Vanity

"Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us." - Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

This ain't a book review. Pride and Prejudice, being one of my all time favorite books deserves a worthy mention here. And if you know me, you'll probably expect a lot more posts of this kind, books being the one of the few things I am passionate about.
I like feeling nostalgic. There is something about nostalgia and memories that stirs up some chemical in our body which invariably makes us feel good - even if the memory is bad. I cannot believe that a thought about one's past can invoke such a strong bodily reaction. Amazing.
Coming back to the post, Jane Austen has taken love as a metaphor in explaining this simple vice that everyone has experienced at some point in their lives. Pride - is it ever justified? I knew a girl back in high school who had it all - looks, brains, luck. And she was proud of it. I hated her back then. Why she and why not me? Everybody has a right to an opinion, be it of themselves or others. So why did most of us hate this rather sweet girl who just revelled in what god had given to her? I wouldn't have understood it then. I do now. They say maturity comes with age. Rightly so. I have still to meet vanity in her human form.