Lady with Versatility

A dreamer, Traveler and lady with a lense

[samyscorner]

See the world through my lens:

Solo traveller " is the term that has been in vogue for quite some time now. For me it is the adrenaline surge that helps me to rediscover myself while being reduced to a nobody amidst strangers.

Me and my sister have had successfully debunked the concept of travelling at a very youthful age. Maybe it is from my parents influence that we came out as an avid travellers later in life.

In my case, the film, " Queen " and the unknown pull towards Korea were two factors that had led me to set out on my first ever solo travel. I even remember being mocked by my friends and co-workers for the selection of the country. But with encouragement from my folk and my own hell bend determination, I took that trip. Yet that was just the beginning. Thus far I have been to South Korea 🇰🇷, Japan 🇯🇵, USA 🇺🇸, Europe 🇪🇺. Have stopped in Thailand 🇹🇭, Abu Dhabi, 🇦🇪, Singapore 🇸🇬.

My solo travel list comprises of only four things. That is to say:

- To and fro airway tickets

- Airbnb reservations

-Intra/Inter city/state travel tickets

-Detailed research

I will attempt to give a vague idea as many of you had expressed your interest and curiosity about the same. They go as follows:

The golden principle that every solo traveller has to follow is undying and innumerable amount of research. In my case, once I have decided my destination to explore, I execute research on the following:

A) Base state/City: This is one place where you are functioning to stay the most. It bears to be centrally located so that you can easily take those one day trips from there. For me these were the base: Seoul in South Korea, Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka in Japan, New York in USA, Amsterdam in Netherlands.

B) Exploring the city:

Depending upon how many days you and your wallet agrees upon, you can scout the places that you would desire to visit as per your interest. For this you can either read reliable blogs such as @lonelyplanet @tripadvisors @travelersguardian or watch highly viewed Vlogs. I execute both of them as well as use applications like @viatortravel @Visitacity or @tripadvisorquotes . These applications draw out a draft of the best sights to be seen per day from your point of interest. You will be also able to acquire additional information about the best routes, modes of commute and nearby places to visit or things to do. Go for them to have a systematized local sightseeing without getting lost.

3) Day trips:

I invariably try to take advantage of day trips. Depending upon where I desire to travel or what is the easiest mode, I either travel on my own using local transportation mode or go for pre booked tours. I had taken shinkashen (Bullet train) from Kyoto on my own to travel to Arashiyama, Furishiminari and Nara during my travels in Japan. On the other hand, I had pre-booked my trip to Busan from Seoul mainly to avoid language barrier issues. Likewise, I had pre-booked trips to Philadelphia & Washington from New York and to Githoorn & Zans and Volendam from Amsterdam.

For pre-booked tours you can use platforms like @tripadvisors , visit a city or @viatortravel . I invariably go for them to enjoy a hassle-free and safe tour.

4) Accommodation:

I always book my accommodations on the basis of budget, safety, cleanliness, sightseeing programs, ease of local transportation and ratings. Like I had shared before, I mostly prefer to stay in airbnbs @airbnblogos-blog or tourist hostels. The advantages of sticking around at these places are

- Safe and cheap

- Lot many options are available

- Running into new people

I constantly rely on platforms like @airbnblogos-blog ,@booking.com @goibiboblog @makemytrip-blog

Thus far I have enjoyed all my bookings and have never been troubled with any theft or harassment. On the opposite, I have now friends across the globe.

5) Commute:

I believe in being a traveller and not a tourist. I always run for local modes of transportation-cycles/ bus/Subways/trains/ bullet trains. Merely doing so again needs a bit of preparation.

Here are a few tips to do so:

-Avoid Uber unless you are willing to spend a lump amount of money on travelling locally

-Gain a thorough study of the various modes of transportation that your place of interest has to offer.

-Utilize the above mentioned apps / read blogs to gain knowledge about the best mode of commute. You can use Gmap too

-Download local train or metro apps

-Identify the correct type of train/subway to take. For instance Japan and Seoul come with a complex system of trains and subways run by three different troupes. Whereas Amsterdam has Trams too.

-Understand the suitable way of payment to use (train pass/ metro card or smart card to avoid unnecessary expense)

I in order to keep a tab on my wallet had opted to purchase a pass (Japan and Europe Railway Pass) and a subway card. I had also purchased tickets for hop on hop off bus /ferry in the USA.

