2017: Year in Review
On the first day of 2017, I woke up at my friend's house, on the bed that we had turned into a fort with bed-sheets and blankets and fairylights, after what was my first ever New Year's Eve Special Sleepover. It was the first time I had done anything different apart from watching and geting bored with the same people singing and dancing on television to usher in a new year. I woke up beside my bestfriends, teasing each other and hugging each other and making promises to begin every new year the same way- well, one of those idiots is sitting in America right now and the other one is too busy studying for an exam to meet me but that doesn't stop her from baking enticing cakes and posting pictures of them on WhatsApp- I'm sure gonna remember this. And on my own part, I just returned from a trip today after a long overnight train journey so I am definitely not going to any parties tonight. But the point here, I began this year in a manner markedly different from previous years and thus I was hopeful, even optimistic about 2017 being a grand success. Well, time for a reality check.
Nope, I did not become a famous writer overnight. But I sent in more submissions to magazines than previous years, which meant I wrote more than previous years and after a while I created a folder in my mailbox called 'Pillars of Success' where I continue to move all the rejection mails (did just one today). I still have the same job that I had at the beginning of the year, live at the same house, have the same lifestyle- outwardly nothing has changed.
Inwardly, however, this has been one of my darkest years. I went through periods of depression so intense that only the knowledge that I had to made me get up from my bed on mornings and carry on with my daily routine like nothing at all was wrong. I woke up and wanted to curl up and hide, went to work and couldn't wait to get out, and once out my feet wouldn't move because I didn't want to go home. This however made me work on my inner life. I started blogging again- partly as a defiance to all those rejection letters and partly to deal with depression, and unlike previous stints, I did not give up midway and abandon my plans. In the history of my blog, I have never posted pieces at such regular intervals, and I count that to be one of my successes. And through the process of blogging, I discovered I had a flair for writing lyrics, something I hadn't conceived of before. And though I hope my blog grows in the future, I am infinitely grateful to every single reader who visited, commented on, liked or shared any of my posts this year. Every piece of writing is a piece of the writer's soul that hangs in a limbo till it connects with another, so if I have managed to touch you in any small way through my words, I thank you with all my heart, and I thank the universe for carrying my words to you.
I also started my own YouTube Channel , inspired by a little acknowledgement from Shaan, the Bollywood singer and also by the example and encouragement from my students, especially Learnerdy & ArtWhip. Despite the horrors of marking answer-scripts and the exhaustion of a monotonous syllabus, teaching has been a rewarding experience this year, and I am grateful for all that I have learned from the process and from my students, and for all the love that I have received.
I discovered Neil Gaiman this year- I honestly feel like one of the seven sleepers for being this late to the party. I mean, of course I knew who Gaiman was, but had somehow never read his works before. Well, he took all my money this year and as long as he keeps writing he can continue taking them all as far as I am concerned, but on that note, I am grateful for all the books that I have had the opportunity to read this year, and grateful to everyone who lent me books, gave me book suggestions, to all the writers who taught me something about the art of storytelling and about life in 2017.
As the year ends, I am on a magazine's long list for one of my story submissions, an abstract I wrote for a seminar has just been accepted, and the 200 CCS: Year One Paperback of which I am a part is finally out on Amazon.
In 2018, I vow to continue my blog, and my channel. I am going to write that paper and I am going to keep submitting fiction and I hope that I continue to grow as a human being. It is going to take some work, but it is going to be good.
A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND EVERYONE THAT YOU CHERISH! May your journey be enriching and beautiful.
Nope, I did not become a famous writer overnight. But I sent in more submissions to magazines than previous years, which meant I wrote more than previous years and after a while I created a folder in my mailbox called 'Pillars of Success' where I continue to move all the rejection mails (did just one today). I still have the same job that I had at the beginning of the year, live at the same house, have the same lifestyle- outwardly nothing has changed.
Inwardly, however, this has been one of my darkest years. I went through periods of depression so intense that only the knowledge that I had to made me get up from my bed on mornings and carry on with my daily routine like nothing at all was wrong. I woke up and wanted to curl up and hide, went to work and couldn't wait to get out, and once out my feet wouldn't move because I didn't want to go home. This however made me work on my inner life. I started blogging again- partly as a defiance to all those rejection letters and partly to deal with depression, and unlike previous stints, I did not give up midway and abandon my plans. In the history of my blog, I have never posted pieces at such regular intervals, and I count that to be one of my successes. And through the process of blogging, I discovered I had a flair for writing lyrics, something I hadn't conceived of before. And though I hope my blog grows in the future, I am infinitely grateful to every single reader who visited, commented on, liked or shared any of my posts this year. Every piece of writing is a piece of the writer's soul that hangs in a limbo till it connects with another, so if I have managed to touch you in any small way through my words, I thank you with all my heart, and I thank the universe for carrying my words to you.
I also started my own YouTube Channel , inspired by a little acknowledgement from Shaan, the Bollywood singer and also by the example and encouragement from my students, especially Learnerdy & ArtWhip. Despite the horrors of marking answer-scripts and the exhaustion of a monotonous syllabus, teaching has been a rewarding experience this year, and I am grateful for all that I have learned from the process and from my students, and for all the love that I have received.
I discovered Neil Gaiman this year- I honestly feel like one of the seven sleepers for being this late to the party. I mean, of course I knew who Gaiman was, but had somehow never read his works before. Well, he took all my money this year and as long as he keeps writing he can continue taking them all as far as I am concerned, but on that note, I am grateful for all the books that I have had the opportunity to read this year, and grateful to everyone who lent me books, gave me book suggestions, to all the writers who taught me something about the art of storytelling and about life in 2017.
As the year ends, I am on a magazine's long list for one of my story submissions, an abstract I wrote for a seminar has just been accepted, and the 200 CCS: Year One Paperback of which I am a part is finally out on Amazon.
In 2018, I vow to continue my blog, and my channel. I am going to write that paper and I am going to keep submitting fiction and I hope that I continue to grow as a human being. It is going to take some work, but it is going to be good.
One magical evening of song and lights. That's all it takes. One evening where the familiar turns into a fairytale, and warmth and wine flows freely, and rigid structures are forgotten, and touched by the magic, all hearts are full to bursting with love. And there are tears in every eye, and smiles on every lip, deep embraces and many many group photographs in various poses that in a month or two will all look the same. And photographs are mute and dull- they can't translate the froze laughters into the insanity of the moment, the joyous shouts and the mad scrambling to get into positions...
Afterwards, when you are sitting alone, the madness dissipated at last, and there's a sudden quick final hug to say goodbye, you realize the magic is over, the evening is over, and an eternity of the mundane awaits. But perhaps there will be new fairytales again, for the magic in the magical lies in that it never truly ends. Not really.
Some say when Pandora locked up Hope in her hurry to seal the jar, she managed to save humanity from the jealous gods' greatest curse, but I prefer the reading where Hope chose not to abandon humanity, for what is the point of walking if not the anticipation of a destination?
A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND EVERYONE THAT YOU CHERISH! May your journey be enriching and beautiful.
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