2010

6 months since I started working..
1 year since I became a post graduate..
1 year since I turned 25..
1.5 years since I lost Bitto..
3 years since I last wrote..
4.5 years since I graduated with an engineering degree..
4.5 years since I started my first job ever..
8 years since my first massive heart break..
8.5 years since I've been living away from home..
10 years since I wrote my first board exam..
11 years since my first kiss..

... The last decade has been eventful.. to say the least! It brought most of the important, life changing, milestone-ish events in my life! I look back to realise that I have come a long long way from the Neha Mordia that I was to the Neha Mordia that I am.. and I can say with utmost surety that I have no regrets whatsoever!! Each mistake, each goof up, each lesson, each success and of course each failure has changed me... but i regret none!

Moving out to a hostel was I guess the best thing that could happen to me. That is where I started the journey to understanding the core of me and growing up to becoming Me. I suddenly had all the space I ever wanted :) Not physically of course.. since COEP hostels were anything but spacious! But mentally, yes! I was the least homesick kid.. and would usually be the one providing solace to the other depressed souls..

It is too big a time span for me to capture every essence of it here.. Lemme try n put down a few of my fav learnings..

• Love Yourself.
• All females are bitches. Period. Love them for that :-)
• All men (necessarily) are dogs. And we love them for that. The sooner we accept that, the sooner the world will become a happier place.
• No matter how much you love him, no matter how much he loves and adores you, You will ALWAYS need your girlfriends! There is no replacement for a soothing chat/gossip session over coffee and chocolate!
• Moms are super cute. No.. Seriously. Much more than we think they are!
• A good first boss can change your perspective towards a lot of things in your professional life! I'm lucky I had one :-)
• Forgive/Apologise.. with all your heart.. No matter how huge the offense committed..
• Fall in love.. Break your heart.. And fall in love again :-)
• Never spend Diwali (or Eid) alone! Never ever!! And preferably with immediate family always!!
• Call up old friends.. You'll be surprised to know that they were actually glad you called :-)
• Dont crib about PMS. Rather try utilising it as an opportunity to truly be yourself.. When someone complains of eccentric behaviour, u can pass it off by saying "Sorry.. PMSing.." :P
• When you are feeling low on self worth, go back to your alma mater. Don't be too amazed when you realize that all those teachers and professors you thought despised you, actually saw the "spark" in you before you did!
• I love my space and how! It is healthy i believe.. i dont trespass into your boundaries, you dont trespass into mine.
• Figure out what you love doing.. and work on that. Dont get stuck in doing work you do not love.. Life will be unimaginably sad! They say this in all the gyaan sessions/books/websites.. and its not even funny how true it is!
• It is sad that it took the loss of someone very very dear for the realization to hit that Life is unpredictable and hence very precious! Whether you plan it all or live each moment as it comes, just ensure that you live it up to the maximum, do your own thing..
• Do not let go of your idioysncrasies.. They make you.. You! And not a photocopy of a desired image! Like someone wise once said "I'd rather be hated for who I am instead of being loved for what I am not"

I look back upon a quarter of a century and thankfully I can smile. Here's hoping the smile stays inthe years to come! :-)

Cheers 2010!! :D