What Degree Do You Get from High School?

What's the Difference Between a High School Diploma and a Certificate?

High School Teacher Career Guide

A secondary school teacher, more commonly called a high school teacher, instructs students in ninth through twelfth grade in both public and private educational institutions. The primary objective of these teachers is to educate students and prepare them for college and/or the job market. This guide provides further information on what high school teachers do, how to become one, and the occupation’s salary and job outlook.

High school teachers typically plan and teach lessons to classrooms of students. They may also teach small groups or do individual mentoring, depending on the needs of their students. Secondary school teachers typically specialize in one or two subjects such as math, English, the sciences, art, history, Spanish, French, or music, usually teaching several classes within their specialty subject over the course of a day. Teachers evaluate students’ performance, grade papers and tests, and prepare them for state tests. In order to be an effective and successful secondary school instructor, the ability to communicate well with teenagers and earn their respect is key. A consistent and approachable attitude will help a teacher maintain order, good behavior, and discipline in their work with teenage students.

High School Teacher Requirements and Common Tasks

The responsibilities of a teacher at the high school level include preparing courses, assigning and grading homework and tests, creating classroom rules, and meeting with parents to discuss student progress and behavior issues. They also may spend extra time with struggling students, often mentoring and tutoring them after school hours. Although high school teachers commonly work in a classroom setting, they may work in other settings as well including the outdoors, gymnasiums, the school library, or a computer lab. Teachers at the secondary level also maintain order in the classroom and during breaks and lunch periods, and may be involved in a variety of extracurricular activities. High school teachers must have the ability to impart knowledge effectively to teenagers. Calmness and patience are attributes that teachers need; their role may be seen as being part instructor and part mentor.

Becoming a teacher in a secondary school usually requires earning a bachelor’s degree in secondary education or in a teachable subject like biology. To teach in public schools, a state teaching license or certification is required. This typically means that prospective teachers must complete a state-approved teacher preparation program. Secondary school teachers in a private school are typically not required to hold certification, though this is a growing preference in private school systems. To become a high school teacher, the most common steps are:

In addition to earning a major in the particular subject you wish to teach, you must take a teacher preparation program approved by your state in order to qualify for certification. Many four-year colleges and universities require students to wait until their sophomore or junior year before applying to educator preparation programs. These programs include a student teaching internship, during which students have a chance to work under experienced educators who act as mentors as well as teachers. During this time, they also have the opportunity to see how the school works, receive reviews on their teaching skills, learn how to discipline students, and develop a general feel for the school atmosphere. If you already have a bachelor’s degree in the subject you want to teach but did not complete a teacher preparation program, a master’s degree or another alternative route to licensure may be a good fit for your goals.

What’s the Difference Between a High School Diploma and a Certificate?

There are two “degrees” you can receive in high school – the high school diploma and the high school certificate. While these two qualification deeds are issued upon completion of high school, they are pretty different.

As mentioned earlier, a high school diploma is issued to a student who has completed all the requirements in high school. On the other hand, a high school certificate is given to a student for the completion of high school, not necessarily considering the requirements. This means that you will receive a high school diploma only if you meet up with the academic and non-academic requirements of the school, district, and state. You can be issued a high school certificate if you do not meet the high school diploma requirements but completed high school. In terms of issuance, the high school certificate is more flexible than the high school diploma.

The high school diploma requirements include a pass in English, Mathematics, Social Studies, Science, and elective subjects. Consistent good grades in these subjects might earn you an Honors Diploma. The honors diploma favors students who hope to get into Ivy League Schools where only the best students are admitted.

With a high school diploma, you can join the military, sign up for government student aid and apply to colleges. However, these institutions do not accept a high school certificate. Some colleges occasionally accept promising students with only a high school certificate. Generally, high school diploma holders are more favored in many institutions than high school certificate holders. Even in an employment setting, you are more likely to get a job as a high school diploma holder than another person with the same skills as you holding a high school certificate.

What is the Alternative to Earning a High School Diploma?

What is the Alternative to Earning a High School Diploma?

Students with high school certificates are allowed to meet with the school cooperation for the issuance of a high school diploma, especially if the students are with disabilities.

If it is not possible to see the school corporation, or you do not have the complete high school experience, there are external high schools that can help you with that. The National External Diploma Program (NEDP), for instance, is suitable for adults who are yet to get a high school diploma. Because the NEDP is primarily targeted at adults, the program offers a flexible learning system. In the end, a traditional high school diploma is awarded to members who pass the necessary assessments. Unlike the high school setting, which is almost completely academic, the NEDP educational system is usually concerned with real-life experiences. This means that the students taking this program can demonstrate their skills and knowledge and are assessed based on these skills and knowledge.

Before one is allowed to participate in the national external diploma program, an assessment test is taken. This test follows a 12th-grade format. Therefore, whoever wants to obtain a high school diploma through this program must understand 12th-grade subjects.

The Veteran’s High School Diploma is another alternative to earning a high school diploma. An honorary high school diploma would be issued to the veterans who were unable to complete high school due to their service in the military during wars.

What is Equivalent to a High School Diploma?

A Vocational Degree Will Also Prepare You to Enter the Workforce

If you do not plan on attending college and want to head straight into the workforce, earning a vocational degree is also an option. For this certification, students will complete requirements at a trade school or another academic institution that focuses on a specific field or trade. Getting your vocational credentials can usually take between three months and two years, depending on the field, course list, and practice required. However, that is less than a standard bachelor’s degree, and you can begin work right after you finish. Trade schools may be able to assist with lining up a job for you after the completion of your program.

Vocational programs are usually held at non-traditional post-secondary institutions (trade schools, technical schools, and community colleges). However, some traditional colleges do offer classes for vocational programs. Examples of fields that offer vocational degrees include nursing, electrician services, cosmetology, paralegal services, and audio engineering.

So what is the answer to “what is a high school degree called?” Well, the answer is that a high school degree doesn’t really exist. But a high school diploma does, as well as a variety of equivalent certificates. Whatever you decide to pursue for education in the future, there are options to achieve high school equivalency. Whether or not you finish high school the traditional way, you can still continue your education and find a great career that you love!

Source:

https://www.teachercertificationdegrees.com/careers/high-school-teacher/
https://www.conqueryourexam.com/what-degree-do-you-get-from-high-school/
https://www.reference.com/world-view/high-school-degree-called

How To Address a Formal Letter

how to address a letter

How To Address a Letter (With Template, Tips, and Examples)

Letters are formal, semiformal, or informal documents for conveying important information to contacts. When preparing one, you typically need to write an address that outlines who your intended recipient is. Learning to address a letter correctly can help show your written communication skills and set the tone for your message. In this article, we explain how to address a letter, provide examples, a template, and tips to make an address informative, and discuss addressing an envelope.

Learning how to address a letter is important because it introduces you and indicates who the letter’s recipient is. As your contacts may receive many letters daily, you want to address yours correctly to get their attention. Addressing a letter correctly can also help you make a good impression on the recipient because it’s typically the first aspect they read. For example, including a hiring manager’s name in the address shows you researched them before writing the letter.

If you send a letter through an individual or company, you also want to learn how to address the envelope correctly for them to know where to deliver it. For example, if you’re sending a physical copy of your letter to a mentor in another city, addressing the envelope can help the courier know where to deliver the letter.

How to address a letter in four steps

1. Start with your contact information

Before you write your letter, you want the recipient to know or remember you. This way, they can better understand the message you want to convey. Writing your contact information is also important if your recipient wants to connect with you after reading your letter. For example, suppose you’re applying for a job. Including your contact information helps the hiring manager understand how to contact you if you qualify for the next hiring stage. Write the following details as your contact information in the address:

2. Write the date

Next, write the date you sent the letter. Include this information in full by writing the month in words and noting the day and year in numbers. Writing the date is important for record-keeping. For example, if you’re writing a letter to apply for a grant, you want to include the date to reference the letter in the future. Leave a full line of space after dating the letter to make the address easier to read.

3. Include the recipient’s contact details

Write the recipient’s contact information below the date. You can research this professional online or connect with a contact individual if you need more information on who the recipient is. For example, if you’re writing a letter advocating for an environmental policy, you may contact a local authority or visit the government’s website for the information you need. Include the following information in this section:

4. Write a salutation

Including a greeting helps to convey your intended tone. For example, if you’re writing to a company requesting financial support for a program or event, you want to show professionalism with the salutation you use. Similarly, you can use a personal greeting if you’re writing to a contact you met at a social event. Evaluate who your recipient is to determine the appropriate greeting to use. Common examples of professional salutations to consider include “Dear,” “Hello,” or “Hi.”

