It has been 10 days since we all stepped into this new year
(11th being the day I am writing about this). And for me, ever since
I was a kid, new year meant looking back at how the previous year, accept it
with grace (okay with happiness, grace is too formal a word) and move on.
We always dedicate the year to something, like UN declared
2013 as Year of Water Conservation. I on the other hand have a more personal
take upon naming or dedicating year to something or someone. Like for me the
year 2007 was the PotterYear given
the last book released in that year, or perhaps this year could be the Year we
are Re-SHERLocked because of the
season 3 which came, which we saw, which conquered our hearts yet again and
will again vanish.
But the last year, 2013, is the year I dedicate to
friendships.
Last year was a new beginning in a lot of ways.
It was the year I honestly stepped into the big bad world. With
freedom in mind and, like every young person, strong will to “change the face
of the world in some way”; I paved my way to the corporate life. And it has
been a pretty different unexpected journey so far but if we start getting
everything we wish, where will the fun be?
I met new people, interacted with them, befriended few,
judged few. That’s typical me. But the friends I made are special in their own
quirky fashion.
The bond I have varies with all but stays strong and there
are times when I get annoyed by the sheer juvenility of all of us, I enjoy
their company and nowadays I have even come to miss them when I don’t see much
of them. We eat together, laugh together, crack the lamest jokes, play the
silliest pranks and yet when we are busy we are truly busy. That’s just the best
summarized version I could give of my batch.
But these aren’t my only friends in office. There are yet few
people who I call my own and I get very defensive if someone says anything misappropriate
about them.
I would rather term these all as a band of crazy,
idiosyncratic but brilliant people. I call them my S.W.A.T- Slightly Weird but Adorable Team.
If office friends are one thing, then I also have a maniac
group of virtual friends. Brought together by common love of tv shows and
books, we are one crazy (word is open to suggestion) babbling band of buffoons
if I quote Capt. Haddock. They are a delightful bunch of people slightly
younger than me but oh how much more they talk than me. It is no surprise I
have become a good listener too now, kudos to them.
But if I made new friends, I perhaps maybe lost a few of them
too.
To be honest, we are all so busy fending for ourselves that
in all this process we somehow forget that human interaction is the best way to
keep you sane and happy-minded, “Happiness
is only real when shared”.
So yes, I did get perhaps tad bit selfish last year and maybe
moved away or got left behind, but nonetheless I still cherish every bit of the
moment I ever shared with everyone in my life, past or present.
This year was not only about new and broken, it was also
about reviving some forgotten bonds. I think I reconnected with a lot many pals
of mine this time, sometimes my efforts, mostly theirs. I admit I have become
habitual of distancing myself from all after a point but that’s only so that it’s
easier to let go when required.
I could keep rambling away about importance of friendships
and the broken ties and all but I guess we all know about them already. We all
have those set of friends we can die for and fight for.
I thought I did too. I might still do. I hope I do.
I read this quote online (reading quotes is becoming a
tasteful hobby recently) and it fits so beautifully with what I have been
trying to write for so long.
It says-
“The thing is, that when
you're young, you always think you'll meet all sorts of wonderful people, that
drifting apart and losing friends is natural. You don't worry, at first, about
the friends you leave behind. But as you get older, it gets harder to build
friendships. Too many defenses, too little opportunity. You get busy. And by
the time you realize that you've lost the dearest best friend you've ever had,
years have gone by and you're mature enough to be embarrassed by your attitude
and, frankly, by your arrogance.”
I hope I don’t become this
person. And so as I hold my half-full glass of water (trying to be a optimist
lately), I raise a toast to this ‘Shiny’ New Year and to all the ties in my life- old,
new, broken and revived.
May the odds be in my favor
this year.
