Living in an Experiment

I was born into an experiment. One that so many people predicted would fail. The world watched expecting us to fling knives at each other or let loose flames. We did not. 

I don’t remember much about my childhood, but I know that desperation did change those around me. We grew closer, began to fall in love with this experiment and with each other. And that was just the start.

The experiment is not over. Nor will it ever be if I can help it.

And yet, the world I live in is not a utopia. It was not created by scientists who meticulously planted every single tree to fit a pattern. Instead, pieces fell together over time. My entire country was shaped by decisions guided by hope, but ultimately advanced guesswork. That led to errors, some that nearly brought the experiment crashing to an end, but still it continued.

Just like with experiments, it is important to take a step back every now and again in order to change your perception of the situation. We are often so focused on the negative news stories we find, that we forget to celebrate the successes that have been achieved. Over 20 years ago South Africa was a place of brutal relations between fellow citizens. This mindset has shifted thus uniting thousands of people.So far our social experiment has surprised the world by changing the course of an entire nation; nevertheless there are still challenges for us to face. But, is that not the case with most experiments?

An Update

A lot can change in two years.

In my final year of high school I succumbed to the advice of those around me. I sentenced my creative being to the depths of my heart, so that my mind would not wander from the subjects I needed to master. But even as I fought the fledgling ideas that refused to be quietened, I never succeeded in hiding my creative side. This portal to my brain may have been silent though I never stopped writing. I have files of blog posts I wrote but never published, because of others’ words that I started repeating to myself.

I now know that ignoring my creative side because I had to “minimize the distractions” was counter-intuitive. I spent more time suppressing thoughts than it would have taken to ponder them. However, I have emerged from this time of reflection with more wisdom to share with the world. I hope you enjoyed my time of hibernation because now I’m back and ready to open the minds of my readers.

My Favourite TV Shows Of the Past Decade

Although I have always preferred reading over watching television, I have never stopped watching television entirely. This is purely because I have always had a favourite show that has driven me to put my book down for a few minutes and relax on the couch in front of the television.

The first of my list of favourite shows that I still remember is probably High Five. These shows included a lot of dancing, crafty activities and contained many bright colours. If I was particularly inspired, the afternoon after I’d watched the show I would attempt to imitate their craft time with my family.

I soon moved on to watching Scooby Doo. I watched every single of those intriguing episodes as well as all the movies associated with Scooby. Those mysteries were so much fun to see unravel I might rewatch them sometime.

When I got a little older I fell in love with Disney channel. There were many shows on this channel that filled my rainy days. I particularly loved The Suite Life of Zach and Cody - though I later preferred Suite Life on Deck – and Wizards of Waverly Place. By the time both of these shows’ final seasons had ended I knew their theme songs off by heart and had watched each episode at least three times.

After those two shows, I started watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Ty Pennington and his team always inspired me with their determination and the amount of skill that was required to recreate a house in 7 days. I also loved that the creation of this show was able to benefit so many lives.

My next favourite show was and still is, The Amazing Race. I find it so interesting to watch teams race around the world and complete hundreds of activities that they’ve never even heard of before. I like that the teams are able to grow throughout the race and overcome whatever obstacles that they find in their paths.


Do you still remember what your favourite television shows once were? If you do, why don’t you compile a list like I’ve done and then add to it every three years to see if your taste in television shows has changed drastically J I don’t think mine has changed that much.

The Selfie Decade

The 1920s were famous for the Charlston and Jazz whilst the 1940s and 1950s are sometimes known as the Rock & Roll period. Most decades are famous for one thing or another and so I’ve spent the past few days wondering what this decade will be famous for. My conclusion… SELFIES.

hellogiggles.com

In the early 3000s someone might discover a long forgotten device and with a quick electric shock this device may turn on. The scientists of this time may not know that the device is what we call “a cellphone” or maybe they will know that. But, I’m pretty sure that the scientists will be rather shocked when they scroll through the photo albums stored on the phone and see dozens, literally dozens, of photographs of the same people.

