How long have people fought to find a foothold in this world, desperately trying to belong somewhere? All right, let me rephrase this rhetoric question with something more realistic. How often does it happen that when you move from someplace to somewhere else, you try to become a part of your now new home, and fail miserably realizing that you never actually belonged to either?
Of all these long words strung into long questions, we are all used to a very small cruel answer :'Just let it be'.
You keep crying, keep shouting for people to listen and recognize you but truthfully, who cares? After all you're just some socially awkward weirdo right?
O inequitable populace where have you brought us?
Now, not quite out -of-context, but let me share my story with you:
I have always been a lover of literature and music and biology and a fan following of the previous two categories has directed me towards creative writing ever since I was 5. I wrote poems, short paragraphs, mainly poems, school magazine stuff and class trinkets(you know, teacher's day, children's day quotes, the usual ..). And like any other amateur writer, I improved too,for the better.
Now with that came the interest in foreign languages. So much so that during the class 10 board exams when children were nose deep in CBSE recommended NCERT books, I was involved in learning French and Urdu from online classes. Doesn't mean that I failed in my boards, (got into science) but still accomplished two languages- a feat I thought was really 'cool'.It was not until I set foot in sophomore life did I realize that times were only just beginning to be brutal..
The immediate effect of my so-called 'awkwardness' was downright isolation, mentality of the students being, 'I don't quite get you, you're not like us, stay away'.
Well you can guess how that went. But stupid me still wanted to fit in and tried hard and failed every single time.
There were writers in our class you know, but everytime I tried to say, 'Hey, I write too', it was either my accent or my 'french-appeal' (as most call it) that threw me away.My parents and teachers advised a 'let go' when I was trying to 'hold on'. It was all in the best interests but profoundly frustrating.
Also if I said that I had no one to back me up I would be untruthful. I had quite a few people say to me that everything would be fine, and for that instant it was way more than enough.
So everything now comes back to square one, that it is indeed an issue: People being prejudiced against someone because they won't give a different person a chance.
You go to people for help and they say that you are the reason bad things happen to you and that in normal circumstances it is 80% of the victim's fault that they get bullied. But this is neither a normal circumstance, nor a case of bullying. This is isolation as an outcast.
It sounds mean doesn't it, talking about oneself all the time? Well in that case you might as well call me selfish for jabbering about myself in the previous long para, or you may be 'super' kind and show pity, or, which is most likely, you will stay away because according to you, it does not really concern you. Hence this is the basic idea of what was earlier being said.
BUT,
As there is a lie to every truth and a smile to every tear, our coin of belonging has two faces too, the second of which is mainly in the shadows and is seldom flipped over to be seen.
Einstein was not Newton, Tagore was not Ray, Gates is not Buffet.
Then who are they? They are their own people, their own beautiful , talented , brilliant people who are famous because they are not like anybody else, nor will they ever be.
As we look around us we see day-to-day struggles of most people: emotional, physical, economical. Each person has a different type of problem. Every person or another tries to cope with their current situation in different ways, so in such a scenario judging someone on the basis of how different he/she is , is baseless and in a way irrational ; because in the end, no one is like someone else.
We may imitate a person we like or admire but owning upto one's uniqueness is the most important thing. Be proud of what you are because there is no one like you.
The only person who can be the best at being you is you yourself..
So the next time someone shuns you as different, don't be sad, be proud of it and stand tall on your own two feet.
You're not an outcast, You're just different than most, and believe me, it's okay <3
Cheers,
Ana.
Of all these long words strung into long questions, we are all used to a very small cruel answer :'Just let it be'.
You keep crying, keep shouting for people to listen and recognize you but truthfully, who cares? After all you're just some socially awkward weirdo right?
O inequitable populace where have you brought us?
Now, not quite out -of-context, but let me share my story with you:
I have always been a lover of literature and music and biology and a fan following of the previous two categories has directed me towards creative writing ever since I was 5. I wrote poems, short paragraphs, mainly poems, school magazine stuff and class trinkets(you know, teacher's day, children's day quotes, the usual ..). And like any other amateur writer, I improved too,for the better.
Now with that came the interest in foreign languages. So much so that during the class 10 board exams when children were nose deep in CBSE recommended NCERT books, I was involved in learning French and Urdu from online classes. Doesn't mean that I failed in my boards, (got into science) but still accomplished two languages- a feat I thought was really 'cool'.It was not until I set foot in sophomore life did I realize that times were only just beginning to be brutal..
The immediate effect of my so-called 'awkwardness' was downright isolation, mentality of the students being, 'I don't quite get you, you're not like us, stay away'.
Well you can guess how that went. But stupid me still wanted to fit in and tried hard and failed every single time.
There were writers in our class you know, but everytime I tried to say, 'Hey, I write too', it was either my accent or my 'french-appeal' (as most call it) that threw me away.My parents and teachers advised a 'let go' when I was trying to 'hold on'. It was all in the best interests but profoundly frustrating.
Also if I said that I had no one to back me up I would be untruthful. I had quite a few people say to me that everything would be fine, and for that instant it was way more than enough.
So everything now comes back to square one, that it is indeed an issue: People being prejudiced against someone because they won't give a different person a chance.
You go to people for help and they say that you are the reason bad things happen to you and that in normal circumstances it is 80% of the victim's fault that they get bullied. But this is neither a normal circumstance, nor a case of bullying. This is isolation as an outcast.
It sounds mean doesn't it, talking about oneself all the time? Well in that case you might as well call me selfish for jabbering about myself in the previous long para, or you may be 'super' kind and show pity, or, which is most likely, you will stay away because according to you, it does not really concern you. Hence this is the basic idea of what was earlier being said.
BUT,
As there is a lie to every truth and a smile to every tear, our coin of belonging has two faces too, the second of which is mainly in the shadows and is seldom flipped over to be seen.
Einstein was not Newton, Tagore was not Ray, Gates is not Buffet.
Then who are they? They are their own people, their own beautiful , talented , brilliant people who are famous because they are not like anybody else, nor will they ever be.
As we look around us we see day-to-day struggles of most people: emotional, physical, economical. Each person has a different type of problem. Every person or another tries to cope with their current situation in different ways, so in such a scenario judging someone on the basis of how different he/she is , is baseless and in a way irrational ; because in the end, no one is like someone else.
We may imitate a person we like or admire but owning upto one's uniqueness is the most important thing. Be proud of what you are because there is no one like you.
The only person who can be the best at being you is you yourself..
So the next time someone shuns you as different, don't be sad, be proud of it and stand tall on your own two feet.
You're not an outcast, You're just different than most, and believe me, it's okay <3
Cheers,
Ana.
