It's Leap Day!

     Wow, four years went by pretty quickly. Four years ago I went to a different school and lived in a different house than I do now. I've come a long way in these past couple of years. There are times I'd like to remember and times that I'd like to forget. When I started fourth grade in a new school I didn't really do so well in school but now I'm happy to say that I don't completely fail classes anymore :) I used to live in a tiny house where I shared a room with my brother. Our room also the computer room. I'm happy that I have a new house and my own room now. Also, four years ago two of my siblings were born. I guess I'm happy about that even though they drive me crazy.

     Back then I was the most introverted person ever. I wasn't in church choir and I never knew how to play the violin. I have played keyboard in choir for the past three years and that really boosted my confidence. I go to a pretty big church, so there are hundreds of people attending and that kind of scared me a little knowing that every mistake I made would be heard by everyone but now I'm over that. I also joined orchestra which also boosted my confidence. I honestly don't know what I would do without my violin. #orchdork Overall, in the past few years my life has changed for the better and I'm grateful for that.

     Now that I looked at the past let's head to the future. The next Leap Year will be 2020. Let's hope that the Olympics are in Chicago and that I can go and watch it. In four years I'll be a senior in high school and I'll be in Symphonic Orchestra which is the highest orchestra that we have. I'm also hoping to crush other high schools in badminton. #badmintonislife All in all I'm just hoping that every years just keeps getting better and better. Happy Leap Day!

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

August 19, 1914

Dearest Papa,

                      I got your letter. I miss you a lot too. School closed a couple weeks ago because of the war. Before I left school, my teacher pulled me aside and gave me a book called, "There Is Hope." It's about a boy whose father is in a war, just like you. 

                       Do you remember when you were back home, I would always read to you and Mamma? I wish I could still do that. Mamma seems really perturbed lately, so I didn't want to pester her with my reading. Since I couldn't read to you or Mamma guess who I read to? An elephant. Yeah, I know it's hard to believe but listen, I'll explain.

                       The day I came home from the last day of school I was really anxious to read the book my teacher gave me. Mamma was really mad because Amanda and Alice were both crying. We were out of food. Mamma was waiting for me to come home, so I could go to the market. Why does Africa have to send so much food to other places? We are already poor. The prices here have gone up, so Mamma can only afford one meal a day. I went to the market, got some rice and dropped it off at home.

                        I wanted to get away from all the commotion, so I went to the dessert carrying my book. That's when I saw him, the elephant who weighed probably a thousand pounds. Each step he took forward, I took back. To tell the truth, I was actually kind of scared, just a little. He noticed the fear in my eyes, so he turned around and started walking in the other direction. 

                        I yelled, "Wait!" I needed company and I guessed that he did too. He walked towards me and sat down. Sand flew at my face but I covered it with my book. Then, I sat down, opened my book and began to read, " There is hope..." I guess you can never be too big to get read to. We finished the whole book. It had a happy ending, which made my glad. I'm sure there will be a happy ending for our country too.

Sincerely,

Amal

                                                                                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                          

                  

Carrot Cake

     Fitting in is hard sometimes, especially if you look really really weird. In science class we were learning about Meiosis. Meiosis is a process that happens in the cell. It makes gametes and when two gametes combine they make a person such as carrot Cake here. Carrot cake has both characteristics from her mom and her dad. She ha a circular head, five fingers, two toes, no knees, square eyes, a pig nose, a big belly, short arms, fat lips, eye lashes, little ears, a long neck, big feet, long hair, a little thumb, eyebrows, curly hair, horns, a tail and a halo.
     As you can tell, Carrot Cake doesn't really look normal. Being different from others can cause some problems for her. She may not fit in. One problem she may have is touching her toes. her arms are very much shorter than her legs. She also has small ears,so she may need a hearing aid. She may not fit in but that doesn't necessarily mean that she won;t have any friends at all. As you can see, she has a halo above her head, so that probably means that she is a really nice person. Some people may think that her features are pretty cool, so that would be a way for her to have friends. She may be different but there may be other people different like her. Something that everyone should no is that, everybody is different. We should not single people out because of their differences.

