Recently, it was after much consideration and a LONG-AWAITED period(as in like 3 years), my dad decided on a 2-week trip to India before the exams. Being able to travel to another country again was astoundingly refreshing. It felt awesome, boarding the flight again(although when we used to visit India regularly, I HATED THE FLIGHT TURBULENCES, but now, ironically this time it felt like a GENTLE ROCKING). I visited my grandparents, and many embraces and tears were exchanged when we met and when we left. We left with the promise of meeting again in December and also came up with a plan for them to stay with us for a few weeks. On the last day of our trip, we had to take a flight from Mumbai, and thus, we had the opportunity to stay in Mumbai for a day. We grasped this opportunity to tour Mumbai, and it was an extremely unique experience, as I had never visited India’s financial and fashion capital before.

It was the last day we would be spending on this ship. I could already see numerous cargo ships, an indication that we were close to the city. I woke up incredibly early as I wanted to make the last day the best day on the cruise. Today, we had planned to participate in the Harry Potter quiz, a game of Family Bingo and watch a live show performed by the Kinetic Band. We would also be going swimming after breakfast, and as it was bright and sunny, we were hoping that the pool would be warmer today😊.

I woke up, fresh and rejuvenated for the upcoming activities we had planned. Instead of eating at Windjammer, we brought food up to our room and devoured muffins, coffee(one of the rare times my mother permitted me to drink coffee every day)croissants and juice. Yes, we drank juice and coffee. For today, we had planned to go for a napkin-folding class, watch a duo performance by Victoria Stryker(violinist)and Oleg(guitarist), play foosball in the Seaplex, an indoor stadium, go for a bumper car ride(also in the Seaplex), and then I would visit  the Living Room, which was apparently a “bonding place for teenagers”. My sister would also visit the “Aquanauts”, which included fun activities for children of her age.

I woke up to the sound of the sea and a cool breeze wafting in as I spotted my parents conversing in the balcony. There were SO MANYYYYYYY activities we had planned today, I doubted we’d even be in our room! As one of my classmates proclaimed, “On the cruise, the only time you are in your room is when you wake up and when you sleep”. We had booked a myriad of activities on Day 2, ranging from swimming to acrobatics shows to dancing!

Day 1- My dad informed us that we would be traveling to India in two weeks. I was SUPER-OVERECSTATIC!!

Day 5- My dad informed us that we would not be traveling to India as the Omicron cases were rising drastically…I was SUPER-OVERSORROWED!!

Lately I have been listening to many musical albums from many different nations and in a wide variety of languages. One gloomy Sunday, I was curled up on the couch, immersed in the rhythms of music. Suddenly, my dad mysteriously appeared in front of me( I’m sure that he has secretly learnt teleportation but  isn’t teaching ME the skill.☹) and he suggested that I should listen to music that he admired. I was slightly reluctant as I just wanted to remain in MY world of music, but I somehow agreed. He made me listen to Michael Jackson, ABBA, Boyzone and Backstreet Boys. After watching a few videos, I was struck by the differences in music between the 1900s and 2000s.

Recently, I watched Encanto with Em. At first, I believed that it was a movie for toddlers and was extremely reluctant but because of Em’s persistence, I conceded to watching it with her. Let me confess that I enjoyed the movie thoroughly.

“…where the Grove of Dodona is”, I read, engrossed in the 1^st book of the Trials of Apollo. I had recently started the series and already, I loved it. I walked into the bedroom, looking for a comb to tame my unruly hair. It was disrupting my reading and I was exasperated. As I set the book onto the table and looked into the mirror, I nearly screamed, but managed to suppress the urge to. There, perching on my forehead, distorting my reflection with its horrifying presence, WAS A PIMPLE RIGHT AT THE CENTRE OF MY FOREHEAD! No wait! There was another one peeping out from the left corner of my hairline.