Autobiography? Not Really.

 To say I detest writing about myself would be an understatement. However, that is more due to a lack of inspiration than it is humility.

My name is Stuti Arun, and although I am from Kerala, I've never had the chance to really live there. Being a civil engineer, jobs often required my father to uproot his family and move every 2–3 years. That sometimes makes people, very vocally, wonder what a sad and lonely childhood I must've had. Quite the contrary, actually! My family often reminds me of how rowdy I used to be as a child (some remnants of which still remain) and how I used to have an entire entourage of kids around me. Needless to say, I was loud and opinionated, and I still am, unapologetically.

Growing up in different states, cities, and schools, I've had the splendid opportunity to learn about people and their ways, to learn more languages than I have fingers—enough of each to survive if stranded. Every time we moved, I always felt like I forgot a piece of myself in the place we left. Sometimes I wonder how many pieces of me I have left before I become a memory—the sort that one can't quite place. Like a drop of freshwater in the ocean- redundant and unnoticed.

How old am I? I'm 19, in the years that I've had to cherish life. Although I can't remember the last time I felt my age. Maybe it was when we went down to the zoo and I ran about naming monkeys simply because it made me happy! Funny how one often tends to carry burdens they don't know the weight of until they've walked without them. 

Oooo, what do I want from life? The idea that a 19-year-old should or would know what they want from life is intimidating. I shouldn't know, should I? Maybe I don't want to. Maybe I want life to surprise me, to take me on a rollercoaster ride. Yes, I'll probably throw up by the end of it, but I'll also put my tongue out, feel the wind hit my face and make an absolute fool of myself. 

Nonetheless, if I were to answer, I'd say that I want from life what one wants from ice cream. Comfort, joy, and perhaps a little brain freeze!