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5 applause-worthy quotes from Lady Gaga's candid conversation about emotions at Yale University.

Yale University welcomed an unconventional lecturer last week: none other than Lady Gaga.

In partnership with her Born This Way Foundation and the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, Lady Gaga hosted over 200 high school students, policymakers, and educators at the inaugural Emotion Revolution summit. The daylong event was all about sparking conversations on how to improve schools and the education experience so that all students can thrive.


Image from Yale University.

The singer and actress had a candid conversation about the important role emotional intelligence plays in her personal and professional life.

In a conversation with Soledad O'Brien, Lady Gaga opened up about why it's so important for people to be aware of their feelings and express their emotions — an ability often referred to as emotional intelligence or EQ. A person's EQ may affect how they navigate social situations, make choices, or manage their behavior.

Image from Yale University.

Here are five thought-provoking moments from Lady Gaga's presentation (paired with a few of our favorite Gaga photos) that may change the way you think about emotions, self-acceptance, and even the former Stefani Germanotta herself.

1. On confronting her lifelong struggle with struggle with depression and anxiety

#IamNotJust ANXIOUS. I have depression. @btwfoundation
A photo posted by The Countess (@ladygaga) on

"I invented myself, Lady Gaga, I curated my life to be an expression of my pain. This is how I overcame my depression. It's by creating somebody that I felt was stronger than me. But once I went through all sorts of changes, my career taking off, becoming isolated ... nothing was able to fix how I was genetically made. I was born this way."

2. On learning to love yourself

On stage at the 87th Academy Awards. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.

"No matter how much success you have, no matter how many opportunities, fame, fortune, no matter how many accept you to your face, the person that really needs to accept you is you."

3. On the importance of saying "no"

In Brussels promoting her duet album with Tony Bennett. Photo by Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images.

"I realized that part of my identity is saying no to things I don't wanna do. ... It is your right to choose what you do and don't do. It is your right to choose what you believe in and don't believe in. It is your right to curate your life and your own perspective."

4. On making emotions cool again

Speaking at the 2014 South by Southwest Music, Film & Interactive Festival. Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images for SXSW.

"Our emotions are put in this compartment with a massive stigma around it that it is just not cool to feel. We have to make it cool to feel again..."

5. On battling negativity and ignorance on the Internet

Arriving at the 2013 American Music Awards on a fake horse operated by humans. Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images.

"You have to be a rebel. ... You have to be the antithesis of the status quo. You have to work against it. It's not about a reaction. You don't need to react to anything. We need to be proactive in our own movement of positivity."

But all of that was just the beginning of a much bigger conversation.

That same day, Lady Gaga launched #IAmNotJust, a campaign that values and celebrates how people talk about their emotions.

The singer announced the campaign and hashtag on her social accounts and encouraged fans to ditch labels and join her emotion revolution.


And they're already off to an honest, powerful start:


Couldn't make it to Yale for Lady Gaga's session? You're in luck.

The entire thing is available online. Jump to one hour in and soak up the wisdom of Mother Monster.

Identity

Celebrate International Women's Day with these stunning photos of female leaders changing the world

The portraits, taken by acclaimed photographer Nigel Barker, are part of CARE's "She Leads the World" campaign.

Images provided by CARE

Kadiatu (left), Zainab (right)

True

Women are breaking down barriers every day. They are transforming the world into a more equitable place with every scientific discovery, athletic feat, social justice reform, artistic endeavor, leadership role, and community outreach project.

And while these breakthroughs are happening all the time, International Women’s Day (Mar 8) is when we can all take time to acknowledge the collective progress, and celebrate how “She Leads the World.

This year, CARE, a leading global humanitarian organization dedicated to empowering women and girls, is celebrating International Women’s Day through the power of portraiture. CARE partnered with high-profile photographer Nigel Barker, best known for his work on “America’s Next Top Model,” to capture breathtaking images of seven remarkable women who have prevailed over countless obstacles to become leaders within their communities.

“Mabinty, Isatu, Adama, and Kadiatu represent so many women around the world overcoming incredible obstacles to lead their communities,” said Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE USA.

Barker’s bold portraits, as part of CARE’s “She Leads The World” campaign, not only elevate each woman’s story, but also shine a spotlight on how CARE programs helped them get to where they are today.

About the women:

Mabinty

international womens day, care.org

Mabinty is a businesswoman and a member of a CARE savings circle along with a group of other women. She buys and sells groundnuts, rice, and fuel. She and her husband have created such a successful enterprise that Mabinty volunteers her time as a teacher in the local school. She was the first woman to teach there, prompting a second woman to do so. Her fellow teachers and students look up to Mabinty as the leader and educator she is.

