Life of a Short Indian Girl

Would you believe after years of going to the gym, I still haven't perfected the art of being a cool, suave gym gal? Honestly, after year 11 and  year 12   of embarrassing gym incidences, nothing really surprises me anymore (and I guess I haven't really changed that much ha ha). But anyway, here goes this years new and improved ways to embarrass myself.... Insanity is one of my favourite classes. If you haven't heard of it, it's a max interval training workout. Normally it's bodyweight only, so when the instructor told us to get a bar and put a minimum of 5kg on each end, I was a bit confused. But I did it anyway, and even added extra weight thinking 'I've done this class loads of times, I've got this'. Whilst I was putting the weights on, this woman came up to me and said 'Well you're brave aren't you!'. I laughed it off, thinking it'd be fine. I was wrong. The warm-up had already tired me out, and when we subsequently had t...

Remember in secondary school when teachers made you say a 'fun fact' about yourself as an ice-breaker? Well, mine was always that I could quote any F.R.I.E.N.D.S episode. So when I managed to get Friends Fest tickets this year you can imagine how hyped I was!  It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I've been waiting for this day for years. We went to the Friends Fest in Kenington Park, London but there are locations all over the UK. The doors opened at 12 and we had a set tour at  pretty much as soon as we arrived. The set tour was probably my favourite part of the whole thing! It was 30 minutes long, with 10 minutes in each of Joey and Chandler's, Ross' and Rachel and Monica's apartments which felt surreal. I was amazed at how much detail they had put into the sets - they even filled up Joey's fridge with take away boxes. I loved seeing all the original props (including Phoebe's guitar and my personal favourite Pat the Dog). T...

Anyone seen those iconic igloos along Tower Bridge on instagram? They are just idyllic, but super hard to get a hold of. I tried multiple times during the year to get one- thank fully, I was third time lucky! The igloos are placed along the river during the autumn/winter and paradise pods are there during the summer. I was SO hyped for this, and it definitely didn't disappoint. The igloos are for a maximum for 8 people- if you book for less than 6 people you share one. There were 6 of us so we got a whole one to ourselves. We won with the timing as well- 7-9pm, so we saw the views in daylight, sunset and at night. The view was amazing throughout, but at sunset was something else! The food and drink wasn't as expensive as I thought, considering the location and the fact that the igloo was free. The food was grill/pizza/pasta- I had a sourdough pizza which was good (not quite franco manca but still) and I got a White Sangria cocktail ( Sauvignon bla...

Unbelievably, I have reached my 20s! When I was younger I thought 20 was so old  and people in their 20s had their lives together  (when I was really young I decided I wanted to be married with kids at 21- HAHAHAHAAHAH),  boy was I wrong!    People say your 20s are the most unstable years, I guess I can see why...you're trying to figure out how to adult, what you're doing in life whilst trying to balance work, relationships, etc.... I already don't like the sound of this. BUT, I'm optimistic for this new decade. So, on a boring train journey back to uni, I've compiled a little list of 20 things for me to do in my 20s: 1. SKY DIVE 2. Go interailing (I know this was totally a year 11/12/13 thing to do, but I never did it) 3. Drive to/in a different country that's not India 4. Learn to code 5. Actually learn to cook something that isn't pasta or a toastie 6. Learn about the stock exchange 7. Be more inventive with my baking (but I...

Am I the only one feeling the January blues right now? I'm in one of those moods where all I want to do is curl up in a beanbag with a cup of tea (I mean, I'm always in the mood for that, but this is a particularly strong desire for it). The cold weather and dark nights have me reflecting over the summer just gone where the weather was nicer (well, only slightly nicer- this is England we're talking about). Reflecting on last summer inevitably has me thinking about the topic of this post.... my first job! Last summer I had 4 months to kill, so I decided to get my first proper job. The application process was long and mostly unsuccessful, but in the end I managed to get a job at a dessert shop. A DREAM JOB, am I right? Well, not totally. I ended up quitting after 2 months.  I think I was just really unlucky with the place I was working at, and in the end I decided it just wasn't worth it (I mean, at minimum wage is it really ever worth it?). But now that I'...

