Top Ten: What I am Thankful For

I made a top ten what I'm thankful for list two years ago in December, and I decided to do it once again. When is a better time to feel gratitude.. Thanksgiving Day? ;) Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

1. AHS Marching Band
I am thankful for my high school's marching band because there are really sweet, diligent and hardworking people in this band. It never stops amazing me how hardworking these people are, in everything they do (marching, attending rehearsals all the time, maintaining their grades.) Also, this band is kinda like my second family. I mean, it is not like everyone in the marching band is my bestie, but we stick together all the time, through the bad and good times.

2. DSLR Camera
I love taking photos and capturing memories.... and the DSLR camera makes every scene pretty, so whenever I look at the beautiful photos it captures, I smile.

3. Heartfelt Notes/Letters (whether it be thank you notes, happy birthday cards, school yearbook signatures, etc.)
I love receiving and reading long letters because I never get tired of reading the same genuine one over and over again. Also, I feel relevant and special...

4. Fuzzy Socks
Fuzzy socks are cozy and I love the feeling of extra warm feet.

5. Documentaries
Some documentaries are actually pretty fast-paced, and after I finish watching a documentary, I feel accomplished, for some odd reason.

6. My Kathak Dance Teacher, Pragya Aunty....
I like Kathak dance for its fun spins/fast feet and elegance, and I feel happy that I have learned it, and I would not have learned this dance without the guidance of my teacher :)

7. My Mom
My mom gives me so much love, and so many things! She gives me food on the table, warm hugs, and she is always there when I need her. She never hesitates with helping me with anything, and she always puts me before herself.

8. My Close Friends
My friends are so understanding. They listen to my ramblings, even the weird ones; they understand that I need to get my words out, and most of them know me so well. Their jokes and comments make me crack up, and my life is 100 times brighter with them around.

9. Getting Lost in a Good Book w/ Hot Chocolate -(that is so good that reading 3 hours of it feels like 15 minutes of reading)

10. Role Models
Instead of getting frustrated by the people that are smarter than me, more detail-oriented than me, more determined than me, more athletic than me, etc. , I admire them. I use them as a source of motivation to work harder and try my absolute 110%, so that I can be regret-free, happier, and prouder of myself. :))

15 November 2015: My Enjoyable Experience at Stanford University

I wish I brought my camera because the Stanford campus was so beautiful! Tall, shady trees with golden and purple colored leaves adorned the field. The weather was lovely as the sun was out, but the air was breezy... It was actually raining heavily, early morning. I visited the Stanford campus today, Sunday, November 15, 2015 for an engineering class field trip. It was an engineering event for only girls. The purpose of this field trip was to promote engineering for girls in what would otherwise be a male-dominated career choice, and I must say I learned quite a lot from the experience. We received information about college and STEM jobs from successful Stanford grad and undergraduate students. Most of them were dressed very professional and businesslike, and one woman even started several start-ups in the Silicon Valley. To be honest, before attending this field trip, like many other common people, I thought that engineering was boring. However, after talking with educated female engineers, my outlook on engineering changed completely. I am still not completely sure if I want to pursue the engineering career pathway, but I found engineering to be interesting. I mean, there are so many diverse fields to explore: biomedical, mechanical, civil, computer science, etc. These fields impact the world positively. Approximately a decade ago, Columbia Business School performed a research study, in which they requested students to assess the feats listed on the resume of a fake "Howard Roizen (male)." At the end, the students called Heidi Roizen "more selfish and less desirable" than Howard. Nevertheless, Heidi and "Howard's" resume were exactly the same. Sexism is a major conflict in the Silicon Valley itself. Also, studies have shown that women in engineering make a third less than men. Women engineers are very courageous and diligent; they have overcome many biased stereotypes saying what women should and should not be. Also, they have probably been one of the only women in their engineering college classes. For that, I applaud these women for bringing a new face to the future of engineering, and for doing their own thing, despite outside barriers or stereotypes. The women engineers that talked to our group of high school freshman told us that they were remembered as the only female in the class, and they obviously deserve to be remembered, because of their open, highly enriched minds.