The Final Goodbye

This year (2012-13), death was all around us. At first, it was our skating sir. And then, they all went down - one after the other, as death took its toll. Our school's janitor, a preschool girl, a freshman year girl - people from our school, people I didn't really know, but mourned nonetheless. But it was not until a few days before my birthday, when my best friend's sister left us forever, that it hit me - the sudden finality of death. How it overwhelms some of us with emotions, how it leaves some others hollow. But this sad dawn of realization made me reflect upon the event of my own final goodbye. You'd find it hard to believe that a sixteen-year-old can think that way. But death is inevitable, isn't it? So why do people fear even the thought of it? So yeah, I'm curious. 

Not as curious about how it will happen as I am about what will happen around me. Will people cry? I wish they don't. No use crying over spilled potion. In fact, I think I will be better off that way - dead and peacefully away from this cruel world. So I don't want people to cry, because I'd be happier. 

I mean, what use is our life? What is our purpose? We come and we go. All these people died of natural causes, and left their families hollow. That's what we'll all do, some day or the other. But over time, we will be forgotten. We'll be as insignificant as some person who died decades ago. But I wish I can see how it all unfolds after my demise. Don't we all? 

"To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." ~Albus Dumbledore

Bundle of Joy

You never know what you're missing out on. I, at least, never did. Not until one balmy autumn evening. My story goes something like this.One peaceful moonlit night, an angel paid a visit to my dreamland and made me a promise. I, unlike most of you, had always believed in angels. And so I believed that he would keep his promise. He promised me that he would come to live with me, here, on Earth - straight from paradise. It was a strange promise, and I could never understand why he chose me - mine was a satisfied soul, I never thought that my life was missing anything.
Yet I was, of course, eager.The clock ticked away, months changed on the calendar. When at last I had given up all hope, he fulfilled his promise. That balmy autumn evening, an angel had indeed landed on earth - in the form of my little brother. But I never quite see him as a brother. He is more like a son to me. People might find this strange, sweet, or silly, but that's just how I see him.
My eyes dampened, and my heart elated, as I beamed down at that tiny glowing face. He smiled at me, as if trying to say, 'See, I kept my promise.' That day I realized that my life really had been missing something. Today I can't even imagine life without him. Today, my life is complete.

Creative Fields - Not an Option?

“You are so good in academics, then why do you want to opt for fashion designing?” – Something I get to hear all too often these days. Since I’m in class tenth, I’m often asked about my career options. When I tell them about it, they either think that I must be a back-bencher, or if they already know that I score well, they think I’m crazy. But, why? Why can’t people grow up, already? Why don’t they realize that creative fields are as important and respectable as engineering, law or medicine? This mentality is absurd, according to me, but unfortunately it is very common in our country. You know what my grandmother’s response was? “You want to become a tailor?!” No, seriously. And forget about creative fields being respectable, or monetarily acceptable, if I have a creative mind, and if I am good in a particular art, then why not take it up as a career? Some people feel that such areas of interest are only meant to be hobbies and not professions. But just imagine, where would India’s cricket team be today, had Sachin Tendulkar opted for engineering? Or what would happen to discovery channel had there been no wildlife photographers? The world would be doomed! It would be a boring place, full of doctors, advocates and corporate people. Where would you get those charming clothes you love to wear at wedding processions, or the movies you love to see for leisure? So, I feel that people should realize the importance of creative fields. Moreover, they should not only respect, but also encourage a child’s career choice instead of forcing him to become what they expect him to become. After all, it is the child who is going to be affected by this huge decision, at the end! I can proudly say that I am fortunate enough to have parents who encourage my decision (even though they themselves are engineers). Can you?

Working Women Make Better Mothers

Many of you reading this might feel exactly the opposite. You might feel that working women can never give love and care to their children as well as stay-at-home-mothers can. But I beg to differ. When a child sees that her mother goes out, works, takes up responsibilities outside home, and is an independent women – instead of being dependent on her husband for every little thing, the child starts looking at her mother as an idol, as a role model. We often hear little boys saying things like, “When I grow up, I will go to office like my father does.” Similarly, when a little girl sees her mother as a strong and independent woman she aims at growing up to be like her mother. She takes pride in the fact that her mother knows the world, just like her father does. On growing up and realizing that her mother does so much of work – wakes up early, prepares breakfast, sends her kids to school, goes to work, talks to her kids on coming back home, cooks dinner, and then puts her kids to bed – a sense of respect for the mother is developed inside the child. Respect for her strength, respect for her devotion to work, whilst taking apt care of her family, and respect for her pleasant attitude even after a long day at work. Sure, homemakers are able to give ample amount of time to their children, but they play the role only of a nurturer and not a provider. Working women too give time to their children, but the fact that even children need some time to themselves is taken care of. All children love their mothers. Children of homemakers love their mothers for spending loads of time with them and cooking delicious food for them. Children of working women, on the other hand, love their mothers for many things – giving them enough quality time, at the same time giving them the space they need; cooking delicious food for them, or at least being able to earn as much that they can be provided with domestic help; and finally for not having enough time to watch soap operas and turning into melodramatic ladies!

Literature

Literature is perhaps the most beautiful and important art I know of. By indulging ourselves in writing, we can get in touch with our emotions, while at the same time contributing hugely to the world of ideas and creativity. By indulging in reading, we can help ourselves grow, and open our minds to new possibilities. Good literature can eradicate narrow-mindedness, while bad literature can increase it. But what one sees as good or bad literature is based on personal opinion and I would rather not debate that here.
Literature has infinitely many forms – poetry, drama, fiction, non fiction, et al. In fact, this variety is perhaps its most wonderful aspect. Literature makes us reflect on what we read, and makes the mind curious to discover more. We may interpret the author's message using a mythological, sociological, psychological, historical, or plainly logical approach.

Literature is more important than just a historical or cultural artifact - it introduces us to new worlds of experience. We may even grow and evolve through our literary journey with books. Literature speaks to us, it is universal, and it affects us. After reading any form of literature, the reader carries something from it - whether it be a viewpoint, a feeling, or simply knowledge – and brings it into society. Even when it is ugly, literature is beautiful.

Is life what we make it, or does it depend on blind fate?

Life is certainly what we make it. Depending blindly on fate is not an option. But this does not mean that fate does not play a role in directing our life. Fate puts a fork on your path every once in a while. After that, it is your actions that decide your destination. Some people just wait at the fork all their life, unsure about which path to take. Some others just choose a path randomly and let destiny take the stage. Yet others carefully weigh the odds and then choose the path they think would make them successful. Finally, there are those who try to outwit fate and cut out a new path for themselves. We cannot truly say which one these ways leads the way to success. Personally, I feel that life is too short to wait for destiny to make decisions for us. It is not wrong to believe in fate, but I think those people who leave everything to destiny are just too lazy or too cowardly to think and make their decisions. We’ve been taught since pre-school that hard work is the ladder to success. I prefer to stick to that, to keep climbing the ladder and not to worry myself with such propositions. After all, what would we gain, by spending our time pondering over whether there is anything like destiny? Just use your mind, and make your decisions. If they go wrong, don’t blame your fate, take the blame on yourself. If we keep blaming fate for everything, we’ll never learn from our mistakes.