Entertainment

KOTLC: Is this for you?

Minecraft Java Review

Movie Review: Yes Day

Tech and Gamimg

HomePod Mini Review

Our Top 3 Gaming Mice

Fashion

Spring/Summer Fashion

Top Outfit Combos

Baby Girl Stuff: Instagram Shop Review

What is the Alt Movement?

Home Life

Zoom:Behind the Scenes

Cereals: Tier List

Froot Loops Pizza Review: Yes, Really!

Google Classroom Guide

Benefits of an Early Morning Routine

Candles: Which one?

FEATURED FEATURES

Along with Health Benefits, Indoor Plants are Proven to Make You Feel Happier

There are varieties of ways to incorporate plants into your home; Photo Credit: (loopliving.co)

Sophie C.

April 7th, 2021

Indoor plants are not only appealing to the eye, but they are influential for our health. Lead researcher Marlon Nieuwenhuis, from Cardiff University’s School of Psychology, said: “plants served to increase productivity by 15%.” Not only that, but plants can boost your mood, and reduce stress levels. The biophilic connection we have with nature deepens when we are surrounded by plants benefiting us with a relaxed and calm mood.

Unfortunately, as we spend most of our time in our workspaces, they may tend to lack greenery. Our workspaces may also restrict our efforts to fulfill prime wellness. However, indoor plants have the potential to contradict that. So how can we expertly incorporate greenery in our homes?

Benefits

Plants can be therapeutic for people experiencing mental illness. This is why horticultural therapy, the act that uses gardening as a tool for therapy, is used to benefit mental health. People with depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions who participated in plant-based activities such as gardening or taking care of plants, increased feelings of wellbeing.

The plant's broad leaves help to increase the levels of positivity. Seeing greenery and nature can help us feel more relaxed and calm, benefiting our mood. Michigan State University proves that “employees who had a view of nature, such as trees and flowers, were less stressed, experienced greater job satisfaction and reported fewer headaches and other illnesses than those who had no natural view.” As nature stimulates the senses and the mind, improving mental cognition performance, creative thinking, and spatial processing. A research study from Exeter University also found that plants can improve overall concentration, productivity, and staff wellbeing by 47%. And boost memory by up to 20%.

This study from Michigan State University also states that “Plants in the workplace and school reduce employee and student stress and provide beneficial health effects, such as lowering blood pressure, releasing muscle tension and increasing positive feelings.” Also including boosting the immune system and improving sleep. “These benefits can be translated into improved health and worker and student productivity.” Plants that carry a distinct smell have been shown to relieve stress and anxiety and replace those feelings with relaxations and calmness. The color green has also been shown to produce emotional stability and boost concentration.

Pointers when Purchasing Plants

Now you may be thinking about what plants you should purchase to gain those benefits. However, it's important to take into consideration these things before your plant purchase. If you have allergies that are worsened by pollen, there is no need to worry because common indoor plants don't produce a drastic amount of pollen. However, if your allergies are triggered by dampness, mold, or fungi, take caution of the dampness of the soil moisture of your plants. Indoor exposure to mold dampness or fungi can increase symptoms of asthma in children. You should also be alert of pest infestation caused by drastic changes in temperature and fluctuating wet and dry cycles. If you have pets, be careful of the types of plants you decide to purchase as some may be toxic. These may include lilies (dangerous to cats), alocasia, aloe, jade plant, golden pothos, eucalyptus, and philodendron. Make sure you do your research on your plant you are considering buying if you have a pet.

Best Beginner Plants for Your Indoor Space

Spider plants are considered one of the most adaptable indoor plants and the easiest to grow and suffer from only a few problems. Pothos plants are very easy plants to take care of. They enjoy a wide range of environments and do well in areas without much sunlight. Snake plants or also known as mother-in-law’s tongue plant is a resilient succulent that can grow anywhere from 6 inches to several feet and can tolerate indoor conditions. Parlor palm is one of the most heavily sold house plant palms in the world. The Parlor Palm is ideal because it grows slowly and thrives in low-light and cramped conditions. The Sansevieria Bacularis is a perfect plant if you want to achieve a modern look in your home. This plant is also very easy to find around Manila due to how adaptable it is. The Zebra Cactus Plant has similar shapes to an Aloe plant. They are small plants that can grow to around 6 inches. (Warning: Some of these are toxic to pets, so please research before you purchase.)

