Letter to my 12 -year old self

 

Dear 12 yr. old.

You know you' ve grown up now. And you have grown up into a very different person. Like a seed that you plant under the soil and it transcends into a huge, stretched, and shadowing existence, like anything colossal but the seed itself. There are, however autumns that you still experience. You know what do they remind you of? That you are nothing in your own self. Somebody who is powerful enough to give refuge, yet weak enough to hold on to itself.

The abstracts do matter, but there are greater things that you shall be aware of. So, let's cut short to the point. Listen carefully, when I tell you that not everybody you meet is a stranger. At this point in life, everyone save the schoolmates and family, seems to be a threat to the comfort zone. Take it, a new school, a new course that you may join, a bunch of girls you meet at the park, your extended family whom you may not have met in a long time or a recently arrived neighbor, none of them is a stranger. As opposed to your thinking, humans are not born anti-social. You are a human first, then an introvert. And to be honest, introverted-ness is just a newly emerged trendy concept, so don’t take it any seriously. I know, this sounds inconsiderate of me, but I can't help that the education system has convinced you into this. Here are a few tips that personalities you would, potentially, be inspired by have given.

 "Try to understand before you try to explain".  Follow that rule. That’s the key to healthy relationships.

"Talk to the human being infront of you, not to the one you have in your head" That’s rule no. 2 and equally important as rule no.1

Now, since 12 is your beginning into teenage, I warn you of the popular cultures that you will soon be surrounded by. You may be demeaned as being too old-schooled for not wearing makeup in school or your friends might look down upon you if you travel by an auto rikshaw instead of a car. You can be labelled as conservative if you cover yourself and there will be people who would force you to fit in the culture, they themselves are victims to. But you should know, that there are sad faces behind heavy makeups, lonely people behind branded outfits, and that a happy selfie doesn’t necessarily mean a happy person. So don’t forget to maintain distance from this and know that wisdom lies in what the religion prohibits.

By this time, you should also be responsible for your learning, and dependency on the school is supposed to be minimized. There is one secret that our ancestors knew, but we were kept blindfolded to: Education isn’t limited to school. All they tell you about Harvard, Yale and Cambridge is a selfish trap. Had they been truthful to you, they would have made you realize the importance of your own heroes, your own language and your own religion So, ponder upon the different signs in this universe and explore your own channels of knowledge. There is learning beyond school, more important, more worthwhile.

This letter is to you, from none other than your very own self. There is no point in doubting the intentions. But there is one last advice that I would like to leave you with. When you sit amongst your friends, never enjoy flippant humor. Nor be a party to it. And when you laugh upon a joke, notice the face that doesn’t wish to smile. Notice the face that has an unheard story and trust me when I say, that this story is of greater significance than your geography test, the next day. 

 Yours very own grown up self.