A long wait

#32/100

Did you ever have to wait for something to end for a long time? Like the initial few months at a new place where you know no one, being that introverted guest at a party just because you were called by a close friend, a fracture cast, a toxic workplace, association with a demanding boss or something else on similar lines. You really dislike being in that zone, experiencing those painful emotions yet you have to wait for a certain period of time till it ends.

Yet somehow when it ends, you aren’t as happy as you thought you’ll be. After going through a difficult time for such a long time, wishing for it to end as soon as possible, you still have a weird feeling, could be disguised as sadness, when the end time is near. There was a concept shown in the show “How I met your mother” where one of the main leads wants to quit his job because he hates it. He hates every element of the job, the paperwork, his colleagues, bad coffee at the cafeteria, every single thing. But when he musters enough courage to quit the job, his last few days aren’t as happy as he thought it would be. Instead, he started liking all those elements that he hated before. That’s when his friend Robin tells him that he’s got the “Graduation Goggles”

Graduation goggles is the nostalgic feeling one has about a time or someone in their life when it is about to end, even if the time was completely miserable.

-Robin from “How I met your mother”

I’ve had braces for almost 3 years now. There has not been a single day in my life when I wanted them off me. They can be really frustrating and painful at times. I’ve been patiently waiting for my dentist to tell me that it’s finally time to remove them. The gaps in my teeth have filled up and they look in excellent shape now. Few days back when I realized that it might finally be the time I bid adieu to my braces, I somehow sensed a weird feeling. The feeling of nostalgia, FOR MY BRACES! I’ve had it for 3 painful years and have always wanted them to go off. How could I even remotely miss having my braces around? Looks like I’m experiencing Graduation Goggles too. I went to visit my orthodontist today and she told me there’s still few months to go for the braces to be removed. I somehow was frustrated as well as relieved. Since braces treatment involves a long duration of time, I had envisioned few goals to be completed by the time my braces are removed. Now that the time has arrived and my goals are incomplete, I sensed a sigh of relief when my orthodontist told me I still have some time left. Maybe I could complete those goals and happily celebrate the removal of my braces a few months down the line. Because no one can ever deny the fact that having braces can be the most nerve wracking experience of any human’s life!!!