Talia Devora
Bio
Poetess, visual artist and lifestyle/quiz writer! My pastimes include reading, sleeping, gaming, music, fitness, etc! Be yourselves, be kind and value life! Let's connect and be friends!
My IG accounts: @tdwrites24 & @tdcreates97
Stories (388/0)
Neurodiversity 101
Why am I passionate about neurodiversity? I was diagnosed with Autism at the age of two and have lived with it my entire life. Years of attending inclusive school programs, counselling services and dealing with multiple challenges increased my ability to put myself into neurodiverse peoples shoes. People who are neurodiverse face many challenges every day: bullying, problems in the workplace, social problems, depression, anxiety, learning challenges, being denied certain opportunities and being underestimated. However, people's challenges vary from person to person. Not everyone who is neurodiverse has the same obstacles and strengths. Every person is different based on their family status, health status, culture, race, place of birth, place of residence and many other variables. The first time I started learning about neurodiversity was in Grade 9. My teacher did a presentation about neurodiversity and explained to the class that its like being a part of another culture rather than living with a debilitating disease or condition. After that day, I have been passionate about neurodiversity. The light that the teacher shone that day, really inspired me. It also motivated me to embrace my diversity and accept my peers for who they are. Learning about neurodiversity also increased my level of community involvement and ability to teach others. I am still learning about neurodiversity, even if I am out of high school. I think it is a valuable thing to learn and appreciate on a daily basis. Many people are still unaware of neurodiversity, which is why it is crucial to increase the awareness and ability to accept different kind of people.
By Talia Devora4 years ago in Psyche
Book Fair
Over the years, it was impossible for me to have one favourite book because I have read so many. During my youth, my interest in reading increased, exposing me to various genres such as fantasy, mystery, horror, thriller and historical fiction. Since I am a history buff with a huge imagination, many of my favourite books were set in various time periods, written in different eras or had fantasy/fairy-tale elements to the story. I started becoming interested in dark novels when I was 17 years old. My aunt recommended a dark, puzzling, historical mystery novel that I ended up purchasing from the book store. After reading just a couple of chapters of The Name of The Rose by Umberto Eco, my love for mystery and dark literature began. After The Name of the Rose, I started exploring more dark, mystery, thriller and gory literature.
By Talia Devora4 years ago in Geeks
Dive into Russian Culture: Russian Music
Why am I so interested in Russian music?! As I explained in previous blogs, I have been devoted to the Russian language and culture since I was 12 years old. My first ever Russian song I listened to and liked was the birthday song from Cheburashka and Krokodil Gena, which is a classic Russian cartoon from the 80's (before Russia became independent). After studying Russian and visiting multiple Russian stores all around the Bathurst Manor neighbourhood for the last 4 months in 2010, I surfed the net for some good Russian hits that I wanted to try listening to. It did not have to be popular music from the generation I was residing in. Back then, I had a penchant for music from the older generations such as the 40's, 50's and 60's. I was able to find older Russian music on YouTube and came across some interesting folk hits.
By Talia Devora4 years ago in Beat
The Young at Heart
How I became a Fangelic (aka Venus Angelic fan).......... In my first year of college, I started watching more and more YouTube videos that were related to lifestyle, culture and travel after randomly watching one of Taylor R's videos of her teacup poodle Rosie. That was not the only video I watched of Taylor R and her poodle Rosie. For the next six months of post-secondary, I became a fan of Taylor R who was also interested in Japanese culture, Kawaii-inspired fashion, spoke, read and wrote Japanese and made anime-inspired videos at one point in her YouTube career. Those videos were released from 2014-2015 which was way before I entered college. In 2017, I randomly binge watched-her videos while she was residing in Japan at the time.
By Talia Devora4 years ago in Geeks
- Top Story - September 2020
Come and Experience Jewish Culture with Me!Top Story - September 2020
When I was growing up, my family treasured the traditional Jewish culture. My dad is a religious worker at our local synagogue and my mom is an operations manager at a first aid warehouse. Despite the differences in their occupations, my family still cherishes the Jewish cuisine and would eat the food at any time of the year, even if it wasn't a special occasion or Shabbat. During my youth, I would spend Shabbat evenings and days at my dad's house and he would always make or purchase Jewish dishes like Cholent (a beef and beans stew with potatoes and vegetables), Potato Kugel (a potato casserole), Herring (which I abhor), Blintzes (Stuffed Pancakes), Bagels with Lox and Cream Cheese, Vegetable Latkes (Fried Vegetable Fritters) and Kasha with Fried Onions and Noodles (aka Buckwheat with Fried Onions and Noodles) for my brother, our friends, family and myself to feast on. My dad always bought Challah (braided egg bread) from the Kosher bakery or local supermarket: he never baked Challah. Occasionally, my mom would make potato, zucchini and carrot latkes for Hanukkah parties and has concocted the occasional pot of Cholent for when hosted casual gatherings with friends and family at her house.
