Month: December 2018

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!