fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
Diary Writing Format
Tags: English, Ielts, Diary, Writing Tips, Writing

Originally posted at EnglishTutsForYou. Click on the link to read the full article.

What is Diary Entry

Diary means to be written daily. It is basically a record keeper. Special events whether it is pleasant or unpleasant are written in Diary. When you see your diary you personally relate to all the events you had gone through in your life. It preserves our memory. How to write a diary entry? We will apprise you shortly.

By reading a diary we can analyse a persons’ life very keenly. We can know about his likes and dislikes, his way of living life etc,. If you have read the Diary of Anne Frank you must have known that by just reading a diary you come to know about his/her personality.

Purpose of Diary Entry

A person who is unable to express his/her feelings in front of others usually keeps a diary. In a true sense, the diary is like our true friend whom we can tell everything. We can preserve our memories by writing them in our diary. Like we look at a photograph and it reminds us of that moment in a similar way by reading our diary we can return to the past and revive our experiences. Famous personalities used to write diaries. I have given the example of Anne Frank, by reading her diary you can know easily what was the world going through in that era. Most of the times it keeps the form of an autobiography.

How to write a diary entry
A week I wish had never ended
By: Parampreet Singh
Tags: Vacation, Diary, Love Poems, Roadtrip

What a week it was, could never have been a better start of a new year. With you, each moment just you and me. Ten days five destinations, 2700 kilometers. One car. Our car. It was like we were carrying our little home together. Blanket, sleeping bags, food and what not. Even the preparations for this trip was fun. Five days buckle up for ten day journey. We took turns while driving just like when we took lead while taking circles around fire on our wedding day. We listened to music, we danced, we drank, we kissed, we argued, we loved. Each day there was a new destiny to reach up to, a new story for Facebook, a new chapter to write in your diary. So excited that waking up was not an issue anymore. Eat, Explore, Love, Sleep, Repeat. This was the equation being followed. Check in, unpack bags, roam, pack bags again, checkout from hotel. I missed that. Those long drives. Those singing in chorus. Those moments of feeding the other on driver seat. I wish that week could have never ended. I wish we could live the same some day again.

My love…
What is learning?
By: Oğuz Demi̇r
Tags: Life Long Learning, Diary, Self Taught Developer

Hello Dear reader,

# 2

As a strong believer in the importance of education. I did some researches about how to learn. There are several different methodologies and techniques on the internet. But I realized at the end of the day, sustainability, grit, and growth mindset were the most effective words in my head.

Getting motivated, fight with lack of energy, and procrastination are the main bosses for this period. However, while fighting with those big bosses in that game unfortunately we are always forgetting to collect coins and buy some tools to make it easy. The best tool that I decided to use is to start to get good experience at “Learning how to learn”. Barbara Oakley has something to say to you on that topic.

On the other hand, I met The Odin Project today. It was a huge shame for me to met this project today. But it’s never too late. I will also share my process in this Curriculum as an assignment for me in this article series.

Today’s golden word is “perseverance”.

Today’s golden advice is while struggling with a bug in your code check the “typo” first :)
Moon
Tags: Diary

It was a new started day for me. A day I began to do something. After graduated, I thought I could finally not taking any efforts to Live (or say Study) anymore. After work, unlike being a student, I don’t spend time reviewing, studying, preparing anymore, instead, I relaxed. Living a life like that for about three years, like sailing a boat without any destination. “Is it all?” I had asked myself several times. That me be clear, it doesn’t mean that I get a nothing-I-can-do job, it’s an OK job, which paid well, interesting,but I won’t devote all my effort for it. A job is only a job. I was waiting for a thing that could devote all my life in it. Is there? Will it worth it?

Sometimes I chased after stars not physically but mentally. Stars in the dark sky are most attractive. Maybe likewise only when my life is “at night”, finally find out how adorable they are. Recently, I was haunted by Moon. She is my Esmeralda. I wouldn’t said it is a love, just like the plot in novel. Gasimodo haven’t truly met her only fascinated by her voice and appearance (at first? or till the end?). Moon are you also an imagination of mine? Your job is fooling people around, making people think you are adorable. You succeed. How do I know which one is truly you? How I could know you? Being an Armstrong is a way to reach you. ha. Does Esmeralda worth it? Maybe Moon only when it is far from the earth, becoming so attractive. Once I finally reached her, will I still regard her as my goddess? Only God knows.

I decided to do something, since I believed she is the one. That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. Being tried of waiting and watching,I want to reach you. Step by step, one day will be a new day.
June 16, 2021
By: Matthew Burgos
Tags: Creativity, Flash Fiction, Journal, Diary, Thoughts

Will we ever see the Northern Lights?

