Note: The following is an excerpt from the story tiled Self Happiness Above All which is one of the eight stories from The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories
Blurb: Maanvi’s life has always been about making everyone around realize that she is worthy too. From her test grades to her body type, everyone always had a piece of advice to give or some judgement to pass. How does Maanvi get affected by these? Does she manage to prove her worth to the world?
2003
I ignored the many eyes looking at me questioningly. Being different from most people my age, I was used to people staring at me. But this was a new low.
I was a bespectacled teenager who also happened to be short and chubby. You know the type of girl people usually assume to be studious and academically brilliant. And so far, I had been able to pull that image off quite well.
However, the result of the most important academic year of my life had just been declared and with it, even the supposed myth of my academic brilliance had been busted.
Everyone had been expecting me to come out with flying colors in the board year, but I had secured a measly 63%.
Turns out I neither had beauty nor brains. How would I survive these pitying looks and more importantly how was I to prove my worth now?
2007
“Hey, have you lost weight or something? You look so much better than before!!!” I nodded as those musical words fell on my ears.
Even though it had been months since I had been hearing similar statements, it never got old and helped boost my confidence in the same way.
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Author Bio
Having tried her stints in marketing and teaching, Manali finally answered her life’s calling through content writing. After realizing that doing a full-time job just wasn’t her cup of tea, she plunged into being a full-time freelance writer and editor. Apart from her ad hoc assignments, she also runs her blog A Rustic Mind on which she shares her travel experiences, life anecdotes and inspiring women stories. Her penchant for writing led her to publishing three solo books and two anthology books, alongside also editing a book for another author.
Manali has been a two times bestselling author on Amazon via her books The Untold Stories and the recently released The Art of Being Grateful & Other Stories. Even her short story ‘The Walls Have Ears’ got her the Best Short Story Award. These little achievements alongside the reviews and feedback she receives on her writing, help her stay motivated to continue her writing journey. If not writing, you can find Manali either reading, travelling, listening to music, binge watching a series she might be currently hooked to, or more than one of these at the same time, in no particular order. You can know more about her or follow her works through her social media handles, all under her pen name A Rustic Mind.
