Helloooo!
I started writing on this very platform due to the fact that my exams kept getting postponed and I couldn’t just wait around doing nothing. Well, I’m elated to say that after getting canceled several times, those nastily exhausting tests of resilience are over!! - For now that is. I am equal parts relieved and excited to get back to doing something I love - anything but studying. Haha, I’m just awfully grateful to be on the more relaxed side of things. I also stepped into the hospital after more than a year, Covid was definitely at the back of my mind, but the fact that I was applying my mind and learning something practical, overshadowed everything.
For the past few weeks I’ve been running on half the amount of sleep I usually have so it’s been a high pressure high stress environment. A friend and I were talking about how these exams have plagued us so much that even after it’s over, the burden doesn’t feel like it has been lifted!
I’ve been spaced out for as long as I can remember and the stuff I was studying made its way into my dreams as well. The night before my Microbiology exam, I dreamt that there were parasites living under my skin - I could feel them moving around, and that I had to take them out all by myself.
Stress eating was the norm - any kind of food in my line of sight would soon be making its way to my stomach. I’d ask my parents to buy a bunch of savoury eats from Winner’s and devour them in no time. Speed reading was my version of the knight in shining armour. I somehow had this compulsion to brush through everything that was deemed important, a gruelling task as it was a race against time. My eyes would often move across the pages, not even knowing whether the mind is registering what the eyes are so frantically seeing. But, as all those close to me kept reiterating that I’ll remember enough to write, the faith I had in myself grew. Before I knew it, two weeks had flown by and we all survived.
As soon as exams were done I took a big fat nap - the kind where when you wake up you’re super disoriented and have those pressure marks all over your hands. I know that the concept of catching up on lost sleep is a bit odd, but I’m still on the path to losing my residual tiredness. I’ve also been meeting my friends, us filling each other in about what’s been up in our lives. Adult friendships are a whole new ball game, everyone’s free when I’m busy, everyone’s busy when I’ve got nothing to do - you get the situation. I shall set aside an issue just to rant about this.
I was extremely lucky to have had the chance to take out my dusty suitcase from the attic, and fill it with clothes. I found my way to the hills of Yelagiri, with its greenery stretching as far as the eye could see. This was probably the most relaxing vacation that I’d been one and I felt like it came at the right time. We’d get up sans an alarm most of the time, just laze around and immerse ourselves in the serene surroundings. I’m not much of a nature lover but I’ve learnt to appreciate what’s around us. My family, being avid bird watchers, spotted and identified a number of various species of birds effortlessly. It felt calming to sort of slow down and observe them in utter silence, observing their movements and intently listening to their calls. We spent our days stuffing our stomachs and going on long drives and treks around the hill station, along with the pitter patter of the rain. Life seemed chaotic back in the city, and as soon as I was back, I was definitely feeling the sense of an uproar.
I’ve also slowly started getting back in the groove and working out, my face turning red and dripping with sweat makes all the suffering worth it. I finally got down to the job of cleaning and sprucing up my study table, and I did a mediocre job. A pat on my back is absolutely necessary for even getting started on the task. Ask anyone in my family and they’ll shake their heads in disapproval when you associate Adithi with keeping things neat and tidy. As you can clearly decipher, I’d kept a lot of things on hold because of the existence of exams.
A cousin of mine suggested that I read this book called Wonder, and it got me out of my reading slump! It’s about a boy named August with mandibulo-facial dysostosis which is a genetic disorder affecting the cheek bones, jaw, chin and ear. The book follows how August navigates joining school for the first time. I didn’t expect a children’s book to be so hard hitting and touching. In Wonder, author R.J Palacio tells that the book was inspired by a real-life encounter with her own kids. They were at an ice cream store and sat next to a little girl with a severe facial disorder. Palacio’s 3-year-old son cried in fear, so the author grabbed her kids and fled.
Bullet journaling was also one of the many things I’ve always wanted to keep as a habit - just so that my life can be a tad bit more organized. I’ve included a habit tracker and it really has had a positive effect on me - I know it’s taking on a lot, but I’ve been as consistent as I can with the journal. I have one portion which is set aside for the highlights of each day and I realized that it’s gratifying at the end of the week to just go through at the end of each week. All the days have merged into one and I’ve lost all sense of time since the lockdown, so it’s nice to recollect and reminisce!
A sense of normalcy has washed over me, with me going to the hospital every day like the times before Covid, plus the masks of course. Golu preparations are commencing in full swing - figuring out which days you’ll visit your friend’s houses and which days you’ll stay at home so that it’ll all align with everyone else’s plans puts even the best planner in a dilemma!
The decision to make this newsletter arrive at your inboxes twice a month wasn’t an easy one. After much deliberation, I thought that making it bimonthly would be a better fit with respect to my time and the content. See you in two weeks!
— adithi.
Hi Adithi! I have been reading most of your relaxing articles, but only today I thought of “ commenting” ... by the way, is that a loaded word?
You write as if you are conversing , sitting by my side, and it is sooooo soothing..
You remind me of Mathrubootham who used to write such articles in the Sunday Hindu...
Every day incidents can be material for philosophic thought as well as for entertainment.
May be some time, you will let us into the interesting world of doctors, patients and such allied human incidents.
To cut it short, I enjoy your writing!
Welcome back to the real world, Adithi. Glad to see that you are recharging your batteries surrounded by Nature in Yelagiri; the pictures are lovely. Keeping a journal is a must for every thinking person. Virtually every famous/ successful person has maintained one, thanks to which we have insights into the working of extraordinary minds. A bullet journal is the current favourite tool for many people, although I have not been able to fit it to my style. The key to good journaling is regularity without being compulsive: write for pleasure and not as a duty. Journal entries need not always be personal events. Any idea, thought, story is fair game. Cheers.