Princess Diana Remembered

With the royal wedding only a week away, it got me to think about the top royal weddings in history. There’s Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly; there’s Prince Frederick of Denmark and Mary Donaldson; but there’s one wedding that is one of the greatest and most memorable weddings of all time—the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

Since her announcement of her engagement to Prince Charles, she became a public figure. This held true even till after her death with the weeklong display of public mourning. She truly was the ‘People’s princess’ who captured everyone’s heart.

One of the greatest accomplishments of Princess Diana was without any doubt the fact that she did succeed in making the world a better place for a lot of people all over the world. She did this through her active role in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines; raise AIDS awareness and any charity work involving children of any kinds. No matter what the charity or disease, Princess Diana had a rare ability to make people happy just by talking to them, shaking their hands, or giving a hug. Her ability to listen, look directly into the eye, and talk to a person in a way that made one feel that you were the only person that she was at all interested in.

Even though she can’t play an active role in making the world a better place, she continues to help many today. Through her inspiring words her presence still lingers, making her the lifetime favorite princess.

Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.

Life is just a journey.

Only do what your heart tells you.

Family is the most important thing in the world.

If men had to have babies, they would only ever have one each.

If you find someone you love in your life, then hang on to that love.

Any sane person would have left long ago. But I cannot. I have my sons.

Anywhere I see suffering, that is where I want to be, doing what I can.

Everyone of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves.

HIV does not make people dangerous to know, so you can shake their hands and give them a hug: Heaven knows they need it.

Hugs can do great amounts of good - especially for children.

I don't go by the rule book... I lead from the heart, not the head.

I knew what my job was; it was to go out and meet the people and love them.

I think the biggest disease the world suffers from in this day and age is the disease of people feeling unloved. I know that I can give love for a minute, for half an hour, for a day, for a month, but I can give. I am very happy to do that, I want to do that.

I wear my heart on my sleeve. 

I'd like to be a queen in people's hearts but I don't see myself being queen of this country.

Nothing brings me more happiness than trying to help the most vulnerable people in society. It is a goal and an essential part of my life - a kind of destiny. Whoever is in distress can call on me. I will come running wherever they are.

When you are happy you can forgive a great deal.

Princess Diana will always be remembered with these touching & loving words.  

A Life Long Impression

As all my friends and best friends talk about tassels, tickets, invitations and black robes, all I can think about is how I won’t be graduating with them. I don’t consider myself unlucky though, because I am lucky to have met them. I can’t sit with them or turn my tassel from one side to the other… no big deal. Because even though I can’t spend those three hours with them, I get to spend my life with them. 

As happy as I am that my close friends will be closing one chapter of their life, and starting a brand new and shinier one, I’m saddened. As they count down the days until their freedom from essays, assignments and boring lectures, I am remembered of the few weeks, few days left of all of us being together.

The tears, the loves, the memories will all be cherished. But most of all, I will cherish the friendships. Some friends leave an impression on us that will stay with us forever. My friends have left footprints on my heart.

Congratulations to Souvonik Adhya, Zarna Doshi, Jaskaran Nat & Richa Patel. Good luck in the real world! 

Joy of Giving

Remember those childhood days when you were gifted a box of chocolate by a dear family friend and your mother asked you to share it with everyone at home? Although you may have done so reluctantly, it must have surely taught you the importance of sharing. From sharing our toys with friends in the neighborhood to lending lecture notes to pals in college, we’ve been familiar with the practice of sharing. But somehow as we become adults, the concept of giving and sharing seems to get increasingly alien.

Just yesterday, I gave my precious bunny to a family, making a little girl’s dream come true! Although, it was painful, the act was rewarding. I cried a lot. I cried on the way to drop of the bunny. I cried when I held her for the last time. I cried when I shifted the supplies into the new owner’s car. But not until I saw the look on the 8-year-old’s face did I smile.

Dominique didn’t know she was getting a bunny. When her mom asked Dominique to come around to my car, she screamed of joy. She jumped on her mom and climbed her way up to wrap her arms around her mom while singing, “thank you, thank you, thank you.” At this moment, I knew I had made the right decision. I loved knowing that I made a little girl happy by making a little sacrifice myself.

To Baby---

I miss you. You were a fantastic pet and a fantastic friend. I have little tokens of your love still lying around my room—the half eaten up remote control, your favorite blanket and your enormous appetite for Special K cereal. You were always reliable, full of love, true in your affection, predictable in your actions, grateful and loyal. I will miss your binkies. I will always love you. I hope you have a wonderful time with your new family. I will always be thinking of you.

