I just wanna be a girl!

A lot of people today have problems with setting up boundaries. They think that boundaries will make a person drift away or that it will spoil the relationship. In reality, boundaries are what define the relationship. People are afraid to say no and just go with the flow. This leads to internal conflict and might make the person feel unsafe.  It's okay to set different boundaries with different people, depending on how close you are to them. You can have different boundaries with your close friends than with your loved ones. If people can't accept the boundaries you set, it's best to distance yourself from them. You don't need to explain your motives. All that matters is that you feel emotionally and physically safe. They help build respect and trust.  People who are needy or co-dependent struggle with setting boundaries. They are scared that they will be left alone because of their boundaries or conditions. They are desperate for love, attention, and affection. They sa

A Court of Thorns and Roses is one of the most riveting book series I have read in a while. It's a series of five books namely, A Court of Thornes and Roses, A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin, A Court of Frost and Starlight, and A Court of Silver Flames. This series was written by Sarah J Maas.  The saga begins when the protagonist, 19-year-old Feyre Acheron is kidnapped and taken to Prythian, i.e., the Faerie lands. She was kidnapped under the orders of one of the high lords, Tamlin, High Lord of the Spring Court. Tamlin was under a curse that dictated that he had 49 years to get a girl who hated Faeries to fall in love with him. No one was allowed to speak of the curse. By the end of the first book, Feyre proves her love for Tamlin by completing a set of harrowing trials. She also becomes one of the High Fae.  In the next book, Feyre moves on from Tamlin and falls in love with another High Lord, Rhysand, High Lord of the Winter Court. By the end of the book, Fey

  A problem that a lot of people have these days is embracing themselves. People are constantly seeking approval from others to make themselves feel good. This has to stop. People should stop looking to others to make themselves happy. Happiness should come from within. There’s always going to be someone who doesn’t like you. If you keep listening to everyone, all you’re going to end up doing is ruining your own peace of mind. No one is perfect. You just need to know and embrace your flaws and imperfections instead of denying them. Get to know yourself. Reflect on what makes you you. Make sure you understand what is important to you, and prioritize them. Remember to take care of yourself. Surround yourself with positive people. Good company can make all the difference. Pick people who celebrate your unique qualities instead of those who critique and judge you at every turn. Remember that everyone is different. Don’t compare yourself with others. Be kind to yourself and don’t put to

  The meaning of Taylor Swift's 'Love Story' is pretty straightforward, but I couldn't help analyzing it. It is one of my favourite songs and it is the one that made me fall in love with Taylor's music.  modern-day This song talks about a modern day Romeo and Juliet, two forbidden lovers, meeting in secret. The song starts with Taylor, adopting Juliet's character, reminiscing about the first time she saw her 'Romeo.' She tells us that they were young when they both met, just like in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, who were 16 and 13 when they met. She recalls that they met in the summer when she was leaning over the balcony.  She then refers to the Capulet's masked ball. She says she remembers the party where they met. She remembers the lights and the ball gowns. She says that 'Romeo' came up to her. She however didn't know that this boy would become her true love. She tells us that her father wanted them to stay away from each other.

  Before I start, I’d like to say that this is a very personal post, dedicated to a few very special individuals.  Anderlin, Sharan, Shane, and Mugunthan.  Technically they are my seniors, but they have become something more. These guys are the reason I made it through the year and have become irreplaceable brother figures to me. I may not call them ‘Anna,’ but the respect they earned from me is immeasurable. I still remember the first time I saw them. I was at an ethnic walk practice. It was only my second day there and I wasn’t very confident yet.  The four of them weren’t around on the first day of practice.  That’s when they arrived. They appeared, walking in a straight line. They looked so majestic and powerful that they scared me. They came to stand in front of me and I remember chills running down my spine. None of them were laughing at the moment (you’re not allowed to laugh or smile during an ethnic walk.) I was so intimidated by them. There aren’t words to describe how I fe

