Welcome to Students Incorporated, a podcast exploring the topics of business, education,
technology and design.
I'm your host, Mr. Jason.
Join me weekly as my team and I produce content that's informative, positive, fun and uplifting.
Episodes include student conversations, interviews with thought leaders and inspirational stories
with an international flavor.
This podcast is created and produced with the help of students from the International
Community School of Bangkok.
Today's episode is a holiday special filled with a variety of cheery gifts and surprises
and I'm joined by the entire season two team for this episode.
And we might even have some special guests show up.
But we'll introduce our special guest as we go along.
So sit back and enjoy this episode as we hope to spread some holiday cheer to all of our
faithful listeners out there.
Before we jump on that sleigh, let's hear our quote of the day and get some headline
holiday news.
Hey everyone, Chania here.
Our quote of the day comes from Dave Berry.
He said, once again we come to this holiday season, a deeply religious time that each
of us observes in his own way by going to the mall of his choice.
Ah, the holiday season is upon us yet again.
It's that time of year when everyone's religious spirit awakens and we all have our
unique ways of celebrating.
And what better way to honor this sacred time than by embarking on a pilgrimage to the mall
of our choice.
Yes, you heard it right.
Just like our ancestors would journey to holy places, we venture forth to these grand temples
of consumerism.
For within the walls of these shopping meccas, we discover a divine spectacle of sales, discounts,
and shiny bubbles that speak to the depths of our souls.
The three wise men of old would be proud of our journey and commitment to gift, buying,
and giving this holiday season.
And that's our snarky quote of the day.
And now onto our not so snarky headline news.
Hello everyone, Patience here and I'll be bringing you some historical holiday news that
should bring a smile to your face and warmth to your heart.
Our first story is about something we all have come to love and enjoy around this time
of year, Christmas lights.
In 1882, Edward A. Johnson, an associate of Thomas Edison created the first string of
electric Christmas lights.
On December 22nd, he handwired 80 red, white, and blue bulbs and wound them around a rotating
Christmas tree in his New York City home.
This innovation marked a significant shift from traditional candles, making Christmas
trees lighting safer and eventually leading to the widespread tradition of decorating
homes in public spaces with electric lights during the holiday season.
And the rest is history.
Now moving up in time a bit to 1914, during World War I on Christmas Day, an unofficial
and remarkable truce occurred along the Western Front.
British and German soldiers on opposing sides ventured into no-man's land where they exchanged
greetings and sang Christmas carols and even played impromptu games of soccer.
This extraordinary event highlighted the power of holiday spirit in bringing a temporary
peace and a sense of shared humanity to the battlefield.
This event, known as the Christmas Truce of 1914, is one of the most iconic and heartwarming
events in the military history.
It demonstrated the resilience of goodwill even during this dark time.
And our final historical holiday news story comes out of England where Queen Elizabeth
II delivered her first Christmas message, which was broadcast on television on December
25th, 1952.
This marked a continuation of a tradition started by her grandfather, King George V,
in 1932.
Although the message lasted about only six minutes, it was an important moment in British
history symbolizing the continuity of the monarchy and its adaption to modern media
at the time.
The Queen's Christmas message has since become an annual event watched by millions
around the world, offering her reflections on the past year and her wishes for the new
year.
And that ends our historical holiday headline news.
Oh wait, I'm told we have a recording of a part of Queen Elizabeth II's first broadcast
speech.
Yen Ha is going to be playing that now.
Yes, this part of her speech comes out of our fore-mouth into her speech.
It's a great message.
Here it is.
On this proud foundation, let us set out to build a truer knowledge of ourselves and our
fellow men, to work for tolerance and understanding among the nations, and to use the tremendous
forces of science and learning for the betterment of man's lot upon this earth.
If we can do these three things with courage, with generosity, and with humility, then surely
we shall achieve that peace on earth, goodwill toward men, which is the eternal message of
Christmas and the desire of us all.
