What IF??

A few days back I was sitting in the back of a car when the car stopped in front of a red light. Looking outside the window I saw a beggar approach the car, begging for alms. He was about the same age as I was. The difference : He was a beggar on the streets and I was a college student who went by car to college everyday. And then came the doubt-“ If I had been born into harder circumstances, would I still be able to shine like I had?”

Until then I had had a rather perfect life. I grew up in a good household . I had a loving brother,amazing parents and grandparents who doted on me and did almost everything for my happiness. I had had a good education. I had been one of the top students in school.I had excelled in debating, swimming and table tennis.I had joined one of the best colleges in the country and was very happy there.

The nagging thought persisted. Could I? What if? I begun to secretly fantasize about myself being born in an underprivileged home and succeeding at school through sheer grit. The thought was constantly present at the back of my mind, ”Like familiar weights in my hand” , just waiting to be pulled out and thrown around the edge of my conscious. However, it remained unassailable and unmoved. And it gently taunted me. There was no way I would ever know the answer to my question.

And it is this unanswerable question that fils me with rage .And it is this rage that endeavors me to push harder. To prove to people that I have achieved this success by MY effort and determination. That I am where I am today due to my own merit.

Could I have made it if I was born into harder circumstances? I’d never find out, and spending each day trying to prove that I could doesn’t help. But some questions can be answered. What do you want to achieve in this life? Are you ready to work hard for it?

I do not know if that beggar has asked himself this as yet.I do not know if he could achieve more in life but is just so disillusioned by the world that he refuses to work any more.

It’s been said that you only have one life, so you should try to live it. I don’t know about him…. But I intend to do so.