The degrees of separation

Paulo Coelho once wrote in one of his books about the word ‘normal’ and what defines it these days. It made for a good read. Just thinking along similar lines, it strikes me as odd that people would do anything to come across as ‘cool’ these days. Also, there seem to be strict rules on what constitutes 'normal'. My student life, both in Mumbai and Atlanta, has given me these insights on life:

You are considered ‘normal’, only if you:

1. Believe in conventions, and find wisdom in what the masses do. After all, there is safety in numbers remember?

2. Attend all lectures if you are in a competitive school/college, not because it enables you to understand better, but because you have paid to get there, or because you feel classmates will look down upon you if you prefer to study by yourself at home.

3. Discuss fervently all questions and answers after stepping out of the exam hall.

4. Store birthday reminders, of even the closest people in your life, on your cell phone.

5. And yet, make a big deal of birthdays. Ask for treats vigorously on others’ birthdays, and treat near ones generously on yours.

6. Sleep for only 2 hours the week before exams.

7. Like Slumdog Millionaire because it went to the Oscars, like Godfather because of the fact that it is the Godfather, and Megan Foxx because of whatever.

8. Can talk about your relationship objectively.

9.Believe that the end justifies the means, or that it is better to find rather than to seek continually – in very broad terms.

10. Believe that those your well-wishers are always right in what they want for you.

It is one thing to be normal. However, who wants only normal? There is an exclusive sub-class within 'normal', that answers to the word cool. Now you might ask, what does it take to become cool?

You are ‘cool’, only if you:

1. Show that you are a rebel. You may not be a real rebel – mind you, but showing that you are ‘anti-establishment’ is very essential.

2. Show that you are busy always. Saying things like ‘I never get the time man’ and all that gives you a kick. Take a moment and reflect – are you really that busy?

3. Go for Friday night bar hopping. Alcohol is cool, getting drunk is cooler.

4. Manage to convince people that you don’t study – and yet manage to get good marks. Remember – the trick is to merely convince – who actually goes without studying?

5. Follow football, while sucking at the actual sport, and support a team from the English Premier League with such passion that would put our freedom fighters to shame. Of course, it is cooler still to support a German Bundesliga team or an Italian serie-A team. And the coolest of all, is being able to quote at will, random players, their goals and passes from games held years ago.

6. Like telling people, that you have a penchant for sleeping really late and getting up later still.

7. Update the latest flavor of your ice-cream on Facebook, and have seven people ‘like it’ in the next ten minutes.

8. Make fun of people who indulge in the (above Number 7) by updating your own facebook status with some sarcastic comment on that.

9. Don’t show emotions, except indignation and pride.

10. Come late to meetings and appointments, with a sheepish smile. And chuckle to yourself at the losers who actually showed up at the right time.

11. Come across as ‘not what you seem’. Who wants to seem like what they actually are?

12. Make sarcastic comments about your country - especially us students who come overseas.

Life has a lot of unnecessary floss, pretense and rubbish. It is best to get rid of these, and live lives with truth, simplicity and unassuming genuineness.