Examples help Think (Things to Think About Part III)

Lonesome George Reflection

                                                                People would want to save endangered species because they are small in size and want them to exist in the world. They also do that with species because they are vital to the ecosystem. But what if they were just dying because of natural selection and they were not needed by the ecosystem? Then that would mean it would be all right for it to go extinct. If humans were not involved in this process (because humans are normally the cause of it – e.g. pouching, hunting and many more.) then that would mean it was a natural process and not an unnatural one.  It is important to let the nature decide for itself in its natural way.

                                                                While my EVS class was working on this subject of natural selection, my EVS teacher brought this post about Lonesome George. Lonesome George is a tortoise and is the last from its species. In class we discussed how we could stop species for going extinct. We had lots of ideas like storing sperms and eggs of species, transporting these species to different places, making special parks for them and so on. Then the discussion went on to how species went extinct through natural and unnatural causes and if it was all right for them to die if it was a natural process. The conclusion we made was surrounded with the idea of natural selection, where if the extinction of a specie was due to a natural process (them not surviving or adaption) then they should allow what the nature wants. But if an animal was endangered due to human involvement then that would mean the humans should somehow stop that from happening and help the population to rise again. For example in Lonesome George’s cause the tortoise started to become endangered because humans started to settle down and because of that they started rising goats. The goats started to eat all the grass that the tortoise ate. This cause the death of many tortoises, because they had to search for food further out, they could not mate and reproduce. So, this caused the tortoise to become endangered and left Lonesome George all alone. Since humans caused this specie to become endangered, this made it into an unnatural process. This example shows that people should be more aware of their surrounding and the effect they have one it and this is the conclusion we came up with as a class.

                                                                   My point of giving this story was because I wanted to show people that when teachers put up interesting live example in class, it just livens up the class. It makes it more interesting for students to learn and when people have fun, they do not mind thinking. The productive discussion we had in class showed that we were having fun as well as thinking and producing good ideas. So, examples help students help more in thinking productively and have more fun in class.  

 (520-words) 

Collage Essay - Number 3

38. If you could go back and change one day in your life, what would you change and why? (Santa Clara University)

                   I have wished for this to happen for a very long time, which is to change a day of my life that I spent with friends with my family. People say that time helps heal emotional wounds, which is true in some way but this guilt I feel has not subsided since that day. It has stayed the same for two years. Who knows it might change one day but for now it stays the same.

                  That day was the day when all, I mean ALL, of my friends were supposed to meet up and go to this rock show in Sikkim (my home). I was really excited by this news and I wanted some time off from my studies. So, my friends and me had decided to meet up at 12:00 pm and go for the show at 4:00 pm. I was really looking forward to it and both my mom and dad had said I could go for it. I was so happy; I was bouncing around everywhere!!! Of course with my luck something had to go wrong. First, it looked extremely cloudy. Second, I had to get into a fight with my sister about a stupid reason. This made my sister decide for ME that I was not allowed to go for the show. Of course me being me, I was became stubborn and refused to listen to all her reason for forcing me to stay back. One of the reasons was that Apa (Dad) was becoming sicker and today was worse. I thought that she was saying that just to make me fell guilty and not let me have fun. Ohh… how I wish I had listened to her. I ignored her and went outside with my friends. I complained to them about how evil my sister was acting and how much I hated her, ohh the irony because I lover her now, of course they agreed with me, which made me feel better.

                      I was with my friends that day but it was my body that was with them, my mind was more concerned about how much trouble I was in with my sister, let me tell you that I am terrified of her, and what she had said to me about Apa. I kept trying to convince myself that she was lying to me so that she could make me stay back. It took me a lot of convening form my friends and myself to go for that show. Time passed really slowly, I tried distracting myself by talking to people, going to shops or eating. When the time finally came for the show to start, I was really let down. I did not have fun at all. First, the bands were not good. Second, I did not know a single song they played. Third, I was really out of it because all my energy was spent on me trying to do something to keep my mind off my problems.  When all of this added together, I was just very disappointed and decided to return home.

