Young poet and writer, Samrudhi shares her journey in the year 2017, with the challenges in the coming year. Here’s her account, as a Special Report, exclusively for Different Truths.

2017 is almost about to depart and with the chiming of the church bells, the spirit of Christmas in the air, 2018 is just round the corner. Though I wouldn’t say 2017 was one of my better years, it seems, the end of this year shall mark the end of an era of a life of twenty-six and a half. In a way, it’s been a palatable mix of many multifarious experiences and as usual, the journey of life is never easy for an ardent survivor, fighting all battles, the hopes of reaching the zenith.

To begin with, the first week of 2017 was probably the worst – a time when I was betrayed by my best friend of eight long years following which my family too hurled many accuses at me, though I was nowhere to be blamed in reality. But I should agree, this experience was an enlightening one, as it made me aware of the many masks people are clad in, to remain acceptable in the folds of civilization. Following this incident which left me mentally and emotionally shattered, I took the first step towards accepting myself and living life on my own terms. And this bitter experience made me understand
the basics of a happy life – self-acceptance and forgiveness.

I didn’t achieve much on the Academic front, to be honest as I am still preparing for the Indian Civil Services. But in the field of my passion, which is basically writing, I scaled new heights. In June 2017, my debut novel “Beyond the Horizon” was launched by AuthorsPress and it received good feedback. My emotional anguish found vent in my writing and post the launch of my first novel and fifth book, I was initiated into the family of Different Truths, an online journalism platform heard across over 181
countries. Writing for the global webzine is an invaluable experience. It has been an eye-opener.

The lure of the quill is intoxicating and my poems received national and international acclaim and were published in two anthologies and on spillwords.com Writing was what kept me alive and going despite the odds and in July, I started writing my second novel “Reminiscences By the Girl Who Lived” which was also launched by AuthorsPress, New Delhi on 16^th December 2017. So yeah, towards the culmination of 2017, I found myself somewhere at least.

I joined other online Facebook poetry groups like The Significant League and Poets, Artists, Unplugged and Poetry of Moon and in the process made many new friends, people much older to me, but people who understood me quite well and made life so much better and easier. And my journey of writing has made me come to terms with myself and with life as well.

A feminist at heart, 2017 has taught me a lot about life and now, after everything I have been through in the last one year, I trust I have become much more understanding and empathetic. What I believe is, we all are fighting equally tough battles of our own and that makes many of us bitter towards life. But I trust, if we become a little empathetic towards others, life would become so much simpler and happier. And after all, one day each one of us shall have to depart and all we shall leave behind the memories we have
made in this lifetime. And in the end, that’s all that matters the most.

Coming to 2018, I trust, hope and believe that the year ahead is going to be a great one as now I am much more mature about life and about ways of dealing with the world. I have tried and somewhat succeeded in maintaining a balance between passion and ambition and am working towards my career goals too. My fifth poetry collection is almost ready and shall be launched in the first half of the New Year. I now have really good friends and a wonderful family of friends united through poetry, which makes
Delhi feels so much like home now. On 12^th of May 2018, I shall be blowing the candles to 27 and hope are blooming in the air.

Life is a journey and not a destination. To quote Friedrich Nietzsche, “To live is to suffer. To survive is to find meaning in the suffering”. So, this journey of life shall continue with the undaunted spirit of survival and I shall carry my scars as silent talismans of my struggles for survival, for this is my journey alone, and I have vowed to reach the zenith, someday soon.

My message for everyone out there who is reading this is – live life king size, live every moment to the fullest, forgive and accept yourself first and then forgive others too. No matter how old or young you are, the very fact that you have come this far means that you are a survivor. You were born with a purpose and in this journey of life, through the myriad alleyways of wanderlust, you shall find your purpose too. Just keep going… Hope, live, believe!

There are four things in this world that will change your life. Love, Music, Art, and Loss. The first three will keep you wild and full of passion. May you allow the last to make you brave.

Wishing you a Happy New Year,

©Samrudhi Dash

Photos from the Internet

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Samrudhi Dash

Samrudhi Dash, hailing from Odisha, is a twenty-six year old writer, with a Masters Degree in English Literature from JNU, New Delhi. Her published works include four poetry anthologies, and her debut novel “Beyond the Horizon” (2017), by AuthorsPress, New Delhi. She has contributed poems and articles in many journals and anthologies of international repute. She believes in a life by design and an equalitarian world order where men and women have a balanced status.

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