Uncategorized – Iniya Writes

Singapore

For winter break, I visited Singapore. It was such a lovely trip- I had lived there when I was 3, so it was great to see all the places I used to know and make new memories.

On our first day in Singapore, we spent time exploring the mall close to our hotel! While exploring the mall, I learned just how cute everything in Singapore was. It seemed like Hello Kitty, and similar characters, were everywhere, on all the packaging and sponsorships. I also had a curry puff and tried a traditional shaved ice.

The next day, we went to the zoo, to have “Breakfast with Orangutans”. It was such a fun and cute experience, and I also got to get up close with owls and penguins! The orangutans were given tasks to solve in order to get their own food, and they were preoccupied with that.

We also took this opportunity to tour both NUS and NTU, two famous colleges in Singapore. Both campuses were more “American”, while still being in a very green and humid campus. They were both so lovely, and I know I’ll be applying to both of them.

Another day, we went to Marina Bay Sands, specifically the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome. The Cloud Forest had a “Jurassic Park” theme, so there were dinosaurs everywhere. The animatronics were all life-size, expressive, and very impressive!

All together, I really enjoyed my Singapore visit, especially as it’s also the site of the very first night race in Formula 1, and I was able to visit where the cars would race, as well as a museum dedicated to F1. It was such a fun trip!

London

This year, for Thanksgiving break, I explored London, as well as the smaller towns of Oxford and Cambridge. It was such a beautiful trip, and was such a lovely experience.

Our first day in London was spent exploring. We visited the Shard, the tallest building in London and had dinner at one of the top floors. The views were gorgeous- we could see London bridge and many of the railroad tracks. On the way back to our hotel room, we passed by London Bridge, and though it was dark, it was still nice to explore.

During our time in London, we toured 3 colleges- Imperial, Oxford, and Cambridge. Imperial was in the middle of the city, but the campus was very nice and I learned a lot about how colleges work in the UK. Oxford and Cambridge were both 2 hour train rides away from the main hub of London, but I loved both of these small towns so much. All of the buildings, especially the housing, had so much character and were old in the prettiest way. At Oxford, we got a tour of both the Bodleian library, one of the oldest and largest libraries in Europe. We also got to explore some of the locations where the Harry Potter movies were filmed!

Our last day in London was my personal favorite- we visited a Formula 1 arcade, and explored the city looking for statues of Snoopy, the iconic beagle from Peanuts. Firstly, we started with the F1 arcade, where they had simulators of different F1 tracks. You could “race” alongside 9 other current Formula 1 drivers, and at my very last attempt in the Las Vegas Grand Prix, I managed to get first. The whole experience was so fun and I loved the decorations and atmosphere of the arcade. After this, we wandered around London searching for statues of Snoopy. Multiple artists had come together to paint statues of Snoopy’s doghouse. The result was a scavenger hunt of sorts, where our prizes were gorgeous paintings, each inspired by a different theme!

Kandasashti

This year, I attended the Houston temple’s Kandasashti celebrations. Kandasasthi celebrates Muruga, and tells the story of his victory over the asuras, and his marriage to Devasena.

The Kandasashti starts by granting the vel, Muruga’s divine weapon, to Muruga. Then, we follow the procession to Muruga’s battleground. Different asuras emerge, one with an elephant’s head, one with a lion’s head, and finally one with a demon’s face- Soorapadman. The asuras are lifted on podiums, and surrounded by neem leaves. Muruga, with his vel beheads them all, proving himself brave and victorious. The demon transforms into Murugua’s peacock and a rooster, which becomes his symbol.

After this, Muruga is set to be married. We sat in the main temple, waiting for Muruga and his new wife, Deivanai, to be dressed and wedded. When the curtains finally drew back, revealing Muruga, the crowd’s gasps said it all. The priests bathed Murugu in milk, yogurt, coconut water, rose water, sandalwood, etc. then decorated him for his marriage.

Overall, the process was beautiful to watch, and there was a much larger crowd than I had expected. I learned so much about this festival and enjoyed watching it be reenacted in such splendor, even in the United States.