                      The shock I got when I returned was something I was not prepared for. All my family members had decided to come for a visit. There was so much noise, every one was having fun and catching up with each other. I joined them but was careful to avoid my sister. With my luck that was not going to be possible and as soon as I entered my room, I met her. She gave me the dirtiest look every. I was really scared so I didn't say anything and just changed quietly. She ignored me and I went out the room as soon as possible. My anger, anxiousness, all these bad feelings went away as I spent more and more time with my family. I had never seen so many family members come together in so many years. I was really nice they were all there. But no matter how happy you are, it has to end at some point and that point was when Apa suddenly became really sick. Everyone panicked, I was really numb and was feeling really helpless as to what to do. I felt so useless because all I could do was watch my father being taken inside an ambulance. He was admitted to the hospital and was kept inside the ICU. I stayed back home with my sister.  And the first thing she had to say to me was, “I hope you regret this day for the rest of your life.” Hope she is happy now because I have been regretting for two years for the choices I could have made.

                      That is the one day in my entire life I would change without any hesitation. The reason is because, that was the last day that my dad was able to speak to all of us. If only I had stayed back instead of leaving my house with my friends. I would have been able to be with my dad for a little bit longer and have talked to him. This is why I would not hesitate to change this day of my life.

(890-words) 

Escape - (Things to think about) II

Sometimes don't you just feel like leaving what you are doing and go to some random place? When I am alone outside and things are just not going fine for me, one thing that always helps me feel better is me escaping to another world. That world for me is the anime world. The most awesome place you can ever reach in an instant. It helps me feel better because it keeps my mind off from my depressing life. When I escape to that world I get to create my own imaginary self and characters. I think of myself as a very strong girl who can kick anyones ass!!! When I think of that I instantly get better because I kick ass of every problem I have in my mind. Of course that goes on in my mind and when I come back to my senses all my problems are still there. But you know what when I do these kind of things, I feel much better and it makes it look like my problems are not as big as I thought it was. So, my escape to this world helps me to feel better and gives me the courage to go against it.


(210-words)

A MINDFUL WALK - (Things to think about)

                              As I walked back to the place I knew, I was surprised to see that there was nothing left. Instead of the big huge trees, stood buildings. Instead of animals, people were roaming. So how did the change come across? Well, as human population increases exponentially, the space we need to live also increased.  Cutting down of forests, has been a major contributor to loss of animal habitat. In the Indian Rainforest's , cutting down of trees has led to major animal species dying and the loss of habitat has led them to lose their homes.

                              In 2009 in India, many incidents of tiger spotting were reported which eventually led to many getting killed due to tiger attacks. With the loss of habitat, we humans give the animals no choice but to surrender and live in our territory. Currently, most of the habitat loss over the world has led to environmental changes such as global warming. With less trees, Carbon Dioxide levels in our atmosphere rise at an alarming rate. The depletion of the ozone layer can be also calculated, as a result of habitat loss. With more and more animals dying and becoming extinct, the environment getting unstable and the depletion of the ozone layer, humans are hurting themselves more than they hurt the environment around them. As more and more humans ask for housing, and as more forests are cut down, humans are creating something that might lead them to their own doom.

(246-words)

Hypocrite!!!

It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend. By William Blake

                  People come form different country, different society, different culture, different background. But how is it that we all have the same feelings? Happiness, sadness, anger and so much more. In every culture, birth is a happy occasion and family and friends gather around for celebration. This is a universal feeling. And one thing that everyone in the world, no matter what, needs a friend. Friends are so important; they help you through thick and thin, any small or big matter. They are the ones who make your day filled with laughter and joy. But what happens when that important friend betrays you? Of course you would be angry! But most off all under all that anger, thick layer of sadness and hurt feelings stay underneath. I bet that people all over the world have felt this before at least once. No matter what age you are, where you are from or even if you don't understand each other’s language, they can relate to your pain. The anger and hurt of betrayal from your friend is a universal feeling.

                  It is so much better if someone you don't like hurts you because that hurt is quickly consumed by anger and on top of that you don't know that person properly or she does not know you. So, it easier for you to assume and accuse what kind of a “bitch” she is! But with a friend you know her and it takes a lot of convincing to believe in yourself. Because you already have a stereo type of your enemy and when that doest not come true, it becomes easier to accept them cause the worst does not come true and this makes it easier for you to forgive you enemy. But with friends, you know most of their side and when the worst comes out you get shocked and get repulsed by it. So, it’s harder to forgive your friend.

