ALBONE

Sometimes, we all just need to chill for a li'l bit. In today's society (hey look, it's the magic word-), everything is about productivity. Economic efficiency is typically measured by how much output can be generated from any given inputs. Leaders in various fields; from athletics to business, are often characterized by their consistent activity. They wake up before everyone else to hammer away at their craft. It's good to be busy. Work is one of the things that brings the most meaning to our lives. But the grindset mindset isn't always beneficial. People are like computers. If you overwork them, they crash. Lots of us often tend to underestimate the value that rest has in our lives. Take sleep for example. The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (hey look Professor, I referenced academic literature) recommends 7 hours of sleep for the average adult. Let's round that up to 8 to make the ensuing math easier (and who's gonna argue with an extra hour of sleep?)...

 Some thoughts and ideas on new beginnings. Happy New Year! Our planet has completed yet another orbit around our Sun. But nothing feels...different.  Our placement of the start of the New Year is quite arbitrary. We could have it at any time. The Chinese won't be celebrating their New Year until February (it's gonna be the Year of the Dragon-how cool is that?). People make a big deal out of the beginning of a new year, and not without reason. It's a time of high levels of activity: planning for the next 12 months, paying school fees, getting back to work...there's a lot to do. Setting New Year's resolutions is one common practice around this time. Not sticking to them for more than a few weeks is another.  But for real, whilst the idea of taking time at the beginning of the year to set goals and make some changes to our lives is admirable, why should we only do this on January 1st? My little brother put it in a very profound way: "A date can't change you, ...

Some thoughts on a particularly divisive profession.   The General Elections in my home country; Kenya, concluded in September. There has been much dissent over the candidates that were elected, which isn't unprecedented. After all, the nature of democracy entails that some individuals will experience disappointment (although it would be an overstatement to say our elections were carried out with the highest levels of democratic standards, but I digress...). However, while reflecting on the whole campaign process and observing the jubilant attitudes of people whose chosen candidate managed to clinch a government position, and the disappointment of those whose preferred candidate lost; I realized that our views on politicians might sometimes be a little...extreme.  Let's establish some context. A common viewpoint of citizens across the world is that politicians are dishonest. They spent exorbitant amounts on money on rigorous campaigns, making all sorts of promises to their wou...

People aren't always equal and neither are exams, apparently. Exams are a frustrating but important part of academic life. They serve as a (sometimes inaccurate) assessment on the skill level and understanding of students in a particular field, and are also important for admission to a lot of educational institutions, particularly at the tertiary level. With the current state our world is in, the university entry process has been changed radically. For one, a lot of people didn't do exams in the first place. A-Levels and GCSE's (General Certificate of Secondary Education) were cancelled in the UK altogether, with students' grades being determined by ‘teacher assessment’: things like homework, tests and students' predicted grades. Exams were carried out in most countries outside the UK (like my own country, Kenya), so we had to suffer through all the hassle of examinations.  So results day pulled around and the UK saw a record in A-Level results, with 44% of students...

 My first travel blog, in which I recap my stay in Eritrea So I recently got back from Eritrea, where I'd been for the past three weeks. The reason I was in Eritrea was because I was accompanying my dad to help him settle in, as he was starting to work there. So imma write about it. Our flight to Eritrea was super early in the morning, at 5AM. So my Dad and I had to get up at 1AM to get to the airport. Luckily I had checked us in a few hours earlier so that saved us a little bit of time. But the entire process was still tedious. Travelling by plane is already stressful, but the fact that we're currently in a pandemic makes it five times more complicated.  Luckily for us, my dad and I were travelling in Business class baby WOOO! (Well, I think it was because all the economy seats were taken but a W is a W). We got to stay in a cool lounge before both our flights (we had a connecting flight btw) with food and Wi-Fi and everything (I think there was even a shower, what?). The fl...