FriendSrubSexandtheCity

Well Well and Well... Here we are again... And this time I am out talking about crises. Mid-life crisis, End-life Crisis, Quarter-Life Crisis (thanks to Kesava)... the Mid-Quarter Life crisis, the three-quarter-life crisis (now... this is all my imagination, but believe me there are Scientific studies that show these crisis do exist...!!!). Being 25, I have my crises to deal with - (courtesy: Kesava - Quarter Life Crisis), but for me its been heartening to know that I am not alone. Look at J.D. Dr.John Dorian, from one of my favorite current sitcoms Scrubs. Isn't he way too familiar. The everyday guy who is always looking for approval from his superiors, always wanting to be liked by his peers, at the same time wanting to stamp his intellect, at the same time looking for that one perrr-fect woman. That boy has got some issues. Working at the hospital has its own everyday, perennial momentary crises, but the way these crises translate across different contexts - my god, am I seeing my life in there? Well, I do not work at a hospital, nor do I have Perry and Kelso to report to, but yeah... I wanna prove myself nevertheless among my peers, help people when I can (though I might not have saved lives!!!!) and be a successful Doctor someday. Not the steth types though, but you get the picture. And so, all of JDs issues and mini-crises seem to reflect on some level, the crises that I face everyday. As a PhD student.
Take Friends. Chandler, Monica, Phoebe, Ross, Joey and Rachael. Why do I think I see much of myself in all of them? Okay, so, so many of their crises revolve around relationships, marriage, and... relationships again... except may be Joey and Rachael, who also go through a transformation of sorts with respect to their careers, but they do mostly have a crises of their relationships. Who should they sleep with, who should they propose and who should they marry!!! Of course, these decisions get tangled due their intimate friendships, and frictions and dictions with each other, but the beauty of this sitcom was probably the hope that you could always fall back on your friends to help you face with your crises. Something I really did with so many of my friends around... till they were here. And like the final season and the season finale, there have been marriages, houses and jobs in LA... that just spread us out. Well, season finales are a crisis themselves for the cast. But I guess we get our own spin-offs, which rarely are as good as the Originals... so there, another crisis to add... a spinoff crisis.
And then there are Carrie and her friends. Never before had I thought that "getting lucky" would mean so much. Well, I still do not know if its different between the genders and SATC was predominantly from the female perspective, but among the half-jokes and half-truths between friends, I have realized that biology dominates your psychology. Whatever that means. So there, another crisis. Though I didn't exactly identify with the crises in SATC, it did make for some interesting viewing, and over time, introduced a new crisis in my life(!!!).
But then, come to think of it, everything on tv is about crises. The news is full of it. The ads are full of it. Its like sex (oops, I heard myself saying the word) in the US...everywhere... just ubiquitous. Come to think of it, the whole life is about crisis. School was full of it (the crisis!!!). So was college. So was undergrad. So is now. Its not just me. There are these friends of mine who face professional crisis everyday. When they have a lot of work. When they do not have a lot of work. And personal crises. When there is no body filling their life. When there are smitten damsels writing poems about them. And financial crisis. When whatever money you earn is not enough. And familial crisis. When you are far from your family. Crisis here and crisis there. Crisis everywhere.
Sometimes I wonder to think where would we be without a crisis. Or a conflict. Its probably that, thats what makes us human. Whywould anybody want to watch a perfect superhero if there was no element of crisis in his story. What makes us human is probably the hope that we can get through it. Joey found his own show in LA. JD earns Perry's respect. Carrie scores BIG-time. Chandler and Monica finally adopt a baby and buy a new house they like. And so on. This is probably not the end to crises. But then may be every crisis can be won over. May be thats what we need to live life. To sleep and dream every night. Of facing challenges and conflicts and crises. And see through them. And live through them.
Well that was not exactly groundbreaking. Such a cliche. But then whats the right way to deal with it?? Keep thinking about it?? Just take it as it comes??? May be a better question to ask is, what works!!! For some, indifference is the answer. Indifference to different factors makes you immune, kills the crisis in the womb, there is no crisis at all. For others, its the hard way. Being in the crisis is the only way to learn to deal with it. Whether it teaches you to be indifferent, or makes you more sensitive or more cunning or wicked, its your experience, your lesson and a part of your growth. I dunno if there are universal crises that have universal lessons. Religion has been a universal crisis. Death has been a universal crisis. Marriage is a universal crisis. Yes I guess. A universal lesson? May be. I don't know. But I hope there is. I hope there will be. Till then I shall dream of being a superhero!!! or JD. or Ross. or Chandler. May be one day, if I face enough crises, my life will be a sitcom too. Hell, it already is. It always has been.