fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
The Button
By: Leon Wolf
Tags: Criminal, Cabbie, New York, New York City

Harvey sat on the stoop in the cold, waiting for me. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about the blind lady. Thinking about her made me want to puke. So stupid. I’m such a schmuck.

“Go sit in the back. I’ll drive. And no playing with yourself back there, pay attention.” I complied, and he took off down the street. Harvey turned the meter on.

“Watch this, Eagle Nose, and tell me what you see.” Easier said than done, since the meter was below my line of vision if I sat back against the seat like a normal person. I had to lean forward to see the meter. I had never sat in the back before, and I wasn’t observant in the front, so I never noticed this.

“I lowered the meter myself. Gives me a little privacy.”

The digital meter zoomed upward, flying through the ten-cent changes. It climbed to eighteen dollars within a minute and showed no sign of slowing down.

“Is it broken?”

Harvey cackled, “Wake up and spill the coffee, you idiot. Check my left foot and I’ll do it again for you.”

I leaned far forward. My head hovered next to his. My left ear registered the heat of Harvey’s right ear. I stared at Harvey’s left foot, and there — a flicker of movement. Harvey pressed the outside of his left shoe against the side of the cab. The meter jumped ten cents.

This was my introduction to the button. My mentor in all things evil said, “I’m a low-level slime ball prince of the city, junior. What could be lovelier? I’m better than a mere prince. I rule as king of my cab. Who dares dictate the fare to the king? I didn’t want you knowing about this little beauty the first couple of weeks we partnered until I got to smell you out a little. Sal said you were innocent and not to tell you. Fuck that smooth-talking son-of-a-bitch. I know better.” Harvey winked at me, a horrifying acceptance into his world.

There were many ways crooked cabbies swindled the public, but the button had to be the simplest. You didn’t need Smooth Sal’s gift of gab. No reason to argue, yell, or shortchange. No getting lost on purpose to raise the meter. Or trolling Port Authority and the JFK Pan Am terminal for out-of-town suckers eager to go ‘the fastest way,’ and then driving on the highway, even if it is out of the way and longer. It is the fastest once you’re on it. Command the rise of the meter to the amount you want, and you became independent of the system.

Harvey grinned like the Joker. A madman’s laugh burst out of his mouth. The button made Harvey a proud new mother showing off her first baby. The meter skipped ever higher.
December 2nd…
By: Lemi Cartoons Official
Tags: New York City, Design, December, Christmas, Cartoon

December 2nd by Lemi

So this is it! December the 2nd!

Honestly I want this year to end. It’s been really hard, for other people much more.

Let’s hope next one is better. Wish you all the best!
5:36 — buzz, buzz, buzz get up roll over start coffee induce a spiral brush your teeth dive into depths of your head wash your face trade it in reality for a dream or is it a nightmare can you listen…
By: Nik Levi
Tags: Getting Started, Poet, New York City, Spoken Word Poetry, Poetry On Medium

5:36 — buzz, buzz, buzz

get up

roll over

start coffee

induce a spiral

brush your teeth

dive into depths

of your head

wash your face

trade it in

reality for a dream

or is it a nightmare

can you listen there

can you produce

can you leave and

can you choose

do you fill the bottle

with water

when water

is not the muse

will you be a guide

do you scold the mind

the difference it makes

you’ll never behold

make a web

or a dead end

that is what lies

before us

we choose

how we meet our end

while the best

and worst

end up the same

to live in vain

or save one soul

that’s the reaping

of the journey

that we sew
The Reality of NYC Safety-net Hospitals
By: Paige Hagy
Tags: New York City, Health Insurance, Hospital, Healthcare, Economics

Street entrance to The Brooklyn Hospital Center emergency wing | Photo by Lucas Drumond

Worn-down armrest-less chairs, occupied by the occasional patient, lined the walls of the room. There were two vending machines off to the side. One sold beverages. The other sold cheap snacks: Doritos, potato chips, pretzels, peanut butter M&Ms, probably some odd breakfast pastry too. I always found it strange to put pastries in a vending machine. Something about it seems unnatural — like seeing a shark on top of a mountain.

Cold fluorescent lights bounced off the tile floor and hummed faintly as my college roommate Alexandria (Alex) Kemsley and I stood waiting for someone at the reception desk to help us. We were checking into the Brooklyn Hospital Center.

Alex resembles a young Cher from the 60s with her tall and slim figure, long sleek hair and striking eyes. In fact, she used to be a professional model, having worn her fair share of chic clothing for the runways and cameras.

That day she wore an oversized t-shirt, athletic shorts and sneakers. I wore a similar outfit. She also wore sunglasses even though we were inside, not as an imposing Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Anna Wintour-esque statement, but because light-sensitivity was one of her symptoms; that and sound sensitivity, migraines, a stiff neck, sore throat and stuffy nose.

Alex was sick, and I was the dutiful roommate there for moral support.

Alex felt unwell in the weeks prior, and when she finally called a doctor using TimelyMD, a telemedicine service, he told her to find the nearest hospital because she might have meningitis. He said he already called ahead and not to be surprised if they quarantined her immediately.