These scientists will probably come up with theories of why there are so many of the same type of photographs. At least one will suggest that the cellphone was used by a creepy stalker, whilst another will suggest that the cellphone belonged to a model whose photographs were plastered on billboards.

Many selfie-takers might hope the latter will be true for them one day; but if that’s not the current reason why they are taking selfies, then what is?

Some say the Selfie Revolution began as a lazy way of taking photographs; instead of asking someone else to take the photograph one person could snap the picture and still be in the photo. All the person needs is some skill. And if he or she does not have that, thanks to the many photo editing apps the selfie can be enhanced to look perfect. The next step in this process is to post the photograph on a social media website and see what everyone else thinks of your Selfie.

The Selfie is a tool used by children, teens and even adults somewhere in the world every day. Partly because of this technique’s success, in 2013 the word “SELFIE” was added into the Oxford Dictionary.

But, is this Selfie Revolution as innocent as people suspect it to be?

As time flies by and the number of Selfies posted on the internet grows by the thousands, I cannot help wondering if this obsession is a healthy one. You see, the search for the “perfect selfie” can damage one’s self-esteem; for instance if the photograph of the cat next door gets ten more likes/hearts/favourites than a photograph of you eating your cereal in the morning, you may wonder why people are more interested in the cat than they are in your photograph. Some may argue that this situation is far-fetched; even if it was, this selfie obsession will probably make you vainer.

In spite of this, the Selfie Revolution appears to be a success. We’ll have to wait a few years to see if it passes.

In the meantime, why don’t we … take a selfie?

A Crash Course in Rugby

By now almost everyone knows that on Friday the 18^th of September the Rugby World Cup began in Great Britain. This weekend the two semi-finals will take place and so in less than two weeks’ time we will know who the Champions of the 2015 Rugby World Cup will be. I’m really excited about this but some people are not, this is probably because they don’t usually watch rugby matches. However, since so many people are going to be watching the final I think it is about time for a crash course in rugby.

Although I’ve never actually played the sport I consider myself as an almost-expert-fan because I have watched many rugby matches over the past few years. I have also called on the advice of experts so you will be well prepared to watch the semi-finals or the final.

A brief history:

Legend has it that 16 year old William Web Ellis was playing football at his school in Rugby, England when he caught the ball and ran with it towards his opposition’s goal line. At the time this was against the rules which stated that the ball should be caught and then kicked; however, not long after this incident the rules changed and thus rugby the sport was formed.

Objective of the Game:

The objective is to get more points than the other team. Points are earned by scoring tries, this is when the ball is carried over the opponent’s try line, which result in 5 points and can be converted to an extra 2 points with a successful place/drop kick. 3 points can be earned by a successful penalty kick or drop kick.

Basic terminology:

A scrum: occurs when there is an accidental infringement

A lineout: occurs when the ball goes out of bounds

A ruck: a loose scrum formed around a player with the ball on the ground

A maul: occurs when three or more players, including the ball carrier and at least one other player from either side, are in contact together (unlike a ruck the ball is still in hand and has not been grounded.

Length of Game:

The game consists of two 40 minute halves with a 10 minute break in between. Remember to use this break wisely so you don’t have to miss too much of the match.

Now that you know a bit more about rugby you’re more likely to enjoy the two semi-finals and the final!!  

For more information visit: http://www.rugby.com.au/tryrugby/Playing/RugbyExplained/History.aspx 

A Different Perspective

Living through the same routine over and over again can ensure that you always view the situation in the same way. When you walk to your work you probably will not notice the beautiful leaves above you or the colours of the flowers in the gardens next to the road. But, if you were able to notice all these small things they would remind you how beautiful this world is and cheer you up.