The collision of the particles from the sun has entered the Earth, but your presence still lingers far from where I position. The frost bites as I cradle my layers of jacket I put on. Puffs of smoke cascade from my dry lips as I catch my breath — drawn not from the hike, but from the coldness that has crawled into my chest. My feet sink into the mellow caps of snow, leaving footprints as I lean my weight into each step I take. I pause, marveling at the stillness of the night and at how, somehow, loneliness and solitude fuse as one.

The guide told us yesterday the exact hour the lights would appear, and I let the fool fool me into agreeing. It might just be my mind or my selective hearing, but a plane crosses the cloudless sky and my hearing from my right to left ear, yet I see nothing as I look up. The sky, so starless and vast, repulses me so much that tears flood from my eyes.

The temperature clogs my nostrils, my breathing picks up its pace, my feet fret, my lips tremble, the ice below my feet melts, and the Northern Lights are nowhere to be seen.

Will I ever see them?
Internship Journal #5
By: Cerita Alatiara
Tags: Journaling, Diary, Dotindonesia, Worklearnplay, New Things

Internship Journal #5

Wooaah, it’s been a few days since my last journal. Of course, I got new things again as an intern.

Firstly, I’m trying to give my best services with kindness and support people who want to join with DOT as a full time worker or a freelancer. I’m very enjoy with this job because I’d like to interact with new people, it’s make me feel very happy. Mr. Tofin give me a recommendation to learn about ‘service excellent’ if I really like to provide service to other.

Secondly, I learn about how to create a wording in the linkedin if we want to share about job hiring information without post job tools. It’s not easy and little tricky guys to pass the verification and validation from linkedin. If not, that post will be deleted automaticly tomorrow.

Thirdly, of course I learn about the most important communication tools in DOT, it’s ‘slack’. This app very interesting, we can make a different channel/group for our job, but still in the same workplace. So, we can discuss with the specific theme and focus on that channel topic. It’s very recommended for your team job guyss, you should try.

And, in the few days we had a new members intern again and two of them is for a new division as ‘event organizer’ intern. It’s still part of HC partner guyss, like Me, but, they’re focus for preparing an event (if I’m not wrong). Fyi, the closely event for this month is Journey Recap. Okaay, it’s enought, I will tell you about this next time guyss.

Thank you_

#WorkLearnPlay
A Walk
By: Dmitriy Kim
Tags: Summer, Poetry, Diary, Recollections, Sun

I have a habit of looking at the sun above my head. Every now and then I do that.

This way, seeing how high it is above the horizon, I can roughly estimate what time it is. Or how long it is before the sunset. If the sun is approaching the horizon I know, it’s about seven or eight o’clock in the evening.

Also, it’s some ritual, attaching me to the reality around. Maybe it’s bad for my eyes. Sometimes I sneeze. I read it’s a peculiar reaction of the human body to the sunlight getting directly in the eye.

I see the grass and low trees on my left side. Dust and smell of gasoline exhaust on the right, where the road is choked with cars, trying to move.

I see small, white and pink clover flowers among the grass.

The wind touches tree leaves, making them shimmer like ripples on the water, casting multiple reflections of light.

When I reach the shadows of the park, I feel like the heat that envelopes me subsides. There are familiar things. Thick bushes of nettle, dilapidated stone stairs leading down to small terraces filled with water, cooling in the shade of small trees surrounding the pools.

There are slopes and stairs leading gradually and irresistibly toward the river. At some point, it becomes visible as a multitude of bright sparkles, its ripples produce an infinite number of dazzling reflections of the sunlight in the water.

The river embankment is illuminated so brightly that it hurts to look at it. People, walking and riding on it, create a sensation of a never-ending festival. Sometimes because of that, it feels that the place itself is alive.

Tall trees are towering towards the sky with their tops invisible somewhere high above and their crowns creating a cool shadow below.

There is a small apple garden near the railroad. Futuristic constructions of subway station protrude in the middle of a tiny square with flower beds scattered around it and under squat apple trees.

At the open space of the square summer heat is so intense that it feels like there is a glowing furnace somewhere close above my head. Every surface radiates heat.

Meanwhile, in the shades of the trees, it’s fresh and chilly, and there is a sensation of a constant breeze.

Wildflowers populating the grasses gradually replace each other throughout the summer; vivid yellow dandelions reminiscent of small suns give way to modest and pale clovers and chamomiles.

Clear blue sky with strange and mysterious patterns of clouds in it. And elusive darts of plane trails.
Getting My First Post Out of the Way
By: Taina Santiago
Tags: Writing, Diary, Self Improvement, First Post

It’s hard for me to start things. I push them off until eventually I find myself eight months deep into a fifty-dollar Medium subscription and zero posts to show for it.

It’s even harder for me to stick with things. This is how I ended up with a rarely-used beginner set of oil paints, multiple half-empty journals, and a Toni Morrison book I’ve been reading for five years (Song of Solomon, I would recommend what I’ve read so far).

