A Teen’s Advice To All Of Us, “Be Who You Want To Be”

‘You ask too many questions. You should be a journalist’, said my first friend.’ You’re a really good listener. And you have the best advice. You should definitely become a therapist’, said my best friend. ‘Your calculations are always so accurate and you’re so precise about dealings. You should be a businesswoman’, said the local shopkeeper at a store opposite my building. ‘You are so rigid and headstrong. You must become a lawyer’, said a friend who lost yet another argument.   ‘I love your outfits in your posts. They have so much style and edge. Fashion designing is the way to go’, said a new friend. 

The reason why I ask too many questions is because, I want to know you. I want to know everything about you. I listen because I care. But my advice is just quotes and book excerpts because that’s what  I read all the time. I have the basic application skills to tell you the right ones with a touch of empathy. I accurately calculate because I come from a business background and money-minded Gujarati family. I don’t know much about business, this seems like some sort of inherited thing to me that’s already in my blood. I speak passionately, not aggressively. I speak about emotions, not world affairs. I grew up, my skills didn’t, is what I want to say to my friend who is now planning on going to design school and claims to have been inspired by me.  

Since the day you were born you’ve had people tell you what you should be and what you’re good at, or seen shows and movies and liked personalities and wanted to be like them. By the time you have to choose your career path, you’re lost in this world of dilemma on who you want to be and who others want you to be, and that is when the most important question you could possibly ask yourself is, “what kind of person do I want to be?” “What are the traits that should define YOU?”, “ What do YOU love and how should it change you for the better?”,  “What do you put your time and heart into?” 

You may fail in what you choose and you’ll feel so gutted then, you will probably reevaluate everything you’ve ever wanted, your self-esteem may have probably dropped 6 points on the cartesian plane of your existence. But let me tell you something I wish someone told you 24 hours before you failed. You can do better. You will do better. Sure, mope for a bit, cry, take some time off but get right back on the track. Look over your mistakes, create a tally of the types of mistakes you’ve made, and find the source of these mistakes. Silly errors… lack of practice? Mind blanks… did you know the content without cues? Have a notebook where you write all of this down. It’s time to get back up and hit harder than you’ve ever hit before.