Influences that define me!

People often say, every human is unique having special and exclusive traits. If that is the case, I would beg to differ. Why? Because when I delve deep into myself, I find that nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever known. Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”

In the story of my life, each chapter is influenced by the people I've come across. My eyes reflect my mother's warmth, and my laughter echoes my father's humour. Words I speak carry a hint of my bua's wisdom, and my heart dances like a fool to the rhythm of crushes once held by my trendsetting cousin sister.

Just as a river is shaped by its banks, so too are my quirks and habits molded by those I've journeyed with. The quirky way I write my 'r's, a habit picked up from my Class V bench partner, is one of many such imprints. I walk with the confidence of my Class VIII English teacher, someone I looked up to. My handwriting weaves a dance of contrasts, blending my father's precision with the carefree lines of my Class IX friend.

I often end my sentences with a period, just like my favourite Instagram influence does. Even the way I talk has a bit of a sing-song rhythm I got from a tv show I watched in Class X grade, whom according to my mom I was supposed to avoid but didn't, clearly.

I apply blush on my cheeks and highlighter on my nose, just how I was taught by my elder cousin sister. A container of saunf boxes my world, a habit shared with my friend's mother whom I never really met properly. My hair, which I prefer to leave open and flowing, is something my ex-partner loved. I've never dyed it, afraid of hair loss because of a story very hilarious and horrendous, a friend shared.

My white sneakers with dripping pink paint, immaculately kept, speak volumes, echoing my little brother's belief in the silent stories they tell. My choice of pastel nail paints is inspired by an influencer I admire. In love, I give my all, just like I wish my future partner would do.

Beyond the mirror of my appearance, shaped by people around me, lie deeper marks etched by life's experiences. These fears, like shadows, have also been cast by those around me. Each fear, a story in itself, has been a teacher of sorts, born from past scars, now tempers the way I navigate the world and its myriad souls.

Heights unnerve me, a fear birthed from watching a stranger’s harrowing fall. Sharp objects send chills down my spine, a nightmarish flashback to my childhood mishap. Empathy for loss is deeply rooted within me, a sapling grown from personal encounters with grief and death of a loved one.

I don’t make fun of singers who write songs about their abandonment issues, because I know what it's like to have those. Dogs, though loveable, stir a cautiousness in me, a remnant of my brother's frightful encounters.

Trust, once broken by past companions, now cautiously rebuilds its home in my heart. Words I choose are weighed with care, lessons learned from a past where my truths were once met with laughter. I become overly defensive when a someone remarks on my physical appearance, haunted by memories of an ex-best friend who once stabbed me in the back with certain images.

I am a mosaic of everyone I have ever known and loved and touched and I find fragments of them in my playlist and how I make my tea. We may not know each other and more but we will stay connected like this. I hope of fragment of me is with you too.

So, what is the essence of my being? Each thread — be it a trait, a love, a fear, or a lesson — intertwines to form the unique fabric of my being.

It’s a delicate blend of every soul I’ve ever met, every lesson learned, every tear shed, and every smile shared.

Inaayat Juneja, Class XII, The Tribune School, Chandigarh