Vanity Vs Sanity

Nona’s nostrils flared as she read a text sent to her on her phone from one of her friends. How dare she? She had written to her about a recent display picture that was uploaded by her on her social media page. This was the umpteenth time someone had given her a feedback about her social media updates that did not sound flattering to her ears. She was told that she uploaded pictures in which she looked too provocative. Her hip dressing, her sexy pout and her happening social life were apparently drawing too much flak from women around her.Was that not why so many men were suddenly finding her attractive and trying their luck with her? She felt she had transformed herself into an eye-candy which was a fact that was not easy to digest for people around her. Her expensive eclectic branded clothing raised many eyebrows. Why? Just because everyone couldn’t afford it? The fact that she did not have to slog work because her folks were affluent enough to afford her  branded  high maintenance lifestyle, also attracted a lot of speculation and envy according to her. Slowly and steadily she was losing out on close friends just because they could not see her blooming into a classy social fashionista. Insecure bitches women! What do they know about her life, her challenges and things that make her feel good about herself? She was way ahead of all them in everything. No wonder they were stagnating and she was moving so fast ahead in time that they could not understand her needs.

Well, that was Nona’s side of the story, my friends. The sad truth about this story is that Nona suffered from major deep rooted body image issues. The fact that she was dark-skinned in a country that thrived on fair skin, obese and unable to maintain her interest and stability in any vocation she chose for herself had driven her to a lifestyle which fed her with false vanity and pride. She shopped recklessly, pampered herself to spa and beauty treatments far more frequently than other women, visited and partied at the most happening joints. She indulged in loose talk and gossip with the most atrocious gossip-mongers around her who spoke badly about her as well the moment she turned her back. She dated the hottest hunks, who cheated on her with other women, leaving her feeling shortchanged and puzzled about why this always happened to her. The fact was that she always attracted the wrong kind of attention. What else would frequently clicked and uploaded selfies which showed her pouting seductively from under thick layers of makeup and deep plunging necklines attract? But well, these were the very things that gave her pleasure because these were the things that fed her bruised ego. A once warm, affable and healthy bundle of joy had transformed herself into a synthetic doll who was plagued with catastrophic psychological and stress related health disorders for life. A doll which only had fake admirers. Most of her social media statuses revolved around love, sex, and looks which gave out an impression of her being an easily available catch. Slowly she resorted to everything that gave her short term pleasure, which included indulging in detrimental habits like smoking, drugs, alcohol and one night stands. All in the name of appearing hip.

She would be often overheard complaining to friends about how people were jealous of her, calling them outdated and judgmental. To the extent that she refused to listen to her own mother on the same. When well meaning friends tried to counsel her regarding her choices she would lash back at them stating that it was her life and she would live it the way she wanted to. She is absolutely right there. And it was no wonder that slowly she started losing out on her outdated old friends. Why would they waste their time on someone who had decided to walk on the path of self destruction? And more so, when someone who thought that their well wishing advice was coming out of jealousy, especially when the supposed object of jealousy was actually in a place where one would only pity her. There was hardly anything that she possessed which would attract jealousy. On the contrary people laughed at her behind her back at the irony of her statements. You see, false vanity, arrogance and overconfidence are never the kind of qualities that people get attracted to. I myself do not get drawn to a person who does nothing to enrich their lives with productive activities. A beautiful person is the one who nourishes himself inside out, mind, body, soul, and not just focuses on their external appearance, which will eventually fade with time.

So, what would you do if one of your friends is suffering from a similar kind of disorder? Well don’t lose heart – next time that you or any of your friends are in a predicament of this sort, there is someone who could help you on a neutral ground, giving you advice as a third person. Sometimes this kind of situation demands that you seek advice from professional people who you are assured will give you unbiased advice. And this facility my dear readers, has been made more convenient than ever by AdviceAdda.com, ‘India’s First Online Advice Portal for Youth & Teenagers on Education, Career, Relationships, Health & Sex. Professional and unbiased advice is just a click away now, thanks to the never ending perks that the advent of internet has blessed us with. And the best part is that this service is absolutely free of cost.

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Disclaimer: This is a purely fictional story. None of the facts stated here are in reference to any one person, or event in particular, but an amalgamation of my observations of the changing face of society through various experiences and interactions. These are my personal opinions that I have stated without intention of hurting any one in particular who might associate themselves with this post. The idea is to provide help to those who are mature enough to understand that they require it.

Linking this to Day 25 of UBC July 2014 and NaBloPoMo July 2014.