Who needs a [social] life?
When I left school two years ago, I left without making many friends. I did have 'friends,' people I spoke to because we took the same classes, and had spent most of our lives together, in the same school. Besides that, I had very little in common with most of them. Very few ended up being people I continued to be friends with, and two years after leaving school, I have just one friend who actually has an inkling about what is going on in my life.
This isn't to say people have alienated me. Some make an effort to keep in touch, but I'm not the kind of person who really wants to make an effort to be friends. Slowly, people lost interest, I stopped appearing online and now, from a hundred students, only five or six can be considered friends, and only one can be considered a close friend.
The Nation became my home last January. At first the people scared me a bit. I was just a school leaver, naive and new to this working world. Here were people with experience. People who knew what they were doing. Thanks to the nature of the job, I met a whole lot of writers, readers and people who are excited about the geekiest things. These were people I could have actual conversations with. People mature enough to not discuss nothing but boys/girls, parties and the latest boy bands.
Here were people who didn't make plans to meet up at places with weird names that sold very expensive food and beverages. They didn't care if you bought your clothes from the posh stores. They knew that "I'm broke" isn't an excuse, but the truth.
When I started having more fun with these people, I started having less fun with my school friends. I gave, and still give, excuses to avoid them. I gave away my phone, and started using an old phone, for many reasons, including the fact that this phone didn't have whatsapp. I found ways and excuses to avoid people. Except of course, that one friend I did my best to meet up with regularly.
So while I was happy living in this little world at the Nation, my mother and grandmother started pointing out that I had the same few friends, and didn't spend much time away from office. Which is true. I didn't go out with my school friends anymore. My cousins and I rarely meet, and that too, for a few minutes only. So yes, I didn't have a life outside the Nation.
Some say I'm a lonely person. No boyfriend, not many males to talk with, the same group of friends to have fun with. And its a valid thing to say. But I'm not unhappy, or lonely. I don't make an effort to make friends because I don't need anymore friends. I could say yes to those meetups to have coffee or a few drinks. I could send messages to people I don't talk to anymore.
But I'm happy being me. I don't want to go out. And even if I did, I don't have the time to have a life away from the Nation.
Here's the thing. I work five days a week. That is, I spend five days a week at office. The two days spent at home, well, I either work, catch up on TV series, watch movies, read and mostly sleep. I live away from Colombo, where my school friends live, and I don't have the energy to make that one hour trip to meet them. And of course, I don't have the money to do so either.
This lack of interest in having a social life will result in me having few non-workplace friends. I will never find a man. I will never know how wild parties can get, and why spending 1,000 rupees on water-like coffee is worth it. I won't know what the latest movies are, what the latest posh store is. I won't know these things. But I will be happy. I will spend my days at office, with people I get along with. People who will laugh at the same lame jokes as I would. People who, even when it gets too overwhelming, are easy to love.
This isn't to say people have alienated me. Some make an effort to keep in touch, but I'm not the kind of person who really wants to make an effort to be friends. Slowly, people lost interest, I stopped appearing online and now, from a hundred students, only five or six can be considered friends, and only one can be considered a close friend.
The Nation became my home last January. At first the people scared me a bit. I was just a school leaver, naive and new to this working world. Here were people with experience. People who knew what they were doing. Thanks to the nature of the job, I met a whole lot of writers, readers and people who are excited about the geekiest things. These were people I could have actual conversations with. People mature enough to not discuss nothing but boys/girls, parties and the latest boy bands.
Here were people who didn't make plans to meet up at places with weird names that sold very expensive food and beverages. They didn't care if you bought your clothes from the posh stores. They knew that "I'm broke" isn't an excuse, but the truth.
When I started having more fun with these people, I started having less fun with my school friends. I gave, and still give, excuses to avoid them. I gave away my phone, and started using an old phone, for many reasons, including the fact that this phone didn't have whatsapp. I found ways and excuses to avoid people. Except of course, that one friend I did my best to meet up with regularly.
So while I was happy living in this little world at the Nation, my mother and grandmother started pointing out that I had the same few friends, and didn't spend much time away from office. Which is true. I didn't go out with my school friends anymore. My cousins and I rarely meet, and that too, for a few minutes only. So yes, I didn't have a life outside the Nation.
Some say I'm a lonely person. No boyfriend, not many males to talk with, the same group of friends to have fun with. And its a valid thing to say. But I'm not unhappy, or lonely. I don't make an effort to make friends because I don't need anymore friends. I could say yes to those meetups to have coffee or a few drinks. I could send messages to people I don't talk to anymore.
But I'm happy being me. I don't want to go out. And even if I did, I don't have the time to have a life away from the Nation.
Here's the thing. I work five days a week. That is, I spend five days a week at office. The two days spent at home, well, I either work, catch up on TV series, watch movies, read and mostly sleep. I live away from Colombo, where my school friends live, and I don't have the energy to make that one hour trip to meet them. And of course, I don't have the money to do so either.
This lack of interest in having a social life will result in me having few non-workplace friends. I will never find a man. I will never know how wild parties can get, and why spending 1,000 rupees on water-like coffee is worth it. I won't know what the latest movies are, what the latest posh store is. I won't know these things. But I will be happy. I will spend my days at office, with people I get along with. People who will laugh at the same lame jokes as I would. People who, even when it gets too overwhelming, are easy to love.
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