                     I thought I knew who my friend was, if not everything about her, but she always said that she would never betray her friends because of a boy. And when she did exactly what she said she would not do, I lost all respect for her and felt disgusted at first. I started feeling that my entire time with her was a lie and she was just a big hypocrite who did not have self-value. I mean I’m not a saint but at least I don't go around something I don't believe in. I was not even angry; I was just extremely disgusted and hurt. What hurt most was that I actually believed in her and always respected her for who she and her ability to comfort me. It was not my self-thought proclaim that made me believe she would not date a guy that your friend liked, while she knew about it. She was the one who said all these flowery, glittery stuff, it was not my fault I believed in her cause I actually felt that she was being honest. When I found out what she had done, I was so disappointed and this changed our entire friendship. I didn't want to associate with someone who was a big fat hypocrite. If someone other than my close friend did that, it would be easier. Yes, you would get hurt but that would be because the person you liked got taken away. But if a friend did that, the pain would be doubled because of the guy getting snatched and the betrayal of your friend. So, the doubled pain makes it harder for a person to forgive a friend than an enemy.

(618-words)                                     

"It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and THEN do your best." By W. Edwards Deming

Last week, I had two tests coming up in the same day. That was Environmental Science and Micro Economic. That week I was determined to study hard and get good scores. And believe me I did study. Since EVS is way easier than Eco, I decided to study for my EVS first and then study for Eco. I did exactly as I had planned. EVS was all about memorizing from my notes from my class. I put in 3-4 hours of studying for it. For this test I knew what I had to work on and knew exactly what to do. But the most stupid thing I ever did was exactly what this quote says. I studied for my Eco test without knowing what I was supposed to study for. I know this sounds stupid but I put so much effort for this test and I still failed it. How stupid could I get? Well the problem was that I studied all the definitions for all the theories. I memorized all of it. So, here comes the part where this cote comes. I studied and worked hard for this test without me knowing what exactly I had to learn and was coming on the test. I had spent so much time on learning the definition that in the end, I had little time to study for my graph and other important stuff. So, it is true that no matter how hard you try, if you study for not the important parts, then your hard work just goes down the drain and that is exactly what happened to me. I felt so horrible when I got my test scores, I felt like I had gotten a slap on my face and felt like crying. I was so shocked that it lasted for two days and on the third day, while chatting to my sister, I poured out everything that had happened. After saying everything to my sister and how I felt, I felt relived. At the same time tears started rolling down my eyes and realized that I had kept this inside me and there were also other things that were there but this was like the last hit I could take and I stayed in my room and cried. After that I wiped my eyes and started to take my sisters question. “Why did you do so bad in the test?” I thought about this question and when I looked at this quote, I realized I had worked hard for a test without me having a goal of what I had to learn. So, this is why this quoted helped me and was perfect for the mistake I had made. Can you believe it, I was working hard for something that had no fruit for me. But this also helped me in many ways. First, It helped me in showing that not all hard work pays off and I need to take a different approach next time I take an Eco test.

(525-words)

Seeing my favorite country from the plane was a bitter sweet moment. It felt like it was right there within my grasp but it was far away too. It was a touchers moment but at the same time a very memorable one. Some how I was able to talk to a Japanese lady who knew english and she was my escort throughout my journey. I could not have reached the exit point without her. Now I know I was really luck because if she would not have been there, I knew I would have been lost cause I had to take a train to reach the exit. The first people I met were my 1st, 2nd, 3rd host family and my advisor. They were the nicest people I had every met. All of them had their own way of living and ways in their houses. It was hard to change host family every 4 moths but I would soon get used to it and it would be fun to spend time with them. For me the hardest thing was probably the language barrier. Thank god that in my first host family, The Fukuoka's, had a son who could speak English. Technically speaking, he was my host brother but he was old enough to be my uncle. So, this is how my first family started, I entered my new home and saw a old lady bow in front of me. I was sooooo stunned to see her that I was speechless. Later in the year I would find out that she would be the most special person to me during my Japan trip.


