This example looks like it took some time. Different colors of paint are involved, for instance. You need to prepare for a coming hurricane! Is there seriously nothing more important for you  to do right now than paint a message to the hurricane?!

I'm just sayin'.

I'm 19, it's 1am in the morning - now a Sunday and I have just been asked a weird question. OK so I know your probably wondering why I'm in at one am on what was a Saturday morning. I was sleeping that's what, all day long I couldn't rouse myself so I just lied on the sofa comatosed and slept like a bear hibernating for all it's worth. I kind-of lied. The answer is no, I don't sleep with a stuffed toy, though there is one or two hidden under my bed. Now you know another secret, even though I have moved out of my mums, decorated my flat, working in central London, saving to travel. Look after fish and plants. Make sure the bills are paid and scheming to take over the world I have a stuffed toy and I wouldn't get rid of it for the simple fact of it being a gift.
The problem I have is that for some reason I thought it a good idea to light up the candles, finish the wine, put on Jack Johnson and relax because for some reason I'm feeling so detached. What do you do in those situations? personally I just pretend it's not happening and keep on rolling. You can only do so much really, and lets face it - home is home. I'm happy I have a base and the world is calling, so while everyone else my age is out getting plastered and STI's, I'm steadily filling my ISA account and planning to escape to the other side of the world and see where life takes me. Lets face it, everything I do is just passing the time till I can raise my family and teach them to be good people and to enjoy life to its fullest, don't worry about anything because this time next week, next month, next year. It won't make a blind bit of difference. Here's the full message log for anyone who's interested in the lie that I am so ashamed of I felt the need to blog it:

We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
lmao
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
please
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
ure listenin to jack jackson!
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
if anyone's getting into bed wid ME
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
...
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
here's a curious question?
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
do u sleep wid a stuffed toy?
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:

Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
no i dont
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
aww
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
u adult u
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
did u ever sleep wid one?
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
.........
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
here's a curious question
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
since when were you so interested in me......
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
stop asking personal questions
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
read my blog instead lol
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
what?
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
your such a ghey
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:

Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
gos i miss you
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
no i just thought
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
ud ...sleep wid a stuffed toy?
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
i dont
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
im straight
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
well
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
NO
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
its not THAT
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
contrary to all popular evidence
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
god
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
im just messing wid u bot ure queerness
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
lmao
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
i was like
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
how funny wouldi t be
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
alex drunk ass
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
and hugging his lil pooh bear in bed
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
its like
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
'fuck u ex gfs..i dun need u'
Sponge (c ) the word lveo - Swing Life Away says:
lol thats just mean
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
i have pooh bear
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
LMAOOO
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
cmon
We Are The MTV Generation Everything Bothers Us. says:
it is FUNNey

There you have it....

Ainsi donc
Tu suivrais toujours l'inaccessible
Ce que tu ne peux pas toucher
Ou t'offrir
Parce qu'il est déjà pris
Ou que ta bourse est vide

Ainsi donc
Tu ne mériterais rien
On aurait fait une croix sur toi
Un dieu dans le ciel
Ou toi
Tout au fond de toi

On aurait choisi ton nom
Parmi les noms
pour que tu paies quelque chose
Que tu trimes

Mais l'invisible
Ne t'a jamais rien imposé
Ni caché
Ce que tu vois
Tu l'as voulu
Tu l'as créé

A toi de faire pour le mieux
Ce qui ne se voit qu'en toi

~ Ktsophia ~

Reproduction imprimée FLEURS DE L´AME: DESESPOIR de Jean-Luc Ollivier

see Sarah Palin pictures

You want me strong lion
Fairy deer and lamb
But what about you

Love is not a quarrel
What a loss time
Thinking I was a pupil
Thinking you were above

You're just in me
Giving me strength and pain
8 times fallen
9 times stand in

That's right
I'm caught by the net
I know this is there
You came
Not what you created
Or maybe
You had to come here
Love brought you

Underneath the most
Visible skylight
You came there
Without being seen
Like a myth comes true

You want an immortal muse
Gentle sister and mother
But what about me

You want warm desire
Tenderness and gloves
And what about me

I'm not against you
I'm searching with you
I awoke
And you make me want to live

But you want me strong
And I'm so weak
You want me worthy
The lie reveal itself

I feel this love
You gave it to me
By a sight
A voice
Some sentences
In the right space
At the real time

I feel this love
That woke up
A darkened-half shadow
To see if it exists
If one seeks for...

