Morning Sunshine award! :D

I realize my last post was about an award too. What can I do though, if awesome bloggers are showering their awesomeness and kindness on me? :D

This time the award is from a blogger I highly respect, not because he writes great stuff (oh yes he does. The stories can take your breath away!) but also because he happens to be a really kind person. The going-out-of-your-way-to-help-you kind of a kind person. ;)

Thank you so much Usama for this custom award: Morning Sunshine Award!  I appreciate it very much. :) To know why Pages from a Young Diary received this award, click on the link above! 

Now, the reason I'm creating this post immediately after receiving the award (I know, I can get a bit shameless :P) is that I find the questions Usama has asked, so exciting! Without any further delay, here they are!

1. Name one superpower you'd definitely like to have, if you could.
I guess it'd be the ability to fly. Not speed flying, as I'd most probably hit trees or buildings, considering how clumsy I can be, but yes, definitely flying. There's also a reason behind it. I have quite vivid dreams and since a long time, I get these dreams on and off where I'm far above the land, sometimes in a flying chair (and I'm not kidding) and sometimes making huge leaps over the sea. I even like watching people from the upper floors, I guess it's a fixation with being somewhere from where I can spy see everyone. ;) It'd be totally cool to be able to fly! 

2. An amazing clear-water sunset beach with cool breeze & exotic fruit trees OR a beautiful green hillside with a landscape of close cropped gardens & a breathtaking waterfall, choose. 

Oh God, this is so hard. How about both? Okay, I should learn to make hard decisions, it's about time. I'll go with the hillside then, because of two reasons. One, I love hills and mountains anyway (the being on a high plane fixation?) and two, the waterfall! I'd absolutely love that! I want to go some place like that right now! I mean, have you seen real waterfalls from hills? Not that I have seen any (except for one in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh), but still. They're absolutely beautiful. And oh-so-majestic. :D

3. Are you a morning person? If not, would you rather be one?

I used to be a night person, right before I joined this new college I currently attend. Now I just don't have the strength to keep upright till late night. :P However, I don't think I'm still a morning person yet, as I get up pretty close to a dangerously-late-for-college time. Still, I'm happy being a night person. If there's something to be done, I'd rather stay up at night and do it. There is absolutely no guarantee that I'd get up early in the morning. Besides, there's something comforting about the night-time reading (what else do you think I do?). Even though if it gets scary (Harry Potter gets scary by night, trust me) and I do that weird switching-off-the-light-in-a-jiffy-to-avoid-monsters thing, it's still something I like. 

  

4. Do you read books? If yes, which one took you longest to complete?

What-e-question! Yes, I do. I've been reading ever since I could. Usually, I pick up fantasy books (as those are the ones I've been with since childhood) and I finish them pretty quickly. I take time with the other books, those dealing with human issues, family stories or stuff like that. I can't recall any particular book, because I've read a lot of long books, but they've been those I read very quickly. There are some books I didn't continue reading, like 'My Experiments with Truth' by M.K. Gandhi and Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery. I'm reading a book called 'In other rooms, other wonders' by Daniyal Mueenuddin, which is taking a lot of time. Not that it's bad, but probably not the kind of book I usually read. It's a family drama, a rich family based in Pakistan. I'll write a review soon. ^-^

5. You have a time machine, you can't change your past, which year would you like to go to and why?

I'm not particularly fond of the past. Sure, I adore my childhood days (only those related with family, mind you. I hated school) and I also like how Delhi and life in general, was back then, but still. I'd rather go see a bit of the future. You know, just a sneak peak, because I don't want to spoil the surprise either. I would just like to know if I'd successfully be what I actually want to be. That way I wouldn't have to worry much ;) Let's say year 2030. I'd be 38 years old then, quite the time when I should be able to achieve what I wish for. :)

6. If you're given an option of getting one post from your blog published in a magazine or a journal, which one would it be?

Umm, I think it'd be 'Born to Climb', a short fiction completely based on my imagination of how it'd be to mountain-climb. It's not the best-written post (because I think there are better ones) but it's close to me, as it is a near perfect replica of what I want to experience. :)

7. Is your blog a window to the world or a window to your self?

Both. When I began blogging, it was just for me. My blog wasn't even open publicly. I simply came here and wrote stuff I had been thinking about. Gradually it became a virtual diary-of-sorts, long after I realized I cannot really maintain a physical diary (I tried a couple of times. Irregularity was persistent :|). After a while I decided to let others see it, with a lot of expectations and anxiousness. I'm a very private person by nature and value my privacy way beyond anything else, so at first I only showed it to my friends. Facebook helped. I got good reviews (it's always great to know people like what you write and that definitely is an encouragement in itself!) and then I opened up a bit more. I began writing more about personal stuff, which is how it becomes a window to the world too, I guess. I learned a lot with blogging, met amazing people and learned new perspectives, which is something I think is very much important. I learned a lot by writing and that's how it's a window to the different faces and aspects of the world. :)

I wish there were more questions. It's such fun to be thinking about this stuff! :D Once again, a heartfelt thanks to Usama. :)