#37: The Scream

Describe how a piece of art, a work of literature, or a dramatic presentation has had a significant impact on your intellectual development and your appreciation of the fine arts. (Santa Clara University)


One of the weirdest pieces of art I've ever seen is "The Scream", by Edvard Munch. I saw it a long time ago when I was playing games on freerice.com (I even have an account for Free Rice!). The paintings and art I actually looked at before were by artists like Van Gogh and Monet, whose art I found was realistic and neat. My work during that time was realistic and neat, or at least neater than my work now. There's really nothing wrong with being neat, but the problem with me was that I thought that as long as my work was neat and clean, I would be guaranteed a better grade. The content didn't seem as important then. When I saw "The Scream", I actually got a little scared (because it reminded me of the movie Scream), but more importantly I was confused. How could a piece of art as messy and weird as "The Scream" be so famous? My insignificant confusion would be more understandable if I told you that I drew everything with a straight-edge ruler, including curtains, windows, and the grass. Neatness was everything to me, and "The Scream" for me was anything but neat. It had strange swirly lines and the sky was coloured weird and the man was all squiggly! 
As I looked at the painting more and more, I was, in some way, enlightened. I looked up the painting and what I read made me understand why the piece was the way it was. In the end, I liked the piece. It was cool, and it was more personal in an unexplainable way. It really wasn't perfect, but it made sense. I think its imperfectness made it all the more appealing. If it had been a person made normally with straight edges and lines, I'd probably not be as interested as I was. I'd most probably be able to find a million people who could draw "neatly" and "perfectly." 
I learnt from "The Scream". I didn't need to have everything look perfect and clean. I just needed it to make sense and to portray my ideas and thoughts to anyone who was looking at it. Perfect and neat don't equal to good. In fact, neatness doesn't really seem to matter a lot, as my Physics teacher also said last year. It's the content that makes the difference. The ideas in "The Scream" were more important, and if being "messy" got the point across, messy was good. 
"The Scream" also helped me understand other works of art. Works by artists like Pablo Picasso and Mark Chagall were easier to understand. I was surprised to see that amid all the strange colour combinations and overlapping shapes, there was meaning and symbolism. These artists could portray ideas in ways different from other people. In some ways, it is easier to draw a flower than to draw a completely different object that can still show an observer that thing drawn is actually a representation of a flower. In fact, you can find meaning in everything. We managed to make a few triangles represent Gabriel and arrow flaps represent determination and our goals and aims. (the arrow flaps thing is really funny, and it still makes a lot of sense!)
Neat is not always good. Messy is not always bad. Weird is not always bad. Weird is actually very good. "The Scream" might teach you that too.

#81: Interdependent Global Society

 Optimistic futurists envision a world without boundaries; an interdependent global society. Write about your personal impression of this idea. (College of Notre Dame of Maryland)


The idea of a "world without boundaries" is optimistic, that's for sure. An interdependent global society sounds great too, like barter system. The only problem in a future like this is the fact that this future cannot exist, at least not now. I really, really like the idea, but it seems like this vision can never come true because our world cannot be changed. Our world has boundaries, and is reluctant to help and be depended upon from fear of having a loss. We have countries depending on other countries, and the only thing that seems to be resulting from such dependence is countries being pulled down from their full potential. Take the European Union for example. There are countries such as Ireland and Greece that have huge amounts of debts that are bringing down the other member countries of the EU. Member countries of the EU have to take responsibility for a debt that is not theirs, and everyone is suffering from it, especially Germany. (Germany has unfortunately been paying a LOT since the WWII) 
Mutual interdependence is not possible, at least not now. Our world wants to be anything but interdependent. The societies of our world are more like parasites. We are willing to take from others, but very hesitant and reluctant to give most of the time. If we want a world with no boundaries and an interdependent global society, the only way we can accomplish this future is by starting over. A clean slate. Maybe starting anew will give us an opportunity to build our world on a foundation that is smooth and clear rather than one that is uneven and rugged due to our previous actions.
Mutual interdependence has existing in the past. In the past as in long, long way in the past. If it was possible then, it is possible now. We say that we have evolved and learnt from our mistakes. If we've evolved, we can do what our "less evolved" and "less civilized" ancestors managed to do, we can learn if we've been given examples from all throughout time. 
We might not need a clean slate after all. If we learn and make extreme changes to the ways of the world right now, we'd probably be on our way to a interdependent global society with no boundaries.

#185: ?

If you were guaranteed a steadily improving standard of living (in terms of buying power, free time, quality of goods and services, etc.), would you be willing to give up your right to vote? Explain.


I'm 16 years old right now, so I can't vote, but I would give up my right to vote if I was guaranteed a steadily improving standard of living. The right to vote is important, but I've realized that we vote because we want something or someone who can do something good for us. If I've already got what I need the most, I think I would give up my right to vote. I do believe in human rights, but the only reason we need these rights is so that we can do what we want. In my case, my whole life seems to be  good enough. 
I've also realized that I don't vote much for school elections and things. Most of the time, I find flaws in every person, and these flaws cloud my judgement on these candidates. In the end, no one seems to be that great, and I decide not to vote for anyone. 
If I ever do give up my right to vote, I want to have the right to free speech. That way, I could freely express my opinions on running candidates, and maybe, my reasons could help some other person make a decision. I want to be like Boris Yeltsin, who resigned from his position in the Communist Party and managed to criticize the party without being killed (it was during Gorbachev's time). With free speech, I wouldn't be killed, and I would be able to say what I think about people. 
That was what I thought before I started writing this post. I've been thinking about me being happy, but the question doesn't give me an option for other people. If I'm the only happy person under a really bad leader, I'd feel guilty. My vote may have the power to alter the results of an election or change the future of millions of people, and I don't want to make the wrong choice. I don't want to make the wrong choice by having no choice at all when my decision could make an impact. It's not possible to be happy when everyone around you isn't. Sadness is like happiness. James Van Der Zee once said, "Happiness is like a perfume, you can't spread it around without pouring a few drops on yourself. Happiness is infectious, and so is sadness. My happiness will most probably not make a whole population happy, but their sadness will most probably make me feel really, really bad. I don't like having a guilty conscience, so I want my right to vote so I can make a choice that helps people. 
I don't need to have an improving standard of living given to me. I'd rather earn it. That's why I would work and study. What if I spontaneously decide to become a hermit or some nomad with a life completely different from the one being guaranteed to me? I don't need to be given this improving standard of living. I think I'll earn it on my own, so I can decide to adopt or abandon this way of life without having my right to vote being determined by what I want.
While typing the previous paragraph, I realized that I could still be making a big, big mistake. My vote could be what brings the whole thing down. My vote could be the bad thing. And now, I don't know what I would want, but I do know this much; I want what the thing that would benefit a lot of people, not just myself. 

