Showing posts with label Teen Of the Week (TOW). Show all posts

Teen Of the Week (TOW) #3


Hello Teens,

So once again, it is the time when we get to pronounce yet another person Teen Of the Week! Here is a cool guy, smart, and entrepreneurship-minded who just got pronounced as our third TOW. I had  little discussion with him, and see how it all went down.




HELLO THERE, COULD YOU TELL ME YOUR NAME?
Fortunatus Ekklesiah, I also have adopted Tonics, and it's my brand to the world!


OH SO I CAN CALL YOU TONICS THEN?
Sure! I would appreciate in fact, if you do!


OKAY. SO HOW OLD ARE YOU TONICS?        
(Laughs) My age again? Uhm... quitting Teenage on December!


OH COOL! SO TELL ME WHAT COUNTRY YOU'RE FROM.
Tanzania, the Land of the Mighty Mount Kilimanjaro and the Beautiful Zanzibar Islands!


WOW. SO WE HAVE TWO TANZANIAN TOWs TWICE IN A ROW! COOL.
Yeah! Tanzania rocks, doesn't it (Laughs)?


YEAH IT DOES. SO, WHAT'RE YOUR HOBBIES?
Uhm...quite a lot:  reading Inspirational literature, talking to people about their lives (I'm a motivational speaker and life coach in fact). I also like singing and playing instruments, writing and composing poems, walking, meditating, surfing the web and a lot more, exclude sports though!


(Laughs) SECOND GUY I'M MEETING WHO IS NOT INTO SPORTS. SO WHAT ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT? WHAT ARE YOU ASPIRATIONS IN LIFE?
(Laughs) Yeah! I'm that weird! Doesn't make me a nerd though! About my aspirations, I would look at myself as a world renowned Motivational Speaker, Life Coach, Prolific Author of consecutive best sellers, Inspirational Poet, Billionaire Entrepreneur and Philanthropist! That's what I strongly believe is my destiny and I've never dreamt of anything less.


WOW! THAT'S SOME AMBITION. I KNOW YOU FOLLOW THIS BLOG.  SO TELL ME, WHICH OF ALL THE POSTS YOU'VE READ IS YOUR FAVOURITE, AND WHY?
(Laughs) Yeah! It's less of trying to stand on top of the world, to me it's more of a call to serve many and leave a legacy as opposed to fame. I'm crazy about Psychology, so it's natural that "Why Teens behave the way they do" would be my favourite.


WOW! THAT WAS ALSO THE FAVOURITE OF OUR TOW#2. COOL. SO IF YOU WERE TO PICK ONE YOU LIKED THE LEAST, WHICH WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
It's simply "favouritish"                 (Laughs). I love studying and explaining why people behave the way they do. In fact, I have been playing amateur psychologist with the little psy knowledge I get from MOOC's and books. About my least favourite, not really sure. I would have to re-read them (the posts) with that in mind!


IF YOU COULD BECOME ANY ANIMAL EXCEPT BEING HUMAN, WHICH WOULD IT BE AND WHY?
Tough one. Lemme think. (Pauses). The King of the Jungle I think.


THE LION, WHY?
Well, the Lion represents an attitude of fearlessness and positivity. The Lion is a leader. He's not as cunning as the snake, sly as the fox, tricky as the hare, wise like the tortoise, agile like the horse, fast as the cheetah or even as big as the elephant, but he's King and it goes for his preys without fear. That represents me I guess! And I want to be more of that!


OH THAT'S GREAT. WHICH DO YOU PREFER, MUSIC OR MOVIES?
 Yeah! I have come to believe the strongest are those who take on the toughest. Well, music is an Art of its own. The power that comes with it is like no other, man! I'm a guy of emotions and thoughts, so I guess Music is my best company


SO WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE GENRE OF MUSIC? WHO'RE YOUR FAVOURITE ARTISTES INTERNATIONALLY AND COUNTRY-WISE?
 To be honest I don't have one particular "no-better-than-this" genre, but I listen to a lot of R&B music because I happen to get a lot of inspiration from the genre. I'm an acapella guy, so I love that too. Add country to the list too. I think those are battling for the title "best". I don't have an overall, but R Kelly and Mariah Carey would be my favourites internationally, and The Gaithers for Gospel. I'm not a fan of our local Music because, unfortunately, it has a lot of "I-want-to-be-western" theme, but there is this guy called Mrisho Mpoto a.k.a "Mjomba" he has great poetic lines, he's a culturalist. I like him; he's African!


