Life Update + Insights (Version: January 2026)

Hello hello, and a very happy new year!

It has been a few months since I’ve done one of these. Honestly, I think at this point most of you have started to recognise the pattern. I retreat into my cave and come back with a life update. Thank you for always bearing with the silence.

I hope this year has started on a good note for you! 

For me, it has been nothing short of exciting. I recently went on a short hike to Pikey Peak Trek in Nepal. It is one of the lower Everest mountains with a height of 4,065 m.

I booked the tour through a company called Wilderness Excursion, which I had found on Google. They assigned me a guide and managed my stay and meals at the teahouses. You can also do the trek completely on your own, as the path is clearly marked and doesn’t require any technical knowledge. It was my first time on a multiple-day trek in Nepal, and I wanted to take the safer option as a solo female traveller.

I reached Kathmandu, the capital city, on the 28th of December. After checking in, I went to visit my guide, Gelmu Sherpa, whom I’d spend my next 6 days with. We did a final gear check and some last-minute shopping in Thamel.

When I reached Dhap, the starting point of the trek on the 29th, I knew I had underestimated everything. The weather was too cold, and my body responded with a sore throat. 

The next morning, we started walking to Junbesi. The path was beautiful, however, I got a blister because someone foolishly decided not to break in the shoes earlier. While Gelmu chatted and breezed uphill, my overpacked rucksack gave me the first humbling lesson. 

Do not hoard more than what you need.

In Junebesi, we checked into a teahouse, where we got some freshly cooked Dal Bhat and some hot water to wash up. 

As the first rays of sunlight embraced us the next day, we were joined by Parbhu, the porter who would help me carry my bag. Even though Parbhu and I are the same age, I realised how different our lives are. More than that, how unbelievably strong he is.

We were hiking to the Pikey Base Camp, cracking jokes and sharing chocolates, when my knees gave me a red signal. However, I was too excited to care. We reached the base camp as the sun was setting. I was greeted with the most delicious ginger lemon honey tea. It was also New Year’s Eve, and it only made sense to celebrate it with a Nepali apple pie. However, what I didn’t realise was that the next day would be brutal.

We started around 4:30 am to summit. The temperature felt like -11 degrees, and the wind constantly pushed me off the trail. It was scarier because of the dark. Eventually, I started getting short of breath around 4000m, so we took a short break. It was in this moment that my respect for climbers and sherpas grew beyond imagination. It all looks easy from a screen. It’s only when you do it that you realise what it takes.

So after 1.5 hrs, we reached the summit and saw the most beautiful sunrise of my life. Honestly, the only thing that echoed in my head was that no matter how much you’re struggling in life, you can always get through it. Your past, your hardships, your limitations, none of it matters eventually. There’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. And once you’re out, the warmth of sunlight will melt your frozen heart.

We started descending once our hearts were full. It was a long day, but we finally reached Junbesi in the evening, marking the end of the hike for me.

Gelmu took me to her house the next day. Everyone welcomed me with open hearts and warm kitchens. Her brother took me around the village, and we cooked Momo together for dinner. I felt incredibly lucky to experience a night in the home of a Sherpa. 

The next day, we drove back to Kathmandu. 

Honestly, the biggest lesson I took away from this trip was that the way people treat you is just how they are. Whether it is a bully in your school, or a kind Sherpa offering you tea, mostly they’re just being themselves. People are who they are. You can choose to accept them as they are, or walk away peacefully when you can’t. 

This reminds me of my very kind guitar teacher. Last year, I also took lessons to prepare a song for my boyfriend’s birthday. Since I knew so many people who play guitar, I thought it was going to be very easy. But once I had to clean up my strumming and sing along with it, I had learned that it is a game of patience. Even though I still struggle, I’ve come a long way from when I started.

So, a few lessons I learned through this process:

1. There’s nothing you cannot do with enough hard work and practice. Things might look scary or difficult when you start, but you can master them with time. But it will test your determination, patience, and resilience. There were weeks when it felt like there was no way I would ever improve my singing, but my guitar teacher asked me practice on the harmonium. And somehow, those few extra hours of practice on a different instrument made all the difference.

2. The only way to grow is to experiment. You have to keep exploring yourself and try new things if you want to feel alive. There’s no way you can be happy if you’re not doing things that bring happiness in the process of doing them. Your life is your responsibility. Your happiness is your responsibility. Your growth is your responsibility. 

3. If you’re not surrounded by people who inspire you to grow, you’re in the wrong place. Your environment is one factor that can singlehandedly change the trajectory of your life. Be very careful about who you surround yourself with. I’m so grateful that I have people in my life who inspire me work harder, be more adventurous, read more books, question my ideas, and follow my heart.

Lastly, we all overestimate the power of intrinsic motivation. While it is important to have your heart in the right place to do something, an internal drive is not enough. You must constantly feed yourself with external motivation. Be it hearing inspirational stories, being applauded for small wins, or feeling supported in what you want to do, you need to have multiple anchors to pull you in the right direction.

So whoever you have in your life who shows up for you, do not give up on them.

Whatever schedule keeps you grounded and in the flow, do not give up on it.

Wherever you feel the most alive, do not leave that place.

I hope this year brings you a ton of happiness, peace, and growth. May you feel more full and alive this year. 

On that note, a few movies/documentaries that you must watch from the vault of the most adventurous person I know:

• Free Solo

• 127 hours

• 14 Peaks

• Project Iceman

Happy New Year once again!