Life Of A Guitar - Rishona Chopra

The guitar shop is one of the most delightful places for me. I feel the most calm and composed here than anywhere else. The shop is my happy place.

The fragrance of the wood of the guitars, the lavender incense that fills the shop brings over me a rather unique feeling that makes me feel like I should never leave and luckily I don't think I ever will.

Every day in the shop is the same and yet I never get bored. Though I don't interact with other guitars, I have never once felt as if I were alone; perhaps because I am always surrounded by books of all sorts. The owner of the shop knows I adore reading books, and so she lends me a novel to read each week. If there’s anyone I talk to, it would most definitely be the owner. A quite heartwarming and charming person indeed!

My fellow guitars often wonder how lonely I must be but being alone isn’t being lonely and definitely not when one has books by their side.

I have always thought about how I came to where I belonged, not as a human(they’re too complicated!), not as an animal(I have no interest in being eaten) but as a guitar, the most peaceful and humble of things.

As I write today, I see a young girl enter the shop. Not many customers come by these days since people have started forgetting the power of music and would much rather listen to it than play it. It most definitely was a surprise when I saw a youngster with such passionate eyes enter the shop. I couldn’t help but look at her and see which guitar she would choose. After a few minutes of observing her, I drifted back to my own world but was woken up by the sound of music. The girl was playing me! This could only mean one thing: she wanted to buy me and I would have to leave my happy place. Soon, my suspensions were proved correct and I knew I was being taken away. Oh, how miserable life can be!

On the journey to my new home, I drifted back to sleep but was soon woken up by a jerk and realized it was time. Though I love being a guitar, the only thing I dislike is not having legs. This would be quite useful in times like this. It’s surprising how envious I feel of humans right now.

It was hard to believe that I was really here, away from the shop, in a strange place with who knows how many books. I finally realize how hurt and confused Dorothy must have felt in The Wizard Of Oz. I felt like turning back but I knew I had to face these terrible times eventually.

The girl took me out of the car seat with delicate hands and took me to her room. Her house was modest and beautiful but her room was mesmerizing. It was minimalist and yet so aesthetic and captivating. Knowing I would be kept in a place like this, did make me feel a tad bit better.
She placed me on a guitar stand. It was quite comfortable and more importantly a flattering gesture. Take this advice from me, if you have a guitar, you better know how to treat it well. Nothing is more dangerous than an upset guitar. The very unique thing about guitars is that you can't hear them talk but if you listen closely and have a passionate mind for music and an extraordinary dedication, then you can feel us and hear our thoughts.

It had been a long time since someone played on me so it hurt a little in the beginning but it got better. In the midst of this, I noticed how the girl had a unique collection of books. It had many that I hadn’t read before. I had the urge to grab it and start reading but how could I, the girl couldn’t understand me.

At that very moment, the girl grabbed a book, wrote a note on it kept it in front of me and left. Could she understand me? Or was she one of those queer people who devoted their life to mind-reading guitars? I read the note and much to my surprise, it said: “I can understand you”.

Let me be very honest here, knowing that someone can hear your thoughts, isn’t the most comforting thing. It’s rather creepy and absurd. I was instantly regretting coming here but how could I leave this exquisite collection of books?

Despite having a lot on my mind, I continued reading the book she handed me. After a while, she passed me a few notes telling me about books she had read and some of them were my favourites! We talked for hours about books and music and I had never felt so alive. Perhaps coming here wasn’t so bad.

Through this experience, I realized, that change is constant, and it’s always hard to adjust to a new beginning but every cloud has a silver lining and each place has its good sides, and the good sides are what one needs to focus on.


Rishona Chopra
Grade VIII-B
Gyanshree School

Myths Of Retirement - Rishona Chopra

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Retirement; Young people often look forward to it and middle-aged ones dread it. To young ones, retirement seems to be about relaxation, peace, joy, television, vacation and all you ever wanted to do but couldn't. To middle-aged and working people, retirement seems to be synonymous with boredom, no work at all, loneliness, approaching death and the end of a career. 

