See you in two weeks!

I am in full exam mode.
As much as I am wanting to take a few hours out of my current schedule to blog, I know I shouldn't.
(Woooo for priorities and being responsible :P)

So, right now as you're reading this,

I'll be doing this...

Financial Management is not my favourite subject, let's just leave it at that :P
Anyways, next time you hear from me,
I'LLL BE DONE WITH EXAMS AND OFFICIALLY ON HOLIDAYS!

I have so many exciting posts planned already!
I am just so beyond keen for some actual free time to dedicate to this little blog of mine.

But, until then,

Gotta power through a little more of this ^

Hope you guys have a lovely rest of this week, and a great next week,
and I'll see you guys the following week 😉 

Until then, you can: Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Or follow me below at - 

Instagram 

Twitter

Tumblr

Pinterest

They're all linked so you should just be able to click on them! :)

❤️, Raashi

Six months in.

Hi June🌸 The next 6 months mark a change in direction, focus & priorities for me: PhD wise & creativity wise! So here's heading into the last 6 months of 2016.

A photo posted by Ananya (@namastefromananya) on Jun 5, 2016 at 10:52pm PDT

THIS ^
Lovely Ana, from over at Namaste From Ananya, posted this on Instagram the other day.
As I was scrolling through my feed, I came across this, read the caption,
and stopped.

We are 6 months in, with 6 left to go.

As I was writing this post, I read Ana's and she had said two very important things.

Being 6 months in,

 "It’s an opportunity:

 -to see how far you’ve come

-how far you’ve set yourself up for the year ahead"

"It’s also an opportunity:

for panic to set in as we realise those goals that we set for the New Year

have gathered some or a lot of dust."

I came into this year incredibly sure of what I wanted of myself, and very motivated - ready to push myself to do what I needed to do, for what I wanted.

I am proud to say, so far, I've done relatively well and am semi- on track!

I am also happy to say I have a relatively good idea of what I need to do in the coming 6 months.

BUT, I can 100% say there are things I was supposed to have done by now that I haven't. 

Maybe it's just the eternal optimist in me - but, I don't want to focus on this negative.

I want to use the positive things I've managed to achieve as a proof of my ability,

something which I can use to fuel me in reaching my next goals.

I have been a little out of the blogging world lately, and I can thank some of my other goals for that. 

I have been working hard on other things, but slowly and surely I'm starting to catch up with some of you all.

I am now heading into exams (and one final 50% assignment! Pretending like that isn't worrying :P).

I am so ready for holidays, I am ready to have finished one semester - and to reflect.

I am ready for time to sit down and set up for the remainder of this year.

I am ready to focus on some different projects this holidays.

I am ready to get to invest some more time into blogging.

I am ready to give some more time to myself.

I am ready to refocus.

I am ready.

(I'm a total Type A person, so I'm not even going to pretend that I wasn't thoroughly excited about the fact that those sentences above - they turned into the perfect inverted pyramid :P

Yes, I'm a total geek. Ok. Back to being serious.)

I am ready.

And, as Ana put it, 

"There's a level of excitement coupled with enthusiasm and focus."

What are you ready for as we are now 6 months in, and 6 months out from the end of this year?
And, how were your first 6 months in! ☺️

New post will be up next Wednesday!

Until then, you can: Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Or follow me below at - 

Instagram 
Twitter

Tumblr

Pinterest

They're all linked so you should just be able to click on them! :)

❤️, Raashi

The Good News: May, 2016

We are heading into the halfway point of this year 😳
Time slooooooooow down, pleaseeeeee.
But, the past month of May has brought some amazing:

Via

The lowdown:

I have always been all for being positive and optimistic

(read about my take on The Importance of Positivity ☺️).

A long time back, I had the idea of doing a blogpost series called 'The Good News'.

The news and current affairs of our world is so important, it is crucial we keep updated on what is happening around us.

BUT...

A lot of that tends to focus on what is going wrong.

And, although it is necessary to think about what is wrong in order to right it,

I think we could stand to gain a lot from appreciating what is already right, or getting good, as well!

So, without further ado,

THE GOOD NEWS!

May, 2016

...

