Perfectionist ?? by Neha suryadevara

Perfectionist ?

Most people probably think that being a perfectionist is a great thing, but it is not all peaches and cream. In fact, it has often put me in tight, nail biting situations, kept me up late on Sunday nights and so much more. I guess it's as I'm generally a neat person, want to do my best and try to stay organized.

Firstly, Organization. Staying organized is an important thing in life and can help you in many tasks. For example, during exam time, I was putting together a handy study guide. Here every page contained mind maps, lists etc. and was what you could call neat. However, if the pages were shabbily and carelessly done then it would be hard to understand and in the long run hard to study from. This shows that sometimes perfection and attention to detail is necessary for staying organized.

Secondly, is me wanting to do my best. When I start something I want to finish it and don't want to do it half heartedly. Sometimes this can take time and a lot of patience is required but it is important to me and I don't mind spending time on it. I remember one time when I had to do a project on 'The Automobile Industry of the U.S.A.' For Geography. It took a very long time as I was trying to make it as best as I could and spent lots of time cutting straight edges. This shows that when you don't want to do something half done then you may just begin to get a little paranoid over it paying attention to every minor scratch.

Finally and probably most importantly is my general tendency to be neat. I've never liked rigid edges and even in kindergarten I tried to keep neat instead of getting my hands messy. This can be seen in my notebooks. If I made a mistake and have to cross it out, I have to grab a sharp pencil and ruler and do it the 'right' way.  That's how it's done, but to most people this wouldn't matter and they wouldn't even notice it. Well, for me, it would creep its way into my nerves and completely set me off.

In conclusion, I've realized that being a perfectionist has its pros and it's cons and it just depends on how you use it. I f you let it control you then you will face the consequences. I've also learnt that sometimes being imperfect and other imperfections are good for you. They bring color into life a and without them the world might just turn out to be like Jonas' community from 'The Giver.'

Home For A Moment by Nandika

Home For A Moment

Hello, fellow readers! I suppose you’re wondering what this is all about. Well, you’re about to find out. So what’s has the great, awesome Nandika has been writing about? It’s not a personal narrative, it is not a persuasive review, and it’s not a feature article. Ok, now you’re confused. Really confused. And if I don’t tell you what in blazes I am talking about, you will most likely set down the book and leave. So, I guess I will have to tell you if I don’t want to lose any readers. Sigh. The name of this article is…

 

A personal essay, and I quote Lavanya ma’am’s words, is where you have to “think of yourself and an opinion of strong feeling that you have about yourself in which you bring out your opinion and give reasons for your opinion.”

Normally this type of essay would be written about oneself, but I, like always, have chosen to reach out far beyond that. So today, in this personal essay, I’m going to talk about a close friend I left behind in USA. His name?

NILAY.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Generally, boys and girls are not too fond of each other, so a lot of people ask me why I would write about Nilay, a boy. Well, first of all, he was one of the first friends I made in the USA, and what I like about him is the fact that he can take everything in a good way, no matter what happens, and he can encourage me when I need a little bit of motivation to keep me going. Plus, he is fair to everybody.

The thing I like most about him, would probably be the fact that he can take everything in a good way, no matter what the situation is (just like me). One time that shows this was when he came over to my house once. We were drinking apple juice and Nilay left his on the dining table. But soon after, I heard a slurping noise coming from behind me. I turned around and I found out that…… (Drum roll please)

MY BROTHER NEEL WAS DRINKING NILAY’S APPLE JUICE!

 

I guess you can imagine how we were feeling right then. Shocked? A little. Surprised? A bit. But no, what we were mainly feeling was….

AMUSEMENT.

We burst into peals of laughter and after few moments of blankly staring at Neel happily slurping up that juice, Nilay’s apple juice, mind you. Luckily for Neel, Nilay was laughing too. Neel should be glad and relieved that Nilay wasn’t mad, because if I was Nilay, I sure would be! Nah, I’m just kidding. But now do you see what I mean when I say Nilay takes everything in a good way?

I also like the fact that he can cheer me up when I’m down, sad, whatever. Like when I found out I was moving to India, for example, out of all my friends, Nilay was the one who was able to comfort me most.

And the last thing that made us best friends was that he is fair and impartial to everybody, no matter what it is, (and those three reasons make us alike). What I mean by that is in any situation, Nilay can (just like me) divide things fairly, judge fairly and things like that. Especially back when my other friends used to get into a lot of fights, I or Nilay would judge fairly to break it up.