Being a young minor, I would definitely say that retirement seems to be relaxation and enjoyment but this perspective is quite unlikely for the ones who are in dire need of it. 

Often people get rather upset, bored, and sad during retirement and invite problems for themselves and you can't blame them! They have been through a lot of changes in their life and change has never been easy to deal with. 

Most people need a change of perspective and that's why it's important to know a few myths of retirement that may change one's perspective about it. 

1st Myth: Retirement means the End of Work

Of course not! There is no age barrier to work! In fact, it's the perfect time to try out new things and explore your areas of interest! Create a new passion for yourself! And even if you don't find work to do instantly, it's always good to take a little rest. Relaxation may help you more and after years of work, you do deserve some!

2nd Myth: New Career Ambitions are for Young People

Nearly three out of five retirees launch into a new line of work after retirement! It's not because they need money but to stay mentally and physically active and more importantly do something they want to do. Age can never be a barrier and nothing else can if what you're doing is your true passion!
And something that happens after retirement is that you can just do things for yourself. Yes, we always feel the need to show others what we did but that's when we are free to do anything for our own happiness.
3rd Myth: Retirement Is A Time Of Decline

Well yes, you're growing old and ageing but you've still got a life to spend so live life happily and do things you never could. Yes indeed, you are approaching the end soon but this is the time to turn to spirituality if you already haven't. To actually regain yourself and know your true purpose. Not only will it help one embrace the "dreadful" time of death but also feel happy knowing that you have lived your life in crescendo. In a way, it's actually a sign that you need to do all the things in your life that you never did, relax and most importantly cherish these times! 

Retirement is a phase of life like any other and it's a beautiful phase. A unique one. 

" When you think you're at the end of something, you're at the beginning of something else"

Rishona Chopra

Grade VII
Gyanshree School

All 'Lives' have equal 'Value' - Aria Gupta

Photo: https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/equality-inclusion-and-diversity/fair-and-equal/

This blog is about a book I’ve read and loved known as “The War that Saved My Life” by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. There are no spoilers ahead; I’ll just briefly introduce the protagonists' life. Her name is Ada, and she has a twisted foot.

"I was waving from the window when Ma'am smacked me in the face. “I gave you some time to look out the window out of kindness, and you decided to wave!” she bellowed. “I was just waving to Stephen White!” I cried back in defence. “You ain't waving to nobody with that crippled foot!” she exclaimed. “Jamie's out there,” I said quietly. “He ain’t a cripple like you!” responded Ma'am. Soon, she left for work. It was a perfect time. I was crawling, and I tried to stand up. “Aaah!” I cried in pain as tears rolled down my eyes. I could also see a little blood in the place, where I kept my bad foot as I fell back down to the ground, crawling again. I tried a second time, doing it more slowly and cautiously. First, my good foot, then my bad one. Still, the pain wasn’t any less. I shrank back down to the ground, deciding I’ll stop this walking thing for today. I cleaned the blood on the floor so that Ma'am couldn’t notice and stayed there for a while. Suddenly, Jamie burst through the door. “Why are you so late?” I scolded. Jamie was left speechless. When he was younger, we had always played together. As he grew older, he wanted to play with the kids on the street. I told him to be where I could see him. At first, he did, but then he made friends with a gang of boys and always went running out of sight. I was lonely in the one-room apartment. I dreaded being lonely. I could go out. I’m not that helpless. It’s just that the last time I went outdoors, ma'am beat me until my shoulders bled. I’m not even allowed to go to school. So, I just had to stay in this apartment, all alone, waiting for someone to come."

- Taken from the book 'The war that saved my life'.

Ada, here, is being mistreated because she is specially-abled, which is incredibly wrong. All lives are equal, and you can't label a person as 'not so important' or a 'disgrace to the family' just because of their occupation, weaknesses, etc. This is because even though they might need more attention and help than us, they are still humans who deserve to be treated right.

