Ted Talk: My Daughter Malala

"Why is it that making tanks is so easy, but building schools is so hard?"

I recently watched an amazing Ted Talk that I thought I would share. "My Daughter Malala" was presented by Ziauddin Yousafzai in March of 2014. Yousafzai spoke about the treatment of women and girls in patriarchal societies and the impact that his daughter Malala has made.
For anyone who hasn't heard Malala's story: On October 9, 2012, a young Malala (11 years old) was shot in the head by the Taliban for simply going to school and speaking out on behalf of women's educational rights.
Yousafzai started out his powerful speech by stating, "Before [Malala got shot in the head for standing up for education] she was my daughter, now I am her father." This statement speaks volumes-especially considering the set up of the society Yousafzai lives in.
No matter your passion, I recommend this Ted Talk to all. It's inspirational, emotional, and gives such a great perspective on the real issues of the world. Yousafzai speaks about the women of Pakistan; it is extremely hard to envision a life where women and girls suffer such deep oppression. Yet in these patriarchal societies, from the moment a girl is born, she is unwelcome. Women and girls are not celebrated in Pakistani. In fact, Yousafzai speaks about how women are mortified and shameful when they find out they had a daughter.
From birth, girls have to watch their brothers go to school while they stay home. After a girl turns 12, however, it gets worse. For after a girl in Pakistan turns 12, she is not allowed to leave the house without a male escort-ever. She is confined in the four walls of her home; if a woman decides to disobey, she runs the risk of being killed. Yousafzai did not want this life for his daughter, and encouraged Malala to attend his school. Malala's successes in school motivated her to speak out so that all women and girls would have this same opportunity. Malala's passion and activism have made Yousafzai extremely proud. When being asked what he did to make her so special, he responds, "I did not clip her wings, and that a is all."
It truly is amazing what an education can do. The power that it gives an individual, the wings it gives them to soar is incomparable to any other privilege. I say we take Yousafzai and Malala's advice; focus less on building tanks and focus more on building schools so we can avoid clipping the wings of others.  

The Virtue of Kindness

"Kindness makes you the most beautiful person in the world no matter what you look like."

In the superficial world we live in today, the simple virtue of kindness seems to have been lost in translation. It's been said that, "Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile,a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." It really is amazing how much of a difference one small act of kindness can make. Quite lengthy, but worth the read; This is my very favorite illustration of the enormous impact that one small act of kindness can make. Click here to read the story of Kyle.

On a more personal level, recently, my friends and iQuest-mates Luke, Rylie, and I made "helping hands" as a random act of kindness. We wrote inspirational quotes on these
 hands and passed them out around campus to brighten peoples day. This little act was actually so much more rewarding than I thought it would be! The hands were a cute and fun idea, and the quotes were thoughtfully picked by the three of us, so they definitely could have spoken to people on their own. However, I think that the human interaction is what really made an impact. In this generation, many people (myself included) get wrapped up in their own lives and sometimes forget to acknowledge others-especially strangers. It was a special experience to make eye contact with people I didn't know and exchange a smile. Such a simple act boosted the happiness of Luke, Rylie, myself and all the recipients of these hands. This alone is very encouraging to continue to do small acts like this.

As preached by Scott Dinsmore, who was Mrs. Gagnon's very close friend, we should all "Spend kindness like it's money and pretend you're a billionaire." We could all do a better job of spreading kindness-it's time we all started living like billionaires.

