When we were young, a nostalgic trip!!

This is one of the most warming songs I have ever heard. From the moment it started playing, a sudden warmth spread through me.

"When we were young" is a song by the Lost Kings featuring Norma Jean Martine. It talks about the times spent when we were all children and how you always feel like going back to them because they were so good.

Hearing the song instantly makes you feel nostalgic. It reminds you of your childhood days and how you used to be happy.

The song describes how we all had so much fun when we were kids, the reason being that none of us had a care in the world. It pleads to be taken back to those cheerful days.

The lyrics talk about how, as we didn't know much or didn't have alot to worry about, we only focused on having a good time. The harsh reality of adult life makes us want to go back to those times again. Now that we know more about the world, we realise how lost we are, and so we wish to go back to the days of blissful ignorance.

The song is seriously beautiful and Norma Jean Martine gives us some amazing vocals. The entire vibe of the song is very nostalgic and you should definitely listen to it!!

"Can we go back when we were young
And didn't care if we messed up?"

Love Story, one of the sweetest songs ever!!!

Love Story is one of my favourite songs. It's one of the first I heard from Taylor Swift and it instantly made me a fan. Hearing the song gives you a warm fuzzy feeling everytime.

Love Story is a song by Taylor Swift released in 2008 as the lead single of her sophomore album "Fearless". It's a country-pop song which talks about being in a forbidden love with someone secretly, but in the end earning everyone's acceptance.

It talks about Romeo and Juliet and their relationship, but with a twist, they get a happy ending.

A song sung by 18 year old Taylor, it never fails you to feel happy and cheerful. The way the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet is spinned certainly makes you feel better about them.

The music video is also very sweet and light hearted, leaving you smiling after watching it.

This song helped Taylor Swift in becoming a household name and gained her a massive fanbase. 

I suggest all of you to go and listen to this song atleast once, it will definitely lift up your mood.

It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"

13 Reasons Why, a highly misleading show!!

I watched the show about three years ago when it premiered and I do admit that I have only watched the first season. But even though I have only watched a season, the show has left a bad taste in my mouth.

 13 Reasons Why is an American teen web series on Netflix by Brian Yorkey, based on the 2007 novel of the same name by Jay Asher. It tells the story of a high school student named Hannah Baker and why she commits suicide. This is all told through the perspective of 13 tapes she records before her death that state the reason for her death.

The entire show follows a dark and depressing theme, suited for the content of it, we have a teenager who killed herself due to bullying. But the reason I say the show is misleading is because the portrayal of depression and suicidal thoughts has been done in a very disturbing way.

After Hannah Baker kills herself, Clay, the protagonist of the story, receives a box of cassette tapes. These tapes contain the 13 reasons, or specifically people, why she killed herself. Each tape is her explaining one person and her experience with them and how due to their actions, she killed herself. All of the people on the tape receive this box turn by turn, with her intention being that they should feel guilty for their actions.

Not only is this manipulative, but a person who is highly depressed and suicidal would not be in the mental state to create such a tape. They way we are shown that Hannah is not mentally well, she would not be in the mind state to do such a thing with such precise planning.

Many of the people on the tape did not also do very bad things, with some other of them that did not even affect Hannah. It leads us to believe that the only reason some people, specifically Clay, were even on the tape was because Hannah knew that they would feel the most guilty and do something to give her the justice she thought she deserved.

While we can argue that a person who is so highly depressed may think that everyone is against them and so may blame them for even the littlest things they do, no one would create tapes listing out people and reasons and be able to talk about situations with even the littlest of details.

My main problem with the show is that due to Hannah's behaviour and the way her tapes affect everyone, it gives out the message that suicide can be used as revenge. 

Again this is my opinion and if you may feel that I may be wrong, please let me know!!

"Hey, it's Hannah. Hannah Baker. That's right. Don't adjust your...whatever device you're hearing this on. It's me, live and in stereo. No return engagements, no encore, and this time, absolutely no requests. Get a snack. Settle in. Because I'm about to tell you the story of my life. More specifically, why my life ended. And if you're listening to this tape you're one of the reasons why. I'm not saying which tape brings you into the story. But fear not, if you received this lovely little box, your name will pop up. I promise."

3 Idiots, the sad reality of the Indian education system!!

3 Idiots is arguably one of the most popular bollywood films to ever be made. Ask any person in India, they must have seen it. But not only India, the film is a hit in the overseas market too, specially east asia.

