Dictionary-The Treasure Chest in Our Home
Author: Jase Thomas Jacob
Fork VS Chopsticks!!!
While looking for ideas for blogs, My Mother called me for dinner. We were having Noodles. So, I went to the kitchen to get myself a Fork, while my sister wanted to use Chopsticks. ‘Hmm?’ I thought. ‘Why don’t I write about which is better?, Fork or Chopsticks?’
This thought came to me last year, but today, that idea came to me again. Before I forget about it, (again) let me lay down the Pros and Cons of both.
First up; The Fork!
Pros- 1. One piece
2. Easy to hold
3. Can pierce meats and veggies very well.
4. Comes in many sizes and variations (Color, shape and material)
5. Everyone knows how to use it.
Cons- 1. Is considered as a weapon in many parts of the world.
2. May get hurt using them.
3. No health benefits from forks.
4. Eats more due to fast grabbing.
5. Is not appreciated to use forks in countries like Japan and Korea.
Next up; Chopsticks!
Pros- 1. Easy to use chopsticks to grab things, like rice, peas, tomatoes, etc.
2. Can show off to friends and relatives.
3. It is like exercising your brain and hands when using chopsticks.
4. A good skill to know if travelling to Japan, Korea, China, etc.
5. Because of it’s blunt ends, they are not used for stabbing, which is considered rude in some countries.
Cons- 1. Pretty hard to learn and master using chopsticks.
2. Takes time to finish eating.
3. If you break your fingers, they are really hard to use.
4. Many chopsticks are thrown after use, which is bad.
5. Hard to grip onto round, circular things.
Well, what do you think? Will you change your go-to utensil for Noodles next time? Or would you stick on to your choice?
That is for ‘You’ to choose, and for ‘Me’ to;
EAT NOODLES!!!
Hestia-The Hearth of Olympus
When I say the words ‘Greek gods’, the first thing that may come in your mind are the Olympians. The Olympians are 12 Greek gods and goddesses, from Zeus to Dionysus. But did you know that there are 2 more major gods?
Yes. Though they are not part of the 12, Hades and Hestia were very important deities, maybe even more powerful than Zeus. Okay, you might know Hades, God of the Underworld, Eldest son of Kronos and Rhea, etc. But, have you even heard about Hestia? No? Well here I am to fill you in on the First and Last Olympian.
Hestia was the Greek goddess of the Hearth, Home, Family and Fire. She was the Eldest child of Kronos and Rhea. Unfortunately, her life was not, ‘bright’, I guess? Basically, the day she was born, her father gobbled her up because he missed breakfast. Just kidding! Kronos felt threatened by his infant daughter. So he swallowed her whole, leaving her trapped in the stomach of Mighty Kronos.
Soon, her siblings joined her later, until her younger brother, Zeus saved them by making Kronos vomit them out. DISGUSTING!!!
So, anyway as the first person that was swallowed, she was at the last in line for release. That caused her to be the youngest sibling, according to Zeus. (Wanted to be the King) That is why she is called ‘The First and Last Olympian’.
If I had to talk about her, she was like ‘Fire’. If you treated her well, respected her, gave her offerings and helped people in need, she would be like a campfire, all happy and cozy. But, make her mad and you will be ashes. Gulp*
Moving on, her symbols of Godhood were the hearth, fire and the Donkey. She was the ‘Gentlest’ of the gods, was so kind to leave her throne for Dionysus, the Wine God and had no children as she was a sworn Maiden.
Not many stories were written about Hestia, but I can tell you one thing she would agree with, is that;
Never Underestimate the 'Hearth of Olympus'
Color Blindness
Imagine yourself on a rainy day. How boring. The grey and dull colors makes us sigh. Suddenly, the rain stops. “Finally!”, may be your reaction. Just then, the sun shines yet again to form a beautiful rainbow. The colors are back in the sky and you break into a wide grin.
Color is a very important prospect in our lives. The world is filled with wonderful shades of green, blue, red, yellow, and many more. Unfortunately, while many of us enjoy the colors, some of us don’t.
When is comes to color blindness, it is a inability of seeing some colors than the other. For example, people with Protanopia (red-green color blindness) tend to have an issue with seeing red and green shades of colors.
There are mainly 3 types of color blindness -:
1. Red-green color blindness/Protanopia (Most common)
2. Blue-yellow color blindness/Tritanopia (Less common)
3. Complete color blindness/Monochromacy (Uncommon)
By reading all of this, if you have some difficulty identifying some colors, just test yourself first, then if you are about 75% sure, go to a doctor for genuine tests. If you are 100% sure, (thanks to the doctor), just brush it off.
This may sound as the worst advice you have heard, but you can’t sulk about it. When life turns it’s back on you, you turn your back on it. There is no known cure for color blindness, but there are contact lenses and glasses that help you in your daily life. Moreover, think yourself as a unique guy/girl, having superpowers.
