The Social Media Kindness Project

The Social Media Kindness Project
by: Talin Orfali Ghazarian

Social media has become a big part in today’s society and some people use it for goodness, positive and inspiration, but others not so much. Some people tend to use social media in a negative and toxic way to spread hate, bullying, rudeness, and sending terrible comments to anyone. As previous generations have taught “If you have nothing nice to say or do, do not say or do anything at all”. That is the golden rule.

So, with that I have come up with the social media kindness project. You have no idea what someone is going through in their lives. It is always a good idea to be kind and use social media in empowering and positive ways. This is going to take a village to do. Social media needs a big makeover and we need to start somewhere.

I cannot believe that we have to teach people proper behavior and how to act these days, but we have to. It has become too much and has gone way out of hand. We are not perfect and we do mistakes, but being rude and unkind is not a mistake. It is a bad habit and we need to eliminate it as much as we can.

Social media should be a place where we can be free to post pictures, updates, videos, status updates, stories, ideas, opinions and suggestions. It should be used to get us out of our daily life and to unwind, have fun and share a bit of our lives, but not to the point where it can be misused.

Now, here are instructions of what we can do together to build a safer and happier community online:

• If you see unkind, rude and horrible comments made by somebody in any group, pages, or to an individual person, report it to the social media outlet that it is found on, and then if you are able to, send that person a private message to teach them kindness and to point out what they did wrong in a civil way. Remember, we are trying to make a difference and be kind to unkind people, so that they can hopefully learn from their mistakes.
• Vulgar language, inappropriate posts, swearing, threats and other profanity should have no place on social media, especially when shared with people of all ages from children to elderly. Respect each other and create a safe and enjoyable place for everyone.
• If you see bullying happen, someone being made fun of, being humiliated and ridiculed, step up, report it, take screenshots, record everything, time, date and names involved in the bullying and then find out who you can send the information to. If the situation becomes to the point where authorities need to be contacted, please do. Silence is not the answer. It could save lives, it could prevent from further escalation of the situation.
• We are all entitled to our opinions and how we feel, but there are all kinds of personalities and people in all walks of life online and we need to be general as can be, and we cannot discriminate. There needs to be 0 tolerance in racism, making fun of someone’s color, orientation, religion, beliefs and how they live their lives. We are all human and deserve love, respect and being treated equal, and fairly.
• Everybody needs a friend, we all need to feel included, to feel welcome, and be amongst people who care, who needs good advice, love, and being in diversity with all kinds of people. We need to give people positive empowerment.
• Some people have lived in a toxic lifestyle with nothing but negativity and bad days in their lives, and we need to make sure that these people can be in a place in their lives where they can count on us and it is important to mean it to make them feel better, to take them out of that negativity to be there for them in great ways, to mentor them and to let them know they are not alone and they can come to us at anytime.
• Social media is open 24/7 365 days a year and there are people in every time zone, It will be amazing and so incredibly beautiful to see social media blossom like flowers to see a fun place for us all to enjoy, be safe and to use it wisely.

This is not some kind of chain letter or those copy and paste posts. This is authentic and very real. This project is very important. I have seen so much as a person who has used social media, since it began before the MySpace days, Asian Avenue and all that. It has been a long time. I have seen a lot of rude and unkind people online and it is very disturbing. We need to combat and make a difference in people’s lives. So important.

What do you think should be done? What are your opinions or suggestions or other measures we can take to get this project underway? Would love to hear from you in the comments below.

This Kindness project will help billions of lives online, and it will make this world a better and safer place. Let’s do this, and let’s start to get things back on track. Now, are you with me on this?

I cannot do this without you. I would appreciate it. Thank you.

The Key Component to Genocide Prevention

The Armenian Genocide

101 Years
1915-2016

On April 24, 1915 the Turkish Government and the Ottoman empire committed a terrible criminal act against humanity, tried to wipe out a whole race and culture. They killed 1.5 Million Armenians, stole our precious landmarks, churches, lands, Mount Ararat, pulled the rug right under us. The blood, flesh, bones, decapitation, tears, fears, displacing people from their homes, families, with Armenians changing their Armenian names to something Turkish so that they will not be targeted and where they will feel protected from harms way. The Turkish Government still denies and lies about ever committing Genocide against the Armenians and also still fails to recognize.

We will prevail, Justice is timeless.

This is why it is imperative to spread Genocide awareness as much as we can so that history will never repeat itself again.

In 2015, we commemorated the centennial. 100 years have gone by and this year in 2016 is the 101st. After 100 years, we will still continue to spread Genocide prevention.

