It’s a Relative Thing

Is it just me or have all college bound eighteen year olds suddenly realized the sheer number of distant relatives they have. People who don’t remember my birthday, but surely recall that I gave my boards this year. The trademark stating the obvious (‘oh my God, you have grown so tall!’) has suddenly (and thankfully) metamorphosed into intellectually riveting queries about life.

It is like a volcano erupting and unleashing all its fury in the form of one question. One question on which your future depends- ‘Beta XII mein kitni percentage aayi?’

Mostly it is followed immediately by ‘What now?’

The first question is still easy to answer, that is if the examiners have been kind enough to hand you a respectable score, if not then you can laugh and try to avoid the question. I however feel that successfully avoiding the question will be almost as likely as getting an ostrich to fly (see impossible) and so it is better to come clean. If you have scored well it will elicit looks of envy and appreciation. If not then you’ll get a lot of pity, sympathy and secretly empathy too.

No one will admit that they scored badly themselves, though those who scored well will definitely gloat about it. I think we should promise ourselves at this very instant that we ‘fresh out of the grind kids’ will not follow the path that are predecessors have shown us and consequently make life easier for the generations to come.

It is however the second question that unnerves me. I mean I am only just seventeen. Till two months back I had to ask permission to enter the classroom and now you are asking me what I want to do with my life. That is kind of abrupt!

There is so much I want to do. I haven’t even reached the second page of the list yet. But I guess a lot of it will have to wait. I first need a degree in hand from a respectable college to prove to the world that my opinion matters.

Or maybe not. I have never been one to conform to the norm. That would be restricting myself which in turn would be a very bad idea. Even in college, I will pursue my hobbies. I will fulfil my goals. I will go to Africa as a volunteer.  I will learn French and Chinese and Russian. Essentially I will try not be a slave to marks and instead try to further my intellectual development.