For My Girls

Iss waqt to' yu'n lagta hai ab kuch bhi nahin hai
Mahtab na sooraj, na andhera na sawera

Aankho'n k dareecho'n pe kisi husn ki chilman
Aur dil ki panaho'n main kisi dard ka dera

This semester was difficult for most of us.

Some of us lost people we loved. Most of us didn't want to. =]

Some of us had to take difficult decisions, decisions that are going to affect the rest of our lives. Decisions that took a lot of soul searching, and sheer guts.

We cried a lot, this Fall 09. There were moments where we despaired of life. There were moments so dark, so lonely, we couldn't imagine we'd ever be happy again.

For most of us, Fall 09 was the end of a life time. The end of love, a relationship, student life or single life.

There were moments that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. Pain that will fade, but never vanish. Dreams that will never come true, but come to haunt us when we least expect them to.

A name. A color. A scent. A lost dream.

Secrets that we'll stash away, but never be able to forget.

Shakho'n main khayalo'n ke ghanay paerr ke shayad
Ab aa ke karay ga na koi khwab basera

Ik bair, na ik muh'r, na ik rabtt na rishta
Tera koi apna, na paraya koi mera

But in the last six months, we learnt some valuable lessons too.

We learnt not to depend on someone else for our happiness. We realized no one and nothing is forever.

We learnt to accept that life isn't going to be how we thought it would be. There are millions of roads, millions of unmarked streets we could lose ourselves in.

We learnt not to dream and plan too much before time, because then it hurts all the more when they can't come true. We learnt that we have to take life as it comes.

We came to understand that practicality comes before love every time, at the end of the day.

We learnt that we can't dig in our heels and fight life. But we can fight despondency. We learnt how to dress up, smile pretty, and pretend to be happy when we least felt like it.

We learnt that we can only be as awesome as we think we are. =]

In the last six months, the test of time also separated the friends from the not-so. There were people, from whom we never expected it, who stood by us when we needed someone the most. It brought us closer.

For that, we'll always be grateful to Fall 09.

And we made some decisions. We decided to be happy. We decided life isn't going lay us low. We decided we are going to be a success in our own lives. Because failure is only in ones mind. All the hurts, all the falls, made us stronger. More resilient.

We learnt that nothing is the 'end of the world'. That we can survive pretty much anything. That heart-break doesn't kill anyone. That life will always still go on.

And that a life time is a very, very long time.

Mana k ye sunsan gharri sakht karri hai
Lekin meray dil ye to' faqat aik gharri hai
Himat kero, jeenay ko to' ik umr parri hai.*

We're ready for the new year. And the start of a new us.

Let Spring 10 bring what it may.

*[This moment of loneliness is tough, I know, but, O Heart, this is but a moment. Have faith, there's a lifetime to live, still.]