In the name of Ambition

A little story of evolution of the ambition of a child.

There he was. The seven year old boy looking away from his 4 lined copywriting book. With eyebrows wrinkled, thinking. 

An Apsara pencil held tight in his right hand. Craning his little neck, he peeped into his partner's notebook. She had went 3 lines ahead of him. Phew, he is in no mood to finish the page. Turned his head the other way and he was back looking into window side, tapping the freshly sharpened pencil on his chin. His class teacher was moving from bench to bench, planting some letters in books of his fellow play-buddies.

As a cool breeze went through, something came to his tiny little head "Teacher"!, the little boy stopped tapping pencil. "I want to be a teacher" finishing out dash space of sentence in his colorful textbook. Clearing off some stray pencil marks with rubber, tightening his brand new sharpened pencil in fingers, he filled the space on top right corner. As school bell rang, this little thinker started filling bag - awaiting to go home. Looking at his notebook, a smile waved in teachers face - the boy had done his doodling signature with even date below it!


Four years forward, there he was, sitting in the swinging chair in the balcony - home was silent as everyone went for a little nap. He was lost in the world of Mandooraya - a story from Tunturu child magazine. He was getting high on story. He read lying in bed, he read sitting in staircase, he read in his backyard. He read and read until he finished all stories from that small magazine. He eyes sparkled. A wish came stirred out of lips - I want to read more stories. Next day, a pile of Champaka and Chandamama books landed in the house making their way to the boy's lap.


Two years later, on one peaceful night, he was there on the terrace - looking up the huge blanket of sky in the silent introspection. That was his space of requirement. Be it ease eyes, to enjoy some solitude, to boost his mind or even daydream - it served the purpose. Like any other day supper he ate was just started to settle down in his stomach as he walked around the terrace boundary. 

But there was movement - his eyes kept staring. Is that a shooting star?! Nah, maybe meteor? but he never saw stars moving before. Rushing downstairs to announce his discovery, he hit the google for images of shooting stars moving towards the articles about heavenly bodies, wondering about constellations and sky watching. He knew then - he loved skies. "I will be an Astronomer" with his hands stretched out after looking about an hour over the internet.


But that was little before he actually started learning physics in school. He got to know that the romantic part of astronomy was limited to sky watching and it didn't apply to the truckload of science and explanations that came with it. He thought he would do something else instead of spending his time - searching for stars (No offense, Astronomers) everyday.


And so, in the final year of schooling, he discovered his newborn love for biology. But could that be because what little of it he learnt in school was plain easy and fun? Maybe his first crush - Physics may still in his head. So he ended up taking both subjects in college. Finished college with still inclined to both.


When the crossroads of choices finally showed up, he found himself in a fix. Time was running short and to add the wind, everybody around started asking "What you gonna take?"


Standing at the forks with different worlds ahead, he wondered where he belonged. Under the ceiling fan, it dawned to him that he'd belong wherever he chose to be. Life was an experiment of experiences.[Did that make any sense?] Goodbye to the inner turmoil of making wrong choices! and let the life unwind its adventures.


Then, when next time he's asked what he wants to be, "I'm studying engineering and obviously I want to be great engineer?" or wait, he just has to stick to saying "Wait and watch".

-- The End --