Follow this information with the recipient’s title and name. For example, if you’re writing to a physician, you may start with “Dr.” More common titles include “Mr.” and “Ms.” Confirm the recipient’s preferred title if writing it in your letter is important. Otherwise, you may include only their full name. While you may use the phrase “To Whom It May Concern,” depending on your letter’s purpose, researching the recipient can help establish a connection with them.

Why is it important to address a formal letter correctly?

How to address a letter correctly is an important skill to learn, as a well-formatted address section conveys that you’re professional, precise and conscientious. You’ll typically use a formal letter for business, official and important matters, such as when you’re applying for a job or sending a formal thank you note after a job interview. Consequently, it’s important that you make a good impression and draw attention to your letter by using the correct format and providing error-free content, both in the address section and the body of the letter.

If you’re posting a letter, the address section is important as it supplies the address of the recipient. However, convention dictates that you still add this section even if you’re using a digital format and emailing your letter. Although the address isn’t necessary for delivery to the correct physical address in such an instance, this section still includes important information such as sender and recipient names, job titles and telephone numbers. It may also be useful for both parties to have a record of the other’s physical address details.

Specific Examples for How to Address a Letter

When addressing letters, remember to use the appropriate format and titles for the occasion at hand. There are many different occasions for writing a letter that will utilize different formats for addressing and sending. Use these examples for how to address a letter in order to visualize the above steps in action:

When you use standard conventions for addressing your letter, you can guarantee that your letters are well-received by your recipients. Follow our address etiquette guidelines to answer any other questions you may run into when drafting your letters.

how to address an envelope

  • Avoid abbreviations when addressing your letters. For example, common road names should read “Lane,” “Avenue,” “Street,” and so on. States should be written out as well.
  • If you’re addressing your letter in handwriting, make sure that you are writing legibly and with blue or black ink. Design an envelope that even the postal office will be impressed by! You can make addressing your letters a little easier by adding custom return address labels which will save you time writing.
  • When addressing a letter on behalf of a business, use the company’s office address.
  • Add an extra special touch to your outgoing mail. Using personalized stationery will add a creative element to your message and show just how much thought you put into your letter.

Don’t forget to have fun addressing your letters. Sending your thoughts on paper can be exciting and stress-free now that you have all the tips and tricks you need. If you’re looking to elevate your letters even more, use our guide on how to create formal address labels to help you customize your letter with style.

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Source:

https://ca.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-address-letter
https://uk.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-address-a-letter
https://www.shutterfly.com/ideas/how-to-address-a-letter/

7 Best Boarding Schools in India (2019) With Fees, Location & All Details

The Envoy Group

The Envoy Group

Therapeutic Boarding Schools don’t generally post their tuition online because they want to discourage you from falling into the temptation of price shopping. The reality is that the cheapest program is not necessarily going to do the most good for your struggling teen. Paying for a good therapeutic program is certainly a sacrifice, but you need to ask yourself, “If my son or daughter were to die tomorrow, what will I wish I had done?” Unfortunately, over the years we have heard several heartbreaking stories where parents did not act in time to help their teen.

The cost of a therapeutic or residential boarding school is usually dependent on the level of care needed. Residential boarding schools tend to cost less than therapeutic boarding schools because they do not offer therapeutic services from trained professionals, while therapeutic boarding schools tend to cost more (though not always) due to their employment of master’s degree level therapists, higher levels of safety precautions, and more staff equipped and trained to handle emergency situations.

If your teen is struggling with depression, ADD, anger, minor drug use, or is struggling at school, a residential boarding school may be a good fit for your teen. A structured and positive environment built to prevent teens from heading down the wrong path is usually enough to get them back on track.

However, some teens need full supervision or lock-down facilities. If your teen is a runaway risk, has threatened or hinted at suicide, is at risk of harming themselves, has participated in major drug or alcohol abuse to the point of near damage to body or mind, or has been diagnosed with ODD, RAD, OCD, PTSD, an anxiety disorder, anorexia or bulimia, bipolar disorder, or any major behavioral disorder, a therapeutic boarding school may be absolutely necessary for your teen.

The Lawrence School, Sanawar

Founded by Sir Henry Lawrence in the year 1847, The Lawrence School in Sanawar is undoubtedly one of the top boarding schools in India that follows the CBSE pattern. It is a co educational school and has one of the best teaching faculties among the list. The school is located on Sanawar Hills, which are at a one hour distance from Chandigarh, and a six hour drive from New Delhi.

Another Uttrakhand entry on the list of India boarding schools, Woodstock is a non-profit organisation which holds Christian minority status in India. This is a co-educational institution which was established back in 1854 in the small hill station of Landour near Mussoorie. It was initially managed as a girl’s only school but became a coeducational institution in 1928.

Annual Expenditure: One of the most expensive ones on the list of boarding schools in India, you will have to spend anywhere between 14,50,000 and 16,70,000 Rupees annually for your child’s education here. This fee is non inclusive of the one-time establishment fee of 4,00,000 and a refundable security deposit of 2,00,000 Rupees.

Are state boarding schools sponsored by independent schools?

Only a very few schools do have close links with some of the UK’s top independent schools. Wellington Academy is sponsored by the independent school Wellington College, and Holyport College is sponsored by Eton College, with students being able to use some of Eton’s facilities.

Most importantly, state boarding schools cannot and do not charge for education, as this cost is covered by the state. Class sizes may be larger than an independent school and more in line with state day schools, which can have anything from 22-29 students. They may have slightly shorter holidays than independent schools; many schools that offer Saturday morning lessons will have shorter terms than state day schools.

Are state boarding schools regulated and inspected?

The boarding facilities, pastoral care and the quality of teaching is inspected by Ofsted regularly, and there is an Ofsted boarding inspection every three years. These reports are can be viewed online.

In most state boarding schools, the majority of children are day students – but many of them enjoy an extended day alongside the boarders. Some schools, such Gordon’s School charge a compulsory ‘day boarding’ fee of several thousand pounds to all day students, which covers after-school activities. Others, such as Wymondham College, will offer free day places for students who attend only for normal school hours attendance, and charge a day ‘boarding fee’ for students who want to stay for breakfast, dinner, extra-curricular activities, and study support.

Day students can enjoy the benefits of boarding life while still sleeping in their own bed every night and without paying boarding fees. They get access to the specialist teaching, sport and arts facilities found at an independent school, a broad extra-curricular programme, and the opportunity to stay at school for an extended day to complete prep/homework.

Source:

https://www.theenvoygroup.com/parents/therapeutic-boarding-school-cost/
https://chandigarhmetro.com/best-boarding-schools-list-india-fees-location/
https://whichschooladvisor.com/uk/guides/uk-state-boarding-schools-what-where-how-much

College admissions

High School Graduates of 2022, please log into your eServices account and update your email address. Click on Account Management and then Demographic Info. Any accounts associated with a high school email address will not be accessible once you graduate.

Outdoor portrait of a student

Guide on College and University Admissions

Each year millions of high school students apply to college. By 2020, the number of students enrolled in college is expected to peak at more than 23 million. Notwithstanding, fewer than fifty percent of all students who are accepted to college will graduate within four years, and just over half will ever graduate from college at all.

The college admissions process is time consuming, tedious, and at times, a bit daunting. There are multiple steps, deadlines and choices students must deal with, including standardized tests, application essays, fees and interviews. Applying to college can also be a bit pricey. About a fourth of college applicants apply to seven or more schools – and at $40 an application it can get expensive really fast. While many schools require students to fill out and submit separate applications, through the Common Application (addressed in more detail below), students are able to apply to hundreds of colleges throughout the United States by filling out and submitting just one application online. Once accepted, some colleges may require students to fill out a separate application for a particular department and later another for graduate school.

A few trends in college admissions include a growing number of students in foreign countries seeking to attend American universities, a larger number of college applications in general, students applying through early decision methods, an increased use of waitlists by colleges, and a large increase in the percentage of students who are submitting their college applications online. It’s been estimated that over 80% of all college applications are now submitted via the Internet.

