The Real Colour of Green

I am glad I am at school. I am glad that I have chosen Environmental and Resource Science as my degree. If I had not chosen this I would not be able to make the following statement:

The first change we, as people, need to make to stop environmental degradation, to stop or make a positive impact on climate change is to stop being consumers. Consumerism governs our lives. Stop and think "Do I need this?" "Why?" "Can I live without this?" We buy and we buy and we buy, and the media makes us believe that by buying some more we are going to save the planet. No. Stop buying for a moment and see what happens.

So from this day on I am going to try my best to truly live the life I believe in. Live to reduce my waste, buy when necessary, and as my mother has raised me - make do with what I have. I believe this will definitely encourage me to be frugal, thrifty and creative. Hmmm should lead to an interesting turn on my blog The Spotted Fashionista. Anywhos. I urge you to make the change too. It's going to be difficult, yes, I don't doubt it. But it will be worth it.

Junior Kelly Smile

I just needed to hear this song. Haven't heard it in years. Smile folks. Smile :)

Going Back To Our Roots?

I understand that not everyone has a "green thumb." My mother pretty much hates dirt. Does not like to be in it, plant, garden or anything of that sort. I, on the other hand, love it! Love getting my hands in there and watching the wonders of the tiny as they hustle and bustle about their business.

I'm taking this course called Waste Management and I'm required to do a research project. Having my little green thumb I have decided (once my profs give me the thumbs up...I'm just using a lot of thumb references tonight lol) to do my project on composting and creating a composting model for secondary schools with agricultural programmes, back in St. Lucia of course. It's due next semester but I really want to try and get everything done ahead of time or at least started as soon as possible. I shall share with you some information about composting as I get it and maybe, you too can get into the groove and use your food and other materials to the fullest.

100!!

I'm super happy to have made it to my hundredth post :D woohooo. Pop some champagne, or if you're like me and don't really like champagne, some wine, or just grab a drink and let's toast to this monumental occasion. I have been thinking about this hundredth post for some time and I've decided to do two things: first, is to thank every one who has ever read my blog especially those who have commented. I really appreciate it. And secondly I want to go through my blog and pick out my favourite pieces. Now favourite does not always mean it's nice and happy, I know I have some deeply opinionated pieces in the blog and I can assure you that at least one is going to make the cut. I'm going to link them so you can read this post and click on them to read them if they sound interesting enough, or you haven't read them as yet.

They are in no special order, just randomly picking while going through the blog.

http://empress-v.blogspot.com/2010/05/7-ways-to-jump-start-your-savings.html
http://empress-v.blogspot.com/2010/05/religion-vs-spirituality.html
http://empress-v.blogspot.com/2010/06/inspirational-quote.html
http://empress-v.blogspot.com/2010/07/red-sunrise.html
http://empress-v.blogspot.com/2010/08/all-men-are-dogs.html
http://empress-v.blogspot.com/2010/08/whos-really-in-control.html
http://empress-v.blogspot.com/2010/09/be-change-you-wish-to-see-in-world.html
http://empress-v.blogspot.com/2010/09/things-that-humour-me.html
http://empress-v.blogspot.com/2010/09/where-is-love.html

I hope you enjoy and feel free to comment on any one of them. Thanks for reading pieces of the works of my mind, heart and soul :)

Dancing with Frustration

I am dancing with my life and we're stepping on each others toes. I feel so lost and confused right now and I'm not even sure why. I just feel so out of it. I'm trying to clean my room because I'm frustrated with it being dirty and I feel stuck. I have no space to put my clothes away. Where am I going to put them? What should I do? I just feel out of it. Then I decide okay, I'm going to leave the room and try doing some school work. Try reading, my eyes can't even focus to see the words on the screen. Scrap that. Next option is working on a lab. I'm trying source articles related to the lab and I'm totally lost. Not even sure I know what I'm supposed to be looking for in the lab or anything. I am confused, lost, sad, in a daze, just totally out of it. Sigh. I hope I get over this soon. I really want to get back to being myself, and a good student.

Nomadic Massive @ Trent!

I must say I'm not one to go to concerts or things of that sort at the school; well it depends on what the concert is about to be honest. Anywhos. I'm involved with the World Affairs Colloquium at Trent and our first event was hosting a workshop with some of the members of the band Nomadic Massive.

