Bonding with the Bro

Yesterday Neeraj called and asked if I could edit his English narrative for him. I agreed and what was supposed to be me just going over his essay turned into a two-hour long bonding session. Well, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but it's the first time in a long time we've had a really nice conversation.

Neeraj is not as talkative as I am, and we don't really talk much over the phone, though I attribute that more to his just being a guy than being shy. I mean, Papa and I always have really great conversations in person, but it's just not the same over the phone. And lately Neeraj has been so swamped with work that we never really have time to chill because he's always got some kind of project or essay or test to prepare for.

So we were going over his narrative and he told me how bad it was because he'd written the rough draft late at night, but as I read it, I thought it was actually quite good. I remember when we were younger, I used to make up stories and type them up on the computer (The typing part was more exciting to me than the actual story creation). After seeing me do it, he used to do the same thing, and would come up with stories and poems and type them up in funky fonts. Ah the childhood memories. And even though he eventually lost interest in creative writing, I've read some of his essays for school and he still does have writing talent.

But anyways, as we were going over his draft, he was telling me about school and how crazy it all is, what with the 5 AP classes he's taking this year. It was nice because generally when I ask him about school he doesn't want to talk about it because he's like - that's all I do all week, I need a break from school.

I really don't know how he does it all. I told him that there's no way I could have handled all the work he has when I was his age. Hell, I can hardly handle all the work I have right now. I don't know if it's just me being old, but I really don't think I got as much work in high school as he's getting right now. I admire him for taking it all on though - 5 APs is something I never attempted in my four years. And while sometimes it bother me that he's that classic guy who keeps most of his emotions hidden, I guess that could come in handy sometimes, especially when dealing with this much work. I mean, yes he complains, but he complains in a different way than I do. His style is more quiet, more subdued. He'll complain about school, but it's more of a wistful, shrug of the shoulders complaining. Me, I'll get really heated and angry and frustrated and panicky about all the work I have to do. Sometimes my complaining will end up in a rant about how getting a B on a paper will somehow result in me being a complete and total failure at life. (I promise, it only gets that far some of the time). Neeraj, he doesn't get that worked up, not at all. We both get our work done, but it seems like he accepts it and does it, while there are times that I simply fume my way through it.