Thank you for the quote in our headline news.
Those three words in the audio clip, courage, generosity, and humility, stood out to me.
Such important things for us to remember this time of year, and all year long for that matter.
Okay, moving on in this segment, we have some special things coming up.
So to kick off this segment, I welcome all three principals to our studio to discuss
some holiday stories.
These stories can be funny, heartwarming, or just plain weird.
Either way, let's hear from them and see where it goes.
Welcome Miss Donnie, Elementary School Principal, Mrs. Karen, Middle School Principal, and Mrs.
Amber, High School Principal.
Our first question is, if you had to give each other elf names, what would they be,
and you cannot name yourself?
All right, well, I have a name for Miss Karen.
Miss Karen's elf name would be Holly Bright Shoes, because Miss Amber and I think that
Miss Karen is always wearing the cutest shoes.
Always.
All of bright shoes, okay.
Very, very wrong, but we'll get to me in a minute.
Okay, Mrs. Amber.
Okay, I have a name for Mrs. Donnie, Tinker Candy Fluff.
Tinker Candy Fluff.
Candy Fluff, because she loves candy and she always keeps it in her office.
And one time, Mrs. Karen invited every elementary school student to go get some from her office
at a cross country race.
And elementary students all know that's not true.
I'm not a candy fan.
None of them believe me.
But it would be a great elf name.
Yeah.
So, Mrs. Amber, we have chosen Sprinkle Sparkle Fingers for you, for obvious reasons.
Those fingers sparkle.
It's those fancy fingernails.
All right, ladies, there are many types of elves, and I think there are three most well-known.
We've got Dobby, the house elf.
We've got Legolas from Lord of the Rings.
And then we've got Buddy.
I'm Buddy.
No.
I am so Buddy.
You're not Buddy.
You are not Buddy.
Well, who's Legolas?
Who's Legolas?
Who's the really classy elf?
The classy elf.
Oh, the girl elf.
I don't know.
I don't know it that well.
Oh, yeah.
This is Jason, no?
I forget her name, but I know who you're talking about.
Okay, well, that's definitely the elf.
I want to be late on this.
That's definitely Mrs. Amber.
She brings the class, as you know, from the Christmas concert.
Super classy.
Only super classy.
Yeah.
All right, so Dobby or Buddy?
I have no idea who Dobby is.
What's it going to be?
Dobby.
No, it's Dobby from the house elf from Harry Potter.
Harry Potter.
See, I watched all of Buddy the elf every year, so that one ain't your favorite.
But you were the one in the gingerbread man costume.
Correct.
So, ICS, I would like to highlight the levels of respect given to the secondary principals.
When asked to participate in the music concert, Mrs. Amber, what did you do in the music concert
to bring Christmas cheer?
I played my clarinet with the high school band.
Yes, she did.
And Mrs. Donnie, what role was I given in the Christmas concert?
Obviously, the only one that you could be trusted with.
Correct.
Which is the gingerbread man.
Correct.
Yeah.
Jumping around on stage in a costume I could not breathe in.
It was so hot in that costume.
And then I couldn't see my feet, so I was trying to run up the aisle, bringing Christmas
cheer, Mr. Jason, to all who could hear.
Without falling on your face?
Without falling on my face.
Did they know that it was you in the costume?
No, it's all a big secret.
Okay, now they know.
Now they know.
Okay, we got to move on.
Our next question is, what's your favorite holiday flavor or your favorite holiday food?
Favorite holiday food, I'm all about the savories, ladies, not the sweets.
So which savory is yours?
So it's pretty well anything, just the turkey dinner, bring it on, stuffing.
Gravy, mashed potatoes.
Gravy on everything, every single piece of Christmas food.
So does that mean covered in gravy?
You like the plate with no dividers.
You just want to put it all together.
Why, your plate's divided?
Miss Donnie, you don't like your food touching each other?
I'm married to someone who doesn't like his food touching.
I'm okay with food touching.
