@iambella

@iambella 12 May 2021

Hello everyone! Been out for a while, and I really miss reading your works and writing as well. Will definitely try to come back. Hope you all are doing well, if not, I pray that you'll get better.

@iambella 12 March 2021

The Shocking Meanings of Giving Flowers in a Culture I am a believer that events do not just happen because it needs to happen, instead events happened because of a certain purpose. We never say that we have no idea about something we do because we have to be knowledgeable about it in the first place. We are accountable about it, aren't we? With a single word, activity, language, or a gift that you give to a person, soon meanings about it will be generated. And when do meanings become important? Meaning about things becomes a big deal when we are dealing with people with different cultures.  Flowers have been around us for so many years. It has been a way of appreciation, a love to tell, a sign of friendship, and whatnot. But today, since March is remarked as International Foreign Language Month, allow me share with you the shocking meanings of giving flowers in the following 6 countries. Allow yourself to learn what could be the meaning of receiving such flowers or giving such flowers. Be engaged on how a certain culture differs or resembles one another.  **Floriography and the Reason Why We Give Flowers**  Floriography is none other than the language of flowers. Many years ago, expressing emotions to one another was prohibited. People think that it is not polite, unethical, and inappropriate if someone directly tells his personal feelings to someone. And so, their feelings -love, sympathy, remorse, appreciation, and other strong emotions that could not be spoken freely were then done through giving flowers. Indeed, during those times, giving flowers is a form of communication, a creative way of expressing someone’s emotions.  The Victorian Age gave Floriagraphy its way to have official meanings on flowers. It gave flowers different symbolism and meanings to consider.  **Giving Flowers Meanings In Countries**  **Japan**  In Japan, flower giving is closely associated with tradition. Aside from social events like birthday, anniversary, housewarming, graduation, and births, wherein giving flowers is a thing to consider, it is also regarded as social obligation. As for instance whenever a person comes from a trip, the person is expected to bring home gifts or Omiyage to the people close to him, and that could be flowers. It is also important to understand that the color of the flower greatly affects the meaning of your message. When someone is sick or if someone is in the hospital, it is customary to give him floral gifts, but never try to give someone who is in the hospital potted plants, or those with roots because it could mean that you want the sickness to worsen.  In Japan, if you want to express romance, give them red roses. Red carnations are usually given to mothers. White flowers are for mourning, Bluebells are used to express gratitude, while Sunflower is used for adoration and loyalty.  **China**  In China, giving gifts is an activity that helps them to maintain a positive relationship towards one another. Gift-giving is associated with being hospitable, love, responsible, gratitude, and friendship. And not just that even flowers have meanings. For instance, White flowers and Chrysanthemums are used for mourning, Sunflowers and Carnations are given to show respect and to show gratitude, Roses are for deep love for someone (romantically), Tulips are given to show adoration or as a sign of appreciating someone’s intelligence. Peonies and Dahlias are given to elders to show honor, and give a friend a Bamboo to wish him for financial success.  **Egypt**  Back to the old days, gift-giving is popular in Egypt. It was then a way to express them glory. Though gift-giving is not as extravagant as today, it is still their culture to give something whenever visiting someone in their house, which should be wrapped at all times, and the receiver must open it at a later time unless perishable. While flowers have meanings to consider. For instance, roses means that someone who truly loves must also be willing to accept their friends or those around them as well.  For Egytpian funeral and wedding, certain considerations must be looked at. For a funeral, it is common to use bright colors to reflect the personality of the loved one. It felt like special when you send a floral arrangement after a week of the funeral because it means that you think about their loss. For weddings, flowers that are popular in Egypt are used as a gift, such as cornflowers, water lilies, iris, roses, and chrysanthemums.  **Ghana**  Unlike the above countries, Ghana's culture about gift-giving is somewhat different. In Ghana, giving gifts is voluntary, and is said that more than the monetary value of the gift (when there is), someone looks at the thought of giving. However, when it comes to flowers, it is their form of welcoming, while there are still other meanings to consider. For instance, when someone is making a life change or a sense of rebirth, Daffodils could be given to them. To show love and passion, give them red roses. To signify joy, give them yellow roses. To show cheerfulness, give them daisies. If you want to show that you appreciate great beauty (best for wife and girlfriend), give them Calla lilies. For loyalty and longevity, give them sunflowers.  **Russia**  In Russia, flowers usually mean love. A boyfriend is expected to give flowers to their girlfriend for dates and special occasions. However, he must be careful to count the flowers when giving bouquets. It must be odd numbered, because even numbered bouquets are for funerals. The kind of flowers to give to someone in Russia must be noted through this. During the first date, give the girl a single rose, or large daisy. For giving flowers to young women, it is nice to give them subtle floral colors (white, pink, light blue). Yellow, orange, and white flowers can be given to anyone. However, keep in mind that never give a yellow flower to your partner because it indicates breakup. To show love, give them a red flower. It is nice to give old women potted plants.  **France**  In French culture, flowers have more different meanings. For instance, choose a pink rose as a safe hostess gift. When giving flowers in a bouquet, make sure that the flowers are in odd numbers, but not 13. Avoid giving red carnations for they mean ill will. Only give the red rose for the one you are truly in love with. When you are in a relationship, never give your partner yellow floral bouquets for they imply unfaithfulness. During funerals, give chrysanthemums and lilies, and the white flower is given during weddings.  It is amazing to know that the same flowers have different meanings in every country. One must really be careful when giving, and must learn the culture of the country he is in to avoid misunderstandings. With all these, we now know that flowers have something to stand for, and since we know what these flowers mean to a certain culture, we may be able to survive a communication in a cross cultural setting.

@iambella 3 March 2021

Reasons to Pursue a Communication Degree Truth be told, I do not see the logic of seeing a Communication degree and those who pursue it seen as wasting their time. There are a lot of parents that stop their child from taking this course, as if having enrolled in it will never do good in their child’s life. And to make this worse, even relatives, such as uncles, aunties, etc. prohibit the person. They do not like their family members taking a different path. They feel like they know what the child’s future is, and what they should do and consider to make his future the best.  People usually have the mindset that a Communication degree is usually taken by individuals who are weak. Weak from what? Weak from Mathematics and Science related subjects. But no, Communication degree is not exempted to these subjects. This is one of the many wrong beliefs. Communication degree has lots of presentations and research, and to be able to do that, the person must be knowledgeable about Math and logics. In Communication degree, Mathematics is not just a single subject you take up, learn, and then bury when the semester is over, instead it lives with you up until even you have graduated. This is only one of the misconceptions about Communication degree, so if you are thinking of taking up this degree just because you believe in this misconception, well think again. And in this article, I will try to break the stigma in pursuing a Communication degree.  **Communication degree isn’t as simple as it sounds.**  I heard people say that just because this degree is a non-board course, then it must be easy, just a piece of cake. From now on, kindly refrain from thinking that way. Because being enrolled in this degree is not just about going to school and sitting until the last class. You will be diverted in the outside world, you will understand what society is and what controls it. You will understand the world in a bigger sense, something that you might not come to consider if you were enrolled to another degree. Also, I want you to understand that there is no superior degree, every degree has its own level of difficulty. I am sure a Mathematician might have a hard time making scripts and movies as well as a Communicator might find it hard to balance and solve problems in accounting. So you see? You cannot just tell which is which. **You will learn what communication really is.** You might think that communication is replaceable and the same as talking, but no. There is a big difference between talking and communicating. Communication does not happen when a person utters her words and sets the stage for opinion. Communication is way deeper than that. Anyway, who says uttering a single word and starting a conversion is easy? Conversation is possible between two people who exchange their thoughts, but communication only happens in a conversation when the people involved in it achieve the common goal. Common goal is not about forcing the other end to agree and to also believe in what you perceive is true, but rather it is about understanding each other’s beliefs, to be able to land on the common ground.  And what I really love in this degree is the fact that you will learn Communication theories. You will be surprised how you were able to experience situations that have something to do with these theories.  **You can make money by doing what you enjoy.**  If reading, writing, researching, speaking, producing contents, and the like is what you enjoy, then you have a huge advantage in taking this degree. When you are enrolled in college, to any degree, what’s important is that you enjoy what you do rather than being knowledgeable. When you enjoy what you do, it will be easier for you to accomplish tasks. What’s more to making money while doing what you enjoy in the future? Imagine yourself getting paid while being entertained as well. So you see, take this degree if you can enjoy it, and not just because you think it is easy.  **There are plenty of jobs you can choose from.**  Another misconception about this degree is that jobs that are aligned to it are limited with the media and entertainment industry. This is also a big no! Communication happens between people, and so jobs could be available to anywhere that has people in it. Because, they need you! As for instance, in the corporate world, some of the jobs you could find are: event planning, advertising, public relations, consultant, marketing, etc. If you wished to work in the government, who knows someday you could be the press secretary or someone who is incharge of foreign relations?   The world of communication is big, you certainly have a place there, if you are really in it.  **This will help you understand your chosen field.**  If you are this person who really knows what you like to do in the future, and that is the reason as to why you picked this degree, then you will surely get the benefit you deserve. You will not just learn the basics but the deeper ideals of the path you like. If you do not like to be in the media, entertainment, or even in the corporate industry, this degree is also for those who would pursue to be lawyers. Communication degree could be your pre-law. **You can be the difference this world needs.** This is what I really like about this degree. Many people who influence a person’s life today started from this degree. If you will be the next in line? What could you offer to the generation? There are plenty of communication graduates that served the country for the goodness of humanity. Why? Because they were able to understand people, how they are influenced by and what they can do to help them. By using what you have in communication degree, I am sure that you have lots to contribute for the better of the community as well as for the whole country. You can transform your ideas, execute them, and use your voice to serve the unfortunate.  With all of this, I hope you are now convinced that a Communication degree has lots to say. Never underestimate the degree just because lots of people are doing it. There will be times when you will find yourself empty, missing, and finding your place, that is normal, all you have to do is to continue. Fight that discouragement, and at the end, you will be happy you continue. If you are someone who is having second thoughts about this degree even if the things you enjoy, lies in this, all I can is that I want to see you happy with a job you really enjoy, so choose happiness.  **A life fact:** I, myself, am a Communication student. I could proudly say that misconceptions are really misconceptions. It is not easy, even if I love reading and writing. But what makes me love that I am enrolled in this degree is the fact that I got to learn what society is, and the people in it that interact with one another, and how communication plays a huge role to them. I have dreams of being known someday in being a published author, and being able to transform the lives of people through my writing. In that way, I can say that I have served my purpose in this world. *What about you? What do you love to do?*

