Looking back to the good old school days

Back then in school we were so uncomplicated, so simple and silly sometimes, took pleasure in small silly events, little jokes, rainy days, losing pencils and erasers, polishing PT shoes with chalk, breaking little rules and taking pride in them, hand fighting, chalk fighting, thumb fighting, pen fighting..... And then book cricket, dictionary cricket, hand cricket, we have done it all and how.... We loved our days, loved the Sundays, loved the Fridays before the Saturdays, loved the classes titled 'last period'.... giggled through classes,ate lunch from friends' lunch boxes, paired people with one another, teased them like hell,escaped teachers outside of school, bought Lays packets for the tazoos inside them, exchanged these tazoos and 'traded' the rarest ones.....

And now the only thing we trade is our conscience
The only thing we lose are our friends
The only thing we miss is friends birthdays
The only thing we love is money
The only behavior we have built our expertise at is manipulation
The only thing we take pleasure in are rewards
The only days we like are dry ones because rainy days disrupt our plans
The things we fight about have become more and more complicated
Our cricket discussion is limited to analysis of tournaments
The only places we eat at the most expensive ones because we have become health conscious
The only thing we collect are contacts
The only things we like to spend time in are our laptops

But we have no time to innocently enjoy our lives, do we ............

Is it really wrong in being a part of Rat Race?

It is often said, actually it is said again and again and again that children's career must not be forced upon them by their parents aspirations, that they must not be pressurized to pursue the path their parents or society or their peer group or their teachers 'think' appropriate for them. And that their young minds should be allowed to flourish without any bounds and that their interest in any field they are good at must be encouraged instead of forcing them to run the rat race for marks and undergraduate colleges and post graduate colleges that would kill the talent within them....

But, do the proponents of the above theory realise the percentage of the section of society who would actually be benefited by such a culture??? Do they also realise the number of students who DO NOT fall within this category of ' pursuing their interests and making a career out of it' or ' being given the choice to pursue their talent which would do them greater good than the rush for marks' ??? Are the proponents of the above theory living in the real world?? Come on guys, get real, see the conditions around you.. Do you really think that if all the school kids are given absolute freedom to pursue whatever they like, they won't just while away their time pursuing things out of which no 'career' can be made.. That, if no rules of marks or ranks or grades based on syllabus exist, they would still be making constructive use of their time..And that if education does not include making them aware of what the world runs on, sciences, arts, mathematics, computers,biology, law by 'forcing' upon them these subjects through their years in schools and college , they would ever choose to dive into these sensible , lucrative career paths which not only the economy of the country but also personal intellect demands.... Don't get me wrong , I am not talking about the one in a thousand exceptional child who can easily be recognised by his/her parents , teachers, peers and should be allowed to pursue his talent , excel in the same and make an exceptional life out of it. I am talking about the common junta like you and me. I am talking about people like us who have no concrete goal ahead of us ( how much ever we claim to fulfilling so-called goals 10 years down the line in various application forms and interviews :D) . How many youngsters in school and college actually know what to do if not for the everyday tasks that their course demands and How many of them would do ANYHTING useful if given a even a semester off from forced syllabi ?? Come on , Realistically hardly anyone would.. Say whatever about the rat race , it is at least giving a means of livelihood to millions around the world.

The exceptional lot would still be able to do what they've always wanted to because they are exceptional , the rest would only be left behind in the rat race if no guidance is forced upon them, practically , rationally and generally speaking...

Whether You Win Or Lose , You will be a Rat In The Rat Race

I won't waste time giving an introduction to this topic, it is all evident. We have been running around since the day we were born.The word 'competition' is becoming more and more cliched by the day. We ran to take admission to kindergarten in the perceived best school in the city (even though we now realize it would make any difference whether you attend lower primary school or not), we ran again for admission to Std 1 in the perceived best school and kept running since then: Ran for the school bus , ran back home from the bus stop to pick up a lab coat , ran around copying homework , ran in and out of class in the breaks more for the pending work than for the food , ran around with notes to mug for the test in the next hour, ran after school to keep our presence felt on the sports fields or extracurricular classes , and ran again to and from IIT coaching classes to get admissions in best engineering college.In college, ran from one fest to another to garner CV points and ran in the later years of college for placements, ran to and fro for MBA coaching and finally got a job. But then the race began all over again , looking for better opportunities , better salaries, still dreaming of cracking the CAT. More than a year has passed by and  I am still running the Rat race.

Though I had fallen many a times , but got up dusted myself and ran again to win or to lose at every step; I was in the race all the same. No time to stand and stare , No time to cry , No time to analyze where life is taking me , No time to stop and redo or remake , No time to make a new path , still running the rough old path , still doing the tasks situations demand and priding myself at achieving the results of the preset tasks...

Where am I heading???? Is not the question I have time to answer , the best I can do is to make the best use of the trap I am already in....