Some Thoughts on Airports.

 

Let’s talk about airports today.

Airports. Grounded gateways to aerial escapes to a different world. A new city, a new country, a new continent. Ah, how I love them.

In my lifetime, I have taken a decent number of flights. In the last year though, I have racked up some crazy flying miles, what with my vacation across Europe and flying to and fro between home and university. All this flying has meant I have spent a rather significant amount of time at airports too. Hence, this post dedicated to airports, paying a homage to the unsung holder of all things duty-free.

The thing about airports is, they’re essentially a test of a person’s patience. A lot of the time spent there is in wait. Waiting for check-in, waiting for security, waiting for your mom to buy the entire batch of duty-free candy or waiting for boarding. The human mind does not bode well for waiting and when in wait, it wanders. All this wandering has led to a lot of thinking and a lot of thoughts many of which I wrote in the notes app on my phone and I’ll try to consolidate in this post.

Airports hold so many people. People from different walks of life with different goals, ambitions, dreams. It amazes me to no end when I stand to wait and look around to see all the people who have a different story yet at this epoch they all intersect, right here at this airport. Perhaps, someone is going home or going away from home. Maybe, there’s a new baby in the family. Maybe, god forbid, there’s a loss. Maybe, they’re going to their dream job, maybe they just missed out on it. The possibilities are endless and I cannot even begin to wrap my mind around the extent of these.

One thing I have also always noticed about airports is that time is seemingly not a construct in there. Any notion of day and night is only expressed through a peak outside. Inside, its always moving, never stopping. Airports are the land where time stops or rather, becomes irrelevant because there are people taking a flight to somewhere or from somewhere at just about all times and airports are always full. This led me to the very serious realization that an empty airport with no movement and no hint of day or night makes a fabulous setup for a dystopia or post-apocalyptic novel. Huh, maybe, I’ll write that, someday.

In all the airports I’ve been to, I’ve always seen a tiny glimpse into the culture of the city or country. All airports show little pieces of the personality of the place they are in. Be it the futuristic installations at Changi Aiport, Singapore or the grandeur of the airport at Dubai or even the wonderful food at the airport in Rome, it’s a little slice of what the country or city has to offer. Taking the phrase, “First Impressions are the last impressions” to heart, more often than not, most places put their best foot forward in the airport and thus, exploring an airport will almost always show you the best of what the place holds.

 

Airports are thus, apart from housing great candy and the best books, a building full of many many human emotions. There’s hope, there’s nostalgia, there’s joy, there’s sadness, there’s dread, there’s anticipation, there’s wonder, there’s  marvel. And for me, right there, wedged in with all the billion emotions, it’s almost like, there’s home.

THIS POST’S QUESTION: What are some of your airport thoughts? Comment below with what you think about it,I’d love to hear from you!

 

The Sad Truth About Going To Disneyland As An Adult.

Let’s talk about going to Disneyland as an adult and why that’s sad.

I went to Disneyland(Any Disneyland that is) for the first time on 4th June 2017 at the age of 18 years,2 months and 24 days. The one we went to was Disneyland Paris, the day was an unfortunate long weekend Sunday. I went on 5-6 rides in 10ish hours, saw the evening parade and 3 shows. It was disappointing.There, I said it.

So, now that you have your pitchforks out and mouse ears on ready to attack me, let me finish with my explanation of as to why. If after that, you still feel compelled to chase me around with digital pitchforks you’re more than welcome to do so. So let’s get on with it, shall we?

Now, shocking as I bet it is for some of you, I never went to a Disneyland before I was an adult. (Yes, some countries don’t have their own Disneyland, imagine that!) I had gone to a theme park before,i.e. Universal Studios, Singapore and had the best time ever. We all had fast passes and Universal was such a breeze that I had higher expectations for Disneyland simply because it’s Disneyland. It’s the OG theme park! It’s where wishes come true. C’mon.

Instead, I found huge crowds and desperately long lines and  rides I really looked forward to and waited an hour for shutting in front of my eyes as I finally reached the front of the line. It had been my childhood dream to go to a Disneyland. I wanted to feel the Disney magic and carry some pixie dust back with me to soar and fly in the world of my imagination. Instead, I was exhausted from waiting in line, went to barely any rides, had to stand on my toes to watch the shows, was jostled in the crowds and was melting in the sun. Of course, I was disappointed. Wouldn’t you be?

