cultures – Jenna Jamieson, Author

Diversity can change the world!

By Jenna Jamieson | April 30, 2017 | Comments 0 Comment

If you know me, you know I love diversity. The first time I remember heavily considering and thinking about diversity is in 8th grade when I begged my mom to move high schools so I could be in a more diverse district filled with lots of ethnicities and different cultural experiences.

I love diversity because I love what it brings to my life, and more than anything I love what it teaches me. Similarly, I remember as we headed to Ireland to elope that I recall how noticeable the diversity was in London and Dublin. From the waiters and staff that helped with our wedding to the many people that we met, the vacation was filled with Muslims, Indians, Americans, Romanians, and many others.

These experiences have further reminded me how much I appreciate and love to be immersed in projects and opportunities that expose me to people and students with different opportunities, educational backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, and experiences.

I hope others are able to learn and appreciate those they are surrounded by and the communities in which they live. It is so easy to judge those who are different, but I personally prefer to learn from them, and I hope you do, too! We can learn why they do things the way they do, why they wear the clothing they do, what their religion means to them, how their journey brought them to where they are now, and so on.

Back to the whole high school story which is what set me on my path of wondering about diversity. We eventually moved and I loved my new high school that had so much more diversity, my alma mater, and where I now have the privilege of working. I once again was lucky enough to witness the diversity at prom. I realized how lucky I am to be in a place that offers so much diversity and experiences for me to grow.

It is so easy to judge those that are diverse or different than us, but I hope at some point we learn to embrace them because of the many great things they can teach us. I challenge you to think about this next time you are helping someone from a different culture, someone that isn’t like you, or someone that may be far different than you are used to. All the diversity we see and have among us is what brings people together to invent new things, find new cures, expand community projects, teach our students, and ultimately to change the world!

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness

Quality over quantity…in life and in health!

By Jenna Jamieson | April 27, 2016 | Comments 1 comment

“Quality over quantity” fits my life mission and many of the goals I set for myself. When I workout I like to keep it in the back of my mind. I want quality over quantity. What does that mean to me? It means using the correct form for the exercises I perform and creating a workout that fits my lifestyle and body. It is for my sanity, strength, and a stress reliever at the end of the day. In other words, I would rather do fewer reps and sets during my workout than lots of reps and sets in the incorrect form. That can cause pains, strains, and injuries.

The same can be echoed for the career paths I have gone down. I have come to appreciate (and enjoy) having a job that is far more “quality over quantity”. That may not even make sense, but let me explain. I work in public education and I don’t get paid a lot, but the work I do and the students I touch are the reason I have come to like the work that I am doing (after having changed career paths several times prior). The quality or meaning it brings to my life far outweighs the quantity or money I am making.

Lastly, I love to travel. It is probably one of my favorite things to do and I wish I could do it more often. I love the experiences it gives me, the memories I create, and learning about the world. I like seeing other cultures, gaining new perspective, and more than anything the quality it adds to my life.

The meaning behind this post is to remember that in life it is far better for your health and happiness to appreciate life and people, not things. Take pleasure in the small things…the things that create memories, experiences, and teach you something about yourself and others. Make your life center around quality and experiences. You will be happier if you do! And, more than anything remember to appreciate your health and the aging process. After all, good health and aging is something that some never have the privilege of experiencing. As my grandma once said, “If you have good health you don’t realize how lucky you really are.”

~jj

#ProjectKindnessBook

#AlwaysChooseKindness