HELLO, I’M NASSIA POPLI
To define is to limit.
~ Ernest Hemingway
My diary and pencil, my mic and speaker, myself and my books are all I need to keep being who I am and doing what I do. I love being active, going to the gym and playing basketball, as it keeps me from being tired and lazy. Music is a part of my soul and I find solace in singing and being heard. I write poetry religiously and read lots of classic books to explore the times when the world was different. Emotions and kindness are so extremely important to me. I strongly believe that pain demands to be felt. I love nature and its beings, such as dogs and cats, though spiders scare me. My friends and family mean the world to me, and I hold them close to my heart.
I believe my creativity is reflected in everything I do. I’m someone who finds art in things one would never expect to find.
Being a published author, my writing can be described by one single word, Passion.
I love meeting new people and hearing different point of views on topics I care about.
Music has been a part of me for as long as I can remember. I feel my degree only gives a glimpse of my love for music.
I was four years old when I started singing. Classical music became my home for three years until I realized that rock and pop music resonated with me even more. This change in interest truly brought together my passion for music. I started learning under the Trinity syllabus and now I am pursuing a Grade 7 vocals degree. Singing has always been my home away from home and I believe that being a musician has become a part of my soul.
Besides music I am interested in writing poetry. The habit started when I became a teenager and realised that just singing was not expressing my overwhelming emotions enough. I very well remember the first time I wrote a poem and showed it to my English facilitator. She praised my work and having that validation somewhere fired the passion in me to write. In September 2024, I brought my dream to life by publishing a book that encapsulates years of my poetry, bound in 100 pages of pure emotion. Seeing it all together was overwhelming and deeply moving—a milestone that will forever be a part of me. I’m honoured to say, with pride, that I am now a published poet. To read my published poetry, click here.
I’ve been told all my life that I have a sensitive personality. I believe that reflects in my work now more than ever at the very peak of my life, right before university. It feels like everything is coming to an end, and like that my life is going to come crashing down as I graduate from high school and move away from this place, I have called home my entire life. But these emotions and putting them down onto paper or singing them out loud have only made me realise that this ending is also a beginning of my future. The future seems to be turning into the present ever so slightly, but so swiftly.
International Journal for Innovative Research in Multidisciplinary Field Volume 10, Issue 11, November 2024 
In 2023-24, Northeastern University, London, held an essay competition for students in high school from India. I participated and wrote an essay on how English is a language with practical use. I was honoured to be one of two finalists in the category, out of 4500 participants. I realized through experience that I am capable of more than I think I am.
My school, Shikshantar, holds two MUNs for high school grades each year. I took part as a journalist in a MUN for the first time in the spring edition of Shik MUN 2024. With much faith in my aptitude for writing, I thought I would for sure win something, be it anything at all. I went on writing with all the passion I had for my subject, but I won nothing. Though I do not have much experience in delegation, a few months later, I was honored with the position of the Head of Creative Journalism for the Shik Mun Monsoon Edition 2024. I realized that giving up is the easier option, but it gets a person nothing. I kept on trying and got where I wanted, and I feel that achieving after trying is better than not trying at all.
My experience as the Head of Creative Journalism in the 2024 Monsoon edition of ShikMun was like a dream. Leading a committee where I guided young writers and delved into their incredible articles and poems was a double blessing—it enriched my experience and honed my writing skills. This role beautifully rounded off my passion for writing and leadership in a subject I hold dear. It was an extraordinary experience that left a lasting impression on me.
In 2023, when I entered grade 11, I joined the student council as a part of the literary committee. Soon after, I was made the head editor for our online school magazine called The Oracle. I spent months editing each piece in the edition and designing it, with little help from my assistant editors and designers. I was able to submit the final edition while doing my schoolwork and preparing for exams, which brought out my trait of being able to multitask.
My school, Shikshantar, holds an annual ISC creative writing competition. I started participating in it in 2022. In 2023, I got the position of being in the top 5 out of the entire grade. In 2024, I got an honorary mention for my poetry. My work being appreciated has made me feel encouraged to keep improving and keep writing.
In 2023, one of my works was published in a worldwide magazine known as Wee Hooghly. I was proud to have been selected and it helped slowly build my confidence in my writing.
In summer 2023, I spent a month volunteering with an NGO named Sarvpryag. I realized that my effort started off with wanting to add the credits to my portfolio, but by the end of the month, I wanted to interact with those children every day. They made me understand the importance of gratitude and gratefulness. The experience taught me that when you do not have something or have less of it, there is a lower chance of you taking advantage of it and instead cherishing every moment and part of it, and I take this forward with me.
Every time I sit down to write, I learn a new lesson and become wiser. Writing poetry or anything for that matter, be it in English or not, is like collecting my thoughts while emptying a full vessel of feelings. I let my morals and values be guided by everything I learn on a daily basis, and I collect it in my diary full of poetry.
I started playing basketball when I was in the 4th grade and went on to play for the national ISC team in 2023. The court and being on it in my jersey had this sense of unity that I have never felt in any place else. The love and adrenaline that the sport gives me lives on to be unmatched.
There are times when we come across some people who have a special relationship with us, and we feel as if we know them from a previous life. I have known Nassia Popli as her English Facilitator for more than 3 years now, but I truly believe I have some past-life connection with her as well. Nassia is not just a beautiful writer but also a sensitive and empathetic person. It is her own persona and her unique manner of understanding this world that is reflected in her poetry.
~ Osheen Rao
