13 Reasons Why

Hello!
Did you get surprised looking at the title? Haha, don’t worry, this post isn’t anything what you think it might be. Maybe just the opposite.
I’d like to thank my friend, Auri, (you know her, right?), for nominating me for this rather different and meaningful tag. One of her friends, Kim, who’s a teacher, lost four of her students to suicide in just a few months. She not only had the courage to cope with it, but also decided to open up about it, and start this tag on the occasion of hitting 200 followers. Please go check that post out first, right here.

Rules:

1. Mention the person who nominated you.
2. List 13 reasons why you keep going/living (This is borrowed from the book but we’ll taking it the opposite direction).
3. Nominate 10 or more people to give their reasons why.
4. Use the tag logo in your post.

I have to admit that tag posts are fun. But it ends there. This one, on the other hand, can actually make a difference. Like I have emphasised in my fourth post on this blog, it is important to focus on the good. There might be millions of reasons to give up. But if you get just one good one, that’s all you need to stay.
To quote Lady Gaga~

“I’ve got a hundred million reasons to walk away,
But baby, I just need one good one to stay.”

In today’s busy world, it’s easy to overlook all the good things in your life. It’s easy to be pessimistic; to see your cup half empty. That’s how we choose to do it. But you don’t know why it happens that way. Like the universe is in its constant attempt to increase its entropy, this is just the way it is. But, the truth remains, there’s always something good in your life. There’s always something that’ll make you want to live. Right? I won’t take no for an answer.
To be honest, despite the numerous attempts to shame suicide, I feel highlighting the positives is a more effective way for the same aim. Agree?
And while 13 Reasons Why was a popular book, and an even more popular Netflix series, it didn’t really do much in terms of controlling suicide rates (no offense intended). And this was because it focused on the negatives, i.e. why she did what she did. Another reason why I find this tag post appealing is that I get to turn this the other way round.
Anyway, let’s get onto my 13 (of the many) reasons to live!

1) Family

Yes, I am a burdensome, unreliable, annoying and destructive kid. And yes, my family might be at a lot more peace if it wasn’t for me. But this, in no way, justifies their undeniable love towards me. And mine towards them. The way they literally struggle to make even the smallest of things better for me, well, I can’t pretend like I don’t appreciate that. And I know for a fact that they’d rather prefer my annoying attitude over my absence. They’ve already done so much for me in these 16 years, I would definitely want to live on to return the favour.

2) Friends

These lovely human beings have stepped into my life as angels. The smallest things like occasional glances or texts from even those who I least expect it from automatically make me smile. Even such gestures from the ones who I don’t talk to often now bring in a lot of warmth. I’m really blessed to have that one or two amazing souls to whom I can talk anything. Honestly, the fact that they all can handle my nonsense is surprising; I can’t leave them behind.

3) The Night and the Moon

I am really intrigued towards night time, which is weird, because I hated it as a child. But I love going for post-dusk strolls, or looking out from my balcony, or gazing up at starry skies/cloudy skies/ lightning-filled skies.
The moon is another wonder. I don’t know what it is about it that awes me so much, but I could go hours just staring at the moon. A full moon night has enough power to make me happy if I’m down. Speaking of the moon, how many of you witnessed the Super Blue Blood Moon earlier this year? Sorry for the picture quality, but that day, I really did spend more than an hour staring up.

Tonight was a full moon and I really did cry looking at it. Again, sorry for the picture quality.

The night and the moon, both speak to me through their own language; it’s very magical. I cannot, by any means, say goodbye to it.

4) The Wind

I absolutely adore the wind, no matter what time of the 24-hour clock it is. I honestly don’t know why. But night-time winds are the best. A part of my daily routine is to go on evening strolls once the sun sets, when the wind is blowing, with my headphones on. There is nothing else in this world that is more rejuvenating for me. This, coupled with rain, is like the cherry on top of the cake. And since the wind only blows on earth, it’s hard to leave to some place where it won’t.

5) To Chase my Dreams

It is my utmost desire to become something special. Whatever it is. I need to chase my dreams, and be able to do what I want to do. Whether it is to be successful in my chosen career path, or to be a good mother in the future, I have a few plans that I must implement. Like it has been so beautifully emphasised in the book, ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho, each person has their own destiny to fulfill, and I’m not going anywhere before fulfilling mine.

