The Mind Palace

Episode 25 "brachiosaurus"

Kids, back in 2026, I used to be in 11th grade. Yes, today it feels like I was just a baby, but at that time? I took myself very seriously. Sometimes, a little too seriously as you might realize in the following chapters.

Now, I have told you about the giraffe, haven't I? Although, let's give the giraffe a more dignified name. How about brachiosaurus? Perfect.

So, back in the day, I was quite intimidated by said brachiosaurus, however, brachiosaurus was in charge of something I was fond of. In school, that is. IP cell, to be more specific.

Now, kids, you know I chose commerce as my academic stream, therefore, the social expectation was that I was supposed to be as far away as innovation as earth is to moon.

However, as you know, I've always been an Apollo 11 gal. So, naturally, I told my nervous little brain 'not now', and asked.

I asked and guess what, brachiosaurus didn't growl. It was shocking for me too. I would later discover again and again that brachiosaurus was really a marshmallow trapped inside a brachiosaurus height. But more on that later.

Remember to ask, kids.

Episode 24 "Ice-cream"

Kids, it was already July 1st. It had been more than three weeks since I started going to the new school.

In those three weeks, I had been proven wrong about my doubts repeatedly. I was getting opportunities I never thought I would. I was excelling at every test. Life was going okay.

However, what I have written in my calendar, is "Amul Chocolate icecream". Not because my achievements didn't matter. They did.

But because, when life gets too large, you look at the smaller things. To anchor you. To ground you. To remind you that after everything, you're still just a a kid who loves ice cream.

Episode 23 "Half"

Kids, the twenty third day of me back to school, the date was 30/6/2026.

I remember it was a half day. I adored half days. The weight of the world was lifted half way up my shoulders, or at least the weight of my backpack.

What wisdom shall I impart today? I already told you to eat your veggies.

Oh, right. Be vaguely aware at all times that what other people think of you, is none of your business. Their perception of you, kids, is a reflection of them.

We, as humans, don't see the world as it is, we see the world as we are. And this notion goes both ways, what you think of other people says more about you than it does about them. Remember, irrational hatred's roots are never outside the soil.

Also, tilt the page forty five degrees when you're writing something, it's much better.

Episode 21 "Black Coffee"

Kids, I see "new beginnings" and "Gilmore" on the whiteboard.

Gilmore speaks for itself, it's about the girls. But beginnings, beginnings I have to explain.

Actually, I can't, I don't really know what beginnings meant but I want to tell you this.

Never. Ever. Ever. Ever. Make a whole pan of black coffee before knowing what it tastes like, which is absolute garbage, by the way.

Yes, I am speaking from eleven years old Kavya's experience. Bye.

And remember kids, coffee is disgusting.

Episode 20 "BMSUP"

Kids, looking back at the whiteboard, I see the word "quiet" Up there. Along with what seems to be "BMSUP", any idea what that means? Me neither.

Anyway, what can I say, eat your veggies and your chips, eat your tomatoes and your ice cream.

Life's too short to count your fries. And life's too long to avoid coriander.

Mike Ross 𝘚𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘴

Episode 19 "Lizard"

Kids, as you know, I can pull a philosophy out of anything, well, one day, I stumbled over into the kitchen before my night walk to get some water.

Now, a lizard crossed over on the floor on my path, so naturally, I went "THIS GUY HAS THE SUPERPOWER OF SPIDERMAN AND YET STILL CRAWLS ON THE FLOOR. OF COURSE IT'S GOING TO GET CRUSHED." Yes, naturally.

But then I got to thinking, the lizard almost got crushed because... It wasn't living up to it's full potential. The lizard was always meant for the walls, to climb upwards. The problem here wasn't that the lizard was bound to be crushed, the problem was that the lizard wasn't aware of its superpower.

I suppose, kids, my point is that if you feel as if you are about to be crushed, try to think of your own superpowers. We all have one. Nay, we all have multiple. And then use that superpower to get off the floor and on the wall.

Good day, spiderkids.

Episode 18 "Trees"

Kids, I don't really remember what happened that day. I can only see the word "trees." Scribbled on my whiteboard that day. So here's a ted talk about trees. Enjoy.

