Strategically planning out your extracurriculars, cherishing dormitory/hostel life to the fullest, and how to make friends in college.
It blows my mind that students at Oxford can take classes called ‘tutorials’ which are 1:1 discussions with their professors for the entire semester! Philosophy, Politics, and Economics also seems like such a holistic, qualitative + quantitative skillset to graduate from university with! And what are some tips and tricks for the Oxford application, right from the expert herself? read more..
The 4.0 GPA trap, books are indeed judged by their covers, and a practical guide to conducting cold outreach
After some careful deliberation, I’ve realized that while presenting my Minerva journey, experiences, and interesting conversations was wonderful, it’s time for this newsletter to expand its scope to talk about university life, more broadly. I want this to remain applicable to every single high schooler out there who wants their four years at university to truly mean something and help them achieve their personal and professional goals. So, welcome to the ‘Uni Unveiled’ newsletter where I will present the holistic university experience in its naked truth (good, bad, and ugly) to hopefully guide the world’s ambitious, intentional, and reflective teenagers through key insights, wisdom, and nuggets of advice from a college sophomore who is far from having satisfying answers but is at least attempting to ask deeper questions about how to really maximize these four years at whatever institution one ends up attending read more..
The ever-changing definition of home
I’ve been away from home for over one and a half years now. When I returned home for my first winter break from San Francisco, I already began to feel that my concept of home was beginning to shift. Now that I have returned for my second winter break as a sophomore, I have no doubt in my mind that my personal relationship to ‘home’ will evolve just as I do over my four-year Minerva journey.
It’s a bittersweet feeling. On one hand, nothing and nobody can change the fact that Hyderabad is the city where I spent 17 crucial years of my early life – the warmth of Irani chai, my mother’s hug, and the vibrations of my villa only increase in strength as I spend more time away read more..
7-days around Taiwan: Now I know why Portuguese sailors exclaimed ‘Ilha Formosa’ (beautiful island) when they first sailed by…
2 nights in Tainan. 2 nights in Kaohsiung. 2 nights in Kenting. We raced through Southern Taiwan on an action-packed, memorable, eye-opening trip that allowed me to immerse myself more deeply into a very different side of the island, beyond the hustle and bustle of the capital. We witnessed the oldest fort in Taiwan, the largest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan, took a picture at the Southernmost tip of Taiwan, indeed I could ramble on for pages I think it’s crucial for us as global citizens and travelers of the world to recognize that our experience in a nation’s capital or biggest cities may not be an accurate representative of the culture, legacy, or even landscape of the entire nation read more…
Hi, this is the GenWise team- we bring out this newsletter to help parents and educators to complement the work of formal schools and associated systems. We can help our children thrive in these complex times only by exchanging ideas and insights and working together.
We are also a founder-member of Gifted World– if you are interested in issues related to gifted education and talent development, and are looking for resources for gifted students, do become a member of the Gifted World Community (membership is free)read more..
It was after many hours of overthinking, re-read upon re-read, and the persistent urge to go over it once more, that I finally published this first post to introduce my personal monthly newsletter.
I’ll try to keep this as short as possible, taking you through the intentions behind the newsletter, and what you can expect to see when a familiar e-mail comes in every month.
Let’s get into it… read more…
Taiwanese initial culture shocks
It’s been nearly a month since landing in Taipei, and boy, have I fallen in love with this city! Convenient public transport, delicious food , warm people, beautiful natural spaces, rich cultural and historical heritage, I could go on…
Our residence hall is located right next to the gorgeous Jingmei sports park (literally a 2-minute walk! ) and it’s so heartwarming to see the Taiwanese locals, young and old, hanging out and exercising in the park from dawn to midnight – basketball, running, yoga, tai chi, romantic walks, I’ve seen it all happen right outside the window of my room, while I’m working.read more..
Reflections from recording 41 episodes for ‘Uni Unveiled’
Reflections from recording 41 podcast episodes for ‘Uni Unveiled’, a practical tip for college living, four cornerstone courses, and two hundred lifelong friends.If you are curious to learn more about the story behind the above pictures, then here is a brief overview: I gave an author talk at the Shri Ram Academy (TSRA) in Hyderabad to a total of 150 students, across Grades 5-8. We engaged in fun Q and A about the writing process, overcoming writer’s block, following your passions, the value of mentors, writing tips and tricks for school assignments, and much more! I am so grateful for this opportunity and hope that something I said may have inspired these childern to remember that “Age is just a number” because life is short and human potential is uncapped. read more..
Three weeks in the ‘Museum of the World’
I once read that Europe is the ‘living, breathing museum of the world’ and the phrase just resonated with me. It popped up in my head so many times during my family’s 17-day trip around Austria, Germany, and Greece. It was an intensive cultural immersion into the world of art museums, palaces, castles, opera, stunning churches, and ancient ruins like the world-famous ‘Acropolis’. All six of us had spent the last three months of summer together at home, but each tucked away in our own rooms, living our separate lives on the screen. It was heartwarming to have three weeks of devoted time, disconnected from work, to spend nearly every moment of every day with the people I often take most for granted. For me, the three-week digital detox was beyond spectacular, allowing me to look up, left, right, centre, ahead, beyond, and just about every direction possible but down at a tiny screen that can’t possibly encompass reality read more..
