4 easy ways to make the world a better place

Why are we in college? If you study medicine, you probably want to help people get healthy again. If you study  to become a teacher, you either want to do as good a job as your favourite teachers, or you want to do better than the horrible teachers from your school. If you study to become a social worker, you want to give families and their members a better life. However, you don't need to be a doctor, teacher, or even Nobel Prize winner to contribute to a better world. Here are four simple things you can do to make others' lives better and you don't need a degree for that! 

1. Smile! Share your happiness with the world and spread it. I can become very happy when someone smiles at me, so someone else might get happy if you smile at them :) 
2. Turn off your gadgets, or at least leave them in your bag when you're in public. People today often have some sort of gadgets in their hand while in public: smart phone, mp3-player, and on, and on. They have earphones over or in their ears or they constantly look at a small screen. If you would just leave your gadgets in your bag, you would have the opportunity to talk with that old man who sits next to you in the bus or train! Old (but also young) people usually have more interesting stories than you expect from them and conversing with other people allows you to share your story with others, but it also lets others share their story with you. These stories may help you put things into perspective, inspire you to do something new, and thereby guide you in making the world a little bit better.
3. Do volunteer work. Most volunteer work does not cost too much time (usually about one morning / afternoon weekly at most), or you can help with special events when a lot of work must be done. For volunteering, you also do not need special qualifications or degrees, and sometimes - if your work is related to your study - you might get some credits for it! But most important, of course, is that you contribute to a better world.
4. Be nice and polite. This might seem like a no-brainer, but if you are nice and polite, you are likely to receive niceness and politeness from others, and if everyone is nice and polite to each other, the world will be a better place. 

So, as you can see, you don't need to be a Nobel Prize winner or have a college degree. Everyone can contribute to a better world, and by living in a better world, it is likely that you feel better, too. Besides, contributing to something and feeling useful can result in feeling content, which facilitates the aforementioned advices to improve the world, so it's just a positive vicious circle that you start! 

What do you think? Is it important to improve the world on a small scale as suggested above? How do you try to make the world a better place?  

What you need to know about talent shows ...

... before you decide to participate.

Talent shows are all over in the television programming. The hype started with Idol's international derivatives, and today there are shows from X-factor via America's Next Top Model through So You Think You Can Dance and [insert country] Got Talent, each claiming to emphasize a unique part of the participants. I think that almost everybody has at least once wondered how far they would get, were they to participate.

Advantages and disadvantages

While there is an obvious difference between a talent show for upcoming models and a talent show for upcoming singers, as  soon as the audience gets to vote for their favourite participant, it doesn't matter whether you participate in The Voice or X-factor or Popstars. The audience will most of the time not vote for a singer because they have 'the voice' or because they have 'the X-factor', but because the participating singer has something the audience likes about him or her. This can indeed be the voice or the X-factor, but there are also many teenage girls voting because 'the guy looks hot' or 'I don't think the other one should win' or 'she has had such a troublesome youth, she deserves to win'. So, basically the concepts of most, if not all, talent shows come down to the same thing as soon as the audience gets a vote. 

A good thing about talent shows is that people, who do not have the (financial) means to record and produce a nice demo  of themselves or who cannot afford dance lessons, can now show themselves by filling out an online form and head to the nearest audition location. The judges there decide who is good enough for the next rounds and who is not. The further you get in a show, the more coaching you'll receive and the more experience you gain, which both can be valuable on your way to making it. This is way to make a career without having to invest hundreds of bucks per year in voice/dance lessons, demo recordings, and photo shoots.

However, after the show's finished, you usually have to do very much on your own. You have received coaching and gained experience, now it's time to show what you've got. In fact, the real hard work starts now, because you no longer are on TV on a weekly base. Everything now comes down to getting connected with the right people who really want to work with you and not just because they have a contractual duty to help you, doing gigs / photo shoots and show the best of yourself there. It is also important to stay in touch with the fans: one negative story will hurt you more than hundred positive stories will help you to get further! Naturally, this counts as well when you're meeting people from the industry. The worlds are usually small and the lines are short, so remain professional, whoever you meet. 

Another advantage is, of course, the whole experience of participating in talent shows. I am not talking about the experience of performing and media training, but about the experience of being a participant. The media madness, getting to see front row how television works, and the organization of the whole show. I can tell from first-hand experience (not going to specify it further than this) that it's really impressive if you see how much show-specific decoration, how many cameras, how much directing are involved, and how many other impressions you'll get when it's the first time in your life you decide give it a try. For those who are certain that they won't stand a chance: much of what you see on television during the audition phase is already directed by people who are part of the show's crew, except the performances themselves. I am personally glad to have experienced it, as I now have seen a glimpse of such a show is made. For the program I auditioned for, there were 2 audition days. I already knew this because a judge from a small-scale talent show in which I had participated told everyone who was there, but when I heard this, I found it quite surprising. The first day was with 'shadow judges', or local people with some kind of involvement in music who judged whether you are worth being judged by the real judges, for whom you will perform on the second day. However, even on the first day, cameras are also recording each and every audition. These recordings were used for quick clips that were shown right before and right after each commercial break, before the hosts or an actual audition was shown. So even when you don't get to see the real judges, you might still get your minute of fame! 