Timing

The college admissions process most often begins in the junior year of high school. A student meets with their high school guidance counselor to discuss their future aspirations and plans, they’ll build a list of colleges, attend college fairs, and maybe visit a few college campuses. In addition, during a student’s junior year they will complete all standardized testing requirements including the PSAT, SAT and/or ACT. International students may also be required to take one of several English-language proficiency tests such as TOEFL, IELTS or PTE Academic.

Finalizing application plans, writing application essays, and deciding whether to apply early or wait for a regular decision, typically takes place during the summer preceding senior year. By a students senior year, they should be familiar with all admissions deadlines, have their teacher recommendations in place, be applying to colleges, and mailing in their transcripts. It’s also the time students should be submitting the CSS (in October) and FAFSA forms(in January). Most colleges will have made acceptance decisions by April and students are expected to reply by May.

Even though most college admissions work takes place during a student’s junior and senior years, most guidance counselors agree it’s wise to have a "four-year plan". Don’t forget, your grades as a freshman and sophomore count toward your final GPA as a senior and you’ll want to develop good study habits and get involved in extracurricular activities as soon as you can.

The College-Admissions Process Is Completely Broken

Illustration of computer arrows flooding a college graduate.

With the last of the college-admissions decisions for the high-school class of 2022 arriving in the coming days, we’re likely at the end of another record application year. According to the organization that runs the Common App, application volume through the middle of February increased nearly 10 percent from the preceding year—which itself was up some 10 percent from the year before that. Over the past two decades, the number of applications submitted to colleges has increased more than 150 percent, even as the size of high-school graduating classes has remained fairly stable.

This might sound like good news, but the growing volume of applications hurts colleges and students alike. Flooded with applications and crunched for time, admissions officers quickly scan the files of most students who have no prayer of getting in and spend just minutes reviewing those they ultimately accept—something I witnessed the year I spent embedded in three admissions offices for my latest book. While piles of applications and an ultra-low acceptance rate are certainly marks of popularity, these things are in truth indications of a poorly designed system in need of long-overdue improvements.

Much of the dysfunction stems from a misperception about how hard getting into college is. At hypercompetitive schools, ridiculously low acceptance rates have become the norm: 5 percent at Stanford University, 10 percent at Colby College, and 12 percent at Vanderbilt for fall 2020. But selectivity is something of an illusion, stressing students out and leading them to needlessly apply to multiple colleges when they can enroll in only one. The overwhelming majority of colleges admit most students who apply. Seventy-five percent of schools that use the Common App accept more than half of their applicants. Yet “students come to the Common App thinking they aren’t going to get in anywhere, but they will,” Jenny Rickard, president and CEO of the Common App, told me. In other words, plenty of spots are out there, just not at the small set of elite institutions whose freshman classes have barely budged in size since the late 1970s.

A better way exists. Colleges could alleviate the congestion and stress they created—and provide relief to both schools and students in the process, even at selective schools—by reforming the application system.

First, colleges need to be straightforward about their selection criteria. Although the average four-year college in the U.S. accepts nearly 60 percent of applicants, many schools indicate they are more selective than they are by telling prospective students that they practice “holistic” admissions, considering factors beyond grades and test scores. This approach, which attempts to measure qualities that aren’t quantifiable and are usually gleaned from an applicant’s extracurricular activities, essays, and recommendations, is loved and hated in equal measure by parents and students. Both favor a method that focuses on the “whole student” until they discover that applicants who had lower GPAs or test scores were accepted.

Holistic admissions may sound great, but many admissions offices at less-selective colleges make the bulk of their decisions by assessing the rigor of an applicant’s high-school courses and grades. In some cases, ACT and SAT scores matter, too, although many colleges have made the tests optional during the coronavirus pandemic. Amassing impressive lists of extracurricular activities and hiring essay coaches end up being futile in the admissions process at colleges where the high-school transcript drives the decision. Lengthy application forms also place a particularly unfair burden on students without access to resources such as college counselors, supportive parents or teachers, and even a computer with reliable internet access.

Last year, the Common App experimented with something called direct admission, turning the traditional process upside down: Instead of filling out form after form, students are proactively admitted based on data supplied by K–12 schools or basic information provided by students. About 3,300 students were offered guaranteed admission to a school in their state if they met a GPA requirement; some 66 students ultimately took part in the pilot project. Although this is a small group, officials at the Common App told me that more than half of the respondents to the offer were first-generation college students. Last year, some 700,000 seniors who opened Common App accounts never filed an application. Typically, those students tend to be lower-income, first-generation, and from minority backgrounds, Don Yu, the vice president of policy and advancement at the Common App, said.

Sources:

https://www.educationcorner.com/college-admissions.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/change-college-acceptance-application-process/627581/
https://www.century.edu/admissions
College admissions

I will say that I was impressed when I spoke with leaders at the College Board—they came across as earnest, smart people who are trying to make the best version of this test that they can. I think the biggest difference between the critics of the SAT and the makers of the SAT is that the critics don’t think the test can be perfected, whereas the College Board is continually retooling the test to make it better, in part because they think it’s, if not perfectible, then at least worthwhile.

What’s Really Wrong With Our Flawed System of Elite College Admissions

It’s no secret: our system of elite college admissions is deeply flawed. It’s exploited by the affluent and well-connected. It’s utterly opaque, arbitrary and unpredictable. And worst of all, it increasingly damages and distorts applicants’ lives and aspirations and mental health.

For an example, read a recent article in The Wall Street Journal that describes a Texas high school senior with an impressive record of accomplishments who was rejected from virtually every top college she applied to.

Her pile of rejection letters came from Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Brown, Cornell, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, Northwestern and the University of California, Berkeley, among others. She was even rejected by her home state’s flagship college of business.

Some comments offered consolation, observing, “Setbacks and rejections are part of life” and “an 18-year-old should not think that not getting in to the school of their choice means they will not have a prosperous, fulfilling life.” Read one typical comment, “The Ivy League is not remotely the only path to success.”

Still other readers were pragmatic, observing that the student wanted to major in business, a field that the most selective schools do not offer as an undergraduate concentration. In one writer’s words, “Simply stated: no top ranked liberal arts university, particularly an Ivy, wants a first year student to declare as an accounting major.” That same commentator noted that the student’s “second mistake was honesty. Honesty about her depression,” which presented a red flag to admissions officers.

Other comments were strategic and thought the student should have looked at an alternative route to her goals, by focusing on programs where women are underrepresented, such as math, computer science or engineering.

One tweet, reposted by the conservative columnist Ross Douthat, takes a particularly hard political line: “Elite college admissions is becoming a mirror of Dem coalitional politics: protected status for elite whites who know how to game the system, affirmative action for non-Asian minorities, brutal meritocratic competition for regular white people and Asians.”

Another tweet links college admissions to young people’s mental health issues: “They will be suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for the rest of their lives because it is the first time in their young lives that they have been rejected and heard the word ‘no.’ Setbacks and rejections are part of life. However, those lessons are not being taught these days.”

  1. “Extraordinary” isn’t always enough these days. The 20 most selective institutions only have about 30,000 admission slots, so even if you are a student at the bottom end of the top 1 percent of applicants, there are 35,000 students ahead of you.
  2. The desire to attend the most elite institutions is astounding—and inexcusable. Whether the motivation to attend such elite colleges and universities comes from parents or is self-imposed, it certainly warps many young people’s aspirations and their lives. It contributes to extremely high levels of stress, anxiety and depression, and when these students’ hopes are dashed, it certainly inflicts a heavy blow upon their self-image. It’s noteworthy that the article cites a private college counselor who charges an astonishing 800,200 an hour. I guess I went into the wrong field if I wanted to make serious money.
  3. For a small but significant share of young people, where they are accepted to college is central to their identity and defines who they are as a person. The message sent by media and popular culture—that the path to career and personal fulfillment lies through these super-selective institutions—has very destructive effects. Shouldn’t we want the young to recognize that their future success doesn’t hinge on the university they attend? That life involves more than where you go to college? Shouldn’t we want them to pursue a path that aligns with their strengths irrespective of their college destination?
  1. Expand precollege opportunities. Early-college and Advanced Placement programs are great, but not enough. Follow the example of the Teagle Foundation and increase the number of precollege programs that expose diverse, highly talented and driven high school students to college faculty, college-level work and the chance to work on meaningful projects, whether in laboratories or archives.
  2. Redirect resources across institutions. The California Master Plan for higher education had its good side—a goal of expanded access to postsecondary education—but also a more problematic side: clearly defined tiers. Even in California, the UC tier hasn’t expanded commensurate with the growth of the state’s population, and many other states, including my own, haven’t done nearly enough to equalize resources across their research universities.
  3. Enhance research and mentoring opportunities for our most determined undergraduates. When I was an undergraduate, my alma mater funded the research on my senior thesis, allowing me to spend weeks in the archives of Fisk University and giving me the chance to interview such figures as Georgia O’Keeffe, Arna Bontemps and Aaron Douglas. I can say without hesitation that those opportunities transformed my life. Whichever institution undergraduates attend, we need to do much more to give them similar life-changing, life-enhancing opportunities: to undertake mentored research, study abroad, supervised internships and field- and community-based projects.
  4. Open the gates of our most elite institutions to many more undergraduates and graduate students. It would be great if these institutions admitted more students, but I’m not holding my breath. By limiting the number of years that their students live in campus housing, and by substantially increasing the size of study abroad programs, elite institutions could easily find space for more students. But there are other ways to serve more students:

College Admissions Experts Explain the Merits of Not Getting In

I n the spring of 1994, I cried over being denied admission at Northwestern and Columbia … and three other elite universities. A close friend, trying to comfort me, only made me sob harder by saying: “Rejection builds character.”

She was right, though. Nearly three decades later, I trace so much of who I am, and the career I’ve built, to that awful week, when thin envelope after thin envelope kept arriving in our family’s mailbox in suburban New Jersey.

I ended up on a campus just 30 minutes away. Because Rutgers was huge, there was this need to prove myself, quickly define what I stood for, and distinguish myself from the crowd. I look back and realize the string of rejections left a bit of a chip on my shoulder and forced me to compensate for a lack of pedigree. This (constant) hustle proved invaluable in both traditional career ascension and my more recent entrepreneurial endeavors.

Over the last few weeks, millions of high school students learned their own college admissions fates. These days, the good news or bad news lands via a password-protected portal on a phone or laptop. That’s not all that’s changed: It’s harder than ever to get into a selective college or university. Harvard admitted a record-low 3.19% of all who applied; Bowdoin admitted 9%.

So while guidance counselors and private admissions experts characterize this year’s record low acceptances as a bit of a “bloodbath” for the Class of 2022, the big-picture is much more nuanced. The stats prompted me to turn to experts in college admissions to ask their advice when things don’t quite work out. What words do they have for those, like me once upon a time, crestfallen at rejection? And what does this all mean for the future of work?

Here’s a secret from Sabky: As an admissions counselor at Dartmouth, she was often more impressed with the students denied entry. “College admissions officers make business decisions based on what’s best for the college,” she says. “These decisions are not personal and an admitted student is no more ‘impressive’ than a denied student.”

Most experts agree that record numbers of applications (hastened by test-optional policies) mean that there is simply no way for overwhelmed admissions offices to take the time students’ applications actually deserve.

Anecdotally, according to experts, this year also resulted in a very high number of students on wait lists. Because of pandemic-era uncertainty, and also factors like the cost of attendance, admissions officials are trying to protect what’s known as “yield”: the number of students admitted who choose to attend. Amid so much uncertainty (take your pick: Covid, the war in Ukraine, rising prices, families’ own precarious economic situations), universities are pushing students onto wait lists to see what their incoming classes will actually look like before committing.

It’s why you might have a teen get into Yale but rejected from Vanderbilt, or into Cornell but waitlisted at the University of Michigan. Thus, declining enrollments and rethinking the value of a college degree do still have an effect on even the most elite universities. Tufts University had its most selective year on record with a 9% admissions rate (consider in 2001, the first year it notified students of results electronically, it was 20% ). Admissions dean J.T. Duck tried to explain the ever-changing calculus of college admissions: “Given last year’s strong positive response to our offers of admission, we have made slightly fewer offers this year and hope to be able to admit some outstanding students from our wait list in May.”

The waiting game is tough. But look at it another way: The graduating classes of high school and college have experienced unprecedented uncertainty in their young lives. The resulting resilience is a major asset for us who get to hire them into our workplaces.

That’s not to say that those rejected from their dream schools had no character. Hardly. But for both those who got in and didn’t, it’s solid advice to spend some time, whether through the next month, the next year, the next four years, figuring out your “character story,” as Lakhani calls it. The question of what you stand for is a query of life’s every turn: to get into classes, clubs, grad school, jobs, the boardroom.

Where to find that purpose? Lieber devotes an entire chapter specifically to the gap year, assuring readers that time spent working, making music, traveling or volunteering “might help you get a better job someday.”

Research has shown that gap-year students get in less trouble, are more likely to graduate on time, and have higher GPAs, which in turn can lead to stronger job opportunities, he writes. And gap-year students can have life-changing experiences and stories to share with prospective employers.

Sources:

https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/what%E2%80%99s-really-wrong-our-flawed-system-elite-college-admissions
https://www.newyorker.com/newsletter/the-daily/the-sat-has-gone-digital-how-else-should-college-admissions-change
https://time.com/charter/6164408/what-college-rejections-can-mean/
College admissions

Faculty : SGSC faculty are credentialed and meet SACSCOC requirements to teach in their respective field. There are no graduate assistants teaching classes at South Georgia State College. The average class size is 26, which allows faculty to provide personal attention and support for each student as needed.

Shield testing sign

Dual Enrollment

Definition: An applicant who is a rising 11th, or 12th grade high school student seeking to earn both high school and college credit. Please note: Sophomores may participate in the program, but must meet the following test score requirement-minimum SAT score of 1200 or ACT Composite score of 26 in a single national test administration.

Dual Enrollment provides you with the opportunity to earn high school AND college credit before graduating from high school. You can take classes on our Douglas or Waycross Campuses and even earn enough college credit to receive an associate’s degree while graduating from high school at the same time! Our Dual Enrollment courses transfer to any college or university in the University System of Georgia.

As a dual enrollment student, you will be provided with books at no cost for each class in which you enroll. If you take classes on one of our campuses, books will be loaned to you from the SGSC bookstore. Should one of your courses not be covered by the GSFC, you would be responsible for purchasing the course textbook.

The SAT Has Gone Digital. How Else Should College Admissions Change?

High school seniors at graduation ceremony.

The contributing writer Eren Orbey recently wrote about how the pandemic forced colleges and universities to experiment with test-optional admissions and how the College Board developed a new digital SAT. This week, the newsletter editor Jessie Li spoke to Orbey about the importance of the SAT, inequality in college admissions, and what it was like to take the new digital test.

The SAT feels like such an integral part of the college-admissions process—some students even have parents who enroll them in rigorous after-school test-prep programs just so that they can ace the exam. But the SAT is also partially a relic from another time, something that has evolved as times have changed. What’s your sense of its importance as a factor in college admissions today?

I was surprised, in my reporting, how quickly executives from the College Board were willing to say that the test is lower stakes, as they put it in their press release. They really do seem to be advertising the digital SAT as a different kind of tool, focussing on its power to help certain students stand out rather than on its potential threat to students who don’t score well. But there’s still so much pressure on the other side, from high-school administrators and test-prep tutors and others. I think the SAT has become a kind of cultural relic with a lot of weight and meaning that is perhaps separate from what the College Board is actually intending.

To me, the most interesting question in this new moment is whether the messaging from the College Board and from test-optional universities will affect the way kids look at the test. Because there are so many new doubts now, like, If I don’t submit an SAT score, are colleges going to assume that I did poorly, or will they assume I didn’t take it and directed attention elsewhere? There isn’t a lot of consensus. That has created a different kind of panic.

I will say that I was impressed when I spoke with leaders at the College Board—they came across as earnest, smart people who are trying to make the best version of this test that they can. I think the biggest difference between the critics of the SAT and the makers of the SAT is that the critics don’t think the test can be perfected, whereas the College Board is continually retooling the test to make it better, in part because they think it’s, if not perfectible, then at least worthwhile.