When it comes to my hobbies, this means I don’t give them the time to flourish and grow because that would mean experiencing the range of failure that occurs in the learning process. I hate the idea of failing, but this ultimately distances me from my creativity and makes it harder to engage meaningfully with my hobbies.

So this post is my first step to putting a stop to my habit of ending new beginnings. This is the ripped bandaid, and I want to challenge myself to continue doing this at least once a month. I’d like to use this space for essays, rants, personal stories, and whatever else keeps me engaged. I want to enjoy writing again, I want to feel unstuck, and I just need to throw myself into it.

The self-imposed expectations that normally stop me in my tracks will be set to the side. The only expectation I will have is Medium charging my credit card in September, and I’d like for that to be worth it.
Hiking and chaos
By: H. L
Tags: Diary, Hiking, Taiwan, Chiayi, Linnei

I suggested we could probably go for a quick hike at the nearby mountain. The hike isn’t difficult according to the blogs and instagram views. It started from a low point in Linnei, nearby a temple. Hiking up along the trees and trails, the trail only takes 30 minutes to reach to the other side. I was hyped!

I have been to linnei, mainly for the foresty season where you get to see trees in different shades of colors.

We arrived and spent a couple of minutes to hike up to the middle part of the trail. My mom couldn’t stand the constant up-and-downs, so we decided to go back after a couple of minutes. There were quite a few people hiking up as well. The weather was great but it was extremely warm, I got a heat stroke after coming home. It was roughly 35c whilst we went up the trail.

half way up

To be honest, I was slightly disappointed by the hike. Firstly, I expected it would be lots chiller climate. Second of all, I thought the air would be fresh, but the hike was right above a temple where they burn lots paper money. I could smell it burning in the air when we walked up. There were as well people singing kareoke right outside the temple. Those paid-to-sing portable kareokes, where they sang so loudly as if there’s no one around.

We decided to get some quick lunch at a nearby town Doulio. My friend from high school used to live here, she has brought me around the town and I was slightly familiar with it. I would take the train to visit her on the weekends and she would ride motorbike to take me around the hood.

Doulio is actually big. Probably bigger than Chiayi city.

There were few wooden houses being preserved and renovated on the old ally ways. Most turned into cafes. Apparently those are the old police dorms back in the Japanese era. The houses were built by hinoki woods, high setted flooring and very neat plants being decorated around the corners.

Opening the wooden door, where you actually have to drag it open with force. It felt like those Japanese houses in the animation.
Week 1 of radiation treatment is in the books — and I had great hair all week.
By: Paige Edenfield
Tags: Positive Thinking, Diary, Life

Week 1 of radiation treatment is in the books — and I had great hair all week. Paige Edenfield Jan 3, 2020·3 min read

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, read this: This is my 2020 Diary and it’s going to get messy (I have cancer).

Back to this radiation thing: I go for treatment five days per week, Monday through Friday. The whole appointment takes about 30 minutes each time.

This is what’s up:

Ya girl is tired, but I’m not exhausted. I think it’s more mental and emotional than anything else at the moment.

My skin is already getting super dry and unpleasant in the areas I’m being treated. Like, ew.

I’m more stupid thirsty all the time than I normally am. What’s that about?

I’ve had a great hair day every day this week. Shout out to low humidity for making that happen.

See? Told ya.

I sent this dumb picture to my family earlier in the week because, as I said, I’ve been having some good hair days. It’s always worth sharing with folks when you’re having a good day (especially if you have a little sister; gotta rub it in when you can).

Having all those good hair days got me thinking about the other good things I like sharing with people, which led to me making a list over the course of the week so I wouldn’t forget. Here’s what I came up with.

My big list of good things worth sharing with people:

Laughter

Postcards

Your dreams

Good hair days

Mediterranean food

Your bottle of Sprite

Selfies at the Grand Canyon

Road trips across the country

Road trips through the desert

Homemade chocolate chip cookies

Sitting on the porch watching the sunset/sunrise

Music that makes you feel that feeling in your heart and your stomach and your feet and your face

That crossword puzzle you finally finished; or that thing you colored; or that flower you planted; or whatever it is you’re super proud of today

Now, I’m fully aware that this list isn’t actually all that big. It looked a lot bigger on the sticky note I was using, okay?

What I want now, no, what I need is for you to add to it.

I need you to share some good with me so I can tuck it away in my pocket and pull it out when I need it. This isn’t just for radiation treatment.

This is for any rough day in general that either of us is having. In the moment, when your hair sucks, or your day sucks, or you’re frustrated, or you’re sad, of you’re feeling lonely, it can be hard to come up with “good things” on the spot.

I’m just trying to cook up a good moment for future me and you if you’re down. This is my thing. You just have the opportunity to be part of it.

Help me build this list. Help me build it for both of us.

But only do it if you mean it.

Here’s how:
Bad Liar
By: The Boy In Neon
Tags: Journal, Homesick, Diary, Life

Hi guys,

As you can check, I didn’t accomplish my challenge of writing while I was living in England.

