Aparna Chopra

This isn't a blog. Just a compilation of some really really random thoughts :)

[pearlinanoyster]

Just another December…

It’s that time of the year again when there’s magic in the air, when out-of-office emails start flooding your inbox, when holiday cheer is the theme on everyone’s feed and stories, when you find endless motivational videos on how to make the most of the final month (which rarely work btw – been there, done that!). When work feels like pressure and play is all that one can think about. But also - staying in feels like pressure and stepping out becomes an obligation. It indeed is THAT time of the year. Ho ho holy shit!

With glitter and sparkle all around, it is easy to be dazzled into believing that magic exists. As much as there’s love, anticipation, excitement and joy all around, the flip side is as real too! It feels illegal to be grumpy and gloomy and grinchy. But hey, G-spot ain’t no myth you know! 

The lavish holidays are curated to show the very best. No one sees the hustle that goes behind it. The yearly recaps, they’re made to remind you of the highs. Why would anyone want to talk about the lows anyway? Those ‘final month: make it count’ posts, they’re there because they favour the algorithm. Why should you rush things when we all know that all good things take time?

I am no expert, but there sure is one thing I feel we need to constantly remind ourselves – not to let the external impact the internal. More often than not, it is easy to get swayed by what we see. What we forget is that we’re probably seeing someone’s chapter 101 while we’ve only just started writing our preface.

And hey! It’s just another December, you’ll see it again next year and the year after…

[pearlinanoyster]

What is home for an army brat?

In yet another interesting conversation with my best friend, we were just casually talking about how our life has been through the years. We’ve known each other for almost two decades, and gone through various stages of life together - from school to college to jobs, from cycling around the city to road-tripping together - we’ve done it all. We’re both army brats, so we’ve lived a similar life - moved to a new place every few years, made new friends, left old ones behind, built a new life all over again, got comfortable, moved again - repeat! Every time we’d move, we’d pack our entire life, things that got us comfort - our corner table, table lamp, bookshelf or just a gift from a friend we made at school. Our temporary ‘home’ would be safely packed in a few trunks, those trunks would carry our home and sometimes also turn into makeshift furniture, with numbers on them ready to be set up in a whole new way in a different city, in a different ‘home’. We’d sometimes move from a big city to a smaller one or the other way round, from north to south or east to west, hills to plains or change houses within the city. The only thing that remained constant was us seeking a ‘home’ everywhere we went.

We didn’t know what ‘home’ meant to us, we never really thought about it then. Was it the fact that we’d feel butterflies after learning about the new place we’d be moving to or was it that pit we felt in our stomach? What made the butterflies & the pit even more notable? The fact that we were moving to a new home or the one that meant leaving our last home behind? I guess we’ll never know.

Home. We do know what it means to us now, we do know where to find it! :)

#home #thelabyrinthlog #armykids #indianarmy #armybrats

[pearlinanoyster]

Q. Do you often get asked about where you see yourself in 5 years? A. Over the years, I’ve come to accept that change is the only constant. But there’s so much more to it than what meets the eye. The daily life struggles, the small victories, good days and bad, getting stuck in traffic, your favourite artist’s new album, your song playing on the radio, celebrating that colleague’s birthday, a meeting that went well and the one that didn’t, yearly bonuses and unpaid leaves, that trip with your college friends, that friend you lost touch with, the lover-turned-stranger, the stranger that made it to your inner circle, the way your puppy looks at you when he wants something, the dog you lost, new job you started, the old one you left, that fight with your mom, the argument with your sister, evening drinks with dad, changing homes, a word of appreciation, buying your first car, your first solo trip and many many more. Every moment is new and every moment is change. You know what I mean? Every time I look at some old pictures, there’s often a sense of nostalgia, sometimes a pit in the stomach and a lot of times a sigh of relief - maybe because what was ambiguous then is clear as day now. A lot of things & decisions suddenly make sense. I see situations as they were meant to be and not how I wanted them to be. I see where I went wrong and where I exceeded my own expectations. Though let's not forget that that same feeling of ambiguity still does exist. Same, only years apart. This particular throwback takes me back to the days when I was walking on thin ice. The girl here is an intimidated & clueless final year Masters student, who had just started her first internship & the only thing that fuelled her was her career (maybe, somethings never change!). She lost many people in the process and had no idea about the ones that were to come. 5 years later, I think I know a lot about why some of them stayed, many left and how a bunch were just meant to drop by, play their part and say goodbye. I don’t think I realised then, the way I don’t today, that this is my story and everything is perfect the way it is, I may not see it just yet. #notetoself #TheLabyrinthLog https://www.instagram.com/p/CfoRw0xK-ne/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[pearlinanoyster]

https://www.mrbutton.in/blog/a-girls-secret-to-make-you-more-sexy/

[picsandquotes]

“People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that’s what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you’ll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. But to live with a soul mate forever? Nah. Too painful. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then leave. A soul mates purpose is to shake you up, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light can get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you have to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master…”

— Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love (via picsandquotes)

[pearlinanoyster]

A user generated campaign done for a men’s fashion brand, Mr Button.

iammrbutton | MR BUTTON

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🤙🏻

Grey’s Anatomy | MR BUTTON

  For those who follow this series closely would know how things change in the blink of an eye! All our favorite characters have died inspit

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8  Menswear Wardrobe Essentials You Can Give Your Girl to Try! | MR BUTTON

The universal problem of your girl (friend) complaining about not having enough clothes to wear, in spite of her wardrobe overflowing with t

[pearlinanoyster]

’मैं शायर तो नहीं..’

