BaBye Sunshine

I’m sure you’ve heard of ‘Global Warming’ … Well, you’d think that was a major problem … But there’s a much bigger problem!! … It is too dark …Each year less light reaches the surface of the earth … Sunshine seems to be on its way out of our life … Bad news I’m afraid!
‘Global Dimming’, the name scientists have given, is so important that I’m wondering (and maybe you’re too) why I’ve never heard of it!
It’s kind of difficult to imagine this situation! … By the mid 1980’s, there was undeniable evidence that the earth was getting hotter … So how could it be that there’s not enough light reaching our planet … How could any ordinary person believe the idea of reduced solar radiation – our planet’s only external heat source. … It just isn’t easy to believe!

Learning in the Sexes

People have spent many years advertising coeducation. Coeducation is said to be based on equality. The need to secure equality for women in industrial, professional and political activities has influenced the spread of coeducation. But is coeducation really better for girls and boys? The plain truth is that boys and girls learn in different ways. Science shows that a girl’s brain functions differently to a boy’s. One technique doesn’t work for everybody.
Many children and teenagers develop better in single-sex schools/ universities. The social tensions are gentler. Each sex can develop at his/her own speed. Gender stereotyping is almost never seen in single-sex schools/universities. The faculty at single-sex schools/universities understands how their students learn and adapts their methods to the students’ skills.

Boys in coeducational settings are less likely to take courses in Arts or advanced academic subjects. In a single-sex environment, boys easily participate in choirs and orchestras and learn Latin. A single sex school allows boys to explore Art, Drama and Music without fear of being a freak in front of his feminine peers. In this way sexual stereotypes fade into the background. I remember at school, some so-called popular boys were almost never interested in Art. Art which involved pencils and paints, they would try not to attend. And if they did, they would waste their time walking around teasing girls. This automatically distracted girls who didn’t want to seem very into Art. So their time was wasted. But given homework in the same subject, these same boys would hand in excellent pieces of work. Our teacher, Mrs. Lewis, was always amazed at their work and always said, “How come you boys don’t work like that in class?”
In a single-sex environment boys don’t see the need to impress girls and they can be themselves. This feeling of comfort can give into individuality. A boy develops his uniqueness and his individuality.
Boys tend to soften their competitive edge and become more cooperative in a single-sex education setting. They can just be ‘boys’ and not worry about what girls might think.

The same is seen in an all girls’ school. Many girls cannot achieve their full potential in a coeducational school/ university. Peer pressure, their desire to be accepted and their perceived need to conform to popular opinion and thinking, are some reasons that make many girls suppress their own personality and individuality in a coeducational academic setting. Mikyong Kim and Rodolfo Alvarez, researchers at the University of California, found that “in women’s colleges, women students not only experience fewer distractions, but they also gain the self-confidence necessary to further develop themselves.”
Girls drop their shyness and begin to take risks in a single-sex setting. They ignore gender stereotypes and develop their competitive side more fully. They embrace sports like field hockey and soccer. Girls relax enough to feel comfortable exploring non-traditional subjects such as mathematics, computers and technology, woodworking and so on. There are no boys to impress. They don’t have to worry about being called a ‘tomboy’. They can be any individual that they like, without fear of not being accepted by their peers.
Also skilled teachers who understand girls and the way they learn can cause girls to be interested in non-traditional subjects. They can encourage a young lady to dream outside of the box and want a career of industry as opposed to just being a teacher or a nurse.

Educating boys and girls in single-sex settings is not an assault on equal rights. It is an opportunity that enhances equality by allowing boys and girls to develop their own unique characters. Single-sex education has a way of encouraging children and young adults to be fearless, to be curious, to be enthusiastic. In short, to just be themselves.

I’ve learned …

I try to learn anything from anything! It’s not really important for me what the lesson is! The important thing is how I use my new experience! ... There are some things I’ve learnt that I’d like to share with you! I hope you enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed the experience. Although understanding something abstract in concrete form is really difficult.

