The Anti-process of Writing (and Life)

Things I do before I begin writing:

• Work out. If I'm going to be sitting in one place for hours on end writing, I might as well do something active before. 1 hour and 30 minutes gone.
• Go on Facebook. There is honestly no reason for doing this. Facebook is boring as hell, and yet I spend multiple hours on it doing absolutely nothing. 3 hours (accumulatively throughout the day) gone.
• Go on Twitter. Maybe someone else is procrastinating as much as I am? 5 minutes gone.
• Eat. And then I feel gross.
• Watch TV. No time for that in my life.
• Sing. Earbuds in my ear, music blasting, voice probably being ruined by the second by reckless notes that I probably should not be attempting to sing. 1 hour gone. (It's actually really easy to waste time by singing, if you're wondering.)
• Text anyone who will have the sincerity to respond quickly. Usually Nandu or Bridget. They're always awake. In total, probably 3 hours gone.
• That's almost 9 hours gone. Yep, seems pretty accurate. 

Things I do while writing

• Lay down on my stomach in my room, open Microsoft Word (2004 edition,) and stare at the screen for a very, very long time.
• Type out the first sentence that comes to my mind. Look at that sentence and think, "Did I actually think that would sound good?" 
• Look either at the syllabus or and example writing for help.
• Realize all hope is lost, I will fail at life, not get into college, not get a job, never find love, die alone homeless.
• Repeat everything that I did before I started writing, except working out.
• Have a meltdown in front of one of my parents. Be reassured that I will be able to write this paper, and mosey on up the stairs. 
• Lay down again. Look at Microsoft Word again. Think again. Type again. Erase again. Repeat again.
• Do this until a seemingly-mediocre paper has been written.

The process of revision:

• Write a shitty first draft.
• Think that my shitty first draft is amazing.
• Show it to my dad.
• Have my dad demolish it with corrections.
• Shamefully come back upstairs to correct.
• Come back with a less shitty, but still pretty shitty second draft.
• Look at a once-again demolished paper.
• Repeat eight times until my dad says the paper is a passing paper.
• Jump in victory.

This entire anti-process takes about 7-10 days.

It takes a lot out of ya. 

The first process is pretty much what I do before I start any type of homework. 

(I should probably change that.)

Another One of Those Music Posts

Natasha Bedingfield, aka my vocal guru. She has such a beautiful voice, and her songs connect with me on so many levels. Even though you guys all shunned her song "Wild Horses" when it was played in class, I want you to listen to it. I can (almost) guarantee that if you have gone through any hardship in your life, this song will move you. It's not a teeny-bopper pop song that has no meaning. It's emotional, deep, and has phenomenal chords in it. The piano part? Makes me tear up every time. How about that violin? Amazing. 

If you don't want to listen to that song, fine. Your loss. Listen to this one then. It might be easier for you to connect to.  Yeah, it's the song in the home insurance commercial. Don't judge it because of that. 

Isn't her voice beautiful? If you like these songs, I like you better than I probably did before. She really deserves more popularity than she has in the United States. (If you don't like these more serious songs, she also has happier, pop-ier songs.) 

Oh, and she's British. Which makes her naturally awesome.

Ok, this isn't an artist, but it's SO MOVING. Click this and be prepared to cry. Our own Concert Choir sang this last year at Moment in Time. Need I say more about how great the song is? The movie is amazing as well. Probably the only reason I know who Moses is... (don't judge me.) 

SHE IS GOD. I LOVE BEYONCE. GOD. GOD. GOD. GOD. GOD. 

Which one of her songs aren't good? That's right: none. Who can deny that she has one of the loveliest voices of our generation? Correct again: no one. Who disagrees that her and Jay Z's child will be a prodigy of life? NOBODY. I can't even choose a top favorite of her numerous songs, but this one makes me happy.  Beyonce is pretty much a quadruple threat: she sings, dances, acts, and is probably one of the hottest females ever.

On a completely different topic, if I could make myself a mixture of any group of notable people, I would have Beyonce's voice, Emma Watson's accent, my brother's brain (ok, so he's not a famous person, whatever) and Selena Gomez's body/looks. How great of a person would that be?  

