I am sorry for all the times I lost my temper,
For the times I was rude.
For all the gifts that were given,
And all the never received 'thank yous'

For all the love that was given,
And I haven't given back.
For all the times, you were patient,
A virtue that I lack.

I'm sorry for all the people,
To whom I was so cruel.
To all the people I laughed at,
I acted like a fool.

I'm sorry for all the times I lied,
For the people I hurt along the way.
Not a day goes by that I don't regret it,
And I'd take it any day.

I know that it is a little late,
My deeds can't be undone.
I now realize that I was wrong,
And I'm sorry everyone.

-Unknown

A year wiser, A year better.

The day started on an innocuous note. My grandmother woke me up at 5 in the morning to wish me so I had got just 3 hours of sleep. As I woke up groggily, my parents and sister started hugging and wishing  me rather unceremoniously! That is what I like about birthdays, people express their affection. Physically, and verbally.

Nothing worth mentioning happened till the noon, I was rather surprised that some of my closest friends had not called me yet. But constant phone calls and text messages from other people helped to wander away those thoughts. Even I forget birthdays! I reminded myself.

As I went to take a bath, my mother insisted that I should wear some 'good' clothes. Unsuspectingly I followed her advice and dressed up in blue pants and a black pull over. Standing in front of the mirror, running my fingers through my hair, I heard the doorbell ring. I opened the gate and was shocked to see some of my friends with a bunch of 17 balloons, a cake and gifts in their hands! I was too perplexed to say anything and just hugged all of them one by one. Suddenly my mom telling me to wear good clothes made sense. They had planned it all, together. And that was the beauty of it.

The best things in life come to you, when you don't have expectations. My 17th birthday may not have been my best birthday so far, but it did fulfill my life long dream of a surprise party :p There were a lot of unexpected people who called up to wish, and some people who did not. But that did not dampen my spirits or make me look back.For the first time, I was living in the moment. I understood the essence of the phrase and was cherishing every moment of the day and thanking God for making me a year older, and a year wiser.