2023 is hopefully going to be a big year! I’m graduating middle school and moving on to high school, so that’s a pretty big milestone for me. I’m also hoping to work on things I’m passionate about and get much better at them.
Dance:
Dance, especially Bharatanatyam, is already a huge part of my life and I want that to continue through the new year. I hope to practice a lot more, learn many new items, and get more opportunities to perform. This year, I’ll also get to perform in my school’s Spring Show, where I’ll be able to perform 4 dances in front of parents and friends. This is something I’m really excited for and I can’t wait to grow my contemporary dancing skills as well!
Writing:
I really want to work on my writing, as well as my use of vocabulary. Writing is already a huge passion of mine and I definitely want to grow that this year. I’m also auditioning for a creative-arts school in the category of writing!
Art:
Along with my writing, I would like to get better at my art skills! Currently, I might not be the best artist, however, I definitely want to practice a lot this year and hopefully learn more about art and develop an art style (or any semblance of one)
Books:
This year, I’m going to be trying to “read my bookshelf” more and get through many of the books on my bookshelf instead of always getting new ones. I hope to maybe finish more series and discover a lot of good books!
School:
This year, I’ll be going into high school and I hope to find my footing quickly. I’ll definitely keep working hard in my new school (and for the rest of middle school).
I started the year in India. We didn’t really do much that first month, but it was a good and clean beginning to the new year.
February:
We took a quick staycation in Downtown, which was definitely a lot of fun. It was a great opportunity to relax while staying in the city.
March:
We went to Miami this year which was a lot of fun! We got to see a lighthouse and also got to visit Calle Ocho, which I had been learning about in school. I also visited the science museum which was a fun experience. We also got to see Hamilton, which was awesome. I loved watching the songs come to life and it was overall a great experience.
April:
I did two dance performances this month- an annual recital for Bharatanatyam and my first ever Mohiniyattam performance! I also got to watch an arangetram which was a new experience for me.
May:
We went to New Mexico which was really cool! I really enjoyed viewing the Carlsbad Caverns and the Petroleum Museum, as well as Monahans Sandhills State Park. Our school also put on Matilda the Musical and I really enjoyed watching it, especially as a lot of my friends starred in it.
June:
Right before 7th grade ended, we had our schoolwide International Peace Festival, in which my friend and I put together a project on gender equality. During summer, I went to India which was a lot of fun, as usual.
July:
I went to Delhi in the beginning of July, which was a place I’d never been before. I really enjoyed visiting The Taj Mahal, Qutab Minar, and Isa Khan’s tomb, as well as other places. I came home from India early (☹️) to go to Leadership Camp, hosted by my Leadership teacher for 8th grade. I really enjoyed camp and definitely made a lot of memories there.
August:
I started 8th grade around the middle of August which was an incredible new experience. I also competed in a duet and a group Bharatanatyam competition and won first place for the duet!
September:
I celebrated my birthday this month and turned 13! Other than that we didn’t do much, but I really enjoyed celebrating my birthday and cherished everyone in my life that day (and month).
October:
I started the month with a roller skating party for everyone in Leadership. At first, I was a bit shaky, but I eventually got the hang of it and had a lot of fun! I also got to see another musical- Hadestown, which was inspired by Greek mythology, which I love. After that, we had Homecoming, which is definitely one of my highlights this year, as I got to have a lot of fun that night.
November:
I started November off with my UIL theater class performing twice, once for parents and once at a competition. I had a lot of fun both times and I can’t wait to do it again in the spring! After that, we went to my last musical of the year- SIX the Musical. I also saw two of my friends there which was such a fun experience! Then, during Fall Break, we went to Boston and I saw a lot of historical monuments, which went perfectly with what we were learning in US History. Lastly, I ended the month with Fall Show, a performance organized by the dance teachers so we can show off what we have learnt in the first semester.
December:
Our school’s first semester has ended, meaning we’re halfway through the school year. This was also the first year I had to do midterms, because I’ve started taking high-school level courses. As the semester ended, I went to our school’s winter concert, as I had many friends in orchestra. I really enjoyed watching them perform and they did great! Lastly, I closed the year off by going to India for winter break.
I recently got to see Six: The Musical. I’d been listening to the songs for quite a while and I always enjoyed thinking about what the inperson version might sound like and so when their tour started, I had to go. It was such a fun experience and I enjoyed it a lot!
Six is about the 6 wives of Henry the 8th and how they each had their lives ruined because of the king. Each of the queens (Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, and Catherine Parr) had their own song in which they proved exactly how horrible their lives were because of one man.
Two of them were divorced (Catherine of Aragon and Anna of Cleves), two of them were beheaded (Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard), one died of natural causes (Jane Seymour), and one survived (Catherine Parr). All of them were torn away from their lives and forced to be with Henry, whether they wanted it, like Jane, or not, like Catherine Parr.
