There’s no better time to grow than right now.

As a result of the tumultuous year that we just went through on both personal and professional fronts, the importance of possessing a wide-range of transferrable soft skills cannot be stressed enough: it is fundamental.

While hard skills relate to technical knowledge, being qualities that are often teachable or measurable, such as financial, research or marketing skills, soft skills refer to personality traits that make us good at what we do, such as leadership, team work, and problem-solving skills.

What’s wonderful about the start of a new year is that it…

“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” ― C. S. Lewis

It’s been a long year for everyone, to say the least. I don’t have to get into the details.

Whether we like it or not, we’ve had to adapt our lives as human beings. A big change has occurred, and despite what many people have to say about it, life will not “go back to the way it was before” this year. …

I recently read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius – a series of the Roman Emperor’s personal writings, compiled into 12 “books” (chapters), written between the years 170 and 180.

Even though his memoirs do not have a title (being that they were never meant to be published), Aurelius’ writing depicts his thoughts about life, the human process and ideas for self-improvement, aligned with Stoic philosophy.

What amazes me is how, although written roughly 1850 years ago, the principles outlined in Marcus Aurelius’ writings are incredibly relevant today, especially in 2020.

It is inevitable to get caught up in our own world…

It’s a rough job market – to say the least, especially for new graduates. Gone are the days in which students choose to go to university “just for the sake of it” or because their previous teachers told them that by doing so, they’ll then get that “good job”.

It’s no surprise then that since the recession in 2008, there has been a major shift in promoting enrolment in STEM programs and a subsequent decline of enrolment in arts programs at universities and colleges alike.

That was not the case for me. I enrolled in an arts degree.

A few…

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” – Marcus Garvey

Family and cultural history are two things that can be incredibly important. …

You can’t learn a language without culture.

“To speak a language is to take on a world, a culture.” ― Frantz Fanon

Among many reasons as to why people fail in their language learning pursuits is that they attempt to learn a language by using artificial, traditional methods such as memorizing grammar rules or simple translation exercises (calling you out, Duo).

While such methods can “help” to a certain extent, they lack in culture, which is the driving-force of language: language and culture go hand-in-hand. …

I haven’t “travelled the world” by any means, but I’ve been fortunate enough to have had some extended stays living in a few other cities and countries that I will never forget.

The experience that I had in each place was unique and truly transformative. Opportunities from which I learned a lot, to say the least.

As we patiently await the reopening of borders and the ability to travel and move around without fear and stress, I wanted to share five things that I learned from living abroad that were consistent to each of my experiences.

1. Expectations will, almost always, let you down.

It’s much easier said…

A few of my reflections after six long years.

In the United States and Canada (albeit to a lesser degree in Canada) university is an investment and each year the cost to attend university continues to increase. Every year a number of students graduate from a four-year undergraduate program with a significant amount of debt which inevitably leaves a sour taste in their mouths as they prepare to make the real jump into adulthood. They’re often left questioning if their decision to attend university was really worth their time, and more importantly, their money. …