It might be a little hard to identify colors and to enjoy it like the others, but this is your life and your sight. Whatever you see is what others see too, because,
We Are One!!
No Pain, No Gain
Have you ever thought what Benjamin Franklin thought when he flew a kite during thunder, with a metal key tied to it? Everyone thought he was crazy and was going to be hurt, but he knew that if he succeeded, he would have invented electricity.
Like him, there are many other cases where people have to endure pain to gain something. We can’t achieve anything without hardships and struggle. One has to go through some pain to reach the specific target.
Like, if one wants a healthy body, he/she must earn it by going through the pain of the exercise. If one wants to eat, there needs to be some work done in the form of cooking. If one wants to live in luxury, he/she needs to work and earn it.
Success is always achieved when you work towards it, and prayers alone cannot help you make it. Moreover, the things which come in your life without any pain or struggle will go back instantly without giving you the proper benefits.
So everyone should work hard and never lose hope. Otherwise, you will not be able to survive in this world.
Thank You!!
The History of New Year Resolutions
A New Year starts with a New Resolution. As we are coming to the end of 2020,I decided to look into the History of New Year Resolution. So, buckle up! We are going about 4000 years back!
The ancient Babylonians are said to be the 1st people to make resolution during New Years. Back then in Babylon, a year started by mid-March, when crops were planted. During this time, The people choose new kings, repay debts and return borrowed things.
A similar thing was going on in Rome, when Emperor Julius Caesar was king. He established January 1 as the beginning of a New Year. Ancient Romans used to offer sacrifices to Janus, the 2 faced God.
Even the early Christians used to have resolutions. They used to wish to be better than the past year. They also had New Year Eve and watch night services. People would stay till midnight in church to begin the New Year in prayer.
This year, We are not able to celebrate New Year like this, but At least, lets begin 2021 with a fresh resolution!!
Daedalus-An Example of Pride and Fall
“Oh my wings! See my two wings!”
These were probably the last words of Icarus, the son of the proud craftsman, Daedalus.
Wait! You must be thinking,”What is all this story of wings, last words, Icarus?” Well, my friends, let us go back in time to understand the story of wings.
Once upon a time, there lived a proud architect named Daedalus. He was so proud of himself that he pushed his own nephew from his balcony for being a good craftsman like his uncle. He was SO stupidly proud of himself that he thought that with his skills, he was above all Gods. Little did he knew what was in store for him.
One day, King Minos of Crete invited him to his kingdom for a task. The King wanted to build a palace with a very difficult maze (The Labyrinth) under it in which the Minotaur could be imprisoned (The Minotaur was a monster with the head of a bull and a human body).
Daedalus brought his son, Icarus, with him. They lived on Crete until the maze and palace were complete. Daedalus went to the king and told him he wanted to leave the island. Minos was furious. He told Daedalus that he would never leave the island.
Daedalus and his son, Icarus were now trapped on the island.There, his crafty brain worked hard for a way to escape. He decided that he would make wings out of wax and feathers and he and Icarus would fly back to the mainland.
Now, lets take a break. Here, Daedalus is showing his pride. Back in the day, the Gods did not like it when humans tried to act like them by overcoming their mortal limits. In ancient Greek culture, acting like a God was called ‘hubris’, and it was often severely punished. As flying was a ‘Gods Only Right’, Daedalus was a ‘hubris’.
Now, back to the story. Daedalus told Icarus to collect all the feathers he could. The glued them onto two frames with wax. Daedalus and Icarus went to the top of a cliff and strapped on the wings. Before they flew off the mountain, Daedalus warned Icarus of two things, 1. No going near the Sun, and 2. No going near the sea.
They ran towards the edge of the cliff and flapped their wings. They flew! Daedalus has done the impossible! Alas! This angered the Gods!
Icarus was beaming with happiness and pride and began to fly higher and higher. “Remember what I said. Don’t fly too close to the sun,” Daedalus shouted after Icarus. Unfortunately, it was too late. The wax began to melt. Icarus flapped his wings madly but the feathers began to fall off his wings. He fell into the sea and drowned! Daedalus was heart broken.
With great sorrow and humbleness, Daedalus reached Sicily (Holy city of Apollo) and built a temple for Apollo. Here, Daedalus didn’t reach Sicily by accident, rather he understood his folly and built he temple for The Sun God, the cause of Icarus’ demise, accepting his inferiority.
Now, if you have read the entire story carefully, you would notice that in Daedalus’ life, he had caused the fall of two young men, one being his nephew, and the other, his son Icarus. But the difference between these falls were that one made him prouder, while the other made him humble.
