Reveries and Musings

16

Hey guys! This is probably the last update, and with this we'll be coming to an end of Reveries and Musings. There's a whole lot of thank yous to be distributed to a whole lot of people, but that'll come later. Till then, you guys check this update.

Personally, this is one of my favorite updates, I love it. The quote may be small, but it says a lot.

Don't forget to vote and comment, and recommend too!

Thank you :*

Ciao

Prachi xoxo

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"You say freak, I say unique."

-- Christian Baloga

When I was born into this world, I wasn't told right away that I'm supposed to dress in a particular way because I belong to a particular gender.

When we're born, we're equal, each one of us, irrespective of our caste, religion, gender, race. We have two pairs of limbs, a face with eyes, nose, lips. We're not aliens coming from another planet, not really.

And as we grow up, society starts working on us, conforming our minds, so that we too, can begin thinking like the million other robots that it has successfully created.

And soon there comes a time where, without our knowledge even, we're already conditioned, already confined in the shackles of stereotypes.

And then there hardly seems a way out. If you continue living with those shackles, you sacrifice your happiness, and if you dare to break free of all boundaries, you stand the chance of being shunned. By society, and sometimes, by your own family, too.

As a woman, a young lady stepping into adulthood, I'm well able to feel my restrictions, these ropes holding me back.

There's a constant pressure on me to dress a certain way, speak a certain way, even eat in a certain manner. I may sacrifice my comfort but I must not go against society's rules, made especially for young ladies.

And where did these rules come from, anyway? Didn't they just come from a bunch of narrow-minded people who cannot bear to lose control over a woman, and so, use their tiny minds to form rules which entrap a woman in even smaller cages, and ensure that their large empty vessel of an ego remains intact?

Why? Why is it so difficult for us to take the first step? To simply speak up?

If there's someone telling me to dress a particular way, why is it so difficult for me to tell them that it is I who shall be wearing the dress, and therefore, my comfort is more important than their choice.

Why is it so difficult to open our mouths, so we can shut the wide mouths of those tiny-minded creatures?

As a woman, I am not obligated to comb my hair when I go to the supermarket, or wear something glamorous when I go to a party. I am not obligated to wear a dress and high heels when I go to a disc, or wear a shirt long enough to cover my stomach.

I am not obligated to put on make-up to cover my pimples, or freckles, or dark circles.

I am not obligated to look pretty for any man, or any woman either, for that matter.

If I want to wear my pyjamas to a party, or skip the make-up and heels, it is my choice.

It is my choice- to do what I want, when I want, and however I want to.

Pretty is not the rent the I pay to exist as a woman in this world.

It is my choice entirely. Whether I dress up to please myself, or 'dress down' to be comfortable.

It is my choice entirely whether I eat noodles with a fork instead of a pair of chopsticks at a Chinese restaurant or not.

It is my choice whether I wish to speak in a loud voice or not, whether I say something harshly true, and downright rude, or not.

You do not have the right to judge. Nobody does.

You do not have the right to judge my character on the basis of the length of my dress, or decide my nature on the basis of the kind of spectacles I wear. It is not my hair length, clothes' length, my spectacles, or the amount of make-up I put that decides who I am.

It is the kind of books I read, the kind of dreams I dream, the kind of bonds I form with people. That is who I really am.

What do you think beauty is all about, anyway? Is it about the skinny legs, the perfect teeth, the tanned skin, or the perfectly applied make-up? No, I'm sorry, but that's called being pretty.

But that won't last forever. Prettiness is known to fade with youth.

What stays, however, is beauty. Inner beauty that tends to show on the outside, too, and lasts forever.

Beauty, real beauty, is the scar on your knee that you got from a scuffle with your brother, the 12-year-old you with braces, as you chase a cute little puppy you've fallen in love with.

Beauty is the make-up that melts in a cold shower after a hot humid day.

It is the dry skin you get from relaxing in the pool too much. Beauty is the way you babble after a few too many drinks, the way you take off your heels an hour after you stepped into the party, so that you can dance the night away.

Beauty is the way you dance in the rain, despite knowing you'll catch a cold the next day.

Beauty is the way you choose hamburgers and fries over steak and champagne.

Beauty is the loud laugh of a joke only you understand, it is the tears that sappy romances bring to your eyes. Beauty is when you let yourself free of all shackles, when society's opinions no longer matter to you. That kind of freedom, that is true beauty.

Beauty is when you rise above all petty fights, insecurities, and realise that you're at your best when you're being yourself and those who don't love you for who you are, don't really deserve you.

Beauty is when you no longer need someone to constantly remind you to love yourself or care for yourself.

That kind of beauty, that kind of belief in yourself? It's dangerous.

That no negative thought, no negative energy can destroy you, let alone touch you, it's a different level of beauty.

To know that only you hold the power to let things affect you, it's a dangerous revelation. And if used wrongly, it alone is enough to destroy you, to leave you devastated.

So it's important that you use this power you hold over yourself wisely.

And it is equally important that you love yourself, love the beauty of messy hair and tired eyes. It is important that you learn to love yourself, because if you yourself won't, then who will?

Beauty is much, much more than skin deep and when you finally realise this, acknowledge it, accept it, that beauty inside you is bound to show on the outside.

The glowing eyes, the vibrant aura around you, it's your inner beauty shining through.

So don't shun it, don't destroy it with your over thinking, with negativity in any form.

Embrace it. Embrace the beauty in you, and more importantly, embrace the 'you' in you.

After all, beauty is at its peak when you're being yourself.

So don't hold yourself back.

Be yourself, love yourself.

The world will fall for you too.