Semiya Payasum

     I'm from Kerala, which is a southern state in India. Wherever you go, no matter what restaurant, not matter what city in the state, there will be Semiya Payasum. It is one of my favorite desserts from my  culture. There are different types of payasums such as paal payasum, rava payasum and many more but semiya payasum is just my favorite.

     At my house, we don't make it all the time although I wish we would. Usually my mom makes it for my birthday because she knows how much I like it. Even at my house in India, we don't make it all the time. We make it on special occasions such as birthdays and weddings.

     Approximately, this takes twenty minutes to make. That's not too long. There are different ways people make it but I'll tell you about one way. First, you have to heat a pan with ghee. Then, you have to add nuts and wait till they turn golden. After that, add raisins. I personally add a lot of raisins because they just taste so good. After these steps just set this pan aside. Take another pan and put the semiya in it. You can buy a packet of semiya from a store which sells food from India. After putting in the semiya, you have to wait until it turns a golden brown color. After it turns brown then add milk and water and wait for it to boil. Also make sure the semiya is well cooked. After these steps, add sugar and stir everything together. Then, pour the payasum into a bowl and garnish it with the nuts and raisins we set aside. Now you're done! I definitely recommend making this, its delicious. Enjoy!

Shows I Used to Watch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iC9WBrKP0I

     This show aired from 2005 to 2008. When I was younger I used to watch a lot of shows because a couple years back, in my opinion, kids' shows were a lot better than they are today. My favorite show of all time was Suite Life of Zack and Cody. There was never an episode where I didn't die laughing. Zack and Cody Martin are twins that have moved into Boston's best hotel, the Tipton because their single mom, Carey got a job at the Tipton as a singer. Just by looking at this picture and by watching the show's theme song, I'm sure you can tell that they cause a lot of mischief and of course there are people that try to stop them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29jhGR-yCtE

     The day the last episode aired I was devastated. That is how good a show this was. Obviously this show was the sequel to The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. This show started in 2008 and ended in 2011. Zack and Cody aboard the SS Tipton, so they go to school on the ship that cruises around the world. As London call it "Stupid Sea School". Along the way, Zack and Cody makes some new friends. Even though they are older, as you can see in this picture, they are still like they were before. They drive Mr. Mosby, the manager of the ship crazy. Mr. Mosby is the guy hanging from the anchor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIgLqN_rAXU

     Kim Possible aired from 2002 to 2007. This show started in the year I was born, so I started watching it before it ended. I absolutely love the theme song of this show. Kim is just an ordinary cheerleader who saves the world. Her sidekicks are her friends, Ron Stoppable and his pet mole, Rufus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMIuuO_PQo

     Believe it or not, Hannah Montana was my idol when I was younger. I don't know why but she just was. I was a big fan of hers. Back in third grade I got Hannah Montana book bag and I still use it today. Hannah Montana aired from 2006 to 2011. Miley Stewart is just a regular teenage girl besides the fact that without anyone knowing, she is pop star, Hannah Montana. She moved from a small town in Tennessee to Malibu along with her brother, Jackson and her dad/manager Robbie Ray. Her two best friends are Lilly and Oliver are also part of her thrilling life as both Hannah Montana and Miley Stewart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvAUtEDgpyY

     Honestly, Chowder was the weirdest show I have ever watched in my life. It was from 2007-2010 on Cartoon Network. I think Chowder is suppose to be a purple cat since most of the characters in the show are animals. Chowder LOVES food. He lives in Marzipan City and he is the apprentice of Mung, a chef who owns a catering company along with his wife Truffles who is a fairy. Shnitzel, the rock who only says, "rada rada," also helps them. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbORcGOZ2GI

     This was a pretty interesting show. When I was younger I never had an imaginary friend but that doesn't mean that imaginary friends aren't real. :) This show as aired from 2004 to 2009 on Cartoon Network. It was one of the bet shows Cartoon Network had and that's why it received and Emmy Award. Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends is a place where imaginary friends go when their owners are too cold for them. If a child can't think of an imaginary friend themselves, they come to Foster's run by Madame Foster to adopt a friend. Mac was a boy who had an imaginary friend named Bloo. Bloo not Blue. Mac's mom thought he was too old for an imaginary friend so she sent Bloo off to Foster's. Luckily, without his mom or brother knowing he comes to Foster's to see Bloo almost every day. His job is to make sure that Bloo doesn't get adopted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSA4NrnXT4s