Meningitis is an inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, sometimes requiring urgent treatment according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It’s highly contagious depending on what specific kind it is.

I figured if I hadn’t caught it yet, I would soon. After all, we shared a small bedroom and bathroom. Hence, I went with her to the hospital — a hospital rated 2.8 out of 5 stars based on over 300 Google reviews.

So, we stood there for 15 minutes waiting to be checked in, which was curious considering there wasn’t a line and it didn’t seem busy. It felt like the DMV of hospitals.

They eventually noticed us, called us up and lazily punched in Alex’s information, her parents’ information and insurance details.

After that agonizingly slow process was finally completed, we joined the ranks of the few others sitting down. One of the chairs was covered in a pile of crumpled, used tissues. Some of the cushion covers were ripped open like a patient lying open on the table, exposing the stains underneath.

We sat there for an hour. 60 minutes. 3,600 seconds. I wondered if the immediate quarantine that the TimelyMD doctor promised us was still going to happen.
Artist Gabriela Gil Presents Her First Solo Art Exhibition in NYC, TIME and SPACE
By: Lillian Langtry
Tags: Exhibition, Art, Gallery, New York City

Gabriela Gil

Painter, sculptor, and former dancer Gabriela Gil has announced her first New York solo exhibition this week. The Honduras-born, NYC-based artist will show the first volume of her “Time and Space” series starting Thursday, December 3 through Sunday, December 20, 2020 in Soho which will be shown in-person and virtually. Gabriela explains, “Timing is important in this project, because I am purposely taking advantage of the Covid lockdowns to present this body of work in creative ways.”

“I’ve been working on this series for two years,” Gil says. “My previous work was more figurative, and this new series breaks away from the figure completely. This is making way to abstract work that explores line, color and rhythm.”

Ave Del Paraiso, Gabriela Gil

In volume one of the series, Gil will show roughly 20 highly detailed miniature sets, inspired by the hand-made nativity scenes she saw as a child in Latin America, each with small paintings. The miniatures will then be displayed alongside large-scale paintings from the series.

Despite having worked on the project for years, Gil says that the Covid-19 pandemic recontextualized her vision. She says that she is leaning into the fact that people have been exposed to high levels digital content during the Covid-19 lockdown — the time during which she created the second half of the series.

“We are all consuming content on this tiny screen,” she says. “So, the idea was to create a play on perception. A lot of my paintings in this series are really big. I wanted the virtual exhibition itself to become an artwork.”

De Adentro, Gabriela Gil

Gil has moved throughout South and North America for her entire life and that “constant migration” shaped her multicultural perspective and nurtured her “interest in art as a way to transcribe personal experience using a unique visual language.” This series is heavily inspired by Latin America — its colors, its textures, its dances, its nature, and its warmth. However, I wouldn’t say this series encompasses my whole Latin American experience. Maybe another way to put it is that I am exploring my roots or going back to my roots with Time and Space, with the intention of building from there.

“I thought, if we can’t actually go somewhere physically, what is a way we can travel to a different place without really going?” she says. “And if I can only show the content virtually, on the tiny screen, then why not flip it on its head, go all the way and do something that would be harder to do in real life at a physical showing.”

For more information, visit: www.gabrielagil.com
tidal wave
By: Nik Levi
Tags: Creative Writing, Daily Devotion, New York City, Tidal Wave, Poetry On Medium

the tide flows in

steady in hand

from the same water

a storm becomes

to churn out the sand

bursting through the mouth

of rivers made from flames past

running blind

toward the beat of tricks

left unhashed

a fool stands behind

as it rages on

once it is done

the fool will run

seek the treasures

left in front

the water begins to cease

for a moment it believes

crashed too soon

upon the wrong shore

fearing the flames

of fools who came too far with claims

only one more moments pass

then the tide rolls out

the depths confirm

it came to land at its place in turn

unforgotten will be the fool

as the tide flows in

to turn one more
Happy Thanksgiving! We have Much to be Thankful For…
By: Jack C Lee
Tags: Thanksgiving, Thanks, New York City, Holiday Religion, Prayer

Happy Thanksgiving! We have Much to be Thankful For…

Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade 2020

Dear Lord,

This has been a most challenging year for us. Despite the pandemic and the quarantine, I found things to keep me occupied.

I thank you for giving me the time to explore…

I thank you for the brave first responders and the essential workers who continue to do their jobs while we stay safe in our homes.

I thank you for all the medical researchers who work long hours to develop these vaccines that will save millions of lives.

I thank you for the trees, the beaches, the mountains and the rivers and the lakes that gives us so much pleasure and relaxation during this stressful times.

I thank you for our friends and family members who reached out to keep us sane.

I thank you for the music and arts and books and videos to keep us entertained.

I thank you for the joy that is in all of us.

This Thanksgiving is extra special. I thank you for life. Despite all the challenges we face, and the road blocks and the heartaches, it is worth living.

