The Cliches We So Easily Fall Into

The easiest thing to do in the world is to fall into a stereotype. Its easy to be what everyone thinks you are. Being the younger sister, people naturally assume I'll be the spoilt and pampered one. Also, I'll probably be the rebel-trying to be as different as I can from my elder, wiser sibling.
We look to clichés because clichés are comfortable. They're familiar. They're easy to understand. Its easier to understand people when you can compartmentalise them into little boxes. The pretty one, the aggressive one, the smart one, the rebellious one, the gentle one. Facets are hard to comprehend. Its simpler to think of the intelligent girl as the one who studies all the time. When that probably isn't true. She most certainly will have a life that is beyond her books.
So, instead of compartmentalising people, why don't we take the time to get to know them? Their likes, their dislikes, their habits, their quirks. Why don't we take the time to form our opinion, instead of making assumptions?
And why do we compartmentalise ourselves? Why do I, the younger one, have to be the irresponsible one? Why does my sister have to be the model student? Why does a stay-at-home mom have to portrayed as harrowed and running after her children (Mrs. Weasley comes to mind)? Why does the businessman have to be stiff and stodgy? Why does the artist have to be broody? Why? Why don't we break these stereotypes? To be who we want to be? Why do we restrict ourselves to a path? There's time yet for us to grow up. And when we do choose, we choose on our terms. Why shouldn't I be ambitious, yet playful? Why shouldn't a businessman play football with the juniors? Why should the smart girl always have her nose in her book? Why shouldn't the sporty guy also be equally intelligent?
We are who we let ourselves be. If I decide that I am worthless and I'm not going to amount to anything, its a self fulfilling prophecy. I HAVE to believe that I am capable of more. Sure, I may not be lucky enough to give a speech on TED, but I need to have faith in my skills, in my talent. We all do. Its the first step to achievement.

Wanderlust

I have lived in Hyderabad all my life. And frankly, I now want to experience living somewhere else. And by that I don't mean going somewhere for a holiday. I mean actual living. I haven't known anything other than Hyderabad. And I think the world has much more to offer. But where to live? I wish I could snap my fingers and teleport anywhere in the world to experience that way of life. I want to travel before I settle. I want to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower to look at Paris. I want to see the Tower of London and the ravens that guard it, I want to see the Parthenon, the Colosseum and the Sistine Chapel. I want to see the pyramids in Giza. I want to see the Sagrada Famiglia once it's finally done, once Gaudi's vision is finally complete. I want to breathe the smell of freshly baked bread in the mornings in France. I want to see the temples in Madurai.I want to visit the gardens of Kashmir. I want to go to Ladakh to see the magnificence of natural beauty. I want to see the Grand Canyon. There's so much I want to do. Yet, I don't know if I'll ever have the time to do all of it. I'm no longer satisfied being the frog in the well.
The one thing dictionaries do is that they make everything boring. They make every word sound boring. It's like a robot talking mechanically. Here is one-
"Travel is the movement of people between relatively distant geographical locations, and can involve travel by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, airplane, or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel can also include relatively short stays between successive movements."
How lovely. It's like going to Paris and saying, "I flew to Paris. I saw the river Seine. I saw the Eiffel Tower. I saw the Louvre. I ate macaroons. I came back." It completely diminishes the taste and beauty of travel. Travel isn't just about checking tourist attractions off a list. It's about trying the local food-even if you end up not liking it. It's about sitting in one place and just cherishing where you are and whom you're with. It's about learning a new culture, so different from your own, yet you find something to identify with. The desire to travel is wanderlust. What a beautiful word for a beautiful experience. So, I have an endless list of places I want to go to. And I know that I probably might never get to see all of them. And I also know that the list has just begun. And part of the allure of travel is the endless possibilities of where you could go. It's about dreaming a dream with someone you care about. It's about making memories. Whether it's where you go. Or whether its the plans you make that may not see the light of day. It's about stories. It's about opening your eyes to the unknown. It's wanderlust...

Fighting Inner Demons

It never takes much to annoy me. In fact, its actually quite simple to get me all riled up. Call me fat, call me dumb or just be indecisive. Its not a fantastic trait to have, I know. I'll probably get nowhere if I put that on my resume.
My mom says I should meditate to get rid of all that negative energy that I have bottled up inside of me. Because when I'm annoyed, I 'radiate' negativity and basically repel anyone in sight. The ones who come close enough usually end up getting scorched. So, I sat down today, thinking, "I haven't written in a really long time! God that's annoying!" And my thoughts randomly reach a point where I begin to wonder why I was even thinking about it.
Today, I thought about why I get annoyed so easily. And no, I couldn't come up with a solution. If only life was a cakewalk, my friends. But I do have a theory. I think I get annoyed so easily because I'm more annoyed with myself than with anyone else and I have the selfish tendency of projecting it on others. Quite unfair, isn't it? But how does one get rid of the feeling of being annoyed with oneself? However minor your inner demons maybe. It could be the inability to learn a skill that everyone else seems to be doing with aplomb. It could be not being able to lose those few extra kilos. It could be anything. How does one battle oneself? I don't think there's a right answer to that. We just have to suck it up and take it one day at a time. Swallow the nasty remarks that are at the tip of your tongue. Smile away the frown. Take the anger away with a few deep breaths. Do it meticulously until it becomes second nature.
And, I know my post was probably repetitive. But I just heard my mom talking about rebellion in teenagers. And my tendency to start either screaming or weeping when I feel cornered. God. I just realised how much of a wuss I am. I'd want to give myself a good shake too if I was in her place. But, I promise my next post will be better!