9 Jan 2022

#429 Reviewing Year 2021

  

 Reviewing Year 2021

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How quickly this year passed, just like any other year. This feeling is so common and is experienced by almost everyone as the year approaches its end. I wish the year would have stayed still for some more days. The world is still battling with this phase of pandemic and entering another year with a fear of the mutants of this notorious virus named COVID. It's hard to believe that COVID-19 as the numerals in its name suggests, has very easily wiped off 2 years from our lives and made us confined to the four-walled-room. At the same time, it has helped us to look into our lives with a deeper perspective.

 

As a customary ritual, I've been reflecting on the bygone year during its last days and deriving important lessons from it. What could be a better act for walking through the memory lane than documenting (it alongside)? This year was no less than a rollercoaster ride for me. It’s going to be a nostalgic moment to recall all events that happened in my life and for having been survived different phases of uncertainties during that time. So, here I dive into my flashback and retrieve all my memories. 

 

The new year 2021 got me an opportunity to appear in the interview for the course that I had applied for. I also tried my luck in two competitive exams which did not turn out in my favor. What is destined to happen will find its way and what’s not, won’t happen in any way. All my failures have taught me to explore options that I am born for as aptly stated by Dalai Lama, Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.” I met my best friend after a long time and got quality time to spend with her. It was during that time I started applying for my VISA to go to Hong Kong where my husband had been living for the last couple of months. I did not have any strong plan then to go to Hongkong as it all depended on the allowance of flights by the HK govt from India to HK, I made preparation to go to my native place to spend some time with my family. I stayed at my in-law’s house for a month where I celebrated my first marriage anniversary. I got to know my in-laws better as it was for the first time I got such a long time to stay with them after my marriage. Soon after that, I got the news of charter flights going to HK from Delhi and I had just a week in my hand to plan everything, right from booking tickets to reserving a quarantined hotel in HK. You can read more about my Quarantine Story here: my-quarantine-story-of-21-days.

 

After my quarantine got over , I was ecstatic to meet my husband after 6 months and so was he to meet me( I guess so :P ). He had managed a lot last year from traveling to a foreign country during the pandemic to starting everything all alone. I acquired my HKID card which was essential to revoke a hefty medical bill that was the result of my treatment of COVID at the hospital in HK.

 

My pre-birthday eve was well spent watching symphony of lights(a musical light show) in the Tsim Tsa Tsui Promenade, followed by a treat at an Indian Restaurant. Not many days after my birthday, I got unfortunate news of the demise of my grandmother who was battling with COVID. All the memories of moments spent with her flashbacked in my eyes. She was bedridden when I left for HK, with a hope that next time when I see her she would be hale and hearty but this did not happen.

 

I slowly started to adjust to this new country, culture, and people. I started exploring different places in this country on my own to be comfortable and get the feeling of being home. Thanks to the very convenient public transport system and google map which became my guide in this process. This exploration helped me, invariably, in my job hunting. I would so optimistically apply for thousands of different positions based on my skillsets in various job portals of HK and managed to get interviewed for three-four recruiters. It was the fourth one, I settled for as other roles didn’t appeal to me much. At the end of the year, I successfully completed my probation period.

 

In the latter half of the year, I witnessed another form of mine which was capable enough to manage everything, getting up early in the morning to prepare breakfast, lunch for work, commuting two hours for the job, walking 5-6kms daily including climbing 600 stairs, I had never imagined that I could ever do this. My husband always stood as a rock by my side, motivating me whenever I lost my fighting spirit. During weekends, we would plan to travel different places and I created a YouTube channel to document my travel experiences - Around The Globe . There’s another YouTube channel-Swati Sarangi I created for collecting my selecting recordings from Smule at one place [which I wanted to do in 2020 but couldn’t]. As a part of my exploration, I visited various temples such as SaiBaba temple at TST, Kowloon Hindu Temple, Hindu Temple at Happy Valley, ISCON temple at TST and got a chance to celebrate various festivals there and sing in the public. I felt to blessed to receive the token of love from the Hindu temple, Kowloon. All these events transported me to those days when I accompanied my mother to celebrate various festivals at Shiva temple on the campus of IIT Kanpur and Jagannath Temple, Bithoor, Kanpur.

 

During my days of quarantine, I had started learning German in DuoLingo App to ward off the boredom which later became a habit. I successfully continued the learning streak for 200 days and received the report of being in the top 1% of the users to achieve this feat. I also started teaching English voluntarily to underprivileged students of Odisha online. I got an opportunity to be part of online events like Toastmaster HK and book clubs. I could complete reading 8 books this year.

 

2021 gave me myriads of experiences to revisit and I could strike off many from my wish list like a solo trip abroad, getting an iPad, working abroad, starting a youtube channel, working with an NGO, being a local guide in google and starting a technical blog -Coding Concotion. It gave me the confidence to pursue my hobbies and tap into my unexplored potential which I had always ignored. I had to deal with minor health issues. 2021 exposed me to two spheres; where there was an excitement of exploring a completely new world, there was an uncertainty to return home and meet the family. It is how life is and the greatest blessing during this phase of the pandemic is to be healthy.  

 

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year,2022!

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©Swati Sarangi

30.12.2021


P.S : I got late in publishing this article which was planned to be published before the new year.