I thank you for your blessings which continued to be placed upon our nation and our leaders.

You are the alpha and the omega.

AMEN
Reflection on the growth mindset:
By: Ihsan Ullah Jalaley
Tags: Amal Academy

there are certain types of beliefs that attach to self-development and self-growth. The five habits will be helpful in building a growth mindset.

Self-talk helps you to stick to your goal. Change your negative thoughts to positive thoughts like “it’s hard to do” to “I will do this”.

Creating new habits mean learning a new thing to replace your bad habits with good habits

You are not good at everything to ask people to help and try to take chances in your approach.

If you are not a boss feel like a boss.

From above Mine favorite tip is self talk your positive words and motivation will lead you to be successful.

I actually started getting out of complete and getting involved in things that are not unusual for me like taking part in the discussion and go and ask people for feedback etc.

A growth mindset is a learning mindset. If we start implementing all of these habits in our life it will help us to be a person having a growth mindset.
Nifty Fix-Ups; Call for action!!!
By: Maryam Kiyani
Tags: Lazy, Amal Fellowship, Amal Lesson, Call To Action, Amal Academy

As I had started job in the morning so with multiple jobs I was barely able to complete the courses. I had only a few hours to complete the courses.

So, I wasn’t planning at all to do a household chore

But

It’s AMAL who knows how to treat lazy people.

I was sitting in cozy sofa in the cold weather a heated room and stuff was completely organized around :(

Soooooooooooooooo, what now?????????????

Get Up!!!!!!

Go Out Of Room!!!!!!!!!!

Inner Voice

Leave that project!!!!!

Or Cheat it!!!!!

AMAL

How would you ignore me, you poor leader.

So Got up went to the other room that was organized too :(

AHHHHHHHHHHH, what an irony. A true exam of my leadership qualities.

I had to go to the kitchen where the situation was like below.

Yeah I know That’s quite pathetic but as We all at home are working, and my other sisters had exams so wasn’t able to clean the kitchen in the morning.

I just became a mujahid and cleaned all this kitchen in 45 mins :P

Super motivated, Super women for cleaning up gearing up to be leader.

TADAAA the super women cleaned the kitchen, as in picture below

This activity made me understand that I can do things superfast and precisely.

After this I reflect on my actions, I usually turn on the movie while cleaning up which increases the time spent in cleanliness and poor organization of the things around. And I do it just like I have to do it. There is no motivation behind. So It just gave me a feeling of content and is still helping me.

Hope you will like the lazy super women piece of writing.
Reflection on AMAL Totkay
By: Muhammad Izaz
Tags: Amal Academy, Amal Fellowship, Growth Mind Set, Amal Totkay

According to Carol Dweck an American psychologist, a human’s mindset can broadly be classified into either a Growth Mindset or a Fixed mindset. From studying the major differences between the two we can clearly decide that a growth mindset is most desirable and will guarantee us the success that we want in our professional or personal lives.

I asked myself if the growth mindset is desirable what can we do to achieve this mindset? Well, Amal has some answers and totkay for this. when I read the Amal totkay I came to know that these totkay are going to be really helpful because totkay are something that are developed after years and years of practice and have proved to be the solution or right path to follow.

The major takeaways from these totkay were;

(1) We need to believe in ourselves and convince our own self that we are able to achieve anything. Positive energy should come from our own inner self.

(2) Creating new habits can help us realize that we can start something new and can master it with practice. So it helps us burst the myth of the fixed mindset approach.

(3) Getting yourself out of your comfort zone is something that will expose you to a new challenge and a new experience and we cannot learn something new if we have not experienced it. So get out of your comfort bubble, experience it, and achieve it.

(4) Asking people for help can get us comfortable with feedback which is one of the traits of a growth mindset to take feedback as a chance of improvement.

(5) Fake it till you make it approach can help you to experience and get used to something that you have not achieved yet, it can help us understand the sense of achievement and we thrive for it even more.

Personally, I like the first totka very much and it is certainly my favorite one and I have already started implementing it.
Feeding the Needy
By: Salman Shahid
Tags: Amal Academy, Amal Fellowship, Amalkindness, Megaprojects

First of all I want to discuss why their is a need to feed the hungry and the needy people. In a developing country like Pakistan where there is a lot of people living in the slums and where there is a lot of child labor and poverty and even in some areas the people can’t get a meal 3 times a day to feed their children.

My idea for the mega project is to establish a foundation where the needy can be feed 3 times a day almost free of cost or with the minimal cost.(The minimal cost is to avoid the wastage of the food)

For this purpose, I have also worked for some social cause personally as much as possible without any foundation(because of the politics in the foundations and NGO’s)

I have also visited some of such foundations and found out that how they work and what strategy they adapt for this purpose. I always feel very heart-rending by seeing such families and always try to help them in some sense.

I hope to establish such kind of foundation one day in the near future to reach my goal. To help the needy gives me eternal satisfaction.
Getting Closer to Mega Project Problem
By: Farwa Ahmad
Tags: Amal Academy, Amal Fellowship

Due to COVID19, education in Pakistan has been severely impacted. Schools have been shut for almost a year now to prevent the spread of virus. Due to this, students, specifically of grades 1–8 have suffered a lot.