Places to Buy Plants

There are a wide variety of places to buy plants in Manila whether it's online or in stores. Some places where you can buy indoor plants are on Katipunan Ave. in White Plains. Including stores such as Bulacan Garden Corporation, En Jardin, and DJ Garden. Another popular area is in Market Market. And lastly, Spruce Plants Shop has a pop-up store in Power Plant Mall and an Online website. Tierra Plants is also a great online store where you can find a wide variety of plants.

Plants can positively benefit our health in many different ways, including improving our mood, concentration, and overall well-being. Not only that but there are varieties of plants for those who are just starting!

The Big Disconnect: Overcoming the Challenges of Distance Learning

Online learning set-up; credits to Nick Morrison: Unsplash.com

Isabella H.

April 9th, 2021

Online learning is damaging students' mental health. How can you help? For starters, Covid 19 started to affect people around the world as of March 2020. Most of the world has had to do some form of online learning since then, and as of this writing, that’s been over a year. Although online classes have had their advantages, there are disadvantages to this situation as well. Studies show that on average, students spend over 13 hours on a screen each day; this includes online classes, homework, and their free time.

What are the advantages of online learning?

Although online learning has its negatives, there are definite advantages. These include having a choice of location; students can work from wherever they choose, which may allow them to focus better in class because they aren’t worrying about discomfort. They can also move around during class rather than in a classroom, where students sit in the same spot most of the time. They have more accessibility to learning materials such as zoom recordings; if they miss a lesson or want to review the class discussion or work, they can easily watch the recordings the teacher posts from the class lesson. Lastly, parents have an advantage of affordability; although not everyone has the privilege of technology, those who do have an advantage because they do online learning, meaning they don’t have to pay for lunch meals, transportation, school supplies, and more. Although many classes require notebooks, students can just as easily do their work on an online notebook for free, and their teachers can have access to it.

Online Complications

Although people are doing quite well coping with distance learning, there are some disadvantages to these situations. A number of students are suffering from Zoom exhaustion from back-to-back classes; thus meaning it can get tiring and overwhelming joining one class after the other day-to-day. According to the Screen Time 2020 Report, the average person spends 13+ hours on a screen per day. Multiply this by the weekdays, which could come up to 65+ hours of screen time per weekday, excluding the weekends. Online classes have also affected much of the world due to unstable internet connectivity. It’s extremely common for students to get disconnected during the middle of classes due to poor internet connection. This causes their teacher to either wait for them to come back, waste class time, or the student misses important notes, information, or instructions.

Mental Health Rating

As distance learning continues, studies show there have been increases in stress and anxiety; a number of students haven’t met their classmates and teachers in real life which may be one of the main sources as to why students are more anxious in class when they communicate with peers. After interviewing two different students; one in 11th grade and the other in 8th, this is what was recorded by an 11th-grade girl: “Online learning is making my stress increase by far. This year is probably my most important out of all my school years and with distance learning, there’s definitely a struggle. It’s difficult because I’m going to college pretty soon and I don’t feel like I’m as ready as I could be,”. There was a stark contrast between the two, as stated by the 8th Grade student, “Distance learning hasn’t been that bad, I can’t see my friends as much and it gets hard to focus in class, I also get headaches pretty easy now, but overall it doesn’t seem much different than physical classes”. In addition, a variety of people choose to spend their free time on the screen since outdoor or social activities may not be an option. Doing so doesn’t allow your mind and body to take a break, possibly damaging both your eyesight and physical health.

How has this impacted physical health?

In many cases, students haven’t been able to exercise or may not have the access to go outside and be active like a kid should be. As a result, students have lost the motivation to be active and there have been losses of interest in activities they’d usually enjoy. On average, kids should get around 1 hour of exercise a day, and because of online earning, most students just sit around most of the day decreasing their physical health. This could lead to bad habits of not being active in the long term and because of the decrease in motivation, people may lose interest in cooking daily healthy meals causing them to eat more poorly.