AND THAT, my friends was your first impression of a PERSONAL ESSAY. Unless, of course, you read someone else’s before mine, but that doesn’t matter. And I guess we’re just about done here, so I guess this is

GOODBYE (for now…)

 

 

 

Hard work and I by Aditi Raju

Life is not easy; there are so many ups and downs. To have a smooth sail, we need to work hard to calm the waves. In other words, I feel that hard work is a one-way ticket to a successful life. The determination to work hard sets me apart from other people. I like to say I am a hardworking person; I want to shape my future, into the perfect shape.

The important thing about this is that I don’t want to dwell on a bad future. Who does? All I know is that my future will be a bright one as a result of my hard work. Another way to put it is that ignorance is not going to take us far in life. For instance, if I have an exam coming up I will not sit back and lay eggs! J

I connect this to another reason that I set goals for myself, everyone does, I hope. If you don’t you should start because, in my opinion, goals are the perfect way to know exactly what you want or need to do. They give me a path to follow, a direction to go towards.  .  . Anyways, as I said goals are one of the things that help me achieve things, on saying this I’m realizing that goals boost my determination to work hard.

Who doesn’t want money? Who doesn’t want glory? Who doesn’t want fame? Every person in this world wants it all. However, I feel that it would be selfish to keep the result of my hard work to myself. I want my family to benefit from my profit because without them I wouldn’t be here right now. My priority is to help all those who have helped me.

Other people should care about this because being hard working is important, your hard work determines your future.  We should all realize how big of a role hard work plays in life. Hard work is the only way to have a bright life. This makes me think that children should start trying to be successful because success is not going to fall from the sky and land in our hands! Having read this I hope you are realizing many things about yourself. Are you?

A Place called Home by Ananya Vepa

A Place called Home

By Ananya Vepa

 

Tracy, California was where I first felt like I was home. All my earliest memories are rooted deep in the loam that grows wheat. I lived there for 5 years, and when I left, I felt like my heart was breaking into pieces. So what if I was just 7 years old when I moved? I remember almost everything about Tracy like it was just yesterday. However, I am fast losing them, so I think that sharing my memories will help me hold on to them for longer.

            When I was 5, I started Kindergarten in George Kelly elementary school. Since I was in the afternoon class, I had to go at 11:30 and come back at 3:00. Then I would go outside and romp about in the hot, hot sun until my mother dragged me back into the house. As I’m writing this, I realize that I was sooo innocent. I didn’t have a care in the world, I was as free as a dove and as light as a feather, and I wasn’t hung down with problems. I was happy, and took pleasure in the smallest of things. How I wish that I could be like that now, guileless and completely carefree!

            Tracy was spread out in the most chaotic way that is organized. You could have a huge mall right next to a wheat field (incidentally, West Valley Mall was next to a field) or a cow pasture next to a restaurant (that was there too). Even though I was very small, I could still find my way around. Whenever we went to Safeway (our local supermarket) I would always get lost, without fail. Against all odds, however, I would always find my way back to my mother. It was impossible to get lost in Tracy.

            People might argue that I was too young to remember everything about Tracy, but I do! I remember that it was just off the highway (3 highways to be exact) and nobody came unless they lived there or something. I remember that it was calm and peaceful like a herd of cows. There was no hurry or haste, no rude busmen or loud honkers, just shanti. However, in that air of calm, there was a lot of hard work. There were cows to feed, wheat to plant, kids to teach. It was always busy, but nobody noticed because they were too engaged in the work they were doing. This affected me, and I learnt to be compassionate and to appreciate hard labor.

            I believe it is important to remember the places that you have lived in because the effect they have had on you can never be taken back. Like a plastic mold that shapes metal into filigree, you can never change back into what you used to be. Living in Tracy made me understand that hard work is important in order to have a good life. Looking back, I realize that I was very innocent and carefree, and to be happy in life, I must be like that. What changes has your old home had on you?

 

“How hard it is to escape from places. However carefully one goes they hold you-you leave little bits of yourself fluttering on the fences- like rags and shreds of your very life.”

                                                -Katherine Mansfield

 

“When the uniqueness of a place sings to us like a melody, then we will know, at last, what it means to be home.”

                                                -Paul Gruchow

MY DOG CHANGED MY LIFE by Arundhati Chandrasekhar

MY DOG CHANGED MY LIFE

By Arundhati Chandrasekhar, 7C

 

Sometimes people say, “What’s the point of getting a dog? They cost so much money, but what do they give you in return?

Well, here I am to answer this question. There are many examples from my own life for this. Sometimes when I look back onto my life before I got my dog Juno, it was shockingly different from what it is now.