Okay, we're getting real in this podcast today.
This is Christmas.
I'll go with a holiday flavor.
I don't know if I have a favorite holiday food, but peppermint.
So I really enjoy the peppermint latte that comes out around Christmas time.
So peppermint would be my jam.
Now your listeners, Mr. Jason, can't see what's happening here, but we are so close in order
to be heard in this microphone that I can smell the peppermint on Mrs. Donnie's breath.
And it's delightful.
We're giving a breath mint before we started.
Yes, we are.
And it's delightful, very Christmassy.
All right, Mrs. Amber, what is your favorite food or Christmas flavor?
I do like the toffee nut latte that Starbucks puts out at Christmas time, or I guess I would
have to go with my husband makes homemade cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.
Wouldn't that be wonderful?
How would you feel about that, Mrs. Donnie?
If my husband made homemade cinnamon rolls?
I will contact him and let him know.
I did enjoy something that your husband made for a holiday treat in our staff room.
What was that, Mr. Jason?
I think we had cranberry bliss bars.
You did, and they were delish.
Cranberry actually would be a pretty big holiday flavor.
Yeah, that's a good one.
I can't take full credit for those.
But yes, I did participate in the making of part of them.
The next podcast will be interviewing Mrs. Donnie and Mr. Jason about how they do while
baking together.
Please ask.
Not very good.
Okay, our next question is, do you have a funny, weird or heartwarming holiday story
do you'd like to share?
I have one from when my oldest Ben was maybe four years old.
He went to kindergarten and they made these cute little, it was supposed to be a bag of
reindeer food and it was oats and sparkles and I don't know what else they put into it.
Anyway, they made these little baggies and they took them home and there was a poem and
you were supposed to go out the night before Christmas and sprinkle this reindeer food
on the ground and recite this poem to get Santa to come or something.
I don't really remember.
And we did, we went out and we said it and you're supposed to make a Christmas wish.
We went back inside, we put him to bed and he is crying.
I hear him in the room later crying and I went in and was like, what is wrong?
I'm having nightmares.
I'm so scared.
I was like, what are you scared about?
And he's like, the Christmas witch, the Christmas witch is gonna get me.
And I'm like, what Christmas witch?
It was from the poem, the Christmas wish that we made.
He thought there was a Christmas witch and it was gonna come for him.
That was, that's a story we like to retell him.
That's a good or baby.
That is sweet.
Did your parents ever surprise you with anything ladies at Christmas?
Well that was actually nice, nice lead in.
Oh, thank you.
Because my- Very unplanned by the way this year.
It really was.
I guess heartwarming holiday story.
It's heartwarming to me.
I don't know if you guys can rate it later.
But I grew up where my mom would do 12 days leading up to Christmas.
She would put something small in our stocking every morning.
And so before school, we'd get up and it's the first thing we would go and get this one
little item.
And I- A terrible parent.
I just want to let everyone know.
And I thought that that's what the 12 days of Christmas were.
Like I thought they were the 12 days leading up to Christmas because that is what my mom
had made me believe to be true.
And then we have since we adopted that tradition in our family and did that for our oldest
two for Asia and Coleman.
And we have continued to do that for Everest.
He's a little pickier and tells us what he wants in his stocking, but the other ones
were really happy with whatever they got.
My story is how Mrs. Amber buys me Starbucks every morning for the month of December.
She does.
She leaves little gifts outside my office.
Does she not do that for you, Mrs. Donnie?
Wow, that's- No?
Are you stunned?
I'm a bit speechless.
Also don't believe it.
You don't know?
You have a right to be speechless.
Don't believe it?
My favorite Christmas surprise when I was young was when I was about, boy, I feel like
it was like 10 years old.
And my parents had given us all these clues leading up to Christmas.
Every day there was a clue about what this big gift was going to be.
And it was like a little riddle.
And the very last one on Christmas Eve, we're leaving.