Seeing results day posts filling my social media feeds on Thursday made me so happy but also left me reflecting on my first year of uni (I know I always say this but whyyyyyyy does time go so quickly???? How am I moving into my first house next month????? What are electricity meters????) Overall, it's been  a good year. The start was a bit rocky, but it got so much better. I've compiled a few tips/thoughts, which should be taken with a pinch of salt because everyone's experiences are sooo different 1) ENJOY it- you're never going to be a fresher again, and you're probably never going to have that much free time so make the most of it- go out, get involved in societies, do as much extra curricular stuff as you want, without feeling guilty about giving studies a bit of a backseat.  No one regrets going out and trying something new, even if you don't stick with it, but people do regret doing too much work and not enjoying themselves enough when ...

So almost half the academic year has gone.... ALREADY. This is scarily fast. On a cold and muggy afternoon, I thought it would be fun to reflect on my first term of university. Which is much more fun than revising. First term was a mixed bag- sometimes I was loving it, and others all I wanted to do was drop out and go home (but really, which fresher doesn't have a melt down every once in a while). I mean, we've moved to a new city, with new people, new routines and no guidance!! Talk about being thrown in the deep end. But anyway, there's my emotional paragraph over. Here's some stuff I got up to last term- and a few things from the first few weeks of this term... they were too good not to put in! Seen La Fille Mal Gardée at the Royal Opera House (for £10 as well- if you're studying in London sign up to ROH student and thank me later) Been asked whether I'm part of London Fashion Week whilst wearing a Primark bed sheet wrapped up like a toga Sweet-talked ...

Waheeeey, we made it through freshers whole! Well, almost. Whether you were partying in London like me, or elsewhere, I'm sure we all had some of these thoughts...... 1) Wow, where did my money go? - until the student loans drops, you learn to live on veeery little. We luckily had a lot of free food at freshers events, which I definitely took advantage of! So. much. pizza. It's also a little painful looking at your bank balance after a night out. Our pub crawl was in Hampstead. Ouch. 2) Have I met this person before?? You will probably introduce yourself to someone, only to have them say 'we've already met'..... ah, awkward. You just meet so many people. 3) I'm so nervous - even people who seem confident on the outside are nervous. Of course we are- new city, new people, new EVERYTHING. 4) Damn you, freshers flu - most of us will probably have been struck down by some sort of illness during freshers. Tip, vitamin C tablets! I managed to avoid any real illn...

Is it just me who thinks time has been going SO fast recently? It feels like just yesterday we were complaining about having to knuckle down with our personal statements. I suppose it's good on the one hand because the week doesn't drag so much, but exams and the prospect of university life are getting scarily close. But enough of the heavy, here are some thoughts that most of us have during the week.... Monday: Don't talk to me in the morning, I'm tired. Don't look at my face, I'm tired. Don't expect me to sing a hymn, I'm tired. Especially if it's Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer (come on Mandy, at least give us Shine Jesus Shine).  SO tired.   PLEASE let this be the week I have a free 1&2 so I have time to do that econ essay I should've done over the weekend. Just get me hoooooooome Tuesday: HOW IS IT ONLY TUESDAY? Aah, it's our form assembly today. Now, how many quotes and youtube clips can we play to fill up 20 minutes? Well let...

I have reached adulthood! I can't believe I am 18- as nice as it is, I'm not about this responsibility... I want to be a child again. However, I'm lucky to have had a wonderful 18 years of life so far. But I was thinking about some of the things which I thought I would've done at this point in my life, so I thought I would share them with you! I hope it's more interesting than an account of the presents I got and what my birthday cake looked like (a cup of tea with biscuits, if you were wondering). So here goes, 18 things I feel I should've done by 18.... 1) Had a McDonald's breakfast 2) Watched Lord Of The Rings... o r Star Wars/Star Trek (don't shoot me for putting them in the same category) 3) Watched Elf or Love Actually - next Christmas for sure  4) Travelled First Class, and that's not going to change anytime soon!! Student life here I come  5) Eaten beef - intentionally anyway, who knows what I might have eaten without knowin...

