Posts Tagged ‘change’

The Power of Listening

Wednesday, November 18th, 2020

The world continues to change daily and rapidly, it is evolving everyday. As human beings we are shaping our own evolution, constantly changing our present and future. Through all of these advancements and technological improvements, our lives are often facilitated and our surroundings are much noisier. It can be difficult to maintain the practice of listening, and lose these skills. If we lose the art of listening, then we also lose or diminish our communication skills, which can affect our personal and professional life. It is important to be an effective listener, and to pay attention to the world as a whole.

In today’s society, we’ve grown more impatient and more appreciative of effortless things. Amazon, the innovative company that has shifted the e-commerce industry, offers a “Prime membership” that enables you to easily receive a package within a day or two, people are willing to pay more for a faster delivery service. Even when it comes to listening it is easy to daze off or filter the information we choose to retain. Especially when we are all busy fulfilling our daily duties and responsibilities, it is often convenient to keep everything short and straightforward rather than putting in the effort to listen and empathize with the speaker. 

By the early 1900’s a video camera was invented by John Logie Baird, who knew that camera’s would turn the world upside down (BBC, 29 September 2015). Nowadays, it is very easy to record everything. It is the beauty of being able to capture and relive everything taken on a camera lens. As a student myself, I rely on screenshots or photos of any class notes to help capture the information I couldn’t carefully listen to. However, it affects our listening skills because we no longer feel the need to be attentive and listen as recording content is available during any day or time. We are focusing on what these technological advancements can do for us versus the benefits that being an effective listener can bring to our development. 

We’ve become immersed in our own world, that most of the time our headphones are the answer to escaping our reality. It’s made us lose the connections amongst others, and we’ve also lost the ability to connect through sharing our ideas, experiences, and aspirations with one another. Conversation is no longer prominent if headphones serve as a refuge. Furthermore, it is negatively impacting the ability to be physically present and embrace the sounds of life. 

Being an effective listener is a gift that offers more than hearing the bird chips or our morning alarms, it is a set of skills that can bring prosperity, strengthen relationships and help us be more comprehensive in such a hectic world. Being a good listener also allows us to listen to ourselves, it gives us the opportunity to listen to our mind, body, and soul for a road to happiness. Establish wellness with yourself to be able to listen and care for others first. The act of caring is just as powerful as listening to your significant other, express themselves.

How to make yourself a priority (self-care):

Bera, Maggie “10 Easy Self Care Tips For Actors” https://www.actoraesthetic.com/blog/self-care. Accessed 12 November 2020.
  • Turn off your phone. Most of the time the first thing you do as soon as you wake up in the morning is check your phone. Now you’ll have to “unplug” to distress from your emails, notifications and buzzing that only make you overwhelmed. Try to set a schedule for yourself. For example, stay off your phone thirty minutes prior to bed or manage your screen time on the screen time tab in your settings for most iPhone users. If necessary, put your phone on airplane mode, focus on breathing and take a break!
  • Treat yourself to dinner. Food can be classified as an event, and we can make it memorable if we make it. During a stressful moment food can truly be our best friend, we don’t have to make dinner a “friends night” it can be a night to treat your cravings and watch Netflix, treasuring your own company. 

How to take care of others:

Uknown, “Self Care takes a Community, say mental health experts” https://www.folio.ca/self-care-takes-a-community-say-mental-health-experts/. Accessed 12 November 2020.
  • Reach out. Most of the time we aren’t aware of what our friends or next-door neighbors are going through, ask the person next to you “are you okay?”. Reassure them that you’re there to listen, stay connected with your friends and family.
  • Be present. Often many may experience financial problems, however, being present for someone doesn’t always necessarily mean being there financially. It could also mean helping someone study for their test, encouraging someone to achieve their goals, celebrating a birthday, or even offering them a ride home are all acts of care. 

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By: Yadira Tellez

Yadira is currently enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology, majoring in Fashion Business Management and minoring in English literature. She’s worked in retail and has had the opportunity to work behind the scenes during NYFW. Her dream is to be a Fashion Stylist but enjoys creative writing to relieve stress and express her mind.

For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC,  from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services.  

At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.

