Comparisons

I think it is normal human nature to have the need to compare. We compare our clothes, appearances, things, work load and so on.

But can you imagine life, if for once, we didn't compare how one is better or how one is worse? If we could just sit and be happy about the half a chocolate we have? Why is there the constant need to compare?

And let me bring in the technological factor of today: Social Networking. It's a good thing...but reality is that we've articles (some useful, some not so useful) circulating about the most random shit on earth. I recently read an article about why Montreal is better than Toronto. Fair enough article; but not when your arguments are based on a better party and booze life.

Another thing we all (students) tend to do is compare the amount of workload we have. Why? Are we trying to make the other person feel bad that we're working more? Who are we kidding? We spend half our time procrastinating on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and our beds; and the other half cribbing about the amount of work we have. If we cut off one of two, preferably the latter, we'd have enough time to do the "work" we crib about.

As I mentioned earlier, comparing is human nature. Sometimes I think that without comparisons, we'd have no motivating factor. For example, when my friend complains to me about the amount of work he has, I realise that I, too, have work (probably not the same amount) and actually get that work done because I feel guilty that he has more work than I do. Which is probably not the case anyway.

As for comparing places...don't even go there. That's probably the most stupidest thing to do. Places are different...they hold different cultures, historical facts, people, food, architecture...everything. It's like comparing a potato and a carrot...they're both vegetables. Let them be bro.

Panic Attacks!

So it's final year of university. Oh. My. God.

It's only been a week of university. And I've had five panic attacks. I even lost my phone for a while!

Which takes me to my next point...why is life so...pressure inducing? I mean, it's only week one and I'm so scared about what life is going to be like once I (hopefully) graduate. Will I do my post graduation? Will I even qualify into a decent university for post graduation? Will I get a decent job? Will I move back to India? Will I go on the free trip to Mars?

So. Much. Pressure.

I know I haven't blogged in a while. Why? PANIC ATTACKS. I've so much going on in terms of academic life...because let's face it, I don't have an exciting social life. My social life is sitting and watching random shows and YouTube videos...and not until recently, vines...while I eat Krave.

Point is, what is the point of all the pressure and panic attacks? It does nothing but make me more nervous. And worried.

But sometimes, I feel like that's a good thing. It means I actually care about what I am going to do in the future. It makes me realise the importance of life in general and where I am in life.

As always, this was an exhaust session. Of thoughts, feelings and panic attacks!
Oh and if you've panic attacks, here are some ways to get back on track:

1. Go to sleep
2. Eat Krave
3. Go for a walk
4. Watch Vine videos (this applies even if you're not the panic types)
5. Write a blog!
6. Take a shower (doesn't matter if you already have)
7. Hide your phone (major distraction)
8. Get off Facebook (posts that people post tend to start panic attacks)
9. Listen to music (preferably Rock or Rap)
10. Talk to a friend

And that's all! I can't ask you to not panic. We all do at some point. Trust me.

University Days

So I haven't blogged for over a month now. I don't even have a valid excuse. I've been on break since May 7th. Sigh pie. I guess the blog was becoming too personal for me. I need to keep some things to myself also, noh?

Having said that, this post is a very light topic.

Guess what?! I'm in India! Bangalore, to be specific. It's good to walk around without a jacket. Feel humidity. Enjoy thunder and lightening. Eat dosas. I'm so gonna get lazy these holidays.

University life is fun. Don't get me wrong. But when you live alone, you realise the amount of home chores your parents (and if you've a maid) do! Oh so many! Cooking, for instance, is so much fun! On the other paw, doing the dishes? Bleh. Cleaning your room every week is a must. The sense of organisation is needed when you're studying. Finding your textbook among your clothes pile is a sign that you need to clean your room.

Don't even get me started on living with your friends. I mean, no offence. It's a shit load fun when you're staying in a flat with your friends (or roommate). But that interferes with your routine. You'll be busy studying or pondering over some stuff when someone knocks on your door. It'll be for a minute's job but damn! You'll stand there talking for hours! No privacy bro.

University life and living alone gets you active. You tend to become more responsible and empathise (literally) with your parents. One thing to always keep in mind is the reason you're there. Study, get a degree, work. Life is very mechanical that way. But that's only because we always look at the broad picture. Look at it in detail, and you'll find the reason why life is so totally worth it!

It's that time of the year again!

It's exam season again! Oh joy. Sense the tone bro.

Anyhu. It's that time of the year where we don't care what we look like, what we eat, when we eat, when we sleep, if we sleep and so on. It's that time of the year when all you can think about is "Am I going to pass?" "Will I fail?" "Submissions" "Reading" "Studying"...grr...so many things!

Why are exams always so stressful? I mean, I'm not one to speak. I've one exam. But I'm speaking for students in general. Why is it such a big deal?! Is this pass or fail going to determine who you are? Define your personality? Create your future?

Deadlines!
Photograph by Author

Then again, to a certain extent, it does define who you are. After all, you are studying your course because you like it. Unless you're being forced to do it. In which case I would advice you to actually do what you like and not do something to impress or satisfy people. But what you study defines you. I study Media and English Literature and that does define me. I love art. I love media. I love writing. Everything I like is related to my course, which is a huge part of my personality. Furthermore, I am eventually going to head for a career that is related to what I study. So I guess it matters. Darn it!