We went to a church service Christmas Eve and we're driving.
You have to think like Calgary snow, snowy weather, really delightful as a child, really
awful as an adult to drive through.
And they drove us out of the city and they drove up to this little farmhouse.
And the last clue they gave us was, it's alive.
You thought you were getting a horse or puppy.
I got a puppy.
We got a puppy.
Yes, we did.
That's a good one.
Wasn't that good?
That was my favorite Christmas.
Your parents are creative.
Yeah.
And I'm not.
And I think what we've established here is that sprinkle sparkle fingers and tinker candy
fluff are excellent parents.
And I am not.
I would agree we are.
You all are.
But I will say you are too.
Nice try there.
OK, OK.
Those are really good.
OK, my final request for you three.
This has been really fun.
Thanks for coming on, by the way.
Our episode is about spreading Christmas cheer for all to hear.
So what kind of Christmas cheer could you give our listeners out there?
Wow.
Maybe we can start with whoever comes up with it first.
Uh huh.
OK, Mrs. Donnie's ready.
I've got it.
I can see it.
I've got it.
OK.
Well, I'll share with you the same little message that I have been sharing with classrooms
because I've had the opportunity to read some Christmas stories in some homerooms in the
elementary and in each room we've talked about the fact that in Christmas stories and movies
that have a Santa Claus, there's always a list.
And that's the naughty and nice list, right?
The good little boy and girl list and then those that don't make the list.
And so what I've been encouraging students to think about is that Santa has this list,
but Jesus also has the list.
And since we believe that Christmas is truly about Jesus coming to earth to be the gift
of love to us, that his list is much longer than Santa's list and that actually all of
our names are on that list and that there isn't anything we can do good to get on it,
but that we're already on it.
So if you're listening, I hope you understand that message is for you as well.
Mrs. Amber.
You've got to follow that up.
Good luck following that.
You could just say, oh, amen or go ahead.
Merry Christmas to everyone listening to this.
I hope that your break is restful, that you find time to do something that you enjoy,
to spend time with family and or friends.
Yeah, that you just have time to reflect and come back refreshed.
Very nice.
So middle schoolers, just hold it together.
That's what I would like to encourage you to do.
Just last week of school, just hold it together.
We are scraping kids off the ceilings at this point, but we're all going to make it.
We're coming into the Christmas break and it is an opportunity, like Mrs. Donnie said,
as Amber said, to spend time with your families.
We've just been in middle school Christmas chapel and heard about the true meaning, I
guess, of joy and hope and how sometimes we seek things that are temporary, but really
encouraging you this Christmas to check out the story of Christmas and how that might
actually provide some lasting joy and hope in all of our lives.
All right.
Thank you very much.
That was the first time we've ever had all three of you on at the same time.
And live.
Do you want to sing a song?
Like a little Merry Christmas jingle?
If you have a song you'd love to sing, we would for sure put it on.
Wow.
She's seriously going to sing.
We wish you a Merry Christmas.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Okay, moving on and to close out this segment, we welcome some little people.
I welcome Kane, Katie and Everest.
To start off, could you please introduce yourself and tell me what grade you are in?
Hi, my name is Everest and I'm in third grade.
Hi, I'm Kane and I'm in second grade.
Hi, I'm Katie and I'm in fourth grade.
Thank you so much for coming on the show.
My first question for you guys is, what is your favorite holiday food and why?
Ev, why don't you go first?
My favorite holiday food is my mom's Christmas cookies because the way that she makes them
with the icing on top, the icing is like not so sweet that you just can't eat them all.
It's like a little bit balanced and like, you know.
Oh, those sound really good.
What about you Kane?
Why don't you go next?
My mom's cookie because it's kind of sweet and soft inside.
I know this might not be a holiday food, but my birthday, we get to have junk food like
chicken and like KFC, Bonchon and McDonald's.
I don't normally to get it.
I'm not normally allowed to eat it because my doctor told me.
All right.
