Thursday, March 19, 2015

THE FEELING OF TOGETHERNESS

Friends come and go but best friends stay forever. In my dictionary, togetherness means friendship. So the depth of friendship measures the strength of togetherness. It's very easy to say we are together forever, but how many are keeping their words?

Friends come and go. Yes, I have different friends for different phases of my life. In school, in college, in the workplace, etc., my friends are replaced when I move on to different aspects of life. But few of them are not replaceable and of course they are my best friends.

Here, I want to share my feeling of togetherness with one of my best friends, Smitha. She is my school friend and she and I were in the same classroom, from first standard to the tenth standard. But our friendship started only from fifth class- when I borrowed a pen from her.

Pen, pencil, scale... our friendship flourished by exchanging these things. My character has many similarities with her. I think that's the main reason behind the strong bond between us. There were no shortage of rumours and gossips. Gossip guys thought we were lovers, but the relationship between us was pure friendship.

After tenth class, we preferred different paths, I completed higher secondary education and joined a management college to pursue the B. Sc in Hotel Management and Catering Services whereas she preferred a career in finance. Even though we were not together (physically), intensity of friendship was constant.

Things changed. We both got jobs in respective fields. I was always busy and tired with the 12 hour job. Ridiculous change in working shifts made me to cut down social interactions. I didn't realise that I was moving away from my friendships.

When we are not together physically, the chances of losing friends are high. We are blessed with advanced technology that facilitates us to use social networks like Facebook and WhatsApp but the modern lifestyle encourages us to bring down social interactions.

The reasons for losing friends can't be justified. After a few months, I realised I am not in touch with my Smitha for more than six months, but still I wasn't in a mood to bring back the sinking friendship. The unwanted complex hidden inside my heart prevented me to call her.

God has some other plans. Two weeks before, She and her dad came to the restaurant of my hotel. We met unexpectedly at the front office. I can't explain my feelings when I saw her. We both were super thrilled to see after two years. With permission of my manager, I spent some time with her. We had a lot to talk and a lot to laugh.

The unexpected meeting with her again brought back the we are together forever feeling. Within a few minutes, we realised that our friendship is not going to fade away and it's going to get stronger and sharper. Now, I have promised to  myself to never lose this friendship for any reason.

Feeling of togetherness is awesome. Hence, keep your friendships alive to maintain happiness.
Be #together and live awesome.

Image: Free licensed

NEW LIFE AND BOLD DECISIONS

Starting a new life is very challenging. Hence, bold decisions are required to breathe new life. By starting a new life, what I mean is a deviation from ordinary river like flowing life. Changes and challenges are the two important ingredients in setting up a new life.

My school days were over when I completed higher secondary education. Teenage phase of the life is over and it's the time to enter young adult phase. Moreover, it was the time to take decision on my career. After plus two, we have to choose a new path to build up our career in future.

The society in which I live know only two paths to choose after plus two: Medicine and Engineering. But I have my own interests. My interests always revolve around Food. So I started my own research to find a new career that matches my interests. My search ended in Hotel Management studies.

I needed a new life after school days and I decided to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Management and Catering Service. Considering the situations looming around, it was a bold decision for me. Moreover, I preferred distant education so that I can do part-time jobs.

My plus two marks were impressive and hence, my decision to join a course other than Medicine and Engineering become controversial. Even my parents couldn't find my decision digestive. My relatives declared my bold decision as poor and immature decision, but I wasn't going to rethink.

I determined to start a new life by following my interests. Even though many raised concerns over my decision, they faded away gradually. As my priority was given to my interests, learning Hotel Management was so easy for me. I also had a part-time work in a three star hotel near to my college.

Having a part-time job gave me more freedom. I earned my own pocket money without depending on parents. I also found Hotel Management field is not rush as other fields and hence getting a job is relatively easy. With the time running, I realised that my decision to prefer Hotel field was perfect for me.

As soon as I graduate, I got a job in a five star hotel in the city as front office assistant. Now, I am happy with my job. I never felt my work as a boring or killing one. My work is blended with my interests and hence, my love for the work is increasing day by day. I am happier now because I will be promoted to the post of Front Office Manager from next month onwards.

Shortly, the reward I am getting now is a result of my bold decision I took four years ago. If you are clear about your vision and interests, then don't hesitate to take bold decisions to start a new life.
#StartANewLife

Watch the video given below.

MY LOOK UP STORY OF HOPE AND OPTIMISM

Everyone has a story to tell, a story about faith, optimism and hope. We don't know how our future would be, but we are moving forward with hope and optimism, expecting for a better future. In addition to these, we should have determination and plannings to clear the mist around our future.

When looking back to my past, I can also see the moments filled optimism and hope. Those moments have important role in making me and my life a lot better. In this blog post, I am sharing about a moment or a turning point which influenced life in a positive way.

This is a flashback and happened about six years ago. I was enjoying a long summer vacation after tenth class. I was a bad learner and hence I hadn't any expectations in Tenth class results. But in my society, people considered Tenth class as a pride war. Every parents want their son or daughter to secure at least a distinction. In my case, parents only wanted me to pass the examination because they had clear idea about my learning abilities.

One day, the tenth class results came out. I passed all subjects and secured second class with 57 percent. My parents neither appreciated nor accused me. My parents have no problems so why me, I thought. Things changed when I went out after the D day. People started to enquire about my marks and my response always made them to look me with deep sympathy. My neighbours declared I wouldn't pass plus two.

