How To Be A Better Person: Part 3

After I did Part 2 of "How To Be A Better Person", I thought I wouldn't ever have to do another one. I know you can't change other people, but it just helps me out to feel like I've done something right. So here it is...



Have you ever heard a rumor, swore you'd never tell, and then broken your promise? Well, most of us have slipped up more than once in our lives. But it's what we did after that really matters. To be honest, apologizing after hurting someone is truly an act of valor. It takes great fortitude to admit something you've done and own up for it. If the enduring rumor is about you, don't ask around or confront the person who started it. Chances are, you'll end up embarrassing yourself even more. Surrounding yourself with honest and kind friends will definitely increase the likelihood of your claim being corroborated. (A kind friend is someone who is genuinely nice not only to you, but to everyone else around them as well.) The best way to recover from a breach of trust or an embarrassing event is to talk to someone you trust or just relax and unwind, maybe read a book, take a walk, watch a movie or listen to music. And even if the rumor continues for a long period of time, remember that if so many people are talking about you, it must mean you hold a place of importance. If you are part of a group of friends that is close to splitting up due to rumors, try to consolidate them by not taking sides. Joining the argument is something you will regret immensely. If you've made a new friend, do not try to insulate them from people who spread rumors. They will eventually realize who gossips and who does not. Throughout the course of your life, people will try to bring you down, innumerable times and innumerable ways. You will be left with a plurality of friends you used to have who changed for the worse. Though that may be so, remember that you are singular, with all your idiosyncrasies, likes, dislikes, and pet peeves, so just be you. Before you love other people. learn to love yourself.


PS - I am not a licensed therapist. If you really need help, please visit a licensed professional. :-)

The Beautiful Landscapes of Yosemite

I know, this post is really late; I should have posted these more than two weeks ago. Well, here they are, finally.

The Best Debate Tournament In Years

Stratford School is part of the South Bay Debate League, and we have tournaments every month. Yesterday was the December tournament, and it was amazing! Stratford Fremont won the most awards it ever has in at least a year or two. We won both school awards, most wins and most percentage wins, as well as speaker awards and team trophies.

For team awards: 2nd place, 4th place, and 5th place

+Shreya Naik +Marie Angelique +Siddarth vaidyanathan +Deepti Rema +Ria Pradhan (and Ayush) +Kavitha Vinod +Amrit Tandon (and Pranav)

For speaker awards: 

12th: Kavitha

10th: Deepti

8th: Shreya 

6th: Sid

4th: Ria

2nd: Me!

Even though a few of the judges were biased/unfair, Fremont still managed to win so many awards! That proves how awesome you all really are. Thank you so much, Mrs. Toutem—we couldn't have done it without you!  Congratulations, everyone! 

You're awesome, and don't ever let anybody tell you you're not.

Have you ever struggled with self-esteem? Have you been embarrassed by someone who was racist, sexist, or just plain mean? Or have you commented on someone else? Chances are, you've done one or more of these things. Nowadays, we have easy access to social media, and we tend to misuse it. YouTube comments, especially for women, are extremely hurtful. Women should be taught to love their bodies, and they should be empowered, not patronized and made to feel inferior. Just because someone is not the same race as you does not mean they are not as smart or attractive as you. In fact, if you had some compassion for your fellow humans, you would probably realize that you and that person you just deliberately hurt could have been friends, or at least gotten along with each other. It's completely ridiculous how such mean people are supported. On YouTube, mean comments often get many likes. Why? 

Sorry if this post seemed like a rant, but I just needed to let my feelings out. I also heard that PewDiePie, YouTube's most subscribed-to YouTuber, turned off comments on his videos, forever. Even though I am not a subscriber, this seems like a pretty big move.

But all I really wanted to say was love yourself, no matter what. You are the only one of you, and you should make the most of it. I know a few people that I feel are "perfect". They react to every situation perfectly, deal with difficult people perfectly, and even make mistakes perfectly. It sounds weird, I know, but I actually used to believe that until recently, when a couple of those "perfect" people taught me that being perfect means just being you. Not everybody is always going to like you, and you're not always going to like everybody. You don't have to be great to start. You have to start to be great. And as Albert Einstein said, "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

Joining YouTubers?

I've had this "brilliant" idea. A YouTube channel. Except...I don't want to take videos of myself. So...I'll animate! Using Photoshop! Which is way too expensive! So...what should I do? I dunno if I should do this. Should I? Yeah, yeah...I know. Bo-ring! That's why I'm asking for your opinion!

Note: This is the shortest post ever.
Note #2: I used way too many exclamation marks.