  Yes, this is my 30 th blog. I did it! In this post, I wanted to share what urged me to blog and my experience with it. One day, my professor came into class and started talking about blogging. He told us that a lot of our seniors were consistent bloggers. He told us that he would give us a cash prize if we wrote for 30 days. He told us how our seniors had even received job offers because of their blogs. He also told us that he would help us publish our blog entries into a book – yes, an actual book – if we wrote for 60 days. That’s what got me. It’s always been my dream to see my name on the side of a book. (I already have a couple of rough drafts penned out.) When he said the words ‘publish a book,’ I was determined to do this. I set my mind to it in a second. “I’m doing this!” I promised my friend, who was sitting next to me. When I started blogging and receiving positive comments, it showed me that I actually could write. It encouraged me to keep writing. I’d like to take a m

The first thing that readers expect in a fiction book is something completely unexpected. That’s right, people expect the unexpected. They are looking for surprises and twists. People want suspense. They want to be kept on the edge of their proverbial seats, wondering what’s going to happen next. Readers also want a character that they can connect with. The main character shouldn’t be a perfect person. He or she has to have some kind of fatal flaw upon which the fate of the world rests. This raises the stakes and gets the reader more involved in the story. Another significant expectation of readers is an escape. People read to escape their reality. A fiction or fantasy novel should be able to achieve that. A writer should be able to transport the reader to a new world where they can forget themselves and let themselves be immersed in the story. Certain readers also want some intellectual challenges. This is also a way of escaping reality. They think that the problems or challenge

  I realized recently that everyone has been blogging, but no one has any tips on how to do it. I decided to tell you what I did, in hopes that it would be useful to anyone who wants to start a blog of their own. (This might not work for everyone but these are what I do.) The first thing I had to do was pick a title. I started blogging when all I wanted was some quality girl time. I was deprived of female company for a long time. I wanted to remember what it felt like to be a girl again. I was talking to one of my classmates about this and my blog when it clicked. “I just wanna be a girl,” I told her. ‘That is an amazing name for a blog,’ I thought. I asked for her opinion and she said it sounded really cool. I ran it by my best friend as well. With their positive comments, I decided to go for it. The next thing I had to decide was what I would write about. At first, I wanted to remind girls of things that they might have forgotten. Later, I realized that I couldn’t write about tha

Elena Gilbert is the female lead in the CW’s ‘The Vampire Diaries.’ She is introduced to us with her tragic past. She just lost her parents in a car accident that she was in but somehow survived. Elena went on to learn that she was adopted. She met her birth parents and lost them soon. She also lost her guardian and friend. She lost her brother, which led to her turning off her humanity (which vampires can do.) She also lost her best friend followed by her soul mate. Elena went through so much and was undoubtedly a victim. However, the other characters on the show have faced equal grief. Yet, Elena is the one who’s always crying or holding in her tears. People are always taking care of her and making sure that she doesn’t break. Her friends have died and come back to life. They have lost as many people as Elena has, friends, siblings, and parents.   In my opinion, people should stop giving her so much attention. She has faced a lot, but she should be able to face it like an adult.

I am an avid reader, as I've mentioned before. I've noticed how a lot of people have trouble reading – even books mentioned in the syllabus. In my opinion, reading is not a passive activity and it requires energy and attention. I think the reason that people aren’t able to concentrate on reading is that they aren’t interested. I believe that you can’t read something that you don’t like. The theme of the book is also important. Certain things appeal to certain people. For example, I can read anything with a supernatural theme. The books in the syllabus however aren’t really appealing to modern readers (in my opinion). You need a lot of persistence to sit through a book like Jane Eyre. (It’s worth it, but the storyline is slow. Yeah, I know it’s a classic.) One of my tips for reading effectively is to start reading with a positive attitude. You have to believe that you will like the book before you even open it. You also have to be determined to finish reading it. Set a tar