3 Idiots is a comedy film directed by Rajkumar Hirani and starring Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani and Omi Vaidya. It shows the life of three engineering students in college and is a satire on the Indian education system.

As soon as it was released, it became an instant hit, and after watching it you realise why. It shows us how there is more to life than getting the title of being "successful". How we shouldn't only focus on that.

It shows us how students often pick fields they aren't even interested in, just so they can become successful easily. But as they weren't interested, they fail miserably, and are often stressed and depressed. It also shows the fault of the parents who force their children to study a particular field, just because they think that's the best option.

The movie is also emphasized on how the education system is to be blamed for creating unmotivated and unskilled students. How colleges don't care about students who want to gain knowledge but instead only care about those who can write a perfect essay.

The movie teaches us that we shouldn't study just so we can become successful, instead we should study to gain knowledge. If we're knowledgeable and skilled, success will naturally come to us.

The reason the movie became such a hit was because any student who watched it could relate to it and it helped them to reassure themselves that everything will work out fine. It also taught a valuable lesson to students, parents and teachers who watched it.

It's truly an amazing film and I recommend it to all those who have yet to watch it!

"And this is a college, not a pressure cooker! The lion in a circus learns that he needs to sit on the chair if his owner has a whip in his hand. But that lion is called well-trained, not well-educated." - Rancho.

Forrest Gump, a film that shows you smartness isn't all!!

I watched Forrest Gump a few weeks back and I have to say it's an amazing film. It shows you how being kind and sweet has it's perks.

Forrest Gump is a 1994 movie directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film tells the story of a man name Forrest Gump who is slow-witted and "stupid", but ends up creating or influencing several historical events of the USA.

A simple and light-hearted story, it shows you how you don't have to be smart or intelligent to do something incredible. It teaches us how being passionate and kind can also take you to new heights.

The movie also shows us how the other "intelligent" people in Gump's life don't always have a good time and keep falling into problems. On the other hand, while Forrest may not be that intelligent or aware, it protects him from the many complications that we worry about in life. While his companions stressed themselves over creating a wonderful life, Forrest just glided along wherever he went, and so ended up having more fun in his life.

The movie definitely doesn't tell you to stop thinking about anything and just have fun, but it shows us how thinking so much and creating high expectations for ourselves will only end up ruining us. It teaches us that while we should think about our life and future, we shouldn't be so serious all the time, afterall life is something that should be enjoyed, not worried about.

Forrest Gump is definitely a movie that I think everyone should watch atleast once in their life and is something that we should learn from.

“My mama always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.'”-Forrest

Graveyard, a beautiful song!!!

Graveyard is such a song that from the first time you listen to it, you fall in love with it! 

Graveyard is a single by Halsey from her third album 'Manic'. A soft pop song, it talks about loving a person who you know is bad but still not being able to stop.

According to Halsey, the song "is about being in love with someone who is in a bad place and loving them so much that you don't realize that you're going to that bad place with them".

A song about being in a toxic relationship, it also shows us how even though we might love someone very much, we also deserve to be treated with respect and kindness.

The song talks about being with a toxic person will not only destroy but will also lead you to your graveyard, something Halsey talks about having avoided.

It is truly an amazing song that I think all of you should give a listen to!!

"Oh, it's funny how
The warning signs can feel like they're butterflies"

How 'Six of Crows' gets representation right!!

When I first started reading the 'Six of Crows' I thought it would be a typical ya series, but as I kept on reading, it ending up blowing my mind!!

For those of you who don't know, Six of Crows is a fantasy duology written by Leigh Bardugo. It is mainly set in the city of Ketterdam, based on Amsterdam, and tells the story of six people in their late teens who, due to various circumstances, get involved in a mission to rescue a powerful scientist.

While the storyline of the series is well written and fast paced with many twists and turns, the main highlight of the books for me was the representation and diversity of the main characters.

The diversity found in the duology is tremendous. Kaz, a disabled boy shown to have PTSD and not being able to touch anyone due to past trauma, or Inej, also a person with PTSD who constantly gets flashbacks, or Nina, a plus size bi girl fighting addiction, or Jesper, a bi boy with a gambling addiction, or Matthias, a soldier with anger issues who has been severely brainwashed, or Wylan, a gay boy with dyslexia.

All of this diversity has been written so well by the author. This diversity is often mentioned throughout the series giving the characters proper representation, but without it becoming a character trait of theirs. 

