2012's Looking Good

Life suddenly seems to have taken a nice big jump. My Final Term Examinations showed a 5 percent increase from my first 2 terms, which according to teachers is a great deal in 11th Grade. The Young Entrepreneurs Competition [YEC] was a huge success. Though the first day we were kind of struggling, we really pulled through quite beyond our expectations. As YEC reached its end, the Prefectorial Body for Modern High was announced. And god knows how, I got selected. People always say that i undermine my own abilities a lot, because I never really thought i'd become a prefect. Don't Get me wrong, I know I can carry out the duties, Its just that I never thought my teachers and my seniors took me to be the prefect type. And possibly the best news of the lot? I'm getting my MacPro. My parents were so pleased with me becoming a prefect, they have decided to give me the wonder machine.

So I'm down with the chicken pox. I missed my first week at school, and my investiture at school, but it doesn't bother me so much. For the first time in a while my life feels good. It feels like it's heading in the right direction. And i'm going to take full advantage of the situation.

Hope You've all been having a time as great as mine.

Until Next Post,

Parichay

What Makes My Day?

It doesn't take a lot to make someone's day. The misconceptions keep changing, and everyone, in the realms of their mind believe that there is a fixed way to make someone's day. Some believe the special ingredient to be a gift. Other's believe that it's giving someone attention and making them feel important. 


If you ask me what makes my day? Its a Smile. It seems easy, but think about it. When was the last time you smiled at someone? The perfect smile. Balanced. Not the weird smile, and not the fake smile. Just a warm-radiant-full of life smile. It's quite hard. But I think its worth it. 
Just yesterday, I was at my community mart and I saw an old couple sitting on the bench outside [I know, it sounds like a scene from a typical movie. But it happened, so deal with it :D] . While I looked through the Notice board to see what people had put up over the past month, I couldn't help but notice that they were staring at me. I turned towards them, and instead of saying something, smiled. As I was leaving, the man called me. He said I reminded them of their grandson, who was probably a little older than me. They said that the way I smiled reminded them of their Grandson even more.


It's that incident that got me thinking, it doesn't take much to make someone happy. I think a Smile does just fine.


Parichay Swarup

The Young Entrepreneurs Competition

At the end of Grade 11, there is a competition held at the Dubai Mall for budding entrepreneurs called the Young Entrepreneurs Competition. Though to some of us, its also just a means of earning money. it is also a very valuable event to us 'commerce' students. It brings experience to us and also, if one does extremely well, its a great asset on the college application!


I've been waiting 3 years for YEC [ Young Entrepreneurs Competition]. Ever since I entered senior school, and heard about this competition, I've been waiting to take part in it. And that dream is finally about to come true. The competition starts on the 28th of December and lasts till the 31st of December. Thats 42 hours of selling!


You can't even imagine how excited I am for YEC. I've got plans in mind, what to sell, where to buy from. Contacts, Sources etc etc. I'm not going in with the thought "I'm in it to win it". I'm doing it for the experience. And needless to say for the $$ which i'm working really hard to make sure comes in ample amounts.
The bad part? is that since the exams are going on, the time to plan and carry out various field trips/ execute the thoughout plans is reduced to approximately 2 weeks which I feel isn't really enough to compete in a competition of such a scale where participants go into thousands in numbers.


We've decided to call our Stall "Azienda". Its an italian word and I think it suits the Stall. I'm doing it with my fellow commerce-from-the-beginning-mates Sohail Hafesjee and Mohit Gurnani. Both of which are excellent sellers and thinkers when it comes to entrepreneurship!


I wish all the teams a best of luck in their endeavors and may the best team win!
Parichay Swarup (: 

End of the Month/Year Post.

So yesterday was the last day of Grade 11. In 16 days I’ll be done with the examinations and be in the process of moving to Grade 12. Boy doesn't that sound impossible. It seems like only yesterday that we were finally done with a year of 'Board' pressure and finally into a slightly laid back year [which by the way it wasn't!], and now we're entering a Board year AGAIN? A whole year of NAG NAG and the sometimes-wishing-to-tear-my-hair-out various set of Exams. 

I won't say that I enjoyed my year in Grade 11, But I've made new friends, which I’m immensely grateful for. I've learnt a lot. But when it came to my class, Grade 11A, it’s not something I take pride in. I've actually made a conscious effort to stay out of any trouble that involves my class. And I've been quite successful. Except that when my class decides that it's better to take the blame as a class instead of that one stupid individual taking responsibility for his actions. 

Keeping all the Class issues aside [because they'd take too much time to narrate]; let’s focus on another reason why a lot of us can't seem to grip the fact that we're going to Grade 12. And that is,

We're going to be the senior most batches in school. Now that's two different reason grouped in one. 