#149: Delhi

Once you have completed your education, would you return to your hometown to begin your adult life? Why or why not? (William and Mary)


I'm not sure right now. My hometown is this big, dirty and VERY polluted city ( Delhi). I hate pollution. It's also really hot during the summer, and I can't find anything to do, ever. I can't stand the heat either. So, I don't think I want to come back, but my hometown would be the ideal place for me to start what I want to do. 
I've wanted to do something related to the environment. We're having a global crisis, and I feel like my hometown is not so concerned with any of the environmental problems we're having. The people don't seem to care much, and what the government does is not so significant either. I want to make a difference, even if it sounds very cheesy. I want people to know the impact of their actions. I want them to care about the problem just as I do. I'm not very religious, and I'm not a Christian either, but I remember this thing we read in the Bible once. It said, "And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own?" (Matthew 7:3) 
This is very relevant to my case. I really, really want to make a change in this world, but I can't change the whole world when the place I come from is in an even worse situation. 
I want to start at home. If I succeed there, then I might go farther. 
As much as I dislike the environment of my hometown, I have to go back. I want to go back. And  I would go back. If the only thing I don't like about my hometown is the environment, I want to change it. That could be the only thing hindering my perspective and opinion of my hometown. I would also go back because I was born in Delhi. You know how they say that the apple never falls far from the tree? It's like that for me. I was born in Delhi, and in the end, I would go back. Truthfully speaking, I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't live there permanently after my education, but I want to go back for some time before I move onto some new place.
People say that you might have to take baby steps to reach your goal. I know I will, and I plan to start by going back to my hometown and making my first step there. 

#129: Fifth Grade

How did you get caught? (Or not caught, as the case may be. (U of Chicago)


I was in fifth grade when I got caught. We had to go to sleep very early, and most of the time, we couldn't. After lights out, I would either read or play some game with my best friend. My best friend has done the weirdest things after lights out. Scaring me with a fake spider and making her own shampoo (by mixing in many, many different things) are just a few. 
It was after lights out and I was bored. I remember watching the floor for almost five minutes. I was that bored. I didn't want to stay in bed anymore if I wasn't going to go to sleep, so I went to my best friend's room. Not surprisingly, she was awake too, and she seemed very bored, so I went to her and we sat in her bed, talking. Talking got boring after a few minutes, and we decided to play a prank. 
I'm sure you've heard of making a person pee when they're sleeping by putting their hands in water. We didn't know whether it was supposed to be cold or hot water, so we went for cold (we couldn't find any hot water anyway). In Edgehill, you sleep in bunk beds. Right below my best friends was a Korean girl who slept a lot. 
We decided to play the trick on her. We got a bowl of cold water and knelt down beside her bed. My best friend tried to make her move so that I could get her hand out from below her blanket. After a few minutes, the Korean girl moved a little and we removed her hand so that it was dangling just above the water.
I held her hand steady as my best friend slowly brought the bowl towards her hand. Just as her fingertips were about to touch the water, she woke up. It was really scary. It wasn't because she was scary, but because she had opened her eyes so suddenly. She gave us a weird look. 
We told her that we saw her hand hanging out of her blanket and that we were trying to put it back in so she wouldn't feel cold. We didn't actually tell her that clearly because we were laughing too much. My best friend quickly hid the bowl behind her as we told her to go back to sleep. 
She did go back to sleep, and we didn't get to try the trick on her, or anyone else for that matter. We got caught, and we didn't want to risk anything. Ironically, just a few weeks ago, I had this great plan to play this same trick on her (after she scared me at midnight with a FAKE spider below my neck). 
I plan to carry out this trick, and I don't think I'm going to get caught this time. (I'm sure I won't. It's THAT good.)
I hope my best friend's reading this. HAHA

#186: Why I don't jog

Jogging has become extremely popular. Explain why you jog or why you don't.

I don't like exercise. I thought I hated it, but I don't hate it. Hate is too strong a word. Exercising includes sports, running, walking, and jogging. I've always found it hard to move about. I don't know how I did it when I was smaller. Maybe I've become too lazy. Just recently, I had to make a PowerPoint presentation for my biology class. The PowerPoint was on Marfan syndrome. I read through the symptoms and the effects, and I started to suspect that I had the syndrome. I most probably don't, but I plan to have a check-up this holiday, just in case. The symptoms could explain a lot about my "exercise" and jogging routine. I don't really have a routine because I don't exercise. I don't jog because I get tired super-duper fast, and then I start to breathe really heavily. I don't like the feeling of gulping in air after a long time. I feel like a dying fish. Maybe there's something wrong with my throat, because I also have trouble swallowing dry food like digestive biscuits.

That's actually not possible, because I eat through my esophagus and I take in air through my trachea.
I don't jog because I don't want to, but because I feel like I can't. I hate getting tired, and I hate coming last. I came last in cross country. Surprisingly, I don't feel so embarrassed about it because I tried. See? I did try. I ran. (I actually jogged and walked the whole way) And I came last. I try, but the tired feeling I get after running makes me sad.