@iambella 25 February 2021

What happened to us? I have been so quiet for the past days. The truth is I suffered from a writer’s block. To get back on track, I decided to write something personal yet not revealing anything still. Today, I decided to publish something about the title, *“what happened to us?”* If you are someone who has the same question, you might get the answer below. Allow yourself to share your story as well. Ask me anything, and I will be happy to answer.  **What happened to us?** It has been three years, but I can still remember every detail. Until now, I don't still understand why we need to end those butterfly-in-the-stomach feelings. We were happy, weren’t we? Then, why does it have to be as if we are destined to meet yet also destined to split away. Am I that easy to let go? It took me a lot of courage to finally be able to break the walls for all the years of trying and pushing. Then, one day, you came rushing to me -not to tell me how beautiful the day was, but to tell me you are sorry. Even how much time I give myself to understand you, I can’t think of any.  **What happened to us?**  We are the best of friends, I mean we used to. I used to tell you about the things I want and all the things I need. We used to match our clothes, our dresses, our accessories, and whatnot with one another. We have the same style and even the same humor. We laugh at the same meme. We cry at the same tragic TV series. We scream in the same horror film. We have the same choice for almost everything. Again, we used to, because little did I know, we got to share with the same man -without me knowing that we are actually sharing. How does it feel to be betrayed by a best friend you truly love and trust?  **What happened to us?**  I used to believe that once you prayed hard enough, everything will fall to its proper place someday. I used to believe that as long as you behave accordingly and never hurt anyone, all of your heart’s desire will be done. My only dream is to make my family happy with everything that I can offer. I only want them to understand my choices. I want them to keep choosing me. But even how much they push me away I will still swing back to them. Now, I cannot keep that promise. I was really broken now. Because the truth is, I was never them, and they were never part of me. When will I meet my real family?  **What happened to us?**  School has been my escape. To the days that I am uncertain, I found myself inside the library and reading all the books my vacant time could offer. To the days that I want to see people, my go-to is my university’s cafeteria -full of people eating and drinking with or without someone eating or drinking with. To the days that I just want to feel the peace, I could find myself sitting on the field, or under the tree, that is my favorite spot -too solemn. But days like these, locked in quarantine and having countless doubts about health and future, I miss going to school. I want to escape.  **What happened to us?**  I have this special person who always tells me that no matter what happens, we have to help each other and be part of each other’s journey. I  believed that person and really made sure that I am doing the promise. Isn't it really wonderful to have someone walking with you even how the sun shines or even how hard the rain is? But now, the promise is gone along with the person who died three years ago. What happens to the living soul who is still in love with the lost soul? If lifetimes do really exist, I want to believe that there is another me and him, and in that lifetime, we are the happiest. I can only be happy with him.  We might be sharing the same feelings, thoughts and experiences. And if you are reading this piece up until this part, allow me to share with you some personal things. There will be days when all we can do is to ask ourselves about what happened, and those days you might list a few answers to the question, but on the same day you are just clueless,  having no idea about what is happening. But both are okay. You do not have to rush yourself finding answers. The more you push, the more it will be disturbing. At the right time, the answers you need to know will just pop right in front of your face, one by one. And on that day, I want you to be ready. I have been in a situation wherein all my life I thought I am happy about something. I thought that thing is what I really like, and what pushes me to live. But as the day passes, I slowly realize that the something I am holding is not intended for me. I was like being betrayed for a long time already.  Decisions are not always about perfect solutions. Just like in every Math problem, sometimes we can solve it without using the formula, sometimes with a couple of tries, of trial and error, you will soon get the correct answer. In life, there is no formula to keep going or help yourself back on track. What you have is unlimited trial and error. Regardless of getting the correct answer, we just need perfect solutions.  I do not know if you relate yourself to all of the things I wrote today, but I wish that when problems become bigger than us, all we have to do is to let it rain. Letting the rain to pour is not a sign of weakness but a sign of acknowledging that you have problems, and you need solutions.  *What about you? What happened to you?*

@iambella 11 February 2021

Amazing tips to be a productive writer Sometimes, no matter how much we like to get things done, things just do not work out. And one of those is writing. We can get tired and cannot finish a single article. We are sometimes being overwhelmed and consumed. To be a productive writer, you must create a productive process, which will help you not lose your interest in writing. However, finding the best writing process for you does not happen overnight, but once achieved, you will be happy by the outcome. It is worthy to be searched for. You need to try different activities to be able to find the best one.  Productive writing process: Tips The following are the tips you should consider in your routine. Read and try!  **1. Find different materials.**  Since you are searching, do not settle for just one material. Collect and gather as many as you can. This will help you a lot. No matter what you are writing, you should always expose yourself to a material. The material could be a book, a movie, or whether anything you are browsing on the internet. You could find information and inspiration in different materials. You might come across a topic that will ignite something within you and will push you to write. Try reading about the authors you like. Read their pieces. You will be surprised how things and your style of writing improves afterwards. You might be inspired to write like them. You might learn vocabularies from the new materials you are reading. Do not stick to what comforts you. Go out for a while, and explore writing.  **2. Try journaling.**  Journaling is not just about writing what your day has been. Sometimes journaling could also be about what you think about. In your spare time, try doing freewriting. Allow your thoughts to just flow. And later on, try to elaborate it more. Freewriting can be about 5 minutes or even shorter than that. Keep a pen and paper with you, or the notes in your phone would do. Write down ideas and simple thoughts that come across them, so you have something to back you up when writer's block strikes.  Personally, I am into journaling for quite long. I already have lots of collections about my personal thoughts written in a notebook. I read them once in a while, and I became happy to see how much I changed in terms of writing, and how I see the world before. Imagine, I do have journals as early as 12 years old. That was 9 years long. And each notebook is a reminder that since then I never stopped writing. You should try too! It feels really amazing!  **3. Invest time in reading books about writing.**  Reading and writing are two things that cannot be separated. As a matter of fact, we learn to write when we are reading. We encounter new vocabularies that can be beneficial when it is our time to write. And come to think of the day you decided to write, many of us would tell that it is because of a book we have read, which eventually pushes us to write. And since, we cannot be perfect in terms of writing, it is best to read about it. Consider this as when doctors want to know how to treat patients, of course they will read something about it. This will be the same to engineers and other professions. In order to be good to something, you have to learn about it. In writing, there are many books in the market that can help you be motivated and be a successful writer. There are many authors who wrote books to share their tips on how they were able to achieve their places right now. Make it a habit of keeping a book about writing, it will help you in dire times. You might as well listen to podcasts or attend seminars that will help you get through writing. Do not limit yourself to what you just know, it takes a brave leap to reach mountains.  **4. Choosing a writing location is helpful.**  One of the reasons why writers can write productively is location. Whenever we feel distracted, we tend to step out to writing. It is important to know what area you can think of and write the best. This can be anywhere -on your room, in front of a window, or on coffee shops. You have to decide where. Having to know where you enjoy writing can be very helpful to you, especially in times when you need to do articles with tight deadlines.  I, myself, have a specific place to write. I usually write in the corner of my room. A place where I can be completely alone and free to think of anything. I feel like when I am in that place, all I have to do is to write. We need a kind of place that will push us to write.  **5. Give yourself a limit and a writing time.**  Even how much we love writing, we cannot write all day. It is draining and really time-consuming. Also, we all have things to do in our life other than writing. It will be helpful if you will set a writing time for yourself. Give yourself a limit to until when you will write so that you still have time to do other activities. We need to release the momentum of writing sometimes in order to not feel it as an obligation. It is needed to help yourself love writing even more by setting limits for it and for yourself as well.  **6. Do not skip the prewriting process.**  Never jump to writing the piece without doing the prewriting process. You have to do your homework before writing. Whenever you are given a task to write, you have to make sure that you have researched about it before creating your first draft. This will help your thoughts to flow clearly and will make your article as clearly as possible. As for instance, you will not write your thesis if you were not able to research about the topic and make a strong research statement. It is good to make an outline so you will know what to add and not to add and what to state and not to state. Overflowing information that is not really relatable to the main topic is disappointing to readers. Do not just add whatever you like to write. Whatever you will write must be backed up with reasons and purpose. And you can do that in doing the prewriting process. You should be well-prepared then write.  These 6 easy to follow tips will surely make you write productively. These tips did work on my part, I hope you will try these as well. We all need some help to get through in writing. Having to know what we can do to be a productive writer will lead us to not develop writer’s block. I once felt the writer’s block, and it is so depressing especially that I am an aspiring writer for the media industry. *Let us talk about writing routines. What do you do to keep up on writing? I’ll appreciate answers!*