Now if you haven't heard of them, google and youtube them lol. They are a group based in Montreal and they promote social justice through hip hop. Say word...word! lol. The workshop wasn't as interactive as probably the members would have liked and possibly the audience as well, but that was because of time constraints. I swear they needed to come for about 5 hours or so. It was quite interesting and refreshing to listen to people talk about real life and the real side of hip hop. It's refreshing and inspiring to hear someone say the same thing you've been thinking even though it's related to a different topic. One of the band members, Meduza, said something which I totally agree with and find that Saint Lucians are not doing. There is a vast difference in just sitting and complaining about what is going on and the situation you're in as compared to acknowledging it and moving forward from there. The stories of the work that each member does, how they came together and their very own upbringing is truly amazing and worthy of the hours spent with them. Friendships have possibly been formed through this interaction.

This workshop and concert has reminded me that I should not be living to merely get by or to satisfy the beliefs and desires of others, but to use this life I have to bring about the change I really want to see in this world. It also reminds me that I have the power and there must be people who share the same passion as I do, so I don't have to do it alone. I urge you to find out more info about Nomadic Massive and what they do. Google them ;)

Be The Change You Wish To See In The World

Nomadic Massive is coming to my university this Friday. The World Affairs Colloquium (WAC) is facilitating this event and I am really excited about it. From what I have heard about Nomadic Massive they use hip hop music to promote and raise awareness about social justice. There is going to be a workshop with some of the members in the afternoon and then a concert in the evening, so not only do you get to listen to their music produced by the band, you also get to meet the band members and find out all the nitty gritty details about why and how they got involved with such a cause.

I think the world needs more of this: more people who are not afraid to speak out and let the world know hey this is what's going on and this is what we can do. I know quite a few people who believe they're rappers and singers and I want to challenge them and you too to let your heard voice or seen movements or expressed emotion to make a difference. If there is an issue that affects you, that really gets you riled up write about it, speak about, sing about, dance about it, paint, sculpt about it. Don't sit in the corner and complain or cry about it. Use the skills and resources you have to raise awareness and make a difference. And if for some reason you don't feel that you can, encourage others to do the same, explore avenues that are already present and get information about a wide array of things.

Challenge yourself to be the change you wish to see in the world. After all, it is yours and you do live in it. It should be what you want it to be.

Badminton: The Dance of the Shuttlecock

Today I went to my first badminton session. I didn't exactly play a match but I get to swing at the shuttlecock. I think I'm going to like this game. I think it's a good thing I signed up to join the badminton team (although I have no intention on playing competitively). I think it' a great way to just relax and free up my mind and not think about school, TISA, or any other thing going on in my life.

So I learned two things this evening about the game:
1. When serving, you serve to the person on the opposite side of the court as you. So if you are standing on the left you serve the person standing on the right.
2. If you have an even score you serve on the right side of the court. If it is odd, obviously, you serve on the left.

I am excited to see how much I can learn this semester :)

There are informative and educational things on the internet

I have found myself wondering what people spend their time doing on the internet, mainly because I spent most of my time on Facebook...not much you can do there really. I was craving something more informative and possibly educational.

I attended a meeting today for the World Affairs Colloquium (WAC) at Trent and the main objective of WAC is to provide a forum by which staff, faculty, students, and possibly even the wider community can come and discuss social issues around the world, but not only isolated to around the world. Local issues can be discussed also. One plan of ours this year is to record the session we have because they provide much needed information on the vast array of topics discussed. The WAC committee spoke about TED.com, which I had heard about in my first year of university during my ERS course and decided today to return to this website and have a look through to see if there was anything that could tickle my fancies. I did come across one video, thus far that I would like to share with you.

Willie Smits restores a rainforest | Video on TED.com

I hope you take some time and visit TED.com. You may find something interesting about a topic you're passionate about.

Circles

I've realised that I have gone around in a circle. Although the intricate details of this circle is different, for example the colour, the width, the speed at which I was traveling to form this circle compared to the previous are different, it's still basically the same circle.

I'm beginning to wonder why do I keep drawing circles as such? Why do I end up in the same situations all the time, even though I believe in my head that I am not going to "make the same mistakes" over again? But they aren't mistakes, they really are lessons. Are these lessons necessary for me to become all the I can be or can I fast forward to the finale where I incorporate and practice these lessons in real life?

I don't want to go into detail about these circles, so I'm just going to let you ponder on what I have said. And if you know me very well, you might be able to decipher what I'm talking about.