Kadiatu

international womens day, care.org

Kadiatu supports herself through a small business selling food. She also volunteers at a health clinic in the neighboring village where she is a nursing student. She tests for malaria, works with infants, and joins her fellow staff in dancing and singing with the women who visit the clinic. She aspires to become a full-time nurse so she can treat and cure people. Today, she leads by example and with ambition.

Isatu

international womens day, care.org

When Isatu was three months pregnant, her husband left her, seeking his fortune in the gold mines. Now Isatu makes her own way, buying and selling food to support her four children. It is a struggle, but Isatu is determined to be a part of her community and a provider for her kids. A single mother of four is nothing if not a leader.

Zainab

international womens day, care.org

Zainab is the Nurse in Charge at the Maternal Child Health Outpost in her community. She is the only nurse in the surrounding area, and so she is responsible for the pre-natal health of the community’s mothers-to-be and for the safe delivery of their babies. In a country with one of the world’s worst maternal death rates, Zainab has not lost a single mother. The community rallies around Zainab and the work she does. She describes the women who visit the clinic as sisters. That feeling is clearly mutual.

Adama

international womens day, care.org

Adama is something few women are - a kehkeh driver. A kehkeh is a three-wheeled motorcycle taxi, known elsewhere as a tuktuk. Working in the Kissy neighborhood of Freetown, Adama is the primary breadwinner for her family, including her son. She keeps her riders safe in other ways, too, by selling condoms. With HIV threatening to increase its spread, this is a vital service to the community.

Ya Yaebo

international womens day, care.org

“Ya” is a term of respect for older, accomplished women. Ya Yaebo has earned that title as head of her local farmers group. But there is much more than that. She started as a Village Savings and Loan Association member and began putting money into her business. There is the groundnut farm, her team buys and sells rice, and own their own oil processing machine. They even supply seeds to the Ministry of Agriculture. She has used her success to the benefit of people in need in her community and is a vocal advocate for educating girls, not having gone beyond grade seven herself.

On Monday, March 4, CARE will host an exhibition of photography in New York City featuring these portraits, kicking off the multi-day “She Leads the World Campaign.

Learn more, view the portraits, and join CARE’s International Women's Day "She Leads the World" celebration at CARE.org/sheleads.


Health

Over or under? Surprisingly, there actually is a 'correct' way to hang a toilet paper roll.

Let's settle this silly-but-surprisingly-heated debate once and for all.

Elya/Wikimedia Commons

Should you hang the toilet paper roll over or under?



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Humans have debated things large and small over the millennia, from the democracy to breastfeeding in public to how often people ought to wash their sheets.

But perhaps the most silly-yet-surprisingly-heated household debate is the one in which we argue over which way to hang the toilet paper roll.

The "over or under" question has plagued marriages and casual acquaintances alike for over 100 years, with both sides convinced they have the soundest reasoning for putting their toilet paper loose end out or loose end under. Some people feel so strongly about right vs. wrong TP hanging that they will even flip the roll over when they go to the bathroom in the homes of strangers.

Contrary to popular belief, it's not merely an inconsequential preference. There is actually a "correct" way to hang toilet paper, according to health experts as well as the man who invented the toilet paper roll in the first place.

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The Hamilton Spectator

RIP Sybil Marie Hicks

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Sybil Marie Hicks, from Baysville, Ontario, died on February 2, at the age of 81, but it'll be a long time before her name is forgotten. Her children have turned her into a posthumous celebrity after writing a hilarious first-person obituary for her that was published in The Hamilton Spectator on February 5, 2019.

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Brielle Asero lost her job after 2 months.

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Some who saw the video thought that Asero came off as entitled and exemplified the younger generation’s lack of work ethic. In contrast, others sympathized with the young woman who is just beginning to understand how hard it is to find work-life balance in modern-day America.

“I’m so upset,” she says in the video. "I get on the train at 7:30 a.m., and I don't get home until 6:15 p.m. [at the] earliest. I don't have time to do anything!" Asero said in a video.

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I told a kid a riddle my dad told me when I was 7. His answer proves how far we've come.

This classic riddle takes on new meaning as our world changes for the better.




When I was 7, my dad told me a riddle.

"A man and his son are driving in their car when they are hit by a tractor-trailer.

Photo via iStock.

(We were driving at the time, so of course this was the riddle he decided to tell.)

The father dies instantly.

The son is badly injured. Paramedics rush him to the hospital.

Photo via iStock.

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'I can't operate on him. He's my son.'

How is that possible?!"

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