Weird New Year Resolutions-A Weird Competition

"Being "weird" by the norm of normal society is a work of art. Stay weird, wonderful souls." 

– Unknown

We’re all artists then, eh? 

The Blogging Society gives you the chance to reveal the weirdo in you. Feel free to tell  us the weirdest resolution for the year 2013, and if you’re weird enough, you may just be one of the lucky winners to receive a weird prize courtesy of the Blog. Oh, and let’s not forget, you will even be published on the blog with your resolution of weirdness.

Never has the word weird been used this many times in 4 lines. So here’s to weird December. :D

And a weirder 2013. :D

Send in your entries at pafianblog@gmail.com latest by 15th January 2013.

Get writing!
Happy Holidays.
And a very Happy New Year :)

Life and Times Of A Superhero (Part II)

.... continuation of Life and Times Of A Superhero (Part I)

Writer:
Khushhal Nadir Hadi

PhD in having the most likes on FB comments.
A2S2

Typer (Yes, the story was too long to be typed by a single person):

Abdul Sattar

Member of The Student Blog Team.

Recap: The much superhero-ish eleven year old was on his 'Grocery Adventure' as he encountered a tall towering shadow on his way back.

The bully looked down at me, and I saw the moon. Or so I thought, till I figured that the moon had less bumps and cracks. With beady eyes, a sausage of a nose (bright red by the way. I wondered why?) and an ugly, huge mouth. He sure wasn't in a hurry to win any beauty pageant very soon. Then he began to speak... and I roared out laughing!

“You ruin me clothes? You blind? Rat?” he squeaked in a shrill two year old girl’s voice, while I laughed so hard that I fell and started wallowing in the mess Einstein had “caused” on the foot path. I was writhing around so hard that I failed to notice The Bully’s hand clamped upon my shoulder until I started rising in the air.

“Ouch! That hurts, squeaky!” I chortled, still not aware of the “evil” I had roused. The Bully lifted me till we were eye to eye, my feet dangling about two feet off the ground.

My hands tremble while drawing his sinister-ness.
But I bet he was more horror-ific then this!

“You know what; I always wanted to see the world from up here. It looks so…fascinating.” I said, uncertainty creeping into my voice for the first time,” thank you for giving such an amazing opportunity. But I’m sort of a land animal, so could you…? I looked at his dinner plate of a hand clamped on my delicate shoulder and nodded meaningfully.

“Rat think he be funny? Where will you go now, ho?” sneered the bully revealing teeth which would have given a dentist nightmares for weeks (If he was lucky, that is). And giving me another whiff of that sour bean odour. Geez, talk about bad breath, I thought (It wasn’t his fault. No mouth freshener could cleanse that abyss.)

“Me thinks ratty needs a three-way lesson. For spoiling my clothes. For poking my nose. And for being funny. Me will give him good makeover, HEHE” he winked. And what a nasty wink that was. I was wholly and truly terrified by now.

“M...m...makeover? That sounds interesting, but I have really got to go. You could give me a business card or something? We’ll hook up then?” I stammered, still trying to project a fake bravado.Unfortunately, the Bully’s sausage (nose) picked up the scent of fear like a bloodhound. A huge and ugly blood hound. (The meanest bloodhound you could think off, times infinity)

“Hohoho!” he laughed, tilting his head back like…Mandark? But even Mandark isn’t that EVIL, I thought (He even cute, A definite prince ling. But then who doesn’t look one when your standard bars are set so low?). “That ‘nuff rat. Let us... co… com” he started raining dandruff (and what was that a beetle?)

“Come to a peaceful solution?” I suggested hopefully, “Comedy? Comfort each other? How about a hug and… OUCH!”

The Bully had apparently had enough. He squeezed my shoulder like a lemon and raised his other fist. What followed is best described as: “BANG! POW! BAM! OWW! AAAIEE! MUMMMYY!”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My mother opens the door on the third doorbell, prepared to launch into a tirade on how one press of the doorbell button is healthy and blah. One look at me and she freezes, her mouth drops open as she holds me.

"How do bou bike by new book" I ask, striking a pose and pouting my swollen lips.
“What... On... Earth?” stuttereded my mother, clearly flabbergasted.
“A bakeover. By dose is dow in right blace. Don’t bou agree?” I grin, showing two gaping holes in my mouth. The mere sight, jolts my mother into action as she fusses over me like all moms do, and takes me inside. Upon hearing the story, she actually scolds me for being a smarty pants.

A broken nose, two missing teeth, a black eye, a ripped shirt with holes that now read “NERD”, and a twisted handle-bar with three wheels; essentially the ingredients of The Bully’s makeover and the best part was that he did it for free too. You silly women, paying thousands for these make-overs, thought my eleven year old brain. Maybe I should have taken The Bully's business card, I see the potential in him for greatness!

I shall remain the sarcastic and witty self that I am.