If Daedalus had not been so proud of himself, he would still have his son. And this is a lesson to all those proud people out there, who thinks high about themselves. It is good, but to an extend. So, let us not be ‘hubris’ like Daedalus.
“Quietly endure, silently suffer and patiently wait.”
“Quietly endure, silently suffer and patiently wait.” -Martin Luther King Jr.
These were the words from Martin Luther King Jr., a man with the story of suffering for his country, USA. After years, his hard work and sufferings had meaning and was not futile.
This quote reminds me of an incident where I had to struggle to attain success. Last year, I had to workout for my Black Belt exam. This was 3 months before my exams. Unfortunately, I sprained my foot. I was devastated. My parents comforted me, but I couldn’t believe I sprained my foot, before my exams.
But I didn’t give up that easily. Every day, I would strengthen my foot to stand up and walk. At first, it was dreadful. But, after some days, I got used to this pain. Then I started doing some running, and then some warm-ups. But, I still waited for it to heal. With just a month left for the exams, I felt better, thought it was still paining.
I studied the theoretical part and passed. Then came the physical part. I only had 4 days to learn everything for the exams. I went to my Sensei’s house for further training. At last, the day came.
On 2nd December, 2019, I passed my Black Belt exams with flying colors. I got an ‘A’ ! Everyone was proud of me.
From this incident, I learned 2 things-:
1. NEVER EVER kick near the wall!
2. If I can do this with a sprained foot, I can do almost everything.
You Can Do It!!
My Role Model
“You have to dream before your dreams can come true.”- APJ Abdul Kalam
A role model is a person who inspires you to be like him or her. And almost everyone has a role model. Moreover, a role model can be anyone from a celebrity to a politician to your family member.
The missile man of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam is my role model. It is not only because he has achieved great things in life and became the President of India. He is my role model because of his dedication of his entire life to the country and its people, especially children.
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam worked his entire life and achieved many great things in life. Becoming the President of India is an example. But there is one more thing which is of great importance. It’s that after his retirement from the Presidential post he started teaching because it was his love to children. Now that’s passion!
Thus, I feel that a person who understand children and has achieved everything through hard work is a person to look up to in life.
Thank You!!!
My Teacher’s Day Speech
A very Good Morning to one and all present here.
Today, on the auspicious day of Teacher’s day, I am here to deliver a speech on the Importance of Teachers.
Now let me tell you a story. One day, a teacher asked her students about their ambition. Many students said Doctor, Engineer, etc. But one student said, I want to be a teacher.” The teacher asked “Why?” He gave his answer “Behind every doctor, engineer or any other occupation, there is a teacher” The teacher, her eyes filled with tears, hugged the boy.
What that little boy said was true. Education is essential to be someone in the society and our dear hardworking teachers are the mediators. Whether the teacher is a male or female, teaches Maths or Science, is strict or lenient, a teacher is a teacher and that is a universal truth.
Teachers are a special blessing from God to us. They are the ones who build a good nation and make the world a better place. A teacher teaches us the importance of a pen over that of a sword. They are like the building blocks of society who educate people and make them better human beings.
A teacher is one who does not merely focus on our academic performance but our overall development. Only then can a student truly grow. Thus, good teachers will understand their student’s problems and try to deal with them correctly. They make the student feel like they always have someone to talk to if they are alone.
To conclude my speech, teachers are our friend, parent, role model, guardian and much more and we must always remember the lessons taught by them.
Thank You and have a Happy Teacher's Day!!
Why I Like to Write?
Some people have a hard time to express their creativity and innovative minds. Some people speak it out, while others do. I am a part of this group and I express my creativity by writing.
There are many ways by which writing has helped me in my day-to-day life. For instance, like now. I am sharing my thoughts on writing, which I can’t do while speaking. I feel the anxiety shooting up when I speak. Whereas, while writing, I feel calm and relaxed. This differs for other people and I am not forcing you to write because writing requires an interest and it can’t come out of nowhere. So, if you feel to write a small story or a long lecture, you need interest.
While reading gives you knowledge, writing gives satisfaction along with it. For example, making a cake gives you more happiness than a store-bought cake. Similarly, you get more satisfaction when you do an assignment yourself and not someone else doing it for you. So what I am trying to say here is that you are happier when you do it yourself. And that’s why, I like to write.
Thank You!!!
If I could change one thing about the world I would…….
Don’t you have a hard time to decide? Don’t worry. You are not alone. We all are like that. But, what if your decision could affect the entire world? Now that’s even more stressful than normal.
Now, if I was given this responsibility, I would bring a change in the education system of the world. Don’t you hate learning more than what you need? Me too. What I would do is from 8th grade, you have a choice to choose your own course which makes it easier for many children who has difficulty in other subjects. Then, there won’t be a public exams like Board exams and we could even get a job faster than before. All the children will remember me as their hero and I will be written in the Books of History.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the power to do that. But if someone does that, one of my dreams will be fulfilled.
