Happy.

I waited until the last day of July to write my post for this month, but well, here it is. It's not that I couldn't have done this earlier, but a combination of computer viruses, being busy with other matters, and just being plainly uninspired have led to me putting it off.

It's been pretty eventful since my last post was published early last month. I have learned and experienced so much over the last two months or so, and I am thankful for that. You couldn't really tell much of what I've been up to by just going through my social media, though, since I'm not really the type to post frequent online updates. Just because a tree falls in the forest and nobody sees or hears it doesn't mean that it didn't happen or make any sound. Likewise, just because nobody knows what I do doesn't mean I don't do anything.

Speaking of doing things, here is one thing that I plan on and really hope to be doing next year: backpack solo through France. Euro 2016 will be hosted there next year and, since I also have friends in France, it seems to be a great opportunity to go. Furthermore, I might not limit myself to just France, either. While I'm there I might as well go visit two or three other countries if I can.

The Euros will start in June, and, if all goes according to plan, I will have graduated by then. While I am excited by the prospect of soon completing my undergraduate studies (ahead of pretty much all my other friends, too), it is a bit concerning to think about how my life will be after. As someone who's never had a job before, my first taste of the working life will be during my internship at the beginning of next year. It's not just the working part, either - I'll also have to move out of my parents' house and start living on my own money.

For now, I'm able to keep such terrifying thoughts from taking over my mind. I'm generally happy these days and I believe it shows in the way I go about my daily business. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose, but I don't care. For now I am still a student at Manipal - not yet an alumnus. The frightening real world will have to wait; I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I prefer to think thoughts that help me stay happy. There is such thing as unnecessary stress, after all.

And that's probably why I don't usually involve myself in discussions related to politics, current events, or the state of the nation, which are apparently things adults talk about, and are what my friends and peers talk about as well. For one thing, it's good to see that my old school buddies are growing up and that they care about these things. On the other hand, I find these discussions to be boring as heck and try to stay away from them whenever possible.

It's not that I think these things are unimportant; on the contrary, I do keep a passing interest on the goings-on in the country and the world. It's just that I don't find it particularly stimulating to discuss and dissect them. I don't see the need to have an opinion on everything, and even if I do have an opinion on something, I don't see why everyone would need to hear it. The thing is that I can't really be bothered to talk about things that are ultimately temporary and, no matter what, will always come to pass.

There are, of course, issues that I can and will willingly discuss (like racism, for example), but most of the time I prefer to talk about things that don't make me go red in the face. I don't like getting worked up about things; much less getting myself worked up in front of other people.

Do the things you talk and think about define how mature you are? I don't think so. Maturity, for me, is defined by how you respond to whatever happens to you in this world. A person who loves talking about politics isn't necessarily more mature than someone who doesn't care about them at all. The mature one is he who realizes that the person he's passionately talking to about politics would prefer they talked about something else, so he changes the topic. The mature one is he who, despite not being in any way interested in politics, patiently allows his friend to continue talking about them because he values the conversation more than its topic.

I feel myself growing and changing every day. At the end of every semester, I find that I am a much changed person from the one I was at its beginning. Sometimes I wonder if it's normal for someone to be changing so rapidly and consistently - after all, more than a few of my friends whom I've met recently don't appear to be too different from when they left school. Or maybe they have changed since then, but felt the need to act the way their old friends expect them to act? That's certainly an interesting thought.

I guess the only person who really knows how far you've come is, well, you. You are the only person who knows all your innermost thoughts and desires. You are the person who knows you best. This is why I believe it is important to love yourself, and why you should do things that keep you happy - though at the same time not being too selfish or too much of a douche to others. As for myself, at this moment, I am happy, and that's all that matters,