! Anyways, the fact is that giving more freedom to students also teach them a valuable lesson of taking decisions, assuming responsibility and taking the initiative ! another thing to take into account is that the actual generation of students who grew up with computers, mass media ...etc are still learning the same way as the students 60 years ago with a backboard and chalk ! So it's normal that they find classes boring and don't feel any happiness in attending classes when they are taught with a system that don't give them the same experience as in their usual lives : especially interacting and experiencing by themselves instead of being passive in a class listening to a lecture .




    Khaoula : Exactly ! based on my own experience as a literature and arts' student this is completely true. Some teachers , with respect to them and what they teach, haven't updated their teaching strategies since they began teaching ,probably. and are still following the "the teacher is the only one with the information" method. So how are student that live in the "everything is one click away" world supposed to react. 
    Education has become increasing boring unless you have a great teacher who makes the curriculum interesting and relevant to you and that's rare. 
    On another note school should be a place where youth get to explore, learn and grow as humans . they should have the right to choose what to study . so they won't feel like they're in a jail and that they'll never be good enough .Education, nowadays, is used to shape sudents' brains and oblige them to conform to certain social and intellectual standards. Classes become less about learning and more about retention . No creativity no imagination ,nothing. And that is not what we want to teach our youth. the people who are going to run the world tomorrow. 




    Rachid : Exactly, but one would argue by saying : " Okay, you do make a point, but what are the alternatives ?". There are plenty of alternative that can be proposed, I will list two ones that I find are the most important. 
    First, schools were built for children and teenagers and what do they find enjoyable ? Games are the first that comes to your minds right ? gaming can be put to use in different ways into a learning process. mathematic teachers might teach their students the basics of calculus using a game of dices or Monopoly for example, they might put solving hard mathematical riddles that will make students do research and learn notions that are supposed to know by themselves instead of teaching it the traditional way. Maybe including a prize, will also help encourage them to solve it ! I personally learned a lot while playing games, especially video games ! things like playing an RPG in English for example will help you a lot with learning the language. Mind games teach you logic and calculus .... 
    The second thing that can make learning more enjoyable is giving the students more space to take initiatives. For example, in literature classes, Instead of imposing a novel to be read by all ! we could let students form groups and choose a novel to read ans study that has to be approved by the teacher of course. and every now and then every group can expose what they learned for the whole class to see !



    Khaoula : True ! other ways we can improve education is to value teachers more. They are the ones in charge in the classroom , they do a lot of work and they should be payed more . We can also -as you already said- try and make the learning experience fun but including things like movies ,games... 
    I think that the proverb that describes education the most currently  is “curiosity killed the cat ,education killed curiosity" we should work on making education fuel students' curiosity by having more debates and discussion on things that actually matter . we should let student be in charge sometimes and guide them on other times. we should work on making the student - teacher realtionship better and make the school environment more joyful and energetic. Fixing educational systems is not easy at all. but everything has a starting point. Students , teacher and authorities should work hand in hand to make a powerful system that can raise a good generation.

    Conclusion : Yes school takes the joy out of the learning process and sometimes of students' lives and YES that should change.


    The Wonder Duo




    Khaoula & Rachid

    xx


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      Thursday 22 January 2015

      Thursday 22 January 2015


      Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life.


      Have a nice day everyone ! 




      Khaoula.A
      xx

      Wednesday 21 January 2015

      Quote of the day

      Wednesday 21 January 2015




      “I feared her gaze—she made people feel like the only ones in the room.
      I wanted to feel fractional.”
      —  Chelsea Hodson, Pity the Animal


      Monday 19 January 2015

      New project : "The wonder duo talks "

      Monday 19 January 2015
      Hello blog,

      One of my 2015's resolutions was to focus more on "Shared Thoughts", I promised myself  I'd impove it and that is why - today- I'm going to let you in on a little secret. 

      I'm working on a new project called "The wonder duo talks" with my amazing friend and partner Rachid .G. I met Rachid on Interpals (yes I'm on interpals don't judge). We instantly started discussing heavy subjects like politics ,psychology ... no small talks . That is probably why we get along so well and why I always enjoy his company. We became friends on Facebook a while ago and started to get to know each other . Let me tell you, he is the most intellectual person I  have ever got the pleasure to meet. 

      We started this project because ,honestly, we already have these conversations in private so why not publish them in hope they will inspire someone , somewhere. We believe in change. and the power of small actions ,perseverance and dedication.  And I think I speak on behalf of both of us when I say that we may not have the power to change the world but we have the power to change us. That alone can have a huge impact on our life and the lives of others.  

