The Goodbyes - College Diary #1

       I came home today with tears in my eyes. I just couldn't stop crying. My mom was shocked, given that I had been to branch fest happily and while she expected me to come back and tell her about how good it was, I had come back crying. Her mind was already working out 1000 different things that could have gone wrong. Did the magazine release go bad? (I will write about it in another post) Did you mess up while hosting? Did anyone say something to you? Her questions were endless but I couldn't speak other than shaking my head. I could see her panicking. I didn't want to worry her on Mother's Day like this. Finally, I managed to say what was bothering me. "It's all over... college... I am feeling bad" I said between sobs and broke down again. And what did she do? Burst out laughing!!

        Well, I can't blame her. Till now I was waiting for this day. Whenever I saw someone getting emotional about the end approaching soon, I would pull out a poker face not wanting to show them how happy I was with the fact. Of course I was happy! No more classes, no more going to college, no more assignments and no more reading for internals. Sounded too good for me. But today these same words which used to make me happy all these days, are making me emotional. No more classes - I would miss sitting in the last bench, passing comments, doodling and bunking class to go to canteen. No more going to college - I would miss roaming in campus, clicking random pics, enjoying with friends, fighting over petty issues and then forgetting them sooner than it happened. No more assignments - I would miss fighting over who will write it, copying it from friends and coming up with creative excuses when we failed to complete it. No more reading for internals - no more worrying over average, no more dividing the portions between friends and no more mugging up minutes before internals. 

       I still can't believe its been four years already! It still feels like yesterday that I joined engineering, not because I wanted to but because I was forced to. I was hoping these 4 years would end soon and it did! Then why am I feeling so bad now when this is what I wanted all along?

       Every word holds a different meaning today. When I look back, I can only see moments that make me smile because they were so good and cry because they are coming to an end. Oh, how I wish I can stop time right at this moment and thus stop the goodbyes that will follow in few days. But wish as I might, I know life has to go on. So while there is still few days left, I want to make the most of it and collect as many memories I can to cherish them for the rest of my life. 

         Starting from today, for the rest of the month, I am going to share stories of my college life. It is my way of coping up with the overflowing emotions and cherishing the memories forever. This 'College Diary' series is dedicated to all my friends and lecturers (Yes!) who made these 4 years a memorable one :)

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 :)

Compassion in Day-to-Day Life #1000Speak

       Sometimes seeing the tragic happenings around the world, I have a strong urge to believe that the word 'Compassion' is just that - a word and it belonged to the past. But I am proved wrong every single time by something or the other and I am glad for that. After all, what is a world without compassion. I wouldn't dare to imagine that!

       We always look at the bigger picture and thus we often tend to lose our belief. But when we look at the little things that happen around us, that we so carelessly shrug off as normal incidents, we tend to find more acts of compassion than we can imagine. Here are some of the incidents that I came across recently in my life.

       I was travelling back to home from my Granny's home. I was listening to music on my mobile and looking out of the window. In the next stop, an old woman got in the bus and seeing that i got up and let her have my seat. She smiled gratefully and blessed me. I was happy helping.

       We friends visited an NGO last month to spend time with the deaf and dumb children of that school. The very fact that my friend came up with such a noble idea instead of planing some trip proves that compassion exists. We didn't just donate money, instead we spent our time with the kids there. It always counts more than charity!

       Whenever we are going through difficult times, we friends lean on each other for help. Lecturers are ready to help us whenever we are facing some difficulties. We stand as a team when we have to complete any task for a good cause. It is because we still believe in helping out each other.

       The other day, I saw a guy helping a vegetable vendor place the basket on her head. She couldn't lift it and wanted someone to lend her a hand. He was a random stranger but when asked for help, he agreed readily.

       My mom offered to look after my neighbor's daughter as our neighbor had to go to her native urgently owing to her mother's sickness and she was worried about leaving behind her daughter who had exams and couldn't accompany her.

       Few months back my granny fell sick and we had to admit her to the hospital. She couldn't feel her legs, let alone walk and we were clueless how we could do shift her to the ambulance as dad wasn't home. But when our neighbors saw the ambulance, they all came in and helped us out even before we asked them. 

       Even the dumb animals show compassion. There are many articles in the newspaper which says an animal of one species fed the animal of another species and showing the highest order of compassion.

       If I go on listing, the incidents are numerous. There is no lack of goodness in this world. Just as good and bad are two sides of a coin, compassion too co-exists with the violence. We just have to focus more and more on the good. That way, when we all try to find something good, however small it maybe, there will be no room for the bad. 

