Recently, I went to view the temple’s Golu for Navaratri. Golu is described as a doll festival, where households arrange religious dolls on an odd number of steps. It’s one of the ways Navaratri, or 9 nights, is celebrated. Navaratri seeks to honor the goddesses- specifically Shailaputri, Bhramacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Mahagauri, and Siddhidatri.
Throughout the nine nights of Navaratri, many classical performances are held with songs and dances centering around the above goddesses, or any female ones. This year, I performed Amba Shambavi, an item on Devi.
Recently, for Spring Break, I got to go to Oman, in the Middle East. It was a pretty cool trip and I got to experience and see a lot of things that I’m glad I had a chance to!
There was a lot of nature around us, from the Gulf of Oman to the desert. All of it was absolutely gorgeous and amazing to see.
Additionally, we visited many popular and beautiful areas like the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque and the Royal Opera House. They were both awe-inspiring!
Lastly, we saw a lot of animals! Overall, there were many cats roaming the streets, especially in the souq. When driving to the desert, we saw many camels, including one that crossed right in front of our car. And lastly, we went on a boat ride to see dolphins and ended up seeing SO many. It was so wonderful!
Overall, I really enjoyed this trip and getting to see so many amazing sights. What’s a great vacation you’ve been on?
Recently, we visited California, and there, we went to Joshua Tree National Park! We got to see some amazing sights and to commemorate, I wrote a poem in the style of a Golden Shovel. A Golden Shovel poem is when the ending word, usually bolded, of each line (when read from top to bottom) forms a line from another poem. In my case, I used a line from the poem, “Joshua Tree” by A.R. Ammons. I hope you enjoy!
as i stood by the trees, the wind whistled by, past the rounding of the rocks, through the gap of the stones and found me standing still there listening to the weeping of too-heavy branches under the magnificence of a true blue sky. there it was, a Joshua tree
Recently, I went on a trip to Israel! Israel is one of the most culturally significant and religiously important countries in the world, as it is known as the birthplace of three religions. I got to explore a lot of amazing places when we went, so here are a few of them!
Carmel Market:
This was an amazing open air market that I was able to visit. There were a lot of food stalls, a lot of souvenir shops, and overall, it was a really nice experience. While we didn’t eat there, we did buy souvenirs and that was super fun!
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem:
While traveling, this wasn’t a major stop in our trip, however the environment of this museum was so nice and calming that I would’ve loved to stay for longer. The museum was really nicely done and I loved the architecture and symbolism of everything.
The Dead Sea:
Another place we got to visit was the Dead Sea! The Dead Sea is known for having a high salinity, which lets you float without any effort! We took some newspapers for props and ended up conducting a little science experiment with a sunhat. It was super fun!
Soon, in a week, I’m about to start high school! I’m pretty nervous, but I’m excited too, because this is a totally new experience.
This year, I’m taking my first AP class- AP Human Geography. AP classes are college-level classes, where the work load is higher and so is the material you learn. Other classes I’m taking include Biology, English 1, Spanish 2, Algebra 2, PE, and Theater. I’m super excited to see my new school and start these classes and see what high school is like.
Over the summer, I’ve been completing the summer work required of us. This ranged from reading a specific dystopian book (English) to reviewing important landmarks (AP Human Geo). I’ve learned a lot from the work we’ve been told to do and I can’t wait to get back in a classroom and apply it.
Overall, I’m excited for this new experience and I know I will fully commit to it and do my best everyday. What was your high school experience like?
Recently, I’ve been trying to experiment around with different poem styles- instead of classics like free style, limericks, or sonnets, I’ve been trying to find some unique styles- like the nonet! The nonet is based on syllable count and each line decreases, starting from 9 syllables-1 syllable.
I decided to write my nonet about the Everglades, which I got to visit when I went to Miami. They were incredible, and we even got to see an alligator, plus a heron! I enjoyed it a lot, so here’s my nonet about the Everglades!
You would think that in swampy waters Nothing would dare to grow or live I can prove you wrong, just take a look at Florida’s Everglades, where wildlife thrives everywhere, just find it
Here are some of the pictures from the Everglades!
What are some unique poetry styles that you know of?
Recently, we traveled to Miami! While exploring the city, we discovered the Miami Botanical Gardens, a beautiful garden filled with plants and wildlife. Here’s an acrostic poem based on what I saw in the gardens!
Miami, a busy city, bustling to the brim Isn’t just noise and hustle, An adventure is waiting, in Miami, so what are you waiting for? It’s time to explore!
Behind the Convention Center, Over past the beach, Towards the quiet side of the city, A secret gem lies in wait, just for you Nature blossoms, blooms, and grows, an Incredible, inviting space Come on in Amazing awaits, Let’s experience it!
Grand, open Area, filled with Radiance, light Dazzling, incredible Extraordinarily, wonderful No time to waste!
During our Manchester trip, we got to go to Liverpool, where I got to visit the Beatles Museum. This was an amazing opportunity as I really enjoy the Beatles’ music. The museum was filled with information from their childhood to (some of) their deaths. It was also decorated beautifully, with certain rooms dedicated to a certain song or album and other rooms showing how they became such a popular band.
After that, we decided to go on a hop on-hop off style bus tour of famous Beatles locations. This included Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields, and the Beatles’ childhood homes. It was amazing to see how each of these places inspired the 4 so much that they went on to write award-winning songs about them.
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.