Thank you so much for those answers.
Those are really good.
I too like junk food a lot.
I like cookies.
I like fried chicken as well.
Okay.
Moving on.
Our next question is, what is your favorite Christmas song and can you sing a short line
from it for our listeners?
Everest, why don't you go first again?
Okay.
My favorite Christmas song is rocking around the Christmas tree.
Do you mind sharing just a little bit of it with our listeners?
Okay.
Rocking around the Christmas tree at the Christmas party hop.
Mistletoe hung where you can see every couple tries to stop.
Rocking around the Christmas tree, let the Christmas spirit ring.
Later we'll have some pumpkin pie and we'll do some caroling.
Wow.
Very good.
Okay.
Kane, what about you?
Do you have a favorite Christmas song?
My favorite Christmas song is joy to the world.
Oh, wow.
And how does that go?
How does like the first part of that song go?
The Lord has come.
That's okay.
That's really good.
Good job.
I know you're kind of...
That's okay.
I know you're kind of nervous.
All right, Katie, what about you?
My favorite Christmas song is last Christmas.
And okay.
How does that go?
Last Christmas I gave you my heart, but the very next day you gave it away.
I think I've heard that song a lot at the mall especially, right?
My dad forces my family to listen to it every Christmas and I'm begging him to stop doing
it.
I'm still begging him to listen.
I like that.
Okay.
All right.
Good job, dad.
And for our final part of this first segment, what heartwarming Christmas message would
you like to share with all of our listeners?
Everest, go ahead and go first.
Okay, my heartwarming message would be I hope you have a Merry Christmas and if you're traveling,
I hope you see your family and friends that you want to see.
And Cain, what about you?
What heartwarming message would you like our listeners to hear?
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
And Katie, what about you?
This is a Bible verse and we say, God loved the world so much He gave His one and only
and whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
I think the son that He's talking about is Jesus who came down and died for us.
We're celebrating Christmas because of His birthday.
Happy birthday, Jesus.
Thank you so much, kids, for coming on the show.
And now to end this first segment, we'll play part of a cover our very own patients sang
and recorded for us.
Sit back, listen and enjoy.
All I want for Christmas is you.
I don't want a lot for Christmas There is just one thing I need
I don't care about the present Underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own More than you could ever know
I want to make my wish come true All I want for Christmas is you
Hey everyone, we'll be giving the ICS Design Workshop 101 a shout out today.
The ICS Design Workshop encourages students to turn their designs into real products and
raise money for the ChildLand Foundation through selling them.
The ChildLand Foundation strives to provide children in Thailand with trusted and reliable
access to protection, health and human services.
The ICS Design Workshop 101 club was also at the ICS Makers Fair two weeks ago, selling
self-made bracelets and rings with proceeds going to the ChildLand Foundation.
You can also follow the ICS Design Workshop 101 at Instagram at ics.designworkshop101
for more information and join the club.
Christmas is coming up as well.
Such a great way to give back and spread Christmas cheer.
Hey everyone, this is Camila from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the United States.
I'm the co-editor-in-chief of the Alexandrian Review, a literary magazine accepting poetry,
fiction, non-fiction and art cover submissions from youth all over the world.
Our mission is to advocate for and provide a space to amplify the voices and stories
of those in marginalized communities around the world.
The deadline for this edition will be January 15th, 2024.
Visit our Instagram and TikTok at AlexandrianReview or our website linked in our bio or also at
https://thealexandrianrevi.wixsite.com slash Alexandrian dash review for more information.
We are back with our second segment and I'm joined by the podcast team again.
Have you ever wondered why we say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Christmas?
Reviews happy in everything else.
We don't say Merry Birthday or Merry Anniversary or Merry New Year.
Premi, what does the word Merry mean and why do we use it for Christmas?
Actually, there's a lot of articles written about this very question.
The tradition of Christmas wishes, particularly the greeting Merry Christmas, has an interesting
history.
