Looking back at the year

This February, I cooked up a list of resolutions which with great difficulty became a post on my Malayalam blog. Quite a lot has happened since; for example, I'll admit that my Malayalam was terrible when I wrote that post and that it has improved ever since. I thought I should write a post on how well I have lived up to these "expectations".

Expectation I: Take my studies seriously.

When I wrote that post, I was indeed another person who did absolutely nothing of relevance between hearing the date of an exam and walking into the exam hall. I think I spend more of my time these days studying.

Expectation II: Learn about and do new things.

I don't know. I learned Urdu, to read and write Tamil, picked up a bit of Persian, studied music and gained an audience (gasp maybe). I also gained some philosophic insight into myself, my religion, and needless to say, my religious fervour has changed from what it was last year.

Expectation III: Don't let anything get in the way of my extracurriculars.

I didn't let anything get in the way of my extracurriculars, mostly. I did have to put off some events that I really wanted to attend, but I think it has all turned out tranquil.

Expectation IV: Improve my social life.

I can't remember what could possibly have made me write this at the time. I think I have learned more about social lives in general. A line from Kumaranasan's Nalini sums it up:

അന്യജീവനുതകി സ്വജീവിതം ധന്യമാക്കുമമലേ വിവേകികൾ

 My love, the wise fulfill their own lives over those of others.

My apologies to the Malayalam panditar out there if the message has been lost in translation.

Expectation V: Start earning.
Not at all. I don't think I have earned a rupee myself this year, excluding prize money and gifts.