For one thing, I was a very indoorsy person. I never used to go outside. I had to be forced to do PE and swimming, and I mostly sat inside, reading my books. However after we got Juno, I began taking her for walks in the park and playing fetch and chase in the garden with her. I spent less time playing on my iPad and reading. I began taking 5-kilometre bike rides with my dad and Juno running along. I still did read and play video games, but overall, Juno had made my lifestyle much better.

Sometimes when I’m bored or lonely or sad, I turn to Juno for someone to play with or talk to. And no, I’m not mad! Dogs are great companions, and Juno is a constant source of entertainment, games and cuddles. You can tell dogs anything, and they can’t exactly break your confidence or judge you!

Dogs have been amazing companions to millions of people around the globe. They can make a huge difference in anyone’s life – but especially those who are blind, deaf or even depressed. Blind or deaf children are able to have lives similar to their peers due to their faithful guide dogs. Dogs are proven to help alleviate depression and sadness, and whenever I’m feeling blue, Juno can cheer me up simply by being in the same room!

Another way Juno changed me is by increasing my responsibility. You can’t slack off while caring for a dog – there are no “I’ll walk her later"s or “I’ll feed her later”s! Since I got Juno, I’ve been more responsible about everything, be it caring for Juno or submitting my homework on time.

So I hope my essay has convinced you that dogs are awesome. They can change your life so much, in so many different ways. That much I can tell you from my own personal experience. I’ve been altered so much since October 22^nd, 2011 – the day Juno came into our lives. From my viewpoint, dogs are the best road to perfection!

Why Me?? by Aishwarya Hirve

Why Me??

There is one thing about me that many people don't know- that I'm constantly getting into trouble. Not the kind of trouble where kids get grounded for two weeks or get detention. That way I barely get into trouble. In fact I've never even had detention before. The kind of trouble I'm talking about is when I make small, silly mistakes and end up regretting whatever I did. Some of the possible reasons why are that I sometimes I procrastinate too much, I'm unorganized and sometimes I just get unlucky.

 

I'm always procrastinating way too much, doing things at the eleventh hour and postponing every single thing that I'm supposed to do. This happened once when my teacher gave us three weeks to make a collage on different kinds of beaches and coastlines. I thought that I have more than enough time and that I don't need to start straight away. So I decided to start tomorrow. But the next day I decided I'd do it the day after, and the day after the same thing happened. This happened for the next few days.

Suddenly, one day before the deadline I jerked back into reality and realised that this major project was due TOMMOROW. I began to panic but then I realised that panicking  would get me nowhere. After a few seconds I calmed down and started cutting out the pictures. I stayed up half the night and my collage was actually really pretty, even though I realised that it would have been a hundred times better if  I started earlier.

The second reason is that I'm pretty unorganized, at least enough to lose something really important, and then there comes a time when I suddenly need that important thing, and even after turning my whole house upside down I can't find it. Like how my torch was EVERYWHERE in sight and then when there was a sudden blackout the other day (a few days after I lost complete track of my torch) and I had to survive the whole three-hour-long blackout with just a few candles and the little bit of light from my iPad's screen. And then in the next few days I found it again on my desk. I really wished I could have been more organized and I probably wouldn't have been in such a mess.

My third and final reason is probably just bad luck. Well, it's not the typical "bad luck" people would assume, in fact most of the time I think I'm the luckiest person ever. But sometimes my luck just seems to run out, like once, early in second grade, all of us were in class, waiting for the teacher to arrive. Two girls got up and went outside because apparently there was something funny going on in the class next door. A few more people got up to see. Soon the whole class was there except for me. I thought that if everybody was out there it wouldn't hurt to just take a peek and come back. For some reason all the kids darted back into class as soon as I got there and I just stood there wondering why, until I realised that the teacher had come back.

She saw that I was the only child outside, and yeah, like you guessed, the rest of the class had smug expressions on their faces when I was getting screamed at, and I thought, "Why me!?"

 While writing this I'm realising that that situation had absolutely nothing to do with luck. It's just that I'm always in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Well, now you know exactly how I feel and the next time you say "Why me?" you should think again because you are DEFINITELY not the only one. Time and again I've tried so hard not to procrastinate or to be a tiny bit more organized or try to be in the right place at the right time, but I guess that trouble is my middle name and I can never get rid of it no matter what. I knows this sounds really cliché and cheesy but its true for everyone...

THE END!

