I Just Wanna Be A Girl!

Today was the third session of the department of English's service learning program. This week, we decided to split the children in groups based on their age. There were 11 of us, we split into pairs (One team of three).  I was handling the second graders today. I have one main observation to put on record. Those kids were so so so energetic. My friend and I sat them all in a circle and started reading to them. I read to them in English first and then he told them the same tale in Tamil. The kids were sitting quietly at first. I had the genius idea to let them dance for a minute (the story had dancing in it). I admit, I didn't think it through. They shot up and that was the end of order. It was hard to settle them back in their circle.  Then came the stickers. We had start stickers to give the children when they answered a question right. The original plan was to get golden stickers, but I could only get multi-colored ones. When I was handing out stickers, the kids were jumpin...

Take a moment to read through the sonnet...  The speaker here says that he knows his lover lies to him, even though she swears she is telling him the truth, always. She might think he is naive and doesn't know about the world. In reality, he knows that she lies to him. She also believes him when he says he is young, even though she knows his true age. Love's guiding principle should be trust, but here, the couple lies to each other all the time.  My question is whether it is okay to lie to the one you love... Could it be dependant on what it is you are lying about. If it's something that would upset the other person, is it really grounds for a lie? If you're hiding something that would upset your lover, isn't it wrong to hide it or lie about it? But, you could justify it saying it's in their best interest. Again, aren't the best relationships built on trust and truth? Where did that go? On the other hand, are white lies really harmful? But, again, trust is l...

Yesterday was the second session of my department's service learning program. After a taking a pause for a few weeks to discuss some strategy, my team and I descended on the school with renewed energy. Before talking about the session, we do need to talk about how we got there. Now, the school is a little more than a kilometer away. We discussed travel plans earlier and decided that some of us would walk and others would use public transport - depending on their preference. But, we soon realized that we didn't have the time to walk. A few of us were driving. I was among them and arrived at MCC RSL school a little before the session was due to start. The rest of my team arrived minutes later. We split the children into teams as quickly as possible. This time was more organized than the last. We each took our group to different spots inside the campus and sat them down. Some of us worked in pairs and a couple of us worked solo. We were supposed to tell the stories first and then ...

This was something my professor said to me that I really needed to hear.  You won't have critics if you aren't extraordinary. If there is something that sets you apart from the rest of the flock, there would be jealousy or a desire to drag you down. Imagine you're smarter or more beautiful than other people. There would be very few people who would still choose to be your friend. The rest would see you as competition.  This situation is even more heightened among young women. I've noticed that girls are more competitive with each other than boys are. Now, I'm not saying men don't have competition among themselves, but they don't let it get between their friendships. Women on the other hand are most jealous of their close friends. If their friend was to (for example) score higher than them in an exam or do something to catch someone's eye, they would be really jealous. This jealousy sometimes causes friendships to break up. It's so hard for women to f...

Who is Gracelin? Before I read this book, I asked myself how much I really knew about her. One glance through her debut book, 'The Fading Darkness' shows me just who she is. These days, it's hard to find people who see things as they are, people who are compassionate. Gracelin is someone who fills those categories. In her blogpost 'Life of Drivers' she showcases her compassion for an auto driver, rushing to get home. She is a girl who knows just how much her parents have done for her and gives them their due, striving to make them proud. This is shown in her blogposts 'Dad' and 'Mumma'. I especially appreciate her blogpost about her bag. I'm a world where people barely respect their fellow humans, she named her bag 'Jecia' and carries around safely, believing it to be her lifeline. This is a sign of humility grace and respect to everything around her. A book of blogposts is something very personal. It's frightening to put yourself out...

"How can you say that you love someone you can't tell is dying."  Yessss. How can you say that you love someone if you don't know them? The things they like. The things that make them tick. What makes them happy or sad? That's obvious. You can't. I'm not talking about the trivial things that people don't share. I'm talking about the big things. The obvious ones. The object of your affection can ask you for some things, but not everything. There are some things that should be natural and instinctual.  This line talks about signs in a relationship. If you are in a good relationship, you should be able to read the signs that your partner is giving you. You should know when things are alright and when some issues need to be fixed. The narrator in the song pretty much tells us that her partner doesn't know her very well. She has been trying to express something for a long time now, but he is oblivious.  In the end, all a person can do is remain quie...

I paid a visit to my old school a few days ago. I had some free time and I really wanted to see my favorite teachers. I desperately needed some motivation and I knew they would be able to give me that. I had a few copies of my most recent book. I decided that I would stop by and give them both a copy.  The moment I entered my old campus, I felt invigorated for the first time in a while. I rushed up to see one of my teachers. I was looking for her and asked one of the students where I could find her. (That student happened to be her daughter - who I remember seeing almost 5 years ago.) My teacher appeared a few moments later, and she gave me a hug. She took me into the computer lab, and the first thing she said was that I had changed a lot and that I looked really pretty. (That made me feel really warm) I gave her a copy of my book, and she promised to read it.  Then, I went to another building to find my other teacher. She was in the staff room, having lunch with two other tea...