What I learnt in 2018 (+video)

January 2018

I learnt that some lame NYE traditions aren’t actually all that lame?
I still prefer drinking Shloer instead of wine
and sitting on the sofa
doing nothing
eating pizza
with my parents
doing nothing but
watching the BBC fireworks with my parents instead of actually going out and doing fireworks.

February 2018

I learnt that Valentine’s Day is still just as
weird and
capitalist
of a construct after you’ve been dating someone for a few years.
But I did learn
the rhythm of our bodies,
the freshness,
sweetness
and sweaty smell of his skin,
its warmth,
its inviting company

and also the difference between a bruise and a hickey.

March 2018

I learnt that Stephen Hawking died.

May he rest in peace among the stars,
alongside my godfather.

Two great men together can create
new super-novas,
and I’m sure I saw them winking at each other when
those two stars twinkled just now.

April 2018

I learnt that one of my flatmates made living in uni halls
so much better.
And also that living in uni halls are shit.

It’s 4am.
I’m sat on the windowsill,
looking outside and see the
paper-doll cut outs
of the buildings surrounding us.

It feels like jail.
I go back to my room, curl into a ball and
cry.

May 2018 

It’s exam season! So, I learn more Hindi words than I ever knew I could cram into my brain before
and fall back in love with my
step-mother tongue.
I also learnt that my mum knows less ‘proper’ Hindi than me
and also got
4/100
on her Hindi exam
which makes me feel a lot better when I get
82.

June 2018

I learnt that birthdays are best spent not stuck in Mumbai traffic,
cos it sucks.

But that I also feel sexier dancing to
Bollywood songs that objectify women rather than               Hollywood songs that objectify women

Go figure?

July 2018

But I also learnt that birthdays are sometimes best spent with 2, not 20.

August 2018

I learnt that summertime can be sad.
I learnt the exact route to the hospital room where my grandma was staying,
memorised the exact number of plugs above her bed [4]
and exactly how much a midnight Subway cost [£3.59].

I learnt about Hindu funeral rites,
again.

But I also learnt too late
that I loved my grandma,
but not the step-father tongue to say it in,
in time.

But I also learnt that peace and rest,
is sometimes better than life.

September 2018

I learnt that some birthdays are better spent with 20 when there is only 1.

October 2018

It’s Halloween! So, I learn how to shapeshift, transform into 3 terrifying creatures:

1. A vampire
2. A zombie
3. …half an Oreo!

As part of a couple’s costume with my boyfriend.

November 2018

I learnt that my housemates are amazing. And I love them very much.
We celebrate one of their 21^st birthdays,
and for once I am
simply
genuinely
happy.

Until my wallet is stolen when coming home for Diwali.
I learnt that trying to get all your cards back is right nuisance.

December 2018

I learnt that friends are not always the comforting ocean breeze coming to meet you at the shoreline,
after a long, hard storm.

Rather, I learnt that they are not metaphors at all.
Like
my sister.

She is more than who I thought she was
I am more than who she thought I was
And 2018 is more than what I thought it was.

It’s not just time.
It’s memories.
It is friends, despite the storm.
It is love.

And isn’t that a great metaphor to start 2019 with?