The days are long, but the years are short.

The title is taken from a book I'm currently reading, titled 'The Happiness Project'. Normally I don't like reading such books, in which the author sort of preaches and I feel that they are trying to force their opinion on me, their opinion about life and values. So I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up this book and just couldn't keep it down. It talks about how one day the author has an epiphany that she doesn't have enough happiness in her life. I've never though of happiness as something that you consciously inculcate in your life, but this book changed my thinking. 

The days are long, but the years are short. Such a simple thought, yet so very profound. Its been a really long time since I've sat down and actually written and I hadn't realized until recently how much I missed it. Each day of each year seems so long, we move on, we change, thinking every moment that everything is the same and then looking back each year and realizing that in fact nothing is the same.  I'm a graduate and have been working for about 3 months now; I live away from home, well mostly and about a dozen people have told me lately that I've become a lot mature. (Ugh! How much I hate that)  When exactly did this happen? When did we become office going, hard working, earning ADULTS!?  It's not all bad actually, I'm really enjoying this phase! :)

Okay, so coming back to the title. This book talks about how the author makes a resolution for every month of a year to consciously make herself happy. I think I really need to try something like that. Don't get me wrong, I'm not unhappy or lonely or any sort of emo crap, but I feel that there are few things in my life which I need to change. I've gotten back to my reading, to exercising and I make it a point to spend some time alone everyday. I hadn't realized that between working, and living away from home, and meeting new and interesting people everyday, I hadn't had a moment of peace in months. So now I sit back each day and read and give some time to myself, it has made me so much more calmer. 

The book also talks about the little lessons that experience has taught the author, called 'Secrets of Adulthood'. I've been an adult for a mere 3 years so I guess all I can talk about is my ' Secrets of Teenage'- doesn't sound so profound with the word 'teenage', though. :p 

I think I'm still young to talk about 'life changing lessons', I'm still discovering myself, trying to figure if what I'm doing is something I really wanna do or not, and figuring out my next step. Guess I've a long way to go, I'd still give this some thought. I've picked up a few from the book itself, can relate so well to them. 

• Love more  

• EAT more :D 

• Say a lot of shit 

• DO a lot of shit, don't think too much 

• Try not to have any regrets 

• There is nothing more important than family 

• But, some friends become family 

• Sing in the shower, it does improve your mornings 

• Try not to judge people when you first meet them 

• Be stupid 

• Work for a cause you believe in 

• Dance randomly 

• Blaming doesn't work, own up 

• Have faith (not necessarily in God only). It keeps you sane 

• There is a whole lot of bullshit in the world, deal with it 

• Laugh more 

• Read more and as often as you can 

• Traveling is of the most essential things in life 

• Meet new people  

• Make mistakes 

• Remember, this too shall pass 

• Keep it simple 

• Let it go 

• You don't have to be good at everything 

• Break some rules, you'll remember the things you weren't supposed to do, but did them anyway. 

Wow. That's a long list. :p 

This reminds me, I've to start planning a vacation, too much of routine gets to me. I need to visit new places and meet new people. It helps keep me sane. :)

She said goodbye too many times before.

It seems like just yesterday when I first stepped into Ramjas, got scandalized and ran in the opposite direction. I didn't go to college for a good two weeks and even for months I was convinced that I would get admission in a different college. But fate is a funny thing. Fate? Something I'm not sure I really believe in. I think we lead ourselves to believe that some other power controls us, just to give ourselves the assurance that every day is just a piece of the puzzle, the puzzle that fate or destiny has made for us. Three years later, the feeling that college is over hasn't really sunk in. For one, we all are again at crossroads of life, trying to figure out what to do next and preparing ourselves to face the big bad world. I've been so caught up in deciding my plans for the future that I haven't really had time to think that college is over. The college and people I have come to love in these three short years are going to be left behind.

Change. We all hate it, don't we? Try so desperately to hold onto time, refusing to move on. We fear it, fight it. But we all have to adapt to it. Stepping into Ramjas was tough but I never imagined that stepping out of it would me so much more worse. I think of college and I see myself sitting in fag lane, wasting time, talking about just anything. If someone had told me three years ago that I would meet people in the halls of these very college that would change me, I would have called you a fool. But thats the funny thing about time, tends to prove us wrong. First came dramatics, and with it our play, Fools. I am filled with memories when I think of fools and of Kanpur. Sophia, Lenya, Japanese guy, Agra boy, Mumma bear. These friendships would never have formed if it weren't for that one week in Kanpur. Those late nights in SAC and those morning walks and photographs have given me memories for life.

Then came SAESM and with it Rishikesh, three amazing days with beautiful weather have again given me friend's from all over South Asia, college has been such a mixed bag of experiences and just one post on this blog shall not to justice to it. But today was the last day of college and my tearing up and I'm just totally overwhelmed with memories.

Ramjas gave me Nikita.Aakash.Rashi.Raja.Jatin.Shivam.Priyank.Sanchi.Uday.and sooo many more. Ramjas will remain really special to me and I for one am terrible at saying goodbye's so this is a start.

It's a Wo(MAN)'s world.

I have been a feminist since I can remember. If someone told me that I couldn't do something because I was a 'girl', I made sure I did it. I learnt Karate for 3 years and I don't want to blow my own trumpet, but I have broken bricks and glass (I have pictures to prove it). What I'm trying to say is, I have always been at par with the men around me and I'm used to that. I firmly disagree when people say that we are the weaker sex. What annoys me most are male chauvinists, they make me want to rip their skin off and beat them with it! (I'm usually not that violent but this is something that really, really annoys me). I guess you've got the basic idea about where I'm going with this.

I've been driving for over two years now and I'm a pretty good driver if I say so myself. I've never been fined for driving and I haven't been in any major accidents which is an achievement in itself (you would agree if you've ever driven on Delhi roads). So basically, it just makes my skin crawl when some men say that women are handicapped behind the wheel. According to them, women should just sit in the passenger seat and look pretty while they brave the traffic monster on the road. I’m not saying that all women are perfect drivers, but I find it ridiculous when it is a man’s fault on the road and he refuses to accept it because he believes that he has been blessed with magical driving powers just by the virtue of being a man and the poor woman driver’s brain is just way too small to contain the difference between a clutch and a break. It’s just RIDICULOUS! My ex believes that it has been ‘scientifically proved’ that reflexes of men are faster which obviously makes them better drivers. I think this is all a piece of shit, justlikehim.

A couple month’s back I met my friend’s flat mate on his birthday and I had the unfortunate luck of driving with him to pick up a few things for the party. It was a twenty minute drive and throughout that time he constantly kept criticizing my driving, my sense of direction and said that I lacked respect for my car. I wanted to drop him off on a highway in the middle of the night and drive off at full speed. I controlled my natural instinct to abuse him profusely and politely told him to shut his pie whole. He kept saying, and mind you, this is a direct quote, “You have been living in Noida for four years right? Wow! And you know the way to the market? That is very impressive. I’m not trying to be mean but whenever I see someone breaking traffic rules on the road; I always assume that it’s a woman.” I fail to understand why men have these preconceived notions about women and find it against their manhood to admit their fault on the road. The same guy got drunk that night and almost crashed my car, I’m just saying.

Yesterday I was driving my sister to the mall when a man came on a scooter from the wrong direction, almost crashed into my car and started shouting, ‘Females can’t drive’. Hello! Need I point out that you are on the wrong side of the road?!. I wanted to get out the car and give him a piece of my mind but then I wonder, what the point of it would be. Some men have become so rigid in their thinking that they refuse to admit their faults, and women continue to take the blame for their foolishness. It’s a sad world we live in.