Happy New Year!

The following Irish blessing is our New Year wish for you:

 

May your troubles be less

May your blessings be more

May nothing but happiness come through your door!


Please take a few minutes to enjoy these one word essays.

Positive Affirmations for the Month of December

I am going to use all my energies to expand my heart out to others -- Dalai Lama

It is a Great Season to be Grateful

Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated Thanksgiving Day. This holiday is observed yearly in the fall as a way of celebrating the bounty of food produced from this year's harvest. In other words, it is a time to be grateful for the great amount of tasty foods we share with one another.

 

Unfortunately, the word "grateful" is often misspelled. In fact, a website has found that this word has been misspelled over 7 million times is a popular search engine. Not only do people add an extra "L" to the ending, but they use the word "great" as the root of the word.

 

Now that you know how it should be spelled, be grateful that you aren't this guy!

 

A Few Tips on How to Become Happier

Lately, I’ve been seeing a fair amount of articles on the topic of happiness. So, I’ve decided to share with you five simple tips I’ve learned on how to become happier.

1.       Exercise –Many studies demonstrate how exercise releases endorphins in our brain which make us feel good. As a result, exercise may treat depression for some people and can also boost body image.

2.       Relationships – Studies show that the happiest people are those who have intimate relationships. People feel good when they can share experiences with friends and/or family. Furthermore, happiness is contagious. So when you need to feel a little happier, find the friends and/or family members who are feeling extremely happy that day.

3.       Volunteer -It sounds ironic that in order for you to feel happier, you should help others. However, studies on volunteering show that helping others releases serotonin in our brain which makes us feel good. In one article, a scientist noted, “We scientists have found that doing a kindness produces the single most reliable momentary increase in well-being of any exercise we have tested.”

4.       Smile – According to studies, smiling can trigger happy memories which make us feel good. In fact, even faking a smile can lift our mood. In another article, researchers wrote, “Pretend that you are happy, and you will feel happy.”

5.       Gratitude – Being thankful for what you already have will bring greater happiness. Take note of at least three things you are grateful for each day or each week. As one author noted, “We're gonna have a hard time ever being happy if we aren't thankful for what we already have.”                                           

To learn more on how you can be happier, be sure to read each of the articles highlighted in this post.

Positive Affirmation for the Month of November

I give thanks for all that
I am and for all
that I have.

Let's Discuss Language Further!

Or is it farther? How do you know when to use which word?

The word "farther" is used to describe a measurable distance.
For example: Craig lives farther from work than I do.
In this example, we can measure the actual distance from work in miles.

The word "further" is used to describe an abstract measurement or an extent or degree.
For example: Let's discuss language further.
In this example, we don't actually know to what extent I want us to discuss language.

Here's a quick tip to help you remember when to use which word. The word "farther" has the word "far" in it so use this spelling when you mean a measurable distance.

Check out this entertaining scene from the movie "Finding Forrester" when the student Jamal corrects his professor's misuse of the word "farther." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA4Vj-Q3HX4

Positive Affirmation for the Month of October

I will take deeper, longer, and more relaxed breaths.

Am I Making an Effect?

 

      Check out this short video
      to learn how to correctly use
      the words affect and effect!

 

The Importance of Checking Your Student Email

Have you ever been in a similar situation?

 

Scenario 1
Kelly attends her chemistry class on the first day of the quarter. In the first few minutes of class, the instructor tells the class that there will be a quiz on the readings that were assigned. Kelly is confused. She asks herself, “Isn’t this the first day of class? How could there have already been readings assigned?” She looks around the room and identifies others who look as confused as she is, but notices some students are actually prepared for the quiz. After a disappointing performance on this "surprise" quiz, she asks one of her classmates how they knew there was going to be a quiz. The student replies, “The professor emailed us a week before school started to let us know.” Kelly says, “I didn’t get an email. That’s not fair.” The peer replies, “He emailed us at our LWIT student account. Don’t you check that email?” Kelly replies, “I don’t check that account. I already have too many email accounts.”

