Tag Archives: Relationships

Day 252

You can turn all the negativity in your life into fuel – that’s what I learned today 🙂

It’s 7: 07 PM on day 252 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, practice wheeling myself around – it took me two hours to get from the center of the dining room to the kitchen but that’s okay I’ll practise every day and get a little further each time 🙂 – feed myself chicken hotdogs for breakfast, watch TV, feed myself rice and curry for lunch and tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign –no luck –

Today while I was practising how to get around the house by myself my hands were red and my arms felt like they were about to fall off and I wanted to quit with every fibre off my being but in that moment I decided to do something I’ve never done before close my eyes and think about all the people in my life who have hurt me – my father who is ashamed of me, my mother who constantly refers to me as “sick” and my sister who says with attitude I’m sorry you ended up in a wheelchair every time I tell her that I’m having a bad day – and before I knew it I was two steps away from the kitchen feeling grateful for the fact that I didn’t quit because I realized that I was all I had. Is all the negativity that surrounds you poisoning you or nourishing you?

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://www.twitter.com/nisha360

if you’ve given to my cause or you can’t give now, please help me by sharing my cause with others. You can tweet about it like my friend Stan Faryna. This is the tweet he uses: @Nisha360 is a brave, smart young woman trying to make a better world for us all. Please help her do an amazing thing. http://bit.ly/hC7vOu

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 243

If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money can’t buy. – Author Unknown

It’s 8: 56 PM on day 243 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to go open a bank account – my father was in such a rush that I didn’t even have time to brush my teeth but when we got to FNB the staff were so pleasant that it almost made the stress of getting there worth it the woman who helped us didn’t even mind that my signature was far from perfect so to the staff at FNB in Vincent Park, East London I say THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE EXEMPLARY SERVICE… YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME 🙂 – make sandwiches for the people in our housekeeper’s neighbourhood (if you have no idea what I am talking about refer to ‘Day 184’) – after weeks of not making sandwiches due to the fact that our housekeeper’s son had died we were back making sandwiches once again although I didn’t do much of anything except take slices of bread out of the packet and hand it to her – she was running late and both of us decided that it would be quicker if she made the sandwiches but I didn’t mind because I was doing something 🙂 – feed myself Chapati – an unleavened flatbread – and Kadala Curry – made of brown chickpeas – for lunch, start to prepare my Kid of the Week feature for tomorrow, feed myself Chapati – an unleavened flatbread – and Kadala Curry – made of brown chickpeas – for dinner, brush my teeth, watch TV and continue to prepare my Kid of the Week feature for tomorrow.

This morning I woke up thirty minutes before my brother and just watched him sleep for the longest while thinking about the fact that Lauren – Brennan’s sister – would never again get to watch her brother sleep and feeling grateful that my brother was healthy and alive because although I often feel like killing my brother I live with the knowledge that I would kill for him in the blink of an eye. Are you the richest poor person around or the poorest rich person around?

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://www.twitter.com/nisha360

if you’ve given to my cause or you can’t give now, please help me by sharing my cause with others. You can tweet about it like my friend Stan Faryna. This is the tweet he uses: @Nisha360 is a brave, smart young woman trying to make a better world for us all. Please help her do an amazing thing. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/nisha-varghese/nishavarghese

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 235

Your talent allows you to show yourself as you truly are – that’s what I learned today.

It’s 8: 25 PM on day 235 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself a bread and jam sandwich for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign – no luck – watch TV, feed myself rice and curry for lunch, tweet about my campaign some more – no luck – attempt peeling an orange – I only succeeded in stabbing all the juice out of it (Note to self: Must practice cutting and peeling an orange) – feed myself an orange for dinner, play wrestling with my brother – Brennan’s death has taught me that life is too short not to get down on my brother’s level and play with him 🙂 – continue to tweet about my campaign – still no luck – and brush my teeth once more.

