About Me
I'm joining Service Space because ...
A good day to me is when ... I can make someone laugh
My hero in life is ...I try to find something to admire in everyone
My favorite book is ...
One thing I'm grateful for is ... All the wonderful people in my life!
Happiness & Success From A 17-Year-Old
Aug 20, 2019, 2 comments, 17 smiles
At the start of the summer, 17-year-old Arnav asked how he could be of service. We didn't plan to do a summer internship, but after reading his application essay and his core value on integrity, it was too hard not to be moved to explore how we could ripple more smiles into the world together!
Over the last couple months, he interviewed everyday heroes and love warriors about their service journeys. He spent the summer experimenting with daily acts of kindness, daily stillness through meditation (or trying to :)), serving virtually with projects like KarmaTube, and diving into research on intrinsic motivations, compassion, wisdom, and happiness. On top of that, he got up at odd hours on weekends and holidays to spread smiles at local events -- like a unique conference and gardening at Banyan Grove!
All this, too, while working an engineering camp job, completing a hackathon, hosting out-of-town-family, and leading ... Read Full Story
Losing By One Goal... And Winning
Jun 11, 2019, 2 comments, 14 smiles
Recently read this insightful reflection from high schooler, Arnav, in response to the question, "What is one of your core values?"
One core value of mine is integrity and ethics. [...] I learned this value throughout the various experiences I have had throughout my life at school, playing sports, and in other competitions. I have been faced with countless opportunities where I could have cheated or bent the rules for my personal gain. However, I have never taken them, and I feel like those experiences have helped me grow. Time and time again have I seen students cheat on tests and even steal tests early so they can get A’s. I realized that that is completely wrong and at the end of the day, does not help anyone. They don’t learn the concepts correctly and end up failing the next tests, and in competition they do not feel the true ... Read Full Story
Interns Serve Lemonade!
Sep 10, 2017, 4 comments, 20 smiles
On one fine Saturday afternoon (a couple months ago now), summer interns and mentors collected to share some lemonade with the community (at St. James Park in San Jose)! Here's what happened:
At noon, our crew began setting up. Isabel, Sneha, Selena and Audrey were there at noon with tables and supplies. Priya, Maya, their brother Om, Shyama and her siblings were all there helping and getting the table ready. At 12:30pm, all of us had an opening circle to share our intentions for the day.
By this time about a hundred people had already lined up for lemonade and snacks - I suppose they all knew the drill :)
However, as we began giving lemonade to people, we found ourselves... unsatisfied. After all, the purpose was to use lemonade as a context to connect with those in the park! Someone remarked, "This feels sort of like a handout." And it wasn't just ... Read Full Story
Laddership Interns Week 4: Wisdom
Jul 09, 2017, 12 smiles
In Week 4 of our Summer Internship, the interns were asked to drop into their own wisdom.
They did this by doing 20(!) minutes of silence in the morning and night, practicing mindfulness and doing RAOKs every day, and reflecting on their current and future day every night.
From there we had some beautiful reflections on our Interns Feed, and in the spirit of brewing that collective tea, the call began!
Amit opened by asking an open, but important question: "How are you doing right now? What's at the top of your mind?"
Apurva began by saying that he was enjoying sitting in silence! "It allows you to tune out, all the noise and things going on." And he felt that things were surprisingly okay! Amit commented that he could feel how well Apurva was doing through his smile :)
Maya was enjoying a beautiful sunset in Utah, after going around national parks for a ... Read Full Story