Peaks, Valleys and the Climb

"Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing." -Barry Finlay

As Finlay preaches, everything is attainable if you keep working at it.  I have used this mantra throughout this whole year as I continue my iQuest project. To recap, I've been doing an independent study project fundraising to build a school in Ghana through the non-profut organization, Pencils of Promise. I have been spending countless hours a week on this project, and many nights it actually keeps me awake as my mind buzzes with new ideas, stress, and drive to make this goal happen.
I have been sticking to my original plan of laying the groundwork during this first semester and sprinkling fundraisers here and there as I get ready for my big second semester event. I have met with different mentors, organized fundraisers through other schools, spoke at Pine Valley Middle School, sold bracelets made in Ghana (picture of the one Mrs. Gagnon bought below), designed flyers, posters, and other advertising material, held booths at large events, organized a Savers clothing drive fundraiser at Cal High (flyer below), spoken at various meetings, launched my social media campaigns, worked with the Cal High PoP club, worked with other Cal High clubs, reached out to private donors, held various meetings with new contacts, and kept myself up to date on the PoP community.
This has over all been a very positive experience for me. I have made a lot of new connections, met a lot of amazing people, and been awe-stricken on many occasions as I watch compassion come over people that I have never even met. When I set up a booth at Canyon Creek Church's OCC carnival, (picture below) I wasn't expecting much to come from it; I figured maybe I would sell a couple bracelets here and there and raise more awareness for Pencils of Promise. However, the generosity of people amazed me and reignited all my hope that I would be able to pull this off. A man at that carnival, who didn't even know much about the organization, just looked at our booth and handed me a $100 bill leaving me speechless. In a world where we see so much of the bad highlighted, it is so refreshing to see the good. When I went to go speak to Pine Valley about this organization and preach the importance of an education, I had a chance to interact with the students afterwards who had questions. To my amazement, these young kids were so engaged and so heartfelt. They had so many new ideas and perspectives and a huge drive to help others; that was such a beautiful and inspiring thing for me to witness. My strongest positive through this all has been meeting new people like these ones that inspire me.
There's some saying that talks about how for every 10 positive things that happen, only one negative thing needs to happen to overpower all of the positives. Despite the amount of amazing people and wonderful stories I have, my biggest frustrations have resulted from the negative people and stories. My goal to raise $25,000 is large; I am not naive to that. This goal alone continues to provide me with an array of backhanded "compliments." These doubtful people are especially skeptical when they take into account my age; this combination makes a lot of people doubt me and what I am capable of. It is also frustrating to want something so bad, but not be able to make it happen as quickly as you want it to. Great things take time, but it can be very frustrating to wait-especially when the wait causes self-doubt.
In fact, this self-doubt has caused me to learn a lot about myself. I have learned that I am capable of more than I think I am. Pushing myself outside of my comfort zone has only proved to be beneficial for me and it has given me the ability to continue to push my limits without feeling as uncomfortable. I have never been comfortable being someone that is pushy, outspoken or that asks for a lot. This has all changed; to this day I continue to ask for large sums of money, opportunities to fundraise, and other forms of support from both people that I know, and people I have never met. This persistence has proved to be a good thing-and has rewarded me with opportunities I would never have had if I didn't push my own boundaries. I have also learned that I can get really excited about new ideas in the moment and that has given me an extra appreciation for the people in my life that ground me. When I am passionate about something, I can get caught up in the moment and learning how to bring myself back down to reality has also been a very vital tool for me to develop.
I have learned a tremendous amount about philanthropy and the donation process through all of this. I have learned that people always want to know what is in it for them. Whether on a conscious or subconscious level, majority of people won't do anything unless motivated by some self-serving motive; so it is always beneficial to start out by explaining to people why donating to me will actually help them. I have also learned that pulling on peoples heart strings is the best way to get them to open their hearts (and their wallets ;)).
I would like to continue speaking about this cause and meeting passionate people that truly make the world go round in my eyes. I would love to continue selling bracelets, and to keep planning new fundraisers.
I would like to start doing a better job updating my social media. My blog, Facebook, and Twitter page could definitely use some love and more updates. I look forward to working on bigger fundraisers and events as we transition into second semester. I will make this happen by documenting everything I do for this project and by making an effort to post at least 1-2 times a week on my Facebook and Twitter and by being persistent in all the ventures I'm taking to make a second semester event so great that it will go down in history.
Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing, and I look forward to continuing my climb throughout the rest of the year!

Lean In

"We hold ourselves back in ways both big and small, by lacking self-confidence, by not raising our hands, and by pulling back when we should be leaning in" -Sheryl Sandberg

This is a quote from a book I'm reading right now, called Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. My iQuest mentor, Mrs. Cranford, recommended this wonderful self-help/history of business/autobiography/feminist movement book to me. The goal of the book is to raise awareness of the inequalities between men and women in the workplace, reasons why they exist, and what we can do to combat it. Sandberg is an extremely succesful business woman and a wonderful mother. She wrote this book for many reasons, one of the most powerful being her advice on how to balance a career and a family. I have been extremely impressed with what she has to say on this topic, and find all her advice quite relative to the goals I have for my future. Sandberg discusses how woman slow themselves down in anticipation of having families. This tendency women have to construct their own limits toward success is a scary subconscious enigma; one that I look forward to preventing in my own life now that I am aware of it. Sandberg also discusses heavily the internalization that women suffer and the power to change that. She shares a story about a woman named Heidi Roizen, a very successful venture capitalist. As a case study, her story was given to students at Harvard's business school. Although everyone was given the exact same story, half the students in the experiment were given storys that replaced the name "Heidi" with "Howard." The students that read Heidi's story saw her as bossy, selfish, and "not the type of person you would want to hire or work for." The reviews on Howard, however, were the opposite. He was not "bossy," he was the boss. He was not "selfish," he was a good leader who was very aware of end results. Howard was also deemed as someone you would want to work for and hire. The results of this case study are so incredibly ironic considering "Howard" and Heidi are the same exact person. Sandberg points out that this experiment supports what research has already proven time and time again-success and likability are positively correlated in men consistently just as they are negatively correlated in women. Women of power intimidate many- men and women alike. Sandberg emphasizes how important it is that we change these standards. I am about 45% through this book, and I have already learned so much. Sandberg has inspired me to watch TedTalks, enjoy several documentaries, and do subsequent research on many of the topics she addresses. I look forward to finishing this very eye-opening book before Thanksgiving. Without have even finished the book, I can confidently give Lean In a 5 star review!