@iambella 21 January 2021

Tips On How To Write Interesting Travel Articles Honestly, regardless of the title, this article will be useful in creating write-ups other than travel. Day to day, we, writers tend to think of ideas that we can use to write captivating articles. For many times, we would ask help to a various applications and websites. But even with the presence of those things, quality content is still the best way to attract readers. If we will talk about travel articles, blogs and websites, they seemed to be good due to good photos. But honestly, photos will just catch the reader's attention, but the content is still the key for them to continue reading. There are lots of people who would prefer something they can get in reading your articles rather than what you can promote to them. Good storytelling is the weapon for good articles, and good articles can be profitable.  As a writer, you have to make sure that people will go back to you whenever they need to know something, or whenever you have posted something. Today, in this article, I might be mentioning more about travel, but consider the whole tips to also incorporate in whatever article you may wish to write.  How can you do good travel articles? **1. Make sure you have a good story to tell.** Whenever we write, we tend to consider all of our experiences in our journey. However, no matter how much we like to narrate them all, not all of them are good stories. You have to pick the most-interesting. To do that, think of all your experiences and filter the ones that helped you a lot in travelling, and eventually taught you something you can still use even after the travel. That could be an example of a good story to tell to your readers. You have to remember that more than they want to know how you felt there, they also need to know an important thing from you, especially as someone who has already travelled to their dream destination. Try to share with them your insights, about how they can befriend the citizens there, where best to go in the morning, or whatnot. Be also reminded that it is best to write your article using the first person point of view. In that way, you would be able to make them understand that it is your story you are narrating, and that it is personal.  **2. Make sure you have a goal that will drive you from writing it.**  For most of the time, the readers may want to know the reason why you went there. May it be because of your dream, because of a trend, or just a mere escapade for relaxation. Your goal may be about telling your readers how you were able to achieve such things in travelling. It could be a story about you successfully climbing a mountain for the first time, or how you were able to ride a zipline, or what it is to be travelling alone in a place like that. In this way, people will be interested to know if you were able to finish doing your goals. It can also be helpful in their part.  **3. Always start your article with a strong introduction.**  In any kind of writing, well-written introductions are very much important. This will be your weapon to drive your readers in knowing more words from you. The first paragraph will be the starting point, and this will also be the reason if they will continue reading or not. As a travel writer, you may write your strong introduction by the things and ideas that you think the would-be travellers would like. If you were able to amaze them with how you start your article, you are more likely to attract them to continue. With this, you are encouraged to never include in your introductory paragraph the things that occured. It should not be placed in that. Instead, start it with an anecdote or narrate something you have learned in travelling. Of course, their only way to know the answer in why you have said that is to continue reading your words.  **4. You have to write the exact scenes.**  When writing a travel article, it is not okay if you will generalize things. You have to write in detail, especially the important situations. For instance, try to tell them about your direct encounters -it could be your direct encounters about the vendors in the place, about the staff, the crew, and whatnot. Be reminded to insert some quotations from them to make it more credible. This will also help your readers to imagine the people in there, and how they have said it. Write about the customs and traditions you witnessed. In this way, you are helping your readers to plan ahead.  **5. Never think of impressing the reader.**  If you do think that telling them your achievements is a good thing, then, refrain from thinking that way. Because, truth be told, readers do not like bragging things up. It will just sound as if you were serving yourself. Make sure that what you are sharing is beneficial for the readers, never try to insert things that when you switch places, you would not also like to read. Your personal experiences outside travelling has nothing to do with it. Learn how to control yourself while sharing a story. Use conversational tone while writing. Since, this is a personal story, pick words that can easily be understood. Avoid telling them and bombarding them with highfalutin words. It will do no good. Be natural, and narrate the article as if you were telling it to a friend.  **6. Always make the descriptions of the places clear.**  Of course, more than what you have felt and what activities to do in the place, people are reading your article more to know what the place looks like. And so, tell them the specifics. Tell them about how trees look like in the morning, and how it was able to bring such ambiance. Because, seeing the place from the perspective of a travel operator is different from a person who visited it, without the sense of business in mind. This means, readers are asking for your honesty. They want you to help them decide. Writing travel articles is not for people who sugarcoat things. According to a study, other travelers are more likely to be influenced by travelers who already visited the place than travel operators.  Given these tips, the ultimate tip is to get your facts straight. Always check before putting it in your articles. Your readers would rely on it. It is your responsibility to tell them what they can use and what they cannot. Relive your experiences while writing, and always be happy. Whether you are writing for a journal, for a publication, for a website, or for a blog, always put your effort in narrating the story in a balanced manner, weighing both the facts and experiences.  *Have you tried writing a travel article? Tell me your experience in it!*

@iambella 13 January 2021

The Guaranteed Importance of Taking Breaks Most of the time, whenever we know and feel like we really have so many things to do, and so many things to accomplish in a given time frame, we tend to believe that we do not have time to take breaks. We feel as if taking breaks will just be a waste of time. But, from now on, I want you to refrain thinking that way (that includes myself, by the way). We have to stop convincing ourselves that we cannot take a break. Because, we can, and we definitely should. Studies have proven that there are so many benefits you and your work can get if you do take a break while working. It does not matter what kind of break it is -whether it is a lunch break, a micro break, or even longer breaks than that. The importance is that as long as you take a break, you are helping yourself to create a positive atmosphere for yourself and for your well-being. You must also be reminded that it is better to take regular breaks than taking a break whenever you feel like doing, because taking regular breaks can help you boost your performance.  If we take breaks the longer, the more beneficial it is. But taking short breaks is also impactful though we sometimes belittle its result. Even short breaks can a) maintain your good performance the whole day, b) you will not feel the need to take a long recovery period after the day of working, c) prevent stress from coming in. Korpela, Kinnunen, Geurts, de Bloom and Sianoja (2016) found out through their study that taking breaks from work, like lunchtime breaks can help a person decrease the exhaustion he is feeling and increase his energy level. After a year of their study, they added that taking breaks can increase the person’s vigor overtime.  Breaks could also be some kind of relaxing and social. It could be seeing friends and talking to them after some time, or just having a get-away. These kinds of breaks can help you recover faster. It brings back your mental and physical system to its baseline after being exhausted. A relaxing break can reduce stress and promote a positive well-being for it will reset your mood as well. In doing a social break, even mere chatting with your peer can help you a lot. Every time you talk with the people you value, you feel secured and related. The belongingness you feel will be your weapon to feel motivated and validated. You may or may not share your experiences. Their presence is more than enough to keep you going. But in cases where you cannot keep the stress away from you, the best way to recover from it is to take a break. It can help you restore your positive outlook, energy, and mental state. It decreases the chances of you getting sleep disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and fatigue.  The research of Kim, Park and Niu states that it is very helpful to take mini-breaks while working. It can help you be in a working mood with good performance to increase productivity. A mini-break is a break you do in the middle of the work. It is you being away from your work for a few minutes. It could be talking with the person near you or simply getting a drink for yourself.  **My Personal Take On This** Honestly, I made this article after researching what is the best thing I can do to reduce the stress I am feeling, mostly the stress is due to the schoolworks which is mostly done with people I do not enjoy working with. It pressured me badly. As I am researching, I found out that taking breaks could really be a great help. Whenever we feel like something is wrong and we are not satisfied with what we are achieving, do not push to finish it right away. It will do no good. Instead, look for someone to talk or something to eat, anything that could take you away from what you are doing -you must take a break. Work could really feel so exhausting, or the mere breathing in this kind of world is already exhausting, isn’t it? But, what we can all do is to help ourselves to continue and still breath in the coming days.  So, I hope you guys prefer taking breaks while working. We all need lots of energy nowadays. Please do not completely consume yours.  *Can you promise me to take a break?*

