I’m a simple person. My dreams and ambitions aren’t monumental. I don’t ask for much from life. Ache grades aajayein, job se koi na nikaale, bas zindagi well-settled rahe – that’s all I really need. Oh, and once in my life, I should become a viral meme. While two out of four of those things were happening, the well-settled bit was a bit up in the air as far as Pakistani standards go – and over this past weekend, that kinda got sorted too. (And the meme thing, but we’ll get to that)
On 28th June, 2019, I tied the knot with the guy I’d been with for six-and-a-half years, who happened to be my best friend as well.
Look, the way I see it, the person you date/marry has to be your best friend. You need to click and understand each other and you should ideally be each other’s closest friends. I’m not saying this applies to everyone, but it is a bit of a personal belief. Anyway, keeping that in mind, we got married in a small family function at home. Super low-key, super cute.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzQy2qUgNYg/
Now, I was a happy bride. I love the guy and we’d been gunning for this since ages. We were both over the moon. I’m the kind of person who posts the same picture everywhere. because zyada achi tasweerein aati nahi hain. Keeping that in mind, I posted this one picture on all my socials. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter – sab. Now, I posted the picture thinking ke haan, doston ko pata lag jaega, dou teen retweets aur well wishes aajayeingi Twitter pe.
Alas, I was wrong.
I posted this tweet after I got done with the festivities, thinking I’d let my VERY small Twitter fam know that I’m hitched.
Can't believe I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend #nikkahed pic.twitter.com/uCa4u7DN30
— Sajeer Shaikh (@sajeershaikh) June 28, 2019
I went to sleep, not giving the tweet a second thought. When I woke up the next morning, the tweet had blown up.
As I write this, it has 4883 likes and 313 retweets, which isn’t the most viral thing on the Internet, but for an account with previously around 1400 followers, it’s a lot. Oh, I also went up to 2110 followers, which is cool. Thanks, guys.
As far as the tweet is concerned, I guess people started taking digs at the “best friend” bit. You know – the lone survivor of the friendzone and all? Those kinda jokes.
Things started off with congratulatory wishes, which were super sweet. Love you guys.
Omg sajeer congrats. Happy for you
— Soban (@thesonofArsene) June 28, 2019
Cuties! MUBARAKAIN!
— Shehzad Ghias Shaikh (@Shehzad89) June 28, 2019
https://twitter.com/DreadThanatos/status/1144858261465833472
Some people were concerned about our ages…
https://twitter.com/HOT_BacHa/status/1144864756832100352
https://twitter.com/ab_abid/status/1145244196653215744
Dono bache lag rahe ho yar.. are you 18-21 yro??
— Nelakantha Chowdhury (@TeenageOld) June 30, 2019
Guys…we’re both turning 24. Chill.
People made child marriage jokes…which, I mean, come on – child marriage isn’t funny.
https://twitter.com/carsevak/status/1144939506652499968
Is child marriage is legal in #Pakistan
— yhr studios (@YhrStore) June 30, 2019
Is umar mai hum ganay ki trolly k pichay bhaga krtay thay… 💔
— Shahiid (@iamshahiid) June 29, 2019
Some insecurities surfaced.
https://twitter.com/BPKC_/status/1145145292938809344
Someone made a “the guy she told you not to worry about” joke…which, I mean, doesn’t apply here.
https://twitter.com/hassaanx_/status/1144745592834449410
I appreciate the humor, though.
Then… the friendzone jokes started pouring in.
https://twitter.com/Lahoriya_/status/1144699040946446349
@me_urnightmare esa best friend dhund dy😂
— 𝔅𝔞𝔨𝔥𝔱𝔞𝔴𝔞𝔯 𝔖𝔦𝔨𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔢𝔯 (@its_Bakhtawar) June 29, 2019
Yeah but don't spend As A Friend 😂😂
— Er. Marwari !! (@talkingwithyash) June 30, 2019
https://twitter.com/Faizi_shah007/status/1145095299976880128
Congratulations. One last question: is he out of the friendzone or not?
— Ibrahim (@amibrahimkhan) July 1, 2019
Best friend wali baat logon ke dil par lag gayi
https://twitter.com/uoxmanzz/status/1145123469245538305
https://twitter.com/etoile_detachee/status/1145102489378873344
https://twitter.com/ibn_e_tariq/status/1145077915991924736
Friend Zone is eternal. https://t.co/kyyNXZUrOS
— Talha Anjum (@talhahanjum) June 29, 2019
Sorry yaar
https://twitter.com/BeingFurqan/status/1145033066596859904
I don’t know…hosla rakho
Where Is My Best Friend😢 https://t.co/oqDmsGEFKY
— Saadit Ali Rajput🎈 (@Saadit_Ali) June 29, 2019
Where is my best friend …?😏 https://t.co/3zhwBTZeUL
— Anam Razak (@ayat_uswa) June 29, 2019
The best-friend-turned-spouse search began
https://twitter.com/PANDAA______/status/1145028997174255617
Where is my best friend???? https://t.co/10H8ruVaEF
— 🌟 (@_sparklyyy) June 29, 2019
Some people wanted answers.
Ye kon log hain jinki bestfriend se bhi shadi hjati hai. https://t.co/NxKb1gGrWK
— Jonaid. (@MaiJunaid) June 29, 2019
https://twitter.com/Bubblegum5510/status/1145022507189264384
Others seemed to find answers within the tweet.
Dekh lo Londo boyfriend banne
Se zyada scope best friend banne me he😂 https://t.co/mdSfNom9YT— AyaN🇮🇳 (@xpoxpxox) June 29, 2019
Ye jo larkiyan Kehtin haina "Bestfriend hai mera" ye jhoot bolti hain. https://t.co/7qFFpZ2n6Q
— Shariha Sohail (@isharihasohail) June 29, 2019
Ohhh now i know i gotta make a best friend first https://t.co/yCrqopUbhh
— Yash ➐ (@y_so_kool) June 29, 2019
https://twitter.com/Say_no_to_Dm/status/1144988995836960769
Some people had complaints.
https://twitter.com/iamFatimayyy/status/1145021397942583296
Some people believed my husband is still friendzoned.
Shadi ky bar b friend zone https://t.co/bXkElhd6Yy
— Nouman Mirza (@Mirzathoughts) June 29, 2019
(He’s still my best friend, that doesn’t change).
I thought my mentions blowing up was it, but soon, my friends started sharing stuff they were coming across. Like this…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzSdOKjpWdc/?igshid=11l15ka9p3ms9
…and this.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2896675637071416&set=a.414550155283989&type=3&theater
Some people DM-ed me other stuff they’d seen. Even my husband (wow, still not used to it) started sending me tweets that were making the rounds – and he’s not even on Twitter. Anyhoo, it was a pretty cool feeling. I’ve literally always wanted to be a meme, I’ve made that pretty clear in the past, too. This was it. The perfect wedding gift – becoming a meme.
Get married ✔️
Become a meme ✔️What's next? 🤪🤪🤪🤪
— Sajeer Shaikh (@sajeershaikh) June 30, 2019
As I ride on this small wave of success, now aiming to be an even more viral meme, let me know what you think of this hilarious fiasco. I will highlight that I think the friendzone doesn’t exist and that’s kinda bs (a bigger piece for another day, perhaps) but for now, share your thoughts with me regarding this.