Mowing Seniors' lawns for free

Rodney Smith Jr. (pictured above, right) began mowing lawns in Alabama to help the elderly, the disabled and single parents. He has since created the not for profit Raising Men Lawn Care Services. With other teens now getting involved he says he is using the service to teach them "a sense of accomplishment, self-esteem, moral value and purpose in themselves".

...

Resume of Failures to encourage everyone

Via

Ivy League Professor, PhD from Harvard, Princeton's Johannes Haushofer wanted to make a point:

"Most of what I try fails, but these failures are often invisible, while the successes are visible. I have noticed that this sometimes gives others the impression that most things work out for me. As a result, they are more likely to attribute their own failures to themselves, rather than the fact that the world is stochastic, applications are crapshoots, and selection committees and referees have bad days. This CV of Failures is an attempt to balance the record and provide some perspective."

...

Son asks his Mum to her first ever prom 

Via

Son, Trey Potter, said "She never had that experience and she's risked so much for throughout my life and made so many sacrifices. I thought it would be the right thing to do".

Mum, MelRo Potter, grew up in 23 different foster care homes and ended up pregnant and homeless at 16.

“When I was pregnant with him well, I heard, ‘Mel because you lived in the foster care system, you’re probably not going to raise a thriving individual. It just doesn’t happen. You can’t give him what you don’t have.’ So seeing who he has become and knowing the sacrifices that have been made and how much I love him and seeing that come to fruition, I’ve proved him wrong".

...

Tabletop notes of encouragement for students

This follows the school's "growth mindset" concept; the belief that in order to become successful, it isn't all about brains and talent. Abilities can be developed through hard work and dedication.

...

Nepal's Two Year Celebration of Zero Rhino Poaching

Via

High-level political will and government entities + the active involvement of conservation communities = Conservation success and zero poaching.

Thanks to Nepal's efforts, more than 645 one-horned rhinos live in Nepal, which is the highest record number for the country and will hopefully serve as inspiration for countries like Africa (where poachers killed 1,338 rhinos last year).

...

[DISCLAIMER: IF YOU WANT TO SMILE TODAY, JUST PRESS PLAY. Legitimately ☺️ ]

Love at first sight for toddler and Snow White

Jack-Jack (2) wasn't too keen on Mary Poppins and Buzzlight Year, but one person was the exception.         My heart ❤️

...

And that was some of The Good News for May! ☺️

What were you surprised to hear about? Do you have a favourite?

Do you like listening to some Good News? ☺️

New post will be up next Wednesday!

Until then, you can: Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Or follow me below at - 

Instagram 
Twitter

Tumblr

Pinterest

They're all linked so you should just be able to click on them! :)

❤️, Raashi

The Framing Of Feminism Over Time

I study a few different things at uni and one of them is Journalism and Mass Communication ☺️ 

When the journalism life finally becomes all research-y and professional 😊💻📊

A photo posted by Raashi Agarwal (@raashiagarwal) on Apr 26, 2016 at 2:59am PDT

Earlier this year I got the chance to do a very cool data capture, text analytics, data visualisation project. I was able to choose any topic of interest and use a really fancy, complicated, text analytics engine. I really wanted to share what I found with you guys cause I thought it was very interesting.

THE FRAMING OF FEMINISM OVER TIME

Over the last few decades, women have taken great strides in breaking the boundaries surrounding their rights and what was expected of them. However, the past decade, specifically, has seen a definite word move to the foreground of all these developments, 

Feminism.

It is a topic area that is of high significance to contemporary social science and communication studies, and to our society as a whole - for a multitude of reasons (all of which have been at the forefront of media representation and coverage in recent times). The fight for feminism is still in full force today, and hereby stems the motivation for this study: to analyse and visualise the evolution of the media's portrayal of Feminism. 

I'm interested in looking at coverage on the topic of Feminism from the angle of the differences that have occurred over time. 

Map of the most important themes and concepts discovered. 

There are four major themes:

1. Women and Empowerment: 
Female, men, feminists, sexual, young, girls, society, power, change, world, sex, culture, today.
These concepts are in focus as women are obviously integral to Feminism, as is men's involvement in the topic. Furthermore, the actions and behaviours of women today are changing, and empowering, what young girls in society are seeing and fighting for, i.e. their equal rights. These concepts are demonstrated in the implications of issues such as the gender pay gap, reproductive rights, and women in government, to name a few.