Inej and Matthias are also shown to be very religious, but even though they both follow different religions, we don't see them fighting. Both of them respect each other and even though conflicts do arise between them, it's not due to their religious beliefs. 

Like I mentioned earlier, Matthias has been severely brainwashed, this is done by the people of his country who are also very religious, but while he overcomes their brainwashing, and changes his opinion on them, his views for his country and religion remain the same. It shows us how people are different from their religions or countries and our views on them should remain separated.

Inej and Jesper are also shown to be people of colour.

This way I find that this duology by Bardugo is seriously amazing and you should definitely give it a read!!

“The easiest way to steal a man’s wallet is to tell him you’re going to steal his watch.”

Jab We Met, a film loved by everyone!!

Jab We Met is one of the most popular films in India. It has been watched by almost everyone and can be called a cult classic.

It is a 2007 film directed by Imtiaz Ali, starring Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor. It is based in Mumbai, Bhatinda and Shimla, and tells the story of how Geet, a bubbly Punjabi girl, meets Aditya, a depressed businessman, on a train, but after missing it, forces him to take her home.

A simple romantic comedy, it has been a film that has made everyone's favourite list. The light hearted dialogues combined with an adventurous storyline, makes you forget about everything else when you start watching it.

It also shows us how our life may suddenly take a very different turn but good things always await us.

The thing I liked the most about the film was how Aditya, a well organised and planned person, suddenly took a spontaneous decision, and how it turned his life around for the best. While Geet, a person with no plans, had her life shattered by that same spontaneity. But in the end both of them end up happily.

The movie is also filled with an amazing soundtrack. And the locations where the scenes were shot are also truly beautiful.

The film is loved by everyone who watches it and it's not hard to love such a wonderful movie. If you haved already, you should definitely go and watch it right now!!

“Mein apni favourite hoon!”.   

(I am my favourite.)

                                                 – Geet Dhillon

Why Friends is everyone's go to show?!

Saying "Friends" is a very popular show would be an understatement. It is something that I think almost everyone has watched. And why not, it is a great show.

The popular sitcom "Friends" first aired in 1994, and ran for 10 seasons till 2004. It showed the lives of six 20-something friends living in Manhattan and how they went through the highs and lows of adult life. 

The question arises that how did a sitcom with such a simple and basic storyline become so popular. The reason being the very same, it was simple and basic.

Due to it's simple storyline, you don't need to know or remember the entire plot of the show or the characters, you can turn on any episode and just dive in. Due to this, whenever people are bored or tired, many of them prefer to watch an episode of friends since they can sit back and relax.

Many of you might argue that friends has cookie cutter characters, but this has become an advantage for them as even a new viewer can easily grasp on to what's happening and what the characters are like from a random episode.

While this is the format of most sitcoms, most of them don't have such a simple storyline with basic characters, and so, if you have already watched the show or know the plot, you can randomly watch any episode, but for a new viewer, the storyline and characters may be hard to understand.

And so, even if most of us can agree that friends might not be the most objectively well written show, we still love to watch it!!

"They don't know we know they know we know."         – Phoebe Buffay

Modern Loneliness, the situation of today!!

Modern Loneliness

Modern loneliness is song by the American singer Lauv. The 10th single from his album "How I'm feeling". It's a song that I feel that many of us can relate to right now, specially in the current situation. 

In the song, Lauv talks about how even though we are always connected with people (due to the internet), we still feel depressed, and how even if we can call or text our friends in a second, we never do. The reason for this being that nowadays due to the sucky world, people are constantly working and so can never get free time. 

All the things talked about in this song feel very true. Why, even though we have such advanced technology, we still loose contact with our friends and always feel alone. We might have a thousand followers on our social medias, but still, we hardly talk with anyone. 

I think this song can also apply to the current covid situation. Since we can't go out and meet our friends, we are talking with them through texts and video calls. And don't get me wrong, this is a great way people have adapted to the situation, but still, actually meeting your friends in person is something we all desperately want to do.

There is a lyric in the song, 'You get what you give and give what you get', and this also feels to be a harsh truth of our world.

To sum up, the song is amazing and beautifully written, and those who listen to it can definitely relate to it!!

'Modern loneliness, we're never alone

But always depressed, yeah

Love my friends to death

But I never call and I never text, yeah'

How Harry Potter truly became the boy who lived!!

I'm sure all of you have heard of Harry Potter. It's a name that's not hard to know. Most people must have read the book series or atleast must have watched the films. As once said by Dumbledore, "This boy will be famous. There won't be a child in our world who doesn't know his name''. It seems that this applied to not just within the wizarding world, but also in real life.

