ME, MYSELF AND I

We were a group of six deciding on what to do on a Friday night. Well the group was split in two and so were the decisions. Three of us wanted to go to a quite dinner and three of them wanted to live it up in a black hole of noise and loud music! Well, so what do we do now? Eventually that's what happened, the group split in two for the night and we all went our separate destinations. While on my way to a quite dinner and drinks with friends, I was pondering on the fact, how quickly I was to give in to the thought of partying it up and quickly resigning the fact. I have nothing against partying and loud music, but as time went by I got to a mental mode of "Been there, Done that" personality. When you have already been there and done that, then what's the point of doing it again? But it's also true, life changes and mind set changes. We all go through a phase, some people keep going through the same phase and never live a different day but some of us come out of one thing to go to the next. My teenage years, I spent doing just that, HAVING FUN !! And for a fleeting moment, I almost gave in to my mind and indulging in a night out with the same drama, until a week ago, I finally gave in to my "what used to be" situation and went out with few people I know from my work place, and sitting at the bar and watching the rest of the monkeys act on their society circus show, I was happy to be out after a long day at work, but silently realizing how could anyone flail their bodies to a bunch of rhythm-less tune and still pretend they are feeling and looking cool, and instantly I realized from all the 30 people in the room, I am the odd one out and this is not for me. I am not the circus type, I carry my age with me, I carry my sense of credibility with me all the time, and in turn people can see that in my personality. And now, I decline most offers that do not suit my mental persona, I do not give in to my "What used to be, to what is". And with time, there's a sweeping realization on who you are and what you want. Now in my mid 30's, I now have a specific belief on my thoughts and who I interact with. I have no problem interacting as my job demands and my acquaintances, but on a personal level, I have now surrounded myself with a bit of unique people. Sometimes, I am forced to socialize with people I have the least interest in, but as society demands.... But are we really tuned in to society? I personally don't think so, but then again, I have designed my life in a such a way that society to me is pretty much non existent. I live my life on human to human interaction. Every word exchanged is exchanged only with that individual, so where did the society come from? I remember growing up, as all teenagers do, we get encompassed in certain behavior pattern or likes and dislikes to get accepted in a group or by certain friends, and to my surprise I still know people even in their mid 30's, still influenced by that thought process to be accepted, but is it really necessary, if you have your own belief system and confidence to back you up. Living in the west had taught me to understand my space and respect it. I do not change my plans just because someone I know wants otherwise, I do not give in to my understanding because we have over used the word compromise, I do not get emotionally black mailed easily by certain people and I do not get easily impressed either, but all this is not because of any ego problems or thinking high of myself , it's because life is a lesson everyday and maturity is a part of it. Practicality is the mantra of the 21st century. And I was able to have this confidence in myself and my personality through the kind of people I hung out with. I surround myself with people who are different and make a difference, either through their writing, photography, literature, music, public speaking, political debates, or just regular people with a clear mind and understanding of being straight forward and not beating around the bush. Like the saying goes "You are known by the company you keep". The problem is we don’t think much about what exactly constitutes “that” and so we’re prone to dismissing, just by association, a whole lot of experiences that maybe are for us. We lose track of ourselves and what we believe in. Your thoughts, interest, and association created YOU. Who you are is what you are surrounded by. At the end of the day, I speak my mind, I live with my thoughts, I love my friends, I smile a lot, I read a lot, I spend time in healthy debates rather than personal offense, I do what I feel like doing, and connect to everything that makes sense to me!! Besides that, we are all on a journey heading somewhere, I have planned mine on a different side of the universe, Where have you planned yours?