Teaching On The Road

I believe that there is more to education than sitting on a desk and learn. So, when I saw this story, I knew I had to share it with you. When Bionca Smith had unpaid bills up to her head, couldn’t make rent in time, she says quits to her job and starts to teach her 10-year-old son on the road. The single mum dreamed about travelling the world and seeing the hidden gems of this world. After she wrote a post on Facebook, she realised that the only one stopping her was herself.

When she was 20, she had her son Carter. She had everything her heart desires apart from the mountain of bills but, something still wasn’t adding up. Her job took her quality time from son; he was getting bullied and having a hard time with reading. After thinking about her childhood, she says “Growing up, I wasn’t allowed out of the driveway, and we never travelled,” she says. “My biggest dream was to see a beach.” While in school, she had been mercilessly bullied for her acne: “Kids would throw things at me. I was afraid to raise my hand, afraid to try to make friends.”

They gave their house lease and decided to travel in the next 30 days, which made it feel very real all of a sudden. Since she knew that she had to home-school but did really know how to do it, she researched and found an online school called Connections Academy so that her son can have online lessons and have access to teachers while she was his coach at home.

Image result for bionca-smith-single-mom

How did they end up in Thailand? Simple they spun a globe and Thailand landed under their finger. After like the culture to discover and it was affordable to them. After a few weeks, Bionca found a 1989 Ford Econoline with a kitchen, a toilet, a shower and two beds for $4,900 which became their new home. Everywhere they travel they try to volunteer such as “We feed the homeless, work in animal shelters, clean up beaches and campgrounds,” she says as a way to give back to the community they are calling home for that time being.

Alex

Source

Dolphin In Pink

When I saw this on Facebook, I knew I wanted to blog about it, so that’s what I’m doing today. We live such face-paced lives that at times, we don’t stop and appreciate the beauty of nature around us.

About 12 years ago was the first sighting of the pink dolphin by captain Erik Rue noticed her as a calf swimming next to ‘normal’ coloured mum in a Louisiana ship channel. The captain reported that “the dolphin is pink from its tail to the tip and has red eyes. Its skin is smooth and glossy. According to the experts, her colouring is due to a rare genetic mutation which makes her an unusual river dolphin.

So, when Pinky was spotted mating, everyone’s hopes were up, and sure enough, the next time she was located, she had something as pink as her with her. Yes, you guessed right she had her new calf with her. With the birth of the new calf, hopes are that this nearly to extinction dolphin will help increase the population with the same genetic mutation as her mother.

Fun fact Pinky doesn’t seem to be phased by the environment or sunlight, and it appears that she enjoys staying below the surface. Pinky is a magical creature that brings a smile to whoever set eyes on her.

Alex

Teddies For Comfort

This is how a young boy started to collect teddies to give to kids that are going through any kind of trauma. It all began when Lorcan and his mum Dolores were watching a show that talks about a children’s hospital in Manchester. Lorcan’s mum explained to him that this girl on tv has just lost her parents in an accident and the police have given her a teddy bear to bring her some comfort.

Lorcan stood up and asked his mother for a bag and went into his room and bagged all his teddies his mum asked him what he is doing and he said that he is collecting all his toys to the kids that need it like that one on TV. As this quote shows, Lorcan thought about all the mums that can’t give teddies to their kids.

“He said mummy remember that teddy I gave you when you were sick? Well, I want to give these teddies away to the other children whose mummies might be sick as well, so that’s where it all came from.’’

From there, the journey started to collect 550 teddies. As his message began to gain speed, Enniskillen Nursery where he attends and Model Primary School where he will study the following year took it upon them to start collecting teddies for the cause of the four-year-old. Lorcan went around the neighbourhood and the neighbours for bears. When they heard the story, the businesses wanted to get involved by creating collecting points where people can bring bags of teddies.

Lorcan is showing no sign on slowing down even if his living room is already full of bears and he is looking for a new home for them. Like his mum said he wants to donate to the PSNI just like that policeman on TV has done.

Lorcan McCafferry with some of the teddy bears he has collected.

Alex

Source

Pup Love

We all know how much joy your pups give us. For those of you who don’t know, I have something called Cerebral Palsy. One day I was in bed with my dog Yoka, and suddenly, this spasm pain hit me, and it was so painful that I couldn’t yell for mum. Luckily my dog noticed that something is wrong, and she went to mum started barking and wouldn’t let go; my mum came into the bedroom, and she found me nearly unconscious.

When the EMTs arrived, they found that my blood pressure was 50/30, which is dangerously low. So, my dog saved my life that day. That’s the reason why when I read this article; it touched me so much that I had to restart writing about this story about five times. Emma Mertens is a seven-year-old girl who is battling, cancer called DIPG or Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma. This type of tumor typically affects kids between five to seven of age and a cure is yet to be found.

Emma from Wisconsin had one wish, that is to receive letters from dogs. Every time she sees a picture of a dog, her face lights up. It all started when her family and friends decided to hop in on this project of sending Emma letters and photos penned by their doggies as a form of pick me.

However, the world soon got wind of this project, after someone posted about it on Facebook and shortly after that a celebrity from the show The Real Housewives of New Jersey shared it on her Instagram, and from there it went viral. Now Emma gets around 3,000 messages every hour and from different corners of the world. A neighbor set up a GoFundMe to cover for Emma’s medical bills since her mother had to stop working to care of Emma.

Image result for Terminally Ill Girl in Wisconsin Just Wants Letters From Your Dog

Alex

Sources

CNN News

Emma’s GoFundMe

A Life Changing Friendship

When I saw this story, I’m about to share with you guys. I saw how the power friendship could turn your life around for the better and forever. Former Neo-Nazi Michael Kent decided to get a swastika after he made friends with an unlikely human.

Michael went to Fallen Heroes tattoo shop to get his tattoo cover and his first professional tattoo. What surprised me was when he said that all his tattoos were made in prison. The interviewer asked, Michael what’s the story behind the ink on his chest. He said that he was a part of a skinhead group. He then opened up about his first racist tattoo, his white pride tattoo, which Michael had to “earn” each letter of his tattoo by committing a violent act. He had the swastika tattoo for over 20 years, and you could see the relief in his eyes while he was getting it covered.

His transition story is an odd one when he got out of jail; his caseload got transferred to a black woman. When she saw the German war flag, she told him to put it down and hang something positive that you will want to smile when you see it. To help you see positive instead of the hate. Before he turned the page of his life, Michael wouldn’t work for or with anyone who wasn’t white, now not only that did change; he’s the only white person at his job.

Image result for Former neo-Nazi removes swastika tattoos after unlikely friendship

Alex

One Powerful Message

As you guys know, I’m always on the lookout for any LGBTQIA+ stories, and today I found one and I wanted to share it with you. Sometimes it takes as little as a t-shirt saying dad’s free hugs to bring some enjoyment and peace to this world.

Howie Dittman went to the Pittsburgh Pride Parade with a compelling message on his t-shirt it said ‘Free Dad Hugs’. Luckily he went to the pride because he wasn’t even going but changed his mind after his after a friend said she was going to pride wearing a shirt that says ‘Free Mum Hugs’ he decided to join.

It was clear the impact that those three words had on the people there. Most people just sobbed in his arms; some told him their stories, but I’m sure they all had one thing in common they carried pain and needed a hug and a parent figure to give them that human love and start the road to healing.

A few months The Malta Gay Right Movement came out with the slogan #curehatenotlove, and that’s what I remind myself every time someone tries to put me down or discriminated me just because I’m who I was meant to be, or who I choose to love.

free dad hugs pride parade

YOU MATTER, AND YOU ARE LOVED,

Alex

Source