6)Food:

I am a person who loves to explore and experience local delicacies. Throughout my various journeys I have had the chance to devour some of the most mouth watering dishes and at the same time unfortunately some weird ones too. Having stated that, if you are not a risk taker, you can always check out the food blogs @foodandwine @foodtrotter-blog @foodexpert or a Google map to find food outlets that matches your budget. If you desire to go out with cheaper options, you can always carry your own ready to eat foods or buy them from local convenient shops

7) Bar and Clubbing

To be very frank as a soul who rarely hangs out at the bar and go to clubs in general, I have never experienced that in a foreign land.

Besides, I don't want to take the risk of getting drunk or being drugged in a place where am all alone.

Instead I have experienced the occasional house parties/ outings conducted by the bnb owners @airbnbexperiences . Hence if you want to have fun while being safe and sound, I would suggest you to go for them.

I consider these points pretty much sums up the preparation that I usually engage myself with whenever I plan my solo trips. For more details, kindly reach out to me. I will be more than happy to record your travel related tips and experiences.

Stay tuned for my other blogs

[samyscorner]

A debrief:

The unlimited solo travels that I have made across diverse geographies, the lifestyle that I lead or the love of solitude has made me rediscover myself. The approximations that I often ponder upon, the encouragement of my family and the willingness to share has led me to create this blog. Neither will you observe the ideal travel blogger, nor will you read the best literary dreams, but in my blogs you for sure will find a realistic diverse content personally experienced by me.

[samyscorner]

Japan....whoa !!!What an amazing time I had during these last 12 days. While waiting for my Shinkansen at the Shin-Osaka station to set off towards my final destination, Tokyo, thousands of thoughts crossed my mind.

Solo travelling is never easy especially if you are travelling to a country which does not deal very much in "English". In addition, if you book only your jostle stays and flight tickets like I do and travel like a local, your trip becomes more of a thrill, an adventure and question of guts rather than a relaxing one.

Now people have been asking me why Japan?? Well here is to why. Japan has always been my dream destination.I think the fantasy had begun from the time our local cable dealer started broadcasting the "ANIMAX" channel.And that fantasy turned into a desire as I started ageing.

The journey-

When I was about to take my flight on 14th of April, I must admit I was in a dilemma. I was super excited at the same time a little worried as I had planned to hop into a lot of places unlike my last solo trip to Seoul.I did not have any helping hand or a companion. But all of those vaporised as soon as I landed. I was so awed by its never-ending rules and regulations and its citizen's compliance towards them. I was overwhelmed by a lot of things.To start off with - its infinite varieties of trains/metros and subway connections. But once you get the gist of it, it actually becomes easy to certain extent.

What am I going to miss?

1)The vibe-Each different region,prefecture and locality of Japan gives off different kind of vibes.And all of them are really cool.

2) Food- I really enjoyed munching on the different kind of local foods .Each dish has its own unique texture,flavor and aroma

3) Cheap options- the infinite number of Vending Machines,and convinient stores such as -Seven,Lawrence and Family marts that Japan has everywhere.

4) The fun-The feeling of being welcomed by your jostle owners.The little parties hosted by the owners just to keep the fun going on.The little chit chatts with the wonderful jostle mates belonging to different nationalities that I came across during my journey.And ofcourse every moment and every day of my trip.

To sum up-

Pros-

1) Extremely safe-You can leave your luggage and no one is going to touch it.You can roam around almost anywhere and everywhere at any point of time.No one is going to bother you.

2) Utterly bound by rules and regulations- You just have to learn about them before coming down here and abide by them.

3) Squeaky clean- You can literally sleep and lick any place.

4)Hospitality- I don't think I have met anyone so far who are as humble and helpful as Japanese people. They welcome you with open arms.At least , it was true in my case.

Cons-

1)Massively expensive

2) Too many different kinds of trains/Subway and metro connections.At times it can be really confusing.Specially if you are travelling like me.

3) Almost everything is being written in Japanese. Best to have your google translator app.

4) You must have your internet connection as most areas in Japan doesn't provide wifi connectivity.

Well am going to put an end to this long post.If you ever need any suggestions or tips on how to go on a solo trip to Japan, feel free to ask. Will help out with whatever I can.

