A Letter

Dear Wicked Witch of the East,

I keep thinking it's been a while. Years almost. And yet it hasn't.

I keep thinking about where you are and who you've been charming and who you wake up to. And what you do in between of course.

New York is lovely. It would perhaps be lovelier if you were here to force me to stop thinking about sums and numbers and forces and other things you find utterly unlovely. I'd probably have seen the whole damn place by now in fact.

I saw Noam Chomsky the other day and he looked exactly as you imagined he would. Had I not seen him myself I would never have believed that because I told you to read him in the first place. But you imagined what he'd look like. I swear I picked up the phone to call you and then realized I don't have your number anymore.

I've watched every movie that ever made you cry and read every DH Lawrence novel and Andrea Gibson poem, I could quote from them but you would just call me pretentious.

Mostly I just think about ties and try to understand. I wonder if you're still running away from being tied down. But who could tie you down? And who would dare?

I wonder where I'm going to post this letter. Your house in Karachi? Your much detested flat in London? Ethiopia?

Would you even read it once you recognize my handwriting?

I don't quite know how to answer anything without numbers to help me. You never quite forgave me for that. I can only say one thing in utmost certainty and that is this. That I am very much tied down. To you.

Forget the Prince. Forget the fairy tales they've been feeding you all your life. Forget Cinderella (But by all means, please remember Mulan) Forget wedding dresses that cost enough to make you feel good. Forget balcony kisses and press releases. Forget imported orchids and people who admire your jewellery but not you, never you. Forget it all.

You deserve better.

And so where was I? After all the boys left and the cigarette smoke faded as best as it could and the dark circles  under my eyes slowly-but-surely started to appear. After the books were mentioned, goodbyes said, arms caressed. After we talked about all that was sinful and wondered about the definition of the word and why it was so easy to wrap our tongues around and then fell into a silence that was  more than comfortable.

And yet, where was I?

I think I was happy.

So here's to you. 

Dealing.

'Rejected. Rejected. Rejected' And then the immediate consolations and gradual justifications rush forward and you envelope yourself in them so that you won't have to actually come to terms with the fact that a university that you would have given anything to go to simply doesn't think you're good enough. You think about the essay you worked so hard on, the stupid standardized admission tests that you slaved over, the nights you spent studying for A level exams. But guess what? At the end of the day you probably won't get to America if you don't have the money. You won't get to Canada if you don't have the money either. And even if you HAVE the money the UK won't take you because now domestics are officially paying double. Unless of course your major is Finance.

So it's all about money. Unless you're lucky. Don't get me wrong. If you get lucky and a university gives you aid or takes you despite the fact that you want to study anthropology and political science (yes, together) then that's awesome. But that makes you lucky.

'Does it all work out in the end?' I asked him. He's one of the smartest people I know. He hesitated before answering. 'It does. I mean. It really shook me. My college rejections. I didn't expect them. But then one comes out of it, realizing how the rat race to secure a spot at the top or to get into the college of 'one's dreams' is so SO over-rated'

'It doesn't matter' She said. 'Are you going to get any dumber if you go local? Of course not. Look at what you have and take the best from it. Thank God you won't be spending hundreds on a crap professor who can't teach. I met some of my best teachers at Kinnaird not when I went to the UK. You'll be fine.'

And all I could do was nod in agreement

Pieces.

He walked into the room, smiled slightly nervously and the first thing I thought was 'God. What a beautiful man.' It was almost surreal. He moved his hands with a grace I could never begin to hope for. His eyes lit up when he talked about anything outrageous. Which was often of course and then he'd laugh self consciously.

I could have looked at him forever.

And he was fun to talk to, fun to be with. I know that's not the best of descriptions. Just the word 'fun'. A million more could substitute. Comfortable, crazy, ridiculous. Heartfelt, yes. Mixed up, yes. Sexual, yes.

And then there was this one. Who told me he was 'perfectly content' with his life. Who kept up nights for no reason. Not because he was restless but just with the fucking contentment of it all. And who told me I was too restless, too all over the place, too easily bored. I told him I'm really a hopeless romantic. But not to tell anyone because it was a secret. He just laughed. I wanted a secret from him. He insisted he had none. Then he told me he'd never told anyone this but he loved the head rush he'd get after spinning in circles.

Not perfectly content after all then.

I love phenomenal women.

More please.

Seriously though, Happythankyoumoreplease is probably the most underrated movie of the year. I know my obsession with postmodernism makes me biased (I automatically fall in love with any movie/book/song that is even remotely postmodern. Junot Diaz for the win) but everyone needs to watch this one.

Written by Josh Radnor (known for his average to good-ish role as Ted in How I Met your Mother) the movie revolves around stuggling writer Sam who finds a child lost on the subway. Yes yes I know it's not the most original coming of age story. The bit where Sam discovers the kid's talent for drawing made me roll my eyes slightly because I hate how kids need to be extraordinarily talented to get any sympathy from audiences. However, the relationship between the two is an endearing one. No, Sam doesn't automatically become an adult just by learning to take care of Rosheen. He acts more like a big brother than a guardian. But just to watch this relationship grow is extremely fulfilling.

There's also Sam's best friend Annie. First off, I love that they're best friends. She calls him to make sure he's not late for his meetings, he manages to hug and kiss  her without viewers ever thinking they're having some sort of  sexually charged 'moment'. And she's cool. Gypsy skirts and headscarves. Annie has a condition called alopecia which basically means she has no hair on her body at all. Her best line in the movie is post nervous breakdown when Sam tells her she doesn't need to be so together. She replies 'Yeah because the world would love a crying bald girl.' Right there. That line would make anyone want to cry. And for the record, plenty of movies have been made about people battling diseases, conditions and illnesses. There certainly haven't been enough movies made about people who've fought their battles, made their peace and would now like to move on. To go to work, to party, to travel. And most importantly to love.

And love is what this movie is about. Despite all the cynicism, Annie, Sam, Rosheen and their friends all look for love. They cling to what they know often mistaking it for love. They screw up majorly. They laugh off hurt. They step outside the box to go hunt for it. But what ties them together, these New Yorkers who know that love is not only difficult to find but also difficult to keep is that they all know they deserve it. Essentially, they love for themselves.

Radnor is a talented writer. It's difficult to actually write about people trying to grow up. Few movies are made about complex people for this reason. However, what is so memorable about this movie is that Radnor acknowledges that everyone is complex. We're all allowed to not make sense, to go against rules that society has laid down and try to see what is really important for us. And so Rosheen prefered to live with Sam without a TV or much solid food, Sam went against the law to keep a six year old he hardly knew, Annie dated a guy she never imagined she'd be attracted to, Mary Katherine scorned marriage but was prepared to have a baby with the man she loved, Mississippi lived with Sam for three days despite knowing that it was probably a stupid thing to do.

 In this cynical world filled with two second relationships,very  little caring, consumerism, individualist clashes and a flagging sense of community every single one of us still deserves to be loved for who we are. Radnor almost-expertly weaves their complex stories together just to make his point.  And he makes it beautifully.