The Vampire Diaries is a show based on the book series of the same name, by LJ Smith. It features 2 vampire brothers as they both vie for the love of the captivating teenager, Elena Gilbert. The show follows the lives of the central characters in Mystic Falls, Virginia – where supernatural beings roam rampant. The show shows us vampires, werewolves, witches, doppelgangers, immortals, hybrids, heretics, ghosts, sirens, and much more. The universe starts small but expands magnanimously. Elena and her 2 best friends, Caroline Forbes (who becomes a vampire) and Bonnie Bennet (a witch), are regular teenagers before the arrival of the handsome Salvatore brothers – Damon and Stefan, who bring with them a dark and troubled past. There are a lot of other characters, like Tyler Lockwood (a werewolf and hybrid), Matt Donovan, and Jeremy Gilbert (a hunter). Throughout the show, we see many characters gaining and losing their mystical powers. There is a lot of death and sorrow. People think tha

As you know, I’ve been learning how to drive a bike. I have realized that it is really hard and that I’ve been making a lot of mistakes. There is so much to remember. For starters, you have to balance the bike when you’re attempting to kick-start it. When you’re doing that, you have to be sure not to hold the clutch (which is something I have been doing.) “You have to hold on to the handlebars, but not the clutch,” instructed my friend. “Also, be sure to use your heel and follow it all the way,” he added. Then, right after you start the bike, make sure to change the gear from neutral to the first gear. Here, you have to hold the clutch like it’s a live grenade. If you let it go too soon, the bike will turn off, which means you have to kick it again. Slowly, you have to release the live grenade, aka the clutch, while slowly revving the throttle. If you do that too fast, it consumes a lot of fuel. You have to do these simultaneously while watching for other vehicles approaching. Then

  My favourite spot to hang out with my best friend is at the edge of a mountain in Tambaram. I don’t want to mention the location to protect the serene beauty of the place. It’s a 10-minute drive away from the MCC campus to the bottom of the mountain. It takes about 15 minutes to climb to the top. (Well, that depends on your stamina. It takes me around 15 minutes.) The climb is hard and can leave you breathless, but the experience you get at the top is unbelievable. My friend and I believe that the climb is worth it. At the top, there is a temple, past which there is an outcropping of rocks. Luckily, there are some trees that provide shade and an occasional breeze up there. The view is one of the best parts of it. The picture I’ve added to my blog was taken at the vantage point on the mountain. You can see for miles. There are a lot of buildings and you can also see planes going in for a landing. There is also a water body there (we aren’t sure which one it is yet.) My favourite t

  I am an aspiring writer myself and I remember how hard it was to start writing. There is the constant fear of worrying that people won’t like your writing. It’s easy to think of a single scene but hard to draft a whole story. Here’s what I did. The first thing I did was decide on my theme and genre. I was very clear that I wanted to write fiction – since I was an avid fiction reader. The most important part about a theme is making sure you do your research. You have to know enough about your theme that you can build an entire book. For example, if you want to write about Greek Mythology, you have to know all about the gods and the Greek story of creation. You can’t make silly mistakes with the basic facts. The next step is deciding who your main character will be. If you are a female writer and your main character is a boy, you have to know how a boy thinks and acts and vice versa. You also have to name your character. Bonus points if your name is related to your theme. Next, y

Before I start, I’d like to let everyone know that I’m going to use gender-neutral pronouns in this post to protect the identity of the person I’m talking about. I’ve been observing a person closely for a while now and have noticed how they have different faces in front of different people. For example, in front of me, they are one of the most sensitive and caring individuals I have met. They are open, kind, gentle, attentive and honest. They share things with me and are pleased to be in my company. When they are with their classmates, they usually come across as sullen and unresponsive. Around friends, they are a little less reserved but are still not the person I am familiar with. The way they relate to me in front of their friends is also different. I noticed how their entire personality changes depending on who they are with. The person I know isn't the same one other people see.  I took some time to ponder about why this could be and realized that I do the same thing too.