Thank You!!
Tom and Jerry – Are they really Enemies?
We have all seen this fantastic duo. They fight, team up and sometimes fool each other in a very funny way. But are they really enemies?
The answer is no, they are best friends. Tom is actually fond of Jerry as a friend and vice versa. However, as Jerry is a rodent and Tom is a cat, they pursue to play pranks and escape from each other. For example, in an episode, when Tom is thrown out for another cat, he and Jerry team up to throw the other cat out of the house. This proves that they are friends.
No matter how much ever they fight, they are, and will always be the best of friends.
Thank You!!
Beauty lies in the Eye of the Beholder
When you see a beautiful meadow filled with wildlife, you enjoy the beauty of nature. Beauty is appreciated by the ‘most’ of us, while some people can’t fully take it for some unknown reason. But when it comes to people, we can’t judge them just by appearance.
Physical attractiveness are deceptions. What really matters is the nature of a person. It is true that beautiful or handsome people are more appealing. But we can have a reliable relationship and long lasting trust only on the personalities of people.
For example, have you ever eaten a jack fruit? Though its outer covering is thick and hard, its inside is soft and sweet. Similarly, people can never be judged only by their looks or appearances. So always remember that ” Beauty lies in the Eye of the Beholder “
Thank You!!!
Technology- Has it changed for the good?
Imagine you surviving in a place where smartphones didn’t exist. How long can you survive? Days, Weeks, Months? Let’s say, not even an hour! (except while sleeping.)
Lets face it. We are addicted to it. So addicted that we can’t measure it! Don’t you hear your elders say how they had not seen a phone before, until they had entered their first job. Did you know that most of the people before our generation had not seen a phone until 2000!
Now-a-days, our life rests entirely on technology. For example, when our parents were of our age, their only way of communication were letters or phone booths. But, now we have a variety of applications in our fingertips!
But best things always come with a cost. Now-a-days, technology is being misused a lot. And with the increase in technology, there is also an increase in the crimes taking place globally.
Another evil, being done is Cyber bullying. It has become so outrageous that it was the main death factor of numerous teens in the year 2018. Though technology is being made for good, we misuse it to create havoc.
But this does not mean that technology is bad or it should be demolished. It is our responsibility to reduce the risk of being attacked, by, securing our IDs and passwords properly. So, let’s all team up together for the rise of technology against cyber misshappening.
Thank You!!
Music-What I love about it
“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”
― Bob Marley
Don’t we all love to hear the melody of songs and background scores that we love? Scientifically, music is the same as cars honking, alarms ringing and your parents shouting at you!!
Yeah, it is true. Our life is surrounded by ‘music’ around us, although not as pleasant as the ones we always wish to hear. But let’s take the music that we like. Do you wonder why it is very relaxing to listen and would love to hear it again? It is because it gives you positivity to move on throughout the day.
What I love about music is the variety of types it has. My favorite type is Jazz. It gives me those ‘cool vibes’ and its slow-paced speed helps me to focus more and be calm.
Another reason why I love music is because I get to play it. As a Keyboard student, I tend to play tunes that I hear in my daily life. I have achieved many certifications and awards for playing the keyboard and music is the reason for it.
For these reasons and more,
I Love Music!!!
Trees-Our Dying Angels
“Trees are the earth’s endless effort to speak to the listening heaven”
-Rabindranath Tagore
Have you ever had a nightmare where you woke up in a land with no trees? Can you possibly live in such an environment? If your answer is ‘No’, congrats! You got in right. You are dead before 10 seconds you reach there!
Shocking, right? But that’s the truth. If trees were not there, we would have not even existed on this planet. Life, on earth, would not have been possible if there would not have been any trees on earth. Trees are of so much importance to us as it is because of them that we get enough oxygen in the air to breathe.
Unfortunately, the uprooting of trees what we call as deforestation is destroying our environment. The uprooting of trees at mass levels has led to massive soil erosion which has led to floods as well as droughts in different areas of the world. Additionally, uprooting of trees has led to global warming. Additionally, deforestation has also led to depleting the ozone layer which is responsible to protect the harmful ultraviolet rays from reaching the earth.
It is of utmost importance for us to give their individual contribution to saving our dying angels. Finding an alternative to the use of wood for various purposes is one such method through which we can reduce the cutting down of trees.
Planting more trees is another small yet priceless contribution we all can do for our nature. For every tree uprooted we should plant 2 more trees so that to maintain the balance between urbanization and deforestation. Minimizing use of papers is another such effort which can help save trees in a big manner as papers are made from trees.
Together, we can hold hands to give a hand to our dying angles.
Thank You
Dog: Man’s Best Friend
