When I was smaller, my problems were also small. Or it seems meager now but at that time it was a situation of life and death (figuratively). That'd be me with close to no problems in life yet looking like she has many For example, my problems were that I was too skinny, that my cheeseball packet got finished, that I lost a game of snakes and ladders (or any game in general), that I had to eat my not-so-favorite food. And on the contrary, my happiness lied in small things as well, like getting a new packet of cheeseballs, or getting a big chocolate bar, or winning a card game, or getting French fries or Maggi for dinner. When I look back to those I remember how big of a drama queen I was and how such small problems bothered me. Most of my childhood pics are with me making an angry face (Reason varying). Although those were some pretty big issues for a 5-year-old. Gradually the problems got tougher. During school, my problems were getting not-so-good scores on an exam which was ne...

To start with, I forgot to mention the GOOD news in the last blog. We crossed 5000+ All-time views on these blogs after 25 blogs. Yayy!! I am really grateful for this and so happy! I never thought these blogs will ever be such an important part of my life but now I can feel that these are growing into something more big and meaningful for me. So, thank you all of you who always took out time to read and comment on my blogs. I love you all💓 Having said that, let me start today's blog.  Being an experienced stationery-lover, the only thing I find exciting in a new academic semester is to start using new books and pens. Going all out on stationeries. Throughout the academic year, I crave vacations and when they finally arrive I crave using the stationery and new books. It's a never-ending cycle!! (My first blog was literally about  Vacations!!??..  ) Today, I woke up at around 7:20 (which is pretty early for me). I gave myself a pep talk and tried to lure myself to wake up ...

My bed (and Butterscotch the giraffe) My table an hour after we got them (These pics were clicked before I decorated my room) From tomorrow, my 3rd year is going to start! (*cries silently*). I feel old, to be honest.  I still remember my first day in college or may I say campus. I was so nervous, my stomach was churning and I felt like puking all the time (Don't worry, I didn't). New faces. Huge campus. I had no idea how I was going to survive alone without my parents!   PS: Except for school trips, I never went to live at any place new. I cried on both the school trips too on the first day itself. (Let's not make fun of me about that, please!)  Everything felt new. And the biggest change which came was the hostel life - living with friends 24x7 and the fact that I have my own room. In the starting days, I didn't like my room - there was nothing wrong with it. I used to be in my behena's room all the time or would invite them over. But I never stayed alone. Not gon...

Actually, I was not going to post a blog today as I had no tea to give you all. But how can a day pass without any calamity when you have Marshmallow with you? Without any further adieu, I'm gonna come to a point. Do you guys remember when  Oreo discovered a hole ? Well, Marshmallow somewhat pulled that sort of scare on us today!! The entire day Marshie (also, loving this cute nickname you all gave him) did his usual things including eating (slippers and actual edible food), sleeping, running here and there with no reason at all.  Then around our usual dinner time aka 8:45, I as per our daily routine searched for Marshie to put him out of my room which usually has lots of wires laying around. I searched everywhere for this fellow - below my bed, behind my cupboard, in the forbidden room (aka big momma and big papa's room), even the hole which Oreo went into - but couldn't find him. Frantically, I ran downstairs to tell mum that Marshmallow is nowhere to be found. To be note...

A few days back I dug these bands out from my childhood treasure.  PS: I wasn't that popular kid. These are collected over years. From the past few days, a thought has been lingering in my mind. The thought goes like this - Those who are one of my closest were once a stranger to me. If I think of my college friends right now, their existence was unbeknownst to me when in school, I had no idea that a person called ABC is living in XYZ state, planning to give the same JEE Advanced exam as I was, getting admission into the same IIT as I was. And this is a very specific example, if you think of it every single person who I know now has been a stranger to me at one point in time, even our own parents. When we opened our eyes, our parents might have seemed an alien to us, who knows, right? We grow fond of them over time. Also, I'm not saying that only time determines the strength of the bond.  There might have been a time I've hesitated to talk to them thinking they are strangers...

To start with, I'm now better. Turns out 2nd dose spared me from its effects. The only defective piece in my body currently is my left hand. But it'll get better with time. So no worries. Also, I wanted to thank all those of you who texted me such beautiful 'take care' messages. I really felt blessed getting them. Moving on to today's blog, if you don't know I'm a single child -  so like a normal single child, I got (still get) all the attention and love from the family (scoldings too). Seeing my cousins fight on petty things and grabbing each other's hairs, I felt blessed I didn't have any siblings. But also seeing them having each other's back made me want to have one.  When I was young, I always switched between 2 moods - "Why don't I have a brother or sister?" to "I'm fine with my toys and teddy bears." And I always made sure that my parents know my choice of whether I want to have a brother or sister so that they ...