Waking up today was tough. Just like it was yesterday. Just like it has been these past few days, weeks or officially months. This feels personal, this is personal. We’re all going through things we didn’t see coming. None of us were prepared for this, no one will ever be.

I had just started getting a hold on things, I felt like I had taken the first step in the direction of coming to terms with reality. And then a tragic news such as this pushes you ten steps back. As much as I want this year to get over, it’s scary to imagine what else might be in store for us.

You know when they say ‘be positive’, I can’t get myself to feel or even try to wrap my head around what that might be like at this point in time. But I do want to take a moment and say a prayer for each one of us and just try to accept things as they are.

Oh and also, my friends told me that funny dog videos, baking, talking to your friends or just sleeping it off is a good way to deal with the current times. I played ludo and dressed up a bit (read: got out of my PJs). You deserve to do what it takes to keep your sanity.

To whoever that needs to hear: we’ll get through this together and live to tell a tale which by then will have the happily ever after segment we can’t see right now. :)

PS: you’re allowed to not be productive, we’re all humans!

#RIPRishiKapoor #RIPLegend #RishiKapoor

[pearlinanoyster]

Last year, this time we were in a land not too far away. An escape from the hustle of our working lives, we called it. An escape from a life we found monotonous. A distraction from whatever it was that we were dealing with. A holiday to recuperate & rejuvenate so that we could get back to our lives with full vigour. It was as easy as a bunch of girls (ignoring the fact that it did take us a year to plan) wanting to go for a holiday & they did. It was something that we felt entitled to, something that we felt was as normal as going out for a meal, something that was not out of the ordinary. The point being that it never was a big deal! From living a carefree life to being locked up at home, the new normal is surely something we didn’t see coming. What seemed absolutely ordinary is now a privilege, what seemed entitled is now a luxury, what seemed like the most obvious thing to do is now a matter of life and death. It’s funny how we realise the importance of something only after we’re forced to live without it. I hope we come out of this stronger. #lockdown #coronavirus #covid19 #socialdistancing #throwback #girlstrip #memories #thailand #thelabyrinthlog (at Thailand) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_AhZrjJUG2/?igshid=1xjkiet4tivev

[pearlinanoyster]

She is a mother. She’s affectionate, she’s strong, she’s heroic, she’s liberating, she’s motivating, she’s selfless, she’s nourishing. But that doesn’t mean she can’t have a job. It doesn’t mean she can’t live her life on her terms. It doesn’t mean she has no ambition. It doesn’t mean that she put her kids before her always.

She is a wife. She’s supportive & she is always there. She’s an organiser & the reason why you come back to a home & not just a house. It’s time to bring about a change. It’s time we stopped making her ‘wife duties’ sound like there’s nothing beyond them. It’s time you took a halt and thought about what she has imagined her life to be. She doesn’t want to be treated differently, but equally! It’s time we understood that significant difference.

She’s a daughter. She’s loving, she’s delightful, she’s fearless, she’s courageous. She’s opinionated. She’s charming. She’s independent. She’s the wife, the mother, the future. Get her out there: educate her, tell her that she’s not vulnerable, tell her that she’s not weak, tell her how to fight for herself & mostly tell her that it’s NOT her fault. Teach her to have a voice.

[pearlinanoyster]

[pearlinanoyster]

What's with the whole 'I need' notion? 'I need this', 'I need that', 'I need you'. No you don't need anything. Desperation is the undercurrent of need. I'd much rather want something. I want it because it makes me happy, because that's how it should be. Want because of the intoxication, the rush, the ferocity that it holds. I don't need anything, but dayummmm, I want it! #want #NoteToSelf

[pearlinanoyster]

Do you find it strange too to see that some years down the line, certain aspects of your life change? And don't get me wrong. Changing in terms of how they appear or feel like is inevitable, that sorta change is constant. But here I'm talking about the change which makes you wonder if it happened at all, change that makes you think about how you lived with it while you were there. Change that surely does take you back in time, but not being the kinds to be able to keep you there for long. The change that makes you feel blessed about what you may have experienced once, at the same time appreciate what you have in the present even more. There's nothing better than seeing that kind of change, seeing that what was once, is not anymore. To know that you wanting to go back to it was in actuality you not accepting the new developments that now surround it. But that's just plain foolish. Everyone has to accept change. The sooner the better. It's that sorta change that I'm talking about. Is that inevitable too? #memories #Lucknow #ArmyKid (at Lucknow cantt)

[pearlinanoyster]

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