Paper

If someone were to ask me: "Why do you write?" Would I have an answer? How could I not? It's a perfectly plausible question...so here, is my answer.

Paper is like a perfect friend. I can ask her any question in the world, and not have her question me. I could tell her about anything, and not have her judge me. I could compliment her, and have the same compliment glare back at me. I could rant to her for hours on end, and she would never interrupt, for she is too polite. I could hand her to someone else, and they would see everything the way I do, for she is the best mediator between me and anyone. I could tell her about my love and never have her interfere. I could tell her every thought that crosses my mind, and she would never prove me wrong, because you see, she's not much for talking. It's just not her thing. I could tell her about me, just so i could keep track of my own self. She would never hate me, question me, mislead me, lie to me, or deceive me...and this is why I will always trust paper more than man.

-Teja

Courage

Courage is not lifting a burden,
but lifting one that isn't yours.
Courage is not the ability to start the war of love,
but the will to fight it, and the strength to win.
Courage is not in trusting. Courage is in the person you trust.
The courage that they'll hold your heart as gently as the
broken wing of a dove. Courage is not winning, but the
choice of losing for someone else. Courage is not the thought
of apology, but the attempt. Courage is not having the air to
take the next breath, but having the strength to live the next moment.
Courage is in everything, but you won't know it, unless you're
courageous enough to trust something like courage.

-Teja

Where I'm From

I wrote my first "Where I'm From" Poem in the 7th grade. Our english teachers generally ask us to write one every year. So here's mine from this year (10th grade).

Where I'm From

I am from the small streets of home where all knew their neighbor.
I am from the bedroom windows with no glass, where the bars held me captive.
I am from my mother's kitchen, where every bite is a masterpiece.
I am from all those who made me who I am. From my home to anywhere; they are me.
I am from Friday night movies and songs I can't decipher.
I am from the large paintings at kirkland, and from the places on my wall that I could never fit them on.
I am from the lines of endless lyrics I listen to time and time again; every time, searching for something I couldn't find before.
I am from the sweet smell of roses that line my front yard, where, in the grass still lies the laughs of a young girl. Where the dirt still smells of the blood that poured the day she fell off her bike, and where the soil still holds the droplets of tears that her mother cleared the wound with.
I am from the constant honking of horns, and from those drivers who I hear, and will never see.
I am from the red of the cardinal perched on the oak in my backyard.
I am from the places i've been, the places I am, and the places I will be. I am from here and there, but in the end,
I'm from nowhere...but me.

The Motherland

The land of beauty

The land of riches

The land some pity

Where rocks make bridges

The place where culture began

Where the sun rose each morn

As bright as bright can

Shone over the vast fields of corn

This land so great

Had it’s bad as well

Each peasant with an empty plate

Each king under a wealthy spell

Once in a while, these kings used heart

To look past the holed pockets of their subjects

A great revolution these men might start

Every person’s life his action affects

To this day, the people wait

Everyday passed, with no changer

The land still needs someone to bare its weight

The story of it’s past from stranger to stranger

This nation that gave birth to many

It is the dirt we call the motherland

The land that didn’t give up to any

No one person would another strand

In it’s soil, a true culture sill found

And though it reeks of poverty from all ends

No man ever puts his head down

Every soul speaks proudly; we are Indians!

My Best Pictures

Here are some of the best pictures I ever took (or at least I think they're good). Tell me what you think!

Love's Doing

Sometimes it happens that when you're writing something, you know you're inspired, but you don't know from where. This was one of those. I don't know where it came from, it just came: 

Love's Doing

I hear a beautiful melody in your laugh.

Love is this your doing?

I see a dance in your step.

Love is this your will?

I wish this to last forever,

May this happiness never melt

Love stay with me

For when you are here,

Every dream becomes true

With you,

My heart is filled with sweet music

Each step is beauty

Every second is heaven

With you

My life is happiness

With you,

Silence sings songs

My soul moves to it’s sweet voice

With you,

Whether it be a flower or a forest,

It will take the journey of love.

