R.AGE Open Mic: [Drops of Jupiter]

Random Snapshots 1

Be gracious

I am seriously contemplating shutting down my Facebook and Twitter accounts. Why? Because I am getting very tired.

Not tired of maintaining it (for someone who logs in everyday, that's definitely not a problem). But tired of seeing so many status-es going on about the same thing.

People complain, people grieve, people explode. It's all just a matter of time. And self-control. There's nothing wrong with expressing your emotions, because it's not good to bottle it up all inside. But doesn't that mean that by telling someone (or everyone) your problems, you're dumping your problems on them?

Maybe you don't ask for their advice. Maybe you don't even expect anything in return. But it's perfunctory for listeners to offer a little advice for the one in suffering. And then there's that fear of saying the wrong thing and offending him/her.

Sometimes, you don't expect anyone to leave comments. But it can get a little irritating for your Facebook friends if they see you complaining over and over again on Facebook about how unfair the world is, yadda-yadda.

Get away from the computer screen and go outside. Look at the sky and see how bright the sun shines. Then come back and tell me, is the world really that awful? Or is it just that you blinded yourself to all that was good in life?

While you are here complaining about how you didn't get to go out with your friends on Sunday, someone could be praying for a warm home to go back to. While you are complaining about eating mushy peas, know that it tastes a lot better than fresh tree bark. Perhaps the Internet at your house is slow, but there are many people out there who don't even have the luxury of a computer, let alone the privilege of using the Internet.

There are many things that are bad in life, and it's not fair that you get an extra helping of it. But as Kelly Clarkson once sung, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. If you were once a victim of bullying, I would definitely symphathize with you, but that doesn't mean I think it's alright for you to muck about life, being moody and cynical about everything in life.

It's okay to be sad now and then, but don't inflict it on others and treat it as if it were the end of the world. Remember that life is very short, and you only have one chance to enjoy it as much as you can. If all you wish to do with it is point out every single flaw in it, then you will never know what true happiness is, even if it was thrust right before your eyes.

It is not my business if you want to make your life a misery. But know that your friends have the right to be happy and carefree. And only because you're sad, it doesn't mean that everyone else doesn't deserve to be happy.

If you want to complain or thrash about someone/something, you can always just keep a diary.

Just know that as long as the sun is shining, and there is laughter and love, then the end of the world is still far, far away in the future.

Telling time with the heart

I forgot to wear my watch to school today.

Reading this, you may think this is not a big deal. But it is an unwritten, default rule for prefects in my school to wear watches. 

Why? Because it reminds us to go to our respective posts for duty on time. Not a minute too early, not a minute too late. Besides, we are a small school. Almost everyone is on the committee board of a society, or maybe even a few. There are countless things to do in our precious 20-25 minute breaks; without a watch, you may imagine little blue or red specks running around our school compound like super-speedy mutant ants.

Then again, I'm very forgetful. It is not the first time I have forgotten to wear my watch to school. This time was a very different experience though.

My first two periods in school today is Physics. Not one, but TWO periods of Physics in the early morning, when we're still technically half-asleep (or very asleep, for some of us). This is one of the times when we check our watches every few minutes, just to see if it's any closer to the ring of the bell that sets us free. 

But I didn't have my watch today. So my only other option was to stick through the lesson and (sort of) forget about the bell. And...it wasn't as bad as I thought. I wasn't nervously checking my wrist. I wasn't mentally wishing that the minute hand would turn faster (I didn't have a dial so imagining was too tricky for me). I was just listening in class and doing nothing else.

Miraculously, I wasn't late for my rounds, and nor did I feel any less productive today. In fact, a short separation from my watch was rather relaxing. It was so stress-free, I kind of enjoyed it.

Because when you don't spend so much time wondering how to harness those 20 minutes, it is then that those 20 minutes are used most wisely. 

So, let's take off that watch for a while, shall we? 

The star of the post, my watch :)

Contentment

I'm sitting in front of the computer, and....I have nothing to write about.

Is that a bad thing? For a writer, that's a very big yes. It could be a sign that you're losing all your creative potential. Your writing abilities are seeping away from you. In a week's time you'll be English-illiterate. And BOOM, that's the end of your writing career for you. Time to dig a grave for your pens and pencils.

Okay, maybe that's gone a little too far. But what if I go back to the very basis of blogs and online posts?

Most people write blogs or online posts for one of the below reasons:

1. Something really bad or depressing has happened in your life. 
2. Something really good or cheering has happened in your life.
3. Something really inspiring caught your eye and you're dying to share it with the world.
4. You're bored.

So if I can't find anything to write, that would make me...none of the above. I'm not sad, happy, inspired or bored. That makes me...content.

Does it make sense? Yes.

If you're content with your life, then you're not devastated or in the throes of depression, so that's good. If you're content with your life, you aren't ecstatically happy, but life's still not too shabby for you. You may not be as inspired as others, but life goes on all the same. And at least you don't have boredom nagging at your heels.

Oh, and I've ended up with something to write about after all. Who knew being content could churn out a blog post? 

I guess I know now. 

Is this love?

I would never have learnt an important lesson if I hadn't been coerced into helping my friend with a  bizarre favour.

In the hazy eyes of a teenager in love(or in fancy. I guess I will never know for sure.), she asked me to help introduce her to the guy. The guy in question had all the "dream guy" qualities: rich, handsome and friendly. Having seen the guy's DP, even I had to admit that he could only be described as striking.

Now, this would not have been bizarre if I knew the guy personally. Except that I didn't. And I said yes.

So perhaps I am an idiot. But for my friend, I had to at least try. So, putting on a thick face(in front of my computer. And even that didn't make me feel any safer.), I popped the first word. Hi.

There was no reply. Oh well, at least I tried.

But lo and behold, the next day when I opened Facebook, there was a reply. It said: Hi.

Thereafter, we did chat a little. And when I say little, I mean very little. Probably less than 10 sentences exchanged I think. Then, somewhere along the line, I swore to myself that I would never chat to him ever again.

At first, I thought it was because I had fallen for him. I would never dream of stealing my friend's boyfriend (or crush), so it would make perfect sense. But how could I have fallen for a guy through a computer screen?

I knew nothing about him aside from his picture. I didn't know his personality. I didn't even know his Chinese name. Was love possible under such conditions?

Many miracles of cyber-relationships-turned-marriages have been told and retold over time. But I was positively sure this was not one.

Love is not something that is formed when you look at someone's DP. Love cannot be experienced through PMs on Facebook. Love is certainly not the reward after filling a checklist of "dream guy" qualities.

I have never experienced the relationship kind of love before. But if some of my friends' horrendous breakups have taught me anything, it is that the strongest kind of love is rarely achieved during your teenage years.

Anything that is precious comes after long periods of cultivating and remarkable patience. True love is no less precious than diamonds and oil. If it takes decades to find a diamond that complements you best, would true love be any different?

Forever is only an extended version of tomorrow when you can get what is truly treasured by your heart.