So.. this day.. last year.. I finally took a flight to ‘not
exactly my dream destination’, Trivandrum. I was clueless about life. I was
ready to face life when the flight took off. I had the ‘bring it on’ attitude. I
landed and everything shattered. I was put up in an almost haunted hotel. We had
a tough time house-hunting. I was looking for all the wrong things at all the
wrong places. Life was off-track and I did not know how to handle it.
We settled in pretty well and pretty fast. Slowly we realized
we were happier than our peers from other DCs. We did not travel much to work
and our apartments were/are beautiful. We made a lot of friends. It was
essential to make and maintain relations because all of us were in the same
boat. None had anyone here and none had anywhere else to go. We were totally on
our own. We were too far from our parents for any kind of interference. Life
started by visiting every decent restaurant in the vicinity. We watched every
movie (somehow all turned out to be flops). A list of ‘places to visit’ was
made (which is still pending). Life started rolling!
Professionally, it was roller-coaster ride. On bench or on
project it was all luck. My projects changed every time I crossed the
Trivandrum border. My changing project code was/is still a subject of amusement
among my friends. Thankfully I have been blessed with good managers *touchwood*
and good team-mates. Responsibilities came in. I was glad. I learnt. I made
blunders but God blessed. This year might have been the most fulfilling year of
my life professionally. I actually ‘worked’ some times.
Personally, I messed up at every level - from not being able
to take decisions to not being able to maintain relationships. Keeping in touch
with friends was not really a problem back in Mumbai. Here, I can tell you a
handful of friends whom I manage to keep in touch with. Life changes but
priorities don’t. Thank God for whatsapp groups. People have come and gone in
the past 1 year. Those who wanted to stay have taken efforts to stay(and vice
versa). I have definitely learnt a hell lot of things about relationships this
year. More than I thought I ever will. I had come to a point of a nervous
breakdown maybe. But God has been kind.
One more thing that I have learnt in the past year is ‘letting
go’. Sometimes we just need to accept the fact that some relations cannot be
maintained. People change with time and their priorities change ever faster. I
have let go off a lot of things this year – from people to my beloved
BlackBerry (P.S: Letting go BB still hurts every time I see my stupid phone). I have cried over every ‘letting go’ incidence.
But life moves on. Excluding a few people every person in your life is
replaceable. If you don’t want to be replaced you have to put in efforts to be
placed in the ‘cannot live without’ category. This is the brutal and bitter
truth of life.
Money wise – Life is in an even bigger mess. Somehow my
savings account is still empty. I managed to save more money in college than I
did here. People who think Trivandrum is cheap please come and try. I hate the
Money manager SMSes that I receive every weekend. My bank loves to remind me
that I ‘over-spend’ in every category and that I am ‘living beyond my means’
since forever! I love the dialog my
elder’s always say, “Appya, Tuza pagaar kiti tu boltey kiti!!” :p (Translation:
Look at your salary and look how much you speak!)
Finally, the important lessons that I have learnt in the
past one year:
1.
Life is
beautiful. Live every moment. Do whatever you want to. You get to live every
moment only once.
2.
Your roomies are your best pals.
3.
The person who is rude to you once might not be
rude to you in the future.
4.
Don’t let mood swings affect you.
5.
Take up a hobby. Everyone needs some time pass.
6.
Be nice to everyone. Make friends. Socialize. There
is no harm in going to some random people and initiating a conversation.
7.
Every time you feel lonely go to your
room-mates. They are your constant source of energy and entertainment.
8.
Always save for a rainy day.
9.
Time heals everything. Give time some time.
10.
LET GO. Don’t worry about people who don’t want
to keep in touch. They don’t deserve that. Worry about people who want you.
11.
Don’t give undeserving people the attention they
don’t deserve.
12.
You don’t need to be perfect all the time. (You
can go to marginfree hypermarket in your pajamas. :p)
13.
Never compare problems. Every person has his own
share of problems.
14.
Everything in life is new. So don’t be scared to
try your hand at things you have never heard of.
15.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Always ask.
16.
Make mistakes. Commit blunders. Learn.
17.
Discuss problems only with the people you trust.
Trust people only when you are absolutely sure.
18.
People who b*tch to you about others also b*tch
about you to others. Remember that. Stay away.
The thing that I have started doing recently is reading
‘Last Day emails’ (which I ctrl+shift+deleted earlier). Somehow these emails
never made sense to me until I started featuring in them. People around me have
been quitting. Life makes decisions on its own. We just have to go with the
flow. That way we can beat our indecisiveness. Some people say you should take
your own decisions; take charge, whatever. Some people say ‘Go with the flow’.
We must follow any one of the two categories as and when the need arises.
Year 1 has finally come to an end. I hope I don’t write
another anniversary post, same time, next year. Golden words as said by my
manager (now an ex-infoscion): “Your first job and first location is always
special for you.” And I am glad to say Trivandrum is and will always be special
to me. Life has been beautiful. May God make this upcoming year even more
beautiful. God-speed.