I’ve learned …
that just one person saying to me, “You’ve made my day” makes my day!

that being kind is more important than being right!

that life is tough, but I’m tougher! … This is a motto I live by! … It’s what keeps me going through the hard days.

that a smile is an inexpensive way to improve my looks! … read my other posts to find out my opinion on smiles and hugs.

that to ignore the facts does not change the facts. … I was always looking for a way to not see the problem, but after a rare experience I understood that the only way the problem was gonna go away, was for me to look it in the eye and say, “You still haven’t got the best of me. I’m much stronger than you’ll ever imagine!”

that appearance is nothing compared to attitude! … even the ugliest and at the same time kindest person can look great in the eyes of the world … the same goes for the opposite! We’ve got this girl in university, she’s definitely pretty and has a good body … but in my eyes and others who really see, she’s really ugly. Her attitude towards others is awful. She’s always imagining others as much less than her. … What’s the beauty in that?!

that no matter how serious my life requires me to be, I need a friend to act silly with … I’d like to thank Sahar, Bita, Fatemeh Gh., Fatemeh H., Ash and Farshid and some others guys for being there : )

that money will never buy class.

that I should be glad God doesn’t give me everything I ask for! … It’s really difficult sometimes to think positive. But once I learnt, there was no going back! Thank God

Recycle It!

Environment protection is an important issue nowadays. Wherever you go, people are talking about recycling glass and cans, about recycling paper to save world’s jungles. They are trying to find ways of reusing products so that more natural resources are left for future generations.
Time is also an important element of environment, isn’t it? But it is often neglected. We have to understand that if we recycle our time wisely, all those around us will benefit from the positive energy it gives out! It not only helpful for the future generation but its effects are seen straight away!
Listening to music, playing a musical instrument, collecting stamps and reading are some popular pastimes. But there are also lots of inexpensive ways of recycling time! We can start by using our 5 senses more, by seeing things our eyes haven’t noticed before.

Listening
Find a quiet place and relax. The longer we sit and listen, the more we can hear the rhythms and harmonies of the world. The wind moving through the trees is one of the most calming sounds I have ever experienced. I’ve always seen it soothe the nerves of old and young! Listening gives our mid time to rest. It leaves us refreshed and energetic.

Spending Time
Visit relatives and friends you haven’t seen in a long time, or take your loved ones out for a picnic. Help a strange with directions. Give smiles to those around you and help someone to open a door or change a flat tire. The old lady who asks to be helped to go across the street, help her! We can make a big difference in their life. Words like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ cost nothing.

Laughing
If we look hard enough, we can usually find something to laugh about in any situation. As long as we remember to laugh, we are on the right track. Laughter is a great investment. It burns calories, it feels great, it improves blood circulation, and it makes time fly or sometimes keeps it still.

Real Waste of Time
Lying to Others and Ourselves. It creates a lot of negative feelings. It’s hard to keep the truth hidden for a long time. Besides if we lie, others will have a low opinion of us.
Don’t Keep Grudges. Forgiving is hard, I agree! But it’s only hard at the beginning. The peace of mind it brings after is so powerful that it becomes a habit.
Beware of Regrets. There’s no use in being sorry if it’s too late! Think first, and then do/say something. Then there won’t be any spaces for regrets. We always have to keep the future in mind. We must remember that opportunities aren’t lost: only someone else uses the ones we’ve thrown away.

Don't forget to hug all those u know and all those u don't know!

Worries, Worrying, Worried!

I worry you worry, People worry too much! But why? Why do we worry about everything? Can you think of a situation in which people don't worry? No. Me too!
We lie there on our bed for hours, hoping that a writing would appear on the ceiling. The writing, we hope, will say this "Everything's OK and was from the start and always will be!" But do these words appear? They've never appeared on my ceiling. The twisted thing is that we even worry about the writing that's going to appear.
And still we worry! It doesn't matter if it's about love, money, health, friendship. We are creatures that were created to worry.
One reason is fear of the future! I have a thought 'We are afraid because it gives us life!' What's your opinion?
Imagine a simple day at the theme park, with nothing special, suspicious or risky happening. While you're standing in the queue, as you move forward and closer to the roller coaster your heart beats faster, your body starts shaking and you start sweating in the most unusual places. But you still don't go back! The thrill of being afraid and worried for a second of our life gives us such a pleasure; we’d do it again if we had the chance.
It makes us appreciate life more, but at the same time it’s the most destructive habit!
Fear is the greatest problem to overcome, but yet we have to deal with it, to enjoy life!

What is Marriage, anyway?

1. Marriage is not a word. It's a sentence (a life sentence).

2. Marriage is love. Love is blind. Therefore marriage is an institution for the blind.

3. Marriage is an institution in which a man loses his Bachelor's Degree and the woman gets her masters.

4. Marriage is a three-ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring and suffering.

5. Married life is full of excitement and frustration: In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the Nieghbour listens.

6. Getting married is very much like going to a restaurant with friends. You order what you want, and when you see what the other person has, you wish you had ordered that instead.

