‘The Half of It’ is one of the most astonishing and well made romantic comedies in the field of media and entertainment of all time. It is a Netflix original directed by Alice Wu who in a descriptive yet vaguely unique manner has portrayed her reflection towards apparently simple yet complex concepts like friendship, queer love and identity crisis which never fails to startle the audience in a thoughtful manner.

If you are someone who is absolutely fascinated by the concept of Love, then you should definitely consider giving it a watch since it covers this topic along with some other relevant yet rare topics in a very unique and unusual way that will blow your mind away with its story, craft and characterization.

The protagonist is an introverted and shy teenager named Ellie Chu who agrees to help her friend Paul to impress his crush Aster. It starts with Ellie sending letters and then messages to Aster on behalf of Paul without exposing her identity. Aster however finds these letters really impressive and both of them(Ellie and Aster) find a metaphysical and psychological connection between the two of them very soon.

Apparently this movie can be misinterpreted by anyone as a typical teen romance showing an archetypal love triangle. However, by the end of the movie it gets clear how it is so much more than just a typical romantic film and how it goes beyond the domain to show an unusual queer bonding between Aster and Ellie, along with a profound and pure friendship that Paul and Aster/Paul and Ellie share.

This film also puts forth a very essential subject of migration and the struggle that follows. Ellie and her father moved from China to U.S and since then they have had to face racial discrimination in several fields. It gets so ugly that her father, despite of having a PhD degree, fails to establish himself in the materialistic pseudo-intellectual society of U.S.

The way the complexities and layers of the societal as well as the psychological spheres have been portrayed through the film is exceptional and is very rare in the field of media. Unlike most of the contemporary romantic films, it does not follow a preconceived and archetypal style of events. The art of characterization has also been exemplified exclusively by the makers of the film. Some movie critics have also claimed that the story is partly autobiographical since the director seemed to have spoken about her own experiences from her college days while promoting the film in various places, which is another aspect that many people find absolutely different and interesting.

Among all the films that are being made lately, I found it to be one of the most relevant ones in terms of the issues it puts forth to the audience. The gradual development of the characters is elaborated beautifully. The duration is less than 2 hours which is perfect to draw attention of the audience and it never, at any point gets monotonous due to its rhythmic and gradual mode of cinematography. It might as well be considered to be a beautiful tribute to friendship and love which is very rare yet simple and beautiful at the same time. I am glad to have found it on Netflix and this Netflix original therefore would be highly recommended to each and every cinephile out there who tens to search for individualism and uniqueness in movies from time to time.

– Suvasree Bandyopadhyay

Child labour means childern under the age of 14 working or labouring at different places while childern between 14-18 are adolescents and they are allowed to work.
We see many reports asking to stop child labour, they punishes people who supports such activities. But still in this world, millions of children under tha age of 14 works in different fields. Due to working in such young age, children are deprived from studies, they donot goes to school, they spends their whole time working and earning money. Government just goes on asking to stop child labour but nothing helps, many companies are blamed for hiring childern to do work in their companies and on making a case against them, they fires all the childern working in their company, however this doesn’t affect the company performance much but the livelihood of that child affects.

No child wishes to work at such age, every one wants to go to school, play, have fun with their friends, siblings, but they can’t do it because they have some duty, responsibility to uphold their family. In case children don’t have father and their mother also earns but can’t earn enough to uphold family needs, then how can they even have money to send a child to school, and the child also needs to work to earn for his family. In some cases child don’t have any of the parent and sometimes father is drunkard or ill to uphold family’s responsibility. There can be many cases which can led a child to do work. For this government made no policy, no act.

Their is another thing called bonded child labour where child parents took money from someone and when they are unable to repay those money then the child has to work as a labour to pay the debt. Government has made acts regarding this and this type of child labour has decreased a lot but not completely, now also many children works as a bonded labour.

Child labour can’t be stopped by any government acts or policies, we need to work at individual level to stop this, stop hiring children for works but this won’t make thier lives better because still they won’t have money to go to school, hence try to help at least one child to study, admit one child to school, and uphold his education expenditure. If each family do it for one child then it will surely make a difference.

If you are one of those people who cannot focus on the important tasks just because you are mindlessly scrolling through posts on social media, then this is for you!

Instead of being delighted for our lives, we are busy constantly comparing it with others on social media. No wonder why every other person is unhappy. Excess of anything is bad and when this obsession goes unchecked, you should really stop and ask yourself; is social media toxic?

It has seeped into our lives in such a way that it is almost impossible to consciously not being a part of it. Everything we do is related with it and we all have become slaves to it. Whenever we go to a new place or have something new to eat, we think of adding that on social media instead of enjoying that very moment without being slave to this virtual world. Although it comes in handy as it keeps you connected with your loved ones and keeps updated on everything. But at the same time we should be aware when it starts to dissolve toxicity in our lives.

Everyone is uploading there happy pictures, the next part of their lives online. No-one is sharing their failures or issues or setbacks. So it can happen “if someone is going through a tough phase in life and logs on, he/she will get further depressed as they might compare their life with the happy person on social media (you know how it goes when everyone is having a ball and you do not). Although it may seem like everyone’s life is so good and happening all the time but it is not. It is the biggest lie we all say proudly via social media. Everyone is facing their demons every day. Everyone has their own problems to deal with and even the ones you feel have no problems are facing their own setbacks.

All we do is scroll! Scroll! And scroll! It makes us feel like a Caesar. We need to realise it’s opportunity even if we know. Most of our mentors and admired icons are online. We might never meet them in real life but it doesn’t mean you cannot still have them positively influencing your lives. Don’t have money for future studies? There are a lot of free courses online to sharpen your skills and a lot more to surf.

