''Teens"

 Hi again. This time I am going to write about teens since I recently became one on the 6th of August. Firstly, there's this common misconception that as soon as a child becomes a teenager, he/she starts acting ''melodramatic'' and becomes "tough to deal with". I don't believe that this is entirely true because often wanting freedom is confused with rebelling... in a way. We get a mind of our own and may wan't reason for things we earlier just accepted and also sometimes not accept them anymore if we don't find them logical. This is also known as "tough to deal with" because we don't always listen and blindly follow. We might make a big thing out of something adults think is small because we have different priorities and we might take lightly what people think should be taken seriously. In this case, instead of correcting our priorities- which I admit can be wrong, we are called 'melodramatic'. So to all parents and teens of the world, this is a dictionary/guide to common phrases and what they actually mean or what they actually imply.(it is as a joke)
tough to deal with- not taking things for granted
melodramatic- having different priorities
rebelling- wanting freedom
moody- expressing feelings
arrogant- answering back to a question
rude- being straightforward
Secondly, even being "tough to deal with" and melodramatic does not happen overnight. So you won't wake up on the day of your 13th b-day and suddenly want freedom. Thirdly, this has nothing to do with the word 'teen'.It can happen from 15-18 or from 12-14. It is only to be expected, as we are changing from kids to adults in this time. It just happens to be that these specific years are mostly numbers with a -teen suffix. So if I am constantly told 'Now you are a teenager', I will be seriously bugged cause that word actually has nothing to do with me becoming an adult from a child. I would love to hear about the opinions of other teenagers on this point as I can actually only give my perspective. BTW, there is a G+ page I think called teenager posts. So here are some of the teenager posts:

Now isn't everyone :) :)

 How come only mothers can do that ???

 Language changes to gibberish btw!

 So totally relatable!

 It happens to everyone- That's life for you!

Not my fault my friends steal my stuff!
You can check more out on their G+ page.
I hope you liked this post and parents- take it as advice, "teens"- I hope you can relate and let my know your opinions on these matters.

Yours awesomely,
Smitz.
P.S. Smitz is what all my friends call me.
P.P.S. My school friends, I mean.
P.P.P.S. I know that my last post was a little haywire- will take feedback.

What's going on...

Hi! This is an essay I wrote for a school assignment on the topic of torrential rain:

Rain through a car window

     When I opened my car’s window to feel the rain, the first thing that hit me was the strong smell of rainwater. Although I felt excited by the rain, I was hit by an icy blast of cold air. I could feel the raindrops on my arm. I could taste the salt in the rain. Shop owners were packing up their displays and the sun was setting making the already grey, cloudy sky darker. The road glistened with raindrops and I could hear the pitter-patter of the rain all around me. In the distance, I could see lightning and hear thunder. The overall atmosphere was dull though stormy. As I was stuck in a traffic jam, I could hear cars honking all around me due to water logging on the roads. The smell of pollution from the cars was terrible.

     I felt grateful that I was in a car and not walking through this rain. I could see pedestrians scurrying for shelter with umbrellas over their heads. The rain was cascading down like a waterfall and the pitter-patter sounded more like bullets. The storm raged on as it became more like a cloudburst. The streets were flooding up and trees swaying like something had hit them. Shop fronts had ‘closed’ signs on them and most pedestrians were stranded. The honking of the cars sounded like an orchestra gone horribly out of tune. I no longer felt drops of rain on my hand, it seemed as if someone had turned on a tap.

     The lightning lit up the whole sky like a display and thunder sounded more like cannon shots. If I closed my eyes and listened carefully, it sounded almost like I was in the middle of a “science-fiction-end-of-the-world” movie. The atmosphere was changing from gloomy to thunderous and thrilling. I could taste the dampness in the air. I was hoping the rain would stop soon when all of a sudden our car’s engine stopped whirring. GREAT!

I hope you liked it as it is probably the best descriptive essay I have ever written and I got a 19 on 20 for it. Earlier, a while ago my best family friend had come to visit from Dubai- here's a pic of my parents with hers:

This year April my family and I shifted into our new house and one or two weekends back we had a house warming party which was majorly overdue! It was fun- sort of...

