"I prefer to make my own mistakes rather than follow your advice blindly."
If I were to request for a show of hands now, as to how many of us have had this thought on a scroller in the Times Square of our minds, as our ears braved yet another onslaught from the We-Know-Better squad, I'm pretty sure that it would be easier for me to count the number of people who have their hands down. Kudos to you and your nirvana levels of patience; or Suppandi levels of stupidity, as the case may be.
I'm now 29 years old (not 30 until I reach thirty - 96 days more). I've had enough experiences through four schools, four years of college, four different jobs and four blissful years of love to say with some authority that I've made some mistakes that I don't want you to make. Of course, I'll never say that I made mistakes. I'll say that I have some advice for you.
Human beings are supposed to be evolved. And the process of evolution was always based on not doing what got the previous batch extinct. Haven't you ever wondered what would have happened, if the first set of parents in this world were not exactly keen on stopping their kids from jumping off a cliff? Evolution was, is and will always be through a flow of information - based largely on previous experiences and extrapolation of the same.
So, if I found out to my detriment, that taking some time to cool off during the first year in college, after two strenuous years preparing for what not, is going to affect my GPA in an irreversible manner, then I am bound by the rules of society to inform of this peril to my successors - if not all of them, at least to those I care about.
Moving on to the case of choosing friends, best friends and more than friends. Over the past 15 years, I've seen love stories and heartbreaks that are yet to grace the silver screens. Being an unsuccessful relationship advisor has helped me in honing my skills of flagging the wrong ones. This, again, made it my duty to warn you.
It is the right of the old to forsake the modern. And my brother always complains that I'm have hit old age mentally. So, all the new concepts of style and behaviour are, by default, a strain on my decades old nerve paths. I find it hard to rewire myself, and realize that it is easier to refrain you from doing what bugs me.
And it is not like the travel of advice is unidirectional. I have had people give me advice. My earliest memory is from this random guy on the road. I was walking back from school, with a bag full of books weighing me down. He was painting the boundary walls of a neighbour. He asked me to stop, came over and told me, "You are really tall. So, please don't stoop. Walk tall with a straight back. Be proud of your height." That is an advice I took to heart, and have been doing till this day.
I also remember another advice that I took. This senior from college told me in the first week I reached there that it is okay to not score great marks, as you will always get a great job with an average GPA, given the track record of the college at getting placements. He was three years senior to me. He had a GPA lesser than me, and got a great job. When it was time for me, recession hit, and those companies didn't even come to the campus.
This is the hand of fate in action. You might follow my advice to the word, and get a different result. Life is not a science experiment - you can't expect the same result always. There are too many variables. So, I have come to realise, overdue regrettably, that you are the master of your own life. You need to make mistakes at your will to have complete responsibility of your actions.
I have been given enough advice - which have been accepted or rejected, but entirely at my will. Some have led to a thronier path, but I'm glad to put my hand up and say that it is of my own making. And as long as you are willing to do that, I should not be ignoring you for not taking my advice.
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If this whole thing feels like a monologue in a play, please rest assured that this was meant to be one. I have written it down, because I wasn't sure how much of this would be relayed to you in a two-way communication. Grappling with my thoughts mid way, trying to piece together your reaction up to that point, so that I can alter my words accordingly might have taken away the idea I want to convey.
I have done a lot of things in the time I've been here. I have the burden of experience to help you. But I understand that it is your decision to ask me for advice, not mine to force upon you.
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I thought the train of thoughts here was too relevant to be not shared in public. Hence, the feast for you peeping toms. Hope you enjoyed this private conversation.
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