State-bound!

Posted on by SrilekhaC

This past Saturday, TX DECA District 5 had our District Career Development Conference, and I am happy to inform all of y’all, my friends and I all made state for the second time in a row! I’m super excited to be going to state as last year was such a great experience. I met so many new people and even new people from our chapter that I just had never had the chance to converse yet. I’m sure state will be a great opportunity to meet even more new people so I’m really hyped for it!

My sister and I competed in the Integrated Marketing Campaign written event in which we wrote 10 pages detailing a marketing campaign for a product. My other friends both did role plays in entrepreneurship and marketing. I’m so proud of them and us as well as the people I know who didn’t even make state. We all worked so hard for this and the experience at district really provides a learning curve for all students attending.

Texas DECA State Career Development Conference, better known as SCDC, will be taking place February 21-23 and unfortunately UIL Solo and Ensemble will be on February 23, so I don’t know what I’m going to do for that.

Best of luck to all participants in the upcoming DCDCs and SCDCs and hope to see y’all in Orlando, Florida in April for ICDC! #READYFORIT

Why Do We Care so Much About What Others Think About Us?

Posted on by SrilekhaC

Today, I overheard some seniors gossiping, just like any other average day at lunch. And it wasn’t just anyone they were gossiping about today. It was me.

To say I didn’t care at first, what that girl was saying about me, would be a lie. And that’s really hard to admit, because inside we all do really care about what others think about us. It’s a natural reflex to make sure that you have a good reputation and that everyone likes you. So at first, yes, I cared so much that I went in tears to one of my best friends and told her what happened. And that’s when I started really thinking, why do I care about this girl who is going to graduate in a couple months? Why do I care if she thinks something bad about me and makes fun of it to her friends(who I knew btw).

But before I get into that, I’ve got to say, parts of what she said was true. She described the series of events correctly. To give a little background, I’m in journalism and a yearbook designer asked me to interview someone for her spread. I went into the class, quietly asked the teacher if I could interview her(so I didn’t interrupt the other students as they were working on something on their laptops). I expected the teacher to call out her name, but he just stood there, so I asked for where she sat. He pointed towards her and just stared. And that, was the most awkward moment of this whole ordeal, at least, to me. The girl I needed to interview was listening to music, so when I called her name, she didn’t look up or respond. So, I tapped her shoulder, and finally she looked up. I asked her for an interview and she sharply replied ‘sure.’ I interviewed her, asked her a couple of questions, and she barely had anything to say. We were done within a minute, so I headed back to the press room.

And as all of this was happening, I didn’t realize that there was someone watching and critiquing every move I had made. I didn’t find anything wrong with what I did, and if you do, please tell me, because I’m still having trouble with why she hated how I asked for an interview with that other girl.

Anyways, during lunch, she and her senior friends were sitting in one corner while my friends and I were sitting on the opposite end of the petite room. And then, I heard it. My name. My friends and I sat there astonished as she recounted what had happened from her perspective, calling the whole ordeal, “awkward” and “weird.” They then noticed that I was actually in the room, and it went silent. Some giggles arose as the awkward silence consumed the room. I left a short five minutes later for my next class and was told one of the other seniors told her that she needed to apologize. According to my friend, she made up some lame excuse and said that she would text me.

I never got that text.

And I don’t think I really care about that anymore. Sure, it will be a little awkward the next time I see her, and a little uncomfortable the next time I see her friends, which will be the day after tomorrow because they are in my journalism class. How wonderful right? But truly, even though I cared so much within those first few hours, do I really care now? It was embarrassing, and probably ruined my reputation a little, one that I had put blood, sweat, and tears to earn, by the way. But within six months, I won’t be hearing her name ever again. (Well, maybe by her junior friends.)

There has to be some psychology beneath why we care so much about things like this. I honestly don’t have the answer right now, but I wish I did. I have seen so many instances in which people have slaved away over trying to make everyone like them. That used to be me, about a month ago. That’s when I realized, everyone has enemies. Everyone has people who don’t like them. That girl who was gossiping about me does. I do. The guy next door does. Everyone thinks and reacts to situations differently and we should respect that, rather than telling someone about the situation without knowing the true background and what really happened. Rather than crying or yelling at someone for not thinking the way you do.

