As a 32 year old old I am expected by society to have been married for at least 4 years, have kids and I should be content with that…

I sometimes think back to when I was a kid and I realise that I have never done anything like I should’ve. As a teenager I never had a boyfriend as all the guys would fancy the other girls I hung out with due to my severely Eczema covered face. When others were getting grade A’s I was more a of a C, D and E student (I have a degree and write a column for a newspaper now so who cares!). Now when people my age are getting married and having kids I’m enjoying my life, hanging out at parties with celebrities, being creative and exploring the world. And you know what… I am the happiest I have probably been for a long time. Ok, so I may be single but I would rather be single, not have to answer to anyone and be creative rather than have to answer to someone who may not approve of my life choices. Actually I have been questioning a lot of things in life recently in terms of what I want.

Truth be told I realised the other day while I was driving up from London to go my hometown of Nottingham that I don’t think I could be one of those people who works 9-5, goes home, cooks dinner, chills for a bit then goes to bed. That’s fine for some people but not for me and once I had realised that and accepted it, well, it actually made me a whole lot happier.

Recently I attended a number of premieres at the London Indian Film Festival. I am lucky to be in a position where I get invited to such things. One of the things which really made me realise that I don’t think I could ever go back to my ‘old’ life was when I was speaking to an old school friend who had also moved to London and he said that when he went back to Nottingham it was like a time warp.

I think that London is such a wonderful and culturally open place that I don’t ever want to live anywhere else (well unless it is San Francisco or Valencia!)

On that note this is a message to anyone who feels that they don’t fit in, well it is ok, you don’t have to no one will ever make you. Being unique and individual is such a wonderful thing. I often feel like a misfit in so many areas in my life and sometimes it can be upsetting when people don’t understand where you are coming from. My priorities in life are not to get married and have kids. Like I said earlier it is ok for some people but not for me and on that note I want to leave you with this quote by Matt Groening “Living creatively is really important to maintain throughout your life. And living creatively doesn’t mean only artistic creativity, although that’s part of it. It means being yourself, not just complying with the wishes of other people.”

Picture sources –

1. https://twitter.com/Notebook/status/498937122808934400/photo/1

2. http://www.windowofinspiration.com/inspirational-quotes/being-who-you-are-quote/

Priya Mulji