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

Autobiography Of An Aloe Vera - Rishona Chopra

Hello, my dear friends! I am Aloe Vera. The most beautiful, most remarkable and kindest plant you have ever seen.

I have done many good deeds in my life with my best friend "Gel". I have healed several people. You might give credit to Gel, but who produced him? Me. Who motivated him? Me. Who supported him? Me. But I am very humble. I'll let you take credit, but we all know who really did the work.  

I have been healing you, humans, for centuries, but what do you do? You cut me in half and apply me on your sticky, dry, sweaty face. You don't care about the pain I go through. You just put me so you get a pretty face, but what on earth happened to my pretty face? And that, my friends, is my struggle in life. 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

Pain Is Compulsory But Suffering Is An Option - Rishona Chopra

Pain is compulsory, it is a part of life and can't be changed, but do we let that pain affect our mind and turn it into suffering? Pain is the truth of life. It is something we can't change. There is a term that is used in Buddhism that is - 

Dukkha: Life is painful and causes suffering. Many people might say that Buddhism is pessimistic or negative.

The challenge is dealing with the pain. We let the pain get to our minds and convert into suffering. Suppose a person regularly has negative life experiences from a series of body illnesses. In that case, that means she has negative energy inside her due to some adverse action of her immediate or far-off past. This negative energy is at the present moment coming back to her in the form of negative scenes in her life. 

                             "We are healed of suffering only by experiencing it fully."

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

Too Caught Up - Reveda Bhatt

You call it life?
It’s just a game.

Looking for a shelter,

When under rain.

Thinking about what to do,

Coming out in pain.

Realizing too late,

Figuring out what’s main.

Figured out what to do?

But, now, you’re stuck in chains.

Chains rising high,

All the struggle went in vain.

What for?

Just to have substantial gain!

Reaching your destination,

Looking at a lane.

See where it leads to,

A ring surrounded by canes.

Entered it only to see a spark

Leading to flames

Looking around to escape,

But now you’re too deep,

It’ll never be the same!

Reveda Bhatt 
Class 9
The Aryan School

Happy Father's Day! - Rishona Chopra

This is for my father,

Who always stood up for his daughter,

He cared for me,

Like family.

He told me to brush my teeth,

And stay tidy and neat.

He played with me all sorts of games,

He stood with me through my little pains,

We have lots of fun,

Yet I don't realize he loves me more than anyone.

We often talk about the unconditional love of a mother,

But in the world, there is the love of a father,

He often scolds me, and I sold him,

He allowed me to go to the gym and for a swim,

He was there with me to help me face my fear of dogs,

He is my father and my god.

I say I don't love him,

But really, I do love him more than anyone in the world, yes, I do.

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

Omoiyari - Rishona Chopra

Omoiyari is the Japanese art of compassion. It is a form of selfless empathy and compassion. It is when you put yourself in their shoes. Japan uses Omoiyari as in their country; care, consideration, and kindness underpin all aspects of daily life in Japan.

The most important part is that they don't force anyone to do it it is simply their lifestyle. It is just about making others happy and comfortable, and as they say, "Make Others Happy, and you will be happy too"!

"Know the pain of others by pinching yourself."

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

Friendship - Vinisha Choudhary

Friendship is one of the most precious gifts of life. It is a relationship between people. It is the purest and divine relationship among all other relations. Friends support you in life, not only in the happy times but also in your hard times. 

True friendship is what gives us reason to stay firmer and happy in life. Many people don't have a family, but they have family friends to them. In a good friendship honesty and loyalty plays a very important role. Having a best friend in life is a blessing that doubles your joy and divides your pain. Friends never leave up in bad times. 

We learn how to understand people and trust others. A real friend will always motivate you and cheer for you. When we make friends on the first day of school, we become delighted, but when we all get far from our friends, we miss them a lot. Whether they made fun of us and whether they helped us in our bad times.

TRUE FRIENDS ARE NEVER APART, MAYBE IN DISTANCE BUT NEVER IN HEART 

Vinisha Choudhary

Class: 11th Science

The Fabindia School

Hardwork - Mohita Solanki

Hard work is vital in a human's life. 

The person who is working hard can achieve success and happiness in his life. When a person works hard and gets success in life, the happiness he gets cannot be compared to anything. 

Hard work determines our value in life. Diligence is the weapon of human life on the strength in which he can overcome even the most severe crisis. There is a well-known proverb that says if there is no pain, then there is no gain. 

Hard work never goes wasted. Man can solve all problems in his life by working hard. No work in the world can be successful or accomplished without hard work. Nothing is easy to achieve in life without doing any work. Therefore, it has been said that hard work is the key to success.

Mohita Solanki

Class VIII 

The Fabindia School