![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Life is not easy when you don’t have the basic comforts.
The three weeks I spent in India observing my extended family showed me how hardships brought out the best in them and taught me an important life lesson: how all of us need to adapt in the face of adversity and take joy in whatever life has in store for us.
It is extremely unusual to see a blackout in the US and to imagine that there would be eight-hour blackouts every day is beyond comprehension. However, while I was in India, that turned out to be the situation because of the power crisis. No new power plants are being built, and because of the rapid industrialization and urbanization, the demand continues to outrace supply. Small-scale industries are forced to shut down for two days during the middle of the week, so the workers take those days off and work during the weekends to earn their pay.
There were many nights when we just couldn’t go to bed because it was incredibly hot and humid, and there was no electricity to run the fans and air conditioners. The lack of electricity didn’t seem to faze any of my extended family members who slept through the heat and still went about their work cheerfully. The last time we had a minor blackout in the Bay Area in March 2011, traffic was a chaos, elevators and garages wouldn’t function, and life became quite miserable.
Another observation, which reinforced my beliefs about the toughness of my relatives living in India, was how they dealt with the lack of adequate drinking water supply. The reservoirs dry up during the summers, and the groundwater in the bore wells continues to be depleted, causing a further drain on the existing water supply. In some parts of the country, drinking water is supplied only twice a week for a few hours because of the scarcity of rain. Water is stored in huge containers for usage later in the week as it is quite expensive to buy bottled water.
It is amazing how my relatives did not seem to mind at all and had figured out a way of making the best of the situation. These experiences made me pause and reflect on my life in the Bay Area. To say that we live a privileged life is an understatement. Basic necessities such as drinking water and electricity are taken for granted. We do not have to struggle one little bit to have these essentials delivered to our houses, and yet there are parts of the world out there which have to struggle to get these every day.
The few weeks that I spent in India showed me how resilient the people are despite the adversities they face and how we could learn from them to tackle difficulties in life with a positive attitude.
