September-October Newsletter
Update on the life of Malcolm Paisley
Hi everyone! My name is Malcolm and this is my first newsletter I have ever published. I am a student in Gr. 10 in Ottawa, Canada. Some of my interests include playing soccer, geeking out about cool sciency things and hanging out with my friends. Here is an update on what has been happening in my life these past months!
TKS
In September, I took my very first step into the real world by joining the program “The Knowledge Society” or “TKS”. TKS is a really cool program that introduces teenagers to the crazy world of disruptive technologies. It gives students like me a chance to experience living in the real world without the repercussions of failure holding us back. These first two months, I have completed 8 whole sessions with TKS and I’ve already learnt so much. Here is a rundown of some of the most important takeaways I have from these sessions.
Be unconventional!
This day and age, everyone’s resumes and qualifications look more or less the same and it’s getting harder and harder to stand out. The best way to get unique opportunities such as jobs and internships is to be different than everyone else applying and get noticed. I applied this when I tried out for my school soccer team. I went and talked to the coach before tryouts even happened getting me on the good side of the coach and being noticed. By the time tryouts happened, I was already a shoe-in for the team and it was all thanks to this mindset.
Bias towards action!
I don’t know about anyone else, but I always find myself caught in the “I’ll do this later” stage. I used to be such a big procrastinator and would leave projects until the last minute before getting to work. Having a bias towards action means whenever you get that feeling that you’re going to procrastinate, you just get it done then and there. This is a really great muscle to train no matter where you go in life and it has certainly helped me a lot!
Figure it out!
Life is never perfect and there are always going to be problems that arise in any given scenario. One of the best things you can do for yourself is when these issues come up, learn to figure them out. There won’t always be someone there for you waiting to answer your questions so the importance of learning how to work things out on your own is an amazing skill to have. This mindset can take you from being a scared normal highschool student to being an independent capable human being!
Important Events
Camping Trip with Friends
At the end of september, I went on a 3-day camping trip with my school class. It was really fun but the important thing for me was taking a break from life. This experience taught me the importance of taking a break from work and school to relax your mind and your body. Taking this time off invigorated me and gave me new energy when I got back. I learnt that this break doesn’t even need to be very long. Just taking 10-20 minutes out of your day can help so much. I like to do breathing exercises during my breaks because they calm down my mind and body, relaxing me for the rest of my day. Here’s a great breathwork tool I like to use.
Thanksgiving Weekend
This weekend, all my family came to Ottawa so we could visit with each other. We played games together and went for walks as a family. I really enjoyed this time spent with my family and I think it is a very important part of my life. I’m so lucky to have all my family so close to me and thanksgiving was a great time for me to reflect on how grateful I am. Sometimes I take my family for granted and it is experiences like these that make me value them so much.
What’s Happening Next?
There is so much for me to look forward to in this coming month so here are the highlights I am looking forward too.
Hackathon! This is a 24 hour challenge I do with my TKS group where I work to solve a global issue. More on that in my next newsletter. Subscribe to stay up to date!
SAAS North Conference? That’s right. I have a chance to win a ticket to this big business conference held in Ottawa. 🤞
Thanks for checking out my newsletter! Before you go, make sure to subscribe to receive my future newsletters! See you all soon! 👋
-Malcolm