The Thrill of Shoplifting
I remember a close friend from high school who would shoplift from the co-op (koperasi, our convenient store) – buns, chocolates, and milk. Yes, food. Maybe I did that too, once or twice, and it was probably just one of my quests to impress her. If not for the purpose of impressing her, I probably wouldn’t have done it. We already had five meals daily provided at the dining hall, and the fact that I didn’t really eat so much (I still don’t) meant I could survive 24 hours with just biscuits and water. My point is, nothing was so desperate that it needed me to shoplift for food at that time.
Regret and Realisation
I later regretted doing it because it was useless. A dosa kering (a minor sin) on top of not getting anything other than some mutual fun? So, I stopped doing it. I didn’t have a lot of friends back then, and that’s because I enjoyed being on my own so much (and possibly because I’m someone difficult too, ahaha).
Midnight Adventures and Unauthorised Excursions
Then, I had a couple of friends who would fly (leave the school area without permission) in the middle of the night for McDonald’s, sometimes roti canai and mee bandung. The next day, they would chant the stories to everyone who had ever done the same thing, as if you were going to get the tribe tattoo once you’d completed the ritual.
My Version of Rebellion
In similar circumstances, I remember myself pretending to be sick just to skip classes, going out on my own to the clinic for McDonald’s afterward. It was a pretend, but technically legal, keeping things simple and fuss-free. But still, thinking back about it, I wonder why didn’t I just do some McDonald’s Delivery. It’s not like McDonald’s bikes were forbidden inside the school compound, nor did we have a boycott McDonald’s for Israel back then. It was more than 10 years ago.
Reflecting on Youthful Transgressions
I wasn’t proud of my sins, but secretly adored my own perspective on how I saw these offenses. No, don’t get me wrong. I’m against niat menghalalkan cara (the end justifies the means). It’s just that, I’m glad I was someone who didn’t care to do crime in a pack and, bonus, always got away with whatever wrongs I was doing (90% of the time, though karma is still lounging around me and bitching, I kid you not).
The Psychology of Rebellion
It’s always good to dive into the part of us that is so rebellious and criminal. The adrenaline. The rush. The guilt. The pleasure. If not for our own pleasure, all of us have some point in our life when we are so desperate for validation. We want to have things in common (usually on some weird and hipster stuff) with other people. We want to be relatable for things that distinguish us (our circle) from the rest of this boring world.
The Irony of Seeking Validation
And if you really take the time to understand that, it’s something somehow sooo ironic, don’t you feel so? Like… why can’t you be weird, unusual, and exceptional for your own self?
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