I really don't like exercising. I don't like anything that involves moving. I sound very lazy, but I can't help it. It's who I am. Everyone has their own thing. Jogging's not mine. 

#126: Walking down

Describe a daily routine or tradition of yours that may seem ordinary to others but holds special meaning for you. Why is this practice significant to you? (Barnard)


I walk down from school every weekday. I get homework from school every weekday. I also struggle through school almost every weekday. That is why I listen to music on my walk down. I don't like walking with people when I'm going down to dorms unless there are monkeys. The moment the monkeys are gone, I don't need people walking with me anymore, especially people who talk a lot. It might seem very mean, and I may seem very introverted (I am), but it helps me. Walking down from school and listening to music helps me think about everything that has happened to me on that day. I even look at the nature when I'm walking alone. I see bright red leaves and birds that drop leaves all over the path (Lover's Lane).
Most people don't walk down to dorms alone, and they don't always listen to music on their way down. I don't know why people don't try it. It calms you down and it helps you focus on things that are NOT related to school. Many people don't seem to have some time alone. They don't want this time. Being alone, I guess, is something that can happen so often that people don't indulge in it much. In fact, they don't indulge in it at all. Many people can never be alone, and I feel sad for them. 
This routine is very, very important to me. I like doing it, and that's what makes it important. I walk down, listen to music (I listen to the same song for a whole day, like a Song of the Day thing), look around, stop, look around, walk on, go the long way to dorms, stop in front of the tree with branches shaped like a hole, try and throw three rocks in the hole (I miss most of the time), and go up the stairs to the basketball court outside of dorms. I do many things. I do many things that everyone can do. It's fun. I see, play and exercise (I throw rocks throw a hole), and I clear my head. I can't think of what other people would do when their minds are just not right.


Their heads must be very mumble-jumbled. Mine's not. At least it's not after I walk down from school as I listen to music. 

#140: Second Grade

Write about a time you found something you weren’t looking for. (U of Chicago)


I just took my sticker book of my shelf because I wanted to describe it for you. It's a bright pink colour, and it has "Mickey and Minnie" written on the front. I've had this sticker album since 2nd grade. I actually shared it with my best friend (who is still my best friend). I found the album last year, as I was packing again. I was actually trying to remove everything from my trunks so I could repack everything. I found many old things, and I found this sticker album. I wasn't looking for it. In fact, I had forgotten that I ever possessed such a thing. 


I opened the first page. It has Hello Kitty stickers. Ugly Hello Kitty stickers. They're bright and shiny and very optical illusiony. I can't believe we ever had such hideous stickers, but I guess we were different back then. The next pages had stickers that looked like Sailor Moon characters. They also look kind of like those Amazonian women we see in TV shows. The next five pages were filled with the same silvery, shiny Mickey Mouse stickers. Mickey Mouse with a surfboard. Mickey Mouse with dark glasses. Mickey Mouse blowing an orange bubble. Mickey Mouse jumping with Minnie Mouse. We really were obsessed with Mickey Mouse when we were young. After Mickey Mouse, there were square-shaped stickers with different bears and different things written on it. There's one of a white bear saying, "Let's Party!" There's one of two brown bears with "Yippee!" written on them. There's one of two pink bears that says, "You and I..." Looking at these stickers reminded me of second grade, when we HAD to write back home every Sunday. I remember taking these stickers out of my letter pad collection and sticking them in the album. I didn't really use them before. They didn't stick very well either. After looking through the whole album, I decided to keep it with me next semester. That's the reason why I had it on my shelf. We (my best friend and I), added more stickers to it. 


Now we have smiley faces with weird sunglasses, rainbow colored animals, Chicken Little, Chip and Dale, and Lilo and Stitch stickers. I'm not sure if our taste in stickers became worse as we grew older. The album's full now (it didn't have many pages to begin with), and I don't really need it anymore. Maybe, I'll keep it back in my trunk so that a few years later, I can rediscover it while I'm looking for something else. 

#182: Antarctica

If you were awarded an expense-paid trip to any one place in the world, where would you go? Why?


I wonder how cold it would be in Antarctica. I know I can look up the temperature its lowest or highest recorded temperature, but my wonder goes beyond numbers. I want to experience the coldness. I don't know what they eat. Can they even grow food there? Antarctica, for me, is like space.   It's a place I don't know much about. A place where I might discover new things. I might learn things that I never thought existed, or were even possible. Antarctica is like my "New World", and I want to go there. When I was in eighth grade, I remember a woman coming for the Writer's Festival that is now held in Woodstock every year. Her name was Gabrielle Walker, an author who wrote about climate change and energy. At that point, I think she had written, or was writing a book on Antarctica. 
When it was her turn to talk (after some other authors), she told stories about Antarctica. There were rolling snowballs becoming bigger and bigger as they rolled down a hill. There were winds that were stinging cold, and there were icicles that formed in the freezing temperature of Antarctica. When you read it right now, all these things sound dangerous and scary, but as I sat listening to her tell us all these stories about Antarctica, I felt anything but scared. 
There seemed nothing to be scared of when she told us all this. Instead, it seemed so exciting. This was most probably because of her passion and interest in the topic, which made all her experiences sound like fun adventures.
She seemed to have learnt a lot, experienced new things, and most of all, she seemed to have loved every bit of it. After hearing her, I wanted to see and experience Antarctica too. I wanted to learn about this continent that many people don't think or care much about. 
I became more aware of the environment and the problems of the Earth. I wanted to help the Earth, because I felt that it was not something that needed to be done. It was something that should be done. As I help, I want to learn and have fun while doing everything. I would want to include "going to Antarctica" on my list of things to be done by me.
I don't want to learn and know about this continent only through the words of other fortunate people who have been there. I want those words to be the words I say after my own first-hand experience in Antarctica. I'm sure there are quite a few people who have been to Antarctica by now, and they might know almost everything they thing there is to know about this continent, but for me, this continent will still be undiscovered, and it will remain undiscovered until I go there one day. 

