My Personal Essay by Arshiya Chaudhary

My personal essay

Sometimes people ask me how often I plan, honestly speaking never. I mean many people do plan but me NO! I am the kind of person who does not plan but leaves things for the last minute basically when I have to do homework, when I’m travelling and when I have to go to school. Honestly who likes homework? I hate homework. Who is this person who invented homework? I hate doing my homework but leave it for the last minute. We had to submit our physics project my project. The next day I woke up I remembered about my on Friday so on Thursday I was doing other stuff that I completely forgot about project and I told my mom that I forgot about my project. I started to cry. Finally my mom said that I could take a day of and finish my physics project. This reminds me of, last-last summer we were going to my grandparents’ house and me and my mom were packing our bags the night before. The next day before leaving I did not check my bag again because I thought that I had everything. When we reached there my stomach started hurting, so my mom said that she would check in my bag for my medicine, but she could not find it. My stomach started hurting a lot by now but I stayed calm. My mom started checking in her bag, inn my brothers bag and in my dad’s bag but she could not find it.I could not bear the pain anymore .Luckily my grandma had the same medicine. This brings me to I always pack my bag in the morning. Many times I forget my stuff at home. One day I forgot my math homework and my pencil pouch. When I was in the bus I realized that I left my homework and pouch on my table. I was really scared, my heart skipped a beat. When I reached school I saw that the first two periods were math I could not do anything. I had to borrow a pen from my friend. All of this brings me to realize that if I do things at the last moment there’s a lot of commotion and I become like a small mouse In front of the mighty Himalayas , mighty Mt. Everest

Where Brave Heart Dwells Arnav Chaudhary

                                        Where Brave Heart Dwells

Arnav Chaudhary

I have found that I don’t run away from situations and people. I don’t run away when people challenge me or when they are mean.

Once me and my friends were talking when a huge guy came up to us. My friends ran but I stayed. The guy took my glasses and said “I’m goanna break your glasses,” I grinned and said “I’d like to see you try,” He hesitated for a moment. Then he gave my glasses back. This made me realize that I can stay calm almost always.

Once someone challenged me to climb a wall with a ledge going across it in some places the ledge stopped and there was a concrete bump I accepted the challenge and won. This made me realize that I always take challenges no matter how impossible they seem.

Once Ishan punched me on the nose. I clutched my nose for a moment and then I said “Do you know how much that hurts! It hurts like this!!! ,” I punched him on the nose with a lot of force. For a moment nothing happened, then he gave a cry of pain and his nose started to bleed. This made me realize that I retaliate.

I have realized that I am not a coward and that I do not run away.

                               

Love To Make Others Happy By Anvita Vishwanathan

To start with, I’m the kind of person who really loves to make others happy, especially because helping someone is rewarded, when I make someone else feel good I feel good and others always remember me for good. A few examples are narrated below. As I write them, I get stronger in my opinion about myself.

A Piece of Cake

“It’s time to cut the cake!” the birthday girl yelled. As we all received slices of cake, I noticed that there wasn’t enough cake for everyone. A girl named Pragya didn’t receive a slice. I hated that frown. Even if I didn’t know her, that doesn’t mean I can’t be nice to her.

I went to her and gave her my slice of cake. She was confused at first, but I explained to her that I felt bad for her and insisted that she had the cake I had given her. We both chatted and became instant fiends.

A few days later, when I was dying of boredom, the bell rang. I opened the door and was surprised to see Pragya standing in the hall. I also noticed that she was carrying the most magnificent gingerbread house I had ever seen!

“Thanks so much for giving me your slice of cake!”

“No problem!” I said. “But, um… why do you have a gingerbread house?”

“It’s for you!”

“Thank you so much Pragya!” I exclaimed, feeling deeply pleased that she wanted to give me the gingerbread house.

This incident shows me that I love helping people. If I can do something nice for someone, I will. And, who knows? Someone you helped might repay you with kindness. I don’t need rewards all the time. Sometimes, a smile is agood reward. I don’t know why, but I feel happy when someone smiles because of me. I can prove it with this example.

LOST

I was aimlessly walking through the racks of clothes, when I heard someone crying. It was a little boy (probably about four years old). I felt sorry for him and decided to help him.

I walked up to him, and asked gently, “What’s wrong?” He shied away at first, but realized I wanted to help.

“I can’t find mommy! I looked for her, but she isn’t there!” he wailed. I told him to relax. “Take deep breaths. We’ll find your mother, okay? I’m here to help.” I wasted no time and started searching.

I was sure his mother was also looking for him, so I watched for any woman who looked like she was desperately looking for something.

Ten minutes passed…

Twenty minutes passed…

Thirty minutes passed…

But no sign of the boy’s mother.

After an hour of searching, I found an adult who had the bills stapled to the bags, but she was still looking for something or someone. I guessed that she was his mo, so I asked, “Areyou looking for something?”

“Yes!” she cried. “I’m looking for my son! Have you seen him?” I guided her towards her son, explaining what had happened.

Once she saw him, she told him to never disappear like that ever again. I think the smiles on their faces was reward enough. It sounds cheesy, but it’s true. If I make someone smile, I feel good. To me, there is only one reward that is better: when I’m rememberedfor good. An example of this is-

An Old Friend

I was alone in the park, when I heard sobbing, as quiet as a whisper. A girl my age was sitting on a bench, crying. She looked dreadfully upset. I felt bad for her, so I decided to talk to her.

I asked, “Why are you crying?”

“I overheard my ‘so called friends’ talking about me. They said that they just pretended to be my friends!” she replied. She broke down and told me everything. I had been in similar situations, so I knew exactly what she was talking about. I shared some of my experiences and over time, we became close friends. We talked and played, but one day she couldn’t take the teasing anymore.

She came to me, crying, saying that she’ll never go to school again. After she calmed down, I said, “you know, you’re one of the kindest person I have ever met. If they don’t want to be your friends, that’s their loss, not yours.” As I spoke, I realized the truth in those words. She did to. She smiled and said, “You’re right. They’re missing out, not me. I have a good friend right next to me.”

A few years later, she called me from the USA. I was quite pleased that she still remembered me for the good deeds I had committed. With this, I can conclude that-

These stories are important because they prove that I will help anyone in need. I’ve realized that I like having a positive atmosphere around me. The reasons are simple. 1- kindness is rewarded. 2- I smile when someone else does. 3- kindness is always remembered. Going forward, I should make sure that I am not taken advantage of, but I shall certainly do the best I can to help someone smile.

Thank You For Reading!!

My Embarrassing Story A personal essay by: Advika Yavagal

My Embarrassing Story

A personal essay by: Advika Yavagal

        People get embarrassed, it’s a natural feeling. What people need to know about me is that I get embarrassed very easily. I get embarrassed during PTM’s, whenever my brother is around, and if I score badly on tests. This is something that I always used to deny but now I’ve come to realize. These are multiple incidents to prove how I get embarrassed easily.

        My first place where I get embarrassed easily is during PTM’s. Here is a short flashback that happened. PTM’s were tomorrow and I was begging the clock to go slower as every minute passed! PTM’s are fine; I just don’t like sitting there when my mom and the teacher are talking. In other words I get embarrassed if the teacher praises me or the opposite! My mom also asks a thousand questions if I don’t understand something. Moms do that but I prefer not being there. Moms! Especially mine since I’m new, my mom is always asking a lot of questions and bugging my friends during PTM’s. Of course my mom’s curious but I feel like I’m in the spotlight, not the kind! This is making me realize that I shouldn’t get embarrassed or care what people think! Still…. PTM’s are not the only times when I get embarrassed, my brother is a part of it too.

        My brother is really cute and I love him don’t get me wrong on that, but he’s also very annoying and embarrassing especially when my friends are around. He always wants to be the center of attention and is constantly talking, usually whatever he’s saying is embarrassing. Since he is four, people find it cute. Then there’s me who gets embarrassed because I’m the girl that yelled at her adorable brother! Now I’ve realized that he’s young and just wants to be a part of things. I should include him. That’s taken care now….. if I score bad on tests and people find out, I don’t get mad, I get embarrassed, badly!

        I love math! In U.S. I would ace all my math exams. But when it came to our history test, that was my weak spot! An incident was in U.S. when we got our history papers back, I hadn’t done terrible but I hadn’t aced it. I am naturally a competitive person so when my best friend had scored the highest I was upset when I should have been happy for her. As I am saying this I realize that my competitiveness got the best or worst of me which is why I got embarrassed!

        As you can see, I’m a human who gets embarrassed, just a little easier than most people. During PTM’s, when my brother is around, and if I score badly on tests are just three examples of when this feeling occurs. It is not something I’m proud of but hopefully can fix as a New Year’s Resolution maybe. Putting it on paper makes it easier!

MY PRIZED POSSESSION by Vinaya Seshan

MY PRIZED POSSESSION

Everybody has a preferred gift: toys, games, chocolates, bags and what not. Furthermore, every gift has the following: firmitas (strength), utilitas (a use/ purpose) and venustas (beauty); without these a gift is not a gift. I received my favorite present the second I was born. The peaceful, purple ribbon perfectly tied in a bow held my most valuable treasure together: MY MOTHER- limited edition, exclusive and highly flammable. Terms & conditions apply!!!

Mother’s physical strength is the least to worry about as it’s the strength in character which matters the most (at least for me).

Opening the gift started with exploring her sensitivity to others. Not just me but anybody who is emotionally troubled. This makes her a role model of a kind. Moreover, when I have conversations with her about my friends and myself, she speaks to me as if she is 13 years old. This shows how my mother can adapt to one’s way of understanding.

Likewise, mother teaches me life lessons with small yet affective stories or incidents leaving a scar of hope through every step of my life. An example of this is how she reacted because of my flippant attitude towards music. She said, “You have the instrument and the amazing talent and yet aren’t making use of them.” Amma also added her struggle of taking up music when she was a kid..

This made me realize not only the hard work she has put into my life but how I must take advantage of the opportunities I get; I must set goals in life to do the best I can do and finish what I started.

A gift always has a purpose but a mother is a gift who guides you and is always there for you. The special part is how you do the same to her…

Despite saying this, not that I must mention, she is useful in so many ways which include: making milk, making food, sharing feelings, being the most comfortable pillow and much more. Every night after dinner, Amma lets me rest on her tummy, which I use as a pillow to watch TV! Not to mention, the love and happiness she spreads is always comforting. Although, terms and conditions apply!

The beauty of a gift is what gets the receiver to like it. In other words the first impression depends on how appealing or attractive the present looks. A friend of mine once said, “Everybody is beautiful in their own way.” I realized this as soon as my mother entered my life. Amma may not be slim and attractive like Aishwarya Rai but certainly is perfect at heart. As I write this, she probably is so conscious about her looks but doesn’t know that she’s amazing just the way she is! Maa consciously asks looking at a mirror, “Have I lost weight?” but laughs after a long meaningless pause.

My mother’s smile is contagious her voice is something that when I hear brings me calmness and comfort. A heart so pure I have never seen….

To sum it all up, my mother is gifted (pun intended) in a very abstract way. However, one question hit me after I wrote this…..

IF MY MOTHER IS THE BEST GIFT I HAVE EVER GOTTEN, WHY DO I NEED ANY MORE GIFTS???

Books and Laptops by Gokul Balaji

Books and Laptops

Many people how difficult school life is nowadays, especially with BOOKS! We have so many books to carry around. I mean, how often you have seen some children treading to class with their huge bags, trying to sustain their balance. Being a victim myself, I would like to forbid this issue and save the future generations to come. The best part is, the solution is so simple; just use a laptop!

The main reasons I will be covering as to why books are a huge headache include; books are easy to lose; books and worksheets could make a mess; books are hard to carry around. Allow me to elaborate on these in the following paragraphs.

Everyone is busy, and with our hectic day-to-day lives, we tend to lose things from time-to-time, especially with large numbers of books and worksheets. I have lost multiple books and pieces of rushed homework, it’s not funny! I remember, one time when I was packing away on a stressful Monday morning and couldn’t help but notice my due in Physics worksheet was missing. I searched the room frantically but I knew when I got to school, I knew I was in for a toss. However, if the object in question was a laptop, we will naturally value it and keep in a safe place where we KNOW it is.

