LifeOPedia

 I recently attended an orientation at my sister's college, where they talked about being grateful and its importance. Being grateful for the little things divert our attention from our problems. It diverts our attention away from the things we lack to the abundance that is already present. We smile more when we are grateful, we feel blessed and happy when we are grateful. Once we make this a practice, we remain forever happy. We tend to forget just how lucky we are; so I advise you to take out a small notebook every day and write down the things you are grateful for. After a few days, you can read what you have written about the little things that lit a fire in you... slowly burning your problems away. “Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul.” – Amy Collette

Main characters: Amy and Dan Cahill 39 clues is a great series, full of adventure and mysteries. It has a total of 12 books in the series with the first one being "The Maze of Bones" written by Rick Riordan, writer of the Percy Jackson series. This book sends 2 orphans on a wild hunt for an unknown treasure that promises utmost power, "First Prize: World Domination". Selected members of the "Cahill" family are given the first clue which then sets them off on their quest, there can only be one winner. Each team works separately and the team of the two main characters "Amy and Dan Cahill" are advised not to trust anyone as all members of the Cahill family are known for their cunning behavior, betrayal, and their desire to win. It begins with their grandmother's funeral where they are either offered a check of million dollars or a clue that does not promise prosperity. Amy and Dan are hesitant, they're orphans living with their aunt, they mi...

 Being consistent is something many of us struggle with, including me. I find it hard to continue, start many things but continue none, and I'm always unaware of the reason... I just stop. I say it is out of laziness and my loss of interest that I do not build up my hobbies to their greatest potential. But, I want to be consistent. There are many times I find myself wondering... "What if I would have continued?". But when it's time to start again, only excuses pop up in my mind.   Being consistent is hard. It's hard to continue because today, there are so many different things you can do and learn. We find ourselves shifting interests often and lose interest in the things that once sparked a fire in us. I start and stop, start and stop, start and stop but never continue. I used to feel that once I start something the learning part is over, and the excitement slowly fades away. It's only recently that I finally realized just how different each step of the way i...

Every new year, we set out to make exciting changes; and write them down as a part of our resolutions. Each year goes by and as it does, we learn so many new things. We learn new things because of the ever-changing lifestyle all of us are living. But the brain has a finite capacity, so to learn something new, we must forget some older, outdated information, also known as Unlearning What is unlearning? Unlearning is a 3 step process: realizing, deciding, and erasing. To unlearn, we must realize that what we learned earlier is now incorrect and decide to erase those thoughts, misconceptions, or habits from our minds forever.  We unlearn something to adopt different and better ways of doing the same thing.  Just like a baby, A classic example of unlearning and relearning is how a baby learns to walk. At first, a baby crawls on all four limbs but later, when trying to walk, the baby unlearns to crawl and learns to walk again, on foot.  Unlearning is one of the best ways we ca...

When reaching a dead end, one tends to waste time stressing and over analysing the situation to figure out a solution that might not help you in solving the problem. It's frustrating to see yourself turn out be unsuccessful time and time again.  At times like this, you must start again! On a fresh, brand new page full if brand new opportunities. Go for it again, this time with a new mindset. I promise you, it'll turn out much greater. While practicing ballet, I hit dead ends too and more often than not, I can't perfect the step! At times like this, I think of the very first things I learnt when I attended my first ballet class 8 years ago. I take a break, stretch and when I'm ready, I try the step again but this time with a different approach and this time I succeed! Erase your drawing, and start again with a fresh new paper and with this new mindset you are going to sketch something much better than before. And this sketch, you'll be sure to frame it!

Once my family and I were leaving for a long car ride to Lonavala - a wonderful place in India, we planned on reaching at 1 and eat our lunch in the hotel itself. We opened google maps, and it predicted we would reach there by 1 if we left at 8. We followed that and left early that day. But, halfway there, our car came to a halt. As my parents tried to fix the problem, I looked out the window. The hill sloped down slowly. A lake, calm and transparent, lay at the bottom of the hill. The sky was powder blue with the whitest clouds I have ever seen. Life didn't feel real at that moment. It took an hour and a half to get the car to start again. We missed the buffet and had to find another restaurant to eat at, which was a pain, we were all hungry, and it took some time to find a restaurant. But it didn't matter. The view I saw at that moment and the feeling I had when I breathed in the warm fresh air put a smile on my face that I couldn't get rid of. I imagined how I would not ...

