The other day my sister came into my room and looked at it and said "there's too many things going on in here." She's always teasing me about the way I decorate my room, saying that I just "find things in the street and stick them on my wall", which is partially true, but that's just the way I chose to do it. Compared to her room, poised, classy, and with a colored theme, mine is kind of all over the place. That kind of made me realize why I like it so much, because it represents me. When I was younger, I used to always want to be as smart as somebody else, as pretty as somebody else, or as talented as somebody else. It took years of growth to actually appreciate everything I'm made of- flaws, bad habits, big hips, good note-taking skills, everything. I did not realize that I should probably stop trying to be like other people, and just embrace things that I like because I will never be somebody else. Society nowadays is always trying to make us into something that we're not. I promise you, there are good and bad things about every person on this planet, all 7 billion of them. If you like something that your friend does not, that's okay. If you like wearing sweatpants and baggy t-shirts (as opposed to your friend who wears 6-inch heels to school), that's okay. If you're feeling down after a bad test grade in Pre-calculus, while your friend is boasting about her 95%, that's okay too. You are somebody that nobody else can ever be, and that's pretty awesome. What's something that you love about yourself? Comment below!
If you've read some of my previous posts, you're probably thinking, "alright, enough with the heavy material". Well, it's Sunday night and I'm in the office writing this entry while I hear my sister in the kitchen and the smell of melted cheese isn't far away. If you have known me for some time, you would know that I. Love. Macaroni and cheese. Seriously. Haley from One Tree Hill once said, "Mac and cheese is food of the gods", and if you don't agree with her, I sincerely don't think we could ever get along. This dish sent from heaven is traditional American comfort food. Which really means: after a long week of tests and quizzes and a rainy Friday night, this is your best bet. If you feed me this dish and I don't enjoy it, it probably isn't me because macaroni and cheese literally never lets me down. While cheddar cheese is most common in macaroni and cheese, other cheeses may be used, such as Gouda or Parmesan. If you're feeling feeling wild you can even add meat like bacon or bits of ham. Not feeling a whole plate of mac & cheese? You can deep-fry it into little balls of amazing-ness! Is macaroni and cheese healthy for you? No. Will a few spoonfuls of it drown your sorrows? Probably. :)
"Where are you going to college? What do you want to be? How many kids do you want?" Great. Another family party where I get heavy questions thrown at me. Not cool. I'm just a teenager! Why do I have to have my entire life planned out? I don't. "you need to start thinking about college" blah blah blah, I have heard it a million times! As if college and my future is not on my mind every waking moment. The truth is, I'm not entirely sure what direction I want to go in, or where I see myself in 10 years. (For goodness sake I don't even know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow.) Journalist? Social worker? Astronaut? College drop-out? There are so many appealing careers! (P.s. don't tell my Indian parents about the last one, they would freak out.) I'm endlessly appreciative that I even have the opportunity to have an education here in America, but I have my entire life ahead of me so why do I have to have it all planned out now? Even if I do plan it out, chances are things will not go as planned because I will constantly change my mind, being the indecisive person that I am. The future scares me, but I do not want it to. I just want to be able to say, "Yeah, I'm not sure where I want to go, but wherever I do go, I know it will be somewhere great." So whoever is reading this and does not have it all planned out, don't worry. You don't have to.
For as long as I can remember, I've had a passion for reading and traveling. An airplane was basically my second home, and I'm pretty sure I came out of the womb reading weird novels about witch covens. Haha, just kidding, then my mom would have really been worried! To me, reading and traveling are escapes. Reading takes me into another world and it really stimulates my mind. One of the greatest smells on earth is a new book. You can take a book anywhere! Who knows, maybe that cute boy at the mall is actually into the nerdy girls, and you'll catch his eye while you read John Green's heart-wrenching Looking for Alaska. ;) A few years ago, I made it my goal to visit all the continents (excluding Antarctica) by the time I turn 30. I specifically want to be the first person in my family to visit Australia, considering that's one of the only continents they haven't gotten to yet. My parents, who have lived in France for seventeen years, raised me and my sisters to appreciate all the wonders this world has to offer. There is so much I have not seen yet, so many languages I have not heard yet, and so much food I have not tried yet. I'm eager to see everything!
Check out Buzzfeed's "25 Signs You're Addicted to Books" and "16 Spectacular Places to Travel in 2015"
It's 3 a.m. Your eyelids are so heavy you can barely stand to keep them open for another second. You've been working on this lab paper for what feels like 300 hours. You finally get the paper done, and it's finished to perfection. However, you are so exhausted the next day,even your best friend's loud ranting can't wake you up. Friday comes. You are elated with the thought of finally getting rest, but your mind is still splattered all over the place as you brace yourself for next dreadful week to come. People often underestimate the impact high school has on teenagers. We are constantly bombarded with responsibilities. The life of a teenager is not just school and home. It is: school, sports, extracurricular activities, friends, family, sleep, social life, and everything in between. I once heard that anxiety levels in teens today are equivalent to the ones of mental asylum patients in the 1950's. Yet, the American education system continues to deny that there is a problem here. I have been so stressed recently, it tears me apart physically, mentally, and emotionally. The lack of sleep and daily stress I am faced with eventually catches up to my emotional health, sending a signal to my brain to take a break and just try to calm down. But it isn't that easy. After being pulled into a vicious cycle of no sleep and stress, it takes a while to come back from it. People just say, "well if you weren't procrastinating so much, you would get things done and be fine" but it isn't that easy. It is truly difficult to get yourself together and have a day where you truly feel at peace with where you are emotionally. Dear American education system: we are not superheroes. Dear fellow high-school students: we all need to relax and enjoy what it is supposed to be "the best four years of our lives". Take a break; your brain and body is begging for it.
Check out an article on CNN about stressed teens: http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/05/living/teen-stress-overscheduled-parents/
Jenny K. 17. high school junior. excessive napper. aspiring journalist. wild hunger for exploration.
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Blog Policy This blog was created to share my thoughts, and is not meant to offend anyone. No information or quotes may be used without direct citation or permission from the author, Jenny Khatri.