Solutions to overcome challenges

Online learning involves many positives and negatives. Many students around the world are facing the same challenges, but how can you help? For starters, as a parent, you can genuinely encourage your child to keep going and let them know you’re proud of them. Doing so can help your child improve their mood even if it’s just a little. This way they might be more willing to really apply themselves in school and it can help them believe in themselves if they know you do. As a student, take breaks in between classes; during these breaks, move around, get off the screen for a while and try something new to improve yourself.

Many students tend to say ‘I’ll do my homework later” or “just a few more minutes”, These sayings can turn into bad habits easily until all the work piles up creating more stress and anxiety. A solution to this is to prioritize the tasks you need to complete, make a list of goals for yourself and once you complete them, then you can be free to do whatever you want. A variety of people think of homework as a punishment or ‘too much work’, this causes a decrease in your motivation to actually complete the work with your best effort. The way your mindset works is immensely powerful, you tend to listen to what your brain thinks is true. When studying or doing any school work, try putting your phone on airplane mode or put your phone or other devices in a different room so you can study effectively without distractions. Homework doesn’t have to be a punishment or too much work, instead, think of it as a way of learning new things that you can apply to your life in the future.

Furthermore, other things you could try are going for walks; there’s lots of proof that walks can help clear your mind and relieve stress and anxiety. Focus on your sleep; sleep has a big impact on your mindset during the day, consider setting app limits or screen time for your devices at a specific time and getting off the device an hour before you sleep or so you won’t be tempted to stay up late on the screen. As a result, following these steps can take a lot of the weight of you or your child during the pandemic.

Behind Fast Fashion

One of the most popular fast fashion brands, H&M; photo credits: pixelpool.com

By Sofia O.

Fast fashion mass produces trendy clothes quickly. They are known to be sold at more affordable prices and have lower quality. But how does it affect our environment? Before looking into the effects of fast fashion, we need to know how it works.

Because of social media, it is easier to share your outfits with other people, especially for influencers, which helps market fast fashion brands. Fast fashion companies design their clothes based on current trends to appeal to their customers. Once ready to be manufactured, the clothes are made in factories overseas for a cheaper price. Then, the clothes are bought by customers only to be worn a few times and be disposed of later on. Over time as fast fashion developed, companies released more and more collections a year to keep up with the trends, which impacts our environment. For example, the fast fashion brand Zara used to release a few collections a year. Nowadays, Zara releases more than 20 collections a year.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global wastewater and 10% of global carbon emissions. Textile dyeing is an example of a big water pollution contributor. It's mostly used for dyeing fabric. It plays an important part in clothing manufacturing because it gives our clothes it's color. Water leftover from the dyeing process is typically dumped into ditches, rivers, and streams, leading to polluted water. Lots of water is crucial in general to manufacture clothing. When it's used for fast fashion clothes, that water eventually goes to waste.

Some fast fashion brands like H&M, are also attempting to change their company in the near future into something that has “a positive impact on the planet.” For the time being, we need to start looking for more sustainable ways to buy clothes to look out for our environment. There are options like thrifting which is sustainable and more affordable, and buying from sustainable fashion companies.

Your Crystals Guide 101

By Sierah G.

Did you know that crystals can manifest your goals and desires? You know those rocks you bought because they look pretty? Well, those ‘rocks’ aren’t just pretty to look at; they can help you with a variety of things. But what are crystals? Crystals are composed of energy that vibrates at different frequencies and can affect one's energy in so many ways. Each crystal has its own unique purpose based on its colour, structure, and energy. Even the most skeptical can find ways to work with crystals.

Buying Ethically Sourced Crystals

If you are interested in working with crystals, it is necessary to discuss crystal ethics before getting started. Many crystals are mined in unsafe environments, by workers who are rarely paid fair wages. The life of a single crystal may travel long distances as they are mined, cut and sold in different parts of the world. Traveling those distances create a large carbon footprint. Though it may not be possible to purchase all crystals locally, it is good to be mindful of where they come from. Getting crystals ethically may limit your options but will bring you crystals that carry the purest energy. Remember: quality over quantity.