2. Feminism:
Feminists, political, social, movement, gender, people, equality, rights, issues, society.
The significance of these concepts is that they convey a definitional overview of what Feminism means - and what and whom it affects.

3. History:
History, women's, culture, public, politics.
This theme relates to information about the Suffragette movement, oppression, discrimination, Waves of Feminism, the fight for rights and feminists earning their place in history.

4. Work-Life Balance:
Time, life, family, work, children, home.
Clearly the concern here is how are women finding balance between their work and home life - the issue of women being able to "do it all" in the time they have.


However, as I am most interested in comparing the differences that have occurred over time, regarding the coverage of the topic of Feminism, I will look at the concepts according to the categories of interest. 

The interesting trends and qualities of the data captured include:

• Approximately ten years ago, the focus was on being a feminist instead of Feminism as a movement - as well as focusing on females and not including men in the conversation. However, women's increasing involvement in the workforce seemed to be very noted - which transitioned into the next five years as a key issue as well (although in a slightly different light).

• Approximately five years ago, work was still a focus within the topic of Feminism but it was framed within the context of time - indicating the discussion was concentrated towards the work/life imbalance that many women were struggling with at the time. Additionally, men became engaged in the coverage. This occurred for reasons such as the need for men to become more involved at home to aid working women, and because Feminism as a concept was entering into media - hence bringing equality between men and women to attention (which also transitioned into the next five years).

• Most recently, and less than a year ago, coverage on the topic of Feminism has shifted almost entirely onto Feminism as a concept and movement - reporting on the social and political equality of genders, involving all people. It should be noted that people was a single concept and was not broken down into males or females as specific concepts, denoting the change in conversation about everyone being a feminist (which has become widely covered in media as of late).

Therefore, through an analysis of a corpus of traditional media data, an evolution in the media's portrayal of Feminism is evident. Feminism has always been relevant over the past decade, but in very different frames over time.

Over the last 10 years, the coverage of the topic of feminism has evolved from focusing on females and their work-home lives, to the promotion and publicising of equal rights and opportunities across the genders - conceptualising Feminism as a movement pertaining to other important social issues.

Moreover, rather than merely just a discussion of issues relating to Feminism, there is a move towards creating a change in consciousness, framing Feminism as a movement for all people.

To those who managed to reach the end of this more wordy post, I hope you found it interesting and enjoyed it.
Would absolutely love, love, love to hear your thoughts ❤️
How do you think Feminism is framed today? How is it framed by our generation? How would you want it to be framed?

Switching up my posting schedule to Wednesdays now! So see you Wednesday 😉 !

Until then, you can: Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Or follow me below at - 

Instagram 
Twitter

Tumblr

Pinterest

They're all linked so you should just be able to click on them! :)

All data analysed in this study was sourced from the Factiva Search Engine. 600 traditional media coverage articles were captured using 'Feminism' as the key string. The dataset search was conducted in three different time periods with five-year intervals: 2005, 2010, and 2015.

One year: Time for some changes!

(Tomorrow! But I'm sticking to routine and posting today ☺️ )

-If you want to skip all the sappy, reflective stuff,

and see MY TWO BIG CHANGES,

 scroll down till you see some more orange!-

I started my blog for three main reasons:

1. As a journalism student, I really wanted to get my hands into developing my own content and getting involved in the practice of what I'm learning.

2. I wanted some change, something to experiment with, a new challenge.

3. I respected (and still do!) the effort, creativity and thought behind blogging - and the sharing of content blogging enables. To be able to read someone's thoughts, on any topic, at the click of a button, it's something I feel incredibly fortunate about.

But, I've gotten so, so, so much more out of it than I ever anticipated.

I have a whole collection of posts to look back on. Sometimes I love to sit and reminisce about what I have done over the last year, what I was thinking about, what I enjoyed writing about. 

I love it.

Even more lovely and exciting are the amazing people and posts I've gotten to connect with through blogging.

I said in my first post ever:

And it really has been fun!

And inspiring, and eye-opening, and so much more!

