Never Give Up

Never Give Up

I grew up in a small town with disciplinary parents. As a growing kid, I liked to have fun, and loved to be with friends most of the times. I was bubbly and full of energy. Life, with mixed experiences; there were fun times, sad times, and many lessons. Life was preparing me for being independent, and to stand up for myself.

It was during 12^th I met a boy, strangely enough- who I thought would be the only one I would ever marry. We lived in different towns. We kept in touch through writing letters. Distance couldn't keep us apart. I had my own deal with the postman. Back then- just to get letters in my hand without my father's notice, would give me a sense of triumph. Waiting for letters, looking forward for the postmans arrival, was something I did more often. Sometimes I would be thrilled to receive letters, and sad when there were none.

Being in love, having someone on mind all the time seemed fancy, and interesting. But, when we focus on something intensely, some other important things get compromised. The compromise showed in my 12^th results. I failed. I was deeply disappointed. I disappointed my father's hopes. Times turned out to be tough, and emotionally challenging.

My soul knew I had to move on. I applied to write my 12^th again. Did well. I got through an engineering seat. For my father, his lost pride was restored. And I felt better, to see him return to his usual happy-self. Those days, I interpreted my success, based on how my father saw it.

Somehow, being independent always fascinated me. I soon bagged a job for myself after graduation. It didn't take too long to decide to move to a big city for a better job, and exposure. My seniors from college were my inspiration. With my savings and a suitcase, I moved to live in a city. I felt like I was in heaven, when I got a better job in a premier company within 2 days.

From then on my life changed for good. I made new friends, got much needed space of my own, work, and fun. I enjoyed every moment of my life. I couldn't thank God enough, for he had finally blessed me with what I wanted - life with freedom, exploring something new, and being on my own.

My lessons so far- life is a marathon. Sometimes we fail to focus. When we are young and naive- we engage into priorities which could be untimely, it is a possibility to go astray. We end-up feeling like a failure when we don't meet social expectations. But that is okay. We can always use our failures as stepping stone. Never give up attitude and learning from failure is what will keep us flowing. The idea of being perfect in all circumstance is a passe. It hardly works. The true success is in dealing with failures and emerging as a true hero for our self, in our own eyes.

We hear so many stories of people giving up after life crises; failure of love affair, slipping into depression, unemployment, divorce, marriage conflicts, interpersonal issues, and the least- failure in exams. The recent suicide of Pratyusha Banarjee(24) is disheartening news to hear. Such a young, potential life- giving up. I wonder-couldn't there have been any other alternatives for her to look at? In my view, whenever life throws an overwhelming challenge at us, and it feels like to give up, it is important to ask a question to ourselves- what next? It is important to think to move on. Life is too precious to give up. It is worth to value oneself, value life, and be a part of this wonderful, beautiful universe. We can take pride in our self and rise from the fall, play our unique roles, but never ever give-up.