It’s storytime.

Hello!

Those close to me know that I absolutely despise exclamation marks. It looks rather disturbing; it gives off a people pleaser vibe- I like to call it the charlatan of punctuations- and, to me, it serves no purpose. A keyboard smash or caps works just fine; we don’t need a broken stick to show our enthusiasm.

However, my online presence has been called ‘dry’ because of the lack of the aforementioned monstrosity, and I don’t want my first impression to include the word boring (I am okay with impressions once I interact more). So, friends, think of this exclamation mark as a gift from me to you. I am trying to broaden my horizon, I am trying to reach a greater audience, so it is of utmost importance that I elevate my social adroitness, and if that mandates a broken stick then so be it!

I started using exclamation marks after I read A Million Miles In A Thousand Years by Donald Miller, a life-changing book. It is about a group of filmmakers who approach Donald and want to turn his memoir into a film. Donald is thrilled to know this and is pumped to write the script, but as exciting as making a film sounds, it is hard to write a script-especially when it is about one’s life. He realizes his story has a substantial shortfall in ‘riveting’ and ‘life turning’ events which are essential to a film worth watching. Throughout the book, he realizes that the engaging parts of the film are usually when the protagonist is suffering, or rather sacrificing, to reach his goal- and that is what a delightful story is all about. That is what life is all about.

While reading the book, I was attempting to nail down points in my life where I avoided something only because I was lazy or, in some ways, dreading the task. And I came to this awful realization: the things I turned aside were things worth living, and later, recounting-they were worth a story.

Whether it be turning down a hair-raising rollercoaster, taking a zip-line through the Niagara, refusing to take part in the MUN, trying an exotic dish, and finally, starting a website earlier on, I caved in and chose the easy way out. I mean, what would you flaunt: zip-lining or sitting on a merry-go-round? A few days ago, I decided that I want to experience a story worth telling. In the words of Robert McKee: "Joy is what you feel when the conflict is over. But it's conflict that changes a person."

So began my story on making a better story.

The first step to revamping, as you can probably tell, is my usage of exclamation marks despite my resentment towards it. I recently realized that we live in a world where there is no clear distinction between right and wrong. The world’s moral compass does not work as per any general code of conduct; it works on what the majority believes to be right. Although I find this punctuation a monstrosity, it so happens that the majority finds its usage rather pleasant, and my goal is to reach out to the majority, so I am learning to adapt- bear with me. My second step -and the most important step to revamping- was creating this website.

I have always had commitment issues and struggle to complete tasks that require constant creative effort and time. But no more. According to Ali Abdaal, productivity= useful output/time * fun, and this equation has truly opened my eyes. I would ignore the fun element and fret over things I had pending, but I am gradually learning to incorporate more of the fun element in my equation, which would raise my productivity; therefore, I created this site.

I recently graduated high school and I have various trajectories in my head, but I have always been sure of one thing: I want to share and create a network. I want to expand my bubble rather than pop it, and this website provides the perfect opportunity for me to do so. Another upside would be the granted ability to go back and reflect on my documented experiences because I know I can't rely on muscle memory (tried and tested, believe me).

I know people incline towards reading from those well-versed and experienced in their subject, but my site is more of a learn with me rather than a learn from me. Having said that, there are definitely some things I have picked up which I will share in the coming posts, but this platform is mainly going to centre around takeaways from my daily experiences, which I hope helps those who, at any point in their life, find themselves in a similar situation. This site will cover a bit of everything from my life: tackling student workload, friends and family, work and things that intrigue me (this might include a book, film, article, video or a podcast, maybe more) and through this, I hope to foster a good community and make great friends.

So, join me as I document my life and attempt at making a story worth telling.

Welcome to The Bubble. I hope you enjoy it!