I won't be here this week...

Dear lovely readers,

It's been a while since I wrote you something fresh. And tomorrow, I'll be leaving on train for a 5 day adventure camp in Mussoorie with my fellow school students. So you won't see anything new from me this week :( And so I say this holding my ears, standing on one leg: I'm sorry!

My life this week has been that crazy mix of thought and reality which is familiar to every teenager. I've stumbled through irrational irritation, foolish fantasies, crazy comparisons and serious self evaluation. And yes, there was shopping :P

Yesterday my diary entry read "I hope I'll have the strength to weather the storms and come out stronger". Might seem rather heavy for the summer holidays, but it makes sense to me. Especially since my "be positive" week turned into my "grumble about the heat" week instead. But jokes apart, high expectations sure do crash when you don't have optimum habits. I've not been able to give as much time to hobbies as I planned because my weekend(holiday) custom is to get up late and while away the major part of the day. Obviously, this diktat was not planned with the last summer vacation in mind. So while my homework is getting completed on schedule, I don't feel satisfied or convinced that I'm doing the best I can in my holidays. But like an incorrigible optimist, I still hope the rest of the week, and the rest of the holidays will be better.

I'm leaving you this week with some of my newly discovered poems. Do read them, think about them and share your thoughts! And of course, please do enjoy the rest of your week :) Bye-bye!

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One Inch Tall   by   Shel Silverstein

If you were only one inch tall, you'd ride a worm to school. The teardrop of a crying ant would be your swimming pool. A crumb of cake would be a feast And last you seven days at least, A flea would be a frightening beast If you were one inch tall. If you were only one inch tall, you'd walk beneath the door, And it would take about a month to get down to the store. A bit of fluff would be your bed, You'd swing upon a spider's thread, And wear a thimble on your head If you were one inch tall. You'd surf across the kitchen sink upon a stick of gum. You couldn't hug your mama, you'd just have to hug her thumb. You'd run from people's feet in fright, To move a pen would take all night, (This poem took fourteen years to write-- 'Cause I'm just one inch tall). ------------------------------------------------- "Hope" is the thing with feathers   by   Emily Dickinson    "Hope" is the thing with feathers— That perches in the soul— And sings the tune without the words— And never stops—at all— And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard— And sore must be the storm— That could abash the little Bird That kept so many warm— I've heard it in the chillest land— And on the strangest Sea— Yet, never, in Extremity, It asked a crumb—of Me.  --------------------------------------------------- Trees   by   Joyce Kilmer   I think that I shall never see A poem as lovely as a tree.  A tree whose hungry mouth is prest  Against the earth's sweet flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in Summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain. Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree. --------------------------------------------------- I sit and think  by   J.R.R. Tolkien I sit beside the fire and think of all that I have seen, of meadow-flowers and butterflies in summers that have been; Of yellow leaves and gossamer in autumns that there were, with morning mist and silver sun and wind upon my hair. I sit beside the fire and think of how the world will be when winter comes without a spring that I shall never see. For still there are so many things that I have never seen: in every wood in every spring there is a different green. I sit beside the fire and think of people long ago, and people who will see a world that I shall never know. But all the while I sit and think of times there were before, I listen for returning feet and voices at the door.

Rains...

A delightful dust storm is blowing up. After so many days of hot summer, it's a real treat to even have to have the  prospect of good rains.

When the horizon is covered by grey clouds and the air appears in sepia tones so that even the erstwhile sunny morning looks like evening, it's a joyous occasion.

Do you like the rain?

*Sigh* the fresh cool wind. Have you felt it?

The exciting thought that any minute, the clouds will burst. The patience until it does.

The flapping curtains, the clothes waving on the clothesline.

The feeling that your mind has reached a high place.

The tree leaves as they dance and sing.

The birds frantically searching for shelter or flying freely in their element, however you look at it

A tiny drizzle of raindrops teasing and easing us into playfulness

Bird calls, noises and the brightness of a new day, whatever the time is

Every gust of that fresh, cool wind that comes from who knows where and simply exists

The thick clouds, hiding the sun and the sky, but helping us find that special place in our hearts.

Remembering the good times that lift up our hearts

Celebrating the fact that there must be so many others all over the world who thrill with the rains

Feeling a touch of inexpressible joy and sweetness, no matter how it turns out.

Oh, who can resist it?



--- And if this post seems different from what I normally write, hope you like it! Enjoy your day :-)

Feels perfect for the rains!

(Image from : http://inhabitat.com/breakthrough-invisibility-cloak-will-help-develop-more-efficient-solar-cells)

Missed me? Welcome Summer Holidays!

Image from:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/24211276@N05

It's been a while since I updated my blog; Two weeks and three days in fact. Events in these two weeks have been plenty exciting and though I won't mention all of them, I'm sure you'll forgive me. Lots of things had captured my attention and to be honest, I'm glad with the way I've pulled through.

My diary mentions the following significant events:

• Being elected as President Student Council of my school and liking my photo in the Investiture ceremony
• Discovering that I badly need a break from studies and from my whole environment
• Studying grudgingly for my first unit tests of 12th class
• My grumbling about the hot weather
• The Talent Hunt which, despite making me sad with my performance, strongly highlighted where I needed to improve
• My receiving happily the Unit Test papers in which I had done well 
• My realising, after the first Student Parliament in school, that the power holders are always attacked with criticism and complaints and most importantly
• Discovering in daily life many of the learnings that I've been ignoring

But for now, I'm in my Summer Holidays! An amazing block of time that officially started on the 14th and will end on the 4th of July. I have big plans this time, especially considering that these will be my last summer holidays  in school ever again (another curse of 12th class). I'll write an ode on missing and leaving them behind another time though. For now, I want to focus on the possibilities.

I could while away my days watching TV, following little whims and fancies throughout the day, randomly surfing on the net and all the other procrastination-based tasks aimed at one thing: escaping the secret fear that I have nothing to do. While the whole day stretches with the nothingness from which things are made, I stand baffled while my inner critic rules out one option after another, helped by my lazy side. Eventually, I would have forced myself to make some trifling achievements (courtesy of my mood swings), enjoyed a few sundry events(courtesy of my luck), but I would feel bad that I didn't reach my potential. And the worst part, that I wasn't in enough control.

The thing about summer holidays is, it leaves you with yourself...if you choose. So what's the cure? Don't be alone. Be intensely with the world, even if you're by yourself. If you feel yourself as part of the world, you won't be lonely. And not being lonely gives you the motivation for a lot of things right? After all, time hasn't stopped. You just have an opportunity to realise it in a new way, on your own terms.

So what are these big plans I'm alluding to? Studies obviously are part of the plan (it's 12th, go figure). I even had to cancel an exciting trip to Cuttack with friends to hang around in Maths tuition. Ah well. But I plan to make it worth it. So my first challenge is: Make maths fun. Gulp.

Other challenges related to studies include completing my holiday homework in a low-stress and actually useful way, you know, with really learning something along the way. And this is a challenge only because I'm a chronic last-minute-work-completer. Added to that is the tall order of doing self study every day (too much italics?)

But my really fun plans are the ones which involve my hobbies and explorations. I plan to work on piano and writing, read new books, watch new movies, visit friends and finally sit down and research career options. Yeah, that's a lot to do. But I've got my last (and hopefully best) summer vacation to do it.

And you know why I'm writing all this down? To make sure I stick to it. Having it published on my blog does add an ounce of resolution to my mission. So wish me luck readers! I'll be back later this week with another post.




To all other students, wish you an awesome vacation ahead :)