Hello everyone!

Have you ever wondered why politics, the news, and other “adult” topics of discussion even matter? I’ve definitely been in your shoes. Up until high school, I honestly was stuck in my own little world. I think the key turning point was reading more. It started out with the infamously unreliable Snapchat news stories and Buzzfeed (I still love a good Buzzfeed quiz), and soon I was actually watching the morning news when my parents would leave it on every day.

If you’re in a similar boat and have remained ignorant of these topics for a while- it’s still okay! We’re obviously young and everyone matures differently- these are more serious topics that might not hold everyone’s attention yet. However, if you’re starting to hold an interest in politics, I HIGHLY recommend taking action to pursue it. Here are a couple reasons why, if you need some extra convincing.

• In a few years, you’ll be eligible to vote – Depending on your age, this might be sooner rather than later. Voting is habit-forming according to lots of different studies, so it’s important you vote in your first election that you’re eligible to. You’ll want to be educated on the candidates and make an informed decision, so you have to learn a little about politics first. This is a super important duty as a US citizen, so if you’re not convinced by any of the other reasons below, think of this one.
• It’s useful to be in the know for conversing with adults – This is a little silly and superficial, but it’s still true. If you can hold your own in some political banter between adults, you’ll come off as a lot more mature. Also, it might just be nice to know what the heck your family members are talking about, or what’s actually going on when the evening news is on in the background.
• We are the generation new laws will mainly impact (and generations to come) – The current political climate is the political climate we are going to inherit. Again, it’s important to be educated on what’s going on in the country you live in once you’re an adult, so why not start now? We are the ones with the power to shape the future, but you can’t shape the future without studying the past/present.
• There’s so many scary developments in our world – Between climate change, gun violence, and everything else, it’s a scary world out there. It’s important to be aware of these issues since they’re constantly hot topics of conversation and have recently blended into pop culture/the media.
• You have a voice, so why not use it – Teens can and do make a difference in the world; just look at some of the activists out there killing it, like Greta Thunberg! You never know what will happen if you start utilizing your freedom of expression and making your opinions be known. I honestly wish I was more outgoing with this, but maybe I can inspire some of you to be.

It’s totally okay if you’re not super into politics or current events, but I still think it’s an important topic for every teen to try and inform themselves a little bit about. I have mad respect for the kids out there who know every political candidate and attend all these conferences/debates/etc.- I would love to be that involved, but I’m just not there yet in my involvement or knowledge. If you’re still unsure- start small! I didn’t really do anything related to government and politics until joining Youth and Government this year, and it’s been a great decision.

-Brooke

Welcome back everyone!

It’s been a little over four months since I started this blog, and I’m so happy that I did. I always saw creating a blog and beginning to post on it as a daunting task, but I now know that it’s actually quite manageable. If you feel similar to how I used to and have always wanted to start a blog but are a little too scared to take that leap, I highly encourage you to. Keep in mind I am by no means an expert, but I promise it’s easier than you think- just keep reading this guide to learn how you can get started.

• Find a provider that works for you – I chose WordPress because it seemed easiest to navigate and I would definitely recommend it, but there’s also lots of options out there. I would honestly choose whatever you’re most familiar with.
• Start with the “free” plan – There are lots of upgrades you can do if your blog gets more popular and you want your own domain, or you’re using your website as part of a business, but I would just start with the free plan (unless you are using it for a business right off the bat). You don’t need to spend money if you’re just playing around, and you often won’t know how to actually use the features the premium plans have yet.
• Spend a little time with the site layout – Think about the types of layouts you would want to see. How do you want your posts to be displayed? Do you want little widgets/are there extras that would be useful due to the purpose of your blog? Make sure you have an interesting title and home page.
• Think about what you want to focus on in your posts – This is something I have trouble with since I write about a little bit of everything, but it does help if you have a niche in mind. Write about whatever interests you, and hopefully you’ll find a niche from there.
• Create some sort of profile picture or logo – It doesn’t have to be of you if you’re not comfortable sharing yourself/your name as part of your content. I used PicMonkey to create a little logo for myself, and that’s what is currently my “profile picture” on here.
• Establish some sort of posting schedule/pattern – I pretty much have a post going up everyday, but I write most of them on the weekends and pre-schedule them for the days of the week. You don’t have to post that often, but it’s nice if you start out with a lot of content just to experiment and see who your readers will be.
• Engage in the blogging community – This is something I’m trying to work on. When people comment on your posts, take the time to reply with something nice. If you notice people liking your posts or following you, go check out their profile and leave some likes or comments. This can help you build an audience, but it’s also just a nice thing to do, and you can make some online friends.