 

Hospet – my place of enlightening by Aditya Kolisetti

Hospet – my place of enlightening

 

Be it Disneyland, or a small house on the beach, everyone has one special place that they hold dear to. Everyone has one special place where something, a special moment happened that changed their lives. Be it due to love, happiness, or any other emotion, that moment – and its setting – is preserved in one’s heart forever.

I too have one special place. That place is where my family roots are. That place is Hospet. Hospet is where I learnt many life lessons that changed who I am. Hospet taught me many things, such as things as small as ignoring my sister’s constant chatter or things as big as taking life slowly.

I have always taken life too fast; always hurrying through a task, always fearing that time will run out. Hospet is always slow and easy going, so there I am a fish out of water. While everyone was reading, napping, or just sitting and doing nothing, I was running about, trying to get things done. One day, I noticed that everyone was slacking off, even though they all had chores to do. After asking them, I realized that I was stressing my face off in the holidays, even though holidays were meant for relaxing. That was how Hospet taught me a valuable life lesson.

Another major thing is how nearly everyone uses the internet for research, videos, music, and many more things. In Hospet, the internet is very feeble and not a day passes without a least 2 power cuts. Hence, I can do nothing on my gaming consoles. Since all the books are in Kannada, I can literally do nothing there. For the first 2 days, I was like a drug addict abruptly cut off his supply. Bored out of my skull, I begged my dad to take me somewhere other than an old temple. He agreed, and took me to a ruined palace complex. We were supposed to stay there for only 2 hours, but we stayed for 5! That instance taught me that there is flavor in the blandest of places, and to never get on my aunt’s bad side. It also taught me that one doesn’t always need the internet.

My final point that Hospet taught me is that it is okay to let your hair down and relax sometimes. Not only during holidays, but even during the heat of exams. I realized this the hard way, by studying day in and day out. Only when everyone told me I was studying too hard, I took my first long break. Not only is it fun, when anyone tells you to do something, you can say, “But I’m doing what you’re doing the whole day!”

To sum it all up, I don’t just love Hospet for its beauty, but also for everything it taught me. Not only is Hospet a second home to me, it’s also where my family roots are, which makes it very special to me. Even if it is torn down, it will always stand tall in my heart.

 

 

Why Homework? by Nikhil Niranjan

Why  Homework?

By

Nikhil Niranjan, 6C

 

                Sometimes, I think about how fun and cool school is, spending many days together with friends and learning many new and different things that we wouldn’t have thought about in our dizziest daydreams! However, there is one thing that people constantly ask me. Why don’t you do your homework or why do you never feel like doing your homework? Well, this essay answers that question and talks through how homework is too time consuming … mostly repeats what we have learnt in class … and is time restricted or time bound.

Usually, I don’t like to do things that take too much time. I get really bored and I am always itching to do something else. However, sometimes with homework, I am left with no choice.As I said before, homework is extremely time consuming. The reason why is because it includes lot of projects, models and other chart work. As we all know, projects, especially school projects, take a long time to do.

Let us take my 6^th grade Chemistry project as an example. For the Chemistry project, I needed to make a booklet and a chart with lots of information and pictures. It was much easier said than done! Firstly, the chart and booklet have to be neat, clean and colorful. Another criteria is it has to be creative. To be precise, you can’t just copy and paste test from the Internet. You have to use your own words to describe your project. In addition, you have to practice presenting your work in front of the whole class, which is quite unnerving don’t you think?

If you think about it, all of this takes at least one full day to do. I am sure that nobody is a big fan of sitting in front of a chart for even half a day, not to mention a full day!I am not a person who likes repetition either. Specifically, I don’t like repeatedly being told something, nor do I feel like doing things again and again. I start to get impatient.

Well, the whole fun of school is to learn new things that you haven’t heard about before. However, sometimes I think homework just repeats what we have done in class.

Let us take another instance. Maybe, some of the math questions from my math textbook. In many chapters of the textbook, there are so many questions where the same exact concept is being repeated in that specific topic. For homework, we do the same thing again and again, just many questions of it.

Instead, especially for homework, I feel there should be different types of problems to solve so that we can learn new and different ways to solve all problems.

Another reason which I dislike about homework is that it is time restricted or time bound. This puts a lot of pressure on you to finish it on time or you might get busted by the teacher.  This time, my evidence is the English Book Talk.There are a couple of bad things about the Book Talk. First of all, it has to be submitted on one particular day and it is an assessed homework so there are a lot of marks at stake. Well, that just makes things worse and puts additional pressure. You might even lose marks for late submission.

