The Fault in Our Stars..

Someone recommended John Green's 'The Fault in Our Stars' to me a while ago. Today, I finally got around to reading it. Initially I was put off. Who wants to read a story about a 16 year-old suffering from cancer? But from the moment Hazel Grace Lancaster met Augustus Waters, I was hooked. It is a book that plucked at my heart strings. I could feel what Hazel felt. John Green, like so many other authors, has been gifted with the ability to make the words come alive. The world in which they live seems more real than the one I do. Sure, it is tragic. And it doesn't end with them riding off into the sunset. But it shows the reality of cancer. What it does to you. How it changes you. How it changes the people around you. And most of all, it shows the innate desire that exists in all of us, to leave a mark on the world. To make some impression to show that you were there and are never forgotten. 

The title, was inspired by a quote from Julius Caeser. He means to say that it wasn't their fault that they had cancer. It was written in their fate, in the stars. But despite that, they lived. They fell in love. They took a shot at forever. And that's the thing, there's no point living in regret. Life is already too short. So do it. Do what your heart tells you, because one day it might be too late. 

Words.

My mom and I were discussing stories today. What makes the good ones stand apart from the bad? My guess is the passion that the author writes with. When the author can make you feel the pain and the joy; make you see the beauty in the smallest of things; make you fall in love with the characters. That's passion. That's true writing. The ability to bare yourself to the world on paper, not afraid to show how you feel, not holding back. The ability to show yourself as you are. You can always see glimpses of the author in the books. And in the really good books, you see glimpses of yourself. What is it that sets apart the brilliant writers from the mediocre? Is it that they feel pain in a way others don't? Is it that their writing is a healing balm to their wounds? Do words provide them the solace that they can't find elsewhere?  Whatever it is, to be able to write with such beauty is a gift from God. To be able to see such beauty in so much adversity is a gift from God. And lastly to be able to paint vivid pictures in the mind of the reader with nothing but words is the greatest gift of all.

Some Sunshine and Some Rain

Today was the last Children's Day I would ever celebrate. My last year of school, and just a few months before I turn 18. It's funny, isn't it? The things we take for granted? You don't even realise their importance until they're just a memory. It hit me today, that next year, I'll be off to college. I'll be allowed to drive and vote. Although that has it's own charm and allure, nothing is more precious than the moments you spend in school, laughing at a fellow student or poking fun at a teacher. Even the fights, they seem so silly after a point. It makes you wonder, is being an adult all that it's hyped up to be? You have to work, pay bills, manage a house. So monotonous. Really, I now truly understand the words, "Give me some sunshine, give me some rain. Give me a another chance, I wanna grow up once again!!"

Childhood

Albert Einstein once said, "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent read them more fairy tales." Quite interesting, isn't it? Nowadays, kids are being sent off to these classes, where  apparently they're learning, and have some sort of advantage over every other kid their age. These kids aren't read fairy tales. Fairy tales inculcate imagination. They teach children how to dream. How to believe. How to create. Somewhere along the way, we started thinking that the way to make kids brighter is to put them in finishing schools and things like "Baby Geniuses". You aren't making them brighter, you're taking away their childhood. Childhood is about making mistakes. Making mischief. Finding yourself. Having fun. What finishing school can replace the carefree time spent between classes. Eating junk, laughing, making fun of the teachers. With only two months of school left, I realise how precious these moments are. Soon, I'll be out of school, all my friends scattered all over the place. All of us on different career paths. Finally time to grow up. I'm almost 18 now. It's quite a frightening thought. That I'll officially grow up. Be an adult. Be responsible. Growing up isn't really all it's cranked up to be. 

Diwali

Diwali. The festival of lights. It is said that Lord Ram returned to his kingdom Ayodhya on this day after being exiled for fourteen years. Not just that, he had just defeated Ravan and brought back his wife Sita. On this day, to perhaps commemorate the return of Ram, everyone lights "diyas" or earthen lamps and prays to the Goddess of Wealth, bursts firecrackers and dresses up in brand new, fancy clothes. Indian culture is amazing, isn't it? Even our stories. So intricately woven. So much so, it's hard to believe they might just be fiction.  Its one of my favourite festivals. Houses decorated prettily with lights and 'rangoli', a garland of marigold flowers at the door. People distributing sweets to each other, in all their finery. The sky filled with the smoke and the pretty lights of the crackers that people burst throughout the night. Diwali is a beautiful festival- of food, of lights, of noise, of fanfare.

