Life-Changing Habits To Pick Up For This New Year

Posted on February 15, 2025 by Rizza Mae R.

An article by Brown University Health states that good habits are exceptionally beneficial to people’s daily lives through efficiency, consistency, goal achievement, health and wellness, time management, skill development, and even stress reduction (“Why Habits Can Be a Good Thing”). This conception emphasizes the importance of good habits and implies that good habits result in a better life. Thus, it is important to implement positive habits that can change your life for the better in 2025.

With the upbringing of the era of technology, planet Earth transformed significantly and people started to depend on technology for their daily use. Although this global transformation had some positive impacts, one of its negative impacts is the amount of time lost by humans in their life due to technology. This means that as humans became reliant on technology, their time started to be consumed by it, especially on social media apps like TikTok and Instagram where it created an endless cycle of addictive scrolling, which resulted in teens using their phones before they go to sleep and right when they wake up. Although this may seem relaxing, it transformed lots of people, specifically teens, through the incorporation of this bad habit into their daily life. In order to prevent your time from being further wasted, then you should start implementing this in your routines. You should go on your phone and put restrictions on your phone for the time you wake up and before you go to sleep in order to prevent yourself from going on your phone. You can also distract yourself with other things. For example, you can listen to energetic music instead of scrolling on social media.

Another habit that can be a head start for a great life in 2025 is to meditate. Many people’s lives drastically change due to meditation and studies from Harvard state that mindfulness makes positive changes to physical and mental well-being (Powell). If meditation is incorporated into your daily life as a habit, then by the end of 2025, your life will definitely have changed for the better.

Lastly, another habit you can begin is sleeping the right amount of times. I can not stress this enough but getting enough is so important to your health. It can impact your mood and how you act. Sleeping the right amount of sleep can improve your mood and your energy. If you don’t get enough sleep, you’ll all be grouchy and tired. If you get enough sleep, you will be in a way better mood.

In conclusion, the three habits to implement in 2025 are not getting screen time when you wake up and before you sleep, which prevent the loss of time, meditation for your physical and mental well being, and getting enough sleep, which is extremely important for your health in general. Implementing these 3 habits might seem small but their impact is drastic. Thus, you can make 2025 a year of growth step by step with these habits.

Fun Party Games / Activities

Posted on January 14, 2025 by Rizza Mae R.

Whether it be a family gathering during the holidays, a friend hangout, or a school party, activities elevate the mood of a party by a great deal, and some may even argue that they are essential to parties. Here are a few party activities that are key to having a great party.

A party activity that is simple yet extremely fun is a game of musical chairs. Musical chairs are a game where numerous chairs are placed in a circle and music is played. Oftentimes, people dance to the music, but for some, they just like to stay still. Once the music stops, each person must find a chair to take a seat on. Musical chairs are set up so that there are less amount of chairs each round than people participating in the game. This way, when the music stops, one person will be left without a chair. This popular game is simple but easily one of the best ways to change the atmosphere of a party.

This next party activity is not as popular as music chairs and can be boring if not done correctly, but I think it’s worth trying. This particular activity does not have a specific name, but in this game, one person, the host, will be instructing the others to find specific items. For example, the host can say something like “Find me…” and proceed to say an item, such as a belt, a flower pot, or anything you can name. The first person to bring it to the host will typically get a price, but it is not necessary.

Another enjoyable party activity is a game where a person is blindfolded and they have a bowl or any sort of container in front of them. In this game, the person will try to scoop up whatever is on the table, trying to compete with others to see who will scoop up the most. This game is typically done with money, but another alternative can be cotton balls. I think this is a lighthearted game that can lift the mood at parties.

This final activity can be a bit challenging, depending on the party crowd, and is more for parties with close friends, but this last activity is a try not to laugh challenge with people. This one can be difficult and not as appealing, especially if you have friends who are not as easy to make laugh, but if this activity does go right, then cherishable memories will be created.

Hobbies That Will Help Pass Time

Posted on December 18, 2024 by Rizza Mae R.

