Aftermath of watching The Journey to AT2UI

Hi All,
I finally watched Superwoman's A Trip to Unicorn Island and it was AMAZINGGG!!!! Lilly is SUCH an amazingly awesome person! I am not the kind of person that gets involved in a movie. I tend to overanalyze each scene, think about what could be going on in the actor's mind, think of what the director might have thought they were trying to convey in the scene etc. But I was completely involved in this. Yes, this isn't a story based movie, it is a real life documentary and this is possibly the reason why I was so involved in it; but still, Lilly's personality is what makes the movie so awesome.
Through the movie she goes through a LOT of harships - she says multiple times that she feels lonely and stressed that she has to bear the whole show/trip's responsibility all on her own; but seeing how people react to her makes it all worth it. This is something that I felt was completely true. It makes me want to do something with so much passion that I'm willing to take on any obstacles that may come in my way. It is so important to have a dream a goal in life.
I've thought about this many times in the past. What is my goal in  life? What is that burning desire that I want to fulfil before I die? I've always loved coding and so I thought I'd make a career in it by doing a degree in Computer Science and aiming to work in the field. I thought my aim or goal was to work as a coder. But this isn't a strong enough goal. Every time I need to study or finish a project, I don't get inspired or motivated to finish it by thinking about my future job at a Tech company. Is it that I have a lame goal?
While watching the movie I realized that making Youtube videos wasn't Lilly's goal. Making people happy was. YouTube was a mere channel for her to achieve that goal. Similarly, what makes me happy is seeing the end result of a project that I'm working on. Building on an idea that I have in my mind and bringing it into a form that others can see and use. Maybe that's what drives people to start their own startups. All success stories involve people having a strong goal in mind and plowing their way to achieve it. Of course, to achieve something great you need to take a risk; sometimes it pays off and other times it doesn't. But, is there no other way to find that kind of happiness? Can you work in a regular 9-5 job and still get that kind of fulfilment in life? I'm not talking about having a hobby that you pursue after work that could bring you pleasure that your work lacks. What I am saying is, can a regular 9-5 job be satisfying? If you are working towards something - a specific well defined target, it is easier to motivate yourself to do that. For example, right now, I need to be studying for a stats exam I have next week, I need to work an a project due in 3 days and apply for jobs.
If I study well and and a good grade on my stats exam, me and my family will be happy - this is my motivation. Is this strong enough to motivate me to actually do it? Sadly not; I've written so many exams in my life unitil now, I've kind of gotten used to the end result.
If I apply for new jobs - I may get an interview call which may (hopefully) result in me getting a job. Is this good enoguh? (It should be considering the fact that I need this job for a lot of very important (top secret) reasons) But, at the end of it, it won't be a job that I'll look forward to every morning.
This brings me back to my initial point. How do I get a job that I will look forward to every morning? Maybe there is a job like that! That could be my goal. To get a job that I will be excited to do each morning. Hm. Rambling on my blog helped me find my goal! Who knew!?
Although I've been having a lot of trouble finding myself A job, from today, I vow to find a job that will make me happy each day. This is a strong enough goal! I already feel energized and motivated! I need to study well, get good grades, apply for a LOT of jobs. It may not be the first job, or second, but finally I want to end up in a job I love and I will work towards it EVERY minute from now. Wow! This was a completely spontaneous post. I haven't posted here in a very long time and I don't think anyone reads thisblog any longer. But if you did, and you reached all the way here, Hey there! I've found my goal. Let me know how your goal-finding is going.
Until next time,
Bye! :D

Simple pleasures

Hello everybody,
Its been a long time since I last posted. I thought I'd write a positive happy post on little everyday things that make me (and I'm pretty sure you too) happy! Here goes:

1) Suddenly waking up from a deep sleep only to realize you have more that half an hour before your alarm goes off.

2) Waking up only to realize today is a holiday 

3) A bright sunny day

4) Fresh blossoms

5) Making the perfect cup of  tea/coffee with just the right proportion of everything.