#167: Bicycle

Imagine you have written a short story, film, or play about your last four years. Briefly describe the moment or scene that you think your audience will most remember after they have finished this autobiographical piece. What will they learn about you from that moment? (Northwestern)


I'm riding my bicycle. I'm wearing my brother's brown Birkenstock slippers and I'm going round and round on a big, rocky field. There's dry grass everywhere except for the path, which is sandy and uneven. 


I've been going round and round for the past thirty minutes, and I'm bored of staying on the field. I keep passing this path that leads away from the field, towards the road. The path is even more uneven and rugged, and there are large rocks all over. My brother's complaining on the side since he's not allowed to ride the bicycle. If I look up, I see my grandmother peering out of the window of her room, and the guard watching over us from the stairs. If I look down, I see the downward path, even more dusty under the sun. 


I finally stop next to my brother and tell him to get on. He's actually quite heavy, but I can still carry him on the back. We go round the field about three times until I'm bored again. I stop just above the slope that goes down to the main road. I tell my brother that I'm going to go down, and that it'll be fun. He seems unsure of that, and for the first time, he's the one being cautious. 


I tell him not to worry. "I'll press the brakes if I think we're going too fast." He nods. I remove the Birkenstock slippers. They feel too heavy as I pedal, and I don't want the weight hindering me on the way down.


 We slowly go down, and I turn the handles of the bicycle so I can avoid all the pits and rocks. We're slowly gaining speed, and I can hear my brother shouting over the wind, telling me to press the brakes. I keep thinking, 'It's not so fast,' and keep steering left and right. 


The next thing I know, my hands are shaking, and I'm struggling to control the handles. As my brother holds on tight to my waist, I realize that I'm too scared to press the brakes. I might tumble forward, and I can't risk that. Even worse, I can't let my brother get hurt if I don't want to get into trouble. 


Suddenly, we go over a rock, and the handle swerves, making the front wheel of the bicycle go completely sideways. The cycle naturally falls, taking me and my brother along with it. 


My arm, foot, and even the side of my stomach starts to sting. I feel something heavy on my back. Luckily, my brother had fallen on top me, so he was unharmed. I see a little monk run towards us. He tries to help me up, even though I'm twice as big as him. It hurts all over, and I limp up the hill, barefoot, as my brother tries to help. He helps by taking the bicycle ahead, and the little monk helps me walk back up. As I slowly reach the level grounds of the field, I see my grandmother watching intently. I see the guard watching too, trying to be as inconspicuous as he can. 


I reach the place where I've kept the slippers and carry them in my hands. My brother comes back from putting the bicycle away, and helps me up the stairs. 


This scene would probably be most remembered. It would be funny, embarrassing, and most importantly, enlightening upon how my mind works. I've always been given options and choices. I find it extremely hard choosing between things, but I like to choose the more "adventurous" option because I'm scared of missing out on things, and also because I like to seem fun. You might guess from this experience, that I don't always make the best choices. In fact, I seem to be in more trouble due to the choices I usually make, but like this particular moment, even the bad end results aren't so bad. Falling down, hurting myself, and feeling embarrassed in front of a few people is not good, but I learnt from this experience. I learnt to never go down that hill on a cycle. I can even tell people this story, and I have the scars to prove it. 


I make a lot of weird and sometimes bad choices, but I like to believe that I've gained something from these experience. It's not all optimism on my part, but just me trying to make myself feel better. 


This moment reminds me of Mary Pickford's quotation. She once said," Failure is not falling down, it is not getting up again." Regardless of my really painful fall, I got up in the end, even though it was really embarrassing. I like to believe that my failures are like other people's, and that I've just got to try and recover from them. I got up of the ground with cuts and scrapes all brown from the dust.


Maybe I got up because I didn't want to seem like a failure, or I got up because I couldn't lie down on the path the whole day. It can be interpreted both ways, but I'd like to believe its the former one. 

#50: My List

Tell us about yourself. (University of California)

1. My favourite colour is yellow because it's bright and it makes me happy.

2. I love reading the "It Happened to Me" parts of a Tinkle comic because things in these stories never seem to happen to me.

3. I don't hate math even though I suck at it.

4. I like reading crime fiction most of the time, but I always try to read books of a different genre.

5. John Nash became my idol after I read Sylvia Nasar's A Beautiful Mind. It gave me hope. Maybe, I can still be good at math even though my grades might not reflect my skills.

6. I like to walk down from school while listening to music because it clears up my mind and allows me to look at nature. I hate thinking that I'm missing out on nature when I live in a place like Mussoorie.

7. I always try to do sports even though I hate exercise. I even ran cross-country and came last. Exercise actually makes me feel healthier even thought I really, really dislike it. (I actually do not hate it)

8. I like collecting stationery. Just having a full and organized pencil box makes me feel organized and studious.

9. I really, really dislike criticisms, which could also be why I do not allow most people to read my work. (I've actually gotten two different people to edit my work this semester!)

10. Living in a city like Delhi has made me very aware about the issue of global warming. The place I live in has thus shaped my dreams and goals.

11. I hate the grading system and the way schools work. I find the system unfair, because I've realized that grades cannot reflect on a person's intelligence and knowledge. Some people with the highest grades didn't even know what the Holocaust was. The Holocaust was quite a big thing. (The grading system is deceiving.)

12. As much as I hate the grading system, it is still very important to me. A lot of my future seems to rely on it, sadly. The grading system is also very competitive, and I hate thinking that I’m behind other people.

13. I count the excessive use of a thesaurus one of the biggest lessons I've learnt. I can't just go to a thesaurus and choose the biggest word I see. It makes it hard for me and it makes it hard for the reader. Big words don't equal a good essay. Sometimes, big and complicated words make your work very, very, very hard to understand. I try and avoid the thesaurus now.