7. Love is one long sweet dream, and marriage is the alarm clock.

8. They say that when a man holds a woman's hand before marriage, it is love; after marriage it is self-defense.

9. After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin. They just can't face each other, but they still stay together.

10. Marriage is man and a woman become one. The trouble starts when they try to decide which one.

11. It's not true that married men live longer than single men, it only seems longer.

Source Unknown

Excitement on the Roller Coasters

Roller coasters

Everyone has gone to a theme park once in their childhood. As a child when you go there the noise, the colors and especially the rides take you to another world. It seems that even a whole day isn’t enough for kids to be at the theme park (that’s why most famous theme parks have built hotels in the area).

The first ever theme park I went to was Pleasure Beach in Blackpool. It was enormous and colorful. At that time I was 6! My sister was much braver than me, when it came to riding the rides. She was anxious to get on every ride she could but not me! I preferred the water rides and the safe ones. My parents (feeling young) got on a ride called Pepsi Max: The Big One. It is the highest and longest roller coaster of Europe (235 feet high and over one mile of twisting and turning at speeds of up to 87mph). At the meantime we went and got on 'The Ghost Train'. It was very scary in the eyes of a 6 year old. I think I cried after getting off that ride.

When I was 11, we went to Alton Towers. It was and still is the best theme park I’ve ever been to. When we entered the theme park we could see lots of shops and cafes and not a lot of rides. My sister and me looked at eachother in fright. Everyone in the park seemed so happy. “Why were they happy?” I thought to myself. “Haven’t they come to a theme park? Where are the rides then?” We soon found a map and understood that we had to go on broad the ‘Sky Ride’, which would take us to the Forbidden Valley.
The Forbidden Valley was the ideal place to get a thrill of a lifetime. It had some amazing rides. One ride I remember very well was Nemesis. The queue of this ride was about 2 hours long, but it was worth it. After 2 hours of waiting it was finally our turn to get on. My sister insisted that we sit on the front seats. I said, “No”, but she pulled me to the front and sat me down on the seat. At that moment something came to my mind, “All through the ride our legs would be swinging in the air. Wouldn’t that be dangerous?” I didn’t have time to find an answer for it. The ride started. It was slow at the beginning, but it soon speeded up. I held on tightly, shut my eyes for most of the ride and screamed. When we got off. I felt great. The ride was amazing. I wanted to try it again. But there were so many rides in Alton Towers that another 2 hour wait wouldn’t be to our advantage.
Another ride I remember getting on was Ripsaw. Before deciding to get on my sister and me watched the people on the ride. They seemed frightened and yet excited. This was one ride I didn’t want to get on. But as usual my sister made me. In the queue, all I did was moan and groan and look in fear at the ride. At one time I even decide to go back, but I didn’t. It was time for us to get on with another 38 people. Some were scared like me, some worried and some screaming with excitement. As I sat on the seat, I understood that the seat was too big for me and I could move around very easily. Then the guards were closed over our chests. And again I saw that I could move back and forth. I wanted to get off. But their was no time. The technician had already pressed the button and the ride was going to start. I remember thinking ‘I wouldn’t stay alive’ ‘I’d fall down in to the water and die’. I held as tightly as I could while the ride took us 50feet off the ground. Then it started spinning and twisting and turning and stopped. I knew the ride hadn’t finished because we hadn’t got wet yet. Again it started turning an spinning and at the same time coming down. My sister was screaming with excitement, while I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t find the breath to scream. I just held tightly and didn’t close my eyes. I wanted to see the moment I’d die. So the ride continued to spin us around and around and then it stopped. It was time to get wet. At 50feet off the ground our seats were turned facing the ground so we could only see the water. Then the 40 fountain of sprouting water awaited us. It came down fast. I just remember getting soaking wet and smiling at the fact that it had finished.

Oblivion is another of my favorite rides. Oblivion is the world’s first ever vertical roller coaster! I went on this ride the second time we came to Alton Towers. I was 13. Again the queue was very long and again we waited. I was ready for a great thrill. This time I wasn’t afraid. Maybe it was because I was 2 years older and much bigger in size. At first there was a lift hill. I could only see the sky. Blue and yellow as summer sky is. None of the riders could see when it was going to happen but everybody was ready. When it got to the top, it made a small turn and made a quick pause. Then a voice said: Don’t… Look… Down! And the coaster plunged into the hole of oblivion. Everywhere was dark and I couldn’t hear anything except the screams and their echo. The ride was intense.
Whether you’re 3 or 103, this theme park has a ride suitable for you!