Damselz-In-Sanity

 Literally shivering in disbelief as I author this blog because OH MY GOD IT'S BEEN THREE FULL YEARS TO BLOGGING!!!! Thank you to every single person out there who's read/is reading my blogs and has supported me in this journey. I genuinely did not think 3 years would pass by so quick and blogging would become such an important - and a root to several other journalistic pursuits - activity for me. So, once again, I owe it all to you guys :) I love you. I spent an unrealistically excessive amount of time thinking about what to author for this year's 'blog-iversary' (hoping this catches on haha) but finally came to a conclusion which I hope you all enjoy :) Blast from the past? 3 years on paper doesn't seem like much. But when you break it up into 36 months, 1095 days, and 1,576,880 minutes... So much has happened in the past 3 years and it would only make sense to share some stats with you guys :) For starters, this is my 159th blog post! We built a community of ...

Perfectionism. An excuse for the lazy,  A problem to many. Heylo everyone and welcome back to my blog :) All truth disclosed I'm writing this blog at 2 am in the morning so you may be reading a totally non-Instagram-inspired blog/rant :) We've all heard the term ✨Perfectionism✨ But just as a general recap, in terms of Wikipedia: Perfectionism is a broad personality trait characterized by a person's concern with striving for flawlessness and perfection and is accompanied by critical self-evaluations and concerns regarding others' evaluations.  Simply put, It's impossible to get a task done because you're constantly concerned with the fact that it isn't "Perfect". A perfectionist is very critical of themselves as well as the world around them; typically having the mindset of "all or nothing". Stemming from perhaps childhood trauma or the burden of being the 'perfect kid' (in Indian terms: Sharma ji ka Beta/Beti), the term " Alm...

 Heilo heilo, Welcome backzo! Keep reading to join a movement as part of my 3 year blog anniversary :) PC: The New York Times It is an established fact that teenagers of this age are far more concerned about their social image online as compared to real life (myself included haan) And while it's a good thing to maintain a safe web presence, over the years, it has spiralled into a far worse, unhealthy coping mechanism.   I saw this happening to both, myself as well as my peers and of course, I had to blog about it :) Without further ado, Let's get to it! I cannot be the only one who's been to an incredibly beautiful place, managed to click "a few" decent pictures and sent them to my best friend asking which one's should I post/story. Cmon, we've all done this. And there's nothing wrong in it - sab karte hai. "Is this main worthy?" This quote is the purpose of my post.  Have we really come down to a generation where we need to feel "worthy...

 Hello everyone and welcome back to a fresh new month <3 Being a teenager is like being stuck in a cycle. Wake up-Brush-Eat-School-Tuition-Homework-Dinner-Late night studies-Repeat. Every week, the same thing over and over and over; it never stops. I got into this cycle back in March 2020(start of 9th grade) and haven't had a 'full proper no tuitions, no padhai vacations' ever since. There's always something or the other - studying for school, boards, extracurriculars, and occasionally hanging out with friends. But I would say that pretty much sums up the lives we all lead (at least Indian students ) after 8th grade. Personally, I've felt a little blah at times. Especially when I count something week-wise (eg: "I'm going to start studying for my 30-page Organic Chemistry exam next week onwards") Some Sundays I would be like: Ah man, another week of this - the deadline comes closer. After being stuck in this loop a while, I decided,  Life can't g...

 Ahoy and welcome back to Month 36(wait...THREE YEARS?!) OF #FALTUFRIDAYS! It's actually hard to believe I've been going on this journey for over 36 months. Nevertheless, there have been times when I've been completely unmotivated to get any writing done; And, my most recent slump led to today's post :) No writer out there has never NOT experienced Writer's Block. And everyone out there has different ways to cope with it. My go-to advice is simply to leave the piece of work alone. But when you're on a deadline, it's tough to do so. So, here are a few (non-cliched) tricks I've learnt (and implemented) over the years; and I hope you can relate to the same! Listen to music that fits your article. We all know music has the power to influence us. Say you're writing a murder mystery that occurs in a cafe. You want to place yourself in the mood of a cafe. Music apps have tons of readymade playlists for such random scenarios in your head.  Though you may not...

