Sheena, The Teenage Indian Girl

Sheena is another Indian teenage girl, just like you and me. She has a regular life like all of us. She goes to school, gets good grades and has aced her SSC exam as well. She is any other Indian teenage girl and nothing really sets her apart on the surface. However, are things any different on the inside?

No, they aren’t. She also wants to have fun like all of us. She wants to drink, go clubbing, go for night outs, hang around with her friends, explore her sexuality and of course, have a few boyfriends. A lot of aunties would faint on reading this but hell, what on earth did they want as teenagers?

Some might throw questions like why do you want to indulge in these things? Why don’t you just live a normal life? Well, what is wrong in having a little fun? Moreover, isn’t it a matter of choice rather than enforcement whether one wants to live a normal life or not?

So, here was Sheena surrounded by Indian aunties, relatives and parents. She was forced to be coy. The same happens to all the Indian teenage girls but what sets Sheena apart from the rest of her clan? She knew how to get what she wanted and she was ready to do anything to go after it. She had always known she would go to a college which was a million years away from her house so that not a soul could spot her.

However, she didn’t know which one. Of course, those surrounding her gave her many suggestions. She could easily figure out that those suggestions were meant to keep her coy and so, she absolutely didn’t take them up.

Lucky as she was, someone who was looking for her told her the names of a few best colleges in the city and she went there with her mother. The first place that they visited was Star College (Fictional name) and while it was slightly different than what she had already seen, it didn’t seem to strike a chord.

The next place that Sheena and her mother visited was Hoops College(Fictional name again). Sheena fell in love. She knew absolutely that this is where she wanted to go. There was no stopping her from getting here. She got admission easily over there and she was indeed awestruck by the ambience and the atmosphere.

She expressed it to her mom and her mom was like, you aren’t going to college for ambience and atmosphere, you are here to study. "Thankfully! I am going to be away from this nag of a monster called mother for most of the day" Sheena thought to herself

Thus, her method of going after her dreams was finally working out. She no longer needed to be a good girl who was appreciated by everyone. She was happy beyond belief. She lived her life to the fullest during the five years of college. There was no stopping her.

Lectures weren’t meant for her. She hadn’t worked so hard and come so far to sit in boxed shaped rooms and listen to some souls who thought themselves to be exceedingly knowledgeable.

A quiet spot on the beach was her favourite getaway. The canteen guys, the sports guys, the library guys, the watchman and of course, the waiters at the nearby restaurants were her new friends. Every day she went out to explore. Sometimes, in the theatre, sometimes, the library, the basketball court, restaurants, and secret corners; she knew the place as if she had lived there all her life.

She even discovered that her college had a terrace and no one ever bothered to climb that far. The door was always left open so, it was her new drinking spot. She resolved to lose her virginity here but of course, things don’t go as planned. She lost her virginity in the red car of a rich, flamboyant and handsome boy.

Now, Sheena was just having fun and went with the presumption that all rich, flamboyant and handsome boys are also looking for some fun. Sadly, Ash (the boy) was deeply in love with her and Sheena felt nothing for him. She was only enjoying herself and if at all, she felt anything, it was to do with pleasure and not love.

Immature as she was, she broke his heart and continued having fun. Of course, she didn’t lose virginity on her college terrace but she did spend time with some boys over there and you can well imagine what happened...

Finally, her suppressed desires were coming true and she was living the life she had always wanted to. What more could she ask for?

Yet, life isn’t a fairytale and all good things come with a price. This one did too. It cost her grades. She might easily be someone with the lowest grades in the class. From being someone who always got the highest grades, she was now someone, who always got the lowest grades.

It also cost her, the trust of her parents once they found out what she had been doing. Her teachers weren’t on her side and she didn’t really have any real friends to speak of because she was always looking for some fun. In the course, she had been selfish without realising it.

She was on the verge of failing but again, she used her toy-boys to help her with marks and assignments and sailed through. Before she realised, the 5 years were coming to an end and she had continued to be a selfish person throughout.

While she had had the time of her life, it had indeed cost her like crazy. Were all her desires worth the cost? At that time, Sheena felt bad for the price that she paid but today, Sheena has learnt much more from those experiences than she would have from sitting through countless lectures in countless classrooms. She has learnt about the reality of life. She no longer feels bad about the price she paid and looks back at those years as the best time of her life.

Thanks to those years, she knows who to trust and who not to, she knows how to sail through bad times, she knows how to use her feminine charms, she knows how to find her way. She is stronger, more confident and much surer of herself. Of course, the bookish knowledge in the classroom lectures, wouldn't teach her all of this.