Nevertheless, I now see why The Bully did what he did. Oh, boy was I an annoying little git! But, dear diary, give me another chance, and I would probably do my best at getting another brutal “makeover.” If that’s the price for being sarcastic and optimistic, so be it. And don’t try going to the blue-neighbor-with-a-red-sky, or whatever it was, it will be as waste of time. The Bully only serves the warriors of true irony!

-Your Supreme Owner,

Khushhal

P.S. Yes, I knew a lot of “stuff” when I was eleven, and it was probably the time when I started developing a sense of humor (of sorts)

P.P.S. This story is PURELY fictional. I have NEVER been beaten up in real life!

Just to make things clearer :D

Note: All the doodle images are yet another attempt at comics of Lubaina Ehsan. :p

Forever Alone... Not Any More

Usman Khan 

A2S5

If you're in a situation where you only have a couple of friends, if any, and those friends mostly bore you, ignore you or make fun of you, if you rarely have meaningful interactions with others and you spend most of your free time alone, then you need not only to enhance your social life, but to fix.

Because it is broken. And this is likely affecting your emotional state, your overall life satisfaction, and your productivity.

Fortunately, no matter how damaged your social life is, you can always repair it. Here's how:

1. Get Some Hobbies

One of the best ways I know to meet new people is by taking on various hobbies that put you around people or involve social interaction. And meeting new people is a prerequisite for fixing your social life.

2. Be Social

By putting yourself in environments where there are other people, you're making the first crucial step. But it's not sufficient.

You want to also take the initiative, introduce yourself to others and chat with them. Standing by yourself in a corner and waiting for others will usually not do it. It's important to be social yourself.

If you're somewhat hesitant to talk to strangers, bear in mind they're probably as eager to meet new people as you are. I can tell you from experience that, especially in the context of a class or a party or an event, most people are quite friendly and open to being approached.

3. Make New Interactions Happen

With some people you will connect more than with others. It is with these people you connect with the best that I encourage you to keep in touch.

You can rely on just meeting over and over again by having the same hobby, but what if one of you eventually quits it? It's just not a good option.

A much better idea is to exchange contact details with the people you get along well with, and then get in touch with them and generate future interactions.

For example, give them a phone call and ask them to meet you for a Drink or a coffee or ice cream or something. That's the most straightforward way to build a relationship.

4. Be Genuine

If when you interact with others, you put on a façade in order to please them, they will usually realize this, sooner or later.

And while they may appreciate the fact you want to please them that much, they will also see you as fake and untrustworthy, which makes it hard for your relationship to develop. A strong relationship requires trust. This is why being genuine is a must for fixing your social life.

Simple words are better words.

*Drum roll*

Meet our Fourth Guest Writer, Mw Waqas, from DHA Suffa University, folks!

The Student Blog met him at ROTMUN 2012, he was there as an ACD of SPECPOL and soon agreed to write for the blog. This guest writer is not only an active MUN-er and a Public Speaker but also the President of Seminar and Exhibition Society and the Vice President of Entertainment and Events Society at his university. Talk about a busy bee!

Even then, Waqas took out and spun an excellent write-up filled with humor and an important lesson that we'd all agree to agree with.


One lazy Sunday afternoon as I was passing time watching YouTube videos, I stumbled upon a
video called “World championship of public speaking 2012” an event organized by Toastmasters
International (the leading organization in public speaking and leadership development). As I watched
what were probably some of the best speeches I have heard in my life, I noticed one thing common
in them, all of the speeches had almost NO fancy or high end words used them, they were all very
simply phrased that even a 4th grader could easily understand them. I already knew the reason why
the speakers had chosen such simple vocabulary, and as I thought a little more about this issue, it
became clear to me … that Simple words are BETTER words.

Imagine if in the movie Dark Knight the joker had said “Why severely austere?” instead of saying
his famous dialogue “why so serious?” Would it had made the same impression and captivated
the audience in the same way? Or imagine if the lyrics of Carly Rae jepsen’s hit single went like
this “imaginably divulge with me” instead of being “call me maybe” would it still be smashing hit song
of the year? And would you be singing it? Probably NOT.

The fact is that simple words leave a more lasting impression and make a deeper impact on ALL of us,
be it an average joe person or a highly intellectual son of an Einstein. And the reason for this is not
our vocabulary skills but actually our human psychology.

A human brain has the tendency to respond, remember and process those things faster which it is
more familiar with (I.e which are repeated more often) that is why if you play a game again and again
you become an expert in it and that is why you are able to remember a stranger’s name clearly if they
have a common name like Anam or Amir etc. Similarly simple words that we frequently use in our
daily lives are easily processed and understood by the brain and create a lasting impression.

To make an impression or to make a point … that is the question

Here is the dilemma that we must face while making our choice of words, yes it is true that using long
and fancy words make us look smarter and more intellectual but as discussed above but they will be
understood less making what you are saying not as clear. So you have to make a choice whether you
want to make an impression on the audience or get your point across.

Thus we can say that level of understanding of the audience is inversely proportional to the level of Vocabulary used.