-MY TWO BIG CHANGES-

And, now that I've had a year with my blog, it's time for some growth and a couple changes!

When I initially tried to figure out how to describe my blog, I said this:

And, that still hasn't changed.

But, today, I want to change two things.

Like I said earlier, I started my blog to get some journalism practice and exposure, and so I had just kept my blog name as raashiagarwal.blogspot.com.

I've been contemplating changing that for a long time now, and this felt like the perfect milestone to do it on!

So...

introducing...

REFLECTIONS WITH RAA

(!!!)

An honest, conversational, genuine blog between you and myself ☺️ 

Reflections:

I chose this word because this blog is a product of my pensive contemplation and thoughts on a whole array of random topics...and a whole lot of rambling (typical Raashi, am I right?).

Raa:

I have a lot of random nicknames, but Raa will always be one of my favourites. 

This nickname was created by one of my best friends in our  Grade 8 History class.

We were covering Egyptian history and learnt about Sun God, Raa

(who is technically referred to as Ra, and is technically a male, but, technicalities! :P).

Apart from the obvious similarity with the start of my name, I adored everything this deity stood for:

Light, warmth, and growth.

As a lot of you would already know from my Good News posts and The Importance of Positivity post I always talk about, I am all about focusing on love and light. 

It feels perfect to bring this nickname I adore into my blog permanently ☺️ 

My other change?

It is something I have been meaning to do for FOREVER, and so many of you have told me to!

I GOT TWITTER.

Tweets by @reflectionbyraa

Bear with me as I try to figure this whole thing out and start following some of your lovely selves, haha :P

My twitter handle is reflectionbyraa, cause 15 character limits apparently dislike my new blog name that I love so dearly :P

Anyways!
Thank you for all of those who read this post which is so special to me,
and to those that have read and supported this little space during its first year.
It's meant a whole, whole lot. ❤️

New blog post will be up next Tuesday!

Until then, you can: Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Or follow me below at - 

Instagram 

Tumblr

Pinterest

They're all linked so you should just be able to click on them! :)

❤️, Raashi

Top Ten Posts Of My First Year

I am a little over a week out from my one year...

BLOGIVERSARY (!!!)

I had never, ever blogged before this - so thank you all for sticking around while I figured (and still figure) this whole thing out!

I thought that as I near my one year anniversary of Blogging it would be fun to do a countdown of
My Top Ten Posts of the Year ☺️ 

10.  What's your Love Language?



9. MAC Lipstick Haul!



8. Living by Mantras I Part 1 I



7. Living by Mantras I Part 2 I



6. What an adventure! Team L.I.F.E!




5. Get to know me! The Liebster Award.



4. Best Friend Breakups



3. Some strappy, sophisticated heels



2. The Importance of Positivity
(this makes my heart so happy! ❤️)



And the number #1 post of this past year....

1. When your ex downgrades...
(I honestly chalk this up to my controversial post title :P 
If you haven't read this post maybe you should, cause it might not be the perspective you think?)

Other top notable mentions include:
Our world needs love
Introductions, Impressions and Insecurities
Get to know me!
Ethnicity Tag: I'm off to India!
Realistic and Diversified: Barbie Body Language
How to make someone's day!
What I wore to the ball...
The Good News: March, 2016

And some of the lesser known ones:
Our "Camping" Trip
Photographs capturing Proposals
Holidays!
If Your Loved ones Became Homeless
The Beauty Lover Tag

I would love, love, love to know if you guys have a favourite post from my past year?

Thank you for reading, for the past year, today, and as always! ☺️ 

New blog post will be up next Tuesday! (Blogiversary!!!)

Until then, you can: Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Or follow me below at - 

Instagram 

Tumblr

Pinterest

They're all linked so you should just be able to click on them! :)

❤️, Raashi

The Good News: April, 2016

We are now in May! Craziness!
But, that means it's time for us to look over the past month and what April brought in terms of...

Via

The lowdown:

I have always been all for being positive and optimistic

(read about my take on The Importance of Positivity ☺️).

A long time back, I had the idea of doing a blogpost series called 'The Good News'.

The news and current affairs of our world is so important, it is crucial we keep updated on what is happening around us.

BUT...

A lot of that tends to focus on what is going wrong.

