My blogchatter Half Marathon Journey

 

When I started the Blogchatter Half Marathon, I thought coming up with posts would be easy. I had a few ideas in mind, so I thought I could just write whenever I wanted and finish everything on time.

But after starting it, i realised it wasn't that easy. 

There were days when I knew I had to write a post but had absolutely no idea what to write about. I changed topics, rejected many ideas and sometimes spent more time deciding the topic than actually writing the post. There were also days when I was rushing because the deadline was getting closer.

  I also ended up writing quite a lot of pages during this Half Marathon. My notebook has pages filled with rough ideas, random sentences, crossed-out words, scribbles and half-written drafts. 

One thing I liked about this challenge was that it pushed me to think of ideas even on days when I didn't have anything planned. I started paying more attention to small things around me and thinking, "Could I actually write a post about this?" It also gave me more practice in putting my thoughts into words instead of waiting for the perfect idea to come along.

Another thing I enjoyed was reading the comments on my posts. Some people would connect the topic to their own lives and share their experiences, while others would add their own thoughts.

And now I’m finally writing the last post of this challenge.

So, this is my final post for the Half Marathon. I don't have any big lesson to share from the experience. I’m just glad I made it to the end.

This post is a part of blogchatter half marathon

Things I Want to Buy With Adult Money

 

There are quite a few things I want to buy when I start earning my own money. 

So, here are some of the things I want to buy with my own money once I start earning.

1. Hardcover Editions of Books:-

    Hardcover editions of books look so cute, especially with sprayed edges and all the little details and designs on the covers. But hardcover editions are quite expensive in India, so I usually hesitate to purchase them with my parents’ money. I always end up keeping them on my wishlist, thinking that I’ll buy them with my own money once I start earning.

2. All the Volumes of My Favourite Manga and Comics:-

  Some manga and comic series have many volumes, and buying them one by one can get very expensive. Each volume can cost quite a lot, so completing an entire series is something I usually keep postponing.

If I have enough money of my own, I would love to slowly build complete collections instead of having only a few volumes sitting on my shelf.

3. Japanese Cute Stationery:-

      Japan has some of the cutest stationery, and I have always had a soft corner for mini products such as tiny notebooks, little pens with decorations, stickers, mini highlighters, etc. So, if I have my own money, even if I don't have any use for them, I would still want to collect all those cute mini stationery items.

4. BTS and BL Merchandise:-

    Albums, official merchandise, postcards, signed items and other collectibles from BTS and BL actors are also on my wishlist.

    I would love to have things like photo cards, posters, special-edition albums and other little items related to my favourite artists and actors. Concert tickets are also something I would definitely want to save for, especially a BTS concert.

5. Paani poori shop or bakery:-

   This is an unrealistic dream of mine since childhood. I have always wanted to own an existing pani puri shop or bakery, not to make them, but so that I could eat whatever I wanted and whenever i wanted. Even if it runs at a loss, I would still think its worth .

The Things I Say I’ll Do Tomorrow

   There are some things I keep procrastinating and telling myself I’ll do tomorrow. It might be because I’m being lazy or I don’t have enough time. Sometimes I keep postponing something until the due date gets close.

    One of them is reading a book that I don’t enjoy reading. Sometimes the writing flow is poor, or there is another reason why I don’t feel like continuing the book. But  I have to complete it for a writing review. Even thinking about opening that book again makes me want to postpone it, so I tell myself I’ll read it tomorrow.

   Another thing is clearing my phone storage. Since I’m studying CMA, I have collected a lot of screenshots, PDFs and study material over time. Even after the results were announced, I kept postponing deleting the files I no longer needed. I have deleted some of them, but there are still old PDFs and photos from my Foundation days taking up space.

   I also procrastinate when it comes to small things I want to do in my free time. I might have a drawing that is half finished or cleanning up my bookshelf or something else I want to work on. Since none of these things have a deadline, I often tell myself I’ll do them tomorrow.

   Another one is replying to messages. Sometimes I see a message when I’m busy and think I’ll reply later. Then I forget about it and remember only after some time. Even then, I might put it off again because I’m doing something else.

  And, of course, there are tasks that I know I have to finish but keep postponing until the deadline is close. I may have enough time in the beginning, but I don’t always use it properly. Once the deadline is near, I finally start working on it seriously.

There are still a few things sitting on my list that I keep telling myself I’ll do tomorrow. Maybe I’ll finally get to them tomorrow—or maybe they’ll still be waiting for me the day after that.