However there is a time and place for using fancy, high vocabulary words, such as when you are
writing an essay, attempting your English exam or writing a formal report these are the situations
that require you to show off your intellect and the level of vocabulary that you posses.

But when you are writing an article, composing a song, making a speech or just arguing with your
friends In short ANY communication activity in which your objective is to make yourself be heard and
to get your point across always remember Simple words are BETTER words.

Left Unfinished

Ayesha Zubairi
Vice President
Blogging Society

Dear unfinished book,

It's been long since I last held you. I thought I'd get through with you. I thought, for once, I had grown up to be responsible enough. I thought I had learned to be better. I thought I'd get through with you.

I'm writing you this letter to let you know I have not forgotten the melancholy and adrenalin we shared.  I have not forgotten my obsession either. Neither have I forgotten the tear drops I left you with and how you still marks of those tears. Nor the smiles we exchanged. I don't expect you to know the feeling of leaving something behind unfinished. I don't think I can explain that feeling. I don't think you'll understand.

You should know, just last week, I decided to make friends with poetry. And then I sat there for an hour trying to write a poem, all I could come up with on my notebook were lines and swirls.

You should also know when I say I'm busy, doesn't mean I'm trying to get rid of you. It just means I'm busy. I don't even have enough time to shower twice a day anymore. There's so much going on. Monotony is life now. But I'm writing you this letter anyway. Because you need to know I have not forgotten you, and I never will. And someday, I promise, someday, I will come back.

Dear unfinished book. This letter is left unfinished in your honour.

Love,
A.

Waiting

A story of love, sacrifice, and regrets.

This was written by our very own Lubaina Ehsan for Blogging From A to Z April Challenge. 
"It's about something that typically happens in Pakistan as the youngsters shift to the cities or go abroad to pursue higher education, leaving their parents behing." 

The mud-bricked homes set as close as Lego pieces, illuminated by the full moon, it was a quiet tribe in interior Sindh, known for its date supplies to the city of Karachi. A short owl hoot could be heard in the stillness of the night, a sudden chirp of the crickets breaking through the quiet that engulfed the area, one could see stray dogs roaming in the fields surrounding the living quarters as everybody slept soundlessly. At that moment, it did not matter to him what place or time it was, he did not notice the fireflies in the bush next to him where he stood, all that mattered to him was the money he was clutching tightly in his fists. His earning for the month after working at the tribal elder’s home as a cook, this money was the concluding piece to the mighty tower of sending his son to the city for his studies.

His son was the only one he could call is own, his sole support. He lost his wife and two daughters in the flood that hit their tribe’s village two years ago in the year 2010. Now, his son was old enough to fend for himself in the city of Karachi and pay his tuitions for pursuing his Bachelors from a renowned University in Karachi. He was glad that they had a college and school near by where his son had completed his intermediate education and he had to part with him not sooner than the coming week. Now, he had the money to pay for the fares of his son’s travel and his initial accommodation and semester fee. The thought of seeing the light of his eyes all settled comfortably in Karachi and calling in his father who has always wanted to experience city life made the man smile as he pulled aside the curtains to his entrance and stepped in. His son will soon hear the good news.

“I’ll let you know the specifics for the seminar by tomorrow, only the timings have to be sorted out”, I answer my assistant over the phone as I speed towards my bungalow situated in a comfortable town of Karachi. As I park the car in the porch I can see Hassan, my two-year old son, peeking out the window. It’s his birthday today and he knows that his dad will come home with presents. I pull out the wrapped boxes from the trunk of the car and enter my home. “Daddy!” cries Hassan as he jumps at the sight of all the gifts. A suddenly nostalgia grips me; Hassan’s happiness reflects my joy as father had entered home with the money to send me to Karachi eleven years ago and I probably have the same special smile that father had that night. His smiles were mainly lost after mother, Aliya and Aisha passed away. He must be really alone these days. I make a mental note to plan a visit to the village pretty soon, I take out my cell phone to call father but just then my wife calls me in the kitchen to finalize the guest list for Hassan’s birthday party. Call to father can wait.

It has been eleven years now, he lays on his bed which is creaking even beneath his light weight staring blankly at the only frame on the wall which has his family’s picture. He pulls up his blanket as a chilly wind blows in the room, he has to get up and make tea to soothe his shivering self but he feels devoid of all energy. Due to his old age he can’t work at the fields anymore, he still works as a cook; a job he had taken up years ago to get the financial backup for getting Ali settled in the city. He knows Ali will visit one day and call him to stay at Karachi, it’s just that his son is caught up with all the work these days. The bulb in the room throws dark shadows across the walls, light falls on the telephone at his bedside just as it rings, he picks up the phone from the cradle with shivering hands and recognizes the voice on the other end. “Abbu* jaan, it’s me Ali” tears roll down the old man’s cheeks, he is listening to Ali’s voice after three months now. “Abbu are you there? I’ll be visiting you tomorrow with my wife and little Hassan. Hassan wants to meet his grandfather” the old man smiles. He has found bliss.