I know. I am such a bad liar.

I have no excuse, but let me tell you I had the time of my life in there. Everything felt simpler because I had jumped off the highest cliff (my past responsibilities) and was enjoying the adrenaline of the falling. But, in a way, I knew that was going to ended up at some point and I can say leaving Nottingham was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.

Back in Madrid, things are just the way they were before leaving. I am spending some time with my family because it’s Christmas and, you know, I am suppose to do so. But to be fair, I am enjoying it more than I thought. It keeps me distracted, although there’s still a strange feeling attached to me I could not describe properly. It happens when I look at the window and the sky is grey. Just like today, for example. Streets are empty and a bit frozen you can slip if you don’t watch out. It brings me back to that first floor’s window of the student’s hall where I waited for the rain to start falling and, sometimes, the sound of a nearby ambulance. Room number 5.

Suddenly, I don’t understand how things work anymore. I am at a point of my life where change is holding my hand more than anyone. Nothing looks easy. I wish every day things were just a little bit easier. There’s no path, just some mountains in the distance and me driving with no license.

I hope to get some good sleep tonight.

See you soon,

Marcos.
Fucking Good
Tags: Diary, Sex

My most hilarious sexual experience yet was from a few years ago. I’d liked her for a long time and then suddenly, she was willing to do the sex.

I was so anxious. I didn’t trust my body or know what to expect. Very little in this life is as disappointing as being on someone’s case for years only to drop after four strokes. No no no.

Most of my longer bouts before then were intoxicated, so I figured that was a surefire way to go. I smoked and drank and got all ready. I was bursting with anticipation. This was going to be a finishing.

She arrives. We talk and play. Slowly, the clothes come off.

And then the shocker: I can’t get hard!

I‘m not exaggerating when I say I wanted to die. I wanted to enter the ground and disappear. After all those years!

I tried different ways to get myself up but nothing was working. Physical arousal was a dud. I couldn’t go mental. I got desperate and exasperated. Eventually, we gave up.

I learnt quite a few things about myself from that encounter, but most importantly I realised something: in all of my plotting and scheming, at no point was I really thinking about her.

I’m wiser now and I understand that sex is patient.

Everyone is different and it starts with learning body language. Sometimes I’m lucky enough to meet someone whose language I’m familiar with, but when that’s not the case, I’m eager to ask and learn.

I get more clearly that sex is a buffet. Movement. Sound. Eye contact. Toys. Cunnilingus. Control. Submission. Conversations. Dicking is only one of these things. Sex doesn’t have to end because someone can’t get hard.

I’ve learnt to communicate more. To ask, because not many people talk. To listen to what I’m being told. To hold the position when it matters. To pay attention to what they aren’t saying. To talk about the sex when we’re done.

I understand how important psychological safety is. Sex should be comfortable. Awkward, yes, but shameless. There’s no sex like when we let ourselves go. Moan. Writhe. Scream. Speak in tongues. Whatever.

My body hasn’t changed but I understand it so much better. Sometimes I come early, sometimes late. And that’s okay. I can now pace myself to control it, but sometimes I don’t even care. If I come in three seconds, glory to that WAP; I wash off and get back to work.

Most importantly, I’ve learnt to focus on the other person. Sex is an expression of care. I’m not doing this to come; I can do that all by myself. I’m doing this for the shared experience. “I want you to fuck me” means I want you to make me feel good in ways that I can’t possibly do alone.

And whew, there are many ways.
Diary entry — Monday, September 18th
Tags: Developer Stories, Diary, Programmer, Based On True Events, Funny

Dear diary, after few days of research, tests and implementation I ended up with Symfony-based MVP that handle basic integration with Magneto API.

I came up with idea of using this for product management and sold it today to Michael (CIO) and Robson (CTO). Michael was fascinated. He said, that maybe we could start our own PIM system. Robson was surprised that he never thought of using API in any project for this purpose. I’m surprised that he never tohught of that. Although there is a Castro-lama, but there’s only a API proxy for mobile application and its messed up in every way.

I have to do further researches and improvements. If it starts, it will be huge step for the company. Timid will start to deliver own services.

Big party is comming in November. Every year company arrange internal event. This year, like last time, it’s going to take place in mountain resort. Almost everyone is going. Beside drinking, there will be some lectures too. Also company hands annual Timid Awards in various categories. This year people are about to vote in categories like Progress of the year, Educator and Innovator. Sounds like they really know how to appreciate employees.
60 Things To Be Thankful Today
Tags: Gratitude, Thank You, Journal, Diary, Happiness

In order to be great, you must be thankful — full of greatness and gratitude. Having a habit of being thankful creates the space that allows you to be grateful.

Gratitude is one of the most powerful emotions that you can invoke. When you are in a state of appreciation, you realize you have everything you want and need now.

