And we grew up!

Walking past the memory lane, there was a time when we were struggled with numbers-1,2,3… and alphabets- A,B,C… ,even after so many years we are still struggling with numbers and alphabets but the only change is that now numbers deal with percentages and alphabets deal with grades. We are defined by such numbers and alphabets now. When we were taught these alphabets, we weren’t forced to learn it in a particular way. We all had our own style of learning; some sang it as a song while some recited it as a poem. At that point of time, we never realized that the rest of our lives would revolve around them and we would be judged on the basis of it.

Our journey began with the learning of poems and reciting in front of the whole class. Some of us were too good in this, while some of us could learn the poem but found it difficult to recite it in front of everyone while some couldn’t even learn the poem. But ultimately we all had to learn it and recite it, no matter what. We were all treated equally and thus we had to compete with each other and recite it in front of everyone. Some were praised for their work while some were forced to do better. Some who couldn’t recite it were compared to others of their age who could recite it well. As every year passes by and a student is promoted to the next class, the more complex did this process become. We had to compete with each other, we all had to do only what we were told to, we had to prove ourselves to be better than the rest, we had to pressurize ourselves to do things which we found difficult and at the end of all this our results were always compared with others.

To begin with, the first “Important Examination” in our lives was our 10^th standard boards. That was a time when we actually had to compete with lakhs and lakhs of students and had to prove that we stand at a respectable position compared to others. Everyone we met be it relatives, neighbors, friends or anyone all we heard was “ THIS IS GOING TO BE THE CRUCIAL STAGE OF YOUR LIFE. STUDY NOW AND PROVE YOU ARE BETTER THAN THE REST AND TRUST ME YOUR LIFE WILL BE ALL SET. DO WELL NOW. STUDY,STUDY, STUDY HARD AND LATER YOU CAN SIT BACK AND ENJOY YOUR LIFE!” Believing all what we heard is true, we started studying seriously, we gave our best, we went to classes, tuitions, enrolled yourselves in the best classes offering mock tests, we studied day and night just to ensure we scored well and gave our best in the exams. Then came the day which changed the fate of our lives “RESULT DAY” or “D-DAY”. We were nervous, excited and filled with emotions just to check our results and there it came- A number called as “PERCENTAGE” that defined our lives. Just after the results were out we received so many calls and messages from people who we don’t even now properly. And then they set some norms for us –

 “ You get a DISTINCTION- choose SCIENCE.”

“You get average scores-choose COMMERCE”

“You get low scores-choose ARTS”

If you choose Science stream you have two options- Either do engineering or study Medicine. And if you aren’t doing any of this, you will be asked thousands of questions and the conclusion would be you have scored less and thus didn’t get a medical or engineering seat.

If you are a commerce student, you have to pursue CA or CS and have to do many courses side by side. If you just take up a single course people would announce that you aren’t intelligent and cant study well and thus settled for something easy.

If you are an arts student, you would always have to hear-“Why aren’t you good in studies? Why did you take up arts? Is there any scope for arts?” so on and so forth. If you consider changing your stream after 12^th, that would be one of the worst sin you would ever be committing. All that you hear after changing your stream would be –“You scored less and thus couldn’t adjust to your chosen stream and thus you have changed it, right?”

We fear being questioned about our decisions. We don’t have the courage to face the people who would judge us if we do what we want to do and thus we end up being trapped or stranded at a particular point. We lose interest in what we are doing and feel less energetic about everything that is happening. The struggle with numbers doesn’t end with the completion of our education. When we are kids, we are taught that zero holds no value and when we grow up we try to add extra zeros to our salary so that we can earn a respective position in our society. We all have inevitably become a part of an unknown race to become someone we never want to become. We have been taught to run like everyone else does, but why aren’t we trained to do something which we want to do? Why aren’t we encouraged when we do something out of the box? What if we don’t want to run instead we want to walk or crawl or fly or climb? Is that a sin? Can’t we do what we want to?

Our first half of our life is running behind materialistic wealth and second half is explaining our children and grand-children the hardships we faced while running for this money. What if we ourselves don’t like the story we narrate to our kids? What if they stop us and ask us why we didn’t follow what we want to and did what others wanted us to? Life isn’t about becoming someone, it is about unbecoming what we are not and becoming what we want to. And to begin such a journey, all we need is immense courage and self-confidence

Can mere numbers or alphabets decide where we will stand 10 years later? Are we so weak to give up on our dreams so easily? Aren’t we strong enough to become what we want to against all criticism? Academics are important to survive in the current era but it isn’t the grades that come into picture but it is your personality that plays a key role in defining who you are. Success isn’t about filled pockets; it is about a contended heart. If you are determined to achieve what you want to, you would never complain of the tough roads for you would be ready to cross any roads to reach your destination. At every point, you need to remember, societal pressure or parental pressure is just temporary but once you reach your intended location, everyone would praise your work and be inspired by you.

At the end of the day, our main aim is to need to sleep peacefully with a sense of achievement and that is possible only when we work for ourselves and not for money. When we enjoy what you do, we would never feel bored to do it. The more we focus on our grades, our rank, our salary; we would be stagnant at a point. Life isn’t only about chasing numbers; it is about chasing our dreams. We all are gifted with one precious life and why should we lament about doing what we never wanted to do at our later stages of life? Is it better to stop being influenced by the rat race where everyone is running without a purpose, where everyone is running for the sake of it, where everyone is trying to show their strength and vitality but at the end they end up being disappointed when things don’t turn out to be on their favour?

Everyone isn’t born to be a doctor or CA. Everyone is unique in their own beautiful way, just like each finger of our hands stand out differently. We need to identify what we want from our lives, we need to understand and analyse where our heart finds true happiness. Being carried away in this race would end in disappointment whereas doing what your heart throbs for would make our lives fruitful. Learn to concentrate on the positives, grades are temporary and they won’t define who you are. You have to set your own benchmark by creating your own identity and live a peaceful life you always wish to live irrespective to what others say for at the end of the day you need to walk for yourselves. Let your heart decide what you want to be and let your legs follow the instructions and always look forward to life with a positive vibe.