Saying 2016 has been dramatic and chaotic is definitely an understatement. 

Personally, 2016 has been a year of change for me. I have grown and changed and come to terms with so many aspects of my life. This year I have felt a change like I have never felt before. I was under a dark cloud since the end of 2015 and that cloud also rolled in 2016 as well. However, I defeated that dark cloud this year to find myself (I know how cliche that sounds, and I know people just throw that phrase around, but it's true). Bright days do actually come after the rainy ones. Of course, I don't take "rainy" "dark" etc. as metaphors for sadness but putting that aside, I really believe that I've never been this happy with my life. I truly feel rejuvenated after the phase I've been through. I have learned to not be affected by things I cannot control and I have learned how to be happier than before. I feel aligned with my soul. I have learned more about myself this year. I have learned what kind of thoughts make me happy, what kind of activities make me happy and what kind of people make me happy.
The person who stood out most to me as someone who makes me really happy is my younger cousin sister. Something made me realize this year that I am so lucky that I have her as my sister. I believe, one-hundred percent, that she is a crystal child. She has healing powers. I can feel it. No one I've ever met has made me feel that they have the ability to make anyone feel good at any given moment. I know she has come on this planet for a reason - to spread love, to spread happiness, and to spread just the best vibes. I am so lucky I got to be with her this year, even though it was only for a week and a half. I love you and I hope that the people around you, physically, know how lucky they are.
There are two other people who have been a great part of my life. You probably know who you are because both of you are my soulmates in a way. The first one is obvious. The other, if you are reading this and you are doubtful about whether it is you or not. We don't interact frequently, but I think it's safe to say that we connect on a different level. Having the conversation with you about how I wish I could find another soulmate made me realize it would be so much better if I could actually meet you often and I wish I wasn't going to fly so many miles away from you next year because I think you would meet what we say are our "expectations".
Wow, I just opened up so much above. It's scary to open up. To be honest I don't always like it.
This year I have also realized that I have opened up to the wrong people. In the spur of the moment, I thought it felt so good just to know the next day that maybe the conversation really didn't mean as much to the other person as it did to me.
Despite me losing places in my heart for some people this year, I think what matters is relationships I have maintained and the way I've grown.
More widely speaking, I bet the majority on this planet right now believe that 2016 has been a very very rough year. Terrorist attacks, government events, natural disasters, Harambe - the list goes on and on for 2016. There's no argument that this year has had more unsuspected raisins in the cookie than any other recent years and nobody likes a raisin surprise in their cookie.
What we all can do now is just spread peace and love and happiness the best we can and hope the universe will take care of us.
Honestly, I have no expectations from 2017. All I know is that, personally, I want things to go according to what I have planned for my life. Whether or not events occur as they are wanted to happen, personally or around the world, is up to the universe or whatever higher power you believe in (if you believe in one). I know that I am the Universe's child and that I will be taken care of. The universe always has a plan for everyone and all you can do to make the most out of any situation is to learn and grow from it. Everything will be okay. Spread happiness, it's important.

Diwali is the festival of lights. Here are a few snaps I took this Diwali (2016). Please leave your comments/suggestions below as I'm a beginner at photography and would appreciate any inputs. Thank You!

This experience has been greater than I imagined in my head. Though I was very passionate about this fundraiser/event, the passion I felt during the actual preparation was above what I thought. The 6 days (5 days of raising funds and the last day of actually feeding the dogs) has been something I would like to treasure for ever. And though it is mostly a sense of love and the strong willingness to "give" is what I have felt, there were moments that got me annoyed, a bit sad, and "neutral" if that is even a real feeling/state of mind that a person can have.

The raising funds process:
Overall though the process was monotonous - going to each door and repeating almost the same sentences - it was fun. The process tested my communication skills, persuasion skills, and even helped me learn to be more patient and tolerable with people who have different opinions than mine. Mostly people were either really verbally supportive or just said "Alright, I'll get the money, hold on one second." but a few (5 to be exact. Yes, I counted) were pretty ignorant to say the least. I got a few weird expressions and remarks like "why do you even want to do this?". I even spent a few minutes explaining the purpose and debunking 'myths' people believed in but I eventually realized I cannot change the way everyone thinks and had to move on to the next door. However, let's not make the few bad incidents the highlight of this whole event. People who praised me and supported the cause were the ones that made my day and I am so thankful to everyone who donated money. The important thing is that I was able to carry out this smoothly and I can proudly say that a lot of people in this world are willing to help and make a difference. Even if the difference is a small one. In total we raised Rs. 8000 which may not seem like a lot but the event was very small-scale and the fund raising took place only in the building complex i live in (and a couple of my school-mates as well). What I decide to give importance to is the outcome of and not the numerical value of the funds raised. 
                             