Scenario 2
Bob receives his spring quarter grade for English. He’s devastated that his grade turned out to be much lower than expected. He racks his mind about what he could have done wrong on the final paper. Bob emails his instructor to inquire about his grade. Unfortunately, the instructor is not available until the summer quarter begins. Bob thinks this is so unfair, especially since this grade has now affected his financial aid! The summer quarter begins, and Bob is waiting at his English instructor’s office. He inquires about the grade from last quarter. The instructor replies, “Didn’t you check your email? I sent you a note inquiring about the third paper. For some reason, I didn’t have a grade noted.” Bob says, “I didn’t get an email from you.” The instructor replies, “I sent it to your student email since that’s the address I had on file.”

Summary
What these two scenarios demonstrate is the importance of checking your student email often. Every student who attends Lake Washington Institute of Technology (LWIT) is provided with an LWIT email account. It is very important to be sure that you are checking this account frequently. Instructors are allowed to assign homework prior to the start of classes. In addition, instructors are only given your LWIT email account so this is where they will send notifications to you. If you don’t check your student email, it is not the instructor’s fault. That is your responsibility.

Take the time to ensure that your student email account is active by visiting the student email page. Keep in mind that you can forward this email to your personal account. This will ensure that you don’t miss any important communications from your instructors or other offices at LWIT.

Positive Affirmation for the Month of September

I won't let yesterday define who I am today.

Let’s Dish!

Misspellings don't just happen in the classroom. Recently, GrubHub, an online food delivery service, revealed the top ten misspellings its customers used when placing an order. Number four on the list, misspelled 10% of the time, was the word “dessert.”

Dessert is the final course of a meal and is usually sweet like cake, pie, or ice cream.

 

Desert (with one ‘s’) is an area that lacks water.

 

Here are some ways to remember how to spell these similar words.

• You always want a second helping of dessert.
• Dessert is twice as good as the desert.
• Strawberry Shortcake = dessert and Sahara = desert

See what other words made GrubHub's list here!

Being a Couch Potato Can Affect Your Health

Did you know that sitting for long hours at work or school, while commuting, or on the couch at home may be making you sick?

In a recent blog from the Seattle Post Intelligencer, a registered dietitian cautions how sitting for too long can “significantly increase the risk of chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and certain forms of cancer.” In fact, some researchers are comparing the health risks associated with too much sitting to those from smoking!

The increased health risks of sitting too long are being linked to the lack of large muscles being used. While in a sitting position, the back and legs are relatively still so metabolism and blood flow decrease. As a result, fat content in the blood increases and HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels decrease.

Here’s what you can do to keep from sitting too much.

• Stand up and move every 30 minutes (set a reminder on your phone or computer!)
• Walk to see your co-worker or friends instead of calling or emailing
• Take phone calls standing up
• Use the stairs instead of the elevator
• Stand and stretch during TV commercials or after reading a few chapters

Positive Affirmation for the Month of August

Making mistakes is a part of my learning!

Which Word to Choose?

The English language can be difficult to learn because there are words that don’t follow the standard spelling rules. Typically, adding –ed to a verb will make it past tense but not in the case of choose (pronounced as chews). In this case, the past tense of choose is chose (pronounced as choze). As you can see, that the present tense, choose, uses a double ‘o’ and the past tense, chose, uses a single ‘o.’

Here are some examples of these words in action.

Today, you will have to choose what to eat for lunch.

Yesterday, you chose to have a bad attitude.

 

Click on the following links for further review and practice. The choice is yours!

 

Make the Most of Your Summer - Think Scholarships

Many students look forward to a relaxing summer term: no more reading, homework, tests or projects. However, the slower pace of summer can lead to boredom for some students. Don't let this happen to you! One way you can make the most of summer is to learn more about scholarships for the upcoming year. Below are a few places you can look for scholarships.

LWIT's Financial Aid
LWIT's Financial Aid webpage has a wealth of information on scholarships. Scholarships from the local, state and national level are presented in a list A-Z. In addition, the LWIT Foundation Scholarships can be found here. 

Opportunity Grant Scholarship
This is a grant program from the state of Washington. It is designed to help low income students in high demand pathways reach their educational and employment goals. Check to see if you are eligible.

theWashBoard.org
This site connects Washington students of all types with Washington scholarship providers….for FREE. Enter some information to complete your profile and let them find the scholarship opportunities that fit.

