Living in the now

Hello everybody,
I hope each one of you is having a great day. Today I decided to do a post on a new life policy or way of life that I've been following for a while now. It wasn't really a conscious or well-thought decision; I just decided to think about everyday life differently. I've always been averse to change. I enjoy small changes in routine; but only if I know that things will be back to normal after a while. However, I find major changes scary. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've decided to pursue my Master's degree abroad. Living in a whole new country, all by myself! I can't imagine a bigger change than this. I live in a big city, with a lot of good colleges; so I easily completed my undergraduate course staying at home. But now, since I've decided to pursue my Master's degree abroad, I most probably would take up employment (after I finish the course) in the same country (because of better career prospects). This means, these few months before I leave for college are my last few months at home! I will have to leave behind everything that I've EVER known from the time I was born! Thanks to technology, I most probably will be able to keep in touch with people here. But my little Tee (my pet cocker spaniel)... I would miss him terribly. Being the quiet person that I am, I was also quite apprehensive about having to talk to new people, having to make new friends etc.
For these reasons, I had started to dread the future. I was gloomy and irritated most of the time. Most people in my situation would have been excited for their future and there I was pretending like something terrible was about to happen to me. So, one day I decided to change my attitude and that was when I started to follow this new policy: living in the present. I know that sounds silly; but it really helps. I realized that I was wasting the time I have by thinking about what may or may not happen. When you think about life that way, it reduces a whole lot of stress! I don't mean to say that I won't plan for the future or work towards having future success. I really don't know what the future holds. There's no point in thinking about things that may never happen.
From the time that I've started to follow this policy, I've been happy! I love my work, I'm happy that I earn (until my internship ends at least), I'm happy about the time that I get to spend with my family. And who knows, if I keep following this policy, I probably will be happy when I move abroad too! I would concentrate on my college work, and not think about my life here. The trick is to live in the present and not worry excessively about the future or brood over the past. Like Oogway says, 'Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the "present."'
Do let me know in the comments about your views on this topic.
Until next time,
Bye! :D
P.S This life policy (I don't know if that's what its called) would completely fail during rough patches of life. During that time, having faith in the future and hoping for a better tomorrow would make more sense.

The start of life as an adult

Turning 21 can be both exciting and scary at the same time. Adulthood brings with it both freedom and responsibility. As a kid, I used to think that becoming an adult was the best thing that could happen to anyone. Adults could do whatever they wanted, no one would scold them, they didn't have to go to school, do homework, write exams... how much cooler can life be?
 But now that I am an adult, I am starting to see the darker side of being grown up. I'm not saying that I don't want to be an adult... just that its not all that I had expected it to be. As kids, we don't have to think much about how any of our actions would effect our future (unless you get into jail of course!). We just have to follow our parents, teachers, study hard and have fun. But as we grow up, we need to start taking a lot of decisions each of which could be life changing. Deciding where to live, choosing a career, finding ways to grow in the chosen career path, picking a particular job over another etc are all huge decisions and could potentially determine how you live for the rest of your life.  It is possible to make changes later but it will result in you wasting valuable years of your life. As a teenager, people are more forgiving and mistakes are acceptable. But, when you become an adult, people start expecting more from you and hold you responsible for mistakes. So, it is important to think clearly, weigh all the alternatives before taking a decision. 
Negatives aside, I am enjoying the way people treat me now as an adult. When I walk into an expensive shop, the salespeople actually see me as a customer and attend to me unlike before when they treated me like some kid who they knew wouldn't buy anything. I also like the way my parents/ relatives take my opinion on issues seriously. 
I still haven't figured out much about being an adult, so I will keep writing about this topic as and when my view changes.