So why do we care so much about what others think?

You tell me.

What Creates Success?

Posted on by SrilekhaC

This week in English class, we just started reading the book Outliers. I just got to the end of Chapter Two, The Ten-Thousand Hour Rule, and I can’t say that I haven’t enjoyed it. Quick English class tip for high school students- use an audio book and read along. It helps so much with understanding what is going on in the book and although it takes more time, it will significantly help your comprehension.

Anyways, Outliers really connected to me, even after just reading two chapters. Some of my friends thought it was boring, and some thought it was super interesting, and then I started to think about it. Do I really agree with what the book is saying. That preparation and opportunity matters a lot more than we think for success. That we don’t live in a world based on meritocracy, but a world in which luck matters almost equally with talent.

I’m really indifferent at this point, especially after reading Chapter Two. I agree with the idea and statement that our world is absolutely not a meritocracy. I despise and disagree with the statement that I perceived in Chapter Two- Success only comes to people who work hard.

And like Malcolm Gladwell, I have my own examples and theories that make complete sense to me. But will it make sense to you?

My school has a very competitive environment, especially in the music department. We all work our butts off in band to try to make honors, some more than others. Unfortunately, most of us never make it to the top. After hours of practicing, most of us, by sophomore year, have given up. This is contradictory to Gladwell’s claim that practice and preparation ultimately give rise to a successful elite. An example within our band environment can also be seen back in eighth grade, during middle school. It was an equally competitive environment, thus leading to only a couple people being at the very top of the competition. In the Fall, the region holds a region band competition, leading to the top of the pack in one ultimate band filled with prestige. I competed and made it past the first round but ended up three away from actually making a band. Unlike me, two of my friends made the bands. One, who claims she started practicing two weeks before the audition, made top band. The other made the second band and had been practicing for months.

This example clearly indicates that sometimes it isn’t about how many hours you put in, but also how much talent you simply have. So what ultimately makes success? A whole mix of things. Luck, preparation, talent, love, kindness, opportunity, intelligence, and so much more, and some of which, Gladwell does address.

Successful people aren’t made in one day, or even a year. It takes time, starting from the day we were born. The moment in which we entered the world, we were introduced to an environment where we would grow and learn. A school in which we would make friends and become smarter. A home in which we would be disciplined and loved. A library to learn, a movie theater for entertainment. A world for passion.

And the most passionate of us, the most balanced, the most determined, the most brave will rise above all and influence the world for the better.

That is success.

It’s time to take the DECA test, and I’m freaking out

Posted on by SrilekhaC

AHHH! The DECA marketing cluster exam is this Wednesday. How did it come upon us so fast?! My chapter is holding all DECA preliminary testing this Wednesday, and I’m so not “Ready For It.” I’ve practiced a couple tests and definitely didn’t score well enough to make ICDC and I’m stressed out of my mind. Two more days to study and I really don’t know what to do.

Do any of y’all know the score to even make ICDC? I’ve worked so hard on the written event and I haven’t really been studying as much as I should. Besides the stress of testing coming up, I’m super excited for DECA district. I get to see my friend who moved to another school so that’s going to be really fun.

DECA has become a part of my life now, and I cherish every moment of this journey. I can’t wait to have fun with my friends and have a successful conference. Wishing you all the best of luck and hopefully will see you guys in Florida for ICDC!

Arguments & Issues

Posted on by SrilekhaC

I’ve always wondered why, as humans, we can’t all get along. Is it the fear of compromise or is it the need to always get what we want? And sometimes, we fight over the silliest of things, perhaps a font size on a group project, that can leave us in tears because we just can’t understand why we argued in the first place. If arguments are so destructive to human beings, why do we engage in them in the first place?

