Pankaj

I am a person who is positive about every aspect of life. There are many things I like to do, to see, and to experience. I like to read, I like to write; I like to think, I like to dream; I like to talk, I like to listen. I like to see the sunrise in the morning, I like to see the moonlight at night; I like to feel the music flowing on my face, I like to smell the wind coming from the ocean. I like to look at the clouds in the sky with a blank mind, I like to do thought experiment when I cannot sleep in the middle of the night. I like flowers in spring, rain in summer, leaves in autumn, and snow in winter. I like to sleep early, I like to get up late; I like to be alone, I like to be surrounded by people. I like country’s peace, I like metropolis’ noise; I like the beautiful west lake in Hangzhou, I like the flat cornfield in Champaign. I like delicious food and comfortable shoes; I like good books and romantic movies. I like the land and the nature, I like people. And, I like to laugh.

I always wanted to be a great writer, like Victor Hugo who wrote "Les Miserable", or like Roman Roland who wrote "John Christopher". They have influenced millions of people through their books. I also wanted to be a great psychologist, like William James or Sigmund Freud, who could read people’s mind. Of course, I am nowhere close to these people, yet. I am just someone who does some teaching, some research, and some writing. But my dream is still alive.

Hobbies are activities which help us escape the daily grind of life and work and give us pleasure and peace of mind. Because we are not being ordered to perform certain jobs which we may not be fond of, hobbies help to inculcate an appreciation for work rather than driving us away from it.

The interesting thing about hobbies is that they dramatically improve our own personalities and character traits, therefore improving our performances better on the whole. They help us discover talents and abilities which we may never have known ourselves to possess also giving us an insight of all the elements around us, making us learn new things each day. For instance, hobbies like stamp collecting, bird watching, photography, sports and music make our time worthwhile and give us information about different things.

My hobby is gardening. The joy of witnessing blooming flowers and leaves fills my heart with a sense of achievement and realizing the fact that the work of my own hands is bearing fruit definitely gives me pleasure.

Gardening also helps to keep me fit, strong and healthy for working away in my garden results in the beneficial kind of exercise that is good for both mind and body. I inherited the love for gardening from my mother and now with her help and interest; I have prepared a small garden in front of our porch. It is a thing of beauty with a grassy carpet and trimmed hedges.

I grow several varieties of plants including the China rose, jasmines, ferns and gladioli in my garden. The recently purchased Christmas tree is a welcome addition too. Every day after school it is my habit to check on my garden and look after the plants. The garden has to be kept under a strict check, mowed punctually as the grass grows at a speedy rate during the rainy season, and cleaned at least twice a week. However, during autumn due to the shedding of the leaves, I have to clean it daily while always adding manure and plant medicine for the protection of these wonderful creations of God. A little bouquet of pretty flowers also makes a wonderful gift for birthdays and anniversaries.

I am also thinking of including vegetables in my garden for it will save us the purchase of vegetables from the market and we may also sell them to other people at respectable sums of money. It is possible to grow the vegetables that are consumed daily and do not take up much space.