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Are you looking for a job that’s a little bit out of the ordinary? Check out some of these career choices that will challenge your creative side in unusual ways.
Do your friends come to you for advice? Are you always ready with a quote or a quip? This could be the perfect job for a wordsmith with a sweet tooth. Companies that make these cookies need someone to come up with the sayings that go in each treat, so you should be familiar with sage advice that isn’t more than a sentence or so because your mind can’t be cluttered. You won’t just need a way with words–remembering which quotes you’ve used before is important for keeping your cookie sayings from getting…stale.
If you’ve got a sharp ear and a creative mind, you could be Hollywood’s next big Foley artist. You should be able to look at an object and imagine exactly what sound it makes and why. Foley artists are responsible for replacing or enhancing the everyday sounds on film. Their tools can be ordinary or unorthodox, like thumping watermelons to fill for punches in a fist fight. You’ve got to be creative in order to come up with new ways to make noises, like balling up strands of video tape to make the sound of rustling leaves. Long hours in the studio demand that you be in good shape, while matching sounds to film requires amazing hand-eye coordination to get your timing just right.
Despite the makeup and goofy get-ups, this job isn’t all fun and games. For rodeo clowns, entertaining the crowd between riders is just one aspect of the job. The most important part of this job is protecting the bull riders. You’ll need strong nerves and quick reflexes to distract an angry bull while the rider escapes to safety. If you’re physically fit and have a daredevil streak, you can get yourself started by apprenticing at local rodeos and youth events, or by attending a reputable rodeo clown college.
Can you tell your java from your joe? Being a master roaster could be the dream job for any caffeine craver. Like wine and beer makers, skillful coffee creators are responsible for putting together the perfect brew. To attain this industry standard, you’ll have to get both on-the-job hours and educational credits in subjects like roasting and brewing. Having a great memory, a strong sense of smell and discerning taste buds are advantageous in this job that requires you to have a complete understanding of each bean, from where to plant it to how to serve it.
If you fancy yourself a snake charmer, this is an important job that could use your skills. Snake venom is needed to make life-saving serums for poisonous bites. The catch is, you’ve got to get it from the source. The only way to extract a snake’s venom is to milk its fangs, which requires getting snakes to sink their teeth into a container and then collecting the substance safely. Snakes don’t enjoy this process, so being schooled in animal behaviour is essential to know how to handle these slippery specimens if they start to struggle.
 You’ve got a bright future ahead of you in this job! Light benders are the skilled people who make neon signs. To succeed in this business, you need to combine good hands and a calculating mind. Knowing the properties of glass is a must–the light tubes will break if you don’t form them into the proper thickness or shape. Training in electrical wiring is required so you know how to make your lights work, but it’s not all about math and science–you’ll need to tap into your creative side to design eye-catching signs! |
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It’s a 24/7 world, but sometimes it can feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get stuff done. Learning to manage your time efficiently is the key to helping you make the most of every minute. Not sure how to get started? Here are a few tricks to help you organize your life and become more effective in school and at work.
