#soniawrites

[beautyonapage]

Her mind keeps running, Running into eight different directions, They say her mind is a mess, That she’s lost in her thoughts. But just like trees, Her mind branches out, Into eight different directions, Every branch holding a thought. It maybe fruitful or not, But yet she lives, From her roots, All the way to her fruits, Standing tall, Accepting growth, Adapting to the environment, Surviving pollution. Her mind keeps running, Running into eight different directions, Her mind might be a mess, But she is blessed with strength.

-S.S (Blessed With Strength)

[beautyonapage]

Thoughts

Writers would probably say that words are the most powerful weapon used to get various things done. Yes indeed words are powerful, but it is your thoughts that form those words.

You create your thoughts. These thoughts then create feelings, which are often expressed through words, music, or any sort of art.

Something abstract, that exist only in your heart, mind and soul can be made concrete. Now that is the beauty of your thoughts.

If you can think, you can create.

This works two ways, just like everything else in this world. Positive and negative thoughts. At times, you need to be negative in order to know how does positive thinking feels like.

What goes on in your head, will control you and how you run your life. What you think about yourself will make you feel a certain way towards yourself and then influence your actions towards you and the people around you.

If you haven’t realized already, your thoughts or you can say your imagination can either be a gift or torture. It depends on how good you are controlling your thoughts, before it controls you.

Life doesn’t happen to you, it responds to you. It responds to how you feel and what you think about all the time.

This is something that I have been thinking about all week. Yes, my thoughts on thoughts. 

And I think we are all complex human beings, mind running in different directions, slowly branching out into good and bad thoughts, causing us to feel a certain way every day. It amazes me how complicated yet simple the mind is.

I guess it takes time for every individual to master the relationship they have between their thoughts and the vibes that they give and receive.

“The mind acts as an enemy for those who cannot control it.” -Bhagavad Gita (Ancient Hindu Text)

[beautyonapage]

What I’ve Learned In The First Month Of University Life

Written by Sonia Singh.

It has been more than 30 days since I’ve been enrolled into a university and course of my choice.

Currently, I am living the hostel life even though my home is approximately 3-5 minutes away from campus. You might be wondering why not just stay at home? Life will be easier as I am able to get my mother’s home cooked food, I won’t have to do much other than focus on my grades. 

Unlike several university students who wish they were closer to home, I want to go through the hostel life. I chose the hostel life in order to be a more independent person. I like the idea of doing things myself, going through a certain amount of hardship and yet excelling in anything I give my commitment to. You don’t have to go far away from home in order to be an independent individual. The only person that is stopping you from being self-sufficient is you.

Making new friends was never a challenge to me as I am quite a sociable person. However, I realized that I am having trouble in expanding my social circle for the past few weeks. I do not let people in so easily, neither do I reveal myself completely to everyone around me. I find it difficult to ‘fit in’. If you know me personally, you would know me as the loud and opinionated girl who will never shut up. Though, it is strange because shutting up is what I have been doing best for the past few weeks. I have tried being around people of my age, seniors, people of the same and different race, yet I do not feel so comfortable being around them. Since it is just one month in university, I am convincing myself that it takes time finding the right group of friends and maybe it is okay to not fit in. 

Also, do not be shy to ASK if you are not sure about something since you are new to the people and environment. Unlike school, you will have to put yourself upfront if you would like to participate in anything. No one is going to handpick you or notice your talent immediately. You will have to show them what you are capable of in order to give your very best to whatever you participate in.

Being mixed race is a struggle especially when you are in university. Don’t get me wrong, I love being mixed race! I get to experience the best of both worlds. However at times, not being able to belong a hundred percent in a particular ethnic group is a challenge. Having to explain yourself to every single individual you meet can be really tiring. In case you didn’t know, I am half Punjabi and half Sindhi. At times, society doesn’t even know that the other half of me exist. I’ve never gotten such weird questions on my racial identity until I was enrolled in university. I get questions such as, “are you an international student?”, “are you Hindi?”, “Sindh is part of Pakistan, so you must be Pakistani?”.

The best question of all would be, “are you bollywood?”. Hell yes.

The more confusing part for me would be religion. But that is whole other topic that would take hours of discussion. I am a 19-year-old girl who does not know what to fill in forms when it comes to blank spaces such as ‘race’ and ‘religion’. I never felt the need to explain myself back in high school or matriculation but I am feeling it now. My body is just a host. My racial identity does not define my soul. When will my reflection show, who I am inside? Shout out to all the mixed raced people out there who spend years figuring out who they truly are and where do they belong. For those who aren’t mixed raced, well now you know how we feel.  

