My Life So Far – Just A Journey Back The Lane

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.