* Color me beautiful !

The crimson hues of a setting sun; the merging of land with sea; the clear blue of a bright morning smattered with sunshine; the bursts of magenta, orange, yellow and white portrayed by an array of flowers; The crystal clear texture of a water droplet against another surface;

– The vibrancy of all these radiant colors is divine; a sight for sore eyes.

Imagine life without color. It’s like a body without its soul, a book with no words, a song with no notes – incomplete, unimaginable and impossible. Life is made exciting by the color it possesses. The colors define the mood of a particular situation, of a particular person and of their lives. The deep charcoal of an expected thunderstorm identifies with gloom and adds weight to an already gloomy mind while the sunshine yellow against a bright, clear sky lifts up even a sad mind, adding hope and warmth into their lives.

The beauty of it all is overwhelming. And this summer begins; I can see the splashes of color everywhere. The reds and purples and oranges and yellows and blues- they make me smile and fill me with warmth. The color is hope, love, laughter, pain, sorrow; so color me beautiful =)

Growing, changing yet still the same. Yup, that's India

Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal's proposals to make Class 10 exams optional and replace marks with grades in Class 12 has been making waves among both students and teachers alike. It certainly gave me some food for thought. Kapil Sibal's idea is equivalent to a cool breeze hitting you in the sultry summertime. It sparks room for growth and for change in the ever same monotonous educational system, something which was inevitable, but has now been kicked off by this announcement.
Not everyone really sees it this way though. Most people are skeptical and are criticizing it more than praising it and welcoming it with open arms. Most complaints are valid, teachers fear students may take up a casual approach towards school work and in turn neglect it but the root cause of the resistence is the human aversion to change. Grading is an alien system and most would feel lost without an exact mark to evaluate their performance.

The main thing is whether India ia ready for such a system. From times immemorial, the education system in India is marks based. Schools, colleges, universities -the first thing they ask for is your marks. Any other achievements in various other fields is completely secondary. So if they adopt the system of grades, the current existing system will have to break out of its mould and make way for change, something that isnt easy. Just call it trying to move a donkey who's standing with his heels dug in. Unless the donkey wants to move, your gonna get nowhere .

Personally, I think it should be a mix of both. Or atleast a balance should be struck. Year after year students kill themselves (Literally) to get that 90 percentage and above and for what ? Its two measley numbers for crying out loud ! Sure they make or break your future, they pave way for you to select the subjects you want but at the end of the day aren't there more important things ?

Like doing what YOU love ? Like doing something for YOURSELF ? Like receiving praise and accolades for something YOU are brilliant at although it isnt academics ?

I say do what your heart tells you to. You have to study , yes there's no questioning that but gone are the days when only medicine, engineering, and law were the career options. Today we're spoilt for choice ! I mean you can take what you love and turn it into your profession and get paid for it. I mean how grand is that ? Don't let academics suppress your inate desires !

Cliched as it may sound, life is short. So live it - for yourself.

Anneka

Anneka Sophia Mascarenhas.

My dear friend, basketball buddy , our very own "shorty".
Anneka was the epitome of happiness. I never saw her unhappy or upset without an actual reason. She was someone who uplifted everyone's spirits, cracked the lamest jokes and basically was totally perky all the time.She was an awesome basketball player ! She may have been short but she had a mean layup shot.
I still remember all those years of hanging out at the basketball court , playing matches and then sitting around and talking, joking, playing Chinese whisper and teasing each other.
In school, everyone knew Anneka. She was liked by everyone .. the teachers , the students and even the kids. Everyone knew who she was and I personally , admired her as she was always involved with something or the other. Singing, basketball, Annual Day - Anneka would do anything and everything to lend a helping hand.
She was plucky and never daunted by a challenge , no matter how hard or tough.

There are many things I wish I had said to her , many times I wished I had told her how much I admired her for her courage.
I wish I could take anything mean I said or did to her back.
Because now she's gone. For good. And I can never tell her any of this. None of us can.

All we can do is pray for her peace and hope that she is now in a better place than she was here.

Rest in Peace Anneka ..
We'll miss you.

All things unfair

You know, lately I've noticed the unequal power distribution in this world. I mean its everywhere, so obvious it hits you between the eyes ! And YET it goes unnoticed. Either that or no one has the guts to stand up and change it. It may be good or bad, but since things have been like this since forever no one wants to change.