Mnemosyne is our department’s annual intercollegiate fest, for those of you who don’t know. My journey started when I joined the volunteering committee and went on to volunteer to be a convenor. A while later, our ELF chairperson announced the list of convenors. I was disappointed to see that some other girls from my class were selected but I wasn’t. I was disappointed because I had been putting a lot of effort into events throughout the year. I later found out that my best friend had already announced that he wanted me to volunteer for the event he was convening (spell bee). I forgot my disappointment and was overjoyed to work with him. I soon found out that the girl who was supposed to be the second convenor didn’t want to do it. I was standing quietly next to some of my seniors as they were deciding who the other person should be. One of them looked at me and asked “Do you want to do it?” I nodded enthusiastically, hiding my joy. My friend and I put a lot of effort into preparing

Speak Now is one of my favourite Taylor Swift songs.  "I am not the kind of girl  Who should be rudely barging in On a white veil occasion But you are not the kind of boy Who should be marrying the wrong girl" Taylor pictures herself as a girl who has to watch her true love marry the wrong girl - basically a girl who isn't her. She paints this other woman as 'evil' when she says things like "and she is yelling at a bridesmaid, somewhere back inside her room, wearing a gown shaped like a pastry... It seems like I was uninvited by your lovely bride-to-be."  This song is written for Taylor’s friend, who found herself in the position of having to watch the man she loved marry another woman. Taylor suggested to her friend that they crash the wedding and speak against it. While the women didn’t go through with the stunt, Taylor thought about what she would do in such a situation. She sketched out her game plan in a song. When Taylor watches the

Back to December is first and foremost an apology from Taylor Swift to her ex-boyfriend. Taylor tells us how she fell in love with him. She tells us how they were good friends in the summer and how she realized she loved him in the fall. She says that she started having doubts when winter came. This leads to her rebuffing his love when he confesses to her. The beginning of the song looks like she’s meeting her ex after their break-up. She remembers that the last time they met, he gave her roses and she left them there to die, symbolizing how she broke his heart. She sings about how she swallows her pride and sets aside her ego as she apologizes to him. She tells him that she has done nothing but miss him and wishes she realized what she had when they were together. She said that she couldn’t sleep because of how much she missed him. She kept replaying their break-up in her mind. She regrets not calling him on his birthday. This is where she inserts the story of how she fell in love

Taylor Swift’s ‘Stay, Stay, Stay’ is not considered one of her best works, but I disagree. There is a magical way the upbeat music is at odds with the intense lyrics. She starts her song with the way she fought with her boyfriend. She goes on to ask him to come back so they can talk their problems out. She is shocked when he comes back to her (wearing a football helmet) and agrees to talk to her. In the chorus, Taylor asks him to stay. The way the lyrics have been written shows us how much she values the relationship or rather, loves the idea of being in love. The line ‘You think that it’s funny when I’m mad, mad, mad,’ shows us that there are problems in the relationship but that Taylor doesn’t acknowledge them. She is in denial. She thinks it’s best if they both stay together. ‘Before you, I’d only dated self indulgent takers Who took all of their problems out on me But you carry my groceries and now I’m always laughing I love you because you have given me no choice but to…’

  Caroline Forbes is one of the main characters on the show, ‘The Vampire Diaries.’ Apart from the three central characters, she has the most screen time. In the first season, Caroline was introduced as a stereotypical blond girl. She was one of the popular girls at school and was the captain of the cheerleading squad. She was also pretty headstrong and competitive. She had a high degree of leadership and was always the one organizing things. She was the daughter of the town’s sheriff and possessed a high social prestige. Underneath her loving nature and confident exterior, Caroline is very insecure, neurotic, and a control freak. There were a lot of flaws and complexities in her character, which she eventually overcame, leading to her immense c haracter development. Caroline became a vampire, which led to a drastic change in her personality. This showed her the world in a new light. She outgrew her responsibilities and became more responsible and caring. Being a vampire was what m