14. I really like learning about new things. That's why I know a few very random facts. I also get annoyed when I can't understand something I'm learning. VERY annoyed. (My roommate's proof.)

15. I like doing things that most people don't always do. I play badminton (a sport that only lasts for two weeks a year). I've taken up the tabla (which I'm very bad at). I do my tick signs from right to left. (The opposite way. The common way is more convenient for right-handed people) I still read Archie comics. (It's not a good thing, and the stories are the same, but they're still funny!) I like eating my ice cream scoops in cups with the cone thing crushed on top (or taking a bite of an empty cone with every spoonful of ice cream).

This might not be the "right" way to answer this question, but I feel that this list might tell a lot more about me than my usual background and life story. 

#74: Winter

Write about something that is important to you. (Hope College)

Almost every year, I used to go to Bodh Gaya for monlams, or prayers. These monlams are hosted by high monks of different sects of Buddhism, and every year, people from everywhere come for these prayers/teachings. Bihar is really not far from Delhi, so I've found it quite boring going to Bodh Gaya almost every winter holiday until a few years ago. A few years ago, I started to not go for these teachings every year. I didn't think it would make much of a difference. I was not very religious, I didn't know much about my own religion and all the complicated rules of society that seemed to come with it, and I couldn't understand any of these teachings because I wasn't good at speaking or understanding pure Tibetan.
Back to a few years ago... I started to miss going to Bodh Gaya. I missed the large crowds of people at the main stupa every day. I missed reluctantly going for daily circumambulation at the stupa everyday. I missed going for teachings that I couldn't understand much, sitting on the grass with my old uncle. I missed it all. I don't know how it happened. Maybe it was because of my mom telling me all the time how lucky I am to be living so close to a religious place, or because I understood everything better.
Truthfully speaking, it can't be any of those things. I still am very lost when it comes to behaviour and procedures when meeting a high monk and doing all these different things, and I've always known I was lucky. Maybe not always, but recently. It appears that the former reason could be playing a part in my sudden change of attitude.
After I started missing going to Bodh Gaya to do things that I embarrass myself in, I thought about how I could miss such a thing. I thought about it long and hard, and I realized that I missed it because it was important to me.
This annual event thing we had was very important for me. Every year at Bodh Gaya has held some special memory for me, whether it be seeing all my cousins together for the first time (that was... when I was 6 years old), meeting my best friend every morning at six o' clock to go for rounds around the stupa, or seeing people I know and don't know randomly. It was important for me because these events made me a part of my heritage and society, regardless of how untuned I was to this society.
Habits die hard, and this habit can't die. Going to Bodh Gaya every winter has become very important to me. It's not because I've become more religion (I have not), but due to a multitude of reasons I could probably tell you about if you were ever to talk to me. I can't go to Bodh Gaya this winter, and I actually feel sad about it, but maybe next year's possible?

#183: Good parent

Do you think that you have the qualifications of a good parent? Discuss.


If I was a parent, I think I'd be the perfect parent, with perfect being according to my standards. The most exciting part of being this good parent would be teaching my child/children things that aren't on the same track as our society. Being young myself, I think I'd be able to understand how they think, and the reasons for everything they do. I've learnt that there is a certain limit to what we do. If these children were taught the limits to their actions, they would know not to go beyond it without me being a mean and annoying parent. 
I've realized that parents can't force their children to study. Forcing a child to study makes it less likely that they would listen to you. If you want your child to study, you create an environment that encourages learning without pushing these children. For example, rather than throwing books and textbooks on a child, just bring them up in an environment with lots and lots of books. They might just learn on their own without being told. 
Parents tend to talk a lot, and not listen much. I can listen, and I listening to people when they talk about things. Children tend to keep to themselves when they feel that no one cares about what they think and the problems they have. Listening helps them open up and be themselves. I would listen, and I really like giving advice, so it would be fun listening to a child's problem and trying to help them. I also find some of their "problems" and stories funny, so I'd be getting a good laugh out of it too!
Some children are disobedient regardless of how you try to help them nicely. I can be harsh and very serious sometimes. Sometimes, scaring a person helps them obey, but I won't be intimidating my child every second of their life. Intimidation and sternness is only for when these children are being annoying and extremely hard to deal with using normal methods. 
There are some beliefs I have that could qualify me as a good parent. A good parent tries to teach their child the right thing with a reasonable amount of freedom. I believe that everyone needs some personal space, so I won't be stifling my children with my constant presence. I also believe in causes such as preventing global warming, deforestation, and other environmental issues. I think a good parent will teach his or her child about personal values as well as more global issues. The degradation is a global issue. A good parent child will teach their child about global issues to at least some extent. 
I also have a pretty good sense of morality. Actually, my moral values and principles are ones that I've learnt from my family and the teachings of good leaders, so I can rely on my virtues to be intact and really, really good (that's what I think). As a parent, I will be able to teach morals and virtues that would make my child a good global citizen and a great person. If my child is a good child, I'm a good parent. (I don't plan to be a bad parent who motivates my child to live a life different from mine.)
If I actually had children, not now, but in the future (far, far in the future), I think I would most probably want to have had these children. To be a good parent, you have to care enough to make an effort. I'd want these children, and that would motivate me to be a good parent to them. In the end, I think my feelings for these children would make me a good parent, and I know I'd care for them. 

#181: Yes to College-level courses

Should prison inmates be allowed to take college courses? Explain why or why not.


Prison inmates should be allowed to take college courses. It is not very helpful to allow prison inmates in prison for the rest of their lives to take college courses, but the ones leaving should be. Countries all around the world want a better economy and a higher number of educated people. The world is struggling with growing rates of unemployment, especially people at lower or more menial jobs. At this point, the last thing the world needs are people with a very rudimentary level of education who after getting released from prison, can't find any jobs. 