P.S-I had the chance of experiencing 35th Anniversary celebration of Tokyo Disneyland. My video was of bad quality.So am sharing a random one from Youtube. Go through it.That background song really boost your spirits....

Adios Japan..the land of rising sun,technology and many more.

[samyscorner]

“I want to become an astronaut “was my pet dialogue whenever people used to place out the question about ambition to the nine year old version of me. “Yes!! Study hard and do something extraordinary and have infinite number of goals”- was the reply that I employed to take in return.

I was intrigued by those countless stories about the constellations, galaxy and of the clouds that Ta (My dearest old man aka father) used to talk to us about. Thinking back at once, I must say he is a cracking story teller. I even call up those full moon nights, when either I used to immerse myself in gazing the beautiful stars and the Milky Way or when my mind used to stray off to the lands of fantasies. I miss those beautiful nights when Maa used to entertain us with her unrealistic, but beautiful stories while Ta used to enhance the event by playing beautiful and soulful melody on his mandolin. Such were beautiful days.

My academic capabilities soon started painting the true colors in the canvas of my spirit and I realized fantasies are best when you interpret them off from a well bound book. Schools for us, was all about rank holders, percentages and those who are not only the Jacks but also Masters of all. I was neither an academic person, nor a person of extra-curricular activities. My unfit body and ill health were partially to be blamed. My tiny body and soul used to be often crushed down by the discouraging words from friends and acquaintances. Having said that, I was also lucky to feel the passion of my parents, my sister’s extraordinary love and care and my best friends support who was always there by my side, be it outdoors or at house.

Jumping to adulthood, that sweet innocent dream of mine got long lost and I had already turned into a full time working professional. My lifetime is even moving at the velocity of a bullet train which has surpassed uncountable days with changing temperatures and landscapes with tips and free falls, dark tunnels and bright sunny days. Over the years, I have met significant people, accomplished many new goals, achieved many prestigious ranks and have struck off a bunch of things from my own customized bucket list.

However, as I now stand at the threshold of the door that leads to marriage, I have again become the subject of interest amidst people. The big query, “When are you planning to marry?” is not letting go of me. It seems like time has stopped for me. Irrelevant where I live, what I do, there is this constant buzz at the backrest of my brain which has started yelling-“GET MARRIED”. Sadly the noise is gradually becoming loud and it’s overwhelming my mind making me somehow feel socially incompetent.

Amidst all this, when I get a short halt, I frequently end up thinking where are those days when my home, my people were more than enough for me and vice versa? Why is the society, no more interested in discovering about my skills or future dreams as they were back then? And why my personal matter has become a matter of societal care? Isn’t life supposed to be preceded by a series of goals only to be accompanied by more goals???

[samyscorner]

The Reminiscence

The loud giggles and silly talks going on in a diner distracted me from my Belgium waffle that I had just begun to eat up. With much annoyance I turned my head in the centering of the distraction and after a few seconds of scanning, finally my eyes identified the source in question. It was as suspected a group of adolescence who should not be older than 15/16 years. I mentally “tsk d” looking at this bunch of carefree group chilling out in a hot summer noon without a headache in the solid universe. Just from a glimpse I could see that everything about them was giving off the vibe of super rich kids. “WOW!!… I am jealous” was the sole idea that passed over my head.

I decided to return back to what I was originally doing. But that little distraction had unwound the locked memories and a slow motion, picture set about playing in front of my optics. I could not help myself but wonder how I had acted when I was at this age. Although my childhood was pretty much chilled out and loosened up, filled with luxuries afforded by my parents, however, I don’t remember myself hanging out at a diner or watching movies with my friends when I was at this age. I don’t remember having secret calls or bike rides with my boyfriend. Heck, I don’t even remember having street foods.

I was never a rebellious kid, unlike my older sister and always stuck with my parents’ wishes. There is a very famous story that is often spoken about. I will spill the beans about it some other time, but to cut it short It so occurs that I became the scapegoat in the process of getting my sister complaint towards attending her tuitions. Thinking about it, I cannot help but grin at my sister’s smartness and her maneuvers. This has been simply one among other instances of me being compliant.

