Small Things

I always wondered how my love story would begin. I knew I would have one. Having a family history of love marriages, I knew I would end up in one too, and to have a love marriage one needs a love story, right! So this wondering began early (the initial thought maximally contributed by movies and partly by novels).  I was definitely not that “pretty, sweet girl down the street” that every guy fell for. I was known as Hitler and Dorji Dorlo, depicting how scary I was (I think). The first time I think I fell in love and got flat rejected (so much so that the guy wouldn’t even look at me) I realized I was ugly too. Dad said that he fell in love with mom the first time he saw her… well that was out for me. High school came to an end without even a single guy looking my direction romantically. Oh! Wait I had one person who approached, and it was epic (as in hilarious). (And I am saying that because it was way too obvious that he held no feelings for me, he was only asking me because hi

Today we had a psychiatry lecture on Stigma. And as the lecturer explained to us the subject matter with various examples, I was in tears. Those who attended the lecture would know that there was nothing in it to cry. I don’t know, the stories just touched my heart enough to tear up my eyes. Now back at home, with a lecture note in front, and roughly 10days to my semester exam, I began wondering about this thing called social stigma, stigmatization, and if I knew what it meant. Truth, not really, I haven’t had a firsthand experience of social stigmatization but I have something to share in that area. We were taught today that stigmatization has a very profound effect on people; it causes depression that borders to violence, when it happens for an extended period of time. I am in no position to explain all that, but I just want to site a few personal experiences on how the “branding” by the society affect an individual’s thinking of himself/herself. I will tell you my own story.