A milestone

Until now, a birthday didn't mean much - getting older by another year. But this time it was the end of another decade...

In Germany, the birthday ending and beginning a new decade is a special one, so we decided to follow suite and celebrate it too.

While I'm sure every other decade also had their own ups and down, but the last one has been life changing in so many different ways. It was in this decade that I:

• Decided to 'let go' of living with my parents and face life first hand. And boy, did I get a good taste of what life can be outside of one's comfort zone!! 
• Got confronted with very high degrees of criticism and dislike about the person I am and my identity. Thus started an ongoing learning in my life - Every one doesn't need to like me and I need to respect that. Perhaps even appreciate those who say so openly. 
• Bought my own property - my very own 2 bedroom apartment in Bangalore and even cleared the mortgage off all by myself. My mom always told me, "no matter what, make sure you have a small place that you own." Yes mom! :)
• Got married after many many years of patiently waiting for things to work out for us. 
• Moved to Germany - the experience of a different culture, traveling around Europe
• Managed to finish that long desired higher ed - Couldn't have been from a nicer place than Oxford. 
• Fulfilled one of my dad's long standing dreams - to travel abroad. It was great to have my mom and dad over in Germany for a visit. My Dad was so excited, we travelled to Paris, Brussels, Zurich and smaller places around in Germany. 
• Learnt a new language - not quite mastered it yet though. 
• Faced with a medical condition in 2009 - was brought under control in a couple of years. 
• Faced with yet another (bigger) medical condition in 2012. This one really hit me hard as it wasn't just an illness I needed to go through myself. But I needed someone else's immense favor to help me get through this. I stopped asking the question, 'why?' a long time back realizing its futility. This was a long drawn process and a relatively permanent one :( 
• Lost my dad out of the blue. A total shock to us all. Still trying to cope with his absence, while putting a normal face to the world coz the world doesn't let you stop and grieve...Realizing each day the many different small ways and moments that I miss him so dearly. 
• Began my tryst with spirituality...to connect with myself and seeking the deeper meaning to life

The decade taught me a lot about life (and death). Perhaps the most important learning being, to cherish the current moment. So without thinking too much into the uncertain future, I look forward to more that life has to offer for me. 

As Kieth Richards from The Rolling Stones says, "I'm not getting old. I'm evolving."