Who I

AmBY: Adithya Srikanthan

An American-Raised Indian

Mrs. Kaempf, period 6

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Birth Date: December 19, 1997

Place of Birth: Portland, OR

Friends: Lots of em, too many to count

Favorite Food: Paneer Tikka (Indian Food)

Favorite Activity: Driving long distances

Favorite Band: Coldplay

Favorite Song: Atlas (Coldplay)

Favorite Vacation Spot: India

Interesting facts

One thing that most people don't know about me is that I love to cook.

I've only been cooking for about a year, but I think I've learned pretty fast. I

got really stressed out about school and stuff halfway through freshman

year, and one day I just decided to make dinner for my family. I was pretty

quick to realize that I had a great time, and it took my mind off the things

going on in my life too. Since then, I have been cooking a lot, and I've made

things like pizza and ice cream from scratch. I think cooking is something

that relieves

I am bilingual already, and am also learning two other languages. My

first language, Tamil, was one that my parents taught me first. I used to go

to classes with a family friend to learn to read and write. I can’t read and

write very fluently, but I do speak it very well. Though I was born in Portland,

English was my second language, and I only really started learning that when

I went to school. Both my parents knew English, but they wanted my sister

and I to learn our native language first. I also take Spanish in school right

now. In addition to that, I am currently learning Hindi, the national language

of India. I hope to retain all these languages throughout my life. I learn Hindi

for my own satisfaction, and to connect more with people when I go to India.

I also want to learn German and Italian at some point in my life, if not in

college, then after I start working.

HOW I VIEW MYSELF AND HOW I THINK OTHERS VIEW ME

I am mostly content with myself. I am very confident, and I don't give

much importance to what other people say about me. My self esteem is

pretty high, and I believe that I feel confident enough with myself to go

about life not letting others' opinions affect me. My self worth is very high

too. I view myself as a pretty great person. I know that I have some faults,

but I never doubt myself. I also believe that if people have a problem with

me, then I will change, but only for a valid reason. Just because someone

doesn’t like me doesn’t mean that I have to change the way I act, talk or

look. I like myself for who I am, and I believe that I really don’t need to

change in order to people to like me. I think I’m a fairly nice person. I have a

habit and liking of talking to almost anyone, no matter who they are. I

believe that I am a very open person. I view myself as a confident and able

leader.

CHANGES

If there's one thing that I would change about myself, it's my

impatience. I don't have a short temper, but sometimes I get really impatient

with people when I have something important to do, or I am in a hurry to go

someplace. For example, I don't like being late to anything, whether it be

school, a party, or a study meeting with my friends. Every morning, my sister

wakes up fifteen minutes before we're supposed to leave without fail. I'll be

ready in the car having waited with my dad for ten minutes before she finally

gets into the car. Also, I don't like it to be rushed in the morning, so I wake

up around 6 o'clock or 6:15. This usually allows me to get school a couple

minutes before the first bell, which is enough time for me to get my books

and things without having to rush to class. Recently though, because my

sister is a second semester senior, she has been taking it very lightly to

come to school right before the bell, or even a little late. This has gotten on

my nerves a lot, and I sort of snapped at her a couple times. I didn't feel very

good after I did it, cuz she was mad at me for the rest of the week, and I wish

I hadn't snapped at her.

Another thing that I want to change that is sort of related to this is my

inability to say no to some people. I am a very open person, and I don’t

usually change myself for others, unless there really is a problem. I do stand

up for myself, but the one thing I can’t do is say “no” I’ve always had trouble

saying no throughout my life, and I think that would be the thing that I would

like to change. If I could change one thing in my life, I would want to change

the fact that I give into everything. I just can’t imagine myself saying no to

someone’s face when they ask me if I can do something for them. I know

that there really is no other way out other than learning to. I feel like this

change is necessary in my life because I should be able to stand up against

people and be able to say my opinion.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

