Arjun Khemani

There’s a lot going on. But also not a whole lot. Let me explain.

Changing houses

So we recently moved houses. And I’m at this entirely new part of the city which is absolutely beautiful. Well at least comparatively much more beautiful. I’m still around in the city but there’s trees, lots of trees. And there’s a lake. A lake that looks like those heavenly animated pictures yet feels so real early in the mornings when I pass it on my run. Trees and lakes bless the city life.

That’s one aspect of the whole lot that’s been going on. When you change locations, you’re allowing yourself an entirely new environment where you can cultivate great habits again and more easily remove bad ones from your life. But it’s even more easy to go the other way and fall into a bad spiral just upon getting to a new location if you’re not conscious about the seeds you’re planting.

I’m trying to stay on the good side.

Getting paid

By the way, I’m finally earning now. But… it’s weird.

You see, I read Robert Kiyosaki a while ago. And if I am to follow Rich Dad’s advice, then I must not work for money (if this sounds weird to you, you need to read Rich Dad Poor Dad first). I should certainly learn through doing work for others. But not work for money. Because that would create the employee mindset in me. Something I do not wish to have.

So this work I’m getting paid for is essentially copywriting. Copywriting for a couple of firms.

“firms” makes it too formal. There’s really these two people (who, for the record are going to read this part of the blog post because I’m going to send it to them) whom I met online and they both have their own firms. We’re actually friends. Now apparently they might be thinking I write okay so they asked me if I’d write stuff for them. I said yes, of course! And now I’m getting paid.

So what’s weird in all this?

Well, a part of me thinks that I’m working for money which is exactly what Rich Dad told me to stay away from being lured into. But another part assures me that I’m actually working with people and I’m essentially getting paid to learn.

And I really am learning a bunch. But I’m doing it for money. See the problem?

School is being school

On top of all this I’m still regarded as a student. I don’t regard myself as a student anymore, but people tend to do. Because I’m still in high school.

And (there’s no sugarcoating this) it is wasting my life.

I get into the most unexpected of troubles at school. I “talk back” to the teacher and that is not appreciated there. I get out of class (because… I’d rather stay anywhere else than class) and just disappear for a while. So they catch me and call my parents and tell them about my disobedient behavior. And the play goes on. The only thing I like about there is my fellow classmates. At least their minds are open to different ideas.

As you can guess, I literally don’t care about school. If I did in the slightest there would be no chance of me publishing these words. As I said, I’m not a student anymore.

So why am I in school?

Well, I’m intensely searching for ways to get out. I almost succeeded by getting close to joining this unconventional online school but I didn’t do that in the end. I still have constraints put over me on selecting the alternative school and I can’t really dropout without the strongest of reasons. But I do have liberty to not care about school.

(If you can help me in my situation, please DM or email me.)

Small big things

Beyond these, there are a few “small big things” that are keeping me alive (and away from posting these blogs):

• I recently had a podcast to do. One I was looking forward to for quite some time. But my guest had an unfortunate event come up for which we needed to reschedule at the last moment. However of course, I had been doing all the research and question drafting. And they shall be used another day now.

• I’m doing the New York Academy of Science’s The Junior Program which is very cool. I’ve been getting to know a bunch of people and we need to work together starting soon.

• I was writing another article for the Taking Children Seriously website which is being reviewed as of now.

There’s probably stuff I’m forgetting. Most of the while I just know I have work to do without ever actually knowing what particular work I have to do. So when I explain to my friends that I can’t come to a party because I have work to do and they ask, “what work?” I just repeat what’s already been said.

“I have work”.

I don’t have work

All of this seems a lot but it really isn’t. Because I’m aware of the time I squandered when I could indeed have been writing.

I always picked up an excuse. Sometimes though, they made sense. I really needed to rest.

Sorry for not posting these past ten days.

This post too could have been a journal entry. I’m not even going to edit this more than minimally required. But I hope you liked it.