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My Vegetarian Story

Tuesday, June 27th, 2017

Coming to university brings about changes in one’s character as well as in one’s way of thinking. For many, it is the first time we are living by ourselves, the first time we are in charge of every aspect of our everyday lives: from doing homework, to what we eat, to choosing to go to class, to deciding whether we brush our teeth. It is stressful to suddenly make this transition, but in my experience, it has made me all the more conscious of myself as a person, my needs and my desires. People tend to focus on different things, depending on who they are. When I came to university, I found that my focus was my relationship to food.

www.thepcrm.orga

www.thepcrm.orga

I had always enjoyed eating well. “Well” as in healthy and delicious, as my mother had taken up the task of teaching me about the effects of food on my health from a young age. Nonetheless, coming to university was the first time I became truly conscious of what I was putting into my body. I had always known that eating a salad was better than eating a cake, and I was aware of the benefits of each vegetable and food group, but the idea that what I was putting into my body impacted my being in such a strong way hadn’t settled in too much. You could say I was superficially aware of the importance of a good diet.

This all changed when I arrived in New York City and was forced to make all the choices myself. Perhaps this development sprung from having to cope with leaving my mother’s kitchen, where everything was cooked with the freshest Greek ingredients in a healthy way. To go from that to my school’s dining hall, whose salad bar was tasteless and whose prepared dishes all usually contained meat and ten times the amount of oil and/or butter necessary was a rude awakening.

www.oralanswers.com

www.oralanswers.com

I realized that since I was now in charge of myself, I soon had to be more conscious of what was in my disposition. Upon having this epiphany, I started watching documentaries and reading books on health. Soon enough, I realized that for who I am as a person, being healthy and aware of my nutrition meant giving up meat and a lot of dairy. I became convinced that a whole food, plant-based diet was the best thing I could do for myself. And surely enough, all the benefits people from the vegan community boast about became relevant for me too.

http://fattofitwwdiary.tumblr.com/post/71598319865/untitled-via-tumblr-on-we-heart-it

http://fattofitwwdiary.tumblr.com/post/71598319865/untitled-via-tumblr-on-we-heart-it

Most of the documentaries and books I read were targeted at people trying to make the switch to a vegan diet. Though I am not fully vegan, I am fully vegetarian and eat vegan about 70% of the time. I found that what resonated with me was not simply the health benefits of a whole foods diet, rather, the compassion the community argued for when it comes to animals. Adopting a whole food, plant-based diet was not only crucial for my health, as I felt my energy levels rise, my skin clear up, my hair get stronger and my mood improve, but it was also crucial for my sense of wellbeing and self-esteem.

After being exposed to the atrocity of what is the meat and dairy industry, I felt a lot of guilt when I engaged in activities which contributed to these disastrous causes. That’s when I realized that what I put into my body was not only important for my body’s health in regards to protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats, nutrients and minerals but also to my mind for the person I wanted to be. So, I made the choice to try to do my part for our planet and the animals and try to do the least “bad” I could. For me, it meant giving up meat completely and minimizing my dairy intake to only a few times per week (usually weekends).

www.lolwot.com

www.lolwot.com

I struggled with the idea that I wasn’t doing the most good I could. I told myself that my ultimate goal was to be completely vegan and in that way, be “perfect”. However, I soon realized that these thoughts were holding me back, as I was not seeing that what I was doing was already a positive change. What I realized was that there was no one way to eat and that actually, what was needed were people who were aware and determined to make the right choices most of the time. My lifestyle and diet were my way of reacting to the information I was given. Chances are, you will have a different experience, and it will not be better or worse than someone else’s, as long as you remember to show compassion and strive to be aware of your body to make the right choices, whichever they may be.

www.pinterest.com

www.pinterest.com

Interesting reads:

  • Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
  • Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin

Helpful documentaries:

  • Forks Over Knives
  • Cowspiracy
  • Food Matters
  • Food Choices

 

By Marina Theophanopoulou

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Marina Theophanopoulou is a Campus Clipper publishing intern who is studying Philosophy and Sociology as a junior at NYU. Passionate about healthy, food and wellness, Marina aspires to make others think of food in a more holistic way. For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC,  from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourage them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing and services. 

At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.

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