One of the earliest known uses of Merry Christmas was in 1534 in a letter by Bishop John Fisher.
The phrase gained popularity with the publication of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol in 1843,
where it appears 21 times.
In the same year, the first commercial Christmas card sent by the British inventor Sir Henry
Cole included the greeting, A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you.
The use of Merry and Merry Christmas reflected a more jovial celebratory gesture associated
with the holiday season.
Chanyeol, what does the word Merry actually mean?
Merry means to be full of cheerfulness and to have a joyous disposition.
It also means to be laughingly happy and to be festive.
So what does that word mean to each of you?
Patience, what about you?
I think that Merry means to be jolly or like, you know, festive or high-spirited.
What about you, Rebecca?
Merry means full of joy and celebration and also reminds me to be grateful, especially
around the time of the year.
Yehaw, what do you think?
When I think about that definition, I think that Merry really captures a spirit of warmth
and giving since just the mention of the word is recognizable by most people as associated
with Christmas.
It really ties into the gift-giving aspect and joyful and cheerless lights that go up
during Christmas.
Back to you, Chanyeol.
When I think about that idea, I think the word Merry has a helpful and celebratory tone
to it.
I personally feel like the word Merry sounds much more upbeat and optimistic than the word
joyful.
In a way, the word Merry sounds more informal and feels like a warm welcoming.
Premi, how about you?
I think for me, Merry is a word that feels more festive, yes, and I think also more special.
And I do think that we overuse the word happy a lot or we throw the word around a lot.
And so as a result, I think the meaning of the word has lost some of its value or meaning
over time.
And so I think that's where the word Merry comes in so much more special.
Also, whenever I think of Merry, this image of Santa Claus clutching his white beard saying
some variation of ho ho ho comes to mind.
What do you think, Mr. Jason?
Yes, I agree about the word happy.
Merry means more than just the word happy.
Happy is such a common word.
We hear it all the time and we use it all the time.
And it has somewhat lost its impact and meaning.
We assign everything to happy where Merry has much more of a cheerful and joyous meaning
that isn't attached to things or objects necessarily.
In the context of Christmas, it's attached to an event.
Let's face it, and if we had to admit it, we may feel happy a lot, but I think there
are very few times we can say we felt joyous jubilation or that we were in a deep festive
spirit as the word Merry implies.
Speaking of Merry Christmas and spreading Christmas cheer, we have some special Christmas
cheer messages coming up.
And to start us off, we welcome the school's headmaster, Mr. Luke, to the studio.
Welcome, Mr. Luke.
Thank you for joining us on our show.
We have a few questions for you first, then we understand you'll give a kickoff message
for a spreading Christmas cheer for all to hear part of this last segment.
But first, we'd like to know a few things about your Christmas.
First question is this.
What is the worst or best Christmas gift you have ever received?
That's a great question.
I think the best Christmas present I ever received was actually when I was a junior
in high school.
I had been begging my parents for a North Face Gore-Tex jacket.
And it was something that I was desperate to get and then they finally got it for me.
It was amazing.
It was like the most versatile jacket I had had.
And I actually still have it today and wear it in the U.S. when we go back over the wintertime.
So it's stood the test of time.
I would say the worst Christmas present I ever got was that weird transition between
like being a kid and being a teenager.
So I transitioned from like getting toys and cool fun things that I thought I was going
to get to more adult type things like clothes and socks and underwear and things like that.
And it was really boring.
At the time, I hated it.
Now obviously I see that I need those things as well.
Our next question is growing up, did your family have any special holiday traditions?
Yeah, actually that was one thing that my family did really well was kind of the traditional
American or Western idea of Christmas with lots of Christmas presents under the Christmas
tree.
So my family was very traditional in the sense that they wanted no Christmas presents to
be under the tree until Christmas morning.
So we had a Christmas tree with no presents under it.
And then on Christmas morning, I remember we would wake up to what looked like this ocean
of presents under the Christmas tree because it was for me and my parents and my two brothers.
