REPUTATION

"It takes many good deeds to build a reputation and only one to ruin it". I think this topic is as fragile as this saying. How do I justify myself? How do I get to know if I'm losing my character or having a good one? I live in a society where there are some people termed as conservatives, the ones who don't let their girls dress up well, the ones who are Homophobic, Anti-feminist, and a lot of other things. There exists another society termed as the hedonist society, they believe in the motto of "You Only Live Once" and I don't think that's okay too since being practical and smart is also a part of life. Then there comes the majority, people who hang between these societies. Living in India, I've always felt judged, compared to, disrespected....why? simply because I'm a girl. The word Reputation brings a lot of things to the minds of a lot of people. Some of us have lost our reputation by wearing short clothes, some because of the dressing sense, some because they are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and a lot of other factors ( Do let me know about your experience in the comment section! ). So what is an ideal character? The one where you just stay in your house and don't have any friends neglecting the fact that your mental health is not okay with that or the one where you don't go for what you like, you don't pursue a career that you want and ruin your mental health anyway? What do I do to have a perfect reputation in society? To be honest, the answer is NOTHING! You can never actually satisfy the whole society or even your parents for that matter. I think girls can relate to me more than the guys but trust me guys are equally exploited these days. Most parents these days think that people who are active on social media till late are basically of a "loose character" or as we call it in Hindi "awaara". Why do they think that? Simply because they aren't from this generation. I know it's not their mistake if they're like this but then it isn't ours either right? Imagine getting out of your house, going to the balcony and people....your neighbors....staring.....just because for them the shorts that you're wearing are too small and they haven't ever let their children wear such clothes since it's a bad character thing for them.

Imagine a guy following his dream of becoming an artist and being told that it's not worth it because it's risky, and it's their dream so why not crush it right! I could've ignored other people but sometimes the problem is within your own family too. Girls hanging out with guys being called a "slut", guys who get rejected being called a "loser", people who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community being disregarded and told that they are "mentally unstable". I mean what do I do to satisfy the people, the society, the community? I lose myself to be what they want me to be? Hear me out, this one time I was talking to a friend of mine on call at midnight. I was just walking in my lane and this girl who was just a year older than me came up to me, shouted, and said as I quote "You are always on your phone so late at night, god knows what you do on the call so late" and everyone who was around me heard it, it broke my heart, I was shattered. What was my mistake? The fact that I was talking to a friend on call? After that my mom asked me to not go for walks. I mean, it wasn't even my mistake but just because the society would take it the wrong way, I had to stay home. There are so many people out there who aren't able to come out just because society won't accept them, so many girls who cannot go for love marriages, so many guys who have to take up commerce or science because their parents are strict.

What is the end to this? I think the best thing to do is change yourself and your family. We are the ones who create society. Tell your parents that it's okay for girls to wear whatever they like, go wherever they want, talk to whomsoever they want to. Tell your parents that it's okay for guys to cry, to go for their dreams, to work for themselves, and not just to start a family. Normalize same-sex marriages and respect the non-binary, it's their choice after all, who are the people to decide! Trust me whoever is reading this and can relate to this, YOU'RE NOT ALONE!! "Saari umar ham marr marr ke jii liye, aik pal toh ab hame jeene do"

I sincerely hope my stories let many others open up about theirs. I hope people look inside themselves and understand where they are going wrong. Let your parents read this too and normalize it because they are killing someone, maybe a neighbor or maybe their own child...

Also, I would like to thank everyone who's been so supportive and has inspired me throughout. I guess that's it for today, until next time♡