All these reasons make homework touch, difficult and in a way boring to do. This makes me think about how school would be without homework. I could play tennis all evening, or just go home and relax and watch TV all night! Well, KEEP DREAMING, Nikhil!

 

BEING RESPONSIBLE IS DIFFICULT by Sara Baskar

BEING RESPONSIBLE IS DIFFICULT

What is responsibility? I think that responsibility is knowing what’s right, and preventing others from doing wrong, no matter how it affects you. Weighing your options and considering them carefully, choosing the one which is best. Keeping your possessions neatly where you can find them easily if needed. Not trying to shirk your duty – doing as much as you can, not just skimming the surface.

This is why I feel that being responsible is quite difficult. In other words, stopping the impulse to do something crazy and reckless is hard. “Don’t go near the swimming pool, it’s not safe”, I’ll say, although I want to jump into the cool, refreshing water myself. Since I am the eldest child in my apartment, I am entrusted with quite a lot of responsibility.

Some of the adults compare me with their children, which I really don’t like. They say, “Look, Sara is listening to her mother”, or “Put your sweater on! See, Sara is wearing her sweater”. This is one reason why being responsible is difficult. I feel a bit uncomfortable as I don’t want to be considered prissy and perfect. I’m not a “good girl”, that is for sure. However, I can be responsible if I try.

Responsibility is a crucial quality in life and I know that I should develop it now. Some of the smaller children are only allowed on the terrace without an adult if I am there. I have to “keep an eye” on these children. Since I feel quite grown up doing this, I do it to the best of my ability. Push them on the swing. Run after them. Steer them away from the swimming pool. Through it all I have a lot of fun!

However, sometimes even this responsibility is tough. Once I was asked to look after two little boys. Without their mother to rein them in, both Ryaan and Nabeel ran wild. They disobeyed everything I said. “Come back here!” I called frantically to Nabeel, who insisted on running near the swimming pool. When their mother arrived, I was breathless and very annoyed.

Responsibility – I have gotten used to it and sometimes I even enjoy it. I feel proud that adults trust me with their children. It’s nice to know that I’m the “big girl”. I feel good when I realize that adults want their children to follow my example. Yes, there are plus points to being responsible, too.

However, some people think that I can shoulder an enormous amount of responsibility. They forget that I’m still a child, and sometimes I just want to have fun. During my friend’s birthday party I was asked to make sure no – one littered. I told them not to, but they didn’t listen. I ended up clearing their trash. I had to do it all myself. I felt that this was quite unfair.

Another time, I was told to take care of Carol, an energetic four – year – old girl who just wouldn’t keep still. I didn’t know Carol at all. She was a stranger, a guest at someone else’s party. Her parents were    no – where to be seen. My friends and I made sure she was safe and within our sights. When the party was over, we found Carol’s parents, and delivered her to them.

A horrible incident once happened in my apartment. It concerned a very badly behaved boy. He kept on doing nasty things to others and the problem worsened each day. Finally no – one wanted to play with him anymore. I was brought before his mother, who scolded me badly. Why? She did it because I was the oldest. I was shocked and extremely upset that she had raised her voice to me. I ran away as fast as I could.

So this is another reason why being responsible is extremely difficult. What about my possessions? Well, that’s a whole different story…

My study table is so cluttered that I cannot find anything on it. “Oh no, where is my physics worksheet?” I exclaimed in dismay one morning. Where was it? I had to find it before going to school, because I had to submit it that day.

I dug through piles of stuff on my study table, shoving books aside, sifting through useless, dry color pens, fingers barely escaping the shards of a broken ruler. I’m so clumsy and disorganized, and I couldn’t find my physics worksheet! At last I retrieved it from under a mountain of loose papers. “There it is!” I cried out, very relieved.

Hear me out on this one.My mother had a watch, a really beautiful one, strung with small, milky – white pearls and a delicate silver clasp. I coveted that watch, and thought it was so elegant. Then one day my mother said that I could have the watch! I was delighted beyond words. I immediately slipped it onto my hand. Every so often I would glance at it, looking at the tiny, silver, ticking hands that told me the time. I was so thrilled to own such a wonderful watch!

Calamity struck two days later. I was at a friend’s house, wearing that lovely watch. We were sitting on the bed and playing a game. Absentmindedly, I fiddled with the watch. I took hold of one of the pearl strands and twisted it around my finger. The string was frail, and it snapped. The precious pearls clattered to the ground, and the dial fell on the bed.