And what gratitude actually does is it creates a state of abundance.

A state of abundance attracts more abundance into your life.

When you are saying to the higher power that you have a lot, you then experience more of having a lot.

And I found in my life the more I’m grateful for this present moment the more abundant shows up in my life when I stop looking at what I can get on, what I can gain, and what I can do.

In fact, things flow more in my life when I’m grateful for:

What I have right now…

My current level of growth right now…

The experiences that I’m experiencing right now, whether they’re bad or good…

I choose to appreciate them because I know later on there’s going to be something that I can learn from or there’s something that I can look for in those situations that can bring forth the greatest version of me.

Download Journey to start 30 day happiness challenge today:

Here are some of the things you can be thankful today:

Your parents Good health and wellbeing Weekends Home cooked meal Your favorite song Good eyesight The ability to dream A good job A stable income The ability to dream Good friends Write a journal Hearing some good news Family vacations Pets Breathing fresh air Freedom to vote Chocolate The ability to read A bed to sleep A loving partner Nature A cup of coffee Electricity Fresh running water The ability to imagine Sunrise & sunset Laughter Spell checker Being able to drive Having a passion Read new books When a stranger smiles at you Act of kindness Art Holidays Freedom of speech Rainbows Tears Moon and the stars The ability to listen Ocean waves Music Warm clothing Internet connection Hiking Forgiveness Gratitude Trust A cup of tea A handwritten card Toe beans Clean bedsheets The ability to exercise A roof over your head Take a nap Learn new things A time to practice meditation Listen to bird sound Visit new places

What are the things you are thankful for today? Write them down in Journey.
LOOK: LEARN: OBSERVE!. My favorite encounter with rain is…
By: Aditi Poudel
Tags: Blogging, Life Lessons, Diary, Writing, Lifestyle

That little raindrops falling outside bring more often cold breeze making me feel chilling cold in the side, and I let go a part of me. As the drops grow bigger, the sound too starts to speed up.

My favorite encounter with rain is quite unusual from others so far. I roamed around the facade when I had to rush inside the house as the huge water droplet started dripping. It was my other home, and it was in a remote area far away from the city lights and wheels sounds. The house is basically made up of red soil, and the roof was of natural stone, which is small and black in color. It’s like a typical Nepali home with a wooden pillar holding the roof of the first floor and is a two stored building with three beautiful wooden windows for decoration on top. This might sound a little complex, but it was similar to every other village home in Nepal, and the difference was it was my other home.

When I reach there, far away from my concrete city building, I feel more livable. The pretty home, the bigger the area to play and the hills on the other side. That earthly smell makes the whole space smell so livable and so aromatic moves through the lungs while breathing, making me ponder the lovely nature around us.

I move my hand up in the sky as high as I can take as if I could touch the rain from where it was actually coming. These hands they will get poured and spill again and again. No matter how much I want to hold that, it won’t stay, whereas the hand gets filled with every raindrop it can catch, replacing the older drops. This then reminds me of my dreams. I catch a dream, place it, and try to hold it, but it gets going in vain, just like those water drops. Those tiny, tiny droplets get heavier and heavier, making me break out my load then. How could I embrace the dream and perhaps me, when that very moment turns you both happy and sad at the same moment turning your world upside down.

The hailstorm that may come uninvited brings the hail like the cloud itself is releasing it. What may go wrong if you consider a cloud that brings rain is just like a human who stores no matter how many things and release it somehow someday, just like the rain that is released. The hail that falls along the rain can make the rain bigger and more dreadful sometimes. The rain symbolizes releasing what you content that is perhaps a result of the different processes occurring at different life stages.

Thank you!
2/9/21 Senioritis
Tags: Journal, Diary, Daily Thoughts

I am feeling that senioritis. Since I’m already on the vet tech waitlist, I was feeling like my grades don’t even matter anymore. I feel like I am wasting my time with all this schoolwork. I’m ready to learn my “trade” and start living my adult working life. Or if I can’t do that I want to “have fun” with my last days as a high schooler, or teenager for that matter. More my last days in childhood. But no. I have school and work and so does everyone else. I have very recently found some motivation. I need to have good grades to graduate. I can use this time to strengthen my brain and learn. I can use my free time to work on myself physically, mentally, and spiritually. And fun times will come in the summer, even though I will be working my butt off. I am beyond grateful that I get to work with two of my friends. I love them so much and they make work so fun and enjoyable. Sometimes I don’t even want to leave. So yeah I am just trying to stay on my senior grind and I am actually planning on unofficially graduating a month or two early. That will give me some time to hopefully do some fun stuff or just kind of prepare for the busy summer. So yes senioritis is a real thing and it can suck, but I am trying to handle it better. :)
I MIGHT NEED A GUN FOR THE NEXT TIME I HEAR SUCH STATEMENTS!
Tags: Diary, Entertainment, Thoughts, Women, Life

“Ebu jifunze kupika ama ng’ombe zitapungua!”