There's really no point in this post really. If you're a regular reader, you'll understand that this is my stress buster. For all those with exams coming up, good luck! Just keep calm and go ace those papers! Peace! 

Art, Bullshit and Science

Last night, I was discussing the views of Art with a friend. We were discussing various movies and what not. Art is very subjective, yes? But it can also be very stupid at times. For example, apparently the glow light from "Star Wars" represents the male's penis. Wtf?

Furthermore, I could make up shit like that and it would be so appreciated. "Oh that guys hat in the movie represents America. For no reason. It just does." And some group of "well studied" people will appreciate my understanding to be so profound.

Really now? I know "bullshitting" helps in exams and what not. But like there's an extent for everything, "bullshitting" also has its extent! You can't bullshit your way through a conversation. It will just make you sound ridiculous and slightly stupid. You need some form of knowledge on which you can base your words on.

Many people take advantage of art. They think it's the easiest form of studies and has no structure. It's all subjective and opinion based. Yes, to an extent, that is true. But that doesn't mean it's easy. I'll tell you something, Science, to an extent, is way easier than art. Why? Because Science has a definite answer. Art doesn't. There are so many answers, opinions, discussions, it's endless! You have so many theories and artists to refer to, that you are forced to find someone unique, that no one has ever heard of. You want to be different. In Science, if you're different, you're wrong. In Art, if you're different, you're unique.

Pink Floyd - We Don't Need No Education

"Shit Happens"

A lot of shit happens when you're in University. Especially if you're abroad. Oh and don't take me wrong. "Shit" isn't bad things. You know how the jargon of today's world is: "This shit is cool!" kinda "shit" :P

Anyway, living alone, abroad, no restrictions; sounds fun no? Meh. It's pretty much the same. In fact, you start to miss the times when you had some people around you. Sure I've only been here a week or so, and I've made a few friends. But it's only been 10 days. I mean, who can you open up to in 10 days? Speaking to these people online before meeting them isn't getting to know them. It takes time for the comfort level to sink in I guess. Then again, everything takes time. 

One thing you will definitely enjoy is the lectures. The lectures here are beyond amazing. For one, everyone shuts up. <3 Bless them. And the lecturer isn't boring. He makes the lectures as interesting as possible. Maybe that's why everyone shuts up :P

Going back to the "shit": As we all say, shit happens. I've had my ups and downs. Hell I've already had disputes with my 10 day friends. :D But we still hang out because they just that cool B-) See the cool "shit" now? :P

This wasn't really a post as such. Just a time to let out what I have on my mind. Emotional mix up and all that jazz in my head so needed to do this. All hail blogging <3

CEP '13: 2 Epic Years

And I’ve moved out of Bangalore; Out of India. I’ve waited 2 years for this moment and it’s finally happened. Only difference is when I first moved to India, I was eagerly waiting for the 2 years to come to an end. At that time, I never realised that I can make the best of friends in 2 years. When the end finally approached, I dreaded saying good bye to people who made my stay in Bangalore totally worth it.

I am not the type of person who is good with testimonials and emotional jazz (that’s Seni, got me started on using your typical phrases ‘and all that jazz’ or ‘aney’). But this post is dedicated to each and every individual who made Bangalore and Christ University worth it and excuse me for saying this (and am sure you’ll all agree), bearable. 

I cannot ramble on and on about each individual from CEP ’13 but the class on a whole is freaking awesome! Sure we had our own groups within the class, but the fact that I got to interact with most of you individually, even if it was for 2 or 3 minutes, makes me consider myself to be lucky. 

I remember the first day of college, I met Abhineeta. When I first met her, I didn’t realise she’s weird. Until one day, when she, Arundhati and I had a discussion about lesbian vibes. Yes. Like I said. Weird. But don’t we all have some element of “weirdness” in us?

I also remember the first few weeks of college I used to sit right at the front. No I am not a nerd. It was just convenient for me to get out of class quickly and not get caught in the large student population of our block. Anyway, I used to sit next to the brothers (Bipin, Sebadas, Shijo and Pradeep) and I remember telling them that I was born in Kerala and don’t know any Malayalam; and they promised they would teach me. So sweet. :’)

As the weeks progressed, so did my seating arrangement. I moved further and further away from the front of the classroom and soon I was one of the back benchers. This is where I met Alice, Rachika, Vishrutha, Kathleen, Prena and Debbie. Oh fun days! We hardly used to pay attention and usually used to secretly take pictures. Or sleep. And if we had a test, copy from each other. And the amount of time we spent on our phones, am surprised we never got caught. :P

I remember a few other people who used to sit at the back; Sumit, Abhishek, Sidharth, Hemali, Aastha and a few others. We never spoke much but had a few moments here and there thanks to Vishrutha. :P

I always broke our class into 3 rows and I had names for some groups. There was Garima, Revathi, Shiny, Adarsh and all you other guys who used to sit to my left somewhere near the front. You guys always used to say hi to me, which I thought was very sweet of you all. Then there were the people in front of me; Shruthi, Aditi, Kamna, Ananya AG, Kumaran, Kartika and a few visitors who were asked to come in front for making noise or whatever else :P We usually had discussions about class; exams, timetables and what not. But I’ve also had my Japanese classes with Aditi, the funny Hindi moments with Kamna and Ananya, and endless discussions about the end of the world (or a new beginning) with Kartika. :P Good times.

