Peshawar Bombings

What message are you trying to send by blowing up fellow Muslims? You want to be recognized by the Western world as a distinct entity. But you refuse to unite amongst yourselves. What's the point? How can you expect anyone to respect you if you don't any have any coherent objective and plan? You're just causing chaos and throwing those who are actually striving for peace into the shadows of questionability.

It's time to get your act together. Take care of the children - raise them to be future leaders and thinkers, not to blow themselves up. Don't hide your women, let them explore what they can really be and contribute positively to the world. Create peace amongst yourselves, and then try talking with the rest of the civilized world.

Oh and another thing...

Please don't close Guantanamo bay. Where will we put them?! We've got enough problems in this country.

Today's quote: Just enjoy the ride. Don't try to make something out of nothing, or else the ride will make you nauseous.

The Middle East - make it work.

People in the middle east are fighting for their way of life. There is so much pride, so much anger. They view their way of life as correct, just as the western world claims their view of the world is correct. Who is to say they're wrong? The only time it becomes wrong is when they take their ideologies and try to impose it upon other societies. But honestly, what can we say to them? What can we DO? No one has tried just listening, instead of wheeling and dealing and trying to gain something. Get to the root of the problem - why all this anger? And when you find out, don't build a wall like in Palestine. They will blow it up. Understand your fellow man for a change. And don't go to the middle east, talk to a few people, and say you have made progress, Obama. That is arrogant. You need to take the time to LISTEN to everything. Don't bomb them, and don't pass them off. LISTEN. They have much to say. All they want is an audience.

The Case for Arranged Marriage

disclaimer: This came to me in the middle of the night, I don't know why. Up until this point I had been against arranged marriage.

Love is the most sought-after commodity on this planet. Romance is the most common practice when trying to attain love. Yet, why is there so much heartbreak and divorce in this world? For two people so enamored and wild about each other, the next step, naturally, is marriage, correct? Then why does it so often end in pieces?

Well, let’s look at the definition of marriage. The joining of two people. With what intention? To be together for the rest of their lives. Another purpose of marriage is to begin a family. It begins with the couple, and continues to produce children and grandchildren. Some marriages do not produce children, but since we are a species of this earth, we must reproduce somehow.

In more traditionally-minded societies, such as those in India, marriage is principally designed with the intent of raising children. Why do these arranged marriages have a lower divorce rate than the rest?

When a man and a woman, two strangers, are joined in marriage, there are no expectations of love. They have been married by their parents, with the intent of raising a good family and carrying on a good family name. They start with nothing – they know absolutely nothing about each others’ personalities.

In a more Western marriage, two people who are affectionate for each other marry. Sometimes this is a product of lust, sometimes of convenience, sometimes it really truly is love. Most of us can’t tell. The principle focus of the marriage is the love between the man and the wife, whether it already exists or not. There are high expectations between a husband and wife, with any small deviation leading to hostility. Rarely ever do a man and wife still love each other the same amount or even more than when they first got married. The traumas of midlife crises, raising children, and economics often drive a couple apart, which is why divorce attorneys are never out of work.

In an arranged marriage, however, since no standards have been set for love, it only has the potential to grow . No expectations exist; therefore, none can be broken, and no fighting occurs. Raising children cannot separate them, because that was their purpose in getting married – to raise children to the best of their abilities. They pour all their love into their children, because that is all that they really have. The two develop an appreciation and respect for each other over time, and a friendship that cannot be broken, because they have this one common goal that unites them. Since both of their efforts are concentrated into perfecting their children, the children are not traumatized by fighting and divorce, and therefore turn out to be happier people.

This is the purest form of love – between an unbroken family. Romance comes and goes, but the love that is built upon through years of hard work is the most satisfying love a person can experience. One cannot just expect this from life – they have to strive for it. It is not easy, but it is worth it.

WE MADE IT!!!!

It's official: The Masters of the Tools are in round two of NEDC!!!!


Oh, crap. Now we actually have to build this thing.

JETS NEDC

Ok. So every year, I do this JETS T-E-A-M-S thing where we take a team to NJIT and solve problem sets relating to real life. Which I absolutely enjoy. But when I heard about JETS' NEDC competition, where kids actually get the opportunity to build something to help out others, I jumped on it. I got a team adviser, and signed lots of kids on.

I had no idea what I was taking on.

It's only been a couple of weeks, and already I've learned so much. Here's what I got so far:

1. Engineering isn't only math. There is actual talking and communication going on that refers to real-life problems that people have. It actually helps to have good writing and speaking skills.

2. Not all teachers will yell at you if you zoom down the hallway in a swivel chair (see video). Especially if he's the head of the Physics department.

3. Drawing skills are not necessary to design things. Boxes and stick figures are awesome.

4. Sleep is overrated. Especially when you're researching something amazing.

5. Coffee is good.

Yup, that's it. I also learned that in this competition, there is little room for error. Your design has to be almost perfect, because there is very little time to build it before the deadline. It's certainly a large task, but I think "The Masters of the Tools" (our team name) can handle it. I mean really. Can you travel that fast on a swivel chair?

First Blog Post

So yay. Here's my first blog post. I'm Shantini, I like to talk. I love violas, winter, music, rain, reading, and being an overall dork.

Recently, my newest obsession has been with getting into college. I know I can get into a lot of places, but it's not the many that I care about. It's the few where I have very little chance of getting in.

One in particular - MIT.

I've wanted to go there, no joke, since I was five. Why? Because I've never been able to find people who love learning as much as I do. It's a very lonely place to be. I've managed to find a group of amazing friends who have a lot in common with me, but for once, I need to be somewhere where people understand exactly why I'll wake up at 3 AM just because I had a great idea of how to solve a math problem, and need to write it down.

So, MIT is my dream school. Isn't that what MIT is all about? Learning for the sake of learning, and applying it to the real world? Well that's the place for me.

One problem though - the SAT.

I never got along well with standardized tests. And now it's come back to bite me.

Ah well. Who knows? Maybe I have something else that can compensate for sucky scores and a less-than-4.5 (who gets that?) GPA.

I certainly hope so.