DEAR 16 YEAR OLD ME

Hey you, yes YOU!

Not many people will tell you this, and those who do, you might not agree with. So may be, it's better if you and me have a little heart to heart.

You must be pulling your hair out, with your mind pulling you in a thousand different directions, and your heart unsure. But remember. 

You are not what people will make you, but what you will make of yourself. It’s ok to not know the chemistry formulae, and not be an ace at Math.

As you’ll soon realize, as long as you do what you like and what you believe in, and you do it sincerely, you’ll be fine.

Stop underestimating yourself  – Now I understand that you don’t think that you speak well enough, or look good enough, or write well enough – you’ll understand that there are people who would like you for who you are, listen to what you have to say, appreciate you for what you bring to them. Most of these most probably will be your friends and family. So, don’t forget them. Whatever you do, however successful you become, find time for them. You are not as bad as you think you are ;)

Laugh. A lot. Whenever you can – You’ll always have timelines to meet, stress to bear, complaining clients, work pressures, people undermining you, your heart being broken, you being misunderstood-often. Still, find time to laugh. Watching movies, talking with your loved ones, sharing old memories, doing things that make you happy. It’s easy to be bogged down in this world, every day being a challenge, with shocks and surprises galore round the corner. You just have to make sure that you don’t let life bring you down.

Find time : To kiss your father on his cheeks since he might be feeling lonely, to enjoy a glass of wine with you sister since she’ll be the one hugging you when you are feeling low, to pick up the phone and surprise call your girlfriends every once in a while since they are the ones who know your dirtiest secrets, your craziest dreams, to let the special people in your life know you love them, for making you smile each day, listening to you whine and hearing you sing karaoke in the worst of voice. These are the people you would always be able to laugh with. Whole-heartedly. Through tears and nostalgia.

Travel – As much as you can, as often as you can! You’ll realize there are so many things you might die without knowing, but which will change your perspective about life. There are so many roads to take, so many things waiting to be experienced, the drunken nights drinking with your buddies, the road trips taken through the length and breadth of your own country, and other countries, the different people and their life stories, of bravery, of restrictions, of freedom, of independence.

 Write. Whenever. Wherever. Even if most of what you write doesn’t see the light of the day, and is hidden in old diary pages, or notes of your phone. You’ll realize that writing will give you the outlet to vent out your anger, frustrations, and fears. Sometimes, the things you can’t tell anyone, the small happiness you can’t share with anyone, you’ll realize you can tell a piece of paper. And every once in a while, while dusting old bookshelves or cupboards, you’ll come across your old writings, and smile, or cry, and appreciate how far you’ve come.

Realize that nothing is permanent. Neither happiness. Not even the bad times. Yes, it sounds like its coming straight from a book. But the truth is, things will not always go the way you expect them to. You’ll lose people you never thought you would, you’ll discover people you never thought you’ll cross paths with, or who could mean anything in your life – turn to be the most important people ever. There will always be surprises in store, a lot of them that should shake you to the very core. You’ll realize then what’s important and what’s not. You’ll realize every time life draws you a blow, you’ll come out stronger. Sometimes, you’ll not understand what’s happening and why. In fact, a lot of times. Those times, you’ll realize there are some things best left to time. To see how they unravel themselves. For good, or for bad.

 Trust your instincts: The path is always not clear, but you just have to trust your instincts. You'll be right sometimes, a lot of times you'll be wrong. But atleast, it would be something that you would have decided for yourself. It's better that, than later blaming others for having taken decisions on your behalf. Probably for the worse. Your heart knows what's right, you just have to have faith that it will do you right.

Life’s an adventure, and its best lived with no expectations. If it turns out well, good for you. If not, it will surely be worthy of an experience worth remembering, worth being nostalgic about. 

With love,
YOUR 26-YEAR OLD SELF

Emotions

Emotions : So powerful and consuming; they have the ability to make you see life vividly - colorful & bright; yet at the same time, sometimes they blacken everything to soot. Love and Hatred : 2 sides of the same coin!

The guy in the Red shirt!!!

He was unlike any other guy I had ever laid my eyes on. With eyes so trusting and such a gorgeous smile, I wondered how anyone in the vicinity could not but focus just on him. His red shirt and shiny dark brown hair, with a few strands caressing his forehead, he looked like the most gorgeous thing on earth.

Sitting at a bench near a small fountain, in the middle of a crowded market in Switzerland, on a beautiful sunny afternoon, that guy in red shirt simply took my heart away. And the best part? He had reserved his special smiles, naughty glances and undivided attention to no one else in that crowded street but me! What started as the sharing of a few glances and small smiles and of course his little gifts of love..he simply made the trip that day worthwhile!!

The woman who was accompanying him had her eyes firmly on him. Thankfully, she didn’t mind him shooting me the special smile or the mischievous glances or even coming to my bench every now and then. Within the next half an hour, we had caught the attention of every person, young or old, near that lovely fountain. Some looked amused by his antics, while others looked at me, clearly a foreign girl in that area, with curious glances. However, nothing could sway his attention from me. What started out as hesitant glances towards me went on to become a full blown public affair, with him showering me with a gift so unusual, that too every 5 mins!

After stopping him a few times, but clearly not getting the desired response from him, and with me not showing any signs of boredom or irritation either, the woman accompanying him also found a quiet corner under a huge tree, getting busy with her thoughts, glancing at us every now and then.

My sister, who had been bugging me throughout our Europe trip, for being such a bore and not even trying to talk to any handsome young man who crossed our paths, was clearly enjoying this and in fact, egged me on to respond likewise to his unbiased showering of love and how can we forget, the pebbles ;-) Don’t worry, he wasn’t showing his love by hitting me with pebbles or anything, it just happened to be the only thing he could get his hands on and could give to me!

I can say, without hesitation, that he has been the most handsome guy till date who has hit on me, and that too so openly! Ahh, that smile and the beautiful eyes.. Anyways, I have always been a sucker for beautiful and deep eyes. So he was, in fact, the ideal package for me. He made up for di and masi having pulled me to go shopping with them! He just made it so worthwhile! Alas! All good things must come to an end. And that gorgeous little guy had to go away with that woman who had decided it was time to go home! All I was left with was his backward glances, the sight of his little red shirt, the twinkling eyes and of course, the pebbles! That gorgeous Swiss guy in the red shirt really took my heart away in that sunny afternoon near the fountain!!