I recently finished reading Insurgent which is the 2nd book in the Divergent trilogy. Now I am waiting for my mom to finish the second book 'cause then she will start the 3rd one and tell me if it is appropriate for me to read (which by the way I am sure it will be), just like she did for the 2nd one- and all because she heard from one of her friends that it is inappropriate.Whatever.

 Even though I am blogging this very late, on the 15th August and Janmashtmi long weekend, we went to Orrisa with some friends. First we went to Bhubhaneshwar and then to a nearby beach place called Puri. In Bhubhaneshwar my parents went to see a temple while I watched Houseful in the hotel! It was a good resort with loads of fun stuff. In Puri we went to the beach and pool.
This is a picture of me with my sister (right) and my friend (left).

This is temple we saw on our way driving from Bhubhaneshwar to Puri- the famous Sun temple in Konark. We got a guide who explained the whole philosophy in a lot of detail but I won't bore you with that!

TTYL

SMITI!

Cool Stuff

Magic maths:

Infinity + 1 = Infinity cause that's the highest number ever!

Subtract Infinity from both side and you get:

0 = 1

Therefore 1 = 2, 2 = 3, 3 = 4 and so on. Weird?

.999...= 1

Let .9999...= x

Multiply both sides by 10:

9.9999... = 10x

Subtract x from both sides:

9 = 9x

Divide both sides by 9:

1 = x = .9999...

Therefore, zero point nine repeating is one! There's no trick there, it's just the way it is!

For more proof: https://www.khanacademy.org/math/recreational-math/vi-hart/infinity/v/9-999----reasons-that--999------1

There's also some other really cool stuff in the recreational math section of Khan Academy- be sure to check it out.

Top 20 Completely Useless Inventions

20. Non stick Cellotape

19. Solar Powered Flash Light (torch)

18. A black highlighter pen

17. Glow in the dark sunglasses

16. Inflatable Anchor

15. Smooth Sandpaper

14. Waterproof sponge

13. Waterproof Teabags

12. AC adapter for Solar powered calculators

11. Fireproof Matches

10. Fireproof Cigarettes

9. Battery powered Battery Charger

8. Seatbelts for Motorbikes

7. Hand powered Chainsaw

6. Inflatable Dartboard

5. Silent Alarm Clock

4. A Pedal powered wheelchair

3. Braille Drivers Manual

2. Double sided playing cards

1. Ejector seats for Helicopters

Most of them are contradictory and ironical. That reminds me of a joke:
On a wall in Delhi these words were spray painted by some gang in the colony.
3 things I hate:
1. Vandalism
2. Irony
3. Lists

This is an interesting list of interesting and ironic facts:

• More than 50% of the people in the world have never made or received a telephone call.
• If the government has no knowledge of aliens, then why does Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations, implemented on July 16, 1969, make it illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrials or their vehicles?
• The cigarette lighter was invented before the match.
• Nutella uses 25% of the world's hazelnut supply.

• 25 million of your cells died while you were reading this sentence.
• Daniel Radcliffe broke 80 wands in the filming of the Harry Potter series as he often used them as drumsticks.
• If Americans recycled even 10% of their paper annually, they could save 25,000,000 trees each year.
• In 2008, a beach was stolen in Jamaica. The 500 truckloads of sand are missing till date.

I hope you find this interesting. Some of the things are truly amazing.
Smiti.

Books

Today I will be talking about the latest books I've been reading. So my latest favorite is an author, not a series- Sophie McKenzie. Her books are mostly action-packed thrillers. All though she has written some romance novels as well I haven't read them. The books I have read... Her first series I read was the Medusa project series about four teens who were implanted at birth with a gene for psychic abilities and they are unaware that their psychic powers are about to kick-in. The first book in the series is ''The set-up'' and all her books are appropriate for preteens and teens although many adults also enjoy her books as they are thriller and romance. The other books in the series all follow up from that but giving summaries of them will spoil the first book for you. That's why I also advise you to read the books in the right order as in each book you learn something new without which you can't understand the next books and it spoils all the previous books for you. The Set-Up:

The order of books is: the set-up, the hostage, the rescue, hunted, double cross and hit squad. Later on she added a book 2.5, between ''The hostage'' and ''The rescue'' called ''The thief'' which she wrote especially for World book day. She has also written the Missing trilogy . The first book is ''Girl, missing'', the second is ''Sister, missing'' and the third is ''Missing, me'', all three gripping and exciting. Here's a summary'of the first book from the author's website itself:

''Lauren has always known she was adopted but when a little research turns up the possibility that she was snatched from an American family as a baby, suddenly Lauren’s life seems like a sham. How can she find her biological parents? And are her adoptive parents really responsible for kidnapping her? She manages to persuade her family to take a trip across the Atlantic where she runs away to try and find the truth. But the circumstances of her disappearance are murky and Lauren’s kidnappers are still at large and willing to do anything to keep her silent…''

I hope the summary intrigues you and you read the book because it;s truly amazing. Another one of her books which I am currently reading is called ''Blood Ties''. It also has a sequel called ''Blood Ransom'' which will probably be my next purchase on the kindle! Again, here is a description from Sophie McKenzie's site    ( http://www.sophiemckenziebooks.com/) :

''An explosive thriller series featuring two teenagers, Theo and Rachel, who uncover a human cloning project. With chapters alternately narrated by both characters, Blood Ties and sequel Blood Ransom follow their quest to uncover the truth as they find themselves in increasing danger among criminals intent on causing them harm.''

She has written other books as well but this is what I've read! Some other books for people my age which I've recently read are Hunger games, Inheritance cycle, Divergent series(though I've heard the second two books are inappropriate)etc. I am currently waiting for the movie of the third book in the hunger games trilogy- Mockingjay. The movie will be divided into 2 parts so Mockingjay Part 1 is expected to release in India in December some time as it will release in U.S. in end November. I have already seen the Divergent movie and as far as I know, there is only a movie on the 1st book of the Inheritance cycle- Eragon, which I have already seen.

Thanks,

Smiti.

My birthday and other things...

Hey! Yesterday was my birthday and one of the best days of my life. I had told my parents to surprise me as I had already celebrated with my friends on the 2nd. When I came back from school, my mom told me that she had arranged for a baking session for me with a friend of mine and her mom who bakes amazingly. It was amazing and  we made a carrot cake and a banana cake, we later iced the carrot one for my birthday. When I came back, my mom handed me a package from amazon and said it was a surprise. I could feel it was hard and from the size, thought it might be a book or something but when I opened it, it was a............. kindle paperwhite. I have been exploring my kindle and have already downloaded 5-6 free books including ''The memoirs of Sherlock Holmes''. I also think the power-saving display when you switch the kindle off is really cool. Of course, it'll take time time getting adjusted to reading on a kindle versus a physical book but I'll get used to it I'm sure.

I was totally not expecting that. It really was all I could ask for since I love baking and reading. But then... In the evening, we decided to go to Cyber hub for dinner and were recommended Hard Rock cafe as a good place for a 13th birthday celebration. The ambiance there is amazing with signed guitars etc. hung up all over and I really cant describe it- you'll have to see it for yourself. It is just the type of place young people and teenagers of the 21st century would  love going to. Any way, it was karaoke night so I sang a song on the karaoke (Set fire to the rain) and there were plenty of volunteers. The karaoke lyrics were being displayed on a large screen and the music was loud English music- latest songs. It was amazing. They have this tradition if it is someone's birthday- they dunk your face on a plate of whipped cream! So first I was told to stand on my chair and close my eyes and try and eat the cream with my sister guiding me (wrongly I think) and then suddenly I found cream all over my face! It was a lot of fun though equally crazy at the same time. As I've already said- one of the best days if my life.

Then today in school, we did community service- 8 A of The Shri Ram school Aravali, Gurgaon. A group of 30 4th-5th grade students came from a school in Mewat and we got to interact with them. First we had lunch with them and then we did some clay modelling with them and it was mutual fun unlike what I had earlier anticipated. Some of them were quite talented. They were quite shy though, especially the girls, but then it is to be expected because they are younger and from a different community. However, as the afternoon progressed, both them and we opened up more. Overall a great learning experience!

Diary of a depressed girl

Hey! Today, I am going to write a purely fictitious entry in a diary format called ''Diary of a depressed girl ''. Disclaimer: Any resemblance to anyone dead or alive is purely coincidental.

