Women in India are benefiting from the television

Orissa is one of the poorest states in India. My grandmother and I mostly spend our vacations there near the beach. I see my grandmother watching the most popular Indian serials on the television. I was surprised to see how these serials revolve around the issues in the society in India. One was about child marriage and how it was affecting the children in a negatively, the other one showed how some people prefer male children to female and how women in some parts of India are treated if they deliver a girl child. It astonished me how people were aware of all these issues and still there could be an abortion going on right now in the same town. And believe it or not, the next day when the maid came with the latest gossip in town, she told Grandma how a woman got beaten up in the streets last evening by her husband. As Joel Waldfogel said in his article, people in India are getting aware and ideas about the society’s issues, but there are not many steps being take by women to do something against it.

As I was reading Freakonomics, one thing got stuck to my mind. (Part of the reason being that it was talking about India, the place I belong to.) It says that even though, in recent times, India is being thought of as an improving country, and is seen as free of the social norms, there are millions of people with the same old mentality. There are still thousands of abortions taken place everyday, and thousands of women still believe that their husbands have a right to beat them. They still depend on men and take them as their god. There are thousands of girls that are not sent to school because their parents believe that a girl should be learning how to cook. Earning is still considered a “man’s job”.

Even though statistics in this article show that there have been improvements from 2001 to 2003 in the mentalities of women, majority of the men in villages believe that women do not even have the right to speak what they think! It is considered illegal and disrespectful and a shame if a woman goes against her husband. If they do, they are beaten up and embarrassed in front of everyone. They rather stay quiet and keep their ideas within themselves than being humiliated. And I have seen it because I have travelled to villages in India and seen their society. I have seen people young couples, with more than four children who, who can barely fill up their stomachs. I have seen wives waking up at 4 AM and going to bed at 11 PM and not been given any respect whatsoever by any male in the family. I have noticed parents giving preference to their son and ignoring their daughter.

According to me, televisions are seen more as a tool of entertainment. Women watch serials full of spices and gossips more than something that would educate them. And even if they do get aware, it hardly changes their personality. And there are a very few of them who actually stand up to fight for their rights but then even they are suppressed by the men. 

It should be a mothers right to choose to terminate her pregnancy when the child has a deformity she knows about

We talk about growing, we talk about technology, we talk about development, we talk about the changing mentalities, but then why are we stuck with the thought of terminating pregnancy as bad? There are a hundreds of more important issues that need more attention than playing with a mother’s decision. Emily Rapp, who has a son who has disability that can never be cured, herself, in her article, has written that if she had the choice of terminating her pregnancy before he was born, she would rather go through that than watching her two year old son choking. People have a right to make their own choices, and someone else has no right to take that right away.

Morals and ethics do play an important role when it comes to making decisions. And terminating pregnancies have been a major issue. Some say that it is not moral to kill babies before they were born. It is also against religion. But in the today’s world we cannot afford to be so backward. And according to me, making someone suffer, for no fault of his or her, is not moral either. When people can be put into jail for torturing someone, then how is it bad to save someone from the torture.

Some will say that abortion is killing a life. Well, scientifically a “baby” is not aborted. It’s the “fetus” that is aborted, which is basically just a bunch of cells. It does not even have the structure of a baby; it is literally a bunch of cells that are nothing without a woman’s body. So is taking out some cells from a woman’s body so bad that it is against the law in some countries?

But according to the law, we have the right to make our own decisions that don’t cause damage to others. So, if a couple makes a decision to remove some cells from the female’s body, that shouldn’t be a problem. It the woman’s body and the husbands and her decision to remove something from her body. When there is a choice, which does not harm anybody, then why is there no choice to choose it? And when the parents know that their child will suffer a lot after he is born, then it, naturally, is better not give birth to that child and save him or her from the torture. Not only does the child suffer, but also the parents. Their pockets get hurt and also their emotions. No parent would want their child not to be able to play, eat, sleep and enjoy life. There have been situations when disabled people themselves ask for death. But even that’s an ethical issue.

We all make many decisions in life. Some are small and some are very big. A good decision will be the one which makes life less complicated and painful. And terminating a pregnancy, which would produce a person filled with problems, is a good decision. It makes life better for the unborn and for the parents.