Hobbies are things you do in your free time. Hobbies are essential, especially when you are bored, and everyone has hobbies. There are many hobbies out there, but these are some of the hobbies that I think help pass the time.

Crocheting

Crocheting is one of my favorite hobbies that I picked up. All it takes is yarn and a hook and you can make anything to your desire. Crocheting is harder than it seems, but once you get the hang of it, it gets easier. It takes hard work and dedication to start the hobby and make progress with it, but as you practice more, it gets easier.

Jewelry Making

Honestly, this hobby of jewelry making is so fun. It helps express your creativity through bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and anything jewelry-related. For this hobby, you need a bit more resources than usual and it’s hard to start because there is so much material that you don’t know where to begin. However, it’s worth it, so if you want to invest in a hobby, I suggest this hobby. Not only is it full of creativity, but when you finish, you feel a strong sense of pride and joy as you see your finished product.

Sewing

This hobby is a bit more challenging and can take lots of practice. I don’t engage and practice this hobby much because I lack a sewing machine. I can still hand stitch, but it is too much work. This hobby will allow you to make so many cute things or alter your clothes based on your body. This can also lead to a career in fashion design.

Instruments

Like Sewing, this hobby can be very challenging and requires practice. For playing an instrument as your hobby, you need the instrument, of course, and any additional things to the instrument. This hobby occupies free time, and it can be frustrating at times when you don’t know how to do certain things. However, with practice, you can play your first song, which can make you feel accomplished.

In conclusion, these few hobbies are worth considering when deciding what to do when you’re bored.

Play With Earth! 0.03 Album Review

Posted on November 18, 2024 by Rizza Mae R.

The album play with earth! 0.03 by wave to earth was released on September 6th, 2024. The album consists of seven songs: are you bored?, play with earth!, annie., pueblo (remastered), beck, slow dive, and holyland. As a fan of wave to earth, I ranked the songs from my most favorite and my least favorite and the reasons why.

play with earth!

This song ranked 1 for me because I love how the song is energetic and hopeful! I really like how upbeat the song is and the song has a great meaning. The song gives me hope and brightens my day because when things might get rocky, the lyrics of the song tell people that they can just enjoy their time instead of thinking of the past or future. This meaning itself just makes the song way more meaningful for me because, as a person who often struggles with thinking about my past mistakes and getting worried about my future, I often don’t enjoy the present since I am too busy worrying about the past or the future, so this song just brings me to an awareness that I should enjoy the moment.

annie

This song was ranked at 2 for me because I like the vibe of the song, and although this is the first time I heard a curse word in their song, it makes the song better because it adds more emotion to the song. I also like how the meaning of the song shows how humble the band is. For example, several lyrics such as, “I already have everything for me,” show how they aren’t greedy and desire more recognition and fame and just appreciate it.

holyland

This song was ranked at 3 because this song makes me feel melancholy. I love the vocals in this song and the instrumentals. I like the lyrics, specifically the lyric “Can you settle down my soul?” because the way the singer sings it conveys strong emotions. I love that the song’s meaning is about nostalgia, longing, and connection and how the lyrics imply the longing for the memories they have made because I often have those same feelings of nostalgia for the memories I made.

slow dive

beck

This song was beautifully crafted, and I like how upbeat the song is but not too upbeat. The vocals and melodies in this song were brilliant as usual, and I really like the lyrics sang in this song. It’s a very peaceful song, and I definitely fell asleep to this song while it plays in my headphones.

slow dive

This song is such a masterpiece! I love the vibe of the song, and it’s the perfect song to listen to when doing anything. This song gets me in my feels since the song conveys lots of emotions, but it’s also very catchy.

pueblo (remastered)

The original song before the remastering was already good, but the remastered version makes the song significantly better. I love the song, and the ranking for this was particularly not because it was a bad song, but because I preferred the other songs more. I like how powerful the vocals are in this, and I like the instrumental of this song.

are you bored?

This song is at last in my ranking because I personally don’t like how it doesn’t have lyrics. The instrumentals are great, and this would be great for studying, but I feel like it would sound even better with vocals.

