In terms of world awareness, until about 4 years ago, I lived my life in a little Canadian bubble. I was the girl who asked her best friend on New Year’s Day 2005 why I felt like I kept hearing the word ‘tsunami’. Umm, duh. Haven’t you seen the news or read a newspaper in the last 2 weeks? I hadn’t.
My life pretty much went on like that through university, as I told myself I didn’t have time to watch the news or read the paper. I’d go watch election debates with my friends and not know the candidates’ names, or which parties they belonged to. I’d vote in local elections only if I remembered to go (this is so embarrassing to admit now). It’s ironic that now, when I’m not a citizen of the country I live in and thus can’t legally vote, I’m dying to have my say. I guess it’s true what they say: you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.
But recently I was out to dinner with friends, one of whom also loves to read all kinds of books, and we got talking about books set in the Middle East (I was recommending she read Persepolis, actually). Then, we moved on to what’s happening around the world, current events, and various news stories. And then she gave me a huge compliment by telling me that I’m her friend who always seems to know what’s going on in the world, and that she knows when we’ll get together that we’ll have really interesting and thought-provoking conversations. What a nice thing to say!
It make me start thinking about just how much I do love to read about what’s going on in the world, and keep across things that are happening elsewhere. Ever since I’ve moved overseas, I’ve realised that things that used to seem so far away can still greatly influence my life, and I’m so intrigued by the inter-linking nature of it all. But back when I was a clueless 24 year old, I didn’t know how I could catch myself up on all of the things that I had spent years ignoring. Where should I start? What should I read? Should I get a newspaper subscription? Which publication? (check point 2 below for this!)
I still wouldn’t call myself a world news and current events guru, but I want to share a few resources that have really added value in my life by educating and updating me on things that matter around the world. These are resources that have not only allowed me to be better aware of what’s going on around me, but helped me ask intelligent questions about my career, my company, and my community. How will the demand for dairy in China affect dairy producers in Aus? (Since I work in the food and beverage sector.) How might the changing Chinese economy affect my house price? The fact of the matter is, we’re all linked, no matter where we are geographically, and the links are only getting more strong and complicated as time wears on.
So, without further delay, here are my favourite resources for staying abreast of currentKee events, and having dinner table conversations that make you memorable and interesting. If you, like me, always feel like there’s more to know, maybe you’ll enjoy a few of these too.
Get a Newspaper Subscription
I love my NYT subscription. It’s affordable (AUD $6/month for online), and the variety of stories means there’s always something to read. I also get daily update emails to my inbox, catered to Australia, but highlighting major world events and emailing me when breaking news happens. And if you’re looking to kill some time, the NYT has a lot of long-form 15-20 minute reads that really dive into issues and give you some background on things you didn’t even know were going on in the world. If you can spare the $6 monthly, I can’t recommend this one enough.
The Skimm
If you think news updates might be a bit too boring for you to keep up with, check out The Skimm. It’s still an aggregated newsletter, delivered daily to your inbox (well, daily in North American time), but it’s news with a flare. The article summaries are witty, super pun-ny, with a millennial-slang flare to them, which makes it interesting and more conversational to read. The only downside to The Skimm is that it’s really America-centric (because it’s an American company), so it has a lot of focus on US Politics and Sport. But if you are American, they also include heaps of cool discounts and promos, many of which I really wish I could take advantage of. Also, if you check out their website, they have a bunch of ‘Skimm Guides‘ that are like a crash course in current trending topics; my favourite was the North Korea guide. Can someone hurry up and invent The Skimm Australia please?
Finance for (Lady) Millennials
Do you feel like finance and investing are way over your head? You need to subscribe to Sallie Krawcheck (founder and CEO of Ellevest)’s newsletter. Ellevest is an American start-up whose aim is to get more women into investing and preppin’ for the future, by way of reshaping how financial advice is marketed to people, mainly women. You can read about the company here. And even though I couldn’t make use of Ellevest even if I wanted to (again, please come to Australia!), Sallie’s weekly newletters are rife with excellent advice and knowledge bombs that are geared toward people who want to learn more, but don’t have that financial background. So, basically everyone. If you’re looking to sort your financial life out but don’t know where to start, I highly recommend you subscribe to the Ellevest newsletter (enter your email at the bottom of the Ellevest website, or here).
Change your Website Bookmarks
When I’m on my computer, I’m often at a loss for how to pass the time, so I result to boring YouTube videos, or blogs that I used to like when I was 20 (which are mostly stale and boring now, albeit a force of habit). Instead, I cleared them all out of my bookmarks, and filled my frequent-vists with sites like Mashable, Tech Crunch, the New York Times, CBC News (to keep up with the homeland), and even Into The Gloss (because even frivolous interests can be written about in an intelligent way). I also take classes online via edX, so when I’ve got an hour to work on an assignment or watch a lecture, I’ll do that too. Change your bookmarks, change your habits.
Ditching Social Media Scrolling
This one’s not a resource, but a tip instead, one that has really helped me make better use of my time. Recently, I’ve completely given up the daily (sometimes 3-5x daily) scrolls through Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. I used to tell myself that I was using it for inspiration, staying on top of my friends’ lives. But the fact is, it was a waste of time that made my eyeballs dry, and left my brain more wired than when I’d started (not ideal right before bed).
So, I made a deal with myself that instead of scrolling, I’d open a news app, or visit one of the above-mentioned websites to read about current events instead of posts by unqualified people telling me how to make my life better, accompanied by a shot of them in a sports bra. Alternatively, I’ll put the phone down, stretch, play with my dog, and disconnect entirely. If you want to be smarter, to have more intelligent conversations with people, and make decisions that’ll make your life better, scrolling social media isn’t going to help you. Disconnecting can make you smarter too, giving you more time to be creative, or just chill out and rest. Even geniuses need downtime!
*None of this content is sponsored. However, if you click my link to subscribe to The Skimm, that’s my referral link. Then again, I don’t think I actually get any benefit from it being that I don’t live in the USA, but whatevs.
Images via The Design Files, SF Girl, Architectural Digest
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