Cleansing Crystals

The act of cleansing allows the crystal to return to its original energy and clears negative energies attached to it so it is ready to work with you. Crystals are mined from earth. From the mining process, they are sent to a lapidary company, where they are cut, formed and polished. Then the crystals are sent to companies that sell them to retailers. The crystals may have even travelled overseas and handled by postal workers. Hundreds of people may have handled the crystal you picked up at the store, which means the crystal has been in contact with a lot of different energy.

Different cleansing methods are available, depending on your intention. For example, cleansing with the earth would be ideal for grounding. Sun and water cleansing can only be used for certain crystals. Cleansing some crystals in the sun over prolonged periods will make the colour fade. In water, some crystals will lose their shine, others may rust, and many will completely dissolve when submerged. It’s important to know what your crystals can be cleansed with.

Charging Crystals

Once you have cleansed the energy from your crystals, they are ready for charging. Charging crystals is the act of adding specific energy and amplifies its energy. Some methods for cleansing also work for charging. How you charge a crystal will depend on how you intend to use it. Charging differs from cleansing. Mostly, it’s okay to cleanse all of your crystals at once. However, it is better to charge your crystals individually so you can program a specific intention onto each crystal.

Charging with the moon and sunlight brings a very specific kind of energy and you might not want all of your crystals to be charged that intensely. For example, the full moon brings an energy of intuition, fulfillment, and celebration. While these are all really cool energies, if you’re working with a crystal for a different intention, then full moon charging isn’t the best option.

Programming Crystals

The difference between charging and programming is that charging amplifies and adds energy to the crystal while programming imprints a specific desire or intent into the crystal. You don’t have to program your crystal to benefit from them. Programming can help the crystal to perform intense healing and manifesting, but an unprogrammed crystal will still offer energetic healing. The best way to work with programmed crystals is to interact with them often.

When programming crystals, make sure you take into consideration the size and shape of your crystal you’re programming. Usually smaller crystals work better for programming, and you can wear or carry them around with you. Programming larger crystals can come in handy if you want protection or healing larger areas, like your room or your house. In a situation like this, programming spherical or organic-shaped crystals that will radiate their energy in all directions is ideal.

How to Program a Crystal?

Your energy will imprint your desires onto your crystal. When you program your crystals, make sure your energy frequency is right. For example, if you want to bring more love into your life, you’ll need to raise your vibrations to love; if you’re feeling stressed or tired, your crystal will pick up on that emotion instead. Vibrations are the energy you give off, your emotional state. Our body system includes our aura and chakras. Your aura or field of energy that surrounds your physical body is sensitive and can change depending on your thoughts, mood, and physical health. Because our energy is so sensitive, you have the power to raise your vibrations anytime you want. Raising vibrations is fairly easy, just do something you love doing!

After Raising Your Vibrations

1. Begin by focusing on your breath and centering yourself for 2-3 minutes.

2. Rub your hands together to activate your hand chakras and warm up your palms.

3. Hold your crystal in your hands.

4. Close your eyes. Visualize your goal. For example, if you want to manifest your dream job, imagine you are at your dream job. Imagine how you feel, allowing yourself to feel any emotions that come up.

5. Hold your crystal and continue to meditate on your visualization for 5-15 minutes.

6. Your crystal is now programmed and will remain programmed for this purpose until you cleanse it.

If you program your crystal for a specific purpose, and that purpose is no longer needed, you’ll have to cleanse it to remove the programming. Cleansing programmed crystals will require more intense cleansing. Using 2-3 cleansing methods is highly encouraged. Then you can use your crystal for anything you’d like. I hope this helped you expand your knowledge and helped advance you on your journey of working with crystals.

How has Distance Learning Affected Students?

By Manon B.

April 14, 2021

Distance learning has affected students both mental and physical health, as much as staying home everyday can cause depression some students have done it for a full year. Along with the lack of social contact, the online class structure may have a number of detrimental effects on teenagers and adolescents. They can experience increased anxiety about keeping up with their schoolwork. Other teenagers can have trouble focusing or remaining concentrated at home. Minors have it the hardest in distance learning because they are not gaining knowledge as fast as they should and many students have also said that they are unmotivated during distance learning.

