Nature’s Imperfect Symmetry Sonali Mittal

All through my school days, I had a very minute sphere of friends. Making friends became a trauma and which even brings up the issue of trusts and truthfulness of motive. This might have the normal practice when anyone is trying to get to know someone new, but I took my vetting process which is mostly covert to unprecedented high levels because of my past experience. Some of my new acquittances would get offended. They bristled at my regimented pattern of living and could not put up with the unwarranted scrutiny, and ended up walking away.

The positive takeaway is my ability to adopt an independent lifestyle and the uncanny ability to decipher what I think is good from bad. I controlled all circle of my friendship accepting only who and what I wanted or needed, without having to explain my decisions. Well, in the negatives, I am certain I lost tons of potential good people who could not simply put up with they often unnecessary scrutiny from a fellow student or colleague. Writing these, I can immediately recall one or two old potential friends who later complained about how my attitude made them feel uncomfortable towards me and whom I would have loved to be friends with now.

After growing more mature over time, I have come to agree that there are more good than bad people in our world and most times people act according to specific experiences of life. I have come to realize that one must optimize situations to get the most out of it. Give everyone the benefit of doubt; never write off anyone knowing that people make mistakes all the time; be magnanimous with understanding that people have human limitations and imperfections and allowed that to always calibrate your attitude toward friends and people.

Nature’s Imperfect Symmetry

Photograph by Sonali Mittal