DuoLingo

In junior high, my Spanish teacher taught us a joke that I’ll never forget. It goes like this: What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone who speaks one language? American.

Like most jokes, this one actually has a hint of truth to it. There are too many people in our society who do not see the point in learning a second language, and so they just don’t. But studies have shown that there are cognitive benefits to learning a second language, and the earlier one starts, the better. It’s also nice to be exposed to a different culture and open oneself up to communicating to a whole new group of people. And if that’s not enough to convince you, then maybe this will: Employers are looking for potential employees who are bilingual. Learning a second language has a lot of benefits.

And it’s really not as hard as you think. There are a lot of resources to help you learn a new language. You can take a class at your local college. Or you can try out the Rosetta Stone software. But both of these options can be expensive. Fortunately, there is a free, convenient way to learn a new language, and it’s called DuoLingo.

DuoLingo is a language-teaching software that’s available on just about any device. They have a website that you can access on any computer, and they also have apps for iOS and Android. DuoLingo makes it easy to learn a second language even when you’re out and about. Plus, it’s totally free and doesn’t have any pesky ads!

I really like DuoLingo’s approach to teaching. They treat it like a game. You earn experience points, level up, and work your way through different stages as you learn. It really makes the experience fun. But it’s not just fun and games. You’re actually learning. DuoLingo is set up in a way that teaches you the basics and then builds on them to reinforce past words while learning new ones.

And this learning is meant to be long-term. DuoLingo rewards you for keeping up a daily streak. All it takes is just a few minutes everyday. And the app encourages you to review past lessons periodically to remind yourself of what you’ve learned. The whole system is set up to help you succeed and actually learn the language over time.

I’m personally using DuoLingo to re-learn Spanish. I took a couple of Spanish classes in high school, but I had forgotten a lot of it, so the app is serving as a nice refresher. I’ve really enjoyed using DuoLingo so far, and I’ve actually learned a lot. I would highly recommend DuoLingo to anyone wanting to learn a new language or get a refresher on a second language one hasn’t used in a while. Learning a second or even a third language is a worthwhile goal to pursue, and DuoLingo can help you achieve it.

DuoLingo offers lessons in Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Portuguese. You can sign up for DuoLingo on their website or download the free DuoLingo app on the iOS App Store or Google Play.

I Am Not a Brand

Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about “personal brands.” People who want to gain online credibility are encouraged to treat themselves as brands and their content as products. They adopt marketing strategies similar to big corporations and try to convince people that what they have to say is worthwhile. All of this is very concerning to me.

I am not a brand. I am a person. I don’t have an expensive logo or a witty catch phrase. I’m not trying to “sell” my thoughts, opinions, and beliefs to anyone. I’m not trying to establish myself as an online authority on anything. I don’t spend hours a day thinking up ways to get more people to pay attention to what I have to say. I’m just trying to share my life with people in a meaningful way.

I think seeing oneself as a brand threatens that. If all you’re doing is trying to gain as many followers as possible, then you’re going to end up selling out and just sharing whatever you think will draw attention to you. That’s not what social media is about. Too many people get caught up in the statistics. They live to reach the next big goal in their quest to gain as many followers as possible. Personally, I would rather have a few followers who are actually interested in my life than hundreds of thousands of people who could care less who I am.

The truth is that things are changing. People—my generation, at least—are getting tired of corporations telling them what they should do or think or buy. We live in a world of Kickstarter and Indiegogo, where creators don’t go to big corporate sponsors to support their creative endeavors. They go to the people who really, truly care about what they’re doing, the fans, and they find the support they need from them. This system really empowers the everyday person to have a say in what gets made and how it’s made. It’s really incredible.

I know this change is slow, but I see it happening. As people get more and more tired of traditional marketings schemes, companies are having to change their tactics. And all the creative commercials in the world aren’t going to change the fact that people want something more than that. Eventually, companies are going to have to offer something substantial. Maybe they’ll actually offer better products or more ethical practices. Something real.

Because that’s what matters. And that’s what social media should be about. Marketing techniques aren’t going to change the world or people’s lives. But real people sharing their lives, their interests, their thoughts, and their experiences with others in an honest, open way? That could make a difference, and that’s something worth following.

So you won’t be seeing any advertisements from me. And I won’t spend hours and hours strategizing how and when I’m going to use social media. But I will be sharing my life with you in the most real, honest way I know how. And if it makes a difference for a person or two, that’s enough for me.