This post is a part of blogchatter half marathon

A Free Art Corner: Free Resources for Traditional Drawing 🎨✏️

 

Learning to draw doesn't always require expensive classes or joining an art class. Sometimes, a pencil, some paper and a good free tutorial are enough to get started.

There are so many art resources online that finding the useful ones can be a little overwhelming. I’ve put together a collection of free art resources that have helped me while learning and practising drawing. Most of these are useful for beginners, especially if you enjoy traditional drawing and want to improve without spending money on expensive courses.

These are some websites and YouTube resources worth exploring:-

 1. RapidFireArt – Free Drawing Tutorials:-

    Link:- Rapid fire art- Tutorials

     RapidFireArt is a useful place to begin if you want to learn traditional pencil drawing. The website has step-by-step tutorials covering subjects such as eyes, faces, lips, hair and shading. The instructions are broken down into smaller steps, which can make practising less intimidating for beginners. It also offers a free beginner drawing course covering fundamentals such as shapes, proportions, perspective and shading. If you prefer reading instructions while practising alongside them, this is a resource that worth checking. 

2. Proko – Free Drawing Lessons on YouTube:

 Link:-  Proko - drawing lessons

     If you prefer learning by watching someone demonstrate a technique, Proko has a huge collection of free art lessons on YouTube. The channel covers drawing fundamentals, anatomy, perspective, shading and many other areas. There are videos for beginners as well as artists who want to develop more advanced skills. Instead of only showing the final drawing, many lessons explain the ideas behind the process. I would recommend beginning with the fundamental drawing lessons before moving on to more advanced topics.

3. Farjana Drawing Academy:-

Link:- Farjana drawing academy - youtube

     Farjana Drawing Academy is one of the YouTube channels I found helpful for practising drawings step by step. The videos are especially useful when you want to follow along with a reference instead of trying to figure out every step on your own.

One thing I find helpful is that the artist often gives measurements and proportions while explaining the drawing. That makes the process easier to follow because you don't have to guess where to start for every feature.

It is also useful for practising portraits and pencil drawings while slowly getting more comfortable with proportions.

 4. RixCanDoIt – Grid Drawing:-

Link :-  Rix can do it - youtube

     There are many methods of drawing, and one of them is grid drawing. It is a simple technique that can help you copy a reference image more accurately by dividing both the reference and your paper into equal squares.

RixCanDoIt has a YouTube tutorial that explains how to use this method step by step. Instead of trying to draw the entire picture at once, you can focus on one square at a time and observe the shapes, lines and proportions within it.

I found this method helpful because it makes detailed drawings feel less overwhelming, especially when you are still learning about proportions. It can also be a good way to practise observing a reference carefully while gradually building confidence in drawing.

5. Draw like a Sir – Colour theory:-

Link:- Draw like a sir - youtube

 If you want to move beyond just drawing outlines and start understanding colours, Draw Like a Sir has useful videos on colour theory.

His colour-theory content explains ideas such as hue, value, saturation, colour harmony and different colour schemes. The videos also discuss how colours can look different depending on the colours around them.

I found this interesting because colour theory can seem confusing when you first hear terms like complementary or analogous colours. Seeing the ideas explained through actual artwork makes them easier to understand.

So, if you are planning to work with coloured pencils, paints or digital colours later, this is worth exploring.

   If you're planning to experiment with coloured pencils, watercolours or other traditional mediums, understanding colour relationships can make choosing colours much easier.

CONCLUSION:-

These are some of the free resources that have helped me explore drawing without needing to spend money on courses. You don't have to use all of them at once — even choosing one and practising regularly can make a difference.

And if you know any other free websites or YouTube channels that have helped you with drawing, feel free to drop them in the comments.

This post is a part of blogchatter half marathon 

The Pressure to have everything figure out

 

Introduction:-

Growing up comes with a lot of questions. What do you want to do in the future? What career are you choosing? When are you going to start working? Do you have a plan? These questions might sound normal, but there are moments when they make us realise how much we are expected to know about a life we are still trying to understand.

We are often told to have goals, make decisions, and work towards a successful future. We also see people around us moving forward, achieving things, and making choices. Somewhere along the way, we may start wondering whether we are doing enough ourselves. Sometimes, we wonder whether standing still means we are falling behind.

When Growing Up Starts Feeling Like a Deadline:-

Sometimes, growing up feels less like enjoying life and more like trying to meet a list of expectations. First, it's about getting good marks, then getting into a good college, finding a job, earning well, getting married, and eventually having children. 