By Talia Devora4 years ago in Feast
The Corona Diaries #3
THE IMPORTANCE OF STAYING CONNECTED DURING THE PANDEMIC: Humans thrive with social connection and physical contact. The increased risk of community transmission prevented people from attending social events and having physical contact with loved ones, unless they were already living in the same household. People from all over the world were struggling with this new guideline of social distancing with people outside of your household. To increase recreation involvement and socialization, we needed to be dependent on platforms such as Zoom. Even though places like the community centres and libraries were closed for in-person events and activities, they were still able to connect with each other virtually. Families and friends were encouraged to host virtual birthday parties, social events and weekly casual gatherings on Messenger or Zoom, as restaurants, bars, fitness clubs and amusement centres were closed to the public. Public events such as the Canada Day celebration and the annual Pride Parade had to occur online as opposed to at a public park or in a district such as downtown Toronto.
By Talia Devora4 years ago in Humans
The Good Ol' Freddie Highmore Days
How it all started......... We're going back to the 2000's baby! I grew up in the 2000's and have watched so many awesome flicks with so many talented child actors and actresses. I have so many favourites, so it's impossible for me to just pick one. Many of my favourite child actors are male, but I have a few that are female such as AnnaSophia Robb. After watching quite a few British movies from the mid-2000's, I finally figured out who my celebrity crush was. He was not your typical punk or dude that would be seen walking on the streets in large silver necklace, the silky comb-over haircut, big baggy jeans and a t-shirt. The child actor that became my celebrity crush was British child actor Freddie Highmore, who played in several American films like August Rush (2007), The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008) and the British movie Five Children and It (2004). As a child, I used to imagine myself and him being best friends.
By Talia Devora4 years ago in Geeks
The Corona Diaries #2
WHAT WERE SOME OF THE THINGS I DID TO KEEP MY MIND AND BODY OCCUPIED DURING QUARANTINE? Since I knew that I was going to spend the majority of my free time indoors, I had to think of what I had to keep me busy while hibernating in my apartment. The night before quarantine began, my mom and I ordered a bunch of diamond painting kits from Amazon as we were enjoying a family meal at the diner. There are always things to keep myself busy in my apartment, but I needed more preparation to put me at ease.
By Talia Devora4 years ago in Lifehack
The Corona Diaries #1
MARCH 15 2020- THE DAY BEFORE QUARANTINE It was a typical Sunday before the mandated lockdown began. It was a cool, crisp and sunny pre-spring afternoon in Toronto. Since I wanted to enjoy my last day of community freedom, I booked an Uber to take me to my waxing appointment. I chose to spend the day out of my building, because I knew that I was going to be obligated to stay in for the next three months. So I took my usual day trip to Steeles and Bathurst to shop, stroll around in nature, relax and do a couple of errands. Than there was an evening out for dinner to be excited about.
By Talia Devora4 years ago in Longevity
My Free Virtual Art Gallery
Hey my friends! I hope you are doing well. Before and during the pandemic, I have done lots of fun and creative things to keep my mind and body occupied. One of the creative activities I have done was visual arts. Visual art has always been a way for me to freely express my thoughts, emotions and personality. I am always open to trying new styles and forms of arts and crafts, but I have specific favourites that I practice more than others such as photography, painting, sketching/doodling, rug hooking, diamond painting and knitting. I have been doing complex types of crafts since I was thirteen and then became interested in photography as an adult. Since I have been eager to show all of my Vocal friends the different art pieces I have made, I decided to have a free permanent virtual art gallery. I will be showing you some of my favourite art pieces and photographs I have made and hope you like some of them!
By Talia Devora4 years ago in Lifehack
Healthy Eating and Enjoyment
Hello my Vocal friends! I hope you are having a good day so far. Since my transition to independent living in the summer of 2018, I started learning about nutrition and exploring unique and wholesome junk food replacements. I made a promise to myself that I was going to start looking after my health and wellbeing, but it was not going to be something I would fix overnight or in two weeks. As I have explained in one of my previous recipe blogs, I will relapse after trying to deprive myself of sugar for a day of two. In order for me to be consistent with my diet, I can’t have the "it's bad or it's good" mindset, but rather eat things in moderation and allowing myself to have the odd binge. The SlimFast diet is the most effective diet for me compared to the Ketogenic, Paleo, Vegan or Atkins diets. I want to enjoy all of my favourites while managing my sugar and carbohydrate intake.
By Talia Devora4 years ago in Feast