Recently I started listening to the soundtrack for the broadway version of the The Little Mermaid. The music is upbeat and entertaining, as most musicals tend to be. And of course, the storyline is inspiring. But many questions have come to mind as I’ve listened to Ariel singing about her desire to be “part of that world”. It has made me wonder several things. First, why did she want to leave her undersea world? And second, why do we, as humans, always have such a yearning for the unknown, just like Ariel?

It all goes back to the old, “the other side is always greener” idea. (This is literal in the case of Ariel and her desire to see trees and land and not just sandy ocean floor.) As far as reality goes, human behavior matches that of Ariel. Have we not spent billions of dollars on space exploration just to find out what is hidden in the great beyond? And another several billion to build tiny submersibles to explore the ocean floor? And surely if we could invent a way to do it, we would have drilled ourselves a hole straight to the center of the earth to see if it really is one big ball of molten rock and not some hidden civilization such as Jules Verne imagined. Human history is filled with attempts and finding out if there is more than what we have before our eyes.

Each of us have personal desires to “part of [some] world” that is outside of the one we were raised in. For example, I have always wanted to know what it would be like to be a professional dancer, a train conductor, and a race car driver. I’ve also always wanted to see how people live in the Greek Isles. Every one of us has these desires to explore “worlds” outside of our own. This is without question a good thing. Human nature gives us a curiosity about things we can’t understand. That curiosity drives us to search for more answers and work hard to get them.

In conclusion, I would have to say that Ariel had it right when she fought to reach her goal of having legs. If she hadn’t, she would have always wondered “what if?” and never achieved the greatness that she did. (By greatness, I refer to her reaching the goal of marrying the man of her dreams, and a prince to boot!) I, too, hope that one day I can sit down behind the wheel of a race car and take it for a few spins around the track, or maybe even have a vacation to the Greek Isles. Some of our dreams may not be feasible right now (such as if you have dreams to travel to Mars), but we can do everything possible to accomplish the ones that are. It’s what humans (and apparently mermaids!) were born to do!

About the Author

Tiffani Anazi is a freelance writer for MyCollegesandCareers.com. My Colleges and Careers provides tools and services on their website to help potential students find the best online colleges for them and their specific situation.

Image Credit

Andrei Nekrassov / Shutterstock.com

As much as I love it, we’ve not done a huge amount of travelling just lately. Having babies kind of does that. You have very little disposable income and the thought of taking a baby who might scream all the way, on a plane is rather off-putting but I’m reaching a point now where I think they’re old enough to be reasoned with during a journey and I can’t wait to get back out into that big wide world again.

‘Why?’ I hear you ask. Or not. In fact, you’re probably thinking, ‘Everyone likes a holiday don’t they?’ Well, even though it would’ve been my idea of bliss a few years ago, I don’t actually mean lying around on a beach and splashing in a hotel pool for two weeks, and I did love those holidays. But I mean really getting out there, meeting people, experiencing new places, things and sampling new delicacies and taking our little people along for the ride!

I’ve heard that age old adage ‘there are no strangers in this world, just friends we haven’t met yet’ many times in my life but there’s not been one point where I could really identify with it other than right at this very moment. I’ve met a lot of new friends recently and I’m starting to realise and feeling very excited about the whole world of people out there to befriend.

I also think, what better way to teach our children about the world? What better way than for them to be well travelled, experience lots of different cultures, customs and traditions and understand the reasons behind them? What better way to teach them to be non-judgmental, empathic and loving? And what better way to do any of this than to take them out there, show them and let them learn about it all for themselves?

I want to show them that there’s a whole world of people out there who are truly incredible, who live in amazing places, do remarkable things, suffer tragic situations and come out at the other end all the better for it because of their outlook and zest for life.

I want my children to learn to respect other people’s views, opinions, cultures and traditions and accept and appreciate everyone’s differences. I want it to be second nature to them not to be judgmental of others. For that I believe that they need to meet and befriend people from all walks of life.

I don’t want to pre-determine what they do with their lives or impose expectations as to what they should ‘do’ when they grow up, but I do want them to learn to stop and smell the roses, to appreciate the beauty of the world we live in and to live with an open heart and mind.

I want them to grow up in an environment, which is open-minded, sensitive and enlightened. I want them to learn about themselves, become strong and confident and know what makes them happy.

I want them to have, and learn all of the things that people seek from travelling in their later life, right now.

And most of all, I want them to learn to live!

About the Author

Kate is a mother of two, a writer and a blogger, who writes on behalf of a number of companies, including No.1 Traveller, operators of Heathrow Airport Lounges and lounges at a number of other UK airports and GRITIT, a UK-based commercial gritting contractor.

Teachers have a lot to deal with; from creating social studies lesson plans, to copying millions of papers for homework, to dealing with rowdy kids, to late night lesson prep. All of these are things you must do week after week and then a parent-teacher-conference is added to top off your hectic and busy schedule. You may not want to spend time talking to each and every parent of your students but you should know it is a very important part of your job and you should try to make the most of it.

How can you make a parent-teacher-conference go nice and smooth without offending anyone and still have it be an effective meeting?

Here are some things that will help teachers run a smooth and productive parent-teacher-conference:

• Compliment then give critiques. When you are going through a parent-teacher-conference remember that these are the parents of your students. Parents are often blind-sided, over emotional, and protective of their children. Parents will not appreciate it if you start the meeting by listing off negative critiques about their child. Start every meeting with a positive note by giving compliments and good feedback about their child then slowly go into the problems that need to be discussed.

• Be prepared. Be prepared to have other children in the room. Parents may have to bring the younger children in with them so be prepared to help with some toys and things to keep them busy while you have your meeting. It is also a good idea to be prepared with a meeting schedule that you can post on your door so that you are not disturbed by parents coming early.

• If you don’t know… find out. You may not know the answer to every question a parent has so it’s important to tell them that if you do not know you will find out. If you know someone else who can answer their question better than you, then you should give them that person’s information.

• Be flexible. Not all parents will be able to come in to talk with you face to face. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out. In those cases you should try to be as flexible as possible and be willing to take a phone conference as an alternative.

• Check records. It is important to check a child’s records to see who you should call, do not assume you know who you are supposed to contact. Many children are raised by aunts, grandparents, or stepparents and calling the wrong family member could be misinterpreted as being insensitive. Call the right person.

Madison Hewerdine is an author who likes to write about social studies lesson plans and has a passion for country line dancing.