(272-words)

Start of an Awesome Journey!!!

                         The first time I every traveled alone was when I was 15 years old. My one and only destination, Japan. In 2009 July, Rotary (a international organization that sponsors people to go to different places) offered me to choose a country that I would like to go. I could choose three countries I would like to go, last was Europe, second was Brazil and first was Japan. I always wanted to go to Japan, ever since I was small. Why? Simple, because it was the land of animation and Manga (Japanese comic) and that was enough reason for me to choose that country. My father, Apa, was crazy enough to allow a young 15 year old girl to go outside her country to another country without her knowing the language. My mum, Ama, was quite hesitant about it but was later convinced by Apa to let me go. I on the other hand was really really really excited to go. I mean how many people are allowed to go to their favorite place and stay there for a whole year without her parents? This was like the hugest dream to ever come true. After filling all the forms and official details, I was sent off to Japan from Delhi all alone. The last person I saw was Apa, he gave me a big bear hug before letting me go. Before that point I was feeling so confident because everyone was saying how scary it was but to me I was going towards my dream and did not understand why I should have been scared. But at that point when I got a hug, I just melted into my fathers arms. I forced myself not to cry, cause I was supposed to be a "strong girl" in front of Apa. I gave him a tight hug, trying to touch my fingers around him but failing cause he was that big. He let me go and at that moment, I was left to become independent for a year. 

              If you want to know what happened to that 15 year old after that, then read my next "AWESOME" post.
(356-words)

The emotion worth fighting for.

58. Discuss the most important piece of advice you have ever 


received and explain its effect on your life.


"The only emotion worth fighting for is the ability to laugh. It never lets you down. It at least helps you smile when things do not go your way" Is what someone very important to me had said this to my sister and me. He always said this to us when ever he was around and the only e-mail he had ever sent me, he had repeated the line to me again. I had received this message in the end of the year 2009, someone might say that it was not that long ago. But to me it is. When I first received this, I was confused about why someone might not smile or laugh. I really did think that it was a stupid thing to say at that point of time. I mean why would someone not laugh all the time? Because I was young and immature, which I sill am but have grown since then, this message really did not get through me until end of 2010 because I had a life changing experience and realized why adults had so much problem laughing. When people grow up, people just have a lot of things that make them sad, I was one of those people that experienced one of the sadness earlier than my age group people did. When I was alone, I kept thinking of this message he had told my sister and me, it kept sinking in little by little. In the beginning I thought too hard and I ended up crying because of it. Before I realized, tears would start to roll down and I would blank out. When I came to my senses after crying, I would be exhausted. So, instead of taking it all in at once, I took my time thinking about it, like in little doses. This technique helped me regain my self control (It still helps me when every I am angry or sad). It really is true when people say time helps to heal. When this message finally did settled in me, I just felt like saying "Hell" to all this crying and sadness. So, I made myself stronger not to cry and instead laugh when something hurt a lot. This really worked for physical pain because when every a ball hit me or I banged somewhere, I would force myself to laugh instead to cry! I still do this because I always think that I have an option to make people worried about me, or let them feel relieved. So, I always picked the option where I would like an idiot for laughing but deep down I felt relived that people were laughing because of me and not stressing out. Of corse this was the physical part to it but I always had trouble keeping this up with my mental part. I mean I love making people laugh, so I kind of do stupid things all the time. It also helps me hide my emotion. I have always been called an idiot or a stupid girl or a fat girl. I have heard this sooooooo many times that I got used to it. I normally laugh it off cause it so redundant and I know they are joking but that does not mean that it hurts sometimes. Like in class, I don't really like to speak and just cause of that I'm called stupid, that hurts a lot but then I think of harder things that have happened to me compared to any of them and I say to myself that " I am stronger than any of them." Of corse this might not be true but it's a way for me to build my confidence. So, when every this things happened, I would get enough courage to laugh it off with ought me feeling hurt. All of this is me because, the advice that person gave it me, helped me to come become strong. This was the most important advice I had ever received from someone.
(687-words)