I am a happy camper. Unless you do one of the following:

• Cheat on a quiz and/or test. And do better than me.
• Say, "that's so gay!" or "that's so retarded!" I will yell at and hit you.
• Don't challenge yourself in school.
• Get into exclusive clubs without doing anything special.
• Are a teacher that obviously should not be a teacher. (Don't worry, Mrs. Cardona, you definitely should be a teacher.)
• Don't do you homework, and ask me incessantly for answers. 
• Obsess over brand names. I can assure you that even though you are wearing a Vera Bradley backpack, it was still probably made in a sweat shop that makes Jansport backpacks.
• Are in a group project with me and don't do shit. (Sorry, language. But this could be one of my top pet peeves.)
• Are a smelly bathroom.
• Are a teacher that doesn't let me pee, eat, or drink in class.
• Eat my food that I was obviously going to eat.
• Don't trust me to make good choices.
• Don't let me drive my car at night.
• Don't let me listen to the radio while driving.
• Buy a bunch of junk food and don't except me to eat it.
• Praise athletics more than academics. *****WAYZATA*****
• Manipulate children into thinking that candy is minutely nutritious. It's not. 
• Act like a FOB.
• Say, "you have no idea," when I actually do, because I am going through the same thing as you.
• Rub your nails against a bed comforter. (Quilts are OK, but not any other sheet.)
• Are flat on a note. I can relatively handle sharp. But NOT being flat. I will make faces at you until you are not flat anymore.
• You eat crap and still are thin. C'MON, MAN.
• You don't try at all, but still get better grades than me.
• Are a 10th grade history teacher that teaches students that Hindus believe in over 1,000 different Gods. ...We don't. I will personally explain this to you if you want me to.

I'm a happy person.

I am Indian, read my pride.

     2 Million Minutes. Every post I've read about it seems to hate the fact that it portrays Indians (REPRESENT,) and Chinese as more diligent than Americans. But, c'mon, people. It's true. We spend our Friday nights watching high school boys try to assault other boys [football]. The highlight of our years are when we are far, far away from Peony Lane. I know multiple kids who failed everyday math one. There is an obvious difference between the attitude toward school here and the attitude towards it in other countries.
     Ok, I have a partial opinion. Get at me. But I've seen how focused (voluntarily or not,) children are about school in India. They go to school. They go to tuitions. They go home. They do more homework. They sleep. Repeat. They don't hate school. Why is it that they can do so much more work than us, yet not be so negative about it? Because they know that education will take them somewhere.
     Both times that I've watched this documentary, I can't help but feel awesome. Yeah, I'm not that smart, but my association of background, I'm awesome. (logical fallacy. But really, I am awesome.) 2 Million Minutes makes me feel so much respect and awe-ness for my dad, who got accepted into IIT--if you didn't pay attention during that part of the movie(shame on you) it is the most prestigious school in India. Which makes him awesome. Which makes me even more awesome.
     Now I'm going to be angry at you for your response to the two Indian students in the movie. STOP LAUGHING AT THE BOY FOR HAVING A MUSTACHE. STOP LAUGHING AT THE GIRL'S FAMILY FOR EATING WITH THEIR HANDS. IT'S NOT WEIRD, PEOPLE. IT'S NORMAL. JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T DO SOMETHING DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S NOT NORMAL OR COOL. AMERICANS AREN'T RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING.
     Rage over. I like you again.
     Time for being American. The movie does make us look bad. But it does summarize the attitudes of many fellow students I know.
     That is all the American-ism I have right now.

     Now comes the (relatively) impartial Shreya. Let's just agree that your education can be ruined either by your teacher sucking, our your work ethic sucking even more. It's give and take, people. You have to give your energy into education if you want to take the benefits of going to school. "For Once, Blame the Students," is right. Once again, American students suck. (just kidding) I know what it's like to be eager to do well in a class and have the teacher be horrible at their job. I also have witnessed what it's like to have an awesome teacher get stuck with an un-awesome student who refuses to work. Both situations are hard. Both situations can't really be avoided.

