Tell me about yourself

So, tell me about yourself.

­            Well... Right from an early age, the dynamics of how the mind worked fascinated me. Throughout my early childhood, I spent most of my time observing and interacting with my playmate, Raj, who had autism. His unusual behaviors and ways of communicating forced me to question the meaning behind his actions. Being an inquisitive child that I was, I soon developed a deeper interest in the aspects of psychology, and how people think, act, react and interacted with each other. I was also curious about how individuals were so different from each other, when in fact, we were all genetically similar. As I grew older, I was naturally drawn towards finding out how emotions and feelings affected our daily lives. The information that I gathered over the years have been useful on a personal level as they provided me with a better understanding on various human stressor factors.

      After completing my GCE ‘O’ Levels Examinations, I enrolled for a Diploma in Early Childhood because interacting with Raj over the years spurred me to become an educator so that children like Raj were equal opportunities to develop and become leaders of tomorrow. The study on Psychology for young children inspired my inquisitive personality as I learned about the different types of disabilities, their causes and diagnosis, as well as the forms of interventions that could aid those with disabilities to ease into society. My thirst for more information grew and after exhausting all my course materials, I turned to other sources of information. I read up the works and experiments of Jean Piaget, B.F Skinner and Sigmund Freud. I opine in Skinner’s views on how positive reinforcement is more effective at changing and establishing behavior than punishment. I also sourced for authors like Torey Hayden who wrote about her experiences when teaching children with special needs.

Upon graduation, I applied for a teaching position in a school for children with special needs, and the experiences provided me with opportunities to gain insights into school environments, working alongside various professionals to nurture children holistically. The opportunities to develop curriculum, implement lessons and design interventions to help children with special needs adapt to the classroom gave me a better understanding of the needs of these children and how I could improve their learning experiences.  Also, my volunteer work mentoring children from underprivileged families continued to widen my knowledge on psychology and personal development. Above all, these experiences enabled me to hone my oratory skills, patience and confidence as I deal with different children, parents, and other stakeholders in the community. The value of meaningful work is definitely abided through volunteer work and improving the life of others, thus sparking my interest in Social Work as well.

Apart from that, my consistent academic achievements and commitments in school are extremely important to me. Throughout the three years in school, I was given numerous opportunities to hone my leadership skills through various projects such as the production of a motivational video for a celebratory event for my peers, and presentations. I was also selected as an ambassador for my school and conducted duties overseeing school events.

Opportunities to lead a team of youths to countries such as Vietnam, Philippines and India as part of overseas study trips and youth expedition projects enabled me to put my theoretical knowledge into practical use as we conducted lessons and contributed to community work to improve the standard of living for our counterparts. These experiences widened my perspectives on social issues such as poverty and it has also invoked in me, a deeper appreciation towards life; to count our blessings.  The valuable life-long learning gained from these trips also inspired me and some friends to start-up a new co-curricular activity in school; “FoodAID”, that is aimed at educating students on the importance of healthy eating, as well as to promote awareness and contributions to the larger society through food-related fundraising events.

In contrast, I also spend my spare time engaging in sports such as volleyball, and have represented my school in National competitions. The intensity of the games and training has taught me about perseverance and teamwork, which are important factors in life so as to stay highly motivated.

Above all, I believe that I am a determined and disciplined individual with realistic goals. I have taken on full and active roles in my school and workplace, I intend on doing the same throughout the rest of my life...

No... Tell me about yourself. The real you.

To start things off, my name is Kethlyn. G. Kethlyn Gayatiri. I hate my name. Well, not all of it. Just the Gayatiri bit. Why? Because it is too common. Okay, the spelling isn't, but the pronunciation of it is. And no, it is not pronounced as ga-ya-ti-ri. It's guy-tree. That's the other reason why I hate it. No one ever gets it right. No one really gets Kethlyn pronounced right either, but I like Kethlyn. 

I am Indian. It took me a while to accept that fact. More like, 21 years and still going kind of 'a while'. It was only recently that I came to the realization that I did not hate the culture or the people belonging to this race. In fact, I love the rich culture; the colours, the food, the music, the joy, the drama! I discovered that the reason why I wasn't proud to call myself an Indian was because of the hate that this race was getting. Indians were the butt of many jokes, and we were often cast as smelly, or that we were rapists, perverts, drunkards, or loud and irresponsible beings. In addition, I lost a lot of opportunities to befriend people once they found out that I was an Indian. It took me some time to realize that these people weren't worth my time. I didn't have to hide away from the fact that I was an Indian, but I still didn't see the need to flaunt it. It might be hard to understand right now, but I just hate being 'catergorized'. After all, we all bleed red, so why do we still segregate people based on their skin, eye and hair colour, or their religions and beliefs?

Despite being an Indian, I look nothing like one, the stereotypical huge eyes, long lashes, and the thick opulent locks of hair. I used to have long wavy locks but I chopped them off because I felt like it. I've had all lengths of hair, really. From long wavy lavish locks, to shoulder length, to dreadlocks, then to a bob, a pixie, and now it's at the disgusting length; it curls in the oddest places, yet it's not long enough to be tied. It's perfect to hide my ears though. They stick out at the ends. They're huge at the same time, so I decorate them with piercings.