As a student, I felt that I benefitted a lot from the SAT. I went to a private school, but I was raised by a single mother, who had immigrated to the United States. I felt that the SAT was a lot more predictable and controllable than many other elements of the admissions game. So I went into this story eager to listen to what the defenses of the test were, but also well aware of the broader systemic critiques of the test that have intensified in recent years.

There’s this moment in your piece when you talk about this idea of an adversity score, which the College Board announced in 2019, attempting to contextualize students’ scores based on their backgrounds—and which backfired. Underlying the College Board’s strategies, you write, is a “conviction that quantifying students’ records can help promote social justice.” But others see the use of SAT scores as inherently discriminatory. What was it like to speak with different groups about this question of inequality?

A refrain I heard from executives at the College Board was that the SAT doesn’t create inequality; it just reflects inequality that already exists. You can extend that argument in favor of the test further by saying that, during the pandemic, at a time when remote learning is worsening educational outcomes for so many students across the country, it can be valuable to have a measure for how students are doing. On the other side, critics of the test point out that it’s possible for the SAT to be a reflection of existing inequalities, but also to contribute to those inequalities at the same time. I think the drama around the adversity score blew up because it was a confession that perhaps the test scores alone aren’t actually painting a full or useful picture of college readiness, or the deservingness of students, who are working so hard with drastically different resources available to them.

You could see the adversity score either as a fraught step toward making the tool more transparently meritocratic or as kind of a concession—that if you have to append all this information to the test, maybe the test isn’t so fair in the first place. I think distilling things down into a single score, when you’re talking about levels of disadvantage, also makes critics of the test uncomfortable when you think about college readiness in general—if the move to quantify levels of disadvantage is potentially incomplete or reductive, then maybe the SAT isn’t so neutral a tool after all.

Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Admissions Criteria

Learn More About Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Students Must Meet Residency Requirements

Step One: Attend an Information Session (Required) and Complete Student Advising

Step Two: Did you complete other educational/training programs before JJC?

If so, complete a transcript evaluation form. Make sure to select "Associate in Arts" and the correct applicant type located under the Transfer Evaluation Request Information section. Then, order official transcripts from your former college to be sent to the JJC Transfer Credit Evaluation Office. Questions? Email [email protected].

Step Three: Complete the ATI-TEAS Exam

Ranking System

Admissions to the Diagnostic Medical Sonography AAS Program will be determined by a point ranking system. Each eligible application will be given a number for anonymity. All demographic data will be removed. Applications are sent to the Diagnostic Medical Sonography Admissions Committee to be scored and ranked by the following criteria:

Additional Class Requirements

These additional general education courses are not required to be considered for admission, but they are required for completion of the AAS Degree. Taking these courses will add points to the applicant’s overall score used in the ranking system above. Higher grades in these classes will earn more points

How to Apply

Sources:

https://www.sgsc.edu/becoming-a-hawk/admissions.cms
https://www.newyorker.com/newsletter/the-daily/the-sat-has-gone-digital-how-else-should-college-admissions-change
https://www.jjc.edu/getting-started/admissions

Best Free Blogging Resources (for All Bloggers to Grow Faster) in 2022

Income Journey– This one goes out to all of the Income Report addicts out there. I know I am! (haha). In this eBook Suzi goes into detail of what worked each month and how she earned an income from $o – $17,000 per month in her first year of blogging. An organized month by month compilation of her successes and failures to help you implement the same strategies and avoid the same mistakes.

Best Blogging Resources- Affiliate Marketing #bloggingresources #bloggingtools

18 Best Free Blogging Resources (for All Bloggers to Grow Faster) in 2022

There are an overwhelming number of excellent free blogging resources out there on the Internet today, to help grow your blog. And because I’ve created dozens of them myself (including courses, books, templates, tools and more), here’s my collection of all the best blogging resources.

18 Best Free Blogging Resources for All Bloggers to Grow a Blog Faster This Year

Yes, there are lots of great paid resources that can help you on your blogging journey—but when you’re just getting started, there are tons of excellent free resources you can utilize as well. If you want even more, check out my list of top blogging courses and blogger books—some of which are paid, though they’re all a great value for what they offer.

18 Best Free Blogging Resources (for All Bloggers) in 2022

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links and at no additional cost to you, I’ll earn a commission. Know that I only recommend products and services I’ve personally used and stand behind. When you use one of my affiliate links, the company compensates me, which helps me run this blog and keep my in-depth content free of charge for readers (like you).

Beginner Bloggers: Resources for Launching Your Blog

Beginner Free Blogging Resources (to Grow Your Blog Faster)

1. How to Build a (Profitable) Blog in 7 Days

2. WordPress Training Course: Learn How to Build a WordPress Website Using Elementor (Simon Shocket)

This detailed, free training course from HubSpot takes you through everything you need to know, from setting up your website (including getting a domain name and web hosting), understanding how WordPress works, installing WordPress plugins and WordPress themes, and using the popular page builder Elementor.

3. WPBeginner’s WordPress 101 Video Tutorials (Syed Balkhi)

These videos, created by Syed Balkhi and his team at WPBeginner, are a fantastic introduction to everything you’ll want to know in your early days of blogging, including WordPress.com vs WordPress.org, using the block editor, creating and editing posts, adding images, installing and customizing themes, enabling and managing comments, and much more.

4. What is Social? (Randy Hlavac)

This course from Northwestern University is designed, in instructor Randy Hlavac’s words, to “give you an overview of social and the important ways you need to view social to build successful marketing strategies.”

The course is designed to give you a big picture overview of the social media landscape, along with specific tips for creating your own content strategy, designing social communities, and positioning yourself as a brand authority.

5. The Beginner’s Guide to Branding (Laura Busche)

This 35 page ebook covers all the basics of branding, explaining what branding means, and going through all the basics like what name to choose, how to craft your brand identity, and how to create style guidelines.

More Experienced Bloggers: Resources for Your First Year of Blogging

Once you’ve got your blog up and running, you’ll still want to keep learning. During your first year, your focus is likely to be on creating regular content, growing your traffic, and getting ready to make money from your blog.

6. Free 5-Day Traffic & Monetization Mini Challenge (Lena Gott)

It covers simplifying your strategy, implementing income pathways on your blog, crafting strong calls to action, finding hidden niches other bloggers aren’t targeting, the importance of your conversion rate, and more.

7. The Complete Collection: Content Creation Templates (Hubspot)

This mammoth collection of templates includes every type of template you’re likely to need for your blog: blog post templates, buyer persona templates, ebook templates, infographic templates, powerpoint templates, and much more.

8. The SEO Bootcamp (Stupid Simple SEO) (Mike Pearson)

9. Free Graphic Design Training (Kristin Rappaport)

This detailed course from Kristin Rappaport runs through basic design principles, including proximity, alignment, repetition, contrast, and hierarchy, before tackling some common graphic design mistakes to avoid — like bad color choices, hard-to-read text, and adding unnecessary elements.

Advanced Bloggers: Resources to Take Your Established Blog Further

If you’ve been blogging for months or years, you may have all the best blogging tools out there already. Perhaps you feel there’s not too much left to learn. But all these blog resources can help you hone your skills — and make more money.

10. 10-Step Copywriting Framework (Arman Assadi)

This free masterclass takes you through writing persuasive copy (without sounding salesy or full of hype) and making your copy more engaging, personal, and entertaining. You’ll learn how to quickly write copy — even if you’re a beginner.

11. BabelQuest: Content Audit Template

12. SEO Unlocked (Neil Patel)

This detailed SEO course from online marketing guru Neil Patel takes you through all the basics of SEO, then digs deep into keyword research, on-page and technical SEO, content marketing, link building, and more.

There’s a lot of content here — but you can work through it all at your own pace. Although the course is designed to take 7 weeks, there’s nothing stopping you from taking longer (or getting through it faster).

18 Best Free Blogging Resources (for All Bloggers) in 2022

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links and at no additional cost to you, I’ll earn a commission. Know that I only recommend products and services I’ve personally used and stand behind. When you use one of my affiliate links, the company compensates me, which helps me run this blog and keep my in-depth content free of charge for readers (like you).

Beginner Bloggers: Resources for Launching Your Blog

Beginner Free Blogging Resources (to Grow Your Blog Faster)

1. How to Build a (Profitable) Blog in 7 Days

2. WordPress Training Course: Learn How to Build a WordPress Website Using Elementor (Simon Shocket)

This detailed, free training course from HubSpot takes you through everything you need to know, from setting up your website (including getting a domain name and web hosting), understanding how WordPress works, installing WordPress plugins and WordPress themes, and using the popular page builder Elementor.

