Secrets

So what was your youth about ? As in the time from high school until say, you hit the late twenties or got married . Whichever was earlier, ended your youth  :)

A city dweller youth is generally surrounded by academics, friends, seemingly uncertain future, dreams, doubts, aspirations, looking for inspirations, crushes, infatuations, limited pocket money and several other things which may be specific to few of us. So if you stayed away from home there were hostels and hostels wardens or PG and their owners and their time in and out formalities. If you were a day scholar, you have had it with the curfews set by your parents. Tough. Very tough.

Recently, I was talking to dear friend from college after a long time. We started remembering the stories that happened while we were in college about our classmates, professors etc. Who is where and doing what. It gradually moved onto sharing the lesser known but very interesting stories of those 3 glorious years in campus. We called them secrets.  

I think every secret has an expiry date. As long as the people it relates to survive, as long the relevance or future implications of that secret make sense. 

After that the secret becomes redundant. Because people move on in life. No one cares whether it existed or it didn't. But the person holding it, holds it close to his/her hear, and keeps going back to it not realising that lot of other more beautiful, happier things around are waiting in the buffer to get access to that memory space this redundant secret is holding. 

Lets take few examples. Keeping the campus stories in context - what were the secrets about ? You or your best friend facing a so called disgrace at the exam results by scoring less than the minimum. Then passing with grace marks or even worse, reappearing ? 

More: Some spoilt brat getting into your prestigious college and leaving everyone to wonder how on Earth he/she got through ? That's a gossip my friend. Secrets are juicier. Another one: One of your good old classmates is related to one of the teachers through family or a common social circle ? That is not a secret either. But poor old thing. He cant talk about teachers with the family and he cant talk about family to his friends. 

Let me come straight to the point. Crushes. When they happen, all you think about is him/her and relate the best of romantic songs, films, books etc. you had ever come across in your life. The time passes. Assuming it doesn't go beyond a crush, you hold on to it while moving on in life. Several distractions in the form of another crush, work, love, marriage, time come in way. You hold on to this little secret somewhere in the corner of your heart. 

Why not let it out if  this sweet secret has way passed its expiry date ? That is, especially to that once-upon-a-time special person will not harm anyone any more. May be you are both married to other lovely people and are busy with your respective life, careers and may be children.

Who knows you may find a friend you never had. Who knows it will make his/her day.Who knows, it may bring sweet old memories rolling back in both your minds. Well, it may or may not do any of those. But it will surely make your day. Let it out. Empty the memory space. Let more beautiful things, more deserving things occupy it. A famous ad campaign says open happiness. I say, open up some sweet secrets.