Too much of anti-racism?

Hello everybody,

I hope you are having a great day! I just came across this video today and wanted to share it here.

I had heard a lot about how in America it is very important to use specific words to describe people of a particular race and how one could get into major trouble if someone used an incorrect term to refer to them. 

I do completely agree that being rude to a person just because he/she belongs to a particular race or is from a particular country is unacceptable. However, being over sensitive about it just shows how insecure one is about one's own origin. People from different countries have a different upbringing. It is fascinating to know about things from other countries/cultures. If there is a constant fear of offending someone, we will never be able to get to know about other cultures. 

Each culture is beautiful in its own way and one must be proud of one's own origin. I remember, when I was in 12th grade, I had a friend who belonged to a different religion than me. I had tons of questions I wanted to ask her. The popular belief about that religion is that people are very strict followers and take offense easily. So, I used to think ten times in my mind before I asked her a question. Slowly as I got to know her better, I realized, she was quite open minded and nothing like what the media portrayed them to be. I'm sure a lot of other friends just avoided conversation with her just to ensure that they never offended her in anyway. 

By being oversensitive, we are just preventing spread of knowledge and increasing the barriers. I know, people will ask a lot of questions based on stereotypes that are shown in the media. But this is the opportunity to show that there is more to your culture! 

These are my personal opinions. Do let me know your opinions on the matter in the comments below!

Until next time,

Bye! :D

Bitten off more than I can chew?

Hello everybody,
It has been so long since I last published a post here. Grad school is super hectic and I've been living from deadline to deadline. Its ok to live on a tight schedule for a short duration... when you see an end in sight; but off late I don't see an end to this! I just finished picking courses for my next semester and I've again chosen really hard courses. One of them was a course I had to finish, that is a heavy course and wanted to finish it off. However, I've also chosen a PhD level elective class. We have a lottery system for choosing classes and I got a really late number. I had very few options and thought this seemed interesting. Now I'm having serious doubts about my decision. This semester, I chose fairly moderate load classes and I've been working really hard keeping up. I have no idea how I'll manage next sem. On top of all of this, next semester, I'll have to seriously start interviewing and applying for internships in Summer 16. So till the end of next sem, I think I'll have this crazy hectic schedule. It feels like the sem has just about started and its already time for finals!
I've had quite a few ideas for posts but have put them away for lack of time. I thought I'd take a few minutes off to post at least this.
A friend has taken three heavy load courses this time and is managing fine! I hope I'll be able to manage next semester without a huge negative impact on my GPA.
Among other things, quite a few of my friends are going back home in December. I know that it doesn't make sense for me to go back now, as my parents would probably be visiting in June 16. However, when I see them all excited I feel really sad. It'll be at least a year before I get to see little Tee. By then, he may have forgotten me! I can't bear to think of that situation. I hope some miracle happens and they find a super easy way to transport pets overseas. (Or that he'll start responding to me over the phone or when we skype)
Will resume studying for my test now :/.

Until next time,
Bye! :D