Apologies for not posting anything interesting in a while but, as the post suggests, year 13 is to blame. It's hard to balance A2 work, personal statements, UCAS application, house music rehearsals, EPQ writing, interview prep, entrance exams and extra curriculars - welcome to year 13. But enough whinging... here are the exciting things about year 13 which are nice to focus on when work is piling up and you're in a state of exhaustion (all the time). 1) It's pretty cool being the top of the school. There is a certain authority and sense of power that comes with wearing a gown. Younger years can't be rude to you and are obliged to part as you walk through the corridor ... not that this really happens, but in theory it should. That's definitely how it worked when we were in year 7. 2) There are more aspects of school life you can get involved in, like organising the Sixth Form Lecture and Yearbook. Might not be your cup of tea but I think it's good that y...

During the summer holidays I decided to rejoin the gym, because otherwise I would do zero exercise for a month and a half. But, alas, rejoining the gym gives plenty of opportunities for even more awkward and embarrassing situations. You'd think after having been to the gym last summer I wouldn't experience anymore, but nope,  seeing as embarrassment is my middle name it took no time at all to regain my position of idiot at the gym. After a pretty heavy workout (a.k.a 20 minutes of cardio) I decided to go for a swim to cool down. There was an aqua zumba class in the lane I normally swim in, so I had to go in the designated fast lane. Despite being the slowest swimmer ever, I managed to keep up with the swimmers on my first length. But on the way back there was a man standing right in front of me, completely obstructing my way. I remember thinking 'ummm there's the entire lane free and you've decided to stand right in front of me?' but nevertheless, I swam aroun...

I cannot believe I'm saying this, but I'm half way through sixth form! Year 12 has been the quickest year of my life. It's crazy to think we only have one year of school left before uni and, arguably, real life starts. At the beginning of the year I wrote a post about my expectations vs. the realities of sixth form, but considering I wrote that after a week of being in year 12, it's safe to say I was more naive then and the post definitely needs an update. Although most of what I wrote still stands true, I've thought about and learnt a lot more than just that sixth form get cake days (which I only had about 5 of anyway, the downfall of taking subjects taught in labs)... You begin to wonder how on earth you ever fathomed  queuing  for the canteen, where you actually spent lunch times and break times without the common room to go to and how you managed lessons and exams for 12 whole subjects with zero frees. You don't feel like you should be in sixth ...

Apologies for not posting in weeks (revision took over my life), but exams are finally over so I am back! To celebrate the end of exams, I spent last weekend in London, where I did The Color Run at Wembley Park. I've wanted to do a colour run for aaaages, and this year I finally made to effort to actually sort it out. Looking at many colour run photos gave me high hopes for the actual thing, and I was not disappointed- it was SO much fun (and the weather was perfect). Here are some things you should expect/tips if you do ever do a colour run: 1) WEAR WHITE !!!!!  2) Get there early- there are 20,000 people doing the Wembley run and they let groups of runners start at a time. If you're late and at the back you will end up having to wait AGES to actually start running. 2) Wear sunglasses- it keeps the colour out of your eyes (and the sun). Failing that, keep your eyes closed every time the colour is thrown at you. Also, keep your mouth shut every time you run past the st...

The USP of my room is definitely my wardrobe door, where stuck are most of my tickets for major events that have happened in the last few years. I don't really know where I got the idea from, I just thought my doors looked too boring. Anyway, it would take hours to write about every single one, so I'll just tell you about a few of my favourites.. My ticket to see the Broadway show 'The Glass Menagerie' in New York. We went to see Pippin as well on Halloween (which I thought was a lot better than this one) but it was still a great experience, and it was interesting because there were literally 4 actors in the whole play! This train ticket was for the day I went to dance at Husky Studios. Honestly, I only went because Lukas Mcfarlane was running a class, and he is one of my favourite contemporary dancers. Not only did I get to dance with him which was an amazing experience, HE HUGGED ME TOO!!! My ticket to the cable cars to see the Barcelona sky line....