Today I was chatting with my friend via Facebook and she said having read this blog yesterday wow, you inspire me and in that moment I realized that the reason I loved writing so much was because people saw my soul rather than my body when they read what I wrote. When you do whatever it is you do are you able to show yourself as you truly are?

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://www.twitter.com/nisha360

if you’ve given to my cause or you can’t give now, please help me by sharing my cause with others. You can tweet about it like my friend Stan Faryna. This is the tweet he uses: @Nisha360 is a brave, smart young woman trying to make a better world for us all. Please help her do an amazing thing. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/nisha-varghese/nishavarghese

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 229

You’ve gotta cut people some slack sometimes – that’s what I learned today 🙂

It’s 9: 05 PM on day 229 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself bread and scrambled eggs for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign – no luck –prepare my Kid of the Week feature – this week’s edition tugged at my heartstrings and proved to me that it’s never too late or too early to start making a difference 🙂 – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, tweet about my campaign some more – still no luck 🙁 –play some board games and card games with my siblings and guests – it was SO much fun 🙂 – feed myself a bread and jam sandwich for dinner and watch TV.

Today some people came to visit and it wasn’t until they left that it occurred to me that the adults barely spoke a complete sentence to me and in that moment I realized that people don’t know how to interact with disabled people without being awkward about it so I decided to give you some pointers on how to behave around the forgotten members of society:

Do’s and Don’ts of Dealing with Disabled People

  • Make eye contact
  • Smile
  • If you don’t know what interests him/her then just ask
  • Don’t talk about him/her talk to them. For instance, if you’re wondering if he/she wants juice ask him/her and not whoever is with him/her
  • Don’t make assumptions about his/her capabilities if you’re unsure about whether he/she can do something just ask

Are we connecting on Twitter? If not, say hi at http://twitter.com/Nisha360

If you’ve given to my cause or you can’t give now, please help me by sharing my cause with others. You can tweet about it like my friend Stan Faryna. This is the tweet he uses: @Nisha360 is a brave, smart young woman trying to make a better world for us all. Please help her do an amazing thing. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/nisha-varghese/nishavarghese

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 223

The most important thing that parents can teach their children is how to get along without them. – Frank A. Clark

It’s 10: 05 PM on day 223 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself Appam – A bread made of rice batter – and beef curry for breakfast and spend Easter lunch and dinner with my family (see pictures below).

Today lying on a mattress in my aunt’s TV room I heard that my cousin’s nine-year-old daughter was getting her father’s ‘old’ BlackBerry and in that moment I couldn’t help feeling as though my cousin and her husband were missing a trick with regards to their parenting because in the twenty years that I’ve been alive I’ve never owned an ordinary cellphone let alone a BlackBerry and not because I didn’t want one either but because I wanted to wait until I could pay for it myself. Are you spoiling your children by giving them everything they want on a silver platter?

My geandma and I

My grandma sleeping (I love this picture it's so cute)

My cousin's son – Shaun

My cousin’s daughter – Shannon

My sister – Neethu

Day 222

The only way to survive in this life is to accept it the way it is – that’s what I learned today 🙁

It’s 6: 47 PM on day 222 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – no luck – watch a few Youtube videos – Christina Grimmie #5 on my ‘10 Most Talented Youtubers’ list (if you have no idea what I am talking about refer to ‘Day 159’) will be touring with Selena Gomez during the American summer – I am SO for her 🙂 – feed myself rice and curry for lunch and tweet about my campaign some more – still no luck God knows it’s not for a lack of trying 🙂 – feed myself rice and curry for dinner, continue to tweet about my campaign – today is just not my day hopefully someone will take pity on me and donate after I go to sleep LOL 🙂 – and watch TV

This morning my aunt called from Kuwait and I heard her say to my mom if you’re planning on going back to India after you retire you should buy a flat in Ernakulam –the western part of the mainland of Kochi city in Kerala, India – there no one will say anything if you bring Nisha and at first I felt like a freak then I was outraged by the fact that she thought I was going to live with my parents forever considering I planned to make my own money, get married and have kids but after a couple of hours had passed I realized that I had to find a way to deal with the fact that most people would always discriminate against me. Are you resisting the circumstances of your life thereby making it more difficult for yourself to survive?

