I am 17. Last year, around the same time, I used to be the most rigid person. I used to worry about being myself, my own charming self. I did not know what it meant to dance your head off, to laugh your head off, and to live life to the fullest. I lived protected and sheltered. I did not even know that it was kind of not normal for a 16 year old to be so damn aloof. But, then that is how some people prefer to be. I don’t think it was something I preferred. I did not make the efforts to try and socialize.

The introvert version of me was initially non-accepting and judgmental which changed to meek and under confident. A person gives this some serious thought when he can feel his self-esteem just draining out. I had realized I needed to do something about becoming more worldly and confident. Just reading articles about self-help did not truly help me. You never understand what ‘bold’ is unless and until you step out of your comfort zone and go out and talk to people. I was an unsocial teenager and it took me a lot of coaxing from others to talk to someone.
My friend always used to tell me to loosen up. I had no idea what she meant by it. “Stop being rigid and live a little,” she said, “Dance around and enjoy. Don’t think what others might think.” Soon, I started to go out by myself. I started talking to strangers. It gave me a sense of being sufficient, of surviving on my own. After the academic year ended, I moved for a month to a big city. Everyone thought it was just to have fun. But, the other reasons were that I wanted to experience new things and broaden my horizons.

I wanted to find out what it was like to be a student in a big city. I must say, it was one of the most awesome things I’ve done.

I went up and spoke to people I did not know at all. I made new friends who introduced me to some other friends. I learnt to live independently and doing things on my own. I partied. This was loosening up. It was crazy how I transformed from a judgmental person to a more accepting one. I have observed that Gen-Y is turning really conscious. They worry about fitting in. They stop doing things they love in order to please someone else. This paranoid behavior is a serious mood killer.

If more people loosened up and enjoyed every single moment, I swear, the world will be one huge party, The Grand Milky Way Party!