Favorite Friday Finds 19.0
Tis the season!
It's been almost alarmingly warm here in NYC, with temperatures in the high 50's and even up in the 60's, but my holiday spirit is turned up full blast.
Holiday spirit is currently very much needed everywhere in the world right now. The amount of hate, aggression, violence, and baffling words spoken right now with all the issues going on in the world right now have made me angry- but it's made me exponentially sadder than I am angry. It makes me so disappointed and sad to see ugliness being drawn out of everyone in moments of passion in expressing one's opinion. Regardless of your opinions and stances on the current events, my hope is that we can remember that we are all human.
As the famous quote by MLK Jr. goes:
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only LIGHT can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only LOVE can do that."
So, now onto the 7 things that will hopefully inspire you, spark some thought, and make you smile:
1. Teachers rule
I think that everyone who has had an awesome teacher can agree on how big an influence that person can be on your life. Encouraging the expansion of one's mind, the curiosity to ask questions of the world. It looks like any child who is a student of Emily E. Smith is quite lucky. This Texan teacher just won an award at a national teaching convention, and her acceptance speech (video and transcript included in link) made me awed at the woman she is. My absolute favorite part was when she said,
"Put aside your anxieties and accept your natural biases. Donald Graves once said, “Children need to hang around a teacher who is asking bigger questions of herself than she is asking of them.” I know I’m going to continue to ask the bigger questions of myself and seek the answers that sometimes feel impossible, because my kids deserve it … you’re welcome to join me. Thank you."
2. Feminism
This engineering student wrote a refreshingly frank letter to the editor. Oh, and that student is male. He pointed out the sexism in STEM fields, and how he's come to see it in a new light, especially after witnessing it firsthand and speaking to his female peers. My favorite quote:
"Nothing I said was new, it has all been said a thousand times before. The difference is that I am a man," he said. "Maybe by standing up and breaking the silence from the male side, I can help some more men begin to see the issues, and begin to listen to the women who have been speaking about this all along."
I think Aziz Ansari would be proud. Thank you, gentlemen for not being scared of a word.
3. This is your body on a sugar binge
Pretty solid article on the Q Blog here, detailing the process of what happens to your body during a candy (or holiday cookie/dessert/basically sugar) binge. I was fascinated when I learned during my nutrition certification all the processes your body goes through pending on what you put in it, but this article definitely helps explain it in simpler layman's terms for everyone. Let's try to keep the rollercoaster-ing during the holidays to a minimum?
4. The Myth of Easy Cooking
Oh, this article is great. Nothing that makes me feel worse than when I see a recipe titled "Easy Weeknight Dinner" and it has a 20 ingredient list with things I've never bought before. I am guilty of it too sometimes, when I write recipes. The thing is- what may seem easy to one person to cook, may not be for another. But this article takes a more in-depth look into the changing trends of at home cooking when it comes to convenience and time.
5. 20 Things I Hope My Daughters Never Forget
This list could be just as applicable for sons. I loved this uplifting reminder of the important things to not forget, in this hustle and bustle of life. The holidays are that much better a time to make sure to appreciate everything and everyone around you too!
6. Instagram Husband
This video made me laugh so much. Going viral for it's reliability because nearly everyone knows someone like this, and I always feel bad for the poor dudes behind the camera. Boyfriend also sent this to me, and I had to triple-confirm with him that I am not on this level of photo life-interruption haha! I have made my feelings on the social media filter quite clear!
7. Dog is let on the bed for the first time
We need to all find and appreciate the little "mundane" things in life that excites us like this.