There always seems to be another milestone waiting, and someone else's life becomes the benchmark we are expected to reach. But everyone has their own pace and their own journey. Life is not a race where everyone starts from the same line and has to reach every destination together. 

The Space to Understand Ourselves:-

We are often encouraged to make decisions about our future, but we aren't always given enough space to understand ourselves before making them. Sometimes, we are so busy answering questions about what comes next that we hardly get the chance to ask ourselves what we genuinely enjoy, what matters to us, or what kind of life we want to build. 

I feel that understanding ourselves shouldn't be something we are expected to finish by a certain age. It is something that can happen gradually, even while we are making plans and figuring out what comes next.

When constant comparisons arise, we start to doubt ourselves. Am I doing enough? Why am I not achieving more? These questions can become especially difficult when we are still trying to understand what we want. Sometimes, while trying to meet everyone's expectations, we lose track of what we expect from ourselves.

CONCLUSION:-

Life doesn't always follow the plans we make, and that's okay. We might change our minds, take unexpected turns, or discover things we never imagined. In the end, I think it's not about living up to someone else's timeline, but about finding a path that feels right for us. 

This post is a part of blogchatter half marathon 

BLACK COFFEE THEORY- UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF FOCUS

 

BLACK COFFEE THEORY:-

   Recently I came across a black coffee theory. This was created by Sahil Bloom in 2026. It explains how our thoughts influence our daily life with an example.

The story follows as:

 Imagine walking into a cafe.

When the barista asks for your order, you say, "I’m not sure, but I definitely don’t want black coffee."

The barista is confused and asks "then what do you actually want?". 

You replied, "Anything is fine, just not black coffee."

The cafe gets busy, the barista takes orders from other customers, and eventually goes back to make your drink. 

Now that Barista forgets your conversation and keeps thinking "what did she order?" , "What did she want?" He suddenly remembered the word "black coffee" as u mentioned multiple times.

As a result, you are handed a cup of black coffee- the exact thing you wanted to avoid.

The idea behind the story is that when we keep focusing on what we don't want, we may end up giving that thing more attention than what we actually want.

This story is not scientific evidence that the universe literally gives us whatever we think about. Rather, it can be used as a simple way to understand how our attention and thoughts can influence what we notice and how we act.

 The Impact of Focus on Our Thoughts:-

     Have you ever noticed that we subconsciously repeat or replay our embarrassing moments or unpleasant memories again and again, even though we try hard to stop thinking about them?

It's because we usually want to forget those moments. So we tell ourselves, “Don't remember that. Don't think about it.”

But instead of forgetting the moment, we may end up thinking about it again and again.

The same thing can happen in everyday life. If someone tells you, “Don't look at the clock,” you might suddenly become more aware of it and feel curious about the time. This doesn't mean the clock wasn't there before, it's simply that the instruction has shifted your attention towards it.

How to Reframe Your Focus:- 

          Instead of constantly telling ourselves what we don't want, we can try to clearly identify what we do want.

For example:

Instead of "I don't want to fail my exam", say "I want to pass my exam."

Instead of "I won't able to finish it", say "I'll work on it and try to finish it."

Instead of "I mustn't forget this", say "I will make a note so that i can remember."

This doesn't mean that changing our words will guarantee a particular result. However, it can help us focus on the action or outcome.

QUOTE:-

"Focus on where u want to go, not on what you fear."                                                                    -Tony Robbins

CONCLUSION:-

The Black Coffee Theory is a simple way of looking at something we experience every day. Sometimes, our attempts to avoid something can keep our attention fixed on it.

If you want to change your focus, stop fighting with your mind. Instead of only telling yourself what not to do, give yourself a clear, positive action to move towards.

You don't have to completely erase an unwanted thought. Sometimes, you just need to stop giving it all your attention and redirect yourself towards what you actually want.

This blog is a part of blogchatter half marathon2.0

7 Reasons to follow / unfollow

In world full of many creators, every creator isn't for everyone. Depending on my personality,  here are 7 reasons to follow or unfollow me

1. Lost in daydreams

        I don't know how many people do this, but whenever I'm bored or zoning out, I create scenarios in my head and enact the whole thing. I don't even know whether it's because I've read so many novels and watched so many dramas that I want to act out or live as those characters. But whenever someone catches me doing it, the embarrassment is no joke. I just want the ground to open up and swallow me so I never have to face them again.

