Do Something! - Tackling Inertness, One Excuse At A Time.
So you see another classmate winning some competition on the batch group. A lengthy post, mentioning all his achievements with a photo of him lifting the trophy. You sigh and think back to the time when you had won something similar but it seems so long ago. You plan to take part in the next event but quickly dismiss the idea as wishful thinking. You hit Like, maybe type a "Congratulations!", struggle to think of an appropriate smiley, move on, and forget. Until the next post...
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| It's okay, Dean understands. |
In your school days, you are used to being the teacher's favourite. You are the class president, the school head girl, the sports captain.
Need someone to debate? Not a problem.
Hosting the annual dinner? Who else but you!
The main role in the annual play? The drama teacher doesn't even need to ask.
The science quiz? Pfft, you were made for it.
The science quiz? Pfft, you were made for it.
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| "?Did somebody ask for some awesomeness" |
You are used to having the school revolve around you. You have spent 5, 10 or 13 years in a school. Over the years, you have discovered your talents. You have taken part in various activities. You know you draw/write/speak/organise/run/play/act/study well. And the most important thing is, everyone else knows it too. You are everyone's first choice. You like the attention, you like being cheered for, you like winning! You are confident because you know you're the best.
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| Oh yeah, that's the stuff.. |
And then you entered a university where everyone is the best.
Need someone to debate? What? There are five other orators in your class? What do you mean "one of them is an All-Pakistan champion"?
Hosting the annual dinner? Damn, she seems better than you. Yeah, don't even bother trying.
The main role in the annual play? Oh, you really want to do this. But why do you have to audition? Don't they know of the time you played Caesar in school and all the girls were yelling, "Marry me!"?
The science quiz? Oh no, that's merit number 1. And her team member is the guy who studies Guyton and Gray's in his free time. And that guy who got a world distinction in CIE. Perfect.
The science quiz? Oh no, that's merit number 1. And her team member is the guy who studies Guyton and Gray's in his free time. And that guy who got a world distinction in CIE. Perfect.
Okay.
"Why bother! I can never beat that guy." - Tou? Dua kero koi aur haraa de [insert: all the gaalian to your heart's content]. On a serious note, it doesn't matter! If you give your best, this is what people will say, "Yaar, jeet tou woh gya, lekin yeh bacha cheetah hai." And that feels so many times better than winning a stupid trophy. (Repeat that last line subha, shaam aur khanay ke baad and maybe it will come true... I kid, I kid. You are awesome!)
"There are so many other people who are contesting for it. What's the point then!" - Yes, and there will surely be when you'll apply for a job. And when you'll go to New York City/London/Sydney for your residency. And when you'll want to ask that cute girl out. And for that house on the tree-lined street you always wanted. Live with it. Get over it. There's nothing you can do about it. If you are really in it to win it, you will work harder, and it will definitely pay off. If you are in it just for fun, and the free food and society photographers, then have fun, eat like there's no tomorrow, pose all you want and stop worrying about those "other people"!
"I am not going to volunteer (gasp!). Why aren't THEY asking ME!" - Unless your brother/sister/cousin/bestfriend is the society hotshot, you should be glad if people even acknowledge your existence. Beta, you're an adult now. No one is going to do anything for you. YOU have to ask THEM if there's anything you can do. But try this at your own risk, because that society hotshot will be more than happy to dump all his work on you. But hey, you have something to do now! So do it the best way you can. Even if it's just asking people to stand in queues. Make queues like you're the reincarnation of a Nazi commandant. Be the king of the queues! And then people will definitely say, "Damn, they be some fiiine queues!" and give you a more important job the next time.
"What if I do something stupid? Everyone is going to remember it for the rest of their lives!" - Most likely, you are just being a paranoid parrot and getting anxiety jitters. But if that said stupid thing does happen, the people are not laughing at you, they are laughing with you. (Thanks, mom!). Seriously, not to burst your bubble, but "aur bhe gham hain zamanay main logon ki besti yaad rakhnay ke siwa". They will laugh, they will talk about it for a day or two, they will find a new target. The only people who will remember it are those beautiful creatures you call your friends. And everything is funny when you're around them, right? Trust me, you will be laughing over it in less than a week. And in a month, if you're really cool, you'll start telling people how you made a fool of yourself that one time. And everyone loves a person who can laugh at himself. Win-win!
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| (Am I using too many Supernatural GIFs?) |
"There are so many other people who are contesting for it. What's the point then!" - Yes, and there will surely be when you'll apply for a job. And when you'll go to New York City/London/Sydney for your residency. And when you'll want to ask that cute girl out. And for that house on the tree-lined street you always wanted. Live with it. Get over it. There's nothing you can do about it. If you are really in it to win it, you will work harder, and it will definitely pay off. If you are in it just for fun, and the free food and society photographers, then have fun, eat like there's no tomorrow, pose all you want and stop worrying about those "other people"!
