Category: Personal Essay

Value Yourself More: A Lesson I Learned The Hard Way 0 (0)

Let’s go back a few years. I had just finished school and was still unsure of what I wanted to do with life. I asked for a gap year to figure it out but was met with, “Fine, we can get you married in that year.” I said nope, picked a college, and tried to mentally prepare myself for what was in store. My perception of college had always been warped thanks to 3 Idiots, where I saw college kids un-alive themselves and attempt the same. That meant, in my head, if I went to college, I would die.

Happiness in the Ordinary 0 (0)

Indian monk and lifestyle coach Gaur Gopal Das has once said, “Happiness is not about getting what you like, happiness has a lot to do with liking what you get”. The definition of happiness might be subjective but in the end, it is a process of discovering who you are, who you want to be and doing what brings you the most meaning and contentment to your life.

This Means War 0 (0)

Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Dil Chahta hai and so many great movies have one significant conclusion — follow your heart. Our heart and instincts are much more reliable than our brain and experience. Technically, that’s true because life doesn’t follow a plan. There is no “ultimate purpose” to fulfill. If we had a path, we could just always know what to follow and when.

The Blue Curtains 0 (0)

My grandmother slipped into oblivion after the death of my grandpa. For hours straight, she used to look out of the window and repeat the same line back and forth. “The flowers seem so wilted. Do they still smell the same?” She used to ask, as if she is stuck in a loophole and can’t find her way back. As the days passed, my memories about grandpa started shrinking.

The Lull in the Conversation 4.9 (27)

I remember being five and thinking about how big the ten-year-old seniors at my school were. They were older, taller, more mature, smarter even. I remember being ten and thinking the same about the 14-year-olds in class 9. I wanted to be in high school, I wanted to be in the student council. I wanted to be older and more important. I remember growing older each year and fantasizing about being even older on my next birthday. And if I’m being perfectly honest, I still do.

Directionless 0 (0)

The word ‘wrong’ has a certain sense of foreboding associated with it. When you find yourself in a ‘wrong’ situation, your hands get clammy, your heart feels like it is sinking and there is this tiny little voice that keeps telling you ‘no’. It is just the way human beings are wired, their bodies starting to react the moment they do something that does not align with their idea of morality.