Tag: writing

Best of 2020

2020 has been a strange year, but here are some of the things that happened.

1. Starting the year with family:

I love spending time with my grandparents. I’m glad I got to do it in the beginning of this year, even if I couldn’t make my annual summer trip to India 😭. I also got to spend some time with my uncle and aunt, before they moved countries.

2. Ending my elementary years and staring my middle school ones:


I finished 5th grade (virtually) and started middle school and the school of my choice (also virtually)! Virtual school is less than ideal, but I’ve learned to adjust. You can read about my experiences here.

3. ARCADIS Science Fair:


I participated in the ARCADIS science fair and did a project on supercooling and snapfreezing water. I learnt a lot and was really surprised when I won!

4. Mini Getaways:


Since we couldn’t travel a lot, I relied on a few small breaks to get away . My favorite one was definitely my birthday weekend getaway with a few of my friends and family. I also liked the Corpus Christi, Driftwood, and Pensacola Beach breaks.

5. Dance:


I spent a lot of time focusing on dance during these COVID times. I’ve taken place in a Bharatanatyam dance exam (for both theory and practical) and started learning a new Indian classical dance form, Mohiniattam. I performed a few solo items and recorded them. I’ve also began to learn Carnatic music to support my skills.

In Western dance, I was able to get one last performance on February in my elementary school dance company and I’m in my new school’s Drill Team. It’s less than ideal, but I’m hoping to be able to go back to performing soon.

6. Life Skills:


2020 has been a year where I learnt and tried so many new things.

  • I learned to crochet, and did a few art projects including tie-dye projects and wreaths for our door.
  • I cooked and baked (I even made my first layered cake!) and got comfortable in the kitchen. Some of the treats I made include mint chutney bread, cranberry cookies, brownies, and more. I also learned to make rice and keera kootu.
  • I’ve learned a lot of handy household chores like doing the laundry and handwashing clothes as well as ironing and sweeping.
7. Improved Technology Skills:

I started to use Instagram and I wrote on my blog more. I got better at using Google Drive, Docs, and Slides. I’ve learnt about different features on computers and got better at navigating through the digital world.

8. Writing:

I wrote 2 stories (which I’m going to edit this year) and a few short stories for my blog.

9. Reading:

I’ve read a ton this year and made friends with a few bookstagrammers. On my instagram, I took part in two challenges, the #mgbookmarch challenge in March and the #mgbooktober challenge in October. I’ve also started new series, and began to read a higher level of mglit!

(If you’re not following me yet, you totally should)

You can check out my insta here.

A Spooky Tour

I wrote a brochure for a ghost tour that takes part in Houston and Galveston. Here it is!

Hello and welcome to Ghosty Graveyards, the best ghost tour out there! In this brochure, I will be explaining all the spooky sights you’ll see on your tour! 

First, the bus will meet you at Finn Hall at 8:00 PM sharp. We suggest that you eat a good meal there before you board. Trust me, you will need to eat well.

While we ride the bus to the Niels Esperson and Mellie Esperson buildings, you’ll have the chance to take a good look out the window. It’s a short ride, so be ready to hop off as quickly as you came in! 

So, let me tell you a bit about the building (these facts plus more will be told during the tour). Mellie Esperson had the Niels Esperson building made for her husband, you guessed it!, Niels Esperson. He was a real estate and an oil tycoon. Right next to his building is Mellie’s building. Mellie’s building is not very tall and is constructed in a very different fashion. Mellie’s ghost haunts the elevator, making it malfunction and close and open randomly.

Now after those 15 minutes spent there, we’ll get back on the bus for the 3 minute (yes, only 3 minutes) ride to the Julia Ideson Building. You’ll listen to violin music on the ride there and you’ll find out why in a few seconds. 

Ok, so we’ve arrived at the Julia Ideson building! In November 1936, 79 year old groundskeeper, Jacob Frank Cramer died. When he was alive, every night he would go to the 3rd floor and play his violin. Nowadays, you can hear him and his dog late at night, making music. Sometimes, you’ll even see his sheet music scattered around! 

Let’s hop back on the bus. We’re going to go to the Spaghetti Warehouse. It’s a 5 minute drive so buckle in and relax (as much as you can on a ghost tour of course!)

We’re here! The story behind the Spaghetti Warehouse is that the pharmacist living here died by falling down the elevator shaft. His wife died soon after that. Now, they haunt the second floor by making objects float, rearranging furniture, making dishes dirty, tapping guests, and pulling their hair. Sounds pretty creepy, huh?