Putting Things Into Perspective

I have always fought with my mom over the silliest things. I don't want to sort out the clothes right now; Why should I do it?
Typical teenage behaviour, right? But today, we were watching the news together. And they were talking about Malala Yousafzai, the sixteen year old girl who dared to challenge the Taliban because they tried taking away her right to education. So much so, that even after the Taliban tried to kill her, she didn't stop believing in and fighting for her cause. Kind of makes me sound like a shallow, spoiled brat in comparison. She is a year younger than I am, and she has managed to make such a difference in the world. She is by far the bravest girl I have ever seen. She spoke of her friend, who was her age and already saddled with one baby and another on the way. Can you imagine losing your childhood that way? Not being able to have fun? Just growing up way too fast. Getting married to a man who is probably twice your age. Taking away a young girl's innocence. That if you ask me, is a real crime. All of us are born with dreams and hopes and ideals. And yes, some of us do get disillusioned. But that doesn't mean we get disillusioned at the tender age of 14 or 15.
A girl so brave. These are the kind of stories you would think only existed in books. Because, the cynics that we are, we can't believe that just a little girl could be capable of such a movement, and such passion. But it's true. Malala Yousafzai is real. And her belief in education for girls is real. No one can take that away. Not even the Taliban. How much ever they tried to render her efforts futile, all it did was make her and her cause even more famous. 

Neighborhood

What happened to the good, old days, when someone new moved into the neighborhood, and people went out of their way to make them feel welcome? Now all people seem to do is torment the newcomers, making them wish they hadn't come in the first place. This isn't high school. And even if it was, the people in my colony would definitely not qualify as jocks and cheerleaders! We have new residents in our colony, and everyone here has gone out of their way to make them feel unwelcome.
Be it, confiscating their little boy's frisbee, or forbidding them from getting a dog. To the extent, that they have insulted them to their faces. Shut them out completely. Who in the world do they think they are?Dictators? If so, where's the charisma, because last I heard, that was a requirement in the job description.
I can't get over how uptight they are. They are way too self-important.
And seriously, what's with all the hazing? Most of them are approaching retirement, or already have. Isn't it time to grow up? Isn't it time to be mature and wise? Instead of being petty and mean to people who have done nothing to deserve it?
I guess, the world truly is a harsh place. Where you can't even get a friendly smile from your neighbor. Where the emotion you instigate with strangers is animosity. How is there any chance of creating relationships then? How can one expect to be happy in such a world? Tragic, tragic. Especially since we come from a culture that tells us that our guests should be treated like god. We've pretty much ruined chances of attaining salvation then too, haven't we?

Beauty

Its shameful. The fact that I haven't updated my blog for more than a month! I wish I had an excuse. The truth is, whenever I was free, I chose to do something else. Because I didn't want to go through the effort of jotting down my thoughts for the world to see! A lot has happened since 23rd May, which was the last time I updated my blog. I'm in my final year of schooling and then I am off to college. The nearer the future, the more uncertain I feel about a career in writing. Honestly, how many authors actually make it? So, to ensure I have a future, I decided to pursue a management degree in college! So, even if I don't make it as a writer, I shall be able to support myself! Practical, don't you think? My 12th grade, or senior year, has begun very well. I've done well in my midterms and I am having a boatload of fun with my friends! I guess school really is the best part of our lives!
So, a couple of days ago, my friend and I were talking about how everyone has this ideal in their head about what beauty really is. Anyone who says that they first look at the inner beauty of a person is lying, in my opinion!
Most people in India, when asked to describe their idea of beauty, they state, fair skin, straight, long, luscious hair, slim but not anorexic and the list goes on and on. Some find the dusky skin beautiful, and some find it unattractive. Everyone has a different definition of beauty in their heads! Perhaps what I think is beautiful, my friend might consider ordinary. So then who's to say who is beautiful? There can't be just one definition, can there? If there is so much difference of opinion? While an Indian girl can be considered ordinary here, she will be considered exotic abroad!
The definition of beauty is diverse. Beauty is an individual, subjective concept and to try to find a common definition would be a trying task. So, in a way everyone is beautiful. Perhaps not arrestingly so, but they are. Be it their smile, or their eyes or anything! Beauty is truly in the eyes of the beholder!