Here are a few optical illusions to help you change your perspective:

Now that your eyes have been trained to notice different images and see images in two different ways, you can enjoy these photographs:

Did you realize this photograph is upside down?

Remember to keep an eye out for the beauty of nature in your life that you often take for granted. 

Youth Against Extinction

When we think of the voice of all animals we imagine the thunderous roar of a lion. That sound echoing through the Savannahs kept man away from poaching and trophy hunting for several centuries; and yet now the king of the Savannah’s voice, is hoarse. No matter how many times he yells man only snaps a photograph and drives away.

Our lions are suffering. Once 200 000 freely roamed the earth and now the estimate is below 30 000 wild lions. There are two main reasons for this horrid decrease in population numbers, the first is the increasing demand for lion trophies and the second is the demand for lion bones mainly in Asian countries. In order to profit from these demands the “Canned Hunting” industry was formed.

In this industry female lions are used to breed as many cubs as they possibly can. When they can no longer reproduce they are either used for trophy hunting or are killed for the bone trade. At the same time, the cubs are torn away from their mothers soon after birth, so instead of their mother’s tongue gliding across their fur they are petted by complete strangers who think this is a true African experience. Unfortunately, when these cubs grow up they will be trapped in an enclosure and shot at by trophy hunters. Once they are dead their heads will be mounted on walls in foreign countries or even here in South Africa and their bones will be flown to Asia. This is what people are doing to our King of the Savannah.

Because of this tragic greed thousands of lions have died. The ones that remain are by no means fit to be the voice of all animals like they once were. And so, this role needs to be resumed by a group that is prepared to change the minds of those around them, to succeed when so many want them to fail and to save these beautiful animals from extinction. Plenty of generations could have accepted this task, and in 1960 Ian Player and his team did. But now is the time for a new group of conservationists to step up. It is the youth of South Africa, of Africa and of the world who will take up this challenge and will save our animals. 

It is we who have the power that is needed to swing this fight in our favour. We are motivated and prepared to use our talents in every way possible to educate the rest of the world. We will stop at nothing to protect our beloved animals. 

If you'd like to watch my speech at the Global March for Elephants Rhinos and Lions click this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFg91HVQHDw&feature=youtu.be

Why is World Rhino Day so important?

As you probably know World Rhino Day took place earlier this week on Tuesday the 22nd of September. Although not many people actually know about this day, it actually plays an important role in Rhino conservation. Some may feel that they know a lot about rhinos and so they switch off to any new messages. This could be a problem because on the 22nd of September people learn about the dangers of extinction for all animals and not just rhinos. So keep your ears and eyes ready for new knowledge.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) started the first World Rhino Day in South Africa in 2010. On this day they raised awareness for the rhino’s plight and encouraged people to care about these animals. As a result of this funds were also raised for anti-poaching efforts. This day was soon recognised internationally and as a result World Rhino Day is celebrated all over the globe.

For people who have never seen a rhino this day is very interesting as hundreds of rhino pictures and photographs shower the media along with information about these lovely animals. World Rhino Day is the perfect opportunity to spread the word about these species, to convince countless people that they’re more than just a horn and to raise money for rhino charities.

Youth of Johannesburg showing they care for the rhino

Now that you know how important this day actually is, put it in your diaries for next year and start planning what you’re going to do for the rhinos and other animals throughout the year. ; After all, if we don’t care about these animals they will soon be extinct.

We Need To Change Our Ways

www.globalexchange.org

Climate Change is real.

Be Scared.

So many people dismiss scientific evidence that proves global warming exists whilst others shrug their shoulders and simply don’t care. Well, here’s what will happen if we don’t correct our ways.

1.      Changing rainfall patterns

Hundreds of years ago many of the desserts around us were beautiful forests, but now they’re just sand. Very few plants and animals exist in these areas and so you should be shocked to know that if we don’t get rain many of our grasslands will dry up into desserts. We can’t let that happen because then we would lose precious farming space as well as our Grassland biome. This will mean that thousands of people will be hungrier or even face starvation and many plants and animals will go extinct. On top of that a change in rainfall patterns will create massive floods in some areas. We all know that floods are dangerous but they could be much, much worse in the years to come. Islands that exist now may not be around in 10 years’ time.

