FollowingFaye

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Rowing to a Better Life

An excerpt from the NY Times -

She Wants to Row to Get From N.Y.C. Into College
That goal, Sebastiana Lopez says, is worth the grind of six days a week leading her crew team. “I know this will help me get there.”
By Juliet Macur

Rainy-day practices are the worst, especially in the cold. As she leads her rowing team, Sebastiana Lopez feels the rain pelting her face, soaking her clothes and working its way into her bones. Her fingers go numb.

Yet Lopez, 17, a high school senior, calls this the best thing she has ever done for herself.

As an eighth grader, she had signed up for this test of toughness at Row New York, a nonprofit that teaches city students how to row and gives them academic support and college counseling. Now, more than four years later, her routine includes pushing through her grueling sport’s trying moments.

“I can handle the hard days,” Lopez said. “I make myself do it because I really want to go to college and I know this will help me get there.”

She tries not to cry, but fails, and says, “I do want a better life for my family.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/25/sports/she-wants-to-row-to-get-from-nyc-into-college.html

Buffet's Advice

An excerpt from Inc. -

Warren Buffett Told a Teenager His Secret to Success 15 Years Ago. It's Still the Best Advice You'll Hear Today
It may be time to find some new friends.
By Marcel Schwantes

Fifteen years ago, while taking questions from shareholders and fans at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting, the billionaire Buffett was asked by a teenager what advice he would give a young person in order to become successful.

Buffett's response was a bullseye, whatever your age or stage of life. The Oracle of Omaha replied:

It's better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction.

The people you choose to be around truly do matter for career progression. When you choose to surround yourself with better and smarter individuals and learn from their success habits, you absorb their knowledge and become better and smarter yourself.

https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/warren-buffett-told-a-teenager-his-secret-to-success-15-years-ago-its-still-best-advice-youll-hear-today.html

On To Something?

An excerpt from CNN -

What this sunny, religious town in California teaches us about living longer
By Sandee LaMotte

Spanish for "beautiful hill," Loma Linda, California is nestled between mountain peaks in the middle of the San Bernardino Valley. The city is known as an epicenter of health and wellness, with more than 900 physicians on the campus of Loma Linda University and Medical Center.

But that's not Loma Linda's only wellness claim to fame. This city of 21,000 is one of the five original blue zones, regions in the world where people live longest and are the healthiest. In fact, the people in this community tend to live eight to 10 years longer than the average American.

Experts say that's because Loma Linda has one of the highest concentrations of Seventh-day Adventists in the world. The religion mandates a healthy lifestyle and a life of service to the church and community, which contributes to their longevity.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/25/health/longevity-blue-zone-wellness/index.html