Yearly Review - 2021 | Inderpal Singh

Cool stuff I discovered

- Physical Things
   1. Laptop – a productivity tool
   2. Wearing mask while working to be productive
   3. Sanitiser to feel active
   4. Five-minute Hourglass to practice five minute rule

- YouTube channels
   1. What If
   2. Being Honest
   3. Elizabeth Filips
   4. Sheen Gurrib
   5. Thomas Frank
   6. Muniba Mazari
   7. Yes Theory
   8. RC Waldun
   9. The Deshbhakt
   10. Newsthink
   11. Kurzgezagt
   12. Macro Room

   13. Veritasium
   14. Vsauce
   15. Soch by Mohak Mangal
   16. Tom Scott
   17. Aperture
   18. Jaspreet Singh
   19. Vishavdeep Singh Kirtan Academy
   20. TechAltar
   21. Newsthink
   22. Omeleto
   23. SantwinderSinghWaraich
- Blogs/Newsletters/Websites
      1. NaNoWriMo
      2. Conceptually
      3. Medium
      4. Austin Kleon
      5. Ali Abdaal
      6. Wait But Why
      7. Slow growth
      8. Sikhnet Daily Hukamnama
      9. Slow Growth
      10. Seth's Blog
      11. The Hindu
      12. The New Yorker
      13. Kristen Keiffer
      14. PointInCase

   - Books
      1. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
      2. Show your work
      3. Metamorphosis
      4. Everything Happens For a Reason— and other lies I have loved
      5. Himalayan Blunder
      6. Start with Why
      7. Ramaz te Rahass
      8. Old Man and the Sea
      9. The Little Prince
      10. Of thee I sing
      11. 1984
      12. Animal Farm
      13. Hamlet
      14. Jeevan Kani
      15. Numbers don't lie
      16. Scoop
      17. Purple Cow
      18. Productivity Superhero
      21. The Prophet
      22. Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

   - Apps
      1. Mailchimp
      2. Monday.com
      3. Revue
      4. Google Keep
      5. Iriun Webcam
      6. Live Kirtan
      7. BBC News
      8. Instagram
      9. Rythm Free
      10. ReadEra

Creations

   - Stuff I created (that I can claim)
      1. Lockdown Mine
      2. Stories with Books
      3. Stephanian Diaries
      4. Jang di Sair
      5. Roshni diyaan raatan
      6. Khyaalan diyan Khabraan
      7. Story of Sajjan
      8. Rana Bhabor English Translation
      9. Vismaad Katha
      10. Agitation Anecdotes
      11. Mystified One Night
      12. Eighteen Years on Earth
      13. Macbeth &#38 Me - articles
      14. Macbeth &#38 Me - videos

   - Group stuff
      1. ABC
      2. LPG
      3. Riveting Readers
      4. Andin Kirtan
      5. Omaha
      6. Sehaj Gun

Reflective Questions

1. If you had to teach one thing you learnt this year (that would improve one’s quality of life) what would that be?
Judicious use of internet – not just to consume but also to create. There are so many possibilities for one to be organised and do something with his life, that not going for something of the like seems uncanny. An example would be Zoom. This year, I was a part of many online reading clubs. Books like The Prophet couldn’t have been finished if I had started to read them alone, let alone understand various dimensions. Distance is no more a challenge. You can connect with anyone, befriend anyone, and go about your adventure. If given to choose two things in this list, I would add Canva and web-designing. Both are so cool and powerful tools and empower you so much. You can do anything with Canva and a website.

2. What kept you up at night with excitement this year? Was it worth it? Would you want to do more of it?
1984 by George Orwell. I remember already having read almost two-third or three-fourth of it those days. My board exams were nearby, and making myself a night owl for that period, I had a routine of keeping awake till 2 or 3 pm in midnight.

One such night, I felt bored and picked up the book. Winston and Julia were caught by the very man they trusted of all the people in the world, turning out to be a party insider. Separated, they were taken to cells, and interrogated horribly. Attempts were made to kill the “enmity” instead of the “enemy” - so much epic stuff, simply put. I had decided to pause at the end of some chapter, but each ended with some strong cliffhanger. One epitome of this was the one which ended in “Room 101”.

I ended up devouring the entire book that night, and stayed put till 3.30 am in the morning. Was it worth it? Absolutely yes. Will I want to do more of it? Of course - but 1984 was a book of its own kind.

As a side-note, I would like to briefly mention that my liking for 1984 doesn’t just come from its story part, but from the its beautiful and horrific philosophy, which steals one of many restful sleeps. Day in and day out, you are being faced eye-to-eye with the myriad ideas of the book. I myself could not get the book out of my mind unless I had put all my thoughts in this personal diary called Stars Hide Your Fires.

3. How did you have fun differently in 2021?
Were I to name this year, I would call it the Year of Interactions. I built so many contacts this year, met so many new people online and IRL. Each new person brings a new dimension to your life. Unless someone becomes too dependent on you, or you on him, in most cases a new name in your phonebook comes with some additional value. So the winning source for me this year were not books, neither YouTube, nor an anime, nor an outstation trip, but from knowing new people.

4. How did you suffer differently in 2021?
The suffering of uncertainty. It was there all the time. First it was about board exams. Then about their cancellation/happening. Then about admission procedure/CUCET. Then about missing application deadlines. Then cutoffs. Then interviews. Then results. Then further results.

And after results and selection, uncertainty about being able to do what is expected. And then those sporadic encounters of Imposter Syndrome - uff!

5. What things did you stop caring about in 2021?
My grades in class. That is true. My not being on the first position in my class in class 12 didn’t disappoint me, for good or for bad I can’t say. But for one thing, grades suddenly lost importance. Yes, sometimes they are reflective of learning abilities, but then - sometimes. But now I think I’ll start caring again, for a good reason. I got admission in my college due to grades. They motivate you to do hard work, and are an achievable visible carrot tied up to a stick suspended from your head. The race is bad, but the act of running just because there was some trophy is good.

The bare-minimum questions:

1. When have you felt proud of yourself in 2020? What were you doing?
Upon seeing my name in list when the result of St Stephen’s College’s waitlist was announced. I was returning from Amritsar at that time. Might sound cliché, but it was hard believe.

2. What new habits did you create in 2021?
1. Taking book notes on Notion, and also regularly saving new learnings in it
2. Making a blog for everything
3. Noting down the idea of a poem, even if it is incomplete
4. Doing kirtan alone regularly for spiritual upliftment
3. What new thing did you spend a lot of money on in 2021?
1. Buying notebooks, highlighters, books and other stationary
2. But also a lot of money on fast food this year

3. What did you rediscover pleasure in 2021?
1. Writing poetry (especially in Punjabi)
2. Writing down personal anecdotes
3. Diary entries
4. Elocution
5. Trips and tours
6. Solving a Rubik’s Cube
7. Playing Chess
8. Not using YouTube too much