That was not the point
Of the stars
First
There were ne chee-game
Right?
No master nor pupil
No images
No suppositions
Nor spades

Because that was not the point
Of here
The huge cooking-pot's scheme
Of the whole human consciousness

Some centuries ago
Hermit could have been foolish
For this
But we finally found
An equilibrium
Though we don't master it
Enough yet

We're like two young
Chemical brothers
In a bathroom
Cheering our glasses
After an "Eureka"
And then doubting it
To some new questions

As ebb and flow
Natural as seasons pass by
From cold to warm
And wet to dry

Gratitude
And never forgotten our goal
Are not always
As a sunrise
For days
The sky is clouds

That was not the point of the stars
First
You came alive
Amongst the dead

~ Ktsophia ~

In France, when we smile though we are not supposed to, we say: we laugh "yellow".  That curious expression, could come from the bad reputation of the colour.
While the blue is "the beginner", the "yellow" is the one that still works, when trade unions go on strike.

In the Middle-Ages, It is told convicts, jews, deceived husbands received the gift of that colour.
About 1900, Reds, that were opposed to the socialist party, used it also.
As for the rose it's the one for forgiveness. And though the sun is ofently depicted in yellow, we could burn our wings, flying too close to It.

But now, here, the rabbit is pink, and write funny poems that kill. Would you kill it, before it kills you? Would you follow him from here to there as Alice, in two little places, or too big ones? Affording his always late's clock, waiting for a "happy non birthday to me, to you"?
Know, you will begin laughing real, and then yellow there. So...

Have a think Before the click

Decode the following: GFDAFW FWPL OWWC (G=O)

If you can't solve this, the decoded message says:

ONLINE NEXT WEEK

Spy Island will be coming to Poptropica next week! (Hopefully this will stop most of you spamming my blog saying "When will Spy Island come??? I've been waiting forever!!!", because there's the answer right here.)

In Other News: The Time Tangled Quest guide is finally finished and on the blog! Check it out here: http://poptropica.wordpress.com/time-tangled-quest. Hope you find it helpful! If you've got any questions relating to Time Tangled Island, just post a comment on that page and ask. ;)

Also, you may have noticed the new site counter widget on the right side of the homepage. This tells you how many other people are online on this blog right now. So if the number in the site counter says "0", that means that right now, you're the only one reading this blog right now. If it says "5", that means there are 5 other people (it doesn't include you) that are reading this blog at the same time you are! :D

Mon âme se prépare peut-être à ce qu'elle veut. Ecrire. Assez de leçons et de claques. L'arêne me fait mal. J'ai fait un pacte avec le geôlier, j'ai besoin de recueil. Ce recueil est salutaire. Il me permettra de recevoir les messages comme ils se sont d'eux-mêmes introduits sans prévenir. Quand je suis devenue une autre, cachée sous de multiples avatars. Par timidité j'aurais tendance à croire, ou tout cela avait-il un dessein? Je pense que oui. Tous ces signes affluant les uns après les autres.
Quand tu m'as emmenée danser sous la lune en lettres et mots infinis. Chaque page, chaque pas de tes pas répondait à mon coeur, comme un sauveur dans la machine. Toi qui existe et n'existe pas.

Un jour le fil s'est arrêté d'émettre. A qui la faute? Qu'est-ce que j'en sais?
Peut-être couré-je après un son qui n'émettrait plus jamais. Peut-être.
Délicieux amour, aurais-je dû me dire, attention! Tu vas tâcher ta robe?

Peut-être es-tu Orphée, et je suis Eurydice.
Devons-nous tous les vivre, ces mythes, un jour après l'autre. Vaincre ou perdre? A quoi ça rime? Il me suffirait de t'écrire, simplement. Mais je ne le peux pas. Les mains, je ne peux pas.
Tout ça me brûlera peut-être les ailes au final, mais pourquoi l'empêcher? Il est comme un joyau dans ma vie. Il m'offre une plume, qui s'était envolée.

Si tu m'as lu, fais-moi s'il te plaît un signe. De fumée ou autre...

Let go

He told me

You can't refuse the gift

It's on the edge of your lips

Why are you so afraid

Is it a train, a cloud, a firmament

I'm so fed up with this garment

Ktsophia

Seems to me that fools are even more foolish
Thinking of themselves and nobody else
But then if asked for poor will riches be replenished
They say boot straps must be pulled up by themselves

Feeding off the love of the land
Leaving much to be desired

Living off the love of the Lord
While the price for life is higher

Isn't love to be admired
Has the good in man expired
Stealing all the love and the beauty from the land

I awake each morning to the birds a-singing
Singing out to God to come and save his own
But when throughout the world the cry of love is ringing
Is then when He'll stop to hear our song

Did you know that when you feel the earth a-shaken
It's only mother nature with a crying heart
You see we have taken from her for so many ages
Will there be a time when taking stops and giving starts

'Cause we're feeding off the love of the land
Leaving much to be desired

Living off the love of the Lord
While the price for life is higher

Isn't love to be admired
Has the good in man expired
Stealing all the love and the beauty from the land

Yes we are feeding off the love of the land
Never hearing what He's saying

Living off the love of the Lord
Never feeling what you're praying

Never praising Him for beauty
Only praying God please give me

Stealing all the love and the beauty from the land
Stealing all the love and the beauty from His land

Stevie Wonder

This is the summit we are made to conquer...

