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Really good to read. Thanks.

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Brilliant.

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The Benefits of Volunteering

Think about the last time you volunteered your time and talents to an important effort or cause. How did it make you feel? With the busy lives we lead, just the thought of volunteering might seem overwhelming, but in reality it could be very beneficial. It’s easy to think about the positive impact that volunteers have on others, but we don’t often consider how rewarding it can be for a volunteer to reach out and make a difference in someone’s life. As we approach the summer solstice, put those many hours of daylight to good use. Here are five good reasons for seniors and caregivers alike to volunteer:

1. Find Meaning and Purpose at Any Age: Sharing what you’ve learned with others can be a rewarding opportunity to give back. It’s also an opportunity not relegated to the young. Between 2009 and 2011, the average national volunteer rate of older adults was 23.9% per year, as compared to baby boomers at 29.2% and young adults at 22.1%. Average older adult volunteer rates for states ranged from 17.4% to 39.3%. For older adults, a study showed that formal volunteering moderated the loss of a sense of purpose for those who had experienced the loss of major role identities, such as wage-earner and parent. Residents, and family members of residents, at Sunrise Senior Living volunteer through ongoing community service projects. At Sunrise, there are many family members who volunteer as ‘family buddies’ to give advice and encouragement to families of new residents in Reminiscence Memory Care Neighborhoods. They say that they receive satisfaction in knowing they are helping others and that sharing their own personal stories is therapeutic.

2. Experience Improved Health and Well-being: Many people who volunteer say that helping others gives them a good feeling inside, something that researchers call a “helpers high”. There seems to be an actual physical sensation that occurs when people help others that makes them experience greater energy and strength, less depression and increased feelings of self-worth, reports Psychology Today. Another survey of a large group of older adults showed that while those who received social support did not experience a marked improvement in health, those who gave support to others had lower mortality rates. That means that caregivers actually benefit the most when they help others.

3. Make New Friends and Improve Your Mind: Volunteering provides an opportunity for seniors and caregivers alike to increase their social engagement as well as their brain power. A study conducted by the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center showed that there was a link between higher levels of social connections and participation in social activities with better cognitive function.

4. Learn New Skills: It’s never too late to learn a new skill or develop a new hobby. Volunteering can open the door to new learning opportunities that you may have not previously considered or thought you were capable of doing. For example, I know someone at Sunrise that started as a volunteer who is now a memory care coordinator at a Sunrise community. Volunteering gave her the opportunity to discover just how much she loved working with the senior population and was a springboard to a fulfilling career where she has a positive impact on the quality of life of residents and their families every day.

5. Know That You Can Make a Powerful Difference: Regardless of your age or situation, you can also have a positive influence in someone’s life. The simple act of visiting with a resident in a retirement home or dementia care neighborhood, holding their hand or offering a listening ear may seem like a small thing, but is actually quite powerful because that simple act of caring brings them immeasurable comfort, joy and encouragement.

In addition, volunteering not only provides us with the opportunity to get involved in a cause that we are passionate about, but also provides the chance to look beyond our own circumstances and appreciate what others are experiencing. The difference that you’ll make in someone else’s life will make an even bigger difference in yours.

Attached is an article explaining the benefits of volunteering that I find really interesting and feel the need to share to others. This is because I've actually experienced it myself and to me all the five benefits mentioned in the article are very true.

Years before, I never thought volunteerism would mean so much to me like how it does now. Based on my personal experience, my very first involvement with volunteerism started in 2015, when my father brought our family for a vacation in Jordan. Initially, we only planned to just have a 'normal' vacation such as visiting the attractions available in Jordan. However, coincidentally, our tour guides, 'Abang Farhan' and 'Abang Abqari' who also happened to be Malaysians that were furthering their studies in Jordan, offered to bring us to the 'Syrian Refugee Camp'.

Since the camp was located near to the city that we stayed at, we accepted their offer and although, it was a very last minute plan, it was a moment that changed my life. Giving to others had never been that satisfying! Witnessing the smile on the faces of those innocent children was something that I will always treasure. Therefore, I strongly agree with the second point that's mentioned in the article;

Many people who volunteer say that helping others gives them a good feeling inside, something that researchers call a “helpers high”.

It is indeed true, you can actually feel it in you. The indescribable feeling, a combination of feeling happy, touched, grateful and empathy all at once.

In conclusion, I am strongly confident that no matter how bad a person is, deep inside, we all cherish the chance of giving and sharing something that we have with others due to the human nature that lies within all of us. If you've never tried it before, then why not now? There are so much benefits to it!

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Oh hello there! This would be my first entry here in padlet. Due to that reason, I don't want this to be a typical, boring and plain entry about an ordinary day in my life. Therefore, I decided not to pick any of the days from last week to tell a story about, as they were all tremendously boring. If you're wondering why, it is because last week was the foundation students' midterm examination week.

So, I bet you could imagine how hurly-burly that week was; nothing interesting, merely filled with a repeated sequence of sleepless nights, last minute revisions and stress!

Consequently, I will share a story about one of the fun days spent at my parent's house during the Chinese New Year holiday in Qatar. A few days before I flew back to Malaysia, faced the reality of life and sat for my exams.

Alright let's proceed with the story of 'a day of my life' in a remote town of a small country in the Middle East, known as Dukhan Al-Jumayliyah, Qatar. I grew up in this town. A town where nearly everyone knows each other. If you look at it faintly, you would say that this town has nothing other than the basic facilities found in a typical place of living such as: a medical centre, a fire station, a police station, a supermarket, a school, and others.

