Born to my parents after three years of happy married life, I was the fruit of their sincere prayers. So, I was their treasure, and they gave me lots of love as I grew up. But it doesn’t mean I was a pampered or spoilt child. With no siblings to lean on, my parents were my best friends. They wanted me to get the best life experience I could ever have had. I have many cousins, relatives, and friends who love me. As a poet, I met many new readers, writers, and critics, and my world expanded. All these people and my very own soul and experiences shaped me into the person I am today. Now let’s look at the crazy creature Shalini Samuel.
I am known as a poet and content writer to some and also as a good friend to a few souls. But when I was a kid, I was a reserved kid. I easily mingle with some people. But crowds and the presence of some people scare me a lot. Even now, I reply quickly to emails and chats but talking to a stranger on the phone is challenging. Nonetheless, I have always been a quick learner and love learning. People who knew me as a kid often thought I was a bookworm who didn’t know about movies, fashion, or the world. I loved solving puzzles, hearing songs, traveling, and reading books. Milk sweets and shades of blue enthralled my mind. If it rains and I am asked to watch nature dance to the music, I will say it’s pure bliss. So are my moments with coffee and books. But yet, I have been a person who spends time with myself and a close group of people with less exposure to the dangerous or beautiful world.
Somewhere I always wanted to tear the introvert cover and the fear in my blood and come out into the world. But I was scared to do that. I was the least interested in my bachelor’s when everyone prepared for campus interviews. I thought I would do masters. I don’t know of anyone else who got good marks in the entrance for masters, got a seat in Anna University but personally chose to study in a college in my native. I did that. I just wanted to spend more time with my parents and enjoy life at home. I didn’t want to go elsewhere only because my future job prospects would be good. In all these, I made the choices after careful thinking. My choice was always peace and happiness.
After my master’s again, the society asked me to go for a job as that’s the wisest thing. I have always loved family bonds and never wanted to leave family responsibilities and go out. So I told myself no, I would try to start a business or find something to pay my bills. My first try was creating websites for some of my family friends. I did design the page, wrote HTML codes, and wrote content for the website. But unfortunately, I didn’t do anything after that. I felt a significant mismatch between the theory I learned and reality. Now I decided to try SEO myself by starting a blog. That’s how I fell in love with writing. Actually, it was where my introverted shield fell off. I started connecting with an unknown world whose faces were just thumbnails in the comments section.
I wrote blog reviews and started earning. Accidentally one day, I wrote a poem in my blog. Few of my friends appreciated that, so I started writing more poetry. And one day, a poet visited my blog and asked me to send the poems to a magazine. The website developer turned into a blogger and then into a poet. Inbetween, I had an online magazine and also was an editor for a poetry ezine. It looks like I have ventured a lot before deciding where to go, and I don’t know what changes my future holds. The introvert Shalu never used to keep a picture of her on Facebook or anywhere online. She was very timid.
People who followed my blog and those I connected with through poetry magazines did send requests on Facebook. I created a separate page to communicate with them. But slowly, I have to open up my Facebook profile to strangers. People showed a lot of love. When I participated in a poetry contest, they encouraged me. It scared me, but I didn’t want to hurt them, so one day, I decided to keep my poetry and posts public on any social media. I felt art wasn’t for money; it needed to be shared and enjoyed. Meanwhile, I got chances to work as a freelance editor and freelance content writer. In every venture, I tried to learn whatever I could. And all through this journey, I never stopped reading books. Now I got a chance to become an author of a poetry collection.
I was too scared initially. I had no confidence and felt no one would buy my books. But it stayed in the best sellers list of Infibeam for three months. Nothing that happened was planned. I just went with the flow and enjoyed the experience. I tried to learn whatever I could from each venture. Then came two books. While everything was fine, I went through nasal surgery for sinus and septal spur. Health was important, so I took a long break. A lot of my plans about upcoming books were canceled. It’s the period where I had time to look back and reflect on what had happened. The journey looked unbelievable. I never did anything extraordinary, but my life was more than I had ever dreamt. Twelve years back, I just wanted an online way to earn, so I could be independent, have an identity, and take care of the family by staying at home. I really have to thank God for all that he has given me.
During this long break, I wondered whether I really wrote poetry that people love. To end this self-doubt, I created a fake profile on Facebook and started writing under a pseudonym. I even tried sending some of my writings to magazines. Thankfully I had the same warm welcome and even got some new poets as friends. Moreover, with a new name, I wasn’t the introvert I thought I was. The experience gave me more confidence, and I was back again writing. By now, I was looking forward to getting back to my freelance job. Surprisingly, my freelance work helped me find a job in a digital marketing company. The experience has helped me improve my writing skills, and I immensely love it.
Now and then, I have started many blogs but never had time to continue. I am starting it again, and this will not be a poetry blog. I will be posting anything and everything I wish to write. It could be my real-life experiences, poetry, or even a short story. I wish to connect with the world and express the genuine thoughts my soul wants to say. Stay connected for genuine posts from a singing soul who believes the world is a paradise.
Wow that was a summary of your life :). All the best and waiting for your writeups.
That was a quick comment. Thank you so much. Even before posting this I was wondering will anyone view it. But surprisingly in a few minutes it got 18 views which brought a smile on my face. Your comment gave me a confidence boost.
Very good summary of your life Shalumma. Love to meet you all once again
Thank you anna 🙂 @Senthilkumar
I’ve observed that in the world nowadays, video games will be the latest rage with kids of all ages. There are times when it may be difficult to drag your family away from the activities. If you want the best of both worlds, there are several educational video games for kids. Thanks for your post.