3. WPBeginner’s WordPress 101 Video Tutorials (Syed Balkhi)

These videos, created by Syed Balkhi and his team at WPBeginner, are a fantastic introduction to everything you’ll want to know in your early days of blogging, including WordPress.com vs WordPress.org, using the block editor, creating and editing posts, adding images, installing and customizing themes, enabling and managing comments, and much more.

4. What is Social? (Randy Hlavac)

This course from Northwestern University is designed, in instructor Randy Hlavac’s words, to “give you an overview of social and the important ways you need to view social to build successful marketing strategies.”

The course is designed to give you a big picture overview of the social media landscape, along with specific tips for creating your own content strategy, designing social communities, and positioning yourself as a brand authority.

5. The Beginner’s Guide to Branding (Laura Busche)

This 35 page ebook covers all the basics of branding, explaining what branding means, and going through all the basics like what name to choose, how to craft your brand identity, and how to create style guidelines.

More Experienced Bloggers: Resources for Your First Year of Blogging

Once you’ve got your blog up and running, you’ll still want to keep learning. During your first year, your focus is likely to be on creating regular content, growing your traffic, and getting ready to make money from your blog.

6. Free 5-Day Traffic & Monetization Mini Challenge (Lena Gott)

It covers simplifying your strategy, implementing income pathways on your blog, crafting strong calls to action, finding hidden niches other bloggers aren’t targeting, the importance of your conversion rate, and more.

7. The Complete Collection: Content Creation Templates (Hubspot)

This mammoth collection of templates includes every type of template you’re likely to need for your blog: blog post templates, buyer persona templates, ebook templates, infographic templates, powerpoint templates, and much more.

8. The SEO Bootcamp (Stupid Simple SEO) (Mike Pearson)

9. Free Graphic Design Training (Kristin Rappaport)

This detailed course from Kristin Rappaport runs through basic design principles, including proximity, alignment, repetition, contrast, and hierarchy, before tackling some common graphic design mistakes to avoid — like bad color choices, hard-to-read text, and adding unnecessary elements.

Advanced Bloggers: Resources to Take Your Established Blog Further

If you’ve been blogging for months or years, you may have all the best blogging tools out there already. Perhaps you feel there’s not too much left to learn. But all these blog resources can help you hone your skills — and make more money.

10. 10-Step Copywriting Framework (Arman Assadi)

This free masterclass takes you through writing persuasive copy (without sounding salesy or full of hype) and making your copy more engaging, personal, and entertaining. You’ll learn how to quickly write copy — even if you’re a beginner.

11. BabelQuest: Content Audit Template

12. SEO Unlocked (Neil Patel)

This detailed SEO course from online marketing guru Neil Patel takes you through all the basics of SEO, then digs deep into keyword research, on-page and technical SEO, content marketing, link building, and more.

There’s a lot of content here — but you can work through it all at your own pace. Although the course is designed to take 7 weeks, there’s nothing stopping you from taking longer (or getting through it faster).

Authorship:

https://www.ryrob.com/blogging-resources/#:~:text=18%20Best%20Free%20Blogging%20Resources%20(for%20All%20Bloggers,Beginner%E2%80%99s%20Guide%20to%20Branding%20(Laura%20Busche)%20More%20items
https://www.ryrob.com/blogging-resources/
https://www.loveandpaperflowers.com/blogging-resources/

How To Write About Yourself: Step-by-Step

For example, “I’m writing this essay to show people my heart and how passionate I am about removing disparities and barriers in healthcare. I believe in my abilities, and I want to further my education, so I can help heal people.”

how to write about yourself essay

Step 1: Identify The Reader And Their Expectations

How to write about yourself?

The intended reader might be one specific person or group of people, such as a scholarship committee or hiring manager. On the other hand, it might be a large unknown audience, such as anyone who follows your blog or searches for a specific topic. Or it might be a targeted unknown audience, for example, a cancer survivor who writes a memoir essay meant to inspire other people fighting cancer.

Regardless of the form or purpose of your writing, you should always start by identifying the reader. Then keep their perspective in mind as you plan and write. You want to give them what they expect, but at the same time, you must not give them what they expect. What does that mean?

You must give the reader(s) what they expect. Why is the reader bothering to read your writing about yourself? Stay focused on delivering on their expectations. The Costco hiring manager isn’t interested in how your family members beat cancer, and the cancer-surviving memoirist would be foolish to include a long digression about her breadth of customer service experience.

At the same time, you must not be predictable or rely on cliché. Your cover letter is probably in a stack of hundreds, and memoirs are not in short supply. Your goal is to deliver on the reader’s expectations, and at the same time to surprise them with the detail that makes your story unique.

Why It Is Important Knowing How to Write About Yourself

Knowing how to write an essay about yourself is essential for many grounds. Some of the most common situations when people would need this is for professional reasons – to describe themselves to an employer or an academic institution for admission. While your biography or previous performance record normally have a huge weight in evaluating your candidacy, there are some aspects that may only be conveyed by you personally in a clearly-formulated, well-structured, efficient essay or block of text.

Among the personal information for which a self-description is indispensable are your purposes, life goals, long-term career vision, primary motivation, concerns, personal challenges envisioned, honest assessment of your personal strengths and weaknesses. Writing such papers openly is an important self-analysis tool – it is not a coincidence that many psychologists use this technique for gaining better understanding of themselves or for fighting stress.

How to Start an Essay About Yourself & How to Structure It

Like many other essay types, this one would also have an introduction, body, conclusion. Introductory part may vary a lot depending on the scope of the essay. To capture attention, it could start with describing a life event or story defining your life/ personality, a certain belief or state of mind characterizing you. It could start with some basic notes on your biography or could provide some important context describing where you are now in life. You could share a personal vision, dream, life credo and efforts of pursuing it.

Main body would contain a deeper exploration/ dissection of the traits mentioned with more factual details and real-life examples confirming them. One could mention and explain which challenges, experience, background exactly led to the evolution of these traits.

If this essay is part of professional or academic competition, the story should explore/ tell how your experience, interests, achievements, developed competencies, and personal traits qualify you for a given position and how obtaining this position is in line with your aspirations and goals.

In this kind of writing, it is particularly important making the conclusion strong and memorable. The conclusion should restate the idea, perhaps, less directly, that all your life and professional experience make you a good match for the targeted position but it should do much more than this, for instance, mention some relevant open questions regarding one’s biography, mention a long-sought dream that could be fulfilled, offer prophetic vision about one’s own future, short mention of one’s meaning of life and potentially, how it relates to current goals, very brief distilled overview of one’s entire past along with some interpreting remarks, especially, in case of an autobiography.

Tips for Writing About Yourself Creatively or Confidently

Talking or writing about yourself may not be everyone’s cup of tea. For example, did you need to provide a fun fact recently but draw a blank? You’re not alone. In fact, many people have a false assumption that they’re boring.

On the flip side, perhaps you’re used to talking about yourself, or, at least you’ve got the “fake it till you make it” type of confidence down-pat. However, you too can only benefit from adding a bit more razzle-dazzle to your spiels and writing assignments. Here are a few tips for writing about yourself creatively or confidently.

Allow yourself space

If you have an upcoming project or writing assignment that has you on edge, consider stepping away. Even if you don’t consider yourself an outdoorsy person, a walk around the block may help you breathe and get your creativity flowing. Naturally, the more sound your idea or angle, the more confident you’ll feel about your upcoming performance.

Keep that ego in check

An underinflated ego is just as bad as an overinflated one. Pay close attention to your internal dialogue when approaching new projects or writing tasks (or, honestly anything that comes up during your day). How much of what swirls around in your mind is fact? How much of it is just fleeting thoughts or opinions? You are not your thoughts, and you always have choices. Make good ones and be kind to yourself.

Change your internal dialogue to, “I have good ideas. I may not have my plan figured out right now, but I’ll get it done,” or, “I have so many great skills to bring to the table and I am very passionate about what’s brought me here. I will convey this the best I can.”