Lack of Social Contact

The lack of social contact during distance learning is hard because you don’t see anyone which means you don’t practice your communication skills. Lack of social interaction can lead to physical and mental conditions such as loneliness, depression and anxiety. As humans we need the companionship of others to thrive in life, and the strength of our connections has a huge impact on our mental health and happiness. During distance learning we have had time to be alone at home and maybe focus on ourselves, for me distance learning helped me focus on myself but not being able to see anyone was hard because i felt like i wasn't connecting with my friends.

Amount of Anxiety about Keeping up with their Schoolwork

During distance learning we have had a lot of schoolwork a to keep up with, students may have anxiety keeping up with due dates. Distance learning has increased students’ levels of anxiety.Online courses have call for a greater amount motivation and self-discipline than a classroom-based course.students have tried to set goals for a sense of motivation but it has been hard. Distance learning has created a lot of stress for me and especially the weeks before breaks because that’s when we finish quarters so we get a lot of tests about what we learnt like an overview.

Trouble Focusing or Remaining Concentrated at Home.

Students have talked about trouble focusing and getting work done. Being on a screen all day has affected what you do on your computer meaning that remaining concentrated can be hard knowing that you could play video games or watching a movie instead of listening to the teacher speak. With my personal experience it has been hard to concentrate especially because I knew I had the choice to watch youtube videos or focus in class which sometime was hard to choose the right answer. Students may be thinking too much about what they don't get to do instead of focusing on online school work. These mental distractions can be just as strong as a blaring TV in the room. According to understood there are 8 ways to stay focused,

Students Feeling Unmotivated during Distance Learning

Students may feel unmotivated to doing their work because they don’t have anyone encouraging and giving them as much advice as before, students might be scared to ask for help in class so they don’t get any work done without and might be confused on the task they were asked to do. According to Khan Academy there are many ways to help students stay focused.

What is the impact of Covid on Our Mental Health?

By Dara S.

Has society yielded with a depressive state of mind amid the vigorous circumstances after the COVID-19 pandemic?

As we surpassed the One Year mark of this dreaded lockdown we see how everyone’s lives have upended. Deranging physical health, social norms, and impacting mental health. Psychiatrists such as Dr. Elizabeth Reichert have begun to observe more and more psychological disturbances due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, this induced the constant monitoring of the global rise of mental health disorders following the mass panic and ongoing demolition of previous social commonalities.

Conforming to new rules and avant-garde norms was sure to take a toll on the psychological health of many. Ranging from an increase in depression rates leading to other mental illnesses varying to anxiety, substance abuse, and eating disorders.

US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health scrutinizes the prevalence of depression amidst COVID-19. Using data from the twelve largest current studies, statistics suggest that the prevalence of depression throughout COVID-19 is 25%. Comparing depression rates from 2017 at a proportion of 3.44% (ranging between 2 and 6%). Observing additional research pointing out depression rates from previous outbreaks, there is subsequential evidence leading to the conclusion that COVID-19 has led to some of the highest depression statistics. According to Damir Huremovic, this may be because “These past epidemics were contained faster and, despite a higher mortality rate, infection rates were lower, which may explain the prevalence of lower rates of depressive symptoms.” Despite Damir Huremovic’s thesis, other experts have different opinions on the increasingly soaring depression rates.

Psychiatrist, Nidal Moukaddam talks directly about anxiety and stress-related mental disorders relating to the COVID-19 outbreak and similar occurrences in previous pandemics. Adding on she mentions societal impacts relating to the current pandemic, Stating “Pandemics are not just a medical phenomenon; they affect individuals and society on many levels, causing disruptions. Stigma and xenophobia are two aspects of the societal impact of pandemic infectious outbreaks. Panic and stress have also been linked to outbreaks. This is often followed by anxiety-related behaviors, sleep disturbances, and overall lower perceived state of health.” Her research provides a more in-depth summary of the stress-related mental disparities ensuing medical mistrust and anxiety due to global outbreaks.

