Off To The Unknown

YOUR GIRL IS GOING TO UNIVERSITY

That's right.
I'm off to uni.

So I don't want to divulge too much about where and stuff, but I'm going to a really great engineering university (in India obviously) to study Biotechnology.

So as you know, I started off my junior college (high school) with the intention of pursuing a profession in the medical field. I had wanted to become a surgeon...
But over time I kind of realised that my interests were more just 'understanding cool concepts in biology' and 'application of biology in various research endeavors', than becoming a doctor.
Also, I heard that just doing an MBBS does not guarantee anything and the poor students are made to work like crazy before their PG entrances.
While getting a BTech (the degree I'm going for) is also no laughing feat and requires hours of lab-work, studying till you cry and projects... It won't be nearly as painful as medical.

Anyway enough technical talk (:

The scariest thing about this whole university thing however, is leaving home.
I have never lived away from home, without my parents, for more than 8-10 days or so.
In my 18 years of existence on this planet, I have never actually had to take care of myself completely independently. I honestly have no idea what I'm going to do without my mum and dad.
Of course, I'm staying in a hostel with roommates, so we get food at the canteen and I won't truly be alone... But you know, it's kinda scary.

kinDA SCARY?
IT'S FREAKING TERRIFYING WTF

okay.
I'll calm down.

I'm going to be SO homesick. I can already feel it and I haven't even left home yet.
I'm leaving soon, though. *takes deep breath to stop self from imploding with anxiety*

Anyway, I have some packing and stuff to do now so I better go do that...
(I'm visiting the relatives for a few days before leaving)

I'll write a good post about more interesting things soon!
Sry this one was lame af :p

Alvida,
Squish


PS: Here's a cute pic of my OTP (Drarry= Draco & Harry, for all you heathens) for no specific reason other than to warm your heart and lighten your burdens by a fraction (:

Have a great day,
좋은 하루 보내새요,

Okay byeee ❤❤

UNLEARN

Unlearn: 

Gender roles
Sex may be defined anatomically but gender is in your mind. It is the identity that you embrace because of the chemistry of your brain. It is not something one can change and it is not something you can decide for someone else. So stop bringing up children with the idea that they have to somehow conform to these narrow roles of men and women laid down for them by a harsh society. Stop trying to squeeze them into a mould. Stop trying to orient your daughters towards dolls and sons towards sports. Stop smothering your children's potential before it can even begin to bud. There may be a ballet star hidden in your son who you wish would pursue something society labels as masculine. There could be a fierce fire of a debating champion roaring within your daughter who you coax into being subdued and quiet like all little girls should. Stop destroying the potentials and talents that could be the building blocks of tomorrow's society. Just stop. Please raise your children without any gender specifications and let them discover what they're comfortable with. Let them understand themselves... And for the love of god, stop believing in the existence of a gender binary. It never existed and it never will.

Internalised misogyny
The idea that women could hate women seems, at first, quite a strange supposition. But it's possible. Women have been berated and hated on for so long, that we end up finding ways to pull each other down instead binding together against men with fragile egos that are fueled by said misogyny. We need to stop holding banners proclaiming ourselves as feminists if we still slut shame and body shame other women on social media. We need to stop accepting the idea of a hateful mother-in-law and realise that while saas bhi kabhi bahu thi *, it's about bitching time she changed her attitude. Stop settling for situations just because you're a woman! You have every right to stand up to your husband's family members who treat you like crap, including his damn mom. You have every right to not want to have children. You have every right to have a more voracious sex drive than your male partner without feeling like there's something wrong with you. You have every right to dress up and have fun and pursue your dreams. And you have no right to tear other women down for doing any of these things. The whole "I'm not like other girls" mentality needs to be wholly revamped into "I'm not like other girls and other girls are not like other girls because we are all different and diversity is beautiful". If you want to bring down the patriarchy in an all consuming ball of flames, then it has to be while being shoulder to shoulder with that girl whose shorts are really short, that girl who has dated seven boys, that girl who got drunk at a party, that girl who posts too many selfies, that girl who can't speak good english, that girl with a loud laugh, that girl who doesn't shave her armpits, that girl who you've never met and most importantly, that girl in the mirror who you have such a hard time accepting because all her little special details are seen as flaws and somehow she has come to believe in that too. So women, stop hating each other, stop hating yourselves and band together to SMASH THE PATRIARCHY YAAAHHHHHH.