Now we’ll take a one hour drive to Galveston Island to see my personal favorite ghost appearance. This is where your electronics come in handy. We would love to hear a few ghost stories or cool (and creepy) facts about ghosts that you may discover! Also feel free to take a nap, we’ll wake you up when we reach. 

Well we’re there! Do you hear anything as you clamber out of our bus? Perhaps the flapping of sails? Maybe the cry of voices? If you do, look out to the horizon. You might see a ship. Now you might think “A ship! We see ships all the time!” Well, this isn’t a normal ship. It’s the ghost ship of Pirate Jean Lafitte. You might have heard of him. On November 1821, Jean Lafitte’s ship was ambushed and he was taken prisoner. The ship was said to have sunk somewhere around Galveston Island in the years 1822-1823.  Look! There it is! Do you see that magnificent ship sailing across the waters? It’s name is Pride and I think it certainly looks prideful. Well, that’s all for today, everyone! I hope that you definitely consider coming on my tour. You’ll learn even more crazy facts! After all, where else would you see a ghost ship? Thanks for reading and we hope to see you on our next ghost tour! 

Vanilla Berry Lotion

I wrote a short story for my writing class recently. Our prompt was to write a story about any object on our desk. I wrote a realistic fiction story about my vanilla berry lotion.

I open the lotion jar and sniff its contents. The smell floods my body, sending warm and happy tingles all the way down. I close the lid, but not before taking one last longing smell. I follow Mom throughout the beauty shop, my mind still on that sweet lotion. All I know is that I must have it before it runs out, because surely a lotion with such a smell would run out soon. “Tara!”my mom snaps. I jolt to attention, not sure if she had been calling my name before. “Well?” she asks. I guiltily shrug, not able to picture what she might have been talking about. Mom sighs, exasperated and narrows her eyes at me. “I said,” she repeats,” that I am going to buy something here. I also asked you if you wanted to get anything.” I leap up, my eyes shining bright. I could get anything I wanted! I race to the front of the store, pick up the lotion and race back. My mom laughs at how quickly I’ve chosen. We pay and go home.

To this day, I still love the scent of that lotion and keep it on my desk as a reminder of that happy, lucky day.

Stuck in my head

Have you ever had a song stuck in your head that refused to budge? That happens to me pretty often and here is the true story of what happened during the most recent song-stuck-in-head episode.

A song that was stuck in my head recently was “Rather Be With You” from Descendants Wicked World. It has a fun beat and repetitive rhythms that stick in your brain. This is what happened that day.

I had just split into my small group for virtual learning. Since it was the first week of school, we were supposed to play a team building game. Unfortunately, technology was not on our side that day. The PowerPoint presentation we were supposed to work on didn’t open, so we decided to play some ice breaker games.

We started with “Two truths and a lie”. After we had all played and guess, there was an awkward silence while thinking of what to do next. Someone suggested that we play “Would You Rather?” and we all readily agreed. We all started thinking of, and asking the “Would You Rather?” questions. That’s when I started thinking of the song, “Rather Be With You”. The lyrics of the song have funny “Would You Rather?” questions like

Would you rather wear a shoe made of glass or
fall asleep in your class?
Be grounded under the sea or
help the beast with his fleas?

That’s how the song stuck to me for half a day. What was the last song that got stuck in your head? What were you doing when it happened?