Considering this I met a few parents from different backgrounds to understand their child’s educational circumstance. From it I came to realize that most schools have left students from these classes to their devices, at most providing a rough course outline to parents. At most places there was nothing to test the child or to help them understand the material. On asking children I realized majority of them were extremely behind.

This gave me the idea of building an online platform, where we could provide video lectures to these students, formulate testing devices, and bring some routine back to these children’s lives. I asked the parents details on how an online teaching platform could be helpful to their child and what things would they expect from it. The parents were very enthusiastic about the idea, and their responses were very beneficial in putting together the project idea.
Reflection on Amal Totkay
By: Ali Hasan
Tags: Amal Academy, Amal Fellowship, Amal Totkay

Amal career prep fellowship is a 3months programme, which prepares us for a better future, to become professional in our field.

Last week, Amal’s session was on growth mindset and a fixed mindset.

In short, a person with a fixed mindset considers a failure, the endpoint, while a growth mindset person starts to learn from failures and achieves success.

For this Amal academy shared 5most important learning tips for a growth mindset, called as Amal Totkay.

5 Amal Totkay

Self Talk

Get out of comfort zone

Create new habits

Ask people for help

Fake it till you make it

How did I find these tips?

I believe these tips as a starting point of my successful career, and I’ll surely achieve my ultimate goal of life by following these tips.

What are my takeaways?

It is helping me to reflect on my ideas and making me creative. I’m learning new things and getting out of my comfort zone.

My favourite tips

My favourite one is fake it till you make it, this tip has made me confident about my skills, and now, I’m trying to improve these skills.

The tips that I’m implementing in my life

Like I said above, fake it till you make it, and others include self-talk and getting out of comfort zone.

What can I do further to grow my mindset?

I’m trying my best to follow these tips and working on my skills to polish them. Also, I’m asking for the feedback and taking it positively to improve my skills.
Reflection on Amal Totkay
By: Muhammad Bilal
Tags: Amal Academy, Amal Fellowship, Amal Totkay

Amal Academy is doing a great job for the development of mindsets.

Here are some totkay(Points) given by Amal for Growth mindset.

Amal Totkay

I found all these 5 tips very amazing and interesting to act on. I started to implement in my life.

By following all these tips one can change its mindset from fixed to growth mindset.

‘Self-talk’ and ‘fake it till you make it’ are my favorite tips.

Self-talk, I’ve started implementing this tip. And I found it impressive to change mindset.

Nothing more, just act on all these 5 tips. And you are not bound to follow these 5 five, having growth mindset means adopt new thinking and absorbs new actions.

Once you try all these important points (Totkay) then you will see a huge change in your mindset and personality.

#AmalTotkayReflection
Getting Closer to Mega Project at Amal Academy
By: Muhammad Bilal
Tags: Amal Academy, Amal Fellowship, Amal Mega Project

The problem is to remove pollution, keep environment clean and green. Also help needy people through food, education and financial assistance to eradicate poverty.

a. I found garbage on roads, streets and in public places (e.g Parks, Bus stations etc.) when I go outside. And there’s few trees and plants across roads and in public places.

Garbage on roads

Garbage on streets

Garbage inside the public parks

I want to work for environment to keep it clean and green by removing pollution and planting trees and greenery across roads, streets and in public places. As you know Pakistan is badly affected by climate changes. This is very easy and simplest way to make climate better by growing plants and trees.

In Pakistan poverty is one of the major issue due to people are not able to give quality food, quality education. They have not any financial assistance or work to do.

Poor children is picking up garbage

Have not quality food to eat

No quality of education

Also I want to help needy people by providing food, education and financial assistance. For this I would arrange some online seminars or competitions for fundraising.

#GettingCloserToMegaProject
Clothes For Everyone
By: Ali Hadi
Tags: Amal Academy, Caring For Others, Social Cause

Clothes is one of the basic necessity of people, it is a very basic right of everyone. I will be very honest, I did not ever think of this issue but last week when the temperature was going down to almost 3 degrees, I was out at a Naan shop where a boy almost 10 or 11 years old came to me. He was selling pens and wearing just a single torn hood. It was not enough for this temperature, I asked him that “Don’t you feel cold”, well he just looked at me and smiled.

We at our warm houses do not realise what many people go through, we all just talk about how the summers and winters are becoming more and more extreme day by day but we ourselves do not experience them completely. I had a different idea for a MEGA Project which I even shared with my team members but this idea just sparked into my mind when I remembered the boy I met. I could not go and out meet a lot of people regarding this but daily I see many a people suffering due to this.

This will not cost us a lot as everyone of us has at least one spare hoodie or a blanked or just a sheet available at our home, what can we do with just one of these? It might be for us just a spare piece of cloth but for the people out there living on streets or in tents, it means a world to them. This project can be started from a very basic level. Providing people warm clothes for winter and clean clothes for summer, it can go a long way if we remain dedicated to our cause. I will surely go out and talk to people having this problem in the coming weeks and I really hope I get to know more about their issues.

