Turning 22 (2018)

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea

Last year I wrote a note to myself on my 21st birthday and I guess this is a thing now. These are some notes on how it was being 21 and some things I want to do at 22.

This was not an exciting year. It was slow, and while things moved in mostly the right direction they were not as fast as I would have liked. I had to remind myself that it’s okay to take my time to get where I want, and it’s okay to take my time to decide where I want to be.

I worked hard this year and it paid off. I am proud of the work I did and where it got me, and I’m glad to finally be in a space where I’m certain that I can do design full time. College will end soon and it feels like the slow ascent to the apex of a rollercoaster ride. Everything will change completely very soon and that’s both exciting and scary.

I have spent a lot of time by myself and have felt lonely a lot, but I spent today with people I love and I think I should do that more. I might be moving to Bangalore in a few months and and I will miss my friends and family. Note to self : if you start sitting in your room feeling sorry for yourself you should get out for a while and do something.

I now get taken very seriously by a lot of people and that sometimes that surprises me. I have finally started to feel like an adult, but sometimes I also feel like two children in a trenchcoat masquerading as one.

Highlights of the year

  • Shirin! Thank you for pyaar and dosti and your beautiful face. (@lonefoxdancing)
  • I won IIIT Delhi’s design hackathon… both times it happened this year.
  • I finally learned to drive and now have a driver’s license.
  • I traveled to Shimla, Mcleodganj, Goa and Bangalore.
  • I cleared the NID entrance and got India rank 9 for information design and rank 13 for interaction design. It’s the first time I’ve done well on a test in a while and it feels good.
  • I got a job offer from Flipkart.

Things I hope to do next year

  • Travel more
  • Learn new things both in my field and outside of it
  • Meet new people and make friends and be less of a curmudgeon

This was Gyan in 2017-18. Here’s to being 22!