Happy New Year.

A new beginning.

2015 was a very varied year for me. And to sum it up, I’d say it was quick.

Grade 12 kept me pretty busy, and enjoyed my life most of the time. Yes, there were bad times too, when I was hopeless, when I wanted nothing more than to give, and when I was pretty screwed up. But then there were some amazing times too. I learnt a lot about my truest friends, I tampered a lot of relationships and I mended quite a few. I change a lot. I was more cautious with the relationships I invested in, and I was more invested at the same time too, I contemplated quite a lot on who I was, who I am, and who I aspire to be. I lost quite a few people, many went far away, vacant spots in the heart, the only medicine to the pain it causes being the memories that we shared.

I travelled. Starting from a trip to Kurfi and Shimla, in January, where I saw snow for the first time and a small expedition to Agra in April, where I striked off my first Bucket List item- taking a selfie at Taj Mahal at dawn (and both of whose drafts are still in my drafts tag), followed by visiting lucknow in June (for my SAT) where I met up with some distant and some relatives as well, followed by the best trip ever- to Kashmir! It was an year I spent quite a lot on road.

At school, graduation approached (one month people), we gave an amazing farewell to the senior class. I got an award for my poetry, and I ventured (tried to) venture beyond my comfort zone, and I think I improved in terms of my social anxiety, I think. I made new friends, I learned new things (I think) and there were times I was quite frustrated (as anyone who’s read my blog regularly might know), but I grew. Yes, I grew.

At my blogosphere, I tried to be pretty active, though it was not possible at times. Nevertheless, TWPM made its presence felt worldwide and I got some 13k views on my blog this year (thanks to you!) TWPM made an Instagram page (@theworldpastme: go follow) with a lot of photos and other writeups. I met some amazing bloggers and made some great friends- Adi, Yusra, Anoop, Zareen, Ribhu, Cynic, Phoenix, Erika, Ritu- to name a few. I tried to write on a variety of topics, add a little personal touch to it most of the times. Whether it reflected in my work, only you can decide.

I worked on my physical and mental state as well, tried to be happier and kinder, and be happy with who I am and accept myself as I am. It worked, quite a bit, but it’s something I will work on, again.

As you might have guessed, it has been a tumultuous year, with a lot of ups and downs and lefts and rights. But hey, this is life. You never know what next is going to come, how you will fare, and how you will perform. What you do know is that there is always a silver lining to every dark cloud. And that, each year, you are going to get a little older, your hair greyer, your face a little wrinkled, your age increasing. This is the oldest you’ve ever been and the youngest you’ll ever be.

So to all my readers, live your life to the fullest, be happy, learn, aspire, dream and achieve. A very happy 2016 to you.