2.      Extreme Global Warming

 When the temperature increases we are forced to kiss snow days and icebergs goodbye. Although this will mean a Titanic-like incident will not occur it also means that the polar bears will rapidly lose their habitat. And, with the icecaps melting the sea level will increase causing flooding. But, polar bears aren’t the only animals who will suffer because of Global Warming, other animals will have to adjust to the extremely hot temperatures or they will go extinct. At the same time, more people will suffer from heat-related illnesses and deaths because heat waves will increase.

3.      Economic Losses

Many people overlook this effect of climate change but it is important. Because of the rising sea temperatures certain fish populations (such as lobsters) have plummeted and therefore fishermen have not been able to catch enough fish to sustain their livelihood. Moreover, because the amount of snow is declining ski resorts have not been able to make as much money. On top of all of this, there has been (and will continue to be) an increase in natural disasters which means that more money will be spent on the relocation of people and recovery from these disasters.

So, if you don’t want all this to happen it’s about time you start caring for the environment.

How do we correct our ways?

·         Change from using fossil fuels to renewable energy

·         Use public transport or carpools

·         Conserve water

·         Recycle

·         Educate friends and family about Climate Change

·         Eat local food (fossil fuels are emitted when food is transferred around the country and the world)

·         Waste less food

DON'T WAIT FOR TOMORROW. START RIGHT NOW!!

For more information go to: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/threats-impacts/

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/top-10-ways-you-can-stop-climate-change/

Dream Cast for ‘The Selection’ Movie

You probably remember how excited I was to reveal that Kiera Cass’s book “The Selection” would be made into a movie. Now several weeks have passed by and I’m still just as excited. Unfortunately the movie will only be released in many, many months’ time and so we have a VERY LONG WAIT ahead of us until we find out who the cast will be. In the meantime though, my sister and I have been searching lists of actors and actresses to find our Dream Cast for this movie. Here’s who we’ve selected:

America Singer (the girl who entered the Selection to please her mother but ends up being chosen) should be acted by: Deborah Ann Woll

The handsome prince Maxon Schreave should be acted by: the younger version of Alex Pettyfer (although this would require a time machine we believe he is the best suited to play Maxon)

America’s first boyfriend Aspen Leger should be acted by: Callan McAuliffe

America’s best friend Marlee Tames should be acted by: Whitney Rose Pynn

Other Selected:

Kriss Ambers should be acted by: Michelle Trachtenberg

Celeste Newsome should be acted by: Ellen Page

Elise Whisks should be acted by: Ayana Sakai

Natalie Luca should be acted by: Stephanie Kerbis

WHAT DO YOU THINK?? WHO IS IN YOUR DREAM CAST FOR "THE SELECTION" MOVIE??

A Special Evening

I have some exciting news!!!

Last week (Monday the 27^th of July) my parents and I attended the 2015 Rhino Conservation Awards hosted by the Game Rangers’ Association of South Africa. It was an amazing evening filled with delicious food, inspiring speeches and sparkling awards. The evening would not have been possible without ZEIZZ, CNEI and Prince Albert II of Monaco’s Foundation’s sponsorship with the help of the Game Ranger’s Association of Africa and the Department of Environmental Affairs.

Although the main purpose for the evening was the awards I really enjoyed the speeches; Dr Larry Hansen, Dr Michael Kaschke (Global CEO of Carl Zeiss Group), Debbie English, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and Mr Fundisile Mketeni (CEO SA National Parks) spoke. If I had to pick a favourite speech it would be Mr Mketeni’s one which dealt with the current rhino crisis and the path forward; or it would be Debbie English’s touching description of a day in the life of a ranger’s family.

