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Blackout College Essay

I don’t often witness the day-to-day significance of language — its ability to connect people, form lasting bonds , and mend old ones. A month before visiting my grandmother in India, I reflected on the distance in our relationship , a distance due to a language barrier. I speak English every day, at home and at school, so I fell out of touch with my mother tongue, Marathi, the language my grandmother speaks. I withheld myself from learning more about my family and my parents, missing out on the opportunity to learn more about myself and immerse myself in my culture, despite the technology that would help polish my Marathi. Two years ago, I suddenly decided to brush up on my Marathi . I started practicing it with my parents at home before an upcoming India visit. Ironically, working to re-learn a language I hadn’t practiced in a while led me on my quest to have meaningful conversations.  Although technology can separate people and lead to superficial conversations, I saw...
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Life Book List

My life goals: 1. Understand how humans came to be: Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind  by Yuval Noah Harari The next chapter of my life begins with education. In fact, lots of education. 12-15 years of grinding through college, medical school, residency, and maybe a fellowship to one day put on a white coat and respond to "Dr. Ghosalkar..." I can't wait for that day. But I know that until I get there, I'm going to have to learn how to deal with people . Medicine is a people industry, and as a science nerd, I want to understand it from a book. Why are people the way they are? Perhaps, Harari's dense account of mankind will teach me a thing or two.  2. Learn how to love: 8 Rules of Love by Jay Shetty Ah, love. Your 20s are supposed to be the time you fall in love. But it seems like no one really get it, so I thought why not read a book about it because that sounds totally unique ;) I've followed Jay Shetty and his work for some time, and I really like it. He...
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Equilibrium and Seeing the Bigger Picture

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 I guess Mr. Moore was right. Equilibrium is the happy place. It's like sitting in a warm chair on a frosty day. But it always seems like we're never there. There's always  something to worry about or be annoyed at. Can't we all just chill ?  I've found myself finding the importance of trying to reach equilibrium as best as I can. Balancing intense academic engagement with personal and emotional investment with my friends. I ended up finding out that it's not a fairy tale. Grit at the sacrifice of your personal relationships is not  rewarding in any sense. My parents saw a change in me this year as well. I've been hanging out more with my friends, and I've been able to be more chill when it came to school. Now in the fall, my parents instantly sounded the alarms and told me that senioritis could not cost me my college applications. I felt more sure of myself during that time that I wasn't becoming complacent - I was really just discovering that there...
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Friendship

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Playing on the monkey bars It seemed so simple Now almost adults  It seems lost Friendship. It seems so simple, but it doesn’t come so easily. While people can make friends instantly over the internet, many of us are still struggling with friendship. We hide our deepest insecurities from those we call our “best friends.” We continue befriending those who talk behind our backs, those that deserve our attention. Why? While the human conscience has grown increasingly robust and moral standards are constantly being risen, it seems as though we’ve grown soft. What good are friends that we can’t be 100% honest with?  Friendship, defined by the American Psychological Association, is “a voluntary relationship between two or more people that is relatively long-lasting and in which those involved tend to be concerned with meeting the others’ needs and interests as well as satisfying their own desires.” Wow, just reading that, I felt shivers. I cringed internally at how far removed this ...
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Roots

my people my people I can’t be lost when I see you my compass is brown & gold & blood This excerpt from Fatimah Asghar's "If They Should Come for Us" is a beautiful portrayal of the power of kinship to overcome prejudice. Repeating "my people" the author emphasizes the unity she feels amongst fellow Muslims. The symbol of a compass is carefully chosen to relate to how much of Asghar's life has been spent without love after being orphaned at the age of 5. As an immigrant female poet who is in need of a supportive community, her identity as a Muslim is what connects her to others, at least at first glance. Her compass is what tells her "the way," and it primarily points towards those whose struggle she recognizes and empathizes with. It may not even be a shared struggle but a shared experience that brings her closer to others. Why does it all matter? In the United States, Muslims still struggle to be seen as equals. Victims of profiling and d...
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A year of firsts and lasts

A year of firsts and lasts. Moving into different roles and finally feeling comfortable in existing ones, I’ve had quite the senior year. With all the stress it brings, I’ve found myself becoming the person I want to be. It feels like I’m starting to act more without thinking so much, which feels incredible as an overthinker. I was nervous to start the semester with limited friends in most of my classes because I felt like it would be a bust, but I’ve made unexpected close bonds, and I hope to strengthen them this upcoming semester. I’ve been challenged, of course, but I have grown to be less hard on myself. It honestly has helped me rise up from the frequent falls high school brings, and I’m genuinely proud of myself for finally reaching this point.  12 AP has been quite an interesting literature experience. Reading classic, renowned texts have made me more appreciative of the repertoire out there, and I’ve taken interest in several habits this class has helped me build. The colla...
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Competitions, Victoria Chang, and Mr. Beast

You win. You lose. Triumph. Failure.   This is the model created by competitions. The more prestigious a competition is, the more proud you feel if you win, and the more you cry if you fail. It seems contradictory, but you tend to put in more effort when the stakes are higher, so it's only reasonable that you feel down on yourself when you lose. However, the subjectivity of awards in competitions has always enraged most people. Beauty rests in the eye of the beholder, people say. While that pleases people when it comes to physical appearances, it kills their spirit when it comes to competitions. After spending hours and hours on preparation, what more could these subjective judges, these overlords, these game masters want? Do they not CARE?  People can sugarcoat it all they want, but there's very little you can say to help someone get over losing. My greatest challenge has been coming to peace with it. I don't want to discount competitions for their unfairness nor glorify t...
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