Happy Endings...

Hi there! I've been reading The Hunger Games trilogy this week, so currently its my new obsession. I want all things Katniss Everdeen. So, like the stalker I am, I searched for everything related to the book! I found that the second movie, 'Catching Fire' was releasing this year, so I went ahead and watched the promos. During this time I saw a promo for Romeo and Juliet, considered to be one of the greatest romances by the greatest playwrights of all time, William Shakespeare. The movie is being remade for the third time I think, this time starring Hailee Steinfield and Douglas Booth.
All though I am a self-confessed hardcore romantic, I don't understand why 'Romeo and Juliet' was such a hit. What's the point of entertainment if it ends in tragedy? The greatest love story isn't Romeo and Juliet who died for each other, its Grandpa and Grandma who grew old together. Sure I get that the two couldn't live without the other, but killing yourself over it? Isn't that a little extreme? I mean, you are just a bunch of teenagers.
Walt Disney would have never been a success had he not allowed Cinderella to try on the glass slipper, for Aladdin to defeat Jafar and free the genie; for beautiful Belle to marry the Beast instead of Gaston. That's just it, isn't it? Those are fairytales, which in real life, would probably never even come true! These are just stories that little girls like to hear at bedtime. I understand that Shakespeare was just telling us the truth, that Romeo and Juliet, could never be together because of their families, and to them it was a fate worse than death, so they decided to kill themselves over it.
I, for one can't bear it if a romance has a tragic ending. I'm all for the happy endings, where the two lovers ride off into the sunset, preferably singing a duet! I love William Shakespeare, I do. I think he happens to be one of the most brilliant human beings to ever have existed, and I love his works, but I wish, I just wish that he had given Romeo and Juliet a happy ending, even if it was fantastical and nonsensical. Not only Romeo and Juliet; even Antony and Cleopatra, Troilus and Cressida, Othello and Desdemona. I guess, he just wanted to show that even characters in a play don't always have a happy ending. Bitter truth, huh?

My Incessant Rambling!

Hello there again. My mom just read my previous post and told me that, anyone who hasn't read the book will not understand what I am talking about. Apparently, I do this a lot. It's like I delve into the depths of something that no one really knows or cares about and just ramble on and on and at the end of it, people don't really like it. Ah.. the plight of being a writer! Although I have given up on that dream. A bit too risky for me. I don't know if I have the talent to become as big a hit as J.K. Rowling or J.R.R Tolkien, or if I have the depth to write as well as Khaled Hossieni and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Their words are magic. They weave stories filled with beauty, tragedy, fraternity and so much more!
Big shoes to fill in, if at all they can be filled in!
Either way, getting back to the topic at hand, I started this blog to be heard. But what's the point of being heard if I'm not being understood, right? It's like talking to a mule. Not that I'm calling anyone a mule, of course! If I want to be a voice that matters and makes sense, I have to say something that matters and makes sense! So, if I write about a book I've just read, I should write it in a way that it entices you to read it, not give you half the story! Problem is, I don't know how to do that.
When I write, I write for myself. For my own inner satisfaction.However, I also want good reviews, which can't be guaranteed! I guess this would count as being the plight of a teenager. Not only wanting to do what you want, but also hankering for approval at the same time. My mom is going to call me melodramatic when she reads this and probably give me a piece of her mind! Ah.. Sorry about the rant! 