And, although it is necessary to think about what is wrong in order to right it,

I think we could stand to gain a lot from appreciating what is already right, or getting good, as well!

So, without further ado,

THE GOOD NEWS!

April, 2016

...

Prom for Seniors, by High Schoolers

Via

Students from the TERRA Environmental Research Institute in Miami, Florida went to a nursing home and held a prom for the senior residents.
(So much cuteness ensued as you can see from the photos above.)
Flowers, corsages, tiaras, the whole nine yards - along with their school mascot cheering the residents onto the dance floor. 

...

People with mental sensitivities get a peaceful shopping hour

Via

A Manchester ASDA store has initiated a "quiet hour" every week for customers with autism or other sensitivities.

No music, no lights from flashing signs, no slight sounds from escalators even! They will all be turned off and store maps with pictures in the place of words will be handed out, to aid with the sensory challenges these individuals usually face.

Simon Lea, store manager, pictured above, said,
“It’s all about helping people really.”
“Six months ago I would have said ‘control your child’ even though I’ve got children. But speaking to people with autism and disabled people has helped me think about how I can make it a better place to shop.”

...

Abused Kenyan Girls get the royal treatment they deserve

Via

'Rafiki Mwema' (meaning Loyal Friend), is a nonprofit home that cares for young Kenyan girls who have been abused. Although amazing, it had been filling up quickly and once girls were teenagers they ended up having to go back to their village, leaving all emotional support behind.
A GoFundMe page was created not too long ago by Australian mum, Sarah Rosberg.

The goal: Raise $75,000 to construct a second home for those teenagers.
The result: In one month, over $200,000 was raised!

Queen's Castle is in progress and will provide a developed healing program and lots of support for these beautiful teenage girls. 

...

Orchestra gives Violin to Homeless Man after his was stolen

"God won't let me be without a violin," said Mark Landry after his was stolen. Has new 1 thanks to @LeMetropolitain pic.twitter.com/Uo1ngxdMG0

— Alison Northcott (@AlisonNorthcott) April 12, 2016

Mark Landry woke up one morning to find that the instrument he played every day for tips had been stolen and promptly started asking for donations so he could replace it. 

Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain saw photos of him spread across the internet and their CEO told of their reaction:

“We said, ‘Oh my God, this poor man lost his only way of communicating his passion to others,’”

A local violin store sold the Orchestra a new violin at no profit and that same afternoon Mark performed to a standing ovation.

Skip to 1.03 for his performance ☺️

...

Free Tattoos covering the scars on recovered Self-Harmers

Via

22 year old tattoo artist, Whitney Develle, talked to a girl who had suffered from an eating disorder as a teenager about how after being recovered her scars just feel like a constant reminder of her troubled past. The girl then asked Whitney if she could cover the scars with a tattoo.

Whitney said she'd give it a try and that lead to the Scars Project.

Whitney said,

"The way the tattoo made her feel, it was like she was wearing armour on top of her scars."

"Now the reaction she gets... 'where did you get that tattoo, that tattoo is beautiful' instead of looking directly at her scars and judging her. Seeing the expression on her face and how happy it made her, I thought what a great idea to be able to do that for more people."

1-2 days a week, she provides free of charge tattoos - and she has been met with an overwhelming response from people all over the world. 

Every tattoo she creates, the individual shares their story along with the photo.
Click on this link to read some beautiful, beautiful stories.

...

Everyone joins together to ease Jagger's nerves

13 year old autistic boy, Jagger Lavely, took to his school stage for a talent show performance.  Halfway through singing "Let It Go" from Frozen he began to freeze up. Everyone at Oak Middle School joined in chorus and accompanied Jagger.

“It was just that magical moment where it just felt like the entire community rallied around him,” said mum, Stacey Lavely.

Is it just me or can you see a difference in him towards the end of the song?❤️
People are amazing. 

...

And that was some of The Good News for April! ☺️

What were you surprised to hear about? Do you have a favourite?

Do you like listening to some Good News? ☺️

New blog post will be up next Tuesday!!! 

Until then, you can: Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Or follow me below at - 

Instagram 

Tumblr

Pinterest

They're all linked so you should just be able to click on them! :)

❤️, Raashi