Welcome to the first guest in this series of, 'Letters to My Younger Self'.
I'm so delighted to have Helen Bullock here 🙂 She's a great Twitter buddy.
Helen is a primary school teacher. She is the editor of 'How I Learn', a crowd sourced study of learning styles – you can find out all about her on her blog; just click here.
Anyway, I'm here to remind you of a few things and encourage you with a few others.
Firstly, study more. I can tell you now you did just brilliantly in your Leaving Cert but it was down to good planning and study. Yes the supervised study is a bore but you actually study there which is more than you do at home….Just get over it. Study. And don't forget French, you will regret it if you don't put the effort in. Speaking of French, be ready for your mock aural exam…you'll have an embarrassing nose bleed and no tissues, maybe you should keep some in your school bag at all times! The teacher won't appreciate the mess you'll make!!
There's a time ahead when your college plans change, you're planning on going to Mary I in Limerick to become a teacher but that doesn't happen. Our parents can't afford the rent and other expenses that come with you moving out but don't worry. You do get there, you take the long road and are now a fully qualified teacher, it is not an easy road but without it you will miss out on meeting that guy you want and need to meet so don't worry. Detours don't hurt.
When you do finally make it to college you need to remember to study. But if I'm honest, college is about finding who you are and what you want to be when you grow up. Yes you've always wanted to a teacher but it's this time in college that allows you to explore other areas and jobs. Make friends in college, one especially will be your closest friend and you'll need her in the future. Have fun, there comes a time when you won't be having much fun and you have some your worst fears to face. Enjoy your first two years in college, the final year is the hard one and your memories will get you through it. Eventually.
Your taste in boys takes a while to mature, let's be honest some of the boys you've dated have been eh, less than stellar; but one ahead is worth his weight in gold. There's one however who comes pretty close to ruining your life, don't let him. Yes everything will seem like a disaster but that friend from college will help you through it. The bruises will fade, the aches lessen, the nightmares become less frequent and the friends who matter will stand by you. The rest don't matter at all. They're not real true friends if they can't or won't stand by you now, yes you made mistakes but who doesn't? The biggest mistake was choosing to wrong guy to be with but trust me everyone does at some stage. The main thing to remember is every experience teaches you something and this one will give you a lot of lessons and not all of them will be easy. Don't give up, yes he hurts you, a lot. But you become stronger because of him, braver. Yes your confidence will be damaged but that guy I've mentioned will help.
You will eventually meet him, he's amazing. Ok so you won't meet in the most conventional way, or even the way you both tell your parents. But by 2008 meeting online isn't something to be ashamed of, over the next few years it becomes almost normal and a lot of your friends meet that way. They even find it settling that they're not alone! By the time you write this you'll planning your wedding so any ideas or demands now is a good time to think of them!
Try not to worry so much about what people think of you, yes it's going to be hard, you can't help it and you are so self conscience of your clothes, that hasn't changed much if I'm honest. There are times you still think you're not good enough but you are. Some people just don't matter. Ignore them. You are smart, clever and intelligent. Not everyone sees you for you and trust me they are the people you don't need to be friends with. Make people laugh, you have a quick sense of humour, use it. Sometimes laughter is the best cure to defuse a situation and timing is everything.
Save money. There's a time when yes your savings go AWOL but the habit of saving is a great one and at 28 trust me you'll be glad you did.
As I write this and I think about my life at 18 and all the things ahead of you I can't help but smile. Things weren't easy at times but I've had fun and I know you will too. Don't be scared by the rough times ahead, everyone has challenges but they shape who you are and who you will be.
Celebrate being 18 with your friends, enjoy the night, the moment because let me tell you the people who are there celebrating with you won't feature much in your future. There's just one who sticks around and she's invaluable, keep her close. I'll be celebrating 28 with friends, I don't know if they'll be around when I celebrate 38 but I know that the friends you have now (and the ones I have now) are some of the most important people in our lives, cherish them.
Thank you all the comments, it wasn't the easiest thing to write but I'm glad I did. It's very freeing!
Love the positivity of it all, Helen – a great read.