Day 207

A child can ask questions that a wise man cannot answer. – Author Unknown

It’s 10: 01 PM on day 207 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, watch TV, listen to music, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – Georgina (@edumazing) made a donation – thanks again Georgina 🙂 – feed myself rice and curry for lunch, go watch the movie No Strings Attached starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman at the Hemingways Mall – the movie was really funny but it has to be said the sex scenes were a bit too frequent for my liking maybe it’s because I’m Indian and believe that sex is an expression of love that should be kept private – go visit my cousin, feed myself strawberry yoghurt and tweet about my campaign – no further luck.

After the movies my brother, his best friend and I opted to stay in the car while my parents went to do some grocery shopping and out of the blue my brother’s best friend asked him why do you laugh so much and he replied rather matter-of-factly because I can and in that moment I remember feeling so mesmerised and deciding to follow in my brother’s footsteps by doing things just because I can unless there’s a reason I shouldn’t. Have the words of a child changed your outlook on life?

Day 203

Being in a family is all about compromise – that’s what I learned today 🙂

It’s 6: 11 PM on day 203 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to go visit my dad’s cousin and dad’s cousin and aunt in Port Edward and come back to Lusikisiki.

After visiting my dad’s cousin and aunt we went to the arcade in the Wild Coast Casino (see pictures below) and although I would rather have shot myself than be there as we went to buy Ice-cream I realized that my wants and needs weren’t the only ones that mattered so I tried my best to enjoy the experience. Are your familial relationships in taters because you are unable to compromise?

My brother - Kevin - playing Deal or No Deal

Me watching my brother play Deal or No Deal

Day 187

People who feel insecure within themselves will try to tear you down – that’s what I learned today 🙁

It’s 10: 58  PM on day 187 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, make sandwiches for the people in our housekeeper’s neighborhood (if you have no idea what I am talking about refer to ‘Day 184’) – it was a relatively drama-free morning with the only snag being that there wasn’t enough foil paper but that too was not a problem without a solution we decided to stack the  sandwiches on top of each other – a HUGE thanks must go to mom who helped me every step of the way – I LOVE you mommy 🙂 – feed myself a bread and jam sandwich for breakfast while watching TV – food tastes better when you eat after you give to other people 🙂 – feed myself rice and curry for lunch  and  tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign only stopping to feed myself Spring rolls for dinner – @sharoneden (Sharon) made a donation of $53.85  – thanks again Sharon 🙂  

Today as I sat at our dining table buttering the bread for the sandwiches my mom and I were making my dad came up behind me and said why don’t you do two  first and in that moment he made me feel so incompetent so I said if you’re not doing anything shut up and although I don’t regret saying it I do regret the way I said it because those words were unbecoming of me. Are your insecurities causing you to be mean?

Day 185

Life is bigger than the microcosm we choose to live in. We are all connected. Choose empathy over apathy. Choose substance over surface.  – @TheStyleGent

It’s 10: 35  PM on day 185 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself Spring rolls for breakfast,  tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – no luck –  feed myself rice and curry for lunch, tweet about my campaign some more –    two donations were made: the first one was a $1 donation from someone who preferred to remain anonymous and the second one was a $53.85 donation from @Faryna (Stan) –thanks guys your support means a LOT to me 🙂 – and watch TV.

As you may know by now I step back and look at things before I react and today as I watched my sister screaming at my parents over the fact that they left the car door open long enough for someone to steal her cellphone I tried to get her to do the same by saying it’s just a cellphone we’ll buy you a new one there are children dying and she spat with more venom than I thought she was capable of I don’t care after which she threw a pillow at me LOL 🙂 Are you apathetic to the problems of the world because you live in a microcosm?