Become Inspired

I like to keep my work space to a minimum when it comes to clutter. So I try to get rid of things off my desk or find a new place for them in my room. Sometimes I place items anywhere to keep the area clean, even though it means that sometimes I can't find it later when I actually need it. Sometimes if I can't find another location, I simply throw it away. But there is one item on my desk that I can not delete or relocate. It's a quoted frame that reads:

"There is always a way when things look like there's no way. There's a way to do the impossible, to survive the in survivable. There's always a way. And you, you and I have this in common. We're inspired. In the face of the impossible, we're inspired. So if I can offer one piece of advice to you, my friend and my love. Today if you become frightened instead become inspired." 

There are so many times when I'm frightened. When the phone rings with news about cancer. When I cannot get a hold of my parents and my mind goes to the worse possible scenario. When I get an e-mail about a friend that is struggling through something about her life. When I hear other student's stories about their less than perfect lives--yet they are at school every day working as hard and smart as they can. And so I think through all this scary and crazy stuff, I'm supposed to be inspired? 

However, I think the quote is meant to inspire me to be brave. To be inspired to make a difference. To be inspired because it feels so much better than being frightened. And mostly to be inspired because then I can see the world through a whole different perspective--and that is beautiful. 

~Home Sweet Home~

I’ve been to a lot places around the world. Some of my best trips were to Greece, France, Spain and my most recent Italy. But when it comes to my favorite place on the planet, it would have to be my home. Like they say, there is no place like home.

It’s funny. In high school most people can’t wait to leave home and go off to college living in a four-walled crammed dorm. I was one of them, but it’s wasn’t until college and spending nights in disgusting heat in a small bed and eating gross food that made me grateful of my home. Now that I'm at college, I want to be at home. Funny right?

I’ve lived in the same house since I was a two-year-old. So for me, this is really where it all began. It’s where all the bonds were formed with family and friends, all the crazy childhood sleepovers happened. But now that I’m all grown up, home is a state of mind. It’s the thing that keeps me grounded. It’s where I can always go and blend right in.

I have my own apartment now, but it will never be home. There can be many houses, but only one home. For me, home is the various flower arrangements mom has placed in almost every room of the house. The comfort of soft and fresh sheets. Delicious aromas leaving from the kitchen. Newly brewed tea always waiting to be sipped. The warm, pale yellow color on the walls. The millions of picture frames filled with years of memories. The simple familiarity of everything around me. My dad reading a book, newspaper, or anything with words on his favorite chair. My mom brightening up my day with her huge smile and comforting hug. Home is where I feel the safest. Home is where I feel most like myself. Home is where family is. Home isn't a place, it's more of a feeling. That is home to me.

Even though it took me a while to realize, no matter where I’ve been or seen, nothing can beat home sweet home.

What's On Your Life List?

Did you see the movie "A Walk to Remember" with Shane West and Mandy Moore? The movie wasn't much, but the concept is great: What things do you really, truly want to do before you die?

For the past couple of days, this movie has been playing over and over in my head. It's a typical love story of a popular "bad" boy who falls in-love with the good girl in school. However, one aspect of the movie stuck by me. Jamie's list. In the movie, Jamie has terminal leukemia and has stopped responding to treatments. She then shares with Landon her bucket list of things that she wants to accomplish before she dies. The rest of the movie is dedicated to Landon helping her reach all of her goals. This quickly inspired me to create my own life list as well.

