Thursday, December 14, 2017

On getting older

This is an exercise in procrastination. Oh well. I keep getting told I need to take better care of myself, so am gonna write this first.

For several weeks or months now I've been thinking about how hundreds, probably thousands, of people have walked in and out of my life. This is the result of having lived in multiple places, being in multiple circles as the result of multiple identities, multiple jobs and networks from those jobs. At some point we realize that there are only a few people who actually do stick around, and I can count those friends on one hand. That is all we need really. And though some of them are married now and have kids, every now and then we're able to reconnect, and if push comes to shove, I can reach out to them.

For them, I am immensely grateful that they have stuck around, despite all the bullshit I've put them through, over years, or decades. Perhaps it's no coincidence that two of them happen to be therapists...wozzup K & M.

Pretty much almost everyone else just passes by though. Somehow during my twenties in New York I built an immense network. When I am back in town there are only a few people I do actually see and/or who make time to see me. And that is totally fine. It would be exhausting and impossible to attempt to maintain connections with scores of folks there. I had a trip back to NY just a few days ago and I fully appreciated and enjoyed the time with the friends I did get to see. Quality, not quantity.

When I was briefly back on the monstrous social media site that rules too many of our lives, I "defriended" probably over 1,200 people (this defriending has happened over time, not all at once). People who lived on my floor in freshman year at college, people met at parties or events, etc etc - there is no need for me to be on that network or for us to be connected on it. It's interesting, I realized that as I "defriended" someone that I would probably never come across their name or memory again.

My brief trip to NY made me realize that close to 2 years after having left, that I am finally over NY. I'm over that city. New York is an incredible and emotional and long chapter in my past. I am not romantic about the city anymore, I think. Perhaps it was because I went in December, and it snowed - and thus then got grey and mushy - perhaps it's because the MTA is much more worse now, perhaps it's because I find the new and gigantic constructions aggressive, ugly, and in some ways, violent - my heart doesn't yearn for NY anymore. I used to write "NY meri jaan". In some ways it still is - but that's really only because of the incredible people I know there.

I feel much more ready and willing to embrace LA now. Come on Los Angeles, embrace me. Give me a massive hug with your tall and skinny palm trees, 5 lane freeways, avocados, and the lovely home I happen to reside in, alhumdulillah.

Many have told me that it's harder to make friends as you get older. I can certainly attest to this. I'm sometimes with those who are much younger than me - they want to stay out late and party, meet lots of people, etc - that was me. I'm way past that now. Those were the things I did in NY almost a decade ago, and later on, most of the people that I met have come and gone. I'm going from having a massive network in NY, to being much more selective about who I spend time with and attempt to befriend, here in LA. I think it's better that way. Because, most of the folks in the past are just that, in the past. Thinking about the present and the future now, in this city that I'm now looking to embrace much more, I'd rather more fully connect with just a good small number of folks, than attempt to befriend everyone I come across.

So here's to getting older, and maybe, though probably not, wiser. Hopefully spending my limited free time to building well with good people. Call me an introvert, I don't care. My days of going out and roving around with whoever are long gone...I think. I'd much rather have a handful of decent friends to connect with here, and spend my other free time working on myself inshallah. I still haven't really gone hiking here, dammit.

I suppose now I should actually finish this assignment...

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