When was the last time you evaluated your friendships? An old saying says, "show me your friends, and I'll show you your future." It's this idea that when you hang around with wise people, you become more intelligent. In the same way, if you hang around lazy people, you become more lethargic. The...

Have you ever seen that commercial where the people do something really embarrassing, and a voice comes on the screen and says, "wanna get away?" There are moments in life that you can totally relate to that person in some sense. Maybe you did not do anything embarrassing, but perhaps you are tir...

Imagine this. You found a 100 dollar bill on the sidewalk on your way to school. You have a friend who has a 20 dollar bill, and they ask you to trade your $100 for their $20. Unless you're crazy, there is no way in your right mind that you would make that trade, except if you wanted to be genero...

"I'm a savage…" yeah, you've heard the song. Isn't it interesting how much you remember what you listen to and how your life tends to mimic what you see and hear? The problem with being a savage is that it does not work in every context. Let's say you are a savage with something like jewelry, mon...

I have a question! What does love mean to you? Do you believe in it? Is it something you only see in hopeless romantic movies or hear on your favorite Justin Beiber song? Do you know, Love is such a powerful force. Some people have changed their entire life around what they thought was love, othe...

Have you ever believed that you were self-made? Do you know somebody else who has used that term and argued that they got where they are in life by themselves without the help of anybody? While on the one hand, I believe that people have a more challenging time climbing uphill battles with fewer ...

Here’s a question for you. Have you ever made a mistake? Have you ever done someone wrong or did something that you know you should not have done? Yeah, you should know the answer to that question because everybody has made mistakes in their life. Some errors have been more significant than other...

How many tries did you take on your last tik tok video to make it perfect? There's a good chance that it took you a few shots to actually get it where you wanted it. Your followers do not see the many failed attempts to get the right video, they only see the completed product you put out. Life is...

At the beginning of the school year, you probably had a clear picture of what you wanted the semester to look like. Then school started, and life happened. Next thing you know, your vision was unclear. You might ask - How do you get back to that place of clarity once things become a blur? One of ...

Do you remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? You know the rabbit that was super fast and way more talented than the hare that it was racing? Interestingly enough, the tortoise did not have nearly the level of skill that the rabbit had. The turtle kept pushing until the very end and ult...

Did you know that when you have a great idea or decide to accomplish something, it sends signals through your brain? Have you ever felt that sense of excitement about wanting to accomplish something? Maybe it was trying out for a sports team or applying for your first job. Once your brain sends s...

You know that scene in Black Panther where T'chala is fighting Killmonger for the throne? King T'chala took one too many punches and ended up losing that fight. Not only did he lose that fight, but Wakanda as the world knew it was beginning to change. When an evil version of the king took over, h...

Have you ever heard somebody tell you to keep on pushing? Whether that was concerning a sport or school or just you trying to navigate relationships. Sometimes life gets tough, and we get overwhelmed and stressed. Contrary to popular belief, it can be unhealthy for us to just keep on pushing. Whe...

Have you ever been caught up in a situation that was not even your own? Almost as if you were stuck in the middle? For some of you, it may be seeing your parents struggle every day to make ends meet, to make sure everyone has a home and food to eat. The workload may be wearing them out, causing y...

Have you ever wanted to work out but dreaded it? Like your mind was ready to do it, but your body was saying something completely different? It's always funny that you usually feel fantastic about your time when you press passed that original opposition. When you are feeling tense, one of the bes...

Have you ever had to clean up your room, and you just dreaded it? The advantage of cleaning up your room when its cluttered is that you feel accomplished when you are finished. You also probably sleep so much better when you feel the peace of having a cleanroom. It is easy to focus on cleaning th...

Have you ever had a friend or family member that was full of great ideas? Did it seem like every other day they were starting something new? Idea after idea, day after day, they created a new project to pursue one that success would stick to. There is nothing wrong with being a visionary, but the...

Ready… set… go! And you’re off! With all the adrenaline that pumps through you at the beginning of a race, it’s easy to fly out the gate eager to leave the competition in the dust. Just like the beginning of the school year, you’re anxious to get off to an excellent and fast start. This is not a ...

There are roughly 5,280 feet in a mile. One full-length marathon is 26.2 miles long. That means that you literally have to take thousands of strides to complete a marathon. It’s the same for any accomplishment; you have to take the many necessary steps to achieve your goal. You can’t do it all at...

More times than not, when a runner finishes their first marathon, they can’t wait to finish the next one, and the next one, and the next one. And before they know it, they have a collection of medals to show for their accomplishments. The feeling of accomplishing goals is rarely forgotten, and so...

You're finishing your last few steps to cross the finish line. You did it! Congrats! You've finally finished your long, challenging, and exhausting marathon. It's time to take some deep breaths, settle your feet, and cool down. One of the benefits of finishing well is the rest that comes after. T...

Social media has tainted the realities of what we call life. We have been exposed to sex, death, and drugs so often that it has become our new normal. We have seen people suffer in ways that are unimaginable and yet we somehow find entertainment from it. We have stopped being shocked by the unima...

“Look into my eyes and tell me what it is you see in me” This lyric is from a rap group from the 90’s that probably none of you have ever heard about. This lyric is about looking beyond the outside of a person when you veer at them. When you look into someone's eyes it can often be a form of real...

When was the last time you looked into a mirror and didn’t like something you saw. A scar, a bump, something out of your control. Most of you have had to have a tough conversation with yourself about how you view yourself. What’s worse is when you walk into a room and feel that people are looking...