“Wewe ni mchafu huwezi pata bwana!”

“Mtakula nini na bwana kama hujui kupika?”

I’m sure you have been told such statements more often than not if you are a girl and have grown in an African home, Kenyan to be specific. Lightly translated that your value as a woman is lowered if you are not good at certain household skills and marriage will be difficult for you. Such comments make young girls spend most of their childhood preparing themselves for marriage, learning stuff not for themselves but because someday they are going to be someone’s wife or mother. We have made them believe marriage is the goal, a lifetime achievement, the end game.

Recently I’ve been wondering why women feel the need to get married at a certain age or feel like failures when they don’t get married at a certain time or age bracket. Then it hit me that all this stems from how we raise our girls, the expectations set on them from a young age. Constantly encouraging them to learn basic life skills such as cooking, cleaning, washing, personal hygiene as a set up for marriage and not just as essential basic skills everyone should learn. From a young age, through childhood, teenage hood and adult hood we constantly groom women for marriage.

So what happens if I don’t get married at a certain age? Or I don’t get married at all? Or I get married and it doesn’t go as planned? Of course I’ll see myself as a failure, I’ll carry the burden of shame and pressure set on me by society. I have been preparing for this thing all my life, I’ve been groomed for it, learnt everything they said I should learn and now I’m at that age (not that there’s one but again societal pressure) but still I’ve not found this long term partner. Of course I’ll see myself as a failure!

This is the sickening messed up mentality we raise our girls with. I believe everyone should learn such basic skills entirely independent of their gender, not as a set up for marriage or motherhood but because they are essentials in life just as skills such as communication and teamwork are. The sad part about all this is that our male counterparts never go through the same, we often hear “let boys be boys”. Talk about double standards that should remain in the past. I’m surprised they still exist.

What we don’t see is that we are hurting a generation of beautiful women, strong women, resilient women, go-getters and bosses. Making them seem as failures, placing unnecessary pressure on them just because of this one thing, marriage. Marriage is beautiful but it’s not the end game, it’s not the only goal and not a lifetime achievement. We can do better by our girls for sure, teach them that they are whole with or without marriage. Don’t rush it, the timelines are just an illusion and societal standards are a constant moving target, a few years back it was trendy to shave your eyebrows and now we are drawing them back. Sis you can’t keep aiming at a moving target, move at your pace.
Alone, For Now: A Journal Entry
By: Haven Hanna
Tags: Journaling, Alone, Diary, Loneliness, Pregnancy

I am not a bachelorette.

I live alone, technically. Though from one look in my kitchen, you would probably assume there was at least one other person staying with me.

The fridge is always stocked with fresh fruits and greens. Always three cartons of almond milk. Three boxes of cereal to eat. An entire bunch of bananas on the table, along with one loaf of bread that I can never finish before its expiration date. I suppose the only thing giving me away, perhaps, is the single, one-cup sized stainless steel pot I use to heat water on the stove for instant coffee in the mornings. Maybe that and also one glance down at my stomach.



The ultrasound technicians at my doctor appointments always tease me about how small I am, as if I haven’t already gained 16 pounds. Having my blood pressure taken is the most awkward part of my visits, because the automatic blood pressure machine can never read me. I sit and feel the cuff tighten around my arm. We listen together to air being expelled and when the machine finally stops to calculate my heart’s beats-per-minute, it quickly resumes its compression around my arm which results in the technicians having to use the manual blood pressure cuff. Twice a week, I routinely laugh this instance off.



Just four months ago, spending time alone was a choice. I would close myself into my bedroom at my parents home, and spend hours upon hours reading and writing. Sometimes, I’d even drive to some faraway café or park just to get away from everyone. That was by choice. Now, I spend time alone by what feels like force. My family doesn’t visit my apartment because the timing is never quite right. They are always working, or I am working, or it’s just too late for me to comfortably have anyone over- even if they are family. The only company I ever have is the little being growing inside of me. My ex-boyfriend does visit once a week, simply because he has decided to co-parent. If it weren’t for the baby, I would still be living at home, and I don’t think he and I would be in contact anymore.

It’s an honest confession to admit that, most days, I feel lonely. It is everyday that I feel my life is falling apart. As always, it is too easy to think of ways to escape my reality; though none of them feel right anymore, now that I am not only thinking for myself. I had never been selfish in the first place, I suppose.

I’d only ever been selfish with my time, is all.
This is the Official ‘Hello World’
By: Green Plum
Tags: Random, Diary, Random Thoughts, Personal Growth, Lifestyle

Lords and ladies, and other fellow citizens of this world. Welcome to this epic space where I write about what’s happening all around me, which I hope to do everyday. Some might call it a diary entry, but — as popular terms go — I would call it wlog (short for writing-log).

