Most of the GenNext youth prefer not giving any importance to relationships. They are extremely broad-minded, believe in being self made people and give least importance to family and relatives. This is just the first “extreme” condition I’m talking about. Here people are so busy with their own lives that they begin thinking … “Where’s the time to go and fulfill my obligations and responsibilities towards my family”. They’d prefer hanging around and whiling away time with friends at a popular hangout place rather than spending time with family and relatives. Attending a friend’s birthday party becomes more important than attending your closest cousin’s marriage! And as far as college life is concerned meeting your boyfriend or girlfriend and chatting about nothing at all is more important than a prayer ceremony that may be being held at home. To top it all, lying at home, lying to your elders to fulfill all such unnecessary obligations is simply not acceptable. Is this what our culture is all about? Is this the kind of upbringing that our parents have given us? At such times, relations do exist, but the only reason they do is because your parents & relatives take all the effort to make it work, and secondly, because you are very much dependent on them. Putting on different masks at all times and trying to live relations that don’t really matter to you and have become more of a burden; is this what “…surviving extreme relationships” is all about?
Moving on to the second “extreme”condition. I wonder at times whether there are any relationships that would matter more than your blood relations. For me, it’s a 50 – 50 situation. Reason being I’ve come across so many of my relatives who kind of seem to have a dual personality. (I shouldn’t be criticizing them online but the truth is always bitter!). Most of them are narrow-minded and not open to learning the ways of the new generation. Generation gap is always a problem while communicating and hence, I end up in an argument with them. Getting into an argument doesn’t mean I don’t respect them. I have tremendous respect for them as my elders – that’s my upbringing; I can never hate anyone or disrespect them just because our views on a topic are not the same. On the other hand I have a few friends and know a few people who mean the world to me. We are not related by blood. But I feel secured enough when I am with them. I know they will always be there for me… even when I need them in the middle of the night. They are like my Guardian Angels. I very strongly believe in Raksha Bandhan… No! It’s not because we pledge that “all Indians are my brothers and sisters” but because at certain times in life you realize that even a stranger could seem to understand you so well, mentor you and provide you with a right direction in life, shout and scream at you when you go wrong and inculcate strong values and beliefs in you, that you just can’t help it but call that person your “brother” or “sister”. I do not have any siblings but I do have a Rakhi – Brother, and he is the second most important person to me after my parents. I have tremendous respect for him as an individual and a human being. Some thing that I always say is if I ever had a brother he would have definitely been like him. And in turn, he also being an only child and not having siblings is very attached and protective about me. His family is very much like an extension of my own family and his mother treats me as if I were her own daughter. Certain things just click, they don’t need a reason or blood ties! Many-a-times, when I’m feeling a little low, there’s simply no need for me to speak about it in front of my friends; they somehow just seem to know the problem. I doubt if that would ever be possible in front of my parents! So now what do you title such relations as? Aren’t they more important than… probably your family and relatives? I personally feel the need to name such relations above “relatives” … “friends” just doesn’t seem sufficient! Then there are certain relations that you can't call "friends" or "enemies" or "brothers" or "sisters" ... they matter to you but you just don't understand what should you title the relation as... Its so very much like holding on to the strings of a non-existing relationship and setting it aside peacefully in silence...! And while your deciding on which relation is more important … is this what “… surviving extreme relationships” is all about?
The two paragraphs above depict contrasting ideas. It’s too difficult to make a decision at such times; at least for me it is! When you have to choose between your family / culture / traditions and best friend / new ideas, what do you choose? Who / what is more important?
I’m still trying to find an answer… Have you found one?
Moving on to the second “extreme”condition. I wonder at times whether there are any relationships that would matter more than your blood relations. For me, it’s a 50 – 50 situation. Reason being I’ve come across so many of my relatives who kind of seem to have a dual personality. (I shouldn’t be criticizing them online but the truth is always bitter!). Most of them are narrow-minded and not open to learning the ways of the new generation. Generation gap is always a problem while communicating and hence, I end up in an argument with them. Getting into an argument doesn’t mean I don’t respect them. I have tremendous respect for them as my elders – that’s my upbringing; I can never hate anyone or disrespect them just because our views on a topic are not the same. On the other hand I have a few friends and know a few people who mean the world to me. We are not related by blood. But I feel secured enough when I am with them. I know they will always be there for me… even when I need them in the middle of the night. They are like my Guardian Angels. I very strongly believe in Raksha Bandhan… No! It’s not because we pledge that “all Indians are my brothers and sisters” but because at certain times in life you realize that even a stranger could seem to understand you so well, mentor you and provide you with a right direction in life, shout and scream at you when you go wrong and inculcate strong values and beliefs in you, that you just can’t help it but call that person your “brother” or “sister”. I do not have any siblings but I do have a Rakhi – Brother, and he is the second most important person to me after my parents. I have tremendous respect for him as an individual and a human being. Some thing that I always say is if I ever had a brother he would have definitely been like him. And in turn, he also being an only child and not having siblings is very attached and protective about me. His family is very much like an extension of my own family and his mother treats me as if I were her own daughter. Certain things just click, they don’t need a reason or blood ties! Many-a-times, when I’m feeling a little low, there’s simply no need for me to speak about it in front of my friends; they somehow just seem to know the problem. I doubt if that would ever be possible in front of my parents! So now what do you title such relations as? Aren’t they more important than… probably your family and relatives? I personally feel the need to name such relations above “relatives” … “friends” just doesn’t seem sufficient! Then there are certain relations that you can't call "friends" or "enemies" or "brothers" or "sisters" ... they matter to you but you just don't understand what should you title the relation as... Its so very much like holding on to the strings of a non-existing relationship and setting it aside peacefully in silence...! And while your deciding on which relation is more important … is this what “… surviving extreme relationships” is all about?
The two paragraphs above depict contrasting ideas. It’s too difficult to make a decision at such times; at least for me it is! When you have to choose between your family / culture / traditions and best friend / new ideas, what do you choose? Who / what is more important?
I’m still trying to find an answer… Have you found one?
Hmm...why do u contemplate soo much woman!!..u make life sound far more complex than it actually is...Gwad..and i thot i thot too much...lol
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