I have cancelled my meetings in the coming week, I need to visit my tribe’s village that I took to going only once in the past eleven years. I just got a call from our tribal elder, it was sad news. It’s funny how one realizes the importance of something only when one has lost it. I lost my father last night. Yes, I lost the man who had brought me up and made sure I was living a good life while he had to face the hardships of an elderly life without the support of his family at the village. He died with a blanket in the hot night of June. He was down with pneumonia since a week now, the medicines given to him by the tribal elder remained sealed in his cupboard. He had the phone’s receiver in his hand as he passed away, even though I was told that the phone lines of the village were dead since the past two weeks. I wish I had called him to live with me in the city. I wish.

Euthanasia, A Valid Option?

Aamna A. Rajput

A1C1

When is it okay to appeal for Euthanasia? Well anytime but when you are alive!

Euthanasia, what is it? A fancy word for an attempt at suicide because you are too chicken to face what life throws at you! I may be going berserk with my critical viewpoint-but that’s how I see it, for me euthanasia is NEVER an option and I don’t recognize it!

The topic at hand questions us that whether a person, agonized in pain, is worthy of demanding death? And if yes then who can object to his appeal? Now to answer these we must ponder o the rights that every human holds. We are very well aware, that a person’s sovereignty and his right to survive, dominates all, this clearly shows that life is a blessing and putting an end to it, intentionally, is violating human rights!

And now let’s talk about suicide. Considered forbidden in most parts of the world and strongly discouraged by every institution; suicide is a coward’s paradise, for it’s not a solution to his problems but an escape from them. And thus it is never a valid option-not in a perfectly healthy state, not on your dead bed!

But why do I so strongly condemn euthanasia? It’s because people in pain fail to realize God’s plan for them. They are blinded by their misery and do not see that although being on their dead bed they breathe because their goal in life is not yet achieved! This means God wants you to live. Because, trust me, if He wishes to end your life, He has better options than mercy killing!

And then I argue on the planet that pain is not enough! It is very bizarre of me to make such an accusation without having to experience such misery myself-but I believe in the Quran, and in it God, Himself, clearly states, ‘We do not burden you with, which you can’t bear… ’ #ChapterBaqarah, this means that yes the pain might be so very great and agonizing but is still not ‘insufferable’ or else God would have lifted it.

Moreover, a person must not be allowed to make such a decision because he is not in the rightful state of his mind. You see, human body is very charismatic. It coordinates with your mind when the conscious and sub conscious minds work in harmony and send unified signals. Now when a person in pain demands death, it is his conscious mind speaking because he wants immediate freedom from the suffering. But then why does his body do not respond to the appeal? If the mind wants the heart to stop beating why does it do otherwise?  It is because, somewhere back in the sub conscious mind the body hopes to survive and live on and thus it refuses to die out on its own! Thus if the mind demands a shut out but the body doesn’t, euthanasia is out of the question!

But people argue, when is it okay to give on hope?-well, NEVER! ‘We have nothing, if not belief’-Reepicheep (The chronicles of Narnia-VDT). Yes, the world lives on hope and if we do not believe that tomorrow would bring sunshine, well I suppose then we should all assemble and jump off a cliff for life ceases to exist when hope does!

Moving on, you can’t really measure pain, can you? Lets say you allow a cancer patient apply for euthanasia because his pain is too much for him and in return a woman in labor demands the same right because her pain is no less! See, we can not allow people the right at mercy killing or we might face a suicidal apocalypse! We don’t want that now do we?
So basically, lets just all leave the matters of life and death in the hands of nature, and not try to play God because He knows what’s better for us than we ever could!

'These little medical instruments are all it takes to end one's life'

'An example of why people practice euthanasia'

'An opinion held by many'

 
 

Same same, But Different!

Name: Ariba Shahid
Class: A1C4

Same Same, But Different

NO Dicrimination! We are all the same.

I don't even know if I'm black with white stripes or white with black stripes

I'm a human that's all I need to know to survive.

'Cause distinguishing through races isn't going to teach me how to strive,

'Cause that's just not the way to live your life.

We're all one, same species, same kind.

Just 'cause we look different doesn't mean we should find

Flaws in each other, just to mess around with minds.

We're from the same species we're of the same kind.

These racist freaks must be real insecure,

But what can we do about them, there is no cure

For the madness stuck inside their heads,

Cause progress is what they most dread.

Haters will hate everything different.

Son now you got to be different to make a statement

To show them you aren't scared of freaking establishment

Of norms these insecure freaks spent their life's making.

We're from the same parents, Adam and Eve.

Why don't we get along.

How can we watch someone bleed?

Why do we have to hate, what's the need?

Can't we forget the differences and pay no heed

To them, the world would be much better - I believe

We breathe the same air, don't we?

We need the same things - water, shelter, food and a warm bed.

We ain't different, that better get stuck in your head.

