Sutured Dreams

A friend recently told me that I tend to exaggerate the bad things that have happened to me over the years.  "We all have problems. There is nothing special about what you're dealing with," I was told.  Beyond the crudeness of that statement, there is an undeniable truth to it. In many ways, my life has been privileged and I have never had to deal with the horrible struggles many in war-torn regions across the world go through each day.  But the way the mind works, it is not going to find solace in things like that. "Well my life isn't as bad as that guy there so it's all good," is not the way anyone (except maybe a psychopath) thinks. Our pain means the most to us and us alone. It is futile to try and compare it to someone else. These are not quantifiable entities.  After recently turning 27, I've realised that over the past 5 years or so, I've never really had a chance at a stable, happy existence.  Alternate Ending 1 Sometimes the truth just i...

  As a doctor, people around you expect that you’ll lead a certain lifestyle – big house, big car, big everything. Regardless of whether you’ve only just graduated MBBS or even if you’re still an intern, society tends to believe that one must lead an extravagant lifestyle otherwise one is not a real doctor. This is of course a monumentally stupid assertion. Doctors, especially those at the very beginning of their careers, are never going to be paid * more * than what they are worth. Now think about what rich means. You’re rich when you essentially don’t have to work very hard to earn loads of cash. Or when you can stop working anytime and the cash will keep on coming. That is definitely not what happens in the medical profession. Not at the start of your career anyway. If you think doctors are being paid reasonably well, it’s because they have to work long shifts, deal with life or death situations and face exposure to serious infectious diseases on a daily basis. Not to fo...

As a child and young adult, I was constantly frustrated by how my parents would be overprotective of me. It was not surprising however since my parents married late and I was their only child. When I went on a school road trip to Kodaikanal (not sure if it was in 11 th or 12 th ), my father could barely sleep for the few days I was gone. Not that he told me of course, my mother did that a few years later (he rarely shares his emotions, a trait I've inherited). He sold his bike as soon as I turned 18 because some psychic said I’d die in a crash (seriously). My mother would also be scared out of her mind whenever I’d go (or even think about going) on a long distance trip on my own. The older I grew, the more frustrating this style of parenting became for me. I would never advocate anyone to pick up this style of parenting. It hindered my growth as a human being and I was being left behind by my peers in a lot of ways. This sort of pampering also fostered a level of petulance t...