@iambella 11 January 2021

The 5 Most-Known Types of Writing Styles In every subject, writing is an essential part of learning. In Mathematics, especially in disciplines such as statistics, arguments are often stated in written form. With this, there should be a significant emphasis on a variety of writing types to address the challenges in some students' problems regarding writing proficiency. The change from elementary to middle school years, until to college is somewhat a change to a deeper level of thinking. If you have attended an English or anything related to Writing class, then, you already have learned about these writing styles. You can use those styles in creating compelling articles, whether for school or for work. And if in case you missed it or cannot remember it, here are the 5 most-known writing styles.  5 Types of Writing Styles Writing styles differ in a lot of ways -from purpose, to structure, and until to the level of emotional appeal.  **1. Narrative Writing**  Narrative writing is a type of writing wherein there could be a character and a setting. The character encounters a conflict in a significant way. Narrative writing includes the author's purpose, tone, voice, and structure. In school, students are often to be asked of their teachers to create a variety of narrative writing assignments. It could be a personal narrative, fiction or fanfiction, and stories that use a book's main character. For instance, one could write a Harry Potter's side adventure using narrative writing. In order to make a good narrative writing, you must be able to put in your writing its essential elements. The elements are:  **Theme**, the main concept of the writing A **main character**, one who has a well-defined character traits  **Side characters**, those who might help or cause damage to the main character  **Setting**, could be one or multiple, in which the story takes place  Add **literary elements** like metaphor, simile, and symbolism If you are good with this writing style, you are more likely to share a well-versed story to many other people.  **2. Analytical Writing**  Analytical writing is known to secondary school, college, and career. To be able to write an analytical writing, one must have the ability to look at a statement, argument, theme, and character, and if something has a merit, and why it does not have a merit. Analytical writing comes in when someone can identify and dissect a subject so it can give an argument about its meaning and merit. When writing this, you are required to develop a thesis that will support your main claim. It will be then backed up by the text in which a proof exists. Meaning, analytical writing is more of finding an evidence and tying it up in a paper.  It is important to note that even if analytical writing welcomes opinion-based writing, it should still be backed up with the passages from an article.  **3. Expository Writing**  Expository writing is characterized as a writing that is predicated on exposition, a description, and an explanation of an idea. The usual topics in this type of writing styles include but are not limited to human experience, inventions, nature, emotions, politics, family and hobbies.  Some teachers use the technique of not limiting their students to the usual introduction, a three paragraph body, and a conclusion. Sometimes, teachers would tell their students to write as many as paragraphs they like, as long as they were able to achieve what they need to portray and describe. It is indeed essential to use descriptive words that can effectively narrate the things that you are trying to say.  **4. Persuasive Writing**  Persuasive writing is a kind of nonfiction writing. The writer who writes this type of writing style needs to be careful in choosing what words to use, should be knowledgeable in developing logical arguments, and can make a cohesive summary. And in order to make the persuasive writing more compelling, you must be able to put in the two main components, namely the logic and emotional appeal.  Logic is the one that comes first. Because in order to convince people, you must be able to have a sound premise. Which means you must choose a topic and back it up with good logic. Then, work on sympathy. To persuade people, you must be able to reach them emotionally. It is not enough that your points make sense, you have to let them realize that you are one of them, in mind and in heart.  With this, it is essential to choose a topic close to your heart, something you are really passionate about in persuasive writing.  **5. Argumentative Writing**  It is usual to hear people say that persuasive writing is the same as argumentative writing, but no. These two types of writing style differ in a way that persuasive writing is more of getting a well-defended opinion while appealing emotionally. And an argumentative writing incorporates a more technical background, encompasses scientific studies, statistics, and quotes from experts. The author can also generate his own surveys and questionnaires.  In order to create an argumentative writing, you must be able to put in these elements:  **Formal writing style**, use a third-person point of view Research **facts** in reliable resources  Create **arguments** that are predicated on those facts  Think of an **overall claim** to convince the reader  There you are! Those are the 5 most-known types of writing style. You can incorporate it into what you write so you can be able to produce more compelling articles in your next write-ups!  *Have you tried creating articles incorporating these writing styles? Let me know in the comments!*

@iambella 7 January 2021

Online Portfolio: Who Should Create Everything now is going digital, and so is applying for jobs and submitting for requirements. Since applicants can now be assessed over the internet, you might as well make your own requirements online, this can be in the form of an online portfolio. Having an online portfolio may attract future clients and employers.  You might wonder about what is an online portfolio? An **online portfolio** will be a collection of your best works accessed online. Some applicants just send a link of their online portfolio to their clients or employers once they apply instead of giving them a physical copy. In this way, their works are presented well for evaluation. Online portfolios are beneficial to a lot of ways. Once your works are published online, you have all the credits. Whenever someone tries to copy even a single phrase from you, you can proudly say that her work is plagiarized. When your expertise is on taking photos, sometimes when it is printed, the quality is not the same as how it is seen, so having an online portfolio will absolutely keep your work in its original high quality. And since we are talking about expertise, what other expertise is subjected and recommended in creating an online portfolio? Who should create an online portfolio? **Visual workers**, or those workers that the main way to appreciate their work is by seeing it, are the people that should create an online portfolio. Visual workers include but not limited to writers, advertisers, artists, photographers, and graphic designers. However, even **non-visual** **workers** can also keep an online portfolio. Non-visual workers include but are not limited to nurses, psychologists, and public speakers. Below are the reasons why an online portfolio is beneficial to them.  Visual Workers **1. Graphic Designer**  For graphic designers, it is important to see their works in high quality so the person who's going to see it will appreciate their works. In order to see the real beauty of the design, it must be viewed properly. For many times, printed copies may not contain the original color and original design. Even if you upload it on some messaging applications, quality would not be the same. Whereas, when it is published in an online portfolio, you will have the control to retain the beauty of your designs. Truth be told, creating an online portfolio as a tactic to preserve the quality of the works is not new. There are many graphic designers out there who've been doing and practicing this.  **2. Photographers** There are platforms for building an online portfolio that allows the creator to arrange his works in a gallery style. If you are a photographer you will absolutely love to see your work in that way, and so are your clients.  **3. Artist** Arrange your works, such as your paintings, sketches, and drawings in an album-like manner. It will absolutely be loved by people who are going to see it. And who knows that one of those will be your clients. Sounds amazing? Of course!  **4. Advertisers**  Before companies choose an advertiser to promote them, of course they will ask you to present samples. In an online portfolio, you may put there your sample ads, sample publication materials, sample promotion strategies, and whatnot. Also, some companies do not go with the usual posting of hiring details, sometimes, they will just search for a person who can do it online, and if you are accessible online, they may review your works ahead. And if it satisfies them, then you would be hired by them.  **5. Writers** Writers are also the people who keep on creating an online portfolio. There is no client that will hire you without reading a single article that you have written in the past. Personally, the clients I have met read my past works. And having you submit it to them is an unsafe thing as well, especially when your works do not have some watermarks in it. They may steal it from you, without you knowing it. But when it is published online, you are safe that whenever they steal that, and publish it somewhere, you could trace them.  Non-visual Workers **1. Nurses**  You may put in your online portfolio the things you are doing in the field, such as lab reports. Even while you are still studying, you can put in your works. This will help you find a job in the future.  **2. Psychologists**  Since you are doing lots of case studies, you might as well collect it and publish it in your online portfolio. In doing this, you are strengthening your credibility in your chosen field. Whenever people see how you are able to get the results and make solutions out of it, they may think that they need you to help them.  **3. Public Speakers** You may publish your past events in your online portfolio. In that way, whenever you need to show something to your client about how you work, then you may share it to them. It may be in the form of videos. In addition, if you are still a student that dreams to be a public speaker, keep and publish in an online portfolio your school-related public speaking experiences. It will help you in your future career.  May it be a visual work, or a non-visual work, as long as you can present it online, you are free to make an online portfolio. Online portfolio is like building a name and a brand for yourself, that is very crucial nowadays. Building a name online is good and beneficial, especially during our time now. If you can build a name now, then do it. People who are known on the internet are likely to be trusted by companies and clients. If you will consider building an online portfolio, there is a chance that people might be interested in services you are offering. And if you are interested in making one, blogging platforms that i have shared in my past articles here can also help you to build an online portfolio.  *What about you? Have you created an online portfolio to showcase your services? Let me know!*

@iambella 4 January 2021

7 Important Things You Should Do After Workout Inorder to keep our body healthy and fit, we tend to do any routine, any idea, and a lot of helpful tip to achieve the body we want. And during these days, there are a lot of strategies to find something that can help you. It could be from the internet, just a few clicks about your desired help, and everything will be good to go. You can also ask help from your friend or from a family member that is already doing the routine. In the internet, you could see a lot of video tutorials that may help you become healthy and fit. We do workout to throw away the excessive fats we acquired. It is not about doing the same workout routine everyday, but about getting your body used to it. With the proper workout routine and food intake, you are helping yourself to not get diseases, sickness, and not to become weak as well. The bones in our body become weaker as we age. And to be able to retain the proper posture, we have to do something in the present that will help us in the long run. However, many people cannot commit to it because they do not have the time to do so.  But during these times, with pandemic, wherein everyone is spending their time at home, they can now have the time to do exercises even just for a while. With that, beginners may not know what important things they must do after workout, while some people who are already doing their workout are not knowledgeable if they are doing the right thing after they workout. And so, in this article, I will be sharing with you some important things to consider after doing a workout.  After you workout you should:  **1. Cool down your body after you workout** When you do a workout, your body system is working to coordinate well, all at the same time. This is also the reason why the temperature of your body increases. When you jump or jog, your body releases sweat. You should not cut the workout at the peak of doing it. Instead, after a heavy activity, add some ways to cool down. The blood vessels widen in the moment you are exercising, cooling down is the perfect way to get the vessels back to its normal state.  If you are using a treadmill, you may do the cool down by setting the treadmill to its cool down option. Or if you are running, do the cool down through doing some walks.  **2. Do some body stretches**  It is true that stretches are important before starting any exercises. It prepares our body for the workout routine. However, doing stretches after the workout is also recommended, especially for the muscles. When doing a workout, your muscles become warmer. When it is warm, it becomes easy to stretch. After workout, sometimes you feel the soreness. Stretching can help decrease the soreness of the muscles. It can help to relax the tension, and eventually recover until finally going back to its normal state.  **3. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate**  It is usual that when you workout, you are losing some water inside your body. This reacts in the form of sweat. You need to replenish the water you have lost. To do this, you have to drink plenty of water after you workout. Honestly, aside from water giving enough hydration, there are other benefits of drinking water after you workout. For instance, your body's flexibility is increasing. It also helps in decreasing the soreness your muscles had undergone in the workout. Remember that drinking sports drinks is not advisable. You may gain calories that are not really needed by your body.  **4. Change clothes after you workout**  This is the common mistake when people do their workouts at home. They tend to continue their day with the clothes they use in their workout. Because sometimes, due to a lot of errands to do, they forgot that they needed to change clothes. The clothes you use in the workout can actually trap the moisture. And because of that, the growth of germs, fungus, yeast, bacteria, and whatnot is possible. Eventually, you may acquire diseases, skin allergies, and worst breakouts.  **5. Do some cool shower**  Cool shower does not mean to bathe with ice in it. It only means that it is advisable to take bath in a much lower temperature than what you usually use. It helps decrease the inflammation in your muscles when it is cooler. As I said many times, a heavy workout may tend to give you soreness the next day, when you bath in a cool shower, you may not feel the soreness the next day.  **6. Take a rest**  When you have a heavy workout, refrain from doing another heavy workout the next day. Give enough time so your muscles in your body can heal first before trying again. When you push to do another heavy workout, you are not giving your muscles to repair first. If you cannot help to exercise, you can mix exercises. For instance, if you do a leg exercise, you may do an arm exercise the next day. In this case, you are using different muscles. Or, do some lighter workout routines the next day if you have done a heavy one.  **7. Eat the right food**  Eating the food that will not contribute to what you are pushing, may just stop you from reaching the goal. Eating the right food will help you to reach the goal faster. Even if you will like celebrating after the workout, you should avoid eating ice creams and junk food. You will just gain more calories than what you just burned in the workout. But, skipping meals is also not advisable. You are actually making yourself weak and unhealthy by doing that. Eat healthy foods with control so you can replenish the energy you have lost and will also help your muscles to rebuild.  It is important to do the right thing after you workout. So you will not be able to ruin the goal-- the weight and body you are dreaming of. Having a healthy body with nice curves requires hard work and patience. As much as we need to prepare ourselves before the workout, we also need to remember what we need to do after it so we can achieve better results.  *Can you add some more tips to consider after workout? I'd appreciate that! Leave in the comments.*

