Snap of the Week #10

Celebrations

With bro's, dad's and mom's birthday lined up, this week was full of celebrations and gifts :)

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

Happiness is...

       In today's world, we all are so busy running after big things in order to achieve happiness that we forget the most basic truth - Happiness is not to be searched for; instead it should be felt. Happiness is not running after big things but often happiness can be found in little things; things we forget to notice due to our busy schedule!

       Last year when I started doing 100HappyDays Challenge on this blog, I realized how small things that happen in our day to day life can contribute in making us happy. From then on, I have made it a habit to write at least one thing that made me happy everyday. Every time I go through that list, it never fails to make me smile.

       Happiness is being surrounded by people who love you. Happiness is family and friends who cherish you and love you for who you are. Happiness is having people who can look past your imperfections and see the real you; people who can even understand your silence and people who can go out of their way just to make you smile.

       Happiness is looking at your book shelf and realizing there are still books waiting to be read. Happiness is falling in love with the characters of the books and living their life along with them. Happiness is reading to quench your thirst!

       Happiness is following your heart. Having a clear goal in life and working towards achieving it. Happiness is when people appreciate your work.

       Happiness is cooking. It is when something you experimented with turns out really tasty and everyone starts asking for more.

       Happiness is enjoying the final semester of college. Participating in different activities because you know it is the last time you will be having fun with your friends. Happiness is giving your best and seeing your efforts getting rewarded.

        Happiness is having that one friend whose level of craziness matches exactly with yours. Having such a friend is the best gift you can ever receive. The world becomes a laughing zone when with them because you cannot stop finding things that make you laugh!

       Happiness is clicking pictures. I have developed a new craze for clicking photos all thanks to Instagram! Happiness is clicking pictures to preserve a memory and revisiting it again and again, reminiscing the happy times. 

       Happiness is forgetting the world and being yourself, not caring what others might think about you! Happiness is letting go of people who hurt you and moving on with your life with renewed enthusiasm.

      Happiness is travelling; visiting places that you love. Happiness is listening to music. Happiness is getting window seat while travelling. The feel of air playing with your hair as you sit by the window listening to the music, I just have one word for it - Heavenly!

       The list goes on. There really is no end to this list of happiness; because happiness is all about the little things and little moments of our life.

PS: This post is written for http://cokeurl.com/96jnc.

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

Snap of the Week #5

Happiness is receiving the Author's Copy of your book. My second book as a contributing author :)

PS: Linking this post to Eloquent Articulation #SnapYourWeek 10

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

First Blogiversary!!

       I am barely someone who gets excited over birthdays. I am known to forget even my own birthday. But when it is about my blog, I can hardly forget it! I am all excited and my happiness knows no bound!

       Exactly one year back, on this day, I had opened this blog. It was a happy as well as scary moment. Happy because I wanted to write one from a long time and scared because I had no idea what I would write! What if I ran out of topics? That was one of my biggest fear! But I set all my worries aside and listened to my heart for once. And I am so glad I did that!

       It has been an eventful year and I have learned so many new things. I have discovered the hidden story writer and poet in me. I have learnt how to make new connections. I have gained so many new friends, online as well as offline. In this one year, I have read, written and learnt more than I have done in my entire lifetime! And now when it is time to celebrate my Blogiversary, I can hardly believe my little baby blog has completed a year already!

       But completion of a year also signifies many things. It means I am no longer a newbie. Now I have an experience of a year and that definitely raises the expectations. So, on this day, I have decided to make some changes. Here is how it is going to be from today: Concentrate more on quality writing and post fiction and poems often (Some of my readers have started complaining they miss my old writing style!) I also wanted to revamp my blog and give it some cool look on this day but due to my busy schedule, I couldn't do it. But that will be done within this week.

       As for the reviews, I have developed quite a liking for reviewing books. So I am opening a new book blog EscapeReality, dedicated for reviewing books, where I will be posting reviews regularly. This way I can concentrate both on fiction and reviews.

