"Dear Zindagi"

Dear Zindagi,

How are we doing so far? Since the writing bug bit me we both are interacting in one form or other, sometimes on paper , some times  on blog and some times by telepathy. So what is it like, is it carpe diem till now or did we totally waste some  moments? Hand in hand we surely have come a long way! If I have to write a letter to a 15 year old you, I would like to write that I miss you. I miss the innocence , the purity of thoughts and  the bigger dreams. Nevertheless I just want to tell that I am proud of you for dreaming big, for believing in yourself, for being in terms with your conscience always. I just love you more as your heart was less complicated and demenour was more sweet. Time and things have changed you for good and sometimes for bad. But that is how dealing with you is no?  The issues which seemed like mountains are like molehills now. I hope the mountains of the present day would be molehills tomorrow. I still remember how some things seemed like burning issues years back. 

The social studies exam paper which always gave me shivers and the memory of how I just wanted to tear the pages off the civics or economics text books after the exams is still fresh. But later in life I loved few concepts I learnt. I mean just think about law of diminishing marginal utility--- The first unit of consumption for any product is typically highest, with every unit of consumption to follow holding less and less utility. Consumers handle the law of diminishing marginal utility by consuming numerous quantities of numerous goods. I still remember how my wonderful social teacher explained this law and the supply and demand theory using the banana fruit as example. You first eat a  lot if you are hungry, then if supply keeps increasing and you are no longer hungry , the demand for banana reduces. The study of demand and supply and law of diminishing utility got etched in my mind and I even applied it to my interests in life. When something is in abundant, we never love it. When we lose it, we miss it and start craving for it, we all know this fundamental principle. I realized every thing I study can be linked to life in one way or  the other. I started enjoying whatever I was taught or whatever I learnt all by myself. I realised that the feeling of learning something new is so liberating.

Years kept moving on and the things I love kept changing with time and happenings. If I loved drawing at  8, I loved writing and reading at 17. If I loved motichoor laddu as a kid, I loved barfi more as a teen :) Some loves  remained constant and some didn’t. While  racing with you I realized nothing is constant. The things which felt may kill me didn’t seem so harmful later. The day I broke  up with my best friend due to some silly reason seems  funny today. The day I cried because  I thought I would fail in the annual examination which would be the end of  my life  sounds stupid now. Some  friendships stayed with me, some were seasonal , some were there for a reason but every sort of bonding  taught me what I need to know. My love for reading started some time in high school when I finished the English non-detail book, Great Expectations – a novel by Charles Dickens. I finished it even before the school term started during a train journey and I was super excited by this colorful world  of books I entered in. My imaginations got new wings and I got new friends in the form of books. To all my friends it is a common  sight to spot me sitting in a corner, sprawled in the hostel lawn or sofa or sleeping on my bed holding a book. Harry Potter books were my best companions  during  my college life. It is not an exaggeration if I say that these books helped me get over my home-sickness , only difference is, I  was not in Hogwarts but was just pursuing graduation like every one else!

Many books influenced me in many ways and I evolved. Anne Frank’s – The Dairy of a young girl left me teary eyed  during an industrial trip in college. Life of Pi taught me how to face adversities and Tuesdays with Morrie is the book I will keep near to my heart. The Alchemist has every thing you need to know in a nut shell.  Great poets  like Robert Frost , Maya Angelou,  Oscar Wilde, Kahlil Gibran, Kabir and so on so forth influenced my thoughts and made me pen down many poems. Their wisdom is contagious! I am a bibliophile but a slow reader. I don’t read everything on which I get a hand on but most of the things I read stay with me . There is so much to read and so less time. I am still catching up with my reading list and I hope to read more and talk only when there is a  need!

My love for books has surely changed me and you for good! This  letter is an ode to all kinds of books I read, be it in curriculum or outside it, which influenced me. Thank you books for filling less non-sense in my head and for being there  always no matter what! Hoping that the mountains always turn to molehills in the end I sign-off!

Source: here

With love,

Afshan

“I am writing a letter to life for the #DearZindagi activity at BlogAdda".

Dear Zindagi - Take 1: Life is a Game