It has been only a month here in university. For now, the studying part doesn’t seem the hardest yet. I am aware that university life is not only about hitting the books, it is about how you handle daily situations. At times, daily situations might make you doubt yourself. You might question yourself if you are doing the right thing. Remind yourself that nothing easy is worth it. You’ve made it this far, it would be irrational to give up now. People will judge you in whatever you do. Since they love being the judge of everything, give them a performance and slay whatever that comes your way. At any given moment, you have the power to make a choice that will affect you in a certain way. True enough there will be some situations that you cannot control. But then again, i’ve always believed that you are the author of your life, you decide on how your story goes.

Cheers to the coming months of university life.

[beautyonapage]

Not all mistakes are bad. Sometimes, they can be blessings in disguise.

S.S

[beautyonapage]

How To Be Confident Before Entering University/College

Written by Sonia Singh

“University or College life is the best life you will ever have.” That is what you will hear from every working adult. This one sentence sends the chill down my spine. University life is a big deal. It is that time of your life where you either build or break yourself. Just like you, i’m really excited but nervous. Before you judge, do not assume that I am the guru of confidence, teaching you on how to be confident because let’s be real, we all have times in life where we fall and it is so hard to get up. In fact, you and I will both try these simple hacks in order to gain more confidence before we enter a whole new world of challenges.

Firstly, love yourself. Did you know that there is no one like you in this universe? I’m not sweet talking, i’m stating a very important fact. You inherit genetic traits from your mother and father that makes you different. That is why you cannot compare yourself to your siblings even though they are from the same parent as you are. This is because no two humans on this planet earth can have the same genes. The cells in your body are working hard every single day to keep you alive. Next time you feel unloved, think again. You are special and you deserve to feel special. However, do not expect other people to make you feel special. Self love or self worth can only come from within yourself. If you’re feeling a little down lately, there are many ways to love yourself. For example, read a good book that will educate you with a hot cup of coffee, or go for a walk in the park and embrace nature’s beauty. You can even go on a shopping spree! If sleeping helps you love yourself then sleep. As long as you feel good on the inside, you’ll be able to feel confident.

Next, wake up early. Sounds dreadful, but trust me it helps you feel much better about the day. Start your day early, not at 1pm. Wake up from 8-9am. This is a really good habit as it will buy you more time in a day. You will have more time to have your breakfast and finish certain task in the morning itself. Also, the weather at this time is really good and sends positive vibes. Practice this for 21 days and it will automatically form a habit. If you have less than 21 days, practice this for a week. This habit will be really useful in university or college as you might have morning classes. You definitely want to go to class on time, not looking like a hot mess. This will make you feel more confident and ready to own the day like a boss.

Besides that, some of us might have to stay in campus. In other words, you’ll have to move out and be independent. It takes a lot of confidence to convince yourself and your parents to trust you that living alone or with a roomate will be fine. It is advisable to make several check lists on the things you’ll need to pack from clothings to toiletries. If you are being enrolled into a education institution that will be away from your hometown, it is better to pack everything you need 4-5 days before you leave your hometown. This is really important in order to feel confident. Once you are done with your packing, you feel as though the time has come to start a new life. Also, packing early will buy you time to recall everything that you need.

Lastly, be a goal oriented person. It is now or never to achieve your dream. As long as you have a clear mindset on what goals you want to achieve in university or college, you will feel more confident because you know what you want and how to get it. Remember, a dream without a plan is a wish. A dream with a plan is a goal. That is why they say if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. The only person in your way to reach your goals is you. The sooner you understand the importance of having short or long term goals and a way to achieve them, the more confident you will become.

So here it is! A few simple steps to feel more confident before starting a new phase of life. I know that most of us already know these tricks to be more confident, but at times we could all use a little reminder (including me). You deserve whatever you desire. Set no limits to what you want to achieve. You can do it. And if anyone tries to bring down your confidence then remember that you are not some every day dal chawal. You are biryani.

[beautyonapage]

4 Times You Were Tired Of Being The Eldest

Being the eldest child has its ups and down. At times, being the eldest is so tiring and the worst part is that we don’t even get paid nor allowed to resign from this position or even a holiday from our responsibilities. Sad to say that our parents and younger siblings do not realize that being the eldest is hard.

