I follow this blogging community - NaBloPoMo and its really a motivator for lazy people like me who think of blogging daily but then just don't get going. Recently they have introduced a feature called writing prompts.
Really liked this one and so here I am:-
If you could go back in time and meet your 16-year-old self, what three things would you tell yourself?
Wow, 16!
When I was 16 I lived in a beautiful place. A hill station. Pristine hills, lush greenery and scenic lakes. It rains daily there and the sun comes out daily as well. White, moving clouds in the sky, playing hide and seek with the sun, rainbows, pink cherry blossom flowers and fresh air. Music and lots of it, Western and Indian.
In such a place who wouldn't love to sing, to draw and to write!
There were problems too, two subjects I loved a lot were not offered for study, a new school, a new environment, a very different sort of Indian society, a tribal culture, adjustments and expectations. Yet, life was beautiful.
I always pride myself with living a life of no regrets and I did spend my 16th year in a splendid manner but maybe if I could go back in time and meet myself I would say these 3 things:-
1. I don't know how but go see Bada Paani!
This is the biggest lake in Shillong, the place I lived in when I was 16. When I went to Shillong, first there was a board - 'Welcome to the Scotland of the East' and then there was this bridge and a beautiful lake below it, surrounded by the majestic hills, welcoming you with open arms. Then there was the rain, big, huge drops of rain, it really pours there! I fell in love with Bada Paani the first time I saw it, and I always coaxed my dad to take us there but somehow that never happened. Its really one of my biggest regrets that I could not visit Bada Paani.
2. When you go trekking, take your own and your dad's camera and take lots of pictures with both.
I once had a chance to go trekking with some friends in an unknown, private section of Shillong. It was a long trek and there were many beautiful spots on the way. A small stream, a grove of tall, splendid Himalayan forest trees, peacock blue river water amidst beautiful brown rocks and the most spectacular views of all - the view from the other side of Shillong peak - the view of the valley below..beautiful spots of colour added by several fields and a lone khasi man standing in tribal clothes amidst them with a smile on his face! I took pictures but there was something wrong with my camera and none of the pictures came. Another floop I made was that I did not take even a single picture of a waterfall that I had visited on a separate occasion.
3. Relationships are delicate and small things have the capacity to ruin strong bonds.
In a way, I still do not always realize how I hurt others. I have not really lived a lot in the way a traditional Indian family does. My parents brought me up differently, I did not really interact a lot with relatives as such. This somewhat hampers my ability to always pick up subtle things. I do not always realize the complexity that forms other people and the subtle currents that underlie all relationships. Sometimes we don't realize that even a small thing, a thought, a saying or an action can hurt others in a big way. Others may not always be very forgiving either and as a result a small mistake can have large consequences.
Inspite of all these things to say, actually even if I could go back, most probably I wouldn't say anything at all.
Why, change anything? Our past shapes our future and we learn from it and become what we are in our present.
I have beautiful memories of my 16th year. How about you, is there anything you would say to yourself if you get a chance to go back and meet your past 16 year old self?
Really liked this one and so here I am:-
If you could go back in time and meet your 16-year-old self, what three things would you tell yourself?
Wow, 16!
When I was 16 I lived in a beautiful place. A hill station. Pristine hills, lush greenery and scenic lakes. It rains daily there and the sun comes out daily as well. White, moving clouds in the sky, playing hide and seek with the sun, rainbows, pink cherry blossom flowers and fresh air. Music and lots of it, Western and Indian.
In such a place who wouldn't love to sing, to draw and to write!
There were problems too, two subjects I loved a lot were not offered for study, a new school, a new environment, a very different sort of Indian society, a tribal culture, adjustments and expectations. Yet, life was beautiful.
I always pride myself with living a life of no regrets and I did spend my 16th year in a splendid manner but maybe if I could go back in time and meet myself I would say these 3 things:-
1. I don't know how but go see Bada Paani!
This is the biggest lake in Shillong, the place I lived in when I was 16. When I went to Shillong, first there was a board - 'Welcome to the Scotland of the East' and then there was this bridge and a beautiful lake below it, surrounded by the majestic hills, welcoming you with open arms. Then there was the rain, big, huge drops of rain, it really pours there! I fell in love with Bada Paani the first time I saw it, and I always coaxed my dad to take us there but somehow that never happened. Its really one of my biggest regrets that I could not visit Bada Paani.
2. When you go trekking, take your own and your dad's camera and take lots of pictures with both.
I once had a chance to go trekking with some friends in an unknown, private section of Shillong. It was a long trek and there were many beautiful spots on the way. A small stream, a grove of tall, splendid Himalayan forest trees, peacock blue river water amidst beautiful brown rocks and the most spectacular views of all - the view from the other side of Shillong peak - the view of the valley below..beautiful spots of colour added by several fields and a lone khasi man standing in tribal clothes amidst them with a smile on his face! I took pictures but there was something wrong with my camera and none of the pictures came. Another floop I made was that I did not take even a single picture of a waterfall that I had visited on a separate occasion.
3. Relationships are delicate and small things have the capacity to ruin strong bonds.
In a way, I still do not always realize how I hurt others. I have not really lived a lot in the way a traditional Indian family does. My parents brought me up differently, I did not really interact a lot with relatives as such. This somewhat hampers my ability to always pick up subtle things. I do not always realize the complexity that forms other people and the subtle currents that underlie all relationships. Sometimes we don't realize that even a small thing, a thought, a saying or an action can hurt others in a big way. Others may not always be very forgiving either and as a result a small mistake can have large consequences.
Inspite of all these things to say, actually even if I could go back, most probably I wouldn't say anything at all.
Why, change anything? Our past shapes our future and we learn from it and become what we are in our present.
I have beautiful memories of my 16th year. How about you, is there anything you would say to yourself if you get a chance to go back and meet your past 16 year old self?
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