Growing up,I already had pre-formed ideas of what life was supposed to be.Now I thought when I grew as tall as my mom,I would stop studying and life would easy.It would mean going out everyday in the morning and coming back home in the evening.Eating and bathing and laughing and having fun.I envied the fact that my parents didnt have to cram their books up,prepare for exams,got to wear color clothes and got to watch as much Tv as they liked.I would always think,let me just turn 13 and then i would be a full fledged adult.Why 13? Coz my mom happened to talk about being a teen meant being over 13.Of course I had to wait for another 6 years.
At first my mom said,at least learn to go on your own to the loo without her,then you will be a big girl.Though I hated the fact that I had to clean myself up,I passed with not that much flying colors.Then one day my mom said,if you could fry one egg and make your own toast,you would be a big girl.After scorching many pans in secrecy and breaking eggs into everything but the pan,I finally learnt to fry an egg at the age of 7.
Then my mom said if I could sleep by myself alone,I would be a big girl.Here I couldnt compete with my brother and sister,they slept on either side and I had no option but to sleep in the corner.No more my mom could touch my head coz the stupid duo never let her do so.
My mom finally got me doing a whole lot of things and I grew up bit by bit.
Being a total rebellion ever since I could pee and poop without anyones help,I now thought I was an independent person.( yup ! I was a nutjob back then too.)
Then gulf war happened and I celebrated my 13th birthday in the hostel.The day that I had looked forward to for 6 years was now the most dreadful day,I wasnt with my folks anymore,I was living amidst strangers and I prayed that God would turn me back into a 6 yr old.I would be a good girl,not trouble anyone,never ask for chocolates or any other favours from him but all he had to do was turn me into a 6 yr old.
Anyways,by then I had learnt a few things and in the following years I learnt a few more of life lessons.
I learnt what infatuation was all about,I discovered the opposite sex,I found out I was good at studies and could really get good grades.I made the second best friend of my life,Smitha Shetty.I learnt what partiality was,I learnt what it was to live under the leadership of someone,I learnt how to bend to someone's beck and call,I learnt what it was like to be a teacher's pet.I found out that a little pat on the shoulder and a praise went a long way,in ensuring your confidence.
I learnt to live among strange people and make it your own little home.I fell in love for the very first time and discovered the strength, true love had on your life and how it brought out the best in you.I found a little bit of feminity within me,enough to look apart from a boy.I learnt what my family meant to me and this has me made me very strong and understanding in the truths of life.I learnt how to be thankful for the smallest things,like good food or relative dropping by to say hello.I learnt Iam what I make of myself.People influence your life but in the end you become what you really are within.
This was the base,the basic foundation of what I was to become once I entered college life.College life is a total different platform to write about.
At first my mom said,at least learn to go on your own to the loo without her,then you will be a big girl.Though I hated the fact that I had to clean myself up,I passed with not that much flying colors.Then one day my mom said,if you could fry one egg and make your own toast,you would be a big girl.After scorching many pans in secrecy and breaking eggs into everything but the pan,I finally learnt to fry an egg at the age of 7.
Then my mom said if I could sleep by myself alone,I would be a big girl.Here I couldnt compete with my brother and sister,they slept on either side and I had no option but to sleep in the corner.No more my mom could touch my head coz the stupid duo never let her do so.
My mom finally got me doing a whole lot of things and I grew up bit by bit.
Being a total rebellion ever since I could pee and poop without anyones help,I now thought I was an independent person.( yup ! I was a nutjob back then too.)
Then gulf war happened and I celebrated my 13th birthday in the hostel.The day that I had looked forward to for 6 years was now the most dreadful day,I wasnt with my folks anymore,I was living amidst strangers and I prayed that God would turn me back into a 6 yr old.I would be a good girl,not trouble anyone,never ask for chocolates or any other favours from him but all he had to do was turn me into a 6 yr old.
Anyways,by then I had learnt a few things and in the following years I learnt a few more of life lessons.
I learnt what infatuation was all about,I discovered the opposite sex,I found out I was good at studies and could really get good grades.I made the second best friend of my life,Smitha Shetty.I learnt what partiality was,I learnt what it was to live under the leadership of someone,I learnt how to bend to someone's beck and call,I learnt what it was like to be a teacher's pet.I found out that a little pat on the shoulder and a praise went a long way,in ensuring your confidence.
I learnt to live among strange people and make it your own little home.I fell in love for the very first time and discovered the strength, true love had on your life and how it brought out the best in you.I found a little bit of feminity within me,enough to look apart from a boy.I learnt what my family meant to me and this has me made me very strong and understanding in the truths of life.I learnt how to be thankful for the smallest things,like good food or relative dropping by to say hello.I learnt Iam what I make of myself.People influence your life but in the end you become what you really are within.
This was the base,the basic foundation of what I was to become once I entered college life.College life is a total different platform to write about.
LRIS hostel and Jolly madam came to life reading this post
ReplyDeleteThe title misleads you. Clever. We go into the post thinking this must be about make-up or maybe about the eternal “external beauty vs internal beauty” debate or something on those lines.
ReplyDeleteAnd then you talk of your growth. Good one.
I remember in school ‘hostelites’ were a totally different species. I remember you guys walking in straight lines to & from school.
I also remember Sunita Picardo as the hostel “leader”. Most girls were scared of her.