This controversial topic has had people discuss its pros and cons for decades, and I think it's finally time to conclude. Let me voice out my point of view and why I believe uniforms are better. Uniforms nourish a sense of equality between the students. Being a student myself, I can say that it removes the stress and anxiety that goes behind not wearing a specific clothing piece to school every day. Wearing a uniform and sitting in a class, amongst others wearing the same outfit, makes you feel equal. There might be plenty of differences between you and your peers at home, but you'd have the same opportunities and the same amount of freedom at school.  In schools, not wearing clothing from a particular brand or something 'fashionable' could leave the students with a feeling of insecurity. Uniforms unite the students of a particular school as one. There is a sense of pride that every student feels while wearing their school's uniform. Going to interschool events wear...

This proverb is one of my favorites. It is an excellent rule for a carpenter, but it comes in handy in our day-to-day lives too. Here's a story: The carpenter is building a table. He has to cut a piece of wood for the table's leg; he measures the wood and begins to cut it. He realizes that the part is too short; he had taken the wrong measurements. Now, he must use another piece of wood and repeat the fatiguing process. Thus, wasting resources and time. I'm sure we all relate to this story. Often we rush through our tasks, and as a result, we don't prepare carefully or take the time to be sure. We finish our task with the wrong "measurements" and have to start afresh. This is a pesky process, but avoiding it is easy. Unlike the carpenter, we must be patient and prepare carefully before taking action. This care taken in preparations will prevent errors. This proverb reminds us to take the extra time now to avoid potential disappointment later. Double-checking i...

Couldn't Do Vs. Didn't Do A few days ago, I had started writing a new blog post. I knew the topic would have been fascinating to write and read about. I wrote a sentence and then... nothing. The slide was as blank as it could be, a plain white rectangle. I could have finished writing it and gone to sleep with confidence, but I got distracted and didn't.  With 2021 having just begun, I'm sure all of us plan to achieve the resolutions we have planned despite all the obstacles set in front of us. 365 days isn't as long as one might imagine it to be, and there's only one way to make the best out of it: If you should, Do if you can. Only 2 questions, "Should you?" and "Can you?", if they both answer "yes", don't procrastinate, you might forget to do it later. But sometimes there's another more important task to complete, or it's not possible for you to do X at that moment. In those cases, we should change our priorities. It...

20-20 began with smiling faces but just as soon as it began, we wished for it to end. It has with no doubt been a year of downs and ups. Tragedy struck but miracles happened too. This year has helped many learn so much about not taking things for granted. Spending every living, breathing moment with family, for me, has had its whole different rollercoaster ride. Still, as this year ends, I have understood how important family is, now I can't imagine my parents leaving for work, I don't want them to either. This year, scientists and researchers worldwide have made many life-changing discoveries, all amidst a global pandemic.  We sequenced the coronavirus just a few days after learning about this illness, and we developed its vaccine in under a year; that's record time! NASA launched a new mars rover, a probe to the sun, and the first-ever crewed commercial astronaut mission.  There are so many more incredible things that we have been able to achieve this year. No matter our ...

First, let's start with the word 'Think'. How and what we think determines how we act, talk and what we do. It shapes and makes our reality. Thinking that a book is going to be boring before reading it will make you believe that the book is boring while reading it.  Now, "Thinking Differently". Since no two humans are the same, does that mean we all think differently? No. Our thinking is very much influenced by the people surrounding us.  I wanted to start a blog since I was very young. I had millions of ideas flowing in and I couldn't stop writing. But people told me I was too young and that I wouldn’t know how. So for two years I didn’t try. I have finally started writing a blog, and it’s very overwhelming. I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.  How many 12-year-olds that you know have written a blog or started a podcast, maybe even joined a band or taken a sport that they like, more seriously? I believed that you are never too young to chase your g...

 We are re-branding! Not sure if that is what you call it but we are no longer going to be "Wonderwithannie" instead, we will go as "LifeOPedia". I have been wanting to change my blog name for quite a while now, and I thought LifeOPedia fits perfectly with my content! Plus, It's catchy! Love, Annanya.