The Tsunami: A Short Story

I soared through the water, my flippers propelling me forward, and forward, and forward……………… Finally, arriving at the perfect momentum I spun around with the exact force coming to a stop right before Liz, my gymnastics coach. She laughed, then clapped for me, “You are doing so great Alexi!” she exclaimed, “You are definitely going to win the Gymturtle show!” I blushed with pride, well as much as a turtle can blush anyways. See, I’m Alexi, daughter of Oma and Letti, two great gymnastic stars who used to be wildly popular, but have been losing their talent ever so slowly. I have been wanting to find out why for years and the only way for me to do that was to participate in the show in which they started losing their powers. The thing is, the Gymturtle Extravaganza was one of the hardest shows to win and I needed to win it. So of course when I mentioned it to Mom and Mother, they hired me the best coach they could find, Liz! The only person who knew why I was actually doing the show was my best friend, Salem. She was a turtle just like me, but we had totally different personalities. Speaking of, here was Salem swimming towards me! As soon as I saw her, I smiled, but then seeing the look on her face, the smile dropped. “Hey Liz!” she said quickly before turning to face me. “Have you noticed the water drop?” she asked frantically. I frowned a bit, “No, I can’t say I have” As soon as I started paying attention to the sea, though, I could tell that it had changed. We all looked at each other, frightened. We decided to check our houses to find our parents and friends, then meet up in front of my house. As soon as I swam into my house though, I knew it was empty. Since I had time to spare, I decided to look around my neighborhood park to try to find some of my other friends. Everyone was missing! I had a bad feeling about what was about to happen……. Suddenly, a colossal wave hit me from the back and I felt so scared! As soon as I could, I went to find Liz and Salem. It wasn’t easy though, sand was scattered everywhere and coral was flung everywhere in sight. The only way to find them was through sound. I sighed. I was amazing at school, always getting A+ on my work. The only thing which I had trouble with was sound location. In my defense, it is really really hard. I shook myself. Why was I thinking about school, when I really should be thinking about Liz, Salem, and sound? Huh. Salem and sound. Salem was amazing at soundcation (sound location). I knew if I gave her a turtle call, she would trace her way back to me. Perfect. I knew I only had one chance to make it right, so I closed my eyes and concentrated hard. I let loose a sharp click cry then fell silent. I silently prayed hard for Salem to hear it and trace her way back to me. 5….4…..3…..2…..1…. “Hi!” I heard Salem call from behind me, Liz right next to her. “Great click call! Ms. Are would be proud!” I snorted a bit then hugged my bff. “Sooo,” Liz ventured. We separated quickly. “Did you find anyone?” she continued. I shook my head sadly, “No, I even checked the park!” “Yeah, I didn’t find anyone either,” Salem said sadly. “I did find something pretty interesting though! Follow me!” Liz exclaimed. Keeping a close on my friends, I swam through the water cleanly, determined not to lose Salem and Liz. Soon we reached the shore, a place where we came all the time to eavesdrop on the humans. “Translate for us!” Salem nudged. I concentrated and then turned back to my friends. “It’s not good news. The current drop we felt earlier, that’s because a tsunami happened.” My friends looked at me blankly. I sighed. “A tsunami is basically a giant wave,” I explained. They nodded, not understanding for a bit, then realization set in and they sat up straight. “Will it happen again?” Liz asked frightfully. I listened for a bit longer then concluded no, it wouldn’t happen again. Suddenly, I heard the familiar creak of the gates. A flood of friends rushed in and Oma and Letti surrounded me in a hug. They were breathing heavily. “Didn’t you hear the alarm?” they asked. “No,” I admitted, “I was too busy training” They hugged me again and I was happy. The Gymturtle Extravaganza could wait.  I was with my family and friends, right where I needed to be.

Changing in the Covid Times

Summer 2020 is almost over and I have a few weeks until school starts. I’ve been thinking about how much my life has changed and decided to share it with you!

I’ve had to adapt a lot because of COVID. A lot of the things which I would have liked to do this year are almost impossible now. 

Normally, I would have finished fifth grade off with a few parties and graduated to middle school. I would have also started school earlier, but it got pushed back. So, change has become a part of my everyday life. I am part of my school’s dance team and we would have danced one of our best pieces for a competition. Since the coronavirus limited the number of people able to be there for a performance, we didn’t have the chance to perform. I would have also gone to India for the summer to spend time with my grandparents and have some fun there. This year though, I am communicating with them only through WhatsApp. Change has come and wrapped itself around my everyday life. I have grown to be more flexible during this pandemic.

I am still changing with what will be best for me. A lot of major events in my life have been delayed or made virtual. It’s always a big disappointment for me, but I have learnt to be very flexible during the pandemic. I have always wanted to start middle school with a big bang, but COVID has made that event a lot smaller. I also had plans to go on a cruise to Italy, but that was canceled. I’m also missing travel and school a lot. 

Change has made itself a big part in today’s life.I’ve learnt to adapt and live with it, even when times are rough. I’ve realized that if you don’t change, you miss even more.

How have you changed in 2020?

MLK Day

This MLK Day, I read a poem about Martin Luther King. Then I thought about how the world could be a better place.

The world would be a better place if we could all just sit down to talk instead of fighting. The country’s leader and a few representatives of his or her choice should go.

If we only fight, we’ll lose many of our citizens. Those citizens can be very useful in our nation and their families. If we lose too many volunteers a nation can fall. Families shouldn’t have to lose one of their members just because of war

Millions of people flee their homes and native land to get away from war. Families separate and lose their precious belongings. I don’t think anyone should have to lose any item that they loved and start over in a place they don’t know.

Countries can waste a lot of money on war. Stocking up enough weapons to fight back strongly takes a lot of money. If we could talk it out , it won’t cost anywhere near that amount of money.

This is my idea of a better world. Please tell me how you think the world would be a better place in the comments. Just like MLK, I have a dream.