Before we say goodbye to 2019, I wanted to share some of my amazing experiences and epic moments of the year. First and most important, I wanted to thank you all for your amazing support, contribution and guidance. Your comments and encouragement have kept me going and have been the motivation for me to start working on social media this year.

The year started with an amazing family trip to Hyderabad celebrating my grandpa’s 80^th birthday and my grandparent’s 50^th anniversary. As the winter lasted longer, we went to the slopes in April where we all as a family skied together for the first time and my little sister who has become an incredible gymnast outranked us all and went on the big slopes. Then finally the moment came which I wait for all year long, our summer holidays in India.  This year’s trip was short as we came back early for my aunt’s wedding, but that was not a problem.  In India, I doubled the fun by extracting the joy both day and night so a 30-day trip became 60 days of fun. Once we got back, we attended my Aunt’s incredible wedding, where I got to re-connect with all my relatives and cousins from all over the world.  It was also the first time we spent part of the summer break in the U.S. After the wedding, my Guru Rajenuncle visited and I got to spend an entire month with him for the very first time.  We spent time together attending lectures, teaching breathing exercises, and swimming.  It was not any specific topic, but many small pieces of conversation and seeing him live life to the fullest which helped me gain a lot of practical life knowledge. School started and the year went by fast.  In November we celebrated my little sister’s grand science birthday where we do our annual fundraising to support kid’s education in India. For Thanksgiving my dad had planned a surprise trip to Dubai, followed by us attending Divyadidi’s wedding in India.  While we were in India for just three days of the wedding, but in those three days my Godfather – Raj uncle made sure he brought the entire world of joy to me and my sister. I got to connect with everyone from my second family the V2 Family. All my uncles and aunts took such good care of me, making me feel like a prince in heaven. We were back in the US and prep’s for High School applications was in full force. I finally submitted my applications on my Birthday, December 12^th, which gave me some relief and as holidays started on Dec 20^th, we celebrated my birthday with three generations from my sister to my grandfather bowling together.

There were many things we did for the first time in 2019 but more so it was a year of knowledge and learning for me at many levels. Learning as a disciple, a student, a brother, a grandson, but more so learning who I am and what defines me. As we enter a new decade, 2020 is going to be the year of understanding and processing the information I have absorbed. Not only throughout this year, but throughout the decade many people have and continue to influence me. As we prepare to enter the new decade, I write this blog live from our annul family New Year party. Below are some of the amazing inspirational new year resolutions shared by family members of all generations.

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An inspiring quote for the New Year from Rajenuncle: My guide, my guru, but also my friend, my companion in the journey of life. Someone who is always with me in my thoughts and in spirit guiding me as I travel in the game of life.

• “Time has many aspects. There is the passage of external time which we call a year. But there is also internal time which can move slow or fast. When I am happy it moves fast but when I am waiting in queue it looks as if time never gets over. As we rise in consciousness, we can slowdown or increase the pace of our internal time at will. By slowing down the process of thought we slow down our internal time. When we reach a state of hardly any thoughts then time stops, and we can see life through a standpoint of timelessness. Thought is time and freedom from thought is freedom from time.” – Rajen Vakil January 1, 2020

Grandparents & Elders: From whom I have learnt that no matter the age or the time to never stress and enjoy life one step at a time.

• Live closer to nature and enjoy a simple living life – Gaman Shah (grandpa)
• Want to bring more discipline in my life, I want to use my life to help other people – Madhu Shah (grandma)
• Control on anger and surrendering to life – Bhadrika Mitra (grandma)
• Live a simple life – Bina Shah
• Wish happiness for everyone, feel free to reach out if I can help anyway to achieve happiness – Indra Desai
• I believe in family, love – Utkarsh Bhatt
• Enjoy life, have lots of fun, travel different countries – Kamal Parikh
• No resolution is a resolution – Yogesh Acharya
• Live each moment of life as a blessing and no matter what you will feel good in every situation – Heena Desai

Uncles & Aunts: Who are cool, fun to hang out with, and are always there for me as a guide, mentor, and a friend.

• Live life as every moment is a new moment – Chaitali Shah
• Spend more time with my children, not quantity but quality – Vijay Shah
• Take it as it comes – Rupal Shah
• Conserve natural resources, work out 30 mins two times a week only, be more helpful to others – Aku Shah
• Continue spreading peace, love, and harmony – Parul Desai
• No more desserts – Parul Juthani
• Exercise at least 5 days a week – Shilpa Parikh
• I will visit Switzerland – Sheetal Dhruva
• Work less, minimum travels, stress less and enjoy life – Tejas Varia
• Stay more positive, do a few things, but enjoy them, and try find joy in little things – Sheila Juthani
• Do more of the things that make me happy, help in a local shelter more people in need, spend more time outside with my little one – Shivali Acharya
• Volunteering – Kuntal Juthani
• Travel to three different countries, read more books, become a Sommelier – Rupesh Parikh
• Spend more time with family, work life balance – Aasmeet Goda
• I am going to use all the 365 days as a new opportunity and feel accomplished – Bijal Varia
• Continue to drive to be a better human being – Prashant Shah
• Be selfish so I can take care of myself both physical and mental – Shashi Desai
• Live for myself and be healthy – Ketan Juthani
• Happier 2020 for my spouse – Nitin Juthani
• Be healthy and be active – Vipul Juthani
• Two volunteering activities in a year – Bhavin Juthani
• Eat less, exercise more – Gayatri Goda
• Simplify life, start with a new job – Ravi Desai
• Start yoga and meditation – Sameer Dhruva
• To be more positive – Hiral Desai
• Stay fit and healthy and take one day at a time – Arpana Juthani

Cousins: Young and old we have always something to learn from

• To do a backflip in the air from the ground – Keyaa
• Drop in 30 points in a basketball game – Parth
• Be financially smart (step 1 – no taco bell) – Vinit
• Get better grades and focus educationally – Sonali
• Hangout with family more – Niva
• Stop teasing my brother – Aahan
• Gain motivation and focus for whatever challenge comes my way – Harsheel
• Read more – Shagun
• To get better at art – Yashvi
• Make a difference in the environment – Vasav

Wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous new year and may everyone’s dreams and wishes come true. Looking forward to your continued guidance as you all light up our chandelier with your contributions and please remember to comment and share.