September 15, 2011

"Hi, I'm Crazy. And you are...?"

You know what else is cool these days, other than IIT-IIM-graduates-turned-authors and Lord ‘the dude’ Shiva?

Craziness.

Ya. People seem to love to come across as crazy, insane, whacky etc etc.. Anything but normal and sane.

When did it become fashionable to be a loony?

On social networking sites and blogs, people love to describe themselves as crazy, mad, insane, one-screw-loose types. I have done that too. Spoken and written about the crazy side of me. Still continue to do so...

I was going through a blog sometime back. The writer had described herself as ‘sensitive, intelligent, well-read’, etc. The first thing that came to my mind is “What’s wrong with her??” and not “That’s nice to hear. Let me read her blog.”

Has it really become THAT abnormal to be normal?

I mean, seriously. Wasn’t there a time when people wanted to come across as well-behaved; girls dreamt about guys who are kind, help in house-work, don’t mind picking up groceries; guys looked for a girl who was sweet, beautiful, was capable of feeling shy, did house-work, was polite to in-laws etc. But now, everyone wants the crazies! And wants to be one too! Like one of my friends said “To each person, his or her friends are the craziest”. Girls go for guys who dress differently and are rebels, because they come across as crazy. Guys fall for girls who smoke and drink, have belly-button piercings and have no qualms about cussing, better still if she can’t cook (and is proud of it) again because they’re different.

Really, when did it all start?


I'm not talking about the clinical condition. That's nothing to be mocked at. I'm talking about the 'forced' craziness. Or maybe 'adopted' craziness.

Has ‘different’ become synonymous with ‘crazy’ now? And has ‘crazy’ become synonymous with ‘cool’?

No offence to anyone, trust me. Just wondering… Maybe you could give me some answers.

(Images courtesy Google and a bit of Powerpoint editing)

24 comments:

  1. Thts called BEING IMMATURE. its a big facade. Yes people act crazy just to be on the cool side but tell me about a guy who has actually married a crazy girl or a girl who has married a crazy man. They do flings and sleeping around or major flaunting, but when it comes to settling down, the decent and the sensitive is wat is needed. I laugh!

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  2. U can see it the other way round. People act crazy b'coz they want to be different, be unique. Since now all are crazy, being normal is different. So actually she is CRAZY.

    x=y & y=z So x=y.. ;-)

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  3. Hello :)
    Just came across your blog!
    Actually I loved your profile picture, and that is what got me here :)
    To start with, I love the header! :) Your blog is indeed adorable!

    Coming to the post, yes.. The 'goody good days' are gone :) Everyone wants to be different. Some pretend, so that they are liked. Some thing that have a piercing and a tattoo is cool! Some smoke just cause they think it is cool and not cause they actually have an urge to do so.
    Some have forgotten that if they are just themselves, they will be different cause in today's times, everyone pretends to be someone they are not :)

    Loved the post! Keep it up :)

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  4. Nice post, reminded me of something one of my friends had quoted very recently in one of our conversations.

    1. Every him/her has his/her own set of eccentricities ranging from hardly/mildly noticeable to 'Tow him/her away to the loony bin'.

    2. Friendships are generally forged with those who have a similar set of eccentricities or with those who find comfort in the eccentricity of others.

    Cheers :)

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  5. Ayyo, I was wondering the same thing. I act normal with people and nobody wants to be mys friends :( And I act cranky and everyone goes like "Wow, haha this girl's naaaiiceee" :\ I mean, really? I call myself a bit of a nutcase and that's how I am surviving ;P

    And ohhhhh, I love the Shiva trilogy. WHEN IS THE THIRD BOOK COMING OUTTTTT?! :X

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  6. haha.. i couldn't agree with you more! The word 'crazy' has become synonymous with cool, fun and different. . I agree with Red.. its really immature..

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  7. Something I completely agree. Earlier saying "I am crazy" meant you would be shunned. Now the "crazy" people are the cool people.

    So I can imagine what you mean. :) But the definition of crazy was always really vague. :)

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  8. @Red Handed: :D You're right. Guys will ogle at the hot girls, but they would their own wife/girlfriend to be covered up so that no one else looks at them. :D

    @Kanthu: You're right. being normal is different now! :D

    @Philo: Hey, welcome! Thanks! :)
    I've seen that kind so much in my university, you kow. The pretntious types who just want to draw attention to themselves. Gets tedious to even watch them after a while. :/

    @Atrocious Scribblings: That makes a lot of sense...

    @DawnZhang: :D Oh so THAT's whay you call yourself a nutcase, is it? Peer pressure?? :D

    @TheGirlAtFirstAvenue: I'm not saying that it's a bad thing. I was just wondering at the sudden rise in the number of people who want to come across as mental. :/

    @Srinidhi: That's true. It's a very relative concept. What is normal to me may be eccentric to others. To each his own, I guess...

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  9. i totally agree!!!!!!!!!
    like seriously being crazy && rebel is a norm these days-

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  10. Totally agree with Red Handed. I know guys and have often asked many also, the 'perfect' wife material. Almost 99% of them answered they would want a sensitive, 'behenji' types. Though they have also accepted that they wouldn't want to go out with any of them before marriage! So do the girls! Strange world I say :P

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  11. @fatima: Seriously!!

    @Deepthi: Very very strange.. :/

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  12. This actually reminds me of the MTV Roadies auditions where Raghu and Nikhil sit and look for 'crazy' people. And then they end up selecting cussing, profusely tattooed or well, you know, the crazy types. I don't know if you watch Roadies, but remember Paulomi?

