While Stuti Khandwala cracks her future through NEET, AIIMS, JIPMER, JEE Main and also lands on the floors of MIT, I hold heartfelt respect and awe for her impeccable talent in the field of knowledge, and I’m also loaded with appreciation for the mastery she holds over her future.
But, that’s that, a girl and her future, a state which is proud today but will forget all about her tomorrow, as the news grows old with every passing day. Though there’s something which will stay, there’s something which will turn into a leech, and undeniable leech which will suck the youth out of the youth.
Dear parents,
As you come across this news, or if you’ve come across this news, do not, I repeat do not turn to your child. I’d not only request this, but I’d really hope you do not turn and tell them how this one girl has done it all, achieved it all, how she has done the right thing, while your own child is worthless. Do not, even on a blue moon night, try to sabotage this moment, because that changes everything.
The moment you point your finger towards the Sharma-ji-ki-ladki, or in this matter Khandwala-ji-ki-ladki, you’re destroying the essence of your child being unique and true in their own self, because not every child is born with an aptitude of scoring 99.9% in the boards. Every child works up to their own potential and pushes it through as and when needed and in their own capacity.
The line of comparison drawn between your own child and someone else’s not only hurts their bleak hope of faith in themselves, but it may also scar them for life. A child, a growing, coming-to-age child, seeks appreciation and acceptance from their parents for every little thing they do, and as you tamper with this idea of their perfection by always being critical and demanding of your child, you hamper their idea of self-worth right then and there.
Your child may hold their own set of talents, be it being a good writer, or an amazing dancer, something Stuti might not be able to achieve, but your kid excels at it. Please embrace that, please embrace the uniqueness which lives right there in their heart, because that’s what really makes or breaks them.
You might have been a scholar all your life, but if it isn’t your calling then multiple trophies at school and multiple degrees won’t matter, because they might bring in a humongous six-figure salary, but it won’t buy you the happiness you need. If you find yourself comparing your child to someone else’s, remember, there are times when you go wrong too, dear parent, and at those times, your kids do not turn on you and tell you how Rahul’s father has always been better than you.
Stop kids from running in the same monotonous race. Let them explore themselves and their surroundings because then, they’ll build their own race, they’ll be the pioneers of a legacy the world follows. Let there be multiple race tracks and races; let children bloom in their habitat; don’t force them to enter someone else’s.
Let your child be their own self, and if that is not satisfying enough, find another way of running the race to nowhere.
Yours truly,
A girl chasing her dreams