I like piercings. And tattoos. And dermal anchors. I don't like branding though and I certainly am not a masochist. I think of my body as a walking canvas; a piece of artwork, or many artworks mashed together. I like art, but I'm not necessarily good at it. However, I like picturing everything I interact with, as a form of artwork. Music is art, so is the sky and the clouds, and birth, and love, and death, and feelings and emotions and rain and evaporation, and the taste of food. Even how the man stacks the cans in the store is a form of art to me. But art isn't just art. Art is anything and everything. But so is music.

I like music, but I don't have a favorite artist. I do however, have playlists built based on the weather, and my mood. On rainy days, I sip hot chocolate and crinkle my toes under the covers as I laze around to the soothing voices of Mogwai, Dido, Adele, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, The Civil Wars, and Colbie Caillat. Sometimes, when I feel like jumping around and getting dizzy from unnecessary headbanging, I load up the playlist of hits by Paramore, Blink-182, Linkin Park, Metallica, and sometimes even Slipknot. At times, I throw myself against the bed and sing my heart out to Taylor Swift and Adele, and slowly build up the walls around my heart with hits by P!nk and Avril Lavigne. There is no specific reason why I feel this way. Sometimes, it's 'just because'. I like saying just because. I think it's a valid reason. Anyways... Who can forget the Oldies? Richie Valens, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Selena Quintanilla, Frank Sinatra, ABBA, Air supply, Cyndi Lauper, Bee Gees, Ray Charles, Phil Collins, Elton John. Oldy but a goody.

I like reading too. And I hope that by now you would've realized that I don't really structure whatever I am typing as opposed to the essays that I write. Reading my blog entry or hearing me speak is similar to watching the release of a million butterflies. I don't even know if that makes any sense, but what I meant to say is that I tend to go into a 'verbal diarrhea' and sputter everything on my mind before the train of thought leaves. Now, where was I? Oh right, books. I don't really know what kind of books I read. Kinokuniya calls them 'Survival Literature'. My mum hates it whenever I read this kind of books, because she thinks that I get too emotionally attached to the characters in the books that I might end up going under depression, or worst, committing suicide. I think its funny that she thinks that way. I get heavily attached to the characters because I feel their pain, but at the same time their stories always motivate me even more. So I don't see how I can ever commit suicide because of such a book. Books are a great way to escape reality. You get to travel, you get live another life, you get to soak up the atmosphere, you breathe and you feel invincible. But you know what gets to me every single time? Flipping the last page of the book, and feeling a sense of longing, as if you've just lost a really close friend. Do you get that sometimes?

On days that I feel that way, I usually curl up in bed all day, or head out to my 'secret havens'. They're usually the airport, or the beach but I like to think of them as hiding places because I watch too much of Peter Pan. I used to think that I could fly away to Neverland, but till this day, he never came to my window. I used to think that I was a princess too, but that clearly isn't happening. In fact I used to think of a lot of things, because as a kid, thinking about all of these and fantasizing about them didn't hurt. In fact it was encouraged because it was a part of my imagination which led up to creativity. But all that has since died, or have been swept under my bed alongside all the dust bunnies. 

Either ways, I'm starting to get bored with this entry. That's the thing about me. I can never retain enough attention to complete a task, before hopping on to the next. That's probably why I'm the last person you should ask out on a study date. . I retained enough attention to pass my exams though, and enough attention to read a book in one sitting, but I guess it all depends on when my body is ready?

I don't necessarily think I'm weird. I like candy, and chocolate, and movies, and ice cream and things, just like anyone else. I also like wearing toe-socks and eating rice using chopsticks. I like to say the word 'fuck' as well. I don't usually curse, but when I do, I say 'fuck' a lot. I also like eating cereals, a lot. A friend of mine once said that I inhale them. That's funny, because I wouldn't want a lucky charm stuck up my nose. When I'm out shopping, I usually pick the second or third item when I'm buying something that's hanging on a rack. I never pick the first, only because I assume that everyone's like me; I always squeeze or crush the contents in first item that is hanging on the rack. I like squishing marshmallows and gummy things too. And I like jabbing my finger into rolls of toilet paper. I like placing my feet on perfect square tiles and if I stepped on a line with my left foot, then I must do so with my right. I am not weird, I just have quirks. I hate being tapped on my shoulder though. And I am ticklish in every spot, and I do mean every spot. 

I believe in everything that is written about an Aries. I am an Aries, and I adore this masculine, stubborn little creature that ram things with his head. I do the same too, which is probably why I get headaches so often. I love looking horoscopes, and palm reading, and fortune telling and everything else that can't be seen with the naked eye. I wish I was a witch, a good witch of course because the bad witch dies in the Wizard of Oz. She was killed with the house. I always wanted the red shoes that Dorothy had, but I never could figure out which outfit would go best with it. It had too much of a bedazzle to it anyways. 

I don't really know what there is left for me to say. That's pretty much me, really. Unless you'd expect me to do into the explicit detail of what I do on a daily basis. No, that's not going to happen.

Now then, why don't you go ahead and tell me about yourself. The real you.