Ratna writes

I love being productive, and I am most productive at night. After dinner yesterday, I came home and hammered out another Latin passage and set of questions by lamplight (it was the first night in a long time that Priya was in bed before me). I triumphantly sent the complete test to Mr. Williams at 1:33am before forcing myself to sleep (all I wanted to do was work). I woke up equally academically enthused. After a breakfast of watermelon and coffee, I jumped back into JCL and got to work writing certamen questions for Mr. Chang. Priya and I had a "Latin date," sitting at the dining table together with me working on Level I questions as she reviewed advanced derivatives. A hilarious moment came when she leaned over, looked condescendingly at the wonderfully simple three-word Latin sentence I was writing, and said, "I'm so proud of you, Ratna." We took a break from this enchanting sister bonding time to go crazy over an unbelievably tasty lunch made for us ...

I slumped my way out of bed this morning and to Starbucks, where I met with Michael Velchik to plan out the next 18 months to 80 years of his life. The first thing he did upon our meeting was to pull out two sheets of blank white paper, which we stared at over the next two hours in an attempt to craft a schematic diagram representing this time period. We ended up with a funny product which Mike plans to frame in a few years. From here it was onward to my seventh haircut of this year, one so horrendous that I feel like going into hiding until it grows out. I essentially did go into hiding for the rest of the day, working to craft some sophisticated Level I Latin prose for the reading comprehension test that will be given at this year's Virginia state Latin Convention. I took a break from writing silly stories to enjoy a wonderful workout, still sore from yesterday's. After an hour of angsty Ingrid tunes and Eminem beats, it was back to my desk to write another Latin p...

Priya and I arose late this morning and I did yoga before writing an abstract of my year as Priya got dressed. It's crazy that this gap year is coming to a close, but it's also crazy how many places I've gone, people I've met, and lessons I've learned. And it's not over yet! This afternoon, Nani, Papa, Priya, and I ventured to southeast D.C. (where part of my heart lies) to visit the weekly flea market at Eastern Market. Though I worked for Sasha Bruce at Eastern Market for three months this year, I had never visited the weekend's street fair, and boy, did we enjoy it today! We meandered in and out of rows of stalls as Priya tried to convince me to buy a wig. I managed to resist, and picked up a nice pair of earrings instead. We took the scenic route through the city on our way home, and grabbed cupcakes from Sprinkles for Mama en route. Back home, I caught up with Varlet #0 before the best workout I've had in a while. We now watch the Clos...

With 20 days left, I’m taking 20 minutes to look back. My gap year “officially” started on September 1, 2011, when I took a few weeks to read, relax, and record music as I searched for an internship in the D.C. area. By the grace of God and one of Papa’s colleagues, I found Sasha Bruce Youthwork , an organization which provides housing, counseling, and so much more to homeless youth in Washington. I started working there daily and would continue until December. I learned the art of competency-based counseling, and spent my time shadowing various staff members, each with a different and inspiring life story. I also helped members of the administration with SBY’s annual report and a number of re-licensure applications. I took a few days off during this period at Sasha Bruce to go on an eye-opening tour of Brasil , hitting 5 cities in 12 days. Highlights included a night spent in the Amazon Rainforest and the warm hearts I met throughout the world’s most beautiful country. Now bac...

After proclaiming to myself this morning that nothing could make me get out of bed before noon, I awoke at 9 to Nani, who has gotten locked out of the house, ringing the doorbell repeatedly for 10 minutes. I let her in, trudged back up the stairs, and slept soundly until 12:15pm. At this time, I did a few iterations of sun salutation, meditated briefly, and had a lunch of yummy leftovers from last night. Priya and I watched Olympic rhythmic gymnastics and mountain biking before I hopped on the treadmill for a mini-workout. In the afternoon, I made my way to the Chanfreau residence for a surprise party in Natalie's honor. I was so happy to see this math-rocking, grammar-talking, Spanish-socking star again! After I had gotten over how endearing of a person Natalie is, we discussed college anxieties, freaked out on a moonbounce, and, yes, got salsa lessons from Denise and her boyfriend Chris! This last part of the afternoon was certainly the highlight, as I grabbed my partne...

After watching an enlightening ABC Family movie with Priya into the wee hours of last night, I woke up this morning to hyperventilate over my excitement at describing high school to her. As excited as I am to dive into this year's collegiate adventure, I can't help but be a bit envious that my sister gets to enjoy the teachers and rush through the hallways that I so love. After spinach and cheese omelets, we left for an errand -- picking up my newly-adjusted glasses -- and some entertainment, in the form of a movie! Step Up Revolution was a lot of fun, and I'd be totally down to see it again. But this willingness to re-watch is in part due to the fact that the low volume of the music emanating feebly through the theater allowed little enjoyment of the points in the various songs when the bass dropped. I hope the sound will be louder if I watch a second time! We returned home and partook in our favorite activity for two solid hours before attempting to Indian-ify ...

Today was spent in quintessential Ratna style -- doing nothing but sleeping. After breakfast, I wanted few things in the world more than to hit the sack again, and did so after some Latin with Priya. We reviewed the hortatory subjunctive and purpose clauses before learning fear clauses and indirect command. I then slept until a 3pm lunch. After lunch, I watched TV for about five minutes before going back to bed. I couldn't actually sleep this time though, so I rested/meditated for about an hour before getting ready for an event this evening. The Harvard Alumni Association hosted a small dinner tonight, to welcome incoming freshmen from the DC area. I got to meet a group of my future classmates, and soon identified the "gap year girls," Andi and Genevieve, who just finished a year off as well. We had tons of fun comparing notes and offering resources to David, who will be taking this upcoming year off. We ended the night with a round of the name game which includ...