option two

it is all about rejection, if you ask me. even if you don't ask me, i'll tell you. remember, when in XI class, you thought that kavita likes you. hell, you knew she liked you, you could never muster courage to walk up to her and say, hi kavita, how are are you? and by the way, i really like you and would you be my friend, not that 'we are friends' friends, but a special one? maybe we can go out sometime or talk to each other on the phone, every night, when every one is asleep? or wait till the first trip has gone (there were usually two chhutti time in my school, one for IX and XI class and the other for X and XII class, they had to stay in school for a little longer, board exams and all that) and sit and talk? or maybe just hold hands? or maybe i can show you how to kiss without using my hands?
you didn't say that because what you had in mind was lovelier and more promising than what might had happened if you spoke to her. like she could have told you, 'oh shantanu, you are so cute, but i never thought of you in that way.' and you would go home shattered, vowing never to love anyone again. sometimes you would just go home and cry. that can scar you for a lifetime. however, there is a breed of men, who are not satisfied with just fluttering eyelashes and smiles and random girls/boys saying, 'oh i think kavita is sweet on you, vivek'. they want more. they want to do all those things, mentioned earlier, especially, no hands kiss thing. so, they speak to their respective kavitas, priyanks, geetanjalis etc. and they get to do the no hands kiss thing. well, most of the time.
lets look at the problem logically. if an average guy falls in and out of love with ten girls in a span of three years, he has two options. one, he speaks to every girl about his feelings, gets rejected thrice, gets slapped twice, gets politely snubbed twice and YES!!!, strikes lucky thrice. the second option is that he gets stuck to the first girl he likes, smiles at her, never speaks to her, goes on living with a wonderful fantasy in which the girl and guy get married, make love at mountain top, roof top, car top etc. basically, he forgets about the other nine girls, who come in his life, flutter their eye lashes at him, get no response and move on the one with skoda. now, the first option gives you at least three chances to get lucky, the second option doesn't even guarantee one. so, why do so many people choose option two?? as i said earlier, it is about rejection. it is the same fear that tells you to not to be creative and original at work, your boss might not like it; hold yourself back at a party, what will the really cool people think of you? don't say what you really want to say, you friends will start disappearing.
sometimes, i feel that option one would've been a better idea. but then, sometimes, you stumble upon some amazing people from the past, although there is no desire to hold hands or do the no hands kiss thing, at least not now, you are just happy that you chose option two, because no amount of holding hands 'we're just friends's' can outshine the glorious memories of an era gone by.