The society forced me to feel guilty. I wished if I had at least a first class. This guilt feeling made me to think unwanted thoughts. As usual, my mum spotted on the psychological changes in me. Yes, all mothers have this ability, the sense to find even the slightest changes in their children.

My mom urged me to ignore the people around and show others what I can in plus two. I never forget that moment because by saying show what you can my mom injected a huge amount of motivation in my blood. I felt hope and optimism. I realised Tenth class is not a final chapter, things just started.

That moment insisted me to take new resolutions. As a result, I changed my strategy in learning. I started to hear lectures carefully (for the first time). I found two hours daily to study. My parents amazed to see my changes. Planning and determination made me confident.

Two years later, plus two results came out. I secured a distinction with 87 per cent marks. I wasn't surprised because I expected that result, but the people around me were shell shocked. People who declared I wouldn't pass came out to praise me. A moment, a motivational talk turned around my life. I understood the power of hope and optimism.

Look up stories are not ending here, check this link.

Image credit: Pixabay

Monday, March 16, 2015

HOW TO VERIFY YOUR BLOG ON PINTEREST


Pinterest is one of the most popular social networks out there. Many bloggers use Pinterest to increase their blogs traffic. Pinterest also has an option to add your blog on your Pinterest profile. It is considered as a powerful backlink. Follow the steps below to verify your blog on Pinterest.

1. Log in to Pinterest.
2. Click on edit profile.
3. Insert your blog URL in the website field and copy the code of How to verify .
4. Open another tab and log in to blogger.
5. Go to Template and click on edit HTML.
6. Search for <head> by pressing CTRL+F.
7. Paste the code below <head> and save changes.
8. Now go back to the first tab of Pinterest and complete verification.

That's all. You'll get a valuable backlink from Pinterest.

HOW TO ADD ALEXA RANK WIDGET TO YOUR BLOG


Alexa Rank may not have importance in search engine optimisation but it is an important tool to measure the status of a blog or website. Alexa rank of your blog reflects the blog's popularity. Thus having a Alexa Rank widget on your blog is a good thing.

Follow the steps below to add Alexa widget to your blog.
1. Log in to your Blogger dashboard and select your blog.
2. Click on Layout and select Add a Gadget option.
3. Now select HTML/JavaScript gadget from the pop-up window.
4. Copy and paste the following code to the empty box.

<a href="http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/yoursite.com"><script type="text/javascript" src=""></script></a>

5. Replace yoursite.com with your blog address.
6. Save the changes and you're done.

The Alexa widget shows both Alexa rank and number of incoming links.

HOW TO ADD MULTIPLE AUTHORS TO YOUR BLOG


You may want to add authors to your blog for various reasons. Having multiple authors helps to update your blog regularly. Adding multiple authors to blogger is an easy process. Follow the steps given below.

1. Log in to Blogger and click on your blog.
2. Click on Settings.
3. Then select Basic tab and go to Permissions/Blog authors section.
4. Click on Add Authors.
5. Enter the email IDs of the authors and send the invitation.

Now, your author has to accept the invitation to start posting on your blog. As an author he can create posts and edit his own posts. If you want your author to have full access to your blog then make him the admin.

Comment below for queries and suggestions.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

HOW TO ADD META DESCRIPTION OF YOUR BLOG


What is a meta description?
Meta Description is a snippet of words that will be seen by the users while searching through Google, Yahoo etc. It has many advantages. Having an attractive meta description may attract more organic traffic to your blog. It also has its own importance in search engine optimisation too.

Follow the steps given below to add meta description of your blog.

1. Log in to your Blogger dashboard and choose your desired blog.
2. Select Settings.
3. Click on Search Preferences option.
4. You will see meta tags and select Enable Search Description.
5. Now put your meta description within 150 characters.
6. Hit save changes and you're done.

Please feel free to drop your queries and feedbacks.

HOW TO DISABLE COMMENTS OF A SPECIFIC BLOG POST


In the previous post, I have explained how to disable whole comment section of a blog. But, what to do if you want to disable comments of a certain blog post. Keep reading to find out the solution.

The reasons behind disabling comments for a specific blog post are various. For example, If any of your blog post go controversial and as a result your readers are divided, then you may want to hide/block/disable comment section of that specific post. Follow the steps given below  and find out how to disable comments on a post.

1. Log in to your blogger dashboard and select your blog
2. Click on All Posts.
3. Now click on Edit option of your desired blog post.
4. In the editor section, select Post Setting from the right side.
5. Select option and choose Don't allow hide existing.
6. Save and update your post.

I hope you liked this Blogger post. Stay tuned to get more Blogger tips.

HOW TO DISABLE COMMENT SECTION OF YOUR BLOG


Comments are a great way for blog readers to register their feedbacks and opinions. Through comment section a blogger can interact as well as understand his readers easily. Comments also have importance in search engine optimisation. But things may be different for a blogger who always put up controversial blog posts.

Such bloggers may prefer to disable comment section to avoid arrogance of readers. Follow the steps below to disable comments on your blog (blogger platform).

1. Go to blogger.com and log in.
2. Now select your blog and then click on Settings tab.
3. Select Post and comments section.
4. Then you'll see Comment Location on top and then select Hide option from there.
5. Now save the settings and your comment section will be disabled.