With you,

Emptiness will show the way.

With you,

Won’t my happiness cross waves?

And ripple even an ocean?

Love,

Your friendship gives my breath these words.

As you are the kingdom of my hopes.

With you,

Every wish is my own,

And every wind is but a breeze.

My heart is not where I am

I’m drowning before I float

In these beautiful feelings

For when I think of you,

The ocean my happiness creates drowns me.

With you, I never witness sadness

With you, my light never leaves me

With you, every word becomes a melody

With you, my love, every hardship becomes a liking

And so I ask, once again,

All of this that I am living

Love, is this your doing?  

Animals Love Too

They're Beautiful. We often forget that they are just as important to this world as we are... so who are we to  take their homes, their children, their parents?? Humans? Simply because we have a bigger head than they do doesn't mean we have a bigger heart than they do. We must bear in mind that they too feel happy, sad, scared. They feel anger, love, and pain. We forget that their lives are no more valuable than our own.  We never for a second stop to think of the wonders that are happening beneath, in the seas, or above in the skies, we barely ever think about those animals whom we share our precious land with. If we though just for a second about the little fish who swims in our fishbowls: how it doesn't know it's parents, or who it is, or where it's from, or for that matter, where it IS. If we put ourselves in that situation just once, we may realize how they feel. Maybe we'll understand what it's like to be imprisoned: which is exactly what we're doing to these beautiful creatures. We think we're superior to them simply because we're bigger than them. We aren't even SMARTER than them. They know their situation. They understand they're captives. Just like we would, if we were them. We're worse than bullies who pick on people smaller than them. We're kidnappers, who capture children from their parents, parents from their children, babies from mothers, lovers from lovers. We are murderers: of love: which is worth just as much as the love we have for our own families. We are no one to tear them from love...

Two parents protecting their precious child: they work just as hard for this child as any human parent will do for their children... so why are they any different? What if your child went out to play one day, and next thing you know their in a zoo waiting for little humans to come marvel at them? 

Just as your mother kisses you before bed, before school, or when you go out by yourself. Remember when she says: "You be careful now, I love you." Well, this kangaroo, though imprisoned in a zoo, was lucky enough to have her son with her.. others, aren't so lucky...

Cass Scenic Railroad State Park

Today, we made a long and tiring trip to Cass Scenic Railroad State Park.. a place in West Virginia, where a 4 hour train ride takes you up and down a mountain range! It was all fun.. and, I got a few AMAZING pictures. Check 'em out! 

A beautiful Bridge a couple hours from the Park.. it was a "rest area" (which means party-time with the camera :))

At the same rest spot as above.. I love it! 

 Took this while in a car which was moving at 50 mph.. go me!

 On top of the peak of the highest mountain in the range: a whole village could be seen below, but I just saw the beauty of this table..

This deer REALLY shouldn't have been eating food that humans threw at it, and humans shouldn't have been throwing food to it.. stupid deer.. even stupider people!

It's just a pretty rope!

Yet another pretty rope!! 

Sir Ambani.. a word for you..

Mukesh, Son, get a life. You spent a freakin' 1 Billion dollars on your stupid house that has all this crap in it:

• 170m tall (558 ft)
• Space for 168 “imported” cars, divided across six floors
• An entire floor for “car maintenance,” with an “in-house service centre”
• An “entertainment floor”
• Terraces, balconies, and roof gardens
• A “health” floor, including “the latest gym equipment” and a pool
• Three helipads
• Two basement levels

Really child? This kid needs serious help...

For Peter

Wow people.. really? Good lord.. I can't even handle ONE college level course.. I don't know how i'm going to handle 3 in a couple years! I'm scared!! Mr. Peter Stearns (author of my Advanced Placement world history textbook) I will find you sir. I will hunt you down and beat the crap out of you in a back alley one day.. but til then, I'm stuck reading your book!! Someone help me...