I frequently find myself wondering what things I could change if I was granted the choice to relive life. Even my college life was packed with schedules, classes and projects. I used to leave the house at 7 AM and reach back at 6PM. Come back clean up the room, fix food, feed the dog, and then execute your assignments. I used to study diligently and had scored positions in Delhi University in both graduation and post-graduation. While my cousin who was also studying at that time used to bunk classes, hang out with friends, go out for get togethers and stay overs along with her other duties as a student. What I am emphasizing here is my jealousy towards her carefree attitude. How cool was her life!!! None other than I myself had chained up myself against living that life as I believed that, that was not the time to enjoy rather study hard and achieve your dreams to live a big size life later. Am still waiting for that so called “King size Life”.

Both of us had finished our post-graduation in the same year. After that I joined my first job and she went back to her native place and took a break. Being a pampered child, she set about enjoying her on and off carrier graph. While me, because of my big dreams and career oriented nature stepped into the world of never ending job life. Even today when both of us crib about our jobs (yes, she is a working professional now) there is always a clear difference. While she wants to quit working I am looking for a bigger opportunity.

Still, daydreaming and the reality are quite dissimilar. I often venture my work frustrations and despise at my family and in turn they do the only things that’s in their hand “they ask me to leave the job”. But it’s really hard to change yourself overnight. Even though am frustrated with this occupation and a lot many other matters that are presently going on in my lifetime, however I cannot get myself to conceive as an unemployed. And thus continue to burn in agony and loneliness. Despite all that, whenever my eyes and ears come across such a bunch of chilled out folks, my heart forces my brain to reminiscent and my mind prays for just one miracle,” A chance to relive my life”.

[samyscorner]

The Extraordinary Achievement

Becoming one of the top four finalist in the,” Global Innovation Award Competition” was a huge thing, but giving way to New York for the last round was totally a different experience. The saga of finalizing the hotels, flights, infamous spots to explore and applying for a BI/B2 visa for our trip was easier said than done. But despite all the melodrama, there we were, on 24th of November, me and my team mate at the T3 terminal to board the first ever flight to the states.

Though we were drained out of our 22 hour flight, yet we got resurrected by the hospitality and mesmerizing beauty of the city that never sleeps. And with that we too suffered from sleeplessness, well mostly because of the time differences.

Our B2 part of the visa came into action after our competition ended. From 29th November till 4th December, we explored a lot many places– New York (Uptown and Downtown), New Jersey, Philadelphia, Amish, Washington and Virginia -and must allege each and every one of them put their magic spells on us. Be the vibrant and colorful leaves or the tree trunks, the little fat furry squirrels or the different bird species, the rainy days or the sunny /windy days, the dignified skyscrapers or the glittery nights everything made our stay memorable. Everyplace we went, there were hardly any grumpy sulking face. People were respectful, helpful and always greeted us with their smiles.

Am sure many of you have already been to the states or might be residing there already, but if I have to sum up my experience they are as follows

1) Expensive: USA, the name itself screams expensive, but I did not know that a simple water bottle can cost about 3 bucks? New York is a massively expensive city with very few good economic options in terms of food, accommodation and conveyance.

2) Safety: Let me share an experience of ours. Initially we had planned to move to Brooklyn from Manhattan after completing our official work. The hotel in Brooklyn was reserved on the basis of the feedbacks and reviews from known people and platforms. But after shifting, it took only a few minutes for us to realize that we had made a huge mistake. The arena was dark at 5PM, filled with shabby people and to make it worse an arrest was made right across our hotel. To cut a long story short, we checked out in the next morning and moved back to Manhattan. So safety differs from place to place. Be wise while booking hotels in case you are planning a trip before long

3) Weather: the clear days were colder than the rainy ones. Doing simple tasks such as holding the phone to navigate Google Map needed a lot of effort. Despite wearing tons of layered clothing we could still feel the bone shattering cold. But we thoroughly enjoyed the pollution free environment.

4) Accommodation: We stayed in Manhattan which is one of the most expensive areas in NY. Having said that one has to be careful while picking out the room sizes. Our hotel room sizes don’t match theirs. Although we had booked queen size rooms, but they were as small as normal standard rooms.

5) Transportation: We explored almost all the modes- Taxis, Uber, Bus, Ferry and Subway. I would say Uber are convenient but expensive. Go for taxis only if you are confident with the routes. Bus can consume time and subways are not as impressive as I had thought them to be.

6) Food: Verities to choose from. However, street foods are not as cheap as they are in other countries.

