All Roads Went Back to That One Quote — June 2026 Writing Challenge

Beliefs are like myths; they break and strengthen when your perspective broadens.

Note — I will tell you about the quote at the very end, and I think you know that; it’s very interesting yet Philosophical!

1 Jan 2026, 11:00 A.M

I was standing in the middle of my house, smiling ear to ear.

Why?

Because I got my stipend, a load of good food and my exams just ended a day before, and all of them went well.

The year ended blissfully.

The year began peacefully.

But I forgot that ‘happiness is a butterfly, you catch and it flies — Lana Del Rey.’

https://i.pinimg.com/1200x/a2/eb/a0/a2eba015783fd72cf701a5f4c6e5dd19.jpg

I believed, because of a very famous myth, that just because my year began with so much love and harmony, the whole freaking year would be the same.

Right?

Wrong!

Absolutely, delusionally, charismatically, bombastically, sarcastically, happily WRONG!

The year got a happy kick-start, but now all that is happening in my life is bombarding.

No, I am not even joking.

I even stopped thinking — ‘What more possibly can go wrong now?’

Because, huh, careful girl, all four directions hold something against you, so you should never, like never, ever, seek that question.

The Jan to June Audit

I thought I finally had found my people.

I thought all the friends I have would last longer than the weight of my degree.

I thought I was enough to be loved.

I thought this year I would be good in my academics, just like the way I used to.

I will be committed to myself, to my goals.

I won’t go to those dark places in my mind.

I won’t be at the brink of insanity.

I will grow in work, career, life.

Be more grateful, polite, experienced, kind.

Basically, I was hoping for more. Because now I had tasted the freedom.

And my hopes were having a good time till the middle of Feb.

Life was good, but then it wasn’t and 2026 had just started!

BOOM.

I fell on my face, hard, and now I carry scars!

Friends, love, career, dreams — I gave up on everything because I was disappointed — more on me than them.

By the end of March, I felt like my body was sucked, by a demon, out of energy.

I was utterly exhausted.

And all of my work went to drain, so I ran out of the term called ‘try.’

So even if I didn’t want to, my body and brain eventually gave up.

Stay Hostel. Stay Home — Summer 2026 Plan (Or It was Also Another Myth Wrapped in Belief)

Basically, I like to run from home, and this summer I planned to run as fast as I could.

My plan was foolproof.

My vision was crystal clear.

Stay hostel. Do an internship during summer vacations, offline. And deep dive into myself from the eyes of another human.

I was too confident and proud.

But turned out my plan was not foolproof; it was a fool’s proof of devastation.

Because the holidays still haven’t begun, but I am already home.

Constantly doing short trips so I won’t lose it.

And writing is the only comfortable thing that still, in some ways, doesn’t drain my energy. It keeps me steady.

I have given up on all the beliefs I had.

I am not lying.

I. . . . I just lay awake and listen to music; sometimes I read too or go to classes.

That’s it.

My solitude is something that I have hugged too tightly, and I just don’t want anyone, like anyone, to break in.

My world is chaotic and disturbed and exhausted.

So, I have holed myself up in my small spaces that I have no idea when I built?!

My life has taken a 180-degree flip somewhere.

It’s upside down and opposite to what I thought.

Completely!

Actually, I don’t even remember some things I thought I was going to go with anymore.

It’s only my Pinterest board that refreshes my memory here and there.

And I once read a quote, and as June is almost here and the year is half gone, I am turning to that quote with full force.

I once stopped believing it.

I thought the world is already harsh and I do not need to turn one of them.

Turns out I was wrong, and the quote was right —

People can never be your home. You can never carve out a home out of a human.

And oh boy, I couldn’t agree any less!

Dear Parvathi J, Thank you for letting me have my moment.

This is my entry for the 2026 mid-year audit writing challenge.

Tagging our editors 🌸Preeti Pathak🌸and ShubhamAgrawal.

Inviting Read with Shifa🌻 and Kavish Verma to join us in this amazing challenge and tell us more about the beliefs that have melted away, too.