Our Resident Superhuman: Pari Gulati ('24)
There are many superheroes whose stories have been told. These tales of enhanced beings and modern gods are all over our entertainment industry. Between Marvel and DC, there is never a lack of superhuman media filling our screens. It’s almost impossible to ignore superheroes, and many are quite popular and well-known. A lesser known superhuman, however, is Pari Gulati (‘24) of Casady School. Pari Gulati could definitely lead an army into war, win said war in half an hour, and come back and finish her homework before going to violin lessons.
Speaking of violin, her practice record is almost legendary within the orchestra. “I try to practice from about 45 minutes to an hour a day, but with my recent workload, I’ve only been doing about 30 minutes a day. On the weekends, I spend most of my time practicing,” Pari expressed. If someone were to make a log of all-time practice time, Pari would definitely be up there in the top five. It pays off, too. She recently auditioned for NCHO, an honors orchestra group, and is waiting to hear back from them about her acceptance status.
If you asked any of the current sophomores to describe Pari, they all would probably say similar things. She’s hard-working, kind, intelligent, but also has little regard for sleep or rest. When asked how he would describe her in one sentence, Ayan Zubair (‘24) questioned “What’s the importance of sleep?”
“She’s the most hard-working person I know,” said Alya Bakir (‘24), “and if she wants to achieve something, she will work her hardest to get it. Technically, she’s a perfectionist.” She’s always dashing off to somewhere around campus, whether it be to Student Council in the mornings or field hockey after school. She truly does seem to do it all, but sometimes that can come with a cost.
Any superhero has a villain, and Pari’s is time. She has no study hall, having replaced it with Web Design. “It would be nice to have a study hall, but I have a really hard time focusing on other work in school, so lack of a study hall actually works out for me. Also, I really enjoy Web Design.”
In every movie, there has to be some sacrifice in order to further the plot and to make the audience feel something - usually a family member or love interest. In Pari’s case, she chose sleep. “It probably wasn’t the smartest decision, but um, I catch up on my sleep on the weekends, and it’s made up for when the outcome [I was studying for] is good.” Personally, I do not recommend this at all, but to each her own. She conquers her villain in her own way, and she has multiple victories under her belt, so who am I to tell her how to superhero?
Sacrifices, however, shouldn’t rule your life. A superhero is only as good as the team around them, and Pari, unlike Batman, does not work alone. “I’m in my room a lot because I have to finish homework or whatever, but whenever I have free time, I try to spend it with my family because I know college is soon.”
As all good superheroes do, she gave me a PSA to release on how to “Superhuman-It” like she does. “Have a set schedule so [you] don't miss deadlines. For example, when I get home I try to do violin right away to get it out of the way for the rest of the night, and also so I know I need to do these things right now and this thing later. Please, please keep your phone away from you when you’re working. It’s a big distraction and it’ll only cause problems.”
Pari “definitely wouldn’t describe [herself] as a superhuman,” she said, laughing off the superhuman title. “I don’t want to set the bar that high. I’m just hard-working and dedicated to what I do.”