The Expression Hub

  • Reminder to self?

    Published by

    Roshani Patil

    on

    Author: Jen Sincero

    Genre: Comedy/Self-help

    “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

    Eleanor Roosevelt

    I am not a big fan of self-help books because I just find them too preachy . But there are times in life when you do need some deep insights or you do need to find out as to how to traverse through the life that seems to throw curve balls at you. Those curve balls of life are intended to make you stronger as a person but it just seems pretty frustrating at that point. That is because those times are just testing everything you possess- your patience, your resolve and every piece of strength you possess in your body. When such times arrive, then you do feel as if you are going to break down as an individual and that there is no way out. But someone has aptly said, there is light at the end of the tunnel. You just need the courage to walk through the end of the tunnel to witness that light.

    I have been facing such times of late . But I have promised myself one thing that no matter how difficult things seem, I am not going to let an iota of self-doubt be instilled in my body. Instead I am going to do things which are in my control and not worry about what is not in my control. Let people think whatever they want to because they might be having a lot of free time to think about the affairs of other people. I really do not have time for being so nosey. I just want to keep myself so busy that I do not have the time to criticize others nor blame others. So, while I continue to figure out things, I decided to read this book after all you do need insights don’t you?The reason why I actually decided to go for this pick was that its title really attracted me . So was it a good choice or was it a duh ?Read on to find out more.

    About the book: You Are A Badass: How to stop doubting your greatness and start living an awesome life is a book which is written by one of the best selling authors of New York Times, Jen Sincero based partially on her own experiences and the lessons which she amassed after reading and listening to a lot of people who have made it big in life. She was an author who until the age of 40 was very broke . She lived in a converted garage and seemed to live life in a very defeatist manner. But with time, she was able to turn her life around and become a successful business owner. How did the turnaround happen is what she documents in the book which is written in a very sassy and practical manner .

    Analysis: This is a book which tries to awaken the greatness in us which we hide under the guise of not having enough time or giving excuses or just being content with whatever life gives us(in other words, not being able to convince ourselves to put our best foot forward in every work we undertake). The author gives us lot of advice as to how we can be our best versions and not limit ourselves which is what majority of us do. The best part of human life is that we can be anything we set our minds to be . But often we do not have the resolve or the passion to be the person which we want to be. Or we are pretty scared or doubt our potentials that we just end up living a life which just helps us to barely scrape or at most live a life which is somewhat better than others but does not realize our entire potential.

    Verdict: This is a great read especially if you want to live a life which is supposed to be your best. Things will not turnaround in a day but if you keep developing and practicing the good habits , one day your hard work will eventually make you live the life of your dreams. If you are an individual who wants to achieve things which others think is impossible and do not know how to this will be a great guide. After all, you never dull your shine for somebody else. This is the best gift you can ever give to yourself .

    Rating : *** and a 1/2 stars

    Cite Bite: “The only failure is quitting. Everything else is just gathering information.”

    Que: What is the one advice which the author frequently gives in the book?

    a. Never give up

    b. Travel a lot

    c. Keep smiling

    d. Love yourself

    Continue reading →: Reminder to self?

  • A one-sided lovestory or a scary intruder?

    Published by

    Roshani Patil

    on

    Genre: Comedy/Drama

    No. of episodes:16

    Presented by: Amazon Prime

    “The only love that lasts is unrequited love.”

    Woody Allen

    Well, celebrating self-love also includes body positivity. No matter what your body size is , you should always love yourself . But we are always surrounded by people who love to body shame us or chide us for eating that extra bite of our favourite food. Afterall, you are supposed to be having that perfect body which people would die for. While it is important to eat healthy and exercise, it is perfectly okay to have a body which might not be appreciated by all . This is because the definition of beauty varies from one person to another. What might appear fat to one person might appear beautiful to some other person. So, maybe it is high time that we as members of society stop imposing unrealistic beauty standards and embrace the person in front of us for his or her personality. Since a book might have a dusty cover but what if the contents of the very same book is interesting? This and many more issues are touched upon in this week’s pick.

    Synopsis : Pushpavalli is a story of a girl of the same name who meets a charming man named Nikhil Rao in an event in Bhopal. Nikhil finds her to be cool and spends time with her so that she doesn’t feel left out. This creates a misunderstanding in her mind that he has feelings for her. She ends up finding more about Nikhil and starts stalking him in various ways. This includes foregoing her career and relocating to Bengaluru to work in a children’s library. What starts out as an innocent fetish ends up into being an unhealthy obsessive behaviour. This leads to a string of lies and a series of manipulation which will end up creeping anyone. So, will Pushpavalli be able to get over her obsession of Nikhil or will she end up being creepy?

    Assessment: This is a show that screams out a major RED FLAG in a lot of aspects and is supposed to justify irrational behaviour in the name of love. It deals with all the unhealthy issues which exist in the society and tries to act as a mirror for the same. Like for instance , it deals with the obsession of having your daughter marry a guy to keep her happy. Or for instance the mother chiding her daughter and making her resort to unhealthy practices so that she can be married off. The biggest issue for me was how can someone forget the fact that the person has a career to make and end up falling so madly in love that it turns into an obsession? The only thing I found somewhat relatable is the issue faced by the hostel girls as regards to their safety. The only comic relief you get is from the super annoying antics of Shraddha who portrays the character of Vasu and the character of T-boi with Naveen Richard who uses a lot of swear words though. And don’t get me started on Nikhil, who is just another ******* .

