Feature

Of the sunshine…
and of the rain

Zannatul Lamea

THEY say, “youth” is like an ice-cube, you think it is in your fist, grasped tight; but when you open the fist, you find that it has already melted and slipped away from right in between your fingers. You cannot hold it back, but of course you can make the best out of it. This is the realization a lot of us are having now, stepping out of campus life, standing on the borderline of 'youth' and 'adulthood'. The carefree fun filled life seems to be drifting away in a jiffy, replacing itself with a life full of responsibilities and other scary heavy words. A life where you have to set the priorities to 'I have to' from 'I want to'. A life where the glass ceiling of expectation takes a mammoth leap cornering the free soul that reigned so long.

Well, yes it is a part of the metamorphosis process, and surely there is no escape. But how many of us have made the best out of the carefree youth to its full vigor? Thanks to the austere competitive nature of the academic curriculum, students these days are no more students but robots trained for the career battlefield. In order to keep pace, one cannot really help but be a part of the competition and carry on the stereotype trend. And before we even realize, gone is our student life -just like that.

Nowadays, 'success' seems to have replaced 'happiness' in every context. If you have grades with flying colors, if you have bagged a solid job from a reputed MNC, you are surely stared upon with admiration and applause. Well, that surely gives you 'success'. However, what most of us fail to realize, is that the 'happiness' is lost somewhere in the process. Success and happiness are not synonymous. And it does not necessarily mean that to achieve one, you have to trade-off the other. If you have will power, both are equally attainable.

There is a common notion that studious ones never enjoy life and carefree ones are never successful. Well, not necessarily. To be a good student, you do not need to shut yourself from the outside world and get enclosed in the pages of textbooks. On the contrary, to enjoy life, you do not need to quit studying and do endless partying. Just a bit of balancing can help you attain both. Actually, if you are happy and content at heart, it works as a catalyst to achieve bigger things in life. If you do not enjoy what you are doing, no matter how hard you try, at the end you will find life hanging heavy on you and be overwhelmed with repentance. So, before it is too late, let your spirits fly!

Different people have different ways of enjoying life. Find out what is yours. Life hides pleasures in the simplest forms. To some, enjoyment might mean putting the camera strap on and go 'clicking'. Some might just get the joy packing their bag and setting out for a journey in the hills or the woods. For the socialites, it might just be spending a leisure time indulging in a daylong adda and laughing out loud with friends. If you are a music lover then get the drums rolling. If you are family person then go for a family outing or a picnic with your dear ones. Just step out of the mechanical life before it takes its toll. Live-Love-Laugh-Scream-Run-Jump do not let the burdens chain you back. Always remember one thing, if you are not happy at heart, all efforts will all go down the drain. And when you are replenished with full energy, do the works you need to do, with a fresh tune. There is simply no trade-off between success and enjoyment. Both are complimentary to each other to lead a great life.

Bask in the sunshine before the sun in lost in the clouds, get drenched in the rain before it all becomes dry. Just like the popular number, 'Give me the sunshine, give me the rain, give me another chance so I can grow up once again.' Well, you will get the sunshine, and also the rain, but the chance to grow up? Never again. So before it's too late, grab your life and color it! Hakuna Matata!