Crossing Boundaries

We love doing it. All-the-time. 

I started this Recess week with one splendid song. No matter how Life has been treating you, this is a track that won't let you down. It's a pretty famous number by Hall and Oates; so peppy, bubbly and optimistic. 

What I've got's full stock
Of thoughts and dreams that scatter
You pull them all together
And how I can't explain...

...You make my dreams come true :)

Ah, the charismatic allure of romantic love. I swear that there are a few songs that I'm going to sing out loud from the top of a cliff on the day I find 'true love'. One of them will be this.

Okay let's snap out of that delirium. 

There are more serious things to think about, like for instance, hostel.

The drawbacks of living in hostel do not limit themselves to boring food and homesickness only. They spread way beyond that to a completely new dimension, often known as the 'prison mentality'. I'm referring to the common belief that often surfaces while living away from home, in a huge student hostel which is located next to a forest and surrounded by steep slopes of rocky ground on one side and a University on the other. It can't get more depressing. 

Yet when I walk out of the Foyer and up the slope that leads to the main road, I get this strange feeling. I get the feeling that there is a magical boundary separating the hostel from the other part of the world. As soon as I cross that road, my 'soul' feels unleashed and free. It's like crossing over to Paradise. Way beyond that invisible boundary. The feeling of letting go of the homework and deadlines and finally embracing the fragrant air of  the outer world.

It was during one of these enchanted phases, that my brain and heart decided to collaborate (for once) to write down what I really, really love to do. The key to happiness is to do what you really enjoy and so here goes my list:

1. Scribbling Poetry

2. Painting Landscapes

3. Sketching Anime

4. Cloud Watching

5. Star Gazing

6. Listening to Old Soundtracks

7. Reading Classic Novels...and re-reading them.

8. Reading the Biographies of Great Men

9. Revising the Powers of Old Marvel Comic Superheroes

10. Collecting Envelopes and Library Receipts and Leaves and Flowers and Pebbles

11. Watching old Disney movies, with a treasure trove of delicious food next to me

12. Drawing bits and pieces of Lothlorien and Rivendell and at times, even The Shire

13. Visiting Museums, and Art Houses and anything remotely Artistic

14. Sitting by the Esplanade and simply staring at the skyline

15. Watching the colourful fish in the pond

16. Spotting canaries and kingfishers and a variety of pigeons

17. Walking into Prints, and staring at the beautiful paper and notebooks (and hoping to buy all of it one day)

18. Simply walking into the Library and submerging myself in the sea of books

19. Creating greeting cards, customized for all my special loved ones

20. Walking down a road that holds a gazillion memories...just to step back into the Past for once

And the list goes on and on.

But what I gained from this little bit of information about myself, is that I can be happy if I choose to and I even have the key to my own joy. It takes time to project your attention to yourself and appreciating yourself for what you really are. More than that, it's about crossing that 'invisible barrier' which stops you from pursuing happiness. It's about bunking the concept of harsh reality and for once, taking pleasure in little things. 

There, there I don't want to bore my kind readers. My earnest request to all of you is to forget about all those pressurizing thoughts for just one second. Take some time to delve into that pool of confusing emotions and find out what really, really makes you happy. Then, when you wake up every morning, make sure you do one of those tiny things, and I'm sure it will keep you cheerful throughout, for what can beat the ecstatic joy of self-satisfaction?

I plan to implement this list of thoughts during recess. I hope you do too. 

PECULARITY

Everything Seems Stranger from a College Student's Perspective.

A random human being (I can safely call myself that) wakes up one fine morning and decides to visit her ancient blog. When you've had a long dreary day, and your jam-packed head is bursting with 'tumultuous' thoughts, nothing, NOTHING can beat a good blog post. But then again, everything seems slightly crazy when you're in college, so I really wouldn't know if I'm right.

Let me take this opportunity to entertain my reader with my slightly deranged, but equally philosophical thoughts. 

College, my dear friends, is about catching the last train home.

And yes, you read that right. 

