Veeksha's Vibes

There are some unusual titles in this list. While following it, I also made some rules for myself so that I don't get discouraged to stop reading them. The most important of them being to read in no specific order, to give myself an illusion of choice, because we all know being forced to do something never allows us to enjoy the activity. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell My dad read this book and recommended me to read it when I was older. Blink goes through the thought process of untrained minds and almost trains the reader as the book progresses. I tried reading it when I was 11 and put it away due to the sheer complexity. I'm pretty sure this book will have a lasting impact on me, so this is the one I'll try to read the earliest to benefit the most. The Little P rince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry After having taken French for 4 years, I think it is very disappointing that I haven't read the most notable French novel. I watched the movie...

The sun beaming on me brightly Sweat running down my face Deep emerald grass offering some relief And the trees offering more My calves slightly aching  And an endless energy coming from my chest My mind is floating  And so am I Ignoring the limits of my body Feels like I rise 10 feet effortlessly with every jump Agility is peaking One more round and we’ll call it No, I meant two Let's do another The disk flies to me, and I miss the catch Finally breaking the tie in the other team’s favor We lost, but it’s the happiest moment for everyone The highlight of their day Free from the disappointment losing brings  True sportsmanship Derived from friendship I write poems mostly for myself, and this poem brings back special memories mostly for me since only I can understand every part of the environment. I tried to bring out the timeless feeling that comes when we are spending time with friends and the out-of-body experience that comes with prolonged physical exertion and someh...

I know poetry is supposed to be abstract and leave room for unique interpretations, but those are what I fear the most. What if I get it wrong? What if I wrongly interpret the one thing the poet spent countless hours contemplating and make the poem go to waste? Is it the poet's fault for not being specific enough, or mine for not looking deeper? It might just be a personal problem, even while I'm daydreaming, I try not to contemplate philosophical questions which I know for sure can't have answers because, like the poems, they will only lead to more and more contemplating and result in mental strain. The only time however when I try to contemplate a poem is when I find something I disagree about. Now that I think about it, the best work I write is when I don't agree with someone/something. Take for example this poem I wrote in eighth grade as a response to Robert Frost. (please don't judge, it was almost 4 years ago) Rocks  (I had to meet the word count for the assi...

Getting through this year has been quite challenging, to say the least. I found myself burnt out most of the time, but I wouldn't describe it as "senioritis." My motivation and focus were constantly disturbed by questions such as "why am I doing all this for" and "what is the point of me being here?" At many points in the year, I lost all motivation as well and it was a struggle to get back into the flow. I also had many more opportunities to reflect on the kind of person I am because of college apps, and I have concluded... that I still have no idea what I am. So I'll start with my goal: I want to find a sense of purpose before I graduate. There are so many things that interest me and a lot of things I am good at, it seems like there is a platter of opportunity laid in front of me with so many good choices that it's left me overwhelmed (by platter I'm not talking about college majors or acceptances). In order to know which one is the best ...

          Zoya from Playing Metal Gear V and Meursault from The Stranger have very different ways of dealing with their problems. However, the coping mechanisms they use to do so are very similar. Zoya’s coping mechanism of sublimation and denial results negatively for his conscience while those exact mechanisms result positively for Meursault’s conscience. The two different outcomes show how much other conditions can affect someone’s conscience despite doing the same actions. Coping mechanisms are methods the human mind uses to decrease stress. If you are stressed, anxious, or mad about something, you may throw things across the room or express your emotions by painting or writing. You might even choose to block out your stress by completely ignoring the fact that it exists, which, creates more underlying stress for most people. The coping mechanisms mentioned in this analysis are sublimation, and denial. One thing to note about coping mechanisms is tha...

  I'll start by saying this movie is a masterpiece and this scene brings out more anxiety than my worst nightmares.  Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite directors, and his use of POV in this scene was done beautifully. The camera starts with a bird's eye of Cooper's ship and the crew, showing the sheer size and emptiness of Miller's Planet. It makes the crew seem insignificant and fragile even when they could be the only reason humanity survives the dying Earth. The camera doesn't even show the horizon, signaling that there is something coming but doesn't make it certain. This starts the building of tension. The next shot is still facing away from the horizon keeping the uncertainty for a bit longer. Switching to Cooper's POV, showing a peaceful horizon while a minor tone in the music causes sensory disagreement. It makes the viewer wonder, "Everything looks fine, but why doesn't it sound fine?” Anne Hathaway finally comments about the "mou...