Seventeen-year-old Sariah Estrada didn’t expect to receive anything in return when she saved a drowning man on Marianne Beach in Blanchisseuse earlier this year.

However, for her random act of kindness, Estrada was awarded the Hummingbird Medal-Bronze for her bravery, loyalty and devotion to Trinidad and Tobago on Monday, September 24, when the country celebrated its 42nd year as a republic. President Paula-Mae Weeks presented the national award to her.

In July of this year, Estrada along with two friends went to the Marianne Beach to relax. Upon leaving the beach, Estrada and her friends noticed a man struggling in the water. Immediately, she and her friends sprang into action. The teens borrowed a body board from some people on the beach and swam to the man’s rescue.

She said when they reached the man, he was already unconscious and they dragged him out of the water on the body board. Estrada remembered what she learned during a life-saving course the week before and quickly started pumping the man’s chest. After several attempts, she was successful and the young man’s life was saved.

In an interview with LoopTT, the teenager said while she is grateful for the award, she wasn’t expecting anything in return.

“This award was never expected because I thought of helping someone as an act of humanity and never looked for anything in return, but the award is well appreciated. As I reflect on the action I took, I felt as though I could help this person as I have the proper training. The week before the incident I participated in a basic life support-training course offered by the North Central Regional Health Authority.” Estrada explained. She said she intends to continue assisting people.

The national award receiver also had this message for the youths of Trinidad and Tobago.

“I would like to encourage the young people of Trinidad and Tobago to strive for excellence, never sell yourself short by believing that you cannot do what you desire, all things are possible and hard work surely brings success.

The American Heart Association（AHA）says that too many people are spending far too much time on chairs and couches. “Based on existing evidence，we found that U.S. adults are sedentary for about six to eight hours a day，"said Deborah Rohm Young，chair of AHA panel that wrote the new advisory.

According to the AHA，growing evidence shows that，on its own，exercise isn't enough to cancel out the unhealthy effects of sitting for a long time. "Regardless of how much physical activity someone gets，long sedentary time could negatively influence the health of your heart and blood vessels，"Young explained.

The exact mechanisms behind the effect aren't yet clear. "There are many important factors we don't understand about sedentary time yet，"Young said. She stressed that，“the types of studies available identify trends but don't prove cause and effect. ”

"We don't have information about how much sedentary behavior is bad for health-the best advice at this time is to ‘sit less and move more'" she added.

How much more？According to the AHA，people should try to get at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous（剧烈的）exercise a day to reach the recommended 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week. That's healthier than trying to cram their weekly exercise into one or two days，according to the statement.

"The real risk simply comes down to the amount we sit，without there being a true medicine or method to control the harmful effects，"said Steinbaum，a preventive specialist in heart disease.

Still，society has evolved to encourage sitting，she added.

“Our lives have become focused around activities requiring us to be still-whether it be transportation，our computers，or the television or computer in our leisure time，"Steinbaum said. “Sociologically，instead of being active to be productive or to have enjoyment，our productivity and fun often requires minimal physical activities. ”

Like a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been dull. E-books, however, are causing heartache. Libraries know they need digital wares, but many publishers are too cautious about piracy（盗版） and lost sales to co-operate. Among the big six, only Random House and Harper Collins license e-books with most libraries.

Publishers are wise to be nervous. Owners of e-readers（电子阅读器） are exactly the customers they need: book-lovers with money. If these people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them, what then? Electronic borrowing is awfully convenient. Unlike printed books, which must be checked out and returned to a physical library miles from where you live, book files can be downloaded at home. The files disappear from the device when they are due.

E-lending is not simple, however. There are lots of different and often incompatible（不兼容的）e-book formats devices and licenses. Most libraries use a company called OverDrive, which secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format. Yet publishers and libraries are worried by OverDrive’s global market dominance the company can control fees and conditions. Publishers were annoyed when OverDrive cooperated with Amazon, the world’s biggest online bookseller, last year. Owners of Amazon’s Kindle e-reader who want to borrow e-books from libraries are now redirected to Amazon’s website, where they must use their Amazon account to secure a loan.

According to Pew, an opinion researcher library users are a perfect for market for Amazon. Late last year Amazon introduced its Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, which lets its best customers borrow free one of thousands of popular books each month.

Library supporters argue that book borrowers are also book buyers and that libraries are vital spaces for readers to discover new work. Many were cheered by a recent Pew survey, which found that more than half of Americans with library cards say they prefer to buy their e-books.

So publishers keep adjusting their lending arrangements in search of the right balance.

Random House raised its licensing prices earlier this year, and Harper Collins limits libraries to lending its titles 26 times.

Learn to Manage Your Time in College

A common view both among and of college students is that they are always short on money. While this may be true，many college students are also always running short on something else time.    11    Here are a few things to consider：

Manage your academic time.    12     Consequently，your academic work should always come first when it comes to arranging your time in order of importance. When looking at your schedule for the week，figure out what your academic commitments look like. What time do you have classes？How much homework do you have to do？What assignments are due？When do you have major exams or quizzes？

Manage your personal time. It's an unrealistic expectation to think that you can study，go to class，and work all day，every day.     13    Make sure to allow yourself time to go to something fun in the yard，attend a meeting for your favorite club，and just hang out for an hour or so at night with friends over dinner. Doing things that make your personal time more enjoyable-and not totally focused on school-can actually improve your productivity when working on projects later.

Keep your health in mind. When people's schedules are tight，one of the first things to go is sleep. While it may be common among college students，a lack of sleep is more hurtful than you might think. It can throw everything into disorder: your mental health，your physical health，your stress level，and，of course，your schedule.     14    

Use your technology. Nothing helps a college student stay organized more than a good calendar！Some students use the calendars on their phones；others use things like Google Calendar；others still use the classic paper-calendar model.    15    Just change and try again.