An ode to 20-somethings

20 something - the phase when you trade your pair of jeans for a pair of formal trousers; when all of your friends are getting married, getting a job and getting a life, and you? Well, if you're anything like me, you're still trying to figure out where exactly the sitcom version of adulthood went. It's almost like the "Santa Claus is not real" moment for most of us, just stretched over a decade. Not to mention the utter disillusionment named reality that we grapple with on an everyday basis. Everything was, is, and will be about money, we discover and what's more? The rat race we've trained our entire lives for, becomes the playground where we watch friendships crumble to dust (and the reverse holds true, as well).

20 something- the period when you realize that in reality, NOBODY CARES about who you are, what you do, and where you land up; except your family. It's also the time when you finally end up flying from the nest and learn that, spreading your wings isn't exactly the most effortless job ever. Rephrasing Spiderman, "With independence comes responsibility"; our major concerns turn to finding a job that pays the bills, instead of scouring branded outlets for the next best deals.

20 something - an age when we learn that romantic love really is overrated, probably even hyped for the sake of rom-coms. True love means spending nights and days fighting to stay together, rather than falling apart. A period, when true friends get separated from the fake ones and every relationship is tried under the test of time and distance.

And finally, when we come to the end of the rollercoaster ride, we realize that nothing is permanent. Ever. Also that, change is the only thing constant. Always.

Love thy friend...

The Beatles weren't very wrong when they sang "I get by with a little help from my friends." I don't believe we need a post or a day specially dedicated to friends, because the real ones always do stick around - despite the distance, time zones, misunderstandings and crappy mood swings. But I've had this itch to write since "I-don't-know-when" and what better day than this?

Some friends are those kinds with whom you don't know how it suddenly all fell into place. Strike that, most of my friends are like that. Even after days of not staying in touch, catching up with them is like one crazy house. And they say, with distance the hearts grow fonder. What they definitely FORGOT TO MENTION is that the phone and internet bills seem longer too! Late night conversations over almost everything under the sun, birthday wishes over Skype and e-mail, texting so much that your hand hurts in the morning - there aren't a lot of things that can beat the kind of weirdness we share.

There's this surprising level of understanding shared and the beauty of it? You don't need to even say it out loud! Most of the time, the way a text or an e-mail is phrased is enough to get the point across. Not to sound like a story ripped off a rom-com, there are crazy shouting matches, misunderstandings lasting for more than a year and sometimes where we go without talking to each other for a period of months. One phone call, one text message is all it takes to go back to being the crazy people we were - because well, who else would we talk to without being judged for some mental disorder?

And when everything else fails, there's family. Sisters are our first best friends... Well, maybe not the very first but then they're always there. No matter how old you are or how far away you may be - there never is a better person to turn to than them. They're the best people to get a reality check done from, without any of the flowery nonsense.

The best part about being a friend(and having one!) is that it never gets too old, too late or too crazy. You don't even need to be related, you just are whoever you are and it doesn't scare them at all. I would have dedicated this to all my friends, but then again who needs a simple blog post to celebrate a friendship that's worth this and so much more.

Wishing you all a very happy friendships day :)

P.S. Forgive the cheesy F.R.I.E.N.D.S photo reference :P I was just too lazy to make a collage :D