“Oh, no!” I wailed, close to tears. “My watch! How could I have been so careless?” The watch was broken and could not be repaired. I was so disappointed! I had       no – one to blame but myself. My mother, seeing how sad and guilty I was feeling, did not scold me.

So there are good and bad sides to being responsible. In my opinion, you should enjoy the positive side and accept the negative side. Only then, responsibility will seem easier. Now I’ve finished, so I am going to put my papers away like a responsible girl!

                                    THE END

 

Video Game Addiction by Hasi Kolongahapitiya

Video games- What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I say this? For me it's a-d-d-i-c-t-i-o-n. Do you have the same word coming to your mind? Then you have quite a common problem called video game addiction and if you have it (probably not) we share a common problem. If you do have it we might share a lot in common so come on in. (Even if you don't have it come in :P)

Well, now that you have decided to stay (yay) I will give you some proof which proves I am not lying.

So, do you know how everyone gets angry one way or another at some point in life? Not me. I get angry when I am not allowed to play my video games. Yes, all the time. Whenever I ask to play I beg and beg but when my mom says NO (it's undeniable) I get so angry I start yelling and go to my room and stay inside for about an hour. (Yes, to answer your question, I stay in my room doing nothing).

Do you like homework or any kind of work for that matter? Well, neither do I and because I don't like doing work, I play for long periods of time. When I head home from school I always watch a bit of TV for around half an hour and then always, and I mean always, go to my laptop, tell my parents I am going to do homework and do you know what I really do? Yep, you guessed it. I play games, watch games do ANYTHING related to games just to get out of doing work and I do this for about an hour until I stop and start doing my homework. (Man, I really have to get rid of some of these habits).

Also, you know that feeling you get when you are bored and you absolutely HAVE to just HAVE to do something? I do. Most of the time. Because I am so addicted I get really bored doing anything but playing games or watching TV. No, really I get bored within 10 minutes of studying (don't we all), 10 minutes of eating, even 10 minutes of SLEEPING. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? This may very well be the source of my addiction. Now, we are almost done, I think I should summarize so let's start.

So, we are at the end of our journey together and I have a few more things to say. I know I am addicted yet I cannot seem to stop playing. Now that you have read about the sources, why I am addicted etc. what do you think?

By Hasi 6C

 

My Mother is My Inspirational Character by Aviva Jalona

My Mother is My Inspirational Character

            Well, I would think that people would have lots of inspiration. Sometimes people find inspiration in forms of nature and books. Can you think of anymore? I can think of lots of them. The one I’ve noticed most commonly is inspiration through a person. People can come through to you in many ways, maybe by words or actions, and I am constantly connected with that through my mother. For one thing she’s a life- saver. There are many ways in which she also takes care of me. The most important of all is that she takes me through hard times.

            To be someone’s inspiration, you have to be something special. Well my mother, first of all, is a life- saver. She does save my life all the time. One such time was when I hadn’t packed my bag in the night. In the morning I packed everything but I thought that something was missing. Oh no! My Physics notebook!  I called my mother. We searched everywhere and finally we found it. My mother made me realize that I should have packed my bag in the night.

            How about another reason? She takes care of me in many ways. She makes sure I’m always in the correct uniform and that I have my ID card so that I can board the bus. She always wakes me up early so that I can get ready at ease. She makes my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She’s awesome.

            As well as being awesome, once in a while there are things only a mother can do. One thing that my mother has done all her life is taking me through hard times. In particular, there was one day where I had just come back from school. Usually, I would run and hug my mother but today I didn’t. She immediately knew that something was wrong. When she asked me, I told her that someone had insulted me by saying that I had hair of an elephant’s. She told me,” My dear, people usually criticize people they are jealous of. Sometimes they are just in a bad mood. You should just ignore them. It doesn’t matter what others say. You have the love of both of your parents.” It made me feel very special.

            I realize that when I feel like I need a little magic, my mother comes as an angel to me. She takes care of me, is a life- saver, and takes me through hard times. She was, is, and always will be my inspirational character.

 

How do you Define a friend? by Aarushi Tiwari

How do you Define a friend? How warm is their personality? My definition is most likely to be entirely different to mine - which proves my point- It is hard making new friends.

You may say this proves nothing. But think about it, is it easier to befriend someone who is similar to you, or totally different?Continue reading my essay to see why I think so.

The first word that comes to one's mind when you hear the word friend is "Trustworthy". To be a good friend, you should be good at keeping a secret. Me? I can't do that. Often, when someone tells me something, I go around, with it at the back of my mind. Soon, i say it out when I least intend to, and soon everyone knows.