EducationGrant
This site has scholarship opportunities presented in various categories like private companies, for unusual situations, for those in the military, for non-traditional students, and for minorities.

If the deadline for a scholarship you found has already past, don't worry. Most scholarships are available annually. So, save the scholarship name and be prepared to apply for it during the next cycle.

Positive Affirmation for the Month of July

    

I never, ever, give up!

Boy Band Teaches us the Meaning of Bye, By, Buy

In the year 2000, screaming teenage girls could buy the hit song “Bye Bye Bye” by the boy band, ‘N Sync. (In case you don’t remember the song, click here.)

Did you see what happened in that sentence? There were three different spellings for a word that sounds exactly the same! However, those different spellings give each word a very different meaning.

The word “buy” means to purchase. If you wanted to buy ‘N Sync’s CD, you could buy it on Amazon or iTunes for a few dollars.

www.vinylvendors.com

The word “bye” means to say farewell. The lyrics of ‘N Sync’s song say, “I know that I can’t take no more, Ain’t no lie I want to see you out that door, Baby bye bye bye.” Whoever they are singing this song about, they no longer want to have this person in their life, so they are saying farewell or goodbye to them.

The word “by” has several meanings. It could mean near (e.g. I live by the shopping center.); or beyond (e.g. He drove by the college.); or the means of getting through or along (e.g. She came to America by boat.). In our music example, the song “by the boy band, N’ Sync” means the band wrote the song.  

Thanks for reading this blog. Bye!

Positive Affirmation for the Month of June

 

 

 

I am an intelligent, persistent, and organized person capable of achieving all that I choose.

 

TRiO is Moving Today!

TRiO at Lake Washington Institute of Technology is moving today. We will be located in E214B in the old Associated Student Government (ASG) offices. Stop by soon to see us!

Commonly Misspelled Words



Have you actually thumbed through the entire LWIT student handbook? If you haven’t, then you are missing great resources listed in the last few pages. One of these pages is titled “Commonly Mispelled Misspelled Words in English.” Speak Up! is going to take a look at these and other commonly misspelled and misused words so that you do not become victim to poor spelling.

Let’s begin at the beginning. I’m sure you’ve said this word a lot. For instance, a lot of you probably have a lot of homework to do during the week. A lot of times, you don’t know how you will get through a lot of it! I hear that a lot.

"A lot" should be written as two words as demonstrated above…a lot. It is commonly misspelled as one word. According to one blogger, alot is the brown, furry creature featured in this post. Check out this witty site to learn more about alot (the creature).

Time to Replace your Filter

Did you know that you create your own reality? It’s true! We can’t change most events that happen to us but we can change how we interpret those experiences through the use of affirmations.

Affirmations are statements deemed to be true based on past experiences. They can be negative or positive. An example of a positive affirmation is “I am a good writer.” A person with this perception of his writing skills likely had positive experiences with writing in the past. Perhaps he received good grades on his essays and his English instructor told him his writing was improving. An example of a negative affirmation is “I am terrible with math.” A person with this perception of her math skills likely had negative experiences with math in the past. Maybe she received low grades on math tests and the math instructor made negative comments about her assignments. If a person was to receive the same type of affirmation from others over a long period of time, they are likely going to believe these statements are true.

Positive affirmations have been found to help people change behaviors and accomplish goals. Essentially, positive affirmations remove the negative filter on one’s reality and reveal the possibilities. Is it time for you to replace your filter?

Here are steps to create and use your own positive affirmations.

·      Write the statement down

·         Write the statement in the present tense

·         Write the statement to create positive images

·         Repeat the statement to yourself

·         Leave post-it notes around with the affirmation as a reminder (like in your textbook or bathroom mirror)

·         Be aware of negative statements you tell yourself and replace them with positive ones

Here are a few examples of positive affirmations.

·         “I live my life the way that makes me happy”

·         “I deserve all that is good and prosperous in my life”

·         “I have the power to bring about all the positive changes I desire”

If you would like to see additional positive affirmations, you can go to:

·         VitalAffirmations – view a daily affirmation at this website

·         101 PowerfulAffirmations – view daily affirmations on Facebook

·         Speak Up! will also be posting a monthly affirmation in upcoming editions so be sure to check back often