Dark Sides

Hey there.. It is so hot here in Hyderabad. It's like sitting in a furnace constantly.. Hyderabad summers were never this hot. I guess it's global warming finally hitting us where it hurts. We swelter all day long.. Anyway instead of cursing about the heat, let me tell you about a book that I read. It's called 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn. It's a psychological thriller, where a woman goes missing the date of her wedding anniversary, and the prime suspect? Her husband. The book is told from two points of view. Amy Elliott Dunne, the wife and Nick Dunne, the husband. Amy is telling us her side of the story, through a diary which she has kept since she met Nick, so we learn about her marriage and what happened in the days leading up to her disappearance. Nick talks to us in the present. The marriage apparently is an unhappy one. But both have their own versions of the story. The issue is which one do we believe? Do we believe Amy, the missing wife, who comes across as an understanding, devoted and even a little naive wife? Or do we believe Nick, the husband who doesn't seem very upset at his wife's disappearance and was having an extra marital affair, but maintains this image of a bitter and unsympathetic Amy, who made him feel like a failure?
Gone Girl is a book that shows everyone's darkest sides. There's no one that is truly good, other than maybe  Nick's twin sister Margo. Everyone is manipulative, everyone has a hidden agenda. I couldn't put it down for a second. My mom would constantly irritate me as I was reading by talking gibberish. Although I didn't appreciate the ending, I understood that it wouldn't have made sense any other way. There is no happiness in this book. There is evil. And honestly.. Its more frightening than a horror movie. It's terrifying how manipulative someone can be.. And it makes you wonder what your loved ones are truly like. Are they as loving as they seem, or is it just a facade. Gone Girl is a book that brings out the worst in everyone, and you tend to wonder, if you have such darkness in you.

Confessions Of A Chocoholic!

Although being a teenage girl is awesome, it does have its drawbacks. The main one being, PIMPLES, which are currently dancing on my face. So, I'm currently banned from sugar in any form. Obviously, I'm thinking of absolutely nothing else. And when I try to abstain, they hit me smack in the face trying to tempt me.. They're like an Achilles' heel. I had to go the bakery yesterday to pick up a sponge cake as my darling mum had decided to make trifle pudding for my sister. Oh! The sheer smell of muffins and croissants and cake and just the sense of being in a bakery was pure torture.. And then, I was watching television with my mom, and they show these people with glowing skins eating ice-creams that look absolutely delectable and that just makes my heart break... I know I'm sounding melodramatic, but I guess these are withdrawal symptoms.. I know that I shouldn't be eating but my mouth craves the sinful, delicious taste of chocolate. Ah.. Just the thought of it is mouth-watering.. Why can't I eat as I eat and have perfect skin? Then again, why can't I eat as I eat and have a perfect figure? Urghh.. The world is an unfair one.. Where eating pasta and cakes makes you fat and gives you diabetes and myocardial infarctions (Heart attack. Sorry, I wanted to sound smart!) and eating vegetables and drinking sour lemonade makes you live longer. I know. I sound frivolous; but hey! I'm 17! If I can't act like an idiot now, when can I?

The Help

Have any of you watched the movie 'The Help'? Its based on the book of the same name by Kathryn Stockett. It takes place during the civil rights movement that took place in America during the 1960's and speaks of three women who are extraordinary in their own way- Aibileen Clark, Minny Jackson and Eugene 'Skeeter' Phelan. Skeeter, an aspiring writer, is a young woman who returns home to Jackson, Mississippi after graduating from Ole Miss. She finds that her beloved childhood maid Constantine has quit, and cannot get over the fact that she didn't write to her before leaving. All her friends are married and having kids and she dreams of having a career as an author. She gets a job as a columnist about home-making in the local paper. She asks her friend Elizabeth's maid Aibileen for help, and is uncomfortable about the way her friends treat the household help. Like they don't have feelings, like they aren't human. This inspires her to write a book based on the lives of maids who have spent their entire lives taking care of white children.

'The Help' is true to its name. It gives you so much insight into other people, into ourselves. It helps us understand how inhuman we can be. These African-American women, spend their lives feeding, bathing and dressing other people's children, and those children grow up prejudiced against the women who actually brought them up. Every morning, Aibileen comes to her employer, Elizabeth Leefolt's house and wakes up her daughter Mae. She tells her this mantra everyday, "You is kind, you is smart, you is important", because her mom couldn't be bothered with her. These women love these kids like they do their own flesh and blood, and probably even more than their own parents and they end up being treated worse than the dirt on one's shoes. It requires a huge heart to love someone else's kid, especially when that someone treats you like you have a disease. How is it human to treat someone like they are not even real people? Humanity isn't a human instinct. Before being accused of plagiarism, let me tell you my mother said that.