Now, I’ll state factors that I concurred led to this letdown. First off, it was a Sunday. Secondly, it was a long weekend. Thirdly, we did not have fast passes. Fourth, it was a hot day for Paris. Three of these were in my hand. I give you that. I will still feel disappointed because this was a childhood dream and I refuse to be fully logical here. Call me stubborn or call me a child.(How I wish for the latter!) The bottom line is, right now between Disney and Universal Studios, I choose Universal because me, the young adult , enjoyed Universal much much more.

Now, to clarify, I did not think Disney was horrible nor have I written it off for life. The magic in that place is so strong, it doesn’t die out this easy. It only diminishes with the number of people entering the park and the intensity with which the sun beats down on our heads. I liked the rides I went on. I liked the shows. I really really loved the parade. I also realised that I would have loved all the things so much more as a child. It was almost sad, realising I was too old to love things I would’ve once loved so much.

I would, for sure, come back to Disney, for a better, more magical experience. We all chase magic, I’m no exception. I feel sad merely because my first experience, my mythical changing is tainted by adult things like crowds and waiting too long for human beings to wait. It’s also the loss of my childhood innocence, of being able to see too far, not feeling wonder or curiosity as powerfully, knowing too much and losing sight of the magic that everything holds. That’s all.  Are your mouse ears still on? Can I put mine on too, to match?

I found this picture on Pinterest but couldn’t track the owner of the picture. Let me know if you know who it is.

THIS POST’S QUESTION: Have you ever been to Disneyland? How was your first Disneyland experience as an adult or otherwise? Comment below with what you think about it,I’d love to hear from you!

Half Yearly Bullet Journal Update.

Let’s talk about Bullet Journaling and how my Bullet Journal looks, halfway through the year.

Hi everyone! If you’ve been around a little bit, you might be aware that this year I kept a Bullet Journal. If not, well, now you know! ( Have a look here for more on the thought process behind it.) I’ve made a few Bullet Journaling related posts since I started and have tried to take you along on this journey. So, here’s another one, to keep you in the loop as to how things are looking.

Now that that’s cleared up, getting back to the topic, this is the Half Yearly BuJo Update. How its going, what I like, what I dont like, how it looks, all that jazz. Yes, shockingly we are halfway through the year of 2018 already. It makes me uncomfortable too. Just a heads up, I’m going to try my best to be super honest because I’m not an artistic person and so my Bullet Journal is not something that is easy peas lemon squeezy for me. We’ll go covering all the little aspects of the Journal and I’ll try to update you on each of them.

The Year In Pixels

So, my year in pixels is pretty red, because life is usually just okay and that’s okay. I like the Year in Pixels because that way you can look back and see good days, bad days, okay days, amazing days. Its a great jog down the memory lane but I admit that it’s not much of a help as an organisational activity. Its a hassle to keep up with too. I have had days where I forgot to colour in on that very day and did it the next day instead. Would I like to have it in my future Bullet Journals? No, I don’t think so. It makes for a nice memory box but with the compulsive picture taking habits I have, I pack them in just fine. It’s still a fun way to look at your entire year and how it went.

Book/Movie/T.V Show Tracker

The first thing you might have noticed is that there is no picture of a book tracker at all. That is because, as I shamefully admit, I haven’t got through an entire book this year yet. Blame it on long or boring books if you will, but the truth is, at one point in time I could get through 4 books a month easily and I have lost my momentum completely. It’s very sad and I will make a blog post about it soon because I NEED to fix this and that empty book tracker woefully reminds me of this tragedy every day. Movies, I watched many. I’m happy with the number. T.V. Shows, I didn’t do so well with but that’s because I keep binge-ing things I’ve already seen. I blame me. Are these trackers fun? Yeah, absolutely. These help me keep up with my goals for the year so if I have similar goals the next year I would continue having these trackers.