Then to my right I had the more active part of the class; always asking questions or always making noise :D :P Joseph, you are awesome. *poke* I shall never forget your oh so funny texts during our one act play; and how excited you were when you had 1000 tweets! :P Rhea, I will take you to prom and we shall go for soup after that :D Mehek, Happy Birthday on every Thursday! You are an amazingly funny and weird person. Additional English was fun. :P Salome, Your random dancing sessions were amusing to watch. I shall miss them. I shall especially miss your Johnny Bravo dance (that was it right? :P)   

Ashwin, you will be blessed with a future filled with dark chocolate every day :P Our rare but serious yet fun talks will always be remembered. Samiksha, I still don’t like you for going off BBM. I am glad we kinda sorta started talking :P We’ve never hung out (except laser tag but that was the most random yet epic group :P) but our exam panics and random advice sessions have made me find a good friend in you.  Manognya, You are crazy and shall always be :P But you are also adorable and one of the most amazing dancers I have ever known!  Abhishek, I know we never hung out but laser tag (again) was fun! And I still remember you used to advise me about my future plans and the whole moving to UK. Just the fact that you told me your point of view meant a lot, so thank you for that. Ashutosh, Talking about movies, series, music and anything entertainment based, it was the best with you! And of course, my collection of snaps of you sleeping in class :P Sonia, You and I have a lot in common...you know the whole thinking of something then suddenly going blank and all that :P And I'll miss our RR Nagar travel times :P Shriya, thank you so much for the chocolate on my birthday. It was really sweet of you. We never talked that much but you were always so nice to me. Rahul, You are uniquely annoying…but nice :P Internship days will be remembered; from your healthy talks to cracking my cell phone password (respect). You are a nice fellow. :P Kishore, keep clicking! Your photography is amazing!! :D

Vidya, Gautham, Soumya, Maitri, Sanya, Vaishali, Sana, Bhavya, Swetha, Prerna, Naaila, Anuj, Pooja, Manasi, Jose, Manisha, Suhas,  and Poorna; Although we may have never talked as often, or hung out often, you guys added on to the awesome CEP experience. And I sincerely thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. <3

Bettina, I remember you came late. And I also remember thinking that you were a nerd considering you asked me for notes and things on the first day you arrived :P But then we got to talking and am glad we became really good friends. The amounts of memories we have are not enough to jot down this post. The CCD dates almost every day, your random KFC cravings, the sleepovers, the exam panic…the list could go on. All I can say is I am glad I found a friend in you, a good one at that :P <3

When it came to organisation, one name popped in mind, Senashia. Oh where do I start? How I envied that black organiser of yours. You had little notes that said “Study” and that made me laugh :P We clicked easily thanks to the non-Indian background, both geographically and educationally :P You taught me the art of being organised and the art of time management and the art of using big words…uh I mean the “skill of expending gigantic verses”  :P You’ve been a good Sri Lankan friend throughout these 2 years and I cherish all the moments we’ve had together from the random gossip sessions to the ride on the metro to window shopping to talking about ambiguity (Yes Bettina, I had to say it :P)

Vikash, I don’t know how it happened but we became amazingly close friends. You were always there for me (literally thanks to BBM :P) so thank you for that! I will never forget your random singing moments. :P I will cherish our virtual dates :P And I will never forget our long advice sessions and career talks. You will reach great heights. Remember that <3

Aswathy, Sneha, Sandhya, Sharvaani, Ananya M, Jonny and Akhil, I don’t know if you guys ever realised it, but you guys were there for me when I needed it most; and I mean this literally. It was my birthday and for the first time ever in my life, I was alone on my birthday. You guys were the sweetest ever to have organised the movie and the surprise birthday donuts :P It was one of the best birthday experiences ever and I shall never forget it! <3  

Achu, Sneha, Sandy, Shar, Betty, Seni and Ananya, you guys have always been there for me and that means a lot. We’ve had our mixture of memories from all the eat outs to Sky Bar to sleepovers to the most ridiculous photo sessions and gossip sessions :P I love you all so much! <3

If I have left out anyone, it was not intentional.  We had a huge class :P Which is why it should be understandable for the department as to why we are so noisy :P Seriously, you guys have been an amazing group of people. I am glad the past 2 years of my life’s journey have been with such ridiculously awesome people! I will always remember each and every one of you, whether we talked or not. A big hug to each and every one of you and every one of you and lots of love!! You guys rock! \m/ :D

Special Mention:

Pavani, I know we just got close. And you are not in CEP :P But you have been an inspiration. You may not know or may have not realised it, but you have advised me when I needed it and taught me how to smile about everything and accept life the way it comes. Big hug to you! <3

I am sorry if I mispelled anyone's name(s).