There Is A Difference Between Being With Someone Because You Want To Get Married And Have Kids & Being

Zendaya photographed by Raoul Alejandre.

#study tips

How to learn a language when you don’t know where to start:

General Plan:

Weeks 1 and 2: Purpose:

Learn the fundamentals sentence construction

Learn how to spell and count

Start building a phrase stockpile with basic greetings

The Alphabet

Numbers 1 - 100

Subject Pronouns

Common Greetings

Conjugate the Two Most Important Verbs: to be and to have

Basic Definite and Indefinite Articles

Weeks 3 and 4: Purpose:

Learn essential vocabulary for the day-to-day

Start conjugating regular verbs

Days of the Week and Months of the Year

How to tell the time

How to talk about the weather

Family Vocabulary

Present Tense Conjugations Verbs

Weeks 5 and 6: Purpose:

Warm up with the last of the day-to-day vocabulary

Add more complex types of sentences to your grammar

Colours

House vocabulary

How to ask questions

Present Tense Conjugations Verbs

Forming negatives

Weeks 7 and 8: Purpose:

Learn how to navigate basic situations in a region of your target language country

Finish memorising regular conjugation rules

Food Vocabulary and Ordering at Restaurants

Money and Shopping Phrases

Present Tense Conjugations Verbs

Weeks 9 and 10: Purpose:

Start constructing descriptive and more complex sentences

Adjectives

Reflective verbs

Places vocabulary

Weeks 11 and 12: Purpose:

Add more complex descriptions to your sentences with adverbs

Wrap up vocabulary essentials

Adverbs

Parts of the body and medical vocabulary

Tips for Learning a Foreign Language:

Learning Vocabulary:

What vocabulary should I be learning?

There are hundreds of thousands of words in every language, and the large majority of them won’t be immediately relevant to you when you’re starting out.Typically, the most frequent 3000 words make up 90% of the language that a native speaker uses on any given day. Instead try to learn the most useful words in a language, and then expand outwards from there according to your needs and interests.

Choose the words you want/need to learn.

Relate them to what you already know.

Review them until they’ve reached your long-term memory.

Record them so learning is never lost.

Use them in meaningful human conversation and communication.

How should I record the vocabulary?

Learners need to see and/or hear a new word of phrase 6 to 17 times before they really know a piece of vocabulary.

Keep a careful record of new vocabulary.

Record the vocabulary in a way that is helpful to you and will ensure that you will practice the vocabulary, e.g. flashcards.

Vocabulary should be organised so that words are easier to find, e.g. alphabetically or according to topic.

Ideally when noting vocabulary you should write down not only the meaning, but the grammatical class, and example in a sentence, and where needed information about structure.

How should I practice using the vocabulary?

Look, Say, Cover, Write and Check - Use this method for learning and remembering vocabulary. This method is really good for learning spellings.

Make flashcards. Write the vocabulary on the front with the definition and examples on the back.

Draw mind maps or make visual representations of the new vocabulary groups.

Stick labels or post it notes on corresponding objects, e.g when learning kitchen vocabulary you could label items in your house.

How often should I be practising vocabulary?

A valuable technique is ‘the principle of expanding rehearsal’. This means reviewing vocabulary shortly after first learning them then at increasingly longer intervals.

Ideally, words should be reviewed:

5-10 minutes later

24 hours later

One week later

1-2 months later

6 months later

Knowing a vocabulary item well enough to use it productively means knowing:

Its written and spoken forms (spelling and pronunciation).

Its grammatical category and other grammatical information

Related words and word families, e.g. adjective, adverb, verb, noun.

Common collocations (Words that often come before or after it).

Receptive Skills: Listening and Reading

Reading is probably one of the most effective ways of building vocabulary knowledge.

Listening is also important because it occupies a big chunk of the time we spend communicating.