-Teja

Magic

What in this world can't you find magic in? Nothing. It's in everything. The air is magical, the sky is magical, rain is magical... Every blooming flower and every twittering wing: magic. Every broken heart, and every fleeting love: magic. Is it possible to break this magic? Maybe not...

"Love is the Magician who pulls man out of his own hat" -Ben Hecht


- Teja

Strike a Pose

There is a pose for all. A pose that only one can stand. There is a pose for the poor, one for the rich. There is one for the young, and one for the old. There's a pose for all who can love, and all who are yet to learn. A pose for those who know, and those who don't. One for smart, and another for not. However, there are two poses which ALL can feel.  Firstly, the pose in which fear lurks in every corner of the heart, and every inch of the soul. The pose when the only reason you're blinking is to hide what's in your eyes. This is the pose of defeat. There is, however, another. The pose when your heart is beating as a drum, and when your eyes are the mirror for the glittering moon. The pose in which your smile never rests. It is the pose of victory. Though all can, many don't get to feel this. Every one must be given a chance at this feeling. At least once. Even if WE must be defeated; so another may feel the greatness of this pose; even just once.

-Teja

My Version of "If"...

If you can live a life of only smiles. If you can go or start instead of waiting, If you can grow up without a million scraped knees, runny noses, good-night stories, first loves, and heartbreaks. If you can sew all your happiness together with a single song, if you can shrug all your irritation away with a single word. If you can greet the angels and the devils in the same manor. If you can be rid of all sadness without shedding a single tear. If you can live a hundred years without breaking a single vow. If you can believe in yourself when everyone around you thinks you’re good for nothing. If you can always hold your head in a noble manner. If you can endure only accomplishments and no failures, then you can live a life no one has yet lived. 

Do these things sound familiar? They must. Because they are. 

- Teja 

Thank You Mr.Kipling; for the idea!! 

Our Belongings

Happiness is ours
Anger is ours
This a truth that will never change.
A beautiful friendship is ours.
Our 100 years is ours.
Love is our own: it will lighten every second of our day.
The stars are our witness.
The witness of these beautiful smiles.
A friendship that was given to us like a treasure, it is our own.
The ground is ours, the sky is ours.
The happiness that runs in our every breath: ours.
That sudden confidence that casts a bet is ours.
The dreams beneath our eyelids are ours.
If we set our minds to it, anything can be ours.
Every solution is ours, and every change is ours.
Every minute is ours.
The trust we feel in others is ours.
The worlds we create in our dreams are ours.
These, are our greatest assets, but instead, we always want
things less important. Why? It is because we often forget
what we are blessed with and look to what others are blessed
with. We often forget that the ability to share all of these things;
also belongs to us.

-Teja

Contagious

Contagious: what a beautiful word. Passion, is contagious. Fear, is contagious. Love is contagious. Like this, many things are contagious. The most important thing that is contagious is inspiration. One person being inspired can inspire many others. That person becomes the little boy in your third grade class who came in with the flu; and left it in all of us. Contagious. When someone does something, when we hear something and we say: wow! What a beautiful person? What a beautiful idea? Do we take that power into our hands and try to inspire others like we have been inspired? No. Why not? Because the inspiration dies? Yes. When people are inspired by one thing, it doesn't last very long. To be inspired: spend a day in the slums of Mumbai, spend a day at an orphanage, spend a day watching children work to feed themselves. These things, though they last but a day for you, last FOREVER in other children's lives. Why is it that little girls in Afghanistan return to school each day, fearless, even though they know the consequences?While many little children here wake up with this: "I don't WANT to go to school today mommy!" Why is it that little children in the slums can't go to school (when they want to) when you can? Why is it that orphans are alone when you're not? And why is that children have to work to feed themselves each day when you do not? These are questions that we will not be able to answer unless we are put in their shoes. Every child is as beautiful as the one next to them. Every child deserves what we live with. Yet, they don't get it. Half the children in this world know the value of money, education, and love decades before we figure it out. They don't have a chance to grow up. They are born grown up. Because they have no choice. Because they were taught nothing but that since the beginning, they were never given the chance to be the children they were. They skip the most important part of life: childhood. Why can't we help them? Why can't we change their lives? Because we're only one. The only way to make a difference is to be many. So, everyone of us must become the little boy in the third grade class. Our inspiration must never die. We should ALWAYS have the flu. Just so we can be contagious.