Now that I lived in Malaysia, I would only get to visit my family there whenever there is a long public holiday which is like once in a few months time. Therefore, on the recent Chinese New Year holiday, I went back to Qatar, but this time, I didn't fly alone, I had a good friend of mine, Maryam Sofiyah, with me. Now, could you imagine how fun the whole trip was? Traveling abroad with your best friend is something that everyone always wishes for!

Heading straight to the main point, on our second day in Qatar, I woke up at the crack of dawn, due to the excitement of bringing out Sofiyah for a walk around the area of the township. So, I woke her up (this wasn't an easy task O_O), we got ourselves ready and as expected, when we went downstairs to the dining room, the dining table was already filled with meals for breakfast! You know you're at a place called 'home' when this happened! You don't even have the time to feel hungry, when your mother is around. May God blessed all mothers in this world!

After having our breakfast, around 7.30 AM in the morning, we made our way to one of the famous landmarks of the town, Al-Jabel which is the highest mountain presence in Dukhan, located just a few kilometres. It was approximately 17 degrees celcius at that time, and due to the very pleasant weather, we stopped by for several times,  just to cherish the moment of having the opportunity to witness a different dimension of God's creation, the aesthetically pleasing scenery of the desert.

Thanks to Sofiyah, now I know how it felt to be a tour guide. Strolling around and showing her places that are so close to my heart was indeed a pleasure! After almost an hour of walking, we finally arrived at the mountain. To be frank, it shouldn't had took us that long to arrive, but of course, girls being girls, one picture was never enough! We spent most of the time snapping pictures.

It was a moment of victory, when we finally got on top of the mountain. The view was breathtaking which made us both felt very satisfied and happy! Although, I had been living there for years, I took it all for granted, I never really invested the time to appreciate the beauty of this town, but  having Sofiyah with me that time was like a reason for me to go out and explore them all. Another thanks goes to her.

After around an hour of staying at the top of the mountain, I decided that we should start making our way home, as the sun was beating mercilessly on my back and I could almost felt the sweat trickling down my spine. It wasn't as humid as it is in Malaysia, but the sun rays there is very blazing that it hurts to even open your eyes.

Here I included some of the pictures we snapped that day. Enjoy the 'view'! Qatar is indeed a beautiful country that I could call as my second home, other than Malaysia. Thanks for reading!

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Here I attached a photo with my favourite quotes written on it.

First thing first, you must be curious of how I found this quotes. Well, Yasmin Mogahed is one of my biggest women idol. She always amazes me with the things that she speaks about and she inspires me in many kinds of way. If I were to become someone who inspires others someday, I would want to reach the hearts of the people who get inspired by me just in the way that my heart is reached by every words uttered by her.

Now, how do I integrate this quotes into my life? To begin with, let me elaborate this quotes in a simpler form that will hopefully make you understand it better.

Specifically, this quote is talking about hardships. In my opinion, hardships are something that everyone are familiar with. It would be a lie, if anyone says that their life is perfect. At some point in our life, we have no choice, but to face the hardships that are coming our way. However, just like everything else in this world, we choose how we want to see it, we choose our focus point, which lead us in deciding how our life is going to be.

In this quote, Yasmin has pointed out the things that most of us fail to notice. She points out the fact that whenever we are facing with hardships, many of us would spend the time in asking God who we believed has the power to change anything that He wants, to cure us of the hardships that we are facing. Isn't this so true? I bet we can all relate ourselves to this.

Let me give you a simple analogy portraying this quotes. So that you can get a clearer picture of it. Imagine a situation of when you are being accused of doing something that you don't actually do. Then, a lot people are starting to spread this untrue story about you doing such and such to others. Now, this a form of hardship that we are being tested with by God. In this kind of situation, I believe that majority of us would feel really sorrowful and perhaps depressed in facing this. This then leads us to start questioning God of why this has to happen to us, which then eventually leads us to spend most of our time asking God to cure us of this hardship. Whereas, instead, we could stop, consider and try to comprehend the fact that the hardships are actually curing us. How is this?

In the situation stated, there are actually many lessons that we could assimilate from. We actually have the options of what we choose to focus on.

For instance, firstly, this hardship teaches us to trust God and have faith in Him. Know that He knows best and there MUST be a reason of why He tested us this way. Secondly, this hardship is also perhaps an opportunity for us to implant a positive thinking towards others and not do the same thing to other people later in life, like what the people are doing to us. As now we know how it feels like to be in a situation where you are being accused for something you don't do. Thirdly, if you think about it, without this hardship, you wouldn't actually have the chance of differentiating between your 'fake' and 'real' friends in life. Now that you have been tested, you are being given the opportunity to see who still sticks by and who actually chooses to believe the untrue story and leave you right away.

To conclude, there are actually many other lessons that I could list down from this situation. However, I hope that those three points are sufficient to open up your eyes, minds, and hearts to see, think and feel the message that Yasmin tries to convey through her quotes.

And as I mentioned earlier, hardships are something familiar to all of us. For that reason, we should all start to adopt this quotes into our lives, as this will help us to be able to live a happier life after this, by God's will.

Last words from me, this life was never intended to be perfect, this life itself is temporary, indicating that it will come to an end. So, how can we expect all the happiness, sadness or whatever kind of emotions that we are feeling to be everlasting? Just like how happiness doesn't last forever, so does sadness. Take note of the lessons and move on, there are so much more to be grateful of!

Once again, you always have the option of what to focus on. So, choose wisely! Thank you for reading!