But remember you can ALWAYS READ!

Adding an audio clip to your website gives a personal touch where reading text is hard to portray. It puts a voice to you representing your product or service and can make a big effect on how you are perceived. It assists your website visitors so they can gain a better understanding of what you offer - just as a face-to-face meeting would - having an audio clip helps your web audience build that important relationship with you.

Audio also enhances your professional presentation - in most circumstances. In my opinion, having an audio clip (whether it is music or a voice-over) automatically play when a web page is opened is not a good idea. It is forcing the visitor to listen to something they may not have cared to hear and more importantly, it interferes with the music or radio program they are playing while surfing. It is best to provide an invitation to listen to the audio clip when it is appropriate to introduce it in your website content. This way, you are making your visitors feel comfortable and you appear professional and trustworthy at the same time.

From a marketing perspective, audio can act as an "attention grabber". You have the ability to guide your website visitor through your site and talk about the product or service you have to offer. The audio clip can also be a powerful motivator to explore and discover your site.

There are several ways to utilize audio on your website:

*Personal Messages: Add a personal greeting by means of introducing yourself, your products or your services. This is a quick way to capture their attention as opposed to counting on them to read all of the text you have provided. In fact, simply do that - read what you already have written on your site! This will give your visitors a lasting impression once they hear your voice.

*Promotional Message: Promote a sale, special give-away, or announce a brand new product you want to let everyone know about. Your passionate message speaking about how much you truly believe in your product or service will be sure to catch people's interest.

*Audio Testimonials: Ask your clients to record a quick sound byte for you and post this audio message, along with their name and website address (or contact information) and it becomes a powerful way to tell others of your credibility. Your visitors will be more apt to believe the testimonial if it's attached with a live voice of your client. Your client also wins by giving them some extra exposure of their business.

*Audio Instructions: If you offer a product that needs some instruction, provide an audio clip that explains the steps involved. You can accompany it with a picture of what you're talking about. Seeing and hearing how something works is very powerful and will give people the confidence they need to purchase what you have to offer.

* Audio Invitation: If you have a free e-newsletter, it's important to try and get as many people to sign up for it as possible - they are your target market just waiting to hear more from you! By using an audio message inviting people to sign and explain what they will get for their efforts (answering the "what's in it for me" question), can be very effective. Be sure to mention that you are giving away a free item to anyone signing up - such as a free article, e-book, or piece of artwork etc - people love receiving something free!

How to Put Audio on Your Site

Digital audio can come in many different formats, but the most common and safe format to use is MP3. There are several ways to going about creating these MP3 files - some more expensive than others. I'll detail a few here:

*Recording the audio on your home PC: There are lots of audio recording software available for you to install and start recording your message. All you need is a good quality computer microphone, a quiet room and you're good to go. Here are a couple of software suggestions:

- Audacity is a free, open source audio software program you download and install yourself.

- Web Audio Plus 1.0 is another free software program. I found instructions to use it here: How to put audio on your website

- Sony Sound Forge is a software package that you purchase. Sony Sound Forge enables you to create CD tracks and web audio files. You can even capture audio from an analog source and digitize it onto CD's and MP3's.

- Internet Audio-Video. These guys offer several different pieces of software in one bundle - which includes creating your own video as well. But be careful making your own video clips, if not done professionally, they could work against you. I'll be talking more about video next month.

* Using an on-line service:

- BYOAudio is an audio recording service where you can use your computer microphone or call in via the telephone. The MP3 sound clip is produced for you. They have a sale on right now for a 30-day trial for $1 and after that, it costs $19.95 a month.

- Audio Generator is also a monthly fee-based audio generating service. Beware - you have to sign up to get any information on them and then it is a very intense marketing campaign you need to endure. I was turned off right away - but that's just me.

* Hiring a Professional: With this option, you hire a local audio recording company and go into their studio where they record your voice-over, do edits to make it sound professional and perfect, add some background music and then your audio file is ready to be burned to CD or uploaded to your website.