The set for Six was pretty simple, with no specific setting, only a moment in time for all the Queens to be together. However, while the set wasn’t specific, the lights definitely were. They matched perfectly to the songs playing and truly elevated the whole set. The costumes were also amazing. They were elaborate and shone under the lights. Each costume also catered to the character’s role well.
Have you seen any musicals? What are your favorites?
Recently, we hosted a Friendsgiving party, inviting a lot of family friends to spend time and have fun with us. I really enjoyed this party as well as how we planned for it.
It was a full spread, inspired by the traditional Thanksgiving foods. However, we decided to add an Indian twist to them. For example, we had pumpkin sambar, pumpkin idlis, white pumpkin raita, butternut squash parata, and white pumpkin pachadi to name a few. I also loved the apple cider we had, as it was mixed with ginger ale, giving it a fizzy and overall delightful taste.
The food wasn’t the only attraction. We decorated the house with oranges and golds to highlight the idea of fall and Thanksgiving. Some of these decorations included an orange garland of fall leaves as well as a gold FRIENDSGIVING sign and many, many bouquets of flowers.
Have you ever hosted a Friendsgiving party? How was it?
I know I recently published a blog about my experiences in theater and a recent musical I went to, but I wanted to elaborate more on a specific year of theater.
This year, I was chosen for UIL theater, a class with 20 students who each have a special passion for theater. For some of us, it’s the acting, while for others it’s directing or backstage work. It’s a tightknit class and on the 3rd and 5th, we got to perform the play we spent 2 months working on. It wasn’t perfect, but we were ok with that! We still had a lot of fun and learned valuable lessons from it. Our theater teacher has promised that for our next play, in the spring, we’ll get even more time to work on it, meaning we’ll have an even better play.
Here’s a short poem I wrote about my UIL theater experiences so far.
Circle up, circle up A routine we know so well Set the set, markings clear Circle up once again
Places, places We know exactly what to do Get ready to head on stage And make sure you just be you
Lines, lines Etched into the brain so deep No doubt about what comes next We could do this in our sleep
Curtain, curtain The play is now done Strike the set, put it away Could we have won?
Waiting, waiting Holding hands, scared Hold our breath as they call out names Four people from our school won medals, they declared
Laughing, laughing Packing up our stuff We might not have won, but we had fun And that is always enough.
This year at my school, we had a Homecoming game and dance! Though I didn’t go to the game, I really enjoyed the dance and being able to see my friends and spend time with them.
One of the best parts was definitely being able to wear a pavadai to this event. Me and my other Indian friend had planned this for a while, so we showed up each wearing a matching outfit, her wearing pink and me wearing blue. I loved how we looked and the way we were able to show off our culture!
Another fun part about the dance was how it was set up. We had three areas we could go to- the gym, the cafeteria, or the patio. In the gym, there was a lively and bustling environment, with a DJ and a crowd of people dancing along to the music. In the cafeteria (where I mainly was), some teachers had candy and water, keeping us happy and hydrated. There was also a variety of songs playing and overall, the mood was bright. Lastly, there was the chess patio. The patio was lit up beautifully, with strings of fairy lights surrounding the whole place. It has a calming atmosphere and was probably the nicest place throughout the dance.
All in all, the Homecoming dance was really fun and I enjoyed meeting all my friends with this and getting to spend 2 hours with them without having school work or anything else to focus on.
This week is Banned Book Week! In honor of that, I wrote a poem and decided to share it with you. I hope you enjoy!
If books around the world are getting banned? Who is there to represent? Must we only learn about the classic, Fair skin, straight, with no problems?
Why do books get ruled offensive? So what if characters aren’t the norm? Isn’t that why they were put into these books in the first place? Isn’t that what makes people happier to see them?
To see yourself reflected in books, Isn’t that a marvelous thing? But banning books, the opposite Removing all the reflections
Moving forward, past these bans, Seems impossible, a nightmare to face But we keep reading banned books And we keep learning, and growing, and being reflected
Recently, in my English class, we created 6 word memoirs. They were really fun and easy to create and so, I thought it would be nice to share that over here! 6 word memoirs can either be 6 words that sum up a big part or your whole life, or they can describe one specific event. With the way that my English teacher led us through it, there are 4 main steps to writing a 6 word memoir.
Step 1. Take anywhere from 3-5 minutes and write down a big list of life events. These events don’t have to be in order or make sense to anyone but you. Make sure you keep writing and let your subconscious bring up some of the major events you have experienced.
Step 2. Pick any one of the events and write 2-3 sentences about it. You can add any details you want, but don’t let it become a full paragraph.