 I spent nearly 20 hours on Instagram, 15 hours on Youtube and 14 hours on Netflix one week. It's safe to say I suffered from a crippling case of Phone Addiction. Hello everyone and welcome back! The stats you read above is not limited to just me.  Nearly every teenager with an access to social media suffers from the above. I've spoken about Phone addiction   and Doom Scrolling    in my earlier posts but for today's post, I thought, why not share a few tips to overcome the same? Without further ado, Let's dive right into it! Firstly, What is a "Dopamine Detox" and Why is it important? It's reducing the amount of content intake we consume from the tiny little box we carry around in our pockets 24x7. This post is mainly going to focus on Dopamine Detox in relation to social media. Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat, Twitter - you name the media - are packed with news and content. Content that keeps you hooked. Content that brings the app, money. Content that makes...

 Hey everyone and welcome back to another #be-a series! Last time, I wrote about how we should try to emulate a cockroach and this time, a bamboo! You might be wondering - Why a Bamboo? What's the hidden metaphor lol. Well, that's what I aim to explain in this post.  Without further ado, let's get to it! Have you ever been knocked down so hard that it felt like you couldn't get up and run anymore? Did someone or something hurt you really bad that you felt like it was the end of the world? You were pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed? If so, you share this experience with a bamboo. Bamboos are known for being sturdy and highly flexible; in human terms: resilient.  Bamboo can be twisted and turned and bent and stretched before it reaches its breaking point. No matter how much you push it down - it jumps right up; sort of like a Bobo doll! This is what I encourage you to be.  No matter how hard everything gets, never lose hope to bounce back and fight your battle. ...

 Heilo everyone and welcome back to a fresh new month! If you're someone like me who enjoys listening and watching content to reading them (ironically I'm writing this), this blog post is for you. A lot of you have asked me where I draw inspiration from for my blogs.  While a majority of them are inspired by real life, there are quite a few posts that have been prompted by the media that I consume. So for today's blog, I thought, why not share a few of my favourites? Without further ado, here are my top 5 Ted Talks on Mental Health that I would recommend everyone to give a watch once! The lifetime stakes of Teen Mental Health   Dr Roselinde Kaiser explains how adolescence is a developmental window of both risk and enrichment and outlines strategies for teens (and the rest of us) to thrive. This Ted is an apt explanation of the introduction of Mental Struggles among teens and how they can be carried forward to your adulthood if neglected. If you're new to the whole conc...

 YES! At Mumbai's editorial division. And it was one of the most memorable experiences of my life :) Hello everyone and welcome back to month 35 of #faltufridays! I feel like all the happening things in my life typically 'happen' over the summers and thought it would be cool to share some of it with you guys!  (ps. I'm not trying to brag; please don't mistake it for the same!)  Without further ado, Let's get to it :) The Times Of India does not need an introduction, it is an established fact that ToI is the ‘ World’s largest selling English Newspaper ’. Right from the beginning, I received the opportunity to contribute and work alongside seasoned professionals. Just on my 2nd day of the Internship, I was assigned to attend a Press Conference on ‘Manipur riots’, at the prestigious Press Club of Mumbai, as TOI’s sole representative. In attendance were esteemed Print and Television journalists from various media houses. This exhilarating experience led to my first ...

 And I'm totally not writing this blog 6 months after the song was released! Hi everyone and welcome back! Happy 150TH POST!!! Truth be said, I was extremely scared to release this post because I wasn't sure how the Swifties out there would take it (but dw I got it approved so we're good to go!) If you haven't heard the phrase  It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me!, congratulations, you're a boomer (just kidding!) This line is from Taylor Swift's song, Anti Hero; part of her most recent album, Midnights. It took the world by storm on its release and made it to every reel possible on Instagram and Tiktok. However, I realised I personally haven't come across a blog with this title, so I thought - why not be the first? Accha okay enough introduction, let's jump into the post :) Have you ever felt blah? Just..not in your element? And raise your hand if you've blamed yourself for feeling that way. I can't ever retain friends; they all det...