The Now

This article has been submitted by Ankita Varma for the CLATGyan Blog Post Writing Competition. If you think it’s a good read, ‘Like’ the article (the button is at the bottom of this piece) or post a comment using the ‘Comments’ section below.

School is done and we’re all hung up on our pasts and futures. Thinking, hoping and wishing that we get into our dream colleges. Many wish to turn back time and work like we should have for our board exams and those entrance tests, and yet hoping fervently that we get in anyway, even though we didn’t work the way we should have. Those of us who are satisfied with their hard work (and also those who aren’t) are day-dreaming about their lives in their dream schools.

‘How would I make friends with people?’

‘How would I impress the teachers?’

‘How awesome would the parties be?’

My own is, ‘How will I greet my roommate?’ (Sounds lame, I know)

The point is, that we’re all spinning long yarns about the future and regretting our past. We’re so busy worrying about what the future holds and reminiscing about the past that we forget that we’re living in the present!

What has happened, has happened and we have no clue about what’s going to happen. No matter how hard we might try, we can’t really predict it.

It’s my earnest request to you, to look past the curtain of “what ifs” and “what wills” and “what was”, and look around.

Your parents are going to miss you. More than anyone. Spend time with them. Talk to them. Reassure them that you’ll still be there for them even after stepping into the big bad world.

Your best friends. They’ll miss you too. Meet up with them. Dream together. Talk about your fears and worries. Let them crack a joke and make you forget about your worries  and cheer you up. Promise that you’ll never lose touch.

Fight with your brother or sister but defend them when someone else hurts them or says something to them. Tell them they’re not that big of a pain in the rear end. Just a lil’ annoying. Call up your elder brother/sister and ask him/her everything that piques your fancy about college life. They’ve been through it. They would be your best mentors.

Read books, from which stem multiple benefits. Watch your favourite movies and TV series. You deserve it after all. Have fun!

Cherish all your good memories. You won’t get them back. You’ll never be a child again.

Don’t live in the past. You’ve already lived it.Don’t live in the future. Plenty of time for that.

Live in the NOW. That’s all there is.