In our life we meet a lot of people who spark a variety of reactions in us – ranging from downright disgust to absolute astonishment. Since I am a chatterbox, I made tons of friends over the years. However, there is this one girl I met when I was thirteen, who broke whatever pre-conceived notions I had at that young age about ‘being a girl’. She continues to surprise me with every phone call!

When I met Lisa*, we did not exactly hit it off right away. In fact, we annoyed each other. But over time, we became best friends who gossiped about boys, rumours in school, studies (occasionally) & boys again (the topics have evolved over the years). We used to race each other in our school corridors which may have scared more than a few students. 

During those days, like all giggling teens ,we were perfecting the subtle art of ogling guys where the perfection lay at their unawareness. One of my fondest memories go thus. We were walking along the corridor as usual when she spots this guy who was there on her hit list. Then suddenly out of the blue, Lisa heads over to him, dragging me by her side and declares something like this, “Hey, My name is Lisa. I think you look amazing. I have been checking you out for the past couple of days and wanted you to know that.”

I wanted Mother Earth to swallow me then & there. There was nothing subtle about what she did. The guy was opening & closing his mouth like a goldfish, but he recovered immediately and laughed it off. They became really great friends! That’s it. No clichéd romance there. 

That’s her. She still does that I believe. Even if it’s a relationship, she has no qualms to take the first step in asking the guy out and I admire that. It’s not just this, but she breaks all sorts of stereotypes. I know there are other people who do the same, but she is the only one in my basket of friends. Most of us are wary of the first move in anything due to lack of confidence. And it’s not just about boys, she doesn’t mind taking the reins in her hands when it comes to any arena.

She is brilliant at studies/work, I’m sure the phrase ‘Beauty with Brains’ was coined for people like her. She is so confident about herself that its aura surrounds her as she goes about conquering the world. 

We must all learn to be confidently, unapologetically ourselves, however different we are from the rest of the species.

*Name changed due to obvious reasons.

Photo courtesy : Pinterest