Step 3. Cross out any unnecessary information. This step can sometimes be hard, but try to think of the main points of your event. Also make sure to keep the mood of the event intact when you cross things out (for example, if you’re writing about a scary moment, don’t cross out all the scary parts of it).
Step 4.Using the words or phrases you have left, experiment with different wording choices and ideas. When you have one you think that fits best, congrats! You’ve written a 6 word memoir.
Here’s an example that I made in my English class:
Step 1. I had around 32 events written down in the span of 5 minutes. Some of my most important/memorable were the Austin trip, COVID/google classroom, online lunch, PUPS potluck (all grades), my mock algebra STAAR, Murder on the Sea (my group’s theater production), and getting into leadership. All of these events definitely influenced me a lot and helped me become who I am today.
Step 2. I chose to write about Murder on the Sea, a theater production my and my ensemble created last year. My 4 sentences were: My first look at theater performances. I had practiced all weekend and probably wore my grandfather out as he listened to me practice. I remember being extremely nervous, but also ready before the performance. It was the time I decided to join UIL theater.
Step 3. The next step was crossing out unnecessary information. Below is what I had after step 3. My first look at theater performances.I had practiced all weekend and probably wore my grandfather out as he listened to me practice.I remember being extremely nervous, but also ready before the performance. It was the time I decided to join UIL theater. At the end, the main phrases I had left were “first look”, “practiced all weekend”, “extremely nervous, but also ready”, and “decided to join UIL theater.”
Step 4. Some of my ideas included: – practicing all weekend, UIL the goal – first look at theater, in love – never forgetting shining on the stage
Finally, I chose this one- “Memorizing done, am I good enough?”
I picked that specific one because it not only ties into theater, but also dance, a huge aspect of my life.
Have you ever written a 6 word memoir? If not, will you give it a try?
A lunar eclipse is when the moon moves directly into Earth’s shadow. The means that the Sun and the moon are on either side, with the Earth sandwiched in-between. The astronomical term for this occurrence is a syzygy.
When the eclipse “reaches totality” (when the moon is totally covered by the Earth’s shadow), you can see the moon become what’s known as a Blood Moon. Because of sunlight being scattered by Earth’s atmosphere, the moon doesn’t completely go dark as the sun would in a solar eclipse. Instead, based on the proximity of the Earth and the Moon, and the specific alignment of the syzygy, the Moon appears in a shade of red, orange, yellow, brown, or copper, which is where the name, Blood Moon, comes from.
A lunar eclipse usually takes a few hours to happen, going through 7 specific steps as these hours progress.
The first stage is the penumbral eclipse. This happens when the outer part of Earth’s shadow (the penumbra) starts to cover the moon. It’s not something that you can see with the naked eye. The second stage is the partial eclipse. The main part of Earth’s shadow (the umbra) starts to cover the moon and therefore, the eclipse is more visible. The third stage is the total eclipse. The umbra completely covers the moon, and you can see the moon as an actual Blood Moon. The fourth stage is the maximum eclipse, or the climax of the lunar eclipse. It can last anywhere from up to a few seconds to an hour and 40 minutes. The fifth stage is the total eclipse ending. Earth’s umbra starts to leave the moon’s surface. The sixth stage is the partial eclipse ending. At this point, Earth’s umbra has completely left the moon’s surface. The seventh, and last stage is the penumbral eclipse ending. Now, the eclipse ends and all of Earth’s shadow has moved away from the moon’s surface.
Recently in my English class, we have been writing a poem for the Peace Festival in our school. This year, for the Peace Festival, our theme is A Healthy World. I hope you enjoy my poem!
Where is the world? Is it crumbling away, hidden in a corner? Cobwebs, thick and dusty littering the surface?
Where is the world? Is it falling apart as we humans pick, poke, and prod at it? Are chunks of rock and dirt and earth breaking off, falling through space soundlessly?
Where is the world? Is it disappearing, melting away because of our actions? Drops of blue and green mixing together as they fall?
But…
Is the world getting better? Is it being restored from the actions of the new generation? Are the plants blooming again, opening up their buds of pink, yellow, red?
Is the world getting better? Is it slowly rising up, shaking off the sludge we have covered it with? Can you see the clear waters, glittering from the sun?
Is the world getting better? Is it getting ready to shine no longer polluted? Do you see the white, cotton ball clouds, blissfully floating by?
We are bringing back the world Just as we have with the many species Brought back from the brink of extinction Haven’t you seen the towering trees, frigid waters?
Hopefully one day, the world will be better
And hopefully one day, the world will rise up
Hopefully one day, one time, You and I will stand and look up And marvel at the peaceful sky, the cotton ball clouds The towering trees, the springtime plants