@iambella 2 January 2021

10 Best Jobs That You Can Do For A Freelance In some of the moments in our life, even how we want to work following the regular hours required and a schedule, sometimes, we get bored of it. That is the time when we will think of trying to control our work hours by our hands. We would probably ask for a change, may it be a change of work or a change of the work environment. One option that we have during these tough times of choosing whether to continue or not the traditional working is to continue working but being a freelancer. This happens in every man and woman out there. With so much of benefits being a freelancer can give, there is no doubt that many employees would really switch to this.  Why would you choose to be a freelancer?  Being a freelancer, you have the freedom to choose what kind of work you will like to have. You are free to consider your time, your interest, your travels, and whatnot. You are your own boss. You get to decide what work you will consider. You get to pick who are the clients you like, their rates and workload. You could probably get your desired salary if only you can negotiate well with your clients. And the best part of freelancing is that you can work following your own phase. You decide when to start, when to continue, and when to stop. But, you need to be responsible in handling your client's project, or else, one mistake can ruin the opportunities.  Some employees still work on their regular job and still be a freelancer. That could still work, with some talent on time management, you will be good with it. Students can also be a freelancer. In their spare time, they can entertain clients. While, some other people take freelancing not just to add another income, but as the main way to sustain themselves.  What are some freelancing jobs you can do?  By now, you are maybe a little interested in what freelance jobs you can do, but to tell you, there are actually a lot you can do. Listed below are the best 10 jobs (in my preference) to start your freelance career.  **1. Writer/Copywriter** There are a lot of companies that offer a freelance position for writers and copywriters. Some companies may require you to do the work on-site, while others may tell you to work on your articles at the comfort of your home. This will actually depend on the client's rule. But don't worry, if you do not like any of the client's rules, you may say no to the agreement and find another client that will be on a win-win for both of you.  Companies need writers to sustain the contents in their website. You will be asked to create quality contents for them. Also, even some bloggers need help, especially when they have multiple blogs with different niches. They need other people to fulfill their needs. This means that the topic might be provided, and they might tell you their preferred work count.  In the world of freelancing, this is one of the most in-demand jobs on the internet. A lot of people need writers. Usually, clients will ask for a portfolio or a sample of your works, and might need a test article from you. Be careful in accepting and in submitting test articles, especially when it requires to be long and free. Sometimes, it is just a tactic of scammers to steal the works of the writers. (I was scammed through doing a test article for free, then later on, I found that my article was sold to someone without my permission).  **2. Transcriber**  You will like to be a transcriber if you like listening to something and typing it down. It requires a good sense of hearing and a cooperative hand to transfer what you have heard in forms of letters. Your client may ask you to listen to a recording, a movie, a conference, online meetings, etc. and write it down. They may just send the files that you need to transcribe within the deadline. All you have to do is to send it to him, all done, within the said deadline.  **3. Social Media Moderator** Businesses need a strong presence in social media. In order to promote their presence, they will need the help of a social media moderator. Being a moderator, you may take the responsibility in handling their social media account and pages. You might be the one to answer inquiries of customers. You might as well be asked to reply to comments. You might handle the ad posting and create a caption to their posts. Your responsibility is to expand the reach of the page or account, so the reach of the business will expand as well.  **4. Teacher/Tutor**  Education is also going online, especially now. However, even in the pre-pandemic, freelance teachers and tutors are in-demand. It may require a demo-teaching and training to start the work. This is a work from home basis. You get to work beside your loved ones, and could still attend to their needs even at work. A good English knowledge is perfect for this. Because, some students only understand English, and some students enroll themselves to learn the language.  **5. Voice Actor**  Since videos nowadays are a great way to promote businesses, they may also need voice actors to do the voice-overs that they need. Your voice could be showcased in advertisements, shows on TV, broadcast, etc. Most of the time, it is studio-based work, especially when you do not have the means to record your voice clearly.  **6. SEO Specialist**  Bloggers and website owners need to rank their articles on Google search and other search engines. They need this to secure a passive income. One way to rank on search engines is to do Search Engine Optimization (SEO). So, most of them hire SEO specialists to look for reasons and ways to increase the traffic of their websites and blogs. If you are someone who is very knowledgeable in how things work in this field, you might be in-demand.  **7. Graphic Designer**  In this job, you will need a very impressive portfolio. You cannot be hired if you cannot show a portfolio. Because it needs a visual representation of your sample works. Being a graphic designer, you might be asked to do graphics for diverse purposes, may it be for web pages, design for posts, infographics, etc. If you know about this job, better enhance your skill. Clients pay decent rates in this freelance work.  **8. Photography**  Many people are doing this job already. There are clients that will need your service for product photography, as an event photographer, in terms of real estate, digital marketing, and as an studio photographer. You need great retouching skills and photo editing skills along with your photography skill.  **9. Encoder**  If you can write lots of words per minute, then you might be hired to this work. Your main task in this job is to type everything that you will see, may it be in photographs or PDF files. You have to transfer it correctly. Your client may tell you a required word count that you must do for an hour or so.  **10. Web Research**  In this job, you need to have basic research skills. You will need to attend to your client's need in researching information about a certain product or a certain person on the internet. Filling forms, surveys, and taking polls can also be part of this job. You need to have the knowledge in surfing the internet for this will be the main source of your information that you will tell to your clients.  Be careful on picking work and clients, especially on the internet. We will never know who the bad ones are. Protect yourself and your works. Though freelancing might really be a good choice, I will still suggest that you should not leave your regular work if you are still not sure about freelancing.  *What about you? Have you tried to freelance? What work? How does it feel? Tell me your sentiments. I'd love that!*

@iambella 1 January 2021

Shocking Meanings Of Giving Cactus Plant To Someone This season of thanksgiving and love, we ought to give gifts to people we found really amazing, all year round. But do not worry, because even after this season, we are all still allowed to give something to someone. And last year, the trends #plantito and #plantita have surrounded our social media accounts’ feeds. Many people had put time and effort in taking care of a variety of plants. And because of that, many would have thought that giving plants as a present could be a great tactic to make people who love plants, have a great smile on their faces. In addition, it does not just give joy to the receiver but it also helps the environment. More green plants, the better and the healthier. Now, any kind of plants could be given to someone. But this time, we will be talking about the cactus plant. What could be meaning if someone gave you a cactus plant? Or, if you were the one who gave it to whoever, what could you possibly mean by that?  Flowers have lots of meaning, especially to roses. A red rose implies a romantic love while the yellow rose implies a love of a friend. So, before you give your crush or your partner a yellow rose, learn first its meaning so you might not be misunderstood. Aside from flowers, the cactus plant also has meanings. So, before giving it to someone find out first. Or, if you received a cactus as a present, try to understand what the sender is trying to say to you.  What Could The Cactus Plant Mean? ****You are strong and a resilient fighter****  Cacti always found a way to survive in a desert that only gets a little rain. Because of this, these plants are considered to be strong, tough and enduring. They can survive even if it seems so impossible to do so. So, if someone gave you this plant during the tough phases of your life, it may be a sweet cheer and a reminder that they see you as a strong person, and that you can do all things. Look at that green thing on your windowsill and fight your battles knowing that someone out there believes in what you can do. What a sweet way of telling that message!  ****Someone is caring for you**** When we talk about the Native Americans, part of their culture is that they associate cactus to motherly love, warmth, and protection. This is because the cactus has the ability to survive in the worst conditions. In addition, Native Americans believe in its medicinal qualities, a support to their claim that cactus plants are a symbol of maternal love and care. They are treating wounds and digestive ailments through its pulp and juice, so the cactus gift you received may mean that the sender is thinking and caring for you.  ****The willingness to protect you**** In Feng Shui, cactus plants can throw away the negative energy coming into your home by putting it on your windowsill. The person that gave this plant may actually want to protect the receiver, and let him be away from any kind of misfortune. The spikes of the cactus will be the one to push away the negativities. But once you place this plant in the entrance of your home, it can attract the negativities, so you must be careful where to put this plant as well.  ****The person may be attracted to the other**** Unlike the West that think of the cactus as a symbol for maternal love, in Japan, whenever someone gives a flowering cactus, it will definitely mean that the sender is attracted to the receiver. There is this called Hanakotoba in Japan, known as the art of assigning meaning to flowers. For them, giving flowers is not something you usually do, so there could really be something behind giving flowers to someone. Though the ancient art is not popular today, in this tradition, the cactus is also an equal to lust, and that giving this plant to someone is the same as giving them a love letter.  But, stop right there. Before you think about if someone who gave you this plant has feelings for you, I have to remind you that this meaning about cactus is not popular, and so there are only few people who know that cactus can be associated with attraction.  I deeply believe that we give gifts because we want people to be reminded of something. Sometimes, it is as if whenever they get to see this particular thing, they are able to remember how they mean to you, how you see them, and what you feel about them. And if somebody has given you a cactus plant once in your life, I believe one of the meanings stated above is the reason. And, if you have not decided what kind of gift you could give to someone even after this season, why not give a cactus plant.  Personally, I gave a miniature cactus plant to my friend. The one that is the size of a thumb, and can be a pendant or a keychain. That time, I had not read about what it could mean, I just felt like giving it to that friend as soon as I saw that miniature cactus plant. And I remembered telling him that I gave him that because I want him to be reminded of our friendship anytime and anywhere, simply because I know how handy the miniature was, so for sure, he can keep it with him, wherever he goes. I imagine him looking at it on the bus, while stuck in heavy traffic. I imagine him looking at it when he is bored at work already. I imagine him calling me after he saw the miniature.  *What about you? Have you received a cactus plant from someone? Or, have you given a cactus plant to someone? What meanings above will best describe it? I’ll be happy to know your answers. Leave them in the comment section below!*  I guess, it is not too late for a greeting. Happy New Year to you all!