The First being, we’re going to be the most looked up to batch of the school. We're supposed to be setting new standards and maintaining the bar [which I Must say, the current 12th grade batch has set pretty high!]. And as a batch, I don't think we're up to it. Sure, we're academically strong, and we've initiated a whole lot of new projects in the school. But when you actually look at it, half those projects are failing or have already failed. We start stuff but don't carry it out. And in this race to become prefects/Head Boy/ House Captains, every one's just trying to start new stuff and no one's really trying to uphold those projects. As a batch, we're not united. 

Sometimes I wish that we have just one head boy and no prefects. A head boy who has the capability to actually bridge the gap between the two sections of Grade 11 and finally bring the missing unity back to our Grade. It sucks. Being regarded as an 11A-er is like a caste system. In my class' eyes, 11B are lower than them, and in their eyes 11A is lower than them. 11B initiates a project, 11A isn't involved. 11A initiates a project, 11B isn't involved. And so continues the endless cycle. 

The second being that we're going to be alone up there. Till now we've always had some senior to help us out whenever we're stuck with ANY problem. But now, we're going to have that responsibility and we're not going to have anyone to guide us. I know it's all a big part of the eventful journey called life, but still. There are something’s we just don’t want to change. 

I've decided not to go on and on and bring yet another post to an abrupt halt. 

Until Next time, 

Parichay Swarup - An 11th Grader.

Life and its bumps.

Recently, an extremely good friend of mine went through quite a rough bump in his life. His parents decided to go their separate ways, and so they got divorced. I know that term (Divorced) isn’t a good one, but I prefer using that because I believe in being straightforward and since it was a divorce, I’m going to call it a divorce.

So, my friend (Who shall remain an anonymous Mr.X) went through that phase where X’s parents got divorced and he didn’t have much of a say in the matter. He lives with his sister and his two elder brothers are currently attending college in India. Now X isn’t one who shares his feelings too easily, and I’ve never pressurized him into doing so either. But there was that hint on sadness in his eyes, whenever I’d meet him or talk to him.

When X first called me after school and told me, I was devastated. I thought of how his remainder of high school might turn out to be a slightly uncomfortable one and I didn’t want that for him so I spent the following day with him at his place just talking about everything that had happened regarding his parents. X seemed reluctant to talk about it and I respected that, but finally he gave in and let it all out.

After a lot of advice and bad times, at last I can say that X’s life has returned to what it used to be sometime back. His parents aren’t the bickering types and they respect each other’s space. They meet often and there are no awkward moments between them. They still live in the same vicinity so they can choose to visit their mum at any given point in the day.

I’m just happy that things turned out quite all right given the prior circumstances and that his life isn’t as filled-with-sadness as it was when this incident first took place. Also, this incident really shocked me to a great extent, and now when I think about it and I think about my life, I feel a sense of relief that my life isn’t as rough as his was.

This Ones For You X,

Until Next Time,

Parichay

Wishful Thinking

Have You Ever Wanted Something So Badly But Haven't Really Had The Means To Get It? I'm Sure Everyone Would Have Had One Such Situation Or Will Have A Similar Situation Sometime In Their Lives. I Believe That For Me, That Time Is Now.

We All Know How Apple's Products Have Changed The World And The Way The Society Functions. From Its iPod to its iPhone to its iPad. to its Macbook, It Has Revolutionized The Field Of Technology. I Like The Countless Millions And Perhaps Billions Across The Globe Am An Apple Fan. To Me Their Products Come At The Top, No Matter What The Reviews Or The Glitches.

You Must Be Thinking, How Is Any Of This Related To His Topic On Wanting Something So Badly And Not Having A Means To Obtain It? It Is Related.

For Years Now, I've Always Loved Apple Products But There's That One Product Which I Set Eyes On And Then Just Wanted It. The Apple Macbook Pro. The New 13 Inch Macbook Pro I5 Core Processor Seems To Be The Perfect Piece Of Tech. But Sadly, And No Matter How Much I Try To Persuade Myself, I Know That When It Comes To The Ultimate Question, "Do I Really Need It?" The Answer Is A No. But That Doesn't Seem To Stop Me From Wanting It.