Cause the moment it does we will head

To success, equality and peace,

Cause peace is all we really need!

We're all one, same species, same kind.

Just cause we look different doesn't mean we should find

Flaws in each other, just to mess around with minds.

We're from the same species we're of the same kind.

Journey At Chapter

Poet:
Ali Asgher Makati
Deputy Head Boy
A2S2

JOURNEY

It is a short journey, whichever way you see,

The happiness of today seems so vague and light to me,

These faces so elated with jokes and laughs around,

Will only have these bricked walls as witness when there is none around!

All these spirited faces, that feel so lively now..

Will be here even rarely with time running around.

Soon we'll abode to other places, leaving this home of ours,

To start another journey that's scripted to be our destiny..

And now soon enough we'll leave,

back packed of memories to which we'll weep.

its just around the corner,the time when we'll call it a day,

However badly we would want too, we wouldn't be able to stay.

But among-st what we we'd take with us

will be the intangible love,

the sagacity of books along with the exuberance of triumphs,

The smiles and cries together with all retards we call our friends,

And a 'bond' so strong that even-

these words wouldn't comprehend.

But we still have so much at hand,

so cherish it while you can,

live it up! do not misspend,

you beautiful chapter please, please do not end. :')

Chapter: How it is when we're there :)
Photo Credits: Syed Zohaib Ahmed

Chapter: How it is without us </3
Photo Credits: Moaaz Sidat

What Defines Our Relationship With Others

Usman Khan
A2S5



We as a human beings are a social creatures. We can hardly
survive on our own for long time. Especially when we are born,
we need a lot of care and love to grow and survive.


There is usually a naturally strong bond between mother and
child formed as they meet in this lifetime. We would not make
it very far if we tried to survive without the help of another grown
up person. That's our first relationship, right there. Mother & Child.




 
















As we grow up, we are most likely going to expand this
relationship into broader areas. Firstly wider family and later on
into community, and perhaps into the worlds as we travel and
meet others on the journey through life.

In respect of the relation to people, we gather our beliefs and
values very early in life, some say within the first 7-10 years of
childhood. Once we have formed our belief structure, we became
a little bit like bionic robots, rehearsing and reactivating the
beliefs that are interwoven in our mind.

Provided we had a good, loving relationship with our mother and
even father, we would have a sound base from which to look out
for our own relationships. However, if there were some issues
between parents and the child, there could be an almost permanent
scar affecting our own love issues.

Once we outgrow the security of our childhood, we start to
intuitively look around and seek a partner to share our own life.
Whether it's a natural selection or instinct or so-called physical
attraction, that is at work in the early stages of our relationship
evolution, we are usually firstly drawn to people who somewhat
resemble our internal ideal formed early on in life.

 That ideal can, and usually does, change through any testing period in our life.

Journey Of A Coin

Kiran Bhimani
A1-C2

I was sitting still, not even daring to breathe, my heart was pounding at such a speed that it seemed like the entire place was jumping along to the beat. It was dark, suffocating and very cold. I knew that this was the worst place fate can take a five rupee coin; Yes, the cash register.

On my left there were worthless, useless and pathetic one rupee coins. No one respected them. They were usually found lying on the streets left to be baked by the sun. On my right were the condescending bills, and not just any bills, one thousand rupee bills. I used to be a bill myself a year ago until one of my stupid masters had my soul transferred into this coin. Oh, what a painful transition that was! I still shiver just by the thought of it. Suddenly I felt being pulled by the neck and was placed in somewhere dark but the walls over there were silky and made of cloth, different from the metallic cash register. Oh I knew it, I was being put into a pocket. The smell of sweat and mint was indeed disgusting. God knows how I had survived that turmoil. I thought about the good old times when people really respected me. I had value. In fact, not long ago in the 1700s, I was worth 1 ounce of gold. Maharajas and all those Mughal descendents loved me. They gave me away as gifts to their fellow kings and queens. Those were the days. That day is still so fresh in my mind when Tipu Sultan died. I was offered as a monthly compensation to his offspring! Yes, although I am the same today, but my value has been stolen from me and I've been left with nothing more than the ability to buy a pack of biscuit.

Ouch! A jerk just pulled me out of my thoughts. The man had started walking. I was flying around in this stuffed room like a tennis ball. Clink! I hit one of the keys. My sides were burning like fire. I couldn't tolerate that pain. It was like the time someone tore me apart back when I was a bill. Still moving and bumping into the walls, I examined my wound, there were two deep scratches on my tail, right between the star and moon. The movement stopped all of a sudden. I felt myself elevating. Woah! I had never felt like this, my stomach was in my mouth! It was a funny but great feeling. I giggled to myself. "I wouldn't be too happy" said a deep, husky voice. Startled, I looked around. I thought I was alone here. "W-who's there?" I said with a shaky voice. "Up here" replied the voice. I looked up, deep inside the wallet where I saw the corner of a brown bill. Oh, a twenty I thought with excitement. But then I saw, I saw a 5 printed on it! Oh my God, A five thousand rupee bill? Talking to me? A worthless five rupee coin? I felt honored. Never in my life had I met a five grand bill. Nervous and dumbstruck, I managed to say "I do not understand".

