Age vs. Wisdom: Why Shina is My Forever Agony Aunt

Shina and I go way back—all the way to the summer of 2012 when I joined Hanmer MSL (now MSLGROUP) as a Management Trainee. My life choices from then till now have gotten even more questionable, while her slippers have only gotten nicer with time. She has been forced to be my agony aunt for well over a decade. In fact, I’ve lost track of the number of articles I’ve written about her over the years.

I remember her as the face and the voice I reach out to first whenever shit hits the ceiling; she immediately hands me a mop to clean it all up. Every time I fall into a ditch, find a logical solution, but hesitate to actually action it, I call Shina. She pushes that button for me and encourages me to finish the shoddy job that probably never should have been started in the first place.

Now, the interesting point to note is that Shina is not much older than me—she is exactly less than two years older. Our friendship is a testimony to the fact that age and wisdom definitely don't go hand in hand. She has possessed a maturity and clarity in her thoughts from the moment I first met her as a newlywed bride, juggling daughter-in-law and work responsibilities like she was born to ace both roles.

Me, on the other hand? I’ve always struggled to push back when it comes to people and situations. I am a nice doormat, irrespective of whether I was in my 20s or, apparently, right now. I just cannot see when people are taking me for a ride, and that is exactly where Shina fits perfectly into my life—to open my eyes wide, right after saying, "Omg Gayatri! Not again!"

I am yet again in a "not again" situation, and Shina has immediately agreed to catch up and listen to me rant. Thank you, my dearest, shining Shina. What would I do without you in my life?

Your forever brain-eater,

Gayatri