I Know, That If I Genuinely Ask My Parents, With All My Heart And Push For It, They Might Buy Me The Macbook Pro. But For Some Godknowswhat Reason, I Don't Think It's Right To Ask My Parents To Buy Me Such An Expensive Laptop. They've Just Recently Spent A Lot On Me. I've Bought A Nikon DSLR, a new Blackberry And Also They Paid A Hefty Amount For Sending Me To Boston To Take Part In The Harvard Model United Nations Conference. After All This, Spending Another 5000/- On A Laptop Doesn't Seem Right. So I've Come To Conclusion That:

No, I Will Not Allow Or Even Ask My Parents To Buy Me A Macbook Pro "13 But That Does Not Mean I Will Give Up On My Wish. I Will Spend The Next Year, Before I Go To College Collecting And Saving Up Money Through The Young Entrepreneurs Competition, An Internship And In Any Other Way Possible And Buy The Macbook Pro.

Do Check Out The Apple Site And The Macbook Page In Particular: Http://Www.Apple.Com/Mac/

Until Next Time,
Parichay

Photography

Photography is such a vast interest. To some it means taking pictures of their children or family from time to time and putting it together in terms of a scrapbook and to some its a form of retaining memories for a long time. 
People often ask me, what is photography to you? And well, I've never had a complete answer, until now. I feel that photography is more than just a simple 'hobby' or 'passion'. Its a drive. When I look at the world, I look at it from the lens of a camera. Photography helps me show the world what I see, be it in a landscape shot, or in a shot of the sun. It gives me a medium to express myself to anyone and everyone who sees my pictures, quite like this blog. But it gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "A Picture is worth a thousand words"
I'm not saying I'm some professional photographer who's going for photo shoots, but I feel that i'm more than a teenager with a DSLR camera. 


My Camera: Nikon D5100
Do check out my 500px Photography Page Here.
AND
My facebook page [Click on it. Don't worry, It'll Open in a New Tab] 
and if you like any of my pictures, please like them. If any of you feel that there's any way in which I can better my style of taking certain photographs, do not hesitate in letting me know!


Thanks,
Parichay Swarup.

Random Photographs.

Flames.
.

                                                        Support.

Candles In The Dark.

Sun In My           Drawer.

Avisha Goel.  

               Adorable.

The Bond Between Father and Daughter. 

Help Me Say Goodbye.

Okaay so my seniors, the 12th graders will technically be spending their last week in school which officially starts this sunday. And I don't really know how to react to them leaving. 

True, I’m not attached to all the 12^th Graders but I feel attached to a lot of them. Over the year, I’ve really spent time with quite a few of them and gotten to know them. And now that they’re leaving, a part of me is really happy that they’re going out there into the open world, going to good universities, they’ll have a great life ahead. But there’s also a part of me that’s not willing to let go. They’ve always been there when we needed the guidance or the answers to any problems, and now that they’re leaving, it feels like we’re going to be all alone. No one to look up to, and all of a sudden, high school looks like it’s going to get very lonely.

But I guess it’s not up to me to stop them, and I guess it’s just another phase in life. We need to let go and take responsibility for the school. I’m just going to hope that this week turns out to be a great week filled with more memories to cherish once they’re gone.

This is a post to all the 12^th graders out there. Whether I've interacted with you a lot, or not much, I hope you have a great life ahead in university and beyond that. I wish you all the luck for the future.

~ Parichay

Dubai Modern High School.

Dubai Modern High School, formerly knows as The Modern High School. I'm proud to say, as I always have been, that I go to that school. This is my 13^th year at modern, and it has been one hell of a journey. I’ve been with the school for the better part of its life and I’ve seen it grow and progress into the school it is today. Surprisingly, I clearly remember my first day at Modern. It was at the Safa Campus and just like majority of the children who were new-comers just like me, were crying as the environment was new to us. But I remember, as clichéd as this may sound, the teacher took my hand, told me that it’s going to be fun and it’ll all be okay and took me into my Kindergarten class. I remember how she spent the better part of the day getting to know us better, taking care of us just how a parent does.

As a new student, Modern was the perfect environment and now that I look back, I don’t think any other school would have made me feel the same way as I did as Modern on my first day.

As Modern has grown over the past 13 years, so have I. And as I’ve grown, I’ve grown immensely attached to this school. I feel a sense of pride in my school. It’s like patriotism. I look at my school now, and I see the high end facilities (which at one point of time I criticized) and I see how modern has risen above the expectations anyone could have ever had.

`This is my school. This is Modern High.

When we first moved into the new grand campus in Nad-Al-Sheba, It wasn’t the same feeling. I guess because I spent most of my years at the other campus, but now I see it to be one of the finest high schools in the region and I feel good about the campus. True, it’s a bit of a showoff, but why can’t we flaunt sometimes?

This week, as my school celebrates its 25^th Anniversary, as it celebrates its silver jubilee and 25 years of excellence, I am proud to call myself a Modernite.