January College Essay 2

Who are the people who have done the most to influence your personal development and in what ways were they influential? (Carleton College)

The one person who, I think, influences everyone in some way, is a mother. She is someone who is with you since the day you were born. She teaches you your first words, she helps you walk your first steps, and she is the one who teaches you your first basic manners. To wish your elders, to say thank you, to apologise, to respect everyone, she teaches you what is wrong and what is right, and everything, from the way you eat to the way you talk, is influenced a little by her. And I can say that I am influenced a lot by my mother. I remember trying to copy everything she did when I was little. The way her hands moved when she spoke, the way she would cook, the way she would dress, put her make-up on, everything. But one thing she used to enforce a lot was speaking the truth. I would get a hard slap every time she caught a lie. And now my friends tell me I suck at lying. I’ve learnt a lot from her, but one thing I will always owe her is the strength she gives me. I look at her and her past and how she went through it and I always feel stronger.

Friends are very very important people in anyone’s life. You spend your days and sometimes even your nights with them. And as you start growing, they become more important than your parents, and your friend circle starts describing what kind of a person you are. Punks, emos, geeks, gossip girls, the bad boys, whichever group you belong to influences you a lot and it also shows when you become an adult and start working. As my Dad is in the Army, I kept changing schools and kept meeting new people and I think I can say I’ve been in all the kind of groups! And I have some wonderful friends from all over India and some of them encourage me to study hard, some emotionally support me, I’ve had some really amazing fun moments with some. So I am pretty balanced that way and its all because of my friends.

January College Essay 1

Do you believe that your academic record accurately reflects your abilities? Explain.

NO!! My Economics, Maths, Biology, English, Global issues grades do NOT reflect my abilities. I think I am more than just a couple of grades on the report card. Sports, music and other things like how I mingle with people, what I do for the environment and other small things cannot be graded. Even though sports and music are taken as a part of academics in some schools, I believe it is something which cannot be graded. When one is forced to play or sing pieces that he or she doesn’t like they will naturally not put their entire effort into it and therefore not play so well. But if they played something they like, they will automatically have interest in it and play it well. And the same goes for sports. Different people might look at what I just said differently, like they might say that one should be comfortable with playing anything and everything, but according to me, I think everything cannot and should not be graded.

All schools don’t have things like programs such as CARE in Woodstock which basically seeks to improve the environment. Such schools never know what the child is like when it comes to changing the environment for the betterment. Some children, like me, are into such stuff, which will never be recognised by some schools. Teachers don’t know what a child’s hidden talents are. Even if they do, it does not go on the report card. For example, a while back we had a talent show in our school and some children came up with amazing talents but none of that would go on their report. So I would say no, my academic record does not reflect my abilities accurately. 

December college essay 3

If you were to look back on your high school years, what advice would you give to someone beginning their high school career? (Simmons)

High School years, according to me, are the best years of anyone’s life. There is everything in it. You learn, you explore, you make mistakes, you love, you hate, you get jealous, make friends, make enemies, you get stressed, you have fun, you get naughty, you laugh, you cry, you make fun of others and sometimes the jokes on you. One should make the most of these years for they never return. This is the advice I would give to anyone beginning their high school career. Yes, I know many people say this, but I mean it because if I was given a chance to redo high school, I would try to enjoy it more.

A balance is required. One should try to balance the fun parts and the seriousness of the studies. One should have fun but not at the cost of their grades or attention in class. One should try to make good friends because without them, it will be impossible to have fun. But my mother always told me that one should also be clever while choosing them, because bad influence can actually change the way people look at you. She always gave me an example of herself. She went to a boarding school and once while she was in the market with her school friends, one of the girls stole a pair of earrings from the jewellery store. And when the shopkeeper complaint to the school, even my Mum got into trouble because she was in the group too. And speaking of troubles, everyone makes mistakes and everyone deserves a second chance, but repeating a mistake is a habit and bad habits are just simply bad. When someone gets into trouble during their high school years for the first time, they will be excused (well, they generally are) and one should learn from it and not cry and think that there life is over. One should be careful from the next time and remember that such incidents make good stories when they grow up! And if someone has good friends, good grades, and a good social life, then he or she has the perfect high school life.