People who have a higher level of education are generally more likely to find jobs. If all these prisoners are released with barely any college-level education, they are most probably not going to get jobs that require degrees and higher education. Even if these prisoners were to not get jobs after taking college courses, they would still have enough education to start their own businesses and become entrepreneurs. With jobs and earnings, prisoners would be able to live reasonably stable lives.


Many criminal acts are carried as a last resort to a specific problem. For inmates to be released, it would mean that murder was the unlikely crime. This narrows down the crimes to stealing, robbing, etc. Many of the crimes in this category are to do with taking other's things, which is most likely due to the fact that these people do not have the same resources (unless they're kleptomaniacs who can't stop stealing). If such prisoners have a jobs and a stable income, they could build a life which has the basic necessities, and these people would not turn towards desperate  
acts of thievery, etc. due to their needs. 


This would keep most prisoners away from crime. It would allow these people to live reasonably good lives. It would decrease unemployment rates. Governments wouldn't have to spend money on unemployed people anymore. Allowing prison inmates to study college-level courses could change the lives of "criminals" (they might not all be criminals), and it could change our world, little by little. 

#174: Amazon rainforest

If money and family obligations left you entirely free, how and where would you spend the summer before college?


I would go to the Amazon rainforest. It has always been my dream. It has trouble with deforestation and logging right now, and environmental issues are important to me. I remember telling a teacher this, and they told me that it would be impossible to go alone because I wouldn't survive, so I would go with an experienced team. The Amazon is very diverse, and is known for having many species of animals and plants that haven't been discovered yet, so I would spend time walking around, looking at different plants and keeping my eyes open for animals. I'd actually be looking at bugs and insects, as they exist in large number of species.
We would live on little boats on the river, though it might not be very possible. If we could, the boats would be tied to trees on the bank of the river. Attempting to look for waterfalls like the ones we see in movies like Pocahontas and King Kong, I would walk everyday, almost everywhere. I would have most probably read something on edible plants in the rainforest, and I would try looking for them. If I find them, I'd like to taste them. 
I might even see natives, though that would be very unlikely due to deforestation and relocation of tribes by the government. Even if I did sight any tribes, I'm not sure if it would be a good experience or not. They might be friendly like the ones in most movies, or they might not.
I would have brought a lot of books, so I would read in a safe and quiet place I find anywhere. I'm imagining the sounds would be different, making reading a completely different experience. 
It feels like I'm asking for a lot out of my experience, but it would be so cool if it actually happened.
If I ever get to go there, the real thing might be very, very different, but I hope it goes somewhat along those lines. 

#97: Mt. Rushmore

If you were to develop a Mt. Rushmore representing the 20th century, whose faces would you select and why? (William and Mary)

The 20^th century was the most active period in history (at least according to me). This period is full of iconic figures from all over the world. The events of this period are also numerous, with World War I and WWII, the Cold War, the Apartheid, the control of Communism and so many other major events. The influential figures of the 20^th century are a long list, but the chosen people would be Adolf Hitler, Charlie Chaplin, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, and Agatha Christie. There are actually four faces on Mt. Rushmore, but each of these five people have made and impact in their own fields, thus none of these should be eliminated.

Adolf Hitler is most probably the most famous dictator in history. A major individual in World War II, Hitler changed the world, directly and indirectly. The instigator of WWII, Hitler impacted the major superpowers of the 20^th century and involved them in a war that changed many of these countries. Great Britain and France lost their wealth during this war. America became stronger and richer from the war expenses (they supplied most of the weapons). USSR became stronger because of its alliance with the winning side. Hitler also started the Holocaust, an event that killed more than 10 million people. World War I took lives of soldiers living all the way in Africa and Asia too, as they fought for the countries that had colonized them. Hitler was essential in the course of history.

Albert Einstein brought us the equation e=m(part of the theory of relativity), the atomic bomb, the theory of relativity, and many other concepts and ideas that contributed to science as it is today. His invention played a big part in wars, and his ideas and theories are applied in science and math often.

In the field of language and literature, Agatha Christie would most probably be one of the most famous. A writer during the 20^th century, she wrote numerous books that have been translated into more than 100 languages. The genre of her books also make her a great writer (opinion might be biased). Agatha Christie was a popular female author that wrote in a genre that wasn’t very common.

Charlie Chaplin was one of the most famous comedians of the 20^th century. His movies, his costume, and his iconic toothbrush moustache are all widely known from Asia all the way to North America. His movies are classics that have entertained people during times of depression and troubles. Chaplin was one of the greatest symbols the film and entertainment industry during the 20^th century.

One of the most influential characters of the 20^th and the 21^st century, Mahatma Gandhi promoted ideas that during the 20^th century were rare. He was a pacifist who brought the concepts of ahimsa and satyagraha, or non-violence and non-violent resistance. He showed the world that it was possible to get your point across without killing and taking revenge on the enemy or opposition. His influence spread to other great leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King.

The representation of the 20^th century can be done effectively if the chosen figures can relate to a large group of people. This compilation of important people represent groups of people from quite a few regions of the world and connect to people whose interests lie in many areas, for example, science, math, and literature.

This version of Mount Rushmore shows the diversity during the 20^th century, and this diversity makes these people the ideal representations of the 20^th century. 

#21: The "Gift" of Telepathy

If you had the gift of telepathy, the ability to read other people’s minds, would you use this gift or not? Explain. (Middle East Technical University/93)

I wouldn’t consider telepathy a “gift.” It seems more like a burden to me. At times, I really, really, really, want to know what other people are thinking about, but sometimes, I’m glad I don’t. People think about so many different things. I guess that’s what makes us all different, and I would want it to stay that way. Reading people’s minds and knowing their thoughts leaves me nothing original. Sometimes, when you hear someone saying something so interesting and so different from the usual, you can’t help but think the same way. If I knew what people were thinking about, I wouldn’t really be able to think for myself because I’d be so involved and engaged in someone else’s thoughts, and that would suck. I really like the feeling I get when I think up of something I don’t think others have thought of. I feel special, and it encourages me to help think outside the box. Reading other people’s minds would trap me in the box I so want to exit.