Here are four times when you were tired of being the eldest;

1. Being the trial and error child, always.

Being the eldest child means going through all the failures and pain FIRST. We had to figure out everything ourselves! We had to make mistakes and learn from them. Yes, younger siblings also make mistakes but less mistakes compared to us. You know why? Because they have seen it all and they know what to do if they were ever in our position. This is why at times the middle child tends to be more “reliable” or “perfect”. Our parents also make us their lab rats. We get thrown around everywhere, as though we are some important experiment. Oh wait, of course we are an important experiment! We are the trial and error kids! Only then our parents will have the experience to raise our younger siblings the right way.

2. Getting blamed for being the bad influence.

According to most parents, everything bad that your siblings do is definitely your fault. They use the phone too much? Your fault, because you use the phone too. They aren’t good at maths? Your fault, you are bad at maths too and cannot teach them. They talk rudely to you? Your fault as well because you must have provoked them to do so! As the eldest, we already get blamed for our own mistakes and now we have to take the blame of someone elses mistakes? Not fair.

3. When your younger siblings EAT YOUR FOOD.

Stop. Just stop. This is the most furiating factor. At least leave our food alone! Respect the fact that you cannot eat our food without permission. This factor usually causes a war at home. Younger siblings have to stop taking advantage of us. This is what our parents have to say to us, “It is okay, the more you give the more you get.” Dear parents, no.

4. When your siblings team up and hate you.

Hate is a very strong word. But of course there are times where your siblings are totally against you and will try to make sure to put you down in front of your parents eyes in order to get anything they want. Whether it is to steal your food or debate on what tv programme to watch which leads to the TV remote as a battle weapon, your siblings will try to destroy you

At times, it hurts being the eldest. However, where there are disadvantages, there will be advantages too. Being the eldest sibling is hard, but it is an honor to serve the family and carry out responsibilities with pride. Also, can you imagine your world without your siblings? It might feel good for a few days, but eventually, you will miss them. You know why? Because you are human, you have a heart that is meant to love. You love your siblings, and you know that. 

Inspired by: Neha and Aryan. My lovely yet annoying siblings.

[beautyonapage]

What It's Like To Be An Emotional Person

Written by Sonia Singh

Emotions are very powerful as they can create or destroy anything. Being emotional does not make you mentally weak, it simply proves that you view the world and take events that happen to you with a lot of feelings. Some people are good at controlling their emotions, while some are not. However, you cannot say that you are emotionless. Society has this strange way of telling us, emotional people, that we are not mentally fit when we actually are mentally fit because we are more aware of our emotions and understand them well and faster than other people who aren’t emotional.

I am an emotional person and I strongly disagree with anyone who says it is because I am a woman, or I am young and immature. I can make my own decisions and be emotional about it because it is my rights to feel like how I want to feel and let nobody tell me otherwise.  No matter what your age is, you have a heart and soul that has feelings and it is advisable to let them out before it consumes you. Being emotional is not a mental disorder but telling a person that they shouldn’t be emotional will lead them to a mental disorder, such as depression.

Also in case you didn’t know, men also have emotions. I do not understand why people say real men do not cry. Real men cry. You know why? Because they have emotions and tear ducts just like us women! The only difference is again, how emotional you are as a person.

When you are an emotional person, you tend to be more sensitive towards your surroundings. You realize the little things. For example, if you are talking to a person, you will realize his/her tone of voice, their eye contact, hand gestures and many more details. These details can be helpful in understanding another person and being able to connect to another person. At times, you can detect the change in a person’s behavior towards you and it might hurt you a little. Emotional people are so strong, they are the first to realize things that might hurt them and yet they keep on going with the flow.

A person full of emotions is also said to be creative. Most emotional people let out their feelings by playing a musical instrument, writing poetry or songs, and painting masterpieces. If you ever feel bad about being emotional after watching a really good movie or listening to a song that moved your heart, then remember that the person who wrote that story line or that song lyrics felt the same way. It is through these emotions that resulted creative productions that are able to connect people of different backgrounds from all over the world but with the same emotions.

It is okay to cry because your dog died. It is okay to cry after watching a movie. It is okay to cry if someone broke your heart. Just know that it is okay and it is normal to be emotional. You are not alone.

And if anyone ever calls you ‘dramatic’, you tell them this; “Yes I am dramatic, and therefore I shall give you my best performance ever.”

[beautyonapage]

Your body is just a host. It is the soul that is who you actually are. You shouldn't be defined by your body as it is just another corpse without your soul.

-S.S