After being inspired by the numerous speeches and licking our lips through the starters and the main course, we finally arrived at the awards orientated part of the evening. Chris Galliers (Chairman of the GRAA), Dr Winfried Scherle (CEO Carl Zeiss Sports Optics) and Xiaoyang Yu handed out the awards. The categories of the evening included Best Field Ranger, Best Conservation Practitioner, Best Political and Judicial Support, Best Science, Research and Technology and finally the Best Awareness, Education and Funding. I was privileged enough to be awarded a Special Recognition Certificate (Youth Award) along with Kelsey Hunt, Calvin Erasmus and Alyssa Carter. 

From left to right: Dr Winifried Scherle, Xiaoyang Yu, Alyssa Carter, Kelsey Hint, Kirsten Everett (ME), Cavin Erasmus and Chris Galliers

I was flattered by the award and so amazed when the Black Mamba Anti-poaching Unit (26 women who have succeeded in their anti-poaching patrols and have dedicated an extraordinary amount of time in educating the communities surrounding the Balule Nature Reserve.

I thoroughly believe the words written at the bottom of the certificate “If the youth inspires, the world will listen.” Isn't that inspiring?

Here's a photograph I had with the Prince and some friends:

From left to right: Kelsey Hunt, Kirsten Everett (ME), Calvin Erasmus, HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco, Tracy Henderson and Irene Huysamen

PS: In case you were wondering the words on the bottom of my award are:  

“In recognition of special achievement by a young person in the Awareness, Education and Funding category of the Rhino Conservation Awards 2015.” 

The Chocolate Experiment

You’ve heard of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, you’ve tasted numerous chocolate bars and you may or may not know the history of chocolate. But, I bet you’re curious to find out what my sister and I did in our Chocolate Experiment.

Firstly, you should know it took an entire month to complete because although it looks simple every result was reflected on (whilst we slept) and in some cases adjusted (because of the after after taste). Nevertheless we got through 10 different bars of chocolates of three different types, four brands and many, many chocolate pieces.

Our Method:

1.      We selected ten different chocolate bars namely:

a.       Cadbury Flake Chocolate

b.      Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate

c.       Nestle Aero Milk Chocolate

d.      Nestle Tex Bar Milk Chocolate

e.       Nestle Milk Chocolate Bar

f.       Nestle Bar One Milk Chocolate

g.      Nestle Milk Chocolate Log

h.      Nestle Milkybar White Chocolate

i.        Lindt Intense Orange Dark Chocolate

j.        Beacon Midnight Velvet Dark Chocolate

2.      We then chose one bar of chocolate and began to experiment on it (Mwa Hah Hah Hah)

3.      The first thing we did was to check the lifespan of the chocolate.

4.      Next we broke the chocolate into squares and rated it according to how hard it was to break. We used a scale of 1 – 5. We gave the chocolate a 1 if it was really easy to break and a 5 if it was hard.

5.      We then weighed the chocolate and set aside 20g of it.

6.      After that we ate a piece REALLY SLOWLY, analysed the texture and described it (believe it or not this is much harder than it sounds due to our lack of knowledge of food related adjectives).

7.      Then we tasted a piece and examined the way the flavours melted together in our mouths. When we were satisfied we could accurately identify at least 2 adjectives we sat back and enjoyed the taste.

8.      After all the tasting we took the 20g of chocolate pieces, put them into a microwave proof container and checked how long it took to melt.

9.      We then recorded the results for the chocolates and when we were ready we chose our next victim we repeated steps 2-9 until we had tested every chocolate.

Our results were very intriguing:

Which one is your favourite?

If you find that you have time on your hands and would like an excuse to eat lots of chocolate I suggest you try this experiment J

My Elegram

Two months ago United For Wildlife told me about The Nature Conversancy’s #Elegram project. The project encourages people to make an elephant out of clay, paint, noodles and almost anything then submit it either directly to them (by clicking this link: http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/africa/elegram-project.xml ) or uploading it on social media. The aim is to eventually sell the #Elegrams to help save elephants.