The thought of reading other people’s minds reminds me a lot of a quote my sister had. The quote was my Diego Marchi who said: “"In life we all have an unspeakable secret, an irreversible regret, an unreachable dream and an unforgettable love." When I think about it, these are all the things I would keep to myself. They’re all secrets that most people don’t tell. If I had “an unspeakable secret, an irreversible regret, an unreachable dream and an unforgettable love”, I really wouldn’t be able to tell anyone. I find them too personal. If I have a few secrets that I’m not willing to tell anyone, I’m sure there are others who have their own secrets, and as much as I would want to know them, I wouldn’t look into their minds to know such things. I believe in karma, and if I did something like that, I’d be pretty scared of someone intruding and finding out my secrets.

I would most probably not use this gift for myself. There are a few reasons that benefit others, but most of the reasons I have would be for me. Everyone has an opinion or impression of other people. I try to ignore what people say and think about me, and telepathy would only make it harder as I try. If there’s something that people are thinking about me, it’s very unlikely that it is something positive. I don’t like hearing negative things about myself, and reading a person’s mind would most probably be quite hurtful for me. Sometimes, it does better not know what people think about you. I like living in the state of obliviousness towards the impressions other people have of me. I am not always oblivious to everything, and I’ve found that such things can make a big impact on me. I think in cases like this one, it is true when people say,” What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” It’s very true.

Telepathy seems to be taking everything away from the mental list I have of everything good. I like good, and telepathy only brings bad, so I wouldn’t and I couldn’t use it, if not for my sake, at least for yours. 

#104: Mark Twain

What is your favorite quotation and why? (Princeton)

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds on your sail.

-Mark Twain

Life is full of making choices. The choices you make can determine so much. It can determine the course of your life, and even the lives of others. Choices are therefore, a blessing and a curse. Decision making is easy and a blessing when you know exactly what you’re going to choose, or if you’ve never been given more than one option before, but when you’re not sure of what you’re going to choose or how a situation will turn out, the choices can become curses.

When given a choice, I mostly pick the safer option. From my choice making, I’ve learnt that safer doesn’t always mean fun or worthwhile, and I can’t really learn much from safe most of the time. My experiences, mishaps, and mistakes can help me make choices in the future too. Mark Twain’s quotation is similar to the advice I’ve heard from a few grown-ups. In avoiding the risk, I might be more disappointed by the things I didn’t do. It would be hard to live with the feeling of having missed out on a great experience, and to prevent such feelings, sometimes, we might have to “sail away from the safe harbor”, and go out and do everything you can.

The quotation not only gives me advice, but it gives me an alternative to life. It seems to show the brighter and livelier side of life, where there are new things to discover and more adventures to live. I’ve always liked the idea of living life adventurously, and even the Disney movie Up says that “Adventure is out there!” I really like Up, and the movie even ends with a happy ending! The old man realizes that it is more fun to be doing something rather than doing nothing at all. He goes on a dangerous adventure, learns new things and comes back happy. A life like that doesn’t sound too bad for me.

When I think about it, I know that Mark Twain is right. I don’t want to regret not doing something rather than regretting doing something. I’d rather do something and then know its outcome rather than staying safe and wondering, “How would it have turned out if I’d done it differently.” Even bad outcomes can teach me lessons and show my mistakes. I know the risks and dangers that are attached to every decision I make, but maybe, the things I do to avoid the risk could turn out to be the biggest risk of all, and I would find it hard knowing that for the rest of my life. Mark Twain’s words have inspired me to try, and to throw of my bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, and catch the trade winds in my sail.

#57: Dear Diary

Describe a personal habit that helps to define you as a person.

My diary entries do not start with "Dear Diary", or at least they don't anymore. I started keeping a diary when I was in sixth grade, and I'm pretty sure the entries in my first diary started of with "dear diary", but my diaries have changed along with me. I started of with a diary, and now, I have four. I would actually have five, but I lost one when I hid it from my best friend. I never found it again. I still have four other diaries, and I can't help but keep so many diaries at once. They all start from different times. White and blue recycled notebooks which I bought in seventh grade, a Japanese print one which I got in eighth grade, and a Mickey Mouse one which I got as a birthday gift in ninth grade. Having so many diaries, I've thought about how useless my old ones are once I've got a new one. I would most probably only write in one of them, and the others would just be a waste of space. Thus, I've tried to write in all of them, once in a while. When I read each diary, I see so many differences between the one person who has written in all of them. My diaries track my progress in life and how I've changed, and my habit of writing in all of them has allowed them to catch up to the me I am right now.

Updating each diary of mine can sometimes be a real hassle, but I have no other option. Writing in them has become a habit for me, and I can't think of ever throwing them away. I find it very hard to get rid of things, because I try and find the importance in each thing that I plan to throw away. I convince myself to not throw things away because I always feel that I might need it in the future. Most of the time, I don't but I like holding onto things. Each one represents a different aspect of me, and they're all memories of how I was before: my likes, my dislikes, my interests, everything. Thus I've found it hard to get rid of my diaries. All of them contain my memories at some point in my life, and I like holding onto these memories.

This habit has extended past my idiosyncrasies into my personality and who I am. Like materialistic things, I don't like letting go of people. I can think of at least one special moment that I've had with each person that has left, and I don't like knowing that these special moments might not ever come again, at least with this person. I hate saying goodbyes, and the moment I've lost someone, I realize how important they were, or they could have been. I regret not spending time with so many people that are not here anymore, and I can't bear to let go of my things, especially because I do have the power and choice to do what I like with them. Unfortunately, I can't control people and when they leave.

