Dedicated to the twenty something learners.

If no one told you yet then let me tell you. Life at your age is as good as it gets. If you heard similar cliché before then let me say it again – you are living one of the most bountiful periods of your life. It was true for me; it is true for any twenty something.

Twenty something dream about a prince charming, a  house with white picket fence decorated with Victorian furniture, traveling to exotic places around the world, etc. you get the point. Some dreams are outlandish. Some are a little too impractical. Some are just a dream just because of your REM sleep. The point is that you the “twenty something” have fantasy, you float on anticipation, you move with faith and hope without a sympathy towards reality. It is not bad.

Then you will meet your prince charming. Some of you will of course meet your princess. Many of us did. But quite often this charm of discovery withers away a little too soon. No particular reason – just like clock ticks away, season changes, leaves fall off the tree, shift happens. The house you built brick by brick, the house you decorated with unique items simply becomes objects. They don’t talk back to you. They only collect dust religiously. You don’t see yourself in them anymore. You hoped they would though. Perhaps the exhaustion of traveling also starts to pin you down.

Am I out to make you the most depressed person on earth? I feel differently.

My Baba (father) believed there is only one profession on this earth – to be a physician. So he tried tirelessly for many years to send me to Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India or Malaysia to study medicine. He was obviously unsuccessful. I am not sure if he believed that the doctors made most money in any society.

Then there was resonance of thoughts in the back of my mind that I get to get some cash – fast; get to the top of my class, board exams, etc. I formulated ways to emigrate to the West. You too have been hearing the same from outside and inside of your brain. We all did.

Never for once did I hear anyone say “what would make you content?” Did anyone even know or at least tried to help me find out what I really wanted to do with my life? I don’t recall such nurturing efforts. I did not know to look at my eye’s reflection on the mirror and say “if no one was alive on the planet at that very moment and call me by nickname then what would I call myself?” These were taboo of ideas and still are. Of course, no one at your age could possibly know the answers. Sadly, very few even acknowledge that it is important to seek them. “Learning what you don’t want to do is the next best thing in figuring out what you do want to do.” [Anderson Cooper; journalist]

In this what should I do with my life quest “here‘s my point: usually all we get is a glimmer. A story we read or someone we briefly met. A curiosity. A meek voice inside, whispering. It’s up to us to hammer out the rest. The reward of pursuing it is only for those who are willing to listen attentively, only for those who really care. It’s not everyone. Life is not a five-page menu of choices. The choice is in whether to be honest, to ourselves and others, and rest is more of an uncovering, a peeling away of layers. It’s impractical to settle for less than a life we love.” [PO Bronson: What should I do with my life?]

“In the end it is not the question of what kind of person flies or what kind of person fades (if we were allowed to have superpower to fly like an airplane or become invisible) – we all do both. At the heart of the decision what we really don’t want to face is this: who do you want to be? The person you hoped to be or the person you fear you actually are. Don’t rush into it. Think it over.” [John Hodgman: The Areas of My Expertise]