Crowdsource

Sometimes an outside opinion can give us much-needed perspective. Ask your friends, family, loved ones, or coworkers to describe you in a few words or even in abstract ways. Don’t view this as you’re fishing for compliments. Ask your loved ones for honesty, as this insight can only help you when writing about yourself.

Build up a fuel bank

Pulling inspiration out of thin air may not always be possible. However, if you build up a few reliable sources of inspiration, the next time a project hits, you’ll be prepared. You can fuel your creativity and confidence in a variety of ways.

For example, you can create certain playlists for different moods, save favorite art or graphics in a digital folder or keep printed versions in your home or office, write down affirmations or notes-to-self in a journal or app, and so on.

Reflect on past accomplishments and setbacks

Even if you aren’t a fan of journaling, writing about yourself is far easier if you take the time to reflect, if only mentally. If you know you have a deadline to write about yourself in the near future, you may want to physically or mentally jot down a few real-life examples or experiences that come to mind.

But how do you get in the right headspace to reflect? What if you only witness recurring thoughts about past events while trying to fall asleep? Be sure to practice the first tip in this section: Give yourself some space to think. For once, limit the distractions, keep all other screens put away or turn on your “do not disturb” feature.

Now, think about some past accomplishments or setbacks that may not even seem relevant to the topic of the assignment. You may have an epiphany about unrelated things or discover something about how you operate. For example, you might realize that you feel less nervous in social and professional settings if you call out your anxiety as being excited.

Examples of Writing About Yourself

Even if you feel super confident about writing about yourself now, we wanted to provide a few short examples to help you get started. Your tone, word choice, and more may differ depending on which piece you’re working on.

Those were probably the best and the worst days of my life. I had never felt more happy and never felt more sad. I felt as though I were so close to having everything I had ever wanted, yet it seemed with every step forward, I had to take two steps back. It was exhausting. How did I get through it? To be quite honest, I have no damn idea.

Perspective helped. I knew I could have had it way worse; I knew that my struggle wasn’t unique. I knew, too, that even when the small wins would come they’d have yet another loss right on their tails. I paid dearly for having too much heart and optimism, so I regularly had to hose myself down with logic and pessimism.

If you’re reading this, it’s too late. Just kidding! That’s just a really good Drake album. I wanted to take some time to talk about what’s been going on in my life lately for those of you who are nosey enough to care. Again, kidding, I know some of you really care. I’m so grateful to have even this small following that I have. It’s wild, really. Who would have thought that people want to know what’s going on in my head at any given time? Joke’s on you guys, though, because I don’t fully know all the time.

I guess I’ll start off by saying that work has been a whirlwind. As you all know, it isn’t an easy time for anyone, so please don’t take this declaration as a complaint. I’m thrilled to still have a job despite everything going on. However, leaving this reflection at just that would be doing both myself and you all a disservice. It’s weak. It doesn’t really describe what’s been going on. Allow me to continue.

When I was young, my grandmother told me I couldn’t please everyone — that some people just wouldn’t like me for no reason at all. This was very hard for me to swallow at times. What does this have to do with who I am today and why I plan to attend your university?

Well, this early lesson demonstrates that in order for this world to keep spinning, we all have to be unwavering in our own pursuits. We are ourselves. We can’t be anyone else. In that, we all have the responsibility to bring our unique talents, wisdom, and heart to the table — even when we’re seated across from people who may not like us.

Sources:

https://becomeawritertoday.com/how-to-write-about-yourself/
https://edubirdie.com/blog/how-to-write-about-yourself
https://www.joincake.com/blog/how-to-write-about-yourself/

How to manage and reduce stress

According to the American Psychological Association (APA)’s annual stress survey in 2018, average stress levels in the United States were 4.9 on a scale from 1 to 10. The survey found that the most common stressors were employment and money.

Work days lost

Dealing with Stress – Top Tips

We know that too much stress can be bad for you. It can affect both physical and mental health. It is also extremely personal: different people find different situations stressful, and also find that different ways of coping may be more or less helpful to them.

1. Learn to recognise the signs that you are becoming stressed

There are a wide range of possible signs and symptoms that may be associated with stress. These include headaches, stomach upsets and indigestion, and sleep problems. Many people also find they become very emotional and have trouble regulating their emotions.

Unfortunately, most of these signs are fairly non-specific: that is, they may be associated with many different illnesses and conditions. It can therefore be hard to identify when your symptoms are the result of stress. You should always consult a doctor if these symptoms last any length of time.

2. Identify your personal ‘stress triggers’

We all have particular situations or people that make us more stressed. Some of these are easily identifiable and may be avoidable. However, sometimes stress may build up over time, and result from a pattern of incidents or events, rather than a single trigger.

What are the behavioural and emotional effects of stress?

You may experience periods of constant worry, racing thoughts, or repeatedly go over the same things in your head. You may experience changes in your behaviour. You may lose your temper more easily, act irrationally or become more verbally or physically aggressive. 14 These feelings can feed on each other and produce physical symptoms, which can make you feel even worse. For example, extreme anxiety can make you feel so unwell, that you then worry you have a serious physical condition.

Stress may be caused either by major upheavals and life events such as divorce, unemployment, moving house and bereavement, or by a series of minor irritations such as feeling undervalued at work or arguing with a family member.16Sometimes, there are no obvious causes.

Tip 2: Practice the 4 A’s of stress management

While stress is an automatic response from your nervous system, some stressors arise at predictable times: your commute to work, a meeting with your boss, or family gatherings, for example. When handling such predictable stressors, you can either change the situation or change your reaction. When deciding which option to choose in any given scenario, it’s helpful to think of the four A’s: avoid, alter, adapt, or accept.

When you’re stressed, the last thing you probably feel like doing is getting up and exercising. But physical activity is a huge stress reliever—and you don’t have to be an athlete or spend hours in a gym to experience the benefits. Exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good, and it can also serve as a valuable distraction from your daily worries.

While you’ll get the most benefit from regularly exercising for 30 minutes or more, it’s okay to build up your fitness level gradually. Even very small activities can add up over the course of a day. The first step is to get yourself up and moving. Here are some easy ways to incorporate exercise into your daily schedule:

The stress-busting magic of mindful rhythmic exercise

While just about any form of physical activity can help burn away tension and stress, rhythmic activities are especially effective. Good choices include walking, running, swimming, dancing, cycling, tai chi, and aerobics. But whatever you choose, make sure it’s something you enjoy so you’re more likely to stick with it.

While you’re exercising, make a conscious effort to pay attention to your body and the physical (and sometimes emotional) sensations you experience as you’re moving. Focus on coordinating your breathing with your movements, for example, or notice how the air or sunlight feels on your skin. Adding this mindfulness element will help you break out of the cycle of negative thoughts that often accompanies overwhelming stress.

Acute stress

This type of stress is short-term and usually the more common form of stress. Acute stress often develops when people consider the pressures of events that have recently occurred or face upcoming challenges in the near future.

Ongoing poverty, a dysfunctional family, or an unhappy marriage are examples of situations that can cause chronic stress. It occurs when a person can see no way to avoid their stressors and stops seeking solutions. A traumatic experience early in life may also contribute to chronic stress.

A constant state of stress can also increase a person’s risk of type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), can develop when stress becomes chronic.

Chronic stress can continue unnoticed, as people can become used to feeling agitated and hopeless. It can become part of an individual’s personality, making them constantly prone to the effects of stress regardless of the scenarios that they encounter.

People react differently to stressful situations. What is stressful for one person may not be stressful for another, and almost any event can potentially cause stress. For some people, just thinking about a trigger or several smaller triggers can cause stress.

There is no identifiable reason why one person may feel less stressed than another when facing the same stressor. Mental health conditions, such as depression, or a building sense of frustration, injustice, and anxiety can make some people feel stressed more easily than others.

Those who work in stressful jobs, such as the military or the emergency services, will have a debriefing session following a major incident, and occupational healthcare services will monitor them for PTSD.

Diagnosing stress can be challenging because it depends on many factors. Doctors have used questionnaires, biochemical measures, and physiological techniques to identify stress. However, these may not be objective or effective.

Some insurance providers cover this type of treatment. However, it is important for people to check coverage with their provider before pursuing this treatment. Knowing the details about a potential treatment can help prevent it from adding to any ongoing stress.

Medicines

In such cases, they may prescribe an antidepressant. However, there is a risk that the medication will only mask the stress, rather than help the person deal with it. Antidepressants can also have adverse effects, and they may worsen some complications of stress, such as low libido .

