I'm embarrassed to have to reference to The Princess Diaries, but since I've remembered this passage for all these years, I suppose it's worth mentioning.
In one of the books in the series, Mia worries that she is a talentless loser. All of her friends are brilliant; in addition, they are all multi-talented. Mia's genius boyfriend, Michael, is a technical/computer whiz, her friend Boris's mastery of the violin amazes even apathetic high school students, and Mia...well, Mia isn't great at anything in particular. She pours out her woes into her "diary" constantly, however, and at the end Mia finally realizes her talent: SHE CAN WRITE! And there the story resolves.
I was incredibly irritated at the end of that book. Mia can write. So what? So can I....But, unless I become the J.K. Rowling of my generation, I don't think I'll be able to look at my talent as an especially wonderful gift. I feel very whiny, but I would like to point out that I've had many opportunities to develop some great artistic talent.
Over the years I have:
-Taken ballet classes
-Gone to art camps
-Gone to sewing camps
-Played piano
-Sang classical Indian music
-Played violin
-Taken classical Indian bharat natyam (dance) lessons
-Played percussion
But one after the other, I realized I had no real aptitude for any of these arts. I could barely draw a decent bowl of fruit, much less actual people, and my mom dropped art lessons in a hurry. My dabbling in the musical arts left me with a strong appreciation for people who can in fact play an instrument or sing, while I faced the bitter fact that I didn't have a musical bone in my body. I was frustrated and overwhelmed with these artistic intrusions, and one by one I begged until my disappointed parents dropped the classes.
Even today, they sometimes harangue me about my failure to take one of those lessons seriously. Little do they know how much I wish I could have just picked one of those lessons and tried to excel at it.
Maybe today I would be able to move around on the dance floor without looking like a klutzy Bigfoot. Or maybe I would be able to pull out a well-worn instrument and just play for the hell of it, and for the enjoyment of my family.
What can I do???? Well, I can follow directions. Which means I'm half-decent at baking.
Possible future career: Baker?
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Introductions...
As I ready myself to start a new chapter in my life--college--I figure this is a good time for me to start another new thing: blogging.
I've always liked the idea of blogging, of publishing my ideas immediately and eagerly to an ever-receptive internet audience. But I've been sort of reluctant to start for a few reasons.
Technically, I already have another blog. It's called Kanchana.com, and my dad created it for me when I was about five. I love the fact that my father loved me enough to create a website for me at such a tender age, but I never felt close to it. Its format is so complicated (I'm not very tech-savvy, I admit), and it's not very user-friendly. But I always had that website there for me.
Another thing that sort of scares me about blogs is the fact that blogs get to be so personal and private--as I write these words here, I feel as though I'm writing in a wonderful online journal--yet they are posted up for everybody in the world to see! I don't want someone's perceptions of me to be drastically altered because of the words I write.
And lastly, I'm lazy! Stringing together words into thoughtful, coherent sentences is a lot more difficult than reading them, and in a blog, a writer doesn't even have the cushion of an editor to fix accidental errors or awkward phrasing. But millions of people take this risk every day, so I'll give it a shot.
My name is Kanchana. I'm probably the only Kanchana entering University of Virginia in the fall of 2010. My major is: Undecided.
So here's where this blog comes in....Using words as my guide, and by puzzling out my jumbled thoughts and organizing them, I hope to identify my strengths and weaknesses, find my niche, and figure out what I want to do with my life.
I realize now that virtually no one is going to be reading this blog for a while, which is a very liberating thought!
I've always liked the idea of blogging, of publishing my ideas immediately and eagerly to an ever-receptive internet audience. But I've been sort of reluctant to start for a few reasons.
Technically, I already have another blog. It's called Kanchana.com, and my dad created it for me when I was about five. I love the fact that my father loved me enough to create a website for me at such a tender age, but I never felt close to it. Its format is so complicated (I'm not very tech-savvy, I admit), and it's not very user-friendly. But I always had that website there for me.
Another thing that sort of scares me about blogs is the fact that blogs get to be so personal and private--as I write these words here, I feel as though I'm writing in a wonderful online journal--yet they are posted up for everybody in the world to see! I don't want someone's perceptions of me to be drastically altered because of the words I write.
And lastly, I'm lazy! Stringing together words into thoughtful, coherent sentences is a lot more difficult than reading them, and in a blog, a writer doesn't even have the cushion of an editor to fix accidental errors or awkward phrasing. But millions of people take this risk every day, so I'll give it a shot.
My name is Kanchana. I'm probably the only Kanchana entering University of Virginia in the fall of 2010. My major is: Undecided.
So here's where this blog comes in....Using words as my guide, and by puzzling out my jumbled thoughts and organizing them, I hope to identify my strengths and weaknesses, find my niche, and figure out what I want to do with my life.
I realize now that virtually no one is going to be reading this blog for a while, which is a very liberating thought!
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