Although it all seems amazing, you must reckon with disappointments. The first 'shadow judges' may decide to not let you through to the next round, no matter how good you are. And in the end, only one person can win, out of the thousands that register initially. Calculate your odds. 

'Realness'   

Here in the Netherlands, there have been countless rumours about the winner of the show having been decided upon far before the audience decided. It has also been rumoured that the judges on television get scripts as for what to say to the contestants and that they do not get to express their real opinion about them. Needless to say that the people making the program countered this by stating that there is an official solicitor and that the audience decides. Since I have not further deepened my knowledge about talent shows and reality TV since my auditions, I am not the right person to say whether the aforementioned rumours are true or not. I am also not the one to judge the 'realness' of talent shows. I did, however, have to read a book for a course last year which sort of confirmed me in my personal idea about talent shows that the producers have a profile of the winning candidate. This profile is given to the judges and 'shadow judges', so that they can decide who fits this profile and who does not. Since the odds for finding someone who exactly matches the profile are small, they will aim to find someone who comes as close as possible. Note that this is how I think it goes! It is a personal idea and not how it really works! In my mind, however, a  'winner profile' could look as follows: 

• The winner is into pop music, but also likes R'n'B and soul.
• The winner has therefore a voice similar to Aretha Franklin, Joss Stone, or Beyoncé.
• The winner is skinny, but looks healthy to the audience.
• The winner has a clothing style  similar to Rihanna or Beyoncé. 
• The winner is at least [x] inches / centimetres tall.
• The winner has a heart-shaped face or an oval-shaped face. 

No matter the truth, in order to keep up the veil of 'realness', a variety of contestants will be selected for the live shows. However, even though most of the shows are directed to the second and even though there may be 'winner profiles' and scripts + auto cue for judges or so, it is still a valuable experience that you will remember for life.

Your thoughts
What do you think about talent shows? Do you like them or not? Do you think they're real or that most of it is fake? Have you considered entering? Have you ever participated in big talent show? 

Extracurricular activities ...

... and how to choose them.

Today, we live in a society where a degree certificate alone doesn't do any more when applying for your job. Everyone will tell you to take a few jobs, join boards and committees, and find internships and other stuff that makes your curriculum vitae look nicer. Another reason why I post this today is because the new year in college just started and the ambitious people might want some guidance in choosing their extracurricular activities.

Personally, I don't think anything is wrong with some activities besides the studies because they can enrich your social life and they can help you develop aspects of your character. If you happen to hate doing oral presentations in front of groups, it will actually help you if you have to do it in order to show the (financial/whatever) state of your student club to its members. If you get sick at the mere thought of having to talk to people (don't take this too literally), it might actually help if you find a place where you do get in touch with many people without getting too close too soon.

So, what are a few things to keep in mind when choosing an extracurricular activity?

• How much time is it going to cost? Can you still study enough to pass the majority of your exams and write your papers without coming across as THE lazy ass on whatever activity you choose?  If it does cost very much time, can you handle working more and sleeping less? (this is actually a health-related consideration, but still important!)
• How does this activity make you stand out from all other students who are obviously also involved with extracurricular activities? Many students have jobs and/or are on boards and committees for various organisations, so your future employer will see many resumes similar to yours. Unless you have done something more or less exclusive.
• Is it an activity you can enjoy? Most activities require you to be present or available for X amount of time and all the time you invest in your activity can't be spent on other things. With the average schedule of college students, it's better to do something you like, so that your activity gives your positive energy that you can use for further studying or something else. 
• How does this activity add something to my CV? In our department of Pedagogy and Educational Sciences, we have some people who gather interesting activities for their students to do, which are related to our field and help us to get some field-related experience that is like whipped cream on top of your hot chocolate. 

I took all of the above in consideration. I weighed, deliberated, talked about it and thought some more. I didn't want to do anything that could possibly interfere with my lecture schedule (time); I was not the type for having to party and drink on a frequent base (enjoyableness); I wanted to do something that not many people say they do (exclusiveness), and I wanted my activities to be broad yet also related to my major (add to CV). In the end I came across two activities that I am still involved with and still enjoy. I actually made promotion in one of them. 

If you - for whatever reason - don't manage to find something DURING the year, it might be worthwhile searching for summer activities, such as jobs or internships. I did a summer school past summer, which was a course I wanted to do throughout the college year, but it always would interfere with lectures, which made me postpone it. 

Most important is that you choose something that suits you and where your 'colleagues' suit you. I also quit some activities after a while because it just didn't work with me and the others. So, do you agree with this list? Do you think I should add some more? Leave a comment!