Unboxing the Boxes

Every time I have told someone new (outside of India) that I come from an Island their first response always is "Oh! Where are your floral skirts?" or "Hey! Fancy life must be a party growing up."

If I tell it to folks within India that I am from the Islands they go "Oh! Are you a tribal/aborigine?" and better — "How did you learn the language?"

I absolutely hate it when these stereotypical questions are asked of me and I always wonder why do people love to associate islands with partying or aborigines.

There are other times where people, due to my introvert nature or my dislike to a certain genre of movies, instantly categorize me as someone who does not like to do this or that. I am tired of the number of times people have told me — "You won't like this series" or "It ain't your type."

I have been guilty of doing this myself many a times. My over-thinking, anxious brain always categorizes people and places them neatly into various boxes.

Typical scenario — I don't like to socialize much outside of my comfort zone and every time someone has asked me to come over for a get-together where I know I would be meeting new people, I cringe. My perception: Everyone there would be loud, Page 3-ish, and more than anything they would all want to talk. Things I absolutely hate to do!

However, there are times I have dragged my feet and ended up meeting some amazing people and had the most amazing conversations ever.

People are layered and complex. The introvert can surprise you with their stories. The island girl can hate beaches (well, not me — I am a total beachaholic — but you get the point). The person you've boxed into a category might be exactly the person you needed to meet.

Let's start unboxing. The boxes were never meant to contain us.