Recognize, Acknowledge, Awareness, Educate, Prevent.

Those are the key components to Genocide prevention.

Not just for the Armenians, but all those in the world who have had to unfortunately, deal with Genocide in other cultures, races.

We received a lot of Global recognition last year which was incredible with all the coverage, letting people know about us, being put on the map, and addressing this very important subject.

Let us utilize the same energy we had during the Armenian Genocide 100th Centennial in 2015 and bring that same drive into 2016, to be big in numbers once again during peace demonstrations, marches, vigils, and so much more.

Book Smarts Vs. Street Smarts

Intelligence Vs. Education
Logic and common sense

I’d rather have street smarts, intelligence, logic and common sense. Yes, people go to school to get educated, get all these fancy degrees and all that, gain knowledge about mathematics, science, biology, English, and other subjects, people have this perception that if they do not earn high marks in school that they are not smart or anything, and then lose all the confidence in the world to try to prove a point. To me, those numbers mean nothing. Every person has their own ways of learning and at their own pace. Each person is great at something. What I look for in an individual is that they have intelligence, the know-how, common sense and logic in reality. Those are the most important things in life. Not a number. being book smart doesn’t determine if you are street smart. That must come within yourself and of course from the teachings of your past teachers, teachers assistants, family and friends.

I am not saying that book smart people don’t have the intelligence and common sense, and all that. That is not my intention to say that at all.

I went to grade school, high school and college, and my biggest strength was English class, social studies, civics, writing and reading. I did bring high marks and excelled in that above the 90’s. Other subjects did not seem to get me motivated to learn it.

A lot of people knew I had it in me to write and there were a few teachers I had that said, “Talin, you will go places in your life with your writing, creative writing”. She also stated “Talin, I know in my heart that you will make a difference in this world, do not worry about others who have bullied you emotionally and mentally”. Do what you love doing and do not worry about trying to prove a point with bringing high marks”.

Now, look where it is has got me. I have almost 2, 500,000 followers of my writings, my blog site worldwide in all of social media combined, University Professors from the US are using my words and my craft to use in their lectures and more. I’d rather make a difference in the world, use logic, common sense than having those fancy/schmancy degrees and trying to boast, and impress people, but it is not good to brag to people constantly about it.

Life is Like A Journey On A Train

Life is like a journey on a train…
with its stations…
with changes of routes…
and with accidents !

By: Mark Anthony – http://www.evidenceofeternity.com/blog/life-is-like-a-journey-on-a-train/

🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋
We board this train when we are born and our parents are the ones who get our ticket.
🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋
We believe they will always travel on this train with us.
🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋
However, at some station our parents will get off the train, leaving us alone on this journey.
🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋
As time goes by, other passengers will board the train, many of whom will be significant – our siblings, friends, children, and even the love of our life.
🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋
Many will get off during the journey and leave a permanent vacuum in our lives.
🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋
Many will go so unnoticed that we won’t even know when they vacated their seats and got off the train !
🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋
This train ride will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations, hellos, good-byes, and farewells.
🚂🚋🚋🚋
A good journey is helping, loving, having a good relationship with all co passengers…
and making sure that we give our best to make their journey comfortable.
🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋
The mystery of this fabulous journey is :
We do not know at which station we ourselves are going to get off.
🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋
So, we must live in the best way – adjust, forget, forgive and offer the best of what we have.
🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋
It is important to do this because when the time comes for us to leave our seat… we should leave behind beautiful memories for those who will continue to travel on the train of life.”
🚂🚋🚋🚋🚋
Thank you for being one of the important passengers on my train… don’t know when my station will come… don’t want 2 miss saying: “Thank you”

Word’s From Andy Rooney – I’ve Learned

I absolutely love Andy Rooney’s sayings. He teaches people a lot about life and so many other things.

Take two minutes to read these sayings and be sure to read all the way to the bottom:

Written by Andy Rooney, a man who had the gift of saying so much with so few words. Rooney used to be on 60 Minutes t.v. show.

I’ve learned ….
That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I’ve learned ….
That when you’re in love, it shows.

I’ve learned ….
That just one person saying to me, ‘You’ve made my day!’ makes my day.

I’ve learned ….
That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I’ve learned ….
That being kind is more important than being right.

I’ve learned ….
That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I’ve learned ….
That I can always pray for someone when I don’t have the strength to help him in any other way.

I’ve learned ….
That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I’ve learned ….
That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I’ve learned ….
That simple walks with my father around the block on summer
nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I’ve learned ….
That life is like a roll of toilet paper.
The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I’ve learned ….
That we should be glad God doesn’t give us everything we ask for.

