On Life

"If you stand for nothing, Burr, what will you fall for?" - Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton I first heard this line in a song (Aaron Burr, Sir) about a year and a half ago. It impacted me, certainly, and that is why I can very vividly recall its sound. However, the very inspiring words didn't really reach me until recently. I was thinking about disagreements. Opposing opinions. Challenges, contradictions, controversy. It's not a surprise, really. Disagreements come about every day in everybody's life. It's practically impossible to never disagree with anybody, ever. Let's talk about the past, once again. I used to be somebody who was afraid to stand up for anything. Heck, I don't think I even had a solid opinion of my own when I was younger. I prided myself on being the most agreeable and partial little girl anyone ever met. I liked being on neutral ground. Was someone having an argument over there? Oh, better not take anybody's side, lest I mak...

Sometimes I find it hard to stop myself from comparing with others to have it better, or who are doing something better - strangers on social media, classmates, and though I hate to admit it, sometimes friends. I find that comparing myself with strangers has an upsetting effect on myself, however, doing so with my friends gives me a greater punch in the gut. First, I feel bad because of a feeling that I'm getting left behind while (seemingly) everyone gets ahead, which of course, is nobody's fault but my own (for comparing). Secondly, I feel even worse when it happens with my friends because they are my friends; I'm supposed to be happy for them and their achievements. What is wrong with me? Perhaps I could try to justify my emotions with relation to Biology. 'The Selfish Gene' by Richard Dawkins is arguably the most well-known book (After Darwin's 'On the origin of species') in the discipline of evolutionary biology. Well, genes are selfish. They ...

Today, I have about 3 friends that I know I can count on wholeheartedly. Call-them-when-I-need-them-to-come-over-and-pay-for-my-hospital-fees-if-I-get-seriously-injured-overseas. Friends that I would drop everything for, friends that I will donate my kidney to. Friends that I know will take care of my family when I die, and would also do the same for without asking. 3 seems like an extremely small number for a 23 year old. But I'm being extremely particular in this criteria. This is because I will devote and prioritise these 3 people over and above many other aspects of my life, perhaps up to the same level as my family/boyfriend (Would you count your other half to be on the same priority level as your close friends?). During the ages 17-21, I used to worry incessantly about the decreasing number of friends I seemed to have. I guess its a natural phenomenon that everyone faces, to see their friend group whittle down over the years. Some time back I started to stop feeling sad o...