  • Exercise: A 2018 systematic review of animal studies found that exercise can reduce memory impairment in subjects with stress, although studies on humans are necessary to confirm this.
  • Reducing the intake of alcohol, drugs, and caffeine: These substances will not help prevent stress, and they can make it worse.
  • Nutrition: A healthful, balanced diet containing plenty of fruit and vegetables can help maintain the immune system at times of stress. A poor diet can lead to ill health and additional stress.
  • Priority management: It may help to spend a little time organizing a daily to-do list and focusing on urgent or time sensitive tasks. People can then focus on what they have completed or accomplished for the day, rather than on the tasks they have yet to complete.
  • Time: People should set aside some time to organize their schedules, relax, and pursue their own interests.
  • Breathing and relaxation: Meditation, massage, and yoga can help. Breathing and relaxation techniques can slow down the heart rate and promote relaxation. Deep breathing is also a central part of mindfulness meditation.
  • Talking: Sharing feelings and concerns with family, friends, and work colleagues may help a person “let off steam” and reduce feelings of isolation. Other people may be able to suggest unexpected, workable solutions to the stressor.
  • Acknowledging the signs: A person can be so anxious about the problem causing the stress that they do not notice the effects on their body. It is important to be mindful of any changes.

Noticing signs and symptoms is the first step to taking action. People who experience work stress due to long hours may need to “take a step back.” It may be time for them to review their working practices or talk to a supervisor about finding ways to reduce the load.

Most people have an activity that helps them relax, such as reading a book, going for a walk, listening to music, or spending time with a friend, loved one, or pet. Joining a choir or a gym also helps some people relax.

Those who often feel as though they do not have the time or energy for hobbies should try some enjoyable new activities that make them feel good. People can turn to their support network if they need ideas.

References:

https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/stress-tips.html
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/how-manage-and-reduce-stress
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-management.htm
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/145855

Getting more trainings through the use of waikikiscuba.com

Many people admire to actively involve themselves in the scuba diving sport and get to search essays to learn more about perfect moves, styles and great easy way of getting maximum enjoyment. It is through exploration that they get the best opportunities of learning these great moves all the time. Through waikikiscuba.com enthusiasts can always learn more about this quality sport that involves the use of talents and great mastery of well perfected moves to get a perfect outcome. It is seen as pone of highly exciting activities that anybody can always enjoy at all times. Within Oahu, this website offers many a chance to actively engage their muscles and improve their skills and perfect their moves.

This is the best place where scuba drivers get quality trainings and great skills that they should always apply in order to enjoy themselves to the maximum. It is a perfect training ground that offers all a chance to explore their skills and to learn more about their movements’ and what entails to get the best of an outcome. Kaimana and Oahu are well known to provide scuba divers the best skills and variety of unique stunts and styles that are perfectly coordinated through their expedience. The services are always very excellently managed and this has been going on for a number of years since 2006. Through this perfection, many have managed to improve their skills and now they have a reason to smile and enjoy to the maximum as they perfect on their skills.

People can always get the ultimate diving skills through the maximum concentration, participation and learning of the well trained skills that are normally offered by experienced people. It is a diverse training within Hawaiian Islands that exposes people to a great stage of reality and this involves them perfectly as they seek to achieve greatness. There is training that ranges from reefs, wrecks, lava tubes and the most preferred wall dives. The trainings are normally stage managed so that trainees can start from into lessons that allow them to get the best of experience then help them muster the intro before progressing to skillful lessons. The management always sets enough time for those who are willing to learn and discover more about their abilities.

This is the best site that offers more than just trainings. Scuba drivers and those with the interest of becoming the daring champs always get a chance to participate actively and become more serious in life. It is the best scuba tours training that helps enthusiasts and people to involve their skills and manage them through the use of perfection. Waikikiscuba.com is the perfect place to enjoy and learn more about scuba skills in life. It is a ground to explore and a great place where quality is easily managed thought the use of mastery and learning. It is always important for people to have an open attitude towards the lessons and be willing to gain more than they ever expected. Skills are important in life and they can only be perfect through the maximum use of this site.

Know about health benefits of cycling

Cycling is not just a mode of transportation but also something that offers benefits to our health as well is something good for the the environment. In an age when fuel is turning increasingly costly and the pollution level is only going up, there shouldn’t be any lack of incentive for cycling. Laufmaschine or ‘running machine’, the earliest predecessor of what is the bicycle today, was invented by German Karl Drais in the early 19th century and the simplistic machine underwent development over the centuries to take the form of the modern-day bicycle. Today, it’s not just a mode of transportation but

Here are some health benefits that cycling gives you and you must do it regularly to be fitter:

Your body requires at least half-an-hour of physical activity – moderate to intense – daily to be fit. It is not that pedaling a cycle only makes the muscles strong but it leaves an overall good effect on the body. Besides the muscles of the legs and thighs, the arms also get stronger because of cycling. The more flexible your muscles as a result of cycling, the better is your aerobic fitness level. For those who want to know more about cycling and various types of cycles to choose from, it is published here.

Heart becomes fitter: While you cycle, your heart beat becomes fast and this is good for your health. Engage in activities like cycling, walking and running instead of sitting idle for long time. It will train your heart and make it fitter.

Diabetes can be avoided: Sedentary lifestyle can also be bad for the overall health and can lead to life-threatening disease like diabetes. Diabetes can be kept at bay if you do enough of physical activity, including cycling. It helps in exhausting the glucose present in the cells and that from the blood is converted into useful energy.

Boosts energy: Cycling helps in boosting your stamina by means of higher energy levels. It also makes you enthusiastic in engaging in various fitness activities. Cycle all the way to your educational institute or working place. It will make you feel better and fitter.

Reduces stress: Riding bicycle can help in reducing stress. Engaging in any sporting activity or going to gym can also help you but if you do not take equal interest in them, go for cycling. The stress buster also helps in giving you relief from depression.

Essential Factors to Consider when Selecting a Hammer Drill.

A hammer drill is a useful tool for both homeowners and professional masons who use it on a daily basis. This powerful equipment is suitable for drilling holes through a concrete or brick wall. The advantage of using this tool is that it combines the features of an ordinary hammer and a drill to give you excellent results. There are various types of hammer drills which suit different client needs in the market today. The following are the factors to consider when selecting a hammer drill.

  1. The power source. This appliance can either be corded or cordless. Consider using a cordless tool when your workstation is far from the energy source, for example, the outdoors. A cordless drill is highly portable which makes it a favorable pick for most households.
  2. The task at hand. You can use this appliance to dig through soft stones, hard rocks, metal, wood, and concrete walls. For every task, there is a particular model that is made to handle it to perfection. Pick one that gives you a chance to use different sizes of drills when you need to drill holes of varying sizes. A battery-powered hammer drill is suitable for DIY jobs and needs frequent recharge.
  3.  The pounding power. These tools mostly come with two discs that have ridges on both sides. When this equipment is operational, these discs move swiftly past each other which cause the chuck to slam backward and forward. The pounding motion chips away at the brick or concrete wall until you attain the desired hole. The power of the hammer determines the magnitude of pounding that this tool produces. The power is measured in Blows per minute, abbreviated as BPM, and the higher the BPM, the stronger the drilling power.
  4. The chuck material. Some of the common materials that manufacturers use to make this tool are plastic and metal. The metallic chucks are more durable and sturdy than their plastic counterparts. Frequent replacement of this part can be very costly in the long run, and you should thus select those that are long lasting.
  5. RPM. Revolutions per minute is a measure that determines the speed of a drill. This tool comes in varying speed settings that allow you to switch to either low or high speed. You have to consider the type of material you intend to drill as they require different drilling speeds. Hard materials need a hammer drill with low PRM as they are more efficient when compared to those with high revolutions.
  6. Comfort. According to http://www.drillsanddrivers.com/dewalt-dck290l2/ , this tool should be comfortable and also powerful to complete the task at hand. Recent models come with integrated LED lighting which helps you to keep the focus on the area of work. A soft grip on this equipment allows you to work swiftly without risk of physical harm on your hands.

The price of a hammer drill will vary from one manufacturer to the other depending on the model and the features. You should do your research well when selecting this tool so as to ensure that the pick fits your needs.