    The view: Just as you would avoid a person who screams out being toxic and a major RED FLAG while considering a person who is supposed to be your life partner- do the same for this one as well. What is supposed to be an attempt to tell a stalker’s tale while advocating the message of body positivity just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. And a request to the people who are involved in making of a show- make a show which entertains the viewer instead of acting like a headache. We watch shows to destress ourselves and not add stress to our already stressed out lives. Don’t sell us **** in the name of entertainment even though it might be fictional in nature.

    Rating : * and a 1/2 stars

    Baap Dialogue:Not worth banging your heads for :p

    Que: What is the name of the library that Pushpa works in?

    a. Books Nook

    b. Sunny Side Up

    c. Granthalaya

    d. Book Cafe

    Continue reading →: A one-sided lovestory or a scary intruder?

  • A quest of self-discovery?

    Published by

    Roshani Patil

    on

    Starring: Reese Witherspoon , Laura Dern,Thomas Sadoski, Gaby Hoffman, Kevin Rankin

    Directed by: Jean-Marc Vallée

    Genre:Biographical/Drama

    “When I do something, it is all about self-discovery. I want to learn and discover my own limits.”

    Larry Ellison

    Well, the month of February has already begun which means love is supposed to be in air. While couples can feel lovey-dovey but why should they only have fun this month? For the unaware, this month also has a day dedicated to only singles which is known as the Singles Awareness Day. This day serves as a reminder to the society that why singles consider it best to be living a life of single hood as best. Now, for each, this view might differ but the point I am trying to make is that it is okay if you are a single. You need not keep shedding tears or feel bad about your love life. Instead use your power of single hood to become the best version of yourselves . Also, you can utilize this superpower to pride yourself of the fact that you are fiercely independent in a lot of aspects of life. Keeping this thought in my mind, I decided to dedicate this month to celebrating self love. After all, if you do not love yourselves the way you should, how would you go on to love others ?

       So, this month’s first pick revolves around a story of eventual self-discovery and the impact it has on the protagonist of the story. Does this sound interesting ? Read on to find out more…

    Story line: Wild is a story which revolves around the life of Cheryl Strayed who despite having no experience in hiking sets out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. This is a scenic trail of 4270 km which passes through the states of California, Oregon and Washington. It passes through 25 national forests and 7 national parks. The specialty of this trail is that the trail avoids civilization and covers scenic and pristine mountainous terrain with few roads.

       Cheryl Strayed has a purpose behind undertaking such a daunting journey. The reason is she is in a state of state of depression due to the loss of her mother . This situation makes her undertake irrational behavior like consuming drugs and having anonymous sex with people.This behavior leads to an unwanted pregnancy and her marriage being broken down. These events of her life makes her resolve to hike the trail to rediscover herself to be the woman her mother had raised her to be.

       The experiences which she has as she begins her journey leads to her meeting new people as well as having deep insights along with new experiences. Who does she encounter and what all insights she has as she traverses along the path? Also, does the journey fulfill the purpose which she had in her mind?

    Scrutiny: This is a piece of work which tries to delve into the mind of a woman who has been mentally unstable due to the death of her loved one. It tries to explore the behavior a person can have due to such events. Some people grieve the loss of their loved ones by mourning , while some try to remember the good times they had with their loved ones. Or some just try to escape the harsh realities of life by undertaking irrational behavior which can be life-threatening . The protagonist in the story tries to numb her pain by trying to escape the harsh realities by undertaking behavior which doesn’t make sense at all . But after bearing the consequences of her irrational behavior, she finally decides to approach her fears and pain in a rational manner by undertaking a hike.

         The hike acts like a medicine which is bitter in taste but is essential for maintaining good health. It starts giving insights to the protagonist which not only starts giving her a purpose slowly but also helps her deal with the traumas she has faced while growing up. This is supposed to be one of the most important takeaways of the story that no matter however dark the tunnel of life seems, there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Reese Witherspoon does a good job to portray as the main protagonist of the story though she could have done a better job to make it look more realistic. Another good point which I really appreciated was the protagonist does seem to open to suggestions as well as acts in a practical manner while making her way through the tough journey.

    I seemed put off by the huge number of expletives used in the movie which seemed unnecessary and pretty annoying. The reason being one can put their point across the table without swearing too much at all as well.That was the biggest peeve anyone can feel about this movie.

    The Sentiment: What was supposed to be a watch which was eagerly awaited by me turned out to be a watch which had a lot of scope to be turned into a much better piece. Though the movie is supposed to be an eye-opener in a lot of aspects but believe me it was a kind of a disappointment. It kinda felt like a waste of time. So, if you do want to watch this piece, watch it only for the determination of Cheryl Strayed as well as for the important message it gives of being resilient and hope. Else there are much better stories which celebrate the spirit of human beings.

    Rating: ** stars

    Quote-Unquote: “Cheryl, if there’s one thing I can teach you, its how to find your best life. And when you do how to, hold onto it for dear life.” (Cheryl’s mother to Cheryl)

    Que:Cheryl , on her journey meets a young boy who sings a song for her. What is the name of the song?

    a. Songs of Life

    b. Take me Home, country Roads

    c. Lean on me

    d. Red River Valley

    Continue reading →: A quest of self-discovery?

Hello,

I’m Roshani

Welcome to The Expression Hub! I’m Roshani, who loves to express herself through the medium of writing. This blog is my little corner of the internet where I dive deep into the world of movies, books, and web series—reviewing, analyzing, and sometimes just ranting about the stories that make us laugh, cry, and question everything.

Beyond reviews, you’ll also find my personal musings—random thoughts, life reflections, and the occasional deep dive into the things that inspire me. Think of this as a space where art meets emotion, and where honest opinions matter more than star ratings.

Join me as we explore incredible stories together, one post at a time. Have a recommendation? Let’s talk—I’m always up for discovering something new!

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