“God has given you one face, and you make yourself another.” – William Shakespeare

We love adventures and by that I mean attention: the more the attention, the merrier. Seeking the spotlight, dreaming big (or else pretending to), finding the meaning of our existence and eventually falling preys to existential crisis. Questioning death, the ultimate truth and bragging about feminism. Giving special attention to abolishing the curses of racism and sexism, our women proudly move around with their faces glowing with the loads of whitening products they just applied before setting out while men so proudly boast around their attractive masculine features and how they are better than the other gender.

The narcissist youth obsessed with social media knows no bounds. Obsessed with the way they interact and move around. The social lives we all take care of make us dive into the virtual world where everything lies beyond practicality and when the bubble of the perfect world bursts, we are left repenting.

These are the times when people are judged by the exuberance and extravagance. From the designer, branded collection to the twinkling diamond jewelry, everything is so grand, after all, it all comes down to having a good status. Does it not?

As a student of English literature at Government College Lahore, I have always considered myself as the one belonging to the privileged class where I am admired and even envied for what I study (yes, me too). English, being the language of the colonizers is still considered as the most prestigious one, ultimately making Urdu, the national language of the country, inferior.

English is the language that has taken everyone by storm and the one who does not know it is looked down upon by the society. Remembering the days when I was asked to read 'English newspapers' and give special attention to this particular language, makes me reconsider the time spent in its pursuit. I don’t blame my ancestors for inculcating this very thought of being a good English speaker in me because they themselves have been through the times when the colonizers took charge, belittling our culture and promoting their own.

In this world of Instagram, Facebook and other social networking platforms, we are left at the mercy of the western influence. Busy with the trends, little do we realise what our lives lack and where do we stand and yet, as I write this, I unstop my “Fair and Lovely” BB cream, apply some and check on my pressed dress from “JJ’s (Junaid Jamshed)”  and log out of my virtual world…