I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.

‘It is the oldest story in the world.
One day you are seventeen,
planning for someday.  And then, quietly, without you really noticing,
that someday is today,
and then someday is yesterday.
And this is your life.’
– Nathan Scott, One Tree Hill.

 

There are often moments in our lives where we find ourselves at cross-roads, afraid, confused and without a road map. At this juncture of our lives , at seventeen where we are on the threshold of our career, about to be set free from the safety of our cocoons, there are so many of us who are uncertain of what tomorrow will bring.

In more sense than one, this feels like deja-vu because I remember feeling something acutely similar to this two years ago before our board exam ended. It was said that we would keep in touch. It was said that one day we would meet again and rejoice on how things turned out. It was said that everything will be okay. Sometimes it seems like yesterday that we were filled with these hopes and dreams and promises, and sometimes it feels like someone else’s memory.

As you look back, you realise how much things have changed. Your life, priorities, people around you and you yourself. Change is the symbol of continuity and each one of us is meant to change, but it often puts a question in your mind, what would tomorrow bring?

I often wonder if I will ever live what I have envisioned myself to be after ten years. Every individual has goals and apirations and so do I. I was a person who never lived in the present. I was either distressed over the past or afraid or excited about the future. I was a person who had planned the next twenty years of my life, including education, job, future bussiness endeavours etc. I am not really happy about the anxiety levels coursing through my veins all the time, but some sort of preparation is necesarry, was my ‘very legitimate’ justification to myself.
But when I turned seventeen, I realised that no amount of preparation, anxiety or excitement can make you ready for the future, because life has a funny way of testing you. It will come at you from darkness, in all directions and you need to hang on for dear life.

Terrible things happen to good people and after this year, I have learned that no matter how well you plan your life, no matter how many obstacles life throws at you, no matter how many nights you spend crying to yourself or how many mornings to survive another day, you get through it all only and only if you have people who love you.
And by love, its not just love from your significant other, but everyone around you, friends and family. Love is what keeps you together, heals you and makes you happy. At this moment there are seven billion people in this world. Some are running scared, some are facing the truth, some are lying. Some good men are at war with evil, and some evil men, trying to defeat the good. Seven billion people trying to survive the day, seven billion people trying to make it, and sometimes all you need is One.

I aspire to give my boards in good health and peace of mind. I aspire to get a good rank and do well. I aspire to write. I aspire to play the piano. I aspire to change lives, and make a difference. But everyone is filled with self-doubt or uncertainty because we never know what will actually happen. What if I have health issues? What if I can’t give any of my examinations? What if I suddenly decide that I don’t want to pursue Engineering? There are so many questions that come to mind. Positive and negative.

After a certain point, you just need to hang on, and believe in yourself. You are way too young to not believe that everything will be okay and life is too short not to believe in love and miracles. It is too short not to dream. Keep working hard and charge at your obstacles head on and you will overcome them.

At the end I learned that if success was measured by whether life turned out to be exactly how I envisioned it to be, then I would be a failure. The important thing is to learn things at the right time and to let go. It is important to remember that life is not always sunny and if you find yourself in darkness and despair, just look for the stars, for its only in the darkness that we see the stars shining brightly. And those stars will take you home.

Work hard, aspire, dream, believe. Life has a way of stepping up sometimes. It has a funny way of giving you hope. Sometimes you find it in the eyes of children, or in the bars of a song or in the eyes of someone you love. The key is to keep yourself happy, because we all need a little hope sometimes.
Its okay if you make mistakes, its okay if you fail; because no successful person reached their destination without a taste of failure. Dream big, and love. The only way love, faith and belief is over rated is when you don’t have it.
Now do you have a dream? Good. Believe in it..