I’ve learned ….
That money doesn’t buy class.

I’ve learned ….
That it’s those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I’ve learned …
That under everyone’s hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I’ve learned ….
That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I’ve learned ….
That when you plan to get even with someone,
you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I’ve learned ….
That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I’ve learned ….
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person
is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I’ve learned ….
That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I’ve learned ….
That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I’ve learned …
That life is tough, but I’m tougher.

I’ve learned ….
That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I’ve learned ….
That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I’ve learned ….
That I wish I could have told my Mom that I love her
one more time before she passed away.

I’ve learned ….
That one should keep his words both soft and tender,
because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I’ve learned ….
That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I’ve learned ….
That when your newly born grandchild holds your little
finger in his little fist, you’re hooked for life.

I’ve learned ….
That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain,
but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.

I’ve learned ….
That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

Ways that We Can End The Cycle of Bullying

Since I was a child up until High School, I was emotionally and mentally bullied and I know what it is like to be hurt so badly, being put down, always making fun of me because I was different then everyone else and it was the most toughest times of my life. I didn’t have friends, I didn’t have what others had when they were with each other in groups when I felt left out and being an outcast 99.9% of the time. They were moments that I will never forget, no matter if I have moved on or not. It sticks with you, however I have learned to live past it and began doing positive things in life, to move forward and to stop dwelling on the past. I have been taking a lot of new approaches to this matter and I am going to begin my own social group where people come together from all walks of life and make new friends, interact with others and just figure things out, hear other peoples perspectives on social issues.

There is always a solution and some form of ways to end this terrible cycle going on. Bullying is a very serious problem and it does need to be rectified as soon as possible. It is enough of torment, disgusting behavior that needs to be addressed quickly before it escalates even further.

Now here are ways that we can all come forward to end bullying:

– Creating small, intimate, or large social groups amongst you’re community for those who want to make friends and gather together to create a lovely group of individuals who can relate to one another, creating activities, discussing issues, doing fun, interactive, communication, group work.

– In this modern day society the importance of making it a mandatory course/subject that must be taken and taught in schools and institutions, also the workforce on the prevention of bullying, cyber bullying, social media safety, communications course which should teach students/workers what not to do, what not to say to their fellow peers/colleagues.

– Teachers, Parents, Guardians, School Guidance Staff, School Principals, and as well as outside of school grounds must always be involved in securing our schools, Implementing tougher penalties, more 0 Tolerance in Schools and also the workforce of any type of bullying that should not be allowed, suspension and expulsion.

– tell a person you trust about your feelings, what you are going through and never keep it inside you. Always tell someone you can confide into. Do not wait long to tell someone. In fact tell someone right away.

– Advocate and be proactive in this issue, write to your local papers, attend meetings, start a blog, use social media as a powerful tool to send messages, hashtags globally and come up with your own ways to prevent bullying

– Read up on inspirational quotes, save them on your computer, print them out and scatter positive, happy quotes where you can see them easily, and begin the journey to a happy road ahead.

– Always surround yourself with positivity, good people, do happy things for yourself, and stay away from negativity.

We are on the right road and path to make bullying history, and to look forward to a positive, happy and bright tomorrow. So start today, you can make a difference in someone’s life. No matter how old they are. Bullying has no age as it happens to kids, teens, young adults, youth, adults, and the elderly. Lets end this cycle now.

— If you have more ways to prevent bullying, write them below in the comments section. Thank you.

The Beginning of My Own Social Group of Positivity

Hi Everyone,

This has been on my mind for quite a while now, Every 2 weeks in the Toronto Area GTA(Greater Toronto Area), I want to gather a group together to discuss modern day issues, social issues, those who have been bullied, struggling with second guessing things and not being able to trust easily, How no one is perfect and making mistakes in our lives in social issues is proof that you are trying and bettering yourself for the present and for the future.

The purpose of this group is to strive for courage, positivity, growth and optimism about life, building confidence in speaking out, getting together to make new friends, meeting people from different paths in life and getting to know each other, accepting each other for who each person is, to share ideas and more.

I am not perfect as I have made mistakes too, however those mistakes should not define who a person is, because in the end we’re human. Life is too short to dwell on past mistakes. Especially in social settings. You live and learn. Thoughts on Moving forward, learning lessons in life, reading encouraging, inspirational quotes, and discussing about the deeper meaning to them. being positive and moving on with life is very important as were heading to that direction. Not backwards.

In the coming weeks, I will be working on setting up a place to gather around, which day to gather and so on and so forth. So if you are in the Toronto, Canada area and vicinity and would like to join in, would love to have you and to meet you. This is very important to me, I am passionate about making a better tomorrow for everyone, and gathering people together is what it is all about. I am anticipating, looking forward to a great turn out of people, and to make a difference.