I love trees. Trees are cool. Trees are old. Trees are wise. Trees are leafy. Pheobe buffay reference. Up top.

I could list off a thousand scientific reasons trees are awesome. But you can get that from any textbook.

I want to tell you about how when I touch a tree, I feel... Like a part of it. Part of the whole creation. Part of existence.

When all else fails, I go hug a tree. There's a reason all the cool animals cling to trees. They're cool. So. You know. Though, I've forgotten what I did on that Thursday, I know I remembered trees. So it must have been a pretty nice day.

Go hug a tree, kids.

Episode 17 "Gold"

Kids, on 25/6/2026, I took the day off school to... Go to school. Here's some context, you see, our school used to organize this olympiad every year. It started back in 2022, and I won every year.

So, this was the last time I was going to receive the award as I had changed schools. And I was honored enough to receive it from someone who inspired me lot over the years.

But you see, kids, even though I was mighty happy to win the olympiad, I was not nearly as happy as I was when I solved the paper. You see, medals weren't the reason I loved maths. Loving maths was the reason I received medals.

So what can I say to you, kids.

Love things so much that gold doesn't matter.

XOXO, KS.

Episode 16 "Dread"

Kids, there will be moments you feel the dread again. I repeat, will. Not may.

Because kids, I don't know how to tell you this, but life cannot exist without death. Oh, wait, I did know how to tell you. You caught that Chandler, good. Approved.

Now, about the dread, it tries to suck you in. Do not let it. Because dread is temporary, and so is joy.

All you can do is label it "bad day", throw it onto the colorful pile. And hope for a better day next. Just a little bit better will do.

And maybe, better day looks like taking a day off. And that's what I did.

Take a day off, kids.

Episode 15 "People"

Kids, on Monday, I started to let go. Not grandly. Just quietly. And it felt freeing.

I suppose freedom may looks like loneliness from a distance. But up close, they're different.

I learned to care about people I admire from a distance. You know, you can just wish well and not get sucked in? I know. Fascinating.

Kids, I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Believe in people. Because they're people. And I'll soon discover Harry Baker's poem "Paper people" After that Monday. I'll tell you when I do. And no matter how many attempts to meet your friend fail, believe you'll meet tomorrow. Because you're people.

So for now, that all I have to say to you. Believe in people. But more importantly,

Start with yourself, first.

Thank you to everyone who got me to 50 likes!

Episode 14 "Belief"

Kids, how often, if ever do you actually think about the end Cretaceous mass extinction? Random beginning, I know. But that was the question Astrid on my screen asked me after I had done a brave, brave thing. My answer was, as I hope your answer is, not nearly enough.

Though, before I dive into it, here are the answers to your inevitable questions. I did touch the wound. Sometimes consciously, sometimes not. Though, I was proud of myself for not trying to tear it open again. I felt... Free. Strangely free. Like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I felt alive. I felt relief. Disappointment too, yes, but mostly relief. I felt, too put in the simplest form, undiluted.

Now, back to dinosaurs. The video I'm referencing is by Asrid Lundberg, one of my favorite internet geeks at that time. Right up there with Hank Green. And I had watched it over the years more times than I could count. And the video has this as the last line, "Something knew that the world was ending." Which, like she said, never fails to give me goosebumps too.

But that got me thinking, Kids. I thought about just how impossible my life is. If that astroid hadn't hit the planet, and we don't take in factor the concept of soul of aatma, I wouldn't have been pterodactyl. Which is insane to think about.

And which got me thinking, about Interstellar. When TARS says, "Cooper, they didn't bring us here to change the past." And Cooper goes, "Say that again. " And TARS repeats it slowly, "They. Didn't. Bring us here. To change the past." And Cooper realizes "They didn't bring us here at all, we brought ourselves." Now, you maybe wondering, how does this all connect? It doesn't. These are just the examples of how existential I sometimes get in the shower. And maybe it did connect. But you and I will never know how.

