As I scroll down...

Like most people these days (or most people with little focus these days) I was switching between the different social media platforms during the break that I had given myself.(Apparently breaks are essential for increasing your productivity-ahem!) The big news of the day was how NDTV reporter Ms. Nidhi Razdan was victim to a phishing attack online. For those unaware, Nidhi had received a job offer from Harvard University to be an Associate Professor in Journalism which led her to quit the job at NDTV. It was then found out that the offer was fake & Harvard had in fact, made no such offer . Like most people on the internet I felt sorry for her. It was surprising that a person from that strata of the society, a journalist, could be victim to such frauds. But more than that I was reminded of the time when Ms. Razdan had shared the prestigious news online. It was a few months ago , in between one of the many self imposed breaks I had scrolled down to read the post. I remember reading the post and being happy for her (for I was an ardent viewer and felt part of the achievement). But it also made me anxious- about my future, about my upcoming exams, about how only good things are happening to everyone on social media while I have to just keep waiting for little joys. And now here I am, again anxious and worried, but for her. The present me wants to go back in time to the past worried me and whisper to her " Go back to sleep, stop working up, instead work on things that you can actually control." Sadly that was not possible - so I went back to scrolling.

Another big news of the day was the leaked chats of another journalist (should I call him that?) Arnab Goswami. Well, interestingly that also had a tiny-winy past connection. Rewind to the times when I was a diligent and sincere eighth standard student. I wanted to improve my General Knowledge and English and had resolved to watch the 9pm news daily. No points for guessing whose show I used to watch. Back then, he used to moderate anti-establishment debates (it was a different establishment then) and worked for a different channel. Two days of diligent watching and I was a fan of the man. I mean, look at the passion this man had for the country. Look how "patriotic" he was. Look how knowledgeable he was about the economic policies, about history, about inter-country relations. Look how fluently he spoke/yelled (and hardly let anyone else speak) in English. What did I know about history except the names of the kings from the Mughal Empire? What did I know about inflation or rising onion prices? Did I know the meaning of the words - rhetoric or theatrics or hysterical? No. And now the person that he has become! I pity the naïve young girl I was. I pity the role models she had. Is it possible for people to change so much over so little time? Can people become so lunatic for power, for fame, for money (for TRPs)? It's so hard to believe.

Sadly, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. "The Office" is one my favorite American sitcoms. I feel it is one of the most well written shows out there. The comedy, the relationships, the people, the performances everything seemed so natural. But then there are times in the show that the writers went overboard with the character development (or arc as they call it) for some characters. Lets say Ryan-the temp or Jan -the boss. These were characters who started out as normal people. They were sane and sensible around Michael who made things awkward or Dwight who was weird in his own way. But over the course of the show, the people that they became , it felt like all that was pulled out of thin air. Real people don't act like that! I guess I was wrong. Real people can get more erratic or lunatic when they are drunk on power or fame. Is it so difficult then, to maintain your sanity in this completely insane sometimes cruel world?

As I continued scrolling (Did you know that Twitter had infinite scrolling ?), I came across another very well written post about how all the successful people out there mostly have little idea about what they are doing, how the big executives you look up to are as lost as you are, how nobody has figured everything out and are just taking it day by day. As I read the post, it felt so comforting. After all, while people are quick to announce their success on public platforms , nobody adorns their social media walls with failures. Everybody is figuring out stuff and fighting each day as it comes. So I guess that's what life is all about- keep figuring out how to make things work and take each day as it comes and also be happy in the meantime- because that stuff actually works.