@iambella 26 December 2020

Tips on taking good care of your earphones For me, my earphones are a necessity because it literally saved my life. And I think, at some point in your life, your earphones have been so special to you. We thank this little device for saving us from boredom. This also makes us happy by listening to whatever we want. And since it changes as what the time needs, there are variations you can see. There are earphones that are wired one, while there are wireless one. Just a quick phone set-up and you are ready to listen. And only that, the sizes also vary, and prices as well. No matter how these earphones look, as long as we know its importance, the very thing almost all of us should know is to take good care of this device. You cannot tell me that your earphones are bought at a high price so it will last long. No, it will not be that way. And so, in this article, I will be sharing tips on how to take good care of this little device. So, keep reading.  I had a lot on this device. Since, I deeply love listening to music while doing almost everything, it has fueled me to be motivated and inspired as I get through my tasks, in every single second. This phone accessory has helped me to listen to music while doing my usual workout routine, eating, walking, cooking food, while stuck in heavy traffic, while taking bath, answering phone calls and video calls. It helped me to hear privately what I need to listen to when in public. I am sure that you relate to it anyhow. And because you are now convinced that you have to take good care of your earphones, I have to tell you now the tips in doing so.  **Making your earphones last long**  **Make it a habit of cleaning the earbuds.**  Cleaning the earbuds is part of hygiene. This will make you listen more clearly and neatly. To be able to clean the earbuds, you have to remove it first. Once you have removed it, use a damp towel to cleanse it. Then, through the help of a toothpick dip in water, clean again the earbuds. This time, try removing all the earwax that has built in it, the dead skin cells, and dust that has gone through the insides of the earbuds. Also, wipe the wires for it may also contain some dirt.  **Always put your earphones in its case**  Starting today, do not just put anywhere your earphones after you use it. Doing so will ruin your earphones quality. When you have your earphone's free case upon buying it, you should understand that it is there to put your earphones when not in use and not to leave it anywhere. If your earphones do not come with a case, prepare a small box to where you can store it. You must also remember to coil the wires losely after use. Avoid coiling the wire tightly for it may be the cause of the damage, especially when you keep on repeating it.  **Unplug from device after use** Every time that you keep on leaving the earphones connected to a device after you use it will just cause unseen damage to your earphones. When you leave it plugged, the cord may be tangled or the jack may be pulled. When this occurs, you might not be able to hear anything from it. On the other hand, when you do the safest way, unplugging it from the device, the connector and the area where the jacks are connected will be protected. You have to stop doing the wrong thing to avoid buying earphones a couple of times.  **When unplugging, do not pull the cable** This is one of the common mistakes we make when using our earphones. Whenever we are too far from the device from which it is connected, we tend to just pull it using the cable. Many times, we exert great effort in pulling it until it could eventually unplug. Even if you were able to do the 3rd tip, still, it is not enough when you do not do it properly. Never try again to just hold and pull the cable. What you should do is grip the connector, not the cable, then unplug.  **Do not listen in maximum volume** Aside from that, we all know that hearing loud sounds could damage our hearing, loud sounds could also damage the earphones. When the sound is turned in its maximum volume, there is a high chance that the speaker could blow up allowing you to hear not-so-good quality sounds afterwards.  **Before you sleep, pull out the earphones from your ears** We all listen to music to feel sleepy, and sometimes we happen to sleep with it. When doing this, you are damaging your earphones. We usually move unnoticed when we are asleep. Meaning, we could bend or snap our earphones. And the last thing we knew, we had to buy a new one. Practice putting it in a case before you sleep.  **Avoid earbuds sharing** I can see a lot of people who are happy to share earbuds with a friend or whatnot. I can also relate to that. This can happen at any place. It could be while waiting for someone to arrive, on bus terminals, or even inside the bus. We love sharing what we find lovely to listen to. However, this is unhygienic. You are at risk of getting germs that can harm each other's health. Earphones are meant to be used individually. You should refrain from sharing your earbuds. Practice that.  **Avoid putting your earphones in your pocket**  We tend to choose anything that is less of a hard work, and so, even in earphones, we tend to just put it in our pockets so we could have it in an instant. But little did you know, you are damaging your earphones. When it is on your pocket, it may be tangled and may be hard to fix. The inner cable can also be damaged. In addition, pockets have dust and other debris that may lead to a poor sound quality.  Taking care of your earphones is a big must. The money that you spend to buy it is still part of your hard work or your parent's. To be able to give back, taking good care is the key. The tips above were not hard to practice. Taking good care is a sign that you do take value in everything that you have.  *How about you? What do you do to make your earphones last long?*

@iambella 24 December 2020

Reasons why I am so excited about Christmas As they may say, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, and I do believe that. Since I was still a kid, I remembered being so excited as soon as September came. I love hearing music that tells about Christmas. I love to see Christmas trees, as well as being able to decorate it. I love to make greeting cards. I love to sing a christmas carol, and let people smile because we are these little kids, singing happily our hearts out. To let you understand more, I listed all my reasons why I am so excited about Christmas.  This is how my family celebrate Christmas  **1. Variety of foods to try** During holidays, my mom would really put time and effort into cooking the dishes that we would like to try. Months before this most-awaited season, she would really put herself busy to do financial management just to save and make sure that we will have something for Christmas. This is not like we always have the luxury of foods. We do not eat in a fancy restaurant during this holiday. We never did. We would settle for the simple but delicious foods we always crave. As long as it is my mom's dish, no other kind of food would let me appreciate Christmas even better.  **2. Gifts**  We would always do the so-called *monito-monita*. And it is really amazing to see things personally prepared by one of my family members. We will wrap anything we think the other person would like. We would laugh and hug each other because we are able to share parts of our savings to give something for our loved ones. But when we are younger, my parents were the ones to shoulder all the gifts to give. There are times when we will just wake up and see gifts beneath our Christmas tree. My father would tell us that it is from Santa Claus, and so, since then, I have this thought that Santa Claus does exist, not in the way we thought he was. Santa Claus might just really be there with us, for us.  **3. Songs**  We know how Filipino families love to sing. And my family is one of those. I always love how we would sing out loud and jam and laugh. Though, we are not blessed with heavenly voices, we just really like to hold a mic then sing. We will sing our favorite songs. Songs that would remind us about something special. Songs that will be shared for as long as we all live. Sadly, karaoke is banned, and we could not sing like usual.  I mean, we could still sing but not with a mic. But I believe soon, we will all be able to go back to normal.  **4. Get together**  One of the main reasons why I look after celebrating Christmas is because of get-togethers such as family reunions. It is the only time of the year wherein everyone is present. Everyone will really make time to attend and to be part of family discussions and catch up. It is really wonderful to see my cousins yearly. We would talk about how we were, how school is going, and about our future plans. We would tell each one about our universities, and would think that if we were able to attend the same school, we might really be happy. Goodbyes are the worst. But as long as we know that the departure will not last long, we will face it bravely.  But with global pandemic, we cannot do it anymore. Phone calls and video calls are our weapon nowadays to stay connected.  **5. Hope**  I am not sure if you would agree with me. The main feeling I have every Christmas season is the feeling of being hopeful. Hopeful in a lot of aspects. Isn't it nice to have this time of the year wherein everyone, even those with great hate to one another, tend to chill for a while and just be happy? It is also in the Christmas season when people are having forgiveness and reconciliation. I am seeing Christmas as a season to just let negative emotions go, and not be consumed with it. With Christmas, we tend to understand more why we are here, and why we should celebrate it. And this year, with all that is happening, I am still hopeful that one day, we will all be okay. It will be the happiest day ever.  **6. Prayers**  For some it is their family's tradition to complete or at least attend *simbang gabi* or *misa de gallo*. And my family also believes that. We will go to church at 3 in the morning to attend mass, for 9 consecutive days. It would start on 16th of December until 24th of December. We will wake up early then go to church. We would fill our home with prayers and thankfulness for still being complete.  I could say that I am blessed with a family that really strives to make us whole and complete. How I really wish that everyone could feel that kind of happiness, happiness that does not let you feel empty. Though, we may not be able to celebrate like what we did before, let us all be happy that we did survive. The fact that we made it until today is a big reason to be thankful.  *How about you? What can you share about your family's Christmas? I'll be happy to know!*