So, I designed, planned and after a few failed attempts I finally succeeded in creating Eleanor the Elegram.

She has such cute eyes I couldn’t resist giving her a photo shoot in my garden. Here are some of the photos  :) 

By now you’ve probably noticed she doesn’t have tusks. I deliberately didn’t give her any so she would resemble the elephants who survived poaching attacks.

I'm In the Newspaper!!

This week has been hectic but it also has been rather exciting. On Wednesday I opened up the Sandton Chronicle newspaper and saw an article about me!!!

Here's a teaser:

If you want to read the actual article please click on the following link:
http://sandtonchronicle.co.za/122760/andrei28brescia/

Day 5 Stripes Fall

1.      Take about 60 strands of hair (a small clump) from the right hand side of your face.

2.      Divide the selected hairs into three sections.

3.      Plait the three sections together once.

4.      Pick up a few strands of loose hair and add them to your plait; drop the middle piece section (the hairs you collected replaced this section).

5.      Repeat steps 3 and 4 as many times as desired and then plait normally.

6.      Add a bow for extra Pizazz!

THE working week is over and so this is the last hairstyle Sarah and I experimented with. I hope you are all inspired (even you guys who happen to be reading this and are wondering why - knowledge about hairstyles can earn you some brownie points with the ladies).

Sarah and I have found a quote that summarizes our aim for this week and should make you smile.

www.pinterest.com

Day 4 French Ponytail

   1.      Divide your hair into quarters.

   2.      Take one quarter of your hair (from the right hand side close to your face) and begin French plaiting it. Ignore the rest of your hair for now.

   3.      When you have used the majority of the hair you had set aside (you should have managed to French plait about half of the right hand side of your head) plait the end normally.

   4.      Hang the plait over your right shoulder and then tie the rest of your hair into a ponytail.

   5.      Wind the plait around the top of the ponytail to hide the hairpony.

(Hairstyle photographed and styled by the Awesome Christina Seuffert)

Day 3 The Tango Bun

1. Tie your hair into a ponytail at the centre of the back of your head but leave a quarter of your hair hanging loose on the right of your forehead.

2. Plait the ponytail normally.

3. Twirl the plaited ponytail around its origin to form a bun.

4. Plait the loose hair and twirl it around the bun.

5. Add a flower if you want to.

Day 2 The Half-Moon Plait

    1. Tie some of your hair into a ponytail at the centre of the back of your head
2. Give yourself a side parting with the loose hair.
3. French Plait your loose hairs together with the hair from your ponytail.
4. When all the hair is picked up, plait normally as far as you can go.
5. Twist the remaining hair around the plait.
6. Put hairpins in where necessary.

Day 1 The Little Princess Look

  1.  Tie some of your hair into a ponytail at the centre of the back of your head

  2.  Give yourself a centre parting.

  3. Starting from one side; French Plait down the side picking hair up from the ponytail as well as loose hairs.

  4. Continue French Plaiting that side until you have used half the hair from the ponytail.

  5. When you have completed step 4 carry on plaiting normally as far as you can go.

  6. Repeat step 3, 4 and 5 on the other side.

  7.  Place a bow to cover the hairtie.

A Working Week's Worth of Hairstyles

I'll be honest with you, I love wearing beautiful hairstyles but I'm too lazy to come up with new ones. Even searching on We Heart It for inspiration doesn't seem to help, because half the time the hairstyles look too complicated and so I admire them but never try them.

To solve this problem for me and many of you girls as well, my sister and I have found some awesome hairstyles, tried them and we've come up with simple instructions so you can attempt them too.

For the next five days I'll be posting these marvelous styles. We hope you'll think they're as inspiring as we do.