Monthly Spreads

I do monthly spread a tad differently because for me the idea was tracking my progress over the month and things I do. I have the name of the month, a quote I liked that month, a little “Hello” to the month with the significance behind the name of the month and an explanation for it all on the left page. On the right, I have a “Firsts” box to write whatever new thing I did that month and little boxes for updates on various other things like the blog or my end terms. I like doing monthly spreads a lot, though being artistically challenged makes it a little bit frustrating many times. Or, not having done much to document over the month, not all months are that productive!

Exam Schedules

An exam favourite! I draw out my midterm and endterm schedules as soon as I get them in the journal and the happiness that ticking the boxes next to the exams gives me is unreal. It helps me see how many are left, times, dates and is just a great planning and motivation tool during dreary exam days. I would definitely keep these in future Bullet Journals.

Birthday Pages

I loved doing these too! It is a great thing to look back on and a practice I plan to continue, a little letter to self every year with goals for the next year, praise for the progress and acceptance of the shortcomings of the past year. I talk about these in depth in this post.

Half Yearly Goal Update

I made this little goal progress check for myself writing down the exact goals I wrote at the beginning of my journal for the year and how the realisation of those goals is coming along.  It made me realise what I needed to work harder towards, reaffirmed my goals for the year and was a great reality check. I would definitely do this again as I found it quite useful and informative.

Quote Pages

I make quote pages like this one when I am free and have another quote that really inspires me that month. I am someone who is very moved by words and for me and my abysmal lettering skills, this is also great lettering practice. I like doing these because its entirely up to me if i want to do one and the flexibility is relaxing.

And that’s all for the half-yearly Bullet Journal update! I hope it was helpful and I was able to keep it real. I really tried. Have a good next half of the year!

THIS POST’S QUESTION: How did your first half of the year go? What are your hopes for the second half? Comment below with what you think about it,I’d love to hear from you!

Millennial or Gen Z?: The Turn Of Century Dilemma.

Let’s talk about some actual, very real concerns today.

Hello readers, welcome. Today I have a very pressing concern to discuss with you. This dilemma affects millions, maybe even a billion(that is 1/7th of all of us!) people worldwide yet, not one person realises the gravity of the situation.

Let me start by telling you a little something about myself. I am 19 years old. If your math is any good, you can figure out that this makes my year of birth 1999, the last year of the previous century, the one right before we stepped into the technological haven that is the 21st century.

Now, why is that information relevant, you ask? It is relevant because the issue we have to talk about today deals with one of the many gifts that my year of birth gave me. With the possible chance of being one of the last people of the previous century alive comes the existential dilemma: Am I Millennial or am I Gen Z?

From libertywingspan.com

This labelling of generations started with the Baby Boomers, born roughly between the 40s and the 60s. Then came Gen X born between the 60s and 80s. Then came the Millenials, born somewhere in the 80s and 90s. Then, came the current breed of humans, the Gen Z born 2000 onwards.

 

Generational Gears from awakeat2oclock.com

 

Now, as someone born in the middle of two labels, at the very cusp of two differing demographic conformations, am I Millennial or Gen Z? Should I feel attacked when the media criticizes the advent of avocado toast or challenges like the Tide Pod Challenge? Should I feel the urge to dab at every success or should I throw about high fives? Should I call Britney Spears the greatest artist of my generation or is it Shawn Mendes for me? There are so many very important questions but no one who’s giving the answers!

Now, before you go blaming me for only complaining I’ll present my defence. Since no one was giving the answers I tried to find them myself. I did what came to mind first. I decided to read up some posts on Millennial and Gen Z nostalgia(Okay, to be fair, Gen Z is hardly nostalgic yet. I’ll give you that. But you get my point.) I related to some of both and was entirely clueless about some aspects. I did not grow up on smartphones, though the basic cell phone was around post my toddlerhood. But, I also did not really marvel at computers, they were around and I saw them develop further. I also didn’t understand half the things mentioned in either. Why are fidget spinners such a big deal and what is a squeeze water snake?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Now more confused than when I started, I decided to use the sharpest arrow in my quiver full of answers; I decided to take an online quiz.  I decided to take 3 Millennial or Gen Z quizzes so we would have 1 definite winner. The results were:

Quiz A: Millennial for life!