The sad part is, that we, in India, don't treat our help any better even now. Most of us treat them like they don't have a life of their own. Forget about the way we treat our servants, what about our caste system? We decided that some people in the society weren't even worth speaking to, forget about that we thought we shouldn't even touch them. 'The Help' is a mirror to all of us. It shows us that all of us are capable of cruelty if we want to be. All of us want to feel superior to someone else, even if we hate to admit it. Deep down, we do. Its a part of us that most of try not to show, but it comes out in different ways. 

I never forgot the way Aibileen speaks to Mae Mobley. She was a little girl who was never told that she was pretty, never carried around by anyone other than the maid, never loved. That too is a kind of discrimination. Not being loved because she just wasn't pretty? She was a little girl! All little girls should be told that they're pretty, no matter what. I have to admit, watching this movie, moved me, touched me, and made me want to become a better person!

Biology is Not Destiny

As I write this I'm watching 'We the People' where the debate is about whether Indian women are combating bias in the armed forces. I honestly don't understand why most people think that women aren't brave enough to join the army or the navy or the air force. Women are capable of more courage than anyone. How does a country progress when its women are facing discrimination? How exactly does Finance Minister Chidambaram expect to end gender discrimination by just allocating 200 crores in the budget. Is that going to change the mindset of men? Forget about men, is it going to change the mindset of mother-in-laws? I frankly think that the mother-in-laws are the absolute worst! Most of them are under the delusion that just because they gave birth to sons, they are somehow superior. They feel like they have every right to subject the daughter-in-law to a life of slavery. They feel they have every right to make her cook an entire meal when she's recovering from an illness. They feel they have every right to decide what the girl wants to do with her life. How many cases of abuse, both mental and physical goes unreported every year in India? Why do people in India still believe that a woman's job is to cook good food, wash the clothes and be the perfect hostess? Anything else, she's called aggressive and over-ambitious. We may say that people's mindset is changing. But is it really true? Would a man willingly stay home with the kids, do the cleaning, cooking and grocery shopping? Or would he predictably think its beneath him?
Just because you're a girl, it can't determine what you do with your life. I don't think I'll ever stand being written off just because I'm a woman. If anything, we should be respected more because we are women! At the risk of sounding conceited, what makes men better than us? I mean, we can do what they do. Actually, we do it better than them most of the time! I resent the fact that some men assume that as soon as a woman has a baby, she is duty-bound to quit her job and devote all her time to taking care of her child. Not that I'm saying its a bad thing if a woman wants to spend time with her child, but the man will not consider it for a second, because the man is the apparent breadwinner, isn't it? God! When will men stop being the sexist, chauvinistic pigs that they have been since the beginning of time?

Lessons Learnt From A Chick Lit

Hmm... I don't think I've gone on such a long break before.. What does one do when suffering from writer's block? I started to write two posts, left both halfway! And I plan on making writing my career! Jolly good, isn't it? I hate writing bad stuff! Mostly because my mom gives me a hard time time about it but also because I feel unsatisfied with a bad post...  I haven't been reading much for the past few days, other than the occasional chick lit! People may call it trashy, but I don't think there's anything wrong with reading for pleasure. I mean what's the point of reading at all, if you aren't getting any pleasure out of it? I also think that if one doesn't get pleasure from what he/she reads, he/she don't even learn anything. Because it's only when you derive pleasure from something are you willing to learn from it. I don't understand the people who only read Malcolm Gladwell and then act as if they're superior to the ones who love books like Harry Potter.

There's always a lesson to learn from everything. From Lord of Rings, you learn that size is no estimation of power and that if you have friends all burdens are easier to bear. From Harry Potter you learn, that love is the strongest power in the world. From To Kill A Mockingbird you learn that you never really know anyone unless you step into their shoes and walk around in them. What my point is, is that every book, every film, is trying to send out a message! I think the message that chick lits send out is to never lose faith in true love. Because once you do, your view of the world turns a little jaded. It's my opinion! I love chick lits because it's nice to just get absorbed into the happening lives of young women, a lot like us in many ways and watch them find their soulmate! I love books, so I tend to speak of them very often! Don't mind me! This post is repititive, I know! But I just couldn't think of what to write!

