‘Dear, acceptance of the fact that you don’t know more than others doesn’t make you an ignorant person.It rather helps you to grow into a more intelligent human being,’ this is what my father once told me when I was a kid. The context of his humble statement is not important here.However, I could not understand the meaning of these lines at that moment.It took me several experiences and years to finally realise what he actually meant.

Being raised in a small town, where people lead a simple lifestyle, my knowledge about reality of life was bound to school text books and novels.Due to my introvert nature, my interactions were also limited to family members and close friends.But who cares?I thought I knew about life enough to sustain it. Many of us think in the same fashion in that age.I accept that I was very naive.

Only when I had to move out of my town for higher studies, I realised life is not a smooth ride. Making friends in hostel itself became a big challenge for me initially.Everyone appeared too friendly and sweet to be trusted(I made some very good friends though in later stage).I understood that I had to be observant first to know a stranger. Nobody will come and share with me his/her negative side.

My know-it-all attitude also made me score low marks in my first semester in college.The subjects appeared easy to me.I was confident (or should I say over-confident?) that I could get good grades even if I glance through the chapters.When the results came out, I saw my friends scoring more than me. I got aware that my callous attitude towards my studies had let me down. People around me are definitely more sincere and studious.

It was not the end of my stupidity. The placement season was the most crucial phase in college.Students, who were really serious about getting a job in reputed MNCs, started preparing themselves months before the placements started. On the other hand, I was postponing all the preparations thinking that I could prepare everything within time. What happened after that was quite obvious.I failed to clear even the first round of the interviews.Luckily,I regained my conscience and managed to secure a good job after working hard for it.

I have done these kind of repeated mistakes often. In fact I still do a lot of blunders in different spheres of life.Each time I fail to achieve something that I have longed for,I remember my father’s lines. Then,I try to analyse and find out what had gone wrong(with me).I accept my drawbacks and try again to succeed.

I know now what my father tried to make me understand.One has to constantly gather new experiences from various situations and utilise that learning for a better present and future. I could’ve definitely avoided many mistakes had I realised this simple fact earlier.

Acceptance