Despite the increase in depression and anxiety rates, statistics and insurance claims indicate the awakening of other mental illnesses such as eating disorders. Ranging from anorexia nervosa, binge eating, and bulimia. Christine Peat, Ph.D. of Center of Excellence in Eating disorders states “ We have seen roughly a 30-40% increase in referrals to our clinic alone.” In addition to the percentage increase of eating disorders, there have been many concerns about the increase of severity. Some believe that this sudden spike occurred during the pandemic pursuant to the rise of adjustment disorder, depression and, general anxiety-- all are known risk factors for eating disorders. Conversely, others reckon that it may be an extension to the everchanging surrounding environment and the uncertainty many may experience during these times. Stephanie Zerwas, Ph.D., an associate professor of psychiatry mentions “ During the COVID-19 crisis, combining puberty with high anxiety and uncertainty, a lack of structure, and constant pressure from increased engagement with social media were an onslaught of risk factors placed on young people. That's pretty much a perfect storm for developing an eating disorder.” With experts coming out about more and more concerns relating to mental health, eating disorders are currently the fifth most prominent mental illness in the US. Another disparity in our mental health during these more-than confusing times.

Covid-19 Pandemic Builds New Creative Ways of Communication

By Amy L.

It was exciting when the school had announced they were closing back in March 2020. Nobody knew how the new virus would keep us home a long year later.

Unlike the first two weeks of an unexpected break, as time went on students found themselves losing connection between their friends and families. They needed to find new ways to meet online and socialize like before, the ongoing pandemic. So, a twelve year old attending the International School Manila conducted a survey to find how students in her school, and others worldwide have made ways to talk to one another now since it's been over a year they have seen each other. “I have found many ways to connect with my friends across the world, but I was curious on how others in my school have been doing. I questioned five students in my grade on this topic , and the answers were shocking,” said the researcher Amy. “I haven't talked to my friends since we left school. Honestly it’s more awkward talking to a blank profile. I’d rather wait until we get back to school” said one interviewed seventh grader.

Students' Fears as Cases Rise

The pandemic continuing for over a year now, and transmissions of cases increasing, hopes of the reopening of schools have vanished from those students. Instead, Amy noticed that students themselves predict to keep up with the online classes for at least another year. “It’s devastating and hard, but what can we do about it?” stated one student. “I don't know, but I might leave the school and move to a place where I can study offline and make friends.” said another student. Several students are facing problems in getting proper education, and most importantly connecting with their friends and family through the virus has been a problem. So how have these people solved this problem?

A Huge Change in Communication

To research her main question “ So how have students been connecting through the continuously impacting virus?” Amy decided to compare the difference of socializing apps and websites usage worldwide and the International School Manila seventh grade community. Based on the Kubco “Top 27 Social Media Apps for Your 2021 Strategy” article, the student collected shocking data of media apps usage worldwide. “I was just shocked about this data! 540 million people use Facebook, 503 million on instagram, 477 milion on zoom and 404 million on messenger! At first glance, I immediately saw how common the apps our school community used with the others worldwide!” explained Amy. “When I had interviewed my friends a couple of weeks ago, I collected answers that were fairly similar to the data above. Out of the five students 100% used messenger, 100% used zoom, 80% used instagram and 50% used facebook. This data was very alarming to me.”

Amy had found the similarities between her friends and the other millions of media users, but what most surprised her was the increase of popularity in the app Zoom. “There is not a single person that I know who doesn't use zoom. Zoom is a must for a time like this where we do everything online, but what I discovered was even more shocking. Data shows that just a couple of years back in 2019, there was an average of 10 million zoom users. Now, there are more than 450 million users! That's about an increase of 45 times the users in just two years. Looking at this it was clear how the pandemic has made and found new ways to communicate with one another in such a short amount of time.” said Amy.

Hopes to Continue and Develop More Ways of Communication

Relying on social media as a way of the only form of communication was never to be thought of even just a couple of months ago. But now, it has come to a time where our daily life would not be possible without this kind of app usage. This situation has brought new creative ideas to students who hope to develop different ways to strengthen the online community that they are included in.

“Some of the International Schools students have even been considering creating their own media apps or services, to help continue this online program for as many people as possible. Times are hard, but I have been very thankful of the opportunity to meet and collaborate with my peers in different ways, and I hope this way of communication can develop more in the future.” reports Journalists Amy Lee.

Page updated

Report abuse