Once you start posting and get into the swing of things, it will feel natural just to keep your blog running. You don’t have to have a super structured purpose for where you want to take it in the beginning, but it’s great if you do. Honestly, I just like having fun with mine and writing about the major components of my life (academics, my activities, family life) because I think a lot of high school students can relate to it. If you have any questions, I’m always here to help- happy blogging!

-Brooke

Hello everyone!

Since my last post focused on whether or not it’s too early to start considering what your summer plans will be (there’s definitely plenty of time, but it’s never too early), I figured I would give a short list of all the major ideas for some inspiration. There’s so many options of how you can productively use your time, as with any part of the year.

• Pre-college program at a college of your choice
• Gifted student programs such as Johns Hopkins CTY and Duke TIP
• Taking classes at a local community college
• Summer classes to get ahead in subjects like foreign language, science, or math
• Summer job at a local business
• Internship with a local company
• Research with a college professor
• Being a summer camp counselor
• Doing any form of volunteer work
• Doing a study abroad program (there are so many forms of these)
• Competitive programs related to your interests such as TASP, RSI, NSLI-Y
• Creating your own passion project!

I know this was a short post, but I just wanted to get it out there in case any of you were confused after the post from yesterday. Aside from programs at colleges that are specifically in summer, these are all normal activities you can do during the year as well. All of them can give you valuable experiences and be wonderfully rewarding- IF they are truly geared to your interests. Have a lovely and productive day!

-Brooke

Welcome back everyone!

As you can tell from the title, I’m going to be discussing why failure isn’t a bad thing, and why we all need to learn how to fail properly. However, it’s not going to be one of my normal advice posts. I’m going to be telling you a little anecdote of one of my funniest failures: my eighth grade science fair project. I think part of the reason it’s so funny is because it was part of that awkward cringey middle school time and it was a low-stakes type of thing, but it’s a good story to tell as far as failure goes.

I am definitely not a science-lover, but I’ve still always taken honors science classes. In my eighth grade honors physical science class, each student was required to create a project within the time window of late December to early February, and our class went on a field trip to present them at the county science fair in March. I was (and still am) confused on how to conduct an actual meaningful science experiment, so I just looked up “science fair project ideas for middle schoolers” online and scanned some articles for something that sounded easy.

I chose something about fingerprints (it didn’t really make sense) where I would test the ability of different forms of powder to lift fingerprints off a glass surface. It only took me an hour to do the actual experiment, and then I proceeded by doing my write-up and making my board for the science fair just like everyone else. I was able to kind of seem like I knew what the purpose of my project was, but I had honestly just been playing around with the powders and then writing papers on it for my teacher.

I had to give a presentation on my project to my class in preparation for the actual science fair when we would be talking to judges. I was so nervous for my presentation after seeing other people go and have these really cool projects that everyone was interested in, and I actually almost cried before going up (not even sure why, but I will say I’m not the fondest of public speaking). I got up in front of everyone and pretty much bombed it. Once I had to answer questions on my feet, it was evident I didn’t know what I was talking about.

Everyone just stared blankly at me while my face turned red and I tried to rush through the presentation. I could tell my teacher wasn’t impressed, but I was at least thankful to get it over with. I got the grade back a couple weeks later, and I had gotten a C. Granted, that isn’t a total failure, and I couldn’t have expected too much better, but it still wasn’t great. Most people had gotten As and it wasn’t supposed to be graded too harshly.

