This too shall pass

If anyone had told me a year ago that I would be studying in India, and not in Dubai, where I grew up, I would have laughed at them. 

It's been well over three years since the last time I posted and three years is quite a long time. I'm in university now! It never ceases to amaze me how fast time flies. It feels like just yesterday that I was a nervous 10th grader, waiting to write the board exams and here I am now, in the second semester of my undergraduate course. 

Over the last three years, there have been many ups and downs. The downs were so low that they qualified as some of the worst moments of my life. Yet it's funny to think I can't even remember what caused me so much distress. Such is life, truly. 

It reminds me of something my mother would tell me whenever I complained about university life and boy did I complain a lot. She would tell me, "This too shall pass."

And that's something that has stuck with me. In college, there's just so much happening. Your personality, relationships, career and environment are being challenged and you're forced to act outside of your comfort zone. There's just so much going on and at the same time that it gets difficult to navigate through it all. 

Coming to college has also changed some of my views on India and challenged all these prejudices that I had. It has also changed my linear thoughts on other things like what it is like living with people, taking on new experiences and willingly accepting certain risks. This blog acts as a digital diary where I will be recounting all my experiences here in Bangalore. I hope that you'll be able to take something worthwhile out of this and if not, at least have a fun time reading! 

So Many things could have happened, but what's happening now is the best.
- Dad

It could have happened. You could have done this, you could have done that. You could have been here, you could have been there, but what's happening now is the best. That's why it's happening. As the old saying goes, "Everything happens for the best." Even if you're facing the worst situation you've ever encountered, it happens for good. You either win, or learn.

Moving on with probably one of the most practical sayings.
"It is what it is," but it is also what you make of it. This, folks, is the difference between an optimist and a realist. Realists see the world as it is, however, optimists show that it is our minds that make anything out of everything. If we see something as 'good' or 'bad' it is because our mind is convincing us that it is so.

It is thought that optimistic people are always happy and that they just ignore problems and reality. However, that is not the true essence of optimism.

Optimism, as described by dictionary.com, "a disposition or tendency to look on the more favorable side of events or conditions."

Why do optimists look at the bright side of things? Because there is almost always a better view there. They choose to think of an event/ happening as something positive, meaning that they learn from it. They choose not to worry about things and lose sleep over them. They tend to find out solutions to problems rather than fretting or complaining.

It is quite a common misconception that optimistic people are out of touch with reality. Optimism, however, is not ignoring problems, it is that they learn to accept it.

The power of our mind.

It is no secret that our brain is incredibly powerful. You are what you believe in. As said previously, what we think directly influences what we can and cannot do. Our body is capable of almost anything, but it cannot do anything until the brain believes it can. This is why people who think positively and work hard are successful; because they believe that they are. We can achieve anything, it is only our mind that limits our abilities.

That's your best friend and your worst enemy - your own brain. (Fred Durst)

So yeah, think positively, smile and believe in yourself.

A huge thank you to everyone who's read this far, I genuinely appreciate it. ❤

 I sank into my cushion-chair. I was tired, of life, of people, and of being tired. I was tired of being ignored, tired of being overlooked, tired of being that person that no one really liked but were just too polite to say so. I was tired, of being hated.

- A quote from one of my future books (hopefully)

Opinions.

Other people's opinions. As much as you hate to admit it, they do matter to you, don't they? How you look, how you behave, how you speak. You're always thinking (overthinking) about what other people think of you, but have you ever thought of how you think of you? Why do we always believe in negative opinions that other people have of us?

Let's look at it from this angle. 

Is worrying going to help? Can you really change the way someone thinks about you? Can you really change their behavior towards you? No, you can't. Worrying is going through the same difficult situation twice, which means twice the pain, but is it going to solve it? What you can do, however, is to change the way you react to it. They don't like you? Adopt the attitude of ''So what?''

So what if someone does not like you? 

The world is composed of 7 billion people, all unique in their own ways. You'll find someone, if not now, then soon. 

So what if people judge you? 

They don't know you and if they think you're bad, doesn't mean you are.

So what if  they hate you? 

You always, Always have yourself to love, but only if you choose to do so.

So, do such opinions really matter?
Focus on something more important, maybe homework or a project that's due soon. Don't give the time of day to such thoughts and to such people, cause, honey, they don't deserve it. Use that time for yourself and make it count.

Life.
So moving on to something slightly different, but along the same line.

A fine beautiful morning, my family and I were headed to the Mangalore airport. On the way, I remember quite clearly, noticing this sweet little puppy playing about on the edge of the road, around a few wild bushes that grew there. It looked so happy, prancing about joyfully. A while later, we were about to back out of the parking lot (we had stopped nearby at a local restaurant) when our driver told us, with sadness in his eyes, to look behind. 

That, was what opened my eyes. The puppy, that I saw minutes ago, was lying there, deeply wounded and dead. We got to know from our driver that a car behind us had hit the little guy and he had died on the spot.

This is life. That's us, the puppy, and the accident, eventual death. However, the only difference, is that we are stressing out every second of our life. We don't know what's coming, we don't know when we are going to die.

So, on to advice of the day (probably cliche, but you can't deny it's truth)
Don't give a damn about what other people think. 
Because none of that matters. Only you matter to yourself. Don't base your life on other people's expectations, do whatever you want, make your own mistakes, be the wonderful person you already are and remember that no matter what happens, life goes on, and you will get over bad times.

Life is short, so don't waste your time thinking about what other people think of you. So basically, enjoy every moment, smile, laugh more and most importantly, live.


Also a huge shout-out to

• My parents, for being the best
• Baden, for being my writing buddy
• Bhaiya, for un-complainingly reviewing my work
• Carol, for always supporting me
• Palak, for listening to my endless chatter
• Pratha, for being my inspiration

Thank you so much ♡♡♡