The Girl in the Tree in the Bluebonnet Field

It wasn’t supposed to rain. At least, Julie’s ma hadn’t said anything about it and everyone in town knew Ma could “read the weather” with an accuracy that was almost frightening. They would’ve called her a witch and run her out of town if she wasn’t so useful. But useful she was, and so she stayed, baking her bread while Pa was off at work, at the oil rigs, in the Panhandle. He was away more days than not, and so Julie had grown up wild. Running through blackberry fields barefoot, catching fireflies in mason jars, bandaids over scrapes and bruises. Wild smiles and messy hair, her ma ever-so-carefully brushing iodine over the cuts with a shake of her head and a warning to “please, please, be more careful next time, sweetheart”. And Julie would smile and nod, knowing that she’d be back outside the very next day.
As she grew older, Ma had put her to work outside- if she was to run in the blackberry fields, she might as well pick some to make blackberry cobbler, and if she wanted to play outside, she could bring back water from the well by the McGuire’s property. Julie had chafed at these restrictions, these limits on her own time, at first, but as more and more of her classmates disappeared from school to help their own mothers’ with the household work, she realized just what a blessing Ma had given her. Even now, as she neared adulthood, Ma had begun to fret about her appearance, her wildness that couldn’t be tamed. Julie had been successful in brushing off Ma’s concerns with a carefree laugh, but the thought of when that laugh wouldn’t be enough disquieted her.

Today was another one of those days where she slipped out the door to evade Ma, promising with a charming grin to bring back enough strawberries to make shortcake- Phoebe’s favorite. Phoebe was young, prim, and perfect in all the ways Julie was not. Phoebe was Ma’s favorite, of course, but Julie was Pa’s. It made sense- Julie was everything Pa was, a little wild, a little carefree, a lot irresponsible.

Just like Pa, Julie liked getting a little lost. She liked wandering through the bramble-filled thickets, liked not knowing where she would end up. A rumble of thunder gave her pause. She glanced up, frowning as she noticed the darkening sky, thick with grey, angry clouds. She’d have to hurry, then. Unfortunate, but if she didn’t make it home, Ma would worry up a storm and she didn’t need that these days. Not with the townsfolk’s whispers and sidelong glances at Julie, with their rumors of her being “unmarriable”. Yes, Ma had enough on her plate and Julie would hate to add to that. So she gathered up her skirts, stepping through the undergrowth with purposeful strides, making her way to the strawberry fields.

The skies didn’t clear…but it didn’t look like it would rain either, so, with a basket full of strawberries, Julie returned to exploring. And that was when she saw her, a stark contrast to the rich blues of the bluebonnet field. A girl, with the blondest hair Julie had ever seen, the same blonde Julie’s had been as a kid. She was fast asleep in a cedar tree, the expression on her face…content. Almost…almost happy. Julie hadn’t seen anyone with that expression in a long, long time. Not in this dusty old town, where everybody was too concerned with what the neighbors would think. But this girl…she wasn’t from this town. She didn’t live with the heavy, heavy expectations that had started to follow Julie like a shadow. Her lightness made Julie feel…well, jealous, yes, but also, strangely carefree. If this girl could live like this, whose to say Julie couldn’t either?
And so, she turned and went back home, the basket of strawberries swinging gently. She would help Ma make the shortcake. She would be the best big sister to Phoebe. And then, when it was time, she’d leave and make her own path in life. And she’d be happy.

11th Grade- Junior Year

I’m now a junior in high school! It feels a little strange, to be one of the “upperclassmen” or the top two grades in high school. I have a heavy workload this year, as I’m taking a lot of APs, or Advanced classes, which means a lot of homework as well! The first 6 weeks- our first grading cycle- are just about to end, so I thought it was the perfect time to write about my classes for this year.

AP RESEARCH:

I start the day off in AP Research, a class where we learn how to effectively research and synthesize information in order to write a 4000 word research paper at the end of the year. Currently, we’re learning how researchers in the field conduct research in their respective topics. There’s rarely any homework for this class, and the work is easy, meaning it’s a great class to have in the mornings!

AP CALC BC:

Next is AP Calculus BC. There are two AP Calc’s- AB and BC. I skipped AB, meaning that I had to learn it over the summer. It’s definitely a faster paced course, with challenging tests, but I’m also learning a lot. We do occasionally get homework, but it’s short, not challenging, and a completion grade.

AP US HISTORY

AP US History, or APUSH, teaches us about how the US has come this far, starting from the very beginning- Europe’s colonization. Currently, we’re learning about the set up of the Constitution and the people who played a key role in that. Unfortunately, we tend to have a lot of homework in that class, as we have to take notes that we have a reading quiz on at the end of every week.

AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE:

The AP English Language class focuses on nonfiction and the best way to write effectively. At the end of the year, we’re expected to write 3 essays and so far, we’ve been studying the rhetorical essay. The rhetorical essay focuses on how authors use sentence structure, appeals, and word choice to convey their message. We’ve had a few tests in that class, but they’re generally easy.

