motivational Archives - Page 3 of 11 - Sonia Marsh

Teach English Abroad with the Cert-TESOL

May 18, 2015 by Sonia Marsh 8 Comments

Zoe, Sue, Sonia, Logan and Chris — My classmates, and I’m the one kneeling in the middle.

I’ve been studying like a crazy woman for the past 4 weeks in order to teach English abroad with the Cert-TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) certificate.

This is by no means an easy course. It’s a level 5, comparable in difficulty to the second year of an undergraduate degree crammed into 4 weeks. Now you’ll understand why I felt like a zombie fueled by caffeine and adrenaline.

My poor 57-year-old brain, almost died; and what made me realize that age has nothing to do with my ability to study and retain material, was the fact that the twenty-somethings on our course, were just as exhausted and complained even more than us boomer ladies.

So now that I can breathe again. I am happy to inform everyone that I passed the written and oral exam last week. I can use my TESOL certificate to teach English to foreign students anywhere in England, France, Italy, Spain, other European countries, as well as China, South Korea, Japan, South America… basically anywhere.

IMG_20150515_162124556 — My teachers, Rob Farag, far left and Jane Stevenson in black in the middle. Classmates eating a home-made chocolate and orange cake to celebrate

IMG_20150515_162616680_HDR — My new teacher friends: Zoe, Natasha, me and Sue to my right. A great group of Cert-TESOL women

I decided to take the Trinity College TESOL certificate in Greenwich, London, as it was much cheaper than the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course at UCI (University of California Irvine) close to my house which costs $5,750. This outrageous price does not even include room and board at the Ritz. It’s also a TEFL, and not a Trinity College Cert-TESOL. The TEFL is not accepted in many parts of Europe, which is why I opted for the Cert-TESOL.

Why not take the course in London where you get to experience other cultures, other sights, and study within a small class of 6 students rather than the larger class sizes in the U.S.

My course in London cost less with airfare, and an Airbnb studio apartment overlooking the Cutty Sark (see photo below) than the UCI course, and I made some wonderful new contacts, plus I got to sightsee and visit my memoir author friend Ian Mathie. Another blog post to follow.

IMG_20150501_052358943_HDR (1) — View of the Cutty Sark from my bedroom window at sunrise

So are you ready to teach abroad? If you have a question for me, please ask in the comments below. I shall get back to you. You can also e-mail me at: Sonia@soniamarsh.com

Get Help Writing Your Memoir

April 6, 2015 by Sonia Marsh 4 Comments

There are many books out there on “How to write a memoir,” but what about a magazine? Viga Boland decided to start Memoirabilia, a magazine that would help you write your memoir, and also give you the joy of seeing your story in print.

I had the pleasure of meeting Viga Boland at the Readers’ Favorite Awards in Miami in November, 2014, where we both won gold medals for our memoirs.

“I just finished your memoir, “No Tears for my Father”. I could so relate to what you lived through because I have a similar story. I would love to write my memoir but I don’t even know how to get started. Can you help me?”

“These words warmed my heart,” says Viga Boland.

I sighed. The writer lived in Australia. I live in Canada. How could I help her? I didn’t have the time for one on one coaching. If she were nearby, she could attend my memoir writing workshops. But that was out of the question.

She wasn’t the first to write asking for help write her story. Ever since I’d published my first memoir and begun running workshops for my local library, I’d been receiving such requests. Again, I asked myself: what can I do for those who can’t attend my live workshops?

Perhaps a book! Perhaps my next book could be on the how-to of memoir writing. I checked Amazon. There were pages of books on writing memoir by more experienced facilitators than myself. And besides, there was another idea that had been playing at the back of my mind with every workshop I ran. All of the participants dreamed of seeing themselves in print, but the reality was that for various reasons, not all of them would. What if I could give them that chance, even if only in a small way? A book wasn’t the answer. But a magazine? Yes! A magazine could fulfill both their needs: that of getting help with writing their memoirs and that of having the joy of seeing themselves in print.

On December 31, 2014, I transitioned from writer to editor and entered the new year with a new magazine for memoir writers: MEMOIRABILIA.

I have to tell you, I just love my new role as editor and publisher of Memoirabilia which I hope to publish about 6 times a year. It’s an incredibly exciting project, though not an easy nor inexpensive one. Each issue of the magazine has a central theme, eg. Memoirabilia #1 is based on the idea that “Your past can write your Future”, which it certainly did for me when I published my first memoir. Issue #2 is focused on “Memoir as Therapy”. Issue #3, coming out in April 2015, is centered on “How to get that memoir finished”.

Every issue contains useful how-to articles by experts, along with book reviews and interviews with a featured author. And based on the feedback I’ve received from members of my Memoirabilia group on Facebook, what they love best, and wait for most eagerly, is seeing their 750-word submissions or book excerpts published in Memoirabilia magazine and also on the Memoirabilia website. I must confess, I share their excitement on that score: sharing the work of other writers is one of my favorite jobs as editor of Memoirabilia. There’s no fee to submit and submission guidelines, along with a submission form, along with flipper previews of the magazine are available right on the Memoirabilia website.