This whole album of wave to earth was very catchy and has great songs, and I definitely recommend this album to those who just want to listen to something peaceful or chill while doing tasks or activities. You might just catch yourself getting drawn in by the beautiful songs created by wave to earth.

Listen to wave to earth on Freegal.

How To Manage Your Time Better With Apps

Posted on October 7, 2024 by Rizza Mae R.

It’s about 10 p.m. the night, and Emily realizes she has a five-page essay due before 12 and starts panicking. She begins fighting with the clock trying to get this assignment done before it causes a dent in her grades, and she regrets not doing her work earlier and thinks about how she could have done this better. This scenario is one of the likely things that a person with bad time management experiences. Most of the time, students with bad time management get low grades at school, so here are some apps that can help you improve your grades with better time management.

The most important thing to manage your time is reducing your screen time or having a limit on it. Most teenagers spend most of their time doing nothing but scrolling on social media for hours, such as TikTok and Instagram, and they aren’t even aware of it or can’t seem to break away from it. As a teenager who has personally experienced this, sometimes an app limit or screentime limit is useless, especially since most of the time, I just hit the “Ignore Time Limit” on the feature and I get back to scrolling mindlessly on social media. I was aware of this and began testing out a few apps that supposedly claim to help reduce your screen time. After doing lots of testing, I found an app that works for me. This might work for me, but it does not mean it might not work for others. This app is called “One Sec,” and it is on the App Store and Play Store, so anyone can download the app. The app is not fully free, but it allows you to still block apps and reduce your screen time. When you download this app and follow the tutorial, it will help you run a shortcut on a specific app so that when you open that app, it tells you to take a deep breath. I used this on TikTok because I find myself scrolling on it when I should be doing my homework. It has helped me get a better sense of self-control because when I open my phone and see the “It’s time to take a deep breath,” it allows me to step back and think about my work and how I should get it done. It does get annoying, especially if I don’t need the restriction and I have to wait seconds before opening TikTok, but it is useful when it comes to my schoolwork.

Adding on, another way you can manage their time better is by setting up routines. If you set up a routine and do this continuously, it will turn into a great habit, and it’ll come easy to you. Set up a routine for after school that fits your needs and try to stay consistent with it. Once you stay consistent with it, you will be getting your work done productively, and you might finish your work early and have free time to do whatever you want. The app “Routinery” can help you set up routines and stay consistent with them. I use Routinery for my morning routines and after-school routines, and my life has been easier because of it. For the first few days, it was a struggle trying to stay consistent, but once you do it every day with the timer on Routinery, it will come easy, and sooner or later, you won’t even need the app to remind you to do your homework at 4:00 or drink water after waking up. I think this app is great at helping you manage your time better and probably make your life easier too.

Tips For Getting Through High School As A Freshman

Posted on August 13, 2024 by Rizza Mae R.

According to studies, it is reported that 60-70% of students feel nervous or anxious for a new school year. It is normal to feel scared or worried about a new school year since there are new classes, teachers, and maybe a new environment for some, especially if you are going into your freshman year. Here are some tips from a previous freshman to get you through your freshman year of high school and to help ease your worries.

Making new friends is essential in school, and freshman year has got to be the most important year for a few reasons. Freshman year is when most people start forming their friend groups, so after freshman year, it might be more challenging to try and find your crowd because people have already found their people. However, that is only sometimes the case and you can still be in a friend group after freshman year, but it is best to make new friends during freshman year. Furthermore, if you enter your freshman year of high school with a group of friends, there is a high chance that you will not end your high school with the same group of friends. People change, and it’s a reason why many friend groups that enter high school together don’t last, and this was the case for my friend group. So don’t worry if your friend group is falling apart!

Academics are also as important as making friends in my freshman year of high school! Unlike middle school, in high school, your grades matter, so the way you manage your grades is important. To get a good grade and keep it there, there are a few things you should do, but the most important one is paying attention in class. If you pay attention in class, you will actually learn things and it will make it very easy for you when doing your assignments or tests. Of course, you can have fun during class too, but try to keep it so that you pay attention when you need to pay attention. Another major tip for keeping your grades high is to turn in your work on time! As a student who has procrastinated multiple times before, I learned the hard way that if you postpone your homework or your assignments, it will stress you so much when you have to do it late at night. You do not want to be up at 11 pm in the night rushing an assignment that takes a week to do, but you’re rushing to turn it in at 12 pm because you didn’t do it. However, academics don’t define who you are and you shouldn’t be over-exerting your body and brain if you can not handle the workload. Your well-being is more important.