THAT'S GOOD. I GUESS THAT MAKES THE TWO OF US, ACAPELLA FANATICS
 (Laughs) Yeah! I love the mix I get from acapella company: The Nylons, Vocal Union, The voice


SO IF THERE WAS SOMETHING I COULD DO TO IMPROVE MY BLOG? WHAT WOULD THAT BE?
 Create a Teenager Community where your readers feed each other by sharing and discussing from their experiences. May be invite some prominent specialist once in a while to share something and invite guest posts too.


WOW! THAT WOULD BE GREAT. I THINK I'LL NEED THE SERVICES OF A PROFESSIONAL WEB DEVELOPER TO HOOK ME UP WITH THE DISCUSSION FORUM. I LOVE THE IDEA OF HAVING GUEST POSTS. THAT WOULD BE SO AWESOME.  SO WHAT WOULD YOU SAY THE STRENGTHS OF The Teenager ARE?
The most notable to me is "Guts"; that it speaks about things that people don't often discuss them openly, especially the civilized, but this is still done a way that it remains moral and educational. I also love the energy. I feel it whenever I read the blog. It is a product of informality and good content! It takes the reader!


THAT'S DEEP. I'M SO HAPPY THAT IT TOUCHES A FEW CORDS. SO YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR AND ALL THAT. WHAT STEPS HAVE YOU TAKEN TO BECOME THE BILLIONAIRE YOU'VE ENVISIONED YOURSELF TO BE?
(Laughs) Yeah! Being a blogger myself, I understand how these things work! Well, I'm actually starting a company on the idea of microfinance it's yet to take off but the basic which is the "killer idea" as entrepreneurs would call it, is already set!


THAT SOUNDS GREAT. COULD YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT THIS COMPANY IS ALL ABOUT?
 Providing micro-credits to the commonest of the entrepreneurs who do not have collaterals or cannot afford bank requirements; we offer them loans and guidance and within 30 days, they're out of debt and standing, and we make serious profit. It is and that shall be clear soon enough!


THAT SOUNDS LIKE QUITE A BIG PROJECT, MAN. SO I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE A CURRENT STARTUP CALLED THE TONICS FOUNDATION, I DID MY RESEARCH. SO TELL ME MORE ABOUT IT. WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?
Oh! The Tonics Foundation, central to my life. It's a philanthropic organization that I founded and fund to implement projects that are focused on developing persons as the approach to a better world. We believe the world got horrible when man died, and the restoration path would require a better generation, that's what we're aimed at—Altruism and Leadership. Our philosophy requires us to do that from four angles.


WHICH FOUR ANGLES ARE THOSE?
First is, Personal Development and our Initiative for that is called Inspired Living. We're hoping to help people Rediscover themselves, figure out what on earth they are here for (that would be their purpose), what careers they should take and how to use their full potential for the common good of humanity, and we already have a blog for that at www.inspired-living.xyz. Second, is Tonics Ministries, where we involve God's love as a transformational tool, while we remain unaffiliated to a particular denomination we preach the power of Christ and we hope to achieve God-fearing men
Third is Tonics Academy where we are changing the paradigms of education, to fit all intelligences and promote creativity while emphasizing on ethics. If education systems have to prepare citizens then they have to holistic and unbiased. This we're yet to launch but we'll soon get on with it
 Last, but not the least actually, is Tonics Charity with which we plan to make opportunities available to those with exceptional talent...the aim is to ensure we don't bury no more dreams and they're used to better the world! I know that's mouthful, but that's brief too! (Laughs)


WOW. I'M GREATLY IMPRESSED. I HOPE TEENAGERS READING THIS WOULD REALISE THAT IT IS NEVER TOO YOUNG TO DREAM OR PLAN YOUR LIFE OUT. SO WE WOULD WRAP UP THIS INTERVIEW WITH ONE FINAL THING. IF YOU COULD TELL TEENAGERS READING THIS INTERVIEW ONE THING, ONE MESSAGE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
To all Teens out there, I know you badly want success, but truth is you're never truly successful before knowing your purpose, mission and vision in life. Genuine success in life is only possible when that life has a purpose. In fact, there can't be success or failure when purpose itself doesn't exist. So the most important thing you might wanna do as a teenager, is figure that out. If you don't know how, seek someone to help... I have helped some too. My keepsake is a saying you might know, "If you don't know where you're going, any way will take you there!"


