This is a post that I never expected to happen in my lifetime. I am making my 100th blog post on Top Tamil Talk and I want to approach this post a little differently.
Instead of discussing something about current events that happens in Tamil Nadu (or India as a whole), I want to talk a little bit about me as a person and the motivations that made me write this blog.
I just realized a few days ago that I didn’t make a welcome post where I want to make this 100th blog post to reveal who I am and why I am doing this.
Who Am I?
My name is Ashiq Ilahi and I was born on August 28th, 2003.
I was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. When I was 3 months old, I immigrated to the United States and lived in Southern California for about 5 years.
In the middle of Kindergarten, I had to go back to Chennai since my dad’s job got switched back to India. When I went back, I began 1st grade which was really tough where I had to adapt to Indian culture and school standards.
(Yes, I didn’t actually pass Kindergarten and I am currently in 12th grade…shocking, I know)
However, when I came back to India, I got the chance to reunite with my relatives and experience a different side of the world.
Comment down below if you are interested in reading about some of the different experiences I had in both of these countries.
From a very young age, I was a very quiet child since I didn’t have many kids or neighbors to play with. I used to be a very shy person while I was growing up where I usually just mind my own business.
I lived in India from 1st to 5th grade where I learned most of my Tamil and basic studies in India. I was my class topper in 2nd, 4th and 5th grade while I was India. I was 2nd in my class for 3th grade.
Once again, I had to immigrate back to the United States during my 6th grade year where I got that opportunity to come outside my little bubble. I studied middle school in Los Angeles and I am almost done with high school where I will begin 12th grade when school reopens.
Why Did I Start This Blog?
While studying in the United States, I began to miss the Tamil culture a lot and I felt that I should do something for the Tamil or the Indian community.
When I hear about all the atrocities that happens around in the world today, I just feel that I don’t have a voice to share my thoughts about some of these events. If you wonder why I began a news related blog, this was my main motivation.
Whether it’s something hilarious or sentimental, I wanted to use this blog as my way of sharing things that I wouldn’t have been able to do so otherwise.
I try to balance out my thoughts by posting all my hilarious jokes and facts on my Instagram Page where I keep the important current events for the blog.
If you are interested in viewing my Instagram Page, I posted the link below:
https://www.instagram.com/top_tamil_talk/
How Did This Start?
At first, I didn’t have a clear route of how to reach out to the world. First, I was thinking of YouTube, but I didn’t have much knowledge on video editing and it just takes too much time.
After brainstorming many different ideas, I stumbled across writing blogs and I thought that writing would be an amazing opportunity to express my feelings to many people.
After trying out and creating a blog on many other platforms, I found WordPress to be my favorite where I took a few weeks to create the layout for my blog.
After my 1st post, I wasn’t able to consistently blog on a regular basis and lost practice. Once my school closed on March 13th due to the coronavirus pandemic, I made sure to create a habit of blogging every day on current events which lead to the other 99 posts (including this one).
If you have any thoughts that you would want to share of if you have any questions about the blog or me as a person, feel free to leave them down in the comment section below.
Peace Out!!!
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Congratulations on your 100th post Ashiq!š
It’s really surprising to know a guy who has so much interest in Tamil and our culture. Keep up the great work! šā¤
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Thank You! š
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Hearty congratulations! Keep goingš
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Thanks a lot!!!
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Congratulations on your 100th post! Youāve come a long way! I live in India but would love to go abroad for studies ASAP. You seem like a brilliant person and I canāt believe youāre 16 but in 12th grade! Iām 15 and I have to give boards this yearš. Looking forward to all your wondrous blogs! Keep it up š
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Thank You! I know that board exams are really far away but good luck š
My birthday is coming up at the end of August where I will become 17 š (almost there)
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I know they are like six months away but they are making us literally pay for it. I have like 6 sets of examinations between the boards and now! Like SIX!!! What does CBSE think of us:( First exam due on 13 July during lockdown š.
Wish you all the best in your future endeavours:)
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I read that Tamil Nadu canceled their exams for 10th & 12th graders last school year. On the other hand, I heard that states like Kerala were able to successfully conduct them.
So…what happened in your state and how do you think these state governments are going to conduct these exams without spiking the cases?
(just curious for your opinion) š¤
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Well, only the last two papers were cut last year from boards. When the lockdown is over and the situation turns to normal maybe theyāll organise a paper or not! Not really sure about it. But a small portion of 2020ās class syllabus will be reduced. Still not clear which parts so we are being accessed on everything.
I live in Punjab and I think the governments probably gonna wait to resume those leftover exams. Kerala is a more literate state which is why they must have conducted the papers there easily š
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Quite Surprising, I didn’t know that only portions were canceled šÆ š® š²
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Congratulations š. So nice to hear about your love for Tamil though you were far away from TN.
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Thanks a lot!!! š
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all the best to you in your future studies….keep the focus and you will be successful…
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Thanks a lot! š
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Your story sounds quite similar to me so yes, I would like to read about some of the different experiences that you had in both the countries!! Your reason for starting the blog is really good. Keep up the good work and happy blogging. Happy to hear that that you’re a vijay anna fan too (*egarly waiting for master)
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I had some thoughts about writing the contrasts of the western and the eastern worlds š¤ (lifestyle, education, word choices, weird personal stories, etc…)
I will definitely take this into more consideration and plan out a few posts.
About Vijay, I am not really a fan of his movies, but was inspired by his character and his struggle to reach the position he holds today! People would be happy about the theater experience, but I am quite worried about the virus due to the 100% occupancy š¢
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Thanks a lot for considering my request!! Oh I see, I’m worried about the full occupancy too. Let’s hope necessary precautions will be taken.
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After u watched the movie, plz tell me the crowd experience and the precautions taken. Quite curious!
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Sure!!
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