If you feel that social media is toxic to you and is taking a lot of your time, just start noticing its effects on your mental health.

All you need to do is reach out to your potential and improve your life.

Stress is the response that your body gives to difficult or challenging situations. It gives you tension both physically as well as mentally.

Stress has many bad effects on your physical and mental health. It reduces your productivity at a personal and professional level. It makes you a weaker person from within who is prone to various kinds of diseases. It has a bad impact on your behaviour and confidence.

Today in this fast-moving world, while being in the process of building a stable career we focus on everything except ourself. We are hardly getting any time for us. As a result, we are failing to live a satisfactory and cheerful life and becoming more and more closer to a stressful life. Stress has become an uninvited guest in everyone’s life.

Stress is our biggest enemy. But, like every enemy, this one also can be conquered. So, I have just listed down a few points that could prove helpful to fight stress.

What can be done to deal with stress?

● To deal with stress, the best and the first thing that should be done is to take your own help. You should start talking to yourself and find out what is bothering you and what is the reason that is stressing you out?

● Talk to someone who is close to you about your stress issues. When you discuss your problems with your dear ones, you feel much better. Their suggestions prove to be useful as they help to bring positivity in your thoughts.

● Engage yourself in some or the other activity. Keep your mind busy doing some kind of work. When you are involved in an activity, you hardly get time to think about the things that stress you out.

● Spend time with your family, friends or the people you love. Create lovely memories with them. Try not to remain alone or don’t isolate yourself from others as this will make you feel lonely. Loneliness can increase your stress even more.

● Practice yoga or do exercise or any type of sport. Doing such physical activities daily for some time will absolutely prove useful to change your mood and relieve your tension. This is because during physical work, your body releases endorphins hormones which reduce stress and make you feel happy.

● Try to be happy and joyful in your life. Do not take unnecessary tension for small things and keep a positive approach while handling tough situations. Don’t lose hope easily.

● Do what you like the most. Read a book, plant a tree, listen to music or dance without any hesitation. When you do the thing which you like, you are able to restore back positivity and happiness in your ideas. Thus, you can stay away from stress.

Everybody has stress in their life. The reason behind it varies from person to person. It is very difficult to live a stress-free life. But, trust me this is not impossible. By adopting some methods and remaining calm and patient you can definitely win the battle over stress.

For me, my family has always been and will forever remain my first priority. My family members have supported me until now in every good and bad situation. For me, they are my greatest strengths.

The family consists of those people who are linked to each other by blood. These people are bonded by love, care, respect, and affection. Having a caring and loving family is really a blessing. Nobody can actually love and care for you as your family does.

It is therefore very important to realize the worth of family in your life. It is equally important to respect and love your family members as much as they do.

In this fast-moving life, we hardly get time to spend with our family. Many of us take our family for granted. But this is truly wrong as our family is very precious for us and we should value our family members. By spending time with them, we can make some unforgettable memories that can be cherished forever.

Why your family is considered as your biggest strength?

● The love that your family members give you is unconditional. This love doesn’t have any hidden motive and is completely pure. It is this love and affection that helps you to face the hatred that the real world gives you.

● You get to learn so many things from your family. Your family members are your first teachers. They teach you good human values. They help to boost your confidence and improve your overall personality. They show you the right path in life.

● The strength given by your family members makes you so powerful from within that you become capable enough to handle tough situations and deal with the evil people in real life.

● Family is your biggest support. Your family members are those people that never leave you alone. They stand by you and help you to get through hard times.

● Family members are the ones who are responsible for your success. Each and every member of your family contributes to your success in whichever way possible.

● Even when the entire world is against you, your family members will never isolate you. They are the ones who will fight with everyone for you. They protect you and try to keep you safe from this cruel world.

● Your family encourages you to do good things in life. But, it also corrects and stops you whenever you are going on the wrong path. Family is like a true guide that gives you advice which always proves to be useful for you.

You make many friends in your actual and virtual life during your lifetime. You get a chance to meet many people during your professional life as well. These people and many of your friends leave such a good impact on you that you start considering them as your family. But remember, there is a huge difference between someone whom you have considered as a family member and your actual family member.

Therefore, respect, love, and spend time with your family. Trust me, this will make you happy from within.

Nothing is bad in this world if it is upto a limit and everything has a different range of limit. It is similar in case of fastfood too. Fastfood is the food which we buy from the shops which they makes very fast within very less time using precooked or pre prepared things.
Fastfood contains sodium, carbohydrate, saturated fat and many other things whose excessive amount in body is very harmful.

Eating fastfood once in a week doesn’t affect body but eating it more than that causes so many diseases. Fastfood contains extra calories. Fastfood causes diseses like diabetes, headache, heart disease, weight gain, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, dental distress and depression. It also affects the person’s fertility. It also causes many skin problems. It decreases our immune system strength.

Immune system helps in fighting against the diseases and helps in recovering from illness. In today’s world we are facing pandemic corona virus whose vaccine is still not developed and only way to recover form this disease is via our immune system. Those with strong immune system are fighting efficiently against this disease and making it lose. Not only during pandemic but everytime we should eat healthy to increase our immunity. Eating natural products such as fruits like kiwi, papaya and citrus fruits, vegetables like spinach, broccoli, ginger, garlic, and dryfruits, yogurt, turmeric, red bell pepper etc. helps to increase immunity a lot.

For a good living, being healthy is most important thing that can be maintained only by eating healthy.