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Matilda Butler of Womens Memoirs in early March. Her interview offers further insight into my motivation and goals for Memoirabilia, and for the writers whose work is featured in the magazine. You can read that interview HERE. The way I see it, there are lots of books available on memoir writing but at this point, only Memoirabilia offers writers both helpful information on how to write a memoir and a chance to show off their memoir writing and editorial skills.

My primary goal for Memoirabilia is to help others realize their dreams as I did. I hope memoir writers reading this post will check out the Memoirabilia website and join my wonderful Memoirabilia group on Facebook. I look forward to welcoming you there. Check out Viga’s website: http://www.vigaboland.com

SONIA MARSH SAYS: What a great idea to come out with a magazine for memoir writers, focusing on a different theme in each issue. Thanks for sharing this with other memoir authors, and aspiring authors.

Follow me on my grand adventure to:

Greece, London, Paris, St. Malo, Madrid and Pedraza, Spain,

Why Boomers Rock-They Will Revamp the Economy

March 17, 2015 by Sonia Marsh Leave a Comment

If you were born between 1946-1964, you belong to the baby boomers that rock club:

“The wealthiest, most active, and most physically fit generation up to that time.” (Wikipedia.)

Unlike our parent’s generation, today’s baby boomers are looking forward to starting something meaningful to them, something they are passionate about, and reinventing themselves.

Sitting indoors and watching TV (which in my opinion is dumbing us down daily) or crocheting or playing golf, are not so much the aspirations of today’s baby boomers. No, we are searching for something meaningful, a second career, travel and adventure. (Well, there are some exceptions, but I’m talking about the boomers that rock.)

For generations, the dream retirement was one spent in warmer climates, on the beach relaxing. Things have changed, and according to Chris Farrell, author of Unretirement: How Baby Boomers Are Changing the Way We Think About Work, Community and the Good Life.

“As people are living longer and in better health, they’re working longer, too. And opportunities for the 55 and up group are going way beyond the stereotypical part-time gig at the local supermarket, he says.

Chris Farrell, says that what scares people most about getting older isn’t aging — it’s retirement. Why is that?

Many baby boomers haven’t saved enough money for retirement
Many private sector workers don’t have access to a retirement savings plan at work
It’s expensive to educate your kids

Today’s boomers are asking:

What does retirement mean? What does my last third of life mean?
People are essentially more open to the idea that working later in life doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

Farrell believes that we need a sabbatical to think about what to do next.

“People don’t want to walk away from their skills or knowledge. But they don’t necessarily want to work a 40 to 50 hour workweek either.” Washington Post.

So that explains why the Rotary Clubs and Peace Corps are experiencing a larger percentage of boomers showing interest than ever before. Rotary’s philosophy is to “find your passion” and, once a member has developed a project, Rotary provides volunteers and financial support.

In 2012, a new program was formed called Peace Corps Response; a program that may be more appealing to older adults because it requires a shorter time commitment, three months to a year instead of the traditional 27-month commitment. In 2014, more than a third of people who applied for Peace Corps Response positions were 50 and older.

The New York Times has an article on, “Rotary and Peace Corps Find Relevance With Retirees.”

retiring-web1-articleLarge — Kate Burrus with students she taught in St. Thomas Parish, Jamaica. She and her husband, John Granger, recently finished their second assignment with the Peace Corps. Credit John Granger

“Rotary was the original social network, way before Facebook,” said John Hewko, general secretary of Rotary International.

“We have Rotarians in their 70s and 80s traveling to Nigeria to work on polio and traveling to Bolivia to work on a water project,” Mr. Hewko said. “For our retiree members, it’s incredibly important to stay engaged with people, to be out and about, and to be giving back.”

Like Rotary, the Peace Corps is also working to enlist older American volunteers. The corps, established in 1961 by an executive order signed by President John F. Kennedy, is still predominantly a younger person’s game, but 7 percent of its volunteers are 50 or older.

“I would like to see that closer to 15 percent,” said Carrie Hessler-Radelet, the Peace Corps’ director.

So the trend I see happening is that of connecting with other like-minded boomers, who want to do something creative, adventurous and meaningful.

Take for example, Margaret Manning, who together with her team is developing Boomerly.

“I have been building the Sixty and Me community, which now reaches over 100,000 baby boomers every month. During this time, my mission was to inspire our members to live better lives.” Margaret Manning with Boomerly.

Boomerly is a new way for baby boomers to meet like-minded people, build friendships and make meaningful connections. It’s not a social network or a dating site. It’s an easy-to-use messaging service that makes it easy to find and talk with people just like you.

By the way, writing a commercial book, and promoting it, is another trait of baby boomers that rock, and I know many in my circle of friends. You know who you are.

So do you consider yourself a boomer that rocks? If so why? Please leave your comment below.

