Friday, June 17, 2005

First, I was blazing with rage. Then I was left simply dumfounded. And now I'm having difficulty arranging my scattered thoughts. I think I've reached one of those points in my life again when I'm letting my parents down again. Come to think of it in personal matters I moved away from the ‘ideal’ image a while ago, and now I’ve let them down professionally as well. “So it's a business magazine you’re writing for, then why don’t you write articles on economic issues as well? When are you going to put the MBA knowledge to use?” My dad despondently attempting at altering my professional course. In my head I recall the time when in 10th grade my marks were good, but not great, and listening to dad’s silence at the other end of the phone had completely broken me down. Responsibility. I have a warped idea that I need to perform well, for my parents, if not for myself. And there that day I felt like a looser who had only one primary responsibility and was not competent enough to fulfil that one role properly. Subsequent years I went on to perform well enough, except this morning the conversation with my dad made me feel like I was back in 10th grade on the other end of that phone. The pace at which I've been running at, did not allow me the luxury to spare a few tears to pamper myself with, and there that comment’s been rotting in my head until this evening’s events.

It's the first time I'm listening to my heart. I'm writing. I'm doing what I dreamt of as a little girl. Except the hitch is of the doubts in my head, afterall I'm not trained to write for magazines. Plus my dad will probably never show my relatives what his girl writes. I write for the back pages of the magazine where my headlines are about dipping cleavage lines and silicon implants. If that was not bad enough, the copy team has added and subtracted seemingly according to the fancy of a nine year old, where meanings are fumbled up, writing style is ravaged and the entire course of the story is severely mutilated! I am scared of reading my article once again, it's an absolute catastrophe!

So I'm this lil girl who knows squat about media or journalism, and from one end am being led to believe I'm good enough to be in the editorial team, and from the other end that perhaps I’m just a blue-eyed girl better fitted in any place but here!

Tabloids. The thought scares me.

No matter how hard you try, you just don’t find a place to belong to. Like a tempest, never to settle down. Raging. Raging.

10 comments:

Arindam said...

Hang on there! All in the same boat in almost the same tempest.

Anonymous said...

it'll get better..
every cloud has a silver lining,
dont give up and hope.

Calvin said...

"No matter how hard you try, you just don’t find a place to belong to."

when we do find such places, we become lazy, and lose our edge.. if you shall not seek more, then you shall not find more.

parents quite unknowingly weigh us down with their expectations.. don't forget your own expectations of yourself. :-)

IdeaSmith said...

I can really empathise with you and where you are. Would you like to chat sometime? I'm on just_astatistic@yahoo.com.

In the meantime, don't stop believing in your dreams...they are really the ONLY thing you have of your very own.

junat said...

hey wats that about
have you ever heard about a guy who graduated or even got a phd. or something and just got into a firm as a ceo or something huh!!!

well i know about the feeling coz i know i hav disappointed my parents quite a few times . but i know that i have it in me to make them feel proud.

what if u are not writing the cover story of the magazine , but u know that u have it in you to write it.

all that parents want is that we shud not be looked as inferior in front of others.

ur dad must have seen people not getting wat they deserve and thats the reason for worry
they have done a lot for our education so they feel that if we are not seen in high regards at the place then it is their failure.

also it is good that they are your critics instead of anyone else[coz that hurt a lot more] . also you will keep knowing that wher and why you should improve.

there is nothing to be discouraged in it . you may not be writing cover stories but you should always know you can . and even if you think you can not do that right now you must believe that you can some day and that you are working towards it .

also all that your dad may be needing now is an assurance from her daughter that she knows what she is doing and respects what her dad's words .

divya said...

its a matter of time and very soon things will brighten up again..we all struggle to find our way but sooner or later we find our destined paths and our destined destinations

Ailyn said...

the only place you need to feel comfortable is with yourself. not your family, not your job, not your friends. if u r happy doing what u r doing, then the hell with everyone else. be happy for u. your success or failure is for u not anyone else. too often parents think that it reflect on them. it does not. smile lovely Gul. and keep writing.

Gul said...

aye, thanks y'all, thanks very much.

floots said...

Just keep writing. Suffer the fools (but only for now and not too gladly!)

Gul said...

floots, that coming from you, means a lot. thank you.