Aria Gupta
Grade VI | Gyanshree School

How did you repair a broken relationship? - Veda Varshita Marivada

Firstly, a relationship is a way through which people or things are connected. People can have relations with family, friends, animals, nature and even things.

The critical elements for a strong and healthy relationship are mutual Respect, Understanding, Communication, Compromise, and Trust. We should first understand the person and respect their opinions; giving them a chance to speak and putting in their shoes is important too.

Being an 11-year-old child, I have never experienced a broken relationship, but let me tell my story with my best friends. My parents and I have lived in Bangalore since my birth. Over there, I met Ridhi and Tanishka on the first day of school. We became best friends. They were kind, affectionate and caring. They would cheer me up when I was not in a good mood. 

One day, my father said we had to shift to Hyderabad for his job there. I was distressed to leave my friends and head for a new life. It was tough for me to adjust to the situation because we spent quality time together over weekend outings, playdates, birthday celebrations etc. I also had a good scoop of opportunities to learn activities like art, chess, and karate with my friends at “The Indian Heritage”, an activity centre. I also had a strong connection with nature over there. The weather was cool and pleasant, and the city was wooded and full of greenery. 

After relocating to Hyderabad, I took time to accept my new life. Days passed, and it was my friend’s birthday. I was flustered because I wanted to convey my wishes to her. I gathered courage and started texting her anxiously. But to my surprise, she replied immediately, saying she was delighted and missed me. I was pleased and relieved as I thought she might be furious for not being in touch with her. I also texted my other friend. I had a good time talking with my friends. From then onwards, we have been staying in touch regularly. How could I forget such good friends? I am fortunate to reside in a peaceful, green, and safe colony which helped me to acclimate to the new locality and make new friends. Hmm! But I still miss those memorable days and keep recollecting those sweet memories.

Why should we have a relationship? We would be depressed and lonely if we did not have anyone to spend time with. Therefore, try to have more relations as they say, “The More the Merrier”.

Here is a poem in Hindi that says:

This carries a lot of meaning. It says, “If something is broken, then learn to repair it. If someone is angry, then learn to convince and please them. Relationships are destined; just learn to handle them beautifully.” So, make sure you have a solid and good relationship, whether it is a person, animal, nature, or thing.   

VEDA VARSHITA MARRIVADA
Grade 5 Hyderabad Public School Begumpet

Listen to my Blog Post on the Learning Forward Podcast.

What is peer pressure and how can we deal with it? - Rishona Chopra

Peer pressure is the pressure we face from our peers to do something. It indirectly or directly affects us. Often we find ourselves pretending to fit in the crowd, so we start doing things and becoming people we are not. We lose our own identity just to make 'friends'. But friends who force you to do something or friends who you cannot be yourself around aren't really friends, are they?

Each of us has our own identity, which we are given for a reason because we all are unique, we put on a different persona, and it affects no one but us.  

Being with the right company matters a lot. One ripe apple kept with ten other rotten apples will soon rot too. It is better to be alone than with bad friends. 

Dealing with peer pressure, though, is quite a challenge. Often people try to bully us by telling us that we are 'not cool' and 'boring'. But we must remember that the right path is often alone, but being alone doesn't mean we must be lonely. Ignoring people like that is the best way. We need to have a calm and composed mind that knows what is right and wrong. We do what we do, and pressuring someone needs to be corrected. 

When we start ignoring all of this, people start bothering us because peer pressure that makes you do bad things is just to trouble you or force you towards the wrong path. 

While dealing with peer pressure, we might think, "everyone is doing this", or "what could be wrong with this?" but something correct is not what the majority does. People around us may TRY to have a strong influence on us but we have to be that one person who stands on the right path, whether alone or not. Their TRY must be a left a try only and be in vain. 