Practice doesn't make perfect. Just reading that line makes us uncomfy, right? I have been brought up being told one line, and one line only: " Practice makes perfect." As I was thinking of topics to write about, I started second-guessing this statement and a quote came to my mind almost immediately.  You see, just practicing isn't the full story...  "Perfect Practice makes Perfect" ... Practicing properly is.  If we practice poorly without corrected our mistakes, we will just get better at making those mistakes.  Practice makes habits. Not Improvements.   Practicing perfectly, on the other hand, improves our performance in any skill. It corrects our mistakes and all in all, makes us better. This is one of the most important things that my ballet teacher has ever taught me. Several factors go into dancing perfectly. In ballet, all of them come with perfect practice. Something as simple as pointing your feet can go wrong in many ways if not paid proper atten...

I never understood the concept on patience. They brought me up, telling me patience was a virtue, but never telling me why.  So today we are going to unravel that mystery and understand how powerful patience is. I was was folding a swan out of origami with my sister one day, and me being me, I took it as a competition and I quickly made a swan out of the origami in just 2 minutes. Seeing that my sister was not yet done, I sat down beside her, looking at how she was making her swan. I eventually got bored and decided to take a nap. When I woke up, my sister enthusiastically came running towards me with her paper swan in her hand, and to be honest, it looked much more majestic than my floppy swan. I went to my mom sobbing and asked her why I couldn't make such a pretty swan. Then she told me something I will never forget. She said, "You have to be patient while working with origami. Some Things Take Time." But then, I never understood what she meant, I was only 6.  Some Thi...

Everything begins with an idea, every business, every magnificent monument, every app, every blog post, all that you can ever imagine has started from a spark in one’s head, whether an astronomic or minuscule idea it doesn’t matter. Every concept or plan, once executed, often leads to something much bigger.  It’s important to dream and come up with various imaginative ideas, without them there would be nothing new, there would be no progress. Ideas are important - we must assume everything around us before it can take a tangible form. By putting your mind at work, you are allowing yourself to explore new realms filled with opportunities, and who knows, you might just stumble upon something brilliant.  “But it’s not the idea, it’s never the idea, it’s always what you do with it.” - Neil Gaiman.  Just making ideas alone and not executing them serves no purpose.  The Value Of An Idea Lies In What You Do With It.

  "Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy" —Thich Nhat Hanh

Once gone, forever gone, The time that's misused . Once gone, forever gone, The word once it's spoken. Once gone, forever gone, The opportunity one wasted. Once gone, forever gone, The occasion that's missed. Once gone, forever gone, The day that is forgotten. After the completion of an action, you can't go back.  Once it's done, it's done.  So before regret has the chance to haunt you, think. Think before every word, every action, because What is done cannot be undone.

"Perseverance”, in my eyes, is something that makes common people stand out. Everything you want to succeed in, comes back to perseverance. You may be extremely talented, you may be outstandingly smart, but without the push of  perseverance,  it really doesn't matter.  Perseverance gives us the ability to see our dreams become reality.

One of the basic rules of this universe is that NOTHING IS PERFECT We all have our flaws, we all have our dents, and our scratches, we have our broken smiles and weird personalities. But that's who we are and it's okay. It's okay to be perfectly imperfect. Nothing in this world is flawless. Perfection simply doesn't exist. Without imperfection, humans would have nothing to learn and nothing to strive for. Perfection is impossible because it means being flawless, it means not being able to make mistakes, not being able to misunderstand, it means not being human. The term "human" means that you will make blunders, it means you will fail, but it's all to overcome with experience, to learn, and to grow. Your mistakes are what have gotten you where you are and your faults are what have made you who you are. Remember: "We all have imperfections, and that's perfectly okay!"

I feel envy is like looking through a microscope, finding those small differences between your life and another's, it is like counting someone else's blessings instead of yours.  Its a cycle of looking at what other people possess, then looking at what you have and feeling the need to have more. It's a cycle that looks very hard to get out of, but in reality,  It is as simple as feeling happy for what other people are blessed with instead of crying over what you are not. [Read that again] The color of envy is clearly dark, but, is there some angel to its figure? According to  studies done at Texas Christian Universit y,  envy increases memory and cognitive function. A good thing?  Evidently not.  The only thing the subjects were sharper about were the objects of their envy.   Some argue envy is positive because it challenges us to reach higher and be better. But another in the same set of studies revealed that envy reduced subjects’ abilities to comple...