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?