Deal the feels Ep.01

Ever been to a raving party but had this slight itch in the back of your head to head back and cuddle into your quilts and sob to the Notebook because all you did was sulk in the corner? Why does this surging lack of belongingness pull us and our esteems down to the drain? Why is that when you are working/hanging out with a bunch of people they just won’t let you be yourself?

For people who are not or never have been in the receiving end of this, let me paint you a picture. So you are out with a bunch of friends after quite some time. And now as you are reaching the end of your appetizer, you could see/feel them having inside jokes and snickering about god knows what and when you try to join in , Bam. They just sit around , waiting to alienate you.  Now, you have experienced this for sure. If not , either you are too damn lucky or you just might be hurting someone with or without your knowledge.

While this might seem like a speck of a problem when compared to all that’s happening in 2019, but the hell the person goes through is sometimes hard to comprehend.  People tend to ponder on this for a long time , overthink  about something that was not even in their control. This leads to further binge-eating disorders and serious mental issues. To be a part of something be it a team,  family, clan etc , has been in our genetics since the beginning of time. So don’t deny one from that.

Hoping that you understand how shitty this feels,be more considerate to your peer’s feelings. If not, let’s just wait for karma to do its whooping.

Once upon a time..

It is 10 pm at night and I am way past bedtime. But I just can’t leave them like that , Timmy needs to get back to George. I could hear footsteps increasing every second but nothing is distracting me to stop. My mom barges into the room , yelling at me to put it down. “2 more minutes , 2 more minutes”. My mum grabs it and takes it away from me . Depressed, I go to sleep thinking about the scrumptious dinner Enid Blyton had for me.

They say one who reads has a thousand realities. That feeling of putting down a 400-page book after a gripping climax is a feeling that is unexplainable . I remember spending countless nights finishing tiny story books that my dad got me every trip back home. I used to wait for the school bell to go off so that I could come back and read. I had a small group of book-wormy friends and we used to discuss about every book we ever read and fought in the library as who would get the new thriller that arrived in the library. I spent most of my childhood reading and watching cartoons. Apart from my dorky childhood ( oh I was a cute dork), Books do bring out this sense of imagination that would not come through any other means. You have your own world with your characters enacting the book. People who read will totally get my point .  The smell of newly printed paper is enough to motivate you to throw away academics. I remember getting caught so many times for reading in class but that didn’t deter me at all.

But all that paper now is taken over by EBooks and Kindle. Well, it is amazing that we are able to access thousands of books and literature. Call me old school, but the feeling of a book in your hand is indescribable. But at the end of the day, it all that matters is that you read because books have this ability to make or break you. People get the most inspired when they read someone’s journey and the lessons they have learnt meanwhile some people break through so many stereotypes and rigid perceptions by reading the right words. And the most important aspect, look at the amount of new words per book you will learn along with how to use it. Now that’s something that will not only increase your vocabulary but also the confidence to express yourself.

To all the “what’s in a book” or “god it is so long” people, start small and start good. Even if you read one 1 page a day , what might seem small , may by the end of the year be 3 small books.  And that’s a huge achievement. You needn’t read long, boring philosophy or a book where you understand only the prepositions and conjunctions. Start off with like a simple story and then move on to big books as and when you are comfortable. Reading is a habit that is slowly losing its place in our world and let’s not let that happen. So may the once upon a times begin!

Say Cheese

The dog filter , the good day filter , the crown filter and the list goes on. The unvarying need to look  good in your camera sprouted when these screens took over our pictures. The never- quenching need to look your best in every damn picture is one of the constant pressure that we, millennials face along with the drowning student debts. The need to filter out or cover up our “flaws aka imperfections” has become second nature to us. Over the years, it has become a habit to put on a filter in every photo to look “cute/cool”. But these filters only convey a set of conventional looks and beauty standards that  define a person in a certain way. Apps like Snapchat, B612 etc. are all bringing in a thousand different filters to look appealing and glamorous.

  While drugs are seen as addiction, people fail to notice the mental stress and the obligation to look a certain way that is chipping away a person’s sanity. Millennials have forgotten what it is like to have a normal smiling ,goofy picture. Damn, people are putting filters on food. The difficulty to bridge the gap between this Utopian bubble and the crashing truth makes it a thousand times harder to live the way one wants to live.

If we notice, this is a vicious cycle. You take 3000 pictures of yourselves and choose 2 out of them, put the necessary filters and shape your body the way you want and post them on social media and impatiently wait for likes and comments. When things go the way you want boom, there you  are taking another set of pictures to do the same. This unhealthy rush of dopamine is preventing us from seeing the harsh reality

As we dig in deeper, comparison is the root cause of this mindless obsession. We compare ourselves to unrealistic expectations and expect to do it all by some filters and body shaping apps. Everyone is born with a different body and face and we actually look like how we look in those filters ,we would look like clones.

By the end of day, we have to live with the body we have. So why not love it? Loving ourselves is not an overnight process. Take tiny steps everyday to love yourself. Because if you won’t, then who will?

PS: I am no way a pro or someone who loves herself completely and goes about her day like a happy puppy. I am in this as much as you are.

NOT TODAY

Ah, here we go.

After months and almost years of contemplation, the leap has been made.

With the fad of bloggers and influencers popping up everywhere,here I am just give a taste of my views on certain things I have learnt and experienced during this little span of my existence on this beautiful planet.

GAME OF THRONES

Set in the fictional seven kingdoms , this HBO series is  a caboodle of overwhelming drama, action and emotions. Every character, look, scene , dialogue, cliff-hanger, the sensational BGM- I can keep going on,  holds a unique significance that can’t be measured by words. Though set in a linear timeline, the progression and the plot line of this series could be appreciated for a book’s worth. With mighty dragons and mightier ambitions, these characters have grown to be symbolic beings with distinct qualities over the past 8 years.

The exclusive factor of this magnanimous creation is the sacrifice that each and every character had/has made to reach where they are. Be it having a head cut off, to being married to a life-sucking sadist , to resurrecting  from death, each and every sacrifice has its own meaning and  the convergence of these instances make the plotline even more meaningful and binge-worthy.

I would like take a moment to appreciate DB Weiss , David Benioff and of course George R. Martin for giving birth to this sensational masterpiece. If it hadn’t been them , we would have not got the chance to witness this priceless treasure.

Getting back to the series , the character development of Daenerys Targaryen and Arya Stark  impressed me the most. These two exhibit similar qualities of undeterred ambitions and great valor. Arya stark started off as a curious child with a talent to fight,  to becoming Arry, the boy and to becoming No One and finally ending the terror of the Night forever. She  portrayed nothing but unfaltering perseverance and courage.  On the other hand, living with a vicious brother, betrothed to the great khal and later becoming the dragon queen, breaker of chains , every move of Daenerys was to achieve her final purpose, the throne. The stark difference (lol pun) between these two would be their choice of revenge and sacrifice. Daenerys had a bigger purpose hence , she was willing to sacrifice herself for it. Meanwhile , Arya’s need to tick her list off  and to return home made her make decisions that were ruthless but she did have a kind heart. The character arc of these two will be something that I will always admire. The scene where Daenerys cries over Jorah’s heroic demise and the reunion of Jon and Arya will always bring tears to my eyes.

Having said all this, people who have not seen the magnum opus yet, it is my sincere request that you give this a try , for you know nothing.