     This was one of my favorites shows when I was younger but I don't think I finished watching it. This show started airing in 2004 in the Unites States. Winx Club was an Italian show for kids but now it plays in many different countries. Apparently, according to my research, this show released season 7 in August of 2015 on Nickelodeon, so I'm guessing it's not over yet. The main character of the show is a girl from Earth named Bloom. She was living a normal life in the city of Gardenia until Stella, a princess from the planet Solaria met her. Stella was in trouble and Bloom saved her using magical powers that she never knew she had. Stella then told Bloom that she should join Alfea, the best fairy school in all the realms. That is where Bloom became roommates with Stella, Musa, Tecna and Flora. That was the beginning of the Winx Club. Together they learn to use their powers to fight evil. Evil meaning the girls from Witch Tower, Icy, Darcy and Stormy. Along the way the meet even more friends such as the boys from Red Fountain, Prince Sky, Brandon, Riven and Timmy. I suggest you watch this show. That's what i'll be doing over the summer. ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lshzQJ1YAzU

     This was also one of my favorite shows. I have a lot of favorites because there just used to be too many good shows. Wizards of Waverly Place began in 2007 and ended in 2012. It was a Disney Channel show and was definitely worth watching. The show is about Alex (Selena Gomez) and her family that own a restaurant in New York City. She had two brothers, Max and Justin. Her best friend is Harper. Her and her siblings are taught by their parents about when and where they should use magic but sometimes they may have to break the rules.  

Rise Of The Guardians Movie Review

     Rise of The Guardians is a spectacular animated movie by Dreamworks that I would recommend for all ages. Who are the guardians you may ask. Your favorites of course. Santa Clause, The Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Sandman and my personal favorite, the main character, Jack Frost. All of them together are the guardians who protect the children of the the world from it's corruption. In this case, Pitch Black(the Boogeyman). He wants to overthrow the guardians by making children not believe in them. He wants to take over the world with his nightmares. When the time comes, it's all up to Jack to save the world.
     This movie was released in 2012. Between these past three years I have seen quite a lot of movies and I must say, by far this is one of my favorite movies. It has won so many awards. It won best animation of the year at the Hollywood Film Awards, best motion picture at the Satellite Awards and best animated film at the CinEuphoria Awards, just to name a few. Did I mention Rise of The Guardians was nominated for best animated film at the Golden Globe Awards? Well, it was. The director, Peter Ramsay did an outstanding job with this movie. This is a movie that you must watch. I assure you, you won't be disappointed.

Hello 2016

     2015 was a very interesting year for me. If I were to use one word to describe it, I would use hectic. At times I would be happy,annoyed, mad and usually overwhelmed. A second word to describe my year would be overwhelming. I have 3 siblings and two of them turned three years old this year. There would be screaming and crying in my house 24/7. I thought I would go deaf but thankfully I didn't. This was a problem for me because since there are two of them and they love me, they come to my room while i'm studying and complain. Hopefully, as they grow older they will compromise. I'm hoping for that this new year. Yes, it's a lot to ask from three years olds. 

     I usually don't have a schedule planned out for myself. My parents always tell me to have one and I think I will use it this year. I have some classes such as badminton, dance, violin class, piano class, orchestra, ccd, choir etc. This year we actually got homework for ccd. We usually never had church choir practices but they started this year which i'm pretty happy about because I need some practice with my piano. So all of this describes my 2015. It was definitely hectic and overwhelming for me.

     I am the biggest procrastinator, so I always leave my homework for the last minute. That is one thing I would like to change for my new year. I would like to have a plan and not procrastinate. Two words that I would want to describe my new year would be tranquil and productive. I need to stay calm this year. To do this stopping my procrastination problem would really help. Productive is my second word. This is a word my parents always tell me to be. I'm taking it into consideration this year. Over break I usually just sit around and that is basically all I do. No more procrastinating and more of being a productive person. 

     In 2016 we graduate. Yay! I'm really excited. There are a lot of exciting events coming up for me and my family. Only six more months till summer! I hope everyone had a great 2015. I sure had an interesting one full of memories. I may have described my year of 2015 with hectic and overwhelming but other words I could have used were successful and memorable. I wish you all a blessed new year. Happy New Year!