Initially going into this class all I heard from seniors were about blogs. I cam into this class not caring for them as we were only gonna do them once every 2 weeks. Although to my surprise they have changed me more than I believed they would 

The blog that I enjoyed writing the most is the place to be one. For me thinking about the future undoubtedly scares me, although when I was thinking about the places I will hopefully travel that fear momentarily washed away. Traveling is something I am genuinely passionate about, going from thinking what my life would be like there to writing it in words was very fun to do. All of these places that I added onto the blog were not spur of the moment pieces. Rather they were countries that had a meaning to me for why I would want to travel there. For example I added Guatemala because it’s a place where my friend’s family lives. With her speaking so much about it from the culture to the food I slowly found the urge to explore it for myself. I am not someone that would be very open in essays however being able to talk about my name and what it means to me and my family was very comforting. Contrary to my previous writing pieces the words just seemed to flow out of me without trying. Reflecting upon this post and the others I realized that my comfortability and attitude towards writing has changed. 

The nature of the blogs being as creative as they are has truly expanded my relationship with writing entirely. As a child I loved writing little stories about world’s colored in pink and blue. However with the use of writing pieces being added more and more into school, with the constricted feeling that they gave from the use of rubrics and Ap guidelines. The positive connotation I once had on writing had completely changed into this rejecting attitude towards any piece of writing. Being very used to being given specific topics and rubrics to follow the beginning of the semester had me utterly confused and lost. I felt like nothing I had to say was interesting enough to talk about for 600-700 words. After an extremely long brainstorming session with Carol Yin I finally found it. The topic that was going to be my first vlogs, favorite shows. The entire process of writing these blogs have become so much more comfortable the more I do it. I also believe it is an amazing way to communicate with others. At least for me during class I did not make as many friends, however being able to read what friends in other periods made me become closer with them and new friends in general.

Addition to my attitude towards reading, so did my writing skills. I have always been a more personal writer than other people. Being able to connect with the piece is very important to me and something I look for in every writing piece. Most notably what changed my blog to become comfortable to be able to talk about my name and what it means to my family is Matthew Ru’s piece. His blog called “My Increasingly Wishful Pickleball Wishlist”  was so bewildering to read that it broke me out of my comfort zone. As I became more conscious of making sure that I am adding pieces of myself into the blog, I began to add a distinct tone onto my pieces. 

This first semester made me realize that I am able to be alone. I have always been the student to make friends easily and chit chat throughout the period. Although maybe with all the stress of college applications and AP classes, I have become much more comfortable with being by myself. Although with this I never felt like I couldn’t comfortably communicate with my classmates. With the use of blogging and being able to read what other people are passionate about. It became this unique process where you know so much about someone but don’t at the same time. I think this feeling of being comfortable alone will stick with me and I am glad for it. I also hope that this new attitude of writing will stick with me throughout my life. 

I look forward to Thanksgiving every year, not for the holiday itself but for the almost week-long time of no school. This year it has been a much-needed moment of happiness without any worries before going back to school. For both students and teachers, it has been a time to be with family and watch as many movies as you want. It gives you the time to do anything and everything you want without being on a strict schedule. That freedom both creates boredom but also the much-needed time to relax. 

This year my Thanksgiving break has ended up being spent with family and friends. Reflecting back on my week of break I will list the 4 memorable things I did during the time. 

1.  FaceTime with friends 

During this break it was filled with tons of visiting family, my friends have also gone to see their family. Our schedule hasn’t matched up throughout the entire Thanksgiving break. Instead of going to meet them, we spent quite a few nights catching up and playing games. We have started playing games from our childhood that bring back good memories like Among Us, Roblox Five Nights at Freddy’s, Scribble, and Exposed. We stayed up all night talking and playing games until we became delirious with lack of sleep. Realizing that my friend had to go to Chicago early in the morning we abruptly ended the call. It was really fun to go back to play these games before I went to college. It felt like the end of an era for me to end it with one good moment.

2.  Thanksgiving day

My parents had decided that this year instead of hosting we went to a family friend’s house. They hosted a Thanksgiving party for everyone who lived in the same village back in our home country. I had believed that it was just a dinner and we were going to do something the rest of the day. Although when we got to their house at 3 pm I was very confused. We ended up eating both lunch and dinner there. While waiting for the turkey for 2 hours I had expected it to be good. Although the turkey sadly did not deliver to my expectations. We ended up staying there and talking for 8 hours, my parents had a lot of fun. Although staying in one place for such a long time and not having anyone my age had taken a toll on me. I had ended up spending my time there watching my phone or talking to people.

3.  Family 

My aunt got married last year and ended up moving to New York. Instead of our usual going to her house for Thanksgiving Eve and then coming to my house for Thanksgiving dinner. It was spent a week before Thanksgiving picking up her and my uncle from the airport. It felt a lot different from last year but this year new memories were made. By watching our favorite old Bollywood movies and eating foods that bring back moments of my childhood. I used to see my dad’s side of the family all the time, although both my cousins who live decently near me have ended up going to college, and one with her own business. Seeing each other has become less and less through the years. We have spent mornings on FaceTime calls made by my grandma to see how we are doing.

4.  New years 

For as long as I can remember I have always been to a place where all Newari through the Midwest come together to celebrate the New Year. I remember as a child I would play with all the other younger kids there until the end which was always at 1 am-2 am. As I grew up all the kids that I played with ended up 

moving away or not coming anymore. My parents had instilled in me that I would know and understand why it was import

ant to go. With that, there was not a year that I wouldn’t go. This year my younger cousin did a dance with one of her friends. It has been fun watching her grow up from when she was a baby to now being an 8-year-old dancing on stage. Before people started leaving there were adults dancing to any music available. All the children ended up falling asleep on the chairs after waiting for their parents to be done. I’ve never been anxious about a senior year until people started saying that this would be the last time I do that. To me, that is the worst part of leaving a place you grew up, rather than the act of change.