THWACK. The sound of a small, black, bouncy ball with strips of orange plastic encircling it hitting a wall reverberates during lunch period. Outside the weightroom, a group of friends  laugh with each other while playing a nostalgic game of wall ball. What started as a lower school game flourished into a high school activity, a destressing staple for Vardaan Ghai (12) and his friends. Every free period or office hours, Vardaan gathers his friends to play the simple playground game with a bouncy lava-ball which he discovered after it sat in his room for years. He appreciates the game as it is time spent with friends and a physical manifestation of his unapologetic, cheerful approach to life.

“In the past, we’ve all played stupid games like wall ball and we wouldn’t think anything of it besides that it would be just super fun,” Vardaan said. “I don’t think I care at all what others think because they don’t realize the satisfaction I get out of playing with my friends and how it transports me back to third grade where it was totally stress-free. I think I might even have more fun playing it now than I did back then.”

With his friends, Vardaan is always a beacon of positivity, using jokes or compliments to lift others up and bring a sense of joy no matter the context of the day. Close friend of eleven years Reza Jalil (12) noted his happy demeanor and attitude that allowed them to become so close.

“The guy never seems like he’s down,” Reza said. “His energy always lifts everyone and he never ever puts anyone down. If I were to give him a compliment or something, he could feel your level of happiness and he’ll match it.”

Friend and fellow wall ball enjoyer Alex Guo (12) also notes how their friendship together evolved since they met. After befriending each other at the start of high school, Alex appreciates how the topics of their conversations changed from when they first met. Now, Alex regards him as a truly valuable and trustworthy friend that he can share an honest and open conversation with about life goals, current events, or anything on their minds.

“Vardaan is just a funny guy,” Alex said “All the jokes that he makes, he’s always been able to crack smiles on the faces of the people around him. But I’ve also started to have deeper conversations with him and started to see a little more behind his thinking process and goals where we are just trying to figure out what’s going on with our lives, our emotions and the purpose for why we do what we enjoy.”

While Vardaan relishes time spent with his friends, he enjoys learning more about everyone and their unique characteristics or opinions that set them apart. In acknowledging everyone’s quirks, Vardaan tries to lead a life that is avoidant of other’s negative thoughts that might take away from the things he finds rewarding and enjoyable and encourages others to follow a similar mantra.

“If there’s something I’m doing more for fun, then I’ll tell the person, ‘it’s not that serious’ and to let go of any criticisms because it’s not that serious so why care,” Vardaan said. “I really wish other people were more comfortable just being themselves and not trying to be what other people think they want them to be. Life is actually too short to worry and to serve somebody else’s interests.”

 From playing jazz to having a conversation with a stranger, being in the moment and understanding how to improvise became an important life skill, allowing him to connect and learn more about others. As a practitioner and an enjoyer of music, Vardaan realized the importance of going with the flow after learning guitar in first grade and participating in middle and high school Jazz Band.

“Guitar served as an outlet for me and taught me the importance of improvising,” Vardaan said. “I learned how to stop overthinking everything because there will always be a lot of right answers. Jazz’s whole ideology has stemmed out to a lot of different parts of my life like what you’re saying is more just based on the feeling or the vibe of the conversation.”

In the classroom, Vardaan’s curiosity for economics grew after taking an elective class in sophomore year with economics teacher Dean Lizardo. As Vardaan learned more, its real-world applications excited him, motivating him to enroll in many post AP Economics electives at Harker and participate in the National Economics Challenge, where he placed as a national finalist.

“Because I’ve had him for three years, you can kind of just see him connect the dots a little bit, and kind of see the grand scheme of things,” Lizardo said.  “In each class, he brings a lot of really great energy that leaves a lasting impact on the types of people that might open doors for you in the future.  With the material, you can just tell that he felt what he was learning in class was useful and so he just wanted to understand it more.”

At the core of everything Vardaan enjoys, his philosophy for what he does comes from his sense of self-assurance. Crafted from a desire for authenticity, he values embracing one’s true self, and his own mantra: to live unapologetically and without restraint.

“You only have one life to live.” Vardaan said. “There’s no point going about it, caring about other people you might never see again or caring about someone who might only judge you for five minutes. I live by the mentality of just doing whatever I think and not taking myself so seriously. I wish other people were more comfortable just being themselves.”