Tips for reading in a foreign language:

Start basic and small.  Children’s books are great practice for beginners. Don’t try to dive into a novel or newspaper too early, since it can be discouraging and time consuming if you have to look up every other word.

Read things you’ve already read in your native language. The fact that you at least know the gist of the story will help you to pick up context clues, learn new vocabulary and grammatical constructions.

Read books with their accompanying audio books. Reading a book while listening to the accompanying audio will improve your “ear training”. It will also help you to learn the pronunciation of words.

Tips for listening in a foreign language:

Watch films in your target language.

Read a book while also listening along to the audio book version.

Listen to the radio in your target language.

Watch videos online in your target language.

Activities to do to show that you’ve understood what you’ve been listening to:

Try drawing a picture of what was said.

Ask yourself some questions about it and try to answer them.

Provide a summary of what was said.

Suggest what might come next in the “story.”

Translate what was said into another language.

“Talk back” to the speaker to engage in imaginary conversation.

Productive Skills: Speaking and Writing

Tips for speaking in a foreign language:

If you can, try to speak the language every day either out loud to yourself or chat to another native speaker whether it is a colleague, a friend, a tutor or a language exchange partner. 

Write a list of topics and think about what you could say about each one. First you could write out your thoughts and then read them out loud. Look up the words you don’t know. You could also come up with questions at the end to ask someone else.

A really good way to improve your own speaking is to listen to how native speakers talk and imitate their accent, their rhythm of speech and tone of voice. Watch how their lips move and pay attention to the stressed sounds. You could watch interviews on YouTube or online news websites and pause every so often to copy what you have just heard. You could even sing along to songs sung in the target language.

Walk around the house and describe what you say. Say what you like or dislike about the room or the furniture or the decor. Talk about what you want to change.This gets you to practise every day vocabulary.

Tips for writing in a foreign language:

Practice writing in your target language. Keep it simple to start with. Beginner vocabulary and grammar concepts are generally very descriptive and concrete.

Practice writing by hand. Here are some things you can write out by hand:

Diary entries

Shopping lists

Reminders

What could I write about?

Write about your day, an interesting event, how you’re feeling, or what you’re thinking.

Make up a conversation between two people. 

Write a letter to a friend, yourself, or a celebrity. You don’t need to send it; just writing it will be helpful.

Translate a text you’ve written in your native language into your foreign language.

Write a review or a book you’ve recently read or a film you’ve recently watched.

Write Facebook statuses, Tweets or Tumblr posts (whether you post them or not will be up to you).

Write a short story or poem.

Writing is one of the hardest things to do well as a non-native speaker of a language, because there’s no room to hide. 

There are lots of ways to improve your writing ability, but they can be essentially boiled down to three key components:

Read a lot

Write a lot

Get your writing corrected

“When a flower doesnt bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower.”

— Alexander Den Heijer

The actuality of things is that you have to let go of your old self to get the what you desire. The old self has to go as it cannot exist in tandem as the new version. It is either or. There is nothing for you in the past, the past does not exist. What exists is what you remember, nothing more. To heal you have to stop going back. You have to get rid of the old self to allow welcome the newness. The comfort of the old self is a fallacy.

We always go back to the core beliefs that are instilled in us during our childhood. And people still think having children is just to have a prop, a hobby, to project ourselves onto someone, to stop depopulation, or whatever egocentric belief

Children should be created out of LOVE between two people. They should be a reflection of that love, nurtured in an environment that values their well being, growth & individuality

It’s not about fulfilling societal expectations, continuing a legacy, or soothing an ego. A child deserves to be brought into the world for the right reasons—with care, compassion & a REAL desire to guide them into becoming the best version of themselves. They are the future and the TRUE reflection of YOU

At the very least, you should be able to acknowledge your traumas and triggers before having children. No amount of love will keep you from projecting them onto your children until then, as unresolved issues can unintentionally shape their experiences and emotional development. Self awareness and healing are crucial to providing a nurturing and healthy environment for your child’s growth

It is natural to have the biological desire to have children, but it doesn’t mean you are ready just yet. True readiness involves more than just the desire to parent. It requires emotional maturity, self-awareness and a commitment to creating an environment for a child’s development. Being prepared means addressing personal issues & ensuring that you can provide the love and stability a child deserves

4 ways to use ginger 🫚 to heal blemishes

Ginger can be used in several ways to help with blemishes due to its anti inflammatory & antioxidant properties

🫚 Topical Ginger Mask

Fresh ginger, honey, and lemon juice.

