Shreya's English Blog

 Last week, I started on my AP Physics C homework. Before I even started the assignment, I started to think about how I thought the class was so difficult and how I am bad at physics. I wondered, “why did I sign up for this class...I should have taken an easier class instead”. Because of this mindset, I felt that I could not do the assignment because I did not know the content. However, after looking through the class notes, I started to understand the content and began working on the assignment. In this case, I just assumed that the challenge was too hard for me to overcome so I put myself in a fixed mindset.  I realized that assumptions like these cause me to hesitate before pursuing challenging things. I sometimes feel that the task is too difficult. However, after putting in effort for the challenging task, I am able to progress, improve and complete the task.  Now, I have realized that when presented with something difficult, it is best to not make assumptions about ...

 I listened to 680: The Weight of Words. In this podcast, people talk about their experiences with words in different forms and how they found them comforting and used them to get past tumultuous times in their lives.  The podcast begins with the host talking about her experience with prayers. She said that even though she doesn’t believe in God or in any of the words of the prayer, she finds that saying the prayer is a comfort. Part of this is due to the fact that the prayer is familiar to her and perhaps reminds her of happier times in her life. Reminiscing about these moments gives her strength to carry on and move forward from any tragedy she faces. She had used the prayers to comfort her after mother’s death and said that the prayer reminded her of the nursery rhymes her mother would sing to her every night before bed.  The first story on the podcast is about a woman, Shamyla, who was abused by her family in Pakistan and isolated from the real-world. Her adoptive par...

  This picture is meaningful to me because it was the day I met my younger sister. I still remember how excited and happy I was when my parents told me my little sister was born. I distinctly remember my dad picking me up from daycare and driving me to the hospital to meet my sister. The whole drive, I kept asking my dad questions about her as I could not contain my excitement. Before my sister was born, I often felt bored and alone as I did not have anyone to keep me company at home. This feeling fueled my excitement when my sister was born and I could not wait to meet her. I simply kept thinking of all the different games we could play together. When we finally arrived at the hospital, I remember not being able to peer over my sister’s bassinet to see her and asking my dad to lift me up so that I could take a look. I also remember as soon as I saw her, she somewhat smiled at me. Feeling elated, I chattered away to my mom and dad in my loud, childish voice. The next day at daycare...