End of Another Decade

As the year 2009 is about to end, I’m thinking it’s not just another year, it’s a decade coming to an end. Just made me think what have I done in this decade?

To sum up the decade, here is the list of things that happened to me in the decade about to end:

2000 -Graduated from Unversity of Calcutta, BSC in Botany.

2001 – My elder brother got his job. Very good news but then he had to move away from us.  😦

2002 – Completed my post-grad, topped my department.

2003 – Registerd for my Ph. D.

2004 – Got my first job as SEO trainee. Got the taste of SEO as link developer for 3SmartCubes.com. Created record by being first girl from my family to actually work.

2005 – Promoted to post of SEO Analyst. Dropped my Ph. D plans. 😦 It seemed to be going nowhere!

2006 – Life is full of suprises!!! Made a friend out of the blue, and he became my bestest friend. 31st march is a red letter day in my calendar! Started my blog.

2007 – Confessed my love for my sweetheart! The most unforgettable year of my life till date!

Passed my Diplome Superieur (French).

2008 – Last saw my sweetheart.

2009 – A very eventful year!!! My younger brother went abroad. My elder brother got married. Lost too many near and dear ones! The losses were accompanied with new members joining the family as spouses of cousins. But overall for me it’s been the Worst year of the decade. It’s been a very lonely and long year! And THE WAIT doesn’t seem to end!  😦

In the last ten years my life has changed a lot and that goes the same for me too!! I have drastically changed from a timid soft-spoken girl to a bold and confident woman! I hope I have changed for the better.

As the new year and decade starts, I just wish my dreams and wishes come true.

Hoping for a great Decade ahead of me!

Wish you all a Very Happy And Prosperous New year!

What are You?

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.

She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity — boiling water. Each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat?

Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?

Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?