Getting enough sleep will help you out with so many things in school, especially academics, so getting enough sleep is extremely crucial. If you lack sleep, you can’t focus during class because you are so tired, so your grade might plummet. So, set up a sleep routine that allows you to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.

Finally, there are lots of people in high school that are judgemental and they might make your high school experience not as fun. However, if you just stop caring about what people think about you, then it will make your high school life so much easier! Don’t let others ruin your high school experience!

Hopefully, these will help you make your high school years worthwhile or at least ease your worries about starting high school. Your life as a student is not forever, so make it worthwhile by enjoying your high school years.

Reasons Why You Should Chose Philippines For Your Next Vacation Destination

Posted on July 24, 2024 by Rizza Mae R.

https://guidetothephilippines.ph/articles/ultimate-guides/boracay-white-beach-guide

Imagine letting go of all your stress and letting yourself get engulfed in the feeling of relaxation as the sun beams its violent rays. I can guarantee you that this is one of the feelings you will experience in the beautiful country of the Philippines. The Philippines is a country located in Southeast Asia with a population of approximately 106.7 million people, and it is especially known for its breathtaking tropical beaches that draw in visitors worldwide, especially during the summer. You should consider going to the Philippines for your next vacation because of its popular tropical beaches, its dangerous but mesmerizing volcanoes, and its friendly citizens.

One of the reasons why you should travel to this beautiful country of the Philippines for your next vacation is because of its very well-known tropical beaches. Because the Philippines is an archipelago, it consists of more than 7,000 islands, resulting in a vast variety of beaches in the Philippines. The Philippines has over a hundred beaches that all capture the beauty of the country. Many of these beaches have scorching sand due to the summer heat of the Philippines, but it is very soft to the touch. Not to mention, the oceans of these beaches are mesmerizing just by themselves. The beautiful teal and turquoise color of the shallow ocean as it transitions into a deep blue as the ocean gets less shallow is just a great sight to see. Some examples of these beaches are White Beach in Boracay, Nacpan Beach in El Nido, Palawan, Alona Beach in Nohol, and many more.

Adding on, consider adding the Philippines to your next vacation destination because of the volcanoes there. The Philippines lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire, which is where most volcanoes are, which is why there are countless volcanoes in the Philippines. Although harmful and dangerous, the volcanoes of the Philippines are a sight to see. One of the most popular volcanoes in the world and the most famous volcano in the Philippines is Mount Mayon in Luzon. Since this fury-active volcano is dangerous to be near, you could stay at a hotel near Mount Mayon and still be able to take in the sights of this marvelous volcano.

Lastly, you should visit the Philippines because the people there are very friendly! Despite most Filipinos not being able to communicate with tourists because of the different languages, they still show their hospitality and kindness. The people of the Philippines are very sweet and very festive, whether in the Philippines or not. Filipinos are very full of love, and they are mostly very joyful. Even if they are not living the best life, they try to make the most of what they have and remain hopeful. It is unlikely that you will have a bad experience with the people of the Philippines during your vacation.

In conclusion, you should keep the Philippines in mind for the next time you go on vacation. The beautiful tropical beaches of the Philippines are like magnets that attract people worldwide, and the various volcanoes in the Philippines are very dangerous but also alluring, just making the Philippines very beautiful. The people of the Philippines are so kind and warm-hearted that they make the Philippines more beautiful than it already is. Thus, you should go to the Philippines, or at least consider it for your next vacation.

Books about the Philippines are available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. They are also available to download for free from Libby.

Freshman Year

Posted on June 23, 2024 by Rizza Mae R.