Look at those smiley faces

Problem Statement

There are many people who could not get warm clothes in winter or even clothes to wear in harsh environments. They cannot afford even second hand clothes or a clean sheet to sleep on. This is a problem which needs to be addressed urgently. There are some organizations but still more needs to be for this cause. Winters and summers are becoming more and more extreme and in this scenario the need for this cause has become more pressing. The issue is that many people are doing work for this cause but the need is more and people working on this issue are less. Having clothes to wear is the basic right of every citizen. People should be provided with such basic things as this will not require a lot of money but such small acts will help the needy greatly

This was all not easy, our group had a lot of ideas. We held two sessions and I myself had a different idea but then again we arranged another time so that we could do more homework on our ideas, then I came up spontaneously with this idea. I am not sure that we will be able to take it a long way but I am pretty sure that just starting this would help a few people to the least.
PW3 — Reflection on Amal Totkay. Although I had a general awareness of…
By: Fatima Tanvir
Tags: Amal Academy, Amal Fellowship

Although I had a general awareness of the stated tips, but it was reaffiriming to read about them again and acted as a prompt to identify which areas of my life am I lacking the application of the 5 tips.

Self Talk — As someone who journals regularly, self-talk is nearly a habit of mine. When I write about my experiences, I listen to myself like an intimate listener, I do not get impatient with myself, and I feel heard. Along with that, attached is a list of positive & personal affirmations that I wrote in Oct. 2020 & try to read every morning (because if I am not being kind to myself then how can I expect others to do that?).

My Current Affirmations

My Current Journal

Comfort Zone — I constantly try to challenge myself to expand my comfort zone & getting used to the process of doing it by initiating conversations with people around me whom I admire, hosting live online sessions, moderating meetings, etc.

New Habits — I realise that commiting to attend Amal Sessions on the weekend, putting in extra work hours throughout the week for PWs, and keeping in touch with Amal fellows are some of the recent new habits that I have been developing recently.

Ask for Help — This is an area where I have identified limited application for myself. I have always had trouble asking for help and have considered it a weakness only when I do it & not when other do it. But recently, I have been trying to incorporate more of it by reaching out to people I trust for help when in need e.g., when I need someone to make chai for me during a headache.

Fake It Till You Make It — I find this tip especially helpful in scenarios when I need to show confidence. Even when I am anxious inside, I try to put up a composed front & fake being confident until I feel so.

Out of all the tips, my most favourite ones have to be Self Talk, Asking for Help, and, Fake It Till You Make It, as these are the domains where I find myself getting most benefits in terms of clarity, action, and self-care.

I can keep applying these tips to my fellowship particularly to strengthen my neural pathways in terms of transforming these tips into developed habits.
Education drawbacks while choosing Major Subjects in Pakistan at undergraduate level
By: Muhammad Muaaz
Tags: Amal Academy

In Pakistan most of th students don’t know what should they do after their Intermediate Studies. Most of the students have to ho with the decisions of their parents.One in majority cases the field which their friends have choosen they would go with tha area of studies.

Its killing the motion and quality of education in Pakistan.

I have seen many of the students after doing bachelor’s in Universities regretting that they should never come in this area of studies.

I want to put my energies to help students in this cause. I will create social pages, YouTube videos etc yo buildup freedom of selection of their futures irrespective of the pressure from family and social circle.

First i was thinking that we can visit numerous schools or colleges but in this pandemic situation this is not possible.

Social media platforms would be greater use in this cause.
Amal Totkay
By: Areej Chaudary
Tags: Amal Academy, Amal Fellowship, Amal Totkay

Amal Totkay

The word Totkay always gives us a sensation of shortcuts and jhugaad. But this can be helpful only if we are using it on right time and wise fully

This is what Amal Totkay is teaching us. Sharing my view that how Amal Totkay can help to revive our lives and we can be a better person as ever.

Growth mindset

Growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may differ in every way in their initial talents and attitudes, interests, or temperaments, everyone can change and grow through application and experience.”

This is important because it can actually change what you strive for and what you see as success. By changing the definition, significance, and impact of failure, you change the deepest meaning of effort.

Get out of your comfort zone

“Always accept challenges”

We are only blessed with one life, now it’s up to us that how we are going to utilize it, what we are preferring. Accepting challenges means we are to ready to make a change in ourselves and society. And it’s the most satisfying way to update your mindset.

Create new habits

It has been said that a human can never be changed.. Isn’t it? But what if I say I deny it, because I think our current circumstances and situations provoke us to change our habits. Being a little wise we have to make ourselves enough flexible to accept a change and try to bring a positive change in ourselves. We don’t to be fixed on a certain things. Just like machines human brains also want a permission to upgrade them. So be an allow button for updating.

Ask for help

The bravest thing a person can do is asking for help. We being humans feel it a bit shame to ask for a favor or help. Yes it’s Harder to impose this thing in our daily life but it would be worthy. Just make sure you are choosing a right person to help you.