December Article 1

Obesity Rate Falls for New York Schoolchildren

This Article by Anemonia Hartocollis 

According to this artcile in New York Times, the rates of children who are over weight or 'obese' have gone down by 5.5 percent from the last 5 years. For the last few decades the number of obese children were growing enormously and since the last 5 years, the numbers have started to decrease. Dr. Thomas A. Farley said, “This comes after decades of relentless increases,” and even though 5.5 seems to be a small number he said that it is "impressive thats it's falling at all". Mr. Bloomberg said that most of the parents think their children are fit, but "the facts tell a different story." This shift of numbers is due to parents being more strict on what their children eat, school menus being more healthy and restrictions on food products filled with fat like baked goods, soda, etc. The article also mentions that the number of white children who are obese is more than any other racial group.
It is good to see that people are taking what they eat seriously nowadays. Being thin and skinny is the "in thing" in today's world. Every other girl is on a diet. There are girls in my own school who skip meals because the food is unhealthy or "too oily". But I don't think skipping meals is a solution. They should avoid unhealthy and fattening food items but they should make it a point to eat something healthy instead. Many young girls die of anorexia every year. And reducing weight by reducing t he amount you consume is not the only way. If one is physically active, then there is no chance of putting on extra weight. Schools should not only give healthy food to the children but also encourage physical education. And now, as the number of obese children has decrease, people should try to decrease this number even more to make a healthier society. 


Vocabulary:


Word 1: Hispanic 


1. They were also higher among white and Asian children compared with black and Hispanic children, and among very young children — those entering kindergarten or first grade — compared with older children.


2. Meaning: of or relating to the people, speech, or culture of Spain or of Spain and Portugal
Origin: Latin hispanicus, from Hispania Iberian Peninsula, Spain

First Known Use: 1584

3. Woodstock is an international school. There are children from all over the world including Hispanic children.


Word 2: Buoyed


1. Buoyed by the results, city officials also announced Thursday that the restrictions on school vending machines were being expanded to machines in all city buildings, and that they were forming a multiagency task force to recommend further initiatives to combat obesity.


2. Meaning: to keep afloat
Origin: 1596


3. Buoyed by the decision of the high school, the students begged the Head of High school to forgive them.  


Words 3: Plagued


1. Because of coordinated, sustained action I am happy to say our children are benefiting from our campaign against obesity, which has plagued communities here in New York and across the nation for nearly three decades.


2. Meaning: to smite, infest, or afflict with or as if with disease, calamity, or natural evil
Origin: 15th century


3. The world is plagued with crime.

December college essay 2

It has been said [by Andy Warhol] that “in the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” Describe your fifteen minutes. (New York University)

I have never been the shy types. I have always liked being on stage in front of an audience. I think this quality came to me because of my mother. I remember once I participated in a school dance competition just because my Mom wanted me to (I guess I was in grade 1). So, my Mom made up dance steps for me, and it sure was fun learning how to dance with my Mom! And when the big day arrived I must admit I was a little nervous. But once I got on stage, I liked the cheer of the crowd and the eager faces of the judges. And believe it or not, I actually won the competition! And I loved the fifteen minutes of fame I got. I loved every second of those fifteen minutes. I loved the applause the wishes and the look on my mother’s face and just the feeling of being better than others for fifteen minutes. And from then I do not remember refusing anyone to go on stage for anything.

And slowly I developed a love for music. Actually, I think I always had it in me. I learnt to play the guitar, and people said that I sang well. So I auditioned for the school band (I was in Army Public School then). I got chosen as the lead singer of the band called Apotheosis (sounds so dramatic, but really, we were a bunch of chilled out teenagers fallen in love with music). We did a couple of gigs here and there. And the feeling I used to get when I was on stage in front of the microphone with a guitar in my hands was just unexplainable. The screams of the crowd, the hoots, the stage lights, and the music which we made, all had something to add to the feel. Yes, the little tummy turns still do occur right before going on stage, but once I’m there, I don’t look back, and I take in every moment.

So I would want my 15 minutes of fame the same way; on stage, in front of the mic with a guitar in my hands, with my band, Apotheosis, and the crowd screaming their heads off.