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Banking to Brushstrokes

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  by Rama Sriram, Amalfi It’s not easy to leave behind a stable career, especially one that you have invested in for years and your family has proudly proclaimed as a great feat. Although growing up, I lived in the most humble of homes and studied in the simplest of schools, my aspirations were a cut-above. I wanted to make it big in banking, and tirelessly studied atop hot balconies and shadowy corners of my home to eventually make it a reality. I soon got married to someone who shared my passion for success (Hi Sriram, hope you’re reading this :)) and we found ourselves frequently relocating to different cities. Apart from the plethora of cultural experiences I was fortunate enough to taste, I could no longer ignore the mounting familial responsibilities, especially with two kids at home. Shortly after, I decided to leave the very job I worked all my life for - it was tough to part with something that afforded me the financial security and independence that I craved, but I battled wi
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Artwork by Kriti

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 Artwork by Kriti Balaji, 8 years, Seawood
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Parenting Today

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    by Ananya, Bridgewood-A Ever had those days when you wondered who in the world came up with the statement that “parenting is a rewarding journey”? What about those days when you are pulling your hair out because your kids just won’t listen to you? Do you sometimes struggle to understand their behavior? On these days, a parent’s hope is merely to get through the day. To somehow survive without your kids hating you. But when you step back and think about the larger goal of what you want for your children, your goals are loftier than just “survival” and often tend to move towards helping children thrive. Take a moment and ask yourself, what do you really want for your children? What qualities do you want them to develop? The answer is often some version of helping your children be independent, successful, and happy human beings. And what if I told you that these situations you were just trying to survive are actually opportunities to help your children thrive? Perhaps you may no
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Artwork by Rivina

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Artwork by Rivina, 5 years, Pinewood Home sweet home Mom & Me
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Dream to Fly

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by Tom, Seawood Why this post? I need not have written this. But being who I am, a boy from a remote village without much exposure to even cities could conquer the sky. What brought me here and what I sacrificed in the bargain is certainly worth being recorded. My Aunt Sr.Edwin, a nun, had tears in her eyes when I entered the aircraft, wearing a pilot’s uniform, and sat next to her with the boarding cards. We both did not talk or try to open a conversation. But I realized then that she didn’t want that journey to end. Even I wished the same. We both wanted to squeeze maximum time together from the little we had, as her malignant tumour had already crossed the point of no return. We both knew that her days with me were short. I understood the meaning of those tears of delight. She was the one who nurtured in me the ambition of becoming an airline pilot from a very young age. I recall growing up reading intriguing letters from my aunt Edwin, which prompted me to become a pilot. As a
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Poem: A Twilight saga

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  by Arun, Bridgewood "As the sun whispered good bye, Hues of purple lit up the sky."   "Dancing lights   set up the tone, For the lonely fisherman who was triumphant in his zone."   "Water dazzling as if on fire, Quenching a shutterbugs burning desire."
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Artwork by Rohin

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Artwork by Rohin, Greenwood
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How to avoid Parental burnout

by Deepa Aathereya, Seawood   Ooops! It’s summer break for children. What do I do with them all day? How do I keep them engaged effectively? When you hit a job burnout, it’s time you slow down or find yourself another job! But what happens when you hit a burnout at home?? I get these questions from 1 out of 5 parents whom I interact with. LIFE is on a fast track. Managing home, office, raising awesome kids, helping our little darlings cope with the world, providing them with the BEST always. Ensuring they are happy NO MATTER WHAT!…sooo much to do, so little time, age is catching up, BLINK and kids are growing. Amidst all these, you suddenly feel physically and mentally exhausted! Here are 5 tips to avoid burnout and make parenting super fun! One hour of ‘Me’ Time Everyday: C’mon, you deserve the BEST always. You are NOT a super human to sacrifice your entire life for kids and sit on their heads in the process! Actually, they need some space too. So give yourself a one hour br
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RED Taylor Swift (Deluxe Edition) – Review