 

Check back soon on the dates, times and the location of the gathering.

Hopefully I will get to meet some of my readers as well.

What are your thoughts? Do you think its a great idea to meet every 2 weeks? Or should this be a weekly event?

Talin’s — Favourite Sweet Tahini Bread Swirls

Many Years ago, I was at my Armenian Community Center and there was a Bazaar like a flea market type of event, and a couple of days before I went and assisted the Armenian Women’s Guild Group to make Sweet Tahini Bread Swirls to sell, So I learned how to make it from the Armenian Ladies and perfected it. So, I decided to write down the recipe to make it at home. I was so glad I did. It is incredibly tasty, and I enjoy making this. Although I have not made it in over a year, but I was thinking about it today, so I want to make it again this week, and Sweet Tahini Swirls are good anytime, any day. You can serve this with Coffee, Tea, Armenian Coffee, or at anytime. You can have it for Breakfast, or for a snack, whenever your heart desires. Well, Here is the recipe for this delicious dessert.

This is counted as 4 Bread Swirls of 16 Cm’s, but you can play around with the amounts according to how many you are making.

CREDITS: http://www.blago.net/baking/bread/lebanese-sweet-tahini-swirls/

Made some modifications, but full credit goes to the site above

Dough:

• 1 tsp dry yeast
• 120 ml lukewarm water
• 200 gr all purpose flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Filling:

• 4 small tbsp tahini
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 4x tsp olive oil
• 4x tsp cinnamon

Use Flour on countertop or big cutting board to work with the dough and filling.

Make the dough

Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water, and add the sugar and oil. Add the flour, a handful at a time. Quickly knead into a floppy, flexible dough that does not stick to the hands anymore. Leave covered in a bowl for about 2 or 3 hours, to rise. As all the air will be rolled out of it later, the stretchiness of the dough is more important than the amount of air in it.

Follow the Following Steps.

When the dough has had some time to rise, divide it into four balls. Roll out one ball at a time, into a rough rectangle of “pizza thickness” – about 2 or 3 mm (1). Scatter the teaspoon of olive oil over it. I combined the tahin with the sugar, added a teaspoon of finely ground lemon rind (packet) to that, and scattered the somewhat dryer tahin mixture, like crumbs, over the dough surface (2). Dust the tahin-sugar layer with cinnamon. Gently press it flat with the back of a spoon. You’re now ready to roll.

Pre-heat the oven to 190° C. If you use a baking stone, put it in the middle rack.

Dust the worktop with a bit of castor sugar and flour to help with the rolling. Cut squares of baking parchment of about 17 x 17 cm. Roll up the dough rectangle, starting at the longest edge. Roll and pull and gently twist a bit, and the resulting sausage will be much longer, about 40 to 50 cm (4). Taking one end as the center, now turn the sausage in on itself, forming a rolled bun (5). Gently press it flat with your hand, then transfer onto a piece of parchment, and use the rolling pin again to gently roll the bun into a 15cm wide flat circle, about a cm in thickness (6). Prepare as much swirls as your oven can hold in one go, leave the rest covered up.

Using a pizza peel or an extra-wide spatula to support the flat tahini swirls sitting on their separate parchment, quickly transfer them into the oven. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or till parts of the surface have turned a deep golden brown. Get them out and leave them to cool and get nice and crispy on a wire rack.

Have some apple tea to go with that. Their taste is not overly sweet; and I love the combination of crunchiness with that slightly caramelized sesame filling. Roll over Swedish cinnamon buns, these tahini swirls are awesome!

CREDITS: http://www.blago.net/baking/bread/lebanese-sweet-tahini-swirls/

Don’t Be Discouraged – Always Look Forward

In life when were going through life, a lot of people if not all people want to be a number of things when they grow up, they have ambitions, dreams, and talents. Everyone has different skills, needs, qualities, potential, and personal goals to attain and fulfill in life. Unfortunately some do not get to enjoy, fulfill and succeed in life because their lives were cut short and its a terrible thing.  Everyone has great qualities about themselves, and sometimes some people’s progress, and going to the next step takes a lot longer than others, but never be and let others discourage on how slow a progress you are making. At least you have continual progress that is not stopping and you are trying your best and doing your best. Always look forward in life. I know things in life happen without you least expecting it, traumatic and tragic things can happen in one’s life, but never let that be a discouragement . The sign of failure means that you are trying. Nobody is a failure. You might fail at doing somethings, but never make that into a weakness. Make it something that you can work on more harder and if at first you do not succeed, try it again and again. Never stop. Failure means success in the long run. Just remember that.