"What I mean is, the master is going to start the motorcycle any second now, so you better hold on."
He was right, that very second I felt my self go up and down in a sudden movement. That was the kick, and we were off again. Flying, flying faster than the wind. The wind hitting against me. So strong it was that I had to hold on to the pocket to make sure I didn't fall. "You fools!" I cried out desperately. "You idiots, I was worth 2.5 dollars in 1965, I was of great importance! I-"
"Cut the stupid lecture will you? No one's interested!"

That was a voice I could've recognized even in my sleep. It was a 100 bill. I detested him ever since we met in a small red purse. I will never forget how arrogant he was and how he had insulted me in front of the American quarter I loved.

"Be quiet. Can't you see how devastated I am? Don't act so cool and think you're the most desirable, one day even you shall depreciate. Even your time will come!" I retorted with a smirk. Just then I felt a sharp jolt and out I flew, falling lower and lower at last I hit the ground. It took me a while to become still as I shivered for ten whole seconds.

Horns honking, smoke polluting the air, the ground as hot as a fry pan and I was being fried. This was even worse than what the one rupee coins had to suffer.

Minutes, hours, days, weeks, months had passed but I did not feel anything. I was laying in the hot sun being run over by tires. It wasn't painful, sort of like a massage really.
Across the street I saw some women sitting on a rug with children. One of the ladies noticed me and ran to pick me up. She covered me with both her hands and smiled. Then she hugged me and put me inside her wallet where lived a few one rupee coins.

For the first time I felt loved and wanted by my master. But the warm feeling was too short as only a second later I heard a loud horn and a deafening scream. I was on the ground covered in blood.
It was then when I realized how dangerous my kind is. I was wrong. I'm not a servant, but a master. 

Because of me, a poor old lady had died. 

10 easy peasy ways to feel better.

Maryam Aftab has been blogging on Overwhelming confessions since she was a preteen. She also writes for KarachiTips' blog, was nominated for Pakistan Blog Awards 2011, and has won various other awards in the blogging community by fellow bloggers. She's currently doing her Martic from St. Joesph's Convent.
Now, that I've introduced out Guest Writer and only some of her achievements, she's written all us Pafians something to help us through our midterms.

These tips can easily get you from petulant to perky, trust me on that.

Maryam Aftab: Little miss sunshine.

1. EAT WELL:Eating well is very essential for mental and physical growth so be kind to yourself and take proper diet. Neither eat too much nor too less. It will improve everything from your moods to your skin.

2. GET ENOUGH SLEEP:
Every body and spirit needs its required amount of rest. Lack of sleep can be the cause of all the lousiness and crankiness so give yourself a break and sleep well.

3. LOVE YOUR BODY:
Own your body and take care of it in the best way you can. It will definitely make you feel good. You may not know it, but you are fearfully and wonderfully made. Embrace yourself.

4. TREAT OTHERS WELL:
How we treat others says a lot about how we feel about ourselves. It also controls how others feel and treat us. So, be nice.

5. KNOW YOUR LIMITS:
We all have got certain limits and you should refrain from ignoring them. You might not realize that now, but your limits are for your own benefit.

6. LOVE FULLY:
Don’t let your past hurt or control you. When you open your heart and love fully, you allow others to come in and love you back in a deeper way. Live and love.

7. DITCH THE FRENEMIES:
It’s best to ditch the people in your life who consistently bring you down. Do a favor to yourself, get rid of everyone who makes you feel unwell. Sometimes it may not be possible to remove these people from your life completely, but put as much distance between you and them as possible and never let their opinion affect you in any manner.

8. EMBRACE THE DIFFERENCES:
We all are different and we need to embrace ourselves full-heartedly. It can be the difference of height, weight, skin tone, eye color, hair texture, sense of humor or anything but that shouldn't make you feel unparalleled in the crowd. Never end up comparing yourself to others and become a victim of self pity.

9. DREAM BIG:
Don’t ever stop dreaming. Always embrace new hopes and wants for the future. Maybe, it might lead you to turn your imaginations into realities.

10. APPRECIATE YOUR LIFE:
Many people around you don't share the same rights as you do and you lead a way better life than many which you should be proud of. Be thankful and rejoice. Celebrate every tiny victory and don't miss any chance of cherishing your life. Show gratitude for whatever you have.

IF YOU’RE SHY

USMAN KHAN [A2S5]

Say no to shy

Learning how to stop being shy, whether it’s around girls, guys or people in
general could be one of the most important things you’ll learn in your entire
life.

Once you understand how to stop being shy, you can become more
confident, connect with others better and have and enormous amount of fun
in social settings. As a Social Adviser, I’ve been able to observe repeatedly
how learning this can turn a person’s life around.

