I find it unbelievable that half of the year has already gone by. Like how did that happen? A few days ago 2026 started and I couldn't realize how fast the time has passed. To be honest, I didn't pay attention to the name of the months, hehe. Well, in the beginning of the year, I made a few promises to myself. That I wanted to become more confident and stop overthinking about what other people will say or think of me. And study harder also start learning Japanese properly. I also want to become a better person. I knew these goals wouldn't be easy because every year I make new promises and forget about it. But this year I wanted it to be different.
The first goal I have achieved is learning to be myself. In the past, I tried to please other people, even if it made me uncomfortable. I cared too much and it has caused my mental health. As 2026 started, I slowly realized that constantly trying to please everyone only made me unhappy. So, now I only focus on what makes me happy and confident. Choosing my own happiness has been one of the biggest achievements of this year. I know myself better, realized what I truly want in life. I don't need anyone's validation anymore, I'm a free bird now.
However, all of my goals are not complete yet. I started learning Japanese last year but stopped in the midway, so this year I started again but I haven't made as much progress as I hoped. Because of exams and daily responsibilities I could not find free time to to stay consistent. Although, I haven't given up and I still want to learn the language because I love watching anime and for that I truly want to learn Japanese. I want to be able to watch anime without any English subtitles or English dub. So, I know I can achieve it if I stay patient.
I have learned an important lesson that everything takes time. And if I want growth, it won't happen overnight. To be honest, sometimes I did feel that I wasn't making enough progress in life or even with my goals but looking back, I can see how much I've changed. This has taught me to keep believing in myself and never lose hope even when results are slow. My monthly exam results were not that good but it's better than before. So, I'm still working on this goal of mine. Hopefully I will do great in board exams.
However, I believe we should all share one common goal: to treat others with kindness. I think it is pretty much required in everyone's life. Practicing kindness keeps us humble and prevents arrogance from taking root. So, our first goal should be to become a good human being.
Moreover, for the rest of the year my goals are that I want to study harder and improve my academic performance also learn new skills. I also want to make steady progress in Japanese. Half the year is over but I believe there's still plenty of time to grow, improve and become a better version of myself.
This is my entry to a contest of indiaunited, I would love to invite you to participate!
The pictures are created with chatgpt.
