Reaching the Finish Line

I was recently asked to contribute to the college magazine of my alma mater – St. Edmund’s College, Shillong. And here’s what I sent in:

When an alumnus is approached to write for the college magazine, it means two things: a deep sense of honor and gratitude for the opportunity and an urge to let your juniors know that their fears are real but there is light at the end of the tunnel. I'm faced with these very emotions as I sit to write for the magazine of my beloved college St. Edmund’s and I can only hope that my words provide the much-needed solace to my young Edmundian friends.

Textbooks seldom leave a mark on our character. But certain lines, quotes, stories, theories, or people from our academic journeys influence us in ways we would have never anticipated. For me, one of the few things I am going to remember from my literature textbooks and undergrad days are these lines by Shakespeare:

Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil, all forwards do contend.

Time is a paradox possessing the power to mean nothing in abundance and everything in scarcity. Taking time for granted is like taking our skills for granted. Taking our skills for granted is leading them to their slow and imminent death. The death of skills implies the demise of passion. In passion's absence, dreams seldom live. Without dreams, our lives become meaningless. And a life without meaning is certainly not what we want for ourselves. Now that may sound too cliched and idealistic but it's only true.

Life happens in unexpected ways. What is glorious today becomes insignificant tomorrow. The ones who mean the world today will become mere contact numbers in a few years. The ones who are mere acquaintances today might open new chapters and avenues tomorrow. The loyal comrade of today might become tomorrow's sworn enemy. What seems like the distant future and something that can wait will soon become the present. So what I'm trying to say here is that our fears will eventually come true, the impossibilities will come back at us and become inevitable.  Inevitability is inevitable and in preparedness lies our biggest defense. 

When our college shut down for the short break in March 2020, we didn't know we were leaving college to become ex-students. We just went home until 31^st March. But things turned topsy turvy, and not just for the Batch of 2020. Time changes for all. So the questions we have about our future are very pertinent. If you envision a life as a musician and feel that you are deferring the creation of that YouTube channel, then it's probably time you start doing that. If you want to clear the civil services and be a govt employee, but feel that there is a lot of competition then you're right in feeling so but it’s probably a sign for you to put in the extra effort. If it’s the camera and the road that keeps you going then you should denounce all shackles and run wild and free, like the unbound spirit you’re supposed to be.

It's a competitive world and there is always someone better. But this doesn't take away the 24 hours we are gifted with every morning. Sure, there is somebody better, somebody who is already ten steps ahead of us, somebody who is persistent and determined, somebody who is way better than us in what we believed to be our expertise but that doesn't mean we have to stop. This realization that the world is competitive and the proliferating self-doubt won't vanish on its own. Such uncertainties become more overpowering when we see those around us attain success, while we are still struggling. Remember that this feeling is temporal. Know it in your heart that the picture of the future you secretly paint for yourself is already manifesting itself and it's going to find you. The universe listens. I say this because it has happened to me; not yesterday or today, but every day, for as long as I’ve lived and known what my heart seeks.

Coming back to my interior monologue on time and life’s uncertainty, I’d like to list down the twelve lessons I've learned in the past 3-4 years:

• Have a to-do list every day, and for every year. Visit it often and make sure to tick things off.
• Find ways of freezing moments while they last: be it pictures, diary entries, emails to a friend, emails to yourself, songs, videos, poetry, or art
• Seize the day, even if it makes you look foolish till eternity. Remember that regret is mightier than embarrassment.
• Always pursue degree(s), course(s), interest(s) or passion(s) beyond the existing academic/professional commitments.
• Save one-fourth of your pocket money/income, no matter how little the amount.
• Don't let the money sit idle in your wardrobe, wallet, or account. Start a SIP. Continue saving for the next three decades. Trust me; you’ll be a millionaire when in your late fifties, thanks to compounding!
• Learn to sacrifice, compromise, and take the high road if you're interested in retaining people over vanity
• Saying sorry is hard and may not be our forte but gestures do the work too! Let apologies be seen/heard, or even better, felt.
• Find what you're good at and practice it every day lest you wake up one morning and realize that you no longer have the spark.
• For every mentally exhausting and emotionally draining day, reward yourself with the little pleasures you usually deny yourself. The inner warrior deserves appreciation for making it through the tough times!
• Being an open book gives others the advantage of hurting us. Be as concealed as possible. Choose your inner circle wisely.
• And the last and most important of them all: it's okay to not have a plan or to skip most of the above-stated points as long as you do not ditch the bigger plan – that of being a compassionate human being. Be kind and do not refuse to help others if you know you’re capable of it. Good things come back, especially in our hours of distress.

This is what I meant by the universe listening to our inner thoughts and plans. As Mr. Shakespeare rightly pointed out, our minutes are slipping away but we can hold on to the goodness by sticking to our principles and purpose as mortals. Life has just begun for us, we will mess up and it’s only natural that we do. But being responsible and not succumbing to heartbreaks, setbacks, betrayals, hardships, failure, loss or dejection is what we should seek to achieve. At the end of the day, temporal halts are fine so long as we do not give up before reaching the finish line (read as death).