A life that plays once · No rewinds

Burnt down.
Rising anyway.

Hi, I'm Sheetal. Life knocked me down for a while, and this is where I'm finding my way back up. It's a little corner for my work, the people I love, big dreams, good food, and the questions I can't stop asking. Life doesn't replay, so I'm trying to watch it properly this time.

WonderingWhere does the past actually go?
ReadingAdd a book you're reading
EatingRajma chawal, for the soul
Working towardsMy first college application

Last updated ·

Ashes → Rising

How I lost myself, and how I'm finding my way back

Told in chapters, as I'm ready to tell them. The glow shows how far along the rebuilding is.

  1. 01

    The fall

    The day the story I'd planned stopped being true. What it felt like, and what I didn't see coming.

    Coming soon
  2. 02

    Where I went missing

    The months I stopped recognising myself. The habits, friends and hobbies I let go without noticing.

    Drafting
  3. 03

    Sitting in the ashes

    Small things that kept me going. A walk, a meal, one person who checked in.

    Drafting
  4. 04

    Rising

    Who I'm becoming. Still being written, one day at a time.

    Being lived

Questions I'm sitting with

No final answers. Just my best guess so far.

What's love: always being together, or standing beside someone while they grow?
Option AAlways together. Shared days, shared plans, never apart.
Leaning hereBeside them, not around them. Room to grow, and still choosing each other.

Answer updated · Oct 2026

Where does the past go?

My answer so far: it doesn't go anywhere. It folds into who we are, like ingredients you can't take back out of a dish.

Answer updated · Oct 2026

If life is a movie that can't be replayed, how should I watch it?

My answer so far: slower. Fewer scenes skipped while waiting for a better one.

Answer updated · Oct 2026

What is luck, and when does it show up?

My answer so far: still thinking. Write your own here.

Not answered yet

Do dreams mean anything?

My answer so far: still thinking. Write your own here.

Not answered yet

Deep conversations

I'd rather hear your story than make small talk

My favourite thing is a long conversation that ends up somewhere neither of us expected. I love listening to people's stories, the ones they don't usually tell. Pull a question, sit with it, and if you feel like it, tell me your answer.

Question 1

Dreams, in public

Two big ones. Tracked out loud so I keep going.

Education for everyone

Every child who wants to learn should get the chance, wherever they're born.

  • Teach one student for free
  • Run a weekend class
  • Partner with a local NGO
  • Build something that scales

Study at the world's best

A seat at one of the best universities in the world. Here's the road there.

  • Shortlist universities
  • Prepare for entrance tests
  • Write my statement of purpose
  • Submit applications

Work

What I do

Add a line about your work here: your role, where you work, and what you care about building.

Family & love

The ones who feel like home

"To everyone who sat with me in the quiet and never needed an explanation."

Letter 01 · to my people

"To the version of me who'll love again: be gentle, and keep some of yourself for yourself."

Letter 02 · to future me

You like because.
You love despite.

You like someone because of all their qualities. You love someone in spite of them.

Something I believe · tell me if you do too

What do you think?

The 5:30 AM club

Why waking up early makes me ridiculously happy

The world is quiet, the sky hasn't decided its colour yet, and the whole day is still unwritten. Those first hours feel like mine, before anyone needs anything from me.

12 AM6 AM12 PM6 PM12 AM

  1. 5:30
    Up before the alarm

    No snooze. The best part of the day is about to start.

  2. 5:45
    Chai and the sky

    One cup by the window, watching it go from grey to gold.

  3. 6:15
    A walk with no destination

    Empty roads, birds, the smell of the morning.

  4. 7:00
    Read, write, think

    A few pages, a few lines in the journal.

  5. 8:00
    The world wakes up

    And I've already had a whole good day.

Fact or myth? · Brain edition

Things I've learned about the three pounds behind my eyes

I'm a little obsessed with how the brain works, especially the parts about memory, love and healing. Guess whether each one is real.

Score 0 / 0

On repeat

Songs and films I'd hand you

Now you recommend one to me

Food & mood

Dr. Sheetal's comfort food clinic

Tell me what you're feeling. I'll write you a prescription.

℞
Comfort Food Clinic
Diagnosis
Prescribed
Dose
Side effects
Mood before → after

Dr. Sheetal · unlicensed, but very sure