Why do we start to care so much about something just as when someone else decides to change it, or move it, or touch it? All arguments cause, are more issues. And more issues lead to more arguments. What a great never-ending cycle of fighting. I’ve noticed, just as most people have, that siblings fight just a tad bit more than friends, or even best friends. We fight more with the people we’ve lived with for years, than the people we met a couple months ago. It’s weird like that. Why do we get so defensive against our dearest and closest, the people who share our blood?

Some arguments, however, can be quite big, over huge issues that we just can’t solve. And so we leave it there, a silent treatment, one less smile, one less call. Then we seem miles away, in the same haunted house. Empty. Alone.

This, I have never experienced, thank god. I’m so glad to be in good relations with my sister, with occasional fights of course. She does something I don’t like. I do something she doesn’t like. It falls apart and comes back together again. It’s a cycle I don’t enjoy, but if I’m not willing to adjust, and she’s not, then what’s the point.

Game on. Let’s go at it. That’s my pen, not yours. Stop changing the font.

The FRICKIN font. Ridiculous, right?

I’m ridiculous.

And a couple ‘sorry’s later, we’re back to being sane.

One argument. One thousand issues.

My Flute Journey

Posted on by SrilekhaC

I started playing the flute in fifth grade, and you’d figure I’d be really good at it by now. But here, in Austin, there are so many good musicians that sometimes I can’t help but think, did I fail? I didn’t start out here in fifth grade, I lived in Michigan and obviously the music education there was quite different. Not to say substandard, but definitely not as emphasized as here in Austin. But I’ve got to say, fifth and sixth grades were the most fun I’ve had actually playing my flute. As soon as I moved here in seventh grade, a couple things happened.

1- There were a lot more people who were clearly better than me. They had been taught by the best of the best, and I… I never had a private lesson teacher much less a natural talent. Everything I played, I had to put blood, sweat, and tears into. I’m not saying everyone else didn’t do that, but I felt like I was working so hard only to get no results, or substandard results that were worse than everyone elses’.

2- Competition became much more important. I never thought that I would be fighting over a chair. Okay that sounds ridiculous, but in the music world, chairs indicate how good you are within a band compared to the others in your instrument section. I’ve been in last, I’ve been in first, second, third, fifth. I’ve been there. I’ve felt extreme ecstasy at knowing for once I was the best, and jealousy for the first who gets all of the solos, and just plain sadness and discomfort when I was last. Knowing you’re the worst is the worst.

Throughout my musical fluting journey, I’ve not only made these observations, but I’ve also learned so much. I learned how to act and react in difficult situations, and how to use my skills to help me in other subjects. Learning music has helped me learn real life skills much more than I can say for my math class. I’m glad that I chose to stick with my instrument, but I can’t help but wonder, if I had quit and taken those electives and courses I wanted, if I had not taken the double blocked band course, what would have happened? If I had stayed in Michigan, would I have completed high school all the way through in band?

June 2019. That will mark the end of my flute-in-school journey. I can’t say that I’ll keep going out of school because I don’t know if my private lesson teacher will even teach me still. I will be replacing the two blocks with hopefully PROS, if I get in, and double blocked Journalism. 2 courses that will significantly help my future. I hope I’m making the right decision.

One semester left for me to grow as a musician. It was a successful six years with my flute and I think I’m finally ready to give it up. I have other passions now and I’m ready to pay more attention to them too. I’m free.

Bawarchi Biryani • Houston, Texas

Posted on by SrilekhaC

Recently, I have travelled to Houston, Texas on a family trip. While there, we ate at a small restaurant in the downtown area named Bawarchi Biryani. Upon first look, I was not satisfied. It looked very outdated and kind of scared me that it would look dirty on the inside as well. We had my dad go look inside and make sure that the food selection for their Sunday lunch buffet was at least decent, and after he came back with a good report, we all headed inside.

Inside, the restaurant had a very quiet atmosphere, with a decent seating place and barely any customers. We had came in at a prime time during the holiday season, so we were expecting a lot more people dining in for the cheap lunch buffet they offered. The small, but tasty, selection of foods they offered were in one short line along the front window. The food was decent and not very hot. However, it was a good selection of foods. Cutlery was provided, but there were no knives making it extremely hard to eat the tandoori chicken. Normally, we would reach with our hands, but in a public setting I tend to lean towards cutlery.