The Lego Movie

Last week, my friends and I went to see The Lego Movie. When I first heard about it, I thought the idea was stupid. But as soon as I saw the first trailer, I knew this movie was going to be something great. The Lego Movie has so many good things going for it. If you’re wondering whether or not you should see it, the answer is definitely yes. Here’s why.

The Lego Movie tells the story of Emmett, a construction worker living in a Lego utopia, who accidentally gets involved with a rebel group trying to bring down President Business, the leader of the seemingly perfect society Emmett lives in. For the most part, the plot is straightforward and easy to follow, but that doesn’t mean it’s dumb. It will suck you in and keep you interested for the full 100 minutes the film lasts.

I think the best thing about The Lego Movie is that it’s truly a film for all ages. Because it is based on a children’s toy, it only makes sense that the movie would appeal to kids. And it does that really well. It’s totally clean and something kids will enjoy seeing. But it’s not just a kids movie. Unlike most kids movies that try to throw a few “higher-level” jokes in to appeal to adults, this film is just as enjoyable for adults as it is for kids. The humor is deep at points, and I spent the entire time laughing along with the kids in the theatre. I think people of all ages will find this movie enjoyable.

It’s also got a really great cast of characters. I’m guessing that Lego slipped in a clause about movie rights in the small print of all of their deals with the various brands they work with, because the Lego movie has a vast array of characters. All kinds of DC comic books characters are in it, including Batman as a main character. There’s a great scene between Dumbledore and Gandalf, something only Lego could make happen. And they even threw in a surprise cameo that I won’t spoil. I’ll just say that it will make most adult viewers very happy. Lego used all of their available resources to make this movie, and it turned out to be really cool.

But the animated characters wouldn’t have been nearly as enjoyable if it hadn’t been for the amazing voice cast. I really don’t know how Lego managed to get as many famous people into their movie as they did. Chris Pratt voices Emmett, and his performance was simply perfect. Will Ferrell voices the villain, and again, it was spectacular. Other big names include Elizabeth Banks as the female lead Lucy, Will Arnett as Batman (whoever came up with this idea was a genius), Liam Neeson as a cop with a personality disorder, and Morgan Freeman as an old wizard. It was so cool to hear all these people’s voices in one film, and all of the casting fit perfectly. I was very impressed.

But as funny and star-studded as The Lego Movie is, it also has a lot of heart. I won’t give any major plot points away, but as you watch the film, you slowly learn that there’s more to it than just a bunch of Lego people fighting the bad guy. The Lego Movie actually brings up some deep issues and offers some answers that are universal and very satisfying for a viewer of any age. Ultimately, it gives a really positive message that adults and children alike will benefit from hearing, and it presents that message in a compelling, entertaining way.

The Lego Movie is in theaters now, and I can say with 100% certainty that if you go see this movie, you will enjoy it. Take your kids if you have them. Take your significant other if you have one. Take one of your grandparents if you want. I really do think this movie has a universal appeal that most movies cannot achieve. The Lego Movie is going to be on the list of best movies of 2014, so do yourself a favor and go see it. I promise you won’t regret it.

You Are Enough

It’s something we all struggle with. The question, “Am I enough?” For each of us it’s something different. Maybe you want to be smart enough, attractive enough, successful enough. Enough to impress your parents. Enough to be what society tells you you should be. Enough to attract a future spouse. Whatever it is, we all just want to feel like we’re enough. We want that sense of self-worth, of completeness, but no matter how hard we try, it always feels like we aren’t enough.

I find that I struggle with self-worth most often right after a failure. When I get a bad grade on an exam. Or when I say something stupid in front of someone important. Or when I inevitably mess up the tires on my car. Whenever those things happen, I start to get really hard on myself. I tell myself something’s wrong with me. That I’m not good enough. “What is wrong with me?” I ask.

But failure isn’t the only thing that can trigger it. Sometimes it’s caused by something completely out of my control. When someone does something that hurts me. Or when I’m feeling lonely or abandoned. Sometimes it just comes out of nowhere for absolutely no reason. I all of a sudden find myself asking the question, “Am I enough?”

The answer to that question for each of us, as hard as it may be to accept, is yes. You are enough. Just the way you are. Even when you don’t feel like it. Even on your worst day. Even after you’ve done something that you think is unforgivable. Even when you feel like you’re alone and you’ve lost everything and there’s no hope, you can find hope in the fact that you are enough.

