Hello Peeps! Forgive the absence these past few days. I have had a hectic few days with travelling and keeping track of my globetrotting sister and what not and in the midst of this melee I also managed to turn a year older! :D heh.. Yesterday was the momentous occasion and with S not being around and my sister off to the Big Apple I wasn't expecting much of a party. But I had a fun time!! Apart from the calls, messages, wishes on FB and wishes in person, a couple of my cousins - its not right to call them just cousins, they are much more like my own brothers - managed to surprise me with a cake and the works in the evening!! I wasn't expecting it at all and the gesture simply bowled me over!! To say the least, it made my day!! :) And the fact that it was the most divine chocolate truffle and simply melted in your mouth was the icing on the cake! :D hehe.. I also got to cut a "virtual" cake thanks to fellow blogger and amazing chef Renu (read her blog
here). Its a pity I didn't get to taste it but the picture was enough to have me drooling all over the place. :P
My Real Cake!! :D Ignore the name on the cake.. Its a long story!! :P
And today was my little sister's birthday. Yup! Like I have mentioned before on this space, we were born exactly 5 years and one day apart. Birthdays at home have always meant a double celebration, and this is the first time in years that she's been so far away from me, and it somehow makes me feel sad that she's all grown up and flown the nest, and also immeasurably proud of the fact that at the age of 22, she's managed to become a self- assured, smart and extremely confident young woman. Happy Birthday again hon!!! :)
My virtual cake!! :)
So here I am today, 27 years old, feeling not so much older than I did a couple of days back but definitely a whole lot wiser compared to 26 year old me. :) I do not claim to have discovered the secret to a perfectly happy life or mastered the secrets of the universe but I can say with absolute certainty that I am not the same person I was a year ago. And I shall enumerate how in the best way I know- bullet points!! :D heh.. Here goes:
- I have always been the kind of person who planned everything out in detail. I have always known what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be at every stage in my life. I had this perfect picture in my head as to where I would be at 27 and I am nowhere near there. I have always had to deviate and make my way around obstacles and problems but the last one year has made me pretty much erase the whole picture and start afresh.
- I have learnt not to be scared of change. Everything changes- its the golden rule of life. Resisting it is not only futile but extremely taxing. And most often the changes are always for the good.
- I have learnt that sometimes you simply have to step back and take account of your life. You have to be objective and do what has to be done. There no way around it.
- Sometimes your biggest fears do come true and although it might seem to be the end of the world then, you have to learn to survive, pick yourself up and move on.
- I have realized that I have the courage in me to take decision I never thought I would be making in my life. Yes, sometimes it scares me, sometimes I doubt myself but I still take pride in the fact that I did not hesitate to take tough decisions when the situation demanded it.
- Hope is the most beautiful thing in the world. Even when you keep thinking that it can simply not get worse than this, that tiny little voice in your heart/ head will always tell you you're wrong. Believe it!! :) Its usually right.
- There are some people whose value simply cannot be put into words. The ones who stick around not because it suits them at that time, but because they genuinely care for you. The ones whom you know are irreplaceable. The ones when you cannot get hold of them, you feel that the bottom has dropped out of your world!! And they keep proving to you again and again why you love them. Love you guys- you know who you all are!! :)
- Family matters- always! You can always count on them to rally around you and keep you intact when you are scared you will shatter into a million tiny pieces and even you won't recognize yourself. They also make sure you get your ass kicked when the situation demands it.
- Sometimes love is more than enough. Just when you think you have faced and gotten through the worst, life throws a curve ball at you and love gets you though it intact. Just when you think you simply cannot love someone any more, they do something that makes you believe you can. :)
- People come into your life for a reason. They also leave for a reason. I have learnt to handle it with equanimity. I have made new friends, mended broken bridges and burnt a few bridges in the past year. It used to hurt me to watch people walk away in the past but now, I know better. I have had the chance to make friends with people whom I least expected to be friends with. I have grown apart from a few people, and I have shrugged my shoulders and moved on when some left. It just is not worth it beating yourself up wondering why some people do the things they do. Its a varied world out there and you meet people of all hues and they all lend colour to your life in someway :)
- Forgiving helps. When you hold a grudge, it poisons you not the one you are mad at! :) You let go, and it doesn't bother you anymore.
And most importantly, the most amazing things in life often come to you unexpected. Savour them! :) Ok I hope that was not too much wisdom from a 27 year old but I have to say this are the things that have gone though my mind these past few days. I don't know if it has anything to do with turning a year older or if its just my inner self telling me things I should know but, I like this place in my life. I like where I am and what I am doing now. There is still a lot of uncertainty facing me, a lot that I hope to get accomplished by next year and am not sure how successful I will be. But I'm ready to try. Life's an adventure and am ready to go where it leads me.. So lead on!! :D