The Loss of Individuality

Today in class, we started a poem by John Keats-'Ode on a Grecian Urn'; or rather, we were given an introduction to the times it was written in. My teacher spoke of how poets and artists were inspired by nature and that as nature was perfect, anything derived from it was also perfect. They also thought of the Greek and Roman eras as perfect. Implying that, all technological progress has brought is discontent and unhappiness in everyone's lives. That was the sentence that struck me. Not only has technological progress created discontent, it has also destroyed creativity. Its like life has become easier, so mankind has ceased to imagine!
I mean, look at it! When there were no facilities, no fancy machinery, only human labour; beautiful buildings like the Taj Mahal, the Notre Dame, the Sagrada Famiglia (although incomplete, incredibly beautiful), the pyramids in Egypt and countless other monuments that we see!
Now we have world-class technology and all we can create are the ugly skyscrapers and malls that we see popping up everywhere! Maybe that's it. When you don't have a lot, you appreciate beauty, and when you do, you pretend to! It's all part of the social status, isn't it? To appreciate Mozart's music, admire a Monet or a Renoir? What are the odds that those very people would not be able to differentiate between Mozart and an ordinary musician? I'm guessing they would be incredibly high.
People love to show that they are spiritual and cultured. That's the key word-show! The moment we start worrying about what other people think off, we cease to think and enjoy for own pleasure. So what if you don't think Picasso is brilliant? So what if you don't understand the works of Stephen Sondheim? Most people don't! At least you have the guts to admit it! We don't live to impress anybody. Nor do we live to conform to anyone else's ideas? We do live for others, but we aren't expected to change to suit their needs. The sad part is, most people already know of all this, but are afraid to raise their voice, afraid to be even a slightly bit different, lest they should be mocked. Brilliant world we live in, don't we? Liberty, Equality and Fraternity indeed!

The Repurcussions of a Quick Temper!

According to my mum, I deserve a huge set of kicks! She says that I lose my temper too often and she says, and I quote, "You storm around the house with a blood pressure of 190!". According to her, when I throw my tantrums, I look like a woman that should be locked up in the madhouse. I do agree that I tend to get a little extreme, and I am short-tempered at times, but what can one do, when being constantly poked by a toothpick? Or being constantly interrupted while exercising, or updating my blog?
She says that in spite of all this I should maintain a sweet and kind demeanour! That no matter what, a lady should always be a lady! Both she and my dear sister know exactly how to get under my skin. And they exploit it every opportunity they get! I know its foolish that I let it get to me, considering I've been hearing it for years and I should have learnt how to respond in a grown-up way by now. But my temper always gets the better of me! I'm writing this right now because my mom just told me off for snapping at her as I was updating my blog! As its fresh in my mind, and I can't think of anything else, I decided to write this! She says I'll chase off anyone who is wants to be my friend, with my shrill voice! Quite a frightening prospect, but intriguing nonetheless! Nonetheless! That's another word that bugs her! She thinks me using it in an argument is preposterous and pretentious and downright impudent! I didn't mean to come across as impudent! I just said it! My mom, although an incredibly interesting person to chat with, has her quirks! Like, she loves to entertain herself by calling me incredibly mushy and nonsensical names just to see my reaction! And then both she and my sister fall into peals of laughter about it! But she reverts to angry as quickly as she is playful. Like right now she is telling me, that after my sister has gone off to college, there isn't anyone who can whip me into shape and thus, I have gone totally wild! I wonder what she will say when she reads this... I think she'll probably be torn between a desire to flick me on the head and and call my sister and talk about my nuttiness!

The Writings of Nicholas Sparks!

Nicholas Sparks, I think is the author version of Bollywood film director Yash Chopra, who basically defined romance in India. His books are all about everlasting, undying love, be it for a person, or for the idea of a person. The only difference is that all Nicholas Sparks books don't end with the much awaited 'happily ever-after' that the good old Yash Chopra films never fail to give us! Although his books don't always end with the boy and girl riding off into the sunset with each other (metaphorically, of course!), they always leave you with the hope that love like that exists. Love that exceeds boundaries and time but never ceases. Being the hopeless romantic that I am, I love his books!
He fills you up with hope that boys, or shall I say, men like that truly exist. Faithful, loyal, brave, devoted, chivalrous and also incredibly good-looking! Some may say that I've basically described a dog. But aren't dogs one of the best partners to have? What's wrong with wanting all those qualities in a man too? I don't care if they think its degrading or the characters in the books are just plain boring! Maybe a tad bit unrealistic, yeah, but not boring! His books for me are an escape to a world of beautiful, kind people who are madly in love with each other, and who again and again prove to us that love can overcome any obstacle!
That's what Nicholas Sparks' writing represents to me. Guaranteed pleasure, and maybe a few tears thrown in! What's wrong with wanting to live in the world of fantasies a little longer? If anything, it prevents you from becoming disillusioned and cynical? And maybe, even a little happier than the rest of the world!