Fake it till you make it

This one is my most favorite and a new thing from amal Totkay that is keep it to yourself until you prove it. We just have to zip up our mouth till we are finding a solution to solve a problem and cane out with a very authentic an d genuine thing.

Let’s try together to implement these Amal Totkay in out lives and see how much we can improve ourselves!!! YOU CAN BE SURE ABOUT IT
Amal Totkay
By: Muhammad Salman
Tags: Amal Academy, Amal Totkay

A growth of mindset or a mindset of growth leads people to better qualities, where they utilize their skills to solve and tackle problems with easy and swift techniques. They start thinking deeply. They love to learn more.

Some of the techniques, by which we can develop a growth mindset, are:-

Self talking: This is the first step which enhances and motivates you to do a thing to achieve your goal. Getting out of your Comfort Zone: Sometimes, when we are reluctant to do something, we just start making lame excuses for not doing something. Remember that a journey to a thousand miles start with a footstep. You need to work hard with consistency by getting out of your comfort zone. Otherwise, you aren’t going to get any thing done by itself. Creating new habits: Habits are your developed traits and are highly influenced by your community. You should try to create new and positive habits which will help us achieve our goals. Asking people for help: This causes you to interact with people, value the team work, and hence improve your communication skills. You should get valuable comments and feedback because it plays a vital role in your growth. Fake it, till you make it: By saying that I am doing right, but I have not done it yet motivates you and you succeed.

I personally like the third trait that is creating new habits. It helps you to be active all times and remain motivated.

Growth mindset plays significant role in our life.
Totkay
By: Muhammad Fahad
Tags: Amal Academy

#Amal_Academy

#Amal_Totkay

Amal totkay’s are the best way to develop a growth mindset. We all can use these totkay’s and these are the best way of developing a growth mindset.

Everyone uses self-talk as we talk to ourselves whether to do or not to do a particular kind of thing in our daily life to clearly develop a growth mindset. One cannot develop a growth mindset without getting out of the comfort zone.

Also, by stretching out of our comfort zone we can create new habits that can help us developing a growth mindset.

Another way is by asking others to help us, this can also set our proper routine and by considering yourself confident even at the time when you even don't believe in yourself.

By acting confidently you can conquer any task and can acquire stellar achievements.

By the words of Amy Cuddy, we can conclude it as by adopting these 5 tips we can develop a growth mindset.
Healthy food provision to unprivileged society Adequate and proper food is an important aspect of…
By: Sabahat Ramzan
Tags: Amal Academy

Healthy food provision to unprivileged society

Adequate and proper food is an important aspect of health. Every person should eat a healthy diet to safeguard himself from disastrous diseases. Therefore, it is essential to promote awareness about healthy eating among every stratum of our society. Healthy eating habits help us to maintain a healthy weight and reduce the risk of diabetes, hypertension, CVD, and some sort of cancers. The government should also develop some strategies to develop an awareness of healthy eating among people.

So, I have decided to develop such a platform that will provide healthy eating awareness to the people who belong to low-income society and are a labor of daily wedges or the government schools of unprivileged areas where the students are facing many growth-related problems.

How it is possible?

It will be executed in this way that we develop healthy food containing lunch boxes that will contain balanced food items cooked with standard cooking techniques that will keep them healthy and fit.

First, we have to develop a healthy eating awareness by going to different mils and laborers sites or the public school cafeteria. Here we will provide healthy lunch boxes at standard and reasonable prices.

Vulnerable people and people having the disease will be provided with a diet plan based on lunch boxes on local Dhaba or restaurant prices. This will be a welfare step towards people’s healthy lifestyle.
AMAL TOTAKY
By: Fatima Mehmood
Tags: Amal Academy, Amal Fellowship

AMAL TOTAKY

1.Self talk

“BE MINDFUL OF YOUR SELF TALKS. IT’S CONVERSATION WITH UNIVERSE .”

This is very important to talk to your self.We always ready to talk to other people all the day but we have not time to talk to ourselves. Self talk help you in many different ways.The most important thing is to know yourself. We know other person very well but the person for which we must know is ourself.Self talk help us to improve our thoughts. We can motivate our self by doing self talks.

2.Get out from your comfort zone:

Every thing in this world happen when someone put some extra efforts in it.To achieve something in life wants some extra hard work .For this we put ourselves in some pain.We have to leave our comfort then we are able to achieve our goals.

3.Creat new habit:

Every successful person have very strong good habits. Habit makes things easy for doing so if we want to achieve our goal we must make habits that helps to grow in our vision. So we have to make new habits to go on that path. Although its not easy to make new thing so its take time and effort to develop new habits.

3.Fake It till you make it:

The things we imagine will help to make our ways. The things we imagine most of the time will happen with us most of the time. So for achieving your goals start imagine yourself on that place that you want .When you that , it will help you to move on this path.When you start faking ìt one day surely you get this place.

