Every little thing she does is Magic.

"If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse."

                                                                           -Walt Disney

Dreams make us who we are. They push us higher when we're glad, and lift us when we're sad. They make us who we are. They form our soul, our very essence.

I know people who are afraid of dreams. They downplay them, saying wild dreams have no right to be in their otherwise peaceful lives. They thrash about their beds at night, wrestling with their conscience. Or at least I think they do. I really should stop the sentimental talk now.

Shown here: Mankind bogged down by reality. In more ways than one.

This article goes out to a friend of mine who celebrated her birthday a few days ago. And also kinda sorta aced her Boards. And also the person whose blog you see on the right, which inspired ME to start blogging again. Happy Birthday, Anjali. :) O_/

I'm in a pensive, phillosophical-ly mood today. Hence the relative lack of humor and subsequent sentimentality.

I believe that there is magic in dreams. And this magic is the defining element of our lives. You know that feeling of desperation you get when you're in a lot of trouble, and then, somehow, ten minutes later, everything's alright? Like that time you couldn't find your project on the morning you were supposed to submit it, when suddenly your mom spots it under your bed and rushes to school to give it to you? I believe there's magic in that too. And this magic can work miracles. All you have to do is believe.

From a scientific point of view, dreams are a manifestation of ones subconscious desires. They come into our thoughts when our subconscious mind is resting. A lot of people have reported seeing premonitions and visions into their futures via their dreams. You just can't deny the magic. O.o

No dreams too big indeed. B-)

But sometimes we can't dream. There are times when I'm really upset - depressed almost - when I just want to go to sleep, but I can't. Thats when the magic hits. Something will ALWAYS happen to cheer me up. My best friend calls; tuition gets cancelled; I find those earphones I lost 2 weeks ago and was really pissed over, anything.

Studies are indicating it may not be a coincidence. That's when I remember one of my favorite quotes.

"I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream."

                                                                 -Martin Luther King Jr.

There's magic in our dreams, and magic in our lives, folks. It brightens our days, and makes living so much more worthwhile. Believe in them.

Indeed.

"Think, believe, dream, dare." Remember, follow your dreams, and they'll lead you places.

If at first you don't succeed, I suggest you don't try skydiving.

Beavers are amazingly determined animals. And also ridiculously clumsy. When a beaver wants to build a dam, he painstakingly cuts down dozens of trees and cuts them up, using only his teeth. Then, he carries each individual log (and there are hundreds) into the river and painstakingly arranges each one to for the perfect underwater palace. Often, the river flow pushes incorrectly placed logs out of place and washes them downstream, resulting in the destruction of the entire dam. But what does the beaver do? He just restarts the entire process again, presumably after saying "Damn" in beaver. (Sorry, couldn't help that one. :P )

Because just sleeping under a tree is too main'stream'.

How many times have you tried something new? Say, solving a Rubik's cube or learning for that chemistry test you have tomorrow?

And how many times have you failed, and then given up? Have you ever twisted that cube half a dozen times and then tossed it across the room? Ever stared blankly at organic chemistry for about fifteen minutes and then said "The hell with this", and promptly proceeding to fall asleep? I have. And I'm sure you have too.

The only person I know that can solve this is a genius colorblind.

But then I learned what happens when you don't give up. A friend taught me. And I'm dedicating this post to him. Arvind Iyer, this one's for you.

Life is full of failures. Last week, I tried to make my brother breakfast. He likes eggs. Sunny-side up. Which I suck at making.

So anyways. I made him breakfast. It was terrible. The yolk split and destroyed the entire egg. I was forced to scramble it. Not that Akash (my brother) minded. He just had an excuse to make me work again. :P Okay, back to the topic. My breakfast making/destroying spree continued for the next three days, and invariably ended with me failing hilariously each time.

Miserably.

And then I remembered something Iyer had told me a long time ago. Three weeks ago, actually.We'd just got our report cards back, and my report card, for perhaps the fifth time in a row, could not exactly have been described as "Up to the mark". he said, "Listen, man. Our life is like a long walk. Every so often you're going to fall on a rock or a branch, or just downright slip. But you can't let that put you off. You've gotta get up, dust yourself off, and keep right on walking."

Okay, he didn't actually SAY it, but his meaning was clear. I mean, who says that kind of stuff out loud  these days anyways?

This one had Iyer written all over it. xD

Anyways. Back to the point, people. Fact is, you're going to fail. And then you'll fail again. And again. And again.

But don't let that get you down. You've just got to get back up like the beaver, dust yourself off, and keep walking. Or building. Or studying. Or whatever it is you were doing. Remember, the only hindrance in your life is you, and what you think you can or cannot achieve.

Iyer said it.

And one does not simply ignore what Iyer said, 'damn' you.

Keep trying, and you'll get there. I hope. :)

Of Parents and Pressure Cookers.

Its interesting how pressure cookers work. What basically happens when you put the food and water inside is that it heats up so much that that the water evaporates. This continuous build-up of steam causes a ten-fold increase in pressure inside. Because of this, the food gets cooked faster.