As you can see, there are many options to consider on how to go about adding audio to your website; in my opinion, give the free open source software a try first and see how that works. If you find it's too difficult to manage and you want an easier way, try the services offered. Once you have your audio clip created, simply contact me or your web developer to have it added to your site.

PS. The resources mentioned above are sites I have found in my Internet searches - I do not make any guarantees; I'm just sharing my research results and do not endorse any of them personally.

Kind regards,
Susan Friesen, B.B.A.
eVision Media ~ Definitive eBusiness Solutions
evisionmedia.ca

About the Author: Susan is a professional website developer with over eight year's experience in the industry. With a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, concentration in Computer Information Systems, she is able to provide a unique and caring service to her clients not only as a website designer, but also an eBusiness Advisor; assisting individuals, businesses and organizations establish and brand product or service effectively on the World Wide Web. Contact Susan today for your free consultation on building your website presence to the effective marketing tool is can be. susan@evisionmedia.ca or visit http://www.evisionmedia.ca

I received a text message from Nubi.

She expressed her apologies for not calling me back or letting me know what was going on.

Sunday, when I had called about going out, she was spending time with her folks. Plus, she said her allergies were acting up and she was really cranky. So, instead of being a bitch to me, she chose to cool off and let her allergies settle before getting back to me.

Not the greatest way to communicate, but I can have an appreciation for why she would feel inclined to do what she did.

Anyway, Nubi is totally onboard about working around "issues" such as the wife and our conflicting schedule, and said she could call me between things such as work, class, and home stuff. You know the drill when living on your own.

How do I feel? Relieved and encouraged. Also, very horny at the prospect of fucking. :)

We were gone this past Sunday (31st) for a family emergency, so there is no video.  We conclude the series from the Sermon on the Mount this coming Sunday.

The podcast from both the 24th and the 31st (with last minute guest speaker) should be up on iTunes soon.

I started to put some stuff on paper so I can reflect on what I wish.  Apart from writing it down so i can see it, I am trying to keep my mind empty.  I have been thinking way too much and it has made me very sad and depressed because I am not getting answers that are right now and crustal clear.  I know better than this: I know I need to be patient.  It is just very difficult to fight over anxiety when it has become a daily habit.

Here are some of the things I wrote down last night: I want to create, have fun, explore my senses, experiment, remember and transmit, design, see people, share, collaborate, read, learn, dress up, express, write books, illustrate books, altered books, multiverse, love, rest, meditate, trance, craft, dance, music, djembe, yoga, tai-chi, listen, poets, message, intuition, vibrant, flow,  receptive to the moment, spirit, total presence, powerful, resonate, mindfulness, deep, dare, whole, unique, consciousness, life force, kundalini, performance art, videoclip, art for art sake, sublimate, divine, sensuality, ecstasy, charisma, adventures, beauty, lovers, bliss, freedom, smile, cosmic, healing, I grow, I am loved, journaling, integrity, potential, key, journey, seduce, mirror, simplicity, awake, joy, delightful, temple, movement, believe, truth, imagination, dynamic, challenge.

The Onyxx

at Lullaby on Daydream Road

http://lullabyondaydreamroad.wordpress.com/

]]> http://knoworacle.wordpress.com/?p=621 Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:58:20 +0000 shivmohan purohit http://knoworacle.wordpress.com/?p=621

Keep the Spark

Inaugural Speech by Chetan Bhagat for the new batch at the Symbiosis BBA program 2008

Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated.  The first day in college is one of them.  When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.

 Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys  have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party – several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.

 I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when  I see older people,  the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost.   So how to save the spark?

Imagine the spark to be a lamp’s flame. The first aspect is nurturing - to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.

 To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn’t any external measure - a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house.

Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement.

 But it isn’t the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won’t be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday?

They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive. Just getting better from current levels feels good. If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to  interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.

Nature designed  with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature’s design. Are you? Goals will help you do that.

I must add, don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions. 

 You must have read some quotes -  Life is a  tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school. Where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

 One last thing about nurturing the spark - don’t take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said  - don’t be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It’s ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

 I’ve told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.

 Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don’t go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you.

But it’s life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that’s where you want to be.

 Disappointment’s cousin is  frustration, the second storm.  Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. >From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don’t know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to  a release.

Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how to write scripts  , having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life  - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.

 Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you.

In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty darn lucky by Indian standards. Let’s be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don’t. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don’t get literary praise. It’s ok. I don’t look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It’s ok. Don’t let unfairness kill your spark.

 Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.

 There you go. I’ve told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.

 I welcome you again to the most wonderful  years of your life. If someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, you eyes will shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive, not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something cool about saying - I come from the land of a billion sparks.

 Thank You.