The entire process of tertiary education, however lethal it might be for the sane mind, is about running at supernatural speed towards a train that leaves exactly at midnight from a certain station. The problem here is not so much about reaching home, but more about the fact that you are eternally broke. You don't want to end up walking all the way home, and neither do you want to spend that 'precious' money on a cab. No really, you don't.

Once you're done running like a mad fool, (and the entire world around you believes you're being chased down by a bloodthirsty imaginary dog), all the way to the station, and right into the train, you realize something. You realize that you have disgusting priorities. No one, in the right state of mind, would of course deny this. But it is true, that even if your clock blares like a fire alarm, heck, even if the ground cracks open, you wouldn't run half as fast to attend a lecture. Unless, of course, they are giving out free treats. See, pathetic priorities I tell you. It's a college student's life after all.

College, is about inevitable drama. 

Not a little bit, a LOT of drama. Frantic, retarded, tragicomic acts of trying to convince the cab driver to let you take your drunk friend home.
Note: Usually results in dialogues such as "My brother is dying by the roadside!!!" OR "Please, oh merciful lord of cab drivers, let me take my boyfriend home!"

That kind of stuff. We are supposed to be good at it. Drama extends to all spheres of life, from acting oh-so-cool in front of the gorgeous exchange student in the elevator or pretending to be the most innocent kid in the block when your parents visit ("Mom, did you just say alcohol? What's that?"). But then again, it's all a part of life, take it or leave it.

College, again and again, is about a notoriously great appetite.

So, you never really get proper food once you step into hostel. There's the food canteen, which sells (mostly) inedible items, some of which emit strange smells and could possibly be a week old. There's that one lonely restaurant, which grows so boring after awhile that if you had the chance, you would possibly teleport to another planet just for something different. And of course, there is that one fast food outlet, which is ever determined to make you grow super duper ultra mega FAT. 

In the midst of all this commotion, if a kind angel (your friend who lives at home immediately becomes a celestial being) invites you for dinner, you are suddenly overwhelmed with a flood of gratification. Nothing, I repeat, NOTHING beats home food. Not even a free trip to that candlelit restaurant by the river where you get amazingly delicious Indian cuisine. Oh, wait. ;)

College is about doing something you've never done before. 

Whether it's the slightly outrageous dress that your mother would frown upon, or the dangerously scarlet cocktail at the bar, you can't refuse the chance to try something completely new. Life isn't fun when it's risk free is it? So you weigh your wallet, you handpick those couple of friends who you can always rely on and then you're off on this bizarre journey through the Amazonian rain forests and those Italian Museums and the English Pubs and the Chinese Temple and finally the road that leads down to the Haunted Church near the back-gates. And hopefully, soon after, back to reality...back to that desk which is groaning under the weight of your homework. 

And more than anything folks, College is about solid friendship.

So yes, you're going to get into really huge fights. There are impending disasters such as betrayal, heartbreak, conspiracy and even murder, heading your way. But wait, sentimental 'shit' aside, who really cares? In the end, the guy who talks a lot will turn out to be the good listener during those 'tough times'. The guy who doesn't talk much but swallows textbooks(and scores a 5.0) will be the one who makes you laugh. The guy who drinks and passes out will be the one standing beside you when the world deserts you. That annoying classmate could end up being your best friend. Last, but not least, the person who teaches you to hate, may be the one who teaches you how to love. :)

These few years are about forgetting the gloomy past and embracing the present. These bitter-sweet moments are created so that we can treasure them. These bright memories of laughing madly together, of teasing and gossiping, of pretending to be characters straight out of movies, of being yourself and loving yourself more than anything...that's what counts. These bonds, these ties of friendship, not tainted by materialistic colours, are what will keep us happy for the rest of our life. When we look back, they will remind us of those evergreen days in life when smiles and tears were all a part of celebrating friendship...

...which brings me back to where I started. It's always a crazy life for college students. We dream, we ponder, we get lost in a world which is full of confused probabilities. We submerge ourselves in PECULARITY. But in the end, it's all worth it. :)