I feel like I sound really anti-American-student here. 

I <3 AMREECA 

 

Once Upon a Time, There Was a Girl Who Wanted to be a Star ★

How many people can that title fit to?

Millions. 

I used to want to audition for American Idol when I turned 16.

Then I realized how much of a joke American Idol actually is.

Now I just resort to singing publicly whenever someone will let me. 

Music is my life. 

Don't be sold by my preppy facade. Along with being obsessed with Glee, Beyonce, Adele, the Script, and Natasha Bedingfield, I listen to hard core rap. 

Yesterday I sang two verses of 'Wild Horses' to my American Lit class. Someone told me to audition for Wayzata Idol after I finished. That was the best statement I could ever hear.

I've realized that the only thing I actually do during my free time is hide in my bedroom with my ear buds in and belt to music. It's actually the best stress reliever you could ask for.

Isn't music amazing?

Way back when (aka, last year,) I couldn't ever sing in front of anybody. My body physically would not let me. But now I sing in front of anyone who asks. 

All it took was a bus riding merrily along in St. Louis, MO.

Yay for confidence! 

What wannabe-famous-person doesn't have a YouTube account of them singing?

Not me.

Click this or feel my wrath

Ok, maybe click on that once Bridget and I actually upload a video of us singing.

Which will happen...someday

Speaking of singing and music, come to Brigadoon! (the Fall musical, for all you kiddos that are not in tune with/refuse to acknowledge the theatre department). I have to sell 24 tickets by next week, so if you want one, come find me. 

Here's my plea as a thriving singer/star:

1) make me a star

2) if you can't physically make me a star, become physically able, and then make me a star

3) if neither of those are applicable to you, find someone who is physically capable of making me a star, and then tell them to make me a star

4) if 1-3 are not in your hands of coming true, come to Brigadoon

5) otherwise, you can actually just cut a star out, and say that you made me a star. 

I would laugh if you actually did that.

★☆

Yes We Can.

     Regardless of your political views, let's just agree that Barack Obama is a phenomenal public speaker.  He epitomizes every component of a successful speaker.
     Firstly, his appearance: Obama was looking sharp in neutral colors.  Both his soft gray suit and striped gray and white tie gave him a relaxed look.  His tie especially gave off a relaxed and informal look, which was good for this specific situation, since he was speaking at a high school.
     Secondly, President Obama has a way with words.  His use of colloquial diction was perfect for his setting.  Students all around the country would be capable of understanding every single word Obama used.  This is good for the purpose of this 'Back to School' speech, because if a student doesn't understand what the president was saying, the speech would have no effect on the child (which is bad).  Yet even with the use of everyday words, President Obama was still able to give the speech a bit of formality.  He is a speaking genius.
     Obama knows who his target audience is, and how to reel them in.  He starts the speech off with a light mood by making the audience laugh.  Obama uses humor periodically throughout his entire speech.  This keeps his speech interesting to the normal viewer.  His use of personal experiences and personal life also keep the student audience in tune.  By using his own stories as a student who didn't receive perfect grades during his school years, Obama establishes his character as a relatable person who understands the stress and importance of education.
     President Obama also establishes his character by placing himself with the audience.  In many of his sentences, he uses the pronouns "us," "we," and "we're."  This shows that he cares for his country just as much as anyone else does.
     When Obama uses pathos in his speech, he really uses pathos. "You're this country's future." "I have no doubt that America's best days are still ahead of us, because I know the potential that lies in each of you." "Your country is depending on you."

PATHOS. PATHOS. PATHOS. PATHOS. PATHOS. PATHOS. PATHOS. PATHOS. PATHOS. 

     This speech riles up students enough to get them motivated for the school year, but not too much so that people start chanting Obama's words down the school hallway.  Basically, it's perfect. 

In Obama we trust.

(Until November of next year, if someone else gets elected. Then, in (insert president of 2012-2016 here,) we (hopefully, if the person is relatively competent,) trust (unless he/she is not trustworthy at all).