4.Ask people help:

We all human beings and no one from us is perfect so most of the time we don’t know all the things.So we must be open minded about getting help from others.For our future path if we don’t know anything, we must ask other people to helps and we should be thankful to them for their help.So we must have some people that know us very well so we ask them for help without any hesitation.
REFLECTION ON AMAL TOOTKY:
By: Iqra Mushtaq
Tags: Amal Academy, Amal Totkay

Here there is two points growth mindness and fixed mindset.Growth Mindset always grow and ready to absorb new ideas and faced new problems with great abilities.On the other hand fixed mindset is limited and he just focused on one idea and ignored the feedbacks.

AMAL TOOTKY:

1:Developing a growth mindset.

2:Get out of your comfort zone.

3:Creating new habits.

4:Ask people help.

5:Fake it till you make it.

REFLECTION POINTS:

1:I find the five tips very helpful.Its allow us to help in future and present suitation as well.It also help any person to refine their personalities.Challenging life must need a guideline in order to excel it with a new perspective and idea.

2:My take aways from these tootky are development of growth mindset and change of negative thoughts about your failure.Try new and new ideas with full spirit as it always win. It allows me to follow the principle of kam kam ur kam.By creating new habit and asking people help allow me to present my works to others in better way as feedbacks is necessary for a good performance.

3:My favourite tip is changing new habits.In my perspective old habits must be refine or changed when it hurdled your path for success.

4:I already implemented to get out of my comfort zone and trying new projects and facing new problems.

5:Today I started to change my habits that in my view not good for me and for my future.
Reflection on Amal Totkay
By: Muhammad Taimoor
Tags: Amal Academy, Amal Fellowship, Amal Totkay

Developing a Growth Mindset

#AmalAcademy

Nothing is impossible. The word itself says “I’m possible”.

#Self-talk

We can change the world by changing our words. For developing a growth mindset we need to think outside the box. Our beliefs, ideas and questions encourage us to be worthy.

Amal Academy helps me to learn to shift that inner dialogue. I changed my self-perception which matters most in getting crushed by rejections.

In my mind, Amal Totkay is very valuable in changing our mindset.

Takeaways:

To be comfortable is to be uncomfortable. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

My favorite tip from Amal’s totkay is stepping out of my comfort zone. Putting ourselves in a new environment and don’t pick safe choices help us to learn new things.

We can develop a growth mindset by accepting and accommodating.

Theodore Roosevelt
Getting Closer to your Mega Project Problem — Effective Curriculum Development
By: Razi Allah
Tags: Batch2020, Amal Academy, Curriculum

It’s a serious failure of our education system that even after doing graduation students neither hold basic knowledge of things they were taught again and again nor any life-essential skills to compete in the market and self sustain. Moreover, we are entitled educated but are unfortunately very sorry to say that we are uncivilized.

We mostly are more into getting certified rather than acquiring something. While discussing with my School Principal I came to know that education policy reforms are seriously needed at the government level and for the private initiative we have to provide a quality equitable curriculum that promotes holistic development of students making them lifelong learners.

Students are so unsure about their future due to 3 different kinds of education curriculum throughout the country i.e. are the Government HEC Curriculum, British O/A levels, and our Religious Madaris. There is another division in the government and private sector that further breaks individuals into English Medium Learners and Urdu Medium Learners. This diversity has led to an overall failure in the past as deep root access to reforms and development has not been possible even after several initiatives.

HEC is currently trying to modify and implement an equitable curriculum in 3 of the education systems but remains controversial due to concerns regarding foreign influence and enforcement of inclusion and exclusion of some topics. Moreover, the private sector is also a hurdle in between.

Thus, We decided to create and implement an integrated curriculum based on Formal, Informal, and non-formal education that helps children learn, grow, and explore their potentials more frequently and effectively, and teaching them individually.

The process looked like developing a keen systematic approach in collaboration with existing NGOs like AFAQ to come up with more effective results. Initially, we just outlined different approaches, their effectiveness, and limitations that benefited me personally to shape my idea further.
Reflection on Amal Totkay
By: Amna Qayyum
Tags: Amal Academy

Last week I was failing miserably in the fellowship. I couldn’t complete my Project Work. I couldn’t attend live sessions. I was just frustrated, disappointed, and stressed out. I messaged my Program Associate that I had decided to quit as I was too weak to manage my time with my online classes, job, and this fellowship. He sent me a video titled “Don’t give up”.

Little did I know that I was going to apply the very first Amal Totka.

Amal Totka 1: Self — Talk

After watching the video, I sat and talked to myself for more than 2 hours. Yes, that’s right. It might sound absurd but trust me, it works. I reminded myself of the reasons for choosing this fellowship and all the benefits of completing it. I reminded myself of my strengths, achievements, and that I’d never been a quitter.

Not a quitter? Fine. Now what?

Here comes the tip that does wonders!