6) When your hair looks good without you needing to spend 15 minutes on it.


7) Writing the last word on an exam. 

8) Hitting 'Submit' after finishing a long assignment.

9) Talking to a loved one.

10) Meeting an old friend.

11) A basket full of freshly washed clothes.

12) Getting into the shower after a long tiring day (especially in winter).

13) Hitting the bed after a productive day.

14) Being greeted by your over enthusiastic pet the minute you reach home after a long day.

15) Getting a seat on a crowded bus.

16) Three consecutive green signals.

17) Listening to an old favorite song.

18) Plans that work out.

19) When you think you're done with the last piece of chocolate cake only to realize that you still have one more piece left.

20) Receiving a complement

21) Hitting Shift+Del or rm -rf on a completed project folder. 

22) Build successful. 

23) When you fix a bug and your project works.

So these were twenty three random happy thoughts. I hope it made you smile. I'm sure there are innumerable such things. Do let me know things that make you happy! Also, if you are a fellow blogger, it would be cool if you do this as a tag post too!
Until next time,
Bye!:D

Life as an Adult (Part 2)

Hello everybody,
I posted the part 1 of this post a while back and had said that I'd be revisiting this topic. Here is what I've learnt about 'adulting' this year.
The first thing that comes to my mind when I think about growing up and becoming an adult is- Responsibilities. I never truly understood the meaning of responsibilities until now; I'm sure I still barely understand it. Responsibilities are really hard to keep up with and fulfill. There are so many responsibilities and you can't skip any of them. You need to play multiple roles; take care of your money, food, grades, health, relationships, taxes etc. Missing out on any one of these could land you in big trouble. Sometimes you may need to pay attention to all of your responsibilities at the same time. It isn't like school where they distribute work throughout the semester. Although during exams, it feels like you have too much work, it is manageable. But when you are an adult, sometimes, it is impossible to do everything that is to be done; you just have to give up on some things and face the consequences. It is like an unfair game where there is no way to win sometimes. You just take the penalty and continue doing your best. The worst part is there is no fixed duration. If you have a stressful period, but you see an  end to it, you can motivate yourself enough to push through it. But it isn't always that simple. Just after you finish one set of things, you'll have a whole bunch of other things waiting to be finished. You need to make a conscious effort to take a break and let your mind relax too. If you don't do that and overwork yourself, you will be the one to suffer its consequences later. This is what I've learnt about responsibilities now. You'll always have more responsibilities to handle than you can; you just have to prioritize. It will again be you who has to face the consequences of missing a few of your responsibilities. So you just need to decide what consequences you are willing to face and what you aren't.
The next biggest thing about becoming an adult is getting freedom. Freedom to take your own decisions. It isn't all that big a thing. Being given the freedom to take your own decisions comes with its own price. It implies that you are old enough to be trusted not to take foolish decisions. As a kid or a teen, doing what you wanted to do was freedom. Your parents did all the thinking part. You never had to think about the consequences of what you 'wanted' to do. The general idea we have as kids is that parents set constraints on us and when we become adults, those constraints will no longer be there. So we can do what we 'wanted'. Now I feel that this is a big misconception. We had it easier as kids. We could be assured that whatever our parents let us do could not harm us in anyway. Now it is up to us to set those limits. It doesn't mean you don't have constraints. It is only that you willingly set constraints for  yourself. This is actually harder because you need to decide what is good for you and what isn't. This takes a lot of trial and error and you could end up hurting yourself in the process. As a kid, if you really wanted something desperately, you could fight, argue with your parents. If it wasn't a ridiculous demand, there is a very good chance that your parents would've found a way to let you have it. As an adult, if you really want something, but can't make it happen, you just accept it and move on. Situations act as constraints; you won't have a person to direct your frustration towards. Also, as a kid if you weren't allowed to do something you really wanted to, and if you cooperated, you'd usually be rewarded for it. Now, it is just the expected behavior. You won't have anyone give you a pat on your back or feel sorry for you.
A 3 year old would jump on furniture without hesitation. A ten year old would be much more restrained. Not because the 10 year old thinks that jumping on the sofa isn't fun. It is only because the ten year old probably fell a few times doing it and knows the risks involved. It is just the same growing up. You do get freedom; freedom to set constraints for yourself.
Adult life is pretty tough and boring. I'm sure I'll get better at it as I gain experience and I'll start to find ways to have fun along the way. But for now, this is all that I have to say on this topic.
Do let me know your views and opinions on this topic in the disqus section. I'd love to know what you think!
Until next time,
Bye! :D

