Weren’t you a slop in high school?
Didn’t believe that you made it big,
Couldn’t imagine you in a full suit,
Until I saw you lounging in a coffin.
Tag: friends
The Move
It was the big day. She was nervous, worried, scared, and anxious all at the same time.
——–
Friends in her old school had warned her about moving into a new school. They had told her to stay back, “So what if your dad got a transfer? You can stay in the hostel with us.” But her mother had been stubborn. They had to move to a new city and Jessica wasn’t to argue.And so she had packed up her books, her toys, and her favourite stuffed animals. Rhonda and Mervin had teared up when they said their goodbyes. “Please come visit us,” Mervin had said, wiping her tears with the handkerchief pinned to her pinafore. And Rhonda had been too upset for anything more than a giant hug.
And so she had packed up her books, her toys, and her favourite stuffed animals. Rhonda and Mervin had teared up when they said their goodbyes. “Please come visit us,” Mervin had said, wiping her tears with the handkerchief pinned to her pinafore. And Rhonda had been too upset for anything more than a giant hug.The other kids had tried to be more helpful. “Hey, be careful. I heard kids in that city are
The other kids had tried to be more helpful. “Hey, be careful. I heard kids in that city are barbarous. They’ll tease you, and push you, and won’t pick you in group games.”Jessica tried to tell her mom all this, but she wasn’t to argue. They had filled up the car and ridden off to the city of Bangalore. She had walked into
Jessica tried to tell her mom all this, but she wasn’t to argue. They had filled up the car and ridden off to the city of Bangalore. She had walked into the school and everyone had teased her, ‘Just like Peter said,’ she wailed to herself. But she wasn’t to argue, so she adapted instead. Ten years went by and new school had now become
Ten years went by and new school had now become school. Strangers had become classmates and some even friends. As she stood at the gate on the last day of her school life, Jessica remembered Rhonda. “Please come visit us,” Rhonda’s teary voice reverberated in her head. Jessica had never gone back. “Friends forever!” They had declared to one another. And she hadn’t even called Rhonda once since the move. Mervin had called her twice, but she had been too busy with her new friends to answer or call back. Bangalore had thrown her in the midst of iPhone photographers and makeup-clad girls. She had been too distracted to think of small town Rhonda and Mervin.
And standing by the gate, alone, she yearned to sit once again, at the school canteen with Rhonda and Mervin by her side. And then she realised, it was time to make the visit she had postponed for so long.
—
It was the big day. Her old town was still old, still shabby, and still small. She approached the decaying school building with its peeling paint and cracked walls. And there they stood, looking much older than in her memories of them, Rhonda and Mervin. They had grown out of their pinafores and into dainty dresses. Jessica smiled at them and saw they did too. There was not a hint of or anger in their eyes. She began walking towards them, and every step sent shivers down Jessica’s spine.
Friend Indeed
My friend,
You’ve lost my favourite pencil
folded the edges of my books
left the cap open in my marker
forgotten to use a coaster
overdosed on bill due dates
and even skipped doing dishes.
My friend,
Though your idiosyncrasies grew,
I’ve said naught for years
Be warned, though: you’re history,
if you make your you’re again.
A Simpler Time
If there’s one thing about my childhood that I cherish, it’s the endless sea of tea plantation and me trying to stand straight on a sloping ground that’s more slippery than a bathtub.
I like to think I had happy summers and Christmases there in the Nilgiri where an uncle of mine owned a tea estate. Every time school closed for a holiday we’d pack up our trunks, pick up a truck, and head up the hills. And no matter how many times we’d been up there, round and round the hairpin bends, squashing against each other at steep curves, and spilling juice all over the seats, the trip would be filled with fun and laughter. Plus, when we cousins got together, we’d just hang around and find reasons to drink more tea than usual.
It was a simpler time when ego was unheard of, and adolescent mood swings were in the unseeable future. My uncle’s house was set deep inside an estate, and we’d often take walks around the house exploring unkempt trees and unfamiliar plants. We’d find a new fruit each day only to hear from the well-trained estate folk that we’d discovered poisonous plants. We’d run around barefoot and come home crying with a bruised knee and a guilty-looking cousin. And our biggest problem was coming back before the bears got to us.
But then we got older. What once seemed impossible became the ugly reality. We had grown up, and in the process, lost our innocence to society’s poison that our estate friends failed to warn us about. We drifted apart, seeking joy in movies rather than the open lands. We once walked into dense nature just to live the moment, but as our hair grew, so did our passion for attention, and our attraction to selfies. We are cousins who don’t even visit each other anymore. Some of us married, some happy, some looking, and some others still finding joy in brewing tea.
Life doused our faces with reality, yet the memories linger of a childhood worth cherishing.
To Be a Teenager
I once told my mother that I didn’t want her to be my friend. She was my mother, and I wanted her to be just that. But she had got it into her head from some hip self-help book that parents of teenagers should be their friends.
And I didn’t want that. After reading similar emotions on Quora, I realised I wasn’t the only one. And for good reason too.
Teenage is wonderful. It’s when we get to see the world in a new light, experience the pangs of attraction, affection, and even lust. It’s the time to roam around carefree and enjoy life for what it is.
Except, teenage is also when a child goes through a lot of things she doesn’t understand. Like the physical changes in her body, the unpronounceable hormones that show up from nowhere, attraction (or aversion) to people, and (goodness!) mood swings that are just too confusing to comprehend.
What’s more, we’re in the mobile era. The world expects teenagers to know everything; to discuss the latest tech buzz during dinner, finish a 30-inch essay in minutes, do some sort of sport, and break (even Olympic) records that they’ve never heard of before. The 21st century is not the teenager’s haven.
For a child starting out to navigate our conniving society, handle breakups and peer pressure, understand that mom and dad don’t talk to each other, and still perform well in school is too much of an ask.
Their heads are filled with emotions they can’t identify, thoughts they don’t know to express, and doubts they can’t clarify. They’d go to school happy and come back with a broken heart and no clue as to why they feel that way. Is it the teacher yelling at them for a silly grammar mistake, friends getting lunch without them, or that the cute boy in class hadn’t shown up that day? Anything could break their hearts. Because teenage is a myriad of hormones.
That’s why they need direction. They don’t need yet another friend to talk to because their friends have the same problems. What’s more, sometimes they don’t even trust friends.
Teenagers don’t need another friend in their parents. They need advice, instead. They want parents to teach them to handle a situation, not just acknowledge it — as friends do.
Children realise that their parents have already tackled the reins of teenage. And no matter how much they argue, complain, or swear at their parents for imposing a curfew after 10 pm, they know it’s for their good. Deep down, teenagers love their parents for those tiny rules because they know mom’s got their back. After all, a parent is always a stronger authority than a friend.
That’s why teenagers want parents to be parents. Because a mom who’s got her life sorted is motivation for a child to get her’s too.
The Chaos Within 