As a detective, the biggest mystery isn’t one that I had to go out and solve. My biggest mystery was myself (no pun intended). Every year, in every experience, I learn new things about myself more than about others. Throughout this semester, I have collected data on myself to see my areas of improvement. So, here is the case study on the mystery of A. Mistry.
In my first semester of senior year, I’ve done quite a lot of things. Building off the clubs I had joined my junior year (ones I couldn’t take because of COVID), I got the opportunity to socialize with more people. Something I knew but had forgotten was how much I enjoyed being around others and learning new things about them. I also experienced a lot of difficulties. While I joined all my clubs and activities, I may have forgotten that I need to manage my time with all these clubs, and I may or may not have missed some key meetings for certain clubs (sorry Math Team). I sprained my ankle while playing basketball in the middle of my cross-country season and my doctor told me that I would be out for 5 weeks. That would have been the rest of my season. Instead of following my doctor’s instruction, I instead decided to run after 5 days. I mean, it’s my senior year, why would want to miss running? So I hobbled my way to all my practices and didn’t miss a single meet because of my ankle. Well, senior year wasn’t all that rough. I got to grow my passion for psychology and the study of human behavior. I always liked psychology (hence all the detective acts), but I wasn’t too invested in it until this year. I took AP Psychology, and I read the book Algorithms to Live By, a book that focuses on algorithms that help human behaviors, which increased my passion for psychology. Now, I want to further my growth in psychology, so I’m hopefully going to take psychology in college. Game theory, a topic in math and psychology would be perfect to research. Regardless, I’m sure psychology will help me be a better detective.
Things I would tell an incoming senior would include socializing more. I’m sure that most incoming seniors would have their plans all set out, especially because they wouldn’t be affected by COVID as much, but it is always nice to be more involved at North, especially since it would be their last year.
Alright, enough about others, back to the mystery. These past six months, I don’t think I’ve changed much, but who knows, I may have changed in ways that only others have noticed. I’d liked to believe that I have become more of a risk-taker because I have done more things outside my comfort zone. Or, maybe I’ve just been peer pressured into it, it’s a fine line. During homecoming, I decided that I had to go on the karaoke stage and sing the Pokemon Theme Song. I don’t know why I did, but thankfully I had one of my friends sing it with me, so it wasn’t all that bad (Ryan Young moment). If I look back at my senior year (which feels like a long time now), I see that I enjoyed it a lot. I got to host a birthday party for my 18th birthday which is always fun. I ran a race on my birthday, I did tech crew in two of North’s plays, I performed in three concerts, and I got to play cricket after school. All these things are things I enjoy, but they are things I enjoyed with others. So, something that I will carry with me for next semester is continuing to do the things I enjoy the most. I should check, what is the plan for next semester? Let’s see… A show at the beginning of the year, running in the snow for winter running right after the show, getting owned in MV- I mean Linear Algebra, playing pit in the musical, literally every jazz concert, hopefully going to state in math team, maybe doing the Multicultural show (it’s a stretch honestly), coding an algorithm that selects everyone’s schedule, and of course, so much more that I probably don’t know. But throughout all that, I know that I will continue to solve the big mystery that is myself, and along the way solve more mysteries that I get hired to do. In fact, the same unknown client that sent me to solve Case #1: Madler, has another case for me. I may have to get started on that soon…
But for now, I get to celebrate finishing the first semester of my senior year and getting closer to solving the mystery. I would like to say I’m going to relax during winter break, but I’m sure my detective self will pick up a clue or two… Oh well, time to solve the next mystery!
But of course, we cannot forget the… Penguin Imagery!
Hey Aarav! I thought your blog was super creative and I really enjoyed reading it! I thought it was a really cool connection when you said “the biggest mystery isn’t one that I had to go out and solve. My biggest mystery was myself.” I really liked how you incorporated this together. I can relate to you that the biggest obstacle in life is knowing who you are and what you are made to do. The advice you gave about socializing more is so true. I wish I would’ve met more people since it is all of our last year here at Naperville North and some of the people in our classes we may never see again. When you were talking about clubs at North, it made me wish I would have joined more instead of spending my time differently. I thought I had not changed a lot these past six months either, but looking back at myself I feel like I have changed for the better. I feel like my personality finally came out since COVID happened because no one really talked to each other for so long and with the masks your face was always covered so I feel like I can finally interact with people again in ways I used to.
This sounds like an exciting semester. I can relate to some of the realizations that you’ve had. The biggest thing I learned this semester was how easy it is to get swept up in social activities, and it sounds like you rediscovered this as well. I think it’s really cool that you’re getting invested in psychology. I admire how you’re taking two of your passions, psychology and math, and exploring the intersection between them. I think the most fascinating parts of science and society come in the middle ground between two seemingly distinct fields. It really shows how interconnected reality is in unexpected ways. Overall, your first semester, while I’m sure it had hardships, sounds like there’s a lot to be grateful for. I can’t wait to continue my life with you in it next year. Merry Christmas!
This blog might be the most well–written one I’ve read this year Aarav, really nice job. I rememeber talking to you about your cross country season and your ankle, and it would have been easy to just give up and focus on your busy schoolwork, but instead you pushed through and got to finish off your season which I think is very impressive. I’ve known you for many years now, and you’ve always seemed dead set on doing something completly math oriented, as you have always been a math genius. It suprised me when you said you wanted to pursue Phsycology in your blog. Then I read you wished to combine that with Game theory, and it definitly made a lot more sense. I think that it’s really cool you got inspired this year by a class you took, and what you plan on doing seems like a great pathway for you and I think you will most likely be very succesful in your physcology/math studies. I’ve talked to you about some of the things you’ve done this semester, but seeing it in writing really shows all you’ve accomplished. You’ve managed athletics, clubs, and acedmemics as well as having fun really well, and I think that is an achievment that not many people can say they attained. Great blog Aarav, and I can’t wait to see what you accomplish next semester.
Hi Aarav, I enjoyed reading your post. Although I am not too sure how wise it was to run with a sprained ankle against a doctor’s orders, but I admire your persistence and drive. Your ability to take risks is amazing; I remember watching you sing the Pokemon theme song at homecoming to great acclaim. It’s also inspiring that you aren’t slowing down the second semester just because college apps are finally over; you have a full course load and you are doing a lot of extracurriculars and other activities on top of that. I also took AP Psychology and enjoyed learning about what motivates humans and how we can maximize productivity, so I might have to give Algorithms to Live By a try. I also think that socializing and making up for the time we lost during the lockdowns is important — after all, we are probably going to regret not spending more time with our childhood friends more than getting a B or two in our last year. Overall, I’m happy you have been able to have a great high school experience. I wish you the best at college and hope you continue your interests of studying psychology and math!