A cause that matters to me - Aria Gupta

Future. People say this word a lot of times nowadays. Everyone wants a promising future. It’s not like some students will come to their parents and say, “ Mom, Dad, I wanna be a failure”. But is it pulling an all-nighter every day just to study for some exam? Is it really worth studying seven hours a day and burning yourself out? Is it worth avoiding all sorts of fun just to prepare for the future?. I personally love having fun. I cannot imagine how a person survives without it. Fun is essential in life.

But why have fun when you can spend that time studying?

I’m not saying don’t study; it is beneficial. But fun makes you love life, and when you love life, it can motivate you to keep going even in the worst possible situation.

To sum it up, preparing for the future is good, but don’t burn yourself out. Have fun too.

Aria Gupta

Grade VI - A

Gyanshree School

Social Media - Aria Gupta

Wait! Don’t just ignore this article! I know that you’re thinking, Ugh, this is going to be so predictable; it’s going to be about addiction, fake news, mental health, and blah blah blah, but this article is not like that. Trust me, this will be interesting, so just read it. 

I recently watched a documentary called The Social Dilemma. It was about what social media actually does to us. You might think, "Social Media makes us addicted," but another problem is invisible to most people. It’s based on this saying: "If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product".

We all know that social media platforms (what we think are products), such as  Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, are free.

I was baffled, too, when I heard this saying. But social media is  actually just selling our attention to advertisers since advertisers are the ones who 

actually, pay.

These platforms’ algorithms can do anything to grab our attention. They know you like you’re their best friend. They know if you are sad, lonely, happy, angry, excited, or scared; they know exactly what you want when feeling any of those emotions. If you want private guitar lessons, they know you want them. If they don’t know, they learn. They will recommend all sorts of content they think you’ll like, and you’ll pick one. The problem with this system is that they’ll recommend content that might be incorrect or controversial, and you might pick one of them. This has huge effects, as it can divide societies. This might turn India from unity in diversity to a separate nation. The algorithm doesn’t care about what is true or false; it just wants more attention from people to sell to advertisers. They can manipulate us into believing anything; they can control entire elections. We’re just lab rats who are being experimented on.

After reading this, you might think, "Oh my god, social media is so bad, I’ll never use it again". This is not against social media completely; this article is just spreading awareness amongst them and you so they don’t accidentally destroy the world.

We can spread more awareness about this by telling more people about it and being mindful about it. We can demand change so that the world doesn’t collapse. Something terrible might happen if we keep ignoring this issue.

But Aria? How do you become the product if you’re not paying for it? I’m baffled.

Fine, Aria, we are the product. So what?

Aria Gupta
Grade VI
Gyanshree school

Love To Serve - Rishona Chopra

It is said that what we do comes back to us. Karma, as some of us would call it. A good act of kindness comes back to us. It may be true and correct, but it should not be our cause to do something good. We shouldn't give, help, care or be kind, just believing that we will do good so good will come to us.

The law of karma isn't something that can be fooled. It is just a power of the universe. It looks at the thought behind it and not just the action. 

When we give something, do we expect something in return? Well, I did, and I realised that when you give someone something - not an item but even an act of kindness and care, not many return the same to you, and we have to live with it. The only way to yet be happy is to first accept it and then know that your deed of kindness has helped somebody. 

When God blesses you financially, don't raise your standard of living. Raise your standard of giving. - Mark Batterson

It is true what Mark Batterson has said, we should give not only when we are rich in our everyday lives, we should raise our standard of giving, it may not be just giving money, even giving a toy to a person who needs it or a book is an act of giving too! 

A small act of giving could mean everything to a person. Giving not only makes the other person happy but also makes us happy. As said,' make others happy, and you will be satisfied the same way give and give, and you will feel better.

                                                                       ***
Do we have this life entirely for ourselves? Are we given this life just so we can enjoy and live happily? Well, we are absolutely nothing alone. One cannot be anything alone at all. Mahatma Gandhi alone did not defeat the British. Mother Teresa alone did not help the people. No one has ever accomplished anything alone because it is simply not possible. As brave and fascinating as doing something alone sounds, it isn't. We are all connected; we are all one. We say Unity in Diversity, but do we mean it from our hearts?

We may differ in colour, race, background, education, age, and height, but we are still the same. We are just one soul. 

So why do we believe that all our actions must be for ourselves? Can't it be for others? Will that do us any harm? 
To check, let us just list out what could happen. 

DEED: LOSS
I gave a child my pencil: I had another one
I helped someone tie their laces: No loss
I donated money to charity: I earned some more
Meeting my sick friend: No loss
Gave food to a homeless: Spent little money
Helped someone study: No loss
Complimenting someone and appreciating them: No loss
Sat with someone and listened to them: No loss

These are a few examples of deeds of giving. I may have lost money, pencils and a few more little things, but all these deeds made me happier and were defiantly worth it. These deeds may have taken out some of my time, but they all make me happier. 

What we do for ourselves dies with us, but what we do for others lives on forever. 

Rishona Chopra

Grade VII

Gyanshree School