Alternate Vision

Those who live intensely in the present will shape the future. That has been the ubiquituous theme in everything I dedicated myself to over the past year- be it saving up the little that I had, to afford a trip to the ecologically abounding regions of Central America; or a race against all odds and time to write up a statement of purpose for graduate school, which ideally requires limitless thought, foresight and a bit of soul searching; or, the ongoing fight to succeed in graduate school.

Then there's my time in Turkey, which left me constantly grappling with reality to wade past the tumltuous, often incomprehensible day to day challenges in Adana and still give holistic meaning to my three months there. There were times when I wanted nothing to do with sultry Adana, my unpredictable boss and the hell hole of an apartment I lived in. But more often than not, and in retrospect thankfully, the optimist in me surfaced. Each day was a battle. A battle to not wholly submit to the emotional vagaries of the moment and thus loose sight of the ulterior goal of such an immersion experience. One might argue that the three months is nothing in comparison to say a year or two years. I agree, and infact I am confident had I chosen to survive those same conditions for longer I would be a different person today. To date, I have infinite respect for my good Romanian friend Liviu who had survived close to two years under those very circumstances, while living off a meagre salary. When I met him, about a year and a half into his experience, he had already "come of age" and had amassed sufficient wisdom to guide him through it all. There were others who I met who could barely muster enough courage to survive a month of it. In this light, I have infinite respect for individuals who can leave their comfort zone, sans a preconcieved mindset, and set forth on a capricious journey into foreign lands that is guaranteed to change you for life. That to me is the essence of "nomadlife." All in all, my experience in Turkey any day over a khushy job with a renowned corporation anywhere. Certainly, at this age I am best poised to take on the former while the latter could come whenever and I would be ready for it.

Hands down, the most intense experience for me this past year has been keeping my head above water in graduate school. My decision to postpone my entry into the corporate world and instead stay in school has had me quesitioning my rationale and goals from the outset. Having successfully survived what was possibly the hardest semester of my life, I can confidently say I have adapted well to academia, at the graduate level. Infact, I have taken such a liking to it, I am now entertaining the possibility of staying in school a little longer to get the appropriate credentials that I will need to do the work I want to do. What the latter is I will save for a later post.

The next year looks a lot more predictable than did 2005, when it came about. I am not the sort of person to make resolutions or publicly announce my personal goals, especially at the dawn of a brand-spanking-new year. But, out of all that I could wish for in 2006, I have two simple desires. To unearth the beauty of the national parks that this country boasts of and touch foot on atleast two new countries - one of them being Canada.

With that, I wish you a fantastic year ahead and for all you beatnicks, hipsters, travel whores, corporate figureheads, shamans, lovebirds and fools let this be the most intense year you have lived thus far. Shalom.