In my mind, either one is just as nice to see. In fact, I'm lucky if I get to see either one and enjoy it the way one should. Some days I'll be able to catch a view of the sunrise and other days I'll remember in time to watch it set. While neither one is guaranteed. There is something special about seeing a sun rise. The lifting of a new day, filled with new possibilities, shedding light into every corner of your world has its magical appeal to me.

Sunrise Photography

I think if you're set on making the most of either the sun rise or the sun set, it's better done in a quiet and nature filled environment. The hustle and bustle of cars and people in the background can often deter from the simple beauty of seeing the world wake up.

Heading down to the lake, viewing it in the mountains, seeing it across the ocean are some of the most ideal and fitting situations to truly enjoy a sunrise. The world is quiet for a few minutes as the rise make its way over the horizon. The glow of both sunrises and sunsets are different as well. Sunsets bring out beautiful shades or purple and blue and pinks while sunrises I find to be more golden and yellow.

Either way, try to take the time to stop once in a while and appreciate something so simple and routine because you never know it'll be the last one you see.

Languages was always something that my parents emphasized to me while growing up. They understood the importance of trying to be a multilingual as possible to increase my opportunities in the future. It is through this desire to better my life in the future, that they settled myself and my sister in a French immersion school where through grade 5 to 8, I spent half the day speaking French. I then move on to a high school that also had a French immersion program. I can't thank them enough because it has only increased my capabilities and opportunities, especially in a bilingual country as Canada

thank you note for every language

I currently speak English fluently, French conversationally (because with time and lack of practice, I've gotten a little rusty), I've taken German classes both in high school and in university so I know some basics. I understand Taglog and could speak enough to save my life if necessary and through my understanding of Taglog have a basic understanding of Spanish terms.

While all of those definitely need fine tuning, in the last year or so I've become increasingly interested in the Japanese and Italian languages. Whenever I hear either, I'm instantly mesmerized by the intonation, the phrasing and flow of the languages. I don't have any near future plans to start learning but I definitely hope that sometime in the near future I can immerse myself in either of these languages or any others for that matter.

Learning languages broadens your horizons so much more than you could imagine. You instantly have a connection with everyone else who speaks the same language and is useful when travelling or for jobs. For example, knowing french has definitely helped me out for school, volunteering and employment but things like helping an older lady who was lost and only knew french by giving her directions is such a great reward in itself :)

Growing up, we're taught a variety of different things in school both on an academic side as well as general life lessons. Some are given more emphasis than others but generally speaking, I'd argue that the school environment is meant to mould and shape individuals so that they can one day be part of society, giving you the tools necessary to survive.

I always found it interesting, especially as someone who was educated in both a catholic elementary and high school, the general emphasis that is placed on sex. Whether you were taught about abstinence or on the practice of safe sex, sex education classes have been the foundational basis for our understanding of that dynamic between people. But never in my education, has there been a proper, open discussion about love. While I am no expert on love and all its complexities, I think its important to have relationship/love education classes supporting the ones given about sex.

Green Heart (And the Green Grass Grows All Around, All Around)

To formulate love and define it explicitly enough in order to 'teach' it certainly brings it own issues because we're quick to argue that everyone has a different opinion on love and how one experiences it.

But I think the same could be said about sex and yet we're educated on what it is, when its appropriate to have it, the consequences of it and how to practice it safely. Could lessons on love regarding those issues be just as fundamental to today's youth who seemed just as uncertain as ever on love terminology?

I remember discussing this with a friend of mine of lunch a few months back and it struck us both odd that we now live in world where teenage pregnancy has become a televised trend, where relationships can often be viewed as fleeting experiences especially with the greater increases in divorce. I also think teenagers are not given the proper platform to talk about something like love, that they are often brushed aside and told that their opinions on love are both jaded and irrelevant due to their age. But if you look back on your experiences, i would caution to bet that your first experiences with love or the concept of love and relationships started in your teenage years and have had a big impact on the way you view love moving forward in your life.

While my first real relationship didn't come until the very end of my teenage years, I certainly fondly remember the interactions I had with boys in high school, the expectations and desires I had, the kind of 'love' I wanted to find for myself. It's interesting to wonder if a love discussion in class would help me see things differently.

It would be interesting to see the kind of discussions and problems that around brought up in a classroom focused on a better understanding on what love means to other people and to themselves. It would also provide a good environment to discuss the more difficult problems that many couples and relationships face such as abuse and violence, marriage, commitment, communication, intimacy, expectations..etc

Just something to think about...