Remember if people are trying to bring you down, that only means you are above them and if people are spending so much time talking about you, talking to you, talking about your weaknesses, putting you lower, and not trying anything to put your spirits up, and not encouraging you that means that they are not true friends at all, that means that they are only trying to hide their failures and flaws about them and not sharing it. In the end everyone has their own pace, their own time to learn, to grow, to experiment, to experience and to succeed. You can do anything you put your mind to, and never be discouraged. Things always happen and come up in life, but never lose sight of your dreams and all the plans you look forward to in the future. It is always great to make plans while you are living day-to-day.

Never lose yourself, don’t listen to negative people, don’t ever let anybody always try to find faults and things wrong about you, do not give anybody the satisfaction of pessimism. Be optimistic, be ambitious, keep dreaming, keep working on attaining your goals. It might take longer than others but hey at least you are getting there, at least your not stopping for anybody or anything. It is the worst thing you can do for yourself is to let others walk all over you and to mess with you. Never do that. Before others judge, and say things to you out of turn or give you advice, but the wrong type, let them look at themselves in the mirror, let them focus on themselves before pointing fingers, and being judgmental. In my previous blog, I was talking about being strong, and surround yourself with positive and great people who will encourage you, who will lift you up.

encouraging, confidence boosters, kind, nice, sweet, positivity, optimism these are the things you should surround yourself with, and never let anyone tell you, you cannot do it, because you can do it. Everything is possible in life, but unfortunately satisfying everyone is just the only impossible thing in the world. In the end you know who you are, you know what you are capable of, you know your limitations, you know yourself the best, you are your individual person. Keep your head up high, lift yourself up, and never sell yourself short and put yourself down. Keep smiling, and all the very best to you. Lastly, Do not ever be discouraged!

Don’t Be Discouraged – Always Look Forward

In life when were going through life, a lot of people if not all people want to be a number of things when they grow up, they have ambitions, dreams, and talents. Everyone has different skills, needs, qualities, potential, and personal goals to attain and fulfill in life. Unfortunately some do not get to enjoy, fulfill and succeed in life because their lives were cut short and its a terrible thing.  Everyone has great qualities about themselves, and sometimes some peoples progress, and going to the next step takes a lot longer than others, but never be and let others discourage on how slow a progress you are making. At least you have continual progress that is not stopping and you are trying your best and doing your best. Always look forward in life. I know things in life happen without you least expecting it, traumatic and tragic things can happen in ones life, but never let that be a discouragement . The sign of failure means that you are trying. Nobody is a failure. You might fail at doing somethings, but never make that into a weakness. Make it something that you can work on more harder and if at first you do not succeed, try it again and again. Never stop. Failure means success in the long run. Just remember that.

Remember if people are trying to bring you down, that only means you are above them and if people are spending so much time talking about you, talking to you, talking about your weaknesses, putting you lower, and not trying anything to put your spirits up, and not encouraging you that means that they are not true friends at all, that means that they are only trying to hide their failures and flaws about them and not sharing it. In the end everyone has their own pace, their own time to learn, to grow, to experiment, to experience and to succeed. You can do anything you put your mind to, and never be discouraged. Things always happen and come up in life, but never lose sight of your dreams and all the plans you look forward to in the future. It is always great to make plans while you are living day to day.

Never lose yourself, don’t listen to negative people, don’t ever let anybody always try to find faults and things wrong about you, do not give anybody the satisfaction of pessimism. Be optimistic, be ambitious, keep dreaming, keep working on attaining your goals. It might take longer than others but hey at least you are getting there, at least your not stopping for anybody or anything. It is the worst thing you can do for yourself is to let others walk all over you and to mess with you. Never do that. Before others judge, and say things to you out of turn or give you advice, but the wrong type, let them look at themselves in the mirror, let them focus on themselves before pointing fingers, and being judgmental. In my previous blog, I was talking about being strong, and surround yourself with positive and great people who will encourage you, who will lift you up.

encouraging, confidence boosters, kind, nice, sweet, positivity, optimism these are the things you should surround yourself with, and never let anyone tell you, you cannot do it, because you can do it. Everything is possible in life, but unfortunately satisfying everyone is just the only impossible thing in the world. In the end you know who you are, you know what you are capable of, you know your limitations, you know yourself the best, you are your individual person. Keep your head up high, lift yourself up, and never sell yourself short and put yourself down. Keep smiling, and all the very best to you. Lastly, Do not ever be discouraged!