I think that I have many strengths. One strength is that I am very

confident, as I mentioned above. I am willing to take risks, but only take

them once I know the whole picture about what is going on, and what may

happen as a result of my actions. I am fairly athetic, and I an always willing

to help people out when they're in need. One of my biggest weaknesses is

that I'm really lazy. A lot of people tell me that I am already a great student

and person, but I could do so much more for the world and myself if I tried a

little harder. I understand this, and I have been tryin to fix this for quite a

while now, and I think that I am slowly improving. One of my greatest

accomplsihments to this day is getting into a very selective internship with

Intel and the Oregon Health and Sciences University. I had applied in January

for it, and I received word that I was one of six people in the greater portland

area who was selected. I worked very hard for this, and went through many

hurdles trying to get it. I don't really think I've had a biggest disappointment

in my life. Most thinsg in my life have worked out in my favor, and the things

that haven't worked out I wouldn't really call disappointments. In terms of

faith, I prayed a lot when I was going through the screening process for the

internship, and have continued to do so ever since. I didn’t pray for a while,

ever since last summer really, until about November.

GOALS

One short term goal I have is to make enough money working two

summers to pay for atleast half of a car I want to buy. I really like Audis, and

though I don't want a new model because it would cost me over thirty

thousand dollars, I still want a decent Audi that 's from not too long ago.

Another relatively short term goal is to get into an accelerated medical

program at either Rice University, Boston University, or Drexel. I know for

sure that I want to be a doctor, and this could save me some valuable time

trying to realize that goal. My biggest long term goal is to become an

interventional cardiologist. The heart has always fascinated me, I think I

would make a good doctor. I have been told I have good people skills, and

that I am very personable. This is going to be a long and arduous journey,

but I think if I work hard enough I can make it.

FIFTEEN YEARS

In fifteen years, I see myself as a fully licensed interventional

cardiologist, or at least almost there. I want to be successful. My parents

have invested a lot of money in my education, and will continue to do so for

a while, and I want to be able to pay them back for everything they have

done for me. If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be here in this position today, it

is my duty to prove their struggles worth it for bringing me up such a high

state. To achieve the career choice

that I have selected, I need to get into

med school first. This will take a lot of

work, but I know that I can make it. I

know I want to be married, but I don't

know about kids yet. I haven't given

kids much thought, but I know I want

to be with the woman that I will love for the rest of my life. I know that as

long as she loves me, and that I love her, nothing else in the world will

matter.

Quotes

- “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift, that’s

why they call it the present” – Turtle from Kung Fu Panda

I really like this quote

because it shows the

simplicity of life. It tells you

that you should not look back

on the past because nothing

can be changed, and also

that you should not worry

about the future. Things will

happen because they are meant to be, and you should just enjoy life as it is

in the present. Enjoy every moment, because you may not get it back.

- “A religion that takes no account of practical affairs and does not help to

solve them is no religion” ~Mahatma Gandhi

I think this quote is very meaningful because there is so much dispute and

fighting going on in the name of God and religion. All of that is actually just

peoples’ excuse to create problems and fight. I think that religion should be

something true and faithful, and if the religion doesn’t address the

practicality of the situation, it isn’t really a religion, because it isn’t true.

- Har pal yahan jee bhar jiyo Jo hai sama, kal ho na ho – Kal Ho Na Ho

This quote in Hindi means, "live every moment to its fullest, tomorrow may

or may not come" I really like this quote because it teaches me to enjoy

every moment of life, and grasp every opportunity, because life won't just

happen, you have to push it along sometimes.

