The Decade that was…

I didn’t realize that we were beginning a whole new decade until I read a fellow blogger’s post about looking back at the decade. And that’s when it struck me, that it was indeed the beginning of a new decade! In the last decade I’ve evolved from a student to a working professional and taken on the role of a wife, which has taught me so much more about life and myself! I really liked the idea of looking back at the last 10 years..n so here I go….

- At the beginning of the decade I turned 18, a fairly significant age, in my mind.

- For the 1st 17 years of my life, I hadn’t seen much change. I went to the same school and stayed in the same house, with pretty much the same neighbors and friends in school for 14 long years. ( Don’t have much of a recollection of life before I was 4) Life was a routine for the most part n I loved it. Dusshera and summer vacations were in Chennai (ya, u can gasp, we spent summer breaks in Chennai) with maternal grandparents. N then at the beginning of the decade we moved to our new home and I joint college. I feared the change even before it set upon us and made peace with it only ‘coz I didn’t have a choice. Once I adapted to the new home and college, I again got into a mode when I didn’t want anything to change.

- Marriage happened around mid-decade and that’s when I started embracing and even looking forward to changes. Since Marriage I have moved several cities and even across a country. If I had my way, I would move to a new city or mabbe even country every year. I want to explore, experience and learn as much as possible.

- It was the decade in which I met some amazing people who I believe will be friends for life. Of course, there have been several ups n downs with these people but still I yearned for their friendships that were/are meant to be forever in my mind, n things have always got sorted out eventually. And as I moved from city to city I fearlessly made wonderful new friends and learnt to appreciate how much they had to offer to me in terms of love, laughter and lessons.

- I yet have friends from the previous decade and I feel like I will have them for a long time to come.

- I have learnt that at one point though it may seem like life is impossible without a certain person/thing and the want is so strong that our life revolves around it yet eventually we WILL move on. No want is so big that it will destroy us, unless we let it do so. We will get over anyone or anything. Life goes on. Period.

- I have shocked myself with some of the decisions I’ve made and things I’ve done. At one point I would have never approved of these things from anyone forget myself, but after being thru’ it I realize one can never predict what one will or will not do for sure. It depends on the circumstance.

- I used to be a cry-baby. Don’t cry so much anymore.

- I’ve learnt to swim.

- I’ve learnt to drive a car. (Will hopefully learn to ride a 2-wheeler this decade!)

- I’ve gotten drunk twice, bad enough to be puking and have a headache for most of the next day. Both times I realized I HATE how I feel when I’m drunk. It’s “being high” that I liked.

- I’ve learnt that love can be expressed in far better ways than using the three words “I love you”.

- Thru this decade my weight has varied from 36 Kgs to a max of 44 kgs.

- I have vacationed a lot this decade. Seen many places and hope the next decade only gets better in this aspect

- I have suffered and survived things that I would never imagine myself going thru’. I feel like I handled it pretty well. Of course I cried and questioned and all that, but eventually I got back to hoping and believing and giving my best.

- I’ve made an online friend who I’ve still never seen face-to-face. Someone who I can share my deepest secrets with and one who has been a great pillar of support.

- Bangalore is yet very close to my heart and yet the place I will call home, but if I were given a choice in the immediate future, Bangalore is not the place I would want to move to.

- In school I wasn’t very popular among the boys, this decade changed that. Some of my closest friends are guys and I’ve had the chance to say ‘No’ to some proposals!

- I can vouch for the “If you love something let it go, if it returns to you, it’s yours; if not, it never was” saying. I’ve tried and tested it. People I’ve let go after years of desperation for their attention and love have returned to me! n I've gotten over the people who didn't. This experience has resulted in me handling my relationships in an entirely different manner.

- I have always been curious about astrology and other forms of getting a peak into the future. Some experiences from the last decade have made the belief and curiosity stronger

Would love to know what was happening at your end thru’ the last decade...

Edited to add: I was talking to a school friend yesterday and towards the end of a 1 hr long conversation she mentioned how nice it would be to be able to go back to school. I agreed, but only briefly, While I don’t mind reliving my life and going thru’ school life all over again, that was not the best phase of my life. As I thought about it I realized yesterday,today…this phase of my life is what is probably the best. I’m at that place where I’m feeling fairly confident about myself. I know irrespective of what I can do and what I cannot, I am good, I am worth it. I feel like the results don’t matter as long as I give it my best shot! Back in school, I felt like a failure after having scored 76% in class X, that’s what my school could do to you! My PT teacher thought it was funny when she teased me saying “oh Pavi, your growing only horizontally, not vertically.” Li’l did she know how hurt I was. So ya, a new, confident girl has emerged thru the last decade