A Year Of Many Faces.

Another year has passed me by. A year of many highs, lows, and quite a few gray areas as well. I reminisce about what I did, learnt, enjoyed, agonized over, cried over, laughed about, shared, viewed, understood, assimilated, taught others - and I am amazed. It rocks me to my core.

I changed jobs, made new friends, learnt new things inside and outside of work, visited new places, saw wondrous sights that I had never dreamt of, got a couple of tattoos, got scolded over these and laughed at over these, and also admired for these.

I saw new movies, heard new genres of music, met people who dreamed like me, met people who dreamed differently, met people who lived to match their dreams, and some who outlived their dreams.

I drank till I passed out, drank till I was the last man standing, I have enjoyed countless conversations on life, philosophy, music, work, debated over India and its problems, politics, books, movies. I have socialized on the internet, and in the real world, and have realized that I like the latter better.

I learnt to be a better writer, fostered hope that someday now I can be bigger than what I am. I left behind a lot of luggage, am carrying some, and will carry even more as I grow older. Not wiser, maybe.

I have hugged unknown people, danced with known ones, travelled with friends, travelled to meet friends, travelled to meet my loved ones. I have reached a whole new level of understanding with my family, and at this level, there are a lot of new complications, but a lot more love and sincerity.

I learnt how to live life unabashedly, learnt to love unconditionally, learnt to wait eternally, learnt to give openly, learnt to hug till the other person stops and I have cried over many matters, some trivial, some monumental.

I hope I have a year like this every year of my life. I hope I get most of what I want in the new year. I hope I don't get some of it, just to keep things balanced. I hope I learn more in this beautiful world. I hope I grow to be a better man. I hope I get love from the most unexpected of quarters, and I hope to learn to love what I already have even more.

I hope.

- Vinaykrishnan.