ABC Challenge #18 : R for Rambling

A rich kid :

“Oh man, this burger is so cold. Why doesn't mom understand that I always like to have my food hot!”

A poor kid:

“God, please give me something to eat. Even if it is a week old. I just want something to eat”

*** 

An indifferent student:

“Why does this teacher keep taking classes every other day. Can’t she let us free for a day?”

A passionate student :

“I wish I had a teacher to teach me all this. I’m so interested in learning but there is no one around to teach me.”

 ***

A person who wants to end his life :

“This life is horrible. I am going to end my life”

A person who has met with an accident and is about to die:

“God, How I wish I had a chance to live my life, again”

 ***

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ABC Challenge #17: Q for Quitting

Yes, I'm back to my challenge. Too many things that required my time and attention were up, so I had to steer away from the challenge and make room for them. And now I'm heading back to where I started. :-)

The world is very tough on people who choose to quit. They say winners don’t quit and quitters don’t win. But I beg to differ.

Image Courtesy : Google Images

It is true that we wouldn't know if we’re good at something, unless we attempt it in the first place. Quitting even before trying doesn't make much sense. But sometimes we should know when to wrap up things for good.

At TEDx, as a Speaker!

One fine Saturday, just like any other normal human being, I was out there, checking my mails, for the usual stuff. And then this subject, caught my attention.

To : Ashwini C N

Subject : Invitation to speak at TEDx@RSPuram on May 25 at Taj Coimbatore 

During my speech, about 'What Blogging has taught me about Life' 

The minute I understood what exactly I was getting myself into, my happiness knew no bounds. It was just an out-of-the-world feeling. I can hardly describe in words the emotions that ran through me at that point of time. I was so happy that if someone had asked me to get them a truck load of Ice creams, I would have happily obliged. At that point, nothing mattered much to me, than to tell it to my family and watch their reaction and excitement.

ABC Challenge #16: P for Priorities

As unique as we all are, our priorities are all different.It's as simple as that. Still some people fail to understand this simple logic.

Image Courtesy : FreeDigitalPhotos

When I was young I always imagined myself working in a very hectic atmosphere, running around here and there for getting things done. I did not particularly wish for it, but somehow God answered my prayers even before I could tell him and that dream came true. For the past few months, I had to put up with a very tough time at work. Meeting deadlines, facing eleventh hour challenges. Though it demanded my nerve and soul, I kind of enjoyed working in that hectic pace. I had to make a lot of sacrifices. I had to skip meals, I had to talk less over the phone with my family, I spent less time at home, I had to work during the weekends.I spent less time sleeping and I hardly spent time doing anything that I usually would have done.

So, when one is subjected to such a routine for almost 4 months, priorities do change.

ABC Challenge #15 :O for Opinion

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Everybody has an opinion on something. Earlier people never expressed their opinion unless they were asked about it, since there was no particular medium available for everyone. Thanks to the advent of the Social media, these days it is easier for people to express their thoughts and make it known to the world. Well there is nothing to blame about here. People have a right to express their opinion(or that is what I think).

But the problem is when people give their opinion about something and others try to justify why a particular person’s opinion was wrong.

For instance let’s say Michael reads a book and he decides to review it in his blog. He would naturally write about how he felt the story was and whether the book was worth reading. That is fine. Let’s say Michael gives a positive review for the book, but another guy Lincoln did not like the book and has a different opinion. Upon reading Michael’s blog, if he expresses his opinion and leaves, that is fine. But when he gets to the task of arguing with Michael with the sole aim of trying to point out that he was wrong, that’s when things take a bad turn.

This One’s For Me.

I had to write this.

How would it feel to be standing at the place you’ve dreamed of? How would it be to stand there without having to owe anyone anything except perhaps your Mom? How would it  feel to have accomplished something all by yourself, through sheer hard work and perseverance without an iota of luck? How would it feel to have climbed all the rungs in the ladder, all by yourself without having to even bother asking others for a favour? How would it feel to stand there and bask in the light of success and realize that you’ve accomplished a feat, and that you alone the reason for it to happen?

Out of this world, I tell you.

Yes, I’m exactly in the position I’ve described above. It took me days, months and years to get to where I’m standing now. To accomplish something and to get recognized for it without taking help is indeed a tough job. The results might not be instant. But after years of patiently waiting for things to unfold the way you wished they would, that feeling , just to be standing there, is simply ecstatic.

ABC Challenge #14: N for Name

From Ashwini C N to Ashwini Cuppu.

So I am back to telling you guys more about my name. If you haven’t read the story of my name yet, please read it here (The Story of myName).

My dear sister, chose my name. She decided that I would be Ashwini. My parents decided that I would be C.N.Ashwini. N stands for my dad’s name and C is my Grandfather’s great grandafather’s name. In short, our family name.  At school, they took it upon themselves to rename me Ashwini C.N, since they felt the need to put the initials after the name. I did not have a problem with that. In fact I use that name everywhere, Ashwini C.N

So, what was my problem? The problem was that no one used to call me by my name. At home, Dad has his own pet name for me. Mom has her own pet name for me. As for my sister, the way she calls me would vary, depending on whether I managed to irritate her beyond her tolerable limits. So the name would keep varying. The rest of the family, call me  by my common pet name.  College friends  call me’ Ash’.  While talking to me in person,  they might use my full name, but while messaging and chatting it’s always Ash.

Oh, Excuse Me Please!

It is believed that we learn a lot from observing things around us rather than just reading about it. A practical experience is hard to forget and sometimes it gets etched deeply in our memories that it has a significant impact on the way we grow up.

Many of us are into the habit of giving excuses for everything under the sun. We look at people giving excuses and getting away with it (most of the time). Seeing people do this day in and day out, we get drawn towards it,involuntarily . Initially we might stammer and stutter, but with practice we would master the art of giving excuses. I happened to read somewhere that the very process of trying to think up of a story to cover up the mess, makes children creative. Absolute rubbish I would say. It’s things like these which gives others a false sense of being right.

To read more on this, kindly click here. Yes, My article has been published in GingerChai :-). Do let me know your thoughts.

(This article was originally written by me and published in Ginger Chai)

6 years and counting.....!

It totally slipped my mind. 

I had too many things loaded on my plate. I had to walk on a tightrope and balance the heavy plate on one hand. It was too much. It was taking a toll on my health and my mind.One day, out of the blue , it dawned on me that this April, I would have been blogging for 6 years. Yes, you read that right. 6 years. 6 wonderful years . As cliched as it might sound, I felt it that it was just the other day that I was writing a letter to my blog for having completed 5 years. Time flies. Indeed.

This year has very special to me and my blog. My blog and I have come a long way. We grew together , made mistakes together and learnt from them together.Initially I thought I should probably write what others would like to read, then I realized, I should probably stick to my ground and write for myself first, and write what my heart tells me to. My blog has been a wonderful parent. It does all the hard work, but when appreciation comes pouring, it redirects everything to me. When criticism comes by, it takes the responsibility and stands defending me, blindly. I owe so much to my blog. It has carved an identity for me. I can now call myself a Blogger and be proud of it. Thanks to my blog.

ABC Challenge #13 : M for Monica

You remember Monica? Of course, she is not someone one would forget. You either know her or you don’t know her. So for all those who know her, you would know what I mean when I say I tend to be a Monica at times.

Image Courtesy : Google Images

I prefer things to be clean. But I am not overly obsessed with pen caps lying away from the pens and magazines lying here and there. My mom takes care of all that. Sometimes I act as though I’m possessed, as if Monica has taken over me. I go on a cleaning spree and mercilessly trash everything that I think I don’t need.