Happy Thanksgiving!

It's the American Thanksgiving today. And even though there is no formal celebration and (being the staunch grass-eater that I am) definitely no turkey. But there is no reason why there should be no sentiments and mushy speeches. Warning: lots of mush and tears ahead. Proceed at your own risk. :P

To God: For giving me this life, with all these people in it and for keeping the extra share of love from each one of them for me. I know I crib a lot. But I'm sure you know how much I appreciate this life, the comforts, the loving family, the doting friends and all the academic success. :) Thank you very much!

To my parents: For everything. For pampering me and for disciplining me. For making me understand the value of relations and also also making me aware of my individuality. For waking me up in the mornings. For keeping the biggest piece of chocolate for me. For making sure that I get everything I wish for and for making sure that I don't take any of that for granted. I love you two. Even when I'm super pissed off with you and even when you exasperate me no end, I love you very much. And no one should EVER mention this again but I used to cry myself to bed practically every alternate day when I was in England because I used to miss you both so very much. Thank you for being you.

To Sun and Moon: For being my pillars. For the long nights spent talking about boys and about things best not mentioned here. :P For being my sound-boards. For making the extra effort to wrap my gifts. For making chocolates together for the first time. For pinning up my dresses while dressing up for events. For going bra-shopping with me. (Trust me, it's a BIG ordeal!) For sharing the best time of my life with me, making it all the more special. For knowing me better than myself. For writing the long emails and letters when I was away. For talking me out of my blues. For reminding me of my "balls of steel". :P For looking to me for strength. For believing in me. For making me believe in me. For growing up with me. I love you two more than anything else in the world! Thank you for being my soul mates.

To S: For being the reason England was beautiful. For being my ever-ready travel mate. For being my baking-buddy. For being my shopping advice. For introducing me to couchsurfing and for my first real Thanksgiving meal ever. For indulging my passions for almost everything from silly Bollywood films to bitching about "Indian men". (Disclaimer: For all the men who read this, it is not meant to insult you unless you come in one of these categories.) For putting up with me every time I crawled into your bed and cried "Mummeeee!!" (Yes, I really did that to her!) For taking care of me when I was shit-faced pissed. For being the sound of my conscience and also for reminding me that I'm an adult and can make my own decisions. ;) I love you very much! Thank you for being my proverbial better half. :D

To Kyra, JD and Sara: For being my fun quotient in England. For all the drunken games of never have I ever. For the passionate, sometimes intellectual, most of the times silly discussions on Bollywood and popular culture. For being the ones who understand what being an Indian in England means. And for understanding what being an immigrant back in India means. For the rajma, the alu chaat, the gulab-jamun, the daal makhni, the mojitos, the risotto, the cocktails, the wine, the cake and so much more! Oooh, and for being my first joint! :P For the Emotional Attyachar and Munni dances. For the future ventures. For all the marriage proposals. :P I love you all! Thank you for being the best kind of mates anyone can hope for!

To Atom: For being the reason England became all the more beautiful, even in autumn! ;) For the long chats, often resulting in us sleeping at 3 am! For being interested in things you are interested in. And for looking up things I'm interested in so that we can talk about them. For sharing my love for films. For believing in me and my book. For saying the loving things that make me feel special. For treating me like I'm precious. For the friendship. And for the love and warmth. For being so kind and understanding. Thank you for being so special!

To Xavier's and the School of English, Leeds: For shaping me. For giving me the confidence I have today. For making me a person ready to go ahead and face the world with all it's challenges. For sheltering me enough that I feel I have someone to lean on and for letting me go enough that I learn not to take that support to lean onto. For quenching my thirst for knowledge and also for fanning my quest for more. You are the best alma maters anyone can ever hope for. Thank you for the great learning experiences!

To Chhaya Mam: For giving me a role model. For being absolutely the best teacher I've ever had in my entire life. For taking that extra effort and being our friend more than our teacher. For always being interested in anything and everything that affects us. For giving us excellent guidance and superb opportunities. For being so understanding, kind and gentle. For being the inspiration in my life. I love you, mam! Thank you for being the reason English Literature was my best decision ever.

To June, HG, Kannan, survivingbrain, pj, smalltowngirl and all the others who are kind enough to read my rants, pleas, opinions that nobody else really cares about, for commenting and consoling me, for giving me brilliant advice and for being the awesome bloggers that they are! :D

Happy Thanksgiving to all!! :)

Lots of Love,
Star.

"Provocans Ad Volandvm"

"Provoke to Fly": The logo of my alma-mater - St. Xavier's College, Mumbai - the place that encouraged me "to fly" and the place which I refer to as my second home and my second parent but my very first runway. This post is dedicated to my beautiful college and everything that I learnt from my five years there!

The five years I spent at Xavier's were the best five years of my life! It gave me so much exposure and the necessary life skills to survive in the world, yet it sheltered me like a parent under its generous wing. It gave me the best friends of my life and taught me how to recognize good and true friends from others. It gave me friends in teachers and teachers in friends. It made me the person I am today.

Xavier's gives everyone everything that it promises in its anthem, the Xavier's anthem (and one of my favourite songs in the world!):

Xavier's, you gave me roots and wings,
Xavier's, opened my eyes to things,
Xavier's, somewhere along the way,
you taught me how to fly and how to stay!!
In a world outside so differently,
Xaviers, you helped me become more me!
To fly like an eagle, discover new skies,
With wings we've been give to soar ever high!
Over mountains and ocean, beach,
Learning from what they teach,
Believing that we can reach
Waaaaay beyond!

Yesterday, when Xavier's finally got autonomy from Mumbai University, something that it has been trying since more than 2 years, it was one of the proudest moments in the history of St. Xavier's College. I am sure all the Xavierites across the world would have felt a touch of that pride, no matter how long ago they graduated. The news made me so nostalgic about my time at Xavier's (hence, the blog!)

I used to call Xavier's my second home (like almost ANY other Xavierite I know!) In fact, there were times when Xavier's WAS my home and I used to go to my "parent's home" only for sleeping! If you have ever been a Xavierite, you'd know what I'm talking about. We all have had those times, haven't we? There were times that Terry's office (the wonderful Cafe Terance! :D) and his comfortable chairs would provide more solace than mum's food. There were times even after 3 and 4 years of studying in this college when I walked into the first quad and felt an awe about the impressive building. And I don't even want to begin counting how many times I've passed the new Mofis (Malhar Office, for those of you who don't know, Malhar is the annual Xavier's festival and the biggest event in Xavier's every year) and reminisced about the old XRCVC (Xavier's Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged.) The window sill opposite the old XRCVC, overlooking the beautiful first quad, has been witness to so many silly 18-year old traumatic dramas (and some, 21 year old silly and traumatic dramas as well! :P) What I wouldn't do to go back to that world, where the Xeroxwala, the juicewala and Muchhad sandwichwala are bigger celebrities than even Amitabh Bachhan and Chrisy and Leoni bigger villains than Mogambo! I feel a belonging there that I've not felt anywhere else in the world except for my family!

I wish Xavier's all the very best in this new phase that it has embarked upon since yesterday. Here's to the best college in the world: Xavier's, it's not just a college, it's a way of life!