The actual science fair rolled around, and it was slightly better since I didn’t really care and it was only random judges that were talking to me one-on-one, not me talking in front of my whole class. None of them really understood why my project was relevant (neither did I) so they would all ask lots of questions to try and get information- information that I didn’t have. Needless to say, I did not receive any awards for my fingerprint powder project; the whole thing was just an irrelevant, mini-failure in a science class I didn’t like. However, the process of crafting that project and not really getting anywhere with it left a big impact on my fragile middle school self.

Clearly, it was another thing that helped me realize I just don’t enjoy the sciences. But it was more than that- it helped me understand how to fail correctly. Since I knew I wasn’t going to do well with the project anyways, I had picked an easy topic that didn’t actually make sense and had no real world application. If I was doing the project today, I would’ve picked an experiment that had some real world use- that’s the point of science experiments. Until that point I had always done well on science-related assignments even though I never understood them and didn’t enjoy them- I would just get by since it was easy middle school science without a real world purpose. This experience was humbling and prepared me for high school- I would have to try harder, even if it was a subject I didn’t like.

I hope this little story gave you a laugh regarding my immature eighth grade self, and got across the typical message: don’t be afraid to fail. It’s good for you since you’ll always learn from it (at least you should), and it pushes you.

-Brooke

Welcome back everyone!

I’ve previously mentioned in a lot of my writing-related posts that the best way to start writing is to simply start writing. I definitely believe this; it’s how I get all my blog posts up. I usually sit down on one of the weekend days and grind out my posts for the next week. However, today I’m not just going to be talking about in the creative-writing or blogging context- I’m talking about ANY form of writing. Getting started with an essay, discussion questions, a project, an application, anything!

I’ve also mentioned in one of my posts about productivity that getting started on something makes it that much easier to finish it. It seems less intimidating, you’re already part of the way there, and your brain is already in that mode. For all these reasons, that’s why it’s so much easier to keep writing once you’ve already started. I happen to love writing, but I know a lot of people hate it and find it tedious, so they procrastinate it whenever possible. I would advise against doing this- the longer you wait, the more you’re going to not want to start, and the harder it’s going to seem to finish it in time.

I recommend finding a day where you have a decent chunk of time to sit at your desk and get a good portion of whatever type of writing it is done. Start simple: a title, your name, an outline, writing down the question numbers, beginning to restate the prompt in your answers, etc. Just get anything on the paper so that there’s something on the paper. From there, actually start thinking and working. Let your stream of consciousness flow out onto the page and don’t spend time self-editing or erasing. That can come later. If I’m short on time I might do a little editing as I go just so it’s done in the moment and I don’t have to go back and edit that portion later, but it’s nothing major.

Give yourself twenty to thirty minutes to just write. If it’s a short assignment, you could already be done by this point! If it’s longer, once you’re done with that twenty to thirty minutes, go get a drink of water or whatever to take a little break, and then come back to read what you wrote. You can edit during this re-reading, and make sure to assess how much you got done. You should have a decent amount of writing to start with, and if you have the time to continue writing, go for it! If not, you can now be at peace with the fact that you started and got a significant amount done.

I personally like to get all my thoughts out, write until the amount of work I need is finished, and then play around with it, edit it, and rework it into the final product. It’s way easier for me to whip out a quick first draft that’s really rough and then polish it, than to take my time in writing a perfect first draft. For example, I’ll just run with my thoughts and type out an essay in 35-50 minutes, but then I’ll come back to it a day later and spend an hour or two editing it- if I have the time, otherwise, at least I had that first draft ready to go!

I know lots of people give out that advice for writing and you’ll just think, “But how do I start?”. I hope this explanation made the strategy of just getting started seem a bit more achievable. Like I said, I love to write, and yet I’m still not perfect at avoiding procrastination and other pitfalls of writing assignments. No matter what the task is, I know it’s possible for you to achieve it!

-Brooke