6) Yes, I’m stubborn.

I intend to live my life to the fullest, till however long it will last. I can’t and I won’t quit early. I’m just turning seventeen soon, and there’s so much more for me to experience, and I don’t care what they will be, but I will fight it, if it’s bad. This is my determination and stubborn nature. I don’t want to be scared to live my life. The satisfaction that follows it is all I need. So, no thanks, I’m not going to take the staircase to heaven at my pit stop.

7) Travel

I am a travel loving person, and I’m so willing to convert into a nomad if I ever get the chance. I can’t stay in one place for too long, I’ll go mad. There are so many wonderful places around our lovely planet that I so wish to see before I die. Whether they are mountains or seas or tropical paradises or rainforests. Combining my love for night skies, astronomy and travel, my ultimate wish is to go to a place where there is an abundance of stars. I mean places like these-

 

(Photos by Babak Tafreshi)

They are so unreal, I know for a fact I’ll start crying when I see it for myself.
I mean, who knows whether heaven will have such amazing stuff, I’d rather stay here for as long as I’m meant to be.

8) Music

I don’t know how to express my gratitude for the existence of music. It has come straight from God’s kitchen, and it’s crazy how we all get to taste it. Sometimes I pause and wonder what good deed I may have done to be blessed with the talent to sing. Music is so powerful, and makes me feel things. It makes me cry and smile. There are millions of people who regret not having this talent, and being someone who does, I cannot let it go un-nurtured, can I?

9) Heritage and Culture

I’m a proud citizen of my country. I come from a land of immense diversity and vibrance, bursting with colour and culture. I haven’t even visited every place in my country yet, which is a strong regret. But going all the way back to millenniums of millenniums ago, it is beyond brilliant how our culture and heritage has evolved. The stories behind different cultural icons, our mythology, our belief and faith which merges into spirituality, our religion and languages, are all something I have the biggest interest in learning. Knowing all of this will make anyone reflect on their lives and the world today. It’s my greatest desire to learn all this before I go.

10) Purpose

Anyone who has a purpose to live, will never leave the party early. That one purpose is actually all you need. A single mother, who is struggling to keep herself and her kid alive, will never quit because her purpose in life is to raise her child. It is what drives your life. This reason was actually inspired by my mother, who always told me to have a purpose in life. And I do, and will always, whether it’s for myself or others, and it will stop me from killing myself.

11) Service

When you realise that there are other living creatures on this planet, and if your heart is made of gold, that’s another reason for you to stay. It’s something that crept into me quite recently, but I really would want to give more to others and be selfless. From taking care of my mother when she falls sick to volunteering for social service, I want service to be a part of my life. Giving to others can come back to you in ways you won’t even imagine, but the satisfaction is all I’m looking for. I heard there are more people in need down on earth than in heaven, so I’ll stay here a while more.

12) The Little Things

Yes, the little things that happen on a daily basis actually does bring in a lot of happiness for me. Things like ice cream in the fridge, or the sound of thunder, or what my mother would make for dinner tonight, or new music that my favourite artists released, or calls from my relatives, or… you know. These things happen so frequently if you look for it, and are the small driving forces that you so dearly need. It’s hard to come up with a repulsive force when such stuff are always present.

13) To Work on my Weaknesses

Fixing my flaws and weaknesses is something I desperately want to achieve in my life. I want people to be able to rely on me in times of emergency. I want them to have the belief that nothing can go wrong if I’m there. I want people close to me, especially my parents, to be proud of what I make out of life, and the person I turn into. I’m going to need as much time possible to achieve this, I can’t give myself a disadvantage by cutting that time short.

Here are the 10 people I nominate:
Purple Pumpernickel
The Happiness Hunters
Zircon
Tina
Lucy
Quillpen
Lacey
Lemon Zest
The Shining Gem
Rebecca Rose
Do tag me in your posts so I can read them!

I want to take this opportunity and once again remind you of the campaign – Continue, Don’t Quit. I’m only an email away, please do drop in a message if you want to talk to me. For those of you who don’t know what this is about, read about it here. I also want to clarify that there is no eligibility criteria for you to be part of the campaign. Feel free and please do use the Continue, Don’t Quit logo in a blog post or your profiles to let people know you’re willing to help.
Thank you to everyone for reading, and see you soon!