Amal Totka 2: Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone

The application of this tip isn’t as easy as it sounds. I had to challenge myself. I woke up late at night to complete PW3. Though I still missed a few things, I tried my best, didn’t quit, and decided to work on my time management skills. In short, I succeeded in getting out of my comfort zone. Yayy 😇

Amal Totka 3: Create New Habits

In order to accomplish this challenge and stay out of my comfort zone, I have started adopting some new habits. It might be too early to call them habits, but it’s a good start anyway.

I, now, divide all tasks of PW into 4 days, (saving the last day as my lifeline 😉) complete them on the assigned day, and I am good to go. TADA 😊

Amal Totka 4: Ask People Help

Being an introvert, I am not used to asking for help. It gets pretty hard for me to reach out to people for any favor. Well, I used to consider it a ‘favor’ but that is, as a matter of fact, a ‘help from peers’.

During the last few days when a few of my Amal Fellows reached out to me to make sure whether I was doing fine or not, I finally realized that ‘help from peers’ is completely fine and crucial to my professional growth. So, I texted my accountability partner and asked her for help during PW3.

Amal Totka 5: Fake It Till You Make It

Okay. So, now I am going to pretend for the rest of the journey that I am competent enough to never quit no matter how much I will panic during sessions and projects.

‘Fake It Till You Really Ace It! (this is what I say 😉)

If you have made it to the end of my blog, you must be wondering,

“Does all of this practically work?”

Yes, of course. That’s how I’m right here writing this blog (assignment :p) at 4 in the morning. Isn’t it amazing?

Cheers 😊
5 Things that can help you to the best version of yourself in 2021.
Tags: Amal Academy, Self Improvement, Productivity, Amal Totkay

Self Talk

Self-talk has a magnificent process for self-analysis, it can be your tool for development as well as for your destruction, Positive self-talk plays a very vital role in the improvement of your decision-making skills so you can analyze the situation better. When you are talking with your self your all focus on that inner voice that can be enhanced your concentration. You are facing any sort of situation when you talk with your self it can make your mind and heart lighter.

2. Comfort Zone

We millennials are so used to our comfort zone that we just go with the flow in every matter of life like the dead fish and often complain that circumstances don't change around us. Everything that we carve for it can be your success, goals and the new year Resolution resides outside of your comfort zone.

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path, and leave a trail” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

3. Create New Habits

If anybody wants to evolve and adapt according to the changing trends around us they have to step out of their comfort zone and carve new habits in themselves, you have to develop the habit of new learning skills and adapt to the environments you are living in. Start with small you will develop a small habit each week and improve 1 percent daily at the end of the year you have 52 new habits and 365% evolved from the previous version of yours.

4. It’s okay to ask for help

You are unable to good at all things simultaneously, there are many people in your circle who are good at something, and it's perfectly alright if you ask for help from your peers in this way you can learn from their experiences and can move ahead rapidly.

5. Fake it until you are able to make it.

In the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) you can behave your way into a way of thinking (B-CT).

Fake it till you make it is the approach based on (B-CT). An example, if I am unhappy with my current Circumstances and there is nothing I can do about it, then I might put a smile on my face even if I don’t want to. Of course, there is a reason for this. At first, my mind might think this is a strange thing to do when unhappy. I might even ridicule myself for a while. But I keep the smile there.

After a while, my mind starts looking for reasons to have a smile on my face. Then I start recognizing things to smile about. All of a sudden the unpleasant situation becomes more bearable to handle.

So these are some tips that have helped me a lot to be my better version, I hope it will help you a lot so you can put that into practice and can rock in your life.
Project 1: Getting Closer to your Mega Project Problem
By: Muhammad Anas
Tags: Mega Project Blog 2, Amal Academy, Uet, Engineering

Project 1: Getting Closer to your Mega Project Problem

#AmalAcademy

The idea of deewar-e-meherbaani was started in Iran and is currently being actualized for a bigger scope in Iran and in a few urban areas of Pakistan too including Peshawar, Karachi, and Lahore. The essential thought is to empower the oppressed to approach the day-by-day things of fundamental necessities like garments, shoes, belts, and other incidental things of this sort. Through this activity, the individuals who cannot bear to purchase garments and shoes may have the option to wear sensible garments and shoes without spreading their hands before anybody. Besides, the garments that do not fit somebody or have decreased without being worn much may locate an incredible use in the possession of the needier ones. These are few models of wall of kindness:

Numerous individuals are carrying on with helpless life and a few people are rich we can give awareness to individuals about needy individuals' life who have not enough cash to purchase fabrics or fulfilled their appetite.

These are few pictures of those helpless people:

We need to enlighten individuals regarding needy individuals' lives and request that they take an interest in deeware-e-meharbani and request that they partake to give fabric or other material that they no utilization. For publishing this awareness, we will create a Facebook page, and also other social media like insta, twitter etc.

And we can bring smiles on faces of those people who have not enough money to buy clothes:

It will be the ethical commitment of the multitude of individuals similarly to add to this mass of generosity and keep it promptly accessible to those out of luck and keep up it in the most ideal manner conceivable.

All things considered, we will be attempting to show a drive that can support the reliable commitment of general society and that may straightforwardly profit the destitute ones.