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FEATURES 11 How to improve your attitude by Laurlee Bicar 14 Shakeem Goddard Dancer Extraordinaire
BUSINESS 10 Take a Blue Waters Break!!!. 12 Je Bergasse - Power Bundle
ENTERTAINMENT 04 Blasse Mixed Martial Arts Academy 08 Doing What Works BestTapping into your potential by Charmaine Joseph
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EDITORS JOY SAMUEL
PROJECT MANAGERS HIERLAND PETER
PHOTOGRAPHERS JONATHAN PHILIP
CONTRIBUTORS LAURALEE BICAR CHARMAINE JOSEPH SPECIAL THANKS KENTILLIA LOUIS - CAMDU BLUE WATERS ST.LUCIA JE BERGASSE
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Blasse Mixed Martial Arts Academy
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Dancing is my passion...I strive to be the best
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DOING WHAT WORKS BEST – TAPPING INTO YOUR POTENTIAL BY CHARMAINE JOSEPH “The potential of the average person is like a huge ocean unsailed, a new continent unexplored, a world of possibilities waiting to be released and channeled toward some great good.” Youth is a time of discovery, to realize who you are, where you are going and what you want to be. It is also a great time of turbulence and outside influences. The journey to identity is marred with the opinions and pressures of family, friends and society. Through that, the end point must belong to the place where potential is maximized and realized and then capitalized upon to reach the next stage of life successfully. What all of this means is that young people must find within them what quality they would wish to build their foundation upon. St Lucia is a traditional society that is often ruled by traditional values that have been passed down through generations. However, the one constant that exists in life is that societies and people are forever changing. Therefore, as people change and societies change, how people view and interact with the world will also change. The problem inevitably comes from applying old traditions to an ever-changing generation is that expectations are infrequently realized and young persons often feel berated and disempowered. Often the task of adolescence will be to discover what works best for you. To define who you and define some healthy and realistic goals for your future. Finding your potential is most often not an easily reached destination, as a young adult in my mid-twenties I am still trying to figure out where my true passions lie. However, sometime near the end of Secondary School when nothing seemed to be going my way, I realized that my long-time hobby of writing was serving as a stress reliever to help overcome some frustrating situations. Sure I thought my heart belonged to my goal of practicing medicine, but I quickly realized that my real strength lied in studying human behavior and telling the human story. That realization propelled me towards my first job as a Journalist and later to an Undergraduate degree in Psychology.
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Through all these years, I faced many a difficult situation but somehow my optimism never waned like it had in Secondary School; I had found a way to tap into my potential and it was driving me towards success and happiness. Your parents and family will always have their goals for you, there will always be societal beliefs of what success means but most importantly there is always an innate God-given talent that you and only you were meant to have. It would be remiss not to say that as a soon to be adult, life will demand that you do the things you may not always like to do; Math, Science and English for example, but what is also important is finding what makes you most happy and focusing your energy into incorporating this into your life plan. Why must you do what makes you happy? Simply because chances are the thing that makes you most happy is the thing that you were born to do. Potential may not be realized overnight. Just because something is your passion does not mean it will come to you easily neither will you not face challenges. The secret is to keep focused and be creative. Use your potential to get through the things you are not so good at; use a song to remember a particularly challenging scientific theory. Secondly, don’t be afraid to do something different. Xenophobia is a fear of difference and we all at one level or another fall victim to this fear; be courageous enough to do what you love, even though it may be what others may have wished for you. Keep engaged; you will never maximize your potential if you don’t keep at it. Facebook is tempting but don’t live on social media, work hard at your passion and keep company with others who would encourage you to work towards your goals. Finally, do not get discouraged. What you want will not happen overnight, set achievable goals to keep you focused and when those don’t happen, do not take that hiccup as a failure. Anything worth having is never going to come easy. The world now belongs to those who are bold enough to try something different. Not all of us are meant to be lawyers or doctors so whatever your passion is let your spirit set you on that path. By being innovative and using your talents in a smart and multifaceted way it will drive you towards living a life that only you were born to have.