Ginger reduces inflammation & redness, honey hydrates and heals the skin, while lemon juice brightens dark spots

Instructions: Grate a small piece of fresh ginger. Mix with 1 tbsp of honey & a few drops of lemon juice, apply to affected areas and leave for 10-15 mins

🫚 Ginger Toner

This helps reduce inflammation and prevents breakouts due to its antibacterial properties

Ingredients: Fresh ginger juice and water

Instructions: Extract the juice from fresh ginger by blending or grating & then squeezing through a cloth. Dilute the ginger juice with equal parts water. Using a cotton pad, gently apply the solution to blemish-prone areas. Let it sit for 5-10 mins

🫚 Ginger Tea for Internal Benefits

This helps reduce inflammation internally, which can improve skin clarity over time

Instructions: Boil a few slices of fresh ginger in water for 10 minutes. Strain and drink as tea, optionally adding honey or lemon for taste

🫚 Ginger Essential Oil

Ginger essential oil can reduce inflammation & fight bacteria on the skin

Instructions: Mix a few drops of essential oil with a carrier oil (like jojoba or coconut oil). Apply to blemishes as a spot treatment

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Five DIY masks to tighten your skin:

🍯 Honey & Cinnamon Mask

Honey moisturizes & hydrates. Contains antioxidants that repair & protect skin & has antibacterial properties that help prevent acne

Cinnamon stimulates blood flow, making your skin glow. Helps with acne & exfoliates & remove dead skin cells.

• 1 tbsp honey, 1/2 tsp cinnamon

• Honey moisturizes and cinnamon boosts circulation, helping firm the skin

• Mix and apply for 10-15 mins and rinse with warm water

🥚 Egg White and Lemon Mask

Egg whites tighten & firm by shrinking pores, helps with elasticity & absorbs excess oil

Lemon juice brightens skin & reduces dark spots & pigmentation. Boosts collagen production and tightens pores

• 1 egg white, 1 tsp lemon juice

• Egg whites tighten, while lemon brightens and minimizes pores

• Whisk & apply for 10-15 mins & rinse

🍦Greek Yogurt and Turmeric Mask

Greek yogurt exfoliates and tightens skin. Soothes irritated skin & creates a smooth complexion

Turmeric has anti inflammatory properties that reduce redness & swelling. Combats free radical damage. Brightens skin & even out skin tone

• 2 tbsp yogurt, 1/2 tsp turmeric

• Yogurt exfoliates & turmeric reduces inflammation

• Mix and apply for 15-20 mins, rinse

🥒 Aloe Vera and Cucumber Mask

Aloe vera soothes irritated skin and reduces redness. Hydrates deeply without clogging pores. Helps with sunburn.

Cucumber hydrates & cools the skin, reducing puffiness. Combats inflammation. Tightens and tones the skin, reducing fine lines.

• 2 tbsp aloe vera gel, 1/2 blended cucumber

• Aloe soothes and hydrates, cucumber cools & tightens

• Blend and apply for 15-20 mins then rinse with cool water

🥑 Avocado and Honey Mask

Avocado nourishes & moisturizes. Promotes collagen production. Soothes dry and irritated skin

• 1/2 ripe avocado, 1 tbsp honey

• Avocado nourishes and honey boosts elasticity

• Mash and apply for 15-20 mins, rinse

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"And I was so young when I behaved twenty five Yet now I find I've grown into a tall child"