The universe, end of life on Earth and other things that are beyond my comprehension!

Hello everybody,
I hope you're having/had a nice day. My topic of discussion today is so vast, I could not even find a suitable title for it. Prof. Stephen Hawking recently made the following statement about the future of life on earth:

Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next thousand or ten thousand years.

What!? We can be "nearly certain" that there will be no life on earth in ten thousand years? We have recorded history about what happened 10,000 years before today. 10,000 years in the future, there is a possibility that there may exist no one to read about even the greatest achievement of mankind that we've witnessed in our lifetimes. What is the meaning of all our achievements? People strive all their lives to accomplish something that they'll be remembered for even after they die. There is an expiry date for that too! 10,000 years. Coming to think of it, we have no idea about the genius who invented fire, the wheel etc. it really does not matter whether you accomplish something or not. You maybe the most influential person in the world today. 10,000 years from now, you and everyone who thought you were influential and everyone who knew them will be dead. Some people say, we leave our work behind after we die. True to some extent. We still use fire, the wheel etc. but 10,000 years from now, no one will even use our inventions! Doesn't life seem pointless if we think about  10,000 year goals?

My next question is - Is life really that rare? There are 9 (or 8) planets and at least 168 "full size" moons in our solar system. There are about 300 billion stars in our very own galaxy. A best estimate of number of galaxies in our observable universe is 100 billion! Each of these 100 billion galaxies have at least a hundred billion stars and each of these stars have planets, moons etc. And all this is just the observable part of the universe. We have no idea what exists beyond! They are so far away, light from regions beyond hasn't reached earth yet! What is the probability that no other forms of life exists anywhere else in this massive universe? There could be life forms that live in space, on stars, on moons! And there is the question about quasars and blackholes that lie within this observable universe but are on the boundaries of human comprehension! Prof. Stephen Hawking recently also mentioned that black holes are not "eternal prisons" that we thought they were; things can get out of them maybe to another dimension! Another dimension!? These are things that science fiction is made of! We have so little knowledge about this dimension, there could exist other dimensions!? Mind boggling! We think humans are a successful race, we've achieved so much etc. It is impossible for a single person to know everything that every other human knows and yet, the entire human race collectively knows so little about the universe. We know so little about what we don't know about the universe. Hence we call it the "observable universe" Because there exist things that we don't know that we don't know about! (I know, I'm starting to get confused myself! but that last sentence does make sense)  

There is so much variety in lifeforms on earth. From the single celled amoebae and paramecium to humans to blue whales, there exist so many differences. And we all have essentially the same environment. The same amount of heat (distance from the sun (the same sun)), the same atmosphere, chemical composition etc. Imagine what kinds of life forms could exist elsewhere in the universe! Unimaginable. What is even the definition of "intelligence"? We humans have reached some sort of an agreement about its definition. But even here on earth, the word intelligence makes sense only to humans. Other creatures may or may not consider us to be intelligent. We think we are hundreds of times cleverer than our pets, but if they thought so, they would probably have had all sorts of complexes! Now imagine what other lifeforms from other parts of the universe could think about intelligence? Is there even a thing such as intelligence? 

I need to stop here. My brain is starting to hurt. Now I need  to resume with my normal life and convince myself that it is very important for me to go to a class and listen to another human talk about yet another human's work. How interesting! 

Until next time,

Bye! :D