*Saas bhi kabhi bahu thi: This means the mother-in-law (saas) was also once a daughter-in-law (bahu) aka a woman newly wedded into her husband's family. It's talking about how the 'saas' was also once an innocent woman introduced into her husband's family, ready to please all the members and fit in. Then she was mistreated and eventually became hardened into the same 'saas' that she had once feared and had been forced to obey. 

I guess it's kind of a way of softening the way we perceive the harsh mother-in-law and bringing to light a reason behind her cruelty. But in my opinion, why are we not questioning the root of WHY she had to become like that? Why a woman being treated badly by her in-laws is such a normal event in Indian (and even other) societies? It's so normal that a vast majority of Hindi and Bengali (probably other vernacular serials too) are about that. Yes saas bhi kabhi bahu thi, but we need to change that! We can't just sit back and let so many woman be miserable after marriage due to the exploits of her mother-in-law. 

This is one of those things that we can't change with a movement. It's one of those things that change due to internal pressure. The wife needs to stand up for herself. Her husband should stop cowering like an idiot and stand up to his parents when they're being unjust. He married her so doesn't he want her to be happy in their married life? Why is he okay with his parents constantly interfering? Shows where women break through and make changes are emerging nowadays, which is good. Hopefully they can make some sort of impact. I know some Bengali dharavahiks (serials) that are quite progressive and it gives me hope. 

White concept of 'Asian'
For anybody who is not completely ignorant, China, Korea and Japan are not the only countries that constitute Asia. Asia consists of:

Afghanistan
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Cambodia
China
Cyprus
East Timor
Georgia
India
Indonesia
Israel
Iran
Iraq
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Lebanon
Malaysia
Maldives
Mongolia
Myanmar 
Nepal
Oman
Pakistan
Palestine
Philippines
Qatar
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Thailand
Turkey
Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Yemen

So please stop adhering to the "east Asia= Asia" concept created by racists in the west and realise that Asia, the most populous continent on the planet, actually is TREMENDOUSLY DIVERSE. We have so many different cultures and people, who are all so beautiful. We have dark people, light people, tall people and short people. Hairy people, thin people, fat people... i could go on forever. Stop forgetting (or intentionally excluding) a huge bulk of countries that are not highlighted by mainstream media and waKE UP. 
I find it especially and quite hilariously stupid when people don't consider India as a part of Asia. First, I pray thee to find thyself a map. Second, we are literally 30% of Asia (population wise) and 1/7th of the world's population. Where is your brain.
If you love kpop and anime that's fine (i do too haha) but the next time I hear "omg what I'm totally not racist I love Asians!!? Kpop is so lit! Kawaiii" I will slap you till East Timor and back.

Jingoism and Xenophobia
Loving your country is one thing. Hating other countries and cultures... It's not just wrong but also an anti-national act in itself. Think about it. You're hating other countries thus basically asking for soured relations and possible severing of ties with those countries which will ultimately affect your own beloved motherland in some way or the other. Ahem yeah Donald? Can ya take some notes maybe? You're making people hate America more than they already do with your  antics.
But I'm not just hear to trash the trump, I'll call out my own people too... For instance:  I see a lot of Indians (in YouTube comment sections) getting their nationalist fuse sparked by the slightest of things. If someone makes a video talking about how a governing body needs to improve in a certain area, there will always be some people relentlessly defending that body. Not to mention, the endless 'Go to Pakistan' insults that ultimately just get memed. We need to redefine nationalism along the lines of "Always looking for ways to improve one's country by accepting and analysing internal and external criticism". We need to stop having this heinous belief that by bringing down our neighbours, we can rise above them. Countries, borders, lines of control, demilitarised zones; these are all creations made by us and based on these divisions we forget the one most important thing: we all are, in fact, human beings. Militant nationalism is like two people standing in a marsh of quicksand and shooting at each other. What are you guys doing? Stop and help each other, you bellicose morons.
So yeah. We need to stop spreading overly nationalistic propaganda in younger generations by teaching them biased history and make them realise that wars have never had "winners".

Yep.

I have been accumulating this writing on my phone over time. I just wrote them randomly whenever I felt a rush of  "WHAT IS THIS WORLD" (mostly at 4 am lolol)

Thanks for reading till the end.

Ta