Strangers and Friends

The word 'friend' is an anachronism in the 21st century.

My parents brought me up with the values of thinking how much I can give or willing to give to the one I consider my friend. Giving interms of everything, time, patience, affection, understanding, support. Three decades of my life are almost complete and I don't have a clue of what my parents really wanted me to receive by giving.

Used, exploited, taken for granted, insulted, stabbed, abused, I have got all these things from my so called friends. Well I never really differentiated between boys or girls. Today I think strangers are better than people who you really know or you think you know. Those strangers who appear out of nowhere, help you, save you and then disappear. They may have added you in facebook or linkedin but are not a regular part of your life. That is why they just end up being special even though they are just memories.

My reason for all these rambling is that you need to trust strangers some time. There is no harm in doing it. We are always taught to be careful. Be careful but once in a while do trust strangers. By my experience I can say that strangers have been more kind to me than people I have known. Is it because I am bad and people who know me think I deserve being let down...well the answer is 'No'. If you study crime statistics in the world, you will know that most rapists and murderers are known to the victims and sometimes they are very close people.

I know now that the only two people who would always desperately help me are my parents and no one else. This is my life where I do not have sibling or spouse support that I can depend on. My new realization makes me scared because I am a stranger in a sea of strangers and I do need support to carry on a normal life even though I may be the most liberated or independent woman alive.