This would be a fair analogy of our academic lives.

This post is dedicated to a special friend of mine whose writing her boards even as I type. Keep calm, and you'll be fine. :)

Through the first twenty years of our lives, we are expected to overachieve. Between guitar lessons, French classes, MUNs, debate clubs, never-ending tests and enough portions to put the fear of God into Adolf Hitler, our lives are all just pressure cookers. Teachers and parents are the water, and we're the food. But be careful. Too much pressure, and you just might get cooked.

Already I hear people protesting, "But I can handle pressure!" Or "Its okay, its just for a few years, right?"
But the truth is, its not for a few years. Its for the rest of your lives.

See, the first fifteen years of your life are when you form the habits that'll stick with you throughout. If you get used to stressing yourself out over every little thing all the time, then that habit is going to stick with you forever.

Take a break. Read a book, eat junk food, watch TV, play with your pets, whatever. Just take a break once in a while. It won't kill you. Go ahead. Let off some steam. :)

FRIENDS.

When I was younger, I once saw a limousine drive past. I turned to my dad and said, "Daddy, when I grow up, I'm going to be rich and own a limousine one day too!" My dad just looked at me and smiled.

And he said, "Kiddo, if you want to see how rich a man is, don't judge him by the car he drives or the watch he wears. Judge him by his friends. The ones that stick with him all the way through."

Everyday, I show my dad just how rich I am.

Most nights, before I go to bed, I have this conversation with God. A typical conversation goes like this:

Me: Hi God.

God: Hello. How're things going on down there?

Me: Life sucks, but otherwise things are fine. What about you?

God: Busy, busy, busy. Listen, I have to go soon. Napoleon and Hitler are fighting again. Ahh, never mind. Can I talk to you later?

Me: Sure. Bye!

God: Bye!

Me: Wait!

God: What? 

Me: I forgot to tell you something.

God: Yes?

Me: Thanks.

God: For what?

Me: For everything I have. My family, my friends, my life.

God: You're welcome. Just look after yourself, okay?

Me: Yeah. :)

My friends and family are my pillars of support. Without them, I wouldn't be here. And to show my gratitude (albeit in a rudimentary, immature way), I am going to dedicate one post a week to someone I care about.

Because that's my way of saying, "Thank you. Thank you for being there. Thank you for everything." (:

Living Under the Influence.

I'm back. After very, very long, I know, and before I continue, I'd like to apologize to everyone who kept telling me to update. Its been a terribly hectic two months for me, and its going to be a terribly hectic next ten months for me, but I'll still do my best to make a post per week. :)

So anyways. Why am I back so suddenly, you ask? To answer that question, I'm going to divert your attention back to a couple of months ago. You may or may not remember the post about writers block I wrote. For those of you who don't, I have this chronic case of writers block. Every couple of days or so, I simply run out of ideas. The gears in my head just suddenly stop running. Plus, various responsibilities catch up with me, and I say that writing can wait. Then I stop.

Last week, I made a friend. This friend happens to have a fully-functioning, pretty awesome blog. So I saw this blog and said to myself, "Hey. If she can do it, why can't I?" And that gave those burned out gears in my head all the oil they needed to start functioning again, and voila. Writer's block overcome. :) I guess you can say I was influenced by aforementioned friend.

Which brings me to my next topic.

Close your eyes and think back, right from your very earliest memories till the present day. Think about all the turns your life has taken, all the choices you've made, and all the major moments of your life. (Yes, that includes discovering this blog. ;) ) Now ask yourself this: How many of those decisions have I freely made, and how many of those decisions were because someone else was doing it?

Whether its about going to a movie again simply because an irritating friend of yours wants and she won't let you go for anything else, or going to a steakhouse (when you really just want to have a salad) because your brother wants to.Or even something major. Most teenagers start smoking and drinking because of peer pressure. I know a handful of people who smoke/drink when they're with friends. Most of them admit they only started it because friends forced them to. That, or because they think its "cool". Or as a "stress-reliever." (More on this one later.)

DISCLAIMER: I very strongly disapprove of smoking, drugs, or any form of narcotics whatsoever. What you do in private is your business alone, but when you're in public, please keep the rest of us out of it.

My point is, people today are making LIFE-CHANGING DECISIONS based on what a friend is doing. I have seen people take commerce only because their friends have taken it. People reject good colleges to be with their friends. The list is endless.

Remember, there will always be influences: both external as well as internal. Your birthright, as a human being is to make your choices ALONE. Sure, suggestions are welcome, but the next time someone tries to influence you ("Come on, don't be a wimp. Try one. Just one."), do yourself a favor and ignore them. I've said this so many times its not even funny: its important to be yourself. The world will love you for it.

Anywho. While its important not to get over-influenced by others, its just as important not to ignore them. Remember, more often than not, they're just trying to help you. :)

After all, its our company that makes us who we are, and who we are makes up the decisions we take.
You should try to stick around me more. xD