      Before I start talking about anything else , let me introduce my partner and co-writer first. Rachid is a Mathematics student. He got a double Licence in pure and applied mathematic and is currently a Masters student, studying pure mathematics at the the university of Lorraine, France. (Geeky huh!). His main centers of interest  are astrophysics , mathematics (obviously) , psychology and history. He loves reading , writing and playing strategy games. 

      You can reach him on his e-mail : guejdadrachid@gmail.com

      Now I'll let him do the talking , ladies and gentlemen Rachid Guejdad.

      Hello there reader, 

      My name is Rachid, and I am one of the co-writers of the Wonder duo talks. Khaoula and I started this project because we believe in the power of debates and intellectual discussions in the process of improving ourselves. But also, because we want to trigger your minds to think about topics that we think are really important and eventually to discuss them yourself with your friends and draw the right conclusions. 

      Let me introduce my dear partner in crime. Khaoula.A is a young Licence student majoring in English literature. This fair Lady is one of the most active persons I have come to know. Her interests are: politics, history, literature, psychology and community work! She is an excellent writer, an approved blogger and a huge bookworm (no offense meant K!). She also loves traveling and I quote "being a decent human being". Well khaoula, you're more than decent, extraordinary is more like it!!

      If you want to contact her, please write to: abouzidkhaoula@gmail.com

      I hope you'll enjoy the Wonder Duo talks, 
      Rachid.G    

      This will be our little logo, hopefuly this project will grow into something bigger.






      So that is it for today guys , I'm so excited for you to see the first "wonder duo talks" It is already been writen , and currently being edited. I hope you will enjoy it and give us some feedback.


      As always remember to stay positive and do more of what make you happy !
      Have a nice day folks.

                                                  Khaoula.A
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        Saturday 17 January 2015

        My 10 Favourite spoken word poems

        Saturday 17 January 2015

        Hello blog,

        I have been addicted to spoken word for ages now, every poem I hear/watch changes me a little bit. Some even inspired me to start writing my own poetry , so I guess they're pretty good,right?

        Today I thought I would share my  my 10 favourite spoken work poems,maybe they will inspire someone or help them through something. You never know. So here they are :


        There are obviously many  many more talented poets out there . If you have a favourite poem that you'd like to share  please do .And if you feel like listening to more poems don't worry I got your back. You can go check out Button Poetry on Youtube , Tumblr or on their own website . Enjoy ! 

        As always guys, remember to stay positive and do more of what makes you happy. Have a nice day!
                                          
                                                     Khaoula.A
                                                                                   




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        Friday 16 January 2015

        Thursday 15 January 2015

        Thursday 15 January 2015


        I want you to read that. And then read it again and tell me we don’t have problems with representation in the media.


                                                                                                     Khaoula.A
                                                                                                          




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        Hello blog ,

        Since I'm somehow making this a body positivity week , here is an Everyday Feminism article related to the subject that I thought was worth reading.
        It basically discusses the negativity that body positivity can sometimes generate.
        I hope you enjoy reading it.
                                                           
             Khaoula.A
            xx




        "What are you complaining about we have to run the same race"
        Yeah sure !




        Khaoula.A
        xx



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        On weight problems and body positivity.


        Hello blog,

        Time to get a little bit serious here. Since junior high I have always had problems with my weight. I wouldn't exactly call it struggling, but I wasn't happy with what I seeing in the mirror. It wasn't  until I have graduated high school and got introduced to the "real world" that I really understood what body positivity is and felt good about myself . That's why I have gathered a few general points that people should grasp in order for them to be truly body positive.


        • Don't fat shame people but don't skinny shame them. people have different bodies. fat doesn't necesseraly mean unhealthy but skinny doesn't necesseraly mean healthy . STOP MAKING PEOPLE FEEL BAD BECAUSE OF THE WAY THEY LOOK.
        • STOP SAYING "real women have curves". All women are real, wether someone has curves or not doesn't define how much of a women they are . This is not a competition.
        • love your body no matter how it looks like. I know this sounds like an order or some sort, but believe me sonner or later you will realize that the only person in control of your hapiness is YOU. So love your body and be happy. If you want to change the way your body looks for health reasons or because you just want to , please do it . But remember to always love your body in the process.


        My favourite part of feminism is self love , so I say it again LOVE YOUR SELF or nobody will .Im gonna end this with some of my favourite quotes on the subject . 




        Size Acceptance isn’t about promoting a body size, it’s about the basic right of everyone, of every size, to exist without shame, stigma, bullying, or oppression, regardless of why they are the size they are, what being that size means, and if they could or want to change their size.

        —  Ragen Chastain




        What we think about ourselves becomes the truth for us.

        —  Louise Hay






        As always guys remember to love yourself , stay positive and do more of what makes you happy . 



        Khaoula.A
        xx

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        The life of an introvert. © 2014