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2015 was indeed my year to do what I could than just exist. After a painful and full-of-experience 2014, 2015 was my year to rise and shine. I had severe health issues and after slowly recovering from it, a new year was something I was badly looking forward to. I remember how my morale was boosted when in late 2014, I received a mail from a Literary Magazine wanting to feature my work in their upcoming issue and the print copy of the magazine, ultimately brimmed my senses to rise forward and do what I always should have done- be successful!
I eventually started to blog again after a long period of inactivity, in January 2015 and participated in a few literary contests, amongst which I won a Prompt Contest by an Indian Literary Magazine and also a money prize. It was the best feeling and one, enough to boost my self-confidence.
That moment I realized that my destiny and strength depends on my attitude. And if I need to search for happiness and live a contented life, I need to create my own path. Hence, 2015 was my year of self-discovery and my blogging journey. I soon stumbled upon a number of blogging networks and communities and became a part of them. With every growing week and month, the opportunities grew and so did my social network. I started to monetize my blog and accepted brand collaboration opportunities.
Blogging was many years ago, just a personal thing, so was it the same to me, until recently, when I realized that we can earn a recognition and a profession through it.
I remember my very first blogger meet- #WIN15 by Blogadda and I must say, I was damn nervous, but what impressed me was how we all were represented by our blogs, as if it was our true identity. That one feeling has truly stayed with me.
I'm thankful for my struggle because without it, I wouldn't have stumbled upon my strength
At times, when I look back at that painful phase of my life, I feel proud of how my despair and struggle earned me a beautiful transition, where I had evolved more better and great.
I had a dream since sometime to win the #TATALiteratureLIVE! #MyStory Contest and in 2015, I began the preparation early. I literally mailed and messaged all my 2500 followers, friends, family, relatives, acquaintances to vote for my entry and make me win. I did achieve it, as I ranked 2nd in the Most Voted Category. But then there was a twist. The Jury selected 3 entries from the 10 Most Voted Entries on the basis of merit and they ranked me no. 1. That moment, I was filled with immense content and joy. I was glad to see my dream come true.
Another such massive achievement was when I won the #SugarFreeDessertChallenge. To be frank, when I participated in the contest, I was least interested in winning, as I didn't wanted to feature on the TV and had inhibitions. But when I saw the results and me as a winner, I was happy and nervous, and that moment, I decided that I have to go with my destiny and be happy with the opportunity I got.
The entire experience of recreating the dessert at the Food Studio, the ambiance, the lively participants, the aroma of mesmerizing and variant desserts from all over India and the meet with the most celebrated Chef Sanjeev Kapoor was a unique one and a forever-cherishing phase.
The biggest change I did in 2015 was to rename my blog, according to the niche and that was indeed an important and needed decision. I was worried about its outcome and results, but eventually, everything went well and all my followers, readers and friends accepted it.
If you want something you never had,
You have to do something you've never done
The best part of 2015 being how I overcame my biggest fears. I always had this stage-fear which made me lose out on great opportunities, like teaching Management and I.T in a reputed Management College in Mumbai. I was so scared to face the audience that even teaching school students was a big task for me. But finally in December, I was encouraged and motivated by my Sir who wanted me to share my knowledge and in a way, persuaded me to let it happen. And, after the initial moments of sheer nervousness and fright, I eventually became comfortable with the students and today, I teach High School Students in my free time. This is a matter of success to me, indeed!
One great moments of 2015 was the growth of my creativity, as my amateur art of hand-lettering and doodle was appreciated, accepted and recognized. I had an awesome time in working for reputed Indian and International Design Companies like FREECultr and VIDA.
Today, with the end of a life-changing 2015, I have learned that our skills and talents never go wasted and we can never know, when will they be of our help. I also learned to be happy of what I received and earned, and accept the things as they come, and most importantly, the fact that our struggles only help us to grow and prosper.
So what would I carry forward in 2016? Well, my attitude of perseverance, confidence and inspiration. And the lesson I learnt that, " We may never know until we try! "
The best feeling in the whole world is watching things finally fall into place after watching them fall apart for so long