    Anyway, I often act like a fool to keep my sanity intact. No fun, being normal all the time, right? ;)

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  13. "When did it become fashionable to be a loony?" Hahahaha! I loved this line! :D

    But honestly, I feel repelled by those rare ones who are the decent, girly type. I don't get why they hold themselves back! Why they try to be all lady-like and high-maintenance. I don't think being crazy is cool. But it sure is a lot of fun! :)

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  14. So, I went through that phase too. And then grew out of it. I think it's a way of below 25 peoples to try to stand out, express their individuality. But here's the catch. In reality, everyone's crazy one way or the other. So do they really stand out?

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  15. WHOA!! I had a pretty EXACT thought about the issue :D I wondered why people described themselves as "Neurotic. Perpetually mad." yadda yadda and then I dunno when I myself adapted that culture and became quite comfortable with my own weird ways! :/ but honestly, for marriage, I would go for a sane man anytime and not a "crazy" one cauz one crazy(myself) is good enough for the family :D

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  16. I think we like crazy as sometimes we relate to it and sometimes we love the style. But we change... I think being normal is boring for some people...

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  17. I claim to be crazy not because it's fashionable but because if I claim to be normal and people who actually know me in person happened to read it, they'll brand me a big, fat liar. Because normal is the last thing anyone would call me:D Trust me on that one.

    But I can clean and cook almost as well as my mother.
    I cuss though. Mostly a lot.
    But I'm strongly against both smoking and drinking.
    I love piercings and tattoos though.

    Now I'm confused.
    Am I actually crazy, pretending to be crazy or just another random girl with her own set of quirks?

    And guys, at least Indian guys, would die before marrying the 'crazy' ones. That's the way they are brought up and a 'grihlakshmi' is all they want to take home to their mothers.

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  18. :-)

    Glad you wrote a post on this before I could. Because I'm not sure I could have put it across as you did.

    For me, I'm one such 'threatened' species who still believes in the characteristics of being normal which you mentioned above. And I've been ridiculed at for clamping my ears and eyes shut at the mention of the words 'Delhi belly'.

    Actually, there's a difference between being eccentric and being abnormal. Eccentric people wont be recognised in a crowd while abnormals would. Dunno if you get my point.

    I've been in discussions (arguments) with friends who have asked me what if the girl I love drinks or smokes. Well, I say, there will have to be something really special about such a girl for me to love her. Though a person's dressing, smoking or drinking habits shouldn't be the criteria for judgement. But for me, they aren't a criteria for attraction too.

    People love to get attention. And anything that stands out against the normal pattern finds attention. This 'forced craziness' is a result of that yearning for attention.

    One example I always think of is about the craze for tattoos. I don't understand what's the big deal about getting something on your body which you weren't born with in the first place. The tattoo-bearer is the one who rarely looks at his own tattoo. It's there for the others to see... and get amazed. Result ? Attention.

    These days, boys have piercings and girls act as boys. It may be called looking different, but the basic reason is to look conspicuous. Because anywhere, anything different is conspicuous. :-)

    People may find it 'cool'. But all they ever get from me is a sigh. :-/

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  19. the crazy chicks that u have described here, dear divya, are the ones guys wanna date. and they're the ones that make guys freak out and run away when they talk about marriage.

    the description of the ideal chick that u gave is still the chick we wana marry :)

    theres a girlfriend material and then theres a wife material.

    see. its that simple. stupid girl. should have asked me na. itna lamba post likh diya.

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  20. @Destiny's Child: I remember Poulomi. *shudder* :/ Also, remember Bani?

    @Loony: It is boring to be normal, no doubt there..

    @sumitra: I don't think age has anything to do with it. The place where I studied, HCU, I've seen even 30-35 year olds like this.. :/

    @Ananya: Being comfortable with your own weird ways is one thing, and shoving it in people's faces is another. THAT's what i'm talking about. :)

    @Saru: You're right. I know I myself would get bored. :/

    @Priyanka: You're not just another random girl. You're a lovable girl whose screws got loose because of excessive chocolate-eating. :P

    @Shobhit: What do you mean you couldn't have written the post? What is this comment then? :/ It's as good(and long) as a post only.

    @kalpak: Damn. Guru Kalpakananda se poochna chahiye tha likhne se pehle. Dammit!! Kshama karo guruji.

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  21. i guess its abt flaunting your flaws...earlier people like me were kept in a room chained to the bed , or perhaps end up taking a shot gun and walking to the woods and taking a shot to our chins without missing...supposedly its difficult to press the trigger it your toes..

    now eccentricities are excepted...in some cases even admired..and that's just great...even the so called normalcy is abnormal in some sense..we all have our weird sides...not every one of us embraces it and is comfortable with it...but it has its annoying side, when we tend to live up to the craziness rather than realize that too is just a part of the whole you..

    personally i think u can figure out when someone is faking it or forcing it...

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  22. @Tys on ice: Yup, it can be figured out pretty clearly, whether it is faked or real.

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  23. Now THAT's a definition I can live with *widegoofygrin*

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  24. To each his/her own might sound like a cliched response to this short and quite thoughtful post, but that's all I have now.

    Read in far more superficial terms, however, 'crazy' is perhaps the new in-thing -- the thing that gets one's blogs more hits, one's profile more views and so on and so forth? Of course, that's just my theory.

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