-Teja

Home

No matter where we go, no matter what we do... There is absolutely no way to forget where we are from. It's impossible to forget home. Yet, people manage to get as far away from their culture as possible. Simply to fit in next to someone else. It may take a while for people to realize that we're all different.. but it takes people even longer to realize that we're all the same. No matter where you go, you are you, and will always be you. There is nothing you can do to avoid it. The moment you've forgotten your home is the moment you've forgotten your very existence. Because your home is your mother. Without her, you do not exist.

- Teja

P.S for a friend who was lost, i hope i found you :)

Memory

Every time we get something in life, we have no choice but to accept the fact that some day, we won't have it anymore. Years later, when we think about it; we can't do anything except want it back. It is true that we will always want those things that we don't have, but it's also true that we will always want those things we once had. The most important thing is not to forget them. There's nothing more precious in this world than a memory. Memories are remarkable. Patrially because we'll always have something to want in our lives. Partially because it's beautiful to think of them. Mostly because we'll never get them back.

- Teja 

Amma

There's nothing more beautiful in this world than a mother's love.  Since the day you were born, she sought nothing except to keep you safe. A mother deserves thanks. Rarely, does she get it. Mom, thank you for raising me with such care that nothing in this world mattered more to you. Thank you mom, for trying EVERYTHING before you said you couldn't do something for me.. Thank you mom, for loving me like no one ever could...thank you mom, for letting me love you without having to say it..and thank you for understanding that. Mom, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you have to go through with me. That only once in a while do I cry in bed because I remember what a beautiful soul you are. And sorry mom, for not having the courage to say this to your face. Because I know that if I do, i'll be on my knees trembling with tears within seconds. And I want you to know that when I tell you that I love you, i'm not just saying it for the heck of it, or out of habit, i'm saying it because it's true. Because I DO love you. And I want you to know that I know that there's nothing as healing as a hug from you. So when I ask you for a hug, maybe I really need one...or maybe I know that you need one.

To all of you who take your mothers for granted, just remember that she went halfway to hell and back.. but never spoke a word of it.. because she saw you as nothing but her greatest treasure. Remember that she is NOTHING less that YOUR greatest treasure, and that YOU are nothing without her love. 

-Teja 

First Day of High School

WOOOOOW!!! Ok, I thought middle school meant freedom, high school is like all-out 'you're by yourself'! It is REALLY scary, yet really fun. I can't wait to have a meaning to all the time I spend again. Yet, i'm kind of scared to know that i'm again in a state where everyone knows what's going on.. but us 'bottom of the food chain' kids are still stuck... well, life will work it's way out... it always does. I suppose it's only a matter of time.

-Teja

The Part That Doesn't Matter

Sometimes, the most beautiful part of something isn't on the outside. Whether it be someone's heart, or somethings technology. The most beautiful part of something is not what it is, but rather what it's made of. The kindness of ones heart has no end if it doesn't want to. Neither does the creativity of ones mind. If both were put to use, the world opens up to a galaxy of possibilities. If only we had the heart and mind to do something for someone else..asking for nothing but the happiness in their eyes in return. If only humanity were a concept more widely accepted as a reason for doing something... poverty isn't a mystery, but together, maybe we can make it history. Every child that works to feed their siblings, and every mother that works to feed her children is beautiful too.. but all we see is the outside. The part that doesn't matter.

- Teja