New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve has to be the most overrated day of the year. You're actually under pressure to have fun. Where's the fun in that? You dress up, pay to go to some party where the music is so loud that you can't hear your own voice much less anyone else's, dance in your heels till your feet are sore, scream "Happy New Year" at midnight and then what? Its like this huge drumroll seeming like it's leading up to something awesome and then falls flat. What do you do next? It's back to the real world. Back to our ruts, our unglamorous lives. It's almost like the withdrawal symptoms when recovering from an addiction. Why should there be so much pressure to have fun? It's like a system of one-upmanship. Who had the most fun last night? Who danced the night away? Who was at the most happening place? New Year's Eve is basically planned spontaneity-how ridiculous does that sound? But like other traditions, I guess this is one too. Despite how annoying some of them can be, we indulge in them because it's what we do. We cant really do without them. We could ease up on the pressure though. Not all of us are party animals (myself included). Ironically, I have a party to go to tonight. Ah well, farewell 2016! It wasn't particularly nice knowing you and 2017, please be good!

The Thing About Unrequited Love

I read a lot of the classics as a child. One of my favourites was Little Women. I was heartbroken when Jo didn't reciprocate Laurie's affections. Back then, I believed that if you loved someone, they were obligated to love you back. It was almost like a contract. Come to think of it, my thoughts closely mirrored Shahrukh Khan's character in Darr. But, it was the done thing, wasn't it? That the girl eventually fell for the guy or vice versa? It was a foolproof formula, guaranteed to be a hit with its audience. It wasn't until much later that I realised that you don't love someone on the condition that they love you back. You love them because you chose to. They didn't ask you to do anything of the sort. You can't resent them for not feeling the same way. Its easier said than done though. And, as someone who has never experienced romantic reciprocity (I'm told I'm a little frightening when I like someone-and you've all read about my legendary flirting technique), its really hard to deal with the rejection. So, what do you do? How do you deal with it? You could be melodramatic like me and say, "I'm not meant for love" or you could be philosophical and say, "When it's meant to be, it will be". I'm like a pendulum, swinging from one extreme to the other. But one thing no one should ever do is be like Ranbir Kapoor's character in Ae Dil Hai Mushkil-he just can't take no for an answer. Even K-k-k-kiran was less annoying and creepy than he was. He gives a bad name to lovers everywhere. He wants her because he can't have her. He's that one guy trying so desperately to get out of the friendzone, but keeps getting sucked back in. You should know when to cut your losses and leave. Because I believe that we were rejected for the sole reason that we were meant for someone else. And the sooner we understand that, the sooner we find our happy ending. And well, heartbreak is one of the biggest inspirations (after reciprocal love :P). At least something good came out of it, right?
(P.S. I've been asked why I write about love so much. I do think about it more than anyone with any common sense should. I think it's all the love stories I've read. They've filled my head with unrealistic notions. My writings are my way of coming to terms with it)