- “Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to

forget”

I completely agree with this quote because true friends really are hard to

find. The ones that actually know, understand, and love you for who you truly

are. Even if you don’t see them for a really long time, you know that they will

always be there for you and that you will never forget them. My mom and

dad have a friend in India that they used to hang out with all the time when

she was in India. They haven’t seen each other for almost 17 years, and

haven’t talked either. We just recently got a hold of him number and when

my mom was in India, she finally got to meet him. They are just as good of

friends now as they were before, and I felt really happy that my parents had

a friend like that. This is one of the big reasons that this quote makes a lot of

sense and is so special to me. I think that good friends are the ones that

stick with you through thick and thin, and never leave your side. I have a

couple friends who would do anything for me, and I would do the same for

them.

GOD TO ME

Faith is a big part of my life. I think that inside, we all have a faith in a

higher being, whether it be a physical being, or just a life force that

interconnects us all. I don't believe that my faith is based on archaic

traditions, ritualistic practices, or random prayers hat I don’t know the

meaning to. I am a practicing Hindu, and come from a family of priests, but I

don’t agree with many of the things that Hindus across the world. A large

portion of Hindus simply go through the motions, not knowing what they are

doing or saying. I think that faith and spirituality are more of an

individualized relationship between yourself and the higher being you believe

in. I pray to God all the time, and have no hesitations with admitting that. In

this day and age, as more people turn to science as an answer for anything, I

am proud to say that I have a steadfast belief, in my case, in a pantheon of

gods, each of which represent a higher being that is intertwined in my life. I

don't really like temples anymore, because they are no longer places where

one can connect gods on a personal level, but rather have become

businesses asking for donations that go straight into the pockets of those

who run them. One reason for this is that the priest of a temple that I used to

go to with my family registered the temple as a nonprofit, then proceeded to

buy himself a BMW 7 series that cost him at least seventy thousand dollars. I

do believe that my gods guide me through every step of life, from the

smallest things to the largest decisions.

HIGHLIGHTS

I think the biggest highlight of Sophomore year was just hanging out

with my friends. I made a lot more friends this year, and t to know a lot of

new people. It felt nice knowing that wherever I was at school, I could count

on having at least a couple supportive friends with me. I didn’t go out a lot,

with the few times I did, I had the times of my life. Another highlight was

when I drove for the first time. I had made it clear to my parents that I

wanted to get my permit before I turned 16, which I did 17 days before my

birthday, but I started driving almost immediately. My uncle came over

during winter break, and he would take me out driving for hours at a time.

We had some really good conversations, and I will never forget them. That

break was definitely one of the best parts of sophomore year.

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

This unit has had a huge impact on my physical, social, and mental

health now and in the future for a number of reasons. First off, I learned a lot

about the effects of drugs of drugs and other narcotics on my physical

health. We had a fairly extensive drug unit in 8th grade health, but it didn’t go

into the specific effects that using drugs has on you. One of the biggest

things that I learned regarding physical health is that using marijuana even

once at a young age can have a negative effect on your physical and mental

health throughout your life. Illegal drugs aren't good for anyone, but they are

particularly bad for a kid or teen whose body is still growing. Drugs can

cause hundreds of complications in one's body, and some are even known to

cause heart attacks in teens who use hard drugs. I also learned a lot about

the different types of drugs. Until this unit, I had thought that there were

three main drugs that people used: cocaine, marijuana, and

methamphetamines. I learned, however, that there were hundreds of

derivatives of these drugs that were in use around Portland, and that many

people at our school were using them too. There are many ways of ingesting

drugs that I was not aware of, as I had only heard of injections, inhalants,

and smoking before. I learned a lot about class II drugs, such as LSD,

hallucinogens, and other drugs like ecstasy. I also learned a lot about what

using drugs does to your mental health. After listening to the lectures, I was

very surprised to see what drugs can do to mess up the chemical makeup of

your body. Drugs mess with the chemicals and hormones secreted in your

body, and stimulants, especially methamphetamine, cause a huge chemical

imbalance in your body that can prove fatal if not dealt with quickly. In terms

of alcohol, the body develops an addiction to it, sometimes to the point

where quitting could prove fatal for the drinker. Some people are genetically

not built to consume alcohol, and when they do, their body reacts

uncontrollably, which may cause them to develop an addiction almost

immediately.

