What a month April has been! I got dark circles under my eyes, suffered from hair loss. Sleepless nights, restless days and practically no social life.
My family was concerned about my well- being. My Dad told me, “Do not pressurize yourself so much. You should enjoy the process. It should not take a toll on your health.” I replied, “Dad, I have never wanted something so much in my life ever. I have never been so passionate about anything else in my life ever. That is what, the A To Z challenge means to me.” He agreed and encouraged me. He has never seen me work so hard. Be it during my school or for that matter while I was pursuing my post- graduation as well.
I have never researched so much before. Since the beginning of the month of March, I was reading numerous articles on Midlife, once I chose my theme. Although I wanted to write about my personal aspirations from midlife I also wanted to understand how midlife affects women and men as well. In the attempt to successfully complete this challenge, I worked to the best of my abilities for the entire two months.
I had planned to write all my posts in advance and schedule them for April in the month of March. But I could not do that. Initially, for the first two weeks, I would have scheduled 3 posts in advance. However, by the last week of April, I came to a point when I was writing every post just a day before the posting date. But I was always able to schedule it before 1 a.m. and that I consider my achievement.
I did read a lot but missed out on many interesting posts too. I plan to read those in May. Foremost in that list is Kanika who wrote on the theme of Women Health. Though I read few of her posts, I wasn’t able to comment on the same. All her posts are very well researched and very necessary for every woman to understand, to give importance to their own health which sadly most ignore.
I also missed reading Tina’s posts this time, but she knows I will. She is my favourite. You can read her fiction stories on The Tina Edit
During the challenge, the posts which I never missed were of my dear friends
Priya – A master storyteller was revealed to the blogging world through this challenge. Read her posts on her blog Priya Reflects. Do not miss her posts ever!
Akshata – The best description for Akshata is a person who is extremely inspirational. I have always loved the strong women protagonists of her stories. The story of Myra’s life should not be missed. Read her story and other amazing posts on Aks Writes.
Anshu – So, Anshu and me graduated from the same college and in the same year as well. But we never met at college or should I say that we didn’t even exist for each other. But we were destined to meet and blogging made that possible. I read the story of Tara with my morning cup of coffee. I am going to miss her. Read Tara’s story on First Time Mommy.
Balaka Basu – I have to mention Balaka Basu for the reflections post. I had been reading stories on her blog – Trina Looks Back earlier as well but never had followed her blog regularly. After the April challenge, I am absolutely glued to her blog. I loved her narrative skills and stories from her life about people. It was a very interesting theme. I learnt from her that everyone has a story, no life is mundane and as a writer, we should be a keen observer to write stories.
Nayantara- I have learnt so much about parenting from Nayantara. She is a new age mom and her theme for the challenge was new age parenting principles. I recommend her parenting articles to every parent. Read about her motherhood journey on MommyingBabyT
It was quite a journey. And the most fruitful month of my writing journey is what I believe!
All my aspirations from this challenge were fulfilled and now I aspire to convert my posts on midlife into an e-book. So, looking forward to the BlogChatter Ebook Carnival.
I would like to thank each and everyone who visited my blog and showered me with kind words of encouragement which kept me going each day. The journey became easier with your support. Last but not the least I would like to thank BlogChatter for providing us with a platform to showcase our creativity as writers. I feel very grateful to have made so many new friends by reading wonderful posts throughout the month of April.
May our community flourish! Cheers To us for completing the challenge successfully!