There is a lot of advice out there on how to stop being shy. Regrettably,
most of it comes from people who don’t have a real comprehension of the
psychology of shyness, and it’s too naive or vague to actually do anything
for you.

I want to provide you the advice that truly works. So I’m going to point out
the four crucial actions that if you take, will truly allow you to stop being so
shy.

1. Stop Being Shy By Being More Social

Shy people typically get this the other way around. Many social settings
make them feel anxious, so they try to find ways to get rid of this social
anxiety from home, so they can then be more social.

But the trick is that to a large degree, you get rid of the anxiety by being
more social.

Even if social settings make you nervous, you get into them anyway instead
of avoiding them. Even if being more talkative is challenging for you, you
push yourself to talk more anyway.

You deliberately do the things you fear. And as you do so, you gain social
experience and you gradually become more accustomed to engaging in
social interactions. Thus, your shyness dwindles away.

If you find it too hard to push against the anxiety and be more outgoing,
you simply have to find social opportunities where it’s easier to do so. Start
with those and gradually move up. This is a key idea concerning how to stop
being shy.

2. Catch Your Distorted Thinking

Working with shy people, I’ve noticed that without exception, they have
a way of seeing themselves and seeing social interactions that is largely
inaccurate.

For instance, they may see themselves as uninteresting when this is clearly
not the case, or they may think others are making fun of them in a social
setting although there is little evidence to support this notion.

When talking about how to stop being shy, I always emphasize how
important it is to identify this inaccurate thinking.

Doing so achieves two things. First, it gives you more motivation to go out,
face your fears and be social, because you know your fears are not rational.
Second, it enables you to correct the flaws in your thinking. This leads me to
my next point…

3. Put Your Thinking Straight

I often like to refer to shyness as a mental bug. You’re thinking is bugged:
it generates distorted predictions and interpretations, which creates
nervousness. And you need to debug your mind.

Once you know what’s inaccurate in your thinking, you can start to practice
thinking in a new, more constructive way.

You can begin to see your qualities, not just your flaws, see the things you
do right, not just the things you do wrong, and not make a big deal out of
doing something silly in front of others once in a while. As you practice this
new type of thinking, it gradually replaces the old type and it builds your
social confidence.

4. Keep Walking

The last but possibly the most valuable thing to realize is that once you
know how to stop being shy, it’s not enough. It’s the implementation that
yields results.

I’ve seen many people turn from shy to social: young and old, guys and
girls. What they all have in common is that they found a method for
overcoming shyness that works and they applied it consistently for at least a
couple of months.

And through this continuous application over a period of time, they
effectively reprogrammed their thinking, feelings and behavior. This is what
enabled them to be more outgoing, make friends and fully enjoy social
interactions.

I can’t stress enough how important it is to keep walking; to apply the
knowledge consistently.

One of the most common mistakes shy people make is that they give up
too soon, often when the results just started to show and their confidence is
close to taking off. And this is precisely what keeps them stuck.

Learn, apply, persist and be willing to invest in yourself. This is the recipe
for the utmost success in overcoming your shyness. There is a big, beautiful
world out there, with lots of cool people in it. And they’re all waiting for
you.

Love and Beyond

Written by: Hiba Anis ( A1 - G1 )

               
And don’t we all want it? Irrespective of our ages or rather level of maturity we never stop craving for

it. Maybe it’s a learned or acquired behavior, for how can it not be? In my last 26 years, 80 out of 100

movies I have seen have been on this subject, 70% of all that I have read (and when I state that

percentage I include my course books as well) have been written on it. In fact, correct me if you feel I am

exaggerating but 60% literature that exists in this world would be on this. I have been listening to the

sometimes inspirational, sometimes heart wrenching and sometime puke inducing stories of my friends

and acquaintances since maybe when I was 16 and it has been a whole decade now. If you haven’t

guessed by now, of course I speak of the most sacred or pseudo sacred and most talked about emotion

LOVE! You enter into a book store, a quarter of it is dedicated to Romance novels, you enter a gift

shop, you can hardly find anything that doesn’t have curvy hearts drawn on it, the most predominant

flowers you will find at the florist are the red roses. Pick up a show or a movie from any genre they

cannot help but insert the element of romance in it (even shows like Bones and X-files and Heroes).

The question is that is it really all that or grossly over rated like Swiss chocolates. And I don’t think I will

ever get even close to getting an answer to that. Love exists in so many different forms and degrees

because it subsists in the heart of a lover. And although heart is an organ, which appears seemingly

identical but is more distinct than we can imagine, giving love a different meaning and different

interpretation. For someone who carries his heart on his sleeve would use the word so loosely, he or she

would fall in love many times even during the day ranging from his school teacher to his favorite

celebrity, the guy she met at a friend’s house, the waitress he saw at the coffee shop. As opposed to this

genre of people, the other one who falls on the other end of the continuum elevating its status and

making it seem almost venerable, emphatically believing that it can only happen once in a life time. And

sometimes holding onto that belief so stringently that they don’t realize that they are denying

themselves of something good, and in the process they end up isolating their hearts and lives.