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by Sahana Singh, Bridgewood Last year, Rolling Stones Magazine put Taylor Swift’s RED , at #99 on their list of 200 Greatest Albums of All Time. The funny thing is, they only gave RED a 3/5 review, when it first came out. In fact, it is one of the songwriter’s most polarising albums. At its release, it was often called “incohesive” and “messy”, or a “let-down” after 2010’s self-written Speak Now . It is now, as we have seen, critically acclaimed, and even kickstarted a new generation of singer-songwriters, like Olivia Rodrigo and Conan Gray. Even Folklore seems to be a sequel to RED in a musical sense.   The backlash RED received, caused Taylor to make her first all-pop album, 1989 . 1989 , is Taylor Swift’s most iconic album. Taylor’s 1989 era itself is iconic - being associated with the infamous #SquadGoals, Famousgate Feud, and Bleachella. 1989 was also produced by first time producer, Jack Antonoff, who went on to work with Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Carly Rae Jepsen, and Charli X
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TRYST WITH A CONVERTIBLE CAR

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  by Gitanjali, Bridgewood So, Dad was this total dude in his youth (spanning age 10 to 25 years). He was the stereotypical Mills & Boon hero – tall dark and handsome -    and he knew it! He had a way of winning over people, particularly the female gender, starting with his mom, sisters and sisters in law. He won them over with his charm and they in turn were generous with his pocket money. With cash in hand, our man was always dressed in the latest fashion, with a matching demeanor.       So, this is where my short story about him begins: His elder brother, a doctor in the Rangoon Railway Hospital, had a convertible car. Once parked in the hospital on duty, my uncle was busy for the rest of the day. Dad would stealthily open the hood of the convertible, jump in and drive out in style, smoking a pipe nonchalantly - even Gregory Peck would have looked like a poor cousin! He now had all the tools to impress, ahem, the girl friends! So off to the cinema with them and after the ‘ou
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Life lessons from ZOOTOPIA by Tiana Atur

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by Tiana Arthur, Seawood My name is Tiana Atur and would like to share 4 life lessons from one of my favouriteeee movie Zootopia. I want all of you to watch this beautiful movie where you will laugh, cry and you will get scared even, but you won't get bored at all. Zootopia is a cop story where a young bunny cop (Judy Hopps), the first in her family who joins police academy, and she partners with a fox (Nick) to solve the most wicked crime the city of Zootopia has ever seen!!! So now let me share life lessons from this movie, keep having your popcorns: #1 : Never give up : Judy had a dream when she was young. Everybody told her she couldn’t do it. Her parents, her friends, teachers, and even her boss. Judy never gave up! It can be big or small. Likewise, initially few people told i can't do wave board and its dangerous and i can fall and get hurt but i never gave up and now i can easily do wave boarding. #2 : People can change : When Judy was younger she got bullied and t
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Artwork by Aadvik

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 Artwork by Aadvik Sathiyanarayanan, 6 years, Seawood
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Artwork by Natalia

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 By: Natalia, 6 years, Amalfi
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Cherish & Nourish!

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  Contributed by: Shalini, Seawood "Appreciate everything, even the ordinary... Especially the ordinary".                                      Pema Chodron   We've all felt it time and again! We've all experienced the sheer rawness of it!   We've all crossed the threshold only to return gleefully! This time round, leaving India (even if for a few months)   felt like leaving home and going to a boarding school.   Since we got to Toronto I've been home(sick). Despite a glorious spring waiting to explode, the heart can't stop smiling looking at how much of India I see around me in the nostalgic 70 year old Chan(d) Sarkar, chatty Delhi teenagers and upbeat Indian music infiltrating Uni food courts. It's like a mela!!!   Even as the hot and cold weather continue to have a face off, there is a resilience that's accepting of everything happening around.   An unscheduled trip to Toronto by itself could have thrown me off a few years ago and y
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Words of Thoughts

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by Jayalakshmi, Amalfi Thoughts and thoughts and thoughts, Words, words, and words. So many of them keep jumping around in my head. They have no place to settle down. They want to jump and come out. So I try to catch them and fling them on to the paper, so that I can rest in peace as my head starts clearing up to make space for yet another set of Words and Thoughts. Let me try to assemble these jumbled thoughts and words to make them interesting and readable! My First Attempt. Let me think what I should tell my eagerly awaiting audience. A story! -or A Tip A Day- or some Quirky Topic.......   THE LEFT AND RIGHT PART OF OUR MIND.   I heard from somewhere that the RIGHT Side of the Brain is a 'Dreamer' and the LEFT Side is a 'Logical Thinker '.     I was wondering if it is possible that half our brain tells us something and the other half pulls us down. But my own experiment and experience made me draw the same conclusion. When my alarm went
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