Though, I know I couldn't fathom how meticulous life is. Just the fact that the chances are so damn thin of us even existing. I couldn't help but look up at the sky and thank whatever the power was. Thank it for every time I could have ceased to exist but didn't. Everytime an seemingly unlikely opportunity opened. Everytime I wished for rain, and it rained. Because at the end, who even is our best friend but the world? Who heals us but nature? Who takes care of us better than earth? And that's my version of belief. It's a little twisted. It's a little in awe. It's mostly curious.

Be existential, kids.

Episode 13 "Watson"

Kids, there are moments in life when you have to let go. Now I know it sounds strange coming from the most stubborn human you know. Here's what I learned once,

So maybe I'll let it hurt, maybe I'll cry. Maybe I'll need to sit down for a while. Everything is a maybe. Except one thing, whatever happens, I will survive it. Even while crying, even with my heart breaking, even then. I'll survive it. And do my best. Because that's what I do. And maybe best may look like being on metaphorical knees, gasping for air between sobs. But I would still be gasping for air. I will still be trying to breathe.

Because kids, whatever hurt, may not be your fault but it is stll your responsibility to heal it. I knew I couldn't keep staring at the wound forever. I couldn't keep trying to figure out how it got there. I had to eventually tend it. To gently apply the bandage. I couldn't keep being Sherlock Holmes anymore. I had to be John Watson. Because Sherlock Holmes may solve your case. But John Watson will save your life.

Elementary, my dear kids.

Episode 12 "Walk"

Kids, sometimes days just... Suck. There's no other way to describe it. You can take a million measures, you can color code a zillion plans. And still, it sucks.

You see, kids, life has a funny way of playing. Which means at times, you might feel like you got slapped. Across the face. Hard. Seventeen times. Within an hour.

20/06/26 was one of those days for me, kids. You know when you try and try and yet, nothing goes right. And like rachel said, "Yesterday, I hit rock bottom. Now, it's like there's rock bottom. Fifty feet of crap, then me." And kids, no matter how much you run away from the rock, the rock somehow finds a way to slam right into your ribs. So, the question is, what do you do?

I'd say you let it. You let yourself hit rock bottom. You let yourself fall to the ground. Like Sylvia Plath said, "The floor seemed wonderfully solid, it was comforting to know that I had fallen and could fall no further." So, I'd say lay on the floor for a while, and then get up.

Kids, you know how in the most wrecking moments of my life, I've turned to Steven Grant Rogers. Yes. Steve "If you die, walk it off." Rogers. So I did walk it off. At night. And waited patiently, for the next morning. When I got up from the floor.

Kavyarchives

Episode 11 "Showtime"

Kids, back in 2023, I gave up on a project. There were many reasons. A prominent one being that time hadn't done it's magic yet.

And on 19/06/2026, I picked it up again. That's right. Three years later. And yet, this time, I was wiser. Or at least stupid enough to be called brave. So I had exactly one completely disassembled printer, a disassembled aqua guard, four different types of motors, servo, and I don't exactly remember names. Two types of Arduino. Nano, and UNO, an electromagnetic, a relay driver, and wires. So. Many. Wires.

So there I was, on the floor, sitting with the museum of my failure, though I'd realise at some point that it wasn't a failure at all, but that's a story for another time.

Now all I had to do, was reach into my brain, swirl all the components together, and maybe make a tolerable project. You see, kids, I am just not always about the heart. Sometimes my brain walks into the room, takes over the spotlight, and goes,

"Sit down, ametures, it's showtime."

Episode 10 "Unfinished"

Kids, there are days in life when nothing happens, and then there days in life where everything does. 17/06/2026 was the latter.

Now, I won't go into the details but here's a brief description. Well, Kavya brief. Deal with it. The day started out normally. I went to the school, spaced out, spaced back in, went home. But then I got a call. And then I made the decision I would thank myself years for.

I decided to go. A little late, a little crumpled. But I went. Sat through the obnoxious meeting, at least the air conditioner helped.

And then. Walked outside. Now, no one knows better than me to have an image shatter in front of your eyes. "Never meet your heroes." They say.

But I don't agree. I'd say meet your heroes. Let the image shatter. Let your heart shatter too. And let the tinted glass slowly chip away to reveal a mirror. Because when you look closely, you see human. When you look closely, you see *just like you*.