Life happened

The last time that I wrote a blog entry was a while ago. I have done many things, and I have faced interesting challenges. I have travelled, learned, lived, loved, and so much more. The biggest difference is my writing though! I really had no control on punctuation. Wow. I graduated last year and I have honestly learned so much from that time. I am going to be 23 this summer, and I started this blog when I was 18. That's five years. In these five years I have realized that the best thing that we can do as humans is to stay true to who we are as people. Self awareness is the biggest tool that we have. When you are self aware you know what goes on inside you. You are in tune with your motivations and make sound decisions. You become less reactionary and more thoughtful. Growth comes only from self awareness. I have had an interesting 2 years since I last wrote a piece in the anthology-of-my-life blog. I found an amazing person with whom I am sharing my life. We have our ups and downs, and he has definitely been able to reveal a lot about my character; things that I would have never thought of. I have experienced all emotions in this beautiful ride with him. I think though the biggest thing that I have learned from being in a relationship is the responsibility that comes with it. You are committed to someone, many people forget that. This person has thoughts, emotions, and feelings just like you do. You have to respect that. You have to be there for them even if you think you can't emotionally. You have to do things together that will challenge you and test you to the limit. You have to be kind and you have to let your ego go. You are a team. My relationship, while leaving me raw at times, reinforced in me the tenets of my character that I hold deeply. Loving yourself first before loving anyone else, actively listening, being practical and methodical, and most of all leaving the big stuff up to god. For advice to anyone who has never been in a relationship I would say go for it and take risks but don't look for someone with the intention of finding a "life partner" look for someone with the intention to show love to. Show all of yourself to this person and then never look back. It will be hard, and you will feel at times that you are breaking down and that you will not be able to get up. Guess what? You will. You will be stronger, and harder, and better and brighter. You will learn to love better than ever. Something they don't tell you in relationship books is that a relationship, just like anything else in life, is a skill that you get better at over time. With practice you can make it work. I have done some wild things in these years, gone out every night of the week, drank myself senseless, partied all over Washington DC with all kinds of people. Saved a drunk man from dying from the side of the street. So. Many. Fun. Times. I think I will always remember undergrad as a time where I did everything with a "fuck, why not?" kind of attitude. I have cherished the memories that I have made and the friends that still stay by my side. I had some tough moments at home, with my mom's health. But the interesting thing about illness is that while its going on it sucks but that's it. It's only after someone is well and healthy again do you think back to that time and go "oh my god! I can't believe I dealt with that!" But all in all everything is going well. I am going to start graduate school in the fall to finally study conservation biology and public policy. I am elated! I will definitely keep updating my virtual journal. Reading this makes me happy. Love, Arjun