My Life List

1. Write and publish a children's book 
2. Live in Italy, Spain or Greece for at least 6 months
3. Move to New York City after I graduate from school 
4. Ride a camel 
5. Go stargazing
6. Get a Yorkiepoo or a Cockapoo puppy 
7. Stay up the whole night till sunrise talking with a good friend 
8. Pet dolphins 
9. Play in the rain, like I did when I was a child
10. Go sailing 
11. Learn to roll Sushi 
12. Go on a road trip 
13. Soak in the beauty of a sunset 
14. Go horseback riding on a beach
15. Go camping 
16. Take my parents on a vacation spot 
17. Visit France, Italy and Greece again
18. Design my dream home
19. Adopt a child
20. Have dinner in a location that looks over New York City
21. Start my own business 
22. Make a difference in someone's life
23. Plant my own tree and watch it grow
24. Plant my own vegetable and herbs garden
25. Take a dancing class
26. Knit a scarf
27. Kiss on the top of the Eiffel Tower 
28. Start a Quote Journal that will store all of my favorite quotes and sayings 
29. Learn to play the drums 
30. Have a star named after me 
31. Find my soulmate 
32. Have the wedding of my dreams 
33. Publish a piece in a Magazine 
34. Celebrate New Year's Eve in Times Square 
35. Receive a huge bouquet of roses for no reason 
36. Experience pampering at a spa
37. Have my palm read
38. Volunteer in a 3rd world country
39. Teach myself Italian 
40. Organize an event that benefits a charity
41. Get my Masters (possibly even my PhD)
42. Go on a skydive or bungee jump 
43. Visit Australia 
44. Be a parent 
45. Decorate my own christmas tree
46. Study at the Library of Congress
47. Ring a church bell 
48. Visit Dubai 
49. Go to every state in the U.S
50. Go to a spice market in a foreign country 
51. Make a new recipe for a company
52. Take a hot air balloon ride 
53. Try a new food that I usually wouldn't 
54. Read the Newspaper everyday 
55. Try to be a vegetarian for a week 
56. Reach my ideal weight
57. Have a no-technology weekend without phones, laptops and a TV.
58. Make a scrapbook 
59. Visit the White House 
60. Own all of the Grey's Anatomy seasons 
61. Tell the people that I love that I love them more often 
62. Attend Rachael Ray's talk show
63. Watch a surgery from the gallery 
64. Own all 10 of the Friends seasons 
65. Throw a surprise party for a friend or relative 
66. Stay in touch with family in Pakistan more often 
67. Write personalized hand written letters to close friends once in a while instead of an e-mail

This is just the beginning. I hope to add-on new items and of course scratch off my list.

I highly recommend you to create one. How much does it cost? Probably 30 minutes to an hour. What do you gain? Significant clarity and focus on what you want from your life. It's an invaluable exchange. So, go grab a pen and piece of paper or open a new document on Word, and start living!

Congratulations to the Class of 2010!

Vitamin C said it perfectly in her song, Graduation. 

"As we go on we remember, all the times we had together. And as our lives change from whatever, we will still be friends forever."

Time flies by fast, especially when you're having fun. I can't believe I completed my junior year just today with my last brutal exam. Better yet, I can't believe some of my best friends completed their senior year and will be leaving me soon!

Once senior year rolls around, graduation is the main event. It's not like high school where there are various distractions like the infamous senior week or glamourous prom. It's hard to think about anything, but graduation--the cap and gown and making the most of the time left as an undergraduate. As the big day, which is only a couple of days away, gets closer and closer, I want to take the time to tell my close friends who are graduating that I love them and that I will miss them! 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Fatima Chaudhri: I have known you since we were babies wearing diapers. Though, we didn't have the choice when it came to being friends, since our parents--actually grandfathers were friends, we did have the choice when it came to being sisters. I love you and wish you all the best after college. You are one of the smartest people I know, and I have no doubt that you will do wonderful and big things in the world! I know you are sad about the fact that you are graduating, but as one chapter of your life closes, kick-start a new one! Always remember, "you are my person" and that I love you!

Mac Mace: You came into my life only three years ago as my best friend's boyfriend. But now, you are one of my best friend. More importantly, you are one that has touched my life in a very positive way. Ever since I have known you, you always strive for the best and have fun doing it! You have inspired me in more ways than you will ever know. You have taught me to never give up and to always push myself with whatever challenges come my way. Thank you! I hope you continue to inspire others like you have inspired me the past couple of years. Best of Luck! 

Jijo George: In our lifetime, we meet many types of people. Never did I imagine I would meet someone that gets me so well and can make me laugh when I don't even feel like smiling! Over the past semester, you have been there for me and helped me with my stupid problems. I hope I can do the same for you one day! Thanks for being such a great friend! 

Vaani Malhotra: I don't know where to begin. I've known you for only a year but it literally feels like a lifetime. It all started with Phi Gamma Nu. I can't even imagine not knowing you. It was definitely fate, or Alex, who brought us together! Either way, I am so happy I met you and that we became such good friends! I admire you for always seeming to have it together, even when you don't. Thanks for being a great friend! Love ya!

Congratulations to the Class of 2010!

YOU WILL BE MISSED!