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HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR ATTITUDE
M ajority of individuals fail to realize that their attitude can have a huge impact on their lives. The key to success
is creating and maintaining a positive attitude. Individuals who are truly able to keep a positive attitude towards their life in general, and parts of their life such as other people and their work, can create opportunities for themselves. Each individual has the inner potential to become a leader. A leader with a positive attitude draws others towards him. There are many ways in which you can improve your attitude. Why would you need to improve your attitude? It’s simple! When you have a positive attitude you can deal with everyday problems more effectively. I really doubt you will find a happy and successful person with a poor attitude. This is because your attitude is directly linked to whether or not you will live a happy life or not. I know it isn’t easy to manage your attitude, and frankly it does take hard work. So here are a few strategies to help you develop more control over your attitude.
LAURALEE BICAR VFCSS- CAMPUS B STUDENT
• Always act with a purpose- failure to do this is a common mistake individuals make. We take action without truly thinking it through. Instead, sit and think. Decide upon the action you wish to take. Keep these questions in mind when deciding upon a course of action: How will it benefit me? Are there any drawbacks? • Stretch past your limits- ‘the sky is the limit’, think outside the box! Doing the same old habits will eventually become boring and depressing. Try something new to spice things up. There is no limit to what one can achieve. • Use setbacks to improve yourself- if you fail at something don’t feel bad. It does not mean it is the end of the world. Instead, look and see what you did wrong and come up with solutions to improve. Remember, we learn from our mistakes. • Don’t be too hard on yourself- always feel happy and comfortable with everything you do. Do not pressure yourself, take a break and remember to think positive. We attract what we think. If you think negative, negative things will come back to you. No one wants to be around someone grumpy. • Keep your body/mind healthy- avoid stress at all times. Exercise on a regular basis or engage in activities that ease you or sharpen the mind. People practice yoga to keep them calm, happy and active. By following these simple steps you can improve on your attitude. Remember “your attitude plays a big part in your life and can affect how your life may turn out in the future”
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SHAKEEM GODDARD DANCER EXTRAORDINAIRE Everyone has some form of talent but very few take the time to grow it, condition it and mould it into an art form that becomes a part of who they are. Shakeem Goddard however finds himself as one of those select few. While still a student of the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC), Shakeem finds himself with a strong passion for the performing arts, a passion that he never fails to demonstrate. Balancing school and the arts can always be a struggle because they are both so time consuming. Additionally, Shakeem’s talent for the arts is exemplified not just as one single skill but three-fold, through acting, dancing and singing. Finding the time to put into developing these skills is not always an easy feat but the love for the performing arts keeps him aiming to achieve the right balance. Shakeem as well as two of his colleagues have founded a performing arts group amongst the three of them called “SAK”. The acronym represents the initials of the three founding members and the group has been growing in scope and can be seen as the product of the amazing talent of the three individuals. Shakeem does not simply practise his talent as a hobby but has notably been part of several plays, dances and other special events. He also wishes to pursue a career within the performing arts seeing such a path as a means of spreading positive messages to society through a unique avenue. From a very young age Shakeem found himself as part of the arts in St.Lucia. In preschool he took part in his very first play. From there he moved on to being a member of the Helen Folk Dancers which migrated his interests from acting to dance as well. One of his biggest achievements came when he worked as the co-host for the National Youth Awards Shakeem and his group “SAK” do not simply wish to perform but to produce work that is different in the process. The performing arts has always been able to draw him in because it acts as a medium to convey messages to your audience and ultimately to society. By taking a different approach and producing art that is unique with the message you wish to convey in mind, Shakeem believes you can connect and affect individuals subconscious mind, which is a very powerful tool to have. However, it is essential to stay motivated in order to achieve this. As a young artist, Shakeem points out that other aspiring young artists must ensure not to set limits for themselves that do not exist. “Anything can be achieved so long as you work for it, look for opportunities and if you cannot find any make them yourself.” Also, we are in the age of technology so don’t be afraid to use it to showcase your work and get the support of a broader audience like “SAK” does. Look out, because within the next five years you will be seeing a lot more great things coming forth out of Shakeem Goddard in the performing arts in St. Lucia.
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