There is a lot of other examples too, but I'd like to stress on the sexist attitude everyone has these days. Or wait..since like the beginning of time.
Its true. Ever since prehistoric time, women are like these baby producing machine type things and thats about all they're considered. ( Believe me this is there in my economics textbook )

Yeah I mean, I can find a hundred examples in my own school, imagine what its like out there in the big ol' world.

We have one coach for basketball. And now he focuses more on the guys. Reason ? I dunno, but I'm betting it has something to do with the age old excuse 'boys-are-better-than-girls-at-sports'. Well guess what buddy ? If you wont even give us a chance we'll never get as good as them.

And then, take the fact that there is no football team for girls. I mean its a small thing but i know SO many girls who play football and love it. And they don't get a chance. Grr.

Girls are considered weak, why ? We're equally smart. In fact I'd say smarter, in some cases.
We're probably prettier. ( =P)
We're more sensitive and know how to reach out to people.

So anyway, I'm not saying guys are bad. They're tons of fun and great to talk to. And maybe they might be physically stronger and stuff. But honestly, thats no reason to underestimate us girls. We can take on the world if we have to. =)





[Peace.Love.Grin]

It starts in my toes, Makes me crinkle my nose..* <3

Theres a little thing to be said about love.

Love is patient.
Love is kind.
Love is truthful.
Love is unselfish.
Its trusting, believing, hopeful, and enduring.

Love isn't jealous.
It isn't boastful.
It isn't rude, angry, selfish or any of those things.

Okay, so thats what the Bible says about love. My opinion of love: It sucks. It makes you mad. You feel lonely when you don't have it. But once it hits you you're back to the whole dreamy-giggly-butterflies-in-stomach-aww feeling. So basically its like a Centreshock. Sour on the outside, sweet on the inside.


Its the most beautiful thing in the world. It makes you laugh for no reason, you're smiling all the way, and everything is bright and sunny. =)


I may be single, but I take comfort in the fact that my friends are there. I love ALL you guys. MY friends. <3

[Love.Friendship.Enemies.Superficiality.AndOn&On..]

What Am I To You ?

No really. Out of everyone I know... I just wonder, how much do people really care about you ? Sure, they might say they like you, that you're awesome blah blah blah.. but how many of them are actually gonna be there when you need help ?

All our lives we just go without really knowing everyone we call our "friends". Of course there are always true buddies..but most of them are superficial. Sweet to the face, bitchy behind your back. Why cant everyone just be straight with the people they don't like. Lay it down. I don't like you.

Why ? Perhaps then most of us wouldn't be left with ANY friends. Why do people have so much hatred in themselves ? Why are they so revengeful ? I mean, does it really hurt to be a lil nice ?

And even with your real friends, they should tell you when your being stupid ? Or really annoying ? Right ? But do they ? I can guarantee you they don't...even we ourselves wont tell our friends the truth about that weird habit they have or when they're doing something dumb...
You know why ? FEELINGS. It hurts their feelings. not only that, we don't want our own feelings hurt. That why no one wants to know the truth.

The truth HURTS.

Plain & Simple.



P.S. Maybe you should give telling someone you love that you DO love them. Before its too late. Take a chance. It could change your world.

Life.

A roller coaster, emotionally, physically and mentally. Its undeniably confusing, blissful, frustrating all at the same time.
What is life ? A teenagers life, is complicated. A test, a break up , fights, the upcoming boards, social obligations, parental problems loom over us at all times. Its so much fun and yet there are times when you feel utterly useless...

But think about it, all these things seem so futile when we all are just going to die one day. Why waste time worrying about things that wont matter even 5 years from now ? I wonder ever so often as to why we're here, what we're gonna be, whether my dreams, or my friends' dreams are going to be fulfilled ?

What if 10 years from now, Im living a worthless life with no friends, family, love or even a job ? What if im stuck somewhere where i promised myself never to end up ? What if my life is a disaster ?

All these things cross my mind. For a while, I'm a little depressed. Then I promise myself that i HAVE to do what I want to do , be with whom I prefer to be with and live my life as I want to. I have one life. Its mine I decide.

And with that thought, I move on with a seemingly bright future and a ray of hope in my heart.