Facades..

Hello there! I've currently been re-reading 'The Lords of Discipline' by Pat Conroy about a military academy in Charleston, South Carolina. It depicts the lives of four young cadets at the academy. The initial hazing, the debates on war and most of all, the friendship. The friendship that can survive anything. And I realized that no matter how many times you read it, you never fail to laugh and to cry and, in my case at least, learn how to be a better person. It also show the facades maintained at so many levels in society. The hazing is an excuse for the cadets to work off their frustration, find an outlet for their perverted desires.
On a more positive note, he doesn't fail to show us the beauty, that manages to thrive, in spite of such adversity. Also the description of Charleston, South Carolina... my oh my! It sounds like paradise to me! Pat Conroy, through the narrator, Will McLean, described it perfectly. Here goes...

Charleston has a landscape that encourages intimacy and partisanship. I have heard it said that an inoculation to the sights and smells of the Carolina lowcountry is an almost irreversible antidote to the charms of other landscapes, other alien geographies. You can be moved profoundly by other vistas, by other oceans, by soaring mountain ranges, but you can never be seduced. You can even forsake the lowcountry, renounce it for other climates, but you can never completely escape the sensuous, semitropical pull of Charleston and her marshes.” 

And one quote in particular stood out for me. I don't know why but it just did.

"Observers have described Charlestonians as vainglorious, obstinate, mercurial, verbose, xenophobic, and congenitally gracious. Most of all they elude facile description, but they do possess a municipal character that has a lot to do with two centuries of scriptural belief that they are simply superior to the other people of the earth. If you do not subscribe to this theory, or are even offended by it, well, it simply means you are not a Charlestonian."

What an accurate description of the people from one of the most beautiful parts of the world! The South has such a glorious and even tragic past... Charleston has an old world charm that has somehow been carried away by the wind. Although there is an ugly side to it, it is nice sometimes not to look beyond the facade of a modern day Utopia! The facade that hides the white supremacy. The facade that hides racism that is so prevalent.
The Irish are born storytellers... And the sad part is, that this book is actually telling us the truth. There isn't any sugar coating! None at all. The torture that the freshmen, or as they are called in military academies, plebes, go through? I think of it as a fate worse than death. It's brutal, sadistic, and completely unnecessary! And even sadder, the plebes who get tortured, the next year, they do it to their juniors! What kind of learning is that? It's meant to toughen you up, but honestly all I think it does is that it destroys the human instinct in a person to feel compassion and guilt at the hell that they are putting their fellow comrades... Maybe it works. Maybe it makes them tough enough to fight a war for their country. But is taking away their humanity okay? Is it okay for someone to feel good at seeing someone else's pain? Is that the kind of person these so-called honour-based schools that have the audacity to maintain the facade that they create "REAL MEN"? Where a student is expelled from school by borrowing some fuel from his friend's car? And not only that, he's made to walk out of school in front of everybody.. the so-called Walk of Shame, to degrade him, humiliate him, drive him to suicide because he feels he has committed an unforgivable sin? That is not okay! 
How can it be considered acceptable? They aren't being tortured just physically, but mentally also. What sets us apart from animals? The sheer fact that we have compassion, that we think first of others, then ourselves? Is that what this "Institute" is turning men into? Mere savage animals? All the while  keeping up the pretense one of the strongest men in the world. Strength isn't defined by brawn. It's defined by people who have the courage to face the truth .  The characters of Will McLean, Tradd St. Croix, Dante Pignetti and Mark Santoro, aren't just characters. They are living, breathing people. And their story is one you will never forget.