@iambella 23 December 2020

Blogging Sites To Start Your Career In Blogging As promised, I will be sharing with you all some of the different blogging sites that you can use to start your blogging career, again aside from the platform we are all using at this time. Blogging world is such a challenging world of different kinds of writers surviving to achieve one goal --to write, share, and eventually be a known writer and make money out of it. But again, some bloggers just scratch the make-money thing, they are entering the blogging site just to write, and that is fine. Blogging is said to be easy when you have all the means, the skills needed, and all of the things you need to do and learn. Learning will always be there.  One of the things you have to decide in creating your blogging career is the platform from where you will be doing your contents. And the answer is to choose the platform that will suit your niche and your style. These blogging sites may be accessed via free account or the one with a paid subscription. But I suggest, when you are still figuring out and testing yourself whether you will be consistent on this or not, you may try to sign-up first for a free account, and later on, when you are sure to keep this as long as you'd like, then maybe, you can pay for a premium account. Also, when you have hosting and domain, you have the control over your blog rather than those subscribed for a free account.  Blogging sites samples: An overview  **WordPress.com** I know that many of you have heard of this site before. Whenever you asked about what site you could try, a lot may suggest to choose the WordPress. It is indeed popular to beginners and to experts in this field. And why is that? WordPress is free of charge to its users in terms of downloading and installing. Anyone could absolutely try this. This site is not just good for blogging, you may also use it for making a website for your business, a marketplace online, for selling online courses, for building online stores for products, for selling online books, and more. WordPress could shut down an account that is found to be violating the rules, but the site will tell you about it beforehand. With the fact that it never shuts down an account without notice, WordPress also comes with a lot of features. These features include checking your blog's statistics, viewing your blog's posts, viewing the pages, as well as viewing the media. The user has the freedom to take control over the plug-ins, users, domains, and settings.  **Weebly.com** Weebly is loved by everyone who does not like codes. Because in weebly, you may create stylish styles without the use of any codes. Also, its drag-and-drop feature makes the site easy to use and to navigate. With the uncomplicated interface, beginners really do love this. Weebly can be used when you like to create a blog that will look like a gallery, an event site, a project site, and can even be used by people who just like to have blogs to sustain their hobby in writing. You are free to customize your designs, as well as you are free to choose from their pool of choices.  I personally tried the free version of Weebly, and the only reason why I stopped using it is because I cannot attach videos in the free version. But aside from that, I have nothing against this blogging site.  **Blogger.com** Blogger is also free to use by anyone. This publishing platform is powered by BlogSpot, its service provider. The Blogger and BlogSpot are under Google and are used together in this platform. Meaning, after you were able to set-up an account, BlogSpot will be your domain. Google will be the one to host your blog. Blogger is known for its built-in tools that are capable to a) manage the earnings, b) manage the campaigns, and c) manage the settings. In addition, Blogger lets you look at your blog's statistics so you can know your blog's traffic. You are also free to change your theme and layout as long as you like.  With the blogger's easy-to-use tool, the user can also use and manage the platform well. You will not worry about the installation for it is powered by Google. Also, you can monetize your blog with Adsense. But be aware that Blogger can put down your blog at any time.  **Medium.com** Medium is the go-to of aspiring bloggers who are good on words but not on designing and layouting. The focus of this platform is on the message and text rather than the visuals. Once you post an article on this platform, the platform will write the article in a readable font and written on clean space, so that the readers would understand the content more. This has 60 million people who visit the place, and those numbers would become the potential readers as well. And so, you do not have to worry about who will read your content, because Medium has made it easier for you. Aspiring authors or those who would like to have a come back from a long break are the people who use this platform most of the time.  Beginners who are not into the technical part of blogging go to this. The emphasis is on the content, about what the readers can get and read from you.  **Instagram.com** Yes, you can definitely do blogging using Instagram. Also, many are doing this already. Microblogging is what suits Instagram. With about 2,200 characters to use in Instagram, the writer might not present a long thread of opinions, but only a short and a concise one. Everyone who has an Instagram account could follow you, and they become your readers. What you post here are those opposite with medium, Instagram must have appealing visuals so readers would stare and eventually be curious about what is in it. Niches like cosmetics, modeling, and photography are the most popular ones. So, if you can capture beautiful photos, and a writer as well, then you might like to try blogging on Instagram.  **LinkedIn.com** This blogging platform is mostly used by professionals. Businessmen and businesswomen create posts that can be read by over 260 million users. They usually like to form connections in the world of business so they could be known. LinkedIn works just like any social media sites. By clicking a button in the profile, you can start writing your content. So if you would like to form connections, you might as well try this.  The above contents about the sites were just an overview, based on what I know about these sites. Blogging platform differs in terms of technicalities and features. Choose the blogging site that you know you can manage. Best blogging site for others may not be the best for you. So be careful and understand what you really need. Signing for free is okay, but soon you will need to have your domain and hosting.  *Aside from what we are all using, what do you think you'd like to try? Let me know in the comments!*  I'll start! For me, I would like to try Medium.

@iambella 22 December 2020

You need to know this before you make a blog Blogging needs no diploma or  a certain kind of course to finish to enter the world of writers and content creators. Everyone is subjected to it. Besides, there are a lot of platforms out there that will surely help you to create. With some simple steps in signing up until publishing your very first content, these platforms got you covered. Do not worry, for my next post, I will be sharing what sites you can use to create one, of course, I will not be adding the one we're all using right now. Sounds good?  As I am saying, there is no specific rule about who should blog. If you're a mom, a dad, an out-of-school youth, someone who loves art, someone who loves finance, someone who loves poetry, or even someone who just wants to write, you can absolutely put up a blog. However, there is one thing I consider a necessity to all aspiring bloggers, a blogger must have an unusual love for writing, researching, and sharing. This will be your foundation to be able to push yourself more. Without these, I don't think you can continue. However, having this solely is not enough as well. There are a lot of areas to consider. And so, in this article, I will share with you all the things I have learned as someone who writes for blogs and websites.  Things to consider when putting up a blog **1. You have to know what you can and cannot do.**  Blogging is not just all about writing. What are you going to write if you were not able to research ideas and topics that you know your audiences will love to read? Yes, when you are a blogger, you have to be consistent in creating beautiful and impactful contents, or else you will lose your potential readers. Writing quality contents will not be done for an hour, it will take time. Especially, when you are thinking of monetizing your blog, you need quality content.  If you decide to have  a travel blog, you might as well visit different places. If you decide to create a lifestyle blog, you should have the time to know people better. It does not end with deciding what you like to write. You have to gather information. Do you have the time to do that? Can you make time to do that? But the question of what you can and cannot do does not end there. Do you have the money? Well, even if there are a lot of free blogging sites out there, it is still advisable to have your own domain and hosting, especially when you are sure you'll continue blogging for real.  Think carefully about what you will do with the blog. Can you keep up with the changing demands? Know what you can do and cannot do before signing up.  **2. Select a certain thing to discuss**.  **Niche** is what they call it. This is the category that you are most knowledgeable to write about. This may be about fitness, travel, art, sport, literature, product reviews or whatnot. Though, mixed blog is completely okay, but I would suggest you to pick a niche. This will be your help to contain yourself. Also, most readers want consistency. For instance, if you start reviewing products, they might think that all of your future posts will be about reviewing products. Having one niche will help you to focus. Since, you have one category, your time would be alloted to research about this category. I suggest you choose the niche that always interests you. The very first person who should be interested in what you write is you.  If you have a niche, it is easy for you to decide with regards to your designs, theme, and graphics. Keep in mind that you can attract readers by having good-looking layouts as well.  **3. You have to promote, promote, and promote.**  Deciding how you would like to be known is also one of the basics of blogging. Of course, you want your contents to be read, and so, you have to promote yourself. The most used promotion tool is to engage in different social media sites. Since most of the people nowadays do have their respective social media accounts, you can find your potential reader through engaging with them. You may create your blog's Instagram account, Facebook account, Youtube account, and whatnot. Or, you may use your personal account to spread your writings. You may attach the link to your blog, so your follower can visit it. You may also update them once you have posted new posts. And when faced with difficulty in terms of writing, they may help you through suggesting what they want to read next.  **4. Pick a blogging site you'll love to work with.**  Of course, you cannot publish an article without a platform to publish it. But do not worry, as I said, there are plenty of sites you can choose from. Research about what blogging site is good for technicalities, what is good for being plain and simple, what is good for business, and about what platform is good for monetization. You might find some sites that are more friendly to manage and some sites that are the opposite. Of course, go for something advanced if you are this techy type, and go to traditional type if this is what comforts you. In order to have best results, you have to pick the blogging site that you are sure you can manage.  **5. Learn the basic SEO skills.**  Monetization is part of the reasons why people decide to enter the blogging world. And part of the monetization process is to have a good blog's traffic, or the amount of people who visit and read your blog. Though, you can always promote, the best way to secure good traffic is to do SEO. You have to know the basics of SEO writing. Good keyword research skills as well as what people search on the internet will be a great start to make your blog be known. Once your blog's traffic is increasing, you can be qualified for monetization. If you really like to make blogging as a career and to make money from it, you have to be familiar with SEO.  Blogging is not just writing then publishing. There are more serious things than that. The presented points above came by experience. I used to write for someone's website before. Until I realized that if I am doing it for someone, why don't I try to make my own. Until now, I am still figuring out. Be ready, I'll share soon the platforms (aside from this site we're using) you can use for blogging and for monetizing as well.  *How about you? Have you also dreamed of having your own blog? And eventually making money from it? Tell me your sentiments! I'd love to hear them all!*