WORLD RELIGIONS/MYTHOLOGY:

This has been a class I’ve been waiting to take since I first heard about it. I’ve always loved mythology and world religions are interesting to me as well! I really do enjoy this class, which is split into two semesters- one focusing on World Religions, the other on Mythology. We’ve just finished our unit on animism and indigenous religions and I believe next is Hinduism. We don’t have a lot of homework or tests!

AP CHEMISTRY:

As I’m planning to major in something in the chemistry field, it’s important that I take AP Chem. So far, the majority of this class has been working on packets that build off of my understanding of chemistry from last year’s on-level chemistry class. Our tests are pretty easy and we don’t have a lot of homework, and I enjoy chemistry so this is a great class!

AP PHYSICS 1:

AP Physics probably has the hardest tests out of any of my classes. The questions are mostly conceptual, even as we practice math questions in class. Still, I’m learning a lot from the class and I really enjoy my teacher’s teaching style, which makes the class go by easier. Overall, we do have homework, but it never takes too long.

And those are all my classes this year! As I said before, the workload is pretty large, but I’m learning a lot through it all. I can’t wait for more experiences throughout this school year!

Top Books of August

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
This book was so well-written and filled with so many cool details and characters. Rin has worked hard her entire life, so when her parents announce that she’ll be married off, her hard work gone to waste, she decides to act. She studies for the notoriously hard civil service exams, and someone pulls through, plunging her into a world of danger and intelligence. This was such a well-written book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Sanskari Sweetheart by Ananya Devarajan
This was an amazing, sweet book about Raina, who needs to prove to her mom that she can make dance a career. But in doing so, she’s pushing away everyone close to her. She realizes this when she gets stuck in a timeloop, forced to repeat the day over and over until she solves her problem. This book was super cute and interesting!
The Man who Mistook his Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks
This was such an interesting collection of stories that detailed different medical conditions- from lacking certain sensations or images to feeling too many sensations. I learned a lot from this book and every story was incredibly interesting.
Love Craves Cardamom by Aashna Avachat
This was such a cute book! Archi is planning to have the best senior year overseas in India. She needs to complete her capstone project and she gets to do it in her parents’ homeland. And, she meets a cute guy who really likes her. But when she realizes not everything is as it seems, life gets complicated. This was such a well-written and sweet book and I really enjoyed it!

A New School Year

11th grade. Junior year. When I was in 9th grade, it felt so far away, the idea that I too would be an upperclassmen one day. But now that the school year’s started and I’m here, I find that it’s all gone by so fast.

This year, out of 7 total classes, I’m taking 6 advanced ones, which means a lot more work and studying. My only non-advanced course is World Religions/Mythology which I’m very excited about, as it’s a class I’ve been wanting to take ever since I heard about it 2 years ago.

Junior year is well known for being the hardest year. It’s often when students take on the heaviest course load and the hardest classes. I’m nervous, of course, but also excited and ready to tackle the challenge.

Summer: A Poem

Summer is
Hot days, too hot to even think about going outside

Summer is
the blast of the AC- no wait, too cold now

Summer is
jellies and ice-creams and too-sweet drinks

Summer is
watching awful movies you’ve seen before just to laugh

Summer is
new projects started and old ones continued, so much to do,

Summer is
fun.

🙂

The AnDroids

Breakfast these days was a bar of soap. Nothing less, nothing more. Maisie’s grandmother had told her stories of humans and their fragile stomachs couldn’t handle the taste of soap, and honestly, Maisie found that hard to believe. Her kind, the AnDroids as humans liked to call them, had been raised on different meals- the oil of a model car, for example, or the bottom of a letter- the part that contained the x’s and o’s.
She made her way downstairs, where Grandma was just serving breakfast. The radio was on, the AnDroid announcer prattling on about the latest misdeeds of humans. They wanted war with the AnDroids, it seemed, claiming their jobs were being stolen, running amok with no sense of cohesion whatever. Grandma’s snort told Maisie everything she needed to know- it was beneath them.
Breakfast over, Maisie slipped into her room. Grandma would be out for the most of the day, going around, shopping, talking to the neighbors, buying fabrics and funny little buttons that Maisie loved to sort and play with. So, knowing that Grandma would be out, Maisie pried up the loose board in the corner of her room, taking out a CD player. Grandma wasn’t a big fan of human artifact, in fact, saying that she hated them wouldn’t be too far from the truth. But Maisie couldn’t stay away from music. She’d gotten the CDs from a previous classmate- back in elementary school, before the humans decided the AnDroids were too dangerous for their kids to be around.
Maisie knew when Grandma was back, she’d have to pretend to hate humans and all their inventions again. But for now, she swayed to the music, closing her eyes and letting herself pretend peace was the reality.

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