This summer, in India, I’ve done a lot of crafts. These range from painting, to crochet, to embroidery, to balloon animals. They’ve all been a ton of fun and so I thought I’d go in detail about some of the fun things I’ve done this year.
Crochet:
I started learning how to crochet from my great-grandmother, who is a pro at it! We started small, with chains, then rubber bands, flowers, stars, and worked up to super cute bear keychains! I’m really proud of how much I’ve been able to learn in these 2 months.
Painting:
Using paints from my aunt, I first started painting in a coloring book. Currently, I’m working on a sunflower painting, but flipping the colors to their complementary versions (yellow is purple, green is red, etc.). I also painted a t-shirt using fabric paints! (also from my aunt).
PAPERCRAFTS:
Papercrafts are these dolls you can make! A game that I enjoy a lot- Project Sekai- offers up templates for these papercrafts for free, so I got to make a lot this summer! (8 in total).
Embroidery:
I started an embroidery project this summer, using a kit! I’d never really done embroidery before, but using instructions from my grandmother, I was really proud of the end product!
Balloon Animals:
This summer, I bought a balloon making kit. I learned how to make a balloon dog and balloon flowers! I got really good at making them and I still have a bunch of balloons left so I can’t want to keep making more.
Recently, I went to see Chennai Music Academy’s Mid Year Dance Festival. I went on the second day and watched both Lekha Prasad (disciple of Guru Priya Murle) and P.V. Adithya (disciple of Guru Sudharani Raghunathy) perform a 4 item margam consisting of a varnam and a thillana, the other two items being unique to the performer. I enjoyed both dances immensely, especially with the more intimate area, with a smaller stage and a live orchestra.
The first dancer, Lekha Prasad, started off with an invocatory item composed by Chirumanavoor Muniswamy Mudaliar. Next, she performed a 45-50 minute varnam called Sami nee Rammana Ve composed by Tanjore Ponnayya. Her aadavus were clean and I especially liked how she used her eyes in the abhinaya sections. Her poses were also well done and were once again, clean. Her angashruti was really good. After this, she performed an Ashtapadi- Yahi Madhava- composed by Jayadeva, then ended with a thillana composed by the Tanjore Quartet. I enjoyed her performance a lot.
Next was a performance by P.V. Adithya. He started off with a Kriti composed by Mysore Vasudevachar, in which his angashruti shone. Next was a 50 minute Varnam- Sami ninne kori- composed by the Tanjore Quartet. I really enjoyed his aadavus, as they were crisp and clear. Each aadvu was completed fully and even the faster speeds were clear. I also enjoyed his abhinaya. In conclusion, I really enjoyed the performances from the Chennai Music Academy. They were both well put together and presented and I am incredibly glad I was able to see these performances!
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.
Recently, I went to Manchester. I spent a week there and explored the city. While it was really cold, I enjoyed everywhere we went to! Some of my favorite places were the libraries. We visited Chetham’s Library in Manchester, which is the oldest public library in the world, and the Liverpool Central Library.
The Chetham’s Library first served as housing for the priests of Manchester’s Collegiate Church in 1421. Since then, it has become a library, housing many unique and rare books for over 350 years. We were lucky enough to get a tour of the library and therefore learned about the history. The library contains a few intact rooms that represent what life might have looked like for the priests and the warden that watched over them.
Later in the trip, we went to Liverpool, where we decided to visit the Liverpool Central Library. This library is relatively modern, with some beautiful older rooms. Outside the library, book titles are engraved (as shown in the first picture) and I loved the way that it looked. It was totally unique and I haven’t seen other libraries which had decorations like that before! The main room was beautiful and I especially enjoyed the second “floor” which curved around the whole room. There were also certain exhibits when we went, like an Audubon birds exhibit and a Chinese and British exhibit (last picture).
I really enjoyed visiting these libraries! Which library that you’ve visited is your favorite?
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.
In my last post, I talked about the places we went to in Boston which had historical significance. Along with those places, we also went to many places that inspired/housed authors, like the Louisa May Alcott house and the Walden pond. We also visited 3 bookstores and they each had their own uniqueness to offer.
We started with the house of the author of Little Women. While we arrived at the Louisa May Alcott house late and therefore couldn’t get a tour, we did get see view the outside of it and the gardens outside. The gardens were planted according to the book, a section corresponding to each sister and what they had planted in the book.
After that we drove to Walden pond and Henry David Thoreau’s house. He drew inspiration from the pond to write his book, so we decided to visit it. The sun was setting just as we arrived, casting everything in a golden glow. It was incredibly beautiful and I enjoyed it a lot! We also saw an eagle on top of a replica of his cabin which was nice.
We also visited many bookstores! On the first day we visited posman books and Brattle Book Shop. posman had many great books and I loved how the shop was decorated. Brattle was unique because it was an used bookshop. However, on the third floor, they had a collection of rare/unique books, like the original Federalist papers and the aeronautical pamphlets from the Wright brothers. Later, we also visited Beacon Hill Books and Cafe, which was such an amazing place. The bookshop was cozy and inviting and I loved their atmosphere.
Lastly, we visited the Boston Library. It’s a beautiful place with paintings and sculptures scattered throughout the library. I really enjoyed walking through it!
Do you know any cities that have thriving areas to write?
Recently, we got to go to Boston. In my U.S. History class, we had recently been talking about Boston and how it played a crucial role in the American Revolution, so we made sure to go to the places that were incredibly important.
One of the highlights of the trip was definitely the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum. We started in a meeting room, with our guides dressed as figures from the 1700’s. They led us to a ship, where we learned about the mechanics of the Tea Party and how it worked. Lastly, we had a chance to throw some tea overboard ourselves. After that, we got to explore the museum which contained remnants of the original Tea Party, like a crate that washed up and a little bit of tea from the crates. It was interesting and I enjoyed the interactiveness of the museum.
There were also a ton of interesting statues all over Boston, many being in the Boston commons and in the Boston Public Gardens. Some of the most notable were a statue of Alexander Hamilton, a statue of George Washington, and a Samuel Adams statue. I also enjoyed the monuments, for example, one of Lafayette in the Commons and one of the Founding Fathers (though that was in Plymouth, not Boston).
During our trip, we got to see Paul Revere’s house, a statue of him, and the church which signified to him what the British were doing. The house was decorated with furniture that might have come from the 1700’s and a lot of information about the original owner.
We also enjoyed following the Freedom Trail, a walking trail that covers most of the landmarks mentioned above. The Freedom Trail was a great guide, and I was glad we got to finish most of it.
Even though it’s not in Boston, Plymouth played a large part in the history of the American colonies. It was the 2nd permanent colony to be established and was created for religious freedom. We got to see the Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower 2 when we were there. Plymouth Rock is a good marking point of where exactly the Pilgrims landed after sailing from England to America in the original Mayflower. The Mayflower 2 was a replica of the original and I enjoyed exploring it a lot.
What historic places have you gone to? Which one’s your favorite?