Besides the fact that the food wasn’t hot, it was pretty good. For dessert, the buffet line offered mango mousse, which was delicious. In all, for one person it costed around $12 which isn’t that bad for the food that we got. Overall, Bawarchi Biryani was a strict three out of five stars for me. The look of the restaurant was just not that appealing, and this definitely wouldn’t be the first restaurant I would recommend.

It’s DECA Season!

Posted on by SrilekhaC

So, it’s time for DECA. It’s time to take the test, present our hard work, and sit back and receive our hard earned medals and glass. I’m, of course, no DECA expert, but I have had my fair share of DECA success. Last year, freshman year, one of my best friends and I competed in the Advertising Campaign event, which is now split into three different events, the Integrated Marketing Campaign event. We made it past district to state, but unfortunately didn’t make ICDC, which is understandable as we chose one of the harder events rather than the primary business events that most freshmen take.

This year, my sister and I have taken on the challenge of the Integrated Marketing Campaign Product event. At first, I definitely thought it would be much easier to compete in one of the sub events of the event I did last year. I finally started actually working on it this week, and I realized that there is just so much to consider. I haven’t even gotten past the description because there are so many factors to this event. I’ll keep you guys updated on my progress, but as of right now, I’m trying to work on it as much as possible. It just takes so much time though. If you have any tips for me, please comment them below! Make sure to leave a like as well!

My favorite part of DECA has been hanging out with friends. DECA is such a friendly organization and you can meet so many different people. I will never forget that state conference in Dallas last year, and even the district one, and I can’t wait for three more in the years to come. DECA truly is something special. Another part of DECA that I love has been simply been competing in events. I’ve grown to love written events, even though they’re a ton of work.

#1 thing to do in a written event presentation: BE CONFIDENT. Make sure you know what you’re talking about. Create some unique aspects to your presentation. Have good visuals. BE DIFFERENT. Stand out against the rest of the competitors. Don’t get nervous. Be kind and thank the judge. Answer questions confidently and know your topic well enough to do this.

Perfection is unattainable, but ICDC isn’t. I don’t know much about role plays but I can near promise you that if you follow all of those tips for written event presentations, you will be ICDC bound.

Ok actually, I don’t promise it, because DECA is also about your knowledge in the actual business itself. But, good luck to all and have fun!

May the odds be ever in your favor this DECA season! Hope to see y’all at ICDC!

Featured Image courtesy of https://www.wayzataschools.org/activities/clubs/deca

Houston, Texas 12.23.18-12.25.18

Posted on by SrilekhaC

The Waterfall Park near the Galleria
Dinosaur skeleton at the Museum of Natural Sciences
Christmas decorations at the Galleria
Waugh Bat Bridge

Houston is a beautiful city, but there’s not a huge amount of activities available for sight-seers. My family and I had to choose between Orlando, Florida, home of Universal Studios and Houston, Texas. Now, why in the world would I choose driving three hours to stay in a crappy hotel with no WiFi for two days over taking a three hour flight to spend a whole week in one of my favorite places in the world? Well… that’s a story for another day.

Regardless, we ended up going to Houston. 3 hours in a car. 2 days in a hotel. And absolutely no WiFi. We ended up using a tremendous amount of data, but besides that, it was still no internet for two whole days. Now all of you people out there who are thinking, ‘It’s not that bad to live without WiFi for two days. You’re just dramatizing it,’ let me tell you something. It. Is. Horrible. To. Not. Have. WiFi. For. Two. Days.

No drama.

But just like that, I can’t label our trip bad. There were so many fun things that we did that I did approve of, and actually enjoyed very much. We started first thing, Sunday morning to arrive at the huge Galleria mall at the center of Houston. It was absolutely gorgeous and their Christmas decorations were stunning, even in day light. There was an ice skating rink on the lowest level, but we didn’t get to go there as we were running short on time. We hastily entered a few shops and grabbed a snack, Auntie Anne’s pretzels, before speeding off to get my cousin to go to lunch.

