writing – Seasons of Life!

WordPress says I complete three years of blogging. So, I’ve been writing for three long years. Not bad at all. Feels pretty good, I must say! A quick scan and I have written 109 posts so far, boiling down to an average of three posts per month.

My consistency does not surprise me though, being more or less consistent in pretty much everything I do. Routinely, disciplined, persistence are words that resonate with me, earning me nicknames of “Timetable” and “Clock” in the family. Personality aspects that don’t always go well with the family. Things that become even more pronounced when I incorporate an additional something into my daily life, especially related to exercise or meditation. And, that’s a good thing, isn’t it? My family doesn’t always agree. They feel I drive them up the wall.

Back to blogiversary – if I rewind three years, then I’m at a place where I never ever thought I would write. In fact, I didn’t even know I could write. It all started with my first trek to the Himalayas. Writing and blogging in turn changed how I travel. It made me observant. I am more mindful and present when I travel now. I take notes so that I remember the minute details of the things I experience. Traveling is not something new for me. I have traveled right from my childhood days and have always enjoyed doing so but how I experience travel now has undergone a sea change.

This blog would not have happened had it not been for that friend who recommended I write down all the stories I kept narrating to her. “With time, you will forget much of it”, she had said. I have mentioned this in several posts, but I just feel like saying this again and again. Keeping my consistent nature aside, this blog has managed to survive only because of all the motivation I keep receiving from family and friends, not to forget all my connects here in WordPress.

My sincerest gratitude to all of you.

Some of you have gone a step ahead and pointed out that I should change my Theme and make the blog more reader-friendly. I truly appreciate your candidness and feel embarrassed about not acting upon it. My mind-block with anything technical is the reason behind my procrastination. Well, I will get to it – very soon.

In conclusion, blogging has given me a window to the world of writing, something I didn’t know I had a passion for. More importantly, it has connected me to some of the most wonderful people across the world – All of you out there!

The last few days have been quite incredible for me in ways more than one.

One of those arrived in the form of an email. One evening I opened my mailbox to find an email congratulating me for being nominated in the Best Travel Blog category of the Annual Bloggers Bash Awards. I had never received such kind of an email in my 1.5 years of joining the blogging fraternity. The awards that came by from fellow bloggers were through their own blog posts, and as protocol they would intimate me through a comment in any of my posts.

Needless to say that I was totally surprised as I had no idea about the Annual Bloggers Bash Awards. I was thrilled and skeptical at the same time. While it was amazing to think that someone thought my posts were worthy enough for a nomination, I wondered if this was some kind of a Phishing email and whether I should even click the associated link. Impulsively, I reached out to a fellow travel blogger with whom I now share a personal connection to enquire if he had received one too and if he knew anything about it.

Annual Bloggers Bash Awards Nominee Best Travel Blog (edited-Pixlr)

Subsequently, I came to know of many others who have been nominated for various categories and it does feel good to be part of the gang.

At the same time, I feel humbled and would like to express my sincere gratitude to whoever nominated me. I don’t know if my blog is worthy of this recognition at all but I am as delighted as can be!

I remember my younger days when writing an essay for English class in school would freak me out. As I grew up the essays got left behind as I went to college and university and studied Biology. The only writing I did was in the form of long and detailed emails that I would write to my friends, who had moved to other cities for further studies. Sometimes, I would write farewell notes, birthday notes, etc. to near and dear ones, which according to my family were too ‘flowery’ and they would compare me with Archies Greetings Card – quite tauntingly at that. I obviously didn’t mind and would take that as a compliment.

I started writing only recently and that too at the behest of a friend with the sole intention of documenting my travel experiences, only for myself. Not only did I discover my love for writing, it became one of few things that makes me energetic and gives me so much joy. Most importantly, I have connected with so many wonderful, genuine, and authentic people from the blogging world who have given me so much, from whom I have learned and still learning so much!

We never really know what lies around the corner. Life is a mystery indeed, a journey of self-discovery – sometimes nice and sometimes not.