Every year is a chapter in the book of one’s life – that’s my message to the world

It’s 1: 17 PM on day 3030 since I started blogging and I managed to pray, read a Bible verse and do some work

Today is New Year’s Eve and with that comes customary reflection 2018 has been a tremendous test of my physical and emotional strength I carry into 2019 the knowledge that with God and my family I can survive anything (please God may my family and friends all be with me this year and years to come and may my faith not be tested so much next year)

2018 Goals Review

1. Continue to be kind, honest and generous[I really tried ]
2. Choose people and organizations who choose me (if I’m someone’s second choice or if they’re actions prove that they are not that into me I will no longer give them the option to choose me I deserve better than to be anyone’s time-filler) [ I really tried to stick to this – example : I wanted to help a priest with his Soup chicken he basically said he didn’t want me to exert myself so I didn’t give it a second thought (far be it for me to chase people)
3. Stop expecting people to be as I am [work-in-progress]
4. Raise $5 884 more for my 50 New Feet campaign benefiting MiracleFeet by June 17th 2018 which when added to the $6 616 already raised will be enough to provide 50 children with clubfoot treatment [ended with $15 219]
5. Call at least 2 people ( related or non-related) at least once in three months to say hi or thank you (I called as many people as I could and tried to make them feel special)
6. Every day be the best SuperSidekick to Superhero Catherine Constantinides (she’s the best, most hardworking real-life Superhero I’ve ever met she totally deserves a SuperSidekick and I’m the only I trust to do the job properly – she totally deserves me) [MISSION ACCOMPLISHED – I give myself an A+ on this one]
7. Publish my book Defying the odds: Where there’s a wheel, there’s a way [EPIC FAIL in that I didn’t try]
8. Go Hot-Air Ballooning (I did some research and found out that the major hot-air ballooning operators here in South Africa won’t take me because they don’t have wheelchair-accessible hot-air balloons but darn it I’ve ziplined and paraglided I refuse to believe that there’s  nobody in this country  who can help to make this happen… mark my words I WILL BE THE FIRST South African in a wheelchair to go hot-air ballooning in South Africa I don’t know how, when or who will help me but I can tell you it will happen somehow because I am Nisha Varghese and impossible DOES NOT apply to me) [I spoke to my physiotherapist about this and she said if i go on a normal hot-air balloon, which are the only kind available in South Africa, i won’t be able to see anything because i’ll ether be seated or carried so i dont thing i want to do it anymore]
9. Donate consumables to Breath of Life (Breath of Life is a project that takes care of orphaned and abandoned children in my city until they are adopted)
10. Donate books to the library
11. Make a dream come true with Reach For A Dream [I emailed them and even looked at the application form it asked if I had a drivers licence I  guessed that one need one to volunteer so I just let it go)
12. Visit people at a retirement home
13. Participate in the CANSA Shavathon again this year [ couldn’t go because i was post-op so made a donation ]
14. Plant 3 trees
15. Read 12 books [8 read – it’s not 12 but better than zero]
16. Meet Sebastian Schütte, founder of the Panda Crew (I sked him if we could meet but it never came to be)
17. Diarize at least one good moment of every day [did more often than not]
18. Learn one interesting fact every day [such a fail]
19. Tell my life-story in front of a large crowd pf people (I have major stage-fright but I know if I just spoke in front of a large crowd once it would never again be an issue… I don’t want to roll through life scared ) [I asked a certain place if I could speak to their kids they said next year even still I told my story on radio so this goal was accomplished in a different way]
20. Go to Paris, Rome, Athens and London [not done – hopefully next year more travels]

Highlights of 2018

1. All the good God has done through me
2. Seeing my sister graduate from university with distinction and first-class honours
3. My brother finishing high school
4. Having 70+ trees planted in honour of my Superhero Catherine Constantinides’ birthday – even I was impressed it worked out I was really delighted to make my Superhero feel as special  as she is
5. Seeing my Superhero deliver a fantastic keynote address at the Closing Ceremony of World Youth Forum in Egypt – there were 5000 PEOPLE in that room and a further 100 MILLION watching on TV and not looking nervous at all she delivered the best speech of her life I WAS FLOORED it was AMAZING….SHE WAS AMAZING!
6. Meeting Dr. Esther Nyambura and her colleague from Smile Train – they were already in the country but still the fact they came across the country to visit me meant the world to me and it shows that gratitude is an important part of the Smile Train organization
7. Meeting Kiran and the rest of the Kumars – they are a really kind family who have really shown up for us this year I truly appreciate them
8. All the times I spent at Breath of Life with Michelle and the babies – every time I’m with Michelle I see what love is the way she looks at the babies and even holds them IS LOVE!
9. All the times I spent outside in nature