As I write this, I can’t help but wonder whether I should add some images in the middle of the text just to make it less boring. I have noticed that many personal blogs do that. So perhaps I would like to share with you a picture of my room.

As you can see, I don’t like to live in an organized manner

Yes, there is a mic-stand in my room, and along with that I have a webcam as well. I have recently picked up this hobby of making videos. After recently starting a channel (the name of which I am not going to disclose as yet), I have realized that it has helped me with my introverted personality. In a way, even with less subscribers on my channel, I got to understand what I feels like to be out their and connect with people. This is why I am here on Medium as well.

In case you are wondering, I am a content writer, and I have been doing that for years now. So, this sort of personal writing is new for me, and I guess it is new for Medium as well. For one, I believe this platform is now too polished. I am right now sitting in my room and wearing my pajamas, so I am not going to write like an intellectual (not that I have anything against them), but I am just saying that this space, especially the one that I have occupied, belongs to my personal life (not too personal of course).

Look at my awesome photoshop skills

So, maybe I’ll see you tomorrow. Let’s hope I don’t regret this further down the road.
Feel Special (Agrifores Week-3)
By: Yasiqy Haidar
Tags: Volunteering, Elementary School, Social Activity, Childern, Agriculture

Hi! Everyone and IAASer all around the world.

I am sorry I just uploaded this story today. It was my mistake. I didn’t set a schedule on my story that I’d written. In the other side, I went back home last week and I wanted to enjoy my family time. Even, I rarely texted my lover too. Well, I also prepared to challenge my self to join an event which I’ve never tried in my whole life. But, It’s still a secret.

So, Agrifores week 3 was really tired. We only have no more than ten volunteers to manage 50 students. It was looked like really crowded even though it’s the same amount of students. The students have already been bored with our method too. Occasionally, we already met them three times and that condition makes them a little bit out of control. When we’re telling a story, it didn’t make them attracted anymore. They just played around and jumped into some areas with their friends. Moreover, the students also sleeping and were not excited to follow the class. It was frustrating.

We think that we wouldn’t make it this week because of a lack of control at first. We know the limit but we couldn’t stop solving the problem right?. We faced a big problem to get the students' attention back then. But, we also found new insight. While managing the students to keep sitting we observed the character of each student. We got closer and understand them. In week 1 and 2, we already had a conversation with them personally, but it does not mean that we know their characters.

We found that they like singing a song together or listening to their friend to sing a song. Then we initiate to ask one student to sing a popular song. Then, all students paid attention and we could calm them.

What we learned in Week 3 is something special which we never expected before. It was really hard to understand people when we didn’t feel it. Sometimes we only see a person by their appearance and make a plan without thinking about the character of the people that we worked with. We only see by our eyes whereas our eyes are lying sometimes. We need to observe and experience before we decide to do something. That’s also applied to solve a problem, not only a fast solution but also the right solution.
Donate Zakat And Sadaqah
By: Ummah Charity International
Tags: Donate To Charity, Volunteering, Zakat, Sadaqah Jariyah, Donate

The term donate zakat and sadaqah can be used at the same time because they both are interchangeable. If a person gives zakat so he or she isn’t paying sadaqah same as that if a person pays sadaqah so he or she isn’t paying zakat. Both are completely different in the Islamic concept. By donating zakat to orphans we can make their lives easy from the life of hardships so donate zakat for orphans. Zakat is an Islamic obligation and is part of the five pillars. Your zakat can make all the difference in someone’s life. You can donate zakat online today and bring peace and harmony into someone’s life — after all, this action of yours has the power to transform entire communities, eradicate poverty and reduce hunger. This Ramadhan, you can donate Sadaqah online to give someone a better future. All around the world, civilians are facing hardship because of war and poverty. Families do not have enough food; some people have been injured in life-threatening incidents, others are on the brink of starvation, and even children have gone through excessive trauma such as losing their parents, loved ones, or homes. But with your Sadaqah donation, Ummah Charity International can bring these people out of their hopelessness and together we can take these disaster zones and combat the issues that these civilians are facing.
Should you be a Manning reviewer? Here’s why I am
By: Tatiana Fesenko
Tags: Volunteering, Book Reviewer, Manning, Software Development

Manuscript reviewer

Technical manuscript review is just like code review, but for a book. A review includes all technical aspects of the book:

What does the book cover? The reviewers are encouraged to propose to add more topics or remove what they think is not relevant or important.

Is the book interesting?

Are the code examples relevant and accurate?

Are provided figures helpful and self-explanatory?

Very technical questions specific to each chapter

Everything else 😄… with one exception — the technical reviewer does NOT provide feedback on the grammar and writing style; it’s the editor's job.

I really like that many publishers welcome reviews from people with any level of technical knowledge, from experts to amateurs.