I didn't really know who I was, and frankly- I was sure I was not even worth knowing. If someone would have asked to describe myself, though no one ever would've, I wouldn't be able to because I thought I was a nothing and how can one describe nothingness? Oh sure I could tell them my name- Adaeze Blanchard- Adaeze means king's daughter, but then my parents had no idea I would think of myself as a nobody when I was born let alone king's daughter. I used to think I was useless and that no one loved me, failing to realize that I had a family who took care of me everyday. I used to think my parents were useless, setting rules all the time. There was even a phase where I thought I had been unanimously shunned because my parents were hated. I had gone down as deep as you can and still haven't recovered entirely from what I now know to be post traumatic stress disorder in the form of depression. It happened after my sister died, and perhaps my parents were a little overprotective over there only child but I thought they were my jailers.

I didn't realize that my teachers were trying to help in school and that Mary was trying to reach out to me. I was blinded by a low self-esteem and thought these people were mocking at me and thinking of me as mental. They were really only trying to help me get past a difficult phase of my life. It started with survivor's guilt. As I saw people crying over her, tears refused to come to my eyes. I felt guilty for not missing her even though I was traumatic because of the loss. But then, in my dark tunnel, emerged a speck of light. My mom became sick seeing me distressed and suddenly I knew I had to help. It wasn't easy for me to realize this because I hated my parents. But from somewhere inside me came out the instinct everyone has to save family. It was my very last reserve of respect for my mom but it took me out of depression. I realized the world hadn't shunned me, I had shunned the world, including my mom. I still didn't know my teachers or Mary thought me sane but slowly, I realized that my parents at least loved me. They did everything for my benefit even if they didn't understand me at times. Then I tried to reconnect with Mary, even though I didn't understand her. And as our bond grew stronger and stronger, I rose out of my depression and started to feel as if life was worth living. I realized my teachers intentions and am sitting in my favorite teacher's room right now. I go to her regularly for counselling and have emerged a strong person. She asked me to write this so that girls around the world would be inspired. Inspiration and motivation leads people out of depression. I was inspired by my parents and motivated to help my mom. But now, I am inspired by the way the people around me kept faith in me and were by my side even on my darkest days.

Please let me know how you liked it as it is the first time have written a fictitious article on a topic like this. It is meant to inspire. Even though it hasn't happened in reality to me, things like this happen to people all over the world and believe me they need all the help they can get.

 The girl is still afraid of going back into depression and has dark memories of those days, but she resists dwelling on them and has mastered her fears.In fact, it is good she is afraid for it reminds her of what can happen and keeps her on her feet, standing up for who she is.

''Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.''   - Mark Twain.

Smiti.

Dive trip

I just came back from my diving trip and enjoyed it a lot. It was amazing seeing all the underwater life. We went to 4 dive sites and for anyone going diving to Phuket, I would recommend the last one- Shark Point. Ironically, we didn't see any sharks :(. But there were amazing corals and hundreds of fish including anemone fish, sea urchins, star fish, schools of barracuda and a snake eel! I went underwater with my dad and one of his friends who was also doing the course, accompanied by an instructor. Here are some pics from my trip:-

First day we arrived in the morning and practiced some skills in a 3m deep pool which was supposed to stimulate a dive. 2nd and 3rd day, we had 2 dives each. The first 2-3 dives we were so busy worrying about our equipment that we couldn't really enjoy the dives, but the last dive, which also happened to be the best site, was amazing and surreal really. The last day, we had a flight at 12:30, and then a 4 hr stopover at Bankok because the flight from Phuket wasn't direct. It was mostly travel. 

In Phuket, we went for a morning walk on the famous Patong beach and saw the street markets. 3 things which are widely sold there are Tuk Tuk rides, dress suits, and massages. Thai boxing is also very famous there. Overall, an amazing trip. If anyone wants to do scuba diving, PADI is a good organisation cus the certificate is recognized world wide. At the end, I couldn't believe that the thing I had been looking forward to for so long was over already and that I was actually a Certified Open Water scuba diver!!

The best part about diving is the thrill and the excitement and even though there is a potential risk, normally nothing serious happens. The adventure and the adrenaline the first time you breathe underwater and don your equipment is unmatched by anything else I've tried so far. It's not really ''difficult'', just a lot of things to remember in the beginning. Once you are comfortable in the water, it's like you don't have a care in the world. I hope I'll be able to do many more dives in the future.

Smiti