Quiz B: Gen Z for the win!

Quiz C: You’re both Millennial and Gen Z and you have the best of both worlds!

The best of both worlds? You were supposed to solve it,once and for all! Why are you telling me stuff  I already know,Quiz C? The whole point of quizzes is to find something new and important about yourself like what kind of bread you are or your Hogwarts House. After Quiz C, I swore off of quizzes and proclaimed them useless, until that night when I needed to know what Dessert defined me. (It’s Tiramisu.)

Now deeper into the identity crisis chasm with no ropes pulling me out, I decided to turn to the good ole problem-solving method that is; thinking. I decided to give this deep thought. Who do I identify with? Who am I? (I am sad to report no Hogwarts letters or people whisking me away to a different fantasy world dropped by during all this thinking. It was disappointing as I was really hoping my quest to find my generational identity would lead me away from this mundane, boring life.)

Who am I if my childhood was when Disney was in its prime and cartoons were good? Who am I if my childhood had flip phones and Blackberry handsets? Who am I if I *whispers*  like avocado and think fidget spinners are amusing? Who am I if I don’t understand Musical.ly yet also feel like Facebook is becoming redundant by the day? Who am I? 

 

Dramatic necessary existential crisis picture from lovethispic.com

 

Lastly, with no answer, I turn to my last choice and hope. I put the pen to paper (Or, my fingers to a keyboard) and present my problem to you, looking for an answer from you the reader and the whole wide Internet because the Internet is never wrong.

So, I present you with this post’s question.

THIS POST’S QUESTION: Am I Millennial or am I Gen Z? Comment below with what you think about it,I’d love to hear from you!

A Surprise Can Make All The Difference.

Let’s talk about the magic of surprises today.

For part 1 of this post where I talk about my personal motto this birthday on, click here.

Now I write continued from here on 11th March 2018. So much has happened over the last 24 hours. My birthday turned out to be so much more fun and so much more exciting than I could have ever anticipated. I’ll start from where most good things start, at the very beginning.

Last you saw me, I was answering birthday messages and calls and writing to you, at night, alone in my dorm room. In the next hour or so, I fell asleep, woke up the next morning and got dressed in the birthday outfit my mother especially bought me. Then I headed out to lunch at a gorgeous cafe with amazing food that I’ve always loved called, ” The Big Chill” with my college friends. Lunch was delicious and we got some good pictures out of it. (And that is Millenial/Gen X speak for: A successful day out)

Post lunch, I grabbed a cab to my aunt’s nearby. I visit her, mandatory birthday exchanges are made and I settle in and make my Polaroid Camera functional( A.K.A insert new batteries and film) because I wanted to take pictures for the rest of the day. At this point, I was already missing my family horribly despite having video-called them thrice already and was on the verge of crying. Then, my aunt hands me a letter(Yes, the handwritten deal) that came to me, from my best friend back home!

And man oh man, did that let the floodgates lose. It was a beautiful letter that I’ll not quote because it is especially private and special and something I hold sacred. Just know that I cried at my first birthday present this year, a physical letter!

Next, I notice my aunt and uncle trying to repeatedly get me to open the door and I felt a little absurd but I dismissed it. That is UNTIL, I opened the door to find none other than my father, one of my favourite people in the world, standing outside in flesh and blood, smiling and with a ginormous bouquet in hand who seemed to have flown in for my birthday.

The gorgeous bouquet

I was in shock and I opened the door and hugged him and cried( I do that a lot here its seems, my younger self that never understood my mother’s tears that could fall at anything is scoffing horribly.) He came in and handed me the flowers, one adorable and extremely heartfelt card from my little sister(Which also made me bawl) and a bag full of handmade gifts, my mother had personally made for me and sent. I opened the bag to find: three pieces of personalised framed art and four personalised double-sided bookmarks! (And, then my aunt also handed me a birthday gift, a pretty handbag, so yay gifts!)

My parents despite being halfway across the country had managed to give me the yearly birthday surprise and make my birthday the most special day for me! All the gifts made my day, my father physically being here made my year and on top of that the really scrumptious birthday dinner I had with my dad, aunt, uncle and cousin at the gorgeous restaurant made my month, to say the least!