Because of peer pressure, we start feeling insecure about our own selves and doubting ourselves. All our choices and decisions seem to be made by others and their opinions, but it is OUR life, OUR choices, and they cannot be changed. People may give us good advice that we should always lend an ear to, but then again, there has to be a straight line between right and wrong, people you trust and don't. 

We may need friends at this age, even if that means pretending to do things they don't. It feels terrible when you have no one to sit with you, talk to you and a person you can share your thoughts with, but it's hard to find someone like that, with who you can be yourself ( apart from your parents, of course)!

Sometimes, I am in the impact of my peers. I know what they might be doing is wrong, but I just pretend to do what they do just so I can get along with them, but then you have to remember that you have higher goals in life. You have higher aspirations than pretending or changing yourself to make friends. 

Instead of finding company outside, we can be our own friends! No one knows us better than we do, and no one ever can! 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

What is peer pressure, and how can we deal with it? - Shambhavi Nautiyal

Reading Chapter 43, Sunday the 26th of March 2023

Peer pressure is the direct or indirect influence of our peers which tells us that we need to act in a certain way like the people surrounding us. It is often observed in teenage but continues as an existing matter throughout our lives regardless of age. It is a trap which makes people victims of many addicting and harmful practices. It could be wrong personality traits such as people pleasing and sometimes ruinous activities like smoking and drugs. 

It starts with compellingly curious intentions of just wanting to fit in, make friends and enjoy company, but later on, it becomes a habit. For instance, something often seen in the present youth is the following of the perpetually changing Instagram trends by young school-going teenagers to feel accepted and admired. 

We see kids going out of their way to follow social media trends and become famous because of peer pressure and the fact that this is seen as the definition of likeable and "cool". In school, too, we see popular girls and students liked by most of our peers or teachers, and we try to become like them. We observe that because of some of their habits, many people appreciate and admire them. To gain that popularity, we try to procure their idolized external features, skills or behaviours. In light of this fact, in this process, we lose ourselves. We lose our own identities. 

We never learn to love ourselves since we are compared to others by ourselves or our parents to our peers. We become even lonelier because of masking ourselves and never focusing on nurturing ourselves. We are left with no friends of our own, not even ourselves. Even when we stop trying to be like others, we still take that habit of people pleasing with us, in which we let people cross our boundaries and put them before ourselves, creating a frail sense of self-worth. However, we can fight it, come out of it and fix this whole scenario. 

As for me, I had been in some influencing company, and over time, I noticed that I had become a people pleaser and that I had been neglecting myself for my peers. I was listening more to them rather than my piece of mind. So, to fix those habits, I had to release that person from my life and start instilling healthier relationship patterns in my attitude. I had to change my outlook by changing my behaviour and thoughts. I had to make it clear to myself that it was okay for me to put myself and think about myself first before taking any decision instead of following my friends blindly and speculating about their behaviours, meaning how they treat me. I had to fix my sense of self-worth. 

So it is salient to love ourselves so that we don't compare ourselves to others and don't let others' judgements affect us, which calls out for having a deep sense of self-worth. We should practice self-compassion and not let ourselves get trapped in the vicious trap of peer pressure cause each one of us deserves to be loved, adored and treated like the queens and kings we are. So before judging yourself after seeing someone else, remind yourself of and be grateful for how confounding, worthy and attractive you are.

Always keep that in mind before wandering to search for love outside; look inside, and you will find the person who has always been and shall always be ready to love you.

Shambhavi Nautiyal Ahlcon Public School

Alone But Not Lonely - Reveda Bhatt

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller.
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter
Doesn't mean I'm over 'cause you're gone."
-That was Kelly Clarkson.

Finding me alone somewhere makes you think that I'm lonely.
See, you got me all wrong there.
That was my "me-time"-not thinking about the past, not living in the present and not
worrying about the future; just letting time leave me behind for a while.
Drop it.