One of the more important things I learned about using drugs and

alcohol is the social impact. Drugs, when you use them, you lose interest in

many of the things you used to love, you lose sleep, you get into fights, your

self esteem and self worth lower, and you have trouble concentrating. This

can lead to the creation of a distance between oneself and the ones that

they love. People do not usually like to associate themselves with drug

addicts, and oftentimes the addict is ostracized from society. Alcoholics often

become violent, physically hurting their loved ones, and often getting prison

time due to their violent actions

From this unit, I learned that I never want to do drugs, and if I do

consume alcohol, I do in extreme moderation. Almost everyone in my

extended family, except for my parents, drink alcohol in some form or

another, and I have see one too many relationship and marriages crumble

because of alcohol abuse. I will never drink beer in my entire life, and if I do

drink wine, if will be for special occasions. I do not believe that the

consumption of hard liquor is safe, and hope to stay away from that too. As

for drugs, I have vowed to myself that I will never even touch them. I plan to

go far in life, and I am not willing to risk it all for one good time.

NUTRITION

I think the unit that will impact me a lot in the future is nutrition. It is a

big part of life and has to be thought about on a daily basis. Nutrition is more

than just eating healthy foods, but it is a combination of knowing what the

healthy foods are, which certain food groups need to be paid attention and

most importantly, looking at how the body reacts to certain foods and how it

affects our weight. This semester, I learned that nutrition is more and just

the food groups, but it has a lot to do with each person’s metabolism and

how each food affects it.

It will definitely affect my physical health because how I take care of

my body now determines the condition of it in the future. I have to start

eating healthy and exercising now, because in the future, it is going to affect

how I live. I used to not eat healthy, and I was actually pretty overweight

about three years ago. It took a lot of work and sports to slim down to where

I am today, but I realized the importance of eating too much early on. I run

on a regular basis now, and I used to think that eating healthy didn’t matter

as much because I was so active. However, this unit has taught that what

you get out of your body comes from what you put in. From here on out, I

have decided to eat healthier,

Nutrition will not only have an effect on my physical health, but also

my mental health. Exercising is part of nutrition and taking care of your

body. Every time you exercise, endorphins are released into your body,

which then create a happy mood for you. Endorphins release a “good

energy” into your body, so your mental health is also improved. Exercising is

a basically a stress reliever, because while you get your physical exercise,

you are also exercising and keeping your mind healthy.

Socially, nutrition is actually quite important. Many people may not like

to say it, but your appearance actually does make an impression. The

amount of weight you lose and put on really matters. Some girls think that

they have to be as thin as a stick in order for other people to like them, but

that’s not true. You should maintain your weight and keep it at a steady

level. I think that learning about how my body works and about nutrition will

serve me well in the future, because I am going to be using it to live a

healthy lifestyle.

Advice

I think the biggest difficulty that I faced was “fitting in”. Everyone was new

and I really didn’t have friends that came with me except for one close one.

At first, I found myself and my friend from middle school always sticking

together, even though we had different classes. Soon, we realized that we

needed to expand our friend circle, and slowly, we started to meet more

people and make a huge friend group. I think the hardest part was the

amount of time that everything took to settle in. It took basically 3/4 of the

year to get accustomed to everything, which was really hard on me. My

advice would just be to mingle with everyone and remember that it’s not just

you that is new, but it is everyone. Sure, some kids have an advantage

because they know more people than you do, but none of it matters when

you find the friends that are most comfortable with you. Also, my advice is to

ask for help whenever you need it. Jesuit is a place that offers a lot of

comfort and will think about your needs. They want you to have the best

high-school experience, so if you need help, don’t hesitate to ask. I’m sure

that it will be a little awkward to ask, but there’s always going to be someone

who’s willing to help, whether it’s an upper class man or a teacher.