2023 Chapter V Section III

Social Media

Since the beginning of this year, I have been having many health issues. Alas, it is an ongoing saga of my life, one that I have not been able to overcome yet. But I have hope. 

All this and work and trying to socialize and have a life and save and and and started having a toll on my mental health. I did what a lot from my generation seem to do in times of peril; hide in social media. 

I started wasting hours, and yes, I mean hours, on social media, consuming mindless content. Sometimes the same content over and over again. This, of course, did not help my mental health. 

Also, trying to keep up with everyone on and offline was becoming exhausting. Though many in my life do not check in with me even once, somehow, I was guilt-tripped for missing out on a few. 

This added to the misery, and I decided enough was enough; for the sake of my mind and soul, I needed to ignore all. And that’s what I did. I stopped sharing and going online. As a result, I have a barrage of texts from people I am currently ignoring. 

I went out into the real world and touched grass, literally. And smelled the air, felt the breeze, and laughed with people in real life…and I can happily report it has done wonders. 

I will slowly introduce the online world into my life again but all in moderation. 

2020 Chapter I Section 4

Spend some time with yourself.

I love to do this. I think I have always been someone who liked spending time indoors, reading or listening to music or be in my own little world. I used to think I was a ‘loner’, but now I feel like I just like to spend time with myself.

I wouldn’t say I am the most fascinating person on earth, but I am, to me.

I know a lot of people find it hard to go for a meal or a movie alone. Some find it plain weird. I know many who complain that people at restaurants stare and sometimes even ridicule them because they are eating there alone. I believe them. I have been on the receiving end of all of that. But, to be honest it doesn’t affect me much. It never has.

In the current world, we are almost always so connected. Social media has made it so easy for us to stay connected. Even, when you are alone, you are not. I mean unless you switch everything off.

So this brings me to today, my parents suddenly decided to go to a movie in the evening. They do that a lot. I am a little more particular about what I like to watch and spend my money on so I decided to skip it. But, I also did not feel like staying at home. (I mean it’s a Saturday, one must go out on a Saturday, right?) I asked around to see if anyone was available. None were.

Well, then it’s a date. With me!

As usual, the first thing I love to do is shop for groceries. Yes, I love to go grocery shopping. Be it at malls or the farmers’ markets. I like to make a list, read the labels and look at the ingredients. I like to see which fruits and vegetables “call to me” and I love to roam around the aisles. I usually enjoy walking around with my earphones plugged in. Today I was listening to a book, “The early cases of Hercule Poirot” by Agatha Christie. It is a collection of short stories and it was simply perfect for the occasion.

Once, I was satisfied with everything I got, I decided it was time to walk around the mall. I love to walk. But thanks to my recent aggravated allergies I can hardly step outside without coughing myself to near death. So, now I love walking for hours inside enclosed malls. (And it doesn’t involve window shopping, sometimes I do not even notice what shops are there) This one is pretty big and luckily it wasn’t crowded that day.

Of course, no date is complete without a meal. I decided to splurge a little. My date is special after all. I noticed a new restaurant had opened up, Indigo Delicatessen. I remembered the name from when I was in Mumbai and remembered having an amazing meal there, so I decided to indulge.

Well, 45 minutes and a plate of lamb chop and sautéd pork later, I felt satisfied. My wallet felt the pinch, hard, very hard but I was happy.

The whole day turned out to be so good. I felt rejuvenated.

I believe in one thing, if you can be comfortable being with yourself, you can be comfortable anywhere. I have learned one thing over the years when I choose to be around others, it is a choice. I don’t need anyone but I want them.

I do not know if this sounds like a psychotic rant of a self-centered human or someone who truly enjoys their own company as much as she does of others. Either way, I am happy!

How about you? Do you like to spend time with yourself? Do you talk to yourself? Do you find it hard to go out for a meal or a movie without someone accompanying you?

2017 Chapter I Section 8

The Virtual World Is My Best Friend

Since it is Sunday, let me tell you a short story. 

Once upon a time, there lived a cute human teddy bear. For a brief period in her life, she was going through a rough patch, and she did not know how to get out of it. 

Her family and friends (the ones who did not abandon her in the first place causing the rough patch) were concerned about her. But, she slowly started coiling up in a ball and shutting people out. 

Now, usually, she would go to her best friend, Food but this time she somehow didn't find solace in it. 

The more she ate, the worse she felt. Now, being a binge watcher of things, she was accustomed to the world of the Internet, but she had never actually entered the world of YouTube or vlogging. 

She felt scared. She did not know what to anticipate. 

She started with a cute cooking show where the theme is the world of nerdy food. 

[Side note: I recently discovered I was a nerd/geek when I was young and still am, so guess that it made sense I started with a geeky cooking show! Also, the host is adorable so ahem :D. Wait, but yeah this is about the cute teddy bear. Yeah, now back to the story.]

She watched hours worth of videos back to back and felt like she could go out and make the perfect nerdy cake right then and there (No, she couldn't and she can't). 

Then, slowly and steadily she discovered others; an Indian-Canadian superperson; two Canadians who travel a lot and currently live in Japan (Miss Teddy really wishes she could live in Japan); Two best friends who have a morning show; a few gamers who live stream; a Japanese woman who eats excessive amounts of food (sometimes as much as Miss Teddy weighs); some outrageously funny people from all over the world and the list goes on. 

She discovered the awesomeness of live streams where you can interact with a bunch of colourful people. Some are not nice, I mean not at all, but the rest seem to be as lost in life as she is. And, they somehow connect. 

She spent hours watching streams, videos, vlogs and what not. Though it might sound like a rather sad way to live life, she realised something in her started healing. She began understanding things better (maybe not, but she likes to believe so, so please don't tell her otherwise). 

I think what fascinates her the most is that instead of living her singular life, she can now live a hundred or more (okay maybe like 11 or 12, don't know how many YouTubers, I really, I mean she follows). 

Now, of course, she realises living a complete virtual life is dangerous in more ways than one, so she has limited her interactions with her online 'friends' now. But, she knows, even if the whole world fails her, there would always be fun videos to fall back on. 

Now, isn't that a beautiful love story? Teddy and the Internet. <3

THE END. 

Well, not sure if that story sounded more depressing that it is! Hmm...Evidently not a riveting storyteller, am I? I realised one thing, though; there are many like Miss Teddy (especially children nowadays) who sometimes find it hard to make friends in real life and the sense of community that social media platforms like YouTube provide will become more popular. There are obviously some scary people out there who are taking advantage of this. We as a community should make it a point to report and act as and when needed. 

As I have mentioned before, when I watch these vlogs where people open up about their lives, and all you can do is leave a comment for complete strangers to gawk at, it makes me feel like a non-perverted "artful voyeur". 

Well, on that note, I shall say Adios. I will now go back to watching this crazy YouTuber trying out some life hacks. He is quite crass, but he is hilarious. 

TODAY'S CHECKLIST:

• Exercise: None. I was in bed, holding my aching stomach and trying not to cry. Periods, it's time you stop. Please! 
• Food:
  • Breakfast: Aloo Posto, Rajma, a small bowl of Rice 
  • Lunch: Biriyani, Chitol Macher Muitha, Dhokar Dalna
  • Snack: Cup Noodles
  • Dinner: Rice, Chitol Macher Muitha, Dhokar Dalna, Fish Chop
• Study: None
• Read: None
• Feeling: Emotionally happy, physically in pain, thanks to my Periods! -_-