Each entry in each diary is special and different, just like the people I meet. The idea of throwing away even one makes me feel like I'm losing something that makes me who I am. With these feelings, I know I won't let go of any of my diaries ever, or at least not now. 

#55: Roommates

Discuss an important personal relationship you have had and explain how it has changed your life.


I had the same roommate for the whole of last year. The rooming wasn't assigned: I chose her. We actually chose each other. We were already friends before last year, but we got closer when we were roommates. I study in a school which everyone calls a bubble. Most people here live their daily lives, thinking about themselves with no care for anything outside our little "bubble". I lived that way too, before I became her roommate. My world was basically school, and the only people I thought about were the people in this society. I believed in the same things as everyone around me, I did the same things as most people, and my priorities in life didn't extend too far. 
My ex-roommate was to an extent, very different from me, and very different from everyone else. I guess that is why I feel like our relationship was important. It was different from my relationship with my other friends. We talked about different things. Everything we talked about changed my mindset, little by little. Even the things we did were different. We made mouse traps, stayed up watching movies every weekend, changed the setting of the furniture in our room regardless how limited our space was. We went on the swings after school, made little pictures and posters for each other. I got to do things that most of my other friends do not like to do at all.
She opened me up to a lot of things. I read books that I thought I wouldn't like before, I ate foods that I had never had before, and I was thinking about things that I never cared about before.
What I thought was important before wasn't anymore. My conversations got me thinking about my future and my present. I thought about the kind of person I wanted to be when I grew up. What I wanted to do in the future. My goals didn't change, but the reasons why I wanted to accomplish them did. 
My roommate had a big influence, though I doubt she knows that. I've never told her how much she taught me, and the impact she had on me. I'm glad I chose to room with her for a whole year, and I'm glad I got to know her so well. Our relationship was, and still is important to me. She has gone some place else and she's not here anymore, but I hope that she'll have the same effect on someone else, just like the one she had on me. 

#120: Water, Lots of it.

Tell about the most unforgettable experience you've ever had. 


I don't flail my arms like an injured bird anymore. I don't swim like Michael Phelps either, but I still wanted to swim at the beach. My last day with my cousins, and I really wanted to go to the beach. 


We were waiting for my cousins outside the ticket counter. The tickets were for ferries that took us to a small beach away from the city. Waiting wasn't so bad. I had a yellow balloon giraffe on my head, an environmental-friendly skittles box speaker in a plastic bag, and three scented pencils in my pocket. 


Ten minutes... Fifteen minutes... Thirty minutes... Forty five minutes.... Waiting was bad. I was tired and annoyed. As I sat on a bench, arms crossed, staring at the floor, I saw my day get worse. The light grey shade of the pavement was slowly turning dark and ominous as little drops of rain fell in dark blotches that seemed to represent my mood at that point. 


One hour passed, and I could finally see my cousins in the distance. As I tried to get them to hurry to the ticket booth, my mood turned lighter. I smiled a little at the food they had in their hands. Maybe the day wasn't going to be that bad. 


We went onto the ferry. It would have probably struck to others as a very bad idea. It was raining. It was pouring now, but my cousins were as determined as I was. They wanted to take me there because it was my last day. I wanted to go because it was my last day. It was a risk we were willing to take.


We reached the dock and were separated from each other as we were pushed forward by an invisible force. It was actually all the pushing and shoving as people piled out, but an "invisible force" just sounds cooler. 


Speed-walking towards the beach part of the island, my foot hurt. My rubber slippers were wet and they kept coming of my feet, making me step on the rocks every once in a while. Sighting sand and rocks, we starting walking even faster. The rain was still coming down, and our clothes were starting to cling to our skins. At last, we stopped under a large tree and opened our food. It was cold, we were hungry, and the wind was pelting raindrops on us in an almost harsh way, like the curving slice of a knife through air. The pizza was still warm and tasted oh-so-good with the dip, until the wind blew that away too, along with my giraffe. I felt full now, and the loss of my pet giraffe didn't faze me at all.


Changing into a swimsuit, I could hear the pitter-patter of raindrops on the roof of the changing room. It had turned into a soft tapping sound that was almost therapeutic and soothing. The rain was a slight drizzle now, and as we went towards the water, the sky got brighter. The sky displayed my emotions; cheerful, happy, and bright. I could see the sun turning a warm, sleepy yellow as it set. No wonder yellow was my favorite colour. 


My cousins were, by this time in the water, screaming and splashing each other. Everything seemed perfect at that moment, spending time with family that I hadn't seen for so long. Treading into the water with slow, careful steps, the frigid water made me want to stop and turn. I hated the cold. I couldn't do cold at all. Looking at everyone else having fun, I realized that there was no turning back now. I was in, and I'd have to remain in. 


Swimming for less than thirty minutes, we headed back towards the ferry. It was dark now, and it was pouring again. Changing into a t-shirt and a sarong, I covered my head with a towel and ran towards the dock. I could hear the splish-splash as I stepped into large puddles, and I could hear my cousins laughing as they struggled to cover their heads with a towel and run at the same time. 


Waiting in line for the ferry, I looked out across the water to the numerous white lights that were visible from the city. The line crawled forward but we finally made it on. Standing on the stern, I leaned forward and looked at the small waves that spread out away from the boat. If I turned my head to the left, I could see all my cousins; some sitting down and some standing right next to me. Tilting my head to my right, I saw lights, lights, and lots of light, ranging from a wide array of shades, at least to my eyes. 


Today, I had waited for an hour, worn a balloon animal on my head, run in the rain, eaten pizza in the rain, swam at the beach while it drizzled, worn a sarong (which was ironically pink, my least favourite colour), and spent half a day with my cousins. 


I've never done so many new things in one day, and I don't suppose that I'll be able to do this whenever I wish, but the rarity of such a moment makes this the most unforgettable experience I've ever had.