Once, my opposite neighbor told me about a lovely, enclosed garden with many butterflies. Of course, I was so excited, I told every one. Soon, it was bulldozed off its vegetation, and the butterflies flew away.

See, I can't keep a secret confidential. Once, I was cycling with one of my acquaintances: Vanessa. I was talking about something when somehow the story changed to something personal that irked her. We never spoke after that.

Keeping of secrets is not the only thing that makes a friend desirable. Another is being "Cool". What is cool for one person may not be so for another. Many people who I am acquainted with only befriend people who fit in to their definition of cool. I hardly ever fit into their definition. According to some of them, I should change. Why should I change for someone else? I am  who I am and will be who I want to be. No one change That. Those who try are on a wild goose chase. 

Finding a friend and fitting into their definition of cool is not easy. But what is even harder is getting along with their friends. I once happened to have a misunderstanding with a friend's friend, and my friend stopped talking to me. We soon drifted away.

 

Even if I do find a like minded person who appreciates me for who I am, it is often so that he or she is apart of a large group. I have nothing against That, but when in the group, all of them talk about subjects of common interest between them. They laugh at things I can't make sense of, as I am new to their group. I feel like the black sheep.

Once I had a friend, Nionika. She was a very talkative girl who it was fun being with. But, when with her other friends, she talked about the dance class they attended together. I constantly felt left out of conversations in the group, and slowly withdrew myself. 

Over the years, I have a few close friends and together we are a group of like-minded, fun-loving tweens.  

I FREEZE UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT by Harrsha Kumar Pradeep

I FREEZE UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT        

 The slightest thought of public speaking can bring an overwhelming fear to most people. It can cause someone to shake, sweat, and sometimes even have palpitations when it’s mentioned. It is true; I literally ice over when everybody else is staring at me. My muscles tense up, I start panting and I cannot move, speak, or do anything.  In addition, as my parents know that I have this fear, they always encourage me to do activities related to performing, like debating, narrating for plays etcetera and that really incenses me!

 

          I think I fear this because I really do not like being the centre of attention. I am 200% positive that I am not the only one in the approximate 6 billion people in the earth that feels this way. For example, my friend Shaunak really dislikes performing in front of audiences.  Many people might not identify that flaw as soon as they meet me, but this is the way that I feel. An instance of this is when the teacher asks me the answer to a question; the whole class starts to look at me as if they are giving death stares. I find that position awkward and uncomfortable.

  

The other underlying fact about this fear is that I wonder what people will think of me if I say or do the wrong thing. I am afraid that they will think that I am a bad person when I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong. I started thinking like this when my family and I went to see a pantomime. The lead actor fumbled up her lines and after the show, everybody including my parents was talking about him. It soon became the local gossip.

 

 

I don’t want to be an object of ridicule or be vulnerable to teasing so that is why I avoid participating in things like public speaking. Maybe even if people do their performances without a hitch, they still get teased by others based on the fact that they went up on stage. Moreover, I don’t want that happening to me.

 

In conclusion, as I was writing this I myself discovered that I should get rid of this fear and stand up to it. In other words, I have realized that I should get used to being the centre of attention, ignore what people think, and try to overcome this fear. So people who share the same phobia; don’t rate yourself on what others think of you, rate yourself based on how you think of yourself.

 Harrsha Kumar Pradeep

MY MOM IS MY INSPIRATION by Aishwarya Vepa

MY MOM IS MY INSPIRATION

 

Every mom influences their kid to push and do something. I know one mom who does just that. Can you guess who I'm talking about?!?! MY MOM!!!!! She is the only person I can trust... She inspires me with everything she does, from waking up in the morning, to sleeping in the night. Her day starts at 5:00 in the morning, and she cooks lunch and breakfast for me and my sister, so that means double the food. As you can see my mom is very hard working. Her day ends at 11:00 in the night.

 

 

She is very kind and nice. She takes me to places at the last minute for school work and project because I don't tell her on time.

 

There was a time when I had a project and I needed pictures really bad. I forgot about it so I remembered it in the last minute and my mom took me out to print out the pictures.

 

My mom doesn't get much free time or entertainment because she is always working in the kitchen and she is always on her feet!

 

no matter how much work my mom has, she is always there for me whenever I need her. If I want her to help because I don't understand something or I want her to help me study, she is always ready to help. The little time my mom gets for entertainment, goes for a waste because I'm always interfering in it.