We went to lunch at Bawarchi Biryani, an Indian buffet restaurant. For my review on it, click here.

After lunch, we were supposed to head to the Holocaust museum, which I was really excited for. I loved Houston’s museum district; it was a hub of learning all close together. Unfortunately, as it didn’t specify on the website, the museum was closed for construction. So, we decided to head to the hotel for the first time ever. The Sheraton. Last year, (2017) we had our DECA state conference in The Sheraton in Dallas. I presumed it would be of the same quality, however, I was a little disappointed.

A few minutes before sunset, we set out of the Waugh Bat Bridge, where we got to see, I think, a thousand or so bats fly out in lines from under the bridge. It was absolutely stunning. This was one of the highlights of our trip and was definitely worth it. Then we headed back to the Galleria, grabbed some light dinner and returned to our hotel.

The next day, Monday, was the better day of our trip. First thing in the morning, we grabbed breakfast at Starbucks, which is always good of course. We then headed back to the museum district for the Houston Museum of Natural Sciences. I was pretty amazed by this museum. The amount of exhibits, and the exhibits themselves, were really interesting and we spent a lot of time there. A special exhibit that was open at that time was the Death by Natural Causes exhibit, which was so much fun. After that, we climbed a small hill in a nearby park and had some fun taking pictures and just hanging out as a family. We then went back to the Galleria for a third time to get some lunch at Chili’s, and walked over to the nearby waterfall park, which was beautiful. We snapped some pictures and decided to retire to our hotel, where my sister and I stayed for the rest of the day while our parents went out for a while and grabbed us some KFC for dinner.

Obviously, KFC was not our preferred dinner; I was hoping for Taco Bell. As it was Christmas Eve, nothing was open at the time, so we had to adjust. KFC isn’t that bad, but definitely has some downsides. To read my review, click here. (Soon to be published)

Christmas Day, my family and I spent all morning in a car driving back. All in all, I thought it was a great trip. We had a lot of fun and connected more as a family. Of course, I wouldn’t recommend going to Houston instead of Florida, but I though Houston was a lot of fun with many sights to see. Be sure to check out the parks and museums as well as the bat caves, if you do visit!

2019, Here We Come

Posted on by SrilekhaC

I have successfully made it through 2018. Have you? It was a rough year, the stress of politics, new friends, new jobs and tasks to complete, difficult challenges, studying. And all of this while also finding myself and my true passions as a teenager.

I don’t know exactly when January began and December came to a halt, but I do remember all of the little, yet significant memories I have made throughout the year. From being a DECA participant at state, to simply hanging out with my favorite cousins or joining the student press staff at my school. I truly feel that 2018 was a blast, even if I had so much to deal with.

And that’s normal. Having so much to deal with that sometimes it feels like it’s a never ending hole of depression. Yes, this year had some dark moments, but it also had the light moments too. So why do most people focus on the dark moments. There cannot be darkness where there is light. Simple, right?

I noticed that a lot with one of my close friends. She was always pessimistic and always saw the bad side to things. She never wanted us to get her hopes up about anything. And it felt bad. To see someone I love become so negative just hurt my heart. Wow, so sentimental, I know. But seriously, it kind of made me mad too. She just couldn’t be positive and it always ruined my mood as well as hers. I’m not asking for her to change her personality or become a different person. Does it really hurt that much to think a little more positively though?

So, I can moan and groan about my life all I want, but because I choose to look at the bright side, the side where I can play with my little cousins, have long conversations with my best friends(who both officially don’t go to my school anymore 😦 because life I guess), hug my favorite family friends and have fun with my family, I can live my life peacefully.

But out there, it’s much worse. Some people can’t even see the bright side because there is no light in their lives. Poverty, lack of education, lack of water, lack of shelter, orphans, lack of employment, and many many more. We are all so privileged and have so much to be thankful for. So, in 2019, let’s pay it forward.

To raise more money for a charity you wish to donate to, please download Tab for a Cause on Chrome here. The extension is free and every time you open a new tab, you receive a heart which you can then donate to one of the listed charities.

Happy New Year!

2019, Here we come!