Then, we cut my very tasty and very pretty cake in a hospital with my other uncle and aunt, who was admitted to the hospital for some tests at 11:23 P.M., 5 hours after I was exactly 19 years old.

And with that, I was 19.

THIS POST’S QUESTION: Did you ever get a surprise on your birthday or even on a regular day that turned your whole day around,for the better ?Comment below with what you think about it, I can’t wait to hear from you!

My Year To Be Bold.

Let’s talk about birthdays and growing up today.

Hi everyone, it’s been a while! In the meantime, I’ve been swimming quite deep in the waters of a busy college life and life, in general. I’ve missed this place and its people a lot and have so many blog post ideas just waiting to be written sitting in my phone’s notes app.

So, why one today? Why not one of those prompts just waiting to grow and blossom into a blog post? Why this conversation of a post rather than an idea? What’s so special about today?

Well, I write this to you at 1 AM on March 10,2018 and also my 19th birthday as I receive calls and messages that congratulate me for something I have no control over. (A.K.A Existing, growing older.)Last year of my teenage and a little bit more adult than I’m used to. Should exciting, nerve-wracking and feel really good, right ?

Except it doesn’t? It’s my first birthday ever away from my family and also simultaneously my first proper adult birthday, first birthday completely alone(I’m sitting alone in my dorm room typing this) and first birthday in University. Phew, that’s a lot of firsts.

A drawing I found on Pinterest that is a pretty accurate description of me typing this to you. The artist has really beautiful art and their link is mentioned as a watermark in the photo.

I am not excited? I am happy because you always get extra love and attention on your birthday, I’m definitely scared to my wit’s end about being a grownup but the waves of excitement that hit me from the fortnight before my birthday was conspicuously missing this year. Even the surprise cake cutting(Thanks to the lovely circle my family has here!) I had today with my College Dance Crew( That I’m a part of, yes!) didn’t trigger them.Even on my birthday, right now I’m more like yes, its my birthday, no big deal, everyone has one of those which is obviously, a tad depressing a place to be in.

The beautiful pre-birthday cake that was cut with my Dance-Crew.

I like to think this is what growing up feels like and man, I didn’t think I’d be a grownup so fast but apparently one year in college living alone can really do the trick. I’m not sad about it but I really miss that pure, undulating joy I felt every year?I feel like somewhere down the line I lost my innocence and I am not sure if I’m perfectly alright with that?

I believe some of it could also stem from the fact that my parents have always made my birthday’s very very special, despite the fact that it fell during exams for 6 years out of 19. It has to be a factor.

In my Bullet Journal, to commemorate my birthday I have done a series of pages.One of which is a quote that says,” This is my year to be bold.” Which is a personal motto of sorts, for the year that is coming? I take 2018 as my year to take risks, to be brave and to be strong in the face of whatever life throws at me.

Alongside, I’ve written a letter to self of sorts titled,” To Me on my Birthday” and I’ll transcribe it here, for the sake of having a digital copy and to share it with everyone because 2017 was a monumental year and this letter is a series of things I learnt over the year which have made me a better person yet the reminder wouldn’t hurt anyone.

This was a major year for you. Milestone-ly, life situation-ly or otherwise.This year you’ve found strength in the face of adversity, resilience in the face of failure, optimism in the face of dejection and most importantly, your dignity while swimming in the pools of dangerously low self-esteem. In your first year as an adult, you’ve done many ‘adult’ things and have grown several years over the span of 365 days. You’ve gained maturity, insight and pride in who you are. You’ve made so much personal progress this year and today is just the right occasion to commemorate it with pride.So, be proud of who you are and who you will be because it’s always going to be one step(Or in 2017’s case one step on the Moon-sized step) ahead of who you were.This year will be yours to claim, to grow, to live and to live boldly.Happy Birthday. Let’s do it the 19th time.

(Part 2 of this post where I talk about what actually went down on my birthday,a riveting tale with many twists and turns is right here)

THIS POST’S QUESTION: What would be/was your personal motto for the coming year on your birthday? Comment below with what you think about it,I’d love to hear from you!

Lost.