Mrs. Cranford

"A mentor empowers a person to see a possible future, and believe it can be obtained." -Shawn Hitchcock

My Cal High mentor is Mrs. Cranford, who is our school's principal! When I asked Mrs. Cranford to be my mentor, she so kindly accepted. She told me she was really excited about what I was doing, and most importantly to me she told me she knew I could do it. I picked her for a multitude of reasons. Here are my top 3:
1. She is a passionate, driven, and hard working woman who has achieved so much already, and at such a young age. I aspire to have all of these same traits; being around her inspires me.
2. Some of my largest motivation for wanting to build this school in Ghana roots from my passion for spreading education and empowering women. It is pretty clear to anyone that looks that these passions are most definitely shared by Mrs. Cranford, a woman who has dedicated her life's work to education.
3. Last but not least, Mrs. Cranford is a pusher and makes me believe I am capable of anything I set my mind to. She reminds me a lot of one of my former bosses, Jessica, whom I have mentioned in several of my blog posts. They both have helped me set high goals and expectations for myself and having expectations like this from people such as Mrs. Cranford and Jessica help me grow as a person and motivate me to work my hardest.
Mrs. Cranford not only empowers me to visualize reaching my goals, but pushes me to achieve them and through doing so she makes me believe in myself. I am very excited for more time, talks, and advice from her through out this journey!

Mission statement

"You were born with the ability to change someone else's life, don't ever waste it."

This quote pretty much sums up my entire life's mission.  With every part of my being I am powerfully aware that my purpose here is much bigger than myself. Heidi Wills said it best when she stated, "we can choose to be affected by the world or we can chose to affect the world." More than anything, I want to positively affect the world in any way I can, at any opportunity I have. Everyday in everything we do, we make the conscious decision to either be a part of the solution or the problem; I strive to always be a part of the solution.  My life's aim is to be an array of solutions that positively affect the world, and to always take full advantage of my ability to change someone else's life.

Time Management

"Either you run the day, or the day runs you." -Jim Rohn

As much as it pains me to admit it, time management has been a long-time veteran of all of my self-improvement lists. From New Years resolutions to the classic first day of school "get-to-know-your-strengths and weaknesses" worksheets, better time management has consistently been one of my biggest works in progress. However, I am happy to share that as of this particular moment, I wouldn't say I am absolutely terrible with managing my time. But, since this has always been an area where I have struggled, I don't want to jinx it, and I look forward to continuously improving.

Something I've noticed about myself is that I get more tasks accomplished in a shorter amount of time when I have a jam-packed schedule. This seems so counteractive, but when I know I have a lot going on, I am forced to plan out every minute of my day in order to maximize my time and get done all of my responsibilities. This summer, I had three jobs, and the craziest schedule I have ever experienced. To balance everything, I invested in a scheduling planner that literally saved my life. I have continued to use this planner through the school year as well, and if I could ever give any organizational or time management tip to anyone, it would 100% be to invest in a planner.

A new strategy that I have been using after Mrs. Gagnon's lecture, is the priority matrix. It's been about a week now, and every morning I pull up my priority matrix app and plan out my day. This allows so much more free time to fit the "wants" into my day while still accomplishing all of the "needs" and I look forward to continuing to use this awesome time-management tool!

As far as time-waters go, my phone is by far the biggest culprit. I have been working on using it less and less, and I know that I will never be at my full time-management potential until I get my phone usage down to around 1 total hour a day.

Time management is something I am done putting off, and a skill I desperately want to master. Like every other "tool" in our "tool-belt of life" time management sharpens over time, and I can't wait to look at this post a year from now and reflect on how far I have come at running my day, so that it doesn't run me!