  Sometimes, I'll suddenly make an angry face or start crying because a whole dialogue is playing in my head. Other times, I create an entire story where I have supernatural powers but still have to endure all kinds of hardships.

Honestly, I guess I'd score full marks if there were a subject called "Delusion".

2. Jack of All Trades, Master of None

         I can draw and paint, but I'm not professional enough. I can play the piano, but not professionally. I can play sports, but only at a school level, nowhere near a mastery level. I can write poems and stories, but haven't completed fully. I can make art, but not creative enough to create on my own. I can dance, but I'm not a professional dancer. I can cook too but that wholly depends on fate. Sometimes the food turns out amazingly delicious, other times it's the complete opposite.

I can give advice to almost anyone, whether it's about relationships, motivation, finance or motivation etc.. but struggle to make decisions for myself.

I also have an excellent memory. I can remember almost everything, including what I study but somehow, the information never shows up when I actually need it. 😭

At first, I felt useless because everything I was interested in seemed incomplete. But then I came across the full version of the proverb:

 “Jack of all trades, master of none, but often better than a master of one.”

 And somehow, that completely changed the way I looked at myself. This proverb proved its point one day when my gang was having a conversation about completely different topics. I was surprisingly at ease because I could keep up with all of them. One person started talking about BTS, then someone brought up cricket, followed by books, music, politics, and so many other things.

That's when I realised that maybe knowing a little about everything means I can find my place in different conversations and connect with different kinds of people.

So, if you ever feel like you're not good enough because you haven't mastered one particular skill or haven't achieved anything yet, remember this: 

'you don't have to be the best at one thing to have something valuable to offer. Sometimes, being curious about many things is a strength of its own'.

3. I Could Talk non-stop, If It's My Fav Topic

     From recommending my fav dramas and books to narrating an incident from my daily life that I think is worth sharing, I can talk endlessly when the topic interests me. I wouldn't even mind telling the same story to different people throughout the day and I'd probably narrate it with the exact same enthusiasm every single time.

I still remember recommending the Chinese drama [ Love O2O] to a friend. She asked me to tell her the plot, but I somehow ended up narrating all 32 episodes without skipping a single scene and I did this during class. 😭

 I had to whisper the entire time so ma'am and sir wouldn't catch us or hear what we were talking about. After talking continuously for hours and finally finishing the whole story, my throat started hurting the very next day. Even with a sore throat, I went on to narrate the synopsis of a Telugu movie to another friend.

The funny thing is, I can't speak this confidently in front of a stage or during a presentation, even if the topic is something I absolutely love [Stage fear] hehehe. 😅

 4. Highly sensitive to other's emotion

       I'm quite sensitive to other people's moods and emotions. I can usually sense when something feels different, even if they don't say anything. I tend to notice changes in their tone, expressions, and the way they behave.

   If someone is unhappy, angry, frustrated, or simply having a bad day, I usually become quiet or distance myself a little so that they wont unleash their anger on me.

I may feel things a little more deeply than I wish I did, but I think that also makes me more understanding of what others might be going through. 

5. I Can Easily Get Attached

     It doesn't matter whether I'm watching a movie, reading a novel, or listening to someone's life story , I can get emotionally attached very easily. Sometimes, I become so involved that it feels as though I'm the one experiencing everything alongside them.

I still remember reading one of Amish Tripathi's Sita- warrior of Mithila. There was a particular scene that broke my heart so badly that I didn't even realise I was crying. I only noticed when I reached the bottom of the page and saw that it had become damp from my tears.

 The same thing happens with movies. I know they are just acting but still felt bad realizing that particular character went through so much.

6. My Interests keep changing

    I easily get distracted and bored. That's why I try to finish a task within a short period whenever possible. Because if it takes too long, there's a high chance that my interest will disappear before the work completed. And once that happens, getting back to it can take anywhere from a week to a month.

Of course, sleeping and eating are excluded from this list. 😂

7. Struggle to Pick a Favourite

     If someone asks me what's my favourite, I'll always hesitate to answer because I can't simply settle on one thing. 

If someone asks me my favourite colour, I know it's blue, but I also like purple so much that I start hesitating. The same thing happens with food. If someone asks whether I like non-veg or veg, I'll probably say non-veg because I love chicken biryani. But then my mind immediately goes to all the veg food I like too, like potato fry or sambar rice.

Hence, choosing just one favourite is actually difficult for me.

 This post is a part of blogchatter half marathon