And thus ends another year...

....and what a year its been!!! *phew*

K's wish for me at the beginning of this year was that 2011 brings me happiness, clarity & peace and suffice to say true to her words, by the end of 2011; I've found all three! I had one of the best NYE's in a long long time and I'm hoping that its a sign of the super awesome year that 2012 is gonna be! :D

Its been a whirlwind 2011! My resolutions last year mostly revolved around finding myself & figuring out what direction my life was taking. Its been a year of ups & downs. The year began with me very conflicted. A fight with the parents at the beginning of the year is really not the way you want to start your new year!! That was definitely super sucky. That & other things just did not bode a very well beginning. I'm very superstitious about beginnings and a conflicted new year's just makes me wary!

Offsetting all the unpleasantness was the best friend's marriage announcement! Its funny how life moves at such a fast pace sometimes..!! Her wedding pre-planning and all the looong conversations around this brought a different perspective to my life. All the stuff that I had agreed to for my parents sake last year started making practical sense as I heard her go through the same thought process. The reasons for, the reasons against, the pros, the cons, the good, the bad & the ugly...we dissected all of it in a span of a few months. And I think grew up in that process...or at least I did! (K seems to have been born mature! :P) I was now jumping off the cliff willingly, because I wanted to; and not because someone else thought it was the right thing to do or the right time to take the plunge. And that made all the difference in the world.

Enter Bumblebee and life has certainly been a roller coaster. From having no clue to what I wanted in the beginning of this year or even what direction I should be steering my life in; to being engaged to the best possible person I could have ever found for myself - life's done a complete backflip on me. And I couldn't be happier. The rightness of this decision, the positivity & happiness around everything scares me sometimes. I haven't felt this free-falling in love with my heart wide open in a long long time and this time there is no back door & no parachute to save me. Will I fall gracefully, enjoying every moment of my ride or will I have a nasty fall complete with bumps & bruises - only time will tell. For now i'm just enjoying the exhilarating feel of the open wind in my hair & his love in my heart! :)

2011, you've been a life changer of a year. 2012, I sense you will bring with it many more challenges for me as I get adjusted to this whole new landscape that I'm entering in. A new family, in-laws, so many more relationships to hold, so much room for mistake, so much love that ive gotten. I wonder if every new beginning has its share of good & not-so-good? I wonder if the not-so-good is thrown in, so you don't have any unreasonable expectations from the rest of the chapter. I'm treading carefully but steadily into a new life. God, be with me and give me the strength to not make mistakes. To be strong & to be smart. To know what the right path is always; and to never forget myself. To be loved and to give lots of love. Mostly, to be happy.

Resolutions for 2012:

- Travel, travel & travel. I never get tired of putting this on my resolution list! There i so much more in the world to see! Sweetheart, I hope you're reading this! :P

- Try something new. I've done Life Sciences & Banking - maybe its time to try something else? I'd love to just learn something new. The some bit of cooking that I did over the past month has been quite fun and I'd love to try my hand at something else creative - even though I'm pretty sure I have no creative bone in my body!

- Stay myself. Love people. Forgive people. Look for the best in them. Stop finding motives. Stop suspecting. You never did that in the past - why start now? (Try not to be too naive tho as mom would pitch in here!)

- Don't underestimate yourself. You're capable of a lot more than you think you are. Try and push the edges. Step out of your comfort zone. You made one huge change and got to where you are today. 2012 is going to be full of changes - embrace them. Learn from them!

Hello 2012, I hope you treat me well. :)