text:
What the Greens need to do to make their mark in Government
Analysis: The party knows entering coalition is a risk, and it must show tangible gains in 2020
Sun, Jun 28, 2020, 18:56 Updated: Sun, Jun 28, 2020, 18:57
Harry McGee Political Corresondent
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan at the Convention Centre in Dublin on Saturday. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
Nobody knows the fate of smaller parties in government better than the Greens, who ended up being devoured after their bracing first stint in power between 2007 and 2011.
So is it lesson learned this time? Or will history repeat itself? Is the Green Party wise to the ways of the two bigger parties, and the rigours of day-to-day governing, or will it end up being suckered again?
History suggests the party will lose at least half of its seats at the next general election, even if the Government does well. It could lose all of them if the recession is deeper and longer than we expect.
Its members know the risk they are taking, and that they will probably ultimately fail in attaining all its big goals. But failure can be relative – some core victories can be secured, seats can be saved.
The last time, there were six Greens against more than 70 Fianna Fáil TDs. Now the two pillar parties have been greatly reduced and the partnership is not as lopsided.
In 2007, the party got some of its core aims included in the programme for government, but initiatives could not be delivered, or were subject to soft-shoe-shuffle delays from Fianna Fáil.
While this programme, with its lack of specificity, could hardly be described as an action plan, there are far more measurable timelines and target dates in it than in previous plans.
There is another hump on the road for the Greens. Most of the things required on climate change and especially a reduction in the State's carbon emissions cannot be achieved quickly.
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Some will take years: the insulation of 500,000 homes to B2 standard; the construction of cycleways and pedestrianisation; deep ocean wind-power and tidal power projects (if they ever happen); more forestry, and 50,000 social homes.
On Sunday, the Greens admitted it will take the lifetime of the Government to achieve one of the party's key aims, to end direct provision.
Politics is an immediate business, all about short-termism, and it does not sit easily with strategies that sometimes take decades to unfold.
Therefore, the party must show tangible gains in 2020: a climate action Bill within 100 days and the establishment of the Climate Advisory Council that will set a five-year carbon budget.
The just transition plan needs to be delivered early, as will a strong policy statement setting out the State's withdrawal of support for a liquefied natural gas plan on the Shannon estuary in north Kerry.
Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman must within months improve the lives of asylum seekers in direct provision, in line with the recommendations of the Bryan McMahon-led working group. A White Paper on direct provision is due, too, by the end of 2020.
And then there is the social justice aspects – the promise to deliver 50,000 houses; to ensure that the most vulnerable are protected, and the notion of a just transition is honoured. For 25 per cent of its membership, the party will need to demonstrate commitment in these areas. As the leading internal proponent of this approach, Neasa Hourigan, pointed out on Saturday: "I think the best way forward is firstly to continue to advocate for people in our community who are marginalised, for people who are driven into poverty, people struggling to pay their rent, those who need affordable housing, children, people with disabilities, carers."
At budget time, more details will emerge of the carbon action fund (worth €9.5 billion) and more detailed breakdowns of how it will be spent (€3 billion is set to go towards social provision; €1.5 billion for farmers through a new Rural Environmental Protection Scheme, and €5 billion for retrofitting).
Some of these big retrofit and renewable energy programmes will benefit from the Government's big stimulus programme which will be announced in October.
Transport plans
Covid-19 has presented an immediate challenge for the Greens' transport plans, as there will be less demand for bus or rail transport in the short to medium term.
That will leave the new Minister for Climate Action and Transport, Eamon Ryan, focusing on other measures, including walking and cycling infrastructure, plus remote working. Ryan has also retained responsibility for broadband, so one of the ideas might be to set up more local hubs for remote workers using the 300 centrepoints of the local rural broadband network.
The party will also need to show traction on local cycling plans, cycling officers, transport studies in Galway and Cork, new incentives for using electric vehicles, progress on the Dublin Metro, and rural transport. In non-transport areas, it will need to make a strong good start on solar energy, renewable energy (the aim is for the State to have 70 per cent renewable energy by 2030), organic farming, afforestation, rewetting of bogs, and the land-use policy, which must be in place within 24 months.
The overarching proof of the pudding will be the 7 per cent average emissions cut target. It might be achieved in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, but emissions could creep up again next year. If by the middle of 2022, the Greens are not making headway, their time in power will have been in vain.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


President Donald Trump on Saturday denounced US asylum law as a "scam" and implied that the wave of Central American families seeking asylum in the US were actually dangerous gang members.
Trump made the comments during a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas, Nevada. His remarks came amid a surge of asylum-seekers that has overwhelmed Customs and Border Protection and fueled Trump's cries of an "emergency" at the southern border.
Despite Trump's brutish characterization of the migrants, CBP data shows that the majority of those crossing the US-Mexico border are families, including women and children.
Trump accused lawyers of coaching the migrants on what to say at the US-Mexico border to request asylum. At one point during the speech, he even mockingly imitated a migrant reading from a script.
Read more:Closing the border would put the US economy at a 'standstill' and actually worsen illegal border crossings. Here's how it would affect food prices, jobs, and Americans' everyday lives.
Trump then imitated immigration advocates who have pushed for the US to adopt more expansive policies to allow asylum-seekers into the country.
The crowd laughed and applauded throughout his comments.
People are criticizing a Fox News contributor for wearing a protective vest at the border as though it were a 'war zone'. He says Border Patrol made him wear it.


Alright, so I know I was supposed to create a one-shot for the beginning of school and I promise I'll get on it immediately after I'm done writing this, but it's been a very hectic week trying to get readjusted to college, but I made a book trailer! Yaaaay!!! *chuckles nervously* If you haven't been able to tell, I also switched the site around! A lot, actually.
Well, here you go, enjoy, and I'll be writing the one-shot for you lovely people.
← Q&A: How was a nine-year-old Alexei able to become King?


It's Fanmail Thursday! Tom Merritt and Justin Young discuss your thoughts on Black Friday, movies on planes, the Feynman lectures on LOTS of stuff about the cars of the future and ride sharing. It's like our own little LA auto show except Justin's in Oakland.


Yarn donations made at Walmart at Lisbon Landing this week will help keep needy families warm.
While she's laid up recovering after surgery, Terri LaBarre, 44, of Taftville, said she hopes to outfit children and their parents staying at the Thames Valley Council for Community Action family shelter.
LaBarre is working with the Lisbon Walmart to collect enough yarn to make at least 50 adult-sized hats and scarves and more than 100 child-sized hats, scarves, slippers and mittens.
A friend from Moosup already donated infant hats, and LaBarre plans to make two dozen baby blankets to complement those.
With enough yarn and a few helpers, LaBarre figures she could get the knitting and crocheting done within two weeks. She already has one helper, she said — her 1-year-old granddaughter, Isabella, is an expert yarn-holder.
LaBarre said she wanted to help a family shelter because of her previous experience.
"I was in a women's shelter in New London with my daughter when she was under a year old, so I know how it feels," she said.
At TVCCA, the shelter staff are excited about working with LaBarre.
With families staying for 60 days at a time at the shelter, "it's a great need, and something we go through quite a bit," Parker said.
Copyright 2012 The Bulletin. Some rights reserved.
The Norwich Bulletin. "Taftville woman using donated yarn to help clothe needy". January 31, 2012.