Today I was supposed to get a second dose of vaccination and I was dreading to fell ill - you can guess the first dose didn't go well with me. So, I stepped out as soon as I could and went to the nearest center. Now, this dumb mind forgot that today is Wednesday and in Ahmedabad, vaccination centers are closed on Wednesday and Sunday. So, I went there and got disappointed. Now, I thought if I'm out now, I should use this time. And I went to Riverfront. This is the reason why I love living in Ahmedabad, my house is soo close to the river. Although it stinks sometimes, the view is just amazing and so calming. And for all the Amdavadis, if you want to enjoy the riverfront without all the crowd - go at 11 am. It was so quiet and beautiful. Many who know me, know that I'm a Thalassophile and a Hyrodphile in general - so any water body makes me really happy. Although there were some cute couples clicking each other's solos and then selfies - it was good watching them. Some we...

Pardon my photography skills :(                                                     Do you sometimes feel that life is a series of good and bad days and nothing else? Like driving on a hilly road where turns are unprecedented and all you can do is drive. Enjoy the views on a clear road but hold the wheel tighter when the road gets bumpy. Today was an enjoying-the-view sort of a day for me. Today's mood can be described as halcyon, coz I felt calm. Not saying, I was without any work but you know some days you just feel inner peace even with an overflowing to-do list. When you just know that all will be good and that you'll be fine and will make out of your turmoil. I seriously have no definite reason why I was feeling this way but I rather not think of that and just enjoy the day. I woke up around my usual but late time coz it was supposed to be my last day of...

Now I don't know about you guys but I am one of those who hides her face or closes her eyes in an attempt to avoid seeing the dreary faces of the ghosts. But I'm also that person who sneaks a little from this hiding and catches a snap of that face and gets nightmares later. Be it Annabelle's ugly doll or Conjuring's nun (VALAK), I have had nightmares about literally every horror character or movie I've watched. Many times I'm the lead too. One of the repeating nightmares is that the garden in my house is overflowing with snakes - anacondas in particular. These dreams particularly happened after I watched every single Anaconda movie out there. When I was young, watching horror movies was a perfect excuse to sleep with ma and papa. Psst...I still use this tactic hehe. Anyhoo, to survive those horror movies here are my weird ways: 1) Have snacks for distraction. Trust me a packet of chips or a bowl of popcorn is the best way to distract yourself from that ugly face...

The Team of Arowa Webtech Now, I know many will think it’s no biggie to write about but for me it is and firsts never come again. This blog might not be for anyone else but me. For the future Zeba to read so that she knows how her first experience in the professional world was and how she has grown ever since. (Although right now I’m feeling super-duper professional maybe future Zeba might have different views). So, let’s start from the beginning, shall we?   This started back in the month of February 2021, when one day Ma was seeing the WhatsApp statuses and came across this poster saying the opening of internships as a Creative Content writer. She passed that onto me to look at. Now, having no idea what Content Writing is, but having a little knowledge of writing (from writing blogs only), I sent in my resume with practically nothing noticeable in it. And to be noted I tried before too, to apply for an internship in the same field but didn’t get much success with it. I had no ide...

That's me - before puberty hit me and my mom - pretty as always :) Puberty hit me good! My mom still the same :') The context behind this very special blog is because it's my Mum's birthday today (PS: You can wish her in the comments below). And to do something special for her I decided to write things that she has taught me knowingly and unknowingly. I think that the most special feeling for anyone would be that they have made an impact, an influence on someone. That feeling is just more than money or love. It's a feeling of respect, and how the days you've talked has to lead to that breakthrough. And being my mom, she knows me for 19 years now (and 19 days, but not my point). I have mentioned her and my dad in many of my blogs but they both have taught me so much more. So, here are the 5 things I learned from my Ma: 1. Hustle as much as you can when you are young - this will ensure a comfortable life later! Now, I know this contradicts the point of 'Life i...

The TGT Team - just before the performance   If you remember, I told in my blog '1st Sem in a Nutshell!', that I'm a part of the dance club of IITJ. And as another year has passed at IITJ and with the time being so bad. I want to capture every moment and memory in my life. And the dance aka The Groove Theory at IITJ has been one of the very big and the most fun part of my fresher year. So, here it goes! For starters, the seniors! Because of them, my first year has been so memorable. All the hectic dance practices were fun because of them only. Their jokes, their bond, and the random dance session - boy, I am going to miss all of that so so much. Not to forget, my Nanu is from the dance club, so that was another really good way of getting to know him. Not the real-life one. The Amma-Bapu system, remember? And the number of parties we got from them! Whenever we used to be in the canteen, and if they were there, then they had to give us a party.  During the last month ...