And it was really cool.
And one cool tradition that for some reason carried on for I think my entire childhood
was that everything was wrapped in white gift wrapping.
So it was really cool.
So we would walk down and it would just look like this massive pile of presents that also
kind of looked like snow and it was really cool.
I loved it.
And finally, we'd love for you to kick off our spreading Christmas cheer for all to hear
a segment.
How would you like to spread Christmas cheer?
What message would you like to share?
Yeah, I think the message I would say is just to take a moment and extend my heartfelt wishes
to each and every one of you.
This time of the year is not just about glittering lights, colorful decorations and presents,
but it's also a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, God's own son sent to earth as
a beacon of hope and love and salvation that is available to each and every one of us.
I hope that your Christmas season is filled with joy, laughter and the company of loved
ones.
Let's embrace the spirit of giving kindness and gratitude together as a community.
And I really do encourage you to take every opportunity you can to show kindness, generosity
and love to others.
Whether you're celebrating with old family traditions or creating new ones, may the Christmas
season bring you a sense of peace and togetherness.
And thank you for being an integral part of the ICS family.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Thank you, Mr. Luke.
Let's continue with some more messages of Christmas cheer.
Patience, do you have a message?
Yes, I do.
My message to all of our listeners is to have a restful break.
Make some heartfelt memories, sleep in, watch some Christmas movies and drink some hot cocoa.
On to Rebecca.
I want to say that always remember that you are loved by the best Father in the world
and he will always love you as his own child.
Rejoice, rejoice and rejoice.
Praise the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Okay, Yan Hao, it's your turn.
Okay, so my message would be to kick back and relax with your friends and family around
the table or relax on the sofas.
So I hope everyone has a great time being away from an academic environment to recharge
their motivation.
Jimmy, back to you.
I would say to spend lots and lots of time with your family, your friends and yourself.
And don't forget to do the things you love and to give yourself some time to recharge.
You deserve a break too.
And to find happiness and appreciation in the unexpected little beautiful moments in
life.
Tanya, what about you?
My message of cheer would be take a break, have fun and spend some time with your family
and friends this Christmas break.
Mr. Jason, who's next?
Well, we just happened to get several Students Incorporated Season 1 team members to join
in on these festivities.
Here are a few messages from them as well.
Enjoy.
Hello, everyone.
I am Lion, the co-host of the Students Incorporated podcast in Season 1.
I am currently back in the studio recording this very special message for you all.
Aside from that, I am studying Financial Engineering at Kingmongkut Institute of Technology, Lakerabong.
With Christmas being right around the corner, I have some special words to give to you all.
Now, let's rewind back to March 13th, 2020, which happened to be my birthday as well.
A lot of us, including me, were still in 8th grade, and we were happy to hear that we'd
be getting a two-week break from school because of some random virus from China.
We thought that it would be a short break and everything would come back to normal.
We could not be more wrong.
The next thing we knew is December of 2023 and many of us are in their senior year, waiting
for their acceptance letters to college, or in my case, starting my second semester of
university.
What I'm trying to say is that time moves fast.
Looking back at those three years, I'd regret not trying new things in school, making new
friends, being more grateful, being kinder, or cherishing the time I spent with other
people.
So, for this Christmas, I want you all to go and spend time with your friends, your
family, and your loved ones.
I want you to be kind, be grateful, make memories that you will cherish.
In the future, you don't want to look back to this time and feel regret because you wish
you could have been kinder to someone, or be grateful for someone or something, or forget
what even happened because you didn't make today memorable.
So, I'd like to end my message with a quote from a modern poet, Avicii.
He said that, one day, you leave this world behind, so live a life you will remember.
With that, I'd like to say thank you to Mr. Jason for having me today in the studio.
I really miss being here and recording my voice.
And I'd like to say thank you to you all as well for listening.
I wish all Students Incorporated podcast listeners a very, very Merry Christmas.
