Which is the most exciting day of the year?? The day when you feel as if you are the luckiest and the most loved. The day where everybody sees you with affection and compassion ignoring all your flaws. The day when you create fresh memories and safely bury them in your heart so that you can go back to them when you feel lonely or unlucky or perhaps just when you have the leisure to do so. It is your birthday right. This year I am completing fifteen years of my life and after some introspection I thought to pen down this article. So here are the fifteen things I learnt before turning fifteen:

1)DEALING WITH HATERS/BULLIES: You know we all have those people who take their hatred to such an extent that they find it irritating even if you breathe. I do not know about you but I definitely have those people in my life. It is problematic for them if I voice my opinions or be myself. And the best way to cope up with them is to just be who you are. I have learnt bullies are the way they are just to have power and feel validated. And that is the trap where people give in by perhaps expressing their sorrows or giving up who they used to be. I have leant that the best way to deal with them is to walk on your authentic path with courage in your heart.

2) FINDING MY VOICE : I have learnt that every human being on this planet matters. Every person is like a door to a new world. Each person can develop their potential and create new possibilities for themselves as well as everybody around us. I now make sure that I always assess my values and actions and opinions. I make sure to be my authentic self because through that I can become an inspiration for everybody around me and encourage them to exude peace, charm ,strength and grace that they already have within.

3) FINDING MY ROLE MODELS : Role models a have a huge impact on our lives and I found my own which have similar values and understanding of the world. My role models are Taylor Swift, Oprah Winfrey and Kanhaiya Kumar (an Indian politician)

4) TAKING RESPONSIBILTY FOR MY LIFE: if you are waiting for someone to light you up and lift you up, if you are waiting for someone to arrange something for you ,or to guide you or even if you are waiting for somebody else just to help you ---YOU ARE WASTING YOUR TIME . Everytime you pray to God to do something and you are waiting on Him in reality he is waiting on you. So take responsibility of your life and step into new possibilities . this is something I learnt from Oprah Winfrey

5) MUSIC: I found that I love using music as a tool to cope up with stress and emotions . I listen to music that is soul nourishing and fulfilling with meaningful lyrics anf hence Taylor Swift remains my favourite

6)IMPORTANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU CAME FROM : you can be guided and know where you’re going only if you know the place from where came from. It is important for you to know about the sacrifices made so that you afford your lifestyle and make your dreams come true .

7) EMBRACING FLAWS : you need to embrace your flaws and the way that you look. Your body does a lot for you. It keeps you alive so make sure that you give it the proper nutrition it requires instead of starving yourself to death to shed off some pounds. Train yourself to stop believing  the mean voices in your head.

8) I LEARNT TO FREELY EXPRESS MY OPINIONS WITHOUT ANY FEAR OF WHAT PEOPLE WOULD THINK: I don’t want to lie on my death bed and think to myself “I am sure I could have done something about that”. Hence I stand up for the causes that I believe in.

9) YOU CANNOT BE TRULY FEARLESS UNTL YOU KNOW THE NATURE OF FEAR (Pema Chodron)

10) CRAMMING : I have definitely learnt cramming loads of information in my head a day before a test .But most importantly I have also learnt that YOU SHOULD NOT CRAM

11) LOVE DOESN’T HURT : We all are going to go down that road. But after seeing what my friends had to go through I made it important to share this. Love doesn’t hurt it heals.It has the power to transform monsters into angels. So please do not stay with someone who does not support you or respect you for who you are are.

12) WHEN PEOPLE SHOW YOU WHO THEY ARE BELIEVE THEM. DO NOT WAIT FOR THE 29TH TIME WHERE THEY SHOW THEIR TRAITS TO YOU ( A POWERFUL MAYA ANGELOU LESSON)

13) WHEN YOU KNOW BETTER YOU DO BETTER: So please do not hold yourself hostage for previous mistakes.  This sentence reflects this the best: “Every sinner has a future and every saint has a past”( Yet again a powerful lesson from Maya Angelou)

14) YOU CAN EITHER CHANGE THE SITUATION OR SURRENDER. REST ALL IS MADNESS (Eckhart Tolle)

15) BE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR OBSTACLES AND FOR THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB . THAT IS WHEN REAL GROWTH OCCURS

If you made it this far thank you so much. I hope my expeience helps you and I am looking forward to learn from you. I hope you step into a new phase in your life and that your strength is renewed everyday to face everything that life throws at you.