Gina Stefan
Stories (52/0)
Choices That You Will Regret
I have a habit of envisioning what it would be like if I followed through on a decision I'm now making, and there are times when I realize that if I go down a particular road, I'll almost certainly regret my decision. I often consider about options and decisions that, if I had made them, might have resulted in a different outcome in my life.
By Gina Stefan2 years ago in Motivation
The French have a lot of stereotypes!
The majority of stereotypes are ridiculous! I'll admit that as an American living in France, I sometimes feel embarrassed when people ask me where I'm from. When they hear me talk in French and detect my accent, they are compelled to inquire as to my nationality. "Oh, I'm American," I admit sheepishly and apologetically, because I'm well aware of all the terrible prejudices about Americans that others hold. At the same time, there are some preconceptions (both positive and negative) that might provide some insight into a country's culture and people. Since I've lived in France for more than a year, I've found it useful to think about the parallels and contrasts between being an American and being a French person. Stereotypes can sometimes assist you in better understanding the subtleties of a culture. Here are a few helpful and accurate clichés about the French that I discovered.
By Gina Stefan2 years ago in Humans
Focus on what you want to happen rather than what you don't want to happen
Problems and pain appear to be an unavoidable part of life. However, there are a few things we can remind ourselves of to assist us move forward while we are in the midst of a crisis. We tend to overestimate the severity of situations when we take them personally, but this is not always the case. It's sometimes more essential how we approach and perceive a situation; it's all up to us. You'll discover that if you keep a positive attitude and approach problems rationally rather than personally, they'll be much easier to solve.
By Gina Stefan2 years ago in Motivation
Is it possible to trust someone who speaks with a foreign accent?
I have a thick pronunciation. Until I was a young adult, I had no understanding of this. However, I do have an accent. When I first started learning French, I quickly recognized that I speak with an American accent. This understanding didn't disturb me for a long time, and it even fascinated me at times. "What a strange thought: I have an accent that I'll never be able to hear in this language!" I wish I had the ability to hear myself!" I pondered. I've always been interested in learning more about other cultures, languages, and viewpoints. People with accents intrigue me because they have a wealth of different perspectives and thoughts to contribute. Unfortunately, not everyone shares my excitement for this subject, much to my surprise. When speaking French, I immediately found that my American accent may elicit both good and negative reactions. I began to wonder if other foreigners in the United States experienced the same negative reaction that I do while speaking French in France. When they meet a foreigner who has learned their mother tongue, the French are often overjoyed. However, due of my accent, I am sometimes mistaken for someone who is unintelligent.
By Gina Stefan2 years ago in Humans
What Multicultural Families Bring To The World
Multicultural households are becoming increasingly prevalent as time goes on. I've always been fascinated by people from other cultures. I've always been inquisitive about the world around me since I was a child. My mother and I often make light of the fact that she did not raise me in a multilingual household. I had no choice but to complete all of the language learning on my own! Though I did not have such a fortunate upbringing, a growing number of children are growing up in a multicultural environment. I've always been interested in learning about different cultures, but I've recently become even more captivated by what it means to grow up in a multicultural home. I'm an American living in France who got engaged recently! My fiancé was born in Japan but raised in France. As a result, we'll be able to share our respective cultures of the United States, France, and Japan with one another and our families! It's both thrilling and lovely. Every day, I learn something new about Japanese and French culture, and the distinctions I notice frequently inspire me dig deeper into my own American culture. I frequently find myself wondering why Americans conduct certain things in such a different way than other countries. My insatiable curiosity constantly leads to fresh discoveries.
By Gina Stefan2 years ago in Humans
The Best Diet for Humans
On our road to eating better, or at least trying to, we did something funny: we broke science. Science is the best approach we've ever discovered for answering issues that can't be answered by incidental observations; it expands our observations and senses to realms of the unseeable, unhearable, and untouchable; to see beyond the boundaries of our eyes and hear beyond the limits of our ears. It includes techniques for defending ourselves against our natural biases, accounting for variables we hadn't considered, and measuring the distinctions between causality and fluke.
By Gina Stefan2 years ago in Longevity
Science may have discovered the ideal human diet.
Americans are famous for their bad eating habits. For over half a century, the so-called Western diet—one that loves meat, despises fat, and can't get enough of processed food—has dominated menus and mealtimes, becoming synonymous with obesity and metabolic dysfunction. It's difficult to imagine a more destructive attitude to eating than the one taken by many individuals in the United States.
By Gina Stefan2 years ago in Feast
What New Hobbies Can Bring To Our Lives?
Like most of us, I've always believed that I was destined for greatness. I was certain as a child that I wanted to and would one day be a Broadway star, but then my desire shifted to international best-selling novelist the next day. To be honest, there hasn't been much change since then. I'm constantly daydreaming. I don't even have a single fantasy. It's a lot of fun to imagine all of the places where a series of behaviors could lead us. I also enjoy fantasizing about all the things I could learn if I had a little more time. Piano classes, Spanish lessons, and fencing lessons! In this life, there is so much to do! Though I enjoy daydreaming on a regular basis, when Covid transformed the world, I realized I hadn't acted on these unplanned whims of inspiration in a long time.
By Gina Stefan2 years ago in Humans
How To Make More Time In Your Day
How do successful people arrive to their desired destination? They, like us, have the same 24 hours and, no doubt, a slew of other duties on top of it all. So, with everything that life has thrown at them, how have they found time to work? Personally, I have a lot of things I want to do, and it seems like the older I get, the more difficult it becomes to strike a balance.
By Gina Stefan2 years ago in Humans
Generosity
Recently, I've been thinking a lot about altruism. If people exercised benevolence and empathy as a skill, Zaki projected that this propensity would last until the coronavirus pandemic. "I think the length, the sheer duration of this tragedy, the fact that we're all locked in this new normal together," he continued, "gives us the opportunity to form shared ties that could last a very long time."
By Gina Stefan2 years ago in Humans