In honour of my 31st birthday next week, thought I would introduce 31 fun facts about myself here on the blog. I know a lot of friends and family read my blogs so some of this might be known but some of it may be a surprise to some! Hope you enjoy reading these and it gives you a bit of an insight into who I am!

Here they come! 🙂

1. My name ‘Upasana’ is a Sanskrit word – it means “devotion”
2. I am an extroverted introvert, meaning I love people and can be very social when I want to be but need lots of alone time to function.
3. I was very shy and quiet growing up but I was also a high achiever all throughout school. I always ranked between 1-3 place in my classes throughout school and very competitive when it came to studies.
4. I hated PhyEd class and sports in general, unless it was Yoga. 😉
5. I loved arts classes and painting was one of my favourite hobbies growing up. I also trained as an classical dancer in an Indian line of dance called “Bharatnatyam” for 5 years.
6. I know 4 languages at varying levels of competency and learning my 5th (Spanish) at the moment.
   
7. I secretly suffered from eating disorders through high school due to trauma and low self-worth and lost a lot of weight. It was a very difficult phase of my life. And it is also now why I’m so obsessed with self love and self care and encourage other girls/women to do the same!
8. I suffered from mild depression in my early 20s and being away from my family made it worse. This was another difficult phase of my life and a catalyst to my spiritual awakening.
9. I started this blog as a private blog in 2013 but as the readers grew, I re-designed the blog and launched it publicly on 1st Jan 2016. Writing a blog post is my creative outlet!
10. I hated reading books growing up, until the age of 25. I read 20 books in 2018 for a Goodreads reading challenge as part of my new year’s resolution.
11. I found meditation when I was 24 and it changed the trajectory of my life. I now meditate most days, sometimes up to 2-3 hours a day. I practice a few different kinds, like guided, TM, nature sounds, binaural beats, silent or walking meditation.
12. My first crush was in grade 5. We built sand castles together. I guess he was really good with his hands and that impressed me hahahahaha.
13. I have never been in a serious “adult” relationship or lived with a boyfriend. I think I now want my future husband to be my first, last and only serious relationship.
14. I have yo-yo’ed in my weight many times, fluctuating 15-20 kilos between my lightest and heaviest.
15. I never cheated during school exams, I was the most honest student and helped no one, therefore didn’t make too many friends. 😀
16. I am multi passionate. Growing up, I wanted to be an air hostess, an astronaut, a teacher, and an anthropologist amongst many other things.
17. I was fascinated by history classes and especially old civilisations and how little we know about them, I still am.
18. I am a Taurus, with my moon in Taurus and my rising sign is Leo. My husband’s sign will most probably be Cancer, Virgo, Taurus, Capricorn or Pisces. I also love following the moon phases and how they affect my femininity. Its all too fascinating!
19. My love language is in the order of: Quality time, acts of service, physical touch, words of affirmation and receiving gifts. This would make sense to you if you have read the book “The 5 love languages.”
20. My favourite colour changes all the time. Right now it’s green and blue. Besides diamonds, I love emeralds and sapphires. Rose Quartz is my fav crystal. Peonies and roses are my favourite flowers.
21. I’m obsessed with dogs, and hope to have as many as possible when I buy my own home. And a cat mostly to keep things interesting. And a couple of bunnies. Haha.
22. I never wanted to be a mother growing up, but at 25, a switch was flicked! I now cant wait to have babies some day.
23. My favourite shows are Friends, Game of Thrones and anything food related like Masterchef.
24. I was born a Hindu, then became an atheist during school, only to then become spiritual in my mid 20s. I do not believe in organised religion but I do believe in ‘something’ that’s the ‘One’ – the Source – the Universe.
25. I am always thinking of food. I am a vegetarian, have been since birth. I love Indian, Italian, Mexican, Thai and Chinese. Nandos, pizza, dumplings and pasta with a nice red wine is always a good idea. For dessert, anything chocolate rocks my world! I only started to learn and love cooking in my late 20s.
26. I don’t believe in love at first sight, but I do believe in recognition at first sight, that feeling that says, “I think we know each other from another time… there is more to explore here…”. That “When you know, you know” – feeling! I have had this feeling with each of my best friends to date.
27. I am a romantic at heart. I love being wined and dined, and I take a long time to fall in love. I can only ever fall in love after having been friends first. It is a curse ( or a blessing in disguise, depending on how you look at it) as I always either friend zone the guy or get friend zoned myself or end up waiting out the man’s patience who is waiting for me to fall in love. Haha. Its all too much!
28. I long for a simple life, somewhere away from the crowded city, close to nature, surrounded by friends, family and pets and a home built with love!
29. I hate doing the 9-5 being chained at a desk and not being able to exercise my creativity. I have tried my hand at a couple of side hustles already. Someday, I hope to run my own business with complete time and financial freedom!
30. I love travelling and have a long list of travel destinations and experiences I want to have, view my bucket list here.
31. I enjoy creating a life with intention, and my own design. I do not want to live a life that has been designed by others for me. I spend a lot of time in visualising and have been very successful at manifesting certain situations in my life.

So, does any of these facts surprise you? I would love to know!

Until next time,

Lots of love,

Upasana