11 Things Every Woman Should Write to Empower Herself

Let me say this at the outset, I am sorry for being this late. Have been working for the past few weeks at a stretch, even spending my weekends in the newsroom and editing bays. But it being an off day today, I am all set to pour down my thoughts on this topic. I don’t think the title of the topic stays valid in my case, so here’s changing it a bit –

Things Every Woman Should Write to Empower Herself

1  1. What Younger You Would Like About Present You 

My younger self is in love with the present me. She is independent, full of life, humble, and spiritual. She discovered her spiritual side almost a decade back. Having attended some of the meditation or the Murli classes, she understood the essence of the word – ACCEPTANCE.  

Today, her dreams might have grown bigger, but her expectations have lowered. Though she strives hard to achieve her big dreams but accepts that impediments make the journey even more interesting, beautiful, and worthy! I am in love with the present Anushree Bhaumik.

2. The Watched/Read It List

I love reading books and I love watching movies. However, sometimes, it becomes too difficult to read a book after a long tiring day at work. And, those are the times when I prefer taking a deep slumber to reading or writing since I know the next day will equally be tiring. When time permits, I do read one chapter before I hit bed.

Well, at present, I am reading a book, the adaptation of which I missed out watching on the big screen – Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. Have watched the movie on television but it’s a different feeling to read the book which talks intensely about living a fuller and more adventurous life. Next on my reading list is a Jhumpa Lahiri book.

The last movie I watched in the theatre was – The Lunchbox. I was smitten by the beautiful storyline and the brilliant acting by Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. In fact, for the longest time, I had high hopes of it making it to the Oscars. But then I am also the one who thinks Bollywood has an obsession with the Oscars and should come out of this reverie soon, and concentrate only on creating meaningful films.

3. The Mistake You Never Want to Make

There are a couple of mistakes that I don’t want to make. However, they always allow me to reinvent myself. One among them is my habit of getting worked up with what people say about my surroundings, my state of mind, my idea of living life, my way of eating and dressing, my way of dealing with varied relationships… and so on. 
There is a constant policing that people around you will always do. They have a say in anything and everything that they don’t quite agree with. This is the time to smile at them and get on with my life – the way I want to live it and not get too stressed with what others think of me.

4. Your Ideal Outfit

In my perfect world, I am wearing a pyajama and a T-shirt and that’s because it’s a Sunday and I am at home. But, I love dressing up nicely and especially for get-togethers. What I wear, depends primarily on my mood and the social surroundings of the event.

Last year, I experimented with wearing a halter blouse with my mother’s Tussar Silk saree at a cousin’s wedding in Kolkata. And, trust me I was warmly welcomed by all.

Below is a picture from that event. Yes, that’s my ever-gorgeous mother. 

5. A Deep, Dark—Shhh—Secret

Well, let the secret remain a secret forever. Everyone has one. Let’s not reveal them. What if, I have too many! And, whether knowing this information makes my inner life feel brighter or darker? To that, I’ll say – it depends on each one’s personality as to how one nurtures the secrets. For me, my secrets are like those hidden possessions that have the potential to make my any mundane day look brighter!

6. The Most Unexpected Compliment You Ever Got

You know, the thing is – a compliment should come across as genuine words of admiration. People often tend to pass a compliment just for the heck of it. That according to me, is simply not done.

I have certainly moved beyond the days when people complimented my eyes, hair, waistline, and style of dressing up and for all that lie on the peripheries of me as a whole. And, I would go crying – oh! Thank you Thank you… Honestly, I still howl aloud thanking my admirers.

But you know, for me, it makes my day when someone tells me that I am an unassuming person and can get along with everyone and anyone. One of my video editors told me that recently. I remember that always and try to live up to that.

Oh! How can I forget this one? This is a recent compliment that I received from one of my interviewees, with whom I shot for 3 continuous days. At the end of the third day, he said – ‘You are too sweet for a journalist. I never found you screaming all this while.’

I thanked him and said – ‘I am a Features Producer sir. We are usually like that.’

7. That One Quote

Sharing some of my favourite quotes - 

1.      Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies
- The Shawshank Redemption

2.      When you want something, the universe conspires to help you to achieve it.
Paulo Coelho

3.      Faith in God is an opening up, a letting go, a deep trust, a free act of love – Life of Pi

4.      You’ll never find a rainbow if you’re looking down – Charlie Chaplin

5.      The best revenge in life is to live well. Remember, you can’t get ahead if you are trying to get even – Sonal Kalra

8. The Best Surprise You’ve Ever Had

Six years ago, I was almost kidnapped by a lovely friend who came to meet me at my former office. Before I knew anything, I was sitting at Pizza Hut (somewhat far from the office) - all annoyed for not being told of the plans in advance. Nothing too big a surprise, but it was indeed a pleasant one. When I look back at it today, I laugh frantically… and regret not having enjoyed those beautiful moments fully.

9. Your True Happiness

Happy when my reporting boss says – ‘Anushree, good story / nice script / good shoot.’

Happy to have an orange or lime ice candy in the scorching heat. Happy to go rafting with my family and friends in Rishikesh. Happy when my mother makes me something interesting to eat… and when my father drops me to office. Happy to come back home late in the night to the already-made bed by my younger brother. Happy when my grandfather watches all my stories and feels proud to read my name on the credit roll. 

These are small everyday happy moments. However, my true happiness is in the happiness of the people around me. I am happy the most when I know that my family, friends, and colleagues are doing just fine.

10. Your Favourite Failure

As a child, I was a good dancer. (Some say - I still am) My mother taught me to dance to Rabindranath Tagore’s songs. I started with that but later tried all dance forms. I would often go solo on dance performances in school. This one time, my dance teacher asked me to take part in a group dance. I did that, although, we weren’t allowed to participate in more than one activity – a rule for classes 9 to 12. I still remember, she somehow didn’t like my dancing skills and chucked me out of the group a day prior to the function. I cried buckets as a 9^th grader. But that day, I promised myself that I’ll be a far better dancer than I was then. And the very next year, I stood first at the State Level Dance competition (Uttar Pradesh)

I was a good dancer even then when I was thrown out of the group for no valid reason. But then that one incident gave me an ambition and a challenging task to better myself as a dancer.

11. An Amendment to the Bucket List

Don’t know whether I should be calling them amendments but yes, there are a few stuff that I would certainly want to achieve this year. I have been postponing my dream of learning how to bake. I want to start baking and also blogging about the same.

And, as per my personality, I think I’ll be better off being a little less indolent for things I love doing in life – dancing, cooking, blogging, and laughing. We don’t need any specific occasion to do what we thoroughly enjoy doing in life. Just that we should be able to manage time – and that’s what I am constantly striving for.

Here’s the link to the original article on Oprah.com

http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Things-Every-Woman-Should-Write-Down

Also, a big thank you to - Corinne Rodrigues and Pratibha G - the bloggers who came up with insightful posts, and inspired many like me to write their own.