Expert review

My experience of reviewing a book as an expert was with “The Java Module System.“ The Module System is probably one of the most long-awaited and controversial features in Java. The reason — it lacks backward compatibility. To make matters worse, it’s hard to migrate existing projects to the modules! At the same time, sticking to the old version would mean depriving your project of all other cool stuff coming in newer versions. Migrating to a newer version may look time-consuming at first glance, but it will save a lot of time in the long run. This is why I decided to contribute a significant amount of my time as a manuscript reviewer for this book. I also created this cheat sheet on Java Module System.

Manuscript reviewers get acknowledged in the book

Novice review

Publishers are also interested in the opinion of novices. When I was offered to review “Building Ethereum ĐApps,” I did have some knowledge of the blockchain technologies — completed several Coursera and EDx courses — but it was way far from being an expert. Manning knew that my experience in this area was minimal, but they valued this opinion anyway — because feedback from novices makes books more accessible to junior developers.

Partial book review

The full book review is very time-consuming; I estimate that it took about 40–60 hours for each review. It’s a lot of time, and sometimes we simply don’t have this time. Fortunately, sometimes Manning allows partial book review, which takes just a few hours.

For example, I reviewed only the first six chapters of “Seriously Good Software,” not all the nine chapters.
A Look at the Requirements to Become a Volunteer EMT
By: Tom Lovegrove
Tags: Volunteering, Emt

A resident of Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, Tom Lovegrove is the CEO of the Synthetic E Corporation and a consultant with Strategic Risk Associates, where he draws on over four decades of experience in technological development. Beyond these endeavors, Tom Lovegrove has assisted first responders through the Smith Mountain Lake Marine Fire/Rescue organization as a volunteer emergency medical technician (EMT), when the agency was licensed to provide such services.

Volunteer EMTs play a critical role in the healthcare system by addressing personnel shortages in emergency medical services (EMS). EMS agencies often encounter difficulties with retaining EMTs due to insufficient funding and other factors. Moreover, many rural areas of the country with low call volume lack an EMS office altogether. These towns rely on members of the community to fill the gap through volunteer-led EMS operations.

Volunteer EMTs typically provide the same services as their paid counterparts, such as transporting patients to hospitals and administering on-site care. This can range from stabilizing broken bones and head injuries to performing CPR and life-saving treatment. Volunteer EMTs are not assured of monetary compensation, but otherwise differ from professional EMTs in other ways. Their work schedules tend to be more flexible, and some EMS agencies place volunteer personnel on call instead of assigning them to a specific station with fixed shift hours. Furthermore, most volunteer EMTs work in rural areas, rather than in large cities.

Becoming a volunteer EMT requires extensive training, as well as the ability to meet the emotional and physical demands inherent in providing emergency medical care. Some basic criteria include good physical health, accurate color vision, emotional stability, and the ability to carry heavy objects. Potential volunteers must acquire EMT licensure and undergo formal training through a state-approved EMT program, which offers hands-on experience. Upon completion of the program, they must obtain certification through the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians by passing a cognitive exam and a psychomotor exam.
Northwestern Law Class of 2019 Public Service Stars on Their Most Impactful Pro Bono Experience
By: Kristen Sonday
Tags: Law School, Volunteering, Impact, Legal, Pro Bono

Post Army Deployment, Assisting an Afghan Interpreter with a Visa Application:

The most impactful pro bono project I worked on, and continue to work on, is a Special Immigration Visa (SIV) case. During one of my deployments in the Army, I worked closely with an Afghan who served as an interpreter, intelligence gatherer, and a procurer of local supplies. Because of his close working relationship with myself and other U.S. forces, he received and continues to receive death threats against him and his family. On two occasions, he suffered harm from physical attacks. After relocating his family for their safety, he contacted me to help with his SIV application. Shortly thereafter, I contacted my Congressional representatives, fellow service members, colleagues in the Northwestern community, and the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) for assistance. Ever since, I’ve worked closely with him and his IRAP counsel. — Michael Bassi

Helping Survivors of Domestic Violence Gain Protection:

I would go over to the Domestic Violence Legal Clinic every Thursday and spend the day helping with intake by drafting affidavits for the clients or taking the clients up to court. I had a different client every time I was there so the outcome was different every time. Although some cases were more complicated and exhausting, being able to help women who had been abused get protection made it worth it at the end of the day. — Luz Solano-Flórez

Winning a Petition for Certiorari for a Death Row Inmate:

I drafted a petition for certiorari for our client, currently on death row in Kansas after having been denied the opportunity to present a meaningful insanity defense at trial. Our petition was granted — the Court grants fewer than 1% of petitions — and I then spent most of the spring semester working on the merits brief. It has been incredibly meaningful to work on this case as it has progressed from idea to petition to merits to argument. I hope that we’ll win, but even if we don’t, the opportunity to fight for a critical constitutional right is the kind of thing that people dream of becoming a lawyer to do. — Meredith McBride

Researching and Writing for the Mississippi Center for Justice: