Anecdotes and Realizations

I used to scoff at the "MUN kid" stereotype. Obnoxious, bratty, condescending. "You don't know that also aa?"  I was not that kid. I was the kid who aced the tests, who would write an opinionated essay but whose ears would block out when handed a microphone. The one that said 'phew' after getting off stage. Going from that to winning awards at Model United Nations conferences was a plot twist Abbas-Mustan couldn't have predicted. 2023 was just one new experience after the other and I forgot to sit back for a minute and reflect on how much I'd changed. It was when my first grade teacher Kamakshi Aunty commented on a profile photo of me addressing a gathering saying "I'm so glad you finally overcame your fear of public speaking" that I realised that a change had happened at all.  In kindergarten, I was given an important set of lines in a skit for Independence Day. I came to school lines in hand, stuffed into an uncomfortable Nehru co

 It was recently Valentine's Day. The day where we commemorate the violent death of a saint by giving each other flowers and chocolates. Maybe when Oprah dies we can burst party-poppers.  Valentine's Day has lost its fervour. Sure, the consumerist "bonanza sales" and "heart-shaped pizzas" made the rounds in our circle but noone truly cared about the day. But I did. I always did. As a child, my favourite movie was always 'Dil to Pagal Hai'. Madhuri Dixit has a scene in which her friend (named Anjali, ironically enough) asks her why she spent so much money on herself for Valentine's Day. Madhuri replied that until she found the one destined for her she would love herself. She then proceeded to hop, skip and jump into the arms of a young Shahrukh Khan.  I never expected love in that sense. I didn't make sense of it either. It was just something that would happen one day I used to think. But coming to a new school changed my idea of it a little b

 It's been eight months since I last wrote a blog. I've barely written anything this year, apart from schoolwork, helping friends with their write-ups or IP articles. This year has been full of laughter, life, dancing, singing, winning, trying new things, putting myself out there, getting confident, talking to new kinds of people and seeing incredible things. But when I see the year-end reels and the gratitude messages, I find it all a little misleading. This year was painful at times. There were a lot of anxious nights and moments of self-doubt. There were times I wondered what I was doing here and whether there was hope for tomorrow.  Everyone is writing resolutions for 2024. "In 2024, I'll be happy" "In 2024, I'll exercise" "In 2024 I'll find my soulmate" We assume that we have it in our hands to make the next year perfect. Last New Year's Eve I sat crying at 12 AM worrying about my boards and hoping 2023 would be better. 2023 ha

 I've recently grown more interested in the area of screenplay writing and all the creative processes that go behind movie-making. I picked up a book, 'Save the Cat', at my aunt's house from my cousin's bookshelf. 'Save the Cat' by Blake Snyder is a crash course on screenwriting. It's short, extremely readable and doesn't waste your time. I pulled an all-nighter that night, reading it from 3 to 6 AM. In retrospect, I should probably re-read it. I'm not sure how much of it I've absorbed since I remember another decision I made at 6 AM was to wake my father up and alert him that the sun was rising and it was too beautiful to miss and waste sleeping. Yowza.  But, don't worry. My father hath forgiven me. In fact, he suggested we watch some 'classic' movies he had kept saved for a while. So we sat down to watch an Italian movie - Cinema Paradiso.  Cinema Paradiso is a heartwarming kind of story. It opens with our hero - Salvatore , get