November
It’s the last day of November, which means that tomorrow
will be the beginning of the last month of 2015. It’s been an interesting year
but an all about 2015 post will be better at the end of the year. Today, it
will be all about November.
This month, I left my job and spent the month at home. I
didn’t look for another job, which I sort of regret now because not having
anything to do is frustrating. But I’m happy I finally decided to leave this
place that was always like home to me. It was time and while I still love the
place and people, I shouldn’t have been there any longer.
In October, I promised myself that if I wrote 30,000 words
of ‘my story’ by the end of 2015, I would take a year off work and focus on my
writing. I completed NaNoWriMo, something I didn’t think was at all possible
and so I now have a 50,000 word story. It’s nowhere close to completion but I’ve
at least taken the first step towards finally writing a story. You see, I love
writing and while all these stories keep clouding my mind, all I write are
articles, blog posts like this and poems. I struggled with actually writing
stories. 50,000 words, for me, is a huge achievement.
On Saturday, I had one of the best nights of my life. I
attended the UNAIDS event to commemorate World AIDS Day, my friend and I
received certificates of appreciation for our articles and then we met with
Amma and Aiya and had amazing dinner. After dropping her, I was in the
backseat, Aiya was driving and Amma was riding shotgun. The music was good, the
wind was cool and everything was peaceful. I was calm after a long time and I
was smiling for no reason. I was so tired and so sleepy but I was happy. There’s
nothing more you can ask for in life, is there?
This month I went back to feeling like a teenager, which I
won’t go into detail about, but I’m happy to know that I have some emotion left
in me. I’ve turned into this grumpy person who is always frowning or making
faces or being mean/sarcastic and I needed to know that I can be all ‘sunshine
in a jar’ too.
November also taught me that people can’t be trusted and
that it doesn’t take a very long time for friends to go from being on your side
to turning against you. I learned that people can be vicious and cruel. They may
gossip and tell tales and lie, but I also learned that there are really nice
people. There are people who will wait with you or listen to your rants or just
know when you need cheering up.
I also realized how easy it is to be replaced. I won’t go
into detail but it hurts when you realize that you have been replaced before
you were ready to let go of a place or person.
I’ve always liked being alone but this month made me
appreciate solitude and the peace and quiet that comes with it. In November, I
got through Faking It, Awkward and a season of Gossip Girl. I watched YouTube
videos, studies for semester finals and still wrote all those words. This was
possible because I spent day after day at home, with no one besides Mr Meowing
to disturb me.
(In case you are wondering, Mr Meowing, as his name suggests,
is a cat and not some random man who lives at home.)
November was also a month of good films and good music. The
Colombo International Film Festival was held earlier this month and I couldn’t
go for more than three films but they were all amazing. And since I have all
this time I home, I also watched quite a few films I like. And I know, I said
earlier that I watched Faking It, Awkward and Gossip Girl but please believe me
when I say, they were mere distractions from certain things I need a
distraction from.
This month, I also realized how important it is to listen.
It’s easy to nod your head or hmm haa your way through a conversation. But to
listen and be listened to, it’s important. When you don’t listen, you miss out
on a lot of things and it’s important to listen.
But I also learned that sometimes, you need to not listen. This
isn’t when someone is talking to you but when people don’t have your best
interests in mind. Dogs may bark, but you are an even bigger idiot if you bark
back.
I also learned the power of friendship and how a simple thing
like making Christmas cards for people you haven’t even met can make you feel
so much better about this world and life. I learned that sometimes all it takes
is a smile or a silly joke to make things alright for you. People can be
vicious but friends, friends make life worth living.
Talking about Christmas cards and crafts, this month I sewed
a bag. Yes, that’s right. I sewed a bag and I’m incredibly proud of myself. And
if I managed to sew a bag, well, then there’s no doubt that pigs can fly.
So there you go. November 2015 as I lived it. It was a month
of plenty of ups and downs, but I’m glad I lived through it.
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