 

My mom is very hardworking because she is always on her feet and she always puts in her full potential in whatever she does. When my mom cooks, it tastes different because she cooks with her heart  and soul....and she puts in a lot of love  in her food. That's why her food tastes soooooooooooooooo divine and amazing!

 

 

MY MOM DEFINITION:

 

 CARING

LOVING

BEAUTIFUL

KIND&NICE

SMART

BEST FRIEND

STRONG

FUN

AMAZING

PROTECTIVE

HARDWORKING

INSPIRATIONAL

SUPERWOMEN

SUPPORTIVE

WILLING

FEARLESS

COURAGEOUS

BRAVE


As I say this I am realizing that if it weren't for my mom, I wouldn't be alive. She is the reason for who I am today. Without her I wouldn't be alive........

 

 

 

I’m The Lion among The Tigers by Joel Tony

I’m The Lion among The Tigers

 

        I’m the lion among the tigers. Yes, I’m different. I’m not the Max. I ain’t the Bob. I’m the one and only Joel. I have a different opinion. Different talents and different interests.

      

       I have a different opinion. In other words I don’t think in the same way about things just as you do. That is I have a different thought process. As I’m saying this I’m realizing that you might not think this is my best effort, but I do think this is my best effort. An example of this is I think the best footballer in the world is Messi, but on the other hand Andy’s crazy about Ronaldo. This is telling me that I may be different; if I can be different, then so can others, thus I must respect their opinion as well. Another example of this is my friend Luke is just crazy about sundaes, especially from Swensens. But I just like a single scoop with lots of toppings. Now, let’s move on to talents, shall we?

 

       I’m probably not the best at everything. That’s because I have different talents. Nick’s good at cricket. I DO doubt if I can even play cricket at all. But I’m pretty good at athletics. He has a different strength. His talent is cricket while mine’s athletics. The important thing about this is the fact that one should realize their talent and follow it. We do use our talents all the time, especially during group work. We must use our own talents to solve part of the challenge or problem given to us. If we work like this we can overcome it together. Another example is I’m good at academics while Mark might not understand something thought in class. I can use my talent and help him understand the concept. But mark’s a pro in football. He can help me to get even better in football, which is his talent.

 

       I have a different interest. In other words I spend my time in a way that is different from what you do. For example I love reading biographies and autobiographies of sportsmen, but if you compare me with John he doesn’t read the lives of sportsmen but developmental books. This shows that we will spend different amount of time for our interests as compared to others. Another example of this is, in school my favorite period is PE, while Nathan’s favorite period is Library. Which means I’m interested in sports but Nathan on the other hand is interested in reading. As I say this I’m realizing that we spent time doing things that isn’t our favorite thing to do. So Nathan still comes for PE and I still do other periods like Chemistry. As I’ve said so much about being different, I think it’s time for me to conclude.

 

       I conclude by saying I’m different from others because I have a different opinion. That is I think differently about the same thing and have a different thought process. My 2^nd reason of why I’m different is because I have different talents. I am not good at the same thing you are good at. My 3^rd and final reason was I have different interests. In other words I enjoy different things as compared to you. Well … can you think about you being different as being compared to others? I hope you can!

Someone who Loves Me by Suhani Kunam

SOMEONE WHO LOVES ME!

By: Suhani Kunam

          Have you ever thought about what your mom does for you? Or an important factor about your mom that you admire? For me, my mom does so much, that I will need a 100 years for me to explain every single little thing that she does for me. Since I don’t have that much time, I am going to tell you 2 of them in this essay. The first one is that, she gives up what she likes for me. And the second is that she does the ultimate best she can possibly do for me. And the most important factor that I admire in her is that she is really hard working.

       

        My mom gives up what she likes for me. An example where I can prove this was when my family had moved from U.S to here. And in U.S she used to work. But here she isn’t because she thought it might be hard for me to adjust here so she gave up something she liked which is her work for me.

 

        My mom is so nice that on my 9^th birthday my mom had planned a surprise trip for me. I was sleeping on my bed when I felt someone move me somewhere. I was too sleepy to open my eyes. The next morning as the sun rays fell on my face, I opened my eyes and all I can see is a beautiful beach. I was so surprised and confused, but I still thanked my mom so much. It was the most amazing time ever.

 

        I am sure you think there is one factor in your mom that you admire. In my mom the factor which I admire is that she is hard working. Why I say this is because when I was first born she had done her MASTERS. Most moms wouldn’t have been able to do their MASTERS when their first child was around a month old. But my mom did and she must be hard working to do so.

 

        MY MOM is very special to me and very unique as well. She might not be perfect, but she still is the BEST MOM EVER!