Hello everyone!
My little sister started a blog,you guys! At 13! That’s tiny! And she wrote this for me and I don’t know how else to appreciate it other than make everyone read it so please go show her some love! Like,comment,share,follow,she’s little and it will go a long way to make her feel validated! Thank you so much ❤️

Locutions of a divergent soul.

And I was lost.

Lost because I was without you.

Lost with our memories.

Waiting until next time. The next time you come over.

Because you leaving,was the worst feeling .The worst thing that could ever happen to me. Staying away from you seems like a nightmare.

I don’t know who I am anymore. I am lost.

Without you here, I have been feeling so alone. Nothing feels like home anymore.

Your pictures and our video calls help me go through each day that  I have to spend wothout you.

The thought of meeting you in a few days, helps me go through today, and each day that I have to spend without you by my side.

I feel empty. I feel like one part of me is gone. Gone thousands of miles away. With you. Because you are the best part of me.

I miss you.

And trust me, it…

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Blog Changes And More!

Let’s talk about changes around the blog, new things and a makeover of sorts of the blog.

Hello, everyone! I’m back after oh so long. I’m so sorry for my extremely long absence and believe me, is I was the saddest to be away.I’m unfortunately still stuck in the never-ending cycle that is my exams but I’m done with most of them which is obviously such an exciting prospect!

In the time in which I was M.I.A., my blog completed a year which makes me SO happy.I started this blog in February 2016, a nearly 17-year-old who started writing because she loved expressing herself and found this blog to be the right place for all she had to say. Even though it has just been a year, so much has changed.I’m due to start college in a few months, have become an adult and in the most basic terms, have changed drastically as a person.

This change is what has motivated my ideas for ‘remaking’ the blog. I consider my blog a representation of myself and with the increase in the time available to me, I would love to work harder on the blog and make it more personal, because it makes me so happy to just write on here and interact with the wonderfully uplifting community we have here.

For the blog I had a few basic ideas that I’ll enlist here.But if you pay a little extra attention you might notice little changes here and there, over the next few months.So, keep a look out for those and maybe tell me you see them in the comments! *wink, wink*

• The first basic idea is to Challenge Myself More, to produce better content, take better pictures, have better ideas, be more creative and write more and more.
  

  

  Source: http://www.picturequotes.com

• To Enhance The Communication Process we have here.I consider you all my friends and I know it is reciprocated in the love the blogging community has shown me.
• To Post More and to Be Regular. Setting up a regular posting schedule gradually as my exams end.

Now, of course, I wouldn’t change everything.I haven’t changed entirely. There are some aspects that’ll stick around and if you will consider this a Musings Of A Whimsical Soul version 2.0.Now, while these are not all the changes I’m introducing during this ‘makeover’ as it a is a gradual process and I will include ideas as they come. For all intents and purposes, and as of right now, around these are the few changes that I’m introducing this time around.

• Having Guest Bloggers! I would love to have a guest blogger every month just so we can have more variety in content and support one another in this community that has been so supportive of me! You can apply to write by clicking here. 
• There will be More Variety in content and there will be more things the blog will have to offer.There will be more content on books, movies, T.V. Shows and maybe even some D.I.Y aside from the usual travel, life, passions and soul-searching posts.
• Setting up Social Media Accounts! I have made an Instagram account already which you can see here. (@musingsofawhimsicalsoul) I plan on making it an extension of my blog and connect much more with all of you.I’ll share instant travel updates, blog updates and what I’m up to.I will soon set up other such accounts through other social media accounts but Instagram is a start and those are always great!                                                    
• A blog specific Email! I have set up an email I.D. for the blog a while back that I’ll be checking more often now, so if you want to talk, hit me up.The email is : musingsofawhimsicalsoul@gmail.com

In conclusion, I’d like to thank you so so much for sticking around and not giving up on me! I’m very excited for what is to come and hope you find these changes and fulfilling the reasons behind their creation.Please drop any suggestions you have for me in the comments, those are massively appreciated especially now when I’m shuffling things around here.Lastly, I promise to work hard, so strap on your seat belts and here we go!

THIS POST’S QUESTION: What do you think about these changes? Comment below with what you think about it,I’d love to hear from you!