My fabulous learning and growth journey as a host on ‘Humans of Minerva’ coupled with the daunting thought of a long, four-month summer break ahead pushed me to begin ideating the theme for my personal podcast. I wanted the topic of the podcast to be something I personally connected with, something I had some level of expertise and credibility on, and finally, a topic which would be relevant to a majority of people in my personal network of friends, family, classmates and colleagues read more..
A week in ‘The Big Apple’
I took a relaxing and visually pleasing Amtrak train ride from DC to the city that gets 13 million visitors per year. For all the die-hard Hamilton fans out there: ‘In New York, you can be a new man’. It was a chaotic blur of a week, trying to tick as many items off the bucket list as I possible could, with total neglect for a good night’s sleep beyond three to four hours. I spent my early mornings on fascinating walking tours, my warm afternoons in intriguing museums, my late nights on the iconic Times Square in the city that never sleeps read more..
Upon returning from Orlando, there was less than a month before I wrapped up my entire first year at Minerva. Insane! Feels like only yesterday that I landed in San Francisco and had my eyes pop wide open while seeing the ‘not so Golden’ Golden Gate Bride for the very first time. After the final flurry of assignments was submitted (remember, we don’t do exams here at Minerva), the final academic segment of the semester was to present our final civic project project presentations and deliverables. Let’s rewind for a moment, shall we? read more..
An age-old childhood dream of mine came true when I spent a whopping 10 days in Disney World and Universal Studios Orlando during spring break! I was immediately transported back to my 8-year-old self who used to believe in ghosts and monsters and Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy and……in dreams more generally. Day after day in the theme parks, under the bright sun, walking a minimum of 15 km a day, I felt exhausted but exhilarated the entire time! The rush of laughter, bright colours, joy, and love in the air hit me powerfully after having spent months in a city of concrete, grey, black, serious faces, and a lonely isolation which sometimes strikes you as hard as SF’s windy breeze – and I’m not just talking about San Francisco, this applies more broadly to so many of our urban metropolises today read more..
After an intense week of staring at the computer screen, my mind and body needed an entire day of nature, fresh air, and disconnection from work. ‘There is no Wi-fi in the forest but you will probably find a better connection there’. I took my chinese friends out for a packed day of hiking, but first we decided to fuel up on some delicious Indian food. I introduced the to ‘Chaat’ (street food, and it was fascinating and heartwarming to watch me struggle to explain to them how a certain dish was prepared and what ingredients were inside, as they stared at me cluelessly read more..
Last weekend, I had the delight of viewing the magical ‘Kooza’ performance in San Francisco, hosted by Cirque du Soleil, the longest running and one of the most famous circus production in the world. The event organizers had not taken the easy path of just hosting the performance in ocean’s edge, to truly give viewers the authentic circus experience. It was 100 minutes of pure magic. With intense lighting, blasting music, and the grandness of nature’s entire colour palette for the dresses of the artists and performers, the show did not allow me to peel my eyes away even for a second read more..
Without a doubt, my favourite museum in the city, not least because of its prime location in Golden Gate Park. A stunning science museum, designed to invoke curiosity and awe, answer old questions and pose new ones, and ‘to regenerate the natural world through science, learning and collaboration’. Exhibits include:
Osher rainforest – a journey through a three-story rainforest, containing billboards full of information, plants and trees of the forest, and even animals and birds like spiders, macaws, butterflies, and snakes readmore..
An enchanting peek behind the scenes at one of the most iconic studios in the world. We went to the famous streets, alleys and buildings which were all used as sets in world-famous movies and shows right from Friends to the Big Bang theory to La La Land and Inception. It was incredible to see how the same building or street was repurposed so craftily for different settings, moods, times and places. We got a peek at sound stages where talk shows and dialogue are re-recorded for the final edits of a film or show. We took a journey back to our childhood adventures when we saw original props, like the real Sorting hat from Harry Potter, the original Wonder women costume and the original Batmobile used in the Dark Knight trilogy. What makes an ordinary hat, sword or car so iconic and mesmerizing that people will wait in line for hours just to get a peek and a photo? read more…
An entire day at Golden Gate Park.
We set out early in the morning and while our eyes and minds were most fresh, began with the de Young museum – one of the finest aet museums in the city, featuring a collection of beautiful American, Arfican, Oceanic and international art and textiles. My favourite part of the entire museumwas a simple bowl of salt placed on a tiny wooden table, with a caption above which read ‘ Salt ceremony’. Viewers were invited to simply lace their hands into the bowl of salt and gently rub the salt all over their palms in an act of cleansing and healing of the self, by letting all negative and unwanted energy to rub into the salt and leave the body and mind. No wonder we feel such a deep connection to the ocean, after all we originated from its salty depths read more..
‘It has been an action-packed first month at Minerva University, halfway across the globe from the place I call ‘home’. A roller coaster of a ride and a whirlwind of emotions, but more than anything, my beautiful classmates, professors, and the Student Life team here in San Francisco have made the mind-numbing 20-hour plane ride worth it. This newsletter will follow a different format than previous ones, so roll up your sleeves, and let’s dive right in! read more…