Wise words from the King of Rastafari

This quote is written from the male perspective, but I feel that most of it can be applied to both genders.

Ladies and gentlemen, take heed. Live it:

You may not be her first, her last, her only. She loved before, and she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters? She's not perfect - you aren't either, and the two of you may never be perfect together. But if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold on to her and give her the most you can. She may not be thinking about you every second of the day, but she will give you a part of her that she knows you can break - her heart. So don't hurt her, don't change her, don't analyze and don't expect more than she can give. Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, and miss her when she's not there.
-Bob Marley

How many of you can say you live this? I don't. Most people my age don't. And I've never experienced it.
Bob Marley died at the relatively young age of 36...so can we really say that the application of such wisdom in relationships is limited to those who are advanced in age, and supposedly more mature? I think not.

Snow...in APRIL?!

This was a photo sent to me by one of my friends in Massachusetts this morning. She couldn't seem to get over the fact that it is the end of April, and it was still snowing. As someone who lived in Massachusetts for 5 years, this doesn't surprise me one bit...but seriously, all of you Californians who are complaining about the "cold" we experience at night, it would seem that we actually have it pretty damn good!

Cookie the Giggling Penguin

Okay, so many of you may know that I love animals/birds/critters (The San Diego Zoo ranks very high on my list of favorite places to visit for this reason). So when I saw this video of Cookie, an absolutely adorable penguin, waddling about and giggling, I had to share. Unsurprisingly, this video has gone viral on YouTube over the last few days.
Take a look at let me know what you think:

Remember how I was talking about stopping to enjoy the silly little things in life in my last blog post? Yep, this would be one of them.

Innocent Joy & the Epitome of Happiness

I haven't had the time to write a real blog post in a little while, but today I came across this image while doing some research for a course project. This adorable little fellow(and by fellow, I mean turtle) seems to be quite content to just be laying there eating his strawberry...it's almost as if he represents the epitome of happiness. While I can relate, because I love all things strawberry, I can't help but be tickled a little by his innocent joy.

Innocent joy.

Do you still take the time to enjoy the innocent pleasures of life? I know I don't, nearly enough. Fortunately, living in a coastal community of Southern California allows me to enjoy the just-warm-enough sun and cool, clean, crisp air nearly year round. But, beyond that, I feel like I have been too preoccupied in my academic pursuits as of late to enjoy the rest. Considering I have about a decade of training/schooling left, this obviously has to change.

In this sense, you could say that this little turtle is who I strive to be.

Moondance

It's a marvelous night for a moondance...

Love this song!

Night Owl Status

So it's nearly 3am, and I am up late, yet again, pondering the meaning of the world. And by pondering the meaning of the world, I mean writing another ridiculous paper for my master's program. It's about the use of online assessment tools to enhance the practice of adult education in the workplace. Yep, it's totally as exciting as it sounds.

While up this late, deep thoughts come into my mind such as: Damn, I'm really craving a bagel right now. Should I start trading in the stock market again? (too deep for this hour). Should I paint my fingernails hot pink? I wonder why I thought Donald Trump was so awesome until he began his run for President? Why is Donald Trump's hair so ugly, you would think a man that rich could afford a decent hair cut? Etc.

Hey, I never promised all of my blog entries would be insightful.

So, what are some of the musings you have late at night?

So um...your blog background?

Friend: Whoa cool, glad to see you're blogging again..
Me: Yeah, thanks, it's interesting being digital again..
Friend: So, that background?
Me: Funky, isn't it?
Friend: Yeah, um...did you happen to be tripping on some type of hallucinogen when you chose it?
Me: Right...and you've known me to be the type of person that uses hallucinogens, right?
Friend: Dude, you're so tight-lipped, you could be married with a couple children and I'd not know it...
Me: True. No, I wasn't tripping. On anything, really. I liked it because it's bright and happy!

So that conversation (^^) above is one that I had with a good friend of mine just today. So allow me to explain. To me, the peacock/peacock feathers are classic representatives of South Asian culture, so I figured they would make a perfect background for my blog. Clearly I like vibrant colors, which I also feel are quite fitting to my culture. So what better than technicolor peacock feathers for this purpose? Nothing.

Now you know.

On another note, I have a bundle of very important deadlines tomorrow for my master's degree. Could this explain my sudden re-interest in blogging? I think yes.

I'm back!

Five years ago, there were few things that relaxed me as much as sharing my thoughts and experiences on my Xanga blog. While that blog is still in existence(ask me for the URL, and I'd be happy to share...), I soon felt like the purpose for which I created that blog no longer fit. I had created that first blog of mine during the Fall of 2003, when I was a senior in high school. Oh, how innocent those times were.

I stayed with that blog through the Summer of 2006. A few years after that, I began to blog anonymously. I enjoyed the freedom of writing about anything and everything that came to mind without judgement. But eventually, that too, did not feel right as I enjoy having a sense of openness and honesty about my life with those around me. Just recently, I deleted that blog. And here I am now.

My idea behind this blog, I Was Born Desi, is to recognize that while I was born with a certain cultural identity and raised with these ideas and biases, I truly feel that it is our independent experiences, thoughts and interpretations thereof that actually define who we are. I hope to share a bit of this journey with you.

Let me warn you, if you are looking to hear me expunge the intimate details of my personal, everyday life, you might be sorely disappointed. Many of you know that I am a deeply private individual, so I will likely be writing more theoretically.

So here we go:

I am a mid-20s young woman living in the murk and mire of Southern California. To give a bit of background to my posts, and to sum up the events of the last five years of my life: I got into two significant car accidents within the span of 6 months that changed my life; I barely graduated college; I dated and repeatedly broke up, and ultimately completely broke up, with the same person for 5 years; and I struggled with various eating disorders.

Now? I'm about to graduate with my first master's degree. I'm healthier than I've been in a very long time. I'm hoping to work in the healthcare field someday. I'm in awe of the people in my life. And I'm as happy as can be. 

Who says life can't turn around?
My name is Nishi. And I was born Desi.