Twenty twenty-two

The past year was a potpourri of some of the grandest events of my life, some colored with dreams and excitement and some tainted with pain and life learnings. But it was truly one of the pretties potpourris of my life, filled with petals and spices of so many different magnitudes.

And since I’m a movie-loving girl who loves to romanticize most moments in her life, let me present to you a rundown of the year. As you read it, try and imagine it to be like a dramatically transitioning montage from a Bollywood movie with some stellar, emotional background music.

Presenting the highlights of 2022, listed in no particular order. Dive in.

Homecoming. Came back home to the city of my heart, Mumbai, after 9 months away. It felt surreal to run into the arms of my parents, to crush my best friends in unbreathable hugs, to enjoy the city lights and hustle-filled energy, to savor spicy street food and milkshakes, to be surrounded by the warmth, passion and excitement of this city. No place like home.

Got covid within the first few weeks back home. The less dangerous variant. So I ended up spending two weeks doing my favorite things; watching movies, reading, and sleeping. Not so bad.

Met my celebrity crush. Perhaps crush is an understatement. Where do I even begin? I met the man of my Bollywood dreams, Varun Dhawan, through my father. Those who know me, know how big of a deal it is. And for those who don’t, I’ve been bonkers over him ever since I knew what the concept of a celebrity crush was. Meeting him felt surreal. This may sound a little far-fetched, but meeting him was like
meeting a piece of Hindi cinema,
meeting a humble, smart, goofy inspiration of a guy
meeting 2013 Juhi’s biggest dream
*big sigh*

Studied screenwriting and wrote my first proper script ever. It felt so cool to dive into the world of movies, scriptwriting, and production. I’ve always loved watching, analyzing, and talking about cinema and I got a chance to watch, analyze and discuss movies as part of a course. Dream career for the win!

Gifted my parents something big from the first salary of my first job ever.

Watched my first South Indian movie.

Did two really intense 10-day meditation courses in the span of three months. Loved every bit of it, the struggles, the retrospection, the realizations, the strength-building, all of it. Made me realize the importance of having something spiritual in your life, it really keeps you grounded.

Got the opportunity to attend an action film shoot in Mumbai, getting to witness the work that happens behind the camera to create the magic on the screen. To see the time, strategy, and effort that goes into filming every single action shot with various cars and hundreds of crew members and fancy camera equipment was surreal!

Saw tiny snowflakes for the first time.

Realized the hard way that the world actually runs on deception and two-sidedness like cars run on petrol. And it’s actually inevitable and really out of your control. Kind of had to make my peace with the fact that even people close to me can have more facets than what meets the eye and these facets can hurt you.

If you let it, that is. Also learned that in the end, only I have the power to give someone else control over me and what I think/feel. With baby steps and more retrospection, I’m learning to take back my control.

Ate paan for the first time.

Did bhangra for the first time.

Got a little crack in that thing that beats.

Went to a 90s-type diner for the first time ever. Had the best hot chocolate and cinnamon bun ever, surrounded by decades-old second-hand books and old songs.

Traveled solo for the first time. It was daunting in the beginning, but I began to enjoy the me-time I was getting while running through airports, reading, drinking coffee, and watching movies on the flight.

Attended a doggie-themed Christmas carnival with my dog. A lot of serotonin was released, I mean imagine being surrounded by dogs wearing cute outfits and headbands, playing games, and wagging their tails basking under the attention they were getting from everyone. It was a treat.

Started living independently in an apartment for the first time. This new, difficult change was made so much easier and exciting because of my flatmates, two incredible friends of mine. We all started this adulting journey together, and so we got to navigate the highs and lows of living in an apartment by ourselves together.

Became so much more confident, in myself and in my abilities. Still working on it, but I feel like I’ve come so far when it comes to the constant battles taking place in my head.

Attended a killer Bollywood-themed party. I went as SRK (the full Raj-from-DDLJ-look with the leather jacket and ukelele and sunglasses) and my best friend went as Kajol (Bollywood fans, where you at!)

Finally partook in quaffing.

Started to really implement a wish I had years ago of how I’d much rather prefer living my life and doing things the way I wanted to and not to fit in or feel cool. And damn, it felt good.

Got back into dancing! I’ve always loved to dance, no matter how good or bad it is, because it’s just so much fun. And I finally started dancing a lot more, with friends at parties or on songs for ridiculous reels, or just by myself, and it’s so exhilarating!

There’s so much more that happened in this year, some life-changing, some memorable, and some that made me think. I can choose to look at the past year in a lot of ways, but right now I think I choose to look at it with gratitude. Cheesy? Yeah. But it’s true.

I’m gonna end this simple post with one note (that I really hope I stick to): Consistency is key, and I plan to be very consistent on my blog. Time to bring out the big guns, write as much as I can and share it with the world! 🙂

Happy 2023!