Friday 14 February 2014

Starting A New Life as A Writer

       I still remember my PU days when I used to write diary. Being an introvert, I hardly shared my feelings with anyone. I rarely confessed things, that too only with very few. And the remaining times, I would pent up every emotion inside me and never let them out. That was until I started writing diary. With writing diary, I found a way to release my pent up emotions. It was as if I had found a new friend, one whom I could trust infinitely. It was like there was someone who would listen to me, without complaining and who wouldn't judge me, no matter how dark the secret I shared was. I was content with having such a friend.

       Things changed when my friend got hold of my diary. I used to keep my diary in a desk and lock it but that day I had forgot to lock it. My friend happened to get her hands on it and she read a few poems I had wrote. She loved it. She started to ask me to make my writings accessible to public. She wanted me to open a blog. I was not sure. The things I wrote were for me. I had never written for any audience and I was seriously scared of taking that step. After all, it was a big change in my normal and not so exciting life. What if I would be ridiculed? What if I couldn't handle it? What if I ran out of ideas? What would I do of my blog then? The questions were endless. I was trapped with self doubt. The change wasn't easy and the decision to take that step was difficult.

       But then I decided to go for it. If people had to talk, they would do it no matter what I did. So why not do something that would help me be a better person? That is how my journey as a writer began. I was insecure in the beginning. I wouldn't let my friends know about my blog. But slowly, it all began to change. People started liking what I wrote. Some even told they relate to it. Some were even inspired by my posts and told me they felt good after reading my posts. I started believing in myself. The frequency of my posts increased and the love I received was tremendous. I made many friends in the blogging world. I participated in many contests and won some. Contribute to anthologies too. And now, I have an identity of my own, one that I am really proud of! I am so glad I overcame the self doubts and embraced the change. It has done a lot of good to me. After all, changes are what makes life interesting and happening; just like it did to me. 

This post is written for https://housing.com/



Until the next post,
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Thursday 13 February 2014

Blank Space - My Book!

       If there has been one thing that has stayed constant over the years, then it is my love for the books. As long as I can remember, I have always been in love with books. Story books or novels to be specific. When I was a kid, my mom used to read bed time stories to me. It was from there I picked up my liking for stories and story books. And as I grew up, the love too grew with me, becoming more powerful over the years. Now I am a bibliophile who cannot resist reading at least for an hour in a day!

       For the bibliophiles out there, it is easy to understand this love. But for others, they fail to understand it. They call it as an addiction. Maybe it is. But a good one. I don't explain to them why I love reading so much. Because, it will be useless. Try as might I, they will never get it. You have to be a bibliophile yourself to understand the craze.

       Books have always been the escape I needed from my routines. When you are tired, they offer you their warmth and help you escape into the dream world. When you are lost and find yourself in darkness, they become your guiding light. When you are sad, they will cheer you up. In short, they are the perfect partners, whom you can trust to be by your side always. What more does one need? I was and am perfectly happy in their company.

       It was through this reading habit of mine that I discovered my passion for writing. Whenever I read some great stories, I wished I could write like that too. There were so many stories inside me, that I wanted to tell the world. I tried to suppress them but they wouldn't agree. And finally, I started writing. I took the baby steps with my blog and slowly when people said they liked my writing, the budding writer in me rejoiced. My confidence was boosted and I started writing more and more.

       Sometimes, I did wonder what it will be like to write my own book. How good it would be to have your name among the great authors? Then I would brush it off thinking it as silly. The dream was too big to be true. But recently, when I got the news of my story being selected for an anthology, my joy knew no bounds. The happiness of holding your book it is priceless.



       Maybe there is hope after all. Maybe this amateur writer will someday evolve to become a great writer. Holding my book, it was the happiest moment of my life; the one that filled me with optimism and hope for the future and I am going to hold on to it tight and make my dream come true!

PS: This post is written for https://housing.com/lookup.

Until the next post,
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Wednesday 12 February 2014

The Memorable Day of My Life

       It was the month of June and the weather was changing. The summer was finally giving way to the rainy season. Of course, I was delighted to get rid of the heat and enjoy the showers. But changing seasons always meant I fell sick. When there was transition in weather, it was the worst time for me. Still, I looked forward to the weekend because I had planned a shopping trip together with my dad. Now a lot of people get excited about the prospect of shopping but my shopping destination wasn't any mall or mart. It was a book store in Bangalore. The store was hosting a sale - books were sold at 200/- per kg! I was delighted to hear about it. After a lot of convincing, my dad agreed to take me there. I was on absolutely thrilled.

       But when the time to leave came, I fell sick. I was running on fever and my dad wasn't sure if the idea of travelling was good in that condition. But I promised him I was fine and I could handle the trip. How would I let such an awesome sale go by without making good use of it? I decided it was against the rule of bibliophiles and set out to Bangalore. I could hardly contain my excitement. The 6 hours journey was one of the longest journey of my life. I could hardly sit still. I was jumping with excitement. And when we finally reached the destination, I felt the trip was totally worth it.

      I have no words to describe the sight that was in front of me. Books were laid out everywhere in that shop. There were nearly six rooms and in each room, heaps and heaps of books were laid out. Every corner of the shop was filled with books. It was a paradise for the book lovers. I could spend days in there without getting bored! A friend of mine, who stays in Bangalore joined me shortly and together we began our book hunt. To be in a place you love is one thing, and then spending the time there together with a friend who shares your love for books is totally another thing. It was like a cherry on top of the cake. We searched through the piles of books, finding the ones we love and stacking them up. Time flew by and before we knew, my dad had come to pick me up. We had a return journey to make. three hours had passed in the store and we were barely aware of it. In the end, I had managed to buy some 30 books that I could enjoy for the next few months at least. Before leaving, I promised my friend that soon we would go there again together and raid the place. I am looking forward to that day.

PS: This post is written for https://housing.com/.

Until the next post,
Keep Reading :)