I HOPE THEY TAKE THAT SERIOUSLY THOUGH. THANK YOU, TONICS FOR YOUR TIME. I REALLY ENJOYED THIS CONVERSATION. I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING MORE OF YOU ON THIS BLOG, MAYBE ONE OF THESE DAYS, YOU COULD WORK WITH ME ON THIS BLOG.
 Oh, sure! I would love to. In fact we have to see how we can work together to help teenagers become the noise bubble in the world for the wonders they do. Thanks too for the feature, it’s an honour. Good job, keep it up, thumbs up!


So that’s how the interview with our Teen Of the Week (TOW) #3 went! If you want to find out more about him, Click Here To Contact Him

Teen Of the Week (TOW) #2

Hello Teens,


I'm sorry for not having posted for so long. I've been having network problems, but it's all fixed now so we can continue having a good time. So, once again I had an interview with one of the readers of this blog who was nominated the TOW #2. I would say she is a rare mix of beauty, brains, and body. I hope you'll get to enjoy her as much as I did while chatting with her. So here's how it all went down...



Good day! What's your name? 
Hello! I'm Elizabeth Kitange.

What's your nationality?
I'm Tanzanian. I was born in Moshi, Kilimanjaro but I now live in Dar es Salaam.

Wow! That's cool. So we have a Kilimanjaro teen here. How old are you, please?
(Laughs) I'm 18 now.

That's nice. So what are you passionate about? What things interest you? 
I'm passionate about economic development in Africa. I believe that it's one of the ways among others that Africa could become developed to its fullest potentials. I'm also interested in diplomacy and the UN. I'm a really big fan and I'm really passionate about how Model United Nations can help shape and create Africa's young leaders.

Wooh! That's quite some passion. Lemme guess, you are aspiring to someday lead the World Bank Group, right?
I'm not sure about that yet. The world is full of opportunities and making a decision right now would just limit the rest from showing up. You never know; after a year or so I could change and be passionate about education and improving the educational curriculum in Africa.

That would also be nice. So you've been following my blog, The Teenager, you must have read a few articles. So tell me, which did you like the most, which did you like the least, and why?
Out of all of them, I liked "WHY DO TEENS BEHAVE THE WAY THEY DO? What science has to say." It has a very interesting TED talk and is something I'd show my parents; but thank God that gave me a good whooping not to need to watch it because it contained everything I needed to know. I'm not sure I liked any the least.

Oh! That's nice. Thanks for that feedback! I've noted everything you've said so far. So what's the next step you're taking towards your education? What are you majoring in?
Well, I'm an enrolled student of the African Leadership University and I'll be majoring in African Economics or Politics. I'm yet to choose because all the courses they offer are so exciting!

(Laughs) I understand. So tell me, apart from academics, what other stuff do you excel in?
I'm in love with MUN. I'm currently the Assistant Director of Africa for THIMUN OMUN (the only online Model UN platform for youth all over the globe). I play the piano and I love reading. I can be more of an introvert so I love living in my own little bubble and do things people normally could do alone. Through the IBDP program, I've started loving charity work and volunteering. 

Wow! That's really great! So tell me, what are the current strengths of my blog and what areas need improvement? 
Your current strengths would be the way you speak in your blog posts. It's not formal, but is rather the same way as you would speak if you spoke to someone in person. Since it's a blog for teens, many could find a relation to your words simply by the way you echo them.
I wouldn't be able to say much on a weakness, but an advice.Make things more spicy: you could make talk-shows on SoundCloud, videos or one post a day would do as well. 

Wow! Thank you so much, Liz that's some great commendation. As for the videos and talkshows, I love that idea. I think I'll start doing those. I have a feeling that followers of this blog would enjoy that immensely. So as our Teen Of the Week, you are expected to make people know more about this blog. How do you plan to do that, Liz?
Teens these days are all over the web. That's the simplest and (mostly) cheapest way to do it. I would make more people know more about this blog through Instagram, Facebook. Twitter, and other social media platforms that I'm signed up to. 