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Getting involved in lots of activities and taking on lots of projects is great, but be careful not to overextend yourself. Making too many commitments can leave you feeling overwhelmed and overworked. So, decide what your most important to-do’s are and focus on completing them to the best of your ability. It’s better to do a great job taking care of fewer obligations than to rush your way through too many tasks. |
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It’s easy to forget a homework assignment or a work shift if it isn’t recorded somewhere, so do yourself a favour and make a schedule. Using a planner and a daily to-do list will keep track of what you have to get done and where you need to be each day. Put the most important tasks at the top and the least important at the bottom so you don’t forget anything. This helps reduce stress. |
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You can only go for so long without taking a break before you’ll burn out. Make sure you get a good night’s sleep so you can make it through your busy day with lots of energy. And always put aside personal time—exercising, watching a movie, or hanging out with a friend are great ways to recharge your batteries. |
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It’s easy to say you’ll do something later, but putting off something you can do now just means that your projects will pile up and make your workload even heavier later on. Ultimately, you’re just wasting time. |
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There are always moments during your busy day to save time by simultaneously handling multiple tasks. A half-hour bus commute, for example, is half-an-hour to study. |
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While it may be tempting to tackle your easiest tasks first, it’s important to be respectful of deadlines. Always tackle the hardest tasks first. Set goals for what you need to accomplish each day and make each goal specific. Check your schedule to make sure you’re aware of when each thing needs to be finished. |
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Life doesn’t always go as planned, so prepare for the inevitable rescheduling or revised plans. It isn’t worth your time (literally) to get stressed out over changes. |
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Q. Obviously, everyone knows that you can get cancer from cigarettes, but can you to get cancer from smoking weed? –Natasha G., Toronto |
| A. Currently, there is not enough evidence to show an increase in lung, head and neck cancers (the common cancers related to smoking tobacco) for marijuana users. However, burning marijuana releases many different chemicals including tar, carbon monoxide and benzopyrene, a carcinogen. Excessive smoking of marijuana has other negative effects, including impairing short-term memory, causing chronic coughing and worsening lung function, causing lowered sex drive and male infertility, and decreasing one’s motivation to attain life goals. As time goes on, there may be better studies looking at a tie between marijuana and cancer, but for now the jury is out. | |
| Q.For the past few months, my
friend hasn’t been himself. His mom finally made him go to the doctor and he was diagnosed with depression. I don’t understand. He’s popular, has a hot girlfriend and is the star of our school’s basketball team. I thought only people with problems got depression. Why is he depressed? Will he ever get better? – Scott A., Halifax |
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A.Depression is a common problem affecting both adults and teenagers. The truth is, we don’t know exactly why certain people become depressed. Some people may have a genetic predisposition (if one of your parents has depression, you are more likely to get it). But we do know that people suffering from depression have an imbalance with the chemicals in their brain that help regulate mood. For some people, a traumatic life event (death of a family member or friend, horrific accident, etc.) can be a trigger, but for others, like your friend, life may be going very well but depression appears. It’s important to know what the symptoms of depression are, so you can recognize if you or someone close to you should seek medical help. The common symptoms include: feeling sad, irritable or tearful; losing interest in the activities that used to be enjoyable; not wanting to socialize with family or friends; having difficulty concentrating in class or while doing homework; not wanting to eat or eating too much; difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much; decreased energy during the day; and even feeling so down that you think about harming yourself or committing suicide. |
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| Q.I’ve been seeing posters, flyers and commercials about an HPV vaccine. What is it and do I need to get it? –Kelly B., Winnipeg |
A.HPV (or Human Papillomavirus) infections are among the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs), often affecting young people in their late teens and early 20s. Initially, there are no symptoms, so there is little way to know if you or your partner has it. There are many different types of HPV (over 100 strains actually). The virus causes common warts on fingers, plantar warts on feet and genital warts. These can be embarrassing or annoying, but they are not dangerous. But other HPV strains cause changes in the cells of a female’s cervix that can lead to cervical cancer. The new vaccine, recommended for females between nine and 26 years old, can virtually eliminate the chance of you contracting four of the most dangerous types of this virus. However, like any vaccine, it is most effective if received before becoming exposed to the virus. This means that if you’ve never been sexually active, this is the perfect time to get the vaccine. There are minimal side effects—usually there’s some redness and swelling on the arm after the injection which quickly dissipates. The only downside to this vaccine is that it’s not covered by the government yet, and it costs around $500 for the three injections given over a six-month period. Your doctor should be talking to your parents about you getting this vaccine. Even if you do get the vaccine, it is still important to take other measures to keep yourself healthy. You should still use condoms to protect yourself from getting other STIs and females should get regular pap smears to look for abnormal cervical cells, since some cervical cancers are caused by other types of the virus. |
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