You must be wondering how did a story about an orphan child become the highest selling book series of all time. I think the reason this series became so popular was because of how easily it was able to connect with it's audience.

While the first book could be called a children's book, as the series progressed, the theme also started getting darker. The protagonist, the audience and the storyline, all were maturing at a consistent rate. This way the readers also got attached to the story of the chosen one. Many of the readers were children when the first books were released, but by the time of 'The Deathly Hallows', most were teenagers, just like the main characters.

While the books were written with a young adult audience in mind, the themes explored in them were often much more darker, with author Rowling also saying that death is the main theme of the books. This sparked an interest in not only children or teenagers, but adults as well. Thus, the audience of Harry Potter is largely diverse in age.

It's a no brainer that this series of fantasy novels will not be disappearing anytime soon, moreover, which such a wide audience and legacy, the books will be remembered for decades to come. So it can be truly said that Harry Potter has become the boy who lived!!

"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." ― Albus Dumbledore

Why Parasite deserved it's oscar win?!

I'm sure most of you watched Parasite or atleast heard everyone talking about how great of a movie it is. I mean it became the first non-english language film to win the oscar for best picture. Now what makes Parasite such an amazing movie?!

To start off, Parasite is a 2019 Korean language film directed by Bong Joon-ho. It follows the members of a poor family who cheat their way to become employees in the home of a wealthy family by scheming and lying to remove the previous houseworkers and step in to take their place.

The movie shows off the prominent class discrimination found in our society and how far it's virus can lead too! 

The poor 'Kim' family tricks the wealthy 'Parks' into employing them at their house one by one, and slowly become a parasite of them. Like any parasite, they don't just feed off of them, they end up destroying them. 

The movie is a clear reflection of how hard the poor try to become the rich, and how the rich are ignorant of the poor even though they are of major assistance in their lives.

Another thing I liked about the movie is that it did not make any side a clear villian or a hero, both were at fault, and neither was good or bad than the other.

The use of symbolism, both in dialogue and in visuals, takes the movie to a higher level, both in entertainment and in film making.

The movie reminds us that the most scary genre in this world is reality (something I read in the comments of a video). It shows us how damaging capitalism can be to a person and how being on different scales of it may give us different situations and problems, but in the end it only leads to destruction for everyone.

You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan. No plan at all. You know why? Because life cannot be planned. – Ki-taek

Why the office is one of the greatest shows ever!!!

Recently I completed watching the office. Not only was it an entertaining show that had me glued to it for weeks, it was also written very creatively and was successful in showing the realness of the lives of average people working a job they hate.

The entire series spans 9 seasons and is shot in a mockumentry style, which gives us a lot of camera stares (mainly by jim), talking heads and 4th wall breaking. It is based in the city of Scranton, and shows the lives of the employees of Dunder Mifflin—a paper company—of the Scranton branch.

The reason many people are in love with the show is because they are able to relate to the characters and truly start caring for them. Not only are the plots in each episode hilarious, they are relatable and give us a glimpse into how bad are society is yet how we love living in it.

Whether it's because of Michael's immaturity, or Dwight's craziness, or Jim and Pam's growing relationship, when we watch the show, it makes us feel as if we are a part of them.

The writing done for each character and each storyline is realistic and like the life of any average person, but with the best jokes written in, it also reminds us that it is a sitcom with a million viewers.

The office thrives off of it's awkwardness, and it's sometimes painful to watch the characters embarrass themselves, but it is also the same thing which makes them more than just characters.

The office is truly one of the greatest shows ever made and if you haven't watched it already, it's something I recommend you to!!

'Would I rather be feared or loved?Easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me.' 

                             – Micheal Scott

Mikrokosmos, a song full of hope!!!

Mikrokosmos

In honour of the 7th anniversary of bts, I write about one of their own songs. This song, from their 2019 ep "Map of the Soul: Persona", is based on the greek concept "microcosm".

The meaning of it is that, within a universe, there are many elements, who have an universe of their own within them.

The same way, bts also captures the same concept in this song. They sing about how this world is full of lights, but these lights exist due to the ones we create within ourselves. It reminds us of how each one of us is important and how we all have a special universe within ourselves. This way the song gives hope to people and tells them how their existence is needed and contributes to in this world.

'Perhaps the reason this night looks so beautiful

Is not because of these stars or lights, but us'