★ Career Choices ★

"What do you want to do when you grow up?"

Everyone heard that question at least once at a family reunion.  Yet, few are the teenagers who know exactly what they want to do right after high school. A career choice is one of the most important life decision one has to make, we can understand why that subject of conversation is so stressful for 17 year olds.  And that, sadly, included me. Just what exactly should i take in consideration when choosing between careers? Let's see what i found out.

First of all, my love for animals got my family thinking i could become a great veterinarian.  This idea was pleasing to me, and i really did have an interest for it.  So throughout elementary school and a big part of high school i told everyone who wanted to hear that i was aiming to become a vet.
After a few years of researching the profession, i realized with horror that most of my time would be spent operating. Playing in the guts of animals, their bodies half open and sick, this is definitively not what i wanted to do for a living.

After that first deception, i sat down and started really pondering my future. What exactly was my goal? What was i striving for with life, both professionally and personally. I went from nurse to painter, from zoologist to house wife (is that even a career?), i thought about being a translator, cook and hairdresser!
Then it struck me.  I want to travel.  This might seem idealistic, but that's really what i want to do.  I want to learn different languages, eat foreign food, visit far away places and meet new people!  I want to learn, teach and see so many different things through traveling.  So then i narrowed my choices, keeping in mind the length of scholarship i would, the availability of jobs and my interest for it.
It came down to a few choices, but two in particular caught my attention : flight attendant and tourist guide.

Because flight attendant positions are not always available, and because most big companies only do mass hiring once a year, i still have to be patient.  I decided to put all the chances on my side by starting my tourism course ASAP, which is the longest formation of the two.  I'm certain it can also give me bonus points for a flight attendant position!

So this is it, my choice is finally made, my life path is a bit clearer.  I decided not to worry about it too much, and i give myself short term goals to stay focused. I can't wait for the future. 
Here i come, world :)

Immigration topic

The case of Sophia was very unique in the way that she had somewhat of an easy immigration.  Of course, the separation from her family and previous life was still very much like any other immigrants, but she was lucky to have so much resources such as education, a scholarship, and most importantly a common language with her adoptive country that made it so much easier on her.

A lot of different lessons can be learnt from her experience. First and foremost, that no matter the amount of preparation, moving so far away from home will always bring its load of unforeseen events. Perhaps one could see this as a challenge, but sadly more often than not immigrants find themselves struggling with this reality.
Sophia's story is also one of perseverance, because even if she had her share of struggles like all immigrants do, she shined through with her determination. She has achieved a lot, and her speech was very inspiring!

I'm of the firm belief that small actions can help immigrants like Sophia integrate their new surroundings faster and with less trauma. Sophia herself declared the warm welcome of Quebec played a big role in her integration.  Organizations like Sery is the best way to go in my opinion, because it gives a chance for immigrants to experience Quebec life with a mentor while being provided with the basic needs, and thus giving them a huge head-start with their new life. Of course, professional help like teachers, doctors and government workers have a big role to play in their integration. But the most important aspect of all this is that new immigrants aren't left alone to fend for themselves.
With that idea in mind, the more help we get, the faster is the integration and the easiest it is on the immigrants.  Isn't that what everyone involved is striving for? :)

How to help people escape poverty?

Everything listed in the previous post could help.

Government, nature, people.
Governements have the power to help poverty through lowering interest rates, which will allow consumers to borrow money, and this helps with spending and overall economy.
If nature, weather is clement, crops will grow and be fruitful.  Farmers can then sell more.  Consumers, sellers and the country’s overall economy will benefit from it.
As for the people, who are responsible for their own income, taking responsability for their life and for themselves is a good start.  Making the best out of what they have and putting efforts into their goals. It could also mean continuing education to better ones self. In the end, contributing to society in ways of establishing income and paying their taxes, they then in turn help others do the same.

What creates poverty?

Government. Nature. People. A lot of things contribute to poverty.

Government contributes to poverty by controlling interests and overall spending of a country. So depending on how they raise interest levels, people can or cannot afford to buy goods and services.
I.e A single mother struggles to pay her bills, so she can’t get a loan to buy a car. Yet she needs that car to provide for her family, perhaps even to find a higher paying job.

 Agriculture is a huge factor of how an economy is stabilized. If there’s dry weather, heat, cold, crops are destroyed, and farmers can’t..  Well, farm. So either the goods go missing, or the prices are raised astronomically.  People then can’t afford as much food, and yet farmers can’t produce more. Economy can then go into a serious crisis.I.e Any food crisis that happened throughout history..

 People are responsible for their own income.  Sometimes they can refuse to actually make a living for themselves, and contribute to their own poverty, and to everyone else. By not contributing to society, they not only spread more poverty, but in turn don’t benefit from what society has to offer.
I.e If there’s no fishermen, there will be no fish sold to the market, and there wouldn’t be any fish at all for people to eat.

What is citizenship?

Citizenship is a branch of a community, so we could refer those answers to the previous post!

Being part of a country means being citizen of a country, contribute to it, and benefit from whatever the country has to offer.  A country IS a community in itself.
Every citizen is given an equal amount of rights as everyone else, and those rights are there to protect and ensure the quality of living in that said country.  The obligations of the citizens would then involve making sure not to break any rules or laws made by the country they live in.
The law is, of course, always expected to contribute to society in a positive way.
Responsibilities of the citizens would be to make sure whatever they do or say does not conflict with other people’s interests in terms of their act of freedom!

What does it mean to be part of a comminuty?

If you hold someone's hand, chances are they will hold yours in return.

First and foremost, members contribute to said community, but at the same time community members are usually there for the gain as well.  In a mindset of "One for all, all for one", it's give and take.

Basically the basis of the community is to contribute to it and profit from it.

Personal goals and community goals are usually very much the same. Everyone is striving for the same goal, for the goal of everyone else. Members are the building blocs of the community.  The more members a community gets, the more network everyone then has to profit from.  Therefore, the community is always looking for new members, for contributors.

What is a community?

There's an emotional and a technical aspect to that word, so let's dissect it a little!

The technical part of it would be a sector, a specification. A community is usually acknowledged by either it's members, or outsiders.  An important aspect of belonging to a group such as a community is that it's members usually strive to achieve a shared goal, so communities generally aim for a positive outcome based on their own beliefs (which are, mind you, not always good).

The emotional part of  belonging in a community is the bonds that unite the members.  Whether it is because they all share the same interests or experiences, each member develops a sense of affiliation to the group.  A community can act as a pillar, as it reaches out to people who were maybe not aware of its existence.  Sort of a center-point, if you would like. It's basically there for people who are interested in what it has to offer!