To sum up it is a busy yet beautiful place to roam around. A lot many things to see and learn from. I am definitely going to justify my 10 year Visa by making multiple trips in the near future

[samyscorner]

2020 A New decade for all, new beginning for many, time of building new dreams for a few and chaotically refreshing for me. As the dates starts to cross out in the new calendar, a long -awaited dream package of mine,” Asia Pacific Training Manager” has been finally delivered at my doorsteps by one of the largest MNC. The present I might be giving out the odour of adrenaline cause I for sure feel like my body is pumping it at an unusual higher quantity.

I can quote the analogy of a clock hand to draw the picture of my life from the past two years, always chasing to achieve the professional status as valuable and difficult as time. No matter how much I matched, it always kept slipping away. In addition, the non-stop notifications about the ever evolving relationship status of my friends and acquaintances only added to my doubts about my own life choices and question my priorities .But then again are there any black and white zones, when it comes to one’s life choices? People sometimes get tired with my logics and reprimands me of being too practical. But that only works as the fuel to my engine of further creating the new blueprints for achieving something even higher. As quoted in Inception,” we must not be afraid to dream a little bigger”, we just must keep on dreaming.

[samyscorner]

The painting that screams facade

How many of us are mindful about the significance of these dates: 9th May, 21st June, 22nd September? Considerably, these are Mothers day, Fathers day and Daughter day. I desire to thank the prevailing social media craze and the millennial era for constantly displaying these kind of 'informative post' almost throughout the year. It always leaves me speechless when I proceed through such post: Children's wishing their parents on anniversaries, birthdays, mothers day, fathers day etc. on social media through pictures, quotes from famous sayings, lyrics of famous songs or lines from infamous poems. And in turn the elder generation repays the wishes by re-sharing them on their accounts.

I wonder whether my parents did not nurture me and my sister well enough or whether they even enjoy the little things that we usually do for them as neither of the parties' post such occasions. Both me and my sister are from the transitional era of the 90's. I take pride to hold us as being culturally groomed and digitally be equipped. All the same, we both are fossils when it comes to public display of love. For us, our daily calls to our parents and frequent get togethers are still the "Trend".

In any event, these posts are indeed very entertaining as one can get to see the supposedly intimate celebrations. Even strangers get the opportunity to teleport themselves and hallucinate to be a component of it.

While moving through them, I often become curious about these-

1) How many of them actually have lively discussions about all the random topics revolving around their past, present and future?

2) Like us, do they occupy themselves in dining table/tea time gossips too?

3) Do the kids get to emerge themselves in the memories of their parent's?

4) Do they as well tear up because of laughing too much?

5) How many of these parents are cognizant about the hidden truths of their children's lives, their true dreams, aspirations and sexual orientation?

6) Last but not the least, how many of them are willing to accept the unacceptable with an open spirit??

Because if the world is equally beautiful and filled with as much love as displayed to us, how do we justify the steady increase in the number of abandoned old people, surge in old age homes, Domestic violence, cases of separations, spike of suicides among the youngsters?

Does it mean that with every cross in the calender, our spirits are becoming a facade and superficial? Or does it signify that the pace of our lives has increased at such a supersonic speed that rather than enjoying a warm and normal real conversation we are only left out with the option of hitting our keypads while running towards our true and real priorities??

[samyscorner]

Yr 2020.. The year that has put all my previous insecurities and problems to shame. Alike any other fellow 2 legged living beings, I too had started out 2020 with a new bucket list. The inclination, which cocooned my new career milestones, new travel destinations and new dreams to acquire materialistic gains. February delivered me my dream job, my family came and I was in the ninth heaven. I was so arrogant and filled with my life that I even had boasted about it in my social media. With the new job now secured, my new goal was to finalize my first trip of 2020. Being the dreamer as always, I had also begun searching out in 99 Acres and Magikbrick. As the Japanese often say, my spirit was actually full of pheromones till March came crashing down with Corona. Lockdown, travel cancelation, job insecurities were only some of the major disappointments that came along with it. Seeing at the heap of finest granules formed out of my supposedly bucket list, which is now being crushed, I can only say this 2020 is the mirror that showed me that life can't be taken for granted, dreams can be broken and aspirations can be fruitless

[samyscorner]

Life in a crux    

“I want to become an astronaut “was my pet dialogue whenever people used to place out the question about ambition to the nine year old version of me. “Yes!! Study hard and do something extraordinary and have infinite number of goals”- was the reply that I employed to take in return.

