Board Games

Playing board games has been a great pastime for me since childhood. I have a great memory of playing the game "Mafia" with my family in Nevada, and I made the last and winning decision! We have several board games at home and my favorite ones are Apples to Apples, MadGab and Monopoly Deal. When my brother visits home from college, we enjoy a quick card game. Our parents also join us on holidays and we all have a blast.

Board games help the brain retain and build cognitive associations well into old age too.

Family Time

With all the busy schedules, this is the best time I long for. We have a circle of family friends that meet over the weekend every few weeks. And you guessed it, we love playing board games. Monopoly is staple in our books. Also, one time we baked a chocolate cake and before it finished baking, they had to leave. My plan was to go back to their house to give them the chocolate cake but it was too late...my family got to it first. But, it was all good because I got to bake another one and give them a freshly baked chocolate cake to make up for it. In fact, this is our little secret because I don't think I even told them what actually happened. Shhhhh.

Hanging out with friends

Our friends moved from India recently and live within a mile from our house. We chat a lot, take walks in the nature and play board games for hours on end. I have so much in common with them and I love bonding with them. They are pretty much my sisters. I love playing with their pet dog, Luke. And yes, he is the cutest golden retreiver that ever existed. Who needs technology when you have such great friends and a cute dog to play with.

“Friendship is born in that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.’ ”

Baking

My mom is my inspiration for cooking and I watch her cook with great interest. She firmly believes in homemade meals for being healthy. She puts in a lot of effort to research and prepare a variety of meals so that my family does not ever feel the need to go to restaurants. Also, because I am vegetarian and don't consume eggs, I can't indulge in most of the treats from the grocery store. I find myself reading books for recipes and baking quite a few items including eggless bread, cinnamon rolls, donuts etc. My grandmother was very proud of me when she tasted my cinnamon rolls. I usually like to bake when I come back home from school during winter and summer break after my exams. It brings me so much relief from stress of exams.

Gardening

What is more fun than planting your own veggies! Growing organic and non-GMO vegetables in the backyard is very fulfilling. I go to Home Depot to buy seeds for growing vegetables in summer. I water the plants and put them in shade during heavy rains. All round the year, I help my mom grow indoor plants such as aloe-vera, mother-in-law’s tongue and spider plant, which help with purifying the air.

A study that shows, the leaves, roots, soil, and associated microorganisms of plants have been evaluated as a possible means of reducing indoor air pollutants

Groceries

Picking the right produce for delicious cooking is actually quite therapeutic for me. I quite enjoy browsing the aisles and picking out my favorite items when I go out with my parents for shopping groceries. My parents like to buy organic and non-GMO vegetables and products for all of the delicious meals my mom makes. Fun fact: I've actually have never, in my entire life, boughten a school lunch. I have learned to read labels to avoid artificial and chemical ingredients such as High Fructose Corn Syrup, Artificial Sweeteners, Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Benzoate, Blue, Green, Red, and Yellow colors. The list can go on and on, but you get the point.

Top Ten Toxic Food Ingredients in Processed Food