At 26, I often feel hopeless and stagnant in life. The world has become so competitive that I often fail to look at my little achievements that I once dreamed off, things that were once on my bucket list and is now a reality. Things that are taken for granted. So here is my list from the past 5 years just to make me feel better:
1. Got a master's degree in Social Work when I was 21 (Mind you, so many people told me I was wasting my time pursuing that degree, I was young, stupid and impractical they said!)
2. Moved out of my parent's house and lived alone - in a forest, in a village, in a developed city and survived all of it. I learned the art of packing and moving in less than an hour, practiced minimalist living by literally living out of a box for 2 years.
3. Learned to make friends with strangers and learned to ask for help (I shed my pride). It is a big thing for me because I used to be someone who would rather starve than ask my own mother if there was anything to eat.
4. Managed to get a technological detox - those low budget phones and lack of connectivity helped in keeping me away from the non stop social media updates. The urge to publish every detail of my life online is now non existent. I quit FB for good 2 years and from that I learned those friends on FB don't exist once your off FB.
5. Got a job abroad - Hell, I only wished to travel abroad but fate had it that I got a job and ended up living abroad. The experience is enlightening - how it does not matter which part of India I was from - I am just 'Indian'. Speaking English without MTI is not good enough, etc. No one cares how developed your city is, you still belong to a 3rd world nation. :/
6. Watched Karma payback people who were unjust - at work, in my personal life. I consider myself blessed to be able to watch it within such a short span of time. How much I wished justice would be served and my wish was granted.
7. Managed to survive a break up. Someone who meant the world to me decided to move on at the most unexpected time. I never thought I would move forward in life, but looking back at the years now, I did go forward and I learned to accept and deal with the pain. Most importantly, I learned to be emotionally independent.
8. Reconciled with my past. The parental favoritism, the trauma from the childhood abuses, betrayal by friends and a lot more. I am at a level where I am able to understand the reasons why people behaved the way they did to me and I am not sour about it anymore. Life will take its course and karma will do the needful.
9. Kept a promise I almost broke. Learned to separate my emotions associated with the promise and stick to my word. That promise is a source of my joy today and hopefully forever :)
10. And those regular cheap thrills - my first investment, first camera, first flight ticket, first international trip, so many firsts with my own money. Who said social work does not pay you enough to live life well, its all about budgeting.
I have come a long way from the silly kid I used to be and still have a very long way to go before I willing accept adulthood as my reality. :D
Life is never about the big things. It's those little things that once mattered the most - the milestones that indicate you are getting ahead, one step at a time.
Thank you for taking the time to read these insignificant tidbits about my life.
1. Got a master's degree in Social Work when I was 21 (Mind you, so many people told me I was wasting my time pursuing that degree, I was young, stupid and impractical they said!)
2. Moved out of my parent's house and lived alone - in a forest, in a village, in a developed city and survived all of it. I learned the art of packing and moving in less than an hour, practiced minimalist living by literally living out of a box for 2 years.
3. Learned to make friends with strangers and learned to ask for help (I shed my pride). It is a big thing for me because I used to be someone who would rather starve than ask my own mother if there was anything to eat.
4. Managed to get a technological detox - those low budget phones and lack of connectivity helped in keeping me away from the non stop social media updates. The urge to publish every detail of my life online is now non existent. I quit FB for good 2 years and from that I learned those friends on FB don't exist once your off FB.
5. Got a job abroad - Hell, I only wished to travel abroad but fate had it that I got a job and ended up living abroad. The experience is enlightening - how it does not matter which part of India I was from - I am just 'Indian'. Speaking English without MTI is not good enough, etc. No one cares how developed your city is, you still belong to a 3rd world nation. :/
6. Watched Karma payback people who were unjust - at work, in my personal life. I consider myself blessed to be able to watch it within such a short span of time. How much I wished justice would be served and my wish was granted.
7. Managed to survive a break up. Someone who meant the world to me decided to move on at the most unexpected time. I never thought I would move forward in life, but looking back at the years now, I did go forward and I learned to accept and deal with the pain. Most importantly, I learned to be emotionally independent.
8. Reconciled with my past. The parental favoritism, the trauma from the childhood abuses, betrayal by friends and a lot more. I am at a level where I am able to understand the reasons why people behaved the way they did to me and I am not sour about it anymore. Life will take its course and karma will do the needful.
9. Kept a promise I almost broke. Learned to separate my emotions associated with the promise and stick to my word. That promise is a source of my joy today and hopefully forever :)
10. And those regular cheap thrills - my first investment, first camera, first flight ticket, first international trip, so many firsts with my own money. Who said social work does not pay you enough to live life well, its all about budgeting.
I have come a long way from the silly kid I used to be and still have a very long way to go before I willing accept adulthood as my reality. :D
Life is never about the big things. It's those little things that once mattered the most - the milestones that indicate you are getting ahead, one step at a time.
Thank you for taking the time to read these insignificant tidbits about my life.