And then there are some of us who spend most of our lives ridiculing the whole idea, layering our hearts

with walls of cynicism and indifference, mocking the lovers, rolling our eyes and outwardly displaying a

false superiority, clearly demonstrating disgust for such sentimental behavior of others, declaring

ourselves above it. And inwardly very small part in our hearts (sometimes so negligibly small that even

we cannot detect its presence) feels envious. Our fake contempt is many a times only a facade.

Love by nature is strange. It makes us behave in obscure, complicated and unfathomable ways. Volumes

can be written on so many different and yet very strong emotions that stems from it, paradoxically

hatred is also one of them, others are jealousy, fierce loyalty, obsession etc but what I personally

find most amusing is the effect it has on the lovers. The most articulate, sophisticated and self assured

ones of us, who are capable of supreme indifference, glib conversations and suave flirtatiousness, find

ourselves annoyingly incomprehensible, gauche and out of interesting and timely anecdotes when faced

with the object of our affections. We end up fumbling for words, stuttering, saying incredibly and

unforgivably stupid things. Had I not experienced it myself, I would have found it heartening and

curiously appealing that how significantly humbling the affect of love is. How someone can actually have

that power and influence to exert on us (except that the recipient is most of the time oblivious to

Godsend influence) that no one else has. It makes us do things which totally contradict with who we

actually are. It makes us check our mailboxes after every one hour, we keep a close track of our missed

calls, and our eyes scan the screen of our cell phones unconsciously and intermittently during work,

watching TV, having coffee with friends and sometimes even when we wake up in the middle of the

night to have water. And anyone who reads it would probably roll his eyes at sheer exaggeration but I

know to some extent we all do that, maybe in varying degrees.

Anyways requited love is much simpler. It is the unrequited which is lethal and with serious

repercussions. And sometimes it is just the thrill of the chase. We elevate people and put them on

pedestals, believing they are far above the humanity and blindly chase them, and so it happens, the

more you run after something the more it runs away from you. Now at this point some of us actually

have the sense to stop and put a halt to our insane self construed obsession but some of us thrilled by

the challenge continue to chase, either from lack of foresight or a surplus of optimism. And it is only

when at the end of the chase you remain empty handed it dawns on you that you wore yourself out for

a lost cause. No more pumped by the adrenaline, the severity of the situation hits you, leaving you

exhausted and bitter.

Many a times its important to stop and rationalize, no matter how liberating and tempting spontaneity

is, for the well being of our hearts we should exert some impulse control. However, as I say it I feel like a

hypocrite as it is much easier said than done. Love has varying affect on different people. Just like it

makes some of us vulnerable likewise it sometimes make some fearless. We do things we thought we

were incapable of doing and despite all the odds we allow our hearts to be exposed despite knowing

that there is a good chance of getting it trampled and bruised. Now the most interesting thing is the

correlation of love with our egos. We may claim ourselves to be so proud and egotistical and yet love

bends us to our knees, for the two of them cannot coexist., if you want one you have to relinquish the

other, now it all depends on you how smartly you choose between the two.

It is amusing to witness how love elevates the status of ordinary to extraordinary, for only a lover can

see the perfection in his loved one, conveniently overlooking the flaws. Similarly, an extraordinary

person could just be worthless, for no matter how hard he struggles to get someone to love him he fails.

I wish there were formulae but there are none, only a person in love alone, can know what he sees. And

sometimes people can try as hard as they can to reach to that level of perfection, to fit in that mould to

customize himself to the other person and yet all his efforts fall short. Just like Rhett Butler, it was so

obvious that no one suited Scarlett O'Hara more than Rhett Butler. It was so obvious to everyone except

to her. And he left no stone unturned, loving her with an incomprehensible intensity and yet failing to

solicit any response from her. And some are more simplistic in their love, who actually make this

emotion worth falling for, they uncomplicate things, instead of twisting them into knots they resolve

issues like Elizabeth Bennett. And then there exists a love so dark and bitter, so contemptuous and yet

so passionate like that of Heathcliff, which destroys everyone and everything that comes in his way.

I have written so much and yet I am nowhere close to finishing for like I said volumes can be written on

this, as love exists in as many forms as the number of people there are in this world. Some of us

obstinately believe that love exists in a specific form or shape not knowing that it is actually amorphous,

it takes whatever shape you want it to take. Many of us might be in love right now, not knowing that we

have been inflicted, many of us could have love staring right in the eye and yet we are choosing to look

elsewhere, and some of the more unfortunate ones of us can only yearn for it from a distance, for we

don’t know how to love we can only write long stories and inane analysis on it because the truth is that

the more we feel we know what love is the less we actually know it, as love is perhaps about letting go

of your inhibitions, putting your guard down, opening your heart and taking the plunge.

Source: Internet

 Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offense and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins, but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes.” 

- Nichols Sparks, A Walk to Remember