Real world learning - Aadya Sharma

We learn by doing. There are many examples and situations wherein I felt the same.

We go on vacations during summer break every year. Before the lockdown, we went to Rohtang pass in Manali. I have read in a book that we face dizziness and breathlessness at high altitudes but never experienced that. On that day, I had experienced this feeling, and from that day, I understood the concept of low air pressure. To date, I remember that. 

One more incident that comes to my mind is….my Mama's (uncle) daughter Saanvi who has never been to school due to lockdown and studied online like we all did. Now she is in KG, and I always tell her about the classroom, school, teachers, friends, classroom rules, etc. But she was least interested in listening as she was so small and had never been to the school. She has started school, learned many things, and imbibed the items nicely. This proves that until and unless we experience the situations and explore them on our own…we can not know well.

So, we should always try to learn more and more from our experiences and, of course, from God's beautiful creations in the universe.

Aadya Sharma

III-C

Gyanshree school

Forgiveness - Simar Kaur

My reflection post-reading chapter 18 of the book. I deem forgiveness as an opportunity to look at the situation positively. When someone does something to hurt us, we start hating that person. It often results in adverse changes in our mood and a thirst to take revenge. We don’t get satisfied until and unless we retaliate. Once we maintain this as a habit, people notice behavioural changes, and that is how we enter into a vicious cycle that traps us for life.

My middle school experience is something that I describe as terrible. The reason for that is the bullying I faced as we entered into a wider world. Till fifth grade, our innocent selves don’t let materialistic items affect our judgement. But in sixth grade, as we enter into the world of unavoidable changes, we can’t help judging a person by the way they look, how someone performs in their studies and much more. I was a victim of that and possibly an attacker. I kept that with me for a long time, resulting in my grades and academic life deteriorating.

Eighth grade was a breath of fresh air. Covid pandemic hit, and we were all trapped into lockdown. 

Eighth grade was like an opportunity to escape my struggling social life. I had a chance to get away from all my friends and classmates and be the ones I loved. And that made all the difference. I felt refreshed, and I was a lot more cheerful and happy. But I realised that my happiness was not a by-product of avoiding people. I became happy when I decided to forgive everyone who hurt me in the past in one way or another. I forgot all about my past misery and people who had actively been a part of it. It made me feel a lot better. 

After two years of break from social life, I enjoy school. I may not have a lot of friends, but I have what I need. Going back to school wouldn’t have felt this good if we wouldn’t have been trapped in lockdown, and I wouldn’t have been as forgiving as I am now. But now I know that forgiveness is extraordinary, and I am trying my best to apologise and forgive anyone I hurt or anyone who hurt me.

Simar Kaur Grade X Gyanshree School

Freedom - Samruddhi Patankar

To me, the meaning of Freedom is:

The power of the right to act, speak or think 

as one wants and the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved

An example of the freedom part came in my life. 

In 2020 there was no freedom because there was a lockdown, and because of the lockdown, there was no possibility to go out and do whatever we wanted, so that time, there was no freedom.

Name: Samruddhi Patankar

Grade: 2A

Billabong High International School, Thane