Author: rigvikumar

I vividly remember the day when my parents surprised me and my brother with tickets to LA! A seemingly hot, boring, and unproductive day of July suddenly became the best day I could ever ask for. The plane tickets brought about with them a moment of happiness and joy! I was beyond ecstatic and didn’t know how to express myself beyond just screaming with joy at my brother’s seemingly unfazed face.

Maybe you think that my story must have been from like 10 years ago, since my reaction almost matches that of an elementary school child but you might be pleasantly surprised in knowing that this happened only last year. (A memory from a time Covid didn’t present any travel restrictions at all).

I was unable to sleep that night, and for a few more nights because all I could think of was packing my luggage, even over-stuffing to the point where the zipper almost broke but let’s ignore that part, and catching the 4 am flight. I was ready! Ready to travel, ready to visit the US (where I’d never been), and ready to just have fun for a bit.

After a 4-hour flight from Calgary, we arrived at the airport and went straight to the Anaheim, via train.

The journey didn’t take too long and we arrived after a 30 minute ride. From then all, it was all about exploring the Disneyland and the rides in the amusement park.

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Riding the Disneyland Monorail, Finding Nemo Submarine, Mark Twain Riverboat, etc. were just some of the amazing things I got to experience during my one-day visit to Disneyland.

I felt so blessed and happy to have gone on such an amazing adventurous trip with my family and looking back at the photos now, made me realize the importance of cherishing the moments in life because who knows when you might experience them again! I hope that we can all travel the world once Covid is over and get the chance the experience these wonderful moments of joy.

-Rigvi-

This week’s topic of using visual storytelling aids, such as infographics, memes, etc. to tell stories was quite interesting and informative. In my opinion, Infographics work to provide information to the audience in a way which seems less intensive and more straightforward than reading a longer piece of writing. Infographics are convenient for not only the readers in helping them understand the important information related to a particular topic, but also help the creators in composing a creative and informative piece of writing.

My infographic discussed the topic of principles of good storying. It is comprised of 5 points which make a story appealing to the audience. I think that writing well is not a superpower and one doesn’t have to be a hero to write well. One simple needs to have the will to work towards creating a good story. I hope the tips I highlighted in my infographic help the reader do just that!

-Rigvi-

After my long, frustrating, and unenjoyable trip to the grocery store today, I started to think about why people are having a hard time staying away from each other, literally.

My first reaction after entering the store was one filled with terror and fear. Terror from seeing hundreds of masked-faces inside the store, and fear from thinking about how I can protect myself from them all.

The retail store seemed like a battleground. A place from where I had to not only defeat my enemies (in this case, the crowd inside the store), but also, make it out alive (back to my car).

To label all those people as my enemies though, was something that I soon realized was a bit of an over exaggeration on my part. After all, just like me, they were also trying to make it out alive.

The trip to the grocery store today in turn made me reflect on my experience and prompted me to think about the question as to why it might be hard for everybody to socially distance themselves from others. My twitter thread dwells on some of the problematic situations one could experience firsthand on their trip to a grocery store.

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, is one the most memorable and fun stories which I have read till date. Paulo Coelho’s enchanting novel follows a boy named, Santiago, around the world in search for treasure.

The story, gleaming with wisdom, teaches the reader the importance of journeying around the world to find and discover the treasures of life. Traveling from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried near the Pyramids, Santiago meets and learns about the meaning of one’s “personal legend” from various people. On his journey around the globe, he also learns the importance of the transforming power of his dreams.

Santiago’s journey around the world is narrated in a way which follows in a structure, similar to the one outlined in “Back to the Story Spine” and coincides with multiple elements of storytelling mentioned in class and in the article, “The 22 rules of storytelling, according to Pixar“.

The Alchemist starts off, in Spain, with Santiago believing a recurring dream and going to a Gypsy fortune teller in the nearby town, to ask her about its meaning. The story continues on with Santiago breaking his routine and embarking on a journey to find the treasure, while making sacrifices in pursuing his Personal Legend. It ends with Santiago reaching the pyramids of Egypt only to find out that he must go back to Spain because his treasure was buried in an abandoned church, by a sycamore tree, where he started his journey.

Coelho supplies the reader with a burning belief that one has his/her own path to follow, i.e. our personal legend, and that nature will bring us to our goals. The idea that everything that we do, everyone that we come across, and each lesson we learn, in context of the bigger picture, is a part of our narrative which pushes us closer to our personal legend and forces us to play our role in the universe, becomes the central point.

In terms of the relevancy of content, Santiago’s aim in life is simple and the focus of the story is to propel Santiago forward and help him find the treasure. The story is mapped in a way which guides Santiago in overcoming the detours and obstacles in his path. Along the way, the reader feels for Santiago and in turn embarks on a quest of their own to learn valuable lessons of life. Santiago’s story becomes the guiding force of the reader’s life as it helps us become aware of our own soul’s desire. Our lives become entangled with Santiago’s as we feel that his life story in the context of book, mirrors the story of our life in the context of fate.