Looking Back in 2007
- By Indu Shanmugam
- Published 01/2/2008
Indu Shanmugam
Indu Shanmugam is a 20-something, college student from Oregon, USA. She is majoring in English literature and language. She also studied Theology for a short period. She wants to be a teacher. As a literature enthusiast, she enjoys literature of all types and from writers of various backgrounds from the classics, French realists, Christian writings like C.S Lewis and South Asian literature. As for her own writings, "I am still trying to find and develop my own voice." She sees the art of the written word as a way to speak about Christ and explore truth. Before she met Jesus Christ, she has been searching for the meaning of life through experimentation of other religions, philosophies and ideas. At the age of 17, she accepted Christ after a powerful encounter with God through a miracle. God's presence and deep truths in the Bible fuel her creativity. She is involved in church activities and has a love for the church and would like to see every believer grow, become closer to God and live fruitfully. She loves traveling, sipping bubble teas, theatre, music, films and hanging out with friends and has a weakness for cheesecake.
January
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GU - refreshing and met some really cool people from Vancouver, BC.
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Overwhelmed by the class EDU 260: Instructional Strategies
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Decided to try learning Hindi and Spanish together
February
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Bollywood night at my house: introduced a couple of people to Bollywood. We watched Hum Tum and had biriyani and kulfi.
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Valentines Day - I celebrated being single. I prayerfully made a list of what I am looking for in a husband.
March
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Deeper Walk - It was refreshing to see an Indian church that truly seemed to have it's priorities right. My negative prejudices towards Indian or Malayalee churches have changed. I met many godly people who are genuine.
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Greek Food - Thanks Beni and Tyna. I can understand how addictive a souvaki can be :)
April
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Migraines - I got one migraine from hell when driving. It was bad!
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Anxiety - Migraines are basically my body's way of telling me to slow down.
May
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Presentation after presentations in college - I suppose I should get used to it since I am going to be a teacher.
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Human Growth and Development - I chose a topic related to human sexuality. I did a paper and presentation on pornography's negative and destructive effects on a man's self-image, sexuality and relationships. During the presentation, I had 3 giggly classmates. Maybe an 18-year-old guy may feel uncomfortable about a woman talking about this subject. But then again, we're adults not 6th graders.
June
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Disappointed that the India trip didn't happen. I wanted to go to Africe but couldn't because I had to take summer school.
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Gave online matrimonials a shot. I dated a guy till September. I would not recommend shaadi.com. There were 2 other guys but nothing happened beyond phone conversations or a first-date of having coffee.
July
* I started deeply questioning a few things.
* Madras Trip - wakeboarding and camping
August
* Oregon Christian Writers Fall Conference
* New Ideas for my novel
September
* A full load of classes. Linguistics
* Eklavya - poetic and beautiful but what was the point of the melodrama? Well...its an Indian movie so nevermind.
October
* My 24th birthday.
* Thanks to Surya for baking the cake for me.
November
* Wondered whether an arranged marriage would be a good idea - I respect others views but maybe not for me. I prefer a 'courtship' or a dating that focuses on friendship and marriage.
December
* Christmas Parties, potlucks, and fun.
* Looking forward to a new year.
Overall, this year has been tough for a couple of reasons. I am trying to make the best out of it. There is no point in moping in self-pity. I have become more active. I started swimming, walking, pilates and yoga. I have lost 30 ibs this year and dropped almost 2 clothing sizes. I learned to let go of a few things. Somethings are better in God's hands instead of my own. To my readers and friends, have a good New Year!