The forms showing all the people who helped raise more than 8000 rupees. (Last names, numbers and signatures are pix-elated to keep identities private)

Preparation:
We worked from 11 am to 8 pm and I'd really like to thank Amisha for helping me the entire day! You can go visit Amisha's blog at: www.amishanakhwa.blogspot.in
We prepared the food (from 11 am till the afternoon): We cut the fruits and vegetables; picked up 150 flat Indian breads from the place i had ordered it from; bought a few things in the morning; cut hard boiled eggs; baked, peeled and mashed potatoes; prepared the meals in zip-lock bags, etc.
The preparation part took longer than we expected (as it was only two of us in the morning) and we ended up starting the 'drive' at around 3:30 pm. We prepared the first batch to satisfy 50 stray dogs and went back and prepared another batch to feed 50-70 more.


In total we covered approximately 2 - 4 km² area. We took a little break in between and then continued to walk and stopped to feed stray dogs as and when we saw them.

A few people suggested that we should also feed the homeless children and I said 'why not?'. So we did. Thanks to my 4 extremely helpful volunteers, we fed 115+ dogs and over 50+ children as well! A change of plan in the fundraiser which made a difference to even more beings!
The poor stray dogs were so hungry they'd finish half of the food before my volunteer, Amisha, could even take a snap!
It was a long day but it was very rewarding to do this whole event. Along with helping stray dogs, our two younger volunteers also benefited by learning how to act in front of aggressive stray dogs (i.e. importance of dominance and ways to prevent being bitten by an aggressive or frightened dog).





Images of most of the dogs we fed on the streets. Unfortunately some of the image files got corrupted but we have most of the pictures up here :)

As I mentioned above, we fed at least 50+ homeless and poverty-stricken kids. We gave them fruits, vegetables, boiled eggs, Indian flat bread, etc.

The whole day got me really exhausted but I can genuinely say that every second was worth it. I really appreciate everyone's role in this event - whether it was donating funds or helping carry heavy bags filled with food or even just mashing potatoes. I am so glad I could come up with this project that helped me put my passion and love for animals to provide a really positive outcome. If time had permitted, and if I didn't have such a busy schedule, I would've definitely done this on a larger scale. I am looking forward to do such events in the future as well. :)
Niharika Shinde.

Today I went to buy most of the foods that will be a part of the "meal plan" for the stray dogs and the foods that have not yet been bought will be bought tomorrow morning. Though I knew how much of everything would be required for 100 dogs, I still didn't expect to carry so many bags (they were pretty heavy too obviously) back to my apartment! All of this is so exciting and my heart is filled with happiness just at the thought of finally executing this project after months of just thinking about it and planning it in my head. I have put so much thought and so much effort into this fundraiser and I really hope it goes about smoothly. Thank you to everyone who will be helping me keep sane on the busy day tomorrow. :)

Day 5! The last day for raising money, and guess what? WE DID IT! In fact, we raised more than enough money for the fundraiser! I would like to thank everyone who donated money (special thanks to some people will be given later :) ) or even thought of donating money but couldn't for some reason (it's all okay, no worries). I'm going to post a more detailed post about my first experience initiating such kind of a project soon. Tomorrow (25th of September, 2016) will be the main event where my friends who have chosen to volunteer and I will prepare the meals and feed 100 stray dogs! This is your last chance to let me know if you would like to volunteer, let me know by 1 pm tomorrow.

Day 3 and we've already raised enough to feed 100 stray dogs! 3 Days to go! I am so excited and feel so thankful for everyone who decided to make a difference! Even if it is only one meal per dog and only for one day, even a small gesture/a little effort makes a huge difference. :)