Hey, I'm Kush Natani.
I was the previous tech engineer for Students Incorporated.
Currently, I am the only remaining Students Incorporated member still studying at ICS.
This is my final senior year.
You know, college application season, capstone, papers, all of that.
Currently, I'm also the president of the Model United Nations Club, as you'll remember from
our episode 18 from last season.
We're deep into planning for our third conference, ICSMUN3, looking like it's going to be a massive
conference, 200 plus people attending.
It's going to be incredible.
I'm excited for that.
So I just wanted to leave the podcast off with some great quotes to live life by that
I found inspirational and that I really think is going to help a lot of people in moving
on from the current stages of life.
So you know, as a senior, I'm applying to college, like I said before, and I really
just needed a bunch of advice to proceed in these difficult times.
It's always a stressful time.
It's always wondering, where am I going?
What am I going to do in my future?
And so a few quotes I had, this one's by Oscar Wilde.
To live is the rarest thing in the world.
Most people exist.
That is all.
I found this quote interesting.
It's just some people live and some people live.
Yeah, I just I really want to make sure that I'm living my life by living and not just
living.
The second quote I had is from Richard L. Evans, which is, when in the world are we
going to begin to live as if we understood that this is life?
This is our time, our day, and it is passing.
What are we waiting for?
I think it's just a really nice quote to just seize the moment and to just, like I
said, live life.
Thank you so much for having me on here for such a short period of time.
It was great to be back in the studio.
Happy holidays.
Hey, everyone.
I'm Rani Kotari, and I was the writer and editor during season one.
I'm still in Bangkok currently, and I'm pursuing a bachelor's degree in media and
communication at Mahidol University International College.
So one of the traditions here on this podcast is to share quotes every episode.
I came across a quote about Christmas and thought I'd share it with you all.
Norman Vincent Peale, an author who wrote books about his philosophy of positive thinking,
said, Christmas is the season of joy, of holiday greetings exchanged, of gift giving, and of
families united.
I hope that this Christmas break is truly joyful and restful for everyone.
Spending time with family and friends is always a great way to relax, and I hope everyone
has a wonderful holiday this year.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays.
Hello, everyone.
This is Darren Waddenholm, ICS alumni currently in Melbourne, Australia.
I was the previous outreach coordinator for Students Incorporated in season one.
My current role is working full time for a company called Dynamic Outreach, which is
a marketing company that helps promote charities.
My Christmas message comes from Buddy the Elf when he said the best way to spread Christmas
cheer is singing loud for all to hear.
So make sure to sing some good Christmas carols this year.
And I would like to sign off this message with some tinsel ASMR.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
And with that final message, I'd like to thank everyone that helped make this special
holiday episode come to life.
We'll end this final segment by sharing with you the best Christmas message ever given.
In fact, it's because of this event we celebrate Christmas and why we say Merry Christmas.
And to do this, we welcome Mrs. Anne to our show and she'll be reading the true Christmas
story.
Thank you, Mrs. Anne, for joining us.
In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
And all went to be registered, each to his own town.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city
of David, which is called Bethlehem.
Because he was of the house and the lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his
betrothed, who was with child.
And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him
in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
And in the same region, there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their
flock by night, and an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone
around them.
And they were filled with great fear.
And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you.
You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying
glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased.
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us
go over to Bethlehem and see this thing which has happened, which the Lord has made known
to us. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.
And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning
this child.
And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen
as it had been told to them.
As we end this episode, and from all of us at the Students Incorporated Podcast Studio
from Bangkok, Thailand, we want to say, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Have a wonderful and warm holiday season, and we'll see you next year!
As always, this podcast would not be possible without the hard work and support of our International
Student Production Team.
All music and sound effects are courtesy of Pixabay.com, a vibrant community of creatives
sharing copyright-free images, videos, and music.
And we are signing off until next time.
Be your Students Incorporated, because your voice matters.