An increased amount of overwhelming workload, less time for self, and a brand new environment with lots of unfamiliar faces. These are some things that teenagers usually face when jumping from middle school to high school. Freshman year of high school is a very BIG leap from middle school and this can be very overwhelming for some, but don’t fret. As a student who just finished my freshman year of high school, I will be sharing my personal experience and some tips and tricks!

I do not know what your middle school teachers have told you about high school, but if they tell you that high school is going to be difficult, then they are completely right. Well, at least for me. For me, moving from 8th grade, where everything came easy and I had little worries, to 9th grade with barely any time for anything. It was very hard for me to adjust but do not worry, it might be a lot at first, but you’ll get used to it.

One thing to keep in mind is that whether you like it or not, you have to socialize. In middle school, I was able to pass without making many new friends, since a lot of assignments and projects allowed independence. However, now in high school, most things require socializing, whether it be for participation or for a group project. However, this isn’t so bad! Through these forced interactions with new people, I gained new friends. These new friends have definitely impacted me lots, both positive and negative, but most of these impacts were positive. I am really glad to have made all these friendships this year.

Speaking of friendships, it is also very important to remember that people change and that’s alright. There’s a saying that “The people you enter high school with might not be the same people you leave high school with” and I did not believe it at first, but it already is the case for me. The people I got into high school all separated and went our own ways, so if you stop being friends with your friends during freshman year, then do not worry. There are tons of other people and amongst them, there is definitely someone who you can really connect to.

Another important thing that is very useful, especially if you plan on taking hard classes during your freshman year, is to make sure to turn in your work on time and be responsible. Grades actually matter in high school, so fooling around is not the best idea. Once you get your homework assigned, do it immediately if you can. Procrastination is not the best because if you have lots of workload, waiting to do it last minute is a very bad decision and you will definitely regret it later. Stressing about turning in your homework before 11:59 is not worth it!

Since grades matter, the way you study matters as well! Think of the phrase “Study smarter, not harder.” It is best to find a good grade through a study technique that works for you rather than getting the same amount of grade but with more workload. A few study methods you can try are pomodoro technique, Feynman Technique, active recall, and more. Keep in mind that it’s not the same for everyone, so one method might work for someone else, but not for you, which is why you should try testing out many study techniques to find the best one for you.

However, grades don’t really define who you are, so if you don’t get the best grade, at least you tried your very best! So if you’re as nervous for high school as I was last year, I just wanted to let you know that you will be fine. Yes, it will be hard at first, but it will get easier! I wish you the best of luck!

Solar Eclipse

Posted on May 22, 2024 by Rizza Mae R.

Many significant events took place in the month of April, and one of these events was the solar eclipse. The solar eclipse took place at the start of April, on April 8th, 2024. The last solar eclipse was on August 21, 2017. The solar eclipse is a rare astronomical event when the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are all lined up so the Moon is blocking out the Sun.

The most phenomenal form of a solar eclipse is a total eclipse when the whole sun is seen to be blocked out by the moon. However, this isn’t seen by everyone and only seen by people in the path of totality. When a solar eclipse happens, it casts two shadows into the Earth, an umbra and a penumbra. The path of totality is the imaginary path that the umbra shadow makes. If a person is not in the path of totality, they will still see the solar eclipse, but they wouldn’t be able to see it fully, since they are not in the path of totality.

Regardless of the place, if you look up at the sun during a solar eclipse, it can be very dangerous and cause severe damage to your eyes because since the moon is blocking out the sun, your brain will think that it is not looking at the sun, so your pupils won’t dilate, thus making it dangerous to look at the sun during an eclipse. That’s why it is important to wear eclipse glasses to protect your eyes from the radiation of the sun!

I didn’t even know that there was a solar eclipse that day on April 9th. I only realized when everyone was talking about it. My 3rd-period teacher and many other teachers let their students go outside to look at the sun. Unfortunately, I didn’t have solar eclipse glasses, so I couldn’t see them, but my teacher and this chemistry teacher showed us the shadows and they were formed into crescents. Then my teacher’s friend let my class use her solar eclipse glasses and when I looked through it, I was amazed. It wasn’t a total eclipse but I found it cool how it was a crescent.

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Author Archives: Rizza Mae R.