       Look around people. See the good in others. Don't just underestimate everyone. Praise when someone does something good and gently correct them when they do something wrong. Teach the kids about compassion because the lessons are to be learnt from the childhood. When you plant a seed of goodness when the kid is still young, it will grow into a strong tree as the kid grows. When the foundation is strong, the person will never waver. 

       Believe in the good and never give up hope. Do your bit. Have a smile on your face when acknowledging someone you know. If someone has done a great job, let them know it. If you are thankful for something, say so. Share your lunch with someone hungry. Help people in anyways you can. However small the gesture might be, it will always make difference. You never know how much difference a small act of kindness can create. So never hesitate to show compassion and someday, someone else will help you when you are in need. After all, what goes around, will definitely come around!

PS: I am participating in #1000Speak movement where 1000 Bloggers are simultaneously writing about compassion on this day.

Until the next post,
Keep Smiling :)

Love,
Swathi :)

A Backpack of Regrets!

       Life is too short to spend our time regretting. But as much as we like to deny it, we all carry with us, a bag of regrets. For some, it might be heavy and for some it will be light; but the backpack of regret exists all the same. For some, the regret is about something they have done in the past and for others, it is about something they didn't do. But as much as we think and wish, all we can do it regret about those things. Nothing can be done to change the past. That is exactly why the wise people say it is foolish to carry regrets. Though true, practically it is very difficult to follow! Rare and blessed are those who do not have any regrets in their lives.

       I am not perfect and I carry with me a bag of regrets too. I have put off so many things in my bucket list to do them in the future, when I have free time. Now when I think of it, I regret doing so. What is the guarantee that the future will be all rosy and everything will be laid out in my favor? For all I know, there might be more difficulties than now and I may never get to tick off the things on my wishlist. Wouldn't that be horrible? I never want that to happen! There are already a few things which I have been postponing for later and wish to do them now.

1. Stop Existing and Start Living:

      Many a times, I have put off things I badly wanted to do either because of busy schedule or because of fear and hesitation. As a result, I have denied myself a lot of fun in life. There are so many things I love, which have taken a back seat in my life. I have been so busy running to ace in the life's race, I have forgot there are other things too; things like fun. I feel like I am merely surviving, not living life to the fullest. Every time I think of doing something creative, I have put the thought aside due to my academic schedule, saying I can always do it later. I have a quilling kit lying around begging for attention, there are paints which are almost dried up, sketches waiting to be made, songs to be learnt, books to be read and ideas waiting to be penned down. Its not only hobbies; I have missed out on many occasion, where I could have enjoyed, thinking I wouldn't fit in! And by doing all this, I have confined myself to a mere monotonous routine. When I think of it now, I regret holding back myself. How much have I missed out in life because of that! Now that I have realized it, I want to change it. I want to stop existing and start living! 

2. Travel around the World:

       Travelling has always been something I loved and I have always dreamt of travelling around the world. Knowledge is abundant. There are two ways of acquiring this knowledge - one is to read a lot and the other is to travel a lot. When you travel to different places, you meet different kind of people, get to learn their lifestyles, see many new things and have many first time experiences that will enrich your wisdom. Also, there is that rush of happiness you get seeing all the exotic places, which you definitely cannot ignore. I always wanted to break out from my monotonous life and experience this kind of fun. During college days I used to think of travelling during holidays and during holidays, laziness would stop me from even going out of my home. Thus, I have missed many opportunities to travel. But I don't want to do it anymore. I want to stop putting off the plan for later. I just want to pack my bag and go on a long vacation.

3. Spend more time with People I Love:

       Being an introvert, I have always loved being alone for most of the times. Though I interact with people, I don't talk much. Even at home, I speak only when I am in a good mood. But for the majority of the time, I lock myself in my room and refuse to let anyone in even for a chat. Recent demise of a friend made me realize how less time we all have! Our days are numbered and our lives, uncertain. The person whom you expect to be around all the time may not be there when you next need them. Before you know, it might be too late. So, I want to break out of this shell I have built around me and spend more time with people I love. I want to create happy memories which, when I remember later in my life, will make me smile.

       So many wishes unfulfilled! Sigh! Well, I have decided. From now on, I will never postpone things for later. I will quit living in the future and start living in the present. That, I have realized, is the best gift I can give for myself.

PS: This post is a part of the #SecondChance activity at BlogAdda in association with MaxLife Insurance.

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)