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| Free food and pictures, what more do you want?! |
"I am not going to volunteer (gasp!). Why aren't THEY asking ME!" - Unless your brother/sister/cousin/bestfriend is the society hotshot, you should be glad if people even acknowledge your existence. Beta, you're an adult now. No one is going to do anything for you. YOU have to ask THEM if there's anything you can do. But try this at your own risk, because that society hotshot will be more than happy to dump all his work on you. But hey, you have something to do now! So do it the best way you can. Even if it's just asking people to stand in queues. Make queues like you're the reincarnation of a Nazi commandant. Be the king of the queues! And then people will definitely say, "Damn, they be some fiiine queues!" and give you a more important job the next time.
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| "OMG! Guys, look! That's my name in the organisers! Right there! With 20 other people! :') " |
"What if I do something stupid? Everyone is going to remember it for the rest of their lives!" - Most likely, you are just being a paranoid parrot and getting anxiety jitters. But if that said stupid thing does happen, the people are not laughing at you, they are laughing with you. (Thanks, mom!). Seriously, not to burst your bubble, but "aur bhe gham hain zamanay main logon ki besti yaad rakhnay ke siwa". They will laugh, they will talk about it for a day or two, they will find a new target. The only people who will remember it are those beautiful creatures you call your friends. And everything is funny when you're around them, right? Trust me, you will be laughing over it in less than a week. And in a month, if you're really cool, you'll start telling people how you made a fool of yourself that one time. And everyone loves a person who can laugh at himself. Win-win!
"None of my friends are doing it. I am not going to be the shokha of the group." - Give this excuse to your mother, and with a dose of jhaaroo, you'll hear this, "Woh kahenge chhat se chhalaang laga do tou laga dogay?" Maybe your friends want to do something too and they think of the same thing every time they decide to register. Encourage them to take part in something that interests them. Cheer them from the crowd. And they'll do the same for you. And when you'll be winning all those competitions, you'll hear them say, "Yaar, yeh meri dost hai. Aala hai nah?" (Must resist urge to make cute smileys..)
"They are all in their own little cliques. They don't want the newbie among them." - Yes, and on Wednesdays, they wear pink? Don't pretend you didn't get it. I know you have seen Mean Girls. It's okay, we all loved it at that time, don't be shy. Remember, cliques are meant to be infiltrated. (Thinking of getting that trademarked, wise words.) They may give you the stink eye, but they really want someone to play the role of the hero's mother's best friend. Even if it's just a five minute role, do it! Because next time, they'll want you to play the hero's mother. And the next time...oh yeah. You go, Glenn Coco!
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| Sometimes they'll even get more excited than you.. (Yep, definitely too many Supernatural GIFs) |
"They are all in their own little cliques. They don't want the newbie among them." - Yes, and on Wednesdays, they wear pink? Don't pretend you didn't get it. I know you have seen Mean Girls. It's okay, we all loved it at that time, don't be shy. Remember, cliques are meant to be infiltrated. (Thinking of getting that trademarked, wise words.) They may give you the stink eye, but they really want someone to play the role of the hero's mother's best friend. Even if it's just a five minute role, do it! Because next time, they'll want you to play the hero's mother. And the next time...oh yeah. You go, Glenn Coco!
It may feel like it's too late now but it only just began. You're 20 years old, for God's sake! You can do whatever you want. I'll leave a quote here by a Yale student that I read while stalking going through Facebook.
"There’s this sentiment I sometimes sense, creeping in our collective conscious as we lay alone after a party, or pack up our books when we give in and go out – that it is somehow too late. That others are somehow ahead. More accomplished, more specialised. More on the path to somehow saving the world, somehow creating or inventing or improving. That it’s too late now to BEGIN a beginning and we must settle for continuance, for commencement...What we have to remember is that we can still do anything. We can change our minds. We can start over. Get a post-bac or try writing for the first time. The notion that it’s too late to do anything is comical. It’s hilarious. We’re graduating college. We’re so young. We can’t, we MUST not lose this sense of possibility because in the end, it’s all we have."
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| Wise words? Oh yes! |
Listen to me. And listen to me good. This is King Edward Medical University. The institution with the highest merit. The same university which makes everyone go, "Wah! MashAllah! Bhai, treat!" And you're all Kemcolians. The best of the best. The cliched crème de la crème. You all have something in which you are the best, the winners. And no one can take that from you. So don't let them!
Don't be a nobody! Do something!
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| Ha ha, gotcha! This one is not a GIF. |
DISCLAIMER: The writer of this blogpost may or may not have actually done the above mentioned things herself. She works in mysterious ways so you'll never know. You should still listen to her though. It feeds her delusion of being a productive member of the society.