After 12 weeks into 11th grade, I finally got my bumper car out of the corner and am working to stay in the game. Each week would go by for the longest time, and every time I felt like it would be just one more homework assignment, I would be all caught up. Somehow, in the end, I always found myself back in the corner, stuck like a bumper car. After a long time, I feel happy and motivated to be back at my desk, so I can write and connect with everyone, along with sharing a few of my learnings and seeking help and guidance from your life lessons as I work towards getting on the road rather than being a bumper car stuck in the corner.
So much has happened in the past few months, from going to India after 3 years to starting my junior year of high school. Returning to India was an unexplainable feeling. It’s like a missing part from you gets reconnected, and you feel whole again after a long time. This trip was unlike any other. For the first time, I felt like there was not enough time, but I did what was most important: reconnect and meet with everyone who has been an instrumental part of my journey of bringing my life into focus. After returning from India, I was fortunate to have Rajen uncle visit the US after 3 years, and we got to spend quality time together and made pizza and apple pie in exchange for some new learnings of life, which was the best trade ever. And finally, after all that, 11th grade kicked in, and though I felt like I was ready to take charge, I still got caught by surprise. For the past 12 weeks, I felt like a bumper car that kept getting stuck in the same corner no matter what I tried to do. After a while, rather than being fun or motivating, it led to massive irritation and pushed me to the point of wanting to give up everything except for school. Luckily thanks to the constant support and motivation from all of you and the guidance from Rajen uncle, I am back here today sharing. When caught in an unplanned situation, the immediate reaction is to put in more effort, and we become more passionately aggressive, but this time the answer was something I did not expect, and that was gratitude.
Though that might sound weird, I discovered that gratitude acts as candy in our lives, which gives us the temporary spike of feeling good and enjoyment but later gives us a sugar crash. Instead, gratitude should act like vitamins and be the daily minerals that nourish us and helps us stay in balance no matter what the circumstance. If we are only happy in certain moments, gratitude does not teach us anything. It is when we go through a situation that we do not prefer and how we act at that given moment that tells us if we have understood the true meaning of gratitude and that we are thankful for what we have. So that got me to the conclusion that each day I need to wake up and sleep with gratitude and that my only responsibility is to give everything my best effort, and if I do it with the correct understanding, anything could happen.
With that, I want to say thanks to each and every one of you for supporting me through this rough time and reminding me to get back on the road. Also, on a side note, my little sister, who is not so little anymore, turned 11 this past week and finished her first year of DiaryWithDad. Please check it out (https://www.youtube.com/diarywithdad), and feel free to show some love. Thank you all for your continuous love and support.
Dear anuj,
So true…. Gratitude towards life is like the glow worm in the the darkest forest. One may feel it’s just an emotional attribute, but it can give enormous strength when one is lost …..
this is super inspiring anuj, keep it up, your a super great cousin, friend, and always count me, and for that I thank you. Keep up the blogs !!!- Aahan
Anuj, we all get stuck in a rut, it is pretty common. Once we get sidetracked and give up doing what we should- exercise, studying, diet, etc, it becomes easy to just not do it. But realizing that and making a conscious effort to get back on track takes work. You have done that. Keep up the blogs! Thanks for reminding us how blessed we are and that we should be grateful.