Year 9 - There'll be peace when you are done.

Godyears begins it's ninth year this month end. 
Nine years of writing post after post, revealing one life altering moment after the other. 

Statistically speaking, the numbers have increased quite dramatically over the last year. (social media ftw):

Year 5 - 2 blogs, 322 posts, 3333 comments, 072702 page views.
Year 6 - 2 blogs, 361 posts, 3990 comments, 100908 page views and 06 published stories.
Year 7 - 3 blogs, 432 posts, 5936 comments, 143942 page views and 10 published stories
Year 8 - 3 blogs, 499 posts, 8227 comments, 291886 page views and 19 published stories

It has once more been a very eventful year for me. 

• From a blogging point of view, there has been a departure from goofy posts to more insightful ones. Part of that transition is because of my monthly articles in the e-zine "Tamarind Rice" which allow me to finally reveal sides of my medical life which I don't usually portray in the blog, including the first time we doctors have to face death, the good that comes from death and how we yearn to be remembered by our patients.
• I finally won something in an Indiblogger contest (woohoo!) after all these y ears. Well, actually three somethings (woohoo! woohoo! & woohoo!). Blogadda was really kind to me this year too. 4 articles made it to their 'Spicy Saturday picks of the week' list this year which was really gratifying. This includes the unique feat of having three consecutive articles from the Tamarind Rice series win 'Spicy Saturday' picks at the blog.
• The book launch in Bangalore for 'Ten Shades of Life' was pretty special. At some level, all of us bloggers want to be there standing in front of an audience holding a book with your words printed in it. Also, it gave me an opportunity to catch up with some true friends of days gone by which is kind of rare given my work schedule.
  

• There were a lot of new meaningful friendships that grew this year even as old friendships continued to stay strong. It's taken awhile but fair-weather friends have been pretty much erased from my life and frankly, it is exhilarating getting rid of unwanted burdens. Touch wood, the true friendships will continue to grow as the years go by. (A Special shout-out here to my co-authors of 'Love Stories That Touched My Heart' who are just the most hilarious, talented and awesome bunch to have on Whatsapp. I just love having you guys and gals around when I go online!)

• Ruby passed away. She was a huge part of my life over 14 years and had her own faithful fan following on this blog. When the pain of silence got too suffocating at home, Snoopy arrived and has already proven to be a total live-wire.
  

• Every year, I want to test myself. I know I will never possess the writing skills of so many fellow bloggers whose prose read like sonnets but I want to still use that minuscule creative streak that exists within me and try out different genres. And it has served me well this year too. Three stories did get published in 'Love Stories That Touched My Heart ' (Romance), 'Ten Shades of Life' (Action and Adventure) and 'Family Matters' (Faith). One more is due in Indireads' anthology e-book where I won the 'Crime' genre. To make a mountain out of a molehill, I appeared in the national newspapers too. 

One of the hardest things you learn as a doctor is that the show never ends; irrespective of whether you walk out successful after a ten hour surgery or have to watch a patient you liked die before your eyes, you just have to carry on because there is always someone else in pain who needs you. Who you can help not just within the confines of an operation theater but with kind words as well. 

When I was moving into year 8, there had been a desire to make a difference in people's lives beyond the operation theater. It was a need to be 'a rainbow in someone else's cloud', to quote Maya Angelou. That shift from a childish nature to a more mature and insightful one did find it's way into the blog I guess, based on the comments and private messages of many readers of ol'.  

I know I have helped some people who mattered to me (both online and offline) get through some of their worst moments last year. They have moved on to better times and the twinge of sadness and envy I feel watching them leave for better shores is far outweighed by the happiness of watching them succeed when they had lost faith in themselves. I'm not being selfless, mind you. Far from it. In their smiles and renewed hopes, I steal a slice of happiness for myself after another exhausting day of watching people who are suffering. And that laughter helps me when I feel too tired to carry on. 
Which is why year 9 is more introspective... it's all about the old Kansas rock anthem... or as TV sitcom fans would say 'the Supernatural season finale song' - "Carry on my wayward son".

Carry on my wayward son

There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more."

  - Kansas.

Seven years ago, I had written a blogpost on how I felt that the tv character I resembled the most was Chandler Bing from the sitcom FRIENDS. Back then, I did relate a lot to his care-free attitude, his sense of humour and being the clown of the gang. 
If you asked me the same question today, I find that I no longer see myself in him. Instead, it is another tv sitcom that I have spoken in depth about earlier and another young man from that fictional world. I see so much more of Dr John Dorian from the sitcom SCRUBS in myself today; not the earlier years when he is a geeky intern learning the hardships of being a doctor but the whole character arc over eight seasons - from the clueless dork to the competent doctor who was forced to grow up because the world around him changed and he needed to mature to survive. 

The child who wants to be silly still exists but the people suffering around me need someone else... not a person to laugh with but a person who can save them. The clown had to remove his face paint and don his surgical scrubs and mask. But you know what? That's not a bad thing. It isn't about growing old so much as it is about growing up. About evolving. About being the best 'you' you can be.

The journey continues... here's hoping for another year of happiness, romance, satire, thought-provoking posts, opinions and new friends, online and off. 

Carry on... there will be peace when you are done.
For now, here's a sneak peak of what's coming up further down the road of Year 9.