“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?
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 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.
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.
