23 Things to Do Before 23

I've recently been hearing, thinking and talking (A LOT!) about how I don't act my age. I'm 22 and don't really do the run-of-the-mill crazy things that others my age do. Some like to kid, that I was born a 35 year old. The issue is not that I regret being like this, it actually, really doesn't bother me. I like it this way :)

So, I'm turning 23 in 4 months and 10 days, and 23 is quite grown up! To make it a more fruitful birthday, than others (even though I love birthdays and the celebration(s) really need no substantiation) I've decided to make a list of things that I want to get done before my birthday. A list of 23, to be precise. They may not be your everyday, regular 22-yr old's resolutions. But, like I said, I'm not a regular 22-year old, hence the difference in priorities and modes of fun. Suggestions welcome, though :)

23 THINGS TO DO BEFORE 23

1. Visit a gorgeous beach

2. Read at least 10-15 books [that I've never read before]

3. Take lots of gorgeous pictures, and start a photo-blog.

4. Put my love for fashion, to use.

5. Start REALLY working out and lose weight by then.

6. Do a photo shoot with friends

7. Do something that is outside of my comfort zone.

8. Learn how to play the guitar

9. Start a scrapbook for my restaurant and have a tentative POA

10. Start investing

11. Give mom and dad at least 3 reasons to be super proud.

12. Pay more attention to myself

13. Hug my parents 1,000 times

14. Buy more pretty dresses and bags.

15. Watch classics (viz. The Godfather Movies)

16. Learn how to cook more stuff 

17. Volunteer at People for Animals

18. Dance A LOT

19. Start playing a sport

20. Have an awesome party (pre-birthday)

21. Make everyone I love, feel loved.

22. Go back to being an impractical present-giver

23. Dance and laugh. Everyday.

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Cricket ka jod hai, tootega nahi!

Last night was an epic bright and shiny moment. For every single Indian, in every corner of the world. It was a celebration like no other, and one that bound us all together, into one huge ecstatic, delirious, hysterically happy bunch of people. Every time our national anthem is sung before a match, the country stands up in respect, and hope for a win. The hearts and souls of the country's men, women and children, are temporarily transferred into the bodies of those 11 men in the stadium. Cricket brings our country together, like nothing else can, or ever will.

I remember feeling super-patriotic, in tears really, while watching the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games last year. After all the scams, and mishaps, it was a proud, proud moment to be part of a country that put forward such a brilliant show. But this is just a whole new feeling. We live in epic times, a friend said. We do. April 2, 2011, will be one of those days we talk to our grandkids about.' Those were the days, people danced on streets, celebrities came out, and cricket wasn't just a sport', we'll say.

Someone tweeted, all of this started when a bengali man took his shirt off and waved at from the pavilion at Lords. That IS when it started. It's been a journey, that we're all so, so lucky to have been a part of. I spoke to cousins in London, who wanted to burst crackers but didn't have any, while experiencing a heart-felt Diwali, one with so much more spirit, passion and just pure happiness than the original festival. Spoke to friends who were in the middle of traffic jams in Bombay, and so, so, so happy to be.

I write this today, so that years later, I can relive this feeling that I'm dreading will go away soon, once Monday blues and Tuesday woes get the best of us. And I urge everyone who's reading this, to keep the love for the country, and that fire in our bellies alive so that we become capable of, if not recreating, trying to live a life that doesn't just make us, our families and friends proud but the country that we love and adore, proud too.