Coming back, I think once you discover the way to your inner self, it automatically comes to
you and then, you have a true friend and a true mate who truly exists but is truly invisible or
maybe just too timid to come out. May call it timid because your inner self is afraid that it
may lose its trueness in this superficial world on coming out. So, the deeper it is, the better
it is.

These six lines each carry a meaning distinct from the other.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
-Indeed, an incident made me.

Stand a little taller.
-Well, now, I do because even death couldn’t put me down.

Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone.
-There is me I carry in myself.

What doesn't kill you makes a fighter.
-My injuries made me that.

Footsteps are even lighter.
-Knowing I have to leave behind what, once, I cherished.

Doesn't mean I'm over 'cause you're gone.
-You, being there, are just a superficial part of my superficial existence, as in I’m happy, really happy when you’re around, as I’m a social animal and the thought of you leaving hurts for a while, but then I just don’t feel it anymore again maybe because I’m a social animal. 
So, maybe I’m like so interestingly self-sufficient that I just don’t need anyone else to be the reason for my smile because that place is already reserved by me and those in my heart.

Conclusion-
Never think I'm lonely when I'm alone,
I was on the turn on the road where the streetlights shone,
Now, I am moving on into the endless darkness,
Not Lonely, but alone.

Reveda Bhatt

Grade IX

The Aryan School, Dehradun

Inspiration: Stronger - Kelly Clarkson https://youtu.be/Xn676-fLq7I

Today Is The Day When You Define For Yourself - Rishona Chopra

Decision making and trusting our inner voice is indeed an art. The actual counsellor we have is our inner voice, our soul that understands our feelings and situation better than anyone. 

Making decisions and choosing the right path is essential. It is better to choose a lonely path rather than a crowded path. Even as a child, when you try to stay on the right way, you feel the peer pressure, and due to that, you cannot make the right decisions. It's better to have one good friend than a group of bad friends. 

Therefore it's better to go along the road less travelled. It means that we should not get influenced by others on the wrong path but should always trust our voice because it knows it all and protects us.

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

Friendship -Tanvi Kumar

The best gift is to have an honest friend.

Friendship in my life means a person’s trust, love and affection for another person. Friends are our gift from God. Our family, especially, siblings are our best friends. A true friend always helps us without expecting the same from us. Friends accept us as we are; they don’t want to change our nature.

I want to share some experiences with my friends –

·       While I was new to Gyanshree School, I made new friends. They never let me feel new; they always talked to me and made me feel comfortable.

·       When I was in DPS Indra Puram, I had a lot of friends; we visited each other’s house for birthday parties and had a great time.

I want to share a poem –

Friends

Friends are lovely, 

Never let us feel lonely,

Sometimes they tell in maths how to solve wisely,

Sometimes they tell the experiment nicely,

Sometimes they tell how to dance,

And always give us their chance,

Because they are friends, 

A lot of time with us they spend.

Tanvi Kumar
Grade III
Gyanshree School

Friendship - Ushita Saxena

 What is friendship? Friendship is something so complex it is hard to define! But, in simple words, friendship means “being friends”. It is essential, as having friends can prevent loneliness and sadness. Friends bring more happiness to our lives than most things do. It has an enormous impact on your mental health and happiness. Here is an example:

For 4 years, I had been with my old friends in school since K-G. We were best of friends. But when our classes changed, I felt very lonely and uncomfortable. To make matters worse, COVID- 19 had begun to spread, and we were all locked in our homes and had to start homeschooling and online classes. At first, I felt very weird. Soon, I had settled in and had many friends. I felt thrilled and joyous that at least I had friends. It has been 2 years since that happened, and now, we are closer than ever.

The value of friendship is so significant that without it, you would be unfortunate and unhappy for the rest of your life! And nobody wants to be lonely. It also has a substantial impact on your life. Friends prevent isolation and solitude and give you a chance to offer the company needed, too. 

“There are friends, there is family, and then there are friends that become family.

Ushita Saxena Grade V Gyanshree School