Self-Reflection: Why I Wrote a Novel

March 10, 2015 by Sonia Marsh 7 Comments

“Self-Reflection”

My Gutsy Story® by D. Helene.

When I chose to become a journalist, I did so because of my passion for writing, always assuming I’d have enough money to live. I did pretty well living paycheck to paycheck for most of my career until the Great Recession.

After getting laid off from my last full-time writing job in 2008, I was lucky enough to be able to cobble together two part-time jobs. A few years later, I had the courage to quit one of them to focus on my writing. I got laid off from the second one a few months later.

The next few years were tough – working part-time jobs when I could get them, but still focusing on writing, not just out of passion but now also as a coping tool, along with spirituality and yoga, to help me process circumstances beyond my control.

I started writing down some anecdotes about what it’s like to live as one of the 99% – those of us that struggle sometimes to make ends meet. Little did I know that they eventually would be woven together into my first novel.

This book, The Diary of a 99%-er: The Struggle Between Survival and Creative Expression, parallels my own struggle between the primal urge to create and the basic necessity of survival. While it’s a work of fiction, I drew upon my own internal conflict and my coping tools of spirituality and yoga.

While I’ve been a journalist for most of my career, and published my first book (a biography) in 2013, writing a novel was a huge leap that required courage and faith.

It also required discipline and perseverance to see the book through the roller coaster of several moves — including to Northern California and back to OC; through several jobs; and through a physically-intense, yoga teacher training program.

Through all of this I was struggling with the desire to write and express myself creatively while trying to pay the rent and stay afloat in OC, which has some of the highest rents in the country. It wasn’t just me. I knew several people who were borderline homeless because of unemployment or chronic underemployment. I knew there was a bigger story to tell.

So, I embraced writing this novel wholeheartedly. I infused it with humor, to mitigate the seriousness of the struggle. I used some real-life facts, like a man who shot his wife and their dog in Laguna Beach a few years back, allegedly due to financial distress.

I continued my spiritual and yoga practices and decided to become a yoga teacher, to deepen my own practice and share my passion with others. I’ve been teaching yoga since last June.

Writing this book has been a labor of love and courage and I truly hope it inspires and entertains others and lets people who are experiencing the same struggle know: You are not alone! When you’re going through hell, keep going! Or keep writing, as I like to say!

D. Helene states:

“We are the majority of Americans, who have to work for a living, sometimes struggling to just keep a roof over our heads.
If this is you, you can relate to this novel.”

You can find the book on Amazon here.

Click on Cover to go to Amazon

To find out More ABOUT D. Helene.

Join D. Helene on Twitter: @DHelene 42

Join D. Helene on Facebook

Does it Take Guts to Leave a Marriage?

February 27, 2015 by Sonia Marsh 8 Comments

shutterstock_208049116 — I could not resist the blue/turquoise background on this photo. Just noticed a parasailer to the right of the arrow. Is that me flying?

I was talking to Donna, an author and a life coach, about ideas for my next blog post.

Donna knows my theme is “Gutsy Living” and she texted me,

“It takes guts to leave a marriage… Did u write on that?”

My answer is “No,” and although I agree there are many women who stay stuck in a marriage because it’s easier to do that, than to get unstuck, I still don’t view my own situation as gutsy.

Now what I’m planning for the rest of my life, I would call Gutsy, in the sense that I am not one of those women who likes to stay in my house, and certainly don’t thrive on the same routine. Besides, I no longer own a house, nor do I have a home to celebrate the holidays with my three sons. (That part I do regret.)

My life right now is a period of major transition. It has been quite liberating to rid myself of possessions, take charge of my own finances, get organized, and move forward with my next adventure.

Apart from my clothes, photos and files, all I own is the furniture below, and my small blue Kia Rio. Quite surprising that at age 57, I’m back to what I owned as a 25-year-old, and the strange thing is I now feel free to pack up and move to another country.

My only possessions are: the inspirational painting that led to my love of tropical islands, two antique chairs I embroidered with my mother in Denmark when I was fifteen years old, and my parents’ Chinese chest, which has followed me since 1983.

100_2914 — Red embroidered armchair. I have two of those, and my favorite Barton painting and frame

100_2915 — I inherited my parents’ Chinese chest and the paintings behind are the ones I painted. Always turquoise!

I applied and was rejected by the Peace Corps, but that didn’t stop me from changing my resume, and reapplying. I’m thrilled to announce that I finally had my 2-hour interview and shall keep you posted on what happens with that.

As a back-up, I decided to get a (TESOL) certificate, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, an intense 4-week course, supposedly with no breaks on weekends. The problem is I have at least six people whom I’d like to visit in the UK, including author Ian Mathie, and my French/British blogger friend Muriel Demarcus, who wrote a My Gutsy Story® published in the Anthologies, and other friends from my days studying in the UK.

So for me, the answer has been, and shall always remain, to keep busy with plans and projects, and to keep networking, as you never know what the future holds. When you’re open to change, there are so many possibilities.