The three C’s of life are blatantly true: Choices. Chances. Changes. You have to be the one that makes a choice to take a chance, or your life will never change. Only you have that power. And it’s yours to do with as you please. Everyone else has the same choice. Living life on your own terms starts with the knowledge that you can do just that (i.e. live life on your own terms), if you so choose Everything you see around you in day-to-day life, and every person you frequently make contact with is there because of a choice you made. If you don’t like how your life is, make the choice to change it. Now. When you are steadily requiring guidance from those around you, you give up control of how your life plays out. This can translate to letting others make decisions for you, depending on others for financial help, or waiting on them before you make a move. Always maintain control of your life. Even when you ask for others’ advice, thoughtfully consider their suggestions, but always be the one  who makes the final decision. Who you are as a person, what kind of people you surround yourself with, what you do for a living, what you are passionate about: all of these are guided by your personal values. Values are traits – in yourself and others – that you hold dear. Along with your individual belief system, values influence your entire life. Learn what your values are by taking a personal values assessment. Understanding your values helps you grasp a deeper understanding of yourself, what motivates you, and what your dreams are. Do an internet search for "personal values assessment" and you should get a list of different tests you can take. As you move towards living life on your own terms, you must get a handle on exactly what that means to you. Does that mean moving to another country? Does that mean dropping out of your current major to take up a new subject? Or, does that simply meaning cutting the puppet strings that someone else has used to control your decisions?  Sit down with a pen and paper and consider your wildest dreams for your life. Write them all down. This step is merely for exploration purposes. It does not matter right now if you do not have a clear-cut plan for reaching these dreams. You just need to uncover, at this very moment, what it is you want out of your life.

Summary: Recognize your freedom to choose. Stand on your own two feet. Assess your values. Dream big.


Use electrical tape to attach these to the wood. The tape should not interfere with or cover any of the connections for the electrical circuit for the buzzer, nor should it cover the positive (+) or negative (-) ends of the battery. Your buzzer may come with screw holes. For a sturdier alarm, you can screw your buzzer into the wood. Be careful to use short nails so these don't protrude through the board. Wrap one stripped end of two pieces of wire around frontmost divot of the top of the clip-end of the clothespin. Do the same to the bottom of the clip-end of the pin with a separate wire. Twist the stripped wires around the pin until they are tight. When the pin closes, the wires should touch. This will complete the circuit that sets off your alarm. Position the wire so it is directly touching the positive (+) end of the battery. Use a piece of electrical tape to fasten the wire in place. If your battery is in a dock or cradle, attach the wire to the positive connector or wire for the cradle and tape it in place. There should be a small opening in the buzzer where you can insert your wire. There should be two connectors, positive and negative. Touch one of your top clothespin wires directly to the positive input for the buzzer. Alternatively, your buzzer may have wire leads coming off of it. Strip these, if necessary, and twist your non-battery wire to the positive buzzer wire. Cut a medium sized piece of cardboard to insert between the wires wrapped around the clothespin. Insert the cardboard so that the wires on the clothespin do not touch when it is closed. This will stop the buzzer from going off.  Any non-conductive material will work to break your circuit. Try small pieces of paper, wood, or rubber. You may need to fold thin cardboard so there is more distance between wires. Very thin cardboard may not reliably keep the circuit broken. Attach the stripped end of one of your remaining free clothespin wires to the negative (-) end of the battery. Fasten it with electrical tape. Then, in the same fashion as the first, attached the final clothespin wire to the negative (-) input for the buzzer.  After you finish attaching the wire to the buzzer, cover any remaining bare wires with tape. While the circuit is engaged, touching bare wire will result in a shock. Be careful not to knock out the circuit breaker between the wires of your clothespin. Doing so will complete the circuit, and likely cause a small shock when you try to attach the wire to the buzzer. Lay your alarm on a flat surface. Open the clothespin and remove the circuit breaker (piece of cardboard). When the clothespin closes, the circuit should complete and the buzzer turn on.  The ends of stripped wire on the clothespin should be in good contact. If they aren't or are just barely touching, wrap more wire around the clothespin. When adjusting the clothespin wires, disengage your battery from the circuit to prevent getting shocked. If the buzzer doesn't activate, one of the connections is likely loose. Reinsert the breaker (cardboard) and refasten all connections. After that, if the alarm still doesn't work, replace your current battery with a new one.  To improve connections between wires, wrap wires together. After that, tape bare wires to prevent accidental shocks. To improve the connection between connectors, use pliers to coil the end of the wire in a small circle. The circle should be small enough to fit against the connector. Tape the wire circle to the connector. In some cases, you may have a faulty buzzer. Test your buzzer by hooking it up to a traditional power source as directed in the buzzer directions. If it doesn't work, your buzzer is faulty.

Summary: Tape the battery and buzzer onto your wooden board. Wrap the stripped wire around the ends of the clothespin. Connect the bottom-pin wire to the battery. Connect one non-battery wire to the buzzer. Break the circuit with a piece of cardboard. Connect the remaining wires. Test the switch by completing the circuit. Check connections and the battery if the buzzer doesn't activate.


Once the birds have mated and the eggs are fertilized, the female will begin laying eggs in about 10 days. She will lay 1 egg at a time, so you'll see a single egg appear in the nesting box. Sometimes budgies need to breed several times before the female’s eggs are fertilized. After the female lays her first egg, there will be a 1-2 day gap between each egg in her clutch. She will continue to lay an egg every day or 2 until they are all laid. In captivity, she’ll likely lay 4-8 eggs in total. She will lay her eggs in the nesting box. Your female bird won’t start incubating the eggs until she’s laid at least 2 or 3. That means you’ll likely see 1 or 2 eggs sitting neglected in the nest after she’s first started laying. This is normal, so don’t worry if your bird is not being attentive in those first few days. The female budgie will always be the one to sit on the eggs. The male shouldn’t go into the nesting box. When they start to hatch, you’ll notice cracks appearing on the egg shells. It may take awhile for the budgies to hatch, but don’t help them. If they’re healthy, they’ll emerge from their shells after a few hours. If you have eggs that haven’t hatched after 22 days, it’s best to throw them out. They likely won’t hatch. If they do, the babies won’t be healthy. Budgies generally take good care of their young, but keep an eye on the little family to make sure none of the babies are being neglected. If there are several babies, the mother may neglect the littlest chicks. You may want to hand raise baby budgies that are being neglected.
Summary: Wait 10 days after a successful breeding for the first egg. Expect your female budgie to lay 4-8 eggs over about 2 weeks. Make sure your budgie sits on the eggs after the 3rd one is laid. Watch for hatching after 18-21 days of incubation. Make sure the mother is caring for her baby budgies.