Remember when you were a child, you would go to the doctor and inquire about something hurting, and the doctor would typically ask, "on a scale of 1-10, how bad is the pain?" Back in those times, you probably freely shared when you had feelings of discomfort and were more open to the idea of gett...

The odds of being born are seven hundred trillion to one. That’s not seven hundred thousand, million or billion, but trillion! That’s a huge number! The chances at winning the lottery are five times more likely than your chances of you being born. So that lets us know how unique and special you a...

Masks are not new. We live in a day and age where wearing a mask is normal, right? So many students have been wearing different kinds of masks for years to cover up their lack of confidence in themselves and it’s amazing the great lengths people will go when they are struggling with their own ide...

You all know somebody who struggles with their own body image. They think they are too big, or too little, too tall or too short. Sometimes it can get so bad it leads to disorders like bulimia, anorexia and compulsive eating because people are wrestling with their own insecurities. As a society, ...

You have probably seen in movies how expensive pearls can be. Did you know the process that it has to go through to actually become the lustrous value that it is? A pearl is just a rock that irritates a muscle or clam and once the stone irritates the sea creature, fluid is released over a long pe...

Did you know the average cost to start your own business is $10,000? Now, there’s a good chance that you may not have that just laying around to spend so that you become accomplished. The reality is, you can invest big bucks into becoming wealthy and prosperous, but despite that, it takes hard wo...

Everybody loves a good rhythm. Some of your favorite songs became your favorite because of the beat that it carries. Here's what you should know about finding or keeping a rhythm -- it's easy to tell when you are offbeat. If you did a quick YouTube search, you'd find dozens of videos of people ri...

If you want to make a good impression on someone, how far would you go? You would probably make eye contact, address them correctly, and you would definitely say hi and bye to them. You would ensure that your attitude and response to them was always with respect because you would never want them ...

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about what it takes to be successful, but today let's discuss a guaranteed way to be unproductive -- unprepared. Think about it, have you ever started school unequipped with the right materials while your classmates came fully prepared? You start falling behind, n...

If you’re anything like me, you have a family member you love and adore more than anything. It can be your mother, father, sibling, cousin, or grandparent. Most likely, you would go to war for that person, right? You honor and respect them because they treat you with nothing short of the same, an...

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? How do you talk to the person that looks back at you? Do you uplift yourself and show respect, or do you tear down because of what others have said or done to you? The truth is, you alone have the power to admire yourself much more than anyone else ca...

The best way to change your world is to honor someone different from you. I’m sure we’re all familiar with the saying, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all.” Well, how often do you follow that? Like when someone at school looks at you the wrong way. Or when you hear he or ...

Have you ever heard one of your favorite songs remixed by someone else, and you automatically hate it? Why is that? I mean, it's pretty much the same, right? Same lyrics, an identical beat, so what's the problem? The problem is that the content can be duplicated, but the sound comes out completel...

In life, you experience a range of emotions, falling between the spectrum of positive to negative. Some may define negative emotions as any feeling, which causes you to be miserable and sad. Why is this fact important? You control who or what gets your energy. When you think about it, people who ...

There's a quote that says, "When you do the right thing, you get the feeling of peace and serenity associated with it." Doing what's right may be easier said than done, but the truth of the matter is, it's necessary. Let's face it; doing the right thing can, at times, be extremely difficult. So, ...

Injustice happens everywhere and has been around for far too long. On a larger scale, you may have seen a viral video of a person being wrongfully treated. On the other hand, you may have witnessed a classmate being insulted. In times like these, you need to know when to speak up. What if it was ...

Picture this. You're at the store, and you go to the chip aisle; how do you know which chips to grab? You choose the ones you want by the label and description. Brands help you identify what's on the inside. On the contrary, people are given names to be recognized by, not labels. If you call some...

When was the last time you celebrated yourself for the advancements you have made? In life, it's so easy to criticize and critique. However, it can be much harder to look back and celebrate the progress you made up to this point. When you spend your time being demanding and critical of yourself, ...

Courage is the willingness to act in the face of fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Being afraid has a plan. It’s one purpose is to keep you from accomplishing all that you are supposed to in life! Here’s a little secret; everybody is fearful of something, although it may look different depending on t...

Managing your emotions can be quite challenging. How is it even possible for you to control the workload of school, extracurricular activities, and family life while trying to navigate the rollercoaster of your emotions? Honestly, you are going to have good days, and you are going to have bad day...

According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly 1 in 3 teens will experience anxiety. That should be great news because it means it is okay not to be okay. We have embraced the idea that people have these perfect lives because of what we continuously see them posting or putting on display ...

On average, 91.39% of what people are worried about never comes true. That means the majority of things you spend your time stressing over, concerned about, or even anxious for may not ever happen. Can you imagine what would be possible if you spent the same amount of time and energy thinking abo...

Have you ever played a sport? If not, I'm sure you have watched it before. The thing about games is that the competition continues until the very end. Your life is like a sporting event. You continuously have thoughts competing in your head like joy and sadness, hope and hopelessness, success and...

“I still have memories of past pain that still stain all I put my hands to. I am made from mistakes, made of mistakes, afraid to make a mistake.” In this poem, the author illustrates how difficult it is to forget the past and move into the future. Too often, you may find yourself wrestling with t...

Do you remember the quote by John Heywood, “Rome wasn’t built in a day”? This saying means if you want to materialize something of greatness, you must take time to ensure its success. This quote can best be applied when addressing one thing in particular: YOU! You can get past missed assignments ...

Do you remember the quote by John Heywood, “Rome wasn’t built in a day”? This saying means if you want to materialize something of greatness, you must take time to ensure its success. This quote can best be applied when addressing one thing in particular: YOU! You can get past missed assignments ...