We base so much of our worth on the things that we do. How much we are able to achieve. How many mistakes we make. But this isn’t right. What you do is such a small part of who you are. Are your actions important? Yes. Should you take pride in your accomplishments and try to fix your mistakes? Of course. But those things don’t define you. Your worth is not based on the things that you do. You are worth so much more than that.

Your worth also isn’t based on what other people expect of you. So many people have complexes because they can’t fit into the idealized image of what society says they should be, but the truth is that no one fits that. It’s part of the reason why we have so much trouble accepting that we are enough. Forget what society says you should be. If they’re telling you you’re not enough, then they’re wrong.

Finally—and this is a tough one—your worth isn’t based on how other people treat you. The truth is that we live in a broken world, and people are going to mistreat you. They might even try to make you feel like it’s your fault when they do mistreat you. And when people do that, it’s hard to see yourself as worth anything. I get that. I’ve been there. But the truth is that you are worth so much, and the fact that someone else can’t see that is not your problem. It’s theirs. People who try to devalue others probably don’t have a very high opinion of themselves and have to compensate by tearing others down. If only each of us could just accept the fact that we are enough. You are enough.

You are a reflection of the God who made you. You are precious to Him. He made you just the way you are with a purpose in mind for your life. He loves you. He wants to do something big through you. And He wants you to know that you are enough. Because to Him, you’re everything. You’re worth dying for. And when He sees you questioning your worth, feeling like you’re not enough, it breaks His heart. He wants you to know that you are enough.

I know it’s hard. I struggle with this constantly. Sometimes I have to pray and ask God to remind me that I’m enough, to remind me who I am to Him. And I pray that for my friends and family, too. It’s a simple message, but it’s hard to accept. I hope and pray that someone who needed to hear this today will read this little rant and be blessed by it. I want everyone reading this to live their lives knowing that they are enough, that they mean something to God and they mean something to me. You are enough.

Byword

I recently discovered that I really enjoy writing. Like, I really enjoy it. It’s a great way for me to think things through and organize my thoughts. It also gives me a chance to express myself in a way that is constructive and healthy. Plus, when I’m done, I have something that I’ve work hard on, can be proud of, and can share with others if I choose to. Writing is great!

Like I said before, this is something I discovered recently. I used to think writing was lame. That’s because my only real experience with writing was with academic writing, something I still find to be lame most of the time. But I tried writing for myself instead of for an assignment, and I found that I really like it. The only problem was that the writing tools I was using were for academic writing, not for creative writing. And that’s when I discovered Byword.

Byword is a simple text editor for Mac and iOS. It allows you to edit rich text (like you would with TextEdit or Wordpad), but the coolest thing about Byword is that it also allows you to write in Markdown. More on that later. Byword syncs your documents between your devices through iCloud or Dropbox. That way, you can start something on your computer and revise it later on your iPhone or iPad. All of the apps are really beautiful. The UI does a good job of not getting the way so that I can just let my creative juices flow.

Another really cool thing about Byword is its publishing capabilities. These options cost a little more, but they are definitely worth it if you’re using Byword to write for a blog or if you want to sync your writings to Evernote. Whenever you’re done writing, you just hit the Publish button, tell Byword where you want to publish to, and it does all the back-end work for you. It’s really cool.

But my favorite thing about Byword, and the reason I chose it as my primary creative writing app, is that it is a Markdown editor. Markdown is a writing language that lets you do HTML-style formatting without having to actually write HTML. Instead, you use symbols to represent common HTML code. For example putting a # before a word or sentence makes it a header. The * symbol is used for italics, and ** is used for bold. It takes a little bit of getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, Markdown is a powerful writing language. And I like it because it makes me feel like I’m doing a little bit of coding along with my creative writing, which is an awesome feeling.

Beautiful user interface on multiple devices. Excellent publishing options. And Markdown support. That’s why I love Byword. I use Byword to write everything for my website. I also use it for my Bible journal and for writing sermons. I once used it to write an email just for fun. Basically, any of my writing that isn’t for school is done in Byword because it’s the best way to write. I would highly suggest Byword to anyone interested in writing. Thank you guys for reading, and I hope you’ll try out Byword. I’ll see you on Tuesday!

Byword is available for $9.99 on the Mac App Store and for $4.99 on the iOS App Store. It’s definitely worth every penny.