Another issue that arises is how messy things can get and quick! As we shove more and more books into our lockers and more and more worksheets into our folders, it gets furthermore difficult to flip through and find what we’re looking for. A laptop however, is only the size of one book but can hold the information of a million! Not only that, but you can find exactly what you’re looking for within nanoseconds. I wish that was the case when I was late for French class. Once again, I was chatting away after a long double period. Soon, I realized I had forgotten my French notebook from my locker. Soon I realized I was getting late, thrusting my key into the lock, twisting it side-to-side as if my life depended on it. *Click* I swung the locker open and reached in to grab my book, but all I could see was a void of scattered notebooks and textbooks…

Not only do we need to carry those scoldings on our shoulders, but obviously those darn books as well. Books are matter, we can see them, feel them, and they have mass, a lot of it! Carrying all that weight can cause pain, or even more severe muscle injuries. As I said earlier, some kids walk around with HUGE bags, it would be more pleasant for them, and us to see them, with a smaller bag walking to class in a normal manner.

As we can see, using laptops in school would be far more convenient. This makes me realize how much easier and simpler life can be if we used laptops in school. The main reason why many schools have not initiated this idea, is because children may play games, which is pathetic. This is the child’s loss and not the school’s responsibility. All in all, the disadvantages do not outweigh the benefits in any way and we should have laptops instead of books in school.

Gokul Balaji

"There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind" by Ananya Vepa

“There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind”- C.S. Lewis

“The wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’. I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow.” – Journey

          Change is something we all deal with- change of clothes, change of schools, change of homes, even. Change is necessary, whether we like it or not. I definitely don’t like changes. Or surprises. I hate not knowing what’s going to happen because I’m scared of it, which means I’m probably scared of 90% of the world.

Living in the US was like living in a nice, big bubble. I had little to no experience in other countries. I was oblivious to the world beyond my little bubble. So it came as a shock when my parents casually mentioned that we were moving to India. As in the country, India where cows are everywhere and trash flows like water.

WHAT?

 Sorry, could you repeat that, I thought you said we were moving to the other side of the planet; they couldn’t possibly be serious.

Nope. Turns out it wasn’t a joke. A couple months later, we arrived in the Bangalore airport, ready for our new life. Though in those few months, my sister and I kicked up such a storm and complained like never before. But why was I so against the idea?

I was scared, I guess. I’d been to India before, but staying with your grand-parents for 2 months doesn’t exactly provide enough experience for an 11 year old girl. I’d have to meet NEW PEOPLE and MAKE FRIENDS! How was I supposed to do that AGAIN? It’s exhausting.

          But I was curious too. What were people like in India? Would they like me? And most importantly: Would I be able to start over? “It’s a different experience,” I thought. “ Maybe I’ll like it.”

“NO!” said the other voice in my head. “YOU BELONG HERE WHERE YOU KNOW PEOPLE!”

“But-!”

“YOU DON’T KNOW ANYONE THERE!”

“I have-!”

“THEY WON’T LIKE YOU!”

“I could-!”

“SHUT UP YOU DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!”

As you can see, I have a very conflicted mind.

          But the biggest reason I didn’t want to move: I didn’t want to let go. America was everything I knew. Could I leave my friends, my extended family, my future- just like that? Could I leave Netflix, the weekly stops at Taco Bell, the huge Barnes and Noble 20 minutes away? Would I ever get it back? I didn’t know what I had until I left it, how lucky I was. I figured this out at our 5^th grade graduation party. We went to say goodbye to my favorite teacher, and when I opened my mouth to say ‘thank you’, nothing came out. That was the only time I have ever been truly speechless, when I realized that I would probably never see her again. I just nodded mutely and tried not to cry as my mom said everything for me.

          However, moving to India was not as bad as I thought it would be. The people were nice. The food was nice. The roads were horrible, but I was expecting that. What I wasn’t expecting was all the… acceptance. That was probably the weirdest thing. One day I wasn’t there, the next day I was and it wasn’t a big deal. The other times I had been a new kid, (and I don’t mean to be vain) I was noticed. “Oh my god it’s a new kid, don’t touch her she has cooties!” or “Ha look at how stupid she is, all she does is read.

          But that didn’t happen here, which made it easier to get to know people. By 7^th grade, I was so comfortable, I never wanted to leave! The huge, horrible change I was dreading turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me, and I wouldn’t give it up for the world.

           The moral of the story is…change isn’t as bad as people thought. Or, your expectations might be a little crazier than reality. And don’t get scared by something new, because you only got where you are by… something new. Does that make sense? I dunno.