Okay, that's great Liz! So if you could give a personal message to teenagers who are reading this right now, what would you tell them? Anything at all.
I would tell them that every person has his own ambition. None of these ambitions are easy, no matter how small you see it. There will be people trying to put you down, make you look bad - either out of jealousy or just to keep themselves higher than you. No matter how hard it is, keep doing what you do and do it the best way you know. You never know what steps on your doormat. Do YOU and do you good!

Wow, that's good! I think they'll love you for this piece of advice. So thank you very much for your time. I really enjoyed every moment of this interview. We hope to hear more about your exploits. Enjoy your reign as our TOW #2!
Thank you! I absolutely loved it too. I look forward to more of your blog!


So that's how the interview went. I hope you enjoyed it. If you want to find out more about Elizabeth Kitange, or contact her personally, Click here!



Teen Of the Week (TOW) #1




Hello There,
Yesterday, I had a chat with one of the teens who follow this blog, The Teenager. He was nominated Teen Of the Week, our very first and this is what went on:

Can you please tell me your name?  I’m dying to know!
Kamanu Chijioke Eyinnaya...or just ‘Jioke’, I prefer that.

Okay. Thank you, Jioke. So how old are you now?
Uhm…sixteen years three months.

(Laughs) Okay. Good to know. So you’re Nigerian, right?
Yep.

Cool. So you’re still in high school?
Unfortunately. It’s my final year though.

Wow, that’s really cool considering your age. So several teens from all over the world have fallen in love with this blog and have read several posts here. So tell me, which post on ‘The Teenager’ is your favourite?
(Laughs) There’s one on making out that’s quite educating.

I guess you’re talking about the post on ‘The Secret behind pornography”?
Nope. There was some stuff about the benefits of making out and why we shouldn’t make out just to satisfy urges but to do it because it’s good for us.

The one on “Stuff you didn’t know about kissing”?
Yes. That one.

Oh okay (Giggles). I guess that’s most teens’ favourite as well. So tell me, what are is aspiration in life? What would you like to become?
This question keeps coming back to me. Uhm…to be a renowned software engineer, I guess. That’s not enough, but I don’t know.

Okay. The uncertainty is very funny. That’s okay though. You have a very cool ambition, though vague. Judging by your ambition, if you were asked to pick any university in the world to study at on the guarantee that you would be admitted, which would it be?
MIT definitely.

(Laughs) I understand. MIT, I hope you’re watching this, even though I know there’s a 99.9% chance that you’re not (Laughs). So tell me what you’re exceptionally good at.
Uhm…Understanding stuff, people mostly. Gadgets. Math. I don’t know, not much. That’s it.

Okay, still cool. You said something about liking the post on kissing stuff, right? So tell me, have you put those skills to use?
Yeah

(Laughs)
Yeah.

Okay, so tell me how feel being our very first Teen Of the Week.
Honoured. Excited. Privileged.

Why, if I may ask?
Because it’s the first, or I’m the first.

Okay, cool. As you know, the TOW is expected to help advertise our blog and let people know about this blog. So tell me, how do you plan to do this?
I’m influential. I get people to do what I want easily. If I want them to see it, trust me I’ll make them see it.

That’s really good. So before you leave, tell me what you think about the blog? What are the commendable things about it and what areas need to be improved?
I think in general, it’s okay. So far so good. The areas that need to be improved? (Pause) Maybe if it could be more colourful or generally more exciting both in appearance and content. If it could contain more though-provoking topics; well liked topics, stuff like that.

So if you were to suggest topics for me to post on, which would it be?
(Laughs) Uhm...no idea. I haven’t given it enough thought. Something that would literally hook the attention of people.

Okay. Thank you very much, Jioke. It’s been very nice having you. Definitely, I’ll look into your criticism to make this blog better to suit the readers so that they can enjoy their stay on ‘The Teenager’. As for more exciting post? Brace yourselves. It’s coming!

So that was how my chat with The Teenager’s inaugural Teen Of the Week went. You could find out more about him on his Facebook profile We would be doing this every week: profiling teenagers from all over the world whose voices are worth hearing (by this, I mean all of you). You could be next! If you are interested in being our next Teen of the Week, please drop your contact below (as a comment). Thanks! *wink*


If you also have any suggestions as to ways this blog can be improved or possible topics that should be confronted, please drop a comment here. I’d love to see ‘em.
Signing out!!! (Your favourite teen blogger: Arinze Obiezue)