After school, college is the time to take that first step towards your dream in a world of several unknowns, in a world where you don’t know anyone and you’re all by yourself. Coming from a well-disciplined family where I polished my own shoes a night before to entering the world where polished shoes were considered uncool, I had taken a huge leap of sorts!

I grew up in a small town of Hardoi, and Delhi was nothing short of a culture shock to me. Not that I came from some back-of-the-beyond village, and yet I have to confess that there were way too many gaps that reminded me of my ‘backwardness’.

Here is a list of seven such confessions of mine when I have felt rather ‘misfit’ in Delhi.

 1. Overshadowed by the glittery iPhone owners:

Steve Jobs invented the iPhone as a symbol of status. Little did he know how out-of-place someone would feel with a completely mediocre phone in her hand, hanging out with a crowd which almost always discussed the latest iPhone.

Or maybe he did. That’s why the tagline – If you don’t have an iPhone, you don’t have an iPhone. This is not a tagline, but a punch in the pit of my stomach, especially when everyone is showing off their glittery iPhones with blingy back covers and I am busy hiding your middle-class phone. My model? Pa-no-drama. The phone that can pan and has some ram too!

2. Mac Lipsticks and branded products

A small town girl can speak at length about any topic. She can give you great advice and can prepare an essay on respecting parents within a snap of a finger. But talk to her about Mac lipsticks and she’s clueless. She doesn’t know the difference between ruby woo and Russian red.

Ditto with me. My friends are discussing the sort of eyeliners that look good on upturned eyes, downturned eyes, almond eyes, and monolith eyes whereas for me, till now, eyes have either been black or brown! It leaves me feeling desperate to contribute to the conversation but I always fall short of words.

3. Night outs? What are they?

A small town girl has never danced in a club. She has never been on a road trip without her parents. Therefore, when my friends from the metropolis are discussing their experiences of going wild,  I just listen. With a smile.

Growing up  in a small town meant  asking parents for permission for every decision big and small. It always took a few days of rehearsal. In fact to get the permission, I  needed to take a master class from my  experienced friends before pitching the story to my  parents.   

4. Fewer experiences to share about life

I don’t  have crazy ‘bhand’ stories from my schooldays, or memories of the times when I  sneaked out of the house to attend a party because I never did. My life was fairly simple and uneventful.

Adventure for me was going to tuitions after school where I’d get to hang-out with guys of different schools and sometimes eat momos. Prank calls to random guys on my phone-book and chatting with my crush on Facebook when my best friend stayed over for a night were the highlights of the adventure in my school life.    

5. “Ahem, I don’t drink or smoke”

I  don’t  yet understand the world where smoking and drinking is readily accepted and is a part of day-to-day life.  I am  staying firm to my  decision of staying a teetotaller and  consistently keep saying no whenever I am  asked to drink or smoke. Not because I am not ready yet.  But probably because I have been trained to constantly think that this is a road to hell.

However, I wouldn’t deny that it’s not easy to keep up with this choice and the fear of being left out pushes you further to down the hill.  

6. The Big Bad World

It is quite difficult for me  to settle in a totally new world. I often feel left out and haven’t been able to find like-minded people. And if I have found  people who think like me, I  fears that I wouldn’t be able to step out of my  comfort zone or experience new things.  

And these questions that haunt me will probably resonate with any small town girl. ‘Is it okay to enjoy the change? Is it alright  to think that freedom is fun? Will mummy daddy be okay with it?’

After school, college is the time to take that first step towards your dream in a world of several unknowns, in a world where you don’t know anyone and you’re all by yourself. Coming from a well-disciplined family where I polished my own shoes a night before to entering the world where polished shoes were considered uncool, I had taken a huge leap of sorts!

I grew up in a small town of Hardoi, and Delhi was nothing short of a culture shock to me. Not that I came from some back-of-the-beyond village, and yet I have to confess that there were way too many gaps that reminded me of my ‘backwardness’.

Here is a list of seven such confessions of mine when I have felt rather ‘misfit’ in Delhi.

 1. Overshadowed by the glittery iPhone owners:

Steve Jobs invented the iPhone as a symbol of status. Little did he know how out-of-place someone would feel with a completely mediocre phone in her hand, hanging out with a crowd which almost always discussed the latest iPhone.

Or maybe he did. That’s why the tagline – If you don’t have an iPhone, you don’t have an iPhone. This is not a tagline, but a punch in the pit of my stomach, especially when everyone is showing off their glittery iPhones with blingy back covers and I am busy hiding your middle-class phone. My model? Pa-no-drama. The phone that can pan and has some ram too!

2. Mac Lipsticks and branded products

A small town girl can speak at length about any topic. She can give you great advice and can prepare an essay on respecting parents within a snap of a finger. But talk to her about Mac lipsticks and she’s clueless. She doesn’t know the difference between ruby woo and Russian red.

Ditto with me. My friends are discussing the sort of eyeliners that look good on upturned eyes, downturned eyes, almond eyes, and monolith eyes whereas for me, till now, eyes have either been black or brown! It leaves me feeling desperate to contribute to the conversation but I always fall short of words.

3. Night outs? What are they?

A small town girl has never danced in a club. She has never been on a road trip without her parents. Therefore, when my friends from the metropolis are discussing their experiences of going wild,  I just listen. With a smile.

Growing up  in a small town meant  asking parents for permission for every decision big and small. It always took a few days of rehearsal. In fact to get the permission, I  needed to take a master class from my  experienced friends before pitching the story to my  parents.   

4. Fewer experiences to share about life

I don’t  have crazy ‘bhand’ stories from my schooldays, or memories of the times when I  sneaked out of the house to attend a party because I never did. My life was fairly simple and uneventful.

Adventure for me was going to tuitions after school where I’d get to hang-out with guys of different schools and sometimes eat momos. Prank calls to random guys on my phone-book and chatting with my crush on Facebook when my best friend stayed over for a night were the highlights of the adventure in my school life.    

5. “Ahem, I don’t drink or smoke”

I  don’t  yet understand the world where smoking and drinking is readily accepted and is a part of day-to-day life.  I am  staying firm to my  decision of staying a teetotaller and  consistently keep saying no whenever I am  asked to drink or smoke. Not because I am not ready yet.  But probably because I have been trained to constantly think that this is a road to hell.

However, I wouldn’t deny that it’s not easy to keep up with this choice and the fear of being left out pushes you further to down the hill.  

6. The Big Bad World

It is quite difficult for me  to settle in a totally new world. I often feel left out and haven’t been able to find like-minded people. And if I have found  people who think like me, I  fears that I wouldn’t be able to step out of my  comfort zone or experience new things.  

And these questions that haunt me will probably resonate with any small town girl. ‘Is it okay to enjoy the change? Is it alright  to think that freedom is fun? Will mummy daddy be okay with it?’