I was intrigued by those countless stories about the constellations, galaxy and of the clouds that Ta (My dearest old man aka father) used to talk to us about. Thinking back at once, I must say he is a cracking story teller. I even call up those full moon nights, when either I used to immerse myself in gazing the beautiful stars and the Milky Way or when my mind used to stray off to the lands of fantasies. I miss those beautiful nights when Maa used to entertain us with her unrealistic, but beautiful stories while Ta used to enhance the event by playing beautiful and soulful melody on his mandolin. Such were beautiful days.

My academic capabilities soon started painting the true colors in the canvas of my spirit and I realized fantasies are best when you interpret them off from a well bound book. Schools for us, was all about rank holders, percentages and those who are not only the Jacks but also Masters of all. I was neither an academic person, nor a person of extra-curricular activities. My unfit body and ill health were partially to be blamed. My tiny body and soul used to be often crushed down by the discouraging words from friends and acquaintances. Having said that, I was also lucky to feel the passion of my parents, my sister’s extraordinary love and care and my best friends support who was always there by my side, be it outdoors or at house.

Jumping to adulthood, that sweet innocent dream of mine got long lost and I had already turned into a full time working professional. My lifetime is even moving at the velocity of a bullet train which has surpassed uncountable days with changing temperatures and landscapes with tips and free falls, dark tunnels and bright sunny days. Over the years, I have met significant people, accomplished many new goals, achieved many prestigious ranks and have struck off a bunch of things from my own customized bucket list.

However, as I now stand at the threshold of the door that leads to marriage, I have again become the subject of interest amidst people. The big query, “When are you planning to marry?” is not letting go of me. It seems like time has stopped for me. Irrelevant where I live, what I do, there is this constant buzz at the backrest of my brain which has started yelling-“GET MARRY”. Sadly the noise is gradually becoming loud and it’s overwhelming my mind making me somehow feel socially incompetent.

Amidst all this, when I get a short halt, I frequently end up thinking where are those days when my home, my people were more than enough for me and vice versa? Why is the society, no more interested in discovering about my skills or future dreams as they were back then? And why my personal matter has become a matter of societal care? Isn’t life supposed to be preceded by a series of goals only to be accompanied by more goals???

[samyscorner]

                                                       Rewrite the stars

 It’s been a while since the last time I had seen the clear blue sky, let alone the glittering stars spread across the wide blue mass. As if even the sky is trying to mirror the lives of countless disappointed souls, that are walking the land. My occupation and my hobbies presents me the opportunity to meet new people on a regular basis. Though the places and people keep on changing, yet every now and then I come across a face which clearly tries to mask his/her burdened shoulder and the disappointments that he/she has been encountering. Ironically, these all give me a sense of comfort as it makes me feel that am not the only one who is fighting.

Born in a wealthy family with an environment filled with nothing but love, I, always got what I wanted. There are N number of incidences which can prove that I was and am still a pampered brat. Despite being a medium IQ level student, I did justice with my highest qualification and can say that am well established too. People who know me often refer to me as a “lively social butterfly” due to the diverse collection of friends that I have. The day to day life of mine is filled with laughter, humour along with the nominal baggage’s.  But is that the real me?

I still remember reciting a poem,” We wear the mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar. Though, I, had initially failed to interpret the in depth meaning, but with the increasing creases in my face, I surely do now. I have become so used to my innumerable layers of mask that at times, I feel as if I am loosing me to myself. All those lies that I lie to myself, all those fantasies that I dream of, all the higher ambitions that I have been raising within me, makes me go crazy and lonely. The setting sky lets me have a peep at my broken self, which mechanically disappears under the new mask that rebuilds with the first warning signal of the daylight.  

But today while staring at the enveloped sky, this thought crossed my mind, that even though people hate the present sky yet don’t they pray to have a clearer sky tomorrow?  If by chance they do happen to catch a clean sky, don’t they complain about how the temperature is going to sore the next day? Without a doubt, life would have been wonderful without depending on the mask. A perfectly scripted life without a critic or any milestones is what I along with everyone desires. However, aren’t we all able to enjoy all the love/hate, happiness/sorrow and health/sickness just because of the imperfect lives that we hold out? We may never be able to escape the mask; however, we surely can rewrite the stars in our clouded lives.