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First Prize: World Domination

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...

Consistency is key!

 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...

Learning to Unlearn

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 But the brain has a finite capacity, so to learn something new, we must forget some older, outdated information, also known as Unlearning What is unlearning?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...

The End? or just the Beginning?

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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!

A life of uncertainty

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 ...

Uniforms for the better

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...

Measure A Thousand Times, Cut Once

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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...