       Looking forward to learning more and making new friends this year too. A big Thank You to everyone who took time to read and comment on my blog. You people have helped me grow :)

Until the next post,
Keep Smiling :)

Love,
Swathi :)

A Visit to an NGO

       Last year, our PU College lecturers prompted us to form an Alumni Association. Many students, irrespective of the year of passing, came together and finally in the month of July, when most of us have holidays, the Association was officially inaugurated. We were all ecstatic meeting old friends and having fun together after years. At that time, our Principal Mr . K. V. Raghunath Rao gave us a piece of advice. I would like to quote those words here. He said, "You can always have fun - going for trips or getting together to celebrate. It's all fine. But never forget your duty towards the society. Try to do some good deeds; help others. Learn to take responsibilities, for you all are grown ups now. Help the needy in whatever way you can. We are always there to help you if you need any assistance. Don't let this association be just another group formed by students to have fun but let it be something that works towards the good of the society" 

       Inspired by his words, we decided our plan of action. This January, we planned to visit Taranga, a school of deaf children. When we shared this idea with our lecturers, they were happy. They encouraged us to go ahead. Next, we expressed our desire to help in front of the Head Master of Taranga school. Like our lecturers, he too was happy seeing our enthusiasm to help those kids. So, finally the date was fixed and we decided to visit the school on 9th of January 2015.

       It is one of the most memorable days of my life. When we reached there, I noticed that many of the students were kids around 10 to 15 years; some probably even younger. They were all busy in their own work, but the curiosity in their eyes was evident. I didn't quite understand it in the beginning. But as time passed, it all became clear. We had planned a small formal function in one of their classroom. When the program was about to begin, they were instructed to sit in this room by their teachers and what a discipline they follow! There were nearly 60 kids and they all came and sat in rows without the teachers having to guide them. Since we were visiting the kids, we had decided to take chocolates. We distributed them while waiting for the guests to arrive. By the time we were done, we had missed one boy. When his friends noticed it, they all started calling for us and it was only after their friend got his share, they felt happy. There was so much unity among those kids, which even we adults lack sometimes. They always looked out for each other!

       We kept the formal program short for obvious reasons. Even during that time span, they didn't show even the slightest trace of disinterest. We find it so difficult to sit through speeches, that too when we are provided with all comforts. But sitting on the ground, never did they once made us that they were bored. If anything, their faces showed only enthusiasm. By the end of the program, we donated few chairs to the NGO. When we had asked the HM if there was anything we can do, he had said there was a shortage of chairs and asked if we could arrange them. When we saw the joy on the kids' face when we donated the chair, we knew why he had asked that one in particular.

      We even had arranged that day's lunch, thanks to our college Treasurer, who helped us. I was seriously amazed, yet again, seeing how well disciplined they all are. Before we reached the first floor, they were all sitting in a row. Instead of the cook doing it, we decided to serve them ourselves. In that time, we got to know them a little more. They were after all kids and naughtiness comes second to them. There were particularly two little girls, who were very naughty and drew our attention. We so enjoyed their antiques and before we knew, we all had fallen in love with them. One of the staff of that NGO, seeing our fascination, told us one of those girls is a heart patient! We just couldn't believe it. She was so full of life! How can something like that happen to her!

       After lunch hour, (Trust me, they all wash their plates themselves!) we spent some time with them. Children are pure and innocent. They don't ask for much. All they need is love and care. When you make them feel cherished, their joy knows no bound. Though they couldn't speak, their happiness rang loud in our ears. Their HM told us that they don't get visitors much. Even parents, who drop them off, don't visit the place. So they were happy when we spent time with them.

       When it was time to leave, all of them dispersed. They came to each one of us and started shaking hands with us. It was their way of expressing their feelings, thanking us for the day. We all clicked a lot of pictures with them. They were so eager to pose for cameras, we couldn't deny them the pleasure. It was a long and hard good-bye. Neither were they ready to let us go nor were we ready to leave.

        There is a certain joy in spreading smiles and it is beyond words! That day, I learnt the true meaning of happiness. Happiness is when you help others and make them smile. Happiness is the knowledge that you have done a noble deed. That day, we all had felt that. There couldn't have been anything better than this event to start our association. We all left the NGO with memories to last for a life time and a silent promise as this wouldn't be our last visit to this place.

Our Team

       Have you ever done something like this? If not, take out some time and do it. Trust me, it's an awesome feeling; one that you can never forget.

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)