@iambella 21 December 2020

5 important tips to save yourself from being scammed Nowadays, we can talk to people as much as we want. Whether through online or offline, we tend to meet new people. We can talk to people we just met.  We can talk to someone we just happen to sit beside jeepneys and buses. We can share our beliefs and personal matters to strangers we just met on the streets. And even how we want to trust people, in some unfortunate times, some of the people we met may be a scammer. **Scammer** is someone who fools people. They tend to make people fall to their tactics. And once they won into the hearts of their victim, scammers deceive them and get whatever they can get. This is a reality, a sad reality.  In some situations, a scammer may really be close to you. It may be a person who follows you on your social media accounts. How threatening it may seem, but a scammer is silently watching and observing you until they can see the perfect time to win against you. They do not have specific times to do their agendas. You can be a victim even just after a second of trusting them. The worst thing about it is these scammers still do their thing even in times of a crisis. As they say, hunger will make people strive for a living even if this will mean committing bad things to others.  No one is exempted to this. But what is good in every bad situation is that we can prevent ourselves from being a victim. In order to be safe from these people, we have to know first some of their tactics and how we can avoid them.  Scammers tactics and tips on how to respond **1. Scammers may use electronic mails**.  Sending an electronic mail is one way to show professionalism, and this is the very idea why most of the scammers tend to victimize people using this. As for instance, there might be an e-mail sent to you from one of your banks. Of course, at first sight, it may look legitimate and was really sent by your trusted banks. With this, the e-mail may inform you that there is this particular trouble that happened to your bank account. And the next thing you know, you need to tell them your bank details, even the personal ones.  *Tip*:  The first thing you have to do when you receive this kind of email is to listen to your instinct. When you feel like something is suspicious, hold to that. It will be the key to push you to reread the whole message again before responding. You have to analyze the content. Check if there is any grammar or spelling mistake. Be reminded that a legitimate source is unlikely to have any mistakes. And the most alarming of all these is the fact that they are seeking important details from you. Legitimate bank personnel won't ask for any. In some cases, there are links attached to it that need you to log-in. Refrain yourself from that because it may only be a tactic to steal your personal information.  **2. Scammers often tell people about double return of investments.**  A lot of people are falling to different kinds of investments, not because of the company, but because of the money they can get from doing so. At first, investments are good to try. You might not know that this may really be your key to success, not until this has become one of the tactics to scam people. Scammers would tell you they can double your money back in a way that most of the companies cannot do. Sounds really interesting, right?  *Tip:*  To avoid this, the very first thing you'll think about is the fact that what kind of a business has the capacity to give your money back and double it in just a few days? If big companies were not able to guarantee you that earning, why would you trust an unknown business? The real answer to not be victimized is to think, think, and think. Do not be so consumed with false hopes and promises. Too good deals are often not real.  **3. Scammers might steal your friend's identity.**  Sometimes, scammers are just close to you. And because they are observing you, they know who your friends are. Sometimes, they took advantage of your friend's situation and identity. There are cases when these people would use the situation of your friend to get money from you. For instance, let say that your friend is sick or a relative of that friend of yours. An account may say that he is your friend's friend and that help is needed and you need to send him money. When in reality, your real friend does not know all of this.  *Tip:*  No matter how you like to help someone, make sure that the help will be sent to the real person. When faced with this, verify, verify, and verify. It is not bad to ask for a phone call, or sometimes to contact the person he is associating himself as a relative. Do not feel guilty to have second thoughts. This will be the same with donations to charities. Make sure that the donation drive you are helping is legitimate.  **4. Scammers would tell you about big prizes.**  This tactic is also one of the most-used. And I can relate to this. There are a lot of times when I have received a message saying that my phone number received a reward, a big amount of money, and I can only claim the prize if I will give them money so I can activate my account. And that, absolutely, is a red flag.  *Tip*:  Do buy his tactic. A real prize does not require a payment. And also, have you registered for a raffle draw or something to receive this? Always analyze the message, the structure, and choices of words.  **5. Scammers are friendly.**  Strangers who address you with your first name is a red flag as well. They might tell you about something they would help you to do. *Tip:*  Even how helpful they may sound, research about them. Ask them who they are, his position in the company, and about how he knew your problem when you are not even sending even a ticket to ask. Contact the company he is associating himself. Do your research. Do not just believe.  These 5 tactics are not just it. But as per what I am observing, these are the most used tactics of these people.  **Fact**: I have a relative who fell for the double return of investment tactic. She lost a big amount of money. And the sad part is almost all of the money did come from debt, money of other people. She was really depressed, and until now, she is still paying the debt. See? This is not something we can just ignore. We have to spread the red flags so we could all be aware.  *What about you? What other tactics do you know? Can you spare time to share some tips? Let me know in the comments. It would be a big help!*

@iambella 19 December 2020

Hiiii! I'm iambella! I'm new here. I just want to say that I am really looking forward to reading more of your articles, and publishing articles as well. Just a simple question to know a glimpse of you guys: In these times when self-love is important, what kind of parent you are to yourself? Every answer is so much appreciated! 😊

@iambella 19 December 2020

Improve  Your Writing Skill There are many people who would think that writing is just an easy job. They think that being a writer, words will just come out easily, as long as you have ideas, as long as you have thoughts, as long as you have a mind that actually works, but no, being a writer goes beyond the ideas and thoughts. There are a lot of things to consider. Especially when somebody pays you to write, it is a must to know a variety of topics. You have to put your effort in researching and going into different sources, every single day. Most of the time, a writer must be updated to every news and discussion. A writer should not be left out, or else, you are done. When you are a writer, you need to exert hard work. It is a commitment, a commitment for a draining and an exhausting activity. You will absolutely consume all your energy to be able to write. So, if you happen to know at least one writer, tap his shoulder everytime or give him any compliment.  But what makes writers commit to their pieces is the responsibility to create quality contents without discrediting or taking the works of other authors, proper grammar, uses of words, the technical aspect, and a lot more. Actually, these are some of the many reasons that prevent soon-to-be writers from continuing. They feel like it is a lot of work. And, I will not blame them, because it is the truth. But one thing I want to say to all of the aspiring writers, or those who are already but losing faith, I want to let you know that writers do have friends. In this article, you guys will know them. This is helpful to every kind of writer.  The Apps and Sites You’d Like **1. Grammarly** First in the list is the Grammarly. If you do write for quite a lot, I am sure that you already use this or at least heard about this amazing tool. It is the most common application every writer out there has.This is also the most recommended tool to use by writers who are just starting and even to students. Grammarly is a writing tool that has the ability to check the sentence cohesion, the consistency of the tone, correct grammar, use of words, and especially, it detects whether the content is plagiarized or not. It has two versions, the premium version and the free version. The premium version needs you to pay a range from $29.95 paid per month to $139.95 paid per year, while the free version needs no payment at all. You only need to download it, sign-up for an account, then use it. But of course, the two versions differ in the features you could use. The free version has spelling check and correct grammar feature only, while the paid one has several features that includes writing style check according to genre, vocabulary enhancement, sentence structure, punctuation check, context check, and plagiarism check. It is commonly used by bloggers, website writers, and students.  **2. Readable** The main focus of this writing tool is to look if the article is readable enough. This tool will then analyze the written work of the author deeply, then will give a score. If the writer got a score of higher than 70 then that means that his work is readable enough. What users love about this tool is that the interface is easy to use. Also, this also helps the writers in changing some of the words they use to make the meaning of the article clearer, and eventually readable.  **3. Small SEO Tool** This site is known for detecting plagiarism. However, if you explore the site, you will see the different features it offers. Some of the offers include; article rewriting, this feature will produce new paragraphs as per the content you enter; grammar checker, this will help the writer in the proper use of the tenses, and whether the subject of every sentence agree to its verb; keyword position checker, this is useful in SEO writing for it will check whether the keyword you use ranks on top; Google PR checker, by simply putting the url of the blog or the website, the owners get their Google PR result; domain authority checker, helpful for bloggers in checking their domain authority as well as their competitor’s; page authority checker, this will help the bloggers in checking their page’s authority; image compression tool, helps in compressing the image; and a lot more features to see.  The best in this tool is that it can be accessed through a browser, no need to download anything, and do not need to sign-up for an account.  **4. Hemingway** This application is popular in basing on Ernest Hemingway’s writing style. This will detect such common mistakes the writer has committed. This has two modes, the writing mode and the editing mode. The role of this tool is to help the writer get his thoughts straight and clearer so the readers would read and understand the message easily. And so, this tool is also recommended to all bloggers and website writers. This will help them attract readers and visitors, especially when they do have straight-to-the-point contents. To give you an idea on how Hemingway operates, after you write your content, the tool will then highlight the word or a phrase, this highlighted word or phrase will be the suggestion for the writers to use. This application offers a free version on their website.  **5. Duplichecker**  To know whether a phrase or a sentence is already written somewhere, and someone had thought about this, Duplichecker is also a good tool to use for that. After you put in your content, the tool will check it deeply, analyze, and compare it to different sites and sources. If the outcome is less than 100, then some of the parts may be plagiarized. This also happens even if you haven’t committed it, sometimes, we just can write the same sentence structures and same thoughts. If this happens, you will see links at the end. These links are where your content has been duplicated. The tool gives you a percentage of your work. A helpful reminder that 1% plagiarism is still plagiarism.  This writing tool can be accessed via a browser. However, the site only allows up to 1000 words to check. If your content is more than 1000 words, you may cut it off then paste the remaining parts after you have checked the first 1000 words.  Those are the 5 useful applications and sites that will help you in writing